Why we dumped G-5 govs - LAMIDO, ALIYU by Vanguard Media Limited

...towards a better life for the people

VOL. 25: NO. 62349

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N150

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2015

Suicide bombers kill 31 in Kano, >>8 Potiskum

>>39 The constituencies

By Henry Umoru & Wole Mosadomi

Why we dumped G-5 govs — LAMIDO, ALIYU

B U J A — GOVERNORS Sule Lamido of Jigawa State and Babangida Aliyu of Niger State, yesterday, took on their Kano counterpart, Mallam Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso over his accusation that the two Continues on page 5

BAYELSA MOURNS LATE WOMEN LEADERS

Jonathan missed the point

Missing •It was in national interest, says Gov Lamido •We never planned to dump PDP for any other party, by Gov Aliyu N30trn:

— SOLUDO >>15

HIGH ELECTRICITY TARIFF: Manufacturers threaten to leave South East region See Pull-out inside

Mr & Mrs

BAYELSA MOURNS—President Goodluck Jonathan consoling relations of Bayelsa women leaders who died in an accident at Ahoada, Rivers State during a special funeral at Dr. Gabriel Okara Cultural Centre, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, yesterday. State House Photo. See story and more photos on pages 12&16.

Nigeria, delusions of grandeur •P.17

COLUMNISTS: His dad could be my baby's father •P.53

AIG Mbu is armed and dangerous •P.19

C M Y K

— V ANGU ARD, WEDNESD AY, FEBRU ARY 25, 2015 VANGU ANGUARD, WEDNESDA FEBRUARY

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POCKET CARTOON

MEETING— From left, Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof. Julius Okojie; Executive Secretary, Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) Femi Ajayi; Executive Secretary, Tertiary Education Trust Fund,TETFUND, Prof. Suleiman Elias Bogoro and Education Minister Ibrahim Shekarau during their meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan on Education held at the State House Abuja, yesterday. Photo by Abayomi Adeshida.

Why we dumped G5 govs — Lamido, Aliyu Continues from Page 1 governors betrayed five other governors on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, who agreed to dump the party following their irreconcilable differences with the leadership of the party. It will be recalled that Governors Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko of Sokoto; Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara; Rabiu Kwankwaso of Kano; Babangida Aliyu of Niger; Sule Lamido of Jigawa; Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State and former Governor Murtala Nyako of Adamawa State, who were members of the G-7, within the ruling party opted out to form what was known then as

the new PDP. While the other five governors teamed up to form the All Progressives Congress, APC, Governors Sule Lamido of Jigawa and Babangida Aliyu of Niger returned to the PDP. Speaking on their exit from the PDP weekend, Governor Kwankwaso said both Aliyu Babangida and Sule Lamido betrayed the other five governors by returning to the PDP.

Why I betrayed them— Lamido Responding to the accusation while speaking to journalists in Abuja, Governor Lamido

TAKE HEART BY ELLA RANDLE

Make the most of yourself....for that is all there is of you —Ralph Waldo Emerson

PRAH Winfrey stated: “I had no idea that being your authentic self could make me as rich as I’ve become. If I had, I’d have done it a lot earlier.” Professionals, especially of an older generation, tend to have a tough time with authenticity and transparency in the workplace. People, especially men, tend to have a tough time being vulnerable, especially with people they don’t know well. Many also aren’t sure how much to reveal their feelings with friends or colleagues or to people they’ve just met. But, hard as these choices may be, authenticity, transparency, and vulnerability all breed trust. And when people trust you, they’ll do anything for you. Open up to people, and take a chance, and you’ll be rewarded. Leo Buscasglia sums aptly. “The easiest thing to be in the world is you. The most difficult thing to be is what other people want you to be. Don’t let them put you in that position.”

said: “I am a betrayer, confirmed. I betrayed them. I did, yes. I am aligning myself to what he said. I am aligning my answer to what he said, go and find out from him. But I did that in the interest of the nation.” In his response, Governor Babangida, however, said there was never a time the G-7 group planned to dump their party(PDP) for another party and that there was no basis for any of the members to label him as a betrayer. He said at the time he led the G-7 group, the objective was to resolve the leadership problem in his party and not to dump it as some of them have done. A statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary Israel Ebije in response to Governor Kwankwaso’s claim that he (Babangida) was privy to the G-7 decision to decamp to APC, Aliyu said there was never a time the issue of dumping their party for whatever reason was discussed. He described the defection of some of them to the All Progressives Party as a personal decision which he as leader could not query and as such those of them who refused to defect with them should therefore not be seen as traitors. Aliyu however said he has no regrets in leading

a group that brought sanity to the PDP at a time the party was passing through difficulties. He said their effort was indeed nationalistic and a reflection of maturity of Nigerian democracy.

I never planned to dump PDP— Babangida Aliyu His words: “Let me state in categorical terms that I never discussed with the G-7 governors over issue of decamping

to the APC. I led the group primarily to stabilize the PDP. At that time, the PDP was having challenges hinging on impunity which had to be addressed. “Let me, therefore, intimate that based on principle, I never planned to abandon the PDP for another party. It is also important to note that the G-7 achieved its objective of repositioning the PDP which was at the time passing through leadership challenge. Therefore I had no reason to leave, besides our effort brought the ruling party back on its feet.” He said he will remain committed to the PDP and would work towards ensuring that the party wins all elective positions in Niger State.

Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso of Kano State while speaking in Kano, weekend, said: “Everyone knows that Governor Lamido was part of us, he was the leader of the group. He took us to a certain height before choosing otherwise and we were all surprised by his final decision. “But, if there is anybody who would criticise our exit, it shouldn’t be Lamido and the Niger State Governor. After all, our judgment would decide the outcome of the general election. However, we know that PDP is no longer the monster it used to be, and I tell you they are ready to do anything to have someone like me who was considered as an irritant back in their fold.”

Drama in House of Reps over Jonathan's largesse By Emman Ovuakporie & Levinus Nwabughiogu

BUJA—THERE was a mild drama, yesterday, at the House of Representatives as the lawmakers averted a messy situation between the Majority Leader of the House, Mulikat Akande-Adeola and Irona Alfonsus Gerald, over alleged monetary largesse from President Jonathan to persuade aggrieved PDP lawmakers, who lost out at the primaries, to remain in the party. Members expressed surprise as Irona, known for his quiet disposition walked towards the Majority Leader and engaged her in a verbal war pointing a finger at her face menacingly. Irona had immediately after the routine prayer offered by the presiding officer, Deputy Speaker, Emeka Ihedioha, marched on to where the House Leader was

seated and threatened to embarrass her if she didn’t desist from her ways. In his words which were heard by many within the green chamber as well as newsmen at the gallery, he said: "I don’t like it. This is not the first time you have done that to me. Stop it or I will embarrass you". His agitation, however, forced the Deputy Leader of the House, Rep Leo Ogor, PDP Isoko Federal Constituency, to rise up and grab him away from Mulikat’s seat. The Leader, however, did not give any audible response to the verbal attack from Gerald. Irona was later guided to his seat where other members went to further calm him down. Speculations were rife within the House that the situation may not be unconnected with the

monetary largesse allegedly offered by President Jonathan as a means of persuading aggrieved PDP lawmakers who lost out at the primaries to remain in the party. It was gathered that the President held a meeting with PDP Caucus in the House on Sunday following the gale of defection by PDP lawmakers to the opposition parties, with the APC being the biggest beneficiary of such defection. Irona who represents Ohaji/Ebgema/Oguta and Oru federal constituency of Imo State but could not win a return ticket to the House at the last primaries was believed to have been shut out of the meeting by the caucus headed by Mulikat. Although, it was not clear how much the President allegedly doled out, the financial inducement was said to have been made in foreign currency to the aggrieved lawmakers.

6—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2015

Man, 36, charged with causing police inspector's death By Bartholomew Madukwe

AGOS State Police Command has charged one Alimi Muniru, 36, before an Ikeja magistrate court in Lagos for allegedly driving against traffic and causing the death of one Inspector Lucky Oyaghire, 39, along Abeokuta Expressway, Agege, Lagos. The accused was arraigned by the police on a count charge, but when the offence was read to him, he pleaded not guilty. The prosecutor, Inspector Eranus Nnamonu, informed the court that the offence was contrary and punishable under Section 27 (1) Cap. 172 Vol. 7 of Road Traffic Laws, Laws of Lagos State of Nigeria, 2003. Magistrate Abimbola Komolafe granted him bail in the sum of N500,000 with two sureties, who must be blood relatives and should have paid tax for a period of three years. Magistrate Komolafe adjourned the matter to April 2.

Man arrested for attempted murder in Jigawa By Tina Akannam

UTSE—A 23-year-old man, Kabiru Saidu, a residence of Gudduba vlllage in Kiyawa Local Government Area of Jigawa State was, yesterday, arrested for stabbing one Ibrahim Jos during a fight at Lagujiji village. Vanguard gathered that the incident occurred as a fight ensued between the two after a heated argument, which led the suspect to stab his victim with a knife, inflicting him with serious injuries. State commandant of Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps NSCDC, Dr. Muhammed Gidado, said the victim was saved from death by his men on routine patrol of the area. According to him, investigation is ongoing to bring the suspect to book and serve as deterrence to youth, who carry weapons in their pockets.

Police arrest rapist of 9-yr-old girl By Ifeanyi Okolie

32-year-old truck pusher, Alloysus Ikejimba, has been arrested by policemen for allegedly defiling a 9-year-old girl. Vanguard gathered that the suspect, who was described as a serial rapist, had raped his victim more than four times before he was arrested. Police sources told Vanguard that the suspect had been arrested over a similar offence in the past. Speaking with Vanguard, father of the victim, who simply identified himself as Kennedy, said the suspect usually defiled

his daughter whenever she was taking her bath. He said: “My daughter normally complained to his mother, but her mother refused to tell me about it. He does it to her whenever she is taking her bath at the back of our house. “Unfortunately for him, two weeks ago, I was in the house and I saw my wife standing beside my daughter while she was taking her bath and I went and asked her what was happening she told me that my neighbour Alloy, had been defiling my daughter for a long time. “I confronted him and he

started begging me. He ran away from his house and I did not see him for two weeks. “Few days ago, he brought the police to my house to arrest me, complaining that I was threatening his life. “When I came to the police station, I told them what he had done and they arrested him and took my child for medical check up. “The report is out and it has shown that she was defiled multiple times by Alloysus.”

Denial

The suspect, however, denied defiling the victim. He said: “We live in the same

compound at Okokomaiko and I normally bath my child because my wife is not feeling very well. “She was shot last year during a robbery incident at Alaba International Market, where I also work. “The mother accused me of touching her child’s private part, but I only touched her head. “When the father confronted me, I told him that I did not do it. He took me before the community people and beat me up in their presence. They begged him to allow me go, but he refused.” Divisional Police Officer, Okoko Division, CSP Ibrahim Zango, referred newsmen to the command's image maker.

APC gov campaign team attacked in Jos By Marie-Therese Nanlong

MOBILE SUPER STORE: Alhaji Gambo Yusuf, a vendor, on Bakaro Road, Bauchi, yesterday, has been in this business since 1988. NAN PHOTO.

Family of murdered Immigration officer accuses police of delaying burial By Esther Onyegbula

HE family of Egun Jeremiah, the Immigration officer killed by his colleague while on duty at Seme border, has expressed frustration that police investigation into the incident was delaying the deceased’s burial. A member of the family, who spoke on condition anonymity, said: “We have not been able to bury our dead because of ongoing investigation, which is taking forever. “Can you imagine, they have not done the autopsy. How long would it take to carry out an autopsy, conclude their investigation and bring those involved to book?” Lagos State Police Command’s spokesman, DSP Kenneth Nwosu, told Vanguard yesterday that police was still investigating the case

to determine the culpability of other officers on duty when the incident occurred. He said: “At the moment, we are working with Nigerian Immigration Service, NIS. The service is taking time because we want to ensure that the case is thoroughly investigated.”

thugs who attacked the officers with broken bottles. When the attack became intense, the officers reportedly opened fire to scare the thugs, but one of the bullets hit Egun while he was trying to escape from the thugs.

Killed on duty

One of the immigration officers (names withheld) told Vanguard: “The entire incident was a terrible mistake. It was a stray bullet that killed Egun while he was hiding from the thugs who attacked us with broken bottles. “The driver, the foreigners and the thugs ran away immediately they heard sounds of gunshots. “As soon as we realized that Egun had been hit, we rushed him to Badagry General Hospital. But he was confirmed dead on arrival by the doctor.”

It would be recalled that Egun Jeremiah was allegedly shot by one of his colleagues while on official duty with his colleagues along Seme-Badagry Expressway on January 24. Vanguard learned that the officers intercepted a vehicle carrying some foreigners, who were illegally attempting to enter the country. During interrogation, an argument ensued between the officers and the foreigners. The argument was on when the driver of the vehicle invited

‘How it happened’

OS— HOODLUMS, Monday, at Gyel District of Jos South Local Government Area, attacked the campaign convoy of the governorship candidate of All Progressives Congress, APC, in Plateau State, Mr. Simon Lalong, destroying four vehicles in the process. The incident occurred when the APC campaign train moved from Jos East to pay a courtesy visit on Da Dangyang, the District Head of Gyel. The Director of Media and Publicity Committee of the Lalong Campaign Organization, Mr. Festus Fuanter, told Vanguard he was shocked at such development when his campaign train was conducting its lawful activity. He said: “This unprovoked attack on our convoy by hoodlums at Gyel was, indeed, most unfortunate. “This barbaric act must be condemned and I commend our supporters for the calmness and maturity they exhibited in the face of the unprovoked attack.” However, the Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, DSP Abuh Emmanuel, could not confirm the incident at the time of this report. He said: “The DPO of the area is yet to brief us on such development.” Meanwhile, Mr. Simon Lalong has called on Plateau people to come out and massively vote for all APC candidates.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2015—7

80 years old American missionary kidnapped in Kogi By Boluwaji Obahopo

PICTURESQUE: Traffic gridlock on Kubwa-Abuja Expressway, Abuja, yesterday. NAN PHOTO.

NDLEA nabs man with N120m hard drugs By Daniel Eteghe

PERATIVES of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, yesterday, arrested a Nigerian based in Johannesburg with 36.850 kilogrammes of narcotics at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, which was about to be smuggled to South Africa. The suspect, Mr. Okonkwo Isaac Ekemezie, was apprehended during the outward screening of an Ethiopian Airlines flight. The suspected substances, hidden in his luggage, were tested and found to be methamphetamine, weighing 17.700 kilogrammes and ephedrine, weighing 19.150 kilogrammes, with an estimated street value of N120 million. NDLEA Commander at Abuja airport, Mr. Hamisu

Lawan, said the suspect was apprehended a few days after the arrest of Ilo Chidera Alex with 15.850 kilogrammes of cocaine, concealed inside make-up brushes from Sao Paulo enroute Dubai. He said: “Drug traffickers are always experimenting with new routes all in a bid to evade arrest by law enforcement officers. “By our record at this airport, South Africa is not a common route for drug traffickers. Mr. Okonkwo Isaac Ekemezie is a suspected member of a drug trafficking cartel in South Africa where he lives. “His mission was to come to Nigeria to facilitate the exportation of 36.850kg of narcotics to South Africa. “That criminal action was, however, aborted because of the vigilance of our officers.” He further said that

House help docked over N5.5m jewelleries theft By Onozure Dania

AGOS—A teenage domestic house help, Mercy Odita, 18, has been charged before a Tinubu Magistrate’s Court over alleged theft of gold jewellery worth N5,523,000, property of her employer, one Ngosi Okeke. Okere said the incident took place on February 10 and is punishable under Section 409 and 285 (7) of the Criminal

Law of Lagos Stated of Nigeria, 2011. The law prescribes seven years imprisonment for servants convicted of stealing their employer ’s money. However, the defendant denied the allegations, but Magistrate A. T. Omoyele admitted the defendant to N500,000 bail, with two responsible sureties in like sum and adjourned the matter to March 23.

Okonkwo's arrest was similar to that of one Fred Chuka Obi, 49, who was found with 1.594 kilogrammes of cocaine on his way to Tel Aviv, which is also not a normal route for drug

traffickers. Meanwhile, Chairman of NDLEA, Ahmadu Giade, has reiterated his determination to dismantle drug trafficking cartels in the country.

ABSU lecturers begin work-to-rule By Anayo Okoli

MUAHIA—ACADEMIC Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, in Abia State University, ABSU, Uturu, yesterday, began an indefinite work-to-rule to protest nonremittance of their nine months check off dues by the university authorities. The lectures also complained of non-payment of January salary, saying they would continue with the workto-rule until their January salary was paid by the university management. The action of the lecturers has grounded academic activities in the university as none of the lecturers took classes, even though they were around. Dr. David Chikezie, ABSUASUU chairman, explained that the strike was in protest against the insensitive attitude of university authorities over their plight. Chikezie vowed that the work-to-rule would continue until their January and February salaries were paid and nine months check-off

deduction remitted to the union’s purse. He said the lecturers would be reporting to duty but would not teach until their demands were fully met. According to Chikezie, “ we are asking the authority to remit all check-off deductions amounting to nine months, to the union. We will be coming to work, but will not engage in any academic activity.” The state Commissioner for Education, Dr. Monica Philips, said she was not aware of the work-to-rule by the lecturers. She said if there was any such action, she would have been informed by the Registrar. Efforts to confirm the lecturers’ action through the university’s Public Relations Officer, Deacon Acho Elendu, were futile as calls to his mobile phone were not going through. The state had increased the subvention of the university to augment its internally generated revenue to enable it meet its financial obligations. It also reduced students’ fees by 20 percent.

OKOJA—AN 80-yearold American missionary, Rev. Phyllis Sortor, has been abducted by unknown gunmen in Kogi State. The kidnapping is coming barely two days after a director at Adavi Local Government Area, Abdulazeez Ohere, who was kidnapped last week, was released. The Department of State and Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI, are working with Nigerian authorities to find Sortor and are still awaiting word from her kidnappers. Sources said the kidnappers, who invaded Emi-Woro, a village in Ajaokuta Local Government Area at about 10am on Monday, where the woman ran a Nursery/Primary School, forcibly pulled her out of the office, scaled the fence and took her away through the forest behind the school. The State Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Sola Adebayo, confirmed the incident and disclosed that their men had secured the school. He said the command has appealed to the villagers to assist the police with useful information that could lead to the arrest of the kidnappers.

Bayelsa auto tragedy survivor flown abroad By Samuel Oyadongha

ENAGOA—MRS Edesimi Ayabowei, the sole survivor of the Valentine Day tragic auto crash, which claimed the lives of eight Bayelsa women politicians and their driver, has been flown to South Africa for treatment. Ayabowei, who suffered serious burnt on the lower part of her body, it was learned, was flown to South Africa, Monday, at the instance of the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan.

8—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2015

31 killed as suicide bombers hit Potiskum, Kano By Henry Umoru, Abdusalam Muhammed, Ndahi Marama & Bala Ajiya

z49 critically injured zJonathan, PDP condemn bombing of soft targets

ANO — THIRTY-ONE persons died yesterday in two separate suicide bomb attacks in Potiskum, Yobe State, and Kano with several others injured. An eye witness account on the Potiskum attack said a female suicide bomber alighted from a tricycle, opposite Tashan Dan Borno motor park in the town, and mixed with passengers at the park located along Kano Road, killing 15 persons on the spot, while four others died before reaching hospital for treatment due to excessive bleeding. A nursing officer at the hospital who pleaded anonymity, revealed that 15 dead bodies were initially deposited in the mortuary, while four other dead bodies were brought in a few minutes after. Forty nine others who were injured in the blast are in the hospital. “This is the worst suicide bombing so far recorded since the commencement of the insurgency as it has recorded 19 deaths so far, while 49 persons are lying critically ill in the hospital and there is a high possibility that the death toll will rise, considering the nature of the injuries they sustained,” the nursing officer said. Suicide bombing has become rampant in Potiskum, the commercial nerve centre of Yobe State, north east Nigeria. A female suicide bomber had last Sunday hit the Potiskum GSM market, killing five and injuring several others.

Yesterday’s bus station attack in Kano is the first outside a predominantly Christian quarters since the commercial city was hit by insurgents January 20, 2012. The police commissioner revealed that the injured were taken to Murtala Mohammed Specialist Hospital for attention. He disclosed that investigation had commenced, adding that he had ordered security beef up in the city. The incident triggered anger in the city as a mob identified and supervised the cremation of the two suicide bombers, while security agents appealed for calm.

12 killed in Kano blast

BUDGET 2015: Senate cuts oil benchmark to $52 zDecries poor capital allocation by executive per barrel

In Kano, 12 persons died, while five others sustained various degrees of injuries as two male suicide bombers hit a bus station in the city. Kano State Police Commissioner; Ibrahim Idris, told reporters that the the incident occurred around 3.00pm when the two male bombers were conveyed into the station in a Vokswagen Sharon bus, posing as passengers. The police boss said the bombers detonated the bomb, shortly after mingling with motor park officials conducting businesses in the park located opposite the headquarters of defunct Bank of the North, on the fringe of the strategic Zaria Road. Idris said: “We heard a blast at Kano line bus station located at Kofar Nasarawa area by 3.00pm and preliminary investigation indicated that two suicide bombers who were conveyed to the station in a Sharon bus, were behind this dastardly attack.” Idris stated that three other vehicles were razed during the attack, pointing out that the remains of the victims had been deposited in the morgue.

PDP condemns attacks

Jonathan condemns bombing of soft targets

Reacting to the attacks, President Goodluck Jonathan condemned the resort by Boko Haram to the bombing of soft targets in parts of Nigeria, in the wake of pressure being piled on them by Nigerian troops and their multinational allies of areas formerly controlled by the sect. A statement signed, yesterday, by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr Reuben Abati, said President Jonathan commiserated with all families who lost loved ones in the bombings which continued yesterday with attacks on Kano and Potiskum. “The President shares the grief of all the bereaved families and is deeply saddened by the continued loss of many innocent

By Johnbosco Agbakwuru & Joseph Erunke

BUJA —THE Senate, yesterday, reduced the oil benchmark from the initial $65 per barrel to $52 to reflect the reality of the current fluctuating and dwindling oil price in the international market. This was one of the decisions taken after a closed door meeting where issues concerning the 2015 Appropriation Bill was said to have dominated discussions as well as the poor budgetary allocation to the capital expenditure. The Senate also decried the non release of funds for the execution of capital projects, while allocation for the recurrent expenditure was on the increase. The Senate President, David Mark, had in the secret meeting ordered different committee heads to expedite action on budget defence so that it would be passed before the Senate commences another recess for the

the North Eastern states in particular that the days of mourning victims of incessant terrorist attacks in the country will soon be over as the tide has now definitely turned against Boko Haram. “President Jonathan further assures the people of Nigeria that the gallant, courageous and patriotic officers and men of the Nigerian Armed Forces, supported with new platforms, equipment and logistics provided by the Federal Government will carry the ongoing operations against the terrorists through to a successful conclusion in the shortest possible time."

The Vokswagen Sharon bus that conveyed the two male suicide bombers to Kano line bus station

lives at the hands of misguided and desperate fanatics who are now feeling the heat of the intense counter-insurgency

operation by the Nigerian Armed Forces,” the statement said. The President further assured all Nigerians and “the people of

Similarly, the national leadership of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, condemned the bombings and called for the prosecution of the culprits. In a statement signed, yesterday, by National Publicity Secretary, Chief Oilsa Metuh, the party said it was deeply saddened by the news of the attacks in the two cities, which claimed the lives of harmless citizens going about their legitimate endeavours. “Indeed, the PDP mourns. We are deeply pained by these attacks on our citizens. Our hearts and prayers go out to the bereaved and the wounded. We share in their pain and pray that those behind their grief must not escape justice."

zTo pass budget before presidential election

general elections. Mark regretted that about four months after the presentation of the 2015 Appropriation Bill, nothing much had been done on it. Although journalists were not formally briefed on issues that dominated the secret meeting, some Senators who spoke to Vanguard, preferring not to be mentioned, said the Senate President convened the session principally to draw attention of the legislators to what he called the slow pace of work being accorded the budget treatment. Mark was said to have expressed fears that if the budget was not expeditiously treated and passed before the National Assembly proceeds on another round of recess to witness the March 28 and April 14 elections, it may delay attention, thus, affecting the smooth running of government. To this end, he therefore asked all Senators, especially chairmen of committees handing the

defence of ministries, parastatals and agencies’ budgets to brace up with a view to completing their assignments and submitting their work for consideration before the election recess. It was gathered that majority of the Senators had lamented during the closed-door session that lasted about one hour that the executive had been in the habit of making poor budgetary allocation to capital projects. Journalists, who had anxiously waited to officially hear the issues raised at the meeting were disappointed when Mark and other Senators in attendance emerged from the forum with sealed lips. Speaking before the Senate continued its plenary, the Senate President said: “At the closeddoor session, we deliberated issues bordering on national interest, and national development.” However, some of the Senators said lawmakers expressed

concern over meagre allocation of N387 billion for capital projects in the 2015 budget which they said was unprecedented even as the recurrent component was allocated over 90 percent of the N4.3 trillion budget. The lawmakers were said to have insisted that they will not approve such huge lopsided budget allocation. Consequently, the committees were directed to liaise with the various Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to cut down on recurrent votes in order to make more fund available for projects. Expressing anger on the way economic issues were being handled by the finance ministry, one of the senators that did not want his name published said majority of Senators expressed anger that the finance ministry was deliberately drawing back the wheel of the nation’s progress.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2015—9

FG schedules payment of N264bn subsidy by March end By Clara Nwachukwu & Michael Eboh

BUJA — THE Federal Government, Monday, scheduled to pay off about N264 billion between now and end of March, as subsidy reimbursement applications submitted to marketers as at end of January 2015. The sum comprises 2014 outstanding debts of N164 billion in addition to N100 billion derived from foreign exchange and bank interest charges. Already, the amount has exceeded the budgetary proposal of N200 billion in the 2015 Appropriation Bill, which makes analysts suspect that government did not wish to continue with the subsidy system in the 2015 financial year. The decision was arrived at a crucial meeting with the Ministries of Finance, Petroleum Resources, the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, and oil marketers in Abuja on Monday at the instance of the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi OkonjoIweala. The decision to pay off the marketers’ outstanding subsidies plus forex differentials and interest rates became necessary to douse supply pressure on premium motor spirit, PMS, popularly called petrol, which had already started leading to a buildup of queues in some areas around the country, as exclusively reported by Vanguard last week.

Fallout of meeting

Confirming the development in Lagos, yesterday, Executive Secretary, Major Marketers Association of Nigeria, MOMAN, Mr. Obafemi Olawore, told journalists: “The Minister (Okonjo-Iweala) met with marketers and gave a schedule of payment for outstanding subsidy invoices from now till the end of March." He said the payment schedule got the nod of principals across the majors, independents and depot market operators, adding that as a result, “product supply that should have gone down will now pick up again. Also, any current tightness noticeable in the market is only temporary.”

Supply pressure

Olawore also admitted that supply was tightened because marketers had reached and exceeded their loan limits with the banks, and as such, are unable to access any more bank facilities. Already, the CBN had warned banks to be wary of their exposures to the energy industry, particularly, petroleum and power, in order not to plunge the banking industry into another round of distress.

zAs Naira devaluation triggers subsidy hike to N31.08/l zLoan facilities closed as oil marketers reach limits Besides, with the devaluation of the Naira, it became even more difficult to raise loans from the banks. Olawore said: “Before devaluation, the exchange rate was N171.36 -$1, while landing cost for PMS was N90.67/litre. As inter-bank rate went up to N188$1, landing cost also rose to N98.36/l . As at today (yesterday), with exchange rate now N199-$1, landing cost rose to N103.45/l, and if it now moves to N215-$1, landing cost will move to N110.84/l.” Consequently, he argued that the successive devaluation of the Naira had eaten up any benefit that would have been derived from the falling price of oil at the international market, a development that has seen the rise of the pump prices of other fuel products such as kerosene, diesel and aviation fuel.

session, as oversupply fears lingered, overshadowing any optimism on the outlook for the global economy.

PPPRA template

In addition, the PPPRA in its updated template released, yesterday, put the landing cost of PMS at $691.32 per metric tonne. Using a conversion of

1,341 litres to a metric tonne and N199 to a dollar, this translates to a landing cost of N102.59 per litre. The landing cost consists of: Cost plus freight (C+F), N91.13 per litre or N614.12 per metric tonne; Trader’s margin, N1.48 per litre; Lightering expenses, N4.16; NPA charges, N0.78 per litre; Financing, N1.23; Jetty Depot Thru’ Put Charge, N0.80

per litre and Storage cost, N3 per litre. The regulatory agency also put distribution margins at $104.38 per metric tonne or N15.49 per litre, comprising: Retailers margins, N4.60 per litre; Transporters margin, N2.99; dealers margin, N1.75; Bridging Fund, N5.85; Marine Transport Average (MTA), N0.15; Administrative Charges, N0.15 per litre. To this end, the PPPRA put the Expected Open Market Price (OMP) of PMS, which is landing cost plus margins, at N118.08 per litre, while the official retail price is N87 per litre, leaving the amount that is paid as subsidy at N31.08 per litre.

Impact of devaluation

The free fall in the value of the Naira has started to take its toll on the price of petrol, as the amount the Federal Government is paying as subsidy on PMS, yesterday, rose to N31.08 per litre. What this means is that Nigerians, as it stands, would be expected to pay about N118.08 per litre of PMS if the product is deregulated and if subsidy on the product is removed. The Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, PPPRA, in its Pricing Template for PMS, for February 23, 2015, released yesterday, increased the exchange rate used in computing PMS price to N199 to a dollar compared to about N172 to a dollar a couple of days ago. The review in the exchange rate is coming days after the CBN unofficially devalued the Naira through the closure of the Retail and Wholesale Dutch Auction System (RDAS/WDAS) foreign exchange window, channelling all demands to the interbank foreign exchange window. As at yesterday, the naira was trading at the interbank market at about N199 to a dollar. The rise in the amount to be paid as subsidy was in spite of the fact that oil prices have remained below $60 barrel in the international market over the last couple of weeks. Specifically, on February 10, 2015, when the price of crude was $57.90 per barrel, the amount paid as subsidy by the Federal Government was N14.79 per litre, but as at yesterday, the price of crude was a little above $58 per barrel. In the international market, Brent crude fell towards $58 a barrel, yesterday, extending the two per cent loss in the previous

COURT CASE: Mr Femi Fani-Kayode, Director, Media and Publicity, Goodluck/Sambo Presidential Campaign Organisation (m) shortly after his case on money laundering charges before a Federal High Court in Lagos, yesterday. Photo Joe Akintola, Photo Editor.

Scarcity looms as marketers hoard fuel By Sebastine Obasi & Ediri Ejoh

AGOS — SCARCITY of petrol is looming as queues have returned to filling stations across Lagos, while some of them have stopped selling. This is an indication that the cold war between marketers and the management of the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, PPPRA, has not been resolved. Vanguard had earlier reported that some of the marketers had accused the PPPRA of corruption and lack of transparency by removing the pricing template on its website against international best practices established by Platts and other organisations that publish oil prices. The marketers had also accused PPPRA of dragging the country back to the “dark days of unbridled corruption in the payment of subsidy to marketers.” Vanguard learned that the price of petrol at the depot has risen to N90 per litre, forcing stations to shut down operations as well as hike the sale of its

product from the regulated price of N87 to N100 per litre. Vanguard investigation also showed that some of the filling stations along Festac Town have shut down operations, while those selling have brought traffic to their environment. Of five petrol stations, NNPC, Forte-oil, Mobil, MRS, Total, only Total, Mobil, and Forte Oil had fuel. One of the male attendants at Total filling station told Vanguard that the cause of the scarcity is an alleged hike in price of the product to N90 per litre at the depot. “I think the reason for this scarcity could be as a result of the price of petrol product from the depot which has risen to N90 per litre, and some filling stations cannot afford that,” he said. A supervisor at the Mobil filling station, however, said despite the N90 per litre, the loading scheme in Apapa has worsened, adding: “When we discharge and go for refill at the depot, the process now takes two days before returning to the various stations for sale.”

At Forte Oil on 21 Road, Festac Town, the experience was obvious, as queues had led to serious gridlock, while the product was sold from one pump at N100 per litre. According to the supervisor, the station had limited supply and did not know when next they would get. Also, at Fatgbems Station, long queues were seen with two out of six pumps dispensing petrol. A female attendant, who refused to identify herself, maintained that they had orders to sell only from two pumps. Some of the customers expressed anxiety over the development. Mr. Sunday Saka, a motorist, who said he had been on the queue for more than three hours said: “We have had to face this stress for the past two days, with the queue at the stations. Today, I have been on this queue for more than three hours. Also another motorist, Mrs. Beatrice Adebanjo, said she had been on the queue for the past two hours without any hope of getting the product.

10— Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2015

INSECURITY: Our Police formation outdated —FASHOLA By Monsuru Olowoopejo AGOS—WORRIED by the state of insecurity in the country, Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State, yesterday, said Nigeria still parades a police formation that was yet to abandon strategies and others facilities inherited from its colonial masters. Fashola, made the statement while commissioning the Information and Communication Technology, ICT, Centre at Area F Police Command, Ikeja, which also had in attendance the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Kayode Aderanti, state Commissioner for Science and Technology, Mr. Adebiyi Mabadeje and the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Mrs. Nike Animashaun and others. According to him, “We are still carrying a police formation that I think has not left some of its colonial inheritance. The colonial foundations were reliable at that time. Even those who gave the police to us have changed many times over” to suit the current trend. The governor noted that there was need for the country's security operatives especially the police to adopt modern strategies to combat crime. He noted that in this 21st century; “How can we expect policemen to work without technology? How can they detect crime, even after detecting it, how will they be able to keep records? If the environment is not conducive, one should expect that such production centre will not produce quality.” The governor said that the technology needed to enhance policing in the country “does not cost too much. But the right attitude that the problem is there affects its provision.

“I believe that this country can build a 21st century police force that will have the best and brightest to pursue a career and will reach the top. This will start from work environment, tools and the dignity with which the

police carry themselves. “That was why we are changing some of the designs of the Police Area Commands in the state to give them a more contemporary look and to make the environment conducive and

comfortable for the police officers. This is because policing is a very important job.” He urged Nigerians to have a second look at their police “and see how we could make the police function the way we want it to.”

HANDOVER: From left: Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Kayode Aderanti, Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State, Mrs. Nike Animashaun, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Science and Technology, and Mr. Adebiyi Mabadeje, Commissioner for Science and Technology, during the handing over of Area F- Police Command, Ikeja Information Technology Resource Centre , GRA, Ikeja, Lagos. Photo: Akeeem Salau.

Presence of security agents 'll guarantee high turnout of voters—AGBAJE zAs Erelu tasks women on nation building By Chioma Obinna & Esther Onyegbula

AGOS—GOVERNORSHP candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Lagos State, Mr. Jimi Agbaje, yesterday, said that the presence of security agents during the general election would guarantee large turnout of voters. Agbaje, who also took a swipe at the alleged involvement of the military in the Ekiti

State election, advised Nigerians not to trust everything they see or hear from politicians, adding that politicians were known to play all kinds of games during elections. Also, Lagos socialite, Erelu Abiola Dosumu urged women to wake up from their slumber and rise up to their responsibility as nation builders , adding that the postponement of the elections had beamed light on the lies some politicians told earlier. The duo spoke in Lagos at an interactive session with governorship aspirants in the state, which was convened by the Coalition of Concerned Women for Good Governance, CCWGG. Agbaje said: “The court cannot mean that where there is secu-

rity issue that troops should just sit down in the barracks because it is election day then they should not participate. I think we have to be realistic about the situation that we have in our country and even if we look at precedents, you will find that the troops have been used in previous elections and we have not seen them do anything untold. We have not seen any attack but at the end of the day all the parties congratulated the troops that they had done well.” Agbaje who said that the controversy about military not participating in elections was part of the games played every time before elections added, “Maybe it is part of propaganda. But the reality is that for people to come out, evidence have shown that the turn out in any election where the troops have been used had been much higher."

ALLEGED FRAUD: AG Moeller MD tendered fake Police report, witness tells court By Innocent Anaba

AGOS—A Federal High Court stting in Lagos, yesterday, heard that the Managing Director of AG Moeller, Adeloye Olukemi, allegedly tendered a forged report which he claimed to be from the police. Olukemi, is facing trial for allegedly defrauding Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of Cross Country Limited Bube Okorodudu of about N80million between March 2007 and January

2010, a sum said to be in excess of a capital sum of N140million which AG Moeller advanced to Cross Country through a contract of finance lease facility “induced by false pretence.” The accused person had pleaded not guilty to the charge. At yesterday’s trial, the prosecution’s witness, Mr. Godsday Chukwusa, told the court that the report, dated January 25, 2012, and signed by a deputy commissioner of police in Zone 2 Police Command, was not genuine.

Buhari can't speak of missing oil money — group

OVE on Nigeria, a civic action group promoting good governance and the transformation agenda of President Goodluck administration has dismissed as non- issue, the call by General Buhari for President Jonathan to publish the NNPC forensic audit report on missing $20bn. Reacting to a statement credited to Garba Shehu, the group noted that “Buhari cannot morally speak of missing oil money as it was during his tenure as petroleum minister that $2.8bn of oil money was reportedly seized in a foreign country. Still under Buhari’s watch, NNPC was never audited, so he should give credit to President Jonathan for daring to probe the NNPC”. The statement signed by the group’s national co-ordinator, Mr Clem Aguiyi urged Gen Buhari to “face better issues such as the economy, restructuring, corruption and insecurity as Nigerians are desperate to know what he will do differently”. On the economy, the group said Buhari had no idea on how to grow the economy arguing that “at a time when it is no longer fashionable for governments to run businesses because government can’t run business better.

Mallam Yusuf Ogembe dies @ 70

ALLAM YUSUF Ogembe, the septuagenarian father of SP Haruna Ogembe, the Chief Security Officer, CSO, to Governor Adams Oshomhole of Edo State is dead. Mallam Ogembe, aged 70 died, in his Ihima country home, Okehi LGA of Kogi State, after the shocking death of his younger brother, Salaudeen. Ogembe has since been buried according to Islamic rites. The last Islamic prayer rites and socials will hold on Friday, 24 and Saturday, July 25, respectively.

Late Yusuf Ogembe

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2015 —11

Over 500,000 uncollected PVCs in Ogun —INEC z808,590 PVCs (59.1%) distributed By Daud Olatunji

B E O K U TA — T H E Independent National Electoral Commission has expressed worry over the refusal of people to collect 560,285,000 Permanent Voter Cards, PVCs,

in the state. Administrative secretary of the commission in Ogun State, Dickson Atiba, stated this during the courtesy visit of the new state commissioner of police, Mr. Valentine Ntomchukwu, to the headquarters of the commission

at Magbon area of Abeokuta on Tuesday. The INEC boss said there had been low turnout of people in the polling units where the PVCs were being distributed. Atiba said: “The total number of registered voters in Ogun State

LAUNCHING: Head of Public Sector Sales, Globacom, Mr Tunde Amunikoro (left) and Director General, Citizenship and Leadership Training Centre, the regulatory parastatal for the Man O' War Organisation in Nigeria, Mr Mike Fawole, at the launch of CUG lines for Man O' War Officers in Abuja.

is 1,795,794 and total number of PVCs we have received so far from Abuja is 1,368,875. And out of this, 808,590,000 have been distributed as at today (Tuesday), which represents 59.1 per cent.” The INEC boss who said the distribution of the PVC was still ongoing in different polling units across the state, explained that to ensure that all registered voters collected their PVCs, the list of names of those who were yet to collect their own were being compiled and would be handed over to various stakeholders in the society. Atiba said he foresaw a situation whereby the INEC might extend the March 8 deadline for the collection of the PVC, if by that date substantial number of PVCs remain uncollected. The commissioner of police commended INEC for the progress made so far towards ensuring free and fair elections on March 28 and April 11. Ntomchukwu, who noted that the police were critical stakeholders in the electoral process, expressed the readiness of the force to actualise and achieve the conduct of free and fair elections.

Obasanjo destroyed an expired card —PDP By Henry Umoru

BUJA—NATIONAL Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Professor Adewale Oladipo, yesterday, said that former President Olusegun Obasanjo destroyed an expired party membership card and not the new and authentic card being issued by the party. He spoke yesterday when he received a group of students mobilization team led by Comrade Takun Olarewaju visited the party to express their support for PDP and its Presidential candidate, President Goodluck Jonathan. Oladipo explained that the card which Obasanjo tore was an old one signed by former acting National Chairman, Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje and not the authentic card which has the signatures of PDP National Chairman, Alhaji Adamu Muazu and himself, Prof. Wale Oladipo as national secretary. He spoke as the party boasted that it would shock the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the South West. Addressing journalists yesterday in Abuja, PDP Deputy National Chairman, Prince Uche

Secondus said that with PDP campaigns and its pedigree, President Jonathan will win the March 28 presidential election. “We have the statistics that shows since 1999 that we have been consistent so what we have done is to re engineer our support at our base and they are ready for elections and we will win this election," he said.

Passage

NGINEER EMMANUEL Olusegun Phillips of Igbore, Abeokuta, Ogun State is dead. He died on Monday, January 26, in Lagos. His burial has been scheduled for the first week of May. He is survived by nine children, and many relations.

Late Emmanuel Philips

Osun teachers demand payment of salaries By Gbenga Olarinoye

S O G B O — TEACHERS in Osun State, yesterday, demanded quick action on the November and December, 2014 salaries owed some of them, just as the union re-assured the state government of cooperation to ensure success of its educational policies. In a statement issued in Osogbo by the Chairman and Principal state secretary of NUT, Comrade Amudah Alade and Comrade Abdulahi M, the union said secondary schools teachers in the state are yet to be paid their November and December 2014 salaries, adding that all other categories of teachers are yet to get their January salary. The union claimed its members are being exposed to untold hardship due to unpaid arrears of salaries, stressing that many of its members can no longer feed their families, while others have to trek long distances to and from schools daily. Though it expressed deep understanding of the financial situation of the state presently, the teachers appealed to government to give payment of salaries priority attention.

LAPO empowers 451 staff

ENIN CITY—A leading micro-finance institution in Nigeria, Lift Above Poverty Organisation, LAPO, at the weekend in Benin City, rewarded 451 of its dedicated staff who have spent various lengths of years with the organisation. According to the Managing Director/CEO of LAPO, Dr. Godwin Ehigiamusoe, whose address was delivered at the occasion by the executive director and chairperson, welfare committee of the 2014 staff awards presentation ceremony, Sabina IdowuOsehobo, the awardees were honoured for their immense contribution to the successes recorded by LAPO over the years. He said while a total of 408 staff received long service awards, 43 others were honoured with performance awards for excellent services to the organisation. He thanked them for their commitment and dedication to duty and sued for sustenance.

12—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2015

AUTO CRASH: Bayelsa lost eight of her best women leaders —JONATHAN By Samuel Oyadongha

E N A G O A — PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday, lamented that Bayelsa State lost eight of her best women leaders in the Valentine Day auto crash along the Ahaoda axis of the East-West Road in Rivers State. Among those who lost their lives in the tragic accident were three relations of the President. They include, a cousin to the President, late Consider Amadi, Late Elizabeth Allison-Oguru, wife of the Secretary to Bayelsa State Government, SSG, who is from Otuoke, the President's home town and late Clara Abila, also a relation of the President from Otuoke. Others include Ayakpo Otolo, Elizabeth Nisakpo, Ginbra Pamowei, Ruby Benjamin, Acha Pere-Kalama and the driver of the ill-fated bus, Kelechi Onyekwuru. Jonathan, who spoke in Yenagoa, at a special state memorial held in honour of the deceased, said the event which was initially scheduled for last Saturday was moved to Tuesday at his instance to enable him pay his last respect to the deceased. The President, accompanied by his wife, Dame Patience Jonathan, said the death of the deceased came as a shock to him. “We have lost eight of our best. Late Elizabeth Oguru was from my village, Consider Amadi was

Why I rejected invitation to pray for presidential candidate —CLERIC

By Simon Ebegbulem

ENIN—PRIMATE of the Orthodox Anglican Church, Nigeria, Bishop Christopher Umane, said yesterday, that he rejected an invitation to pray for one of the leading presidential candidates in order not to offend God. He said that both President Goodluck Jonathan and Gen. Muhammadu Buhari’s campaign organisations were bereft of ideas as they have rather engaged in campaigns of calumny against each other. He said the campaign of calumny by both candidates has diverted the attention of Nigerians from the major issues militating against the country, which he said, include insecurity and unemployment.

my second cousin, Abila also was my relation,” he said, adding that the deceased were people close to him and his family. The President, who looked in the direction of the caskets bearing the remains of the deceased, said “The caskets contain the remains of people so dear to me. When I remember February 14, it was supposed to be Valentine's Day

but it turned out to be a black Saturday for Bayelsa. “That was the day I hosted widows of our fallen soldiers. When I got home and received the news of the sad incident, I lacked words to console the bereaved families. Though some were my relations, I believe they have finished playing their roles. Let me join others to express my

condolences to the bereaved families.” In her tribute, the wife of the President, Dame Jonathan, described the deceased as her sisters and friends. “You remain my blood sisters, you left when I needed you most. I pray that someday we shall meet again,” she said.

FUNERAL: President Goodluck Jonathan (left) consoling one of the children of the women who died in an accident at Ahoada, Rivers State, during a special funeral service for the departed women, at Dr. Gabriel Okara Cultural Centre, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, yesterday.

Why APC opposes military success against Boko Haram —WIKE

IVERS State Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, governorship candidate, Mr Nyesom Wike, has berated the All Progressives Congress, APC, for refusing to support the military following its successes in decimating Boko Haram in the North-East. He said that the action of the opposition confirms widely held notion that it tacitly supports the terrorist group. Wike, who spoke yesterday while campaigning at Wards 4, 5 and 6 of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of the state, said that the claim by APC leaders that they would end Boko Haram in two weeks indicates that they have contact with the dreaded group. He said: “God has shamed APC by ensuring victory for the Nigerian military. The APC has refused to

commend our military because they are not happy. President Goodluck Jonathan will be re-elected because he means well for the country and is committed to the unity of the country. It is in the interest of Nigeria and the South-South that President Jonathan is re-elected.” On the APC presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, Wike said a man who truncated democracy as a young man cannot be a promoter of democracy at 73.

Reps hail Jonathan, military for successes against B'Haram By Emman Ovuakporie & Levinus Nwabughiogu

BUJA—THE House of Representatives, yesterday, hailed President Goodluck Jonathan for the impetus given to the Nigerian military that facilitated the recovery of some towns that had fallen under the control of the insurgent group, Boko Haram, particularly in Borno State. This was prompted by a motion of urgent national importance sponsored by Rep Muhammad Tahir Monguno, APC, Borno. The House also praised the military for its bravery and steadfastness, noting that in previous months, notably in Borno, Boko Haram had nearly over-run the state, but today the tide is turning against the insurgents as a result of the gallantry of the soldiers. Monguno said prior to the new offensive, the insurgents had subdued some communities, hoisted their flags in the local government headquarters and subjected the people to despicable norms.

VANGU ARD, WEDNESD A Y, FEBRU ARY 25, 2015—13 ANGUARD, WEDNESDA FEBRUARY

C M Y K

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C M Y K

V ANGU ARD, WEDNESD AY, FEBRU ARY 25, 2015 VANGU ANGUARD, WEDNESDA FEBRUARY

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2015 — 15

President Jonathan missed the point on the missing N30trn, by Chukwuma Charles Soludo

Y attention has been drawn this morning to an article entitled: “Jonathan Replies Soludo over “missing N30 trillion” claim”— extracting from Mr. President’s interview as published by Thisday newspaper. ThisDay quoted Mr. President as saying that “Soludo said that under Ngozi’s watch they stole N30 trillion” but that since the sum of the federal budget over the last four years was less than N30 trillion, such an amount could not have been “stolen”. According to the President, “it is all political”. I had earlier stated that I would not make further comments on the issues until probably after the elections but since Mr. President has decided to join the fray, I am constrained to make a further brief clarification. For me, President Jonathan is a gentleman and a friend but I have a fundamental disagreement on his management of the economy. On the issues at stake, I believe that the pressures of office and the hectic electioneering campaigns have not allowed him time to read my articles or that his staff have not explained the contents to him hence he totally missed the point in his comments. For the avoidance of doubt, let me clarify as follows: 1. In my article entitled “Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and the Missing Trillions”, I presented some rough calculations covering: oil theft, money that ought to accrue to stock of foreign reserves, unbudgeted oil subsidy payments, customs duty waivers,

leakages through the selffinancing government parastatals, unremitted sums by NNPC, etc. I concluded that section of my article by noting that: “I have a long list but let me wait for now. I do not want to talk about other ‘black pots’ that impinge on national security. My estimate, Madam, is that probably more than N30 trillion has either been stolen or lost or unaccounted for or simply mismanaged under your watchful eyes in the past four years”. 2. It is evident that the monies I referred to are “off-budget”. These are monies that did not make it to the budget. I find it funny that the Government deliberately avoided the issues raised above but instead has sought to divert attention by focusing on the “federal budget”. Let me state for the record that I believe that the amount of resources that are either stolen from the economy or out-rightly mismanaged by government far exceeds the federal budget per annum. Ours is about a N100 trillion economy, and I will be shocked if the government pretends that it does not know that currently about 10% of the GDP falls into a ‘black hole’ on annual basis. We have not added figures based on counterfactual analysis such as the cost to the aggregate economy of bad or misguided economic policy. For example, in today’s Thisday newspaper, a headline news reports that “Aliko Dangote,

Africa’s Richest Man, Loses $7.8 Billion as Naira, Stocks Plunge” while reporting that “In dollar terms, the devaluation has knocked more than $40 billion off the value of Nigeria’s economy”. Of course, most people predicted that oil prices would soon fall but we were caught unprepared, and today, the parallel market exchange rate is N225 to the dollar. Thus, the kind of analysis in today’s Thisday is just one little example of the kind of collateral damages–‘costs’ or ‘losses’– that mismanagement foists on the system. To repeat, my article did not focus on the federal budget: the mismanagement of the consumption budget and its unprecedented debt accumulation (with low value-for-money expenditures) are entirely different matters. 3. What I found particularly disconcerting as a Nigerian from the comments I read is the fixation to validation from the World Bank.

Be assured that after the elections, we will be back with even more questions! According to Mr. President, “we asked the Minister how her colleagues at the World Bank saw the accusation”. I shook my head in disbelief. It is instructive that no one asked what Nigerians thought or ‘how Nigerians saw it’ but rather what was important to government was the impression of the World Bank. If this is the mind-set of our leaders, then ordinary citizens have real cause to worry. Well, I have read several editorial comments of Nigerian media and they do not agree with the ‘impression’ of the World Bank officials. I read

.Soludo a similar comment by a high government official stating that World Bank officials and CNN had told them that government was doing well and therefore who else could question them. But neither the World Bank nor CNN conducts comprehensive independent surveys on the economy— they comment based on the data they are given— and their subjective “opinions” cannot substitute for hard facts. The World Bank is not a statistical agency. I can provide a long list of countries that World Bank reports praised as ‘star performers’ and they slumped into deep crisis almost immediately after. Check out the World Bank and IMF reports on the US and other countries’ economies shortly before the unprecedented global financial and economic crisis in fifty years (the Great Recession of 2008/09). Actually for many countries once they start getting such ‘praises’, then perceptive officials begin to worry. Nigeria is probably the only country where its government officials quote the World Bank while ignoring data from its own statistical agency! A serious concern is that while government relies on external validation (opinion) as ‘proof’ of its performance, it is selective in the process—accepting the positive ones and disparaging the negative ones. Our recent exchanges illustrate the point. In my first article (26th January): “Buhari Vs Jonathan: Beyond the Elections”, I argued that “the economy seems to be on auto pilot, with confusion as to who is in charge, and government largely as a constraint. There are no big ideas, and it is difficult to see where economic policy is headed to. My thesis is that the Nigerian economy, if properly managed, should have been growing at an annual rate of about 12% given the oil boom, poverty and unemployment should have fallen dramatically over the last five years”. No one has credibly challenged the above, except what the Financial Times of London described as a “furious response by the Minister”. But, the influential E c o n o m i s t

Magazine of London and New York Times agreed with us. According to the Economist editorial (7th February, 2015): “… as Africa’s biggest economy stages its most important election since the restoration of civilian rule in 1999, and perhaps since the civil war four decades ago, Nigerians must pick between the incumbent, Goodluck Jonathan, who has failed, and the opposition leader, Muhammadu Buhari….The single bright spot of his rule has been Nigeria’s economy, one of the world’s fastest-growing. Yet that is largely despite the government rather than because of it, and falling oil prices will temper the boom. The prosperity has not been broadly shared: under Mr Jonathan poverty has increased. Nigerians typically die eight years younger than their poorer neighbours in nearby Ghana”.

Weighty statements I gave the Government an “F” grade on economic management, and the Economist described its performance as “utter failure”. The Economist also basically agreed with me that the re-basing of the economy and its observed ‘growth’ have nothing to do with government policy. Again, government has not credibly challenged the above or is the Economist’s view also ‘all political ’? Government simply waved it off. My point is that if Government has to rely on the “impressions” of external bodies, then it should be consistent and comprehensive. 4. In conclusion, let me re-state that I firmly stand by my earlier statements. These are weighty statements which I weighed carefully before issuing. I appreciate that this is an election time and so attempts would be made to trivialize, or either play politics with, or divert attention from, them. In a serious society, we should have had a good debate on these matters as they could provide some of the building blocks in trying to pick the pieces after the elections. Part of our citizen duty in a democracy is to raise such issues and demand for answers. In the meantime, I grant that our leaders are busy with campaigns but these issues won’t go away until we have a transparent resolution. Be assured that after the elections, we will be back with even more questions!

16 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2015

OBSEQUIES FOR BAYELSA FEMALE POLITICIANS AT YENAGOA

President Goodluck Jonathan (2nd left); his wife, Dame Patience (left); Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State(2nd right) and his wife, Rachael, during a special funeral service at the Gabriel Okara Cultural Centre, Yenagoa, in honour of the Bayelsa female politicians, who died in the ill-fated auto crash on the Elele/ Ahoada section of the East West Road on the 14th of February, 2015.

Some relations of the departed women.

Some women that came to pay their last respects.

Sympatisers at the service. C M Y K

CCWG'S INTERACTIVE SESSION WITH THE ASPIRANTS OF THE REGISTERED POLITICAL PARTIES Photos: Kehinde Gbadamosi

From Left; Erelu [Dr] Abiola Dosumu, President, Coaltion of Concerned Women for Good Governorship (CCWGG); Prof Pat Utomi, Guest of Honour, Mr Oluseyi Soremekun, National Information Officer and Officer-in-Charge, United Nations Information Centre, UNIC; and Mr Precious Ohaegbulam, Media Analyst, representing Senator Ashafa, during the 2nd Interactive session with the Aspirants of the Registered Political Parties organised by CCWGG at Nigerian Institiute international Affairs, NIIA, Kofo Abayomi St, Victoria Island, Lagos.

From left; Mr Jimi Agbaje, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP governorship candidate; Mr Oluseyi Soremekun, National Information Officer and Officerin-Charge, United Nations Information Centre, UNIC, and Mr Precious Ohaegbulam, Media Analyst,repsenting Senator Ashafa.

From left; Chief Dr Katia Ekesi, MD, Better Living Ltd; Mrs F. Omotehinwa, and Mrs Theresa Ohmagbulem, founder, Tescam Women Support Initiative Foundation.

From Left; Mrs Pauline Adegbe; Chief Victor Adeniji, Lagos State governorship candidate of KOWA Party; Prof Ibrahim Gbajabiamila, Vice Chancellor, Crescent University /Guest Speaker

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2015 — 17

ICTIONARIES commonly define delusion as “beliefs or impressions that are firmly maintained despite being contradicted by what is generally accepted as reality or rational argument, typically a symptom of mental disorder”. Now, let me tell you what else is said about delusion. In the words of former US President, Jimmy Carter: “there’s always an element of self delusion among people who believe they ought to be President. There’s an underestimation of your opponent and an overestimation of your own abilities. This is compatible with being rich and powerful, the idea that we were blessed by God because we deserve to be blessed”. As Nigerians, we commonly see what we want to see and generally don’t ask questions and as a society we have all become masters in the art of self-deception, so rather than present our best selves to the world, we throw out our worst or at most those with frankly dodgy pasts and reputations, or we pick what seems like the obvious choice for a job, because of the image they have built which often contradicts reality. But time for delusion is soon to be over and the glasshouses will come crashing down.

Dwindling oil revenue The Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala recently acknowledged the need by the Federal Government to further the war on corruption in order to face up to dwindling oil revenue and this statement was met with a feeling of “too little too late” from many quarters of society. Indeed, it seems members of the Jonathan administration continue to misread popular feelings and their analysis. Statistical evidence tells us Nigeria is now the largest economy in Africa and this has long been used as one of the PDP’s key campaign themes to demonstrate the President’s achievements. However, what PDP chieftains seem to fail to realise is that what Nigerians contest is not the fact in itself but rather it’s lack of implications for their day to day lives. Nigeria being the largest economy in Africa has not impacted the rising cost of food or housing, nor has it enabled young Nigerians to find more jobs (if anything, unemployment is at a historic high), so the average Nigerian begs to differ when PDP presents a somewhat rosy picture when describing Nigerians’ fortunes. In fact, what some feel are achievements, others would say is merely window-dressing and paltry accomplishments. No matter how many classrooms or almajiri schools government claims to build, the state of the individuals within C M Y K

tprincewill@yahoo.co.uk

Nigeria, delusions of grandeur

*Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala those classrooms remains the same as no real reforms to the educational system have been conducted in perhaps the past decade if not longer. What is the actual content of what goes on

I believe the national religion that can assuage our differences and irrevocably bind us all together as Nigerians, is the idea of opportunity, irrespective of social status, ethnicity and religion

in the average classroom in Nigeria today? Our students are in no way prepared to be globally competitive, talk less of becoming informed citizens who make the right choices later on. So, both indigenous and

foreign employers of labour continue to deem our graduates unemployable despite the many dubious first class degree holders, MSc and PhDs our system churns out every year. The main issue with Nigeria you see, is delusion or the unwillingness to deal with the root causes of issues rather than cosmetic attempts at hiding the truth, which very often shows the inefficiency and inadequacy of our public officers. Most Nigerian politicians know nothing of public policy and do not bother to learn even when they get lofty portfolios and responsibilities, unlike their counterparts abroad who often become so knowledgeable that they end up teaching university courses on the subject, based on their experience in government. Another issue is with the recruitment of those who do claim to have public policy experience: very often we are

Option A4

N Nigeria, we have b e c o m e accustomed to putting the cart before the horse, for our own selfish reasons. In a country without constant power, the cashless society, rather than operating towards increasing users’ convenience, often acts as a hindrance when POS’ don’t work and ATM machines are down due to « system failures ». To use a phrase coined by the Economist, Nigeria is often left with nothing but « miserable choices »,

caught it between the devil and the deep blue sea. It is therefore no surprise that we continue to refuse the usage of Option A4 although so far, it has proven to be the best workable system, free from external manipulation. It’s the difference between a broom and a hoover: some would rather say technology, but let’s start from the basics I say and build from the ground up.

Yoruba traditional leader leaderss

WILL never be tired of saying this because it is the truth and simply reveals the level of chaos and rot in our society and politics: the sort of things that are openly discussed in Nigeria would land public officials in any other clime in serious trouble. There was talk over the weekend of a deal between Yoruba Obas and the Jonathan administration so “sons and daughters” of Yorubaland (read the elite) can get key

positions in Jonathan’s cabinet. This is the equivalent of the sort of “cash for positions” scandals, which in the United States or the United Kingdom people go to jail for or at least face severe inquiry if they are found trading their influence to unduly secure lucrative positions or contracts for themselves or their proxies. Nigerians ask the question: what about the common man? How does he benefit from elites bargaining and selling positions to one another? Things must and will change.

INEC's card reader for 2015 elections.

blinded by brand names and “hype” but if one looks closely, hype in Nigeria is rarely based on intrinsic worth. The reality of one’s relevance, importance and competence can hardly be deduced in Nigeria by the number of times one appears in the media, or by the honorary, sometimes unmerited, titles one is given and these are all social issues to be tackled. I will not go into the commercialization of the Nigerian media today, as this issue probably deserves its own separate article. But definitely, it has become clear that all the PhDs, honours and would-be international accolades in the world cannot replace honesty, steadfastness and simply put, the will to do the right thing. Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala went on to say: “the cause of the disease is because we don’t have in place the institutions, the systems and the processes to block and prevent it (corruption) in the first place. That’s the only difference between us and the people abroad.” Whose job is it to put these institutions in place? One cannot keep blaming those who came before us. When one is a leader, the buck stops at one’s desk. When a CEO inherits a bad situation he must fix it or resign from the board so that more able people can operate.

Popular culture Truly, Nigerians are fed up of excuses and would like to see real change. It’s not for nothing that Gandhi said we are the change we seek. Indeed, if not us then who? I’ll end with a note on popular culture. The 87th Oscar’s held late last night and like many across the globe, I was struck by the performance of the soundtrack from the movie Selma, called Glory. “One day, when glory comes, it will be ours”, the song said. I truly believe that the 2015 elections are Nigeria’s moment of glory, an unparalleled opportunity to rise up to our challenges and defeat them or to reward more of the same. The song went on to say “freedom is our religion”. I believe the national religion that can assuage our differences and irrevocably bind us all together as Nigerians, is the idea of opportunity, irrespective of social status, ethnicity and religion. So, who will lead us to freedom and stand in the hall of fame? Vote wisely.

Tabia Princewill is a strategic communications consultant and public policy analyst. She is also the co-host and executive producer of a talk show, WALK THE TALK which airs on Channels TV.

18 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2015 NIGERIANS and their democracy are unique. If elsewhere people delight in the capacities of their government to deepen their liberties, broaden opportunities, our democracy is delivered as structures, visible and tangible. We call them dividends of democracy. The lure of dividends, a throw back to the days the economy supported companies making returns to shareholders, has created an ar ray of expectations. People expect democracy to translate to instant wellbeing. Politicians egg them on in their desires for a better life, which politicians paint in rosy strokes, during electioneering campaigns, but often do not deliver. Where people expect employment, health services, rural development, education, governments point to peace and unity (currently eluding many parts) as dividends of democracy. More dividends of democracy manifest in renovated schools, repainted hospitals, more vehicles for the judiciary and security agencies. These are celebrated as if their impacts would in a wave wipe out the deep-seated issues distracting the country. One of them is the tendency to deny the people their rights to choose, especially their leaders.

Again, Dividends Of Democracy Choice as a foundation of democracy is reflected in the importance and regularity of elections. The decisions about leaders must be made in fairer setting and in ways that produce leaders whose acceptability derives from the processes. Equating physical developments with dividends of democracy could result in disregarding the more important aspects of democracy and by extension accepting any form of rule, as long as it builds better roads and bridges. Democracy is deeper. Civil rule and the liberties it has brought since 1999 are reminders of the unexplored possibilities of democratic governance. Democracy awards us vast liberties which

our Constitution enunciates. We must expand our peoples’ rights to life, to ownership of property, to participation in the economy and most importantly, their participation in politics. The rights to security of lives and property are facing challenges; they should be tackled more decisively. Rights have prospered or withered in various measures in the past 16 years. Nigerians like to be heard, they have been talking. Is anyone listening? More people are agitating for rights to participate in their governments. Others want re-structuring, to award the States and local governments more powers. Would Nigerians be free to live wherever they wish? Democracy should induce more economic competition among Nigeria’s federating units and improve lives. Who is willing to address these beyond speeches? Democracy is about the people. The consistent exclusion of the people in decisions about them is undemocratic. It is at the centre of agitations that question the relevance of democracy and minimise people’s stake in Nigeria. Our governments cannot be democratic, if they are not about the people or for the people.

OPINION By Anthony Okonkwo

“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way and shows the way”.- John C. Maxwell ELTA STATE has been described as a mini-Nigeria. This assertion stems from the fact that she is endowed with five major ethnic groups with divergent nationalities but similar culture and traditions. The Aniomas are mostly Ibospeaking with variegated idiolects; Ijaws are entirely graced in the water land; Isokos and the Itsekiris are domiciled in the south while the Ijaws and the Urhobos are embedded in the central. It is such a union of complementary love and affection that has been a unifying factor for a state created in 1991 from the old Bendel State. The socio-political climate since the inception of the state has tended to hone its leadership between the central and southern groups; albeit not by any prearrangement or organised influence from anyone within or outside the state. The state capital has been situated in Asaba, in the Anioma area, and that initially was a fear factor of marginalisation and neglect which has given way to respect and appreciation of the good nature and friendliness of the Ibo-speaking kith and kin. The call for equitable distribution of leadership capacities among the various ethnic groups got the ears and hearts of majority of all concerned. This led to the emergence of Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa, physician, senator and distinguished technocrat who had served as

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Okowa's 'SMART'agenda and a sustainable Delta? Commissioner and subsequently, Secretary to the State Government under the outgoing Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan. In those years, Okowa learnt the ropes of statesmanship, building friendships across the nooks and crannies of Delta; served meritoriously with undaunted humility and candor. The soft-spoken administrator with distinctive managerial skills has touched the lives of several communities whom he has affected without fear or favour, but with the sagacity of his God-given humane spirit that triggers the uncommon affection that follows his reception in the aftermath of the gubernatorial primaries. Okowa exhibits tenacity of purpose, diligence and leadership skills. Delta State, with a population of about five million people living in 1,509 communities and divergent in class, culture and creed is the

Okowa stands tall amongst his fellow contenders; this is the true moment when effective decision becomes the point of departure from indolence to excellence

gateway to the Niger Delta region. It, therefore, craves for leadership that understands the basic needs of a people who are amongst the golden goose that feeds the Nigerian nation but are spuriously denied a better future by the attitude of a federal system that refuses to accept the derivation principle. Delta State yearns for a discerning and character-dependent leadership that derives from the 11 schools of leadership: understanding the needs of the people and working out solutions; receiving and dissemination of accurate and practical information, knowledge and understanding of the resources available to the people, leadership by example, measures to control the people affectionately, counseling of the people, efficient representation of the people, planning of the future of the people, critical evaluation of the response of the people, sharing of leadership with the people and ultimately, manager of variant skills of the people. Okowa , more than all the other candidates in the race for the Unity House in Asaba demonstrates a versatile and thorough knowledge of intra and inter-personal understanding and application of human relationships , and the true meaning of the social contract in governance. His SMART agenda focuses on wealth creation through capacity building for all, industrialisation through manufacturing and agriculture. Establishment of a sound and modern healthcare structure that

improves on traditional health systems as well as introduction of modern wellequipped and trained personnel who can stand out in today’s comparative health advantage. He was born and raised in the village and appreciates that the vast arable land in Delta can make us the food basket of our nation and thus create employment. He is firmly committed to providing quality education with unflagging dexterity. The essence of education is to inculcate moral and social upbringing in order to make cultured members of the society. Okowa is aware that the basic foundation of education is the first six years of school where distinctive memory is sifted from talent and pupils develop various skills. As kids in the 1970s, we could write letters and speak “Brighter Grammar”; those days will return. Furthermore, in realisation of the inadequate provision of placement for students of Delta State origin in tertiary institutions for skilled development, he has set up a think-tank that is working out modalities to assuage this inimitable problem. Undoubtedly today, Okowa stands tall amongst his fellow contenders as primus interperes. This is the true moment when effective decision becomes the point of departure from indolence to excellence. Let our thumps speak in our favour. •Mr. Okonkwo, a public affairs commentator, wrote from Asaba, Delta State.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2015—19 —19

Joseph Mbu: An officer on rampage? J

OSEPH MBU is supposedly a trained police officer and goes around with the rank of an Assistant Inspector General, but he behaves like his high office demands. How this man has managed to make it through the police force all these many years without evidence of ever being made to account for any act of professional misconduct is a testimony to how people can rise to positions of authority or the very top of their profession in Nigeria without the kind of training required of such position. That a senior public officer, indeed a police officer of Mbu’s rank, could make the type of utterance attributed to him recently on violence in the 2015 election and for which the police hierarchy was forced to embark on damage control confirms yet again the fact that the rise or fall of public officers depend on who and not what they know. Joseph Mbu has shown that he is in the good books of powerful godfathers such that even his own boss, Suleiman Abah, had to find a way round his antics rather

than handing him an open reprimand (for the sake of the public who have to endure his unbecoming behaviour) for his reckless utterances and action. Joseph Mbu, only recently transferred to Lagos from Abuja where he was beginning to run amok as he did in Rivers State, made the utterly unprofessional comment to the effect that for every one police personnel killed during the forthcoming elections, he would kill twenty of those responsible for that one death. In his words, ‘If one of my men is killed, I shall kill 20 of them….’ By ‘them’ Mbu means Nigerians, not condemned criminals or any of the insurgents that kill Nigerians at random for no greater offence than that they are Nigerians. That Mbu advised his so-called men not to shoot first in his anticipated encounter between them and others is not enough consolation to Nigerians that are naturally alarmed by his line of thought. What is of concern to Nigerians is why a public servant employed to serve the

citizens would threaten to use the weapons bought with their (taxpayers’) money to kill them. The people had not trained the likes of Mbu and handed them arms bought with their money only to have their lives snuffed out by the same police officers they train and pay to protect them. Mbu made his open call to violence about a fortnight ago but since then nobody appears to have called him to order or made him offer apologies for his comments. What the IG, Suleiman Abah, seems to have done is speak through Emmanuel Ojukwu, the Police spokesperson, that officers of the Force have been advised to apply caution in their use of firearms. This was an obvious refutation of Mbu’s remarks. Although it is well that the IG should speak in this

Nobody can or should justify the killing of a police officer, especially in the line of duty. In spite of all the shortcomings associated with the Police Force Nigerians are better off protected by the police

Public warning: AIG Mbu is armed and dangerous! A SSISTANT Inspector-General of Police Mbu Joseph Mbu is armed and dangerous! It is necessary to serve this warning to the people of Lagos and Ogun States over whose security of lives and property Mbu has been given immediate charge. Mbu did not wait to set down his heavy luggage trucked from PortHarcourt to Lagos via Abuja before he loudly announced how he proposes to maintain law and order on his new turf. If in the course of duty, said Mbu, any one kills a policeman, he would see to it that 20 citizens are killed in vengeance. For the Mosaic code of “An eye for an eye, a life for a life," Mbu says “Twenty (police) lives for a life!” In fact, not twenty but one hundred, as he would go on to elaborate. In a rare moment of lucidity, Mbu realised that what he was proposing to officers of the Ogun State command two weeks ago is a truly bloody and barbaric idea of justice. So he dressed it all up in the garb of discipline. “If you love this job,” he said, “the number one commandment . . . is discipline. That’s why I said don’t touch my policeman [sic]. If you shoot my policeman [sic], I will shoot 20 of you, I will shoot a hundred of you.” Ladies and gentlemen, AIG Mbu issued that command to a Force in which the “accidental discharge” murder of innocent citizens for the most trivial of reasons—refusal of a mini-bus or commercial tricycle (keke) driver to part with N50 at a checkpoint, for instance—is rampant and a major blight on its reputation. Mbu, by his own admission, is driven by vaulting ambition. He wants to be Nigeria’s cop-in-chief and if he has to

swim to his dream in the blood of citizens convicted in his court of killing policemen—as if that were the chief cause of homicide in Nigeria—so be it. He is well on his way to his goal, the quickest road to the top in our land is paved by impunity. Notice how quick President Goodluck Jonathan was to nominate Alhaji Musiliu Obanikoro for a new ministerial appointment despite being caught on tape presiding over the rigging of the Ekiti governorship election of June last year while he was the junior minister for defence! Moreover, Mbu is a mere two rungs from his ambition. Inspired by his

It remains to be seen whether the police is capable of recognising an embarrassment and a liability and doing something reassuring about it

manner, it is even probable that he has cautioned Mbu privately, but nothing stops Mbu apologising to Nigerians for threatening to kill them in the manner he did. He is a public officer who made his remarks publicly. He should be made to make his apologies publicly. A private reprimand would not be enough in this instance. Mbu ought to be made to make his apologies in a manner that would show he is truly contrite. Although an employee of the Nigerian Police, bound by the police code of conduct, Mbu seems to operate by his own code. As a police man in an area of the country dominated by the opposition, it is easy to see Mbu’s comment against those he vowed to kill as a warning to politicians and others in these parts that he has the job of an enforcer on his hand. He has turned himself into an enforcer for the Peoplezs Democratic Party, PDP. Yes, Mbu sees his job as that of doing whatever he thinks would advance the cause of the PDP. He had enough training for his present role while serving as police commissioner in Rivers State. He was openly partisan and took sides with the party in its turf war with Rotimi Amaechi whose authority as governor of the state was challenged by Mbu. After misbehaving in PortHarcourt and was kept on to continue his harassment of the state governor after many thought he should have been moved elsewhere if not sacked, he was transferred to Abuja when he had completed the job of flogging the president’s ‘enemies’ into line, to ‘shake up’ the president’s perceived

promotion f r o m Commissioner of Police to AIG following his w e l l - r u n errands in Rivers State, Mbu’s audacity is now sky-high. He looks starryeyed at his epaulettes every minute dreaming of the day he would be decorated with the rank of Inspector-General. His day-dreaming renders him dizzy and nearly incoherent. “We are in a very critical period,” Mbu said to his men. “A period that this [sic] all our ranks are now shaky, either you are promoted or you retain it [sic] or you are demoted or you are dismissed. So, it’s left for you to choose which one is better for you. For me, I want to maintain my rank and I want my rank to be increased [sic]. I want to go up and be at the top.” As always, Mbu disguises rank ambition with the after-thought of some nobler value—hard work in this instance. “I don’t know about you,” he continued, but “ you have to work hard.” I detect in Mbu something more troubling than naked ambition. “Anybody who fires you [sic], fire him back in self-defence,” said Mbu. With the crafty rider, “but don’t fire first,” though with nothing about the level of actual or perceived danger to the officer to justify returning fire. Might the attacker be disarmed, the danger avoided, without shooting to kill? The question does not arise. To, Mbu self-defence and knee-jerk shooting are the same thing as “coming to you for peace,” same as “not coming to you to come [sic] and kill you.” One begins to wonder if Mbu is mentally fit for any public office, never mind one that requires above all other things a calm and rational

opponents in the capital city. For his unprofessional ways, Mbu was rewarded with a promotion and was at a time touted as a possible IG before his latest transfer. Before and since he took on the job of the president’s enforcer, nothing important was or has been known of Mbu. Other than harassing the perceived enemies of the president, his wife and the PDP, Mbu has not in any way distinguished himself. He has become more political than the most partisan office seeker. He talks without any sign that he had thought deeply before making his comments. His primary purpose seems to do the bidding of the president and his wife and by extension the bidding of the ruling party. And he is surely doing this to the satisfaction of his patrons or he would not be promoted and allowed to go on with his bolekaja ways. But he must be reminded of the limits of his excesses, and inviting violence against Nigerians cannot be acceptable. Nobody can or should justify the killing of a police officer, especially in the line of duty. In spite of all the shortcomings associated with the Police Force Nigerians are better off protected by the police. But even without Mbu’s call to arms, many are the homes made sorrowful for life by the unprovoked and trigger-happy activities of our police personnel. To make an open call for police officers to kill under whatever guise is therefore criminal and Mbu ought to or should be compelled to apologise or in the alternative resign.

mind in a sound body. Should Mbu still be wearing the uniform of the police and allowed to carry a gun? In a country not governed by impunity, he wouldn’t. Alas, we are constrained to watch as Mbu climbs the ladder of irresponsibility to the summit of his career. Or maybe not, depending on the outcome of the presidential election next month. I doubt that Inspector-General Suleiman Abba is embarrassed by Mbu; after all, his predecessor Mohammed Abubakar wasn’t. In any case, it was under Abba as acting IG that Mbu was elevated. Besides, Abba proved himself a faithful believer in the doctrine of impunity by invading the National Assembly in a selective restriction of opposition legislators from access to their offices, even going as far as refusing to acknowledge the Speaker of the House of Representatives (“one Aminu Tambuwal”). That, needless to say, was a simple re-enactment of what Mbu, as commissioner of police, did at the Rivers State House of Assembly. It remains to be seen whether the police is capable of recognising an embarrassment and a liability and doing something reassuring about it. Until then, take warning all ye residents of Lagos and Ogun State: an armed and dangerous AIG is on the loose in your neighbourhood!

20 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2015

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Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2015

FG moves to bridge $2.4tn infrastructure funding gap By Omoh Gabriel

he Federal Government will soon begin the implementation of a strategic investment master plan to bridge the country’s huge infrastructural funding gap estimated at about $2.4trillion within the next 30 years. The Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission, Mrs. Saratu Umar, disclosed this during a media roundtable organised by the agency as part of its ongoing stakeholders’ sensitisation programme, in Lagos on Tuesday. She noted that infrastructure funding was a priority under the proposed Nigerian Investment Promotion Master Plan being developed by the Commission to drive investments into critical sectors of the Nigerian economy, adding that the agency had already commenced stakeholders’ collaboration aimed at bridging the funding gap. She said, “Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is widely acknowledged worldwide as the most useful and cheapest source of development

finance because it creates employment, ensures transfer of technology, conserves foreign reserves, ensures availability of quality goods and services among others. For this reason, the competition for FDI has been very stiff, particularly in

recent years due to globalisation brought about by technology. ”One of the strategies adopted by most countries to attract FDI is the establishment of Investment Promotion Agencies (IPAs), with over 170 IPAs world wide

competing to attract often limited FDI to their various countries. Nigeria needs over $2.8tn infrastructure funding over the next 30 years, whereas the estimated budgetary provision will be about $45bn. This leaves a huge shortfall of about $2.4tn.”

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She added, “In terms of FDI, Nigeria receives an average of $7.5bn yearly. If this is constant over the next 30 years, we would have only brought in $223bn in FDI. If we compare this to the infrastructure investment requirement, we still have a huge gap. ”Therefore, a massive FDI inflow is required to service the implementation of the various strategic master plans across critical sectors of the Nigerian economy. The implementation of the NIPC’s Investment Promotion Master Plan is being designed to address the sector-specific funding gaps.”

From left: Chief Dipo Anisulowo, Chief of Staff to the Ekiti State Governor (left). receiving the key of a new Toyota Hilux on behalf of the state governor, from Directorate Head, Services, Enterprise Bank Limited, Mr. Tobe Nnadozie at the Government House, Ekiti. With them are the bank’s Directorate Head, South-West & Retail, Mrs. Ori Ogba; Branch Manager, Fajuyi Branch in Ado Ekiti, Mr. Idowu Ogunlade and Regional Head in the South-West, Mrs. Stella Bolarinwa.

Oil rises to $60 after Libya’s largest field shuts

rent crude oil rose more than $1 to around $60 a barrel on Tuesday after Libya’s largest oilfield stopped production. The Sarir oilfield in Libya shut because of a power cut, in a further blow to exports from the OPEC member. Brent for April was up $1.10 at $60.00 a barrel, recovering from an earlier low of $58.10. U.S. crude was up 60 cents at $50.05. Traders and analysts said that while lower output from Libya was providing some support, fast-rising oil stocks in the United States still pointed to a market that was heavily over-supplied. The market traders awaited U.S. oil inventory data due Wednesday to see whether it would show another large increase. “The fundamental backdrop is still bearish,” said Carsten Fritsch, senior oil and

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commodities analyst at Commerzbank in Frankfurt, adding there was a “huge oversupply in the market”. A Reuters survey forecast that figures from the American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday, and the U.S. government’s Energy Information Administration on today, would show U.S. crude stocks rose by 4 million barrels to a record last week. “We expect another strong increase in U.S. crude inventories to be reported,” Fritsch said. Huge increases in domestic oil production have left the U.S. oil market with a fuel glut, exacerbated by a refinery strike that

Traders and analysts said that while lower output from Libya was providing some support, fastrising oil stocks in the United States still pointed to a market that was heavily over-supplied

has squeezed demand for crude. The United States is in the fourth week of its largest refinery strike for 35 years, affecting 12 plants accounting for a fifth of national production capacity. Talks to end the strike are not expected to resume this week. “Spreads for crude oil are becoming severely altered by the refinery strikes,” analysts at Singapore brokerage Phillip Futures said in a note to clients, adding that the strike had reduced demand for U.S. crude and helped widen its discount below Brent, the North Sea benchmark. The spread between Brent and U.S. crude stood at $9.95 a barrel, after hitting $10.27 on Monday, its widest since March 2014. A report in the Financial Times on Monday quoted Nigeria’s oil minister as saying the country would call an OPEC extraordinary meeting if prices dropped further, offering some support to oil prices. But delegates to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries told Reuters on Tuesday that the producer group had no plans to meet before June.

$144.85

0.40

$3,040.00

$14.27

-14.00

-0.04

$59.47 $49.62 CURRENCY

BUYING

DOLLAR POUNDS EURO FRANC YEN CFA WAUA RENMINBI RIYAL KRONA SDR

198 304.2468 224.1558 207.8958 1.6669 0.3255 280.2334 31. 650 52. 7775 30.0862 280.2294

0.57 0.17

CENTRAL 198.5 305.0151 224.7119 208.4208 1.6712 0.3355 280.941 31.7311 52.9108 30.1621 280. 9371

199 305.7834 225.879 208.9458 1.6754 0.3455 281.6487 31. 8115 53. 044 30. 2381 281.6447

CBN Exchange Rate as at 24/2/15

22 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2015

Life insurance helps make sure that the people you care about will be provided for financially, even if you’re not there to care for them yourself.

Amended pension act will accommodate previous loopholes – PenCom THE Pension Reform Act, 2004 was amended to become Pension Reform Act, 2014 so as to accommodate lessons learnt, identified loopholes and areas for improvement over the last ten years since the Contributory Pension Scheme, CPS, was instituted. According to the National Pension Commission, PenCom, there was need to criminalise fraudulent diversion and conversion of retirement savings of workers and retirees and bring the pension reform law in tune with current developments, which necessitated a change in the strategy with a view to exploring new investment windows for pension funds among other things. PenCom noted that the amendments were to take care of shortfalls in coverage, address supervisory and enforcement challenges, correct anomalies in the taxation of pension assets and to enable deployment of the pension fund to develop infrastructure. PenCom noted that the CPS had generated a pool of long term investible funds that is attractive to fund managers, investment advisers and capital market operators who want to access part of the fund for different purposes. According to PenCom, the Pension Reform Act, 2004 ushered in a uniformed Contributory Pension Scheme for workers in both the private and public sectors in Nigeria. The law, whose implementation started June, 2004 reformed the crisis-ridden unfunded and under-funded defined benefit pension schemes in the country. Before then, the huge and increasing pension liabilities in the public sector needed to be addressed while most workers in the private sector were not covered by any form of retirement benefit scheme. The inefficient administration of pension schemes and demographic shifts made defined benefit scheme unsustainable. Under the new Contributory Pension Scheme, both employers and employees were mandated to contribute certain percentage of an employee’s total emoluments into a Retirement Savings Account (RSA) opened by the worker with a Pension Fund Administrator (PFA). The scheme, which is complemented by group life insurance to the tune of 300 per cent of the individual worker ’s emolument, also allows withdrawals under strict conditions. The accumulated pension assets in custody of Pension Fund Custodians (PFCs) are being privately managed by PFAs while PenCom regulates and supervises pension operators. “Putting the challenges, gains, implementation drive and sustainability of the Contributory Pension Scheme into perspective; it is evident that breakthroughs have been recorded in the last ten years. The number of contributors has increased, more workers in the private and informal sectors are covered and the scheme has continued to impact positively on the Nigerian economy,” PenCom noted. Recall that the over N4 trillion accumulated pension fund has never been domiciled in PenCom. The legal and institutional frameworks of the Contributory Pension Scheme designates PenCom only as a regulatory and supervisor of the pension industry in Nigeria. Pension assets are therefore under the management and custody of PFAs and PFCs respectively.

INSURAN

If someone will suffer when you die, you need life insurance Stories by Rosemary Onuoha

F someone will suffer financially when you die, chances are you need life insurance. Life insurance provides cash to your family after your death. This cash replaces your income and can help your family meet many important financial needs like funeral costs, daily living expenses and college funding. To figure out if you need life insurance, you need to think through the worst-case scenario. If you die tomorrow, how would your loved ones fare financially? Would they have the money to pay for your final expenses (e.g., funeral costs, medical bills, taxes, debts, lawyers’ fees, etc.)? Would they be able to meet ongoing living expenses like the rent or mortgage, food, clothing, transportation costs, healthcare, etc? What about long-range financial goals? Without your contribution to the household, would your surviving spouse be able to save enough money to put the kids through college or retire comfortably? The truth is, it’s always a struggle when you lose someone you love. But your emotional struggles don’t need to be compounded by

financial difficulties. Life insurance helps make sure that the people you care about will be provided for financially, even if you’re not there to care for them yourself. Life insurance becomes increasingly important when you get married or have children. Typically, a death is not only emotionally difficult, but the loss of a significant source of income can leave your loved ones facing an additional financial burden. Life insurance is often just an afterthought after more rewarding financial obligations are taken care of, but it is one of the most important. If you don’t have enough life insurance, you could put your family in a difficult situation upon your death, but having too much could mean you are throwing money out of the window. So, how much life insurance do you need? When you need life insurance If you don’t have a spouse or any dependents, you may not need much, if any life insurance at all. In this situation, when you pass on, you probably aren’t leaving anyone behind that relies on your income. Even so, you may still want some very basic coverage to ease the family’s

pain by covering final funeral expenses. Life insurance should be purchased if you are considering starting a family. Your rates will be cheaper now than when you get older and your future children will be depending on your income. If you have a family that depends on you, you need life insurance now. This does not include only the spouse or partner working outside the home. Life insurance also needs to be considered for the person working in the home. The costs of replacing someone to do domestic chores, home budgeting and childcare can cause significant financial problems for the surviving family. Young single adults: The reason a single adult would typically need life insurance would be to pay for their own funeral costs or if they help support an elderly parent or

If you don’t have enough life insurance, you could put your family in a difficult situation upon your death

STI extends rights issue offer F

OLLOWING the approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc, STI, has extended the close date for its rights issue offer which opened on Wednesday, February 14, 2015. The Rights Issue which ought to have closed on February 20, 2015, has now been extended to March 13, 2015. In a statement, spokesperson for the organization, Mr. Segun Bankole, said the extension of the rights issue was necessitated to allow shareholders ample time to subscribe fully to the offer. He said such unique opportunity

does not come that often which was what informed the decision of the management to request for an extension in the closing date of the rights issue offer. Bankole said that the management enjoins all shareholders of the company to take advantage of the extension in date to fully exercise their rights as that will definitely guarantee the consolidation of their ownership in the company. The company, more than ever before, is poised to take the insurance business to a greater height as it gravitates to the next phase of its growth agenda, Bankole stated. A total of 2.3 billion units of ordinary shares at 50 kobo

each have been placed on offer for existing shareholders at 50 kobo per share on the basis of one (1) new ordinary share for every three (3) ordinary shares of 50 kobo held in the company as at the close of register during the last annual general meeting. The Management has also appealed to all shareholders who may be having one challenge or the other in getting their rights issue circular to get in touch with Meristem Registrars electronically on info@meristemregistrars.com or seek advice and consultation from their respective stockbrokers and other professional advisers as the case may be. Managing Director of the firm, Mr. Wale Onaolapo reiterated that the company has set a growth agenda which is aimed at

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2015,

CE & YOU

From left: Princewill Ajaegbu Chisom, Centum Trainer; Oladapo Ilesanmi, Abeokuta Branch Manager, Cornerstone Insurance Plc; Ekundayo Oluwashina, Airtel Insurance beneficiary and Daramola Oladapo, Showroom Executive, Airtel Nigeria, during the presentation of the claims cheque to the beneficiary at the Airtel Showroom in Ado-Ekiti. to other persons they may care for financially. Otherwise, if one has other sources of income for a funeral and has no other persons that depend on his income then life insurance would not be a necessity. Things to consider What immediate financial expenses will your family face upon your death? How much of your salary is required to meet your current expenses? If you were to die tomorrow, how long would your dependents need financial support? How much, if any, would you want to leave behind to fund your child’s education, giving to charities, or lfor inheritance?

positioning the insurance company as one of the top players in the industry, particularly, in the oil and gas sector where it has developed very unique expertise and professionalism. He also called on the company ’s shareholders to lend their support to the rights issue with the new date extension. He said the actualisation of the set objectives of the growth agenda of the company remains sacrosanct. He equally noted that the company is committed to creating exceptional value to all its shareholders. In his words, “In achieving the huge tasks that have been placed before us, we have identified that a very robust capital base is critical to the success of the set agenda; hence the need to call on our shareholders to fully subscribe to the rights issue”.

Consider your needs There is no right or wrong answer to how much insurance you need as your values and goals will ultimately determine what is right for you. For some people this could mean enough coverage so that their spouse would never have to work again, while for others it may mean just enough to pay off outstanding debts. Whatever you decide, your loved ones will appreciate it in the unfortunate event that it is needed. If you die during your earning years, your family could suffer a severe economic

loss as a result of losing your current and future income. Unfortunately, your family would still have to pay its regular bills, the mortgage, and outstanding debts, and perhaps even continue saving for college and retirement. Unless you’re independently wealthy, achieving these goals may be virtually impossible for your family with the loss of your steady income. Life insurance offers a way for your family to continue living comfortably and without worry.

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To figure out if you need life insurance, you need to think through the worst-case scenario. If you died tomorrow, how would your loved ones fare financially?

CRFFN takes up life insurance scheme for members By Godfrey Bivbere

HE Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria, CRFFN, has taken up a life insurance scheme of N1 million, for its members in case of death. Disclosing this over the weekend, Registrar of the Council, Mike Jukwe, said that the decision to take up the insurance scheme is to protect its members in the event of sudden death. Jukwe pointed out that the idea of taking up insurance is as a result of the desire of the Council to provide some form of pension for the families of members in case of untimely death. He said apart from the insurance scheme, plans are ongoing to include accident insurance scheme as well as pension for active members. According to him, “We are of the belief that freight forwarders should be protected in the course of doing their business. And one way of doing that is through an insurance policy scheme. The scheme as we have worked out now is the life scheme, where life is involved; a sum

LAUNCHING: From left: Mr. Abisoye Fagade, Principal Consultant/CEO, Sodium Brand Solutions, Mrs Theresa A. Kalejaiye, Marketing Manager, Altak Industries, and Mr Murchid V. Allam, MD, Altak Industries, at the launch of the Ranoush range of chairs in Ibadan.

assured of one million naira is paid. “We will go beyond that and that will mean when we go beyond that, the subscription will also go up, because it is part of the subscription that we use in paying the premium. We will also work at assuring that other aspects of insurance liabilities are covered, such as accident. “Where an accident is involved, we will work out with the insurance company to see that compensation is paid for it. We are also looking for a possible retirement age for freight forwarders too, because you cannot be here perpetually. “We will be looking at a pension scheme in the future, so that when a freight forwarder is retiring from the business, he should have some compensation. These are the areas we are looking at in the near future; the one that we have now is that of life policy,” he noted.

— V ANGU ARD, WEDNESD AY, FEBRU ARY 25, 2015 VANGU ANGUARD, WEDNESDA FEBRUARY

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2015 —25

DIARY z ARTEMIS &ITEA Co-summit Berlin Mar 10-11, 2015 z TelecoDays

Prague Marriott HotelPrague Czech Republic Mar 23-24 2015

Preview The new Hemingwrite

Samsung innovations for Africa

Samsung goes ‘beyond the limit’ to express Africa’s growth potentials By Prince Osuagwu

(who was in Antalya, Turkey)

he problem with getting down to doing some writing on a laptop or desktop computer is that there are so many distractions, from email to social networks to the huge expanse of the Web. Hemingwrite is a digital typewriter that solves the problem, giving you a plain e-ink screen that allows you to do nothing but write. It’s still got some modern features — such as the ability to connect to WiFi and sync your work — but the idea is that it lets you power through your next novel without being tempted to flick around between browser tabs or fire up a game. Thanks to the integrated carrying handle you can take it anywhere you like and of course an e-paper screen is much easier to read in bright sunlight (it also helps up the battery life to around four weeks).

C M Y K

he 21st century world is that of technology. And the technological world does not deal with stereotypes. It’s a world of creativity and innovations. So when Samsung Electronics flagged off its 2015 Africa Forum in Antalya, Turkey with a theme ‘Going beyond the Limit” it may have sounded weird to the ordinary mind but not to the technology enthusiast. Going beyond the limit may literally denote a dissent meaning but to Samsung, the phrase was every inch a positive one. In technological coloration, it appears Samsung implied that Africa, considering the huge growth potential, was not getting commensurable bargain in terms of market offerings and services. Now it decides to go beyond

I N S I D E

what has been hitherto accepted as African standard, to roll out products which would bridge the divide between the region as a developing continent and other developed nations of the world. These products, according to the company, highlight premium, innovation,

Products on display at our Africa Forum embody this way of thinking and offer our African consumers solutions through new experiences and aspirational products

Diamond Bank introduces fingerprint recognition on mobile app

convenience, insights and citizenship, all to underscore its commitment to the African market- little wonder, the company ’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. S.Y Hong declared to the over 5000 participants at the forum that Africa was a very important market for Samsung. “The conference theme, builds on our intent to create change in Africa by bringing consumers’ desires to life through innovative products. “Last year we introduced our intent to Africa: One Beat. It embodies the spirit of overcoming challenges and moving towards a vision of togetherness across the continent. Part of this is remaining focused on providing our African consumers with innovative products that are driven by consumer needs and passions” added Hong. Hong went on to unveil the

Nigeria Satellite Project – A New Beginning?

lineup available products. SUHD TV This product, an extensive range of SUHD TVs for the African market, according to Samsung, sets a new standard in premium UHD content. The launch of the 88-inch TV, powered by a proprietary, ecofriendly nano-crystal display technology and intelligent SUHD re-mastering engine, is innovative in every way, delivering superior picture quality with stunning contrast, striking brightness, spectacular colour and superb UHD detail. The SUHD re-mastering engine automatically analyses the brightness of images to minimise additional power consumption while expressing stunning contrast levels – producing images with improved contrast, elevated brightness two-and-ahalf times brighter than conventional TVs and twice the

Continues on page 28

Ericsson to drive operator’s digital experiences with new offerings

26— Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2015

SOCIETY & SOCIAL MEDIA By Agbolade Omowole @iamagbolade

There’s answer to almost any problem, ask Google!

hat evening, the weather was cool. My friend and I, were coming home after a hectic day testing and updating a library management software we designed for a secondary school. Things do go wrong at times, and when we do not have contingency plans, we can end up being victims of negative circumstances. The car we were driving in, broke down halfway the journey and we had to look for a road side mechanic to diagnose and fix it in as little time as possible. The day after, the car was fixed but there was a new problem: the break light is always on. After taking the car to three mechanics, it couldn’t be fixed. These days, there is hardly a question you can’t get answers to on Google. If you know how to use Google very well, you can solve almost any problem. I want you to get this: there is an answer for almost any problem on Google. I decided to do a little research online. First thing was to get the car’s

specification. It was a Honda V6 2002 model. Then I entered a simple search query: “My Honda car brake light is on indefinitely” and clicked enter. I sift through the search results until I saw two YouTube videos. I downloaded the video and it was super explicit. Google told me that if the brake lights were always on, then the break light bumper switch is broken. The video tutor showed me step-by-step how to fix it and it was awesome. Today, there are 41 billion searches on Google every month. In 2006, this number was 2.7 billion. Over a period of nine years the information on Google has increased by a whopping 1000 percent. It is estimated that 4 Exabyte of unique information will be generated this year, that is more than the previous 5,000 years. Most of this information will be available on Google. There’s truly a lot of information on Google. Next time you need to ask a question, ask Google. You will be surprised at how effective the answer can be. The company Google is making its search engine, www.google.com a personal digital assistance. In the future you will be able to discuss issues with Google using your voice. It will be able to answer your questions and provide valuable suggestions, real life.

Diamond Bank introduces fingerprint recognition on mobile app By Emeka Aginam Mobile App users that have iOS devices can now login to their accounts with just their finger prints as an alternative to entering a User ID and Password.” She also stated that with the “introduction of this innovative solution to the Nigerian banking space, Diamond Bank once again demonstrates its commitment to be at the forefront in offering technological solutions that make banking an exciting, convenient and secure experience for our customers.” The introduction of the Touch ID Feature on Diamond Mobile App marks the entrance of the service to the Nigerian banking scene. Other features on the Diamond Mobile App include funds transfer, bills payment, events ticket purchase, movie tickets purchase, online shopping wallet top-up as well as search, book and payment for both local and international flights. The app is available on iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, iPhone 6plus, iPad Air 2 and the iPad Mini 3.

ne of the retail banks in Nigeria, Diamond Bank Plc, has introduced a fingerprint recognition feature on its Diamond Mobile App. The service, an iOS Touch ID, is a fingerprint reader that allows users of the Mobile App an easy and seamless login to their accounts by simply recognizing and identifying their individual fingerprints. Speaking on the new feature, Divisional Head, Corporate Communications of the Bank, Ayona Trimnell, stated that the introduction of the feature will remove the burden of forgetting or having to remember the user ID and Password for account holders to login for their respective business transactions. “We are pleased to announce the launch of the Touch ID feature on the Diamond Mobile App. This means that Diamond

IDC projects 3.8% growth for Global IT/telecom in 2015 By Emmanuel Elebeke

he International Data Corporation (IDC) has projected that global spending in Information Technology and Telecommunications will grow by 3.8 per cent over the course of 2015 to around USD 3.8 trillion. The IDC’s 2015 telecom prediction forecast was based on a study conducted on the changing role of the telecom companies, Telcos, in a converging industry. According to the global data body, the study explores how Telcos will move into alternative businesses in the coming months such as value-added services, precision mobile advertising, managed security services, and adopt network virtualization to improve their profit margins. The Telecom prediction saw a quantum leap in the growth of IT/ telecom sectors via the convergence in the current year. Some of the key trends expected to be apparent in the projections, include the growth of mobile and next-generation software, cloud computing, the Internet of

IoT spending will exceed USD1.7 trillion, up 14 percent from 2014 and may reach USD3 trillion by 2020

Things, social media and big data. Part of the findings in the study also indicated that technological changes would make noticeable impact on firms and consumers in the period under review. Consequently, more of the revelations pointed out that convergence is strongly evident in the emerging technological innovations, with many forecasts for telecom crossing over into the domain of

information technology, while telecom network issues are increasingly feeding back into the IT and Internet domains. This disclosure is in line with the recent International Telecommunication Union, ITU Leadership Summit tagged: ‘The Future in Focus,’ where it was suggested that every company may effectively become a software company in one way or another in future.

NIMC targets massive distribution of e-IDs across country …opens new collection centre By Prince Osuagwu

etting the national electronic identification cards to every Nigerian and those legitimately living in the country without hassles, appears to be the primary target of the National Identity Management Commission NIMC. This is evident in the way the commission opens collection centres for the e-ID Cards. Just recently, the commission, announced the establishment of card collection centres in all of its state offices nationwide, saying it was mainly to improve the rate of card collection nationwide. Meanwhile, there are also indications that plans are underway to open similar card collection centres in all the Local Government Areas, LGAs in the country. General Manager, Corporate

Communications, NIMC, Mr. Abdulhamid Umar said efforts are being made to ensure massive distribution of the cards to the Card Collection Centres, with a view to also issuing the cards to Nigerians in the rural areas as directed by President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2015—27 —27

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28— Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2015

Ericsson to drive operator’s digital experiences with new offerings By Emeka Aginam

head of the Mobile World Congress holding next week in Spain, Barcelona, world leader in communications technology and services, Ericsson in a committed effort to maintain lead position in driving force behind the Networked Society has presented seven new additions to its hardware, software and services solutions that would help its customers advance the digital experiences. The launch of the new solutions which will be on show at the 2015 MWC according to Ericsson meet their customers’ need to drive profitable growth, optimize network performance and grow their business with new services and offerings. Speaking last week in Lagos during the announcement of the new offerings, Kamar Abass, Managing Director of Ericsson Nigeria told Technology Journalists that how best companies could transform into becoming a true digital company is one of the hottest topics in the industry. According to him, both enterprises and operators must adapt operations to meet their customers and business demands on digital experiences. “For larger operators, big data and analytics are strategic topics. They are seeking to convert their investments in analytics tools into business results. Ericsson has both organically, and through acquisitions, built a leadership position in real time, big data analytics”he explained. Digital telco transformation He explained that digital Telco transformation is a new offering that combines consulting and systems integration services with the industry’s most comprehensive operational and business

Kamar Abass, MD Ericsson support systems (OSS/BSS) portfolio. With optimism, he said that digital telco transformation would ease the transition for operators seeking a new operating model to monetize the digital information, entertainment, finance and health services that customers want.

Enterprises and operators must adapt operations to meet their customers and business demands on digital experiences

Expert analytics 15.0 According to him, Ericsson expert Analytics 15.0 is a new software suite that allows operators to predict customer satisfaction and outomatically take closedloop actions to improve it. To stay competitive, he said that operators need to continuously evolve their networks to meet the everincreasing demands on digital experiences, adding that it is not only from consumers, but also from businesses and industries. Performance is a key differentiator to improve user satisfaction. Ericsson radio system The generational shift with its new modular Radio System, according to him would redefine how mobile networks are built on every level. Ericsson Radio System, he explained has a modular architecture that flexibly expands to the changing demands on the road to 5G with cuttingedge multi-standard, multi-band and multi-layer technology. If deployed by operators, he assured that this would eliminate site acquisition issues, delivering three times the capacity density with 50 percent improvement in energy efficiency and reduces total cost of ownership by 20 percent. Router 6000 Series The company ’s first router for backhaul and aggregation, which combines IP transport and radio. The Router 6000 series, according to him, meets the need for highperformance backhaul and precise synchronization required today and with evolution to LTE Advanced, 5G and M2M.

AWARD: From left: Tom Levine, Partner, Allen & Overy LLP; Seun Oshitade, Head, Strategy & Business Development, Etisalat Nigeria; Philip Rhys, Group Chief Commercial Officer, IHS Africa; Vincent Eromosele, Head, Legal Services, Etisalat Nigeria and Thomas Koehrer, Managing Director, UBS at the IJGlobal (Euromoney) Europe & Africa Awards ceremony held in London.

Samsung goes ‘beyond the limit’ to express Africa’s growth potentials Continued from page 25 colour adjustment points. The TV’s nano-crystal technology transmits different colours of light depending on their size to produce the highest colour purity and light efficiency available today. This technology provides viewers with 64 times more colour expression than conventional TVs. Premium Audio line-up amsung also showcased innovative audio products to Africa, giving consumers a more dynamic, surround sound audio experience. The expanded Curved Soundbar line-up features a sleek design that complements Samsung’s Curved TVs, providing an immersive listening experience. The Soundbar offers an enhanced sound experience with a 9.1 channel audio, centre and side speakers,and Samsung’s MultiAir Gap speaker unit in the subwoofer. The speakers, said to have been developed in Samsung’s audio lab in California, are said to deliver a 360-degree sound experience due to Samsung’s proprietary ring radiator technology that supports them.

Digital Appliances amsung prides itself as an innovator of convenient home appliances that elevate the quality of consumer lives in Africa. This is owing to the infusion of innovative technologies and outstanding design with the expertise of Michelin-starred chefs. The Chef Collection refrigerator, which is designed to ensure that food is kept fresh and stored to ensure maximum taste, has 4 doors and is a huge leap forward for meal preparation. The innovative Precise Chef Cooling enables an exact and constant temperature for food storage and the Triple Cooling System creates three separate airflows in the refrigerator and freezer, enabling optimal humidity control and improved cooling performance for each compartment. Also Samsung introduced its latest innovation in top load washers, the activ dualwashmachine, which includes a built in sync with water jets and a scrubbing surface to allow consumers to handle the entire wash process in the laundry unit instead of pre-treating the items elsewhere. The convenient sink space provides a separate space to pre-treat tough stains, and once finished, the laundry and water can easily be poured into the machine. The new Samsung air conditioner has a unique triangular design, with a wider inlet, wider outlet and a bigger

fan to ensure that air is cooled and expelled faster, farther and wider to reach every corner of the home. Yet there was also the new Air Purifier. The product’s front air inflow easily draws in air through a Dual Power Fan with two 5 step filtration system. The 3 Way Air Flow enables the purifier to reach wider and purifies faster with a Clean Air Delivery Rate of up to 773 cu. meters per hour. The camera technology amsung unveiled new digital camera, with bestin-class DRIMeV Image processor, a NX AF system III and Samsung’s highest-resolution 28 MP BSI APS-C sensors. Compared to conventional CMOS sensors, BSI reduces noise more effectively by keeping the path between the lens and sensors clear so more light can hit each pixel, lowering the signal-to-noise ratio. As a result, NX500 users never need to compromise image quality, even in low light. Also, with 4K and UHD video recording, users will enjoy recording movies with more flexibility.

Ultra-slim Galaxy A devices make smart entry n its mobile arm, Samsung unveiled the expansion of its line-up of Galaxy flagship, introducing the A series under the Galaxy range of mobile devices in the African region. Optimised for capturing and sharing digital life, the Galaxy A7, A5 and A3 come with a 5MP front facing camera to ensure the perfect selfie, and offer original features like an animated GIF setting. The device also supports LTE category 4 for quick and easy photo and video uploads on any social network. With a slim metal unibody design, Samsung said it was continuing its focus on creating unique style with comfortable grip for ease of use. George Ferreira, Vice President and COO of Samsung Electronics Africa, said: “The key question for us at Samsung is how people use our products. We work hard to understand what people need and want and then we push the limits of what technology can do to deliver this. I believe that the products on display at our Africa Forum embody this way of thinking and offer our African consumers solutions through new experiences and aspirational products.” Samsung also flaunted what it described as huge successes on the Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR front which included a Digital Village, Samsung Engineering Academy and Solar-powered Internet School, all of which focus on uplifting communities, developing skills and creating sustainable education systems beyond the known limits.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2015—29 —29

— V ANGU ARD, WEDNESD AY, FEBRU ARY 25, 2015 VANGU ANGUARD, WEDNESDA FEBRUARY

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2015 — 31

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— V ANGU ARD, WEDNESD AY, FEBRU ARY 25, 2015 VANGU ANGUARD, WEDNESDA FEBRUARY

VOL. 1 NO 23

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2015

Ilomuanya wasn’t a traditional ruler in any community — Eze Ohiri

PAGE 2

•Power Station... By IKENNA ASOMBA AWKA—SINCE the completion of the power sector privatisation process by the Federal Government, which saw new distribution companies taking-over electricity distribution across the country, many consumers who thought that they had bade farewell to epileptic power supply, and other associated problems are yet to come to terms with the problem of estimated bills and power outage. Worried by what they described as poor power supply and high tariffs, electricity consumers made up of industrialists recently besieged major streets in Ogbaru, Onitsha and Awka to protest their plight to the authorities of Enugu Electricity Distribution Company, EEDC. This was even as they (industrialists) alleged that over 7, 000 of

HIGH ELECTRICITY TARIFF:

Manufacturers threaten to leave South East region ...say 7, 000 of their workers had been laid-off as a result of poor electricity supply their workers had been laidoff as a result of poor electricity supply. However, amid claims and counter claims by the EEDC and its customers, the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, MAN, has threatened to relocate their businesses from the South East geopolitical zone if the EEDC failed to reverse the current high tariff in the zone.

In a communiqué issued in Nnewi, Anambra State after a meeting of the association, the members said that they paid an average of N16 million monthly on diesel, wondering how the EEDC came up with its high and unreasonable tariffs. Among those in attendance at the meeting included Chief Innocent Chukwuma (Innoson Group Chairman),

ALSO IN THIS EDITION Harvest of deaths over Enugu, Kogi boundary dispute C M Y K

15 YEARS FTER:

— PAGE 4

Awka Women Centre parade ground begs for completion

— PAGE 6

Chief Paul Okonkwo (Pokobros/ Whiz oil chairman), Chief Azubuike Okafor

It is impossible for any business to thrive under this harsh condition of 95 per cent increment from 23.97 as old charge to 46.66 per cent as new tariff in Enugu zone

(Zubee Group of companies) and Obi Anesodo, the senior special assistant to Governor Willie Obiano on public utilities and water resources. The communiqué was jointly signed by the Chairman of MAN in Anambra, Ebonyi and Enugu States, Chief Azubuike Okafor and the Executive Secretary of the association, Patrick Chidi Eronobi. It read: “We know that the government is a listening one; the Federal Government should subvent the cost of electricity supply like it did in the petroleum sector to sustain manufacturing operations, so as to create a level playing field for all. “It is impossible for any business to thrive under this harsh condition of 95 per cent increment from 23.97 as old charge to 46.66 per cent as new tariff in Enugu zone. “The increase will

Continues on page 3

2— Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2015

WERRI—THE Chairman of Imo State Traditional Rulers, Eze Samuel Ohiri has said that his predecessor, Eze Cletus Ilomuanya was not a traditional ruler of any community in the State. He said that Ilomuanya had long been dethroned by the Imo State government which subsequently replaced him with Eze Stanley Nwangwu as the traditional ruler of Obinugwu Autonomous Community. According to Ohiri, “Ilomuanya was appointed Chairman Imo State Traditional Ruler for a fixed tenure of five years from January 28, 2010 to January 28, 2015.” In what could be described as a reaction to the verdict of the supreme Court which reinstated Ilomuanya as the substantive chairman of the state council of traditional rulers, Ohiri told South East Voice in Owerri, that the state government had for long withdrawn the certificate of recognition of Ilomuanya since he had ceased to be recognized as one of the traditional rulers in the state. He then challenged Ilomuanya to make public “any judgement by any court in the country elongating his tenure as chairman, Imo State Council of Ndi Eze beyond the expiration date. However, in his reaction, Eze Ilomuanya told the South East Voice at the Sam Mbakwe Airport that his victory at the Supreme Court had proved that the court was actually, the last hope of the

•Governor Rochas Okorocha.

Ilomuanya wasn’t a traditional ruler in any community — Eze Ohiri By CHINONSO ALOZIE common man. He said that the Supreme Court’s decision, being the highest court in Nigeria, would prevail. Ilomuanya accused the Imo State governor, Chief Rochas Okorocha of allegedly being “lawless leader” saying that Okorocha had no respect for the rule of law. He further

stressed that as the head of the Imo State traditional rulers, he (Ilomuanya) would restore the dignity and ensure confidence in the traditional institution in the state. The traditional ruler who was received by his people in Obinugwu Community asked the people to collect their Permanent Voters’ Cards, PVCs, to enable them exercise their constitutional right for the

•Eze Cletus Ilomuanya. good of the state and the country at large. Meanwhile, the newly recognized traditional ruler of Obinugwu

Ezeship was forcefully taken away from our village that is entitled to produce an Eze about 22 years ago

Autonomous Community Eze Stanley Nwangwu had earlier commended Governor Okorocha for rescuing the people from years of oppression and denial of traditional rights. He said: “Ezeship was forcefully taken away from our village that is entitled to produce an Eze about 22 years ago,” adding that the people of the village had been rescued from intimidation and display of tyranny. Nwangwu further explained further that he would ensure that the people of Obinugwu Community were treated as human beings by ensuring freedom of speech and respect for the people’s culture and traditions.

Anambra’s Okpoko slum to undergo transformation By VINCENT UJUMADU

WKA—OKPOKO, a slum part of the commercial city of Onitsha and lying on the northern end of the famous Upper Iweka Road in Ogbaru Local Government Area, is unarguably the worst slum in Anambra State. It is separated from Odekpe town, also in Ogbaru, by Idemili River and inhabited mainly by stranger elements from Igbo speaking and non Igbo speaking parts of the country. Its worst period is the rainy season when the narrow roads are usually flooded and littered with debris from the overflowing gutters and driving into and out of Okpoko during such rainy season is usually a nightmare. Experts had argued that the only way to develop Okpoko is complete demolition of the entire area, which has a population of over 1 million people and then plan a new C M Y K

city there. Over the years, attempts had been made to upgrade Okpoko and the best that was done in the area so far was during the administration of the immediate past governor of

Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi, who tarred some roads in the area, among which was the famous Obodoukwu road from the industrial area to the Onitsha-Owerri Expressway. However, in line with the

From left: Speaker of Anambra State House of Assembly, Princess Chinwe Nwabili, Anambra State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano, Commissioner for Works, Sir Callistus Ilozumba, Benson Nwawulu and Manager, CCECC, Mr. Xia, at the flag-off of Ogbuagu-Mgbuka-Amazu-Onitsha-Owerri dual carriage road in Okpoko.

present government’s programme, which is a continuation of the past government, the governor, Chief Willie Obiano, has decided to embark on massive development of Okpoko. Obiano said his administration will pursue a gradual transformation of the area into a clean, safe community with modern amenities. He made the pledge while flagging-off 4.1 kilometre OgbuaguMgbuka-Amazu-OnitshaOwerri dual carriage road which cuts through the Okpoko community. Governor Obiano said that contract for the road, awarded at the cost of N1.6bn includes the installation of all components of road infrastructure like drainages, street lights, road markings and signs etc. with a completion period of twelve months. Also in a move seen as strengthening the security

of lives and property in the area, the governor announced that apart from improving the environment, his government has set up a special squad of the Operation Kpochapu, a security outfit, to rid Okpoko and environs of hoodlums and miscreants. The squad has been given an initial mandate of six months for the implementation of the crime control measures in the area. The governor charged the landlords and the residents to report people of questionable character to the law enforcement agencies, assuring that those who are engaged in legitimate ventures have nothing to fear. The problem with Okpoko, however, is that with majority of the inhabitants living below subsistence level, government may find it difficult to relocate them as many of the inhabitants are saying that they cannot afford to pay rents elsewhere.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2015 —3

1 seat, 2 chairmen as crisis brews in Onitsha market ...group asks caretaker committee to vacate office BY NWABUEZE OKONKWO

•Protesting electricity consumers in the state.

HIGH ELECTRICITY TARIFF: Manufacturers threaten to leave South East region Continues from page 1 discourage investment in the South East as investors will prefer to invest in other areas where the rate is very low. “The payment of fixed charge is akin to payment for inefficiency because all our members run on generator more than electricity, the fixed charge even though it is alleged to encourage investors, is like putting the cart before the horse. “The rate should be same across the federation as is applicable in other major industrial areas of the federation such as Eko among others. “That no member company should be disconnected until the matter is resolved, and should be allowed to pay the old rate.” Before this recent development, electricity consumers in Onitsha, Ogbaru and Awka, Anambra State, had also besieged the company’s business office in Awka, to protest epileptic power supply and excessive tariff. The protesters under the umbrella “Zik’s Avenue Business Owners Association, Awka” said that their businesses were grounding due to poor power supply. Vice Chairman of the traders, Ikechukwu Okafor, stated that besides the poor power supply, the company officials issued them with excessive tariffs through estimated bills and fixed charges. He noted that there was a period some parts of the area did not have electricity for about seven months, yet business operators in the C M Y K

affected areas were issued with bills during the period. According to him, they were compelled to embark on the protest because some officials of the company came to disconnect the electricity facilities in their area. After the recent protest, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of EEDC, Mr. Robert Dickerman told customers that enumeration aimed at capturing all consumers in the five states being covered by EEDC had begun, adding that once the exercise was completed, the installation of the meters would begin to be completed in the first quarter of this year. He pleaded with the consumers to avoid issues that would undermine the activities of the company, such as engaging in illegal connection, bypassing of meters and vandalizing transformers, regretting the situation whereby only 36 per cent of electricity consumers were captured in the company’s network. He said: “For anybody to enjoy electricity, he must register with the company. The only way to guarantee constant electricity supply is for consumers to pay their bills fully. Our advice is that if any consumer discovers any anomaly on his bills and supply chain, he should notify EEDC and the problem would be resolved immediately we receive the complaint.” Chairman of EEDC, Sir Emeka Offor has, however, admitted that some teething problems were being experienced by the company, but promised that things would soon normalize.

NITSHA—THE Sokoto Road Traders Association, SRTA, Onitsha, Anambra State is now split into two parallel factions following struggle for the chairmanship position of the association by two contestants. The association is a unit of Onitsha South Shop Owners Association of Nigeria, OSSOTAN and an appendage of Onitsha main Market which was registered as a legal entity at the Corporate Affairs Commission, by its Board of Trustees, BoT, in 2008. At the centre of the crisis are the Chairman of the Caretaker Committee of the Market, Chief Amechi Okafor and Ignatius Oforzoba who claimed to have won the chairmanship election of the association for a new executive on January 22, 2015 in the market. Trouble was said to have crept into the association on December 2013 when the state government, in conjunction with the Anambra Markets Amalgamated Traders Association, AMATAS, appointed the Amechi-led caretaker committee to head the association for some months, following the expiration of the tenure of the former elected executive. The appointment of the caretaker committee sparked off crisis as BoT members went to court to challenge it, saying that their constitution had no provision for caretaker leadership. Earlier, the BoT members had written a petition to OSSOTAN alleging that unknown persons

•The embattled caretaker committee chairman, Chief Amechi Okafor.

were imposed on the traders. The BoT members specifically accused the President of AMATAS, Chief Okwudili Ezenwankwo of selecting the supposed unknown persons without due consultation with the association. Also, in an affidavit dated February 27, 2014 at the Onitsha High Court Registry the BoT members contended that apart from being unconstitutional, the Chairman of the caretaker committee, Amechi was not a registered member of the association to have warranted his appointment to head the association. The Affidavit was deposed to by the BoT Secretary, Charles Oduma. He stated that there was a time Amechi came to them and requested to be registered as a member of the association and when they gave him all the necessary documents but stresses that he was yet to return the registration forms. Oduma, therefore prayed the court to declare the purported

What is happening is that the illegal c o m m i t t e e imposed a levy of between N30,000 and N40,000 per road side hawker under the pretence of collecting same for the state and local governments

•Ignatius Oforzoba who claims to be the newly elected chairman.

selection as illegal, null, void and of no effect. He further prayed the court not only to set aside the appointment but restrain the members from parading themselves as such, pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit. However, at a stage, the state government, through the state Commissioner for Trade, Commerce and Industry, Chief Ifeatu Onejeme prevailed on the aggrieved BoT members to withdraw the suit from the court, to enable the government look into their complaints with a view to resolving the matter amicably. The commissioner furthermore, prevailed on the Chairman of OSSOTAN, Chief Eric Uwaoma to liaise with the BoT members and conduct an election that would usher in democratically elected executive, as part of efforts to restore normalcy in the market. Consequently, Uwaoma on December 22, 2014, wrote the caretaker Chairman, Okafor informing him that an election of the association that would usher in a new executive had been scheduled for January 22, 2015. Uwaoma had previously scheduled same election for December 23, 2014. On January 22, 2015, an election which produced Oforzoba as the newly elected chairman of a nine-man executive committee of the association was conducted but, expectedly, the Okafor-led caretaker committee refused to recognize the election and as such decided not to vacate office or hand over to its successor, saying that they were not aware of any election. Speaking on the development, Oforzoba stated that there would be no other election in the market, having been elected on January 22. The new chairman however, accused Okafor and his group of resorting to the use of MASSOB members to extort money from the traders in the name of collecting government revenue. “What is happening is that the illegal committee imposed a levy of between N30,000 and N40,000 per road side hawker under the pretence of collecting same for the state and local Continues on page 4

•Traders demonstrating against Okafor, in •The contentious office of the association. favour of Oforzoba.

4 —Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2015

Igga community accuses Enugu govt of inducing crisis ...community does not have a constitution — Enugu Govt BY FRANCIS IGATA

NUGU—THE Igga Town Union has accused the Enugu State government of allegedly inducing crises in the community through the Commissioner for Rural Development, Mr. Eric Oluedo by his constitution of a ‘’Caretaker Committee for Igga Town,’’ in the area. The union said that the constitution of a care-taker town union while the elected town union was still legally in place would lead to breach of peace, law and order as well as cause disunity in Igga Community. In a letter to the state government jointly signed by the President, Mr. Raphael Amuch and Secretary, Mr. Eneanya Joseph respectively, the town union, rejected the constitution of a parallel organisation to oversee activities in Igga, saying that the action of the Commissioner for Rural Development as unacceptable and illegal. “We want to state that, we the present members and executives of Igga Town Union are still subsisting. We completely disassociate ourselves from this act of illegality capable of causing disunity in our midst. “Moreso, the tension caused by the constitution of the illegal committee can lead to intra-village crisis in Igga

•Governor Sullivan Chime C M Y K

community which we do not want,” they stated. Government reacts The commissioner for rural development,Mr. Eric Oluedo told the South-East Voice that,”the creation of a Caretaker Committee was in line with a certain Enugu State Edict Cap 82, Section 26. “My Ministry received a petition from five indigenous Catholic priests and other relevant stakeholders from the community, that the leader of the community,Chief Maxi Ukuta is ruling them with high-handedness. “In Enugu State, for there to be a recognised town union, the community must have a constitution. It is the constitution that will give birth to the town union. The town union will then, give birth to a traditional ruler. When I received the petition, I invited them to my office for mediation and to streamline their activities. “Chief Ukuta whom they wrote the petition against swore that the community would never have a constitution. So, how can a community that do not have a constitution have a town union? It is not obtainable in Enugu State. The law says, where the community does not have a constitution, you set up a caretaker committee. That is what the law says and that is what I did,” Oluedo said.

•The suspect, Eko, alias Warrior.

Harvest of deaths over Enugu, Kogi boundary dispute ...as Police nab suspected gang leader terrorising boundary communities BY FRANCIS IGATA

NUGU—THE crisis over alleged attempt by some people from the boundary community of Ette, in Igboeze North Local Government Area of Enugu State to be merged with Kogi State has claimed several lives from both sides of the divide. The community is made up of three major tribes including, Igbo, Idoma and Igala who settled in the area hundreds of years ago was part of the old Eastern Region, East Central State, old Anambra and old Enugu States from where part of the present Ebonyi State was carved out. However, the crisis which began several years ago has degenerated to the extent that brothers and sisters now see themselves as enemies.

The police in Enugu State has however, arrested a suspected leader of a notorious gang terrorising the boundary communities ostensibly for not agreeing to be part of Enugu communities agitating to be part of Kogi State. The suspect, identified as one Goddy Eko, alias Warrior, was arrested by the operatives of Special AntiRobbrey Squad,SARS, at UyiEtte in Igbo-Eze North Local Government Area of Enugu State for allegedly torturing his cousin, Gabriel Apula to death. According to the Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Ebere Amaraizu,”The suspect tied Apula, his cousin to a tree with a rope and roasted his legs with fire first before killing him. “Most of his gang members are now at large. But we are on their trail. They had been involved in various nefarious activities, including the murder of Apula

at Ette community. “The deceased was said to have had his two legs roasted after he tied him with rope. The

The suspect tied Apula, his cousin to a tree with a rope and roasted his legs with fire first before killing him.

gang also set about 42 houses in Ette Community ablaze among other nefarious activities. His arrest followed reports against him anchored on murder, armed robbery and arson, among others. “When the operatives stormed his hideout at Ette in the early hours of the fateful day of his arrest, a locally-made single barrelled-rifle with two cartridges were recovered from there while most of his gang members fled. We have launched a manhunt for the fleeing gang members.” The Supreme Court had in a judgement about four years ago, ruled that Ette is a community in Igbo-Eze North Local Government Area of Enugu State.

1 seat, 2 chairmen as crisis brews at Onitsha market Continues from page 3 governments, to the extent that he engaged the services of about 20 different groups to collect N100 levy from every trader on daily basis thereby forcing each trader to cough out N2,000 per day and anyone who refuses to pay would be dealt with accordingly by his agents.” Also speaking, Secretary of BoT, Charles Oduma said he and his members supervised the election in the absence of Chief Eric Uwaoma, Chairman of Onitsha South Shop Owners Association of Nigeria, OSSOTAN who declined to conduct the election, a day to the exercise because according to him, the AMATAS president had instructed him not to participate in the election, as a result of his interest to retain

Okafor and his group on seat. Addressing the traders at Old Market road, during the exercise, two shop owners in the market, Chinedu Adinma and Okechukwu Udor, said they witnessed the January 22, 2015 election that brought in Oforzoba and his executive into office, and regretted that Amechi and the former caretaker members had refused to vacate office. Other traders who spoke insisted that the election having been supervised by members of Board of Trustees, BoT of the market and officials of Directorate of State Services, DSS from Onitsha South Local Government Area Anex and urged Governor Willie Obiano to intervene and allow the new executive to take over the mantle of leadership, since their election was free and fair.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2015 — 5

•Members of the Forum at the meeting

•ACP Wagbara addressing members

Security agencies brainstorm on violence-free polls in Aba BY FELIX OGBONNA

BA—THE Inter-Agency Security Forum comprising all the security agencies have met at the Aba Area Command of the Nigeria Police, Aba to fashion out strategies to ensure a violence free polls and sustain what it described as the low crime rate in the city. Addressing the forum, the Chairman of the forum and Police Area Commander for

Aba, Peter Wagbara, an Assistant Commissioner of Police, ACP, who said the forum was a replica of the one existing under the headship of the state Commissioner of Police, at the state level. The members include the Army, Navy, Police, the Department of State Services, DSS, the Nigerian Security Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, Nigerian Prisons Service, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, Nigerian Immigration Service, NIS, and Customs among

others. The forum meets regularly for better understanding, cooperation and synergy and see themselves as members of one family. Wagbara added the coming together of security agencies in the city had recorded some achievements due to their resolve to fight criminality and ensure that lives and property of residents were protected. According to him, “Before now, Aba was known for armed robbery, kidnapping and

burglary , but the forum has worked tirelessly to eliminate all these. There is no doubt that Aba now has the lowest crime rate in Nigeria. On the 2015 general elections, the security agencies are working tirelessly to ensure violence free polls.” The Area Commander lamented that officers at the junior cadre of the various security agencies were yet to imbibe the objectives of the forum, stressing that plans had been concluded to organize a workshop to ensure that the

c o m i n g together of security agencies in the city had recorded some achievements due to their resolve to fight criminality

MOCK COFFIN: Igbo monarchs in land cleansing rituals over widows’ sacrilege BY CHINONSO ALOZIE

W E R R I — TRADITIONAL rulers in the South East have performed ‘’some land cleansing rituals,’’ over alleged sacrileges committed by some widows who carried ‘’a mock coffin,’’ while demonstrating at the Imo State Government House about two weeks ago. It is an abomination for women to carry corpses in Igboland as the odd job was usually reserved for men. The Owerri Zone of Imo State Traditional Rulers which made this known said that apart from the fact that women were not allowed to carry corpses, it was even worse that women who were mourning the death of their husbands would gather at the seat of power in the state to desecrate the custom of the people by carrying a mock coffin openly. The Royal fathers led by Eze C M Y K

Chidume Okoro spoke to South East Voice during the event that was described as “cleansing of the land” following the protest by suspected widows. Okoro who even more livid that the demonstrators were led by a serving female Minister, said ‘’in Igbo land, it is an abomination for widows to carry a mock coffin or cry publicly. It was even worse that a serving female minister was the arrow head. She sponsored other widows

to commit sacrilege on Igbo soil. In Igbo tradition and culture, there are certain things women do not engage in. They do not carry corpses and do not dig graves. They also do not break nuts where men are around. Widows in Igbo culture are respected and should not be used to play politics.’’ They monarchs then cautioned the said minister and widows against engaging themselves in anything that would heat the polity but

•Members of Mbaise traditional rulers

rather channel their energy in propagating peace and unity in the state. But, the Mbaise Council of Traditional Rulers which reacted to the issue doubted the story of the widows carrying mock coffin. Speaking through Eze Desmond Oguguo, the monarchs told the South East Voice that “if it is a fact that the women carried a mock coffin which was alleged to have been deposited at the Government House, why did the newspapers and the TV not show it, or is it only the Government House officials who developed the third eye to see the coffin. “Those who made the allegation are enemies of Mbaise whose only objective was to tarnish the image of this impeccable lady (minister) adding that “the traditional rulers of Mbaise strongly condemn this mischievous and calculated falsehood against our daughter.”

rivalry within the lower ranks was eliminated. Wagbara also added that the postponement of the elections had given the police and other security agencies an opportunity to be strategical to ensure violence free polls. In their separate speeches, representatives of the Navy, NSCDC and the Prisons Service, called for cooperation between the different security agencies as well as the organization of a workshop to further sensitize officers. They stated that the 2015 polls would be more peaceful than the past ones and called on the residents of the city not to be afraid to come and cast their votes.

REACH US DO you have any news of neglect or abandoned projects or your representative at the local, state or federal governments are not representing you well? Do you have unique cultural activities coming up or any community news to tell us? Emeka Mamah (Editor) 08033218645 Francis Igata (Enugu) 08033387069 Vincent Ujumadu(Awka): 08035804090 Anayo Okoli(Umuahia): 08034046839 Chidi Nkwopara(Imo): 08033391108 Peter Okutu (Abakaliki): 08032680756 Chinenyeh Ozor (Nsukka): 08185664011 Nwabueze Okonkwo (Nnewi): 08037794782 Or: e-mail us at: easternvoice@yahoo.com

6 —Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2015

W K A — T H E multimillion naira parade ground located at the premises of the Women Development Centre along the Awka –Enugu expressway on the outskirts of the Anambra State capital is still yearning for completion, 15 years after the project was started by the administration of former Governor Chinwoke Mbadinuju. Mbadinuju, who governed the state from the inception of the present democratic dispensation in 1999 to 2003, when he was refused second tenure by the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, initiated the parade ground, the offices, guest houses and hall in the complex, all meant to accommodate the state ministry of women affairs and to serve as a place for hosting state functions. Before he left office in 2003, the project was about 60 per cent completed and the skeleton of the stands on the arcade expected to accommodate about 20000 persons, was already in place. However, after Mbadinuju was shoved aside, and was succeeded by Dr. Chris Ngige as the governor of the state, the project received minimal attention. In fact, the main hall at the centre, which had already been put to use before he left office, was among public buildings torched by hoodlums during the mayhem of 2004 in which state property worth millions of naira were destroyed. When the immediate past governor of the state, Mr. Peter Obi assumed office, he embarked on the rehabilitation of the destroyed infrastructure, including the Women Development Centre.

•Abandoned parade arcade at the Awka Women Development Centre.

15 YEARS AFTER: Awka Women Centre parade ground begs for completion BY VINCENT UJUMADU By the time Obi left office, all the projects located at the centre were completed, except the parade ground. However, the fence, which formed part of the uncompleted arcade has been painted from outside, while the main structure remained as Mbadinuju left it 15 years

ago. South East Voice discovered last week that some of the pillars were already giving way, while iron rods assembled for the project were littered at the main arena. A civil engineer, Mr. Celestine Nwafor described as unfortunate, a situation whereby succeeding governments fail to complete

projects begun by their predecessors. He said that because of the long period of abandonment of the parade ground, it might even be more economical and safer to demolish it and build a new one, than attempting to complete the existing one. “Trying to finish the project as it is will require so much fortification, which might be more expensive than

demolishing it and building a new one,” he said. Nwafor, however, believed that there is still need for the project in view of the fact that Awka is a growing state capital, adding that no project in the area could be said to be undesirable at this stage.

When the immediate past gover nor of the state, Mr. Peter Obi assumed office, he embarked on the rehabilitation of the d e s t r o y e d infrastructure,

100 students get SAMOAEF scholarship BY FRANCIS IGATA

N U G U — T H E s u k k a based Samuel Maduka Onyishi Africa Entrepreneur Foundation, SAMOAEF, in Enugu State, has paid school fees for 100 students from various tertiary institutions in the country following its scholarship to them. The school fees was part of its activities to end the 2014 academic year. A l t o g e t h e r, a b o u t N 5 million was splashed on the students on the occasion at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, UNN. The founder of SAMOAEF, Chief Samuel Maduka Onyishi, who is the proprietor of Peace Mass N

C M Y K

•Chief Samuel Maduka Onyishi, giving award to a beneficiary Transit, PMT, who spoke said that the event was geared towards assisting the

less privileged and physically challenged students to cushion the

financial burden associated with their education. Onyishi said: “This annual

scholarship awards is to encourage beneficiaries to remain steadfast in the Lord and know that no matter the challenges one is facing, God will surely see one through. “The foundation is determined to assist students especially the physically challenged in the areas of scholarship and entrepre-neurship. We are hoping that we will increase the number of beneficiaries by this year. “As you receive this gift from the Lord, endeavour to do same to others. I will keep supporting the course of the physically challenged and less privileged in the society to ensure that educa-tion,which is the best tool of tackling poverty is given to our people.”

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2015 —7

•Ochudo City

7 YEARS AFTER LAND ACQUISITION:

Ebonyians still waiting for compensation BY PETER OKUTU

BAKALIKI—THE Ochudo City which would accommodate the new civil service secretariat, headquarters of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, the Government House, the Department of State Services, DSS, among other government facilities in Ebonyi State has been adjudged a laudable initiative by the present administration. The state government was able to map out huge expanse of land in Agbaja-Nnuphu in Izzi Local Government Area to accommodate the government facilities in 2008 ostensibly in the interest of the people of the state. There is no gainsaying that the projects had changed the entire landscape of the state

Don’t mind this people called government. They started a little process of compensation and stopped and they use such thing as a medium of campaign that everyone of us were paid. C M Y K

capital Abakiliki, as the Ochudo was now seen as a new city of its own which could serve as a tourist attraction for the people of the state. The total cost of the construction of the massive city was not ascertained as at the time of this report as work was still ongoing in the area but the new secretariat alone

was estimated at N18.6 billion, just as the international market would cost N18.3 billion with the road network linking the CBN office within Ochudo city constructed by Brass Engineering put at N1.2 billion. Also, the link road between the Enugu- Abakaliki express way and the Ochudo City/

Ebonyi International Market was estimated at N2.1 billion bringing the total cost of important projects in the area to about N40. 2 billion. However, the cost of all the project do not include compensation to the original land owners in the area, who were displaced without any form of payment for their cash crops and other economic trees. South East Voice gathered that lives and property were lost during the process as the people cried to various quarters for assistance without success. There had been claims and counter claims over the issue of compensation given to the original owners of the land in

Izzi Local Government Area of the state. Commissioner for Lands, Survey and Housing, Mr. Friday Nwogha who spoke on the issue stressed that the government of Chief Martin Elechi had paid and was still paying all the necessary compensations to the people of the area over the land. But, Linus Ogah who claimed that his house was destroyed when state government took over the land for the construction of Ochudo city and that no compensation was paid to him and his family. “Don’t mind this people called government. They started a little process of compensation and stopped and they use such thing as a medium of campaign that everyone of us was paid. Many of us have not been paid compensation as some of us have died out of pains and shock over the development. “That Ochudo city was built on the blood of innocent men and women. God will judge this present administration for all the things they did to us. We can no longer take care of our children let alone ensuring that they go to school. We need help from well meaning Nigerians. Elechi has killed us”. Reacting to the development, the former Commissioner for Information and state Orientation, Chief Abia Onyike stated that building a new secretariat was not a necessity for the people of the state. According to him, the new secretariat project was not a conduit pipe for the siphoning of public funds by officials of the state government, adding that the present administration was sincere in its efforts to uplift the living standard of the people.

Nsukka citizens honour Police Area Commander BY CHINENYEH OZOR, NSUKKA

S U K K A— C O N C E R N E D citizens of the University town of Nsukka and its environs in Enugu State have bestowed a prestigious award of excellence in security network on the Area Commander, Nsukka Police Command, ACP Haladu Musa, for crime prevention and detection in the area. The Nsukka Concerned Citizens, NCC, bestowed the honour on the Area Commander in recognition of his outstanding performance in policing the area and strategic policy of visiting every Police Assisted Neighbourhood Watch in each community within his jurisdiction along with his officers and men. In his speech during the brief but solemn ceremony held at Grace Manor Hotels Limited, Nsukka, the Chairman of the group, Mr. John Ezema (Coach) noted that the award was an eloquent testimony of the track records of the Area Commander since he arrived the University town of Nsukka barely three years ago. Mr. Ezema also said that what

endeared the Area Commander to the hearts of people in Nsukka cultural zone and the state generally was how he policed the area with catapult, explaining that the 2014 Christmas was the freest ever witnessed and celebrated in the annals of the history of the town as there were no cries of woes or distress by residents and visitors to the town all through the festive period. The Chairman said that the police commander ACP Haladu, exhibits an excellent trait in relationship with the general public both in social interaction and distress calls as he responds to distress calls promptly. ‘’The good working relationship of the Area Commander was what attracted an Nsukka business mogul, Chief Willam Agbo (Son of Paddy), to build a bungalow furnished to taste with a borehole as permanent residence of the police commander, instead of staying in hotels and rented apartments, while discharging his onerous duty policing the area. ‘’It was in commemoration of these and other outstanding qualities that Nsukka Concerned Citizens bestowed the most deserved honour of Agu n’Eche Mba III of Nsukka (Lion that

guards community) in appreciation of his diligence to duty, openness and goodwill characterised by freedom and choice,” Coach explained. Members of Nsukka Concerned Citizens includes; Messrs John Ezema, Chairman, Cyril Ozor Secretary, Dr. Chuka Ezema, Coordinator (Nwachinemere), Anthony Onwudinjo (Anunagbanogwe) Patron, Dr. Casmir Ani (DG Enigov), Agada Josephat Patron, Ikenna Ogbu (Mukundi), Pius Nwufoh (Afulukwe), Anthony Ezema(Mbanefo Timber), Face HOD Health, Andy Police rtd, Apolonia Anyanwu (Ada Nsukka), Lolo Mrs. Onwudinjo, Dr.Paul Ezema (Onuoha) and Chief Ogazi. Both Dr. Ezema and Dr. Ani in their separate speeches also applauded the Area Commander whose track records in policing the area remained unequalled by the retinue of Area Commanders that served in the area in the recent past. Responding to the honour, the Area Commander ACP Haladu, expressed appreciation to the award bestowed on him and promised never to renege in discharging his civic responsibilities by policing the area well.

8 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2015

FG earmaks N8bn to fight HIV/AIDS BY ANAYO OKOLI

MUAHIA—THE Federal Government has set aside N8 billion for the campaign against HIV/ AIDS in the country, in a bid to ensure that the funding of the project was not completely left at the discretion of foreign donors. Although foreign donors have not completely withdrawn from the programme, the dwindling global economy was adversely affecting the flow of funds for the campaign. This forced the government to brace up for the exercise by funding it through the SURE-P.

•Stakeholders meeting on NACA/SURE-P HIV/AIDS project implementation Sources said that as a result of the new arrangement, the state structures of NACA, the agency charged with creating awareness against the dreaded disease would be taken over by SURE-P. As part of the arrangement on the funding, a stakeholders meeting on NACA/SURE-P, the HIV and AIDS

project implementation was held at Umuahia last week to prepare grounds for the SURE-P take over of the NACA structures in Abia and other states with effect from March 31, 2015. The meeting was attended by SUREP and NACA officials as well as other international donors, particularly the

South East FVPMAN alleges lopsided disbursement of FG's N3bn Nollywood grant BY CHIMAOBI NWAIWU

NEWI—FILM and Video Producers and Marketers Association of Nigeria, FVPMAN, South East Zone is grumbling over the alleged lopsided disbursement of the N3 billion Federal Government’s grant to the Nollywood industry saying that the money was being given to people who had no business with the industry but friends of those disbursing the fund. Chairman of FVPMAN in the zone, Mr. Kenneth Izuogu, told South East Voice that out of the N1 billion already disbursed, nobody from the area had benefited. According to Izuogu, stakeholders from the area who were known for churning out films and videos had been denied the grant while non stakeholders in the industry, ‘’whose stock in trade is coming up to speak flawless English and presenting well packaged business plans are the people getting the money even when they have no business with Nollywood. ‘’This is even after they have met the requirements and applied for the grant like others. They are denied the grant and their applications turned down. “FVPMAN members in the zone come from Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo States, and we have kept the movie industry going. The body comprises of sponsors of movie, producers and marketers and other serious stakeholders. “We have had series of meetings with the Federal Ministry of Finance and Federal Ministry of Tourism on the

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disbursement of the funds but at the end, the fund was divided into three tranches. First there was fund for capacity building or Nollywood Capacity Building Fund, under the Project Act Nollywood Film. The second tranche is the Film Production Fund, while the third tranche is, the Innovative Distribution Fund. “However, N300 million was set aside for capacity building, while N700 million was set out as film production funds, making it N1billion. The remaining N2 billion was kept aside for innovative distribution to strengthen our distribution network and outlets.

This is even after they have met the requirements and applied for the grant like others. They are denied the grant and their applications turned down Incidentally, and quite disheartening, our members applied for the capacity building funds and to our greatest surprise... nobody from the South East of Nigeria got Capacity Building grant. “The second grant was Film Production Fund; that one was also open. Virtually all members from the South East extraction, all the house hold name marketers from the area in the movie industry applied for the

grant; met the requirements for the grant to be given. I also applied but to our greatest surprise our applications were turned down. Again, nobody from the South East got the fund, even when we are the hub of the Nollywood industry,” he said. Izuogu who is also an Onitsha based legal practitioner said FVPMAN has continued to produce movies in the Nigerian markets. “We are one of the stakeholders in the Nollywood industry, almost all the big names, stars and actors and actresses were nurtured by members of this body and in the Nigerian film industry, you cannot talk of the film marketers without talking of this strong association that has been pushing for the interest of the movie industry.’’ He further said “the last phase of the grant, Innovative distribution funds, has been opened, the Federal Ministry of Finance has opened the channel for this last stage of the grant and now the conditions has been rolled out, members are already agitating, saying let not what happened to the Capacity Building Fund and the Film Production Funds happen to N2 billion Innovative Distribution Funds.

President Goodluck Jonathan.

Family Health International. According to the Project Director of SURE-P Intervention Project, Dr. Sabastine Wakdok, ‘’it is hoped that by March 31, SURE-P will take over the state structures of NACA in line with the understanding of the international donors who are however to retain some level of contributions towards the project.’’ Wakdok explained that the ownership take over would involve funding, provision of anti- retro-viral drugs, test kits and advocacy support, among others, to ensure the sustenance of the fight against the HIV/AIDS disease. To achieve this, the Deputy Director, Finance, NACA, Dr. Kenneth Kalu, said that the Federal Government last year made provision for N8 billion to drive the ownership take over and ensure that the HIV/AIDS project was sustained even as international donors have reduced and channelled their aids to other areas of importance. Explaining the modalities for the ownership take over of the programme, Wakdok said that it would be done through the SURE-P. According to him, the government had already set a target of providing to over five million adults and children anti- retro viral drugs across the country. According to him, Abia and Taraba had been selected as pilot states for the ownership take project, just as ‘’they have targeted at least 15, 000 adults and children for attention in the states this year.’’ Wakdok, however, explained that the two states were not selected based on high prevalence of HIV/AIDS but due to the political will of the governments to prosecute the project going by past records. He said that there were states with higher prevalence rates than the two states, pointing out further that the workshop was to exchange ideas and views on how best to carry out the project in Abia State. The Abia State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Okechukwu Ogah, in his remarks, commended the Federal Government for the initiative as well as for selecting the state as one of the pilot states assuring that the state government would in line with its high interest in the health of the people continue to ensure that the sector received adequate attention.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2015—33 —33

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34—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2015

Oluremi Sonaiya

IGERIA’s lone female presidential candidate has been trending again and according to her, she’s the only candidate with clean hands. The professor of linguistics and presidential candidate of KOWA Party, wants Nigerians to look beyond the two leading presidential candidates if they truly want to have the change they desire. Ahead of next month’s presidential election, the focus has been on Goodluck Jonathan, incumbent president and candidate of the

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and Muhammadu Buhari, former head of state and presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC). Sonaiya agrees with Wole Soyinka’s position that Nigerians are in a dilemma with the two candidates being presented to them, one having a problem with his present, the other with his past. She says she has no problem at all. “I have been saying clean hands and no baggage,” she says. “Look behind me, there’s absolutely nobody standing behind, wanting to control or pull the strings. I have absolutely no baggage. For me, I don’t see a clean slate in the others.”

Bobbi Kristina Brown

NLY child of the doomed marriage of Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown has remained a subject on blogosphere in the last weeks since she was found unconscious in a bathtub. This week, the saga continues.As Bobbi Kristina Brown remains on life support in a Georgia hospital, boyfriend Nick Gordon continues to vent publicly over concerns for her well-being as well as the motives of her father, singer Bobby Brown. “Bobby [has] seen his daughter 4 times in the last 5 yrs. Now him and his family want Whitney’s money which belongs to Krissi or Cissy [Houston],” Gordon, 25, writes. “Go check out the few

pictures he has with her ... Dude is a joke played out. He is here for publicity.” Gordon also took aim at the extended Brown family’s rush to his girlfriend’s bedside, insinuating that the group had not been there for 21-year-old Bobbi Kristina or her late mother, who died of a drug overdose in 2012, in the past. “Crazy how all the Browns came to the hospital when this went down,” he writes. “I’ve been with her 24/7 watching over her and mom. Bobby left when it got heavy.” Gordon’s relationship with the family was strained prior to his and friend Max Lomas’s discovery of Bobbi Kristina unconscious in the bathtub of their Roswell, Georgia, home on Jan. 31.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

AVING rapidly fallen from grace to grass in recent times, blogosphere wildly shared gist on the minister last week when she said on Tuesday that corruption has persisted in Nigeria because it lacked the institutions, systems and processes to prevent it. The minister gave the verdict despite the country having in place two key anti-corruption agencies – the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission. According to her, the absence of the relevant systems and institutions that will help check corruption has created opportunities for people to engage in the act. “This thing has been with us and we must crack it. This is not something that started in this country today; but it is something that we must crack,” she said. “Fundamentally, we have to ask ourselves, why has this continued to be a problem? I am convinced that it is because we constantly look at the symptoms and not the cause of the disease. The cause of the disease is we don’t have in place the institutions, the systems and the processes to block and prevent it in the first place. That’s the only difference between us and the people abroad.” The minister assured that people would be compelled to do the right thing always if the appropriate systems were in place to block and prevent corruption. More politics.

Lupita Nyong’o

HIS actress’s appearance at the Oscars has drawn unprecedented attention the second year in a row, this time for a different reason. Lupita Nyong’o donned a stunning floor-length pearlbeaded gown to the Academy Awards on Sunday that quickly drew online comparisons to Kim Kardashian’s outfit for a 2008 Playboy shoot. The 31-year-old Oscar-winning actress wore a custom Calvin Klein gown that featured 6,000 pearls to the 87th annual awards ceremony held at the Dolby Theater in

Malala Yousafzai

ATURDAY marked 300 days since Boko Haram kidnapped hundreds of Nigerian girls and activist Malala Yousafzai criticized world leaders for their complacent response. The Nobel Peace Prize winner urged advocates and heads of state to treat the kidnapping victims the same way they would girls who hailed from prominent families and pushed Nigerian politicians to make rescuing the girls a priority during next month’s elections. Yousafzai’s appeal came ahead of a U.N. study released on Monday, which noted that attacks against schoolgirls worldwide have been occurring with increasing regularity.

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Kris Jenner

OTHER of reality show sisters popularly known as the Kardasians, Kris Jenner, 59, was hacked and now someone has nude photos of her which was shot in her house. Kris told her family (it was filmed for their reality show) that someone broke into her iCloud and took the private video. In the video, Kris Jenner was either pleasuring herself or there was someone else there. A few screenshots from the video have been leaked on the internet but the Kardashian Matriarch is trying to stop the video from being leaked. This will be a major storyline for next season of Keeping Up with Kardashians. Kris also claims she’s being extorted over the video.

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36—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2015

UK changes language testing for visa applicants By Vera Samuel Anyagafu & Prisca Sam-duru

HE UK government has announced important changes to language testing for visa applications, reducing the number of tests accepted for visa purposes and bringing in new requirements for the way the tests will be administered. IELTS – the world’s most popular test of English for higher education and global migration – has been approved for all UK visas that require applicants to provide proof of their level of English. This continues the important role

which IELTS has long played in language testing for immigration in the UK and other countries, including Australia, Canada and New Zealand. Under the new arrangements, IELTS tests for UK visa applications will be offered throughout the year in more than 100 key locations throughout the world, and a new test – IELTS Life Skills – will be introduced for people who need to prove their speaking and listening skills at level A1 or B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR).

the UK government. When a test is booked, the applicant must specify what the test is for and ensure that the centre is authorised to run tests for this purpose. IELTS, which is jointly owned by the British Council, IDP: IELTS Australia and Cambridge English Language Assessment, has played a key role in language testing for immigration purposes •Dr Andrew Pocock IELTS tests for visa purposes can only be taken at authorised centres and the centre must follow procedures specified by

throughout its 25 year history and is recognised by more than 9,000 organisations around the world including universities and employers in many countries, as well as by professional bodies, immigration authorities and other government agencies. More than 2.5 million IELTS tests were taken in 2014 in more than 140 countries.

Virgin Atlantic, British Council, name winners of Enterprise Challenge

HE British Council, in partnership with Virgin Atlantic Airways and Zenith

Bank in 2014 launched the maiden edition of its online competition tagged ‘Enterprise Challenge.’ “Enterprise Challenge” is an online competition which seeks to give young, brilliant entrepreneurial minds the opportunity to further develop their skills in this area and bring their innovative ideas to the fore for possible future development. A total of 10 finalists (Nigerians based in the UK and at home) battled for the top two spots and on June 14, 2014, Eseoghene Ise Odiete and Nasir Yammama emerged winners of the competition. They have since had the opportunity to meet with and be mentored by one the UK’s foremost entrepreneurs and Chairman of the Virgin Group, Sir Richard Branson. Eseoghene Odiete is an award winning young female fashion entrepreneur and the brain behind Hesey Designs, (an African inspired accessories label). Nasir Yammama just concluded his postgraduate studies in creative technology at Middlesex University in London and he is currently developing an agricultural themed mobile application which he hopes to launch before the end of the year. Other prizes won by the top two include, a five day entrepreneurship foundation course at the Branson Centre for Entrepreneurship in South Africa and a business support grant of N1,500,000 for each individual. The grant will be used to either support an already existing business or develop a business idea. As a show of continued commitment to the development of Nigerian youth, the programme partners have committed to run another cycle of this competition in second quarter of 2015. This year’s competition will be open to Nigerians domiciled in Nigeria who fall within the 18 to 35 year age bracket.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2015—37

•Babangida: Undecided but children backing Nasko

•Abubakar: Undecided but daughter backing Bello

NIGER: Generals at war FOR a state otherwise referred to as Power State, Niger State has not disappointed in marshalling out men of power in the ensuing governorship contest between the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and the All Progressives Congress, APC By Wole Mosadomi

N time past, the governor ship position in Niger State had always been a no contest with the populace playing little role in the final decision. It was always a last minute decision by the many retired generals. That was until 2007 when President Olusegun Obasanjo played a fast one on them after it took the generals a long time to decide, and Obasanjo, himself also a retired general, brushed aside party rules and ordered the then permanent secretary ministry of Federal Capital Territory, Dr. Babangida Aliyu to belatedly fill the PDP nomination form and become the next governor.

Political survival Now with Aliyu’s two terms about to expire and with the incumbent president fighting for his own political survival, the generals in Niger State have simply resorted to a war of attrition. On one side is General Gado Nasko, former commander of the Brigade of Guards and minister of FCT presenting his 37 year old son, Alhaji Umar Nasko as the candidate of the PDP. The choice is backed by Governor Babangida Aliyu and the PDP establishment in the state. In arriving at the choice of Nasko, the governor was compelled to rupture the long loyalty of his deputy, Alhaji Musa Ibeto who he scorned in

the PDP primaries. On the other hand is General Abdulsalami Abubakar presenting his son in law Alhaji Sani Bello as the candidate of the APC. Bello is also fanatically backed by his father, Colonel Sani Bello and most of the opposition in the state who fume that Governor Aliyu’s eight year tenure has been mostly talk and talk with no action. Of course, Gen. Abubakar being the national elder-statesman that he is, is openly not showing his hands though few doubt the inclination of his immediate family in the contest. The state’s most popular citizen, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida is also not showing his hands given the tough decision for him choosing between the son of a steadfast loyalist, Nasko and the son in law of his bosom friend, Abdulsalami. His children are, however, not given to any dribble as concerning their inclination. Mohammed Babangida, who was once projected for the governorship on the ticket of the PDP after some hesitation came out to identify with Nasko. Likewise his younger sister, Aisha Babangida. The two Babangida children have been sighted at Nasko’s campaign rallies. Nasko, who passed through military cadet training before proceeding with his education abroad served first as commissioner for commerce and then became the chief of staff to Gov-

ernor Aliyu. He is, however, challenged by two major issues, his age and the allegations of being part of a government that has not really impacted much on the citizenry. Defending his suitability for governor at 37 on one occasion he said:"What is important in this journey is not the age of a contestant but the quality of the age since how an individual feels about his age is largely the state of the mind of the individual.” Expectedly, he has promised to vigorously pursue the outgoing administration’s 3:2020 agenda, which is to put Niger State among the three leading economies in the country by the year 2020.

clared. Nasko also promised to look more inward to improve the revenue drive of the state saying,"we will explore alternative sources of Internal Tourisn aimed at creating additional income streams for the state." He also brought education to bear as he promised to revatilize the sector if elected. "The education sector will remain the bedrock of our strategic development Agenda for the realization of Vision 3:2020. We shall therefore not only streghten all existing policies in the Sector which include free education, free NECO or WAEC examination fees, increased Bursary allowances among others but also build additional schools and expand the existing Infrastructure to sustain the tempo of increased pupils enrollments and

Policy initiatives "In addition to sustaining the laudable policy initiatives and fully implementing the transformation projects of the present state administration, we will create an investment corridor in Niger State to attract foreign direct investment that will leverage on our vast economic resources for the actualization of Vision 3:2020. Our Economic development blueprint will be anchored on the Agriculture sector where we will exploit our comparative advantages of abundant arable land and consolidate on the value chain in rice, yam, cereal, fisheries and livestock development across the state," he de-

Now with Aliyu’s two terms about to expire and with the incumbent president fighting for his own political survival, the generals in Niger State have simply resorted to a war of attrition

the standard of quality educational services," he remarked, The PDP candidate who is also in his youthful stage has special package for the youths esoecialky on employment, under-development and general youth Empowerment. "Undoubtedly, the future of our Nation and that of any Nation depends on the quality and vibrancy of the youth. We shall consokidate ob what us being done by the present administration to squarely address the challenges of youth development in the state by strengthening existing and public and private sector initiatives. We shall look into the issues of youth unemployment, underemployment and wrong unemplorement and indeed general youth empowerment to build the capacity of the youth in contributing to the overall development of our state and this will be the golden opportunity for us to prove ourselves and show that yes, we can do it better," Nasko declared. However, the APC candidate, Bello has continued to campaign on what he claims as the failures of the present administration and the need to bring a change. He has pointed out that from what he saw during his campaign to nooks and crannies of the state, the people of the state are suffering from abject poverty because of their total neglect by the administration of the PDP.

Provision of good roads Speaking in an interview the APC Candidate said, "the PDP scoreboard claims of providing potable water all around the state, provision of good roads, improvement in the Education Sector and Health Care Services in all Local Government areas of the state are mere propaganda and deceit. "I cannot tell you all that I saw during my tour but I can say I have seen hardship, I have seen people that have no portable water to drink, people who do not know what government is or all about. This is very disheartening that they are part of us but unfortunately, government has not taken good care of them over the years," "I have seen areas which ordinarily should take you less than an hour to get to but you eventually end up spending hours. The Education Sector is so pathetic and unacceptable especially in the Girls schools left with no perimeter fencing in most of them and without toilet facilities. If we succeed in 2015, we will improve on all these sectors and transform the state into an enviable one and this is why I am desperate to become the Governor of Niger state not for myself but to better the lives of people if the state who have been neglected and made to be suffering," he declared,

38—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2015

How we will resist PDP, Jonathan in Lagos — Sen Ashafa FORMER Permanent Secretary, Land Bureau in Lagos, Senator Gbenga Bareehu Ashafa, is also the senatorial candidate of All Progressives Congress, APC, for the Lagos East Senatorial District in the March 28th National Assembly election. At a forum he held recently at a town hall meeting with residents and stakeholders, he spoke on his agenda and why he wants to return to the Senate. By Olasukanmi Akoni

N transition from civil service to politics There was nothing difficult about transiting from the civil service into politics. In both cases you deal basically with people. For example, as a civil servant, you are like a commuter who uses a chartered cab to move about while as a politician you are like a commuter who goes about in a commercial bus, popularly called “molue” bus. It’s really, an easy transition for me because its all about service to the people. Impact at the senate and score cards at constituency level As a legislator, I have 3 basic responsibilities or functions: Law making, effective representation and oversight duty. To the glory of God, in just four years, I have shown full commitment to the development of infrastructure across the communities in Lagos East. The people, traditional rulers in the area can attest to it that I have impacted positively on lives in the entire district and I have the capability to do more.

Health care and microfinance In a broad sense, my achievements cut across ICT Training for youths, education, sustainable agricultural development, healthcare and micro-finance. Till date, I have sponsored 17 bills and three motions on the floor of the Senate. Notable among them is the motion on the imminent collapse of the Third Mainland Bridge. The Constituency projects that I facilitated to my district cut across 98 locations and they include; Classroom blocks, Streetlights, transformers, ambulance points and motorized boreholes among others. Assessment of INEC In relation to PVCs, I will be quick to say that INEC has disappointed the entire country by waiting till few months to the election before commencing the distribution of the PVCs. However, I hope that at least, 70 percent of eligible

voters will be able to collect their PVCs at the end of deadline as announced by INEC. Security of the countr y, country especially in the case of the Chibok girls In my own candid opinion, the military is doing its best under the current situation by engaging the insurgents in warfare. However, I strongly condemn the president and the Commander in Chief for not mustering the courage to visit affected areas, especially “Chibok” until recently, Wednesday, January 14th, 2015, which to many is only to score cheap political point. On postponement of elections President Jonathan’s Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, led Federal Government is a monumental failure and as such should be resisted by all Nigerians using their thump and Permanent Voter Cards at the polls, on the postponed poll date of March 28 to vote him out of office. His unfulfilled promises have led to the deterioration of the nation’s economy, education, infrastructure among others and the abysmal devaluation of

naira, insecurity in the northern part of the country and celebration of corrupt leaders. The security reason among others given for the postponement of the February polls by Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, is untenable. Nigerians were not particularly surprised at the postponement and many actually saw it coming. It was no doubt an executive coercion and Nigerians will remain suspicious of a premeditated plan to subvert democratic process. What can be done to rebrand our politics and change it from this attitude of do or die? To rebrand our politics, we need to rebrand ourselves first. This goes for the leadership and followership. Let the principle of internal

It is a dream that can never come true. I don’t see the PDP winning our party in Ikorodu axis, it is just a mere dream that would never come true

•Ashafa: I don’t see the PDP winning our party democracy be adhered to by political parties and there should be a level playing ground for all and sundry. Let us have the fear of God and know that power is transient. View on the recent reduction of Petrol Price The reduction of pump price of petrol by N10 is laughable because this is not commensurate with the shrink by over 50 per cent in the international oil price. This is a slap on the face of all Nigerians. The government of the day should stop deceiving her innocent citizens, I will be modest if I say we should be buying a litre of petrol for N57. Claims that the PDP is having upper hand in

Ikorodu It is a dream that can never come true. I don’t see the PDP winning our party in Ikorodu axis, it is just a mere dream that would never come true, since the administration of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Ikorodu has been witnessing several infrastructural development, Tinubu was the one that built the Independent Power Plant at Egbin, the Ikorodu road under construction is another indelible achievement that the Ikorodu People can feel as another dividend of democracy under the outgoing Governor, Mr Babatunde Fashola and many other infrastructural developments in Ikorodu and across the state at large.

WOGU’S WARNING: Nations don’t change war time leaders By Charles Kumolu

OR Nwadiala Emeka Wogu, the immediate past minister of labour and productivity the activities of Boko Haram in the Northeast had been a serious worry. For one whose infanthood was laced with the severity of the civil war, the bestiality associated with the group was one thing that he did not really want to befall the people of the Northeast. It was as such no surprise that even before the Federal Government took the decision to frontally combat the group, that Wogu called for frontal action against the pretentious Islamic group. “What is happening in the North-East now demands full military action against the Boko Haram group. A group that has gone the length of carving out some portion of Nigerian land for itself, and has declared war on our sovereignty,” he had said in an interview with Vanguard

•Wogu: Seeks stability during war time asserting that the group should not be treated with kid gloves. The former minister was thus gratified this week that the Federal Government had launched a full scale war against the group. Noting the import of the administration’s action, he had

said: “The ongoing war in the Northeast is undoubtedly a sore point in the nation’s history. Just as Nigeria is making progress in its economy and has been certified as Africa’s biggest economy, Boko Haram surfaced to test the capacity and content

of the Nigerian leadership. The challenge of the insurgency is one that no Nigerian leader has ever had to confront.” “Despite the multifarious distractions, nearly all Nigerians across tribe and tongue can now confidently assert that the Nigerian military is now roasting the insurgents after taking the war to them.” “This is something I had consistently called for and I salute the gallantry of the Nigerian military and praise our men and women in uniform for the sacrifices that they are making for the unity of the nation.” “This is, however, no opportunity for Nigerians to waver in the resolute determination that we have shown towards uprooting this ugly evil from our land.” “Despite scepticism in some entrenched quarters, President Goodluck Jonathan has ably

Continues on page 39

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2015—39

Our crave for Accord in Delta — Agbidi, Ndokwa Rep candidate Hon Azuka Agbidi, a former stalwart of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in Delta State talks on his ambition to take up the Ndokwa/Ukwuani federal constituency seat in the House of Representatives. Excerpts: By Faith Olatide

HAT inspired you into the contest? I decided to vie for this post to give my people quick and positive representation because my people have been alienated over time. Ndokwa/Ukwuani federal constituency, is an oil producing area but we have nothing to show for it. If you look around you will see that we are lacking in areas of infrastructure development. There is nothing like empowerment, we are just so impoverished; there is nothing to show that we are an oil producing area. So I believe with my exposure, I will be able to represent my people very well. Why the choice of Accord? I chose Accord because people like us who really wanted to serve were not given the platform under the PDP and that is why we have gone to Accord where we know we can get the ticket to challenge whosoever we want to challenge and we are very sure that we will win because of the populace. Why did you leave the PDP? The reason for the influx of people from the PDP in Delta State to Accord is because people were aggrieved because the primaries were not conducted articulately, to the best of people’s knowledge.

Holding of congress Primaries are normally conducted with delegates, and before you get delegates you must hold a congress. There was nothing like a congress. The people that were meant to be delegates were handpicked by leaders. The people were not actively represented. If there was to be a congress, meaning people will come around to vote for those they wanted as delegates, then it would have gone a long way to bringing the desired changes in the primaries, but since people were handpicked, you now know the story. So people were aggrieved and moved over to Accord. What makes you confident that the people will vote for you? We are in a jet age now, and we have gone beyond party boundaries and it is individuals that matter. People are going to understand that we came from the PDP and we are

•Ballot boxes on display before voting in a past election

The constituencies •Agbidi: Accord candidate Photo: Kehinde Gbadamosi

people to reckon with. They are going to vote for Goodluck Jonathan, PDP for governor. When it gets to the senatorial, they are going to look for Hon. Ochei of Accord because he is a good administrator, he has been tested and everyone knows he is the right person for Delta North. When it comes to House of Representatives in my own domain, people are going to look for Accord. People are voting for individuals not party. What do you think is your advantage in the contest? I have an edge over my fellow contestant, reason being that the incumbent, who is flying the flag of the PDP has been there for 4 years, and before that was in the state house of assembly for 8 years. But in this whole

12 years, he has offered nothing. It may interest you to know that I have not held any political position but I have contributed enormously to the well being of my people. I have given them scholarships, I have bought transformers, I have done a lot of MOUs because it may interest you to know that I am a facilitator as well as a consultant. I have handled consultations and facilitations between oil companies, the community and the government. So when I am given the mandate, I will go there and drive this same MOU to any part of the community that has what it takes to benefit from it.

By Emmanuel Aziken

HE Presidential and National Assembly Elections have now been rescheduled to hold on March 28, 2015, while Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections are rescheduled to hold on 11th April, 2015. The whole country serves as a constituency for the presidential election and the major candidates are expected to garner votes from across the country. The country is however, broken into 109 Senatorial constituencies divided at the rate of three per state and one for the Federal Capital Territory. This is because the Senate is divided based on the equality of states. The 360 federal

WOGU’S WARNING: Nations don’t change war time leaders Continues from page 38 marshalled our forces in this critical effort to uproot the evil in our land and I enjoin Nigerians all over not to lose faith in the leadership.” Wogu is, however, concerned about what the effects of politics may have on the war in the Northeast and would want the country to remain resolute in rallying round President Goodluck Jonathan in the continuing war. “This is no time for us pander to political, religious or ethnic

sentiments that will distract us from the compelling objective of bringing liberty to every inch of the land. Other nations faced with similar circumstances as we are now facing refused to be distracted and kept faith with their leaders.” “Britain held on to Winston Churchill, America held on to Franklin Roosevelt, Nigeria even during a military regime held on to Yakubu Gowon.” “Goodluck Jonathan deserves similar treatment!”

•Prof Jega

constituencies are divided based on the population proportion, land mass and other variables. The governorship election would be held in 29 states with the exclusion of Edo, Kogi, Bayelsa, Ondo, Anambra, Ekiti and Osun States. However, election would be held to fill vacancies that would be due in May into all 36 state Houses of Assembly. All the elections will be held in 119, 973 polling units across the country and at the same time. INEC sources say that the ballot papers have been specifically designed for polling stations making it a useless effort to stuff ballot boxes with ballots from other sources.

Tomorrow: Protocol at the Polling Station.

40 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2015

CAF CONFED Cup:

Warri Wolves host Bobo Dioulasso on Saturday BY SOLOMON NWOKE

ONTRARY to the earlier fixture of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) second leg match between the home team, Warri Wolves and Racing Bobo Dioulasso earlier fixed for Sunday, March 1, the match will now hold on the 28th, February at the Warri City Stadium. In a similar development, a 29 man delegation from the visiting team will arrive Warri tomorrow from Burkina Faso for the match which promises to be exciting and explosive with Warri Wolves having a slight advantage of winning the first leg by a lone goal Immediately after the first leg in Dioulasso, Racing Bobo FC officials had promised to turn the table in Warri and to see to their dream, a two man advanced team were expected to arrive Warri yesterday to prepare ground for the team’s arrival. However, no reason was given for the adjustment in the fixture, but the Media

Manager of Warri Wolves, Moses Etu said it was to ensure the team wins the second leg very well at home. “ The match will hold on Saturday which is the 28th of February even though our normal day of playing our home matches is Sunday but there is no cause for alarm We are really ready for them because after the match in

CAF Champions

Enyimba await Ol ahead of Buffles d

Injured Pillars ace Zango stays out

an o Pi lla rs de fe nd er Umar Zango will stay ou t of a CAF Champions League pr el im in ar y ro un d ga me ag ain st M ala ik a of So ut h Sudan on Saturday in Kano. Th e Ni ge ria ‘B ’ international is yet to recover fro m th e kn ee in ju ry th at stopped him from fea turing in the first leg which Pillars won 2-0 in Juba. The club media office r Idris Malikawa confirmed that the team’s doctor said he will not be ready for

•Zango

s Enyimba International Football Club of Aba prepare for the second leg of the Champions League first round clash against Buffles du Borgou FC of Benin Republic one player who Kadiri Ikhana will be praying for his fitness is defensive midfielder Rasheed Olabiyi. Olabiyi missed that first leg in Aba not due to injury but because he was severely lacking in match fitness. He probably was the last senior player to return to camp this season and hence there was very little time to be ready for that encounter. It did not matter in the end because despite using Sikiru Kamal in Olabiyi’s position (with Chima Uluocha injured and Razak Aliyu picking his own injury warm up), Enyimba still gave a good account of themselves. 3 goals and

18 players in Supersand Eagles’ camp

oach Audu Adamu Ejo is awaiting only two players in his camp at Aivoji Beach, Badagry as the team kicked off training programme on Tuesday ahead of the Power Horse Invitational Beach Soccer Tournament in South Africa and the 2015 African Beach Soccer Championship qualifying fixture against Libya, all next month. “We have started training sessions, but we are expecting two more players.

C M Y K

Dioulasso, they promised to turn the table in Warri, so we are not taking them for granted. They have a good team. A 29 man delegation will arrive Warri on Thursday and on Saturday, all things been equal, the match will take place.

Bartholomew Ibenegbu and Abu Azeez, both players of Warri Wolves, have been allowed to remain with their clubs until they play their CAF Confederation Cup second leg match this weekend,” Ejo said. Abu Azeez scored Warri Wolves’ lone goal in the away win over Racing Club BoboDioulasso of Burkina Faso in their first leg, first round match penultimate weekend. Ibenegbu, nicknamed Mosquito, is also a

regular with the Warri –based side. The Supersand Eagles will fly to Durban next week Wednesday for the Power Horse Tournament, taking place March 6-8, and will return to Nigeria on March 9 for the first leg qualifier against Libya at the Elegusi Beach in Lagos on March 14. The return leg takes place in Tripoli on Friday, March 20.

a clean sheet; just what the ordered. For this game, Enyimba w have their very best legs o why hopes are that Olabiyi fo for the game. No doubt a 3-0 lead is a heading into the second le their showing two weeks ag

Eaglet

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2015 — 41

Monaco’s Berbatov returns to hunting ground at Arsenal D

imitar Berbatov will be hoping for a goalscoring return against his former arch-enemies Arsenal when AS Monaco come to the red half of north London for their Champions League Round of 16 first leg match today The Bulgarian is still remembered with affection for the 46 goals he scored for Arsenal’s local rivals Tottenham Hotspur in a two-year spell at White Hart Lane before a £30 million move to Manchester United in September 2008. He scored twice for Fulham at the Emirates in a 3-3 draw in November 2012 and, though he turned 34 in January, the Bulgarian heads back to London as Monaco’s top scorer this season. Monaco head to Arsenal buoyed by their 1-0 derby win at Nice on Friday which sees them fourth in Ligue 1 with just one defeat in their last 17 matches in all competitions. They also won 1-0 at the Emirates last August when Radamel Falcao,

•Berbatov

now on loan at Manchester United, scored the only goal in the pre-season Emirates Cup tournament against the hosts. But there will be very little similarity between that warm-up summer run-out and the real business of the Champions League on Wednesday. Monaco’s Belgian winger Yannick Carrasco is having treatment on a bruised right thigh while their France defender Layvin Kurzawa is also being treated for bruised quadriceps. Monaco coach Leonardo Jardim told Britain’s Sunday Sun newspaper: “Everyone considered us a gift, a lucky draw, so the luck fell to Arsenal.

Atletico duo aim to down Leverkusen

s League:

labiyi boost du Borgou clash

e doctor would have

would surely love to out there and that is or one would be ready

a healthy advantage eg and judging from go, Buffles are hardly

a bunch to be scared of but it would be wrong to judge them primarily on that performance. They were supposed to arrive Aba on the Thursday but they arrived Saturday night a day to their encounter and their poor preparation was evident during the game. However we also saw how dangerous they could be going forward when they attacked in the second half, Idris Aloma clearing a chance off the line.

ts’ Halilu to miss SA te st G

olden Eaglets’ defende r, Za been ruled out of tod kari Lukman Halilu,has ay ’s Niger 2015 Afric Under 17 Championship an semi-final clash again st South Africa. Halilu was sanctioned by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Discipli nary Board after receiv ing yellow cards in two previou s matches against Gu inea and Zambia. In a commun ication to the Nigerian team the board noted inter alia : ‘for having received tw o cautions in different matches in the frame of this co mp (matches 10 and 5), player No. 15, Zakari etition Lukman Halilu is automatically suspended for this next match13 Nigeria Vs. South Africa.’ Crest-fallen Halilu who Eaglets’ landmark 100th ironically scored Golden goal in all matches on the road to Niger 2015, said he was optimistic his tea m mates would get the job done against Amajimbos to enable him feature for the fin al.

tletico Madrid arrived Bayer Leverkusen for today’s Champions League last 16, first leg, clash hoping for a sixth straight clean-sheet in Europe, with Mario Mandzukic and Antoine Griezmann hunting more goals. Between them the pair have already bagged 37 goals this season as the 2014 Champions League finalists look to leave Leverkusen’s BayArena with an advantage in the hunt for a quarter-final place. Former Bayern Munich striker Mandzukic has already shown Pep Guardiola what he is missing in Bavaria by scoring 20 goals, while Griezmann has hit the net 17 times for Atletico this season. French midfielder Griezmann says Diego Simeone’s Madrid need a good start in Leverkusen, just as they had in Saturday’s 3-0 home league win over Almeria to stay third in the table. “We need to keep working and enjoying the games like we are at the moment,” said the Frenchman after netting in the 20th and 29th minute following Mandzukic’s 13th-minute penalty. “We need to face all the games the same way, trying to win and coming out flying from the start.” The only casualty for Madrid is midfielder Koke, who will miss the first leg with a hamstring injury having, scored two goals and provided four assists in the group stages.

Monaco are dangerous Wenger warns Arsenal

head of their Champions League round of 16 tie against Monaco, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is wary of the threat posed by the French outfit. Arsenal finished second in their Champions League group, behind Borussia Dortmund, and have been drawn to play Monaco who topped their group ahead of Bayer Leverkusen, in their round of 16 tie, the first leg of which is due to be played at the Emirates Stadium today. Monaco scored the fewest goals of all the round of 16 qualifiers this season and conceded only once through their entire group stage. Wenger, who managed Monaco from 1987 until 1994, believes that the French outfit will pose the Gunners a lot of danger on the break and the visitors’ tight defence will be hard to penetrate. “They are a disciplined team who are very strong in defence, well organised and dangerous on the break”, Wenger explained at a press conference. C M Y K

42 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2015

PVC’s: Immigrations goes tough in Lagos •55 yr-old Ghanaian, son, arrested By Evelyn Usman

HE Lagos State Command of the Nigeria Immigration Service,NIS, recently, arrested a 55-year-old Ghanaian and his son with Permanent Voters’ Cards, PVCs, at Awolowo Road, Ikoyi area of Lagos State. This is just as it has repatriated over 400 illegal immigrants in Lagos, in its bid to prevent aliens from voting in the forthcoming general elections. Crime Alert gathered that aliens, particularly those from Chad and Niger, were allegedly being recruited by politicians to vote for them in the rescheduled elections. Consequently, the Comptroller of Immigration, Lagos State Command, Mrs Justina Ahmadu reportedly directed her men to go on the trail, in the process of which the Ghanaians; Abubakar Yusuf (51) and Alli Abubakar (23) were arrested. In this conversation with the suspects, father and son denied claims that they were hired by politicians to vote for them. Rather, Abubakar Yusuf said he registered in order to enable his son further his tertiary education in Nigeria, since he had lived in the country for about 35 years.

Immigration officials

•The recovered PVCs secondary education in Nigeria before traveling to Ghana to complete his secondary education. Claims to be indigene of Kano He disclosed that he identified himself as a citizen of Kano while registering. According to him, “ Most of my friends are from Kano State and I usually travel to Kano for visits. So, I identified myself as an indigene of Kano State during registration, using details of my friends to answer questions bordering on the local government and the state one is from. I was instructed by my father to get the PVC in order to have the necessary documents to prove my citizenship as a

Nigerian when the need arises. I had succeeded in collecting it(PVC) and was on the verge of registering for the national identity card when officials of the NIS who were on a routine raid around Awolowo Road arrested me.” The command boss, Mrs. Justina Ahmadu stated that further investigations revealed that the duo do not have the necessary documents permitting them to stay in Nigeria. She therefore, stated that they would be immediately repatriated, and further warned aliens to steer clear of the forthcoming elections.The raid, according to her, would continue until the state was rid of illegal

immigrants. 4 0 0 illegal immigrants deported Meanwhile, statistics at the disposal of Crime Alert showed that over 400 illegal immigrants had been deported since Ahmadu assumed office as Lagos State Command boss. Majority of the deportees were from the Republic of Niger. Others were Chadians and Cameroonians. Just last week, a raid conducted round areas like Lagos Island, Ajegunle, Maroko, Amukoko, Alaba and other areas

zAbubakar Yusuf within Lagos metropolis led to the arrest of 82 illegal immigrants, all from Niger. During a chat with Crime Alert, some of them disclosed that they also had their temporary voters' cards but could not visit the designated points to exchange them for the PVCs, owing to the presence of Immigration officers around the areas.

How Enugu magistrate met his untimely death zI shot him after an altercation — Suspect

According to him: “ I work at By Francis Igata, Enugu Polo Club, Victoria Island as a horse rider. I was at home last THEcold-blooded killing of the week, when some men later Magistrate in-charge of Enugu discovered to be officials of the East, Mr. OJ Nwani, on September 1, 2014, Nigeria Immigration Service sent chills down the spines of residents of came calling. They conducted a search in my apartment where they found my PVC. Nobody paid me to vote for them: “Yes, I registered as a Nigerian with the intention to vote for any candidate of my choice. Nobody paid me to collect the PVC. I registered because I have lived in Nigeria for 35 years and I wanted my children to go to school here, particularly tertiary institutions without the extra fee for international students. I regret my action but it was done without sinister motive,” he said. On his part, his son, Alli Yusuf , stated that he attended primary school zAbuchi Afam and part of his

the area. In fact, his gruesome murder as he was driving out of his gate at Trans-Ekulu area of the city to attend a private engagement spread fear around the whole area and beyond. Soon after his death, police detectives attached to the anti-kidnapping unit of the state command swung into action. Several arrests were made as rumours spread, like wild fire, over the motive of the assassins. While some people attributed his death to causes related to one or two controversial cases before his court, others felt the magistrate was very controversial and may have irked one or two persons resulting in his assassination. That notwithstanding, the state police boss, Adamu Mohammed, reportedly gave marching orders to detectives to unravel the mystery surrounding the tragedy without delay. Fortunately, his directive paid off as few weeks later, eagleeyed detectives in Enugu were able to trace one of the suspects to Aba in Abia state and he confessed to the crime. Crime Alert spoke with the suspect, Abuchi Afam, 21, from Eda in Afikpo-South LocaL Government Area of Ebonyi State inside the confines of his cell. Excerpts:

OW it happened “I was initiated into the Vikings Confraternity in 2014 at Ugwuaji axis of

Enugu. I was a bus conductor and a driver too. On September 1, 2014, I was at Garki axis of Enugu when Biako, Oloto and Ike who are members of Vikings came and asked me to join them on a reprisal cult hit against Aye or Black Axe confraternity. I met these people where I went to smoke Indian hemp at Akwuke street,Uwani,Enugu. “I joined them in a tricycle and we drove to Trans-Ekulu. This was around 8-9p.m. As we drove along one of the streets, we saw a man driving out of his gate. We immediately accosted him and I shot him during the ensuing altercation with a locally-made double barrel pistol. Our intention was to snatch the car, a Toyota Camry and use it for operations. “We discharged the tricycle operator and drove off. I left Enugu for Aba, Abia State, knowing the gravity of what I have committed. The operatives from Enugu Police command traced me to Aba and apprehended me. The other members of the gang are on the run now. Regrets “I am regretting my involvement in this heinous crime. I do not know what led me into it. I would say the Indian hemp contributed a lot to this my ordeal. Had it been I knew,I would not have followed them when they came to me at Garki. We are only two in the family. My mother died five years ago. I wonder what she would think of me now in her grave.”

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2015—43 —43

44—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2015

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2015—45

Political parties in Rivers urged to honour peace accords By Jimitota Onoyume

ORT HARCOURT— GOVERNORSHIP candidates of the various political parties in Rivers State have been enjoined to be committed to the peace accords they signed to shun violence before and after the general elections in the state. Briefing newsmen yesterday in Port Harcourt, under the aegis of Rivers state Conflict Management Alliance, SCMA, its coordinator, Dr Fidelis Allen, flayed the recent political crisis in Okrika Local Government Area of the state, where thugs disrupted a rally of the All Progressives Congress, APC, with explosives and other lethal weapons. Appealing to the political parties to honour the agreements signed by their leaders on promotion of peace, Allen called on security agencies in the state to unmask those behind the violence and ensure they were

Rivers PDP dares APC to react to corruption allegations

IVERS State chapter of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has challenged the National Publicity Secretary of All Progressives Congress, APC, Alhaji Lai Mohammed to react to a recent media report, detailing how his party allegedly connived to swindle Rivers State of over N11 million purportedly for an APC session at the UK House of Commons. Mr Jerry Needam, media aide to the state PDP Chairman, in a statement, said: “This is just one of several acts of corruption foisted on the state by APC “The stolen N11.08 million was not only endorsed but was also pocketed as there was no such journey to the United Kingdom under any guise. “This has fortunately exposed the hue and cry by the APC about fight against corruption as pretentions and spurious for demons can only align to strengthen their powers than fight themselves."

made to face the law. He said: “We join the people of Rivers State, Nigerians and the International community to call on security agencies to investigate the matter and ensure that perpetrators of violence are prosecuted.” The group urged

government and security agencies to avoid a repeat of the recent incident in the state, stressing that there were early warning on the likely outbreak of political violence in Okrika that should have made all stakeholders to be proactive.

Allen appealed to government, security agencies and all political parties to repair the already battered psyche of voters, adding that many voters were already afraid of coming out to perform their civic duties on the days of the elections.

VISIT: From left: Chief Tuesday Onoge, President General of new Urhobo Progress Union, UPU, leadership; Olorogun O'tega Emerhor, Delta State All Progressives Congress, APC, governorship candidate; Prophet Jones Erue, Delta State APC Chairman and Chief Frank Kokori, former labour leader and APC chieftain, when Emerhor led APC chieftains on a visit to the new UPU executives in Warri, yesterday. Photo: Egufe Yafugborhi.

A-Ibom lawmaker warns against election malpractices By Chioma Onuegbu

YO—THE lawmaker representing Okobo constituency in Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly and Chairman, House Committee on Youths, Sports and Security, Mr Efiffiong Antigha, has warned all Akwa Ibom electorate, especially the youths, to refrain from political thuggery and other forms of election malpractices capable of destroying their lives and future. Antigha spoke, yesterday, in Uyo during a voter education workshop organised by Women United for Economic Empowerment, WUEE, in partnership with Actionaid Nigeria, while reacting to logistic issues that hinder peaceful and credible elections raised by the representatives drawn from 18 select wards of Uruan, Abak, Nsit Ubium, Ikono, Okobo, and Ikot Abasi Local Government Areas, such as snatching of ballot boxes, multiple voting, and nonperformance of elected leaders. The lawmaker decried a situation where the citizenry themselves promote corruption

and malpractices in the electoral system by demanding money and other incentives for their votes. He stressed that no amount of money or inducement one receives either as a political thug or for votes was worth the punishment and denial they would suffer when

caught. “In elections, there are always myriads of problems, ranging from imposition of wrong candidates to thuggery. I know of a boy who voted when he was not up to 18 and involved in multiple voting and was caught, tried and sentenced," he said.

Osifo flays attacks on Esogban By Simon Ebegbulem

ENIN—FORMER National Publicity Secretary of the defunct Unity Party of Nigeria, UPN and close political associate of the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Mr Eddy Osifo, has described as shameful and unfortunate, the attacks on the person of the Esogban of Benin Kingdom and chairman of Benin Forum, Chief David Edebiri, over his comments that the Binis may not vote for President Goodluck Jonathan. He argued that Chief Edebiri, who was a Zikist and later the National Organizing Secretary of the Action Group

during the Midwest era, is an elder statesman that cannot be influenced with money as he understands the politics of the Binis more than those attacking him over his comments on Jonathan. He said “Edebiri has not exceeded his bounds at all and he has not said anything which he ought not to have said. We are in a democracy, he can claim that the whole Binis will vote for Gen Muhammadu Buhari and that they will all vote against Jonathan. It is the duty of those who hold contrary view to say they will vote for Jonathan and not Buhari and not to abuse Edebiri for any reason."

C-River tops World Bank rural devt index

ROSS River State Government has disbursed over N1.7 billion directly to 247 communities across the state for the execution of various community projects, thereby emerging tops in the World Bank project review implementation progress report on overall performance index in Nigeria. A document obtained from the World Bank Aide memoire after an implementation support Commission for Community and Social Development project, CSDP, Nigeria, revealed that Cross River is leading 25 other participating states on the project in terms of disbursements to grants. The World Bank explained that the funds released through the State Community and Development Agency was germane for the project to actualise its planned development objective.

Politicians urged to put Nigeria's unity above personal ambition

HEAD of the rescheduled general elections in March and April this year, Amnesty Students Advocacy for Peace, ASAP, has called on Nigerian politicians to put the unity of the country above personal ambition. The group, in a statement by its President, Mr. Bigha Ebenezer, at the Igbinedion University, Okada town, Edo State, cautioned politicians to desist from making inflammatory statements in their election campaigns that are capable of heating up the polity, adding, “We should not pull down the country that our founding fathers made enormous sacrifices to build.” The group which is canvassing for a nationwide support for the reelection of President Goodluck Jonathan, called on the Arewa Consultative Forum, Afenifere, Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra, MASOB, and other interest groups in Nigeria to ensure violence free polls, come March and April.

46—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2015

Fire guts Ebonyi Assembly complex

Anglican clerics canvass support for Jonathan

zSpeaker blames executive By Peter Okutu

BAKALIKI—FIRE, yesterday, gutted Ebonyi State House of Assembly in Abakaliki. The fire, which started in the Accounts Department, spread to the media section of the complex. According to a source, the fire destroyed properties, including sensitive documents. At press time, policemen with Armoured Personnel Carrier, APC, were stationed at the gate of the Assembly complex as journalists, casual workers of the state assembly, among others, were not allowed into the complex. Some Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, stakeholders in the state have accused youths loyal to Labour Party, LP, of masterminding the fire. However, others exonerated the youths, saying they would have started with the hallowed chambers, the Speaker’s office and not the account section of the complex, if they were involved. Reacting to the incident, Governor Martin Elechi said

By Chimaobi Nwaiwu

NEWI—TWO Anglican Bishops, Rt. Rev. Marcus Ibrahim of Yola Diocese and Rt. Rev Dr. Owen Nwokolo of Diocese on the Niger have called on Nigerians to support President Goodluck Jonathan’s second term bid. According to the bishops, Jonathan is the right person to take the country to the expected level of development. The two spoke at All Saints Cathedral, Onitsha, Anambra State, during the collation of two Archdeacons and eight Canons by the Diocese On the Niger, Anglican Communion. They said the East was like the custodian of Christianity in Nigeria, explaining that it the reason they should not abandon Christians in the North.

zWe 'll investigate, says Gov Elechi

it was wrong for the House to draw any conclusion over the incident, adding that a thorough investigation would be carried out to ascertain the immediate and remote causes of the outbreak. The governor, who expressed delight that no life was lost in the fire, called on the lawmakers to restrain themselves from actions that would not promote peace and unity of the state.

Police story

Meanwhile, the State Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO ASP Chris Anyanwu, stated that the fire started at about 1:15am yesterday. “We got a distress call from the police officer in charge of the House of Assembly complex that there was fire outbreak in the area. “We dispatched our men to this place and they were led by the Commissioner of police Dikko Maigari. “With the combined effort of men of the fire service and police force, the fire was put out. As you can see the account section of the Assembly has been razed and it is the only

wing that was affected by this inferno. “The Department of Investigation of the police command has commenced their investigation and as soon as they unravel the cause of the inferno, we will update you.”

Burnt

Items gutted by the inferno include financial records, furniture, computer sets, refrigerators, air conditioner, ceiling and standing fans and other valuable property worth millions of naira. In his reaction, Speaker of the House of Assembly, Chukwuma Nwazunku, blamed the fire on the state executive arm of government. Speaking with journalists immediately after plenary, the Speaker, who expressed shock and disappointment over the development, also accused prominent members in Governor Martin Elechi’s cabinet as being the mastermind of the incident. When Vanguard visited the Assembly complex, smoke was still billowing

NIMASA workers groan over unpaid allowances By Godwin Oritse

ORKERS of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, have said they were expereincing hard times as some of their allowances have not been paid. The workers, Vanguard gathered, took loans from some commercial banks in anticipation of the allowances.

Some of the allowances, include housing, furniture and children education, were usually paid in first week of January. The banks, it was learned, are currently worried over the inability of NIMASA’s management to meet its financial obligation to its workers. The affected banks have also been on the heels of the

loan defaulters and had officially written to the management of the agency. The agency, Vanguard also learned, had written back to the banks pleading with them to give it till March to meet its financial obligation to both its workers and bankers. In a swift reaction, the agency ’s Head of Public Affairs, Mr. Isichei Osambgi, a Deputy Director, said the

payment of allowances had to go through due process, adding that they would be paid as soon as the process was completed. He said: “Whoever has collected loan from any bank should go and pay and not blackmail NIMASA. “Since there is no complain about salaries, allowances will come when due.”

ROFESSOR Jega of INEC is absolutely right. The commission is neithert a security agency nor does it deal in the training of paramilitary personnel, but strictly an independent body that conducts elections within the state or country. —Miss Chika Dike, Graduate.

House probe

Recall that the House had, during its last plenary, summoned Governor Martin Elechi, his son, Elechi Elechi, the Attorney-General and Commissioner of Justice, Dr. Ben Igwenyi, Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters, Chief Celestine Nwali, the state Accountant-General to answer questions over their alleged role in misappropriation of public funds. He said: “We were to begin hearing on this matter today (yesterday) only to be told that the account section, media office of the state Assembly complex were gutted by fire. “Those responsible were those we invited to answer questions concerning the mismanagement of public funds.” During the plenary, the House further declared vacant the seats of Oliver Nwachuwku, who represents Abakaliki North and the embattled Deputy Speaker, who represents Afikpo South East, and Blaise Orji, bringing to six the number of seats declared vacant.

By Bartholomew Madukwe (08102479985) nwamad@yahoo.com

PEOPLE SPEAK

from the debris of the items consumed by the fire as jerry cans filled with inflammable substances such as diesel, were seen in some offices yet to be gutted by the fire. The substance was equally poured on the floor of the House of Assembly complex, but had not ignited before men and officers of the police command responded to the distress call. Nwazunku further alleged that those responsible for the act were individuals in Governor Elechi’s government, invited over alleged mismanagement of public funds, since the commencement of the present administration.

What is your view on the polls shift?

ELL, my view concerning the postponed elections is that we should do something for the coming generation with our votes today. What will I do? I prefer to vote for change to enable my children have access to good education.—Mr. Olatunji Abiodun, Banker.

see good reasons for the poll shift and I am buying into it. Let us hope that within this short period INEC and FG will finally find solution to security challenges and reassure all wellmeaning Nigerians protection of life and property.—Mr. Ndioti Steph, Worker.

IGERIA should not be afraid to try new innovation. The use of the electronic card reader is efficient to ensure free and fair elections. However, I will advise INEC to watch against hackers and tighten their security measures.—Mr. Ben Onyekachi, Self-Employed.

F these six weeks ac tually will do it, is a miracle. But there is hope. With INEC’s preparedness and a win over insurgents, I believe we will have credible elections. God bless Nigeria and Nigerians should vote rightly. — Mr. Ifeanyi Martins, Worker.

O conduct elections at present is not advisable. When the military gives the all-clear that civilians can go to the polls in one piece and cast their votes, then we can vote! That is the truth. It is better to be alive than to die for nothing. — Mr. Ogwu Nwachukwu, Student.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2015 — 47

Hoodlums attack Plateau APC gov candidate's convoy, destroy four vehicles By Marie-Therese Nanlong

OS—HOODLUMS have attacked the campaign convoy of the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Plateau State, Mr. Simon Lalong destroying four vehicles in the process. The incident occurred Monday when the APC campaign train moved from Jos East Local

Government Area to pay a courtesy visit on the District Head of Gyel, Da Dangyang. The Director of Media and Publicity Committee of the Lalong Campaign Organization, Mr. Festus Fuanter who confirmed the incident in an interview with Vanguard said was shocked over the development. He said, “This unprovoked attack on our convoy by

hoodlums at Gyel was indeed most unfortunate. This barbaric act must be condemned and I commend our supporters for the calmness and maturity they exhibited in the face of the unprovoked attack.” However, the Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, DSP Abuh Emmanuel declined comments on the issue, saying that “the Divisional Police Officer, DPO, of the area is yet to brief us

on such development.” Meanwhile, Mr. Simon Lalong had at the campaign rally called on Plateau people to come out en-mass and vote for all the candidates of the APC as the party was committed to the provision of free education in the country. He promised to run a government where equity, justice and fairness would be given priority if elected into office.

Bauchi stakeholders raise alarm over INEC Card-reader viability By Suzan Edeh

AUCHI—POLITICAL stakeholders in Bauchi State have expressed worry over the viability of the card-reader machines introduced by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, against the backdrop that most of machines used for same purpose during the continuous voters registration exercise were faulty. They lamented that the faulty machines prevented many electorates from registering, thereby denying them the privilege of voting in the forthcoming election. This was even as INEC has cautioned against the selling or buying of Permanent Voters Cards, PVCs, saying that those found guilty of the electoral offence would fined N500, 000 or face imprisonment of two years if convicted. The state INEC Administrative Secretary, Mr Emmanuel Umenger made this known Tuesday while interacting with stakeholders in Danbam Local Government Area of the state, in continuation of the commission’s familiarization tour of the 20 local government areas in the state. According to Umenger, selling or buying of PVCs was a criminal offence, contrary to Section 23 of the Electoral Act as amended. However, the stakeholders which cut across the Northern Senatorial Zone of the state made their feelings known yesterday in Zaki Local Government Area during an interactive session with INEC officials who were on a familiarization and sensitization tour. Most of the stakeholders raised alarm about the viability of the card-readers as well as their inability to collect their PVCs; non-registration of IDPs. C M Y K

VISIT: Chairman, Nigeria National League Board, Chief Emeka Inyeama (3rd left), Kwara State Governor, Dr. Abdulfatah Ahmed (3rd right) and other members of the Board during a courtesy visit to the Governor at Government House, Ilorin...yesterday.

10 new thermal power plants'll add 4,700MW to national grid By Emeka Mamah

ICE President, Mohammed Namadi Sambo yesterday said that the 10 newly-completed thermal power plants would add about 4,700 mega watts to the national grid. The Minister of Power, Prof Chinedu Nebo had said during the commissioning of 750mw of the Olounshogo power station built by Niger Delta Power Holding Company of Nigeria last week that the President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration had as part of its agenda of transforming the power sector added over 2,500mw to the national grid, adding that the power stations will ramp up power supply to the national grid to 5,000mw. Sambo spoke in Kaduna at a meeting with some PDP grassroots support groups. A statement signed by the Special Adviser to the Vice President on Media and Publicity, Alhaji Umar Sani, said that the groups comprised the party’s ward executives in the 250 wards in the state, ward coordinators of the Goodluck/Sambo Presidential Campaign organization, as well as their Governor Ramalan Yero /

Bajoga Campaign organization counterparts, the Igbo and Yoruba for Goodluck/Sambo supporters among others. According to him, the present administration ‘’has done a lot in the areas of power

generation, transmission and distribution by completing 10 new thermal power plants that would add about 4,700mw to the national grid and initiating several new power projects across the country.’’

2015: Court shifts judgement on Enugu PDP crisis to Friday By Peter Duru

BUJA—JUSTICE Evoh Chukwu of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, yesterday , deferred judgement on who should be recognised as the authentic governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Enugu State, till Friday. Justice Chukwu did not adduce any reason why the verdict which was originally scheduled for yesterday was not delivered. Senator Ayogu Eze had filed the suit before the court saying that he was the rightful candidate while, Mr. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi who is currently enjoying the support of the national leadership of the PDP, subsequently applied and was joined as an interested party in the matter. The duo are laying claim to the governorship ticket of the the PDP in Enugu State having emerged from two parallel primary elections that held in the state. The plaintiff, who argued through his lawyer Mr. Yusuf Ali, SAN, and Ugwuanyi who was represented by his lawyer, Mr. Patrick Ikwueto, SAN, insisted before the court that the primary elections that produced them were duly monitored by officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC. Joined as defendants in the suit were the PDP, its National Chairman, Mr. Adamu Mu’azu and INEC.

Jonathan, Buhari eulogise Shagari at 90 By Levinus Nwabughiogu

RESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan and the former Head of State, General Muhammadu Buhari, rtd, yesterday eulogised the Second Republic President, Alhaji Shehu Shagari as a committed patriot and outstanding leader on his 90th birthday today. Jonathan, who is the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the forthcoming general elections said that the present administration would continue to count on the former President’s support and solidarity. Also, Buhari, who is the opposition All Progressives Congress presidential candidate congratulated Shagari, pointing

out that though his government toppled him (in a military coup in 1983), the nonagenarian has always shown some civility towards him. Buhari described Shagari as the “Grand Old Man of Nigerian politics.” President Jonathan in message prayed ‘’that Almighty Allah will continue to bless the former President with good health and long life,’’ saying, “It is with profound joy that I write on behalf of my family, the Government and people of Nigeria, and on my own behalf, to express very warm felicitations to you. “I join your family, friends and well-wishers to thank Almighty Allah for His continued guidance, protection and provision for you in the past ninety years of a life of

forthrightness and outstanding leadership with which He has blessed you. Buhari felicitates with Shagari General Buhari also, eulogised Shagari’s contributions to national development since the colonial days saying that they were enormous. The message personally signed by General Buhari read, “Although I am physically unable to be present as I am abroad on previously arranged assignments, I wish to send my good wishes to former President Shehu Shagari on his 90th birthday. “Alhaji Shehu Shagari is now the Grand Old Man of Nigerian politics, having been in the frame of public affairs since the colonial days.''

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DEDICATION: From left: Chief of Staff to Edo State governor, Hon. Patrick Obahiagbon, Retired Comptroller General of Nigerian Prisons Service, Dr. Lily Ojo, Chief Ernest Shonekan, former head of the Interim Government and Chief Ezekiel Aniabe, at the dedication of the Ezekiel College of Theology, Ujoelen in Ekpoma, Edo State.

CELEBRATION: Ebenezer Onyeagwu, Executive Director, Zenith Bank, Robert Tung, Executive Director, WEMPCO Group and Emeka Ugwu-Oju, President, South-East South-South Professionals of Nigeria, when WEMPCO Group celebrated the Chinese New Year (Year of the Goat) with customers and friends in Lagos.

INSTALLATION: Minister, Wesley Methodist Church Nigeria Cathedral, Iperu Remo, Revd. Michael Femi-Adebanjo (left) newly presented Lay President, Diocese of Remo, Methodist Church Nigeria, Sir Lawa Odutola (right), newly presented Lay President, Diocese of Remo Central, Methodist Church Nigeria, Bro. Muyiwa Osho (2nd left) and his wife, Yemi, at the installation of Sir Odutola and Bro. Osho as National Chief Patrons, Association of Methodist Brigades at Wesley Methodist Church Cathedral Iperu Remo, Ogun State.

TRAINING: From left: Mr Chinedu Amadi, MD, Dala XYZ, Mr Belema Abibo, MD/CEO, Cosmopolitan Micro-Finance Bank, and Mr Akara Joe, Director, Small and Medium Scale Enterprise, SME, Rivers State Ministry of Commerce and Industry, during a capacity building training programme on SME's organised by the ministry in Port Harcourt, yesterday. Photo: Nwankpa Chijioke.

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From left: Rt. Rev. Williams Aladekugbe, former Dean of Ezekiel College of Theology, Ujoelen, Ekpoma, Edo State, now Bishop of Oyo, Sir Ezekiel Aniabe, donor of the college and Ojomo of Ekpoma, special guest of honour and former Head of National Interim Government, Chief Ernest Shonekan, and pupils of Word of Faith Nursery and Primary School, Benin city during the dedication of the institution in Benin.

BIRTHDAY: Chief & Mrs Adolo Okotie-Eboh flanked by family members, after the thanksgiving service to mark the 60th birthday of Chief Adolo Joseph Okotie-Eboh, at the Ikoyi Baptist Church in Lagos. Photo: Biodun Ogunleye.

AWARD: From left: Rev. Fr. J. Osigwe, Chief & Mrs. Henrietta Agun and Mrs. Pat Adamu, during the seminar/award presentation of Catholic Women Organisation, CWO, St Augustine's Parish, Benin City. Photo: Barnabas Uzosike.

PRESENTATION: From left: Jasmine Lataillade, Programme Development Officer, USA, Prof. Magnus Atilade, Chairman, Nigerian Opportunities Industrialisation Centre, NOIC, Mr. Crispian Kirk, President and CEO, OIC International, USA, and Mr. Samuel Afowowe, NOIC EARN Programme Officer, during the presentation of a certificate to one of the graduating students, at the end of a three-month customer services course, organised by the NOIC in Lagos.

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V ANGU ARD, WEDNESD A Y, FEBRU ARY 25, 2015 —53 VANGU ANGUARD, WEDNESDA FEBRUARY

He’s blackmailing me after we made love

My marriage is being threatened by my ex Dear Bunmi, I got married a couple of years ago to the man of my dream. But after the marriage, instead of moving on with my new life like I had planned, my ex came back into the picture. He texted to tell me how happy he was for me but instead of that being the end of it, we decided to meet up for some ‘closure’ and found ourselves in bed together. My husband suspected something was going on between us both and kicked me out.

I started to make things work with my ex but within months, he showed his true colours once again and I realised I had made a terrible mistake. I pleaded with my husband for months and he eventually took me back and moved away with him to his new job in another state. Now I find myself thinking constantly about my ex, sometimes even crying while my husband is asleep right next to me. I feel like I’m trapped by being madly in love with my ex even though

His dad could be my baby’s father Dear Bunmi, I’ve been sleeping with my boyfriend’s father for a while now and I’m pregnant and the baby could be his. The thing is, I’ve also been sleeping with my boyfriend. I’m scared as I’m only 19 and an undergraduate. I know what I did was wrong, but I don’t know what to do about it. My parents will kill me if they find out. Please help! Lola, by e-mail.

Dear Lola, First of all, you need to see a doctor to confirm the pregnancy. You can talk to them honestly about your situation and they can go through all your options with you. Anything you say will be treated in confidence. I can’t sugar-coat this one. It’s a mess. If you decide to keep the baby, are you going to come clean or will you lie to your boyfriend and make out the child is his when there’s

a chance it’s his dad’s? If you do go through with the pregnancy, the only way of knowing for sure is to do a DNA test after the baby is born. I don’t think you should be with this boy anyway. You obviously don’t love him if you can sleep with his dad. His father is despicable for sleeping with his son’s teenage girlfriend. Please see him for what he is - a horrible pervert. Yes, you’ve been silly, but that doesn’t mean you have to deal with this on your own. If you find it a bit daunting talking to your parent, discuss with your doctor and if you decide to keep the baby, you will have to tell family and friends. It might not feel like it now, but talking about it with a professional as well as a trusted friend or relative can help you to see things more clearly. Don’t isolate yourself. Accept all the support and help that’s offered

I know he is a rat and bad for me. And then I go to bed with this amazing man I’m privileged enough to call my husband. I am beyond confused. I need help. Amaka, by e-mail.

Dear Amaka, I don’t think you’re madly in love with your ex, it’s the excitement and drama that keeps pulling you back. It’s almost as if you’re addicted to it. You gave it another go with this selfish ex of yours and realised pretty quickly that he was an ex for a reason. Stop thinking romantically and imagine what would happen if your husband kicks you out again. He won’t take you back a second time. What exactly do you think is going to be different with your ex this time? He’s going to show his true colours again and you’ll be back to square one. He won’t trust you either. If you could treat the man you vowed to love like that, what are the chances you won’t do the same to him? Try to think back to when you met your husband and why you got together. I bet it’s because he’s everything your ex isn’t. I think you’ve been very lucky that he’s stood on his pride and taken you back. If he hadn’t, you wouldn’t be thinking about your ex now, you’d be devastated about losing your husband and thinking of ways to win him back. If you don’t love your husband, that’s different. But if it’s just that you’re craving some excitement, you can work on that. Your husband must have excited you at some point or you wouldn’t have married him.

My pregnant wife refuses to stop smoking Dear Bunmi, After just a few years of trying my wife is finally pregnant and we are both overjoyed. The problem is that we both smoke. I’ve offered to give up smoking to encourage her to stop for the health of the baby but she doesn’t seem to have the willpower. She also doesn’t believe smoking can adversely affect our unborn baby as smokers have given birth to healthy babies over the years. Gbade, by e-mail. Dear Gbade, Nicotine addiction can definitely affect the health of a new-born child. When a woman smokes during

pregnancy, it has been discovered that she's more likely to experience vomiting, urinary tract infection and thrush. It has also been proved that smoking leads to an increased risk of spontaneous abortion and chances of haemorrhaging during pregnancy. Also, babies of smoking mums are on average 70g/200g lighter at birth. Also, carbon monoxide contained in inhaled cigarette smoke reduces the oxygen carried in a foetus by 40 per cent. This affects the baby’s growth. A low birth-weight baby is more likely to require special care or even support; or problems such as breathing

difficulties. Apart from a high risk of premature birth, each cigarette that a pregnant woman smokes reduces blood flow through the placenta for 15 minutes, raising the baby’s heart rate. Findings also reveal that women who smoke during pregnancy put their babies at increased risk of developing diabetes and cardiovascular diseases in later life. However, the good news is that the earlier in pregnancy a pregnant smoker stops, the lower the risk of any long term damage. If she stops within the first three months, her chances of having a low-weight baby are similar to that of a non-smoker.

Dear Bunmi, I am in my mid-twenties and have been friends with Sharon since our secondary school days. She is a lot prettier than I am and has no difficulty getting boyfriends. I, on the other hand, am the reserved type though I’ve had my share of boyfriends. Late last year, we met a marketer (video) at a party and of course it was Sharon he fancied. He, however, encouraged both of us to drop by at his main office and pick whatever video we fancied in the house. I work on the Island and while doing my Christmas shopping I went to his office to see what tapes I could get to give as gifts to friends. Chike, the chap, was in his office and asked that I should come in to see some current tapes he just bought. He urged me to pick as many as ten! I was doing that with his help when he started complimenting my looks and he said I had great boobs, as my friend’s own were far too small. I was elated. Sharon had always got the compliments but now, this Chike actually preferred me. He was a fast mover and in minutes, he’d locked his office door and was kissing me aggressively. In a flash, he pulled

down my panties expertly whipping a condom out of his pocket. He then made love to me. I couldn’t blame him really and I didn’t know I was hurting Sharon as she had loads of men panting after her until she confessed she was in love with him. I was guiltridden. So when next Chike showed up at my office asking when I could come to select some of the new videos in his shop and slyly asked that we had a repeat performance of what happened the last time, I told him to get lost. He looked really annoyed and said if I didn’t show up, he would tell my friend that we’d slept together. I hope he’s bluffing. But what if he isn’t? Sanmi, by e-mail.

Dear Sanmi, I wouldn’t rush to my friend to confess if I were you. But you should have a defence ready for when this scumbag makes good his threat. It is bad enough that you made a bad error of judgment by having this needless fling but you shouldn’t be made to suffer for it. If the worst happened, and he spilled the beans, then your friend would at least know the type of man she’s lumbered with.

Did I read him wrong? Dear Bunmi, Not too long ago, I started seeing a man who is handsome, loving and kind. In fact, everything I like in a man. I totally fell for him and was convinced we had a future together. We went out together and everything was fine. Nothing happened between us in the first couple of dates, apart from a few kisses on the cheek and a hug. I was ready to take things a little farther, but I wasn’t prepared for what happened the next time I saw him. He parked the car at a quiet spot and begged me to give him the oral act. I was shocked, I told him I’d rather get to know him better as we’d only been seeing each other a few weeks, and he got annoyed and upset. I suggested we could do it another time but now I’m not so sure. Do you think he’s trying to use me? Foluke, by e-mail. Dear Foluke, It certainly sounds as though he is more interested in love making than in you as a person. Your reluctance to have your first intimate encounter with him in

the stuffy surrounding of a car is entirely understandable, especially as you hardly know the man. Could he be married and not free to take you to his place? Cool things down by telling him that you don’t feel ready for any sort of love making with him yet. If he cannot accept that and is not prepared to build up an emotional relationship with you first, he’s not the man for you.

Your reluctance to have your first i n t i m a t e encounter with him in the stuffy surrounding of a car is entirely understandable, especially as you hardly know the man

Share your problems and release your burden. Write now to Dear Bunmi, Vanguard Newspapers, P.M.B 1007, Apapa, Lagos, or bunmsof@yahoo.co.uk

54—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2015

POLLS: ‘Alliance against Jonathan'll crumble’ By Etop Ekanem

AGOS — A Lagos-based management consultant, Mr Vincent Omovusu, has said the alleged political alliance being promoted against the second term aspiration of President Goodluck Jonathan will crumble like a pack of cards because Jonathan remains the best and the most credible candidate for the 2015 presidential election. Omovusu, who made this assertion in a chat with newsmen in Lagos said President Jonathan had been rated above any military head of state and particularly, civilian presidents that have ruled over the affairs of Nigeria. He enumerated the achievements of President Jonathan to include resuscitation of railways, adding that the era of people sleeping at the petrol station to buy fuel at exorbitant rate has gone for good. He maintained that the “mystery surrounding fuel subsidy which many have used in defrauding the country was blown open by President Jonathan administration, a situation which has pitted him against those hiding under subsidy to defraud the country,” maintaining that fuel subsidy should be removed because the common man has nothing to gain from

it. Other achievements of Jonathan’s administration, according to him, include the building and equipping about 64 Almajiri schools with boarding facilities, establishment of 12 universities in the three geo-political zones of the country, and award more than 300,000 scholarships to Nigerians students undergoing education courses overseas under SURE-P. On Boko Haram, Omovusu said the Islamic sect had been in existence before the coming of Jonathan to power, saying it only became pronounced and more vicious immediately President Jonathan won the 2011 presidential election. According to him, “the solution to the insurgency rests with the North. The moment President Jonathan leaves office Boko Haram will cease automatically because it was promoted primarily against the administration of President Jonathan." He said Jonathan was doing his best to curtail the activities of the sect. On Chief Olusegun Obasanjo's dumping of the PDP, he said the former president was not happy that he is out of government because he wanted to control the affairs of the country from his Otta farm, noting: “It is absurd for him to have tore his party membership card. It is an embarrassment to the country.”

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By Emeka Anaeto

BUJA—THE Federal Government may have narrowed its options for bridging its funding gap to just two, borrowings and tax reforms. Tax reforms would also be modified away from the initial focus on luxury tax to widening the tax net and bringing in more non oil sector taxables. Hitherto options being considered include workforce downsizing, non-oil receipt stimulus and capital expenditure restrictions in addition to the two options. A finance ministry source told Vanguard yesterday that even the two favoured options were the most feasible in the tight financial and political circumstance adding that borrowing is the most effective and realistic of all the options. Vanguard also learnt that it was canvassed amongst the fiscal policy executives that only borrowing option can be considered as soon as practicable if the oil price recovery did not sustain into or stabilize above USD65 in the first quarter and nonoil receipt component did not show significant improvement in the first half of the year. This position it was learnt became imperative with the sensitive nature of all other options in the face of political and electioneering considerations. However more latitude for policy options would be executed in the event of a favourable electioneering outcome in the second quarter. Since November 2014 the Finance Ministry has been embroiled in policy canversing for starving off economic headwinds occasioned by two major external shocks, the oil price crash and global liquidity squeeze. It is speculated that some of the otherwise plausible options such as federal workforce downsizing,

Obsequies

A Augustine Ude, father-in-law to Vanguard man, Ene Thomas Kingsley takes his final journey to eternal glory on February 27, 2015 at his home town, Umudara Umualum Umuaga Udi Enugu State after a requiem mass by St. Peter ’s Catholic Church, Umuaga. Left to mourn him are his wife, children, grandchildren and great grandchildren, sons in-law and a daughter in-law. He was aged 89 years

.Late Pa Augustine Ude

FG repositions budgetary deficit funding imposition of luxury tax, overhauling recurrent expenditure on overhead and reduction in debt servicing obligations are considered either too sensitive in the current electioneering dispensation or sub-optimal in the short run.

Conscious of a challenging 2015 fiscal operations the Federal Government had planned to spend N4.35 trillion, about 7% less than N4.695% in 2014 out of which recurrent would gulp a lion share of N3.9 trillion or 91% against a paltry capital

expenditure of N387.2 billion or 9% (backing out the SURE-P component of capital expenditure operations of about N3.97 billion). These figures were based on a budgetary oil revenue benchmark of USD65 per barrel yielding estimated N1.92 trillion non-oil

revenue of N1.68 trillion. The actual oil price had slumped below the benchmark before the recent rebound which is also yet to meet up with the benchmark. The fiscal authorities are still optimistic that the rebound would surpass the benchmark soon.

CAN collected N7bn from Jonathan, Dikwa insists By Luka Binniyat

ADUNA—THE insinuations making the rounds in Kaduna State that

both Christians and Muslims clergy collected bribes from the government of President Goodluck Jonathan to support his re-election was bolstered

yesterday by one Pastor Kallamu Musa Dikwa, who insisted that some leaders of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, collected N7billion from the

PRESENTATION: From left; CEO, Ultima Ltd, Femi Ayeni; grand prize winner of MTN Season of Surprises/Who Wants To Be A Millionaire special edition, Corp member and Founder of JumpStart Academy, Omotola Olabisi Akinsola ; GM, Consumer Marketing, MTN Nigeria, Richard Iweanoge, and Senior Manager, Segment, Consumer Marketing, MTN Nigeria, Emamoke Ogoro, during the presentation of a N50 million cheque to Omotola Akinsola at Ultima Studio, Lekki, Lagos, yesterday.

We have evidence to support our claims, APC tells NIMASA in Lagos on Sunday, the Director agency in political campaign. By Ifeyinwa Obi

AGOS—THE All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Organisation (APCPCO) said it has ample evidence to support its claim that the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) was sponsoring the hate campaign against its Presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari in documentaries aired on the networks of Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) and Africa Independent Television (AIT). NIMASA Director General, Dr. Patrick Akpobolokemi had on Sunday condemned what it called “the ongoing smear campaign” being carried out by the APCPCO against the agency “in trying to score political points against President Goodluck Jonathan”. Akpobolokemi asked the APC and its campaign organisation to withdraw their accusations that NIMASA had engaged in the sponsorship of hate campaign against the APC presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari, failing which it would resort to legal action. Addressing a press conference

General of NIMASA, Dr. Patrick Akpobolokemi said: “The vicious campaign is intended to cast aspersions on the activities and integrity of NIMASA as a responsible corporate entity of government. We should leave politics to the politicians and let the professionals do their job.” But in a swift reaction, APCPCO dismissed the threat of litigation against it by NIMASA. “There are several acts of the management that are at variance with the objectives and scope of activities of the agency as spelled out under the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency Act 2007. NIMASA Act does not envisage the involvement of the

“NIMASA is trying to reduce this to a campaign issue, but the truth is that the conversion of a statutory government agency into one actively promoting partisan political actions of the President is of national significance. “It assumes a more serious dimension when staff are denied their dues and money shipped out to fund illegal activities,” said APCPCO Director of Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu. Shehu said APC would present credible witnesses in court to prove not only this, but the fact that the maritime agency has since transformed into a campaign outpost for the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

presidency last week. Speaking at a news conference in Kaduna yesterday, Dikwa said he was once an associate pastor with a northern based church, but had since resigned from the ministry to run his own Non-Governmental Organisation, NGO, Voice of Northern Christian Movement, under which he interfaced with CAN. Dikwa who claimed he holds a Diploma in Bible and Theology from All Nations For Christ Bible Institute International, Benin, 2002, founded by the late Archbishop Benson Idahosa spoke in smattering English. He said that some leaders of CAN took N7 billion from the Federal Government on January 21, 2014 but that only N3 million was sent to each of the states’ branches of CAN. He also alleged that it was not the first time some leaders of the association were involved in corruption. According to him, in 2013, the association got $50,000 (about N10 million) from Nigerian Christians in the Diaspora but disbursed only N500,000 to five victims of Boko Haram insurgents and pocketed the rest and expressed shock that CAN had denied knowing him. Dikwa said, “I greet you all in Jesus’ name. . . I know that some of you know me or have been hearing me on some of the things that I said which the CAN has denied. They even denied me and said I did not exist. That is why I came to you to confirm that what I said is true. This is not the first time that they are collecting money, but not from Jonathan. In 2013, some people came from America. They are our children, our Christians from Nigeria living in America. We call them CANAAN (Christians Association of Nigerian Americans). They gave $50,000 to the victims of Boko Haram.

Abia is PDP stronghold, says ex-Orji’s aide

R. Ben Onyechere, former special adviser to Governor Theodore Orji of Abia State has declared that the state is a Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, stronghold. According to him, the altercation orchestrated by 'desperate political green horns' in Abia whose mission is to buy the governorship position is an effort to expand their business coasts with the conviction that politics is also a business

venture, otherwise they will not wake up in the twilight of electioneering campaign to armtwist the governor, who is a well grounded grassroots politician in the state through several empowerment programmes. He said: “It is important to notify them that politics in not the same as oil or banking businesses, its about the management of people of diverse contraption and eguitable

distribution of welfarist programmes in addition to prudent to prudent management of available resources. “It is only a naive incumbent who will not have a hand on the process of choosing his successor and as such the political gladiators should understand that they must undergo the baptism of fire as in every other aspect of life,in other words they must learn the ropes in politics because it not a days journey.''

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Oben plant repositions for expansion T

HE NPDC/SEPLAT Joint Venture has announced the shut-down of its Oben gas plant to enable tie-in of its expansion unit with the existing plant. The 10-day long shut down begins February 22 and will enable the company tie in its newly installed unit into the company’s existing gas plant. A statement by the company’s CEO, Austin Avuru, said: “Post tie-in operation,

SEPLAT will have a single homogenous plant consisting of 2 by 45 MMSCF and 2 by 75 MMSCF trains and will be able to deliver 240MMSCF/D WAGP specification gas post-commissioning, from the Oben node. “This facility expansion and upgrades will bring the company’s overall daily gas production capacity to slightly over 300mmscf/d.” During the shut-down,

We're marginalized, Urhobo youths insist

HE youth wing of Urhobo Progress Union, UPU, has insisted that the Urhobo were being marginalized in staff structures of companies located in Urhoboland. In a statement by Mr. Marcus Ekure, Public Relations Officer of the Mr. Ovie Igho Anthony-led Transformational UPU Youth Wing, the group said it will review staff structures of all existing companies and businesses in Urhoboland with a view to ascertaining the number of Urhobo workers in the companies, in line with the Local Content Act and catchment area policy. On the issue of Federal University of Petroleum Resources, FUPRE, it said: “It is clear that the management does not want peace as they have almost defiled all options of peace offered to them by Urhobo youths. “The management did a counter-response to our claim of marginalization in one of the local newspapers, publishing a fictitious figure and percentage of Urhobo in the lower cadre of non-academic staff and the number of Urhobo lecturers in the institution. “But they did not publish that of the top management cadre for us to see. To the management, we have become fools that they can deceive to believing what they published was the true state of affairs of the staff structure. “When we said there is a grand conspiracy against the Urhobo nation at FUPRE, some persons may not understand us. The unfortunate thing is that some of our leaders and even traditional rulers are playing ball with the perpetrators. The university, in the past two years, has repeatedly advertised vacancy at different intervals for principal offices such as

the vice chancellor, registrar, bursar, librarian, and so on, yet the institute is yet to get substantive principal officers. Contrary to the provision of the law, all the principal officers have been on acting capacity for the past two years for only God knows why.” The statement said Professor Benjamin Ozumba, Vice Chancellor of University of Nigeria, Nsukka; Professor Faraday Orumwense, University of Benin; Professor Ibrahim Njodi, University of Maiduguri; Professor I. F. Adewole, University of Ibandan, and Professor Joseph Ajienka, University of Port Harcourt, UNIPORT, were examples of vice chan-cellors heading schools located in their area.

Seplat’s current daily production of 135MMSCF, from Oben node will, according to the statement, “not be available. However, the company will maintain gas availability of 60mmscf daily from its Sapele node.” The shut-down provides the company an opportunity to enhance its current gas delivery into the national gas grid. This achievement aligns with Seplat’s short to medium term domestic gas commercialization strategy, while facilitating greater power generation in the country. Last November, SEPLAT signed a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, with the ministries of Petroleum Resources and Power, in conjunction with the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, the National Electricity Regulatory commission, NERC, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, and Gas Aggregation Company Nigeria Limited for gas supply. Austin Avuru, SEPLAT CEO, noted that indeed “the company’s investment to develop its gas infrastructure buttresses our commitment to boost gas supply to the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry, NESI, and support the Federal Government’s commitment to the reform of the power sector.”

Ogboru'll win convincingly — Omaruaye

HE Director-General (DG) of the Great Ogboru Campaign Organisation, Mr. Peters Omaruaye, has asserted that Chief Great Ovedje Ogboru of the Labour Party (LP) will win the forthcoming Delta State Governorship election. He stated this in a media chat yesterday with journalists in Ikoyi, Lagos. According to him, “Ogboru is an iconic brand in politics trusted by majority of our people for his excellent track record in global business and sound political convictions”. While noting that “Ogboru’s grassroots political machine is equal to none and even his opponents know it”, he assured the people of the state to ensure that they all get their Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) because according to him, “if INEC gets the e-card reading system right, then that is the game changer and those

who have rigged in the past will be history.” Omaruaye declined to comment on the chances of the PDP and APC in the governorship election insisting that his “duty is to run Chief Ogboru’s grassroots campaign efficiently for victory and not to be distracted by the antics of traditional election riggers who may just be going into extinction or newspaper tigers and propagandists who cannot attract our people to campaign grounds.” He maintained that “the election will be won ultimately on the ground, not by empty propaganda on the pages of newspapers and Ogboru will win convincingly. According to him, Ogboru is determined to bring value re-orientation to public leadership in Delta State and lift the standard of leadership.

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Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2015—61

Mobil Sports: Elegbeleye identifies Enyeama, Mikel, Ubani top Nigeria Pitch Awards nominees with grassroots concept T S UPER Eagles captain Vincent Enyeama and international team mate John Mikel Obi top the nominees for the 2014 Nigeria Pitch Awards. Managing Partner SIAO, Ituah Ighodalo announced that the nominees were arrived at after a painstaking process of distribution, retrieval, collation and verification of the nominations and voting. Enyeama will battle his Enyimba counterpart, Femi Thompson and Kano Pillars goal tenderTheo Afelokhai for goalkeeper of the year award. Mikel Obi was nominated for the midfielder of the year award category. Mikel will have to outdo Lazio and Super E a g l e s m i d f i e l d e r, Ogenyi Onazi and Enyimba’s Kingsley Sokari, just as Godfrey Oboabona, Kenneth Omeruo and Chinedu Udoji will fight for the defender of the year award. Other categories include striker of the year, club of the year, coach of the year, manager of the year and even players agent of the year. Sports Editor of Vanguard Newspapers, Tony Ubani was also nominated for the football writer of the year award. Ubani was nominated alongside Ade Ojeikere of the Nations Newspapers and Tana Aiyejina of the Punch Newspapers.

NFF Continues from BP could get a pay rise and earn seven million Naira a month with the coach himself insisting he deserves to be paid a lot more. Keshi’s initial threeyear contract ran out after he led the Super Eagles to the Round of 16 at last year’s World Cup in Brazil and he has since been working without a contract. NFF president Amaju Pinnick told reporters C M Y K

•Enyeama

2022 World Cup set for November and December

HE 2022 World Cup in Qatar should take place in November and December, a Fifa taskforce has recommended. Key football officials met in Doha to discuss a number of options following fears a summer event would endanger the health of players and fans.

Summer temperatures in Qatar can exceed 40C while those in November and December drop to around 25C. T u e s d a y ’ s recommendation is expected to be ratified by Fifa’s executive committee in Zurich on 19 and 20 March.

Burkina Faso Continues from BP

•Blatter he expects Keshi to resume work as Eagles coach this week after he would have agreed to the new contract. “We have concluded on the contract of Keshi and if he is fine with it, he would begin work as early as Wednesday,” declared Pinnick. Keshi has also been linked with the Burkina Faso top coaching post after Belgian Paul Put was fired following a disappointing showing by the Stallions at the recent AFCON in Equatorial Guinea.

HE Director General of the National Sports Commission, Hon Gbenga Elegbeleye has identified with the grass root concept of the Akwa Ibom State/NNPC/MPN Schools Athletics Championships. Yesterday in Abuja, he reacted to an invitation to attend the grand finale by commending the project. When told that the programme was in its 14th consecutive year and was geared towards the discovery of talent, H o n o u r a b l e Elegbeleye,an apostle of catch them young, was all praise for the Sponsors and the consultant Mr Paul Bassey and promised to attend. “At the National Sports Commission, we appreciate programmes like this that are geared towards the discovery of stars, especially when they come from private concerns. “Mobil over the years has been linked with track And field development in the country. I have heard so much about this programme and will endeavour to be part of it this time around. “ ……I will attend. I

years after they reached the championship game in South Africa. “My ambitions remain the same from one national team to another. I don’t want to have the job just to have the job but to bring a real plus,” Keshi told Sidwaya Sport of Burkina Faso. “If I am chosen, by the grace of God, I first want to qualify Burkina Faso for the 2017 AFCON finals and why not for the next World Cup as I did with Togo. “And then I want to do what it takes to go as far as possible in those competitions. Everything is possible.” He added: “There is no success without vision, without hard work and without confidence. If all those things are in place, I insist that the Stallions can compete with the

best in Africa. “If I get the job, my objective is to transmit this desire of giving it all for their country, this winning culture, to follow the local players and instill a healthy competition between them like I did in Nigeria with youngsters like Sunday Mba and other locals who went on to be Africa champions in 2013. “As head coach of Nigeria, I played the 2013 AFCON final against these Stallions and I was very pleased with them.” However, Keshi made it clear Burkina Faso are not the only team he is considering. “I am in contact with other national teams but for the moment, out of respect for the executives of the Burkina Association, I prefer to be quiet about that,” he said.

appreciate what you are doing and will endeavour to attend” He said. The consultant was very delighted with the response of the Director General.”…….that is the man for you. He did not allow me introduce and sell the programme to him. He just told me “Paul I will attend”.

•Elegbeleye

Eaglets Continues from BP in 2005 when it ended 2-2. Although both teams have secured their tickets to the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup billed for Chile later in the year, the battle for the continental title would definitely be the motivation for today’s duel beginning 4pm, Nigerian time. The weight of Nigeria’s ambition will be squarely placed on the tiny shoulders of a teenage sensation, Kelechi Nwakali. He is captain of the U-17 national team, the Golden Eaglets and has piloted their dream in Niger to a near perfect run, so far. His exploits in Niger have been quite outstanding that coach Emmanuel Amuneke described him as “a gift from God to Nigeria.” The Eaglets skipper Nwakali Kelechi is joint leading scorer so far with three goals, and has bagged two man-ofthe-match awards out of three matches the Eaglets have featured in. He is expected to remain pivotal with his solid midfield displays. Nwakali who has attracted scouts from all over Europe would not talk much on today ’s encounter but simply said, “let the ball do the talking. We want to win because we want the

Kanu Continues from BP Eaglets every tournament year. “I am happy they are winning in Niger Republic. From what I have seen, I know that they have all it takes to win the tournament and also do well at the world cup,” Kanu said. Also former coach of the team John Obuh said

trophy.” He comes up against the enterprising skills of Amajimbos captain Nelson Maluleke whose excellent foot-work and knack for goals has been influential for a South African side that started slowly but has grown in stature and confidence as the games unfolded. Nwakali will not be alone in Nigeria’s quest for glory in Niamey. Gangling Eaglets striker Victor Osimhen James who is also a joint top scorer in the tournament with three goals has vowed not to rest until the trophy is brought home to Abuja. He told reporters in Niamey that it will be a total waste should he emerge highest goal scorer without winning the trophy. Coach Emmanuel Amuneke has already assured that the Eaglets will not take their opponents for granted. “We will not treat them with kid gloves. The South Africans play as a team that likes to fight back when they are down. They also have some top quality players.” “But we have to find a way to contain. If we can play our own game, it would become much easier for us and it is our hope that our boys would be in the right frame of mind and be able to carry out the task.” the Eaglets are good on the ball and are capable of winning the tournament. “They have good goalscorers who always pick their positions on and off the ball and will punish any defense when they find themselves in the zone.” The Eaglets topped group A of the tournament and they will meet South Africa’s Amajimbos in today ’s semi-finals. C M Y K

62 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2015

Wenger: I’m afraid of my former club M

ANAGER Arsene Wenger does not expect an easy ride as Arsenal aim to get past former club Monaco Monaco were viewed as one of the weaker seeds, have scored only four Champions League goals this season, but still qualified as winners of Group C ahead of Bayer Leverkusen. However, Wenger - who guided the Principality club to the Ligue 1 title in 1987-88 and semi-finals of the Champions League a few seasons later - insists at this level, a n y thoughts

•Wenger

of complacency can be fatal. “We have been in the Champions League for 17 consecutive years and that means we would have not learned the lesson - easy is a word that you have to ban in the Champions League,” said Wenger, who revealed midfielder Jack Wilshere had been rested from Tu e s d a y ’ s training session as a precaution following his recovery after ankle surgery. “Every time we were in there, it was hard-

earned wins. “It is always one-goal difference - you go out for one goal, you stay in for one goal and that means you have to work very hard. “If you look at the

teams who are (left) competing they are always a reason to think it is difficult, so let us just try to do the next game, go into that with belief and humility, to try to give everything we can.”

Elderson set to stop Giroud, Welbeck S

UPER Eagles defender Elderson Echiejile has been included in Monaco squad for a UEFA Champions League Round of 16 clash at Arsenal in London tomorrow. Elderson was not listed for Monaco’s Ligue 1 1-0 win at Nice on Friday. Monaco are fourth on the French top-flight table with 43 points from 25 matches, seven points adrift of fourth-placed O l y m p i q u e Marseille. Incidentally,

both Monaco and Arsenal clashed in a p r e - s e a s o n tournament in London in the summer with the French club winning 1-0 courtesy of a firsth a l f Radamel Falcao goal.

•Elderson

Torres: I’m ready for Leverkusen

HILE Fernando Torres has previous UEFA Champions League experience with Liverpool and Chelsea – making 53 appearances between

Madrid. “Playing in the Champions League is another bonus about being back here, as I’ve never played in it for Atletico. I know the

competition well. It’s where the best players compete and it’s where you need to be.. My teammates want to avenge what happened in Lisbon and there’s only one way, which is getting there again.”

Simeone:

Welbeck: We'll overwhelm Monaco

Leverkusen dangerous

Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone has revealed that he is concerned about his Champions League Last 16 opposition Bayer Leverkusen’s threat from set-pieces. “This is an important game against an opponent that plays really well, a team who are very fast in midfield and go forward with a lot of variants, especially when it comes to deadball situations close to the area,” Simeone told Goal. C M Y K

both Premier League sides, tonight will be the first time the Spanish forward will step on the European stage as a member of his boyhood club, Atletico

ORWARD Danny Welbeck is confident Arsenal have the firepower to make an impact on the Champions League knockout stages. “There are a lot of attacking options which gives the manager a good headache to have,” said Welbeck, who was preferred to England team-

mate Theo Walcott in the side at Palace, where he played a part in both goals. “Once everyone is on the pitch we are going to give 100 per cent and give the best for the team, and that is the most important thing, you need to do your job properly. Whoever comes in will obviously do the same.”

‘Ozil, Sanchez must shine’

•sTorres

KY Sports pundit Charlie Nicholas insists Arsenal’s stars need to start performing in the big games ahead of their Champions League final 16 first leg with Monaco. “I’m fed up saying this about Arsenal players on big European nights, but

it’s time to start delivering on the biggest stage,” said the former Arsenal defender. “Ozil is a player who has had plenty of big nights in his career with Real Madrid and, of course, he’s a World Cup winner."

•Welbeck

VANGU ARD, WEDNESD A Y, FEBRU ARY 25, 2015—63 ANGUARD, WEDNESDA FEBRUARY

C M Y K

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2015

CAF U-17 Championships: Eaglets battle S/Africa for final ticket By Jacob Ajom Kickoff 4pm

ODAY, at the Stade Général S. K., Niamey, the Golden

NFF slashes Keshi's pay in new deal T

HERE is a drastic pay cut for coach Stephen Keshi in the new deal which has been prepared by the Amaju Pinnick-led NFF. The new deal if agreed by Keshi will see him earn three million Naira a month. That will represent a huge pay cut from the five million Naira he earned in his first contract. “The new contract that has been finalized by the Nigeria Football Federation will see Keshi earn far less than he received in his first contract,” a top source disclosed. “The federation is broke and they do not want to promise what they cannot pay.” Initial media reports had suggested Keshi

Continues on Page 61

TODAY'S

Eaglets will file out against their South African counterparts, the Amajimbos in the first semi final of the CAF U17 championships. Nigeria topped Group A with seven points, while South Africa finished runners-up from Group B with five points. Their last meeting at this level was

Continues on Page 61

•Nwakali

...Kanu tips Eaglets for glory By Ben Efe

•Pinnick

•Keshi

...Says I can lead Burkina Faso to World Cup

TEPHEN Keshi has said he could lead Burkina Faso to the World Cup just as he has done with Togo and Nigeria. Keshi is the front runner for the vacant Burkina Faso top coaching post after Belgian coach Paul Put was

PUZZLE

FRI DAY'S FRIDAY'S

ORMER Golden Eaglets captain, Nwankwo Kanu has tipped the national under-17 team doing battle at the CAF Under17 championships in Niger Republic, to win the trophy and also do well at the FIFA world cup later in the year in Chile. Kanu led the team to winning the tournament

Today's Fixtures fired at the end of a disappointing 2015 AFCON campaign in Arsenal v Monaco 8:45pm Equatorial Guinea, where the Stallions failed to win a match two Bayern v A/Madrid 8:45pm Continues on Page 61

in 1993 in Japan. He said with every tournament he has always had a nostalgic feeling and of course his heart is with the Golden

Continues on Page 61

•Kanu

QUICK CROSSWORD

ANSWERS

ACROSS: 2 Titan (5) 7 Started (5) 8 Additional (5) 10 Evince (5) 12 Wonder (3) 13 Delete (5) 15 Burst (7) 17 Character (6) 19 Feline (3) 20 Scorned (7) 23 Chieftan (4) 25 Bowl (4) 26 Cringed (7) 30 Couch (3) 31 Debase (6) 34 Clutched (7) 37 Edge (5) 38 Expire (3) 39 Liability (5) 40 Blithe (5) 41 Cut (5) 42 Change (5)

DOWN: 1 Kind (5) 2 Visitor (5) 3 Really (6) 4 Pleasant (4) 5 Glorified (7) 6 Belief (5) 9 Pair (3) 11 Aroused (7) 13 Eel (5) 14 Garret (5) 16 Cushion (3) 18 Ebbed (7) 21 Frogman (5) 22 Gleamed (5) 24 Theft (7) 27 Network (3) 28 Invent (6) 29 Command (5) 32 Measure (5) 33 Tally (5) 35 Tune (3) 36 Trade (4)

YESTERDAY'S SOLUTIONS ACROSS: 2, Aroma 7, Stir 8, Plaque 9, Crest 11, Bid 13, Cut 15, Open 16, Bus 18, Sore 19, Heathen 20, Seat 22, Acid 23, Capered 25, Ever 27, Top 28, Tarn 30, Did 31, Log 33, Petal 36, Vigour 37, Iron 38, Yield.

DOWN: 1, Strip 2, Arc 3, Ode 4, Apt 5, Can 6, Augur 10, Skua 11, Boasted 12, Defaced 13, Conceal 14, Tending 16, Beret 17, Steep 18, Sea 21, Tar 24, Rode 26, Visit 29, Robot 32, Hot 33, Pry 34, Tie 35, Lid.

How to Play Sudoku

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. Printed and Published by VANGUARD MEDIA LIMITED, Vanguard Avenue, Kirikiri Canal, P.M.B.1007, Apapa. Phone: Newsroom: 018773962. Deputy Editor: 01-4548355. Advert Dept Hotline: 014544821; Abuja: 09-2341102, 09-2342704. E-mail: editor@vanguardngr.com, news@vanguardngr.com, letters@vanguardngr.com. Advert:advertproduction@yahoo.com Website: www.vanguardngr.com (ISSN 0794-652X) Editor: MIDENO BAYAGBON. Phone: 01-7742861, All correspondence to P.M.B. 1007, Apapa Lagos.

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