sallah Tragedy: Taraba Gov, Suntai in plane crash

...towards a better life for the people VOL. 25: NO. 61740

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ONLINE | www.vanguardngr.com

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2012

Army blocks move by •P.7 Boko Haram to hoist flag

N150

Save us from •P.8 hoodlums, flood victims beg Uduaghan

SALLAH TRAGEDY:

Taraba Gov, Suntai in plane crash

BY EMMANUEL AZIKEN, POLITICAL EDITOR & UMAR YUSUF

AGOS—THE Gov ernor of Taraba State, Dambaba Suntai and five of his aides

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•To be flown abroad for treatment •Security tightens around hospital •His many political battles

were, yesterday, involved in an air crash after their private plane, Cessna 208 aircraft marked 5N-BMJ, crashed in Yola, Adamawa State capital.

Governor Suntai, who is now in a critical condition at the German Specialist Hospital in Yola, was said to be piloting the small aircraft at the time of the incident. The plane hit the ground behind the NNPC depot, along Yola-Numan Road Continues on Page 5

•Suntai, an aviation freak The trouble with •P.19 Achebe

Jonathan on Sallah, restates commitment to peace

DONU KOGBARA:

Readers’•P..17 reactions

•Mark, Tambuwal, Oritsejafor, others task Nigerians on peace, selflesness •P. 6

Mr & Mrs

The Road to President •P.15 Jonathan's home Olu of Warri inaugurates trustees of Itsekiri Education Trust •P.8

CRASHED—The wreckage of the plane: Inset: Gov. Suntai and parts of the crashed plane.

2— Vanguard, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2012

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Sweet & SOUR

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4— Vanguard, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2012

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POCKET CARTOON

Taraba Gov, Suntai in plane crash Continues from page 1 at about 7 pm.

The secretary to the Taraba State Government,Amb. Emmanuel Njiwah, in a reaction, confirmed that the governor survived the crash, but was in critical condition. The Secretary stated that the injured governor had been conveyed to a hospital in Yola.

Security tightens around hospital Security was tight at the hospital as all the gates were locked while only few medical staff who were on duty and officials of Yola International Airport were allowed into the hospital.

At the hospital were Governor Murtala Nyako of Adamawa, Brigade Commander of 23rd Armoured Brigade, Yola, Director of SSS, the state Commissioner of Police and other government officials.

As at last night arrangements were being made to fly him abroad either, yesterday, or today for further treatment.

His many political battles Governor Danbaba Suntai, aged 51, is a survivor of many critical political battles.

His first casualty was his one time godfather and predecessor in office, Rev. Jolly Nyame, a three time governor of the state.

Nyame, like many outgoing governors in 2007, had shopped and gotten a candidate he believed would safeguard his legacy.

However, not long after he succeeded Nyame, Suntai and Nyame fell out. Nyame who was at one time the father figure of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the state was forced to leave the party to the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN. He became a rallying point for those that were estranged from Suntai in the run up to the 2011 general elections.

It was not surprising that the Suntai administration collaborated very well with the anti-graft agencies in the ongoing prosecution of Nyame in the courts.

Besides Nyame, Suntai also fought, to a standstill, the former Minister of Water Resources, Dr. Obadiah Ando. Though he was nominated to the cabinet

by Suntai, but for one reason or the other, the two fell out.

Ando was accused by Suntai’s associates of campaigning against the PDP in Taraba ahead of

LIFEWORDS

BY PASTOR ITUAH

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HATEVER the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve – Napoleon Hill.

Develop your mind, take time to think.

TAKE HEART

BY ELLA RANDLE

Faith is confidence of the divine presence in one’s life, it is also learning to recognise someone who would take undue interest in our lives, someone who accepts you as you are, and is willing to give you that chance to discover your purpose in life.

We are always just one person away from great life’s outcomes and are constantly being guided to be in the right place at the right time — Ella Randle

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LYSHA Speer says it beautifully: “Laugh, even when you feel down and low. Smile, even when you’re trying not to cry and the tears are blurring your vision”. For me, I sing, and let my heart find its own rhythm and dance to the tune of life.

Trust; learn to trust your heart to find your purpose.

“And, always, remember, even when the memories pinch your heart. Because the pain of all your experience is what makes you the person you are now.” Life will teach you beautifully and your heart will open to sing a new song. It is your experience that makes you look at life from a higher perspective. What makes you brave is your willingness to live through life and hold your head up high the next day. So don’t live life in fear. Because you are stronger now, after all the said and done, it is a beautiful life after all.

the 2011 elections essentially because a relation of his was a leading member of the ACN in Taraba State.

When against Suntai’s objections, President Goodluck Jonathan forwarded Ando’s name to the senate for confirmation as a minister in June 2011, Suntai was believed to have mobilized the three senators from the state to stop the nomination.

It was not surprising that Ando was stopped

from confirmation following the senate rule which requires nominees for executive positions to get the approval of the majority of senators from their states.

In Obadiah’s case, the three senators stood their groundson the alleged instruction of Suntai and despite what was reported to have been a personal plea from President Jonathan to the governor.

Suntai was to later fall out with two of the senators from the state. At the

time of the crash yesterday, only Senator Emmanuel Bwacha of

the three senators from the state was known to be still close to him.

Aviation Ministry denies Suntai’s death

BY SONI DANIEL & LAIDE AKINBOADE BUJA—AT 9.30 pm last night, the Special Assistant to the Aviation Minister, Mr. Joe Obi, issued a terse statement on the incident claiming that nobody died in the air crash.

According to Obi, the incident involved a Cessna 208 aircraft marked 5N-BMJ with six persons on board.

The aircraft, which was piloted by the Taraba State Governor, Danbaba Suntai, reportedly left Jalingo, the Taraba State capital at about 5: 20 pm, but lost contact with the Yola Control Tower 38 miles to landing.

The spokesman said the pilot’s attempt to raise the aircraft, failed.

Obi said search and rescue was immediately

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activated and the site of the incident located with all the victims alive but with various degrees of injuries.

He stated that the victims were immediately evacuated to the hospital for treatment pending further investigation.

Part of the statement read: “An aircraft, Cessna 208 with 6 souls on board including crew, operated by the Taraba State Government departed Jalingo, Taraba State for Yola this evening and reported contact with the Yola Control Tower (1720Z) and field in sight at 38 miles estimating landing at 1730Z. “The pilot subsequently lost contact with Yola Control Tower and subsequent effort to raise the aircraft failed.

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OVERNOR Danbaba Suntai was an aviation freak.

Although he trained as a pharmacist, the governor enrolled at the Nigeria College of Aviation Technology, NCAT, Zaria, in 2009 and passed out six months later. He undertook flying test for about six months during the tenure of Capt. Adebayo Araba as rector. On graduation, he acquired the Private Pilot Licence, PPL Capt. Araba, who personally supervised the governor ’s flying test, often spoke of how the

governor would fly into Zaria in the evening for his flying test.

In one of his interactions with aviation journalists at the aviation college in Zaria some four years ago, Suntai said he loved flying, which was the reason he enrolled at NCAT. Journalists who were at NCAT for the annual training in aviation matters at the time, witnessed his last solo flying test, which he conducted successfully.

The late governor said his love for aviation propelled him to nurse the ambition of expanding the airstrip in Jalingo to a full airport.

PDP reacts In a text message by PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, the party said: “We received the news of the plane crash with shock. We are officially awaiting news of the true position right now and we urge all our members in Taraba State and Nigeria in general to pray for him.”

Ohu asks Lagos govt to create programme for widows

By BARTHOLOMEW MADUKWE

AGOS—THE La gos State Government has been urged to create programmes and conducive policies to improve the lives of widows.

Founder of the Bayo Ohu Foundation and widow of the late Guardian journalist, Bayo Ohu, Mrs. Blessing Bayo Ohu, said this in Lagos, yesterday, on the occasion marking the third anniversary of the death of her husband.

Grinding machines, books and other packages were given out to widows in attendance at the anniversar y, where the Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Mrs. Adejoke Adefulire Orelope, called on widows to look beyond the help of man unto God.

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Suntai, an aviation freak

BY KENNETH EHIGIATOR

Search and rescue was immediately activated and site of incident located with all victims alive with various degree of injuries.

“The victims have been evacuated to the hospital for treatment pending further investigation of the incident.

“This is the correct version of the incident, every other one that is contrary to this is incorrect,” Obi insisted.

“I know that the Governor of Ondo State, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, is doing something for widows. I want to enjoin the Lagos State government to look at the direction of widows.

I know that there are some widows who are better of, but there are still some that are looking for help. I want the government to look at the direction of widows and create a program for them,” Mrs. Ohu said.

She said: “Our vision in Bayo Ohu Foundation is to attract help for widows because there are so many widows out there that do not know where to go. But I want to help them by going to meet people, corporate bodies and individuals to come to the aid of the widows so that they can smile” Ohu added.

6—Vanguard, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2012

Mark, Oritsejafor congratulate Onaiyekan

BY SAM EYOBOKA & HENRY UMORU

AGOS — NATIONAL President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, has congratulated his predecessor in office and Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, Most Reverend John Onaiyekan, who was recently called to the Catholic College of Cardinals.

Pope Benedict XVI announced the elevation of the 68-year-old Archbishop of Abuja Diocese to the Vatican’s College of Cardinals on

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From left: Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara State; former Kwara State governor, Senator Abubakar Bukola Saraki and Senator Muhammed Sha'aba Lafiagi and Speaker, Kwara State House of Assembly, Hon. Razaq Atunwa at the monthly Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, meeting, in Ilorin, yesterday.

SALLAH:

Jonathan restates commitment to restore peace Outlines ingredients to make faster progress towards devt As Mark, Oritsejafor, Martins, others preach peace

BY SAM EYOBOKA, HENRY UMORU, BEN AGANDE, EMMAN OVUAKPORIE & OLAYINKA LATONA

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BUJA—PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday, restated the commitment of his administration to the restoration and maintenance of peace in all parts of the country even as he outlined the essential ingredients that will make us have faster progress towards development as a nation.

In his message to mark this year’s Eid-el-Kabir celebration, Jonathan assured that the Federal Government would continue to have constructive engagement and dialogue with all Nigerians.

This came as the National President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor; Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Most Rev. Alfred Adewale Martins; Senate President, David Mark and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal enjoined all Muslims to pray for national peace.

In his message, the president urged Nigerians to “seize the opportunity of the Sallah season and the public holidays to reflect on how we can bring the ideals and virtues of our religious beliefs to bear on the

positive resolution of the many challenges facing us as a nation.

“Nigerians remain a people of great faith with the vast majority of our people professing belief in God either as Muslims or Christians.

“There can be no doubt that we will make faster progress towards the attainment of developmental objectives as a nation if we all resolve to do more to live up to the highest ideals of our religious beliefs including the fear of God, willingness to make personal sacrifices for the collective good, selfless service, respect for laws and constituted authorities, honesty, justice, equity, fairness, dutifulness, peace and harmonious co-existence with others.”

Jonathan orders probe of hajj crisis Speaking on the challenge faced by some Muslim Pilgrims in the Holy land, Jonathan noted that though “the problem was eventually resolved with the positive intervention of the Federal Government, I have ordered a thorough post mortem of the incident with a view to ensuring that our Hajj airlift operations are never disrupted by such problems in future and that no Nigerian pilgrim is ever

subjected to such traumatic experience in the Holy Land again.”

He expressed the commitment of his administration to give dedicated, committed, focused and purposeful leadership towards overcoming old and emerging challenges before the nation.

He enjoined all Muslims to remember the plight of the many thousands of Nigerians who have been displaced by the floods which recently devastated many communities across the nation and resolve to contribute whatever we can to ameliorate their suffering.

In his Sallah message signed by the Director of Social Communications, Very Rev. Msgr. Gabriel Osu, the Catholic Archbishop also called for peace and unity in the country even as he condemned the violence meted out against innocent people, especially in the northern part of the country.

In his words: “Nothing can justify the act of violence. We must encourage tolerance and reconciliation. We must respect one another and seek peace, realising that what binds us together surpasses what drives us apart. There can be no peace without sacrifice.”

Oritsejafor, Martins preaches peace

...Mark too

Pastor Oritsejafor and Rev. Martins in their messages urged Muslim leaders to embrace the faith of Abraham by making more sacrifices to preserve the peace and unity of the country.

In his goodwill message signed by Mr. Kenny Ashaka, Special Assistant to CAN President on Media and Public Affairs, Oritsejafor urged the Muslim Ummah to use the advantage presented by this Sallah celebration to pray fervently for peace, security, good governance and development of the country.

The Senate President Mark in his message urged Muslim faithful across the country to pray for Nigeria in the spirit of this year’s Eid el-Kabir.

In a goodwill message signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Paul Mumeh, the Senate President implored religious leaders to teach their followers the right thing to do so that they do not deviate or depart from the truth.

Tambuwal urges

Nigerians to make sacrifices Also in his own message,

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Aminu Tambuwal, urged Nigerians to restore the virtues of good neighbourliness and strive to maintain law and order at all times.

According to him, all Nigerians must show commitment and be ready to make sacrifice towards the development of the nation In a message signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs, Malam Imam Imam, the Speaker said for the country to make the necessary progress it desires, the citizenry at all levels must be their brother’s keepers and be more sensitive to the wellbeing of one another.

Ekweremadu calls for peace Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu in his own Sallah message called on Muslims across the country to embrace peace in all its ramifications.

In his message by his Special Adviser, Media, Uche Anichukwu, Ekweremadu who attributed the nation’s problems to corruption, greed and willful disobedience to Allah and the teachings of the prophets, stressed that such virtues of selflessness, justice and total submission to the will of Allah epitomised by Prophet Ibrahim would restore the nation on the path of speedy growth and transformation.

Wednesday during his weekly general audience.

He said the new cardinals would be formally elevated at a consistory on November 24.

Onaiyekan was one of six non-European prelates nominated by the Pope to the elite body that remains heavily weighted in favour of Europe.

In a personal letter to the former CAN president, Oritsejafor expressed delight at the news of his elevation, saying the appointment has placed Nigeria on the world map of Christendom.

The letter reads: “It is with joy that I received the news of your appointment as a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church by His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI. “I am happy that this appointment has placed Nigeria on the world map of Christendom and that your fame now spans the globe. I am particularly happy because of your current status as one of the 'cardinal electors,'' a position which qualifies you to be among those to choose Pope Benedict’s successor.”

A great honour to Nigeria —Mark Senate President David Mark has also congratulated Onaiyekan, urging him to continue his crusade for peace to reign in Nigeria, saying “ this elevation should spur him for greater services to God and humanity”.

In a congratulatory message signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Paul Mumeh, the Senate President said Onaiyekan remains a dependable, diligent and an unshakable soldier of Christ who stood to be counted when it matters, adding, ‘’ I am pleased that your hardwork, dedication and steadfastness is being recognized and rewarded. I have implicit confidence that you will as always do Nigeria proud at the Vatican.

"As a personal friend, my joy knew no bound on hearing your elevation.

This is a blessing and a great honour to Nigeria. I can only wish that you continue the good work that characterised your tenure as the Catholic Archbishop of Abuja diocese.”

Vanguard, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2012—7

Why Nigeria is yet to win graft war — SAN

BY SONI DANIEL, REGIONAL EDITOR, NORTH

BUJA — A SENIOR member of the inner bar, Chief Chris Uche (SAN) said, yesterday, that it would be difficult for Nigeria to win the current war against corruption given intrinsic relationship between politics and graft.

Uche said in an exclusive interview with Vanguard that neither the establishment of a special court to try corrupt persons nor the change of type of government in Nigeria could halt the menace of graft.

According to him, corruption and politics cannot be easily separated and it will amount to a waste of efforts and resources by establishing a special court to try suspected corrupt persons without first addressing the forces that promote graft in the country.

The legal practitioner said: “We cannot solve the problem of corruption without adopting a holistic approach towards its elimination. Corruption has eaten deeply into the fabric of the nation’s life and it requires corresponding tough measures and political will to uproot it from the foundation.

“If you look at the way corruption is practised in Nigeria and the way politics is practised in the country, you will come to the inescapable conclusion that corruption is the oil that lubricates the machinery of politics in Nigeria.

“So, it is a siamese twin with politics in Nigeria. It is extremely difficult to separate corruption from politics in Nigeria. It is difficult to practice politics without corruption in Nigeria and it is very difficult to separate one from the other.

“We must remove all those things that make people to see public office as a do or die matter. We have to deliberately restructure public office to really be a platform for rendering service to the people.

“We have to restructure political offices in such a way that the capacity to steal public funds is limited, monitored and scrutinised.

Until that is done everybody will continue to see politics as a goldmine."

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On plea bargain Although he supports the use of plea bargain in the Nigerian judicial system as

a means of preventing prolonged and expensive legal prosecution, Uche lamented that the concept had also been largely abused in Nigerian to the extent that it had turned from "plea bargain to money bargain."

Constitution amendment On the current efforts to amend the Nigerian Constitution, the legal practitioner described the move as a distraction by politicians to buy time and get Nigerian busy while they prepare for their political interest in 2015.

Uche noted: “To me, constitution amendment is not necessary. That is not fundamental. That is not the cause of our problem. I don’t support constitution amendment at all.

“I see it as a distraction and something to keep us busy between now and 2015. We have no problem with the constitution the way it is. What we have problem with is the manner in which it is operated.

On the way forward On how to move Nigeria forward, he appealed to President Goodluck Jonathan to do all within his powers to improve infrastructure in the country so that other sectors could strive.

He admonished the President to think passionately about transforming the nation to leave a legacy for generations yet unborn.

Uche cautioned: “One thing we must recognise, though, is that governance is not about an individual.

We cannot lay on the feet of President Jonathan the blames for all we are suffering now.

“Understandably, most of these problems did not begin with him. But then, he is our figure-head and the buck stops on his table.

So, he has to think passionately about transforming this country.

This is a very unique opportunity he has to do something about changing things between now and 2015.

“Let him not allow those around him to keep him busy thinking about the next election and the opposition.

Let him think of how to make sure that we have good roads and steady electricity, good educational and health facilities."

From left: Chinese Counsellor for Economic and Commercial, Chinese Embassy, Abuja, Mr Rong Yansong; Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce, Mr Li Jinzaqs and Vice President Namadi Sambo during the Chinese Vice Minister's visit to the Presidential Villa, Abuja, yesterday.

Army blocks move by Boko Haram to hoist flag in Damaturu Why Policemen, other security agents are targets

BY KINGSLEY OMONOBI

BUJA — SECURITY operatives of the Joint Task Force have thwarted an attempt by the Boko Haram Islamic sect to hoist what they said would have been their national flag, "a yellow, white and red stripes" with weapons of mass destruction inscribed, at the centre in Damaturu, Yobe State capital which

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sources said is scheduled to be the headquarters of the Boko Haram nation.

The disclosure was made just as security sources said indigenes of Borno, Bauchi, Yobe and other states harbouring the sect’s ‘cells’ are under immense pressure and fear owing to threats on them to support the group with funds by a percentage of their salaries or profits made

Benue Speaker asks FG to probeTiv/Fulani crisis

BY PETER DURU

AKURDI — SPEAKER of the Benue State House of Assembly, Mr. David Iorhemba, has urged the Federal Government to set up a panel of inquiry into the lingering Tiv farmers and Fulani herdsmen crisis that had in recent time claimed over 300 lives with over 15 communities sacked.

He also pleaded with the government to take decisive steps to disarm mercenaries whom he claimed had been deployed by the herdsmen along the Benue-Nasarawa borders.

The Speaker who addressed newsmen, yesterday, in Makurdi on the recent conflict in his constituency between Tiv farmers and herdsmen at Yogbo in Guma Local Government Area that claimed over 30 lives stated that the conflicts had taken

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a dangerous dimension resulting in persistent killings.

Iorhemba stressed that the persistent conflict had in the last one year subjected his constituents to untold hardship without any source of livelihood with most of their farmlands destroyed by the invaders.

He said: “We are disappointed that the Nasarawa state government has also repeatedly failed to check the influx of mercenaries who camp in their communities to unleash havoc on my people, despite several moves by the Benue State government to arrest the trend.

“The unfortunate development has necessitated the need for the Federal Government to set up a panel of inquiry into the persistent bloodbath that has left most of the Tiv communities ravaged and desolated.”

from their businesses, which is said to be non negotiable.

Failure to remit such money is most times met with the killing of a loved member of that family or the family is wiped out.

That is why the sources of funding for the Islamic sect have been difficult to trace, the source said.

Why Policemen, other security agents are targets Another mode of funding for the sect, according to the security sources, is the daily killing of security agents particularly the police, soldiers of the JTF, armed Customs and Immigration officials.

Vanguard was told that there was a reward of N5,000 for each security personnel killed and if such a security agent killed has a rifle and the killer or killers succeed in collecting his rifle for the sect, the reward is N10, 000. Hence, the killing of security agents by members of the group is seen as a source of generating funds and acquiring arms and ammunition for the group.

According to the source, the source of arms for the sect members has also been traced to the porosity of the nation’s borders especially those of Niger, Chad and Cameroon through which most of the weapons used in the Arab Spring crises find

their way to the country.

The source noted that allegation of killing of innocent indigenes, especially during crossfire with the sect by the JTF was ‘political talk’ especially since great efforts through intelligence and surveillance are carried out by the JTF before they strike.

The source added that such efforts had always yielded unquantifiable discoveries in large stockpile of IEDs, AK 47 rifles, GPMGs and hundreds of thousands of live ammunition.

Vanguard has, consequently, learnt that it was this mode of killing for financial benefits by Boko Haram adherents that has been the stumbling block to officers of security agencies, who when they are deployed to Maiduguri, Damaturu, Potiskum, Mubi, Bauchi, Jos and parts of Kaduna among others protest vehemently and embark on all sorts of lobbying to prevent their being posted to areas considered Boko Haram states.

It would be recalled that recent mass transfer of Police officers especially those from the South-East and SouthSouth to parts of the North recently, experienced such protestations as most of the officers threatened to resign than allow themselves to be used as guinea pigs.

8—Vanguard, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2012

Olu of Warri inaugurates trustees of Itsekiri Education Trust HE Olu of Warri, His Majesty Ogiame Atuwatse II, will on Saturday, October 27, inaugurate the Registered Trustees of the Itsekiri Education Trust.

The event, which will take place at the Olu’s Palace in Warri, will commence at 12 noon with

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the Speaker of Delta State House of Assembly as chairman, while Delta State governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, is the Guest of Honour.

All sons and daughters of Itsekiri as well as friends of Itsekiri have been invited to the inauguration.

Flood: Food prices soar in Jigawa

BY ALIYU DANGIDA

UTSE—AS victims of the recent devastating flood count their losses in Jigawa State, prices of food stuffs and other essential commodities have continued to rise across the state.

A market survey conducted by Vanguard in Kazaure and Dutse towns showed that a measure of local rice which is mainly consumed by the low income earners that was earlier sold for N250 had risen to between N350 and N370, while foreign rice which sold at N450 now goes for N550.

D PRESENTATION: Alhaji Muhammed Goni Abubakar, Government and Community Relations Officer, MTN (middle); Alhaji Jinjiri Dutse, Chairman, Jigawa State Relief Committee and Commissioner for Rural Infrastructure and Community Development (right) during the presentation of relief materials to flood victims by MTN in Dutse, Jigawa State.

Save us from hoodlums, flood victims beg Uduaghan

BY EMMA AMAIZE

A R R I —F L O O D victims in Bomadi Local Government Area of Delta State have called on the state government to deploy more security operatives in their camps to forestall possible attacks by hoodlums.

They, however, commended the governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, for providing a measure of security for them, lamenting that in the past few days, hoodlums had been harassing them.

Nevertheless, succor came their way when a Warri-based church, Christ Mercyland Ministry, stormed the Bomadi main town camp with 60 bags of rice and N100,000 cash to cushion the hardship of the internally displaced persons, IDPs. The church also donated 40 and 50 bags of rice respectively to flood camps at Bomadi Over side and Kpakiama, respectively.

In Bayelsa State, the ministry donated 300 bags of rice and N200, 000 to IDPs in Ekeremor and Sagbama local government areas of the state.

Presenting the items to the Bomadi flood victims, General Overseer of the church, Prophet Jeremiah Fufeyin, sympathised with the victims and counseled that all hope

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was not lost.

His words: “We thank God for His mercy because He said we should thank Him in everything that is happening to us.

We should remember that we did not create ourselves, hence we should always be thankful to Him”.

Fufeyin, accompanied by pastors and members of the church, however, commended the federal and state governments for responding swiftly to the needs of the dis-

placed persons and called on concerned Deltans and organisations, as well as churches, to come to the aid of the victims.

“We must not forsake the displaced persons because this type of thing could happen to anybody,” Prophet Fufeyin said and prayed that such incident should not happen again.

He declared that the flood would end in the first week of November, adding, “This is the

word of God." Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa, represented by the Commissioner for Housing and Urban Development, Mr. Paul Oyarede, said he was impressed with the sympathy showed by the church towards the flood victims.

Oyarede described the donation as one of the biggest assistance offered the victims, and prayed God to replenish the pocket from which the money came from.

Delta govt official removed for alleged embezzlement of flood victims' funds

BY AUSTIN OGWUDA SABA—A STAFF of Bureau for Special Duties in Delta State has been removed from the Illah Camp for flood victims in Delta State for allegedly embezzling funds meant for the victims. The order for his removal was given by Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan who also directed that the suspect refunds such fund without further delay.

The governor gave the order during a routine meeting aimed at reviewing the management of the flood situation with political office holders at Government House Asaba. The exact

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amount embezzled was, however, not immediately known.

The governor, who was visibly angry, rained invectives on the said official saying, “Any official misappropriating money for flood victims was doing so at his/her own peril.

“It is inhuman and unfair for anyone to deprive the victims of food and people doing this will reap the reward. If it does not affect you now, it will certainly happen somehow, someday. You cannot short-change the flood victims to make money for yourself because such money will never be useful to you.

You can never use it well for yourself.”

The state Commission-

er, Bureau for Special Duties, Dr. Tony Nwaka, was thereafter directed by the governor to enforce the order without delay.

A measure of beans which sold for N300 now sells at N500 while that of millet and guinea corn sell for N120 and N180 as against N100 and N120 respectively.

Also a measure of maize which went for N90 now goes for N150 just as three medium sized tubers of yam now go for N800 against the earlier price of N350.

Prices of provisions such as milk, sugar and coffee have equally skyrocketed. A tin of milk which cost N100 before, now costs N130 while a tin of coffee and a packet of sugar which were sold at N200 each now go for N250 respectively.

Group donates to flood victims in Delta

BY TOMMY ANADUAKA N response to the call by Delta State Government for assistance to flood victims in the state, members of De Saints International Club, a socio-philanthropic organization in Delta State, has donated various food items to internally displaced persons at the St.Patrick’s College Camp in Asaba.

Making the presentation, Mayor of the club, Mr. Andy Uwejeyan, said his members were touched by the disaster caused by the flood to

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people in the state.

Mayor Uwejeyan said the club decided to have as its target, children in the refugee camp who might easily suffer from malnutrition. He said that plans had already been concluded to make similar donations to other camps in the state.

Receiving the items on behalf of the state government, Director, State Emergency Management Agency, Mr. Anthony Nwanti, thanked the members of the club for the gesture and assured that the items donated would be judiciously used.

Alile donates to flood victims

BY VICTOR AHIUMA-YOUNG

PIRITUAL Leader of St. Joseph's Chosen Church of God International, Apostle Hayford Alile, has donated N675,000.00 to flood victims in Edo, Delta, Anambra and Rivers states.

Personal Assistant to Apostle Alile, Pastor Victor Mukwuzi, said of the sum, Edo State victims received N250,000, while Delta, Anambra and Riv-

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ers State victims received N100,000 each.

He said: “As part of its corporate social responsibility, St. Joseph’s Chosen Church of God International, under the spiritual leadership of Apostle Hayford Alile, OFR, has donated the sum of N675,000.00 to flood victims in Edo, Delta, Anambra and Rivers States.

“The donations were made through the Relief Agencies set up by the state governments, while

the balance N125,000.00 was sent directly to other flood victims. The gesture was made known by the Spiritual Leader of the Church, Apostle Alile, at the just concluded Women Fellowship Convention 2012 of the Church, tagged ‘Divine Visitation’. St. Joseph’s Chosen Church of God was founded in 1937 through the late Apostle Joseph Ikechiuku as a love platform for the sons and daughters of God.”

Vanguard , FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2012 —9

12 suspects remanded for robbing Sterling Bank

BY ONOZURE DANIA

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WELVE SUSPECted armed robbers, have been remanded in

prison custody for allegedly robbing Sterling Bank of N8million.

The accused; Taiwo

Ikuforiji urges Muslims to emulate Prophet Ibrahim

BY EBUN SESSOU

S MUSLIMS cel ebrate Eid-El-Kabir, Speaker of Lagos State House of Assembly, Mr. Adeyemi Ikuforiji, has admonished Muslims to be more obedient and dedicated in serving the Almighty God and humanity.

Ikuforiji, through his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Rotimi Adebayo, also congratulated Nige-

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rian Muslims and other Muslims around the world, and urged them to emulate Prophet Mohammed in serving mankind.

According him, “Muslims must continue to display selflessness, bravery, commitment and unparalled obedience, as demonstrated by Prophet Ibrahim when he agreed to offer his only son, Prophet Ismail, as a sacrifice to the Almighty Allah.

CBAN national book fair kicks off Oct 30

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HE ANNUAL Christian book fair national convention with the theme 'Tell The News,' organized by the Christian Booksellers Association Nigeria (CBAN), will be held at Shepherdhill

Meeting ABRIBA WOMEN'S Cultural Organisation (AWCO) holds its annual dinner on Saturday, October 27, 2012 at Dover Hotel, Plot 10, Olabunmi Owa Street, Off Admirality Way, Lekki Phase 1 at 5p.m. prompt.

Baptist Church Hall, Ikorodu Road, Obanikoro BRT Bus stop, Palmgroove, Lagos.

Starting from Tuesday, October 30, the programme would be rounded off on Saturday, November 3, 2012.

According to a statement by the CBAN media consultant, Mr. Daniel Badru, the fiveday fair would be graced by eminent Bible scholars and authors, while there will be exhibition of discounted books on business and leadership, Bibles, Christian gifts, Christian music message on CDs, DVDs, Audio, among others.

Anointing service MONTHLY T HE anointing service of the Manna Prayer Mountain Ministry, a. k. a ODM, for the month of October will hold at 7.30a.m. on October 28, at 8-10, Omotayo Banwo Street, OriokeOgudu, Lagos.

The theme for the service is: “TALITHA CUMIMY

TESTIMONY MUST ARISE.” Manna Mountain Anoint- ing Service has become a fertile hunting ground for miracle seekers from around the world, a source said.

Rev. Dr. Chris.

Kwakpovwe, the General Overseer of the Manna Mountain will minister at the service.

Delta North PDP chairman donates reliefs to flood victims

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HAIRMAN OF the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Delta North, Ogbuefi Ezenwa ObodukuAnigala, has visited the flood victims in various camps in the area where he donated relief materials to them.

Some of the camps visited included Kwale Stadium, Ossissa, Adege, Illah, ICE and Ewulu camps where the

flood victims in the Delta North area are camped.

Some of the relief materials donated included bags of rice, garri, plantain, beans, oil, tomatoes, clothings, among others.

He said PDP shared in their pains and loss of farmlands, houses, and so on, assuring that the party would continue to assist them.

Aremu, 26; Muktar Eleduwe, 42; Lukeman Adekunle, 26; Kola Adenuga, 26; Ahmed Ajofoba, 24; Saheed Olawunmi, 24; Idowu Adesola, 32; Waheed shuiab, 38; Rasheed Anifowose, 22; Ahmed Adelakun, 28; Abdullahi Abdulkareem, 24 and Adedokun Yusuf, 24, were docked before an Ikeja Magistrates Court.

The police prosecutor, Mr. Chinalu Uwadione, told the court that the suspects had on May 25, at about 6:30p.m. robbed a Sterling Bank branch at Fatai Atere Way, Matori, in Lagos, of N8million.

From left: Mr. Segun Aina, President/ Chairman of Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria(CIBN), Mr. Stephen Olabisi Onasanya,MD, First Bank PLc and Otunba (Mrs.)Debola Osibogun, 1st Vice President, CIBN, during presentation of honorary fellowship of CIBN to Mr. Onasanya, at the 2012 fellowship investiture organised CIBN at Federal Palace Hotel, Lagos.

NDLEA arrests 8 drug suspects with 10.635kg of narcotics

BY DANIEL ETEGHE

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PERATIVES OF the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, yesterday, arrested eight suspected drug traffickers for allegedly smuggling about 10.635 kilogrammes of narcotics

at the Murtala M u h a m m e d International Airport, MMIA, Lagos.

Speaking on the arrest, NDLEA Commander at the Lagos Airport, Mr. Hamza Umar, explained that the suspects were arrested with various

types of drugs ranging from cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin and so on.

Mr. Umar said: “The breakdown of drugs recovered includes 4.460kilogrammes of methamphetamine, 4.030kilogrammes of

'Partial diversion of traffic on Ijora/ Apapa Expressway Saturday, Sunday'

BY VICTOR AHIUMAYOUNG

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AGOS STATE Government yesterday said due to ongoing construction of Lagos Rail System, there would be partial diversion of traffic on Ijora, Apapa Expressway on Saturday and Sunday, October 27 and 28, 2012 from 8.00a.m. to 11a.m..

The Government which spoke through the Ministry of Transport, said the diversion was to enable the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) commence the erection of pre stressed beams across Ijora/Apapa-Oshodi Expressway by Iganmu Bridge.

A statement by Adeyinka Gbemibade, Press & Public Relations Officer, Ministry of Transportation, said the Commissioner for Transportation, Comrade Kayode Opeifa,

announced the development in his office at Alausa, Ikeja, after a meeting with the stakeholders.

According to the statement: “Opeifa, who said that the diversion / partial closure of the road will take place on Ijora/Apapa Expressway, just before Iganmu Bridge and on Iganmu Bridge, added that vehicles from Funsho Williams Avenue, Apapa Road and Costain area as well as those from Orile Iganmu approaching Ijora should use Eko Bridge to link Ijora and Apapa.

"He added that movement from Apapa and Ijora towards Costain will not be affected.

“The Commissioner enjoined motorists to bear with the State Government during the diversion."

He urged motorists to drive carefully, more cautiously to ensure the safety of others.

He implored road users to take cognisance of informative signs which had been strategically erected at Orile Iganmu, Eric Moore junction, Doyin junction, Costain, Breweries and Apapa Road.

He advised motorists to follow diversion signs and instructions from men of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA)

heroin and 2.145kilogrammes of cocaine.

"Apart from one of the suspects caught attempting to smuggle 3.455kilogrammes of heroin from India, others were going outside the country with different quantities of drugs.”

The agency named the suspects as Onyekwere Wisdom Chinedu, 26 years; Obinna Christian Chigbo, 37 years; Muogbo Uchechukwu Sixtius, 25years; Tembo Gideon, a.k.a Benson Okechukwu, 25years and Orabusinze Chukwuka Joseph, 28 years.

Others are Ogbonnaya Kalu Robert, 54 years; Obiorah Celestine Nonso, 31years and Udeh Lazarus Makwe, 44 years, Alhaji Giade stressed that all the suspects would be charged to court for drug trafficking.

10—Vanguard, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26,

2012

Pray to save Nigeria from collapse —ACN

BY GBENGA OLARINOYE

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SOGBO — OSUN State chapter of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, has declared that Nigeria needs prayers now than any other time in its 52 years of existence, urging Nigerians to vehemently pray to save the country from collapse.

In a statement in From left: Ven. Obioma Onwuzurumba, Chaplain, Aso Villa Chapel; one of the children of the first Osogbo to felicitate with family, Mama Eunice Jonathan, the President's mother, another child with President Jonathan behind, Muslims on the occasion Dame Patience Jonathan, First Lady; yet another child, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, Ondo State governor of this year ’s Eid-eland Kemi Mimiko, the governor's wife, during Mrs. Jonathan's birthday, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. Kabir festival, the party’s Director of Publicity, Photo: Abayomi Adeshida.

Research and Strategy, Mr. Kunle Oyatomi, urged citizens of the state to join other Muslims in the country to pray for peace in the country.

According to him “ the DAYO JOHNSON, Ondo, Ogun, Osun and imbibe the spirit of the need to better the people of Osun State GBENGA OLARINOYE, Ekiti states, yesterday in tolerance, love and good Nigerian nation where should give praise and governance, thanks to God for GBENGA ARIYIBI & as good Eid-el-kabir messages neighbourliness DAUD OLATUNJI equality, justice, rule of providing a leader of the exemplified by Holy called on Muslims in law, fair play and other Prophet Mohammed.

FOUR SOUTH West their respective states tenets of democracy They equally spoke of governors of and Nigerias at large, to would reign rupreme.

Eid-el Kabir: South-West governors exhort Muslims

Mimiko reiterates belief in Nigeria

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OVERNOR OLUSEGUN Mimiko of Ondo State, in his message reiterated his belief in the Nigerian project and pleaded with Nigerians to join hands to make it w o r k , s a y i n g the successful conduct

of the recent gubernatorial elections in Edo and Ondo states were further proofs of the workability of the Nigeria project.

He called for more dedication “so that the nation can be the best for its numerous deposits of

potentials.”

Mimiko urged Nigerians to take advantage of the sincerity of President Goodluck Jonathan in ensuring an enduring democracy for the nation.

Aregbesola harps on good governance

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OR GOVERNOR Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State, he has identified good governance, purposeful leadership and prudent management of resources as necessary pre-conditions for Nigerian leaders to curb the worrisome trend of deterioration in all spheres of the nation’s life.

Aregbesola, said the

nation needed sincere leaders driven by the desire to halt the country from gradual slide into the abyss at this period of time.

In the statement by his Director, Bureau of Communications and Strategy, Mr. Semiu Okanlawon, Aregbesola identified corruption in high places and divisive tendencies among ethnic

groups in the country as diseases that must be cured completely for the country to get her development bearing right.

He said political leaders and followers, religious leaders and their adherents must come together and forge a harmonious relationship for the love of their country.

Amosun on obedience...

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IMILARLY, OGUN State governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, called on Muslims in Nigeria to obey all the teachings of Prophet Muhammed, noting that “obedience always attracts immense reward from the Almighty Allah.”

In a message by his Senior Special Assistant on Media, Mrs. Funmi

Wakama,, Gover nor Amosun said “the import of Eid-el-Kabir should not be lost on us as Muslims even as we count our blessings and celebrate the goodness of Allah in our lives during this season.”

He implored the faithful to imbibe the lessons of obedience, selflessness and sacrifice as demonstrated by

Prophet Ibrahim, “especially at this time when our country is faced with many challenges.

"The challenges confronting our nation are not insurmountable.

Through total obedience to the commands of the Almighty Allah, we can overcome them all.”

Fayemi urges total submission

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N HIS part, Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Yinka Oyebode, urged Muslims in the state to imbibe the lessons of sacrifice and total submission to the will of Almighty Allah.

The Governor charged Muslims to use the period to pray for the peace, stability and prosperity of Ekiti State which he noted was on the path of rapid development in all sectors.

Describing Sallah as a period for sober reflection, Fayemi said, “This has lent credence to one of my oft-repeated maxims which says that there can be no gain without pain. "Taking a step to sacrifice one’s only son in obedience to the wish of Allah could be very painful and traumatic but the Prophet gained a lot by choosing to obey Allah and damn the consequences.

“We should always be ready to make sacrifices which may be unpalatable at present but very gainful and sweet in the nearest future.

calibre of Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, who is doing everything possible to bring joy and hope to homes and families through his unprecedented delivery of services that are impacting on the people’s life.”

He recalled that in the last couple of months, the massive investments in agriculture and infrastructure by the government of Aregbesola had brought relief to people and prevented deaths.

He added: "Any leader who alleviates the suffering of his or her people needs all the prayers the people can say for the continuation of the good works such leader is doing.

"This is why we should intensify our efforts at praying and working for the progress of the ACN government in Osun."

Gov warns warring Muslim factions in Odogbolu LGA

By DAUD OLATUNJI

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BEOKUTA — OGUN State governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun yesterday warned troublemakers especially, the two warring factions in the Ososa Muslim Community in Odogbolu Local Government Area of Ogun State against breaching peace during the Eid prayers.

The governor said his government would not condone any act of lawlessness and indiscipline before, during and after the Sallah celebration in the town.

Addressing leaders of the warring groups in the area at a peace meeting in his office, the governor represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Taiwo Adeoluwa, assured that government would not take side as all issues relating to their dispute would soon be resolved.

The warring groups in the community have been embroiled in a supremacy battle leading to breach of peace at its Central Mosque during the last Eid-el Fitri prayer, forcing the government to close the Mosque.

Amosun, however, affirmed that the community ’s Central

Mosque remained closed and directed the two factions to look for alternative venues for the sallah prayers.

He warned that in the event of any breakdown of law and order during and after the celebration, Government would hold the factions responsible.

He said “the message is very simple. It is that we must embrace peace during and after the Sallah period. In the interest of peace, all parties should stay away from the prayer ground to avert problem.

"All of you will be held responsible if there is breach of peace.

Faith Altar Church holds 2nd anniversary THE CHRIST Faith Altar Church will hold its 2nd Anniversary and Thanksgiving service on Sunday, October 28.

The programme would take place at the church auditorium at Alaba Akintunde Close, behind Focus Private School, Abule Iroko, Ogun State.

The time is 10 a.m.

According to the presiding pastor, David Ojoola, the service will offer abundant blessing and divine deliverance for attendees.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2012—11

Jonathan visits A-Ibom Oct 27 RESIDENT Good luck Jonathan will, on Saturday, October 27, pay a one-day working visit to Akwa Ibom State.

A statement by the Commissioner for Information and Communications, Mr. Aniekan Umanah, said during the visit, the President will perform the groundbreaking ceremony of the new International Stadium in Uyo and also inspect and commission the new Governor ’s Office.

The new Governor ’s Office, which the commissioner said was an ar-

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FUNERAL: Edo State Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomole (left) and Cross River Governor, Senator Liyel Imoke, during the funeral of the late Pa Jeremiah Ighodalo, at Ewhohinmi, Edo State.

Soldier’s stray bullet leaves girl battling for life

BY EGUFE YAFUGBORHI ORT HARCOURT— THIRTEEN-YEAR-OLD Jennifer Innocent is battling to save her life at University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, UPTH, after being allegedly hit in the head by stray bullet from an army rifle.

The incident happened Wednesday at the Mile 4 neighbourhood of Obio/Akpor locality in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, following a scuffle between an unidentified soldier and a commercial bus driver.

Confirming the incident, Precious Innocent, younger sister to the stray bullet victim who was with her at the time, said: “I bent down during the fight between the

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soldier and the bus man.

I told my sister to bend down, she refused. Suddenly the army gun went off and she was hit on her head.”

Shattered by the incident, Mrs. Kate Innocent, mother of the affected girl, has called on police and army authorities to fish out the trig-

Delta House urged to suspend appropriation of 13% derivation fund

BY GABRIEL ENOGHOLASE ENIN—FIVE oil and gas producing ethnic nationalities of Delta State, Ijaw, Isoko, Itsekiri, Urhobo and Ndokwa, have requested the state's House of Assembly to suspend appropriation of their 13 per cent derivation fund by the state government.

The communities, in a letter to Delta State House of Assembly, jointly

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signed by Pa J. O. S Ayomike, Senator F. S. Okpozo, Chief W. Okrika CON, Dr. K. O. Nwachukwu, Chief P. E. Asagba and 20 others, insisted that the fund should be paid into an escrow account pending the resolution of some weighty issues.

The ethnic nationalities, in a letter to the Speaker and members of the House and made available to journalists in Benin, yesterday, insisted that, in line with consti-

Oba of Benin tasks Edo NUJ interim c'ttee on credible poll toThe the council. monarch further asBY SIMON EBEGBULEM ENIN—THE Oba of Benin, Oba Erediauwa, yesterday, expressed shock over the crisis that bedeviled the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, in Edo State and urged members of the interim committee to ensure the conduct of a free and fair election.

The revered monarch, who regretted the failure of members of the union

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ger happy soldier whose rife fired the stray bullet She also solicited for assistance for proper treatment to save her daughter's life.

to conduct election as at when due, broke his silence on the matter when members of the Caretaker Committee of the NUJ in the state, led by its chairman, Tunde Eigbiremolen, paid him a courtesy visit at his palace.

The Oba, however, gave his blessings to the November 7, election in the state council of the NUJ, just as he commended members of the caretaker committee for their efforts so far in restoring peace

sured members of the council that the palace would soon commence the usual quarterly briefing and urged members of the union to embrace peace in the state.

Speaking earlier, Eigbiremolen and a former chairman of the NUJ in the state, Comrade Mike Aladenika, explained that the national leadership of the NUJ decided to put in place a Caretaker Committee due to the crisis that rocked the council.

tutional provisions, the fund was not part of the consolidated revenue of the state.

They argued that the fund was created by the Federal Government as restitution for the loss and injurious impact of oil exploitation on the farmlands, streams and lakes of oil producing communities.

They said: “It is our view that one kobo of the aforesaid fund ought not to be spent outside oil and gas producing communities.

“We are not unmindful of the fact that the Delta State Government established the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission whose function include the infrastructural development of oil and gas producing communities.

“Our position, however, is that 50 per cent of the 13 percent of the derivation fund allocated to DESOPADEC as well as the remaining 50 per cent which the state government has appropriated for its use amounts to an aberration and improper use.”

chitectural master piece, consists of conference room, lounge, multi-media studio, a press room and Executive Council c h a m b e r s with video conferencing facilities, among others.

The statement said the stadium, among other features, is equipped with classic multi-purpose layout with running tracks, two-tiered seating arrangement, excellent viewing conditions, arena with football pitch and 8-lane 400m standard track, including complete athletic facilities in the segment of the field.

N-Delta monarch, youth leader call for Orubebe’s sack

BY EMMA AMAIZE ARRI—THE tra ditional ruler of Beinmogbene community in Burutu Local Government Area of Delta State, HRH Brawaide Ogokeme, has called for the removal of the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Elder Godsday Orubebe, for alleged non-performance.

Also, ex-vice president, National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, Prince Afoke Okporua, said the minister should be removed from office, as he had failed the people of Niger Delta.

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The royal father said retaining Orubebe in office would be injurious to the development of the region, as it would mean sacrificing development and welfare of the people on the altar of political ambition.

The monarch and youth leader in separate statements, said the development of the Niger Delta, comprising over six states, was too important for one to expropriate resources for personal political ambition.

They said a Niger Delta Minister needed to be focused in translating Mr. President’s avowed vision for the region.

12—Vanguard, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2012

Contractors allege swindle

by NDDC officials

BY GODWIN OGHRE

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CONFERENCE: From left: Minister of Education, Prof. Ruqayyatu Ahmed Rufai; Governor Chibuike Amaechi of Rivers State and his wife, and founder of Empowerment Support Initiative(ESI) Judith at the opening of the 3rd National Conference on Kindergarten Education organised by ESI in Port Harcourt.

Court to commence contempt charge against Imoke’s aide

BY JOHNBOSCO AGBAKWURU ALABAR—A CAL ABAR High Court has issued a notice of consequences of disobedience of order of court on the Special Adviser to Governor Liyel Imoke of Cross River State on Chieftaincy Affairs, Mr. John Eyikaje, over alleged disobedience of court’s judgment.

The judgment was in respect of rulings on the traditional tussle of Muri Munene of Efuts nation of Calabar South Local Government Area.

The Court had, in a judgment on September 21, 2011, recognised the embattled Effiong Mbukpa as the Muri Munene of Efut nation, as he was said to have completed the traditional rites and funeral obsequies of the late Muri Munene and was selected by the Efut Combined Assembly, a body said to have been saddled with

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the responsibility of the selection.

The court also on October 16, 2012, in a motion ex-parte, had granted leave to application

by Muri Munene Mbukpa, Ndabu Obo E. Obo, Chairman of Efut Combined Assembly and the Secretary, Ndabu Godwin Bassey, to file an Order of Certiorari quashing the decision of Cross River State Government to conduct selection into

the office of the Muri Munene.

In the order made by Justice Edem Ita Kooffreh, the leave granted should serve as stay of action in the said purported selection.

The Special Adviser was accused of defying the court order, having allegedly invited factional members opposing the embattled Muri Munene through Muri Okokon Ambo who was said to

Early childhood education, key to speedy devt —Jonathan RESIDENT Good luck Jonathan, former Vice President of World Bank, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, Cross River State Governor, Liyel Imoke, Chairman Empowerment Support Initiative (ESI), Dakuku Adol Peterside, and wives of state governors have joined founder of ESI, Dame Judith Amae-

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chi, to champion the cause for proper legislation and implementation of investment in early childhood education in the country.

Declaring open the Third National Conference on Kindergarten Education, in Port Harcourt, yesterday, President Goodluck Jonathan said sound education,

Police urged to prosecute corrupt community leaders stop.”

ARRI—POLITI CAL office holders have been advised to desist from imposing on communities those to occupy leadership positions in the management of the affairs of such communities.

Addressing the Ugborodo League of Friends, who paid him a courtesy

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have been suspended by the Efut Combined Assembly during the reign of the late Muri Munene Ita Okokon Ekpenyong and which suspension was allegedly upheld in a High Court judgment in 2011.

He was also accused of going contrary to a subsisting court judgment that recognized Muri Munene Mbukpa in 2011, an action viewed to be contemptuous.

visit recently in Warri, a member of Ugborodo Governing Board, Mr. Benjamin Cole, noted that “as soon as politicians and political office holders desist from their penchant for imposing those to occupy offices in our communities, these leadership crises that characterise our communities will

Referring to the present leadership crises in Ugborodo, in Warri SouthWest Local Government Council area of Delta State, Mr. Cole wondered why the office of the Inspector General of Police is unable to complete investigation on a petition it received about a year now over series of allegations.

application of knowledge and policy implementation of early childhood education, were key in promoting speedy development in Nigeria.

President Jonathan, represented by the Minister of Youth Development, Alhaji Inumo Abdul Kadir, said: “Education is not a privilege, but an inalienable right of every child. We must make appropriate investments in early childhood education to achieve our lofty goals.”

In her lead paper presentation, former World Bank Vice-President, Oby Ezekwesili, listed six core areas of development that can enhance the educational system in the country. They are early childhood education, basic education, secondary education, tertiary education, special education, as well as informal or adult education.

APELE—TWELVE sub-contractors of Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, have petitioned the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, over alleged connivance by some officials of the commission to fleece them of N100 million between April and August 2011.

They also notified Senators James Manager, Pius Ewherido and Senator Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa, of the development.

In the petition, dated October, 2, 2012, the petitioners also alleged that within the said period, they were contract-

ed by the commission’s consultants to train over 1,000 personnel within and outside the commission in computer skill acquisition.

They said that having successfully completed the task, officials of the commission in charge of the training refused to pay them.

The contractors include Esigbemi Computer Centre, Decision Support System Ltd, Zit Nigeria Ltd, Stella Omu Resources Information Tech. Ltd, Hezvillah Cyberworld, NIIT Warri Centre, TopNotch Resources Ltd, Choice Information Academy Ltd, IT Works Ventures, Ozone Corporate Nig.Ltd, Olu-Williams and Co and Ken Doubra Nig. Ltd.

Bayelsa earmarks N1bn for foreign scholarships

BY SAMUEL OYADONGHA

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E N A G O A — BAYELSA State Ministry of Education and its Scholarship Board, yesterday, said the state government had earmarked N1 billion for its foreign scholarship scheme.

Currently, the state government, under its scholarship scheme, has a total 466 students spread across 100 institutions in 30 countries.

Speaking at a joint media briefing in Yenagoa, the Commissioner for Education, Chief Salo Adikumo, said the students were undertaking studies in various disciplines relevant to the immediate and future manpower needs of the state.

He said: "The state

government is spending about N1 billion on the scheme.”

He said 100 of the 141 beneficiaries under the fresh admission postgraduate scholarship programme had begun lectures.

According to him, efforts to enable the others complete their documentation, affected by the conditional admission process of the United Kingdom, have been rescheduled for admission in January next year.

He also explained that the present administration inherited two undergraduate and post-graduate schemes in Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Malaysia, with all tuition fees settled for those in the Russian federation and allowances for September, October and November paid for those in Malaysia.

Group warns Edo lawmakers against extortion of commissioners

BY SIMON EBEGBULEM

ENIN—A SOCIOPOLITICAL group in Edo State, under the aegis of Edo Youths for True Democracy, has accused members of the State House of Assembly of impeding development in the 18 local government areas of the state and ministries through alleged extortion of council chairmen and commissioners in the state.

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The group, in a statement by Jimoh Luqman, alleged that commissioners were being extorted by the lawmakers before giving approval for their budgets, while Transition Chairmen were also intimidated into doling out millions of naira for spurious reasons.

Efforts made to get the reaction of the Majority Leader of the House, Mr. Philip Shuaibu, proved abortive as his phone was switched off.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2012—13

Globalisation may affect Nigeria negatively —Anyanwu

BY CHIDI NKWOPARA

WERRI—THE mem ber representing Owerri senatorial district in the National Assembly, Senator Chris Anyanwu, has warned that Nigeria will suffer negative outcomes of globalisation if the national economy was opened up at high speed without the required economic and social policies to provide adequate safety nets.

Anyanwu gave the warning yesterday in her

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LAUNCHING: From left: Chief Operations Officer, Visafone Communications Limited, Mr. Srinivasa K.V; Founder, Visafone, Mr. Jim Ovia and Regional Director, Research In Motion, RIM, Waldi Wepener, at the launch of the first Code Division and Multiple Access, CDMA, BlackBerry smartphones in Africa in Lagos, Wednesday.

Community petitions Chime over murder of monarch •Alleges threat to life of prominent indigenes NUGU—THE people of Umuode have petitioned Governor Sullivan Chime of Enugu State over the assassination of their traditional ruler and Ode 1 of Umuode, Igwe Moses Ugwu, by some individuals allegedly, from Oruku community.

This is even as six persons, including the former Minister of Power, Prof Barth Nnaji, and Justice Anthony Onovo have reportedly gone into hiding following unconfirmed reports that they were among other prominent indigenes of Umuode earmarked for elimination, following

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the Oruku and Umode crises which had led to the death of about 2,000 people, among them, the traditional ruler of Umode, His Royal Highness, Igwe Moses Ugwu, in the last 25 years.

The crises revolves around who were the true owners or settlers in the area.

The petition jointly signed by Chairman of Umuode Town Union, Emmanuel Omaba, and Secretary, Paul Chukwudi was entitled ‘’Assasination of HRH Igwe Moses Ugwu, robbery, brigandage, war and plan to exterminate Umuode leaders.’’

The petitioners who fingered some prominent Oruku indigenes, including a retired federal Permanent Secretary (names withheld), as being behind their woes stated: ‘’We have the mandate of our peace loving people of Umuode community in Nkanu East Local Government Area of the State to complain to you, once more, about the killing of Igwe Ugwu at Akpuoga Nike in Enugu East Local Government Area of the State.

"This atrocious act was committed by two persons riding on a motorcycle and who, by all in-

formation available, were identified as individuals who hail from Oruku community. It is unfortunate that the traditional ruler who had made a lot of sacrifices, including attending meetings called by the Police, Local Government and state in a bid to ensure that the crises between Umuode and Oruku is brought to a peaceful end, had to meet his end this way. ‘’Umuode is overwhelmed with grief – grief that the people of Oruku have been allowed to commit a lot of crimes and go scot free."

Crisis: Court adjourns Abia NUJ's suit

BY ANAYO OKOLI MUAHIA—THE le gal battle in the crisis-ridden Abia State Council of Nigeria Union of Journalists was yesterday adjourned sine die,

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following a request of counsel to one of the parties that the matter be transferred from the court of the present presiding Judge, Justice Lillian Abai, citing bias as the

reason.

Crisis erupted in the council when the election of Correspondent Chapel was botched by chairman of the council, Mr. Hyacinth Okoli, who

Stakeholders, NGO raise alarm over rising cases of rape in Ebonyi community

BY PETER OKUTU BAKALIKI— STAKEHOLDERS in Afikpo North Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, including a Non Governmental Organization, NGO, CLEEN Foundation, yesterday, expressed shock over incidences of unreported rape cases and security challenges plaguing communities in the area.

The stakeholders, who spoke with Vanguard, believed that the reason

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rape cases and insecurity were on the increase in the area was because of lack of good parental upbringing, high-level unemployment among youths, peer group influence, and bad governance, among others.

Chairman of Afikpo North Local government area, Tony Ekoh, stated that it was too alarming the way young ladies were being raped on a daily basis in Afikpo as the victims were in the attitude of concealing such ugly episodes to them-

selves for fear of being scandalized by the public while only few shared their experiences.

Ekoh made this known on the occasion of Afikpo North Local Governance and Security Forum organized by Owerri office of CLEEN Foundation in collaboration with Citizens Centre for Integrated Development and Social Rights, with support from Ford Foundation at the Secr e t a r i a t Hall of Afikpo North LGA of the state.

without any election swore-in in one Emma Ugwu as the purported chairman of the chapel and has been using his employer Abia State radio, BCA, to promote the activities of the illegal group.

The Independent Credential Screening Committee which was set up for the election had cleared, in liaison with the council, two candidates, Mr. Emma Ugwu and Mr. Emma Acha for the botched election.

But few minutes to commencement of voting, chairman of the council, Mr. Hyacinth Okoli, stormed the venue and rejected the report of the screening committee, and without any form of election swore-in Ugwu as chairman of the chapel.

keynote address during an international conference on Gender, Education and Globalisation, held in Federal University of Technology, Owerri, FUTO. She said: “Globalisation has negative flipside and the worst casualties are women, especially rural women. The confusion of having access to too much alien ideas, materials and products all of a sudden is causing us to develop new taste, new attitudes and behaviours.”

NEXIM Bank disburses N85bn in support of export projects

BY TONY EDIKE NUGU—THE Nige rian Export Import Bank, NEXIM, has disbursed over N85 billion to support 900 export projects in the real sector.

Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the bank, Mr. Roberts Orya, disclosed this during the Exporter Enlightenment Forum organ-

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ised by the bank at Nike Lake Hotel, Enugu.

He explained that the money was used mostly in Small and Medium Scale Enterprises, noting that apart from creating and sustaining over 300,000 direct and indirect jobs, the bank would also help in generating over US$1.2 billion in foreign exchange earnings for the country.

Court reserves ruling on airport land dispute

BY TONY EDIKE NUGU—THE Fed eral High Court sitting in Enugu, yesterday, adjourned ruling in the matter involving Enugu State government and former landowners at Airport Hillview and Layout over the acquisition and demolition of their houses by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria and state government.

Presiding judge, Justice D. V. Agishi, adjourned the matter to November 19, 2012, when counsel to the

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state government failed to appear in court.

The move to upgrade Enugu Airport to international standards led to the acquisition of the land by the government in 2009, through the state Ministry of Lands, with a promise to compensate the landowners.

But when the state government failed to pay the compensation, the landowners, under the auspices of Airport Hillview and Layout Neighbouurhood Watch, dragged the government to court in 2010.

Abia govt, MTN partner on health-care delivery

BY ANAYO OKOLI

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MUAHIA—ABIA State government has, in conjunction with Mobile Telecommunications Company, MTN Nigeria, entered into a development programme of rural mobile clinic across the 17 local government areas of the state.

The Commissioner for Health, Dr. Okechukwu Ogah, who disclosed this while declaring open the Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, 2012 Physician Week, said Gover-

nor Theodore Orji would launch the programme before the end of the year.

“Under the scheme, MTN would take up 18 Model PHC in the 6 Local Government Areas and run them efficiently for us for a given period of time.

“We are also partnering with national health insurance in the development of community health insurance scheme,” Ogah announced.

14—Vanguard , FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2012

congratulates Stakeholders laud Sheila Solarin as ardent supporter Oshiomhole Cardinal Onaiyekan of education B L

BY LAJUARENYEKA

A G O S — STAKEHOLDERS in the education sector have described the late widow of renowned educationist, Tai Solarin, as an ardent supporter of Nigerian education. Sheila Solarin, a British who was the Proprietress of Mayflower college, Ikenne in Ogun State, died last weekend at the age of 88.

The Director, Press and Public Relations of the National Universities Commission, Mallam Ibrahim Yakassai, told Vanguard in a phone interview that “the achievements of the late Mrs. Tai Solarin in the education sector are well known and cannot be denied. Both she and her husband have contributed immensely to quality education. It is unfortunate, but we pray that God will give her family the fortitude to bear the loss.”

In the words of Dr. Obong Ikpe, the secretary general, National Union of Teachers, “Sheila Solarin contributed immensely to the development of education. When her husband passed on, she stepped into his shoes as a great academic. It is important that people emulate such as it is the good things that we do that will live after us when we die.”

Meanwhile, the Chairman, Academic Staff Union of Universities, Lagos

State University Chapter, Dr. Jamiyu Oluwatoki eulogised the octogenarian with these words: “She belong to a generation of people who wanted the best for this

country. I was very much in correspondence with Tai Solarin while he was a columnist for the Tribune. Even then, her support for him was obvious.

She saw Nigeria as home

and was an ardent supporter of Nigerian education. She continued to remind us of the great work and success of Tai Solarin.”

From left: Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan; Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole and Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, at a briefing to reject BPE's position on bid for power distribution in Abuja. Photo: Gbemiga Olamikan.

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From left: Mr. Olisa Metu, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, National Publicity Secretary; Governor.. Theodore Orji receiving the award from President of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Ambassador Ralph Uwachue and Chairman, South-East Council of Traditional rulers, Eze Cletus Ilomuanya, at the Champion Laedership Award. Photo: Hill Ezeugwu.

AGOS—THE Deputy Editor of ThisDay Newspaper, Mr Eddy Odivwri has called for the return of education inspectors to check unethical practices by some schools and to ensure that set standards in educational institutions are strictly adhered to.

Odivwri who was the guest speaker at the 2012 Humanities/Business Week of Loral International School, Festac, Lagos, said the call has become imperative in view of continuous falling standard of education in the country.

He said: “In those days, there used to be inspectors. There is need to have them now. People should come and inspect

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the standard, monitor teachers as they teach and enure that necessary facilities are in place.

With this, we will have committed teachers and achieve standardization in the system.”

Speaking on “Relevance of Humanities in

the Present Dispensation,” the veteran journalist defined humanities as a study that is related to mankind like literature, history among others which he said would help young people to develop the ability to make informed and

Okonkwo bags title

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KOLE-EKITI—THE Managing Director of Great Source Investment Ltd, Sir Emeka Okonkwo, and his wife, Rose Ugochi Okonkwo have been honoured with chieftaincy titles by the Oba of Ikole-Ekiti, His Royal Majesty Adewumi Fasiku Aladesekole 1.

Okonkwo, an Abuja-based business man, and his wife were invested with the titles of Aniyikalu and Yeye

Aniyikalu of Ikole-Ekiti respectively during the IkoleEkiti 2012 National Day Celebration and Fund Raising for the development of Ikole-Ekiti kingdom, at the Elekole palace ground in Ikole-Ekiti, Ekiti State.

Conferring the title on Okonkwo, Oba Fasiku described the awardee as a friend of the Ikole kingdom who has contributed immensely to the growth and development of the kingdom.

reasoned decision for the public good.

He said exposure to humanities will make people acquire knowledge and share experience that would give them better and richer understanding of the world. He noted that social vices such as ritual killings, crude/mob killings were a manifestation of what he called ‘humanitiesiosis’, that is, deficiency of humanities in people.

The editor stressed that no course of study was less important as every profession has a role to play towards the growth and development of mankind. He charged the students to work hard to make good grades so that they could be employable.

have come in contact with you.

“Your contributions to Nigeria’s growth and development as a Priest who speaks the truth to authority and as a defender of the oppressed are immeasurable.

“This elevation definitely calls for more service in the Lord’s vineyard, but I have no doubt in my mind that you are eminently qualified and prepared for the challenges ahead.

“On a personal note, my children and I will never forget the roles you played during several chapters in our lives.

“I pray God to grant you the wisdom needed to excel in His service.”

Rotary to conduct free surgeries for polio victims

BY CHIDI NKWOPARA

Media practitioner seeks return of education inspectors

BY TONY EDIKE

ENIN CITY—GOV ERNOR Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State has congratulated the Archbishop of Abuja Catholic Diocese, John Onaiyekan, on his elevation to the position of Cardinal by His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI. In a congratulatory message, Comrade Oshiomhole said: “On behalf of the government and good people of Edo State, I congratulate His Grace on his elevation to the exalted position of Cardinal by His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI. “The elevation is a clear testament to your priestly life of selfless service which has been a channel of blessing to all men and women who

WERRI—ROTARY International has concluded plans to commence free surgeries to repair the limbs of persons disfigured by wild polio in Nigeria.

The African Coordinator, End Polio Now, Yinka Babalola, who disclosed this during a press conference in Owerri, also said that Rotary International had invested over $1 billion dollars as part of the global investment of over $9.5 billion in polio eradication.

Noting that wild polio was currently at its lowest level, Babalola la-

mented that “a critical funding gap threatens this progress as we work to reach the most vulnerable children in the most challenging places.”

Babalola, who is the past District Governor of District 9140 of Rotary International, was particularly irked that Nigeria remained one of the three polio endemic countries of the world.

He warned that no Nigerian child was safe from polio infection until the last child had been properly immunized, stressing that only 110 local council areas out of the 774 in the country have cases of wild polio.

Chevron donates N20m to physically-challenged persons

BY EMMA ARUBI ARRI—CHEV RON Nigeria Limited, CNL, has donated 20 motorised wheelchairs and clutches to the physicallychallenged in Warri, Delta State.

The oil giant also made donation of N20 million to the group to help them pay for their training programmes.

Making the donation at the Chevron dockyard in Warri, General Manager, Policy, Government and Public Affair, PGPA, Mr. Deji Haastrap, represented

by Mr. Tunji Idowu, said the items would go a long

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way in assisting the physically-challenged in their daily lives and charged them to make judicious use of the items.

He said the gesture was part of Chevron’s corporate social responsibility, CSR, and charged them to maintain same.

Receiving the items and cheque of N20 million on behalf of the physically challenged, the state president of Joint National Association of Persons with Disability, Delta State chapter, Mr. Eyefiujirin Ishmael commended Chevron for the gesture and urged other oil multinationals to emulate same.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2012—15

THE ROAD TO PRESIDENT GOODLUCK JONATHAN'S HOME

A panoramic view of the East-West road. PHOTOS: Akpokona Omafuaire.

Submerged East-West road with trapped vehicles.

Hectic crossing the waters.

Quick businesses going onshore at Ohoror.

Travellers crossing waist level water to go home.

Residents staying on the road side.

Partially submerged vehicles.

Okada to the rescue.

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A woman and her kids stranded at Ohoror shore.

16—Vanguard , FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2012

Cross section of participants during the Run-for- Cure, a 5 kilometre charity walk to raise awareness for breast and cervical cancer organised by Mrs Onari Duke’s Child Survival and Development Organisation of Nigeria,CSDON.

Mrs. Lucy Savage (right) presenting a trophy to a participant.

Eschew corruption, Jonathan tells Nigerians

BY EMMAN OVUAKPORIE BUJA—PRESI DENT Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday, enjoined Nigerians to eschew corruption and work hard to build Nigeria.

Jonathan spoke at the 3rd National Prayer Breakfast organised by members of the National Assembly.

This year ’s theme is: “Sacrifice with Righteousness, a Necessary Ingredient for National Transformation.”

Represented by Mr Caleb Olubolade, Minister of Police Affairs, Jonathan

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urged Nigerians to remain steadfast in prayers.

The president said that insecurity was one of the greatest challenges confronting the country currently.

Mr Labaran Maku, Minister of Information and National Orientation, in his remark, said that Nigeria had all it takes to develop as a nation, saying that the present challenges would be a blessing at the end.

Maku noted that if Nigerians keyed into the transformation agenda of Jonathan, the country would develop as a nation.

In his address, Prof. Vin-

cent Anigbogu, the Director-General, Institute for National Transformation, stressed the need to put in place quality leadership for the development of the country.

He identified the provision of basic infrastructure as a basis for sustainable development.

“We must create an environment where every Nigerian will be allowed to give his best,” he noted.

Anigbogu decried the deplorable state of the country’s education system after 52 years of independence.

According to him, all hands must be on deck to build a virile nation devoid of pov-

erty and insecurity.

In his remark, Senator Uche Chukwumerije, President, National Prayer Breakfast, said the occasion afforded them the opportunity to pray for the country.

He said that the prayer was to seek divine grace, solution and intervention in solving intractable national challenges.

Gen. Yakubu Gowon, a former head of state, Mrs Sarah Ochepke, Minister of Water Resources, lawmakers and clergymen attended the prayers session.

The National Prayer Breakfast started in 2010 was aimed at creating an environment of dialogue and lasting relationships.

Suswam's wife pays N500,000 to free 29 prison inmates

BY PETER DURU AKURDI—NO fewer than 29 inmates of the Makurdi Medium Prisons, yesterday, regained their freedom following the payment of their various fines by the Benue State Governor’s wife, Mrs. Yemisi Suswam paid their fines totalling over N500,000 that led to their incarceration.

Mrs. Suswam who paid a surprise visit to the prisons, told the inmates that the gesture was in fulfillment of her earlier promise to intervene on behalf of some of them who were convicted for minor offences.

She, however, urged those freed to turn new leaves by becoming better citizens and also shun acts that could lead to their being re- arrested and prosecuted in future.

She said: ”I am doing

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this in fulfillment of the promise I made to you all the last time I visited this prison to donate food items to you in commemoration of the Nation’s 52nd Independ-

ence anniversary celebrations. As you regain your freedom today, I urge you all to be of good cheer and also be good and proud citizens of your country. You must

reintegrate yourselves with the society and make the best out of life because you cannot afford to fall back to those acts that led to your incarceration in the first place."

Ubeji Grammar Sch wins NAIG quiz competition ARRI—UBEJI Grammar School, Ubeji has emerged winner of the maiden secondary school quiz competition organised by the National Association of Itsekiri Graduates, NAIG for students in secondary schools in Warri South local government.

According to chairman of Education Committee of NAIG, Mr. Bibi Ellis Ejuoghanranmokelesan, the one-day competition which was attended by three participants each from Dore Numa College, Erejuwa Grammar School, Nana College, Hussey College, Ubeji Grammar School and Yonwuren College all in Warri is to en-

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courage the students in their academic pursuit as well as learning of their cultural language.

Our correspondent reports that the keenly contested quiz saw Ubeji Grammar School scoring 93 points to emerge tops, with a twenty thousand prize and 3 school bags containing notebooks, while Hussey College emerged first runner-up with a fifteen thousand naira prize plus 3 school bags containing notebooks and Nana College came out third, thus going home with 10 thousand naira and textbooks. Nana College defeated Yonwuren College in a re-contest by a point after they tied 79 points in the

first round.

Subjects contested for are Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, English, Commerce, Economics and Itsekiri language.

Congratulations HE VICE President, Namadi Sambo has congratulated the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, on her birthday.

In a ststement by his Special Assistant, Media, Alhaji Umar Sani, the Vice President prayed that God will continue to grant Mrs Jonathan long life and prosperity.

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Kogi, Anambra oil well face-off: No cause for alarm —Rep

BY EMMAN OVUAK-

PORIE BUJA—A member of the House of Representatives, Chriscato Ameke, yesterday, said there was no cause for alarm as the map of Nigeria had demarcated the area of discord over the oil well in dispute between Anambra and Kogi states.

Ameke, who represents Anambra East-West Federal Constituency, location of the disputed oil well, in a chat with Vanguard, said: ”We have

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more than enough documentary evidence to prove the ownership of the oil well.”

According to him, a court as far back as 1973 had given a judgement in favour of his constituency in the disputed area where oil was found.

He explained further: “As far back as 1932, this issue of ownership was resolved in our favour by the colonial administrators in the Eastern region and the court judgement is another testimony."

HIV/AIDS prevalence drops to 3% in Adamawa

BY UMAR YUSUF OLA—THE spread of HIV/ AIDS in Adamawa State has dropped to 3.8 per cent, from the previous 6.8 per cent, placing the state third in the North-East geo-political zone.

The Executive Secretary for Adamawa State Agency For the Control of HIV/ AIDS, ADSACA, Suleman Banu, who made this known said the statistics followed the tests conducted between January to June

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2012.

Banu, spoke at a news conference, preparatory to the HIV/AIDS programme development project II, HPDP II, launch at the NUJ Press center yesterday, stressed that the state’s prevalence rate is gradually dropping.

He said within the period under review, 38, 251 people were counseled and tested for HIV (HCT), out of which only 3,429 were positive, just as 10,753 patients were on ARV across the state.

Adamawa PDP factions welcome Tukur

BY UMAR YUSUF OLA—NATIONAL Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, was yesterday accorded a warm reception by the two factions of the party in Adamawa State in spite of their political differences.

The Yola International Airport was jam-packed with various party supporters, including the state Governor, Vice Admiral Murtala Nyako, members

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of the State Executive Council, SEC, members of the dissolved PDP state working committee, the newly inaugurated caretaker committee of the party in the state, stakeholders, among others.

Others at the airport include political heavyweights, led by the governor of the defunct Gongola state, Mr. Wilberforce Juta, former PDP state chairman, Chief Joel Madaki, among others.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2012 — 17

Sweet & SOUR

Donu Kogbara

Readers’ reactions

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Remiguis Emeka <dejudgerems21@yahoo.com> I once said in my response to your write-ups (articles) that something must taste sweet even where there is bitterness or sourness. That is what

mostly endeared me to the column, Sweet & Sour, the first time I came across it in the Vanguard Newspapers. I believe whatever has an advantage equally has a disadvantage but the imbroglio begins when the disadvantage takes the upper hand, edging out merit as is the case with Nigeria these days.

Reading your article titled

,

AST week, I said I was totally bored with writing about Nigerian issues because “for me as a journalist who comments on current affairs for a living, it is becoming increasingly difficult to keep churning out columns - week in, week out - about the same old, same old, never-fundamentallychanging status quo…and I frequently feel like dozing off before I’ve completed the first paragraph!...”

I said that a friend had urged me to keep highlighting the ills of our society but that I didn’t see what value one added by constantly repeating myself.

Readers responded as follows:

+2347053895259 Anonymous My dear sister, l am writing from Delta State. l read your column in Vanguard Sweet and Sour and you sound frustrated with Nigeria. You are right but you don’t understand it is a cursed country because it wasn’t approved by God Almighty!

How will you explain the rate at which so-called men of God acquire wealth, build schools which poor children can’t attend?

Or buy private jets, become bankers for politicians’ stolen money? They preach gospel of prosperity instead of salvation and showing exemplary life of Jesus helping your neighbour. What do you expect politicians to do? Don’t get tired of writing the truth?

It’s just the role you are destined to play. Jonathan will only do his part and leave. Nigeria will remain the same till one day it will split to what God wants it to be.

So keep writing.

None of our so-called leaders actually believe in Nigeria; which explains why they occupy the seat of power to amass wealth for themselves instead of using the wealth for the good of the people

“Total Tedium”, I observed that you are really bored with all the goings-on in this country. Indeed, I have always desired to send out my reactions each time I read your articles. Though one can still see some good things happening, but the question is: What is the motive behind

OPINION Anthony Aliche: A role model unsung

BY JACOB AGUOMBA IS citation drew tears and produced a sense of pride among his compatriots at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua International Conference Center on February 10 when the African Child Foundation unveiled an exhibition of the 1349 books written by Anthony Ugochukwu Aliche, a professor of philosophy and recipient of numerous academic and literary awards at the international arena.

The packed audience was told that Anthony Aliche was being honoured as Nigerian author of the year and recognised as one of 20 distinguished Nigerians who had through hard work “put Nigeria on the world map”. But as the erudite scholar was born 41 days after Nigeria’s independence from colonial hegemony, I prefer the term “under-line Nigeria’s place in the world map”.

That is no news. But what provides food for thought is that the career of Aliche has since had a quantum leap: Two of his

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seminal books have clinched the world bestseller list. The third, Have You Discovered Your Assignment With Destiny? published in New York by Universe Incorporated, a 108 years outfit, is currently number four on the best ten list in the USA. Thus, it is not by accident that Aliche has achieved a heroic status abroad even if he remains largely unsung at home.

His revelatory treatment of the concept of destiny, man’s purpose in this life cycle and life after death has reopened the age-old debate on reincarnation. It is not a surprise that the book debunks many age-old beliefs and thoughts on the critical subject of destiny.

For Aliche, it is simply a rallying point where a childhood curiosity finds intellectual expression in over two decades of devotion to research work.

The initial scenario is one in which a curious student at Ihie Secondary School, Ihie, in present day Abia State is brooding and agonising over what purpose he had come to fulfill in a fast-changing global village, while his class mates

these? I am told in the light of Christianity that the motive behind every work is not in consonance with the work itself. No wonder the Bible in Eccl. 12:14, says that every work, whether good or bad, shall be brought to judgement.

This is the problem with the leadership of this country.

2015 is ahead. We shall witness yet another good

are enmeshed in the fun and gist of local Gbedu and the fabulous fun and pop culture of the 1970s. It is notable that altar boys are usually a curious lot.

Aliche was one and he had a mind for the priesthood but this mindset also met with stiff competition from the innate desire to unravel the essence of God, the dynamic force of creativity and the cosmic block. He would soon come in contact with Lao Russell whose late husband, Walter, was founder of the University of Science and Philosophy. It is this proximity with a world leading authority in natural law that helped shape his interest and devotion to illumined thinking; he had to avoid the “myopia of the academic philosophy as opposed to living philosophy.

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liche studied natural law, science and philosophy and made first class in three years at the University of Science and Philosophy, Virginia, USA. He worked for a masters and also earned a doctorate degree at the Institute of Concept Therapy, Texas. More doctor-

chronic disadvantages will be addressed some day, God helping us. I still believe in Nigeria. And I want to believe you do too. I say this because none of our so-called leaders actually believes in Nigeria.

They only have a business perspective of Nigeria, which explains why they are eager to occupy the seat of power to amass wealth for themselves instead of using the wealth for the good of the people.

God bless you and bless Nigeria. "cyriledor@gmail.com" <cyriledor@gmail.com>

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,

work with wrong motives.

Bags of rice would be shared, mammon would also be shared to people to buy their conscience and other similar activities, all in a bid to win elections. May God help us.

But let’s hope that the gross irresponsibility of our leaders which is the citadel of these

ates followed in management from Columbus International University, Virgin, Island, England. An already festooned cap was finally decorated with a Doctor of Science Degree, DSC and Aliche has since delivered a prodigious shelf of study and research results in about 1,349 books on various disciplines, including mathematics, engineering technology, health and the humanities.

He has worldwide bestsellers, notable amongst which include The First Principle of Science, The Anatomy of Marine Engineering, The Nature, Powers and Functions of Energy and The Demystifkation of Occult Engineering Technology. His exploration of the discipline of metaphysics and astral physics has yielded such books as The Wisdom of the Unseen Forces, Adventure in Wisdom, The Mystical Life and Priesthood of Melchizedek and Why the World is in Need of Balance and Illumined Thinkers. *Mr. Aguomba, a journalist, wrote from Port-Harcourt, Rivers State.

ost columnists, commentators and activists are just earning a living and not making any impact on the society. Nobody listens.

Their views, expressed to point the right way, fall on deaf ears. The biggest culprits are our leaders. All they care about is bulldozing their way to the nation's treasury and carting away our national wealth. I pity you, Sobowale and others. But as your friend said: "...My duty is to rise above my disillusionment and continue...". Remain blessed.

Edor Cyril.

Finally, a response to my article about the four Uniport students who were murdered: Ifeka Okonkwo <ifekaokonkwo@yahoo.com> Donu, I sincerely sympathise with the families of the students of University of PortHarcourt who were brutally murdered by some Aluu villagers after accusing them of stealing computers and smart phones, even though no incriminating evidence was found on them.

The full weight of the law should be visited on those who killed the four students to deter people from taking the laws into their hands by carrying out jungle justice on their fellow human beings.

Once the shout of thief! thief!! rent the air, the person(s) are pursued like a rat by a mob with stones, big sticks and even rods, and killed in a barbaric and horrifying manner, as if we are still living in the dark ages.

Responses to: donzol2002@yahoo.co.uk or to 0802 747 6458 (texts only). PLEASE KINDLY NOTE THAT UNLESS YOU SPECIFICALLY REQUEST ANONYMITY, YOUR COMMENTS MAY BE PUBLISHED IN VANGUARD, WITH YOUR NAMES AND NUMBERS OR EMAIL ADDRESSES ATTACHED.

18 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2012 THE Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership — the world’s biggest individual prize — was not awarded for a third time in four years as no suitable candidates were found, it was announced Monday.

At a press conference in London, the Mo Ibrahim Foundation said it was not going to compromise on its standard of excellence in a leader.

The award, set up by Sudan-born telecoms tycoon Mo Ibrahim in 2006, carries a $5 million prize paid over 10 years and $200,000 annually for life from then on, with a further $200,000 per year available for 10 years for good causes backed by the winner.

The award goes to a democratically-elected African leader who has served their mandated term and left office in the last three years.

“You make your bed, you have to lie on it. If we said we’re going to have a prize for exceptional leadership, we have to stick to that. We are not going to compromise,” Ibrahim said.

“We are not just in the business of positive messages — we would lose our credibility.”

The Mo Ibrahim Foundation has awarded the annual prize only three times since it was established, plus two special awards given to South Africa’s Nelson Mandela and South African former Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

The prize committee said they reviewed a number of eligible candidates “but none met the criteria needed to win this award”.

“The award is about excellence in leadership. In

Dearth Of Leadership In Africa the first six years the prize committee has selected three very worthy laureates who continue to be an inspiration and whose examples, we hope, will be emulated.”

The inaugural prize went to former president Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique in 2007 and Botswana’s ex-president Festus Mogae won in 2008.

The prize was not awarded in the following two years. Former Cape Verde president Pedro Pires won the 2011 prize.

The London-based foundation also publishes the Ibrahim Index, ranking 52 African countries according to 88 indicators grouped under safety and the rule of law, participation and human rights, sustainable economic opportunity and human development.

There has been no change in its top five this year — with Mauritius topping the index with a score of 83 out of 100, ahead of Cape Verde (78), Botswana (77), Seychelles (73) and South Africa (71).

Somalia remained at the bottom with a score of seven, behind Democratic Republic of Congo (33), Chad (33), Eritrea (33) and the Central African Republic (34).

Ibrahim said that while there had been major improvements in some sectors, the continent’s main players were lagging behind.

“Between 2000 and 2011 there is a marked improvement in governance across Africa,” he said.

“The major improvements were in health, the rural sector, the economy. The interesting development was in gender. Gender has improved amazingly over the last 10-11 years. The highest improvement in any category in the index.”

However across the data, “the four main powerhouses in Africa — Egypt, Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya — appear to be really stuttering. They are not showing really convincing progress.

“East Africa is not doing that well. It has been over taken by west Africa in the category of sustainable economic development.

“In general, we see positive development in Africa. The economy is moving forward relentlessly.

Education and health is improving, there is great development there. Gender issues are improving.

“We see, unfortunately, a little bit of decline in the issues of human rights and participation. Economic development does not give us a reason to be complacent about that.

OPINION

BY BABA-DANLAMI MAIDABARA

INCE the establishment of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, NAHCON, about six years ago, the body has been striving hard not only to prove to the Nigerian Muslims and the government that it has the capacity to make things work, but also ensure that the unnecessary and avoidable hardship experienced by pilgrims become a thing of the past.

And one of the ways the Commission, under the leadership of Mallam Musa Bello, does this is through the introduction of new ways of doing things, during every hajj operation, thus making a subsequent hajj operation better than the preceding one.

For instance, during the 2011 hajj operation, several committees were put in place to beef up the services rendered to pilgrims. The committees include, but not limited to: National Reception –which welcome all Nigerian pilgrims, irrespective of states as they arrived the holy land; Command and Control Centrewhich monitored aircraft movement; Consumer Rights-which policed what was given to pilgrims in terms of food and drink on board and in the holy land; and the National Feeding Committee- which ensured that pilgrims get food at Mina and Arafat, timely. Ironically, the feeding committee was only effective in the areas of feeding to NAHCON officials and the Federal Government delegation, a thing that was pointed out at the post-Arafat meeting by the Consumer Rights

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Haji 2012: Despite hitches, still some cheering news Committee.

The Feeding Committee’s shortcoming notwithstanding, it did not substantially take the shine off the successes recorded.

The gains recorded may, perhaps, be the reason the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar 111, who is the Amir-ul-Hajj and leader of the Federal Government’s delegation, described the 2011 hajj operation as being “far better ” than the 2010 operation, while expressing the hope that the 2012 operation would also beat the 2011 operation in terms of gains recorded.

And the Commission was set to achieve it in spite of the hullabaloo that greeted the untimely return (not deportation) of female pilgrims from the holy land over the contentious issue of Mahram (guardian for the female pilgrim) to Nigeria, less than a week after their initial departure. Since this piece is not about the appropriateness and inappropriateness of what transpired, I shall leave the issue of Mahram for now, and return to it at a later date. But the point is, were the female pilgrims to be deported, as erroneously captured by some ill-formed officials of the Commission, and which was picked up by my constituency, the media, those pilgrims would not be allowed entry into anywhere near the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, until after five years. But this is not the case here.

What then is the cheering news about the

2012 hajj operation? It is about Tent C. What the hell is Tent C? Now, while it is true that as pilgrims, we spend between 14 to 40 days, depending on the arrangement, in holy land, the most significant aspect of the entire hajj exercise takes place within five days. And these days are spent in Mina and Arafat.

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ncidentally, these are places where most Nigerian pilgrims suffer the most.

They sleep on bare floor, they catch cold, eat all kinds of filth in the name of food, and sleep amidst all kinds of heaps of refuse generated by food vendors, most of whom are illegal migrants. It was this kind of filthy environment that led to the outbreak of cholera at the Kaduna camp last year, while in Mina.

However, the Tent C, which is an additional service arrangement for the five days in Mina and Arafat, will eliminate all that this year. This arrangement was conceptualised and brokered by the NAHCON commissioner in charge of Policy, Personnel, Management and Finance, PPMF, Yusuf Ibrahim Adebayo.

With just additional 600SAR, equivalent of just N24, 000, which has now been factored into the total package each pilgrim paid, every Nigerian pilgrim will be entitled to a mattress, a blanket, a pillow and three square meal, for these five days, with adequate security. This arrangement totally eliminates the presence of any food

vendor, a thing that will add to the hygienic nature of the surroundings around the tent.

But there is a caveat. Once any pilgrim gives out his/her tag, which allows him/ her entry into such a tent, he/she will neither be allowed entry into the tent, nor enjoy the rights and privileges that come with it. As such, pilgrims are advised to ask for their rights from their respective state officials. State officials too, who are in the habit of short-changing pilgrims, especially those pilgrims who can neither read nor write, must fear Allah and discharge their duties with utmost responsibility. They must desist from denying these village men and women their rights and privileges, and bear in mind that any act of assisting any pilgrim before and during hajj, is in itself an act of ibadah (worship.)

For those who are reading this piece, do a Jihad by interpreting this piece into your local language for the benefit of those old men and women who are usually subjected to unnecessary and avoidable hardship while in holy land. Adebayo has played his part. It is left for all us to ensure that pilgrims who pay for these services enjoy them. May Allah take us to the holy land safely and bring us back in peace and in one piece. Amin.

•Mr. Maidabara, a journalist, wrote from Abuja.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2012 — 19

, F there is nothing to say, there are some people who would say, one should shut up. But, for writers, when there is nothing to say, is when they are at their best in saying nothing new. A harvest of the reviews and responses to Chinua Achebe’s There was a country across the globe makes more interesting reading than the book itself. The responses can be divided into three categories. There are those from writers of Igbo origin, Achebe’s nationality, which cannot even pretend to be anything but praise singers of their idol. There are those from writers of Yoruba origin, the nationality of Achebe’s bête noir, Obafemi Awolowo.

Achebe blames all the woes of the Igbo in Nigeria on Obafemi Awolowo. The third group of responses comes from outsiders simply interested in the health of Achebe’s writing.

Achebe’s book makes the point that Awolowo prevented Nnamdi Azikiwe from

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becoming the Premier of the Western Region in 1951 by encouraging some members of Azikiwe’s party to cross over to Awolowo’s party. My very personal response to this piece of misreading of history is that it was a good thing, in fact a great thing, that Azikiwe did not become the Premier of Western Region. This is mainly because Azikiwe could never have done for the Western Region what Awolowo did for the region.

The second point that Achebe makes is that Awolowo organised the genocide of the Igbo people by insisting that hunger was a legitimate weapon of war. As the Ndigbo in Lagos, Achebe’s own people have pointed out in their response to the controversy that their kins man’s book has generated, Awolowo explained things back in 1983 and his explanation should have closed the issue but not for Achebe.

The Yoruba responses have

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been simply to point out, as Ndigbo in Lagos have pointed out, that Awolowo had responded to this particular accusation and others years ago and Achebe is simply flogging a dead horse.

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reviewer in the South African Mail and Guardian wondered if it was right for an elder to not represent the truth as it is. He praises Achebe’s pioneering

Still on federal roads in the Southeast

BY EJIKE ANYADUBA

HEN will an end come to the progressive decay of federal roads in the South East? How long more will the people endure the bumpy ride? These questions are what everybody in the zone is asking nobody in particular, and which answer no one has vouchsafed.

The deterioration has now reached critical mass where people may no longer be compliant. Their patience, like a taut muscle, has been stretched to its limit. What is more, everybody in authority is now an accursed of the people. Even the sane of mind, blinded by anger and frustration, finds it rather difficult to make a clear distinction on who to blame on the matter. The pertinent authority, which is the Federal Government, communicates no serious intention to arrest the ugly development. To further the pains of the people, where road construction is going on in the zone, it is handled by unserious construction companies which comfortably spend eternity on a stretch.

Some of the companies engaged in this parody of road construction have unwittingly encouraged erosion through indiscriminate excavations.

Because of the nature of the soil in the area, which is essentially tenuous, any abandoned work necessarily provokes erosion. But it is the perception of official conspiracy to deny the zone necessary infrastructure for its economic development that stirs very strong emotions among the people.

This view is made evident by the snail’s pace of work in the zone as against speedy road construction going on elsewhere.

Notwithstanding the number of petitions to pertinent authorities in Abuja by the South East Governors led

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by Mr. Peter Obi, the pace of work is still not encouraging. If anybody still believes in the charade of road constructions in the zone, it must be the Federal Government itself. No time in the history of the people have they been this frustrated. Movement within the zone has become an ordeal, forcing commuters to contrive schemes to ease the burden of travel. Every journey now is a session for prayer, turning even professed agnostics into some kind of prayer warriors.

Besides frequent accidents witnessed on the roads which once had 70 people charred in death around Umunya in Anambra State, the greatest losers are the governors of the South East zone for obvious reasons.

The roads, some of which pass through major towns, detract from the beauty of their states. Coupled with this, the pains of travelling have made even the informed to blame everybody, including the governors for the decay.

Though it is wrong to blame them for what is obviously the failure of the Federal Government, the burgeoning decay has made even the complacent to react with some frenzy. It is a fact that a good number of the governors, with the resources available to them, have done well for their states.

Anambra, for example, has one of the best road networks in the country today.

But on occasion, people expressed reservations after having a bumpy ride on the Onitsha-Enugu road.

The story is not significantly different in other portions of federal roads in the zone. Abia State for example, has Lagos-like traffic at Ugba junction on Aba-Port Harcourt road. But whether it is a bumpy ride on Enugu-Onitsha or Enugu-Port Harcourt, Aba-Owerri, Aba-Port Harcourt, Aba-Umuahia, etc, truth is that no federal road in the zone is in good condition. Efforts made to

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The trouble with Achebe

Achebe does not provide any intellectual arguments that placed Biafra over Nigeria in terms of superiority of intention, compactness of development alternative agenda and clarity of national vision for the people of Biafra, of Nigeria and of Africa; for me this is the great failure of this book

novel, Things Fall Apart.

Everybody does. But why would he want to publish this now, especially when most of the material is already available in his other publications? It is possible to say that just as many of the essays of Achebe have been published in different collections with different titles, perhaps his other writings are to be repackaged in different collections under different titles.

The review that appears in the London Financial Times, written by William Wallis, FT’s Africa editor, is, for me, one of the most interesting. It is worth quoting at length from this review. Here goes: “Achebe’s prognosis for his country is grim. ‘Corruption in Nigeria has passed the alarming and entered the fatal stage, and Nigeria will die if we continue to pretend that she is only slightly indisposed,’ he writes. Before arriving at that bleak conclusion, however, he stitches his story together joltingly, moving from the autobiographical to the historical and ending with something of a rant. There is an eclectic range of insights and fascinating anecdotes buried here and there, but this is not a book that will add much to the understanding of the war, nor one that will go down among Achebe’s great works.”

Personally, two things bother me about this book. The first is its timing. The second has to do with the issue of mediocrity.

Why is the Federal Government not bothered about the plight of folks in this section of the country?

Is erosion menace, which is ravaging communities, not enough wahala for the zone?

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effect some changes have not yielded the desired result. But it seems the harder the push, the more adamant those who are to grant the favour.

Daily, the people struggle to maintain some level of sanity on the highly accident-prone roads. Reports show an accident rate of between five and seven daily on these roads. And most of this happens when drivers attempt to dodge potholes on the expressway.

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part from the attention drawn to the scourge by the Governor Obiled South East Governors Forum, some of the governors are already involved in rehabilitation. Several other people have, either through writings or interviews, advocated a new lease of federal roads in the zone. With the outcry, it is expected that the pertinent authorities would have made some redress. Since 2009 verdict of the Senate Ad hoc Committee on Transport led by Heineken Lokpobiri (that the zone is the worst in terms of federal road), not much has been done. At any rate, stirring those who manage the affairs of Nigeria from decided inertia has not been known to be easy. At best, the people’s cry might have become another prickly subject that tried to needle the insouciant to action.

Why is Achebe publishing this book now, after the death of Ojukwu the leader and president of Biafra? Ojukwu is not the hero of the book as one would have expected. After all, he was the driving force and the face of Biafra. Ojukwu himself wrote nothing during his life time to state the rationale for his declaration of Biafra. Achebe does not provide any intellectual arguments that placed Biafra over Nigeria in terms of superiority of intention, compactness of development alternative agenda and clarity of national vision for the people of Biafra, of Nigeria and of Africa. For me this is the great failure of this book.

There was a country, but other than the temporary anger about the killings in the North, there was no justification for declaring a state of Biafra that had nothing over the Nigeria that Achebe left behind to work for Biafra.

Mediocrity is one of the problems which Achebe identifies as bedevilling Nigeria. Was Biafra devoid of mediocrity? One of the sins of Nigerian intellectuals, including Achebe, is their readiness to tolerate mediocrity in the politics of their country, be the country Nigeria or Biafra. What superior argument did Chinua Achebe provide to justify or to counter the secession of Biafra? We live with the consequences of mediocrity today and nobody wants to know!

As much as the issue of bad roads in the South East has put everybody under intolerable strain, other problems associated with the zone are yet to be addressed. Notwithstanding the opening of the Onitsha inland port, the zone has no sea port, no international airport and disparity in state distribution. The latest effort at correcting these, especially state distribution, was almost stultified by a Governor Kwankwanso of Kano State.

This further stokes the notion of official conspiracy to deny the zone basic infrastructure with which to leverage on economic development.

It is a fact that at separate borders with the states of Delta and Rivers, the two bridges linking the South East with these states are in dire need of urgent repairs. The Imo River Bridge, for example, has worn so thin that vehicles now ply on almost bare iron, forcing motorists to detour at Obigbo.

The Niger Bridge, the only veritable link with the West and Mid-West, is threatened with possible collapse as a result of excessive traffic. The volume of disinvestment as well as lull in commercial activities in the zone is such that, to ensure survival, a good number of the traders are forced to relocate to hostile environments. Then the question: Why is the Federal Government not bothered about the plight of folks in this section of the country? Is erosion menace, which is submerging buildings and ravaging communities, not enough wahala for the zone? What political capital, if any, is the Federal Government going to gain with this blatant neglect?

Two reasons may suffice. One, either the Federal Government has other challenges that pale the pressing needs of the zone in importance, or the zone has a weak political base that has failed to advance its cause, and which successive governments have tolerated rather than wooed. *Mr Anyaduba, a public affairs analyst, wrote from Abatete, Anambra State.

20—Vanguard , FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2012

University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital annex within the secretariat complex arrived the scene.

Over the celebration of the 10th World Suicide Prevention Week in September and the World Mental Health Day, October 10 this year, a day before Amehule’s plunge of death, experts had harped on mental imbalance as a cause of the increasing cases of suicide. Psychiatrists stressed that severe emotional strains resulting from a number of stress factors –poverty, marital trauma, joblessness, bad health, insecurity, violence and more result in depression for many. At the height of depression, victims are prone to mental imbalance without knowing it.

Personal experience *House where Harin was found hanging from a ceiling fan

Police, neighbours battle to unravel puzzle over man’s death

BY EGUFE YAFUGBORHI, Port -Harcourt

T is about 6.30 am in Ruk pokwu, Obio/Akpor local government suburb of Port Harcourt, capital of Rivers State. Date is Friday, October 19. Dawn is fast giving way to a bright new day.

Some late risers were, however, still locked in the confines of their homes, either still enjoying soothing early morning sleep or rounding off wake-up prayers.From one of a line of one-room apartments in the twin bungalows (not visibly numbered) beginning Nmecha Street, offAgalaba Street in Elipokwu-Odi Layout, Rukpokwu Community, little Chinma, popular to neighbours as the humble eldest and only son of three children of his parents scampered out.

The youngster, presumed under seven, together with the two younger sisters have just been rattled by a dramatic scene, perhaps, hitherto only familiar to him as a recurring Nollywood make belief. But this was not a Nigerian home video. They had barely woken up. No member of the house had bothered to tune on the TV. Neither was he dreaming.

In his confused mind, Chinma had rushed out hoping to approach any adult neighbour to solve the puzzle over the horror he just saw. At the door post of the first neighbour to offer listening ears, fear-stricken Chinma

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uttered: “Brother come, come uncle. Come and see what our fan has done to Daddy”.

The concerned neighbour, jolted by the terrifying alarm rushed to the house, Chinma faster ahead. And there he was. Chinma’s father stretched erect, standing dead in the middle of his apartment. Harin, as he was simply known to neighbours, hung, sagging from a hangman’s noose made of a chord of shredded clothes tied in-between the blades of the ceiling fan in the middle of his room and strapped to his neck at the lower end. The first neighbour to arrive soon raised the suicide alarm, unsettling the neighbourhood as residents and sympathisers thronged the scene to catch a glimpse of the horror.

Suicide motive When Vanguard Metro, VM, got to the scene of the suspected suicide before dusk, Harin, better known as Nyewuna in his native Rumuola community, was still hanging dead by the rope tied from his ceiling fan to his neck.

The burglar’s proof of his apartment under lock, onlookers peering through the slightly opened door could manage to see his motionless body dead standing.

VM learnt that the community leaders have alerted the police of the tragedy, but repeated calls to gain confirmation and insights from CSP Ben Ugwuegbula, the

Rivers State Police Public Relation Officer, PPRO, proved abortive as he would not respond.

Neither would he reply a text alert. Among the bemused neighbours, no one is sure that the father of three could take his own life.

A close neighbour said: “This is out of the ordinary. I can’t imagine Harin committing suicide. He may not be rich, but he owns a personal building in Rumuola where he hails from. I am also aware he has up to three land titles to his personal assets as well. So why would he kill himself. He is not in such a dire situation from the much I know of him. I can’t say I know everything about him either, but only God knows what pushed him into this abomination”.

It was, however, indicated that the suspected suicide victim has been having regular exchanges with the wife. Incidentally, the wife was said to have run out of their home the night before he was found hanging. Another neighbour said: “Harin is fond of beating the wife. Neighbours have been warning him to desist from the frequent battering but he hardly listened. Last night he was all charged up for another bout of assault on the wife.

Agitated at another impending beating, the woman had run for her dear life, leaving the kids and the husband in the house.

No one knew the direction she had bolted till news of the hus-

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SUICIDE IN RUKPOKWU:

band’s suspected suicide this morning”.

Not an isolated Port Harcourt case of recent: Harin’s suspected suicide makes two of such mysterious deaths in Port Harcourt within the past couple of weeks. On October 9, four days after the heart breaking execution of the Uniport Four in Aluu, one Goodluck Amehule, identified staff of an international oil firm, had died in similar suicide fashion at the Federal Secretariat in Port Harcourt.

Rivers PPRO, Ugwuegbulam had in a statement on that case warned against the public jumping to conclusion on the cause of the tragedy pending police investigation. But an eye witness, Florence Harry had confirmed sighting Amehule taking off his shoes before taking a plunge of death from the peak of the eighth

Consultant Psychiatrist, Dr. Rahman Lawal, situated a personal experience. “In our local environment, a man jumped into the well and I overheard people saying that it was caused by some spirits or spell. I said this man had been showing some signs that he was not happy, fed up with life. This man had been depressed, rather than send him for treatment the children did not recognise that.

“So committing suicide is like an end point to depression. …When people feel consistently low; like life is not worth living; they feel sad; sometimes they feel that something crawling under their skin or they feel peppery or pricking sensations. Sometimes, they feel usually warm, they should seek treatment, they should see their doctor and when they are referred for treatment at psychiatry hospital they should not shy away,” he added.

The first neighbour to arrive soon raised the suicide alarm, unsettling the neighbourhood as residents and sympathisers thronged the scene to catch a glimpse of the horror

floor of the Federal Secretariat and dropping dead instantly to ground zero.

Like Harin, emerging reports had made it difficult to pin-point how Amehule could possibly take his own life. In his script of death as alleged, the oil worker had first allegedly gone to a Port Harcourt morgue to inquire about the cost of depositing a corpse. He returned home and drew a cheque to that amount, got dressed and headed for the Federal Secretariat. Of his own volition, he had taken the stairs to the peak of the high-rise. Taking off his shoes, he allegedly plunged from that height, dying almost immediately with his body mangled before officials of the

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At the Rukpokwu suspected suicide, the community leaders wasted no time in summoning parents of Harin for talks. VM was not present at the meeting, but a witness explained that death as in the mood Harin was found is abominable in the area. “Under the circumstance, no Rukpokwu born resident can remove that corpse. So we summoned the relatives this morning and resolved the necessary rites they must undergo to cleanse the land before they can remove the body,” he said.

The family did not take too long.

They reportedly did what was needed and removed Harin’s remains hours into the night of the day he was found hanged.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2012 — 21

Nigeria investment climate more friendly – Canadian High Commissioner

By FRANKLIN ALLI

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FROM LEFT: Arthur Mamvura, Procurement Director, Guinness Nigeria, Ashlin Ramlochan, Sustainable Sourcing Manager, Mondolez International and Seni Adetu, Managing Director, Guinness Nigeria Plc at the AIM-PROGRESS Responsible Sourcing Forum sponsored by Guinness Nigeria Plc in Lagos recently .

ANADIAN investors now consider Nigeria a friendly environment to do business compared to 25 years ago when they held a different view, says the Canadian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr. Chris Cooter.

Cooter who revealed this during a meeting with Nigeria’s Minister of Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, recalled that they were in Nigeria 25 years ago and concluded it was not the best place to invest.

He said that Canada is currently working on strategies aimed at increasing its foreign direct investment in Nigeria

SEDC refutes allegation of fraudulent bid inaccurate, as contained in the recent statement made by the Chairman of the Technical HE Southern Electricity Committee, who was quoted as Distribution Company saying that SEDC’s submission (SEDC) has refuted the was a contravention of the allegation of fraudulent activity Request for Proposal (RFP) in its participation in the requirements.” bidding process of the Benin A statement made available Electricity Distribution to Vanguard said, “SEDC Company (BEDC). would like to state categorically Specifically, the company that at no time did we submit denied that it cheated by two different bids. In submitting two different compliance with the commercial bid proposals. investment schedule According to the SEDC, guidelines from the Request “These allegations, which are for Proposal (RFP) from Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) and the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory -1.00 159.85 Commission (NERC) directive on metering 2,408.00 -90.00 rollout, we submitted one technical and 19.75 0.10 commercial bid, but with two scenarios laying out different capital 107.57 -0.68 investment schedules.

The scenarios were clearly laid out in the 85.66 -1.01 Executive summary, with additional details CURRENCY BUYING CENTRAL SELLING on pages 52 and 53 of DOLLAR 154.76 155.26 155.76 our technical bid STERLING 247.8946 248.6955 249.4964 (business plan). The EURO 200.3678 201.0151 201.6625 technical bid, which was FRANC 165.6073 166.1423 166.6774 carefully studied and YEN 1.9384 1.9446 1.9509 CFA 0.2878 0.2978 0.3078 evaluated by the Bureau WAUA 237.4157 238.1828 238.9498 of Public Enterprise RENMINBI 24.7686 24.8483 24.9288 (BPE) was adjudged RIYAL 41.2638 41.3971 41.5305 first with a score of 898, KRONA 26.8541 26.9408 27.0276 SDR 237.7887 238.557 239.3252 without any complaints.”

CBN Exchange rate as at 26/10/2012 Continuing, it said,

By PETER EGWUATU

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“The second scenario, as stated in our proposal, would allow us invest more on strengthening the core network in the first two years and thus enable us reduce the ATC&C losses in the third year, while still keeping the total five year CAPEX the same as MYTO, as well as adhering to the NERC metering rollout plan.

“This alternative model, which injected more capital in the initial years, we believed,

was in line with the objectives of BPE and NERC to provide optimal services and benefits to the Nation, BEDC and consumers.”

The company argued that the alternative would allow more effective utilisation of funds, reduce losses faster and give more benefit to the consumer as the total injected capital in five years would be less than what MYTO had anticipated.

within the next few years due to enhanced confidence in the Nigerian economy.

Cooter noted that as part of efforts to strengthen trade and investment relationship between the two countries, more Canadian companies had already indicated their willingness to invest in infrastructural projects across Nigeria. “ Two weeks ago, the Nigeria –Canada Bi-National Commission met in Abuja and the centerpiece of that Bi-National Commission was how to build and strengthen economic relationships between Nigeria and Canada. This is one of the reasons we have brought the Senior Executives of SNC Lavalin, one of the leading engineering and Construction Company in Canada and one of the top five in the world to invest in key infrastructural projects in Nigeria.

Responding, Aganga said: “The Federal Government would partner genuine investors who are willing to invest in critical sectors of the Nigerian economy such as infrastructure, mining, petrochemical and agri-business in order to create jobs for the Nigerian people. “ We have a big infrastructure deficit in Nigeria and that is why the Federal Government is very concerned to bridge the gap by developing the critical infrastructure required to drive our industrial development, especially in those areas where we have comparative and competitive advantage such as mining, petrochemical, agri-business and even the Small and Medium Enterprises sector.

Financial inclusion:

FG plans N220bn fund for women

By EMMANUEL ELEBEKE

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HE Federal Government has said that it is working on a N220 billion fund to guarantee financial inclusion for women.

Speaking during a chat with journalists after the inauguration of the National Financial Inclusion Strategy in Abuja, the Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi’ said that the fund “specifically provides that 60 per cent of the amount will be targeted at businesses owned and managed by women.”

The fund which will be launched before end of the year, according to him, has the objective of helping Nigerian women get long term funding at single digit interest rate, adding that there are specific incentives in it for women.

The CBN governor lamented that there were also cultural issues and other practical challenges in the field, which he said needed to be addressed to get the policy to work.

The N220 billion funds will involve the CBN and government ministries and women. “At this point, the stakeholders are looking at it, making input with regards to its structure and once it is through, we will take it to the Economic Management implementation team, in order to have their input from all parties and then launch it” Sanusi said.

When launched, the Fund will provide long term, low interest, stable funds to the Micro finance Banks so that they can then lend to their borrowers. Sanusi noted that “there can never be enough inclusion, that is why everybody is working, we are in implementation mode and have come a very long way for this.”

The CBN governor identified the constraints facing financial inclusion to include “demand side, supply side and regulatory constraints. The demand side deals with income, employment, job creation. Some are excluded by virtue of their income level, because of where they leave, and the distance to access points in the rural areas.”

22 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2012

Dangote Sugar records N15.36bn gross profit in third quarter

D From left: Dr Martin Ikpehai, Director, Ernst and Young Nig Ltd; Mrs Ukinebo Dare, Head, PGFS; Mr Michael Callen, Biddle Consulting USA; Mr Victor Muh, Biddle Consulting USA; Mrs Mavi Isibor, MD Poise Nigeria; Mr G.O Isibor, MD BUA Sugar; Mrs Ayodele Jaiyesimi, Group HR, First Bank Nig.; Mrs Modupe Marc-Dawodu, GM Poise Nigeria; and Prof. MacDonald Idu, VC, Benson Idahosa University at the unveiling of PSENSE by Poise Nigeria.

Expert tasks banks on implementation of Basel II Accord

By PETER EGWUATU

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he listed banks on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and unlisted banks operating in the country have been encouraged to implement the Basel II Accord in order to ensure their soundness and prevent future collapse of the financial system.

Speaking at the Risk Managers Association of Nigeria (RIMAN), quarterly roundtable with the theme: “Implementation of Basel II in the Nigerian Financial Sector”, Professor Gianfranco Vento, a consultant to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), advised banks to embrace a global based approach to risk management that goes beyond ensuring the soundness of individual financial

institutions.

According to him, “Risk based capital standards require banks to hold capital in relation to their risk exposure. The Basel I requires that banks maintain sufficient capital to absorb unforeseen losses.

It should be noted that Basel I, that is, the 1988 Basel Accord, primarily focused on credit risk. Assets of banks were classified and grouped in five categories according to credit risk, carrying risk weights of zero (for example home country sovereign debt), ten, twenty, fifty, and up to one hundred percent (this category has, as an example, most corporate debt).

Banks with

international presence are required to hold capital equal to 8 per cent of the riskweighted assets. The creation of the credit default swap after the Exxon Valdez incident helped large banks hedge lending risk and allowed banks to lower their own risk to lessen the burden of these onerous restrictions.

While recommending the way forward for the implementation process of Basel II in Nigeria, he said, “The preparation of a comprehensive and detailed regulatory framework is required to clarify and critically adopt the basel II and III principles of the local context” Vento, noted that Basel II uses a “three pillars” concept – (1) minimum capital

requirements (addressing risk), (2) supervisory review and (3) market discipline.

According to him, “The Basel I accord dealt with only parts of each of these pillars. For example: with respect to the first Basel II pillar, only one risk, credit risk, was dealt with in a simple manner while market risk was an afterthought; operational risk was not dealt with at all.

The first pillar deals with maintenance of regulatory capital calculated for three major components of risk that a bank faces: credit risk, operational risk, and market risk. Other risks are not considered fully quantifiable at this stage.”

Our company has done well in the past 7yrs — May & Baker boss

By PETER EGWUATU

M

ay & Baker Nigeria Plc said it has done well in the last seven years given its financial performance for that period.

The Managing Director of the company, Mr. Nnamdi Okafor, who disclosed this during a factory visit by capital market operators and newsmen in Ota, Ogun State, said, “Our company has done well in the past seven years. We have posted decent revenue, profit and dividend.”

According to him, “When we consider the seven year trend analysis of the company ’s

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performance, you will see that we post N1.9 billion turnover in 2005; N2.9 billion in 2006 ; N3.9billion in 2007; N5.4billion in 2008; N4.6 billion in 2009; N4.63 billion in 2010, and N4.84 billion in 2011. On seven year profit trend, we recorded N155 million Profit Before Tax (PBT) in 2005; N266 million in 2006; N398 million in 2007; 708 million in 2008; N344 million in 2009; N308 in 2010 and N 340 million in 2011. On dividend payment, we paid: N30 million in 2005; N30 million in 2006; N30 million

in 2007; N40 million in 2008; and in 2011 we paid N10 million. We did not pay dividend in 2009 and 2010 due to unfavourable business environment which affected our profitability and turnover.”

He further disclosed that the company had undergone rapid diversifications drive and is on the path of sustained profit.

According to him, “We did bold fixed assets investments and it appeared that the revenue growth has been losing steam, with profitability trend showing a decline and investments negatively

impacted liquidity, working capital and profitability, but, we are now moving on the path of sustained profitability.

By the time we consolidate on our collaboration/partnership with other foreign partners and also go into vaccine production, we would be making more revenue.”

Continuing, he said,”We are heading to be a mega company fully diversified. We have a healthcare company, not just pharmaceuticals; a strong West African brand and a national pride.

Our core values include: customer delight, integrity, performance excellence, faith in God, innovation and teamwork.

ANGOTE Sugar Refinery Plc has r e c o r d e d N15.36billion profit for the nine months (third quarter) ended September 30, 2012 indicating an increase of N5.19 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2011.

According to the financial statements released on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange(NSE), all performance parameters were on the upswing with profit before tax(PBT) soaring by N5.53 billion, from N6.49 billion to N12.01 billion.

Profit after tax (PAT) surged from N4.41 billion to N8.17 billion, representing a growth of N3.76 billion. Within the period under review, the foremost sugar refinery recorded improvements in efficiencies as cost of sales dipped from N69.44 billion to N65.96, depicting a N3.48 billion gain.

It should be recalled that Dangote Sugar Refinery recorded a profit after tax of N5.728 billion in the second quarter ended June 30, 2012, showing an increase of 91 per cent above N2.999 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2011.

The company ended the period with a turnover of N53.698 billion, up by 10 per cent from the N48.597 billion posted in 2011. However, profit before tax rose from N4.41 billion to N8.493 billion, while profit after tax went up by 91 per cent to hit N5.728 billion in 2012.

The Sugar Refinery in the first quarter ended March 31, 2012 reported a profit before tax (PBT) of N4.12 billion compared to N2.05 billion in the corresponding period in 2011.

Gross profit rose to N5.34 billion in the period in contrast to gross profit of N3.24 billion at the preceding year, while profit after tax rose to N2.80 billion from N1.39billion and revenue grew from N21.54 billion to N26.73 billion.

DSR performance was buoyed by the introduction of the Company’s new retail Dangote Vitamin A fortified sugar packages in one kilogram, 500 grams and 250 grams packs.

It would be recalled that the Dangote Sugar Refinery had embarked on strategic introduction of the Dangote Vitamin A fortified refined white sugar, in a more consumer friendly packages into the market.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2012 —23

Flood: Agric Ministry embarks on double up farming to forestall food crisis •Assures Nigerians of rapid response and enhanced productivity

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HE Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has commenced fast-track measures to increase food production through dry season planting during the coming dry season this year to forestall food shortage following the flood disaster in many states of the country. The measures became evident last week in a meeting of directors and heads of departments, held with the minister.

Stocks were taken and plans were outlined on how to obtain farm inputs, including certified seeds, fertilisers, herbicides and pesticides needed to aid dry season production. To ensure early responses and proper targeting, messages have gone to the state directors of the federal ministry of agriculture to get us the list of farmers affected in various states. In addition, food items in strategic grains reserve would be deployed to cushion the effects of food shortage.

As a part of preparation for the dry season, the minister promised to give free seeds and fertliser to those affected areas. “The emphasis should be that, what is being done here is a one-time intervention strategy in response to the present emergency,” Adesina stressed.

Among the various inputs, 36,000 litres of herbicides, 22,000 litres of insecticides have been estimated as urgently needed.

For fertiliser, although a total of 610,000 MT is expected by December, records from the ministry show that 167,540 MT is available now, going by feelers from “those that have responded to our inquiries on availability. We wrote to about 12 of those fertiliser companies – those that performed well. Six of them have sent their stock position to us, on what they can produce between now and December.”

Efforts are already being made to import173,000 MT and produce 260,000 MT locally by December. The ministry has said it would no longer purchase generic fertiliser as done in the past but would determine what to purchase henceforth on the basis of commodity-bycommodity requirement.

In addition to staples, horticultural crops will be involved as they are traditionally grown during dry seasons, for example, onions.

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•Strengthens value chains in fisheries, livestock

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Directors of agriculture For the production, the regional and state office directors of the ministry will be working with the states’ commissioners and directors of agriculture on how to go about the intervention of emergency Growth Enhancement Support (GES) platform. Stressing the urgency, the Minister, Dr. Akin Adesina, said the more delays we have, the less successful the interventions will be. He therefore announced that, “ where the GSM system is not functioning, we can use the voucher system. We don’t want a situation in which seeds and fertliser are given and they disappear. We want a system that we can account for.”

In some states, the dry season intervention will involve a double-up approach. For the double-up approach, the regional directors have been directed to register farmers and harness those already registered on the platform of GES for the purpose of additional food production.

Dr. Adesina added that, for “those who have already lost crops to flood, we will use our strategic grains reserve to support. Mr. President has released money to the states: they can buy.”

FG to set agenda on fisheries at Indonesia

L-R: Communication Channel Manager, Unilever Nigeria Plc, Mr. Chris Adigwe; Marketing Director, Mr. David Okeme and Category Manager (Savoury), Mrs. Oiza Giyan, during the Unilever Nig. Plc inaugural press conference on Knorr Taste Quest in Lagos... on Tuesday. Px Biodun Ogunleye

Agric Yes programme: Over 300 youths empowered in Lagos T

HE Lagos State A g r i c u l t u r e Youth Empowerment Scheme, popularly known as “AgricYES” aimed at empowering youths, has so far empowered over three hundred youths with an additional one hundred participants undergoing training at the moment.

Course Officer for Vegetable , Mr. Hakeem Anjolaiya, who disclosed this at the institute training centre at Epe, said that the overall aim of the scheme is to breed a new generation of agroentrepreneurs in poultry, fish farming, bee-keeping and all season vegetable farming.

Anjolaiya said the students of the institute normally go through six months intensive

training and also a period of internship before they are left on their own as full fledged f a r m e r s .

He explained that after the training, the government gives the participants money and some plots of land to assist them to go into mechanized agriculture. ”Since this programme started in 2009, we have trained about 300 youths and we are in the fourth batch of training 100 of them. We train them in poultry farming, crop farmers, fish farmers meat production and so on ”We get our students through advertisement in the media after that we conduct a test for them, we usually collect 36 female and 64 males for each batch of student to sum up

100 participants for a session” he said.

He further noted that after the training that the participants would be divided into cooperatives and each cooperative would be given the sum of N100million to carry out their agricultural venture.

According to him, “apart from the N100million, the participants were also given accommodation where they can live with their own families. We also have a fully automated layer pen where we generate 500 crates of eggs per day, people are coming to buy them and we move out as much that we can produce. We can’t even meet the demand of the market

HE Federal Government has reiterated its committed to strengthening value chains of fisheries, livestock and crops as parts of strategies to reposition agricultural sector of the economy with a view to making the sector economically viable rather than a development program.

The Permanent Secretary, in the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Ezekiel Oyeyomi stated this yesterday in Abuja at a meeting to outline Nigeria’s position for the fish and fisheries product slated for Bali, Indonesia.

He said the ministry has strengthened its quality assurance unit to support industrial fish trawling and recently embarked on certification for aquaculture industry.”

The Permanent Secretary said that the Nigeria’s food safety systems have been receiving substantial international attention lately specially with respect to the establishment of a national food safety committee.

“As part of the Federal Government of Nigeria’s effort to grow agriculture, ensure food security, alleviate poverty, diversify the economy and generate foreign exchange, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has embarked on the implementation of programs to transform the Nigerian agriculture by repositioning agriculture as business rather than development programme.

24 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2012

By BABAJIDE KOMOLAFE

UBA leads discussions on African Infrastructure

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W

hen the former Minister for Finance and presently Minister for Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga initiated the establishment of SWF to replace the Excess Crude Account (ECA), it was greeted with a lot of criticism. The state governors opposed it, arguing it was unconstitutional, and in fact, had instituted a legal action to that effect. Some economic players and eminent Nigerians also opposed it on the grounds that a nation like Nigeria bedeviled with high unemployment, inadequate and inefficient infrastructure is not ripe for such Fund. But beneath this opposition is fear that such fund C M Y K

U

•Okonjo-Iweala

•Olusegun Aganga

SOVEREIGN WEALTH FUND:

Task before the Rasheed led board

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he leadership of the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) established to manage the nation’s Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) faces a Herculean task given the controversy surrounding the establishment of the fund.

The eight member board to be led by former director of First Bank Plc, Mahey Rasheed, as the Chairman, with Uche Orji, a former Managing Director of JP Morgan, as the Chief Executive Officer was unveiled recently by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

Other board members are Jide Zeitlin, Bili Awosika, Arnold Akpe, Hassan Usman, Bisi Soyebo and Stella OjekweOnyejeli.

The first task before the board is to prove that the Fund is indeed independent as enshrined in its enabling act namely the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) Act 2011.

A Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) is a state owned investment fund with the mandate to invest globally in financial assets such as stocks, bonds, property, precious metals or other financial instruments..

They are used to manage revenues in excess of budget estimate or what the country presently needs. Among other things, SWFs are used to mazimise returns on a country’s reserve, save for future generation, and help to smooth fluctuations in revenue, thereby, protecting the economy from the severe impact of such fluctuations. Consequently, SWFs have becomes an acceptable and popular phenomenon across the world, with more countries, especially emerging countries, and countries that rely solely on export of commodities for income. These include Norway, which has the largest SWF, Kuwait, Singapore, China and United Arab Emirate. The SWFs controls about $20 trillions worth of investment in stocks, bonds, hedge funds and in many global companies such as Citibank, and Merrill Lynch.

The opponents of the creation of the Fund will watch and scrutinize every move and decisions of the team to discern any sign of the involvement of the federal government in the running of the Fund

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might be monopolized by the federal government and manipulated for political purposes.

The Aganga initiative became a reality May last year, when President Goodluck Jonathan signed into law the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) Act 2011 into law.

The Act creates three vehicles for investment namely: Future Generations Fund, Infrastructure Fund and the Stabilization Fund.

The NSIA is to develop investment plans pursuant to the most effective policies and guidance targeted at achieving the aim of such investments. Furthermore, the NSIA is empowered to reinvest all realized proceeds and dividends from and interest on portfolio investments of Funds into new or existing assets of the Funds The Act makes NSIA an independent body capable of holding, acquiring and disposing assets and suing

in its corporate name. This implies NSIA will not be subject to the direction and control of any person or authority in Nigeria.

The Act provides for the establishment of a Governing Council headed by the President. Other members of the Governing Council include Governors of the 36 states, the Ministers of Finance, Justice and Planning, the Governor of the Central Bank, the Chief Economic Adviser to the President, Chairman of the revenue, mobilization, allocation and fiscal commission, two representatives of the civil society, four eminent academics, two representatives of the Nigerian youths and two representatives of the private sector. According to the Act, the Council shall in the discharge of its duties observe the independence of the Board and officers of the Authority.

The Board of Directors of NSIA to be headed by the Managing Director shall be independent in the exercise of

its responsibilities under the Act. No doubt the first test the management of the NSIA would have to pass is the test of independence. The opponents of the creation of the Fund will watch and scrutinize every move and decisions of the team to discern any sign of the involvement of the federal government in the running of the Fund.

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uch suspicion is however not unique to Nigeria.

Globally, investors, regulators and academics have expressed concerns about the transparency and state control of the operations of SWF. There are also concerns about the size and source of their funds, investment goals, internal checks and balances, disclosure of relationships, and holdings in private equity funds.

The need to address these concerns led to the development of the Santiago Principles, a set of Generally Accepted Principles and Practices (GAPP) for SWFs. For example the fourth GAAP Principle requires clear and public disclosure of policies, rules, procedures or arrangements in relation to SWF’s general approach to funding, withdrawal, and spending operations. On its part, the sixth GAAP Principle proposes clear division of roles and responsibilities under the SWF’s governance framework to facilitate accountability and operational independence.

nited Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc recently took a frontline position in Washington , DC , USA, in stakeholders’ discussions on bridging the gap between opportunity and infrastructure investment in Nigeria and Africa .

At a two-day U.S./ Africa Infrastructure Conference, themed ‘Building the Infrastructure for Nigeria ’s Vision 20:20,’ which was organized by the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) in conjunction with the Embassy of Nigeria and co-sponsored by UBA Plc, participants brainstormed on the need to foster and grow the U.S.Nigeria bilateral relationship.

The conference was attended by close to 600 top U.S. and African private sector representatives and government officials, including Nigerian Ministers, Governors and cabinet members.

The conference showcased vast investment and contracting opportunities available in Nigeria ’s infrastructure sector through specific project examples and development requirement outlines. Speakers and panelists, made up of senior US and Nigerian private sector and government officials discussed real partnership opportunities in alignment with the Nigerian government’s economic blueprint.

CEO, UBA Capital, Africa , Mr. Wale Shonibare, who spoke at a panel session titled “Financing it All” commended the Federal Government’s renewed focus on developing infrastructure to stimulate economic growth.

According to him, “Policy decisions such as the recently announced tax incentives to encourage private sector investment in infrastructure are essential to accelerating investment in the sector.

He reiterated that UBA Capital is well positioned to assist American and other overseas investors with interest in exploring the abundant opportunities presented by the rapid growth in the Nigerian economy.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2012 —25

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26â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Vanguard, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2012

Makkah

Holy City of Makkah As the Muslims celebrate Eid-el-Kabir today, over two million muslims from all over the world have been in the two Holy cities of Makkah and Medinah in the last one month preparatory for the ascension of Arafat yesterday. Jimoh Babatunde , who is in Saudi Arabia for this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hajj, takes a look at the historical cities which today which have become top tourism destinations in the world HE Holy City of Makkah, which lies inland 73 kilometers east of Jeddah, is the place where the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, was born - the place where God's message was first revealed to him and the city to which he returned after the migration to Madinah in 622 CE. Makkah is the holiest city on earth to Muslims. It is variously known as Makkah AlMukarramah, Umm Al-Qura (the origin of the Cities), Al Balad AlAmeen (the Secure City), and AlBalad Al-Haram (the Sacred City).

Five times each day more than a billion Muslims around the world turn to face the direction of the Kaaba to offer their prayers to the one true God. It is also, of course, the focal point of the Hajj when, once each year, some two million pilgrims converge on the Holy City of Makkah.

Starting point Thus each year the Holy City of Makkah is host to some two million hajjis (pilgrims) from all over the world. The Holy Mosque in Makkah houses the Kaaba, in the corner of which is set the Black Stone which marks the starting point for the seven circumambulations of the Holy Mosque which every hajji must C M Y K

complete. The Holy City is served by the seaport and international airport of Jeddah.

Kaaba: The Kaaba, a large stone structure constituting a single room with a marble floor, lies at the heart of the Holy Mosque (al Masjid al Haram) in the Holy City of Makkah. The Kaaba is Islam's holiest building. It now stands some 60 feet high and each side is approximately 60 feet in length. The Kaaba is the focal point around which the Holy Mosque is built.

The four walls of the Kaaba are covered with a black curtain (the Kiswah) which reaches to the ground and is fastened to the Shadharwan with copper rings.

The door of the Kaaba is set in the south-east wall, about seven feet from the ground. Inside, there are pillars, which support the roof.

The interior is furnished with many gold and silver lamps. On the inner walls, there are several bands of inscriptions which record the many repairs done to the Kaaba.

The Holy Qur'an makes it clear that Ibrahim (Abraham) and his son Ishmael were the true founders of the Kaaba, together building the holy sanctuary dedicated to the worship of the one true God. Set in the eastern corner of the Kaaba is the Black Stone (al-Hajar al-Aswad). The Black Stone predates the birth of Islam but now, set in gold, forms

an integral part of the Kaaba.

In the course of the pilgrimage, the Hajjis will kiss or touch the Black Stone, not because the Black Stone is holy in itself but because it was kissed by the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).

On the roof of the Kaaba is a gilt water spout (al-Masabb) which projects out from the northwest wall. Opposite the northwest wall of the Kaaba, but not joined to it, is a semi-circular wall (Al-Hateem) which is 5ft high and

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an integral part of the Kaaba. It was brought from Paradise by the Archangel Gabriel and was set into one corner of the Kaaba.

Maqam Ibrahim: In order to complete the upper part of the walls of the Kaaba, Ibrahim stood upon a large stone block which he moved along when each section was completed. When the Kaaba was finished, the large stone block was left outside the Kaaba, close to the eastern wall of the sanctuary.

It became known as the Maqam Ibrahim (the station of Ibrahim).

Today, the Maqam Ibrahim, with the stone within, is located in front of the door of the Kaaba. The boulder is about 2 x 3 feet. Where it stands today is the place where Ibrahim offered up his prayers.

Holy City of Makkah: The Holy City of Madinah, which lies in the central Hijaz 447 kilometers north of the Holy City of Makkah,

The Holy Mosque in Makkah houses the Kaaba, in the corner of which is set the Black Stone which marks the starting point for the seven circumambulations of the Holy Mosque

3ft thick.

This area is also known as Hijr Ishmael. To the north-east side of the Kaaba is the Maqam Ibrahim, a small kiosk of glass and metal topped by a small dome. In it is kept the stone on which Ibrahim stood while building the Kaaba.

Nearly opposite the Black Stone, near the Maqam Ibrahim, is the well of Zamzam.

Black Stone: Set in the eastern corner of the Kaaba is the Black Stone (al-Hajar al-Aswad). The Black Stone predates the birth of Islam but now, set in gold, forms

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is 625 meters (2,050 feet) above sea level. Sited on a fertile oasis, it is bounded on three sides by hills which form part of the Hijaz mountain range.

Madinah is the second holiest city in Islam. It was to Madinah that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and his followers, faced by the hostility and persecution of the Makkan merchants, departed in 622 CE and, when the citizens of Madinah asked the Prophet to live amongst them and to arbitrate in their affairs (an

invitation taken to mean their rejection of polytheism and submission to the will of the one God, Allah), it was in Madinah that the Islamic era began.

Madinah is then the city of the Prophet. As the place in which the Holy Qur'an was compiled and from which the Prophet's companions administered the affairs of the Muslim community, it was the seat of the first Islamic state.

From Madinah, armies, spreading the word of the Prophet, were dispatched to Egypt, Persia and Syria.

Madinah is also the place in which the Prophet, peace be upon him, was buried. Madinah is the Arabic for "city".

Intimate connection The full name of Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah means "Enlightened City". A visit to Madinah is not part of Umrah or Hajj but the deep affection in which the Prophet held the city and its intimate connection with the birth of Islam puts it on the itinerary of most pilgrims performing Hajj.

The Hijra (the Prophet's migration to Madinah) is the date from which the Islamic calendar runs (commonly transliterated Hegira), marks the beginning of the Muslim calendar. For a brief period, the city became the administrative capital of the steadily growing Muslim state until, in 661 CE, the seat of Muslim power moved to Damascus, the capital of the Umayyad caliphs. Thereafter Madinah's primary significance has been its position as the second most holy city in the Muslim world.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2012—27

By MUKOSOLU NZOM

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ur journey into the music world It started like a dream but today, we thank God for all the glory because it has become a reality.

When we started, we had late Michael Jackson as our mentor. That was why in one of our songs titled, Busy Body which we released about 12 years ago, we tried to copy Michael Jackson’s dance steps.

Then, our fans used to call us, Paul and Peter. He influenced our musical career.

We were challenged by Michael Jackson’s huge achievements in the world of music.

We said to ourselves, if Michael Jackson could do all of these, we could equally do better. So, we tried our best and by the grace of God and our fans, we have realise our dreams.

Deal with Konvict music The only thing we can say, is that we have been signed under Konvict. And to prove this new deal which most people are still doubting, we featured Akon in our ‘’Chop my Money” remix.

Our private life!

You call it private and that’s why, most times we don’t like

Alleged murder of mum:

P-Square opens up! *We have no reason to murder our mum *Illuminati allegation against us is trash Few months after the rumour made the rounds that they sacrificed their mum at the Church of Satan and Illuminati for fame, PSquare, the music duo, have come out to put the records straight. They also addressed other burning issues surrounding their musical career. to discuss it for personal reasons.

Handling your female fans!

My dear, it is not easy. However, we handle everybody with love and care. One thing is to be a celebrity, and another is knowing how to handle all that comes with it. Sometimes, they will call on us just to hear our voices and to wish us well.

Continues on page 28

How Omawunmi thrilled fans at Afcon 2013 draw ceremony L

Omawunmi C M Y K

EADING female vocalist, Omawumi was at her best last Wednesday, when she thrilled the high and the mighty in the African football family. The event was the ceremony preceding the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations draw held in Durban, South Africa.

The singer who looked stunning in her evening gown, mounted the stage like a nightgale and left the elated audience with a memorable night to remember. Electrifying as her performance was, Omawunmi got a standing ovation, when she sang her latest song “Bottom Belle Ft Flavour ”, and other songs. It was a perfect outing for Omawunmi who since the release of her debut album, “Wonder Woman” in 2009,has never looked back in her desire to conquer the world through her music.

INSIDE •Paw Paw lands N11.2m endorsement deal •Dramatic shoes •How Wi-Fi rules subscribers’ mobile lives

28—Vanguard, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2012

Illuminati allegation against us is trash— P-Square Continues from page 27 What do you do during your leisure time?

Sometimes, we swim or play basketball with our friends.

Why did J. Martins not featured in your latest album, “Invasion”?

We have no problem with J Martins. He was not in the country when we released the album. You know as we are busy so also others are too. And you don’t expect them to displease themselves in order to please you. But we are in good terms.

Challenges in the industry so far....

A lot of challenges.Sometimes after releasing an album our marketers will want to give us condition that it will be 50/50.

It’s very difficult to compromise with them. Sometimes, if you enter the studio to record you song, they will compel you to do what you wouldn’t want to do.

The craziest thing you have ever done!

Laughs.. that was when we went for a night party some years ago. Some desperate girls were all over all us and before we knew what was happening, they were kissing and romancing us openly. We had to run for our dear lives.

Most embarrassing moment It was when we were coming up. Some of our kinsmen walked up to us and told us that its high time we join them in the village and stop roaming about as if we are not conversant with the tradition of our people.

We felt embarrassed.

But unfortunately, we later adhered to their advice.

How do you feel about your mum’ s death?

Savages

Movie Schedule We feel so bad to know that our mum is no more.

But who are we to question the Almighty God. Traditionally, we are supposed to bury her and not the other way round. It is just that it happened so soon.. Indeed, her death was a big blow to us.

It was rumoured that you people knew what happened to her?

Then, it is too bad to hear that people are accusing us of being responsible for our mum’s death. We are not blaming anybody. People are free to say what they want to say. We begin to wonder whether there is anything that will ever make us to go for the life of our beloved mother.

Her life cannot be quantified in terms of money or fame. So, our answer to this question is that we have no hand in our mum’s death. We only blamed the death that snatched her away from us if not so, people won’t be pointing accusing fingers at us.

She died after a brief illness.

Aside your mum’s death, there was another rumour that you guys have joined Illuminati?

We are short of words. Why would anybody say such things about us? Well, the fact remains that we do not belong to any secret cult, whether Illuminati or anything you call it. We owe our achievements and everything that is happening to us to Almighty God.

By BARTHOLOMEW MADUKWE rganizers of the Lagos Jazz Series have indicated their readiness to cool down the hectic city life with a staple jazz festival holding next month.

Ahead of the commencement of the festival, founder of Lagos Jazz Series (LJZ), Mr Oti Bazunu told newsmen during the week that the jazz festival which started over three years ago has put Lagos on the map of choice destination city for Jazz lovers.

“Lagos Jazz Series is the staple and foremost Jazz and popular music festival in Nigeria.

Also, we have created a clearly marked Jazz season in Lagos. This season spans from smaller, intimate events from early October and leads up to the Lagos Jazz Series proper in late November”, he added.

Bazunu stressed that the 2012 jazz music festival, with collaborations from Nigerian pop

Oct 26th – Nov 1st

SILVERBIRD CINEMAS, ABUJA The Meeting: 12:20pm, 2:40pm,6:20pm, 9:00pm.

Ted: 6:20pm, 8:40pm.

Resident Evil: Retribution 12:10pm, 4;45pm, 9:20pm.

Savages 12:45pm, 3:20pm, 5:55pm, 8:30pm.

Total Recall: 11:50am, 4:15pm, 8:45pm, Bourne legacy: 1:00pm, 3:40pm,6:25pm, 9:10pm The Dictator: 1:10pm, 3:10pm,5:10pm, 7:10pm, 8:55pm .

Single & married: 2:05pm, 6:40pm Step up4: 2;10pm, 6:35pm.

SILVERBIRD CINEMAS CEDDI PLAZA , ABUJA Safe: 12:10pm, 4:20pm, 6:20pm.

Resident Evil: Retribution 2:20pm.

Total Recall: 8:20pm.

Single& married: 11:30am, 2;10pm,6:50pm, 9:10pm.

SILVERBIRD CINEMAS PORT HARCOURT Resident Evil Retribution: 12:00pm, 2:00pm, 4:20pm, 6:20pm, 8:40pm.

Savages 12:10Pm,2:50pm,5:30pm,8:20pm Bourne legacy: 12:40pm, 3:30pm, 6:10pm, 8:50pm The Dictator: 1:10pm, 3:10pm, 5:00pm, 7:05pm, 9:00pm.

Single & Married: 12:20pm, 2:30pm, 4:40pm,6:50pm, 8:00pm.

SILVERBIRD CINEMAS UYO

Lagos Jazz Series 2012 Music fiesta holds

C M Y K

SYNOPSIS

Savages is a 2012 American crime thriller film directed by Oliver Stone. It is based on the novel of the same name

by Don Winslow. The screenplay was written

by Shane Salerno, Winslow and Stone The film was released on July 6, 2012, and features an ensemble cast including Taylor Kitsch, Blake Lively, and Aaron TaylorJohnson.

CONCERT

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Movie of the week

music artistes such as 9ice, Kaline, Waje and others who at the event would represent their music in a Jazz style, is targeted at subjecting Lagos under the Influence of Jazz.

He said, “this year we are inviting Fourplay ft. Bob James, Roy Hargrove, Lura and other fantastic international artistes Over three years ago, the likes of Hugh Masakela, Morrie Louden, Jimmy BluBlu, Sésu Tilley-Gyado have graced our stages at venues such as Federal Palace Hotel, Oriental and the Muri Okunola Park.”

The festival will kick-off on the 16th of November and will run till 18. LJZ founder noted that despite the aim to promote Lagos internationally, charity begins at home, adding that they are making Jazz more accessible to fans of Nigerian popular music because musicians like Tiwa Savage, Omawumi and Bez were last year hosted on the Lagos Jazz Series stage.

Stepup4: 12:30pm, 2:40pm, 4:55pm, 6:55pm Resident Evil: Retribution: 11:40am, 1:50pm Udeme Mmi: 1:30pm, 5:20pm.

Total recall: 3:55pm, 6:40pm.

Single& Married: 11:30am, 3:20pm, 7:10pm

Vanguard, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2012—29

WEEKEND PEOPLE Tiwa Savage denies dating manager!

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he songstress, Tiwa Savage who was recently alleged to be dating her manager,Tee Billz has vehemently denied having any affair with him.

The songstress made this clarification,while in a chat with WG at the premiere of Rita Dominic’s big-budget movie” The Meeting”, last Friday.

Although, Savage came to the event with Billz, she tells whoever that cares to listen that Tee Billz is her manager.”No, he is my manager.” she said.

Tongues have been wagging in recent times concerning the songstress’ closeness to her manager.

According to several sources, they were spotted at events together and the chemistry was very obvious. Meanwhile, Tiwa Savage is currently in the studio recording her new album which she hopes to release soon.

Day Igbo leaders, celebrities stormed SFU for Ifeanyi Ubah T

HE Special Fraud Unit on Milverton Road, Ikoyi, Lagos was a mecca of sort since October 9, 2012, when Dr. Ifeanyi Patrick Ubah, the MD/CEO of Capital Oil Industries Nigeria Limited, was detained upon turning himself in. Ubah, now freed on bail, was being detained over allegations bordering on fuel subsidy palaver.

WG gathered that many celebrities and Igbo leaders stormed the office of SFU to show solidarity and also to let Ubah know that they were praying for him.

Nigeria’s king of comedy, Ali Baba, who enjoys a chummy relationship with Ubah, was sighted at SFU penultimate Friday. Just as

billionaire business mogul and chairman of Ekulo Group of companies, Chief Emmanuel Bishop Okonkwo visited last week.

Another business mogul and chairman of Chisco Transport Company, Chief Chidi Anyaegbu was also present .

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OFF-CAMERA Paw Paw lands N11.2m endorsement deal

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OLLYWOOD Actor, Osita Iheme a.k.a Pawpaw is the new face of an entertainment Television station in South Africa called VUZU TV. Pawpaw as he is fondly called happens to be big Pawpaw in South Africa.

WG gathered that the endorsement deal which worth $70, 000 (N11.2m) will initially run for six months. The actor was Pawpaw recently in South Africa to finalise the contract and shoot campaign commercials.

Burna Boy’s embarrassing moment at The Headies 2012

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HOSE who were privileged to attend this year’s edi tion of The Headies held at the Expo hall of the Eko Hotels and Suits last Saturday surely went home talking about one incident that later became the highpoint of the event.

The incident centred on the Dancehall act, Burna Boy who fell off the stage while performing with Dammy Krane.

He was selected as one of the two rookie acts to grace the stage.

But rather than giving the audience a fantastic performance, Burna recorded what many described as “a tragedy on stage.”

The Dancehall act had just told the guests how excited he was to be on stage. Obviously not looking at the spaced skirting at the edge of the stage, Burna tumbled off the stage with such a might fall. But within seconds he was back on stage as if nothing happened. The guests got on their feet and cheered as Burna performed his infectious ‘Like to party‘ single while Dammy Krane joined him later on. Dammy Krane also performed his ‘My dear‘ single with support from Burna Boy too.

Other prominent Igbo leaders present were Obigbo leader, Chief Charles Ahize, Igbo socialite, Chief Austin Ndigwe, star actress, Shan George, Barrister Ziggy Azike, Barrister Emeka Ngige, SAN, Prince Chukwudi Agwuna, Chief Chika Okafor of A-Z Oil, Chief Hilary Unachukwu of Hiuna, among others.

•Burna Boy

Lydia Forson goes live on birthday

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EAUTIFUL Ghanaian Actress, Lydia Forson who looked stunning at last Friday’s premiere of Rita Dominic’s “The Meeting”, added another year to her life last Wednesday, October 24.

The actress celebrated the day with a lot of activities, including hanging out with close pals.

She also launched her website, www.missforson.com as she interacted live with her fans.

The bubbly Actress was born on October 24, 1984 to Rev. Dr. M. K. Forson and Janet Forson.

Currently, she is one of Ghana’s top Actors who has managed to be visible among most of her pals with more movie credits. In her birthday mesLydia sage, Forson writes on her facebook wall, “Thank you all for all your kind words and wishes today. You’ve made me feel so special!! And today, for the first time I’m opening my site for you to check out and see my special birthday message.”

30—Vanguard, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2012

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Vanguard, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2012 —31

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32—Vanguard, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2012

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Vanguard, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2012 — 33

GROOVE EXTRA Wale Rubber, Attitude thrill audience at Tropika unveiling

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ALE Rubber, a celebrity chore ographer, alongside a female sensational rapper, Rita Ubi, popularly called “Attitude” presented performance at Tropika Juice drink unveiling party last weekend.

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WO female contenders have been evicted from the on-going Gulder Ultimate Search 9 which started last weekend.

They were Kofya Brown, a 25 year-old mother of one and a Computer Science undergraduate of the University of Benin and Ayo Ojueromi, a 22 year-old student of the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos.

Kofya Brown was evicted in Episode 5 after failing the Mental Endurance Challenge.

The Mental Endurance Challenge was one of the Gatekeeper ’s tasks. The first Gatekeeper for Gulder Ultimate Search 9 is Christopher Okagbue.

He is the current Ultimate Man after winning the competition in 2011.

For the game, the contenders were to cross a lake, using a canoe as a bridge. They would come across a set of symbols which they would memorise.

They were then to get three wooden stacks comprising a replica of the symbols, placed at different locations on the task ground.

They were to arrange the symbols on a work station provided for them in the same format the original symbols were arranged.

After putting the puzzles together, they would call the attention of Christopher Okagbue, the Gatekeeper, who told them if they had arranged it correctly or wrongly. If the symbol arrangement was inaccurate, they were to go back to the spot where the symbols were correctly arranged and try to rectify their errors. Kofya Brown could not complete the task, marking the end of her journey in Gulder Ultimate Search 9.

Ayo Ojuoremi’s eviction was either a case of ill luck or carelessness. She was shown the way out of Gulder Ultimate C M Y K

GUS anchorman, Chidi

testants Mokeme and some con

GUS 9 update:

Two female contestants evicted Search 9 not because she failed a task, but because she could not find the Golden Key entrusted in her care.

All the 12 contenders were handed Golden Keys by Chidi Mokeme, Gulder Ultimate Search 9 anchor man. He instructed that they should be in possession of their Golden Keys at all times. They were to keep the keys on a totem while in their camp and wear it on their necks when coming to engage in tasks and The Place of The Talking Drum. He warned them of the

consequences of losing their keys.

“The keys represent your participation in the jungle.

You are individually responsible for the safety of your keys. So, you must keep them safe, you must keep them protected. If you lose your key, you can’t lock or unlock. That means we may have to ferry you all the way home. These are the Gatekeeper ’s keys.

They are the keys that will unlock the gates that will lead you to the treasure. Keep them safe.

Do not lose them.”Mokeme warned.

Both celebrities were the cynosure of all eyes at event held at 360, Elegushi Private Beach, Lekki, Lagos.

It had lots of media personalities participating in many game shows which made the event scintillating from the beginning till the end.

Wale Rubber who is also a T V presenter welcomed the guests who were privileged to be part of the event.

He later introduced the drink to the 4th realm of the government with the ingredients.

As he revealed in his speech, a new uniquely smooth tasting drink, Tropika, has made its way into the nation’s ever dynamic and invigorating fruit drinks’ market. The juice market is one that enjoys a high number of brands that offers consumers nutritional values.

With Wale’s dexterity on stage, he added that Tropika is made from real dairy skimmed milk and fruit juice and is available in orange, pine apple, mango peach, coco pine and apple variants.

Meanwhile, the General Manager, Clover West Africa ,Johan Voigt at the unveiling of the event told the gathering that, “Clover Industries, has introduced Tropika into the Nigeria beverage market to share this really unique drinking experience unlike any other in the market.

The event witnessed quiz, Limbo Dance and Volley Ball game.

The talented rapper dished out what she knows how to do best from her new single.

Rita Ubi performing on stage

34—VANGUARD, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2012 With PRINCE OSUAGWU princeosuagwu@gmail.com

iPad 4 makes surprise debut alongside mini iPad L

Chart showing subscribers’ desire level for Wi-fi

How Wi-Fi rules subscribers’ mobile lives D

O you know that mobile devices are now increasingly used for entertainment? In fact, almost half of mobile users are consuming all forms of video, music, books, and games on their devices on a regular basis.

This is no farce. The development has some empirical facts behind it.

For instance, Cisco’s Internet Business solution Group recently carried out a survey to find out how consumers are addressing access on their mobile and found out that increased global demand for mobile devices and network connectivity sees Wi-Fi and traditional mobile networks playing critical roles to meet the needs of consumers.

The Cisco research highlighted that the majority of mobile devices now have WiFi Internet access capabilities.

In fact, with the exception of smartphones, the report said that Wi-Fi is now the predominant access technology for mobile devices.

Meanwhile, it also noticed increase in devices like laptops, tablets, and eReaders that almost exclusively connect to the Internet through Wi-Fi. The trend, according to the report is expected to increase as devices become more powerful and networks become faster. Interestingly, mobile access no longer exclusively means using devices while on the road.

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ccording to the survey, consumers use their mobile devices for more than 2.5 hours at home on a typical day. People are expecting to increase their home use of mobile devices even more. This shift in where people use their mobile devices has seen an increase in the connection through Wi-Fi. Even the majority of smartphone users are supplementing their mobile connectivity with Wi-Fi. With the exception of coverage, people prefer Wi-Fi over mobile to connect their devices. While Wi-Fi is not able to compete

with the ubiquity of cellular network coverage, respondents consider Wi-Fi easier to use and more reliable than mobile.

The survey also discovered that a third of mobile users are taking advantage of public WiFi hotspots on a weekly basis.

The most popular locations are public outdoors, coffee shops, restaurants, and retail stores.

With publicly accessible Wi-Fi evolving so quickly, people are expecting free Wi-Fi access.

The rapidly evolving public WiFi business has significantly changed consumers’ expectations. As a result, today very few of the users surveyed are actually paying for public Wi-Fi. If given a choice between access networks, the survey highlighted that mobile users choose Wi-Fi over mobile across all network attributes, with the obvious exception of coverage. Also worth noting is that across most attributes, onequarter of consumers see no difference between the two networks.

AST week, we reported that Apple may debut with a mini iPad this week. Yes, it came to pass. Last Tuesday, the device maker debuted took the wraps off the anticipated new smaller-screen iPad at an event in California.

However, the biggest surprise is that Apple also systematically introduced a fourth-generation version of the larger-screen iPad, just six months after the new iPad, popularly known as iPad 3 was launched.

Apple also shocked expectant and potential buyers of the new mini product with a price that is twice higher than similarsized devices in the market.

Prior to Tuesday, potential •Mini iPad buyers had predicted that the device maker would crush its competitors with a price slash to its mini iPad which may see flood of interest for the new product against competition.

However, with the price of about $329 as announced by Apple for the mini product, similarly-sized devices like Nexus-7 from Google which sells at US$199 and Amazon’s Kindle Fire which sells US$159 are still in contention without losing sleep.

The new 7.9-inch ‘iPad mini’ is said to be 23 percent thinner and 53 percent lighter than the third generation iPad, but boasts the same number of pixels as the original iPad and iPad 2.

Meanwhile, the new version of the 9.7-inch iPad includes a new self-made A6X chip that claims to deliver up to twice the CPU performance and up to twice the graphics performance of the A5X, and a new LTE baseband chip that supports a greater number of 4G networks worldwide. The base model (16GB) will retail for US$499.

The Wi-Fi only versions of both the iPad mini and the new iPad will begin shipping on Friday 2 November.

• iPad 4

Motorola releases Headset computer with voice recognition, gesture control

•Motorola digital head gear

FOR industrial and military workers who need to keep their hands free on the job while viewing documents and schematics or getting help from far afield specialists, Motorola seems to be a good ally.

This is as the device makers just debuted with a head set computer that can be controlled via voice recognition and gesture controls. tagged Motorola HC1 Headset Computer, the device places an 800 x 600 (SVGA) full color TFT micro-display at a viewing distance that provides a virtual image size of 15 inches.

Running on Windows CE Professional, the unit is powered by a TI OMAP 3 dual-core processor running at 800 MHz, with a 3D graphics accelerator and 512 MB of RAM. There’s 512 MB on onboard Flash storage with the ability to expand by up to 32 GB via Micro SD card. It boasts of Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity and can stream video back to base using an optional two-megapixel camera accessory that can capture 1080p video at 30 frames per second.

Audio is handled by two bi-directional noise-canceling microphones located on

the display pod and an adjustable “near ear” speaker that can be replaced by earbuds if so desired. The unit also sports a mini-USB port and two USB 2.0 ports for the connection of the camera accessory or other peripherals. Data entry can also be done via Bluetooth-connected devices or by using a virtual onscreen keyboard.

A gyroscope, accelerometer and digital compass provide head-tracking capabilities that allow the scrolling, panning, tilting, zooming, rotation and freezing of onscreen documents and schematics, as well as the ability to perform application functions with the turn of the head.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2012—35

L- R: Mr. Lolu Akinyemi, Finance Director; Mr. Alex Goma, MD, Family Care; Mrs Gloria Youny, Celebrity Quest; Mr. Adewale Raji, MD Distribution Services; and Mr. Edward Bamidele, Customer Marketing Director, PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc at the unveiling of the new Morning Fresh and introduction of Zest Lemon Variant in Lagos.

Photo: Diran Oshe

Obinna Uzoh Foundation gives succor to Onitsha prison inmates

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ENOWNED philan thropist, politician and lawyer, Dr. Obinna Uzoh, through his organization, Obinna Uzoh Foundation (OUF), weekend, swelled the Archbishop of Onitsha, Most Rev. Valerian Okeke's birthday package for the inmates with one million naira during the church service in the prison chapel.

Archbishop Okeke, whose 59th birthday anniversary was devoid of fanfare this year, told reporters that owing to the sad mood of the nation where flood has ravaged many homes, he would prefer to celebrate a “dry birthday”, by identifying with the less privileged, the sick and the poor.

Uzoh whose ‘philanthropy and love boat’ literarily berthed briefly at the Onitsha prison to be part of the Archbishop’s 59th birthday inside the prison chapel, told the inmates and the prison staff that he was toeing the footsteps of the Archbishop in seeking the welfare of the poor and the less privileged, describing him as his father and mentor he likes to emulate.

Uzoh noted that prison is meant to be a reformatory institution, which the church through the able leadership of Archbishop Okeke have done so much to make the Onitsha prison reasonably comfortable for the inmates.

Dr. Obinna Uzoh with Archbishop Valerian Okeke with some prison staff and inmates during the visit to Onitsha prison, weekend.

L-r: Dr. Olayiwole Onasanya, Director of Agric Services, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, Lagos State; Miss Aminat Agodi, Agric 'Yes' Songhai participant; Dr. Yaqub Bashorun, Permanent Secretary; and Mrs Ayo Awokulehin, Director of Cooperative Services at a reception and presentation of certificates for Agric 'Yes' Songhai participants on arrival from training abroad.

Photo: Lamidi Bamidele

L-r: Divisional head, Product and Channels, Unity Bank, Mr. Felix Ezeh; Regional Head, Ikeja, Mrs. Yemi Adeyinka; and independent auditor PKF Professional Services, Mr. Abayomi Oshun Makinde at the Unity Bank plc, promo play and win draw in Lagos. Photo: Kehinde Gbadamosi

L-r: Prof. Doug Blackmur, Executive Director, Independent Quality Assurance Agency; Dr. Femi Ogunsanya, Chairman, Association of Private Education in Nigeria, APEN; Mr. Mark Brooks, Director, Mark Brooks Education Consultant, UK; Mr. Colin Bell, Executive Director, Council of British International School, UK; and Mrs. Olufunke FowlerAmba, Director Vivian Fowler Memorial College, during the APEN 4th Annual Conference in Lagos.

Photo: Bunmi Azeez

36—Vanguard, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2012

Kidney transplant: An effective medical treatment

By SOLA OGUNDIPE

IDNEY transplant is a procedure wherein a person whose own kidneys have failed, receives a new kidney to perform its regular functioning. The failure of both kidneys is known as End Stage Kidney Disease, ESKD or End Stage Renal Disease, ESRD. At least five percent of the adult population in Nigeria have some form of kidney damage, and every year millions die prematurely of cardiovascular diseases linked to chronic kidney diseases.

Common causes Common causes include inflammatory diseases of the kidney, infections, obstruction in the urinary tract and inherited disorders like polycystic kidney disease.

The first consequence of undetected chronic kidney diseases is the risk of developing progressive loss of kidney function leading to kidney failure and the need for dialysis treatment or a kidney transplant which is very expensive.

Most forms of kidney disease are treatable. Early detection and treatment can often keep chronic kidney disease from getting worse, and can prevent the need for dialysis or transplant.

Living Donor Transplant Since an individual needs only one healthy kidney to live, a person with two healthy kidneys can donate one kidney to someone whose kidneys have failed. This is called a living donor transplant.

A living donor can be a family member, a friend, or a near one.

Before the transplant, both recipient and the living donor need to make sure there is a good match and that both are healthy enough for the surgery.

Deceased Donor Transplant One can also receive a kidney from someone who has just died.

This is called a deceased donor

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Health professionals seek integration of speech therapy into health system • Kidney transplant in progress. Most forms of kidney disease are treatable. Early detection and treatment can often keep chronic kidney disease from getting worse, and can prevent the need for dialysis or transplant.

(or cadaveric) transplant. Before being there in waiting list for a deceased donor transplant, recipient has to go through some tests. These tests help make sure that the deceased’s kidney is a good match for the recipient and that the recipient is healthy enough for the surgery.

Candidates for kidney transplant People with 90-95 percent kidney failure are eligible for ESRD treatment, of which kidney transplant is suggested to those who suffer from diabetes and other allied conditions. People with serious heart disease and who have suffered from cancer are not usually considered for kidney transplantation. There is no restriction on age but it is dependent on the overall health of the patient.

High cost, shortage of kidneys and perennially long waiting lists compel doctors to advise transplantation selectively.

How it is done Like any other surgery the patient is administered general anesthesia,in some cases it may

•Minister of State for Health, Dr. Muhammad Aliyu Pate (right) with UNFPA Executive Director, Professor Babatunde Oshotimehin during the conference on UN Commission on Life-saving Commodities for Women and Children held in Abuja last week.

be local anesthesia as well, to lessen the impact and pain of the surgery. The surgeon makes a cut in the lower belly and places the new kidney and the artery and veins are connected. As soon as the blood starts passing through the kidney, urine production starts.

Kidney transplant surgery usually takes 4-5 hours and the rehabilitation time is normally 710 days in a hospital after which the patient is discharged and put on a follow up plan with the doctor. Usually, the recovery period is close to six months.

Risks: Kidney transplantation entails risks similar to any other major procedure / surgery. They include development of blood clots, excessive bleeding, infection, failure or rejection of donated kidney and side effects of anti-rejection medication among others. After successful transplantation both donor and the recipient need special care and monitoring, post transplantation.

Side effects of medication High Blood Pressure, diabetes, bone thinning, increased risk of skin cancer and non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, infection, puffiness and weight gain.

S Nigerians joined the rest of the world to mark this year’s World Stuttering Day, Health professionals have called for the integration of speech therapy into the nation’s health system as a major strategy to check the rising number of stutterers in the country.

Stuttering is a communication disorder characterised by excessive involuntary disruptions or blockings in the flow of speech, particularly when such disruptions consist of repetitions accompanied by avoidance or struggle behaviour.

At a public lecture organised by the Speech Therapy Department of National Orthopaedic Hospital Igbobi, Lagos, NOHIL, to mark the Day with the theme: “A voice and Something to Say” they noted

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that despite the challenges face

by Nigerian stutterers little or nothing is being done to alleviate their sufferings.

The Guest lecturer, Professor Julius Ademokoya,

•Participants during a walk organised by the National Cancer Prevention Programme, NCPP, last week in Lagos.

Department of Special Education, University of Ibadan, called on the Federal Government to urgently establish a Speech Unit in all government hospitals across the 36 states of the country.

Giving details of the frustrations of stutterers, Ademokoya lamented that “the frustrations of having something to say but have no voice to say could be better imagined than experienced.

“This is often the daily experience of stutters who are intelligent, who have ides or needs to express or requests to make but are often helpless and frustrated to say it, because they lack good voice to say it.”

He further urged government to pay more attention to stuttering challenge by making speech and listening part of their general studies, compulsory for all students.

On his part, the Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Dr. Yinusa Wahab who was represented by Head Clinical Services, Dr. Olurotimi Odunubi, noting that 1 percent of the population are stutterers advised that people should only empathised with sufferers and not sympathise with them.

The Head of Department, Speech Therapy, NOHIL, Mrs. Grace Shokoya regretted that despite the burden of the disorder, little or no attention is paid to the condition.

Shokoya noted that most stutterers suffer serious neglect and discrimination in schools and in the society at large.

She announced that to ensure that all stutterers achieve their potentials, the department is establishing help and support group in the communities to assist people with the challenge.

Speaking, Lagos State Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Olayinka Oladunjoye who was represented by Mrs. Oluwa Toyin called for more awareness campaign on the disorder. partner.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2012 —37

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38— VANGUARD, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, ID-IL-ADHA, the ritual of animal sacrifice has remained a means of attaining nearness to Almighty Allah. It is a sacrifice that we offer with fervour and enthusiasm on the occasions of the Hajj, precicely 10th of Zhul-Hijjah. While its import and essence is to show taqwa, piety to the Creator, it can also be viewed in the same way with zakah because the meat of ram, goat, sheep, cow or camel is distributed for eating. Prophet Ibrahim and his son (as) offered us great lesson and a pathway for genuine faith and submission to Allah (SWT). We do not need to go into the historical perspective of the sacrifice, you may read Q37:100-110; what is important now is imbibing the lessons of the occasion and applying it to our daily lives.

And for those who have the means to do the sacrifice, how do we go about it to make it more meaningful and affect the lives of others.

We must note that this sacrifice is merely symbolic.

The blood of the animal can not extinguish our sins neither can it make make anyone more righteous. Animals and humans are not of equal value.

So, almighty Allah does not need the blood, neither does He have anything to do with the meat. The flesh and blood [of your sacrificed animals] does not reach God; it is only your piety that reaches Him. Thus has He subjected them to your service so that you may give glory to God for guiding you.

[This is the way of the righteous] and [O Prophet!] give glad tidings to these righteous. Q22:37. What is absolutely necessary is the piety, and the will to always submit to His ordinances. That is why the killing of a ram is not the ultimate on this occasion but the state of your heart to Allah. It is laughable when people who rarely pray five times daily or seldom fast regularly or not disposed to alms-giving, but in a show of wealth, bought and slaughtered the biggest ram in the market for sallah. That is not part of the intents and purposes of the feast. It is a reflection of our faith, our willingness to submit to the will of Almighty Allah, to worship

2012

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Tel: 08098097290 email: isholaism@yahoo.co.uk

Eid Mubarak!

•Lessons of the day •And the meat Him at all times and care for others.

We should also show gratitude to Allah for preserving our lives. The ram which replaced Ibrahim’s son was an illustration of a reward for total submission to the will of Allah. It is also a symbol of Allah’s love for us and that

misconstrued and given unpleasant meaning as a result of the Boko Haram insurgency.

The food that we eat on this day should remind us of those who are dying of hunger in our community, the deprived, widows and less privileged.

Today, let us begin to work

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The blood of the animal can not extinguish our sins neither can it make make anyone more righteous. Animals and humans are not of equal value. So, Almighty Allah does not need the blood, neither does He have anything to do with the meat

He is capable of intervening at the critical moment and providing solutions to our problems.

The absolute submission exemplified by Ibrahim and Ismaeel to the Will of Allah and the true slave-hood must be emulated.

The sacrifice that we perform on this occasion as a worship to Allah should provoke us to think about how we can continue to live in peace and harmony with non-Muslims.

We should think about how we can give Islam the right image through our actions especially in a country where the religion has been

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for the pleasure of Allah by providing succour for the downtrodden

Method of Sacrifice The animal for slaughter should be laid on its left side facing Kaaba and say: Ini wajhatu, wajihiya lliladhi fatora samawati wal ardi anifah, wamo ana minalmusheerikeen, ina salati wanusikii, wa mahayaya, wamamati, lillahi rabil Alameen. Laasherika Llahu, wabizalika, umirtu, wa ana minal Muslimeen. Allahuma laka wa minka..

“Behold I have turned my face earnestly towards Him

Eid-el-Adha: Occasion to dedicate and be obedience to Allah

By ABDULWAHAB ABDULAH S Muslims across the globe celebrate Eid-elAdha after Millions of faithfuls converged yesterday at Mount Arafat to glorify Allah, S.W.T., Nigeria Muslims have been urged to imbibe the significance of Eid-el-Adha by being dedicated and obedient to Allah.

The call was made by the President of The Companion, Alhaji Wale Sonaike who urged Muslims across the globe to use the occasion of this year 's Eid to dedicate themselves to God, loving and helpful to

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fellow human being.

In his lecture titled: “ Eidel-Adha: Origin and Significance,” organised by The Companion, a group of Muslim professionals, a University Don, Dr. Lookman Adedeji, said what revolve around the celebration is a story of genuine love and unconditional obedience to the command of Allah.

According to Adedeji, apart from the love the day fosters among Muslims as a result of giving out meat and other gift items among themselves and members of their family, it reminds them of Ibrahim’s dedication and obedience to

his Lord and a period when children must study the life of Ismail and learn how to obey their parents.

The lecturer said the period is one “ when we must constantly obey Allah in all that He has commanded, while putting one’s trust in Him. Dr. Adedeji observed that eating and drinking was part of the celebrations, however, “the occasion must be a period when wives must re-evaluate their relationships with their husbands. He urged Muslims to constantly obey Allah in all that He has commanded, while putting one’s trust in Him.

Who originated the heavens and the earth and I am not of polytheists. Behold, my salat, mine offering, my living and mine dying are all for Allah, Lord of the worlds. No partners hath He, concerning this I have been bidden and I am of the Muslims O Allah! (I offer this) to you and You gave it to me.”

After reciting this prayers, Say: Bismillahi Rahmani Raheem, then slaughter the ram with a sharp-edged knife.

Thereafter, you can say: ‘Allahuma taqabal minee, kama taqabaltu min ahli

Ibraheema, wa habeebika Muhamaddin alaihuma salatu-wa-salam.’ meaning: O Allah! Accept this sacrifice offered by me as Thou accepted the sacrifice offered

by Thy friend Abraham and that offered by Thy love one Muhammad. May Peace and blessings descend upon both.

Although it is permissible to let someone else perform the slaughter of your sacrificial animal, yet it is better if you perform this act with your own hands. While you perform the slaughter, try to think and feel in the same way as you express through the words you utter at the time of sacrificing the animal.

Everything we have got belongs to Allah and it is all to be spent in His way only.

Method of sharing: The meat which could be ram, goat, sheep, cow and camel should be skinned and divided into three parts. The first part should be for the family, the second part for the Muslims who do not have the means to slaughter a ram; (there is no rationale in giving to those who slaughtered ram) and the last part is for non Muslims, neighbours and well-wishers. Eid Mubarak!

Muslims urged to unite under Shariah

BY JIMOH BABATUNDE, Reporting from Saudi Arabia

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AKKAH—KING Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz, of Saudi Arabia has said that the crises sweeping through some Muslim countries and have resulted in miserable consequences remained unabated because many have not complied with the Shariah, which can solve all problems.

King Abdulaziz urged Muslims to get rid of divisions, saying: “We are one nation and it is the duty of the whole Ummah to put out the fires of conflicts and division among us."

In a speech delivered on his behalf by Prince Khaled AlFaisal, Emir of Makkah region at the ongoing conference organized by the Makkahbased Muslim World League recently, King Abdullah said the Kingdom has dealt with these crises based on its established principles and policies regarding the Arab and Muslim worlds.

The Kingdom said the Muslim world should be regarded as one adding that it is incumbent upon every Muslim to prevent and resolve any conflict that erupts among Muslims.

In light of the above, the Kingdom hosted the 4th Exceptional Islamic Conference last Ramadan in Makkah to enhance Muslim solidarity. “We rely upon influential Muslim scholars and organizations to

warn Muslims against the consequences of sectarianism, conflicts and differences,” he said.

“We have the same religion.

We belong to the same nation.

We have the same mission. We are all targets. We should join forces and hold dialogue to confront and face all challenges,” the Emir said.

He called upon the Muslim World League (MWL) to draft a practical program to promote solidarity. Senior scholars and decision makers in the Ummah should also participate in the preparation of such a program.

Addressing the gathering at the two-day conference organized by the Muslim World League (MWL), Sheikh Abdul Aziz Aal Al-Sheikh, Grand Mufti and Chairman of MWL Supreme League, called for the unity of the Muslim community and its members. He said Islam calls for solidarity and helping one another and it denounces all forms of corruption and bad deeds.

Dr. Abdullah Al-Tukri, MWL Secretary-General, said the Muslim community should be educated about the established values of Islam and the changes.

He also said Islam is not against any development and that, on the contrary, it accommodates any development based on Shariah principles.

Dr. Essam Al-Bashir, President of the Islamic Fiqh Academy, in his own speech said it is important to focus on the established values of Islam.

Vanguard,

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

By Joshua Adeyemo Phone 08056180139

SCORPIO; Your intelligence, competence and level of concentration may today bring you envy, which you don’t deserve within your working arena in a negative form but.

SAGITTARIUS; The Moon highlights your Solar second house of money which is good but, if you try to buy true love with money, you’ll be disappointed CAPRICORN; The. Moon in your Star sign’ll gives you new confidence and with new supports from the powers-that-be, it’s like you are now un-stop-able. But be cautious, especially with the veterans within your base of operation

— 39

LEISURE

YOUR LUCK TODAY LIBRA; If you back your financial plans with concrete and positive actions things’ll go according to your desire. If you fail to realise importance of your spouse you would work your way into avoidable trouble; aren’t you tired of crisis?

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2012

By Richard Eromosele

UR elders say ‘a man does not wake up in the morning and start pursuing rabbit’. In other words a man does not start the day with some level of unseriousness.

For a good morning portends a good day.

O

How is your morning?

If I may ask you, how is your morning like? What are your programme for the day? Or do you just wake up as a matter of course without a well laid out goals for the

TERROR MUDA

day? No objective, no direction, wherever the wind blows you, there you go? Haba!

You can’t afford to live your life this way. You can’t be a victim of anything goes.

in “Never say goodbye”

Define your day. You can do this by charting a programme of action for your day, daily. This you can do a day before the day of execution. Some even plan weeks and months ahead. You can.

Think about it!

By Lanre Kehinde

AQUARIUS; Better days are ahead of you but, you will today need to do away with non-productive argument and/or agreement. Try to be more diplomatic now.

PISCES; If what you’re doing today ’ll depend on tomorrow’s event it’s better you’re more careful now.

Even things may not go according to your personal plans today. Yet it’s important you plan both your immediate and far future carefully now ARIES; If you take to aggression, your ego would be deflated by your superior colleagues, but your being co-operative in a civilised way’ll prevent trouble TAURUS; Those willing to put you to shame one way or the other’ll be disappointed with the turn of things today. It’s good to secure support of your spouse.

GEMINI; You’ve had enough of fun in the recent times and it’s now time you settle down for hard work in order to prevent avoidable trouble. Be patient please.

KAPTAIN AFRIKA

in

“Princess Shii’

By Andy Akman

CANCER; Your concentration level and determination are the pillars of your success today. Yet you’ll need to respect your senior colleagues and protect your image LEO; It’s true you’re willing to work harder but you just have to drop both aggression and mental arrogance to allow things to roll accordingly. Then, you’re accident prone within your working arena. Respect the law and its agents today.

VIRGO; Serious thought may be giving to matters of the heart but it’s better you tarry a while. Joint ventures of short duration today may be an invitation to avoidable trouble

ASTROLOGICAL COUNSELLING Send your date and place of birth to the Astrological Counselling, P.M.B 1007, Apapa, Lagos

Success for me?

VIRGINIA

dadadekola@yahoo.com

Dear Joshua, I am interested in your Astrological counselling. Kindly tell me everything about myself, especially my finance and career; would I be rich eventually, if yes what should I do to make it happen quickly.

Ben, Enugu.

Dear Ben, There are indications of financial success for you but you can not change what Almighty God Has designed for you talking about the timing (the quickness you talked in your letter) Certainly however no failure for you Mercury –the planet of education and Accountancy, together with mighty Sun at positive angle to planets in Virgo (another Accounting Star sign) attracted you to both Accountancy profession and the academic world. Truly you did not make wrong choice of career.

Money will eventually come along this line but it’ll not be as faster as if you take to OIL RELATED BUSINESS. Because Neptune (the planet of OIL) was very comfortable when you were born. It will not be out of place if you have filling stations as time goes by, because you are basically a GAS PERSON. Another money spinning vocation for you include writing either along your line or for film making industry; it is important you exhibit the higher quotient of creativity in your inner-self. Yes your dream of becoming A Professor will come to reality. Politics is another area you are not looking at now but will surely come. Do you say why? Because Aquarius is equally political.

Commen3

by Lawrence Akapa

40—Vanguard, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2012

L-r: Chairman of the Union Bank of Nigeria plc, Mr. \Dick Kramer; deputy governor of Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Nsima Ekere ; and the group managing director of the bank, Mrs. Funke Osibodu, during the commissioning of the Uyo main branch complex of the bank

Poly rector threatens contractors

BY ENYIM ENYIM

NITSHA —THE Rector of Federal Polytechnic, Oko, Anambra State, Prof. Godwin Onu, has threatened to prosecute contractors who failed to complete some of the Federal Government projects in the institution.

Onu, who issued the threat at a meeting with the contractors handling various projects in the school, said it was not only painful that some of the contractors abandoned their sites even after collecting money but that it was criminal and vowed to prosecute defaulters.

He said the polytechnic would not tolerate any form of delay by the contractors because the institution was in a hurry to develop the structures already approved and awarded by the management.

He hinted that a Federal Government delegation would soon visit the polytechnic to assess the

O

contracts and its compliance in terms of execution, adding that other delegations that had earlier visited on the same mission were not disappointed especially on the judicious use of resources.

Onu expressed

displeasure that some of the projects which were slated for commissioning this October had not been completed and advised the contractors and consultants to expedite action on the projects to ensure its completion before the end of the capital year.

Man, 25, charged for stealing Bible

A

25-year-old unem ployed man, Ade Akindele, has been arraigned before Ojo Magistrate Court in Lagos, for allegedly stealing a King James Version of the Bible valued at N1,000, from a shop.

Akindele, who had no fixed residence, was said to have become dazed after allegedly removing a black purse and a Bible from the table of one Miss Blessing Awodita (complainant), while she was asleep.

It was gathered that the accused, after allegedly stealing the Bible, stood in

the shop for a while with the Bible in his hand, staring at the complainant who was sleeping, before he was nabbed.

The prosecutor, ASP Friday Eze, informed the court that when the complainant suddenly woke up from her slumber, she did not find it funny to see the stranger gazing at her, with her Bible and purse in his hands.

He told the court that the frightened woman shouted for help and two of her male neighbours accosted the accused who resisted but was subdued by the men.

L-R: Conference PRO, Methodist Church Nigeria and public relations practitioner, Bro Aramide Noibi with the Archbishop of Llagos, Anglican Communion, Most Rev. Dr. Adebola Ademowo at the 2012 golden jubilee synod of the Lagos Diocese, Methodist Church Nigeria at the wesley Church, Ikoyi, Lagos

Urhobo youths seek more slots Ogulagha monarch gets in amnesty scheme commendation

BY FESTUS AHON

U

GHELLI-URHOBO youths, under the aegis of Urhobo National Youth Council, UNYC, yesterday, urged the Federal Government to specify the number of slots to be allotted to the Urhobo ex-militants in the third phase of the Amnesty Programme.

Its National President, Comrade Monday Oyeghe, told newsmen in Ughelli that surreptitious arrangements were being made by the amnesty

Eid el Kabir: Amaechi calls for continued prayers, oneness

A

S Muslims mark this year’s Eid el Kabir, Rivers State governor and chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, has called for continued prayers for peace, security and development in the country,

Boko Haram: Sheriff's aide urges Sen Zanna to own up

S

ENATOR Ahmed Zanna was, yesterday, has been urged to own up and explain his alleged links with the Boko Haram rather than deny his relationships with them.

Special assistant to the ANPP B.O.T chairman, Comrade Umar Duhu, who made the assertion, said it was laughable that instead of defending his obvious involvement with Boko Haram, given his past antecedence where people finger him as illegal importer of arms via his Hajj-byroad fame, Senator Zanna was desperately looking somebody to hang for his sins.

Duhu said: "It is on C M Y K

record that shortly after the JTF announcement, Senator Ahmed Zanna who represents Borno Central came out publicly in a BBC Hausa service interview to own up that he is the only senator whose house is along Damboa road; he also went ahead to admit that the arrested suspected is his nephew and lives with him in his house.

"It is also on record that the State Security Service has invited Senator Zanna to clarify his involvement with the suspect and his links with Boko Haram.

Senator Zanna in a comic u-turn, shortly after these developments, told journalists in a face-saving inter-

view that while he could not deny his relationship with his nephew, he disowned his house where the JTF arrested the suspect, stressing that the house belongs to Senator Ali Modu Sheriff the immediate former governor of the state.

"Given his recent political encounter with the immediate past governor, now the BOT chairman of ANPP, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, he appears desperate to settle scores by dragging Ali Sheriff into the controversy."

Duhu said that Senator Zanna’s inconsistencies in trying to defend himself were clear indications of a sinking man’s desperate at-

authorities to earmark 1,500 of the 3,000 for the Ijaw exmilitants whom it said benefited so much from the first and second phases of the programme at the expense of other ethnic groups.

Alleging that 500 of the slots had been allotted to the Itsekiri nation and 100 for John Togo’s boys, Oyeghe urged the Federal Government to allot more slots to Urhobo ex-militants as they did not benefit at all from the other phases of the programme.

tempt to hang himself on anything available, adding that there was no explanation for what would his nephew be doing in the socalled house of Senator Ali Sheriff, the man he said was his political rival?

He added that contrary to Senator Zanna's claims in the media that he had parted ways with the suspect, the nephew, Shuaibu, was still his associate up to the time of his arrest, noting: "It is an act in futility for him to try to name Ali Sheriff as an accomplice in his nefarious activity with Boko Haram, knowing fully well that the wild allegations being levelled by him will never amount to an acquittal of his guilt."

and its people.

Amaechi who stated this in his Sallah message to Muslims and all Nigerians, congratulated Muslims for the successful conclusion of this year’s Hajj and urged them to continue to pray for the peace and progress of the nation and unity among its people.

The statement signed by the governor’s Chief Press secretary, Mr. David Iyofor, said: “As Nigerians, we should not relent in praying for our country, particularly for our leaders to lead right and for our people to grow in love and oneness to ultimately make our country a better place for us all.

“Let the love and generosity exhibited during the feast of sacrifice become part of our national life, as we strive to eschew violence and all forms of inhumanity. On behalf of my family, the government and people of Rivers State, I wish you happy sallah. And as you celebrate, reflect on the ideals and virtues of Prophet Ibrahim.”

P

ARAMOUNT ruler of Ogulagha Kingdom, in Bururu local government area of Delta State, HRM, Elder Joseph Timiyan, has been commended for his quality leadership and peaceful reign throughout the kingdom.

Chief James Yeinanagbegha, who made the commendation recently, also congratulated the Ogulagha traditional ruler on the occasion of his seventh coronation anniversary slated for November 121, 2012 at Obotobe I, Burutu.

Diokpa Mathias Otiono dies

D

IOKPA Mathias Onyema Otiono, the head of Idumu-Odafe Quarters, Ishiekpe village, Ogwashi-Uku, Delta State, has passed on at the age of 92 years.

A statement signed on behalf of the family by Dr. Andrew Itiono announcing the demise described the late Papa Otiono LLB London, Barrister-at-Law of the Middle Temple Inns as a transparent leader who will be missed by all, adding that the burial arrangement will be announced later.

Late Diokpa Otiono

Vanguard, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2012—41

OKOROCHA’S FIGHTS:

Winning some, losing hearts FOR a man who has fought and overwhelmed many formidable opponents, including the once entrenched former governor of the state, Ikedi Ohakim (Ikiri), the news that Governor Rochas Okorocha fought the aide of Governor Peter Obi over a chair must have looked salacious. Is it the spice of the opposition?

BY EMMANUEL AZIKEN, POLITICAL EDITOR

W

HAT happened last Saturday between Governor Rochas Okorocha and an unnamed aide of Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State remains a matter of contention.

A national newspaper claims the governor punched Obi’s protocol officer over a seat at the venue of the 80th birthday celebration of former VicePresident Dr. Alex Ekwueme, in Enugu.

Okorocha’s media office, however, disputes the claim describing it as irresponsible journalism. It alleged that the governor never physically engaged the aide saying that engagement was only between the ‘over zealous’ protocol aide of Governor Obi and protocol officers of Governor Okorocha.

In his statement debunking the newspaper report Okorocha's media aide further highlighted the well known humility of the governor who has enthralled many with his populist inclinations.

,

C M Y K

a member of the House of Assembly who was elected on the platform of the PDP. Speaker Uwajimogu had shied away from inaugurating Chief Eugene Dibiagwu, as the member representing Oguta Constituency despite a certificate of return from the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC. The speaker, however, caved in following a court order obtained by Dibiagwu ordering the speaker to swear in Dibiagwu as a member of the House. The action of the speaker is alleged to have seriously angered top officials in the Government House, Owerri who saw it as a betrayal. The speaker it was learnt, was compelled to heed the court order out of fear that unlike the governor that he does not have immunity that could stop him from being committed for contempt.

However, the State Commissioner for Information Obinna Ofor disputes the claim of a rift between the governor and the speaker claiming that such suggestions are fanned by mischief makers.

“It is absolute rubbish, not true,” he said in a text message, saying that the claim is fanned by “Political jobbers who are wishfully hoping to stir up trouble.”

,

The governor has also engaged local government workers in the state in a bruising battle over the administration’s controversial fourth tier administrative policy

Claim to popularity Okorocha’s claim to popularity was undoubtedly helped by the resentment against the immediate past Peoples Democratic Party, PDP administration, which in the opinion of many played god.

The new administration’s populist programmes including the payment of tokens to school pupils, the many road construction projects that the government embarked upon and other ambitious efforts must have gladdened the hearts of many Imolites. But where the governor has won hearts with his projects and programmes, he has also caused heartaches with what many now consider as bad politicking.

Remarkably, Governor Okorocha started well with his notable feat in pulling the rug under the feet of PDP when a number of the PDP members of the House of Assembly decamped to his All Progressive Grand Alliance,

a bedrock for Okrocha in the legislative House and one of his closest advisers.

Given the bruising defeat handed over to the PDP it was understandable that the new opposition party would turn out to fight the governor over the defection of Mr. Uwajimogu and others.

But many in the state do not find excuse for some other fights that the governor has had to engage since the advent of his administration penultimate May. Governor Okorocha is in battle with PDP council chairmen whose time in office he unceremoniously cut short, he is allegedly engaged in a cold war with his brother governor, Peter Obi in Anambra State over the shape and structure of their party, APGA, he is also said to be engaged in a cold war with some of those who supported him in his fight against Ohakim, notably Senator Chris Anyanwu.

The governor has also engaged local government workers in the state in a bruising battle over the administration’s controversial fourth tier administrative policy. The policy which aims to establish a fourth tier of administration at the community level has been seriously opposed by workers

•Okorocha: Is he fighting too many battles?

APGA, to transform APGA from the minority party to the majority party.

One of the defectors from the

PDP, Ben Uwajimogu was enthroned as speaker of the Imo State House of Assembly.

Uwajimogu eventually became

who believe that it would dislocate their careers.

The first battle of the governor was with the local government chairmen he met in office all of whom were elected on the platform of the PDP. On assumption he sacked them alleging irregularities in the framework that guided the election.

The action against the local government chairmen was considered in some quarters to have been unnecessary.

“All that the governor should have done was to have wooed them and he would have seen a large number of them defect to his party instead of the unnecessary battle of fighting them,” one political stakeholder said.

The reported face off between the governor and the speaker it is claimed arose from the speaker’s decision to swear in

“The relationship between the governor and speaker is very cordial,” Ofor said as he claimed that the duo are “united in moving Imo forward and would not be deterred by this ridiculous claim.”

One of the whispered fights of the governor which has shocked many is the alleged face-off between the governor and Senator Anyanwu, the senator representing Owerri Senatorial zone in the senate.

Senator Anyanwu it would be recalled, was a pillar of support in the governor’s entrenched battle with Ohakim. However, the duo it is alleged is have fallen out and have lost the mutual confidence they enjoyed at the inception of the new administration.

Many, however, trace the crisis between the senator and the governor to the Continues on page 42

42—Vanguard, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2012

It's PDP mischief at work — Uwajimogu, Imo Speaker I

S it true that the governor is engaged in any activity against you?

It is not true. It is all being sponsored by the opposition PDP and it is all a calculation to try to engender fear in the minds of his (governor ’s) supporters and to create crisis within government circles.

The truth is that I enjoy a very close relationship with the governor and in fact, I am just coming out from a meeting with the governor that lasted over four hours.

We do have disagreements as every other person, but our disagreements do not ever come out to the public domain. So, it is not true. He has also denied it.

The governor and I go back a long way, we were friends from 1992, very close friends, even though I didn’t support him during the elections.

As human beings there are issues where we will never agree, but it has never gotten to the point where we will fight against each other.

The important thing is that we share the same passion about development. The thing is that we don’t believe in blowing our trumpet like most governments do and maybe that is why people are misunderstanding the problem.The thing is that monumental progress has been recorded in Imo State.

But is it correct that the governor disagreed with you on the swearing in of the new PDP member of the House?

On the issue of the swearing

THE Speaker of the Imo State House of Assembly, Ben Uwajimogu in this telephone interview gives his response to reports of schism between him and Governor Rochas Okorocha, dismissing the stories as the spin of the opposition PDP in the state. Excerpts: in of the PDP member, there were certain issues that needed to be addressed. The constitution requires you to declare your assets before the Code of Conduct Bureau before you are sworn in and he didn’t do it.

So, I asked him to comply with the Code of Conduct Bureau and unfortunately, by the time he came in, we had closed for the day and adjourned for the next week.

Instead of him to have come for consultation before the sitting day, he didn’t and we would have told him and so when he came, I just referred him to the legal department and when he went there, they told him what he needed to do.

The PDP now addressed a press conference and raised all sort of allegations instead of addressing the issues that were pointed out. While raising those allegations and when we were going to sit, he mobilised well over 1,000 youths and through information, the security agencies adviced us not to sit because as he was mobilising these youths, APGA members started mobilising themselves.

So, we saw a situation where the two parties would come there and there would be a clash and if any thing happens, I would be blamed and it would be a stain on my record. So, we decided that

the best thing to do would be to adjourn until these matters are sorted out and the first time, I swore him in. Off course, governor never opposed his being sworn in.

The governor was not opposed?

No…but initially, yes because of political reasons.

Let me give you the reason.

Last year, there was a publication in The News magazine, a letter written by Chief Arthur Nzeribe to

The governor and I go back a long way, we were friends from 1992, very close friends, even though I didn’t support him during the elections

,

Ohakim and in that letter he stated that the judges had

Winning some, losing hearts Continues from page 41

government’s earlier decision to relocate the Imo State University from Owerri to the governor’s senatorial district.

Though Senator Anyanwu did not openly come out to criticize the move, it is believed that she would have been hurt over it.

Governor Okorocha, however, has recently rescinded the decision and has constituted a committee of eminent citizens including Senator Anyanwu to find a new site for the university within the Owerri senatorial zone. Another great fight the governor may contend with could also be with his alleged promise of doing a single term in office.

Not too long ago, Cpt. David Mbara, a chieftain of the PDP had a reception for him by women of Mbaise had charged C M Y K

•Ohakim: Overwhelmed by Okorocha the governor to respect what he said was the governor ’s promise of doing only one term in office.

•Anyanwu: Is she still with Okorocha?

Mbaise, which comprises a sizeable proportion of the state’s political elite, remarkably has not produced

collected money from him and that he was sure that they were willing to give judgment in that Imo State House of Assembly case.

This year, the candidate took INEC to court and meanwhile, there was no single election in Oguta, not one booth. Even the chairman of INEC in a national broadcast mentioned that in the history of Oguta that there has never been an election, that what they did was to write results and the whole results (2011) were cancelled.

Then, they now went to court and took INEC to court without joining the APGA or the ACN candidate and the court gave a ruling accepting seven ward results out of 11 and in those seven wards, they were now leading APGA by 10,500 votes.

In the first instance, such margin never arose in the last election and especially so that there was no election in Oguta. So, how did they manufacture that result?

Acceptance of result

•Uwajimogu: At peace with Okorocha

,

BY EMMANUEL AZIKEN, POLITICAL EDITOR

a governor for the state and many stakeholders from the region would be waiting to tackle the governor on the issue when the time comes.

When they went on appeal, the APGA and ACN candidates applied to be joined because these were people who had interest in the case. The court refused to join them and then gave a ruling accepting that result and immediately, INEC conducted an election in four wards.

Obviously, there was a game which was unfair. The APGA and ACN candidates went to court to challenge that appeal and did not participate in the election. A court of law granted an injunction against his swearing in, a valid injunction. The same court also granted an injunction against the government from dissolving local governments, and the government obeyed that court.

But when it came to the House of Assembly, they wanted me to swear in the man against a subsisting court judgment. This is the mischief of the PDP, because they have access to the media, they blow up everything, forgetting that it was the same court that also gave a ruling which the state government was required to obey.

But at the end of the day when the court injunction was lifted by the court, the next sitting we swore him in.

The governor was not against it because he had no choice. Even me, I had no choice because there was no valid court injunction.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2012—43

ONDO GUBER POLL:

Another proof of Jonathan’s commitment to democracy from everywhere, if they like they can go to anywhere to bring thugs, the Federal Government will not allow any thug to come out that day, and if you know you are a thug or your child is to be used as a thug, carry them away from Ondo state, because government will never tolerate any rubbish.

It will be free and fair election and nobody will frustrate the commitment of government to project Nigeria truly and nobody will allow thuggery.”

The President made a similar promise, most recently in Edo state. And he kept his words. He has kept his words again.

Discerning Nigerians will readily admit that Nigeria’s electoral process has been truly transformed under President Jonathan’s watch.

Apart from ensuring free and fair elections in Edo and Ondo as in every other part of the country, President Jonathan was also the first person to congratulate Governor Mimiko.

BY REUBEN ABATI

A

S Nigerians continue to celebrate the success of the just-concluded governorship election in Ondo State, it is important to note that although the president would naturally have wanted his party, the PDP, to win the governorship election in the State, the fact that he has never abused the enormous powers of the presidency to influence the outcome of elections shows that he is a man of his words, a committed democrat and a President who believes in the rule of law and the supremacy of the will of the people.

Ahead of the Ondo State 2012 Gubernatorial elections, here is what the President said at the Democracy Park in Akure, Ondo State on October 13, 2012: “What we can guarantee the people of Ondo state is that the commitment of this present administration to ensure that Nigeria continues to remain high in the comity of nations in terms of how we select our leaders remains constant.

It is going to be one man, one vote, one woman, one vote, one youth, one vote.”

BY IKE EKWEREMADU

C

HIEF Alex Ekwueme is, in many respects, Nigeria’s version of Heracles in the Greek mythology. He is a paragon of unusual courage, ingenuity, and strength, whose battle with the military rule is synonymous with Heracles’ terrific and heroic encounter with the hydra-headed chthonic monsters. Whether it is toiling for King Augeas of Elis or getting Atlas, the holder of the celestial spheres to take back the sky on his shoulders or it is a wrestling bout with Antaeus, the giant and vicious son of Poseidon, Chief Ekwueme surely knows how to combine the toughness of Heracles and wits of Odysseus and Nestor.

However, unlike these mythical characters, Chief Alex Ekwueme is a legend living among men.

Though gentle by every stretch of the word, Chief Alex Ekwueme knows when to be radical. Thus, when it was most convenient and, in fact, the order of the day to frolic with the military to curry favours and patronages, Chief Alex Ekwueme rallied likeminded and “hot-headed” politicians and statesmen under the auspices of G-34 to speak up for democracy and serve the military a red card. Interestingly, like the mustard, the seed sown by these uncommon

*Jonathan While reacting to the news that some political parties were mobilizing thugs for the

election, President Jonathan added: “I was told that some people are mobilizing thugs

A man of his words!

A true sportsman!

President Jonathan also commended the dutiful, patriotic and law-abiding electorate of Ondo State as well as the INEC personnel and security agencies who ensured that the elections were peacefully and successfully conducted in keeping with his Administration’s commitment to making elections in Nigeria progressively better organised and more credible.

As Governor Mimiko prepares for his second term in Office, the President has urged him to rededicate himself to work even harder to justify the trust and confidence reposed in him by the people of Ondo state who voted overwhelmingly for his re-election.

President Jonathan has assured Dr. Mimiko that the Federal Government will continue to engage constructively and positively with the Ondo State Government in collaborative efforts to achieve faster socioeconomic development and better living conditions for people in the state and all other parts of Nigeria.

Ondo Gubernatorial Election: Another bright moment for Nigeria!

President Jonathan’s transformation agenda remains sure and steady. *Abati is the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media Matters.

CHIEF ALEX EKWUEME:

Living legend, father of PDP progressives have today grown into the largest political party in Africa, the Peoples Democratic Party.

If Chief Ekwueme’s display of raw courage marks him out as a hero of democracy, his strength of conviction, undying belief in party supremacy and the principle of politics without bitterness came to the fore at the Jos Presidential Primary Election.

Instead of playing the spoiler or jumping into another political camp when he lost the presidential ticket of a house he practically helped to build, Chief Ekwueme displayed a rare sense of statesmanship and sportsmanship by robustly working for the massive victory of PDP. Today, his roles in the founding, success, and sustenance of the PDP stands him out as the unarguable father of the PDP. Many Nigerians know Chief Alex Ekwueme as an architect, accomplished intellectual, and professional per excellence with chains of academic Degrees cutting across various disciplines. But not many know that Chief Alex Ekwueme pitched

his tent with his people in the defunct Republic of Biafra as the Head of Planning of the Biafran Airports Board. By the time hostilities ended, Chief Alex Ekwueme had to his credit two functional airports, namely the Ulli and Uga Airports, while the airport projects at Mbaise, Ntigha Ngwa, Umuleri, and Arochukwu were at various completion stages. All these he achieved in a short time in war situation and with limited resources.

Yet importantly, his deft political calculations in aligning with the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) instead of Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe’s Nigeria Peoples Party (NPP) remains an indisputable evidence to the detribalised and pragmatic person of Chief Ekwueme. His ability to beat other better known political powerhouses of Igbo extraction to the Vice Presidential ticket in a game he was clearly a “neophyte” at the time as well as his subsequent role in facilitating the state pardon and eventual return from exile of the late Ezeigbo Gburugbu, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu to reunite with Ndigbo and Nigeria showcase him as a

skilful player and agent of national reconciliation and unity.

It is imperative to note also that many years out of office as Nigeria’s Vice President, Chief Ekwueme has continued to serve as a model of strength of character in leadership. It is to his credit that he is still reputed to have left Office as Vice President of Nigeria poorer than he came. No one has contradicted this till date.

It is a clear testimony to the probity, transparency, selflessness, commitment to democracy and good governance that have characterised his public *Ekwueme life.

It is therefore heart warming to see Nigerians defy GCON is indeed a true hero and all divisive tendencies and deserves the seat and honour he sentiments, from the political to enjoys today among real men, the religious and ethnic to true democrats, selfless leaders, celebrate a living legend, a rare accomplished statesmen, total icon, and thoroughly detribalised patriots and, father figures of the current democratic dispensation.

Nigerian.

Yes, His Excellency, Dr. Alex *Ekweremadu is the Deputy Ifeanyichukwu Ekwueme, President of the Senate.

C M Y K

44—Vanguard, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2012

T

HE past weeks have witnessed the presentation of the Budget by President Goodluck Jonathan to the National Assembly, and also the successful conduct of the Ondo State gubernatorial election.

Therefore, it is necessary to congratulate the President on submitting the budget on time and also, for the display of sportsmanship in congratulating the people of Ondo State for rejecting his party (PDP) and for choosing a performing governor for the second time. The President has been able to perform a difficult task of consoling his own party members in Edo and Ondo states for the sunset of a once glorious party.

Perhaps, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is not dead in the two progressive states, but rather taking a necessary rest, to be prepared for the golden morn.

Some vital factors in the ‘public‘ disaffection or lack of trust in the government’s performance have been attributed to apparent failures of its economic and political policies.

Many analysts have attributed failures of governments to the inability to profit from the execution of some of their progressive policies. It has been observed that many good policies of various governments in the country have either been poorly executed or when fairly executed, have suffered under poor communication.

At times, poor or lack of effective communication has been responsible for lack of trust between the government and the

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TOWARDS NATIONAL DEVT:

Economic and political imperatives governed. Therefore, it is absolutely necessary for the government to feel the pulse of the people in the planning and execution of its policies.

A visionary leader may be expected to pick holes if necessary in the execution of a policy if and when necessary.

The Edo and Ondo elections have been judged to be free and fair but not without the usual incidents of improper conduct by the voters in the exercise of their civil rights and also, the officials of the INEC in the execution of their duties.

As there were cases of voters cheating, there were also stories of ballot materials not reaching their destinations on time. The human behavior (not animal) of

the electorate could not be separated from the heavy presence of security forces. It was reported that about 11,000 police personnel were deployed to Ondo State during the elections. The question to be asked is whether any election is free with such heavy appearance of security forces. It may be averred that something is wrong with an electoral process, which requires the presence of heavy security forces to conduct an election.

One point which should not escape the mind of a good leader and the progressive elements in Nigeria is the apparent lethargy of registered voters to any election.

During the last election in

Ondo State, it was discovered that the far less the number of registered voters participated in that election.

The result also showed that the victorious party scored less than the combined votes of the opposition. For example, Labour Party scored 260,199 votes; PDP scored 155,961 while ACN scored 143,512 votes. The implication is that if this were interpreted into legislative seats, the Labour Party would thus constitute a minority government. To me, the message is clear. Nigerians are tired of party politics and would prefer a form of participation by all in the construction of a good government. Under the present system, the winner with the largest votes forms the government under the principle of”winners-take-all”. This calls into question the rationale of a party endorsed by less than 10 per cent of the entire population, and less than 50 per cent of the eligible voters exercising political power over a population of about 2million people.

The Uwais Commission recommended proportional representation in its report which would mean that the formation of any government would depend on the votes recorded by the participating parties in the elections.

Many stable countries in Europe are listening to the dictates of their voters in respect of administration by a single party with the mentality of the “winners-take-all”. In the last election in Britain, no single party

No militant camp in Lagos — Evah FORMER spokesman of Ijaw National Congress, INC, and Coordinator of Ijaw Monitoring Group, IMG, Comrade Joseph Evah in this interview with Vanguard, denied allegations of the presence of a militant camp in Lagos and spoke on issues arising from the Amnesty programme for youths and communities in the Niger Delta. Excerpts:

BY AZU AKANWA

M

ANY Nigerians are worried that the amnesty programme may have failed following the recent kidnapping of foreigners in Rivers and Bayelsa states by sea pirates?

Well, you rightly said the kidnap was done by sea pirates.

Criminal activities take place in every society. The programme is working but we have told the President what is required to make it get to the promise land.

The level of the success so far was because someone who was part of the struggle is managing it.

Hon. Kingsley Kuku has done a great job especially his focus on how education should be the best legacy we can use to transform our region and using all hisstrength to pursue it, even going ahead to locate youths that can be trained as licensed pilot.

Recently there was a publication (not in vanguard) where some people alleged that you operate a militant camp with bombs and sophisticated

weapons in Lagos, called Brebegha Militant Camp with over 400 armed men?

That is nonsense. I am not a militant leader nor an ex-militant leader. If I am involved in such a thing, people like Gani Adams, Alhaji Yerima Shettima and our leader, Dr. Fredrick Fasheun cannot make me their bosom friend. It is the nonsense paraded by some confused minds.

Recently there was a publication with the headline: “Good times for ex-militants in 2013”, claimed to be quoting me and said, I told the paper that Amnesty is a failure. What made me happy about what the paper wrote was that many people called me to say mischief makers were using your name to sell their paper because it is open secret that all the benefits I used amnesty to achieve over the years I have always publish such benefits in the newspapers as adverts. I gave out free GCE, JAMB forms for hundreds of students, educational facilities such as schools, construction of

has used the amnesty to do the work of ministry of education, ministry of s o c i a l development, ministry of labour and productivity and ministry of power.

What of the camp called A k o d o militant camp at Ibeju Lekki? It is believed that thousands of militants received training there.

•Evah: There is nothing like Brebegha camp That you are operating Akodo camp to defend buildings hiring extra teachers Jonathan in the 2015 election.

That place is owned by the for various schools, empowerment tools for youths Amnesty office. It is used to and many more. I remain the only document ex-agitators or exNiger Delta outside government militants who want to further their activists that has used the education. It is like the Obubra amnesty to do the work of camp in Cross River State that ministry of education, ministry of was given to the amnesty office social development, ministry of by the federal government; but labour and productivity and that Oburo centre was owned by ministry of power.

NYSC. The Brebegha camp you I remain the only Niger Delta talked about has nothing to do outside government activists that with Lagos. There is nothing like

won an overall majority in the British Parliament and therefore, there is now a coalition of parties (Tory and Liberal Democrats) ruling Britain. while in Germany, the present Chancellor heads the government formed by many parties.

What Nigerians are saying by their votes is that the single party rule is anomalous and that the principle of “winners-take-all” may not work for political stability. The same argument goes for the Federal Government which is headed by the President (a member of a single political party (PDP) who scored about 22 million votes (Presidential election).

The implication of past electoral events is the call for a fresh look at the Uwais Report on electoral matters, for political stability of the country. This will include the right of the Independent Candidate which was denied in the present Constitution by the past Military political there could be no political stability without its complement, economic stability.

There is no doubt that the present Federal Government under Dr. Ebele Jonathan has been trying to make an impact on microeconomic equilibrium.

The effect so far has yielded fruits of seemingly stable economic condition, but with large dose of unemployment. At present, oil production is estimated at 2.5 million barrels per day; inflation rate at about 11.3 per cent ; GDP at about 6.68 per cent; Foreign Exchange reserves, at about $40 billion.

However, unemployment rate is

Brebegha camp with guns and bomb in Lagos. During the amnesty process, some individuals and communities were giving amnesty slots, just like recently, President Jonathan gave amnesty slots to the Itsekiris, Urhobos and others. It is left for them to organise themselves and make sure they use it to help their people.

During the Niger Delta struggle, all the tribes and communities were affected. That is why we are begging the President to approve more phases of the programme for more youths and communities to benefit.

So some people will represent the community or organization and acquire further education.

Those who benefit from my communities but are living in Lagos come from all Niger Delta tribes. In one of our communities, we have over 5,000 youths but only 100 persons are representing the community.

They will give part of their allowance to the organization or community and the other youths.

It is only Brebegha Amnesty Benefiting Communities that youths had to use their allowance to build staff quarters (Teacher quarters), completed and commissioned at Peretoru in Bayelsa state. Some other things they have done included a school principal's residence commissioned at Ekogbene; NYSC quarters at Ekogbene, Continued on page 45

Vanguard, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2012—45

The fresh crisis in Edo PDP

BY HENRY UMORU

A

HEAD of Edo State local government elections, stakeholders of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the state have petitioned the National Chairman of of the party, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, to sack the state exceutive cpmmittee of the party.

According to the stakeholders, who are loyal to former governor Samuel Ogbemudia and ExChief of General Staff, Admiral Mike Akhigbe, it has become imperative to dissolve the present state executive led by Chief Dan Orbih, if the party must make positive impact in the local government polls.

However, the call was immediately dismissed by the Publicity Secretary of Edo PDP, Pharm. Matthew Urhoghide, who described the authors of the petition as selfish, irresponsible and desperadoes out to actualise their own agenda.

In a letter dated October 23, 2012, to the PDP National Chairman, the stakeholders noted that if the party must move forward and endear itself to the people of the state, the present

BY ANAYO OKOLI

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O you support the agitation for traditional rulers to be given a role in the constitution?

There are many areas traditional rulers can function.

But most importantly, I will wish the new constitution to give monarchs, the power to nominate political appointees from their areas. I say this because traditional rulers live with the people and they know their subjects very well. They know who is good and who is bad, they are in a better position to know who will serve the people better. It is painful and disappointing that some people would be given political appointments to serve their people and such people may not even visit the community for one day. Some of them don’t even know the area they are meant to represent let alone knowing what the problems of the area are. They don’t know their traditional rulers and other stakeholders of the area where they supposed to serve.

But if the traditional rulers are given the power to nominate people from their domain for political appointments, they know who is who, they know their background, they know their lineage, therefore, they will be in a better position to nominate humble and good people from the area who will serve their people with sincerity and human face. A situation where somebody who does not know anything about the area he/she is appointed to serve

structure must go.

They said it was handpicked by former Chairman, Board of Trustees, Chief Tony Anenih, without inputs from other elders, leaders and stakeholders from the three senatorial districts.

The letter, which was made available to Vanguard and signed on behalf of Concerned Edo PDP stakeholders by Dr. Francis Omo-Osunde Iyasere and Omoba Solomon Ebuwa, read: “The present state, local government and ward executive committees were handpicked by Chief Tony Anenih, and, of course, cannot be said to be justifiable and a true reflection of the interest of wider membership, as members of the committee were imposed.

“The time to act is now. The zone where Dr. Ogbemudia hails from, which is Edo South Senatorial district, accounts for 58 per cent of the population of the state, while Admiral Akhigbe’s zone, Edo North senatorial district, accounts for 27 per cent and Chief Anenih, Central 13 men, who Senatorial district, accounts for 15 per cent.

“The question is, should a zone which accounts for just 15 per cent continue to decide the fate of the

Edo State, with a view to submitting an all inclusive list from the political gladiators.

“This will certainly form the critical part of the peaceful resolution of the factional crisis in the party in Edo State. For PDP to make remarkable impact in the forthcoming l o c a l government election, the right thing has to be *Anenih: Accused of imposing exco done.

“If the right thing is done, majority a democracy? want toinrule OndoThis is indiscipline would have been totally eliminated from the party the bane of PDP in Edo State.

“We request the suspension but if the right thing is not done, and withdrawal of the list of board victory will again elude the appointees submitted earlier from party.”

In his reaction, Pharm.

Uroghide expressed shock at the call saying that Iyasere in particular was present at the congress where the present executive was chosen.

Also noting that Iyasere was elected through the same process as Zonal Youth Leader could not be turning around to cast aspersion on Chief Anenih, he said:“It is a selfish call and I think that they are aware of the constitution of the party, so I think this is a misplaced and selfish call.”

“We have just come out of an election and everyone was charged by it and we need to allow our emotions to settle down and this is not the time to make irresponsible calls.”

On Anenih’s alleged dominance, he said: “Is Iyasere not zonal youth leader? Which election did he contest before he was made youth leader? It is an irresponsible call or is he Chief Anenih’s mate?

Was he not present at the state congress when the executive was put in place? So, I believe he has a selfish agenda and ambition and he should come out and say so,” the publicity scribe said.

New constitution should empower monarchs — Ezekwem EZE Henry Chinyereuba Ezekwem, JP, is a first class traditional ruler in Abia state. He is the traditional ruler of Emede Ibeku in Umuahia North Council Area. He is also the Chairman of Ibeku Traditional Rulers Council. Excerpts:

who started Boko Haram and had been bombing and killing people in their places of worship have incurred the wrath of God, they are facing God’s music.

knows nothing about the place does not augur well for the people.

What is your reaction to the security challenges facing the country?

The anger of God is already against these people who go to churches and kill Christians and even Muslims in their

What do you think should be done to the oil marketers indicted in the subsidy fraud?

That is part of the corruption we are talking about. These people are not patriotic; they don’t wish the nation and its people well. That is why they embarked on cheating the nation and the people. I am in full support of giving them

places of worship. God is not happy with what is happening.

Look at what is happening in some parts of the country, especially the Northern part, the massive floods that has been devastating our country, killing and sacking people from their homes. This is as a result of God’s anger. Those

No militant camp in Lagos Continued from page 44 classroom blocks in other communities.

Organizations like the Ijaw Youth Development Association, IYDA, are giving GCE and JAMB forms and youths are assisting Niger Delta widows with funds to buy empowerment tools Niger Delta disabled person’s forum and Niger Delta Blind Students Association as well as Ijaw women leadership forum, Arogbo women groups are also benefiting from the process.

Ekogbene, in Delta State community hired extra eight

teachers to improve the primary and secondary school education standard.

The community electrification project is kicking off before the end of this month because the engineers completed their assessment last week and these are coming from the allowances of the beneficiaries. The strategy is that if the few who went to Obura contribute to physical development, it means all the whole community has benefited because the classroom block will serve the whole community.

Another community called

— Evah

Enekorogha has almost completed six classroom blocks from foundation.

When the former speaker of Bayelsa House of Assembly, Hon. Debekeme, met me at Government House Yenagoa, recently he took the pain to tell persons around the wonders I have used amnesty to do in Peretoru town. The former Speaker is from Peretoru like me especially the empowerment of youths, staff quarters for teachers and construction of 500 capacity women conference hall with Guest House for commercial

*Ezekwem adequate punishment, but they should first be made to repay all the money they defrauded the Government.

purposes.

How did you come up with this model of self help projects?

I was brought up in the South West. I know the secret of their community empowerment methods. Although greedy and selfish youths will resist the move but will be replaced because the slots were given to the community or organization and not to individuals. And individuals were not forced to represent the community or organization.

Apart from youths who carry gun and went to war, others represent communities that recognize their roles.

46 —Vanguard , FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2012

Syrian army declares conditional Eid ceasefire YRIA’S army com mand announced a ceasefire on Thursday to mark the Muslim holiday of Eid al Adha but said it reserved the right to respond to any rebel attack or moves to reinforce President Bashar al-Assad’s armed foes.

A Free Syrian Army commander gave qualified backing to the truce, proposed by U.N.-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, but demanded Assad free detainees. An Islamist group said it was not committed to the truce but may halt operations if the army did.

Brahimi proposed the temporary truce to stem, however briefly, the bloodshed in a conflict which erupted as popular protests in March last year and has escalated into a civil war which activists say has killed more than 32,000 people.

The fighting pits mainly Sunni Muslim rebels against Assad, from the Alawite faith which is

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linked to Shi’ite Islam, and threatens to draw in regional Sunni Muslim and Shi’ite powers and engulf the whole Middle East, Brahimi has warned.

“On the occasion of the blessed Eid al-Adha, the general command of the

HE European Union Delegation has expressed concern over reports of execution of two persons in Edo State. In a statement issued yesterday in Abuja, the EU Heads of Mission in Nigeria said the EU Delegation to Nigeria “is

Family blames BBC over reporters suicide HE popular reporter had worked for BBC Coventry and Warwickshire since the mid-90s.

His devastated family today claimed he had been harassed by a female colleague. His father, former chief constable of Warwickshire Police Peter Joslin, 78, who served for 44 years and was the UK’s longest serving police chief, called for an inquiry into Russell’s death.

Speaking from the family home in Kenilworth, Warwickshire, Mr Joslin said: ‘I do blame the BBC for Russell’s death. ‘I believe he was not listened to when he flagged up his concerns and was repeatedly ignored by his bosses.

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respond if “the armed terrorist groups open fire on civilians and government forces, attack public and private properties, or use car bombs and explosives”. It would also respond to any reinforcement or resupplying of rebel units,

or smuggling of fighters from neighboring countries “in violation of their international commitments to combat terrorism”.

Qassem Saadeddine, head of the military council in Homs province and spokesman for

the FSA joint command, said his fighters were committed to the truce.

“But we not allow the regime to reinforce its posts. We demand the release of the detainees, the regime should release them by tomorrow morning,” he said.

S/Africa govt, miners strike pay deal OUTH Africa’s gold mines have agreed a wage deal with unions as the majority of the gold sector ’s striking miners returned to work under threat of dismissal. Unions agreed the wage rise deal with mine bosses worth between 1.5 and 10.8 per cent for different categories of workers. There are also reports that some workers will see raises of up to 20 per cent in Thursday ’s deal. Harmony Gold, South Africa’s third-largest producer, said most of the 5,400 strikers at its

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EU expresses concern over execution in Edo

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army and armed forces announces a halt to military operations on the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic, from Friday morning ... until Monday,” an army statement read on state television said.

It reserved the right to

deeply concerned about the information it has received concerning the reported imminent execution of two persons in Edo State.

The EU Delegation calls on the Nigerian authorities and, in this case, the Governor of Edo State, to allow all legal appeals to be heard and to halt the execution of these two inmates. The EU Delegation urges the Nigerian authorities to respect the existing de facto moratorium on executions, in place since 2006.

It considers that such execution, if carried out, would represent a serious setback in Nigeria’s reputation and records in the field of human rights.

The EU Delegation reiterates its calls on the Nigerian authorities to accede to the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), aiming at the complete abolition of the death penalty. In the meantime, and as a first step it urges the Government of Nigeria to formalise its moratorium on death penalty”.

Kusasalethu mine were now back at work.

Strikes at Gold Fields’ three mines are also now over.

“Stability in the gold mining industry has been achieved at many of the operations and there are hopes that this trend will continue,” said Chamber of Mines executive Elize Strydom.

The returns marked some success for a new tough approach by mining firms. AngloGold Ashanti, South Africa’s biggest producer, said on Wednesday it had sacked around half of its 24,000-strong local workforce who had ignored an ultimatum to return to work or be fired.

South African miners on th march.

Workers there, many of whom had been paid $500 a month, had been

campaigning for a raise in their salaries. They withdrew their labour in

a bid to secure monthly wages of between $1,400 and $2,100.

UK economy breaks out of recession HE British economy has made its way out of recession, posting one per cent growth in the third economic quarter of 2012, official data shows. The growth was the strongest quarterly GDP performance in five years, yesterday’s data showed.

The jump in growth was subject to a number

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of temporary factors, including the Olympics, which may mask a weaker underlying picture.

But it was still much better than expected and may mean Britain’s full 2012 economy will not be in the red. The Office for National Statistics said Britain’s gross domestic product rose by 1.0 per cent between

July and September, beating forecasts for a 0.6 per cent gain, after shrinking by 0.4 per cent between April and June.On the year, the economy was flat, also better than expected.

The return to growth after three consecutive quarters of contraction was welcome news for a

Libyan govt captures last rebels stronghold IBYA’S government has declared that it had taken control of one of the last strongholds of deposed leader Muammar Gaddafi’s loyalists.

The declaration was followed by celebratory gunfire, with fighters in the heart of the city firing their guns into the air after fierce battles that left dozens dead and thousands displaced. The capture of Bani Walid on

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Wednesday, some 140km southeast of the capital Tripoli, has been claimed as a triumph for the government that replaced Gaddafi’s regime.

But the length of time it took the government to secure the town - a full year - underlined the difficulties faced by the new regime in imposing its authority over squabbling tribes and heavily armed militias. Youssef al-Man-

koush, the Libyan army chief of staff, said military operations in the city were terminated but that some forces were still chasing a few pockets of Gaddafi loyalists. AlMankoush said the clashes resulted in a number of casualties, injuries and some were even kidnapped and held for a long time against their will.

coalition government under pressure to do more to revive the economy.

However, the third quarter rise was boosted by ticket sales for the London Olympics which the statistics office estimated accounted for a fifth of the quarterly increase - and a rebound from an extra public holiday in the second quarter. Discounting those one-off effects, economists said growth in the UK economy was weak and that headwinds from the eurozone were likely to act as a drag in the coming months. “Overall, it’s a very encouraging result. However, it does come with major concerns about what is going on in the global economy, especially the slowdown in emerging market growth and the European debt crisis,” said Ishaq Siddiqi, a market strategist at ETX capital,

Vanguard , FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2012 — 47

US Poll: Minorities to make difference

ican community, an assertion that Republic Presidential Candidate, Mitt Romney has no support base among the blacks but he is popular among the whites.

BY GBENGA OKE in Texas ITH 13days to the United States Presidential election, the battle for the White House is still hot and various ethnic diversities could be a game changer at the polls.

For President Obama, his support base among African American and Hispanics is second to none in this election and

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•Obama a poll newly conducted

by NBS/WSJ showed that President Obama leads

Romney Romney with 94% to 0% among the African Amer-

The Hispanics in America according to Center for Immigration contributes about 17.2percent of the United States population while both Hispanics/Latinos in key swing states could have up to 60 electoral votes.

According to the Unit-

ed States Census Bureau, the total number of African American by 2010 is about 15.4percent. For many Nigerians who will be voting in the United States election come November 6th, they as well maintained that Obama needs their support to win this even though the economy of

Powell endorses Obama for second term ORMER U.S. Secre tary of State Colin Powell on Thursday endorsed Barack Obama’s bid for reelection, citing the Democratic president’s efforts to wind down the war in Afghanistan and tackle terrorism.

“I think we ought to keep on the track that we are on,” the Republican, who also backed Obama in 2008, told “CBS This Morning,” adding, “I voted for him in 2008 and I

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plan to stick with him in 2012.” The move comes just days after Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney clashed over foreign policy in the third

and last presidential debate ahead of the November 6 election. Polls show Obama and Romney neck and neck.. Obama’s campaign was quick to promote the

endorsement in a video statement released about 30 minutes after Powell’s appearance.

The president called Powell yesterday to thank him

for his endorsement, White House spokesman Jay Carney later told reporters aboard Air Force One heading from Florida to Virginia.

Romney holds cash advantage over Obama EPUBLICAN presi dential candidate Mitt Romney and his allies raised $111.8 million October 1-17, his campaign said yesterday, a high-profile period that

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included two of the three televised presidential debates. Romney’s strong performance in the first debate with President Barack Obama on October 3 notably ticked up do-

nations, the campaign said. The two candidates have been locked in a dead-heat race since then.As of the end of October 17 - just weeks before the November 6 elec-

tion - Romney, the Republican National Committee and state parties had $169 million left in cash on hand, they said.

“There are less than two weeks left.

Third parties contesting poll

Goode, Libertarian The Libertarian party The Libertarian party was founded in 1971 and is the third largest political party in America. Over the years, Libertarian Party candidates have been elected to many state and local offices.

Libertarians believe the federal government should play a minimal role in the day-to-day affairs of the people. They believe that the only appropriate role of government is to protect the citizens from acts of physical force or fraud. A liber-

Gary Johnson, Jill Stein, Green Party Anderson, Justice Party tarian-style government The Justice Party was would therefore limit itself Perot on the ballot in all 50 with fiscal responsibility states.

Perot won 19 percent and accountability. first organized in Novemto a police, court, prison of the vote in November, the The Green Party ber 2011 to place and the system and military. Membest result for a third party The Green Party seeks to former Mayor of Salt Lake bers support free market candidate in 80 years.

Folrestore balance through City Rocky Anderson beeconomy and are dedicatlowing the 1992 election, recognizing that our plancame it flag bearer in 2012. ed to protection of civil liberties and individual free- Perot and “United We Stand et and all of life are unique In December 2011, it beAmerica” organized into the aspects of an integrated came a qualified party in dom.

Reform Party. As its name whole, and also through Mississippi, which was Reform Party In 1992, Texan H. Ross implies, Reform Party mem- affirming the significant the first state to recognize Perot spent over $60 mil- bers are dedicated to re- inherent values and contri- the party. From a small belion of his own money to forming the American po- bution of each part of that ginning, of 30 persons at run for president as an in- litical system. They support whole. The American the launching event with dependent. Perot’s nation- candidates they feel will Green Party’s platform is no TV crew covering it, the al organization, know as “re-establish trust” in gov- based on the following 10 party has been able to put its founder, Rocky Ander“United We Stand Ameri- ernment by displaying high Key Values: ethical standards coupled Justice Party son, on the ballot. ca” succeeded in getting

the United states is bastardized at present, they will still go ahead to vote for President Obama.

When Vanguard sought their views on the election, some said they believe President Obama can do a good job if the United States National Assembly can avoid politics and come together to pass majority of the bills forwarded by the President.

For Mr. Anthony Balogun, a resident of Dallas, he pointed out that President Obama might not have solutions to all problems the United States is passing through now, he maintained that Romney does not have the fact and figures about how he intends to change the economy of the nation.

His words, “Obama does not have the solution to every problems but if you have good policies and you do not have the numbers in the National Assembly to push your case, there is a big problem and that is what has happened to some of the good policies President Obama has”.

On the economy, he said, “I believe it is easier to destroy something but not easy to rebuild.

The republicans caused this problem of economy under President Bush and it is not something President Obama can recover from under 4years but I am sure Obama would have learnt some lessons from the mistake of the past”.

He stated further, “Yes it is believed Romney has been in business for a long time but he has not been able to explain to us how he will create 12million jobs, he is never consistent on issues and does not break down his policies when necessary” “When Obama was elected in 2008 and brought the stimulus package, some of the Republicans saw the move as a waste but today, majority of the car makers in America are still able to produce today simply because of that singular move”.

48— Vanguard, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2012

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Community Secondary School, Eha-Ohuala, Eha-Amufu, P.P.S.M.B. Enugu and general public please take note.

NEBOH—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Obianujunwa Jennifer Neboh, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Obianujunwa Jennifer Mbakwe. All former documents remain valid. National Youths Service Corp and general public please take note.

O KWA R A — I , formerly known and addressed as Mr. D e g a u l l e Ugochukwu Okwara, now wish to be known and addressed as Mr. Charles Ugochukwu Unogu. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

ONWUEGBUZIE —I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Onwuegbuzie Mercy Udoka, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Mercy Udoka Ikande. All former documents remain valid. NYSC and general public please take note.

ALOKWE—I, formerly known and addressed as Mr. Alokwe Gabriel Ohakunme, now wish to be known and addressed as Mr. Newton Gabriel Ohakunme.

All former documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

OFORKA — I , formerly known and addressed as Onyinyechi Edith Oforka, now wish to be known and addressed as Onyinyechi Edith Nzete. All former documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

OWOLABI — I , formerly known and addressed as Olufunke Bolatito Owolabi, now wish to be known and addressed as Olufunke Elizabeth Akinola. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

O B I A K U — I , formerly known and addressed as Miss Obiaku Adaobi Blessing, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Chuka Adaobi Blessing. All former documents remain valid. NOCEN, UNN and general public please take note.

ASIKA—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Chiamaka Vivian Asika, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Chiamaka Vivian Okechukwu. All former documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

CHIEKEZIE—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Chiekezie Celestina Ogoamaka, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Celestina Ogoamaka Agom.

All former documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

OGBOGU—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Ogbogu Chibuzo Linda Juliet, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ekwuazi Chibuzor Linda Juliet. All former documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

EZE—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Sinifa Eze, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Sinifa Ididioma. All f o r m e r documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

I J O M A N TA — I , formerly known and addressed as Miss Ijomanta Nancy Ndidi, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Nwankwere Nancy Ndidi. All former documents remain valid. Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria and general public please take note.

A K E M U — I , formerly known and addressed as Miss Lisa Nene Akemu, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Onakpoma Akemu Lisa. All former documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

U G W UA N Y I — I , formerly known and addressed as Miss Ugwuanyi Anayo E., now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Asogwa Anayo E. All former documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

OKEMADU—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Okemadu Ugochi Judith, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Uchegbusi Ugochi Judith. All former documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

OGHENEKEVWE— I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Oghenekevwe Onome Evelyn, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs.Mega Onome Evelyn. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

ELUEM —I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Eluem Ehima Magdalene, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Jolomi Amuka Ehima Magdalene Ifeanyichukwu Theresa.

All former documents remain valid. UNIBEN, University of Ibadan, Delta State Government and general public please take note.

FRANCIS—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Francis Udeme, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Sunday Udeme. All former documents remain valid. Nigeria Police Force and general public please take note.

O R UA M E T E — I , formerly known and addressed as Miss Oruamete Okiemute Joy, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Etanuvwoma Okiemute Joy. All former documents bearing my names remain valid. General public, NYSC and to whom it may concern should please take note.

OKUNOBO—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Okunobo Victory, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Nimis Ebiere Victory. All former documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

D O N B R AY E — I , formerly known and addressed as Miss Donbraye Glory, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ayah Johnbull Glory.

All former documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

E K O K O — I , formerly known and addressed as Miss Faith Ekoko, n o w wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Faith NengiJames. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

Confirmation of N a m e I, Mrs. Ijeoma Alfred Obi, wish to confirm that the names Mrs. I j e o m a Alfred and Mrs. Ijeoma Alfred Obi refer to one and same person.

All former documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

EYO ETIM—I, formerly known and Addressed as Miss Eyo Etim Comfort Idongesit, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Oji Comfort Idongesit. All former documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

OKAFOR—I, formerly known and Addressed as Miss MaryGrace Uju Okafor, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. MaryGrace Uju Ginigeme.

All former documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

SOTU—I, formerly known and Addressed as Miss Mary Sotu, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Mary Sotu-Agbroko.

All former documents remain valid. Delta State Polytechnic, Otefe-Oghara,Delta State and General public please take note.

EDI-OSISIKE—I, formerly known and Addressed as Miss Edi-Osisike Princess Enam, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Obhiemi Princess Enam. All former documents remain valid.

University of PortHarcourt, NYSC, and general public please take note.

AFONJA—I, formerly known and Addressed as Miss Afonja Funmilayo Lydia, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Earnest N. Funmilayo Lydia. All former documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

IKUE—I, formerly known and Addressed as Miss Gloria Ikue, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Gloria Okweri.

All former documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

O TA I G B E — I , formerly known and Addressed as Miss Odion Otaigbe, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Odion Yoro. All former documents remain valid. Post Primary Education Board Asaba, and general public please take note.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2012—49

Vanguard CLASSIFIED OKPALLA—I, formerly known and Addressed as Miss Okpalla Ijeoma Jenny, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Chukwuma Ijeoma Jenny. All former documents remain valid. Anambra State University of Science and Technology, Igbariam Campus and general public please take note.

KUMDEM—I, formerly known and Addressed as Miss Nantok Becky Ayuba Kumdem, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Nantok Becky Yusuf. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

Correction of Name This is to confirm that the name Mrs. Nwanneka Victoria Okoye, refers to one and the same person as Mrs. Oluchukwu Victoria Okoye, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Oluchukwu Victoria Okoye .All former documents remain valid. General public to please take note.

ALIGWEKW E—I, formerly known and Addressed as Miss Chinasa Ursula Aligwekwe , now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Chinasa Ursula Iwegbu. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

AKINSUYI—I, formerly Known and addressed as Mrs. Ireti Akinsuyi, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ireti Margaret Olayinka Akinsuyi. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

EDEH —I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Mary Assumpta Edeh, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Mary assumpta Ogbodo. All former documents remain valid.

National Commission for Mass Literacy, Adult and Non-Formal Education, other authorities and the general public please take note.

GUOBADIA—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Ehizogie Sandra Guobadia, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ehiozogie Sandra Oghenegueke. All former documents remain valid. Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Zenith Bank and the general public please take note.

L-R: American preacher, Dr. Mike Murdock; General Overseer, Victorious Army Ministries International, Rev. Joseph Agboli and his wife, Pastor Mama Blessings Agboli, during Dr. Murdock's arrival for Victorious Army Ministries, Victory Convention in Lagos...yesterday

R-l: Chairman Ejigbo LCDA, Mr. Kehinde Bamigbetan and other principal officials of the council, cutting the tape to launch Ejigbo Refuse Truck acquired by the council to tackle the problem of refuse disposal

L-r: Mrs. Omoyemi Akerele, Creative Director, Style House Files; Mr. Kola Oyeyemi, General Manager, Consumer Marketing, MTN Nigeria; and Ms. Nonny Ugboma; Executive Secretary, MTN Foundation at the cocktail event to formally open the MTN Lagos Fashion and Design Week 2012 in Lagos

L-r: CEO Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Steven Evans, receiving a gift, a talking drum from motivational speaker Niyi Adesanya. The talking drum symbolizing the Etisalat Pay-off, "now you're talking" at the Etisalat Merit Awards at the Presidential Hotel in Port Harcourt

L-r: Brand Building Director, David Okeme; Assistant Category Manager, Dexter Adeola; Assistant Brand Manager, Lifebuoy, Adedoyin Abanise; and On-Air Personality, Lolo; pledging to defeat Diarrhoea at the celebration of Global Handwashing Day in Lagos

50—Vanguard, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2012

From left: Hon. Akintunde Adegboye, Deputy Speaker, Osun State House of Assembly; Mrs. Titi Laoye Tomori, Deputy Gover nor/Osun State Commissioner for Education and Hon. Nathaniel Agunbiade,member, Oriade/ Obokun Federal Constituency at the presentation of books to indigenous students of the local government during an education support programme in Obokun Local Government Area of the state.

From left: Mrs Yinka Ogunde, Mr John Ajayi, Publisher/Chief Executive Officer, Marketing Edge, Mr Enyi Odigbo, and Mr Biodun Shobanjo, during the 2011 Brand Personality of the Year Award, organised by Marketing Edge Publications, in Lagos. Photo: Kehinde Gbadamosi.

Most robberies in Lagos are carried out by Okada riders —Police AGOS — THE Police in Lagos have indicted operators of commercial motorcycles in the state, saying most of the robbery operations recorded by the Police over time were carried out by the operators.

The Police also warned that the newly promulgated road traffic law by the state government had come to stay and would be enforced strictly even as they assured Lagosians that adequate preparations have been made to secure their life and property during the E i d - e l - K a b i r celebrations.

The state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Umar Abubakar Manko, who made the pronouncement after the weekly State Security Council meeting chaired by the Governor Babatunde Fashola (SAN) at the Lagos House Marina,

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expressed dismay that the commercial motorcycle operators had caused much damage in the state, pointing out that Police would not succumb to any blackmail from anywhere in their total enforcement of the law.

Manko, who fielded questions from newsmen after the meeting, declared: “Motorcyclists have done so much damage in Lagos State. I am the Commissioner of Police and I am telling you from the point of knowledge that most of the armed robberies that we recorded were carried out by these motorcyclists. People go to the banks to collect money, they will hang around banks, they will hang around people's’ houses, take their belongings, collect their money, even in traffic hold-ups.

“Now that we have a law that says they should not operate in certain

places, restricted areas; that law is going to be enforced. The state has about 9,010 roads and only 400 of these roads are being restricted for now, which may be about

LORIN— AS Muslims across the world celebrate the Eid-elKabir festival, the Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara State has assured Kwarans that his administration will stop at nothing towards ensuring that the people reap the dividends of democracy, no matter their political or religious inclinations.

To this end, according to the gover nor, government shall continue to embark on specific projects on monthly basis with a

FIRST LADY @ 55:

You are the brightest star in my life, Jonathan tells wife B U J A — PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan has described his wife, Patience, as the brightest star in his life and his jewel of inestimable value.

Jonathan was speaking at a ceremony to mark the 55th birthday anniversary of the First Lady at the State House, Abuja, yesterday.

Jonathan, after presenting a gift to Patience said: "I thank

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God for her life and that she is not celebrating the day on a sick bed. She is the brightest star in my life, she is my jewel of inestimable value and I thank God for granting her good health."

The First Lady praised God for keeping her alive to mark her birthday, saying whatever might have happened to her, was God’s design for her life.

She said: "I thank God for the gift of life and I want to deeply appreciate

BY EMEKA MAMAH

25 per cent of the roads in the state. So how can someone say it is wickedness?

“The law is there and I will enforce that law no matter what happens.”

Gov Ahmed assures Kwarans of dividends of democracy

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and thank my beloved husband for his love and support. I also thank my family, staff and Nigerians for praying for me."

The event was marked with prayers and presentation of gifts by family, well wishers and friends, including the Ondo State Governor, Dr Olusegun Mimiko and his wife, Olukemi, ministers of women affairs, finance, aviation, labour, foreign affairs, among others.

ACF hails Onaiyekan over appointment as cardinal

view to reaching every community in the state.

Ahmed gave this assurance at the monthly Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) meeting at the Charity Home in Ilorin.

He said despite the lean fiscal resources in Kwara State, his administration had continued to deliver on its electoral promises, especially on road construction and rehabilitation, water and electricity supplies among others.

On the challenges over local government workers’ salaries, Ahmed told the PDP members that the impasse had been resolved as over N700 million had been released to clear backlog of salaries and overhead costs.

According to him, commercial banks in the state were implored to operate yesterday, a public holiday, so that local government workers and other categories of workers could make withdrawals ahead of the festival.

The Governor assured PDP faithful that modalities have been instituted to prevent circumstances that could lead to backlog of salaries in the local governments areas.

AGOS—THE Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, has congratulated Dr John Onaiyekan, over his appointment as Cardinal and Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, by Pope Benedict XV1.

The National Publicity Secretary of ACF, Anthony Sani who made this known in a statement, yesterday, said: "Onaiyekan’s elevation is an indication that his courageous and fearless service to humanity has transcended national boundaries.

"This is because the

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new Cardinal has always stood firmly for truth, justice, fairness and for sacred inviolability of the individual, regardless of socio-economic status, ethnicity, region and faith.

"It is against this backdrop that we pray that this be yet another opportunity that will inspire him the more to continue to help those who need their burdens lifted and those who wish barriers to realising their rights broken. ’’ACF also prays God to grant the Cardinal long life needed for service to humanity through his well deserved position in the Catholic Church.’’

Oganisu Ndokwa warns against inciting publications AGOS — THE leadership of Oganisu Ndokwa, one of the leading sociocultural Ndokwa groups, has asked President Goodluck Jonathan and Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State to ignore the inciting publication by a faceless group in an online media.

In a release by Messrs Jude Onyeoma, Peter Elemadi and Miss Esther Onuoma, President, Publicity Secretary and woman leader of Oganisu Ndokwa respectively, the group said it was appalled by the publication by a faceless group, accusing Gov. Uduaghan of financial recklessness.

The group warned mischief makers to

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refrain from any act that can cause stir in the land, noting: “The major issue bothering Ndokwa nation was how to contend with the flood victims.”

It equally advised anybody or group of persons with issues to settle with government, to do so with decorum rather than using faceless and fictitious names.

It said:“They can approach the Ndokwa National Union (NNU) or Ukwuani Foundation Union (UFU) Presidents and register their protests.

“We are very sure that the petition is not done

by Ndokwa people but may have been made by some mischief non Ndokwa indigenes just to give a wrong impression.”

Vanguard, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2012—51

TREBLE CHANCE Aston V. Everton Newcastle Tottenham Reading Stoke Blackpool Ipswich Middlesbro

v Norwich v Liverpool v Westbrom v Chelsea v Fulham v Sunderland v Brighton v Sheff Wed v Bolton

SOCCER TIPS U-17 CRACKER IN CONAKRY

Manu fires Guinea warning!

X-RAY OF THE DRAWS Week 15 F.A. Barclays Premiership 1 Arsenal 2 Aston V. 3 .Chelsea 4 Everton 5 Man City 6 Newcastle 7Reading 8 South'pton 9 Stoke 10 Wigan

v Q.P.R. v Norwich v Man Utd. v Liverpool v Swansea v Westbrom v Fulham v Tottenham v Sunderland v West Ham

1 XX 1 XX 1 XX XX 2 XX 2X

NPower Football Championship

....As CAF appoints Moroccan referees

11Barnsley 12 Blackburn COACH Manu Garba (MFR) has revealed that the13 Blackpool Golden Eaglets would approach Sunday ’s Confederation of African Football (CAF) Under-1714 Bristol C. Championship second round-second leg qualifying15 Cardiff . match against Guinea like a World Cup final match!

Garba said the national Under-17 team is battle-16 Ipswich hardened for this particular encounter, adding that17Leeds the team is in good form to preserve its streak of 1618 Leicester successive wins in both friendly and competitive 19 Middlesbro matches. ”I’m sure we can beat Guinea in Conakry,” Garba20 Millwall said with an unmistakably confidence before travelling out of the country. “Except the first practice match we21Peterboro drew when we were just one week in camp, we have22 Wolves

v Nottm For. X1 v Watford 1 v Brighton XX v Hull X2 v Burnley 1 v Sheff Wed XX v Birmingham 1 v Crystal P. 1 v Bolton XX v Huddersfld 2X v Derby 2 v Charlton 1

won all other matches and Guinea is not going to be an exemption.

NPower Football League “In fact, we are going to play against Guinea on One Sunday as if we’re playing a World Cup final match and by the special grace of Almighty Allah, we are 23 Brentford v Hartlepool 1 going to come back victorious.” v Walsall 2X Meanwhile, CAF has selected Moroccan referees24 Bury as officials of the match between Guinea and Nigeria.25 Carlisle v Bournemouth 1 Thirty- Six-year-old Mounir Errahmani, an 26 Crawley v Oldham 1 International referee since 2011 would be at the centre and would be assisted by Mouhib Abdallah Filali and27 Crewe v Yeovil XX Mohamed Lahmidi. The fourth referee is Hicham Tiazi 28 Leyton O v Coventry.

1 while Leonal Vangente from Sao Tome & Principe 29 Notts Co v Doncaster XX would serve as the Match Commissioner.

In a related development, Nigerian referees would30 Scunthorpe v Milton KD 2 be on duty when Burkina Faso hosts Namibia this

LATE FOUR HOMES TIPS

weekend. The first leg in Windhoek ended 2-0 in favour of the boys from Ouagadougou and their reverse fixture at home would be directly supervised by Nigerian Shina Henry Ogunyamodi as the centre referee.

Isah Usman and Abel Baba would function as Assistant Referee 1 and 2respectively.

Benjamin Odey is the fourth referee while Ivorian Adriouma Kone would be the Match Commissioner.

1 X 3X 12X 15 PAIR FOUR AWAYS 27 X 8X 21 X 30 29 X 36 Mancini: I’m to blame PERMUTATION AVOID 2X4X6 for City’s failure in 39 X7 X 13 X 16 RISKY Holland TIPS Football 43 19 X 44X 49 ROBERTO MANCINI holds his CREDIT Hearts Wycombe Bury Southend Dagenham Burton A. Notts Co Crewe

EXCELLENT 2 Aston V 7 2 Everton 7 2 Newcastle 7 3 Reading 5 3 Stoke 5 3 Blackpool 5 3 Ipswich 5 3 Middlesbro 5

hands up and takes full responsibility for Man City ’s Champions League woe City must now beat Ajax, Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund in their last three matches and then keep their fingers crossed.

They are five points behind second-placed Madrid, who come to the Etihad in a month’s time.

Mancini said: “It is very difficult.

If we win the three

31 Sheff Utd 32Shrewsbury 33 Stevenage 34 Tranmere

v Portsmouth. 1 v Colchster X1 v Swindon 1 v Preston 1

NPower Football League Two 35 Accrington S 36AFC Wimbldn 37 Burton A 38 Cheltenham 39 Chesterfield 40Dagenham 41North'pton 42 Rochdale 43 Rotherham 44 Southend 45 Torquay 46 Wycombe

v Bristol R 1 v Gillingham 2 v Bradford C XX v Exeter X2 v Barnet 1 v Aldershot XX v Port Vale 2X v Fleetwood X2 v Plymouth 1 v York XX v Morecambe 1 v Oxford X1

Clydesdale Bank Scottish Premier 47 Aberdeen 48 Celtic 49 Hearts

v Dundee 1 v Kilmarnock 1 v Ross County XX

Revised Pairs 2 x 4, 6 x 7 32 x 37, 44 x 49

52 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2012

Russians want Roo EGA-RICH Anzhi Makhachkala would consider a sensational swoop for Wayne Rooney.

Russian club Anzhi — bankrolled by billionaire owner Suleyman Kerimov — have been throwing money around in recent years with big buys such as Samuel Eto’o.

And now they could be eyeing up a move for Manchester United striker Rooney in their quest to sign the world’s best players.

Rooney, 27, has come close to leaving United before when he handed in a transfer request back in 2010.

Anzhi team director and Brazilian legend Roberto Carlos said: “He’s one of the best players in the world and any team would be happy to have him in their squad. He’s still a very young player.

“Of course I could not say when, and if, it will happen. It’s not only Anzhi who can want to buy him.

“There are plenty of teams in Italy and Spain, all over the world, who are eager to have a player like Rooney.

“If the owner of Anzhi has a wish to buy somebody, he will go and do it. But we are trying to change the image of the club. It’s not just about money.

“Of course we are going to buy good players but not only international players. We want to sign good Russian players that are not that expensive.”

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We need a miracle — Mancini OBERTO MANCINI holds his hands up and takes full responsibility for Man City ’s Champions League woe City must now beat Ajax, Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund in their last three matches and then keep their fingers crossed.

They are five points behind second-placed Madrid, who come to the Etihad in a month’s time.

Mancini said: “It is very difficult. If we win the three games it will be very close. We need it to be a miracle.”

R

We win a trophy every year — Wenger RSENE WENGER has launched a stunning defence of his Arsenal record, claiming qualifying for the Champions League is like winning a trophy.

The Gunners have been without silverware since 2005 but are in Europe’s top competition for the 15th consecutive year.

But speaking at the club’s annunal general meeting today, the Arsenal boss said: “For me, there are five ’trophies’.

“The first is to win the Premier League, the second is to win the Champions League, the third is to qualify for the Champions League, the fourth

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•Rooney

Rio: I’ll shake hands with JT, Ashley T HE Ferdinand broth ers are now ready to shake hands with John Terry and Ashley Cole before Premier League games.

Manchester United’s Rio and QPR’s Anton last night said they were drawing a line under the bitter war with Terry and Cole.

The pre-match handshakes could start this Sunday with Rio due to face Cole as United play Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. The pair fell out over Cole’s support for Terry when the Blues

skipper was accused of racially abusing Anton.

Although Terry was cleared in court, he was later found guilty by an FA commission and banned for four games and fined £220,000.

Rio was furious with Terry for dragging his brother through court and also believed the punishment from the FA was too lenient. But Rio was also fined £45,000 for appearing to endorse a twitter comment that said Cole was a ‘choc ice’ — implying he was black on

the outside, white on the inside.

Meanwhile, Cole was heavily criticised by the FA commission as they felt he had altered his evidence to strengthen Terry’s case. Anton refused to shake hands with both Terry and Cole when QPR played Chelsea recently.

Rio will not have to face Terry this weekend as the Blues skipper is serving the second game of his suspension. Rio: I’ll shake hands with JT and Ashley

Rio

Delta FA coaching clinic ends in Asaba N a bid to raise the standard of football coaching in the state, the Delta State Football Association, in conjunction with insurance giants, Senforce Insurance organised a week-long coaching clinic with 145 coaches in attendance.

The coaches were taught modern techniques and tactics as well as updated with modern trends in the game.

Speaking at the close of events in Asaba, one of the resource persons at the clinic, Mr Mark Ellis, a former assistant coach of Arsenal Football Club of London, commended the Delta FA and assured of a new dawn for football in the state where coaches

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were given opportunities to acquire more skills that would be key to the empowerment as individuals and for the good of the state in general.

Ellis urged the DFA to continue with such initiatives “as it will go a long way to change the perception of coaches in the state.”

Responding on behalf of other coaches that attended the clinic, the Delta State chapter chairman of the Nigerian Coaches Association, Daniel Omoefe expressed gratitude to the FA and assured that they would use the skills acquired for the benefit of the game and the state in particular.

•Wenger

is to win the FA Cup and the fifth is to win the League Cup. “I say that because if you want to attract the best players, they do not ask ‘did you win the League Cup?’, they ask you ’do you play in the Champions League?’.”

Chief executive Ivan Gazidis, chairman Peter Hill-Wood and majority shareholder Stan Kroenke were all heckled at the AGM over the club’s financial strategy.

Wenger, though, received a warm reception after his address, which had opened with an apology for the back-to-back defeats against Norwich and Schalke. He said: “If everybody is absolutely devastated when we finish third in the league, I promise you I will not be here if you finish 15th one day.

“We did not produce a good performance last night, but let’s not forget it was a first home defeat in the Champions League for 43 games — not many teams do that.

“It is always difficult after a defeat to take a distance with the result and look at the bigger picture.

“This team started in a very dynamic and promising way. We hit the wall in the last two games, which was a bit inexplicable, but the attitude and focus of the team every day is fantastic.

“I believe this team can deliver and I am optimistic we will have a good season and the players will show I am right.”

Wenger, 63, also defended the club’s financial policy — but stressed that for him, it was always about the football.

The Frenchman said: “My job is to deliver a team with the resources we have, and I have never complained about that.

Ekpo wins WABU crown

BY JACOB AJOM IGERIAN boxer, Isaac Ekpo has won the West African Boxing Union Super Middle weight crown. Ekpo achieved the feat after defeating Ghana’s John Amosu via an 11th round knockout in Ghana.

Speaking on the fight, Ekpo said the victory over

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the dreaded Ghanian pugilist was a dream come true. “He had boasted before the fight that he was going to stop me.

They bought champagne which they intended to use at a post victory party. But I listened to my manager who told me how to tackle him. “I joked with him in the early rounds, yet I remained conscious because in box-

ing, one blow can end a fight. At a point, I said enough of the jokes and I knocked him out in the 11th round. I made him kiss my canvass,” the Cross River born pugilist said. Ekpo who is based in Ghana is currently in Nigeria to prepare for a WBO elimination bout against Hany Atiyo of Egypt in December.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2012 — 53

Sweet & SOUR

C M Y K

54— Vanguard, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2012

Vanguard, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2012 — 55

Yobo faces AFCON knockout N

IGERIA skipper Jo seph Yobo risks missing out on next year’s AFCON as a result of a major knee injury, officials said.

MTNFootball.com has learnt that Yobo, who is set for his 90th international cap, has suffered a cruciate ligament knee injury, which could rule him out of action for at least six months.

The injury already meant the experienced central defender missed the decisive Nations Cup qualifier against Liberia in Calabar earlier this month. He was also replaced by Efe Ambrose due to injury in the first leg qualifier in Liberia in September.

“Yobo is nursing a very serious knee injury which may stop him from featuring at the Nations Cup. He has a cruciate ligament problem in the knee and such an injury could keep out a player for as long as six months,”a top source inf o r m e d

MTNFootball.com “The team officials are very much aware of this and have started working on several options in the team without Yobo.”

However, Yobo said that he will soon be back on his feet and playing again.

“I am still recuperating and my club don’t want to rush me back, but should be back in a couple of days,” said the player who has featured in five Nations Cup tournam e n t s .

Should Yobo miss out on the AFCON, Nigeria Premier League (NPL) stars Godfrey Oboabona and Azubuike Egwuekwe will now stand a good chance of making the final cut to South Africa 2013.

That was the central defence combination that Keshi played for the last match against Liberia.

It would be recalled that injury also accounted for the former Everton star shortened run at the 2010 Nations Cup in Angola as he had to leave the tournament to attend to the complaint.

Eagles no threat to us Continues from B/P clash in the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations opener on Janaury 19 at the 41,000 capacity Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit. The Stallions of Burkina Faso were housed in Group C along with Zambia, the defending champion, Nigeria and Ethiopia, at the draws ceremony held Wednesday in Durban, South Africa.

In the estimation of the Stallions coach, Paul Put, who spoke to Sidwaya, a leading newspaper in Burkina Faso, his major source of worry was Ethiopia, rather than Nigeria and Zambia.

“All groups are difficult as far as it is a competition that brings together the 16 best teams in the continent. We already know Zambia and Nigeria, who are no threats to us. My concern remains the great unknown, Ethiopia. We will conduct research and prepare the team properly to achieve our goal in this competition which is to go as far as possible, or at least qualify for the second round, “he said.

Also speaking, his deputy, Sidi Napon, indicated that they were not scared of the foes, noting that the Burkinabes were going to qualify firom the group.

“Football is booming greatly in Burkina Faso with players able to compete with any opponent. We must believe in ourselves. I think we can get out of this group, “said Napon For striker Aristide Bance, the Stallions have a good chance of qualifying from the group.

“We have learnt from the past and we have the chance to get out of this group. But we must not overlook a team like Ethiopia. “ The same view was made by the Minister of Sport and Recreation, Colonel Yacouba Ouedraogo, who insists that the Stallions should seize the opportunity of playing against a Super Eagles side, undergoing rebuilding.

“Nigeria is not a lightning war, Ethiopia is rising, Zambia, the defending champion, qualified hard. but we qualified easily, “

Nations Cup Guide Group A (Durban unless stated) Jan 19 At Johannesburg South Africa v Cape Verde 4pm Angola v Morocco 7pm Jan 23 South Africa v Angola 4pm Morocco v Cape Verde 6pm Jan 27 South Africa v Morocco 5pm At Port Elizabeth Cape Verde v Angola 5pm Group B (Port Elizabeth unless noted) Jan 20 Ghana v DR Congo 3pm Mali v Niger 6pm Jan 24 Ghana v Mali 3pm Niger v DR Congo 6pm Jan 28 Ghana v Niger 5pm At Durban DR Congo v Mali 5pm

Gov”s Cup II ends tomorrow

BY JOHN EGBOKHAN HE final matches of the Governor’s Cup Futures II hold tomorrow at the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club in Onikan.

After four days of serve and volley action, the players who would play in the men’s and women’s singles finals are to emerge today

T

when the semifinal matches hold today.

Capkovic Crashes, Nina Berths In Semi Finals. Fighting for a place in the men’s final is Enrique Lopez-Perez of Spain, who confronts Kento Takeuch of Japan in the first semifinal on the Lord Rumens Centre Court.

Eagles 'll deal with Zambia Continues from B/P hampions will pose to the title hope of Nigeria in the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations.

Nigeria were pitched in Group C, comprising Zambia, Ethiopia and Burkina Faso at the finals draw held Wednesday in Durban, with the top two teams progressing to the quarterfinal of the 16-nation tournament holding from January 19 to February 10 in South Africa.

In their last two meetings at the Nations Cup, the Nigerians had the last laugh, and as the two heavyweights prepare for their Group C clash on January 25, Keshi told CCTV in Durban that the Eagles know the Zambians all too well and can handle them on the pitch.

While admitting that the African champions

would start as favourites, Keshi, who captained Nigeria to Nations Cup glory in 1994 in Tunisia, at the expense of the Chipolopolo, said that the Eagles were going to rely on good preparations and unrivalled players’ commitment to get another victory over Zambia.

“Zambia are the team to beat. They are the defending champions, so all eyes would be on them. Our eyes are already on them. It is going to be an interesting match and I know that with good preparations and determination that we can deal with their threat.

“With our opponents now known, our journey has started and I hope to get the players in the mood for this upcoming task, a job, which we must ensure we execute properly and professionally”, added Keshi

Group C Nelspruit unless noted) Jan 21 Zambia v Ethiopia 3pm Nigeria v Burkina Faso 6pm Jan 25 Zambia v Nigeria 3pm Burkina Faso v Ethiopia 6pm Jan 29 Zambia v Burkina Faso 5pm At Rustenburg Ethiopia v Nigeria 5pm Group D (Rustenburg unless noted) Jan 22 Ivory Coast v Togo 3pm Tunisia v Algeria 6pm Jan 26 Ivory Coast v Tunisia 3pm Algeria v Togo 6pm Jan 30 Ivory Coast v Algeria 5pm At Nelspruit Togo v Tunisia 5pm Quarter-finals Feb 2 At Port Elizabeth (1) Gp B winners v Gp A runners-up 3pm At Durban (2) Gp A winners v Gp B runners-up 6:30pm Feb 3 At Rustenburg (3) Gp D winners v Gp C runners-up 3pm At Nelspruit (4) Gp C winners v Gp D runners-up 6:30pm Semi-finals Feb 6 At Durban Winners quarter-final 2 v winners quarter-final 3 3pm At Nelspruit Winners quarter-final 4 v winners quarter-final 1 6:30pm Third place Feb 9 At Port Elizabeth Semi-finals losers 6pm Final Feb 10 At Johannesburg Semi-finals winners 6pm

VANGUARD, FRIDAY, OCT0BER 26, 2012

TWO PRESIDENTS: (L-r) Hayatou(CAF) and Zuma(South Africa)

Eagles 'll deal with Zambia — Keshi

BY JOHN EGBOKHAN OACH Stephen Keshi has said that the Super Eagles were capable of dealing with the threat that Zambia, the reigning African c Continues on Page 55

C

We need a miracle — Mancini • P.52 Nations Cup Complete fixtures — P.55 —

Eagles no threat to us —B/Faso

BY JOHN EGBOKHAN URKINA Faso have said that the Super Eagles were no threat to them when both teams

B

Rio: I’ll shake hands with JT, Ashley — P.54 Yobo faces Nations Cup knockout — P.55

Continues on Page 55

•Page 54 TODAY'S

PUZZLE

YESTERDAY'S

ANSWERS

ACROSS 1 Withdraw (6) 5 Stripped (6) 9 Go in (5) 10 Considered (6) 11 Ascending (6) 12 Drugged (5) 14 Pitcher (4) 17 Intelligence (3) 18 Jeer (4) 20 Deserve (5) 22 Adjusted (5) 23 Slandered (7) 24 Tally (5) 26 Anew (5) 29 Ale (4) 30 Heated (3) 32 Sea-eagle (4) 33 Peeled (5) 35 Avoided (6) 36 Liking (6) 37 Send (5) 38 Ball-game (6) 39 Proper (6)

DOWN 1 Save (6) 2 See-saw (6) 3 Rush (4) 4 Bequeath (5) 5 Cap (5) 6 Parched (4) 7 Fruit (6) 8 Stubborn (6) 13 Bullfighter (7) 15 Jam (5) 16 Jockey (5) 18 Arbiter (5) 19 Start (5) 21 Golf-peg (3) 22 Beverage (3) 24 Servile (6) 25 Recover (6) 27 Colonnade (6) 28 Freshest (6) 30 Hell (5) 31 Lukewarm (5) 33 Fairy (4) 34 Appointed (4)

YESTERDAY'S SOLUTIONS ACROSS: 4, Stand 7, Packed, 9, For 10, Rid 12, Rebut 13, Onus 15, Vista 17, Attest 19, Tied 20, Belie 22, Ten 24, Renew 27, Men 28, Wooed 31, Drab 33, Editor 35, Order 37, Ramp 38, Large 39, Dim 41, Use 4, Savour 4, Whist.

How to Play Sudoku

THE VIGILANTE

DOWN: 1, Aplomb 2, Actual 3, Her 4, Sort 5, Treat 6, Nauseate 8, Dive 11, Distended 14, Stir 16, Stew 18, Teem 21, Encroach 23, Newt 25, Need 26, Door 29, Orator 30, Depart 32, Bogus 34, Iris 36, Rest, 40 Mad.

e-mail: rowolove@yahoo.co.uk

Place a number (1-9) in each blank cell. (No line can have two of the same number).

Each row (nine lines from left to right), column, (also nine lines from top to bottom) and 3 X 3 block within a bold block (nine blocks) contains number from 1 through 9. This means that no number can appear twice in any block, column or row.

No mathematics is involved – no adding, subtraction, division or multiplication, just plain logic and your imagination.

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