Votes tally: Buhari coasting to victory, Atiku trails

KADUNA: Policeman, 26 others killed in fresh Kajuru attack, houses razed 3

The election of ideal leaders and our electoral 40 process (1)

People’s wish will always prevail, Saraki reacts to electoral loss

Special Economic Zones: FG, DFIs target $30bn export earnings by 2025

VOL. 26: NO. 63753

3 20

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2019

Votes tally: Buhari coasting to victory, Atiku trails A

•Stop collation of results now, PDP tells INEC; wants polls cancelled in Borno, Yobe, others

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B U J A — PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari, the presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, jumped into the lead, yesterday, and may be declared winner of the February 23 presidential polls, going by results so far released from the states by the various returning officers.

With results from 33 states of the country and the FCT, Abuja, President Buhari has 14,322,804 votes while Atiku has 10,201,980 votes as tallied by Vanguard. The results include 29 states released at INEC National Collation Centre, Abuja, INEC Twitter handle (@inecnigeria) and returning officers across the states.

At press time, results for Kebbi, Cross River

Continues on Page 5

Naira up to N361.50/$ in I&E window 41

Mr & Mrs Info Graphics by Jide Babatunde

Court dismisses certificate How Jonathan gave me 33 suit against Buhari N400m before 2015 3 Big winners and losers election, Metuh tells court in Ninth Senate 42 COLUMNISTS DEAR BUNMI

26

PRINCEWILL 17

ROTIMI FASAN

31

SEE INSIDE

2—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2019

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2019—3

Senate, Reps adjourn for lack of quorum to March 12

By Henry Umoru & Emman Ovuakporie

A

BRIEFING : President Muhammadu Buhari (right) receiving briefing from Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State at the State House, Abuja, yesterday.

KADUNA: Policeman, 28 others killed in fresh Kajuru attack, houses razed 2 police inspectors missing How fresh killings occurred — Survivors As Buhari, el-Rufai meet in Aso Rock

By Ben Agande & Johnbosco Agbakwuru

K

ADUNA—No fewer than 29 persons, including a policemen, were, yesterday, killed by gunmen suspected to be herdsmen at communities in Kajuru and Kachia Local Government Areas of Kaduna State, in an apparent reprisal attack, following killings in the area two weeks ago.

Sources in the communities as well as military men deployed in the area after the attack, said among the dead was a policeman and 28 others, while two police inspectors have also been declared missing.

It was gathered that the 27 bodies have been recovered by security men deployed to the area The four communities, which suffered the attack, include Karamai, Gidan Gajere, Gidan Auta and Chibiya, all under Maro, a border town between Kajuru and Kachia Local Government Areas.

It was gathered that as soon as news of the attack filtered into the state capital, a combined team of security agencies was deployed in the place and was able to go into the villages where the bodies were recovered Most of the bodies, it was gathered, were found mainly in Karamai and Gidan Auta villages.

It was learnt from another source that over 40 houses were burnt in the affected communities.

Another source in the village said the armed men of about 400 attacked the village early in the morning with different weapons.

Residents' accounts

But a resident, Paulina

Irimiya, said the attack occurred around 6.30 a.m, alleging thatitwascarried out by herdsmen.

She said she was in the church with other villagers when they heard gunshots, prompting them to take to their heels.

According to her, the attackers razed the whole village and also pursued some villagers into the bush, shooting at them.

She, however, could not confirm the casualty figures, saying some of her family members were missing.

She said: "It all started while we were in the church during women’sfellowshipinECWA Church when we heard gunshots and we all went out.

"As we all went out, we saw some of the houses being burnt by the attackers and some of them were chasing people into the bush to kill them.

"I do not know the whereabouts of my family members. I am on my way to another village that is close to ours.”

She said the situation was

partiallybroughtundercontrol when soldiers arrived.

Anothervillager,whosimply identified herself as Rachael, said at least six people were killed.

"Many houses were burnt, including the church where women were having their fellowship. As I am talking to you, I have lost my uncle and my grandfather and I have counted four other corpses,” Rachael said.

NationalPresident,Southern Kaduna Peoples’ Union, Solomon Musa, said thelatest attackclaimedawholevillage.

“What I’ve been told from several sources is that the whole village has been destroyed,” he said.

I'm saddened —el-Rufai

Reacting to the latest attack in a statement issued by his spokesman, Samuel Aruwan, yesterday, Governor Nasir elRufai said he was saddened bythenewsofrenewedattacks in the area.

According to the ststement, “today, the Kaduna State

government was briefed by security agencies of renewed attack in Kajuru Local Government Area, and in partsofneighbouringKachia Local Government Area.

“The Kaduna State government has been assured that the security agencies are working assiduously to contain the situation.

“The government is saddened by these attacks.

We condemntheperpetrators and urges all residents of the area to support the security agencies in their efforts to protectthe communities.”

Buhari, el-Rufai meet in Aso Rock

Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday, met behind closed doors with el-Rufai at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, over the fresh killings in the state.

Although el-Rufai, after the meeting with President BuharileftthroughtheAdmin Officer’s gate without a word to journalists that had waited for him. The visit coincided with the day there was anotherattackintwoKaduna Local Government Areas of Kajuru and Kachia.

People’s wish will always prevail, Saraki reacts to electoral loss

By Henry Umoru

A

BUJA— S E N AT E President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, yesterday, said he was wishing those who won last Saturday’s Presidential and National Assembly elections inKwaraState,thebestofluck, in spite of what he described as reported cases of inadequacies that characterisedthepolls,noting that the wish of the people would always prevail.

In a statement signed by his Special Adviser (Media and Publicity),YusuphOlaniyonu, Saraki said while the election was generally peaceful, there

were inadequacies like the card readers not used in over 70 per cent of the polling units while there were multiple voting, over-voting and other discrepancies that were reported by agents of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP,across the state.

According to him, the state chapter of PDP will take a position on the right response totheseallegedinadequacies.

Saraki said: “However, whatever the final outcome of the election, I wish the candidatesthathaveemerged all the best in their attempts to serve our people.

"It is my prayers that the

good people of Kwara State willalwayshavethebestfrom any government both at state and federal levels.

“Asaproductofafamilyand a political structure that is, from its foundation, devoted to the service and development of our state and its people, it is my wish that our people will always have a good deal at all times. ‘’Thenewdevelopmentwill even provide the people the opportunity to compare and contrast. After all, the people who have emerged from last Saturday’selectionarenotmy enemies; they are fellow Kwarans."

BUJA—THEtwoarmsof theNationalAssembly— Senate and House of Representatives— yesterday adjourned till March 12 due to their inability to form a quorum.

While only eight senators showed up for yesterday’s plenary in the Senate, 10 attended that of the House of Representatives.

Consequently, both arms have scheduled to resume sitting after the governorship andstateHousesofAssembly elections.

Of the eight senators in attendance were the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu.

Senate Majority Leader, Ahmed Lawan, APC, Yobe, raised a point of order that the Senate couldnot continue the day’slegislativeworkbecause the required quorum of one third was not formed.

The Senate requires 37 members to form one third of the 109 members.

According to Senator Lawan,manysenatorsarestill held back in their senatorial districts because they are yet to have the results of their election announced by Independent National ElectoralCommission,INEC. He,therefore,movedthatthe Senate should adjourn sitting till March 12, even as he expressed hopes that INEC

would conduct the governorship and State Assembly election on March 9 as scheduled.

Buhari declines assent to Oil Spill Bill

In the House of Representatives, plenary startedatabout11:15am,with only the Deputy Speaker, Yusuf Lasun; House Leader, Femi Gbajabiamila; Chairman, Rules and BusinessCommittee,Edward Pwajok, and seven others in attendance.

Immediately after prayers, the presiding officer, Yakubu Dogara, read out a communicationfromPresident Buhari stating reasons he declinedassenttotheNational Oil Spill Detection and Response Amendment Bill, 2018.

In the communication, the PresidentinformedtheHouse why he declined assent to the bill, stressing that it underminedthepowersofthe Minister of Petroleum Resources.

AfterreadingthePresident’s letter, Dogara moved for adjournment.

“We have to adjourn till March 12 to enable our colleagues participate in the governorship and state Assembly elections,’’ he said.

He also explained that the House could not form a quorum to continue yesterday’s proceedings.

How Jonathan gave me N400m before 2015 elections, Metuh tells court bearer.

By Ikechukwu Nnochiri

A

BUJA—Erstwhile National Publicity Secretary of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Chief Olisa Metuh, yesterday, narrated before the Federal High Court in Abuja, how he got N400 million from exPresidentGoodluckJonathan before the 2015 presidential election.

Metuh, who is facing a seven-count money laundering charge the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, preferred against him, said the money was wired into his account, after he exposed some of the challenges that faced Jonathan’s re-election bid.

He told the court that Jonathan requested for his account number, after he watched a pesentation on strategies the PDP needed to adopt if it was to neutralize the political influence of the then opposition All Progressives Congress, APC, which had nominated Muhammadu Buhari as its presidential flag-

According to Metuh, who mounted the witness box to testifyindefenceofthecharge againsthim,amongthosethat watched the Power Point presentation with Jonathan, included the current Vice Presidential candidate of the PDP, Mr. Peter Obi. Others were the then Vice President, Namadi Sambo; then National Chairman of PDP, Alhaji Adamu Muazu; ex-CrossRiverStateGovernor, Mr. Liyel Imoke, and late chieftain of the party, Chief Tony Anenih.

He said former President Jonathan was highly impressed with the presentation andassuredthat thepartywasingoodfinancial standing to sponsor a favourable media campaign.

Hesaid:“Herequestedthat I should give him account details for him to send money to handle what he called 'special assignment'.

"He said the success of the assignment would go a long way in determining the survival of our democracy, especially the holding of a peaceful election."

4—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2019

Presidential poll: Stop collation of results now, PDP tells INEC Calls for polls cancellation in Borno, Yobe, others No plan to go to court 'while we're winning'— Ologbondiyan

By Dirisu Yakubu

A

BUJA— PEOPLES Democratic Party, PDP, has called on Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to discontinue forthwith the ongoing collation of results of Saturday’s Presidential election, saying the process was fraught with irregularities and manipulations.

The party called for outright cancellation of results already collated and announced for Borno, Yobe and Zamfara states.

Briefing newsmen in Abuja, yesterday, Deputy Director-General of PDP Presidential Campaign Council, Tanimu Turaki, said PDP’s over 157,000 votes rendered invalid in Nasarawa State must be restored without further delay.

He said: “The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP,

demands, in line with the commitmenttoa transparent, free and fair election, an immediate halt to the ongoing collation of results by Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, until data from the smart card reader accreditation at the polling units are made available to all the parties in the election.

“The PDP predicates its demand on available evidence to the effect that data from the card readers are being reconfigured to suit the manipulations, rigging and over-voting already carried out during the election in some states by All Progressives Congress, APC. “Already, PDP national chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, has communicated this position of our party to the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu.”

According to Tanimu, PDP has evidence from the smart

card reader accreditation data “that what is being announced by INEC has been seriously tampered with and manipulated.

“In the meantime, we demand the immediate and outright cancellation of Presidential election results in Yobe,Zamfara,Nasarawaand Borno states as submitted by INEC presiding officers and ask for the conduct of fresh elections in these states.

“In Yobe, the total number of votes submitted as cast was more than the number of accredited voters. Whereas the number of accredited voters was 601,056, the total votes cast was 775,449.

“This is a clear case of overvoting, which, by the provisions of the Electoral Act, renders the election null and void. In such instance, the law provides for another election on a day to be fixed by INEC. “InZamfaraState,noactual voting took place and there was no single result sheet in any polling unit in the entire

state. There was an arrest in Shinkafi Local Government Area,whereanAPCmember was caught thump-printing ballot papers inside his house.

“Resultsfromthepresiding officer from Zamfara were concocted and allocated according to thewishes ofthe leadership of the APC and INEC. “The PDP, therefore, demands the outright deletion of the results from Zamfara from INEC records and a conduct of free, fair and credible Presidential election in Zamfara State.

“Also in Borno State, there was no election but a figure writing exercise and allocationofresultsaccording to the whims and caprices of the APC leaders. We also demandtheoutrightdeletion oftheresultsfrom Bornofrom INEC records and a conduct of free, fair and credible Presidential election in Borno state.

“In Nasarawa, PDP demands the immediate restorationofourover157,000 lawful and valid votes, which were unlawfully and arbitrarilycancelledbyINEC andtheannouncementofthe actual results from the field.

“Similarly, PDP demands an immediate restoration of our over 79,000 valid votes, which were unlawfully cancelled by INEC in Kogi Stateandtheannouncement of the authentic results inclusive of the restored 79,000 votes “In the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, the PDP demands the restoration of 27,000 valid votes unlawfully and arbitrarily cancelled by INEC and a declaration of theauthenticresult, inclusive of our restored 27,000 votes.

“In Plateau, the PDP demands the immediate restoration of our over 30,000 lawful and valid votes, which were unlawfully cancelled particularly in Jos North and the declaration of the genuine results as delivered at the polling units inclusive of our 30,000 restored votes.”

Meanwhile, National Publicity Secretary of the party, Kola Ologbondiyan hasdismissedinsinuationsin some quarters that the party may be seeking a legal option in the wake of the results collated so far.

In a brief chat with Vanguard on the sideline of the briefing, the publicity scribe said the PDP candidate, Atiku Abubakar, was clearly in the lead from authentic figures derived from polling units across the country and as such, has no need to be mulling over a legal option.

“There is nothing like going to court at this material time. Why should we go to courtwhilewearewinning?” he asked rhetorically.

Dele Momodu advises Atiku to congratulate Buhari

D

ELE Momodu, publisher of Ovation Magazine and one of the supporters of the presidential candidate of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Atiku Abubakar, has advised Abubakar to concede defeat and congratulate President Muhammadu Buhari.

Momodu, a social media influencer, gave the advice, yesterday, via his Twitter handle @DeleMomodu.

He apparently based his suggestion on the results of the states released so far by Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC. Momodu said he was aware Abubakar would consult widely with party leadership, family members and associates both home and abroad, advising that the path of peace be toed in whatever choice he opted to take.

One of his tweets reads: “My dear WAZIRIN, as a believer, you are aware that only God can give or take

power. You’ve written your name in gold. Do not wait a minute longer. ‘’Please, pick that phone and call President Muhammadu Buhari. You have much more to gain Sir… Pass on the burden!”

Momodu had campaigned for Abubakar and had insisted that he would win the race, based on what he described as the disappointing performance of the incumbent administration.

He said he campaigned vigorously for Buhari in 2015 but was unhappy with his performance more than three years in the saddle.

Momodu said the two paths to address the infractions noticed before, during and after the elections should be to either go for war or through the court.

But, as a believer in the rule of law, he suggested the latter, stressing that Nigeria was much more important than an individual’s ambition.

Polls results: UN, AU, ECOWAS call on parties to exercise restraint

by ECOWAS Commission,

A

BUJA—U N I T E D Nations,UN; African Union, AU, and Economic Commission of West African States, ECOWAS, have urged political parties to exercise restraint as Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, announces results of the presidential and National Assembly elections.

In a statement by the international bodies made

yesterday, they also urged candidates to continue to exercise patience for the complete results.

“ECOWAS, AU and the UN call on all candidates, political parties and indeed all Nigerians to continue to exercise patience, calm and restraint, in order to allow for the full results of the election to be released by INEC,’’ the international bodies stated.

S-Arabia invests $100bn in India, threatens Nigeria’s oil export

By Udeme Akpan

S

AUDI Arabia has concluded plans to invest $100 billion in India, Nigeria’s major oil importer, thus threatening future importation from the country.

ThemovesbySaudiArabia, the 14th largest country in the world, covering around two million square kilometres, making it the second largest OPEC member country with a population of over 32 million, is said to be aimed at capturing the entire Asian market for its oil.

The opening up of new markets is expected to enable Saudi Arabia that also possesses around 18 per cent of the world’s proven petroleum reserves generate adequate foreign exchange for its development.

In its recent report,

Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, stated: “The oil and gas sector accounts for about 50 per cent of gross domestic product, and about 70 per cent of export earnings. Apart from petroleum, the Kingdom’s other natural resources include natural gas, iron ore, gold, and copper.”

Meanwhile, providing details about the planned investment, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman stated: “The investment covers projects in areas such as energy, refining, petrochemicals, infrastructure, agriculture and manufacturing. Saudi expects the opportunities targeted in the various areas to exceed $100 billion dollars in the coming two years."

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2019—5 vanguardnews

@vanguardnews

NEWS HOTLINES 018773962, @vanguardnews 08052867058

ELECTION RESULTS—INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu checking some results of Presidential election in Abuja, yesterday. Photo: Gbemiga Olamikan.

Votes tally: Buhari coasting to victory, as Atiku trails Continues from Page 1 and Akwa Ibom states had not been announced on any platform.

According to the results, Buhari won in 18 states while Atiku won in 16 states. Buhari also won in four zones, South-West, NorthCentral, North-West and North-East where Atiku hails from. On the other hand, Atiku had the upper hand in the SouthEast and South-South geo-political zones (see table).

Buhari's states

The states won by Buhari are Lagos, Ekiti, Osun, Ogun, Kwara, Kogi, Niger, Yobe, Bauchi, Katsina, Kaduna, Kano, Jigawa,

Zamfara, Sokoto, Borno, Nasarawa and Gombe.

Atiku's states

States that fell for the PDP candidate are Oyo, Ondo, Enugu, Anambra, Imo, Ebonyi, FCT, Plateau, Benue, Adamawa, Taraba, Edo, Bayelsa, Rivers, Delta, and Abia.

How Buhari, Atiku fared in the states

In Borno, the INEC result showed that Buhari swept all the 27 Local Government Area scoring 841,736 votes with Atiku getting 65,414 votes The PDP candidate won the presidential

election in Rivers State.

Abubakar scored 473,971 votes to President Buhari, who had 150,710 votes.

The state collation officer, Enefiok Essien, declared the results, yesterday, evening, three days after the collation exercise started in Port Harcourt. The collation exercise ended in chaos as APC agents protested the deletion of the controversial Emohua Local Government Area results.

Out of the 23 LGAs in the state, Abubakar won 14 while Mr Buhari took three after Emohua LGA was removed.

There were no results collated from six LGAs: Bonn, Asari Toru, Okrika, Ikwerre and

Ahoada West, and Emohua.

The LGAs Atiku won included Oyigbo (APC – 3520; PDP – 16,102), Omuma (APC – 2494; PDP – 15322), ONELGA (APC – 10996; PDP – 28536), and Eleme (APC – 2412; PDP – 8464). PDP also won Gokana (APC – 9328; PDP – 10276) and Etche (APC – 7163; PDP – 11135).

He also took Governor Nyesom Wike’s Obio Akpor (APC – 6875; PDP – 69981) and party chairman Uche Secondus’ Andoni (APC – 10766; PDP – 72330).

Then, he also had Khana (APC – 5329; PDP – 89843), Ogu Bolo (APC – 2148; PDP – 8221), Tai (APC – 2564; PDP 45049), Degema (APC – 7298; PDP – 14083), Port Harcourt City (APC – 10742; PDP – 46851), and Ahoada East (APC – 4693; PDP – 10612).

Buhari won Opobo/ Nkoro (APC – 3,706; PDP – 3,573), Asari Toru (APC- 8,180; PDP – 3,175) and Obua Odua (APC – 42,496; PDP – 20,416).

Elections did not hold in Bonny and Akuku Toru LGAs due to violence. In Okrika, Ikwerre and Ahoada West LGAs, the EOs, who did not come with their respective COs, said there was nothing to show election held.

They accused “PDP and APC” supporters of shootings and the Nigerian Army of violent disruptions of collation exercise.

In Emohua, where Buhari had earlier been announced to have won with 72,745 votes, while Abubakar came far behind with 7,148 votes, Mr Essien said the

POCKET CARTOON

results would be dropped because the ward collation officers wrote a report that no collation took place.

He had on Monday night said the results from Emohua would be recorded and the controversy around them escalated to the national collation centre in Abuja.

The agent of the APC, Samson Ngerebara, challenged Mr Essien’s decision to reverse himself but nothing came of his effort.

“If you want to make yourself the tribunal, sit now and start to Investigate all the results,” said Mr Ngerebara. “I have the recording of all you said last night.”

“You mutilated results against our President Muhammadu Buhari,” another one said.

Mr Essien was escorted out of the collation centre by armed security agents as APC agents moved to stop his exit, bringing the exercise to a chaotic end.

Journalist and observers ran out of the centre through the windows.

Rivers State has 3,125,278 registered votes. But the voter turnout was low as the exercise on Saturday was marred by widespread violence, which claimed several lives. According to the state collation officer, Mr Essien, only 677,743 voters were accredited for the presidential election, amounting to 21 per cent of the registered voters.

The LGA collation officers and electoral officers lamented the violence and irregularities that marred the polls in their respective areas.

In the 2015 presidential election, APC polled an insignificant 69,238 against PDP’s 1.4 million.

Buhari causes upset in Delta, gets 2 LGs

Collation of the last Saturday’s Presidential election results across the 25 local government areas of Delta State by the INEC ended at the Continues on Page 41

By Bose Adelaja, Ebun Sessou, Yinka Latona, Sophia Ogu & Chiamaka Uba

What is your impression about the conduct of Presidential, NASS polls? (3)

I

I

will say that the conduct of the election was okay in my polling unit. There were less hassles. The INEC officials arrived early with the election materials and we all voted without any issue.

Miss Tolulase Adedoyin , Student

am not satisfied with the election, most voters in my polling booth encountered card reader challenges and we had to wait for hours before the problem was rectified.

In the process of rectifying the card reader, most voters who were under the scorching sun were discouraged and left without casting their vote.

Mrs. John Funmilola Caterer

I

will say that the F e d e r a l Government and INEC tried their best in conducting a free and fair election.

I will say Nigeria is moving forward but we are not there yet as there is still room for improvement.

Mr. Adeniyi Tunde Communication Strategist

A

C

onsidering the challenges of the card reader machine, I will say we are still lagging behind in our electoral process.

I wonder why card reader will be used in some places and states and would not be used in others.

Mr. Odeleku Precious, Student

lthough I was unable to cast my vote as I was unable to change my card’s address and this is one of the things that INEC must work on.

Nigerians must be able to cast their votes anywhere in the country, without any form of restriction.

However, based on the reports we are getting, I would rate the conduct of the election 45%.

Mr. Edem Chuks Building Contractor

The election was rigged across the country. It was not free and fair. However, I want to urge Nigerians to move ahead and work for a better process next time. President Buhari should be supported to succeed this time. I am sure he would do better if people patriotically support his vision for the country. May God bless Nigeria.

Mr. Japeht Omene, Analyst

6—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2019

Driver accused of damaging N26.7m G-Wagon

By Onozure Dania

L

AGOS—A 27-year-old driver, Nureni Olawale, with a new generation bank, who allegedly damaged a Mercedes Benz G-Wagon worth N26,700,000, was yesterday arraigned before a Lagos Magistrate’s Court.

The defendant is facing a five-count charge bordering on reckless and dangerous driving, injury, damage and obstruction preferred against him by the Police.

The prosecutor, Inspector Mawari Solomon, told the court that the defendant committed the alleged offences on February 16, at about 6:30a.m., along Bourdillion Road, Ikoyi, Lagos.

Solomon told the court that Olawale, who was driving a Prado Jeep with number plates BDG 881 AC, drove same recklessly and dangerously in the public highway.

The prosecutor said: “Olawale drove against traffic knowing it is prohibited by the road traffic law, and caused injury to one Mr. Richard Alabi.”

According to him, the defendant damaged one Mercedes Benz G-Wagon G65, 2014 model with number plates ARK 10 DC, worth N26,608,301, property of the complainant, Richard Alabi.

“The defendant, being the driver in charge of the said Prado Jeep, willfully obstructed the free flow of traffic,” he said.

The offence committed is punishable under Sections 19, (1), 27 schedule 1, 29 and 45 of the Road Traffic Law of Lagos State, 2012.

However, the defendant pleaded not guilty to the charge.

The defendant’s lawyer U. N. Ezeokeke, urged the court to grant the defendant bail in liberal terms.

C o n s e q u e n t l y, Magistrate A. A. Famobiwo granted the defendant bail in the sum of N200,000, with two sureties in like sum.

She said the sureties must be gainfully employed and show evidence of performance of their civic responsibility.

The case was adjourned till March 19, for mention.

THE TRADITIONAL: Flooded Herbert Macaulay Way, Yabatech Bus Stop, Yaba, Lagos, yesterday. PHOTO: Bunmi Azeez. Inset are submerged houses at Oke-Afa, Lagos, yesterday. NAN PHOTO.

How 8 UNILAG students raped, blackmailed 17-yr-old colleague Rescued by friend who tricked her to counsellor's office

...suspects’ parents begged victim with N5m

By Henry Ojelu

A

student of the University of Lagos, UNILAG, yesterday narrated before an Ikeja Domestic Violence and Sexual Offences Court how she was allegedly raped by eight fellow students and blackmailed with a video recording of the assault.

The 19-year-old student of the institution made the revelation after the arraignment of five of the eight students: Moboluwaji Omowole, 19; Chuka Chukwu, 19; Peace Nwankama, 19; James Aguedu, 20, and Osemeka Josephine, 20.

Three other students that allegedly participated in the act are still at large.

Led in evidence by state prosecutor, Mrs K. A. MomohAyokambi, the victim told the court that she was deceived by her roommate, Nwankama who took her to a high rise building in the school where she was raped.

She said: “In no particular order, the following took their turns Daniel, James, Yinka, Bolu (first defendant), Seriki, Emmanuel and two other people whose names I don’t know. They were eight men.”

“After they did that, they all came into the room, including Josephine, and started playing music. Four of them held me down and were touching me all around, while Josephine was either kissing or dancing with one of them.

“At a point Josephine asked if she could kiss me while I was trying to fight off the people

around. I was thinking of leaving but I was outnumbered and I didn’t know if those downstairs were part of them.

“Eventually Josephine kissed me and they made comments like it’s not that bad etc. When they were molesting me, there was a guy who was sitting down and video recording all that was happening on a phone.

“My first instinct was to get the phone from him, but I was outnumbered. At a point when they were leaving, they led me outside the building and they told me they had a video of what happened.

“They said if I don’t want to be popular in school, I have to answer them anytime they want sex. They collected my number and shared it among themselves,” she said.

The victim further told the court that a week or two after the alleged incident she was on more than two occasions subjected to more gang rape and sexual assault by the members of the group, who now included Simi, Randy, Idowu and Eddy (who are all at large).

Friend, UNILAG counsellor to the rescue

She told the court that to add to her ordeal, rumours about the video tape began to make rounds in the school premises.

She said: “I started hearing

stories and the narrative was as though I wanted it.

Henry a friend of Peace told me that I was popular at Jaja Hall and that there was a video and I wanted to get away from it.

“I had a friend (name withheld) who we both belonged to the same organisation in school. He liked me and he is the type to find out about everyone he likes. When he heard about the story and video he asked questions.

“Unknown to me, he reported to the school authorities and on March 1, 2017, he told me to follow him to a bank to withdraw money but unknown to me, he wanted me to see the school counsellor.

“The school counsellor beckoned to me, I saw my bio data in her hands, she asked me to follow her and at that point I knew who she was.

“I thought I was going to be expelled. She pulled out a form and asked me to state what happened and I told her everything. She told me the school was behind me and that the culprits will be caught.”

She further said the counsellor asked her to lure Omowole (first defendant) to a place within the school premises where he was arrested, taken to the office of the Dean, Student Affairs

where he provided the names of the rest of his alleged accomplices.

The student said she was admitted at the UNILAG Medical Centre for three days where parents of the arrested students tried to persuade her not doing anything about the case.

She added: “From the Medical Centre, I went home and stayed for three weeks.

During that time their parents were trying to bribe my family with between N3 million and N5 million.

“My family declined, as my mother and brothers were very supportive.”

Bloggers

The victim said when she returned to school, the story was in the news and she was harassed as a result.

According to her, “a journalist posted the story on two popular blogs and one of the defendants created a fake account revealing my identity.

“My photograph was also taken by some of Chukwu's (second defendant) friends and one Eddy (at large) in the school premises.

“The people who raped and defiled me are in the same clique. They went to the same secondary school called ISL. I don’t know the full name of the secondary school.”

Justice Sururat Soladoye adjourned the case until March 18 for cross-examination.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2019—7

3-storey building collapses in Aba

By Ugochukwu Alaribe & Eric Ugbor

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BA—FIVE people reportedly sustained injuries as a three-storey building under construction collapsed during a downpour, yesterday in Aba, Abia State.

Eyewitnesses told Vanguard that one of those injured lost a leg as a huge concrete slab landed on him.

It was also gathered that those injured in the incident are security guards, who work for some traders that make use of the ground floor of the building as warehouse.

Mr. Kenechukwu, who witnessed the incident, said: “It happened around past 11p.m. last night. We heard a loud noise. I later started hearing the voices of injured people crying aloud.

“We all rushed here, rescued the ones that we could. But one was trapped, as one of his legs was held down by the collapsed concrete pillars of the building.

“He hung on the exit probably trying to escape before the fallen pillar trapped him. He bled profusely, screaming in pains.

“We tried to pull him out to no avail. We used hammer, it failed, until some persons brought heavy duty implement which

helped us to lift the fallen debris off him. But that came so late as he had already lost that particular leg to the impact.

“Two hospitals rejected him that night, until we got to a place in Okigwe Road that specialises in cases like that.

“The building is used as a warehouse by some traders who engage security men that keep watch over the place.”

Efforts made to reach either the owner of the collapsed building or the contractor was unsuccessful as their neighbours insisted that they have no contact.

... with Emma'nKen (08163121378)

One-one goaless draw!

Lesson teacher allegedly defiles 9 minors with finger

By Onozure Dania

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AGOS—THE Police, yesterday, arraigned a 40year-old lesson teacher, Faruk Adam, before an Igbosere Magistrate’s Court, Lagos, for allegedly having sexual intercourse with nine of his pupils without their consent.

Adam, whose address was not given, is facing a nine-count charge bordering on unlawful sexual intercourse, preferred against him by the Police.

The prosecutor, Sergeant Peace Chukwudi, told the court that the defendant committed the alleged offences sometime between November 2018 and February this year, at 1, Jaiye Balogun Street, Parkview Estate, Ikoyi, and Lagos.

She said the defendant unlawfully inserted his finger into the vagina of the nine children, who are between the ages of six, seven, eight, nine, 10, 11 and 13.

Chukwudi said the defendant sexually assaulted the 13-yearold girl by fondling her breasts.

According to the prosecutor, the offences committed are punishable under Sections 261 and 263 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.

However, the plea of the defendant was not taken.

The magistrate, Miss K. O. Doja-Ojo, ordered that the case file should be duplicated and sent to the Directorate of Public Prosecutions, DPP, office for legal advice.

She remanded the defendant in prison custody, pending the outcome of DPP’s advice and adjourned the case till March 21.

… as court remands female teacher for sexually assaulting 4-yr-old pupil

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N Ikeja Chief Magistrates’ Court , yesterday, remanded a 29-year-old female teacher, Adejuyigbe Moni, who allegedly sexually assaulted her four-yearold pupil by inserting her fingers in her vagina.

The Chief Magistrate, Mrs Olufunke Sule-Amzat, ordered that the defendant should be kept in Kirikiri Prisons in Lagos pending the receipt of legal advice from Lagos State Director of Public Prosecutions, DPP. The defendant, a resident of Ayoronwi Street in Igando a suburb of Lagos, is standing trial for sexual assault.

She, however, pleaded not guilty.

The prosecutor, Mr. Benson Emuerhi, had told the court that the defendant committed the offence on January 13, on the premises of Covenant Tekno Kids Discovery Centre located on 14, Akeem-Oke Street, Igando, Lagos.

He said the case, which was

transferred from Igando Division, was reported at the Gender Section of Lagos State Police Command, Ikeja, by the victim’s father on her behalf.

According to Emuerhi, the child complained to her parents about pains in her “bum- bum.’’

Emuerhi said: “She said that the class teacher (defendant) had inserted her fingers in her vagina causing her pain.

“The parents reported the incident to the pupil's school authority and the defendant was confronted.

“But she denied, hence the resort to the Police station,” he said.

He said child sexual assault contravenes Section 261 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015, which could attract seven years imprisonment.

The case was adjourned till April 11 for mention.

16 killed in fresh Sokoto banditry—Tambuwal

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OKOTO—GOVERNOR Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State has confirmed the death of 16 people in a fresh banditry at Dalijan, Rakkoni and Kalhu communities in the Rabah Local Government Area of the state.

Tambuwal made the announcement at a news conference yesterday in Sokoto, saying the incident occurred on Monday night.

It was also said that the banditry, which started in Sokoto State on July 9 last year, has taken a total of 81 lives.

Broke man

The governor called on security agencies to intensify efforts at safeguarding the people’s lives and property.

Commiserating with victims and their families, Tambuwal prayed Allah to grant them fortitude to bear the loss.

On the recent political happenings after the justconcluded presidential and National Assembly elections, Tambuwal expressed his concern that some politicians were indulging in do-or-die politics.

The governor said the situation had negated calls

for peaceful campaigns and elections devoid of thuggery.

“During the elections, we experienced developments that clearly exhibited continued determination of the opposition to engaged in do-or-die politics.

“Leaders and loyalists of our party, the PDP were harassed, hounded and arrested by security agents even on the Election Day. “The opposition also engaged in post-election mayhem, with attacks and arson on law-abiding citizens,” Tambuwal claimed.

I see only neck. The sight is dim

8—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2019

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2019—9

10 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2019

LAGOS CENTRAL: PDP candidate, Onitiri rejects results

By Innocent Anaba

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AGOS—PEOPLES Democratic Party, PDP, senatorial candidate for Lagos Central, Chief Adesunmbo Onitiri, has rejected the results announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, for the senatorial district, saying he will go to court to restore the mandate given to him by people of the district.

Insisting that what was announced by INEC in favour of the All Progressive Congress, APC, Remi Tinubu, was not the results as announced at the end of the exercise at the five local governments that make up the senatorial district, he said: “I am planning to go to court. We have to go to court. We can’t allow this day light robbery to go unchallenged.”

Addressing newsmen in Lagos, yesterday on the results announced by INEC for Lagos Central and faulting the results, he said “We have all the evidence to support my case that I was robbed of my well deserved victory. I won in four out of the five LGAs in the senatorial district, but the APC, in collusion with compromised INEC and men of the Nigerian Police, doctored the original result.

“The election was free and fair, though in lots of places, APC thugs in collusion with INEC and the military started tempering with the results.

Even the one they are relying on was mutilated as

figures were changed. It was signed by APC party agent, Wahab King. We didn’t see the returning officer and INEC did not announce the result in the open, it was sneaked to INEC. “How can somebody announce an election result based on this mutilated result sheet (displaying the result sheet)? After the elections at the five local government areas, namely Lagos Island, Apapa, Lagos Island, Eti-Osa and Surelere, our agents were turned round on where the collation was.

“Furthermore, this is the most fraudulent, crooked and compromised election Nigeria ever had since the history of democracy in our country. This is totally unaccepted and a total disgrace to our polity and psyche. Nigeria never had it so bad that the present government is desperate to remain in power by all means by subverting the wishes of Nigerians people.

The will of the people for change must be respected.

“I will advise this government to take a cue from former President Goodluck Jonathan who surrendered power freely before the process was concluded. Nigeria is greater than any individual or office holder.

“The will of the people of Lagos have been tampered with The result being announced is totally different from the mandate of majority of Lagosians.

This presidential and national assembly elections held Saturday is no longer free, fair and or credible.''

Glo moves to boost Africa’s economic growth ....Sponsors continent’s largest CEO Forum

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AT I O N A L Telecommunications Company, Globacom, has announced a unique partnership with Jeune Afrique Media Group and Rainbow Unlimited, organisers of the annual Africa CEO Forum.

The event is a gathering of the continent’s top business leaders holding in Kigali, Rwanda between 25 and 26 March, 2019.

Themed ‘Open Africa: from continental treaties to business realities’, it will feature over 40 panels, private-public workshops, and case studies.

Globacom’s support, which is in the apex Diamond category, reinforces the company’s commitment towards the development of Africa’s business landscape, said the telecoms network in a statement on Sunday.

According to the company, “this is part of our efforts to support initiatives that nurture Africa’s economic potential”.

In a meeting with the Forum organisers, who are also the publishers of Jeune

Afrique and Africa Report, Mrs. Bella Disu, Executive Vice Chairman of Globacom, expressed the company ’s delight in partnering with Africa CEO Forum to provide a platform for decision makers to identify ways to improve intra-African trade and investments.

“Africa is rich in business diversity and, when properly connected, African businesses can make greater contributions to economic expansion and human development,” the EVC stated.

“Globacom is intentional about fostering an environment for African businesses to thrive,” she stated.

The Africa CEO Forum brings together executives and investors as well as Chief Executive Officers (CEOs), international investors, experts and high-level policy makers, and features discussions that mobilise African businesses to champion private sector-led growth while building sustainable organisations.

Stranded commuters at Fadeyi BRT bus stop, Ikorodu Road, Lagos after the downpour, yesterday..

I'll be gov for all tribes if..., — SANWO-OLU

By Yinka Ajayi

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AGOS—ALL Progressives Congress, APC governorship candidate in Lagos State for next month election, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has said the state is stronger socially and economically because of its diversity.

Sanwo-Olu, who spoke against discriminatory comments fuelled by the disruption of elections in some areas of Lagos State during the Saturday ’s presidential and national assembly elections in the state, cautioned that Lagosians should not play into the hands of mischief makers and crisis merchants, insisting the state is a home for all.

The candidate made it clear that if elected, his government would serve all Lagosian, regardless of their ethnicity, religion or party affiliation.

Speaking on the conduct of the last Saturday ’s elections, which he described as peaceful and well-coordinated, Sanwoolu said: “Every resident of Lagos State is central to the promised socio-economic development of the state, and everyone has the right to identify with any party of their choice. We are stronger and better in our diversity.

“As a politician and a governorship candidate, it will be exciting for me to have the support of every tribe in the state, but where people have other preferences; I cannot say that they do not have such rights. However, it will only be appropriate for electorate to support a party that has made Lagos a home for everyone.

“For instance, 40% of teaching staff in Lagos State public schools are nonYoruba, the pupils in secondary schools, for which Lagos State Government pays for National Examination Council and Senior Secondary School Examinations are in equal proportion between the Yorubas and non-Yorubas in

...Urges peaceful co-existence Lagos State.

“As a state, Lagos recognises her heterogeneity and will continue to promote the assorted ethnic composition

as a unique advantage over other states in Nigeria.

It is only in Lagos State that you can find principal officers, who are not ethnic people in the state civil

service, parastatals and establishments. I call on our people to eschew violence and any form of harassment of innocent people. We must live in peace for development we know in Lagos to continue.”

PDP queries results from North East ...Security beefed up ahead of final declaration

By Omeiza Ajayi

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BUJA—NIGERIA’S main opposition party, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has queried the Presidential election results returned from states in the Boko Haram-ravaged Northeast, wondering how it was possible to make such returns while the same could not be said of a “peaceful” Southeastern Nigeria.

One of the Presidential Collation Agents of PDP, Chief Osita Chidoka, made the observation yesterday in Abuja after the result of the election in Bauchi State was announced. In Bauchi, while the ruling APC polled 798,428, PDP garnered 209,313.

Coming under a point of observation, Chidoka said; “The issue before us, Mr Chairman, is what we feel strongly about, and the Chairman of PDP has written you a petition. We are worried that the promise you made, the commitment you made and INEC made that as we are doing this collation of results, you will give us the details of accreditation captured by the card reader in the country has not been fulfilled.

“Yesterday, my colleague raised the issue and we thought that when we come back this morning as we are listening to the states, we will be seeing the accreditation in the states by the card reader. This, Mr Chairman, I will like it to be on record that we want to see the accreditation for Bauchi State, for Borno State and Yobe in particular and of course, for the rest of the

country because the numbers as we are seeing, it seems to me that we live in two countries. While people in the south have issues with the Smart Card Readers, SCR, while complaints were all over the place, we seem to have quiet and peaceful elections, in places where the people have complained of severe cases of insecurity and harassment by the military and bandits.

“So, we would like you Mr Chairman and I forward this letter to you to say that we will appeal before we proceed to the next state you should please, project to us what the card reader has captured as the accreditation in these states.

“We are supposed to read from the card reader, the electronic collation as against the manual information that we are getting to process information here. While it is not yet signed into law, in your guidelines it was made clear that no voting should take place where there are no card readers. So, Mr Chairman, we must appeal to you that we would like you to project these accreditation as done by the card reader.

“Please, if any of your staff is available he can please take a copy of this letter from PDP chairman saying that what we are doing here will require us to have the accreditation as done by the electronic card reader.”

Responding, Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu declined to receive the letter, saying PDP

should follow the formal channel of making such correspondences with the commission.

“Thank you, Mr. Chidoka, but there is a procedure for submitting a correspondence to the Commission. We haven’t shut down our office. This is the International Conference Centre where we are using as collation centre. Kindly submit your letter to the office, it will be acknowledged. Your letter will now be studied and we will respond, accordingly. I believe that there are more details in the letter than what you have stated and we will need to study that”, Yakubu submitted.

Security beefed up Meanwhile, security has been beefed in and around the International Conference Centre which is currently serving as the National Collation Centre.

Vanguard gathered that the measure was in preparation for the final declaration of results of last Saturday ’s Presidential election.

Security sources told Vanguard that as the collation draws to an end, politicians could engage in last minute efforts to scuttle the process.

Men of the Brigade of Guards as well as an addition to the number of operatives of the Department of State Services DSS and the Nigerian Police have taken strategic positions along all roads leading to the centre, forcing motorists to use alternative routes to get to their destination.

VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2019 — 11

son, Olumide wins ELECTION RESULTS: Don’t re-enact Nzeribe’s Osoba's House of Reps seat drama, Yoruba Ronu cautions PDP S

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BUJA—THE Yoruba Ronu Leadership Forum has urged Chief Uche Secondus, Chairman, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to ignore calls for abrupt termination of the collation and announcement of results of the February 23 Presidential and National Assembly elections due to perceived rigging of the exercise.

The call was made yesterday in a statement signed by Mr. Akin Malaolu, SecretaryGeneral of the group.

According to Malaolu, calls for inconclusive collation and announcement of results brings back the ugly

memory of the selfserving Association of Better Nigeria (ABN), led

by Chief Arthur Nzeribe.

Secondus had alleged that Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) tampered with some state results in favour of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

The party chieftain claimed the results were at variance with what the parties got from the field.

He said Nigerians should remember 1993 polls truncated by a group named ABN, prevented the announcement of the winner and losers in that year’s presidential polls.

But Malaolu said:

“Today is different from that era, we therefore urge Nigerians not to be distracted by PDP’s irresponsible calls.

“Results collation is part of electoral process, the party chieftain should not truncate it because of his perceived grievances. He should rather register such dissatisfaction at the tribunals.

“The rules are clear that after the announcement of results from an election are concluded, winners and the losers emerge.

“The opportunity to address their objections are opened through the various election tribunals that had been set up.

“We are surprised at the desire of Secondus to

terminate the announcement of the presidential results in motion.

“It portends danger for democracy and if allowed, it would signal the beginning of political trouble,” he said.

The group commended the Independent National Electoral commission (INEC) for successful conclusion of the Presidential and National Assembly elections.

“We in Yoruba Ronu and the South-West people are satisfied with the results announced so far.

“If there are reasons not to be, we urge political contestants to approach the election tribunals in their states.”

ON of former Ogun State Governor Olusegun Osoba, Olumide has been declared winner of the House of Representatives election for Abeokuta North/ Odeda/ Obafemi Owode Federal Constituency.

Olumide Osoba who occupied the seat from 2011 to 2015, reclaimed it from the incumbent, Mikhail Kazeem, of the Allied People’s Movement, APM. The House of Representatives-elect polled a total of 33,538 votes to trounce Kazeem who garnered 14,903 votes.

A breakdown of the performances across local governments, revealed that Osoba won with 13,475 votes in Abeokuta North Local Government,

....As Amosun’s ex-Chief of Staff emerges Senator-elect

By Daud Olatunji

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CERTIFICATION CEREMONY: From left; Sales and Marketing Director, Fidson Healthcare Plc, Mr. Olugbenga Olayeye; Head Human Resource, Alli Adejoke; ISO Representative and CEO - 4 Quarters Consultancy Limited, Samuel Sawah; Managing Director, Dr. Fidelis Ayebae and Head, Quality Assurance and Regulatory Affairs, Nmaka Tijani during the Environmental Management System Certification ceremony at Fidson’s head office.

Fayemi expresses worry over magnitude of awaiting trial inmates ....Sets up advisory council on prerogative of mercy

By Rotimi Ojomoyela

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DO-EKITI—EKITI State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, has expressed concern over the high number of awaiting trial inmates in Ado-Ekiti, saying a deliberate effort

should be made to assess those who deserve a second chance.

He disclosed this development informed his decision to set up an eightman Advisory Council on Prerogative of Mercy.

According to him: “The

Olanipekun to speak on electoral law at Oxford University

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former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chief Wole Olanipekun will tomorrow, February, 28, 2019 deliver a Keynote Address on Electoral Law, Election Petitions and the Future of Democracy in Nigeria at the workshop on “Nigeria in Transition” at St Anthony’s College, Oxford University.

The workshop is organised by African Studies Centre and the Oxford Martin School,

University of Oxford, UK. According to the organisers, the workshop will use the Nigerian presidential and national assembly elections to open up questions not just around the elections and related political process, but more widely on ‘transitions’ in Nigeria, in political, economic, social and cultural senses of the word.

Scholars, technocrats and others from Nigeria, the UK and North America are also expected to present papers at the workshop

big challenge to us in this state is that we have so many people who are languishing in prison awaiting trial for offences that may not frankly worth leaving somebody there for months and years. There are those who have been convicted who have served terms who have been found either by their conduct in prison by the prison authority to deserve being given a second chance because of the way they behaved in incarceration, and there has to be a proper way to do this beyond just ad hoc visit by the governor or the chief judge of the state declaring people free without a careful look into their situation”.

Also inaugurated was a Seven-man Chieftaincy Review Commission to address the plethora of petitions, complaints and requests on chieftaincy matters in the state.

While performing the ceremony in Ado Ekiti,

yesterday, Fayemi said the committees were critical to good governance in the state which informed the careful selection of members.

Speaking on the Chieftaincy Review Commission, the governor said his government had in less than two months after inauguration, received no fewer than 100 petitions arising from the outcome of the report of the Justice Oyewole Chieftaincy Commission.

He said “We received no fewer than 100 petitions, complaints, requests from many communities and I felt it wasnt proper for us to begin to address these chieftaincy complaints issues on case by case basis and it will be helpful to us to have a much more comprehensive approach what became the source of complaints by many of them is the outcome of the report of justice Oyewole chieftaincy commission.”

Kazeem polled 8,597 votes, while Mrs. Abimbola Lanre-Balogun of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, scored 3,906 votes.

In Obafemi Owode Local Government, Osoba polled 12,930 votes while Kazeem scored 3315 and Lanre Balogun with 6913 votes respectively.

Also, Osoba’s son won in Odeda Local Government with 7133 votes while Kazeem and Lanre Balogun polled 2991 and 3494 votes respectively.

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Returning Officer in charge of House of Representatives Collation centre at Unity High School, Ago-Ika, Abeokuta, Prof. S. O Ismaila, declared Olumide Osoba, winner.

B E O K U TA — FORMER Chief of Staff to Governor Ibikunle Amosun, Toku Odebiyi, of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has won Saturday ’s Ogun-West Senatorial election in Ogun State.

The Returning Officer, Prof. Taofeek Shittu, yesterday at the collation centre at Oronna hall in Ilaro, declared Chief Odebiyi, the APC candidate winner, having polled the highest votes of 58,452.

Odebiyi’s closest rival, Olusegun Gbeleyi of the Allied People’s Movement scored 48,611 votes.

The Peoples Democratic Party candidate, Leye Odunjo came third with 43,454 votes.

Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, had on Sunday declared the state governor, Sen. Ibikunle Amosun who contested on the platform of the APC winner of the Ogun Central Senatorial polls.

Meanwhile, Odebiyi has dedicated his victory to “all those who have endured indignities but remained principled on behalf of the people of Ogun - West.

Odebiyi, in a statement issued in Iboro, EgbadoNorth Council Area expressed gratitude to the people of the area for the opportunity extended to him to serve.

“I will continue to stand with you shoulder to shoulder in raising higher the flag of progress and prosperity for the people of Ogun West,” he said.

‘Why many political heavyweights lost N’ Assembly elections'

By Rotimi Ojomoyela

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DO EKITI— FORMER Speaker of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, Hon Femi Bamisile, has identified reasons why many perceived political heavyweights failed in Saturday ’s National Assembly election.

Bamisile said many of them lost the elections because they took their people for granted saying, “they underestimated the voters, politicians are not the major players, the electorates are the one dictating the tune.”

According to him, “politicians always have erroneous impression that they are the major players in politics, they thought they are up there above the people, but the people are the major players because they determine our fates.

So, the lesson of the fall of heavyweight politicians in the just concluded National

Assembly elections was that, people can’t be taken for granted, because the election day is always a day of reckoning”, Speaking with journalists on his victory in Ado Ekiti yesterday, Bamisile, stated that he won the election to represent Ekiti East/ Gbonyin/Emure federal constituency of the state owing to his connection to the grassroots, saying: “any politician who takes people for granted will be dealt with on the day of election”.

He stated that aside from his connection with the people, Governor Kayode Fayemi winning the July 14, 2018 governorship election, also swayed votes for the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Assembly candidates in the state.

Bamisile, candidate of the APC defeated the incumbent federal legislator and candidate of the PDP, Akin Awodumila.

12—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2019

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By Egufe Yafugborhi & Davies Iheamnachor

ORT HARCOURT— No fewer than 13 persons have been detained by the Nigerian Army over alleged illegal possession of ballot papers and bribe taking during Saturday’s Presidential and National Assembly elections.

Among those arrested are Rivers Commissioner for Urban Development, Dr Reason Williams and Mr Opokri Wanaka, a serving member in the Rivers State House of Assembly.

Others are an army major and three police officers accused of collecting bribes to compromise election materials kept inside the premises of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN. The army alleged it has proof that the Rivers State governor, Mr Nyesom Wike tried to bribe an army officer over Saturday’s Presidential election.

Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the state, has described as diversionary the arrests and parading of some of its members by men of the 6 Division of Nigerian Army, Port Harcourt.

Spokesman of the party, Mr. Darlington Orji, said that the Army used arrest of its members, lawmaker, commissioner and security operatives, to divert attention from the genocide it committed in parts of the state during the Saturday’s Presidential and National Assembly elections.

The army said its proof includes a recorded phone conversation Wike allegedly had with an army officer following arrest of the member representing Ahoada West in Rivers State House of Assembly, Opokri Wanaka and the state Commissioner for Urban Development, Dr Reason Onya Williams for alleged electoral fraud.

Also arrested and paraded at the 6 Division, Port Harcourt, were DSP

Oyoku Ifelle (Camp Command, Rivers State Government House), Sgt Akanu Garba, Inspector Hycent Oboi and Sgt Nketan Chucks, all reported Government House security details and an Army Majar, A P Ubah, for allegedly trying to bride military guards at the Central Bank of Nigeria, Port Harcourt branch where electoral materials were kept for distribution ahead of the elections.

All the suspects however, denied any wrong doing, describing their arrest as a drama being orchestrated by the army to smear the person of Governor Wike over its lost confidence in the conduct of security operatives in Rivers.

Col Aminu Iliyasu, Deputy Director Public Relations, 6 Division, who paraded the suspects among several other persons said, “Saturday, February 23, 2019 about 8:45a.m., following a tip off on attempt by Wike’s aids to induce and compromise troops deployed at the CBN Port Harcourt premises, our personnel, Maj AP Ubah and three other Police personnel were arrested by a 6 Div Team. " P r e l i m i n a r y investigations exposed N2.250m in a Range Rover belonging to the DSP. Other items recovered are four INEC 2019 electoral tags, customised Rivers State Government House brown envelopes, while N500,000 was found in the Toyota vehicle belonging to Maj AP Ubah which he confessed was given to him by the governor’s aids in addition to offer of a wellfurnished accommodation for the period of his tour of duty.

“Same day about 7a.m., a member of Rivers Assembly, Opokri Wanaka in company of Dr Reason Onya Williams, State Commissioner for Urban Development visited own troops Camp at Akinima and requested to be acquainted with the

COMMEMORATION: From left—Director, University of Lagos’ Institute of African and Diaspora Studies, Prof. Muyiwa Falaiye; Public Affairs Officer, U.S. Consulate in Lagos, Mr Russell Brooks; and representative of the Vice Chancellor, University of Lagos, Prof.

Folasade Ogunsola, during the opening ceremony of the 2019 Black History Month, in Lagos, yesterday. Photo: NAN

Army detains Rivers commissioner, 13 others over illegal possession of ballot papers Arrest, parading our members diversionary —PDP Commander. Opokri offered the officer some money he removed from his pocket but the officer not only rejected the offer but sent the duo away.

“Incidentally, while the officer and his men were manning a check point at Mbiama Bridge, a white Hilux vehicle with Rivers State Government Reg No.L02-03RV RIVERS and eight occupants was stopped for routine search and clearance. A carton and two bundles of INEC 2019 Presidential Election ballot papers were discovered in the vehicle. Preliminary investigation reveals that none of the occupants of the vehicle is an INEC staff, INEC Ad-hoc staff or security agent.

“During on the spot interrogations, Wanaka and Dr Reason earlier mentioned above appeared at the spot and tried to convince the suspecting troops that the vehicle is part of INEC convoy that was left behind and that the vehicle should be allowed to go because the electorate were waiting.

“When the vigilant officer

refused to be convinced, Dr Reason immediately placed a call to Governor Wike and His Excellency requested to speak with the officer who declined and requested the governor to please call the GOC. After much resistance, the officer gave Dr Reason his number to pass to Wike which he did via Whatsapp message.

Within 10 minutes Governor Wike placed a call to the officer.

“In the said audio played to the media, the governor called the said army officer and assured that a lady would see him later."

We did no wrong —Lawmaker, Commissioner

Drama started at the Python Dance Officers Mess in 6 Division as Dr. Reason and Wanaka snapped at the point of being paraded, just as the Army Major and the Government House Police details also faulted the army on their arrests.

The lawmaker said, “We did no wrong. I was at Ahoada West, my constituency when I was

We're dragging GOC 6 Division to ICC —WIKE IVERS State governor, the GOC 6 Division has petition to the Chief of Army allegations.

R Mr Nyesom Wike has the blood of Rivers people Staff on the criminal “These weighty said that the state on his hands, stating that actions of the GOC.” indictments of the officers government had written to the International Criminal Court to prosecute the General Officer Commanding, GOC, 6 Division of the Nigerian Army, Major General Jamil Sarhem for crimes against humanity.

Wike said instead of running in circles, the GOC should explain to Nigerians the reasons why the 6 Division stormed Collation Centres in Ikwerre, Emohua and Okrika Local Government Areas of the state with Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Electoral Officers, accusing him of stealing electoral materials and concocting results.

The governor stated that

issuing false statements will not save the GOC from prosecution.

Speaking during a media briefing in response to the allegations by the 6 Division that he tried to compromise soldiers of the 6 Division, Governor Wike described the allegation as false, malicious and diversionary .

He said: “We are doing a petition to the International Criminal Court. We are demanding justice for all those killed in the election by the army.

“We will also send a petition to all the major embassies in the country on the atrocities committed against Rivers people by the GOC and his soldiers.

We have also sent a

Wike said he had credible intelligence that the GOC had concluded plans to open fire on his convoy, with the objective of causing a deadly shootout.

“Nigerians watched in utter dismay as three Local Government Electoral Officers of INEC indicted soldiers of the 6 Division of the Nigerian Army for orchestrating electoral violence, snatching election materials and criminally colluding with All Progressives Congress, APC, leaders to concoct results during the Presidential and National Assembly elections. Rather than respond to these allegations, the GOC is making diversionary

and men of the 6 Division of the Nigerian Army by the INEC Officials confirm earlier intelligence that the GOC of the 6 Division is neck deep in the crisis in Rivers and manipulation of the elections. Mrs Mary Imawuya, INEC Electoral Officer of Ikwerre LGA, INEC Electoral Officer for Emohua LGA, Kenneth Etah and INEC Electoral Officer of Okrika LGA, Mr Leo Okon who addressed the Rivers East Senatorial District Collation Centre at Elekahia were unequivocal in their indictments of the soldiers and their criminal activities during the elections.

“The major problem they should defend is the INEC Officers who declared that

arrested. If something happens to my constituent, I reserve the right to find out. We did no wrong. Our arrest and those of many persons including INEC officials is sheer drama to blackmail Governor Wike.”

In his response, the arrested Commandant of the Rivers State Government House said, “How can they be parading official guns allocated to us as exhibit. We are not suspects. This is just blackmail. In my line of duty, I attend to welfare of security personnel drafter to work in Government House. Nothing criminal in money found with me. I didn’t bribe anybody.”

The resistance by the key suspects forced the 6 Division authorities to abort the parade of several other persons also in their custody for various offences bordering on the ongoing elections.

Arrest, parading our members diversionary —PDP

PDP’s spokesperson, Orji, reacting said: “What the military did is

the soldiers of the Nigerian Army abducted them, carted away materials and concocted results.”

Governor Wike denied ever making an attempt to compromise the electoral process .

He denied ever offering money to the soldiers to act illegally.

He noted that when the soldiers arrested the Rivers State Commissioner of Urban Development and Physical Planning, Dr Reason Onya for being among the approved PDP agents to escort materials, the commissioner called him.

He noted that he requested to speak with the Officer to demand the release of Onya who was on legal electoral function for the PDP.

diversionary and laughable. They had left their duties and had taken up those of police. PDP does not need rigging to win election in Rivers State, so we are shocked at their allegation.

“Why is Army so keen in the matter of election? They want to divert attention on what they did at Abonnema, Akuku-Toru Local Government Area. It is unfortunate for them to come up with such big lies.

“I informed the Chief of Army Staff, and the Inspector General of Police that Rivers State was under military siege. They should allow due process to be followed in the matter they are claiming.

“Military should stop being used by politicians.

We need their attention at the Sambisa forest to combat Boko Haram.”

He said he was not surprised at what the army was doing, recalling that the state governor had earlier raised the alarm of a plot to rope the state government into what it knew nothing about by arresting suspects and parading them as election thugs working for the state government, which is what the army had tried to do.

APC reacts

Meanwhile, the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Rivers State said the development had vindicated the party when it said Wike gives bribe to officials to have his way.

Spokesman of the party, Chris Finebone, commended the military for resisting Wike’s bribe.

Finebone said: “We have consistently said that Wike attempted to bribe everyone under the sun. In 2015 he bribed INEC personnel and was caught.

“Those individuals are presently on trial. He bribes judges routinely. Now he has turned his attention to compromising security agencies. Thank God the army resisted them.”

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2019—13

APC's Akume loses bid to return to Senate

By Peter Duru

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AKURDI—THERE was wild celebration across Benue State, after Senator George Akume, of All Progressives Congress, APC, representing Benue North West district, lost his bid to return to the Senate for the fourth time.

The former governor lost in

last Saturday’s National Assembly election to Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, candidate and member of the House of Representatives, Mr. Orker Jev. Announcing the result of the election, which had generated a lot of anxiety and tension in the state, Independent National Electoral Commission,

INEC, senatorial collation officer for the district, Prof.

Nichodemous Ogbulu, declared the PDP candidate winner after poling a total of 157,726 votes.

Akume on the other hand garnered 115,422 votes to suffer his first defeat since 2007 when he won his first election to the Senate.

Meanwhile, Benjamin

Uzondu of the PDP also floored Terhide Utaan of APC to clinch Makurdi/ Guma federal constituency seat.

Declaring Uzondu winner of the election, the returning officer, Prof. Hyacinth Oluma, said the PDP candidate polled 50,454 votes to defeat APC candidate, who got 37,743 votes.

MEMBERS' EVENING: From left, Mrs Joyce Ojemudia, General Manager, Linkage Assurance Plc; Mr Sola Tinubu, President, Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers, NCRIB; Mr Daniel Braie, Managing Direcor, Linkage Assurance Plc; Dr Bola Onigbogi, Deputy President, NCRIB and Mr Okanlawon Adelagun, Executive Director, Linkage Assurance, at NCRIB February 2019 Members' Evening, in Lagos, yesterday . Photo: Lamidi Bamidele.

My victory divine, unity of Nigeria sacrosanct —Wamakko

By Babatunde Jimoh

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HAIRMAN of Northern Senators Forum, NSF, and Coordinator, North-West, Presidential Campaign Council for Senator Aliyu Wamakko, said his victory in Saturday’s National Assembly election was divined by Almighty God. Wamakko in a chat with journalists after his reelection said God gives and takes leadership from whosoever He wishes and at the time He wants.

Wamakko, who represents Sokoto North senatorial district in the National Assembly said: “I am highly grateful to the Almighty Allah for granting me this invaluable success and indeed all the candidates of All Progressives Congress, APC, across Nigeria.”

The senator insisted that “it is only the Almighty who divinely grants leadership to his humble servants,” stressing: “It is not money or grab of power.”

An elated Senator Wamakko said his greatest happiness stemmed not only from his victory at the polls, but the victories of the two other senators as well as nine members of the House of Representatives

in the state.

He further averred that in APC, honesty, fairness and transparency would remain the watch words, stressing that “as a party, we are truly committed to evenly developing the entire country, while our hope is to religiously serve humanity.

"In the same vein, the party is unshakably committed to the

sustainable peace and unity of Nigeria.”

He appealed to Nigerians to remain calm and accept the verdict of the electorate in good faith and maturity, admonishing that politics should not be taken as a door-die affair.

He said: “In every contest, there must be a winner and a loser. I will personally be magnanimous in victory. As

politicians, we must be good players of the game of numbers, while Nigerians must work together, to further move the nation to greater heights.”

While acknowledging the sustained support of the electorate and the entire people of the state to the party, Wamakko promised that an APC-led state government would be elected on March 9, 2019, in the state.

I'll be senator for all —Uba Sani

By Ben Agande

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A D U N A — SENATORELECT for Kaduna Central in the Saturday’s National Assembly election, Uba Sani, has promised to work for everybody in the senatorial district irrespective of political and religious affiliations.

At a briefing after he was declared winner of the poll, Sani said he would work to ensure that the challenges faced by Kaduna Central senatorial district get the desired attention.

According to him, “the people have spoken. Our people spoke very loudly and decisively. And the message is crystal clear: Uba Sani is our choice for the 9th Senate of the

Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“Nothing can be more touching and humbling. It is, therefore, with the greatest humility and a heart full of thanks to Almighty Allah that I pledge to uphold the mandate freely and abundantly given to me by the good people of Kaduna Central senatorial zone.

“The overwhelming mandate is no doubt a big challenge. It is indicative of the fact that the people are tired of poor representation in the National Assembly, especially in the Senate, and have resolved to address the leadership deficit in the zone.

"They want responsible and responsive representation. The people want a person who

can offer quality representation and deploy his deep and extensive contacts to complement the efforts our hard working Governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, to address developmental deficits in our dear zone."

Borno PDP Reps candidate vows to challenge result

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By Ndahi Marama

AIDUGURI— P E O P L E S Democratic Party, PDP, candidate for House of Representatives, Maiduguri Metropolitan Council, who contested in the last Saturday National Assembly polls, Abdulsalam Kachallah, has rejected the results declared by Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC He alleged that the whole process was marred by irregularities and thump-printing of ballot papers without the use of card reader machines in the polling units.

In a statement, yesterday, Abdulsalam said: “I will have been the first person to congratulate the winner of the election if the process was free, fair and transparent. After due and extensive consultations with officials of my party at the state and local government, Campaign

Organisation and Coordinators, I wish to state clearly that I totally and strongly reject the results of the election in Maiduguri Metropolitan Constituency because of the glaring electoral malpractices, which seriously contravened the provisions of the 2018 Amended Electoral Act and all the laid down rules and regulations guiding the electoral process in Nigeria.

“You may wish to know that I have already communicated my decision to challenge the outcome of the election of the House of Representatives seat in Maiduguri Metropolitan Constituency to Borno State Independent Electoral Commission.

"I have also briefed my team of lawyers and given them immediate instructions to challenge the results released by INEC in the electoral tribunal at the appropriate time."

I'll reclaim my mandate, Adukwe tells Al-Makura

By DavidOdama

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AFIA— THE senator representing Nasarawa South senatorial district, Suleiman Adokwe, has challenged Governor Umaru Al-Makura who won the last Saturday’s senatorial election for Nasarawa South to be ready to defend his victory.

Adukwe who vowed to reclaim the senatorial zone’s seat won by AlMakura said at a briefing in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital, that the result declared by Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, was a rob of the mandate given to him by the electorate.

According to Adokwe, INEC and Al-Mkura and his cohort owed him and the electororate the explanation on the declaration of Al-

Makura as winner of the election.

INEC had on Monday declared Al-Makura, who contested on the platform of All Progressives Congress, APC, as winner, having polled a total of 113,156 votes to beatAdokwe of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, who scored 104,495 votes.

According to the lawmaker, "we will take back our mandate. I have done that before. We will pursue it. In fact, this case is going to be easier for me because what has happened is very easy to recover."

Adokwe cautioned the government of Nasarawa State and its alleged collaborators against shortchanging the people of the state.

PDP's Dasuki rejects result

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MEMBER of the House of Representatives, Abdussamad Dasuki, of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has rejected the result of the election for Kebbe/ Tambuwal Federal Constituency in Sokoto State.

Dasuki, Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Navy, rejected the result at a briefing, yesterday, in

Sokoto.

According to him, the Saturday’s election in his constituency was marred with irregularities and refusal to comply with the election guidelines.

He said: “It is obvious that the conduct of the election in Tambuwal and Kebbe local government areas was marred with quite a number of irregularities.”

He said he was working with leaders of his party to

take a stand on the irregularities that marred the exercise.

The lawmaker said it was clear he won the election by morning of Sunday, “but whatever magic the APC did to claim the victory will In-sha Allah be unraveled very soon.

“PDP will definitely not allow its mandate to be stolen; we have not accepted the outcome of the result as we know that we have won the election.”

14 — VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2019

MEMORIAL/PRAYER LUNCH IN HONOUR OF LATE CHIEF G.K. ANIMASHAWUN The late Chief G.K. Animashawun memorial prayer/lunch held in Lagos yesterday. Photos by Akeem Salau.

From left: Chief Akin Delano, SAN; Chief Emeka Anyaoku, former Commonwealth Secretary-General and Chief Yetunde Animashawun.

Senator Felix Kola Bajomo (left) and Chief Yetunde Animashawun (widow of late G.K Animashawun.)

Funlola Delano (daughter) and Muritala Animashawun (son).

From left: Mrs Bisi Jare-Alade; Olori Abiola Okunoren;Tolagbe Animashaun and Hon. Dotun Animashaun.

From left: Mr Dayo Adeagbo; Mr Ajibola Animashaun From left: Muritala Animashawun (son); Mr Kunle and Mr Sesi Animashaun.

Rotimi Oyekanmi and Mrs Efunnike Oseni and Baron AbdulKarim Bakare.

Animashawun, wife to Kayode Animashawun, Jnr.

From left: Olori Fadeke Akiolu, Olori Olanike Akiolu and Olori Kudirat Akiolu, all Oloris (wives) of Oba Rilwan Akiolu of Lagos.

From left: Mrs Oyinda Ayepola; Mrs Tosin Animashawun (daughter) and Mrs Rasheemat Adeshina.

VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2019—15

Obi rejects presidential results ...says S-East voters were disenfranchised

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By Vincent Ujumadu

WKA—THE Vice presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP, in Saturday’s election, Mr. Peter Obi, yesterday accused the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, of deliberately disenfranchising majority of registered voters in the South East geo-political zone and rejected the outcome of the exercise.

Addressing reporters in Onitsha, Obi alleged that the general election was systematically planned to ensure that the South East

zone did not participate fully in the electoral process.

According to him, out of about 10 million registered voters in the zone, only twenty percent were able to cast their votes.

He said: “You will recall that on the Election Day, I said that the process was clumsy and we also had major problem of card readers, which made it difficult for most people to vote.

“When over 400,000 card readers got burnt at INEC office in Awka, it became clear that something was wrong somewhere. INEC could not save the situation

and they did not allow people to vote manually.

“But in some other parts of the country, people were allowed to vote manually and it was accepted by the electoral body. Now, how can you tell me that a state like Yobe and Borno produced the number of voters that is higher than those of Anambra and Ebonyi states put together?

“The two northern states are areas that have been at war and I wonder how they got Card Readers that were working so well, despite the war situation they found themselves in.”.

Obi regretted that instead of the country to build on

achievements of the 2015 general elections, the reverse was the situation in 2019, adding that the impressive turn-out of voters was discouraged by the performance of the electoral body last Saturday.

He also recalled what he described as the incessant harassment and attack of PDP members as the election approached, saying the action was part of the authority’s bid to intimidate them into submission.

Obi, however, noted that it was not for him to demand for the cancellation of the election, adding that only the party could make its position known on the matter.

PRESS BRIEFING: Vice Presidential Candidate of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Mr Peter Obi, addressing newsmen on the outcome of 2019 Presidential Election at his residence in Onitsha, yesterday.

Photo: NAN

Attack on Ndigbo: Police intensify patrol, surveillance in Lagos, dispels rumour

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By Chioma Gabriel

AGOS—THE Lagos State Police Command has dispelled the rumour making the rounds on the internet to the effect that a group of boys popularly called the ‘Area boys’ were attacking Igbo traders at Oshodi, preventing them from opening their shops.

A statement signed by CSP Chike Oti, Police Public Relations Officer, Lagos State said: “Although the command received ditress calls from concerned Nigerians whose apprehensions were

understandably heightened by disturbing rumours emanating from some social media platforms, the Command swiftly and massively deployed its personnel drawn from various units to Oshodi and environs to assuage the feelings of residents and further assure Lagosians of its readiness to decisively deal with any person or group of persons who attempts to breach the public peace.

“The Commisioner of Police, Lagos State Police Command, commended Lagosians for conducting

themselves in a peaceful and orderly manner during the last Saturday Presidential and National Assembly elections. The Police with support of other sister security agencies worked round the clock to ensure that the process was generally peaceful.

“In order to sustain the peaceful atmosphere, the command will maintain a high level of Police presence in all parts of the state with emphasis on crime prone areas.

“Those celebrating should do that with modesty while those

unhappy with the results have the privilege of adhering with laid down procedures of addressing their grievances as provided by the Electoral Act in the Tribunal. The command has made adequate arrangements to secure the venues of the election tribunals in the state.

“The command however, warns criminally-minded people and disgruntled elements to steer clear of the state or be prepared to contend with security forces in the state.”

GCO urges Enugu residents to vote Ugwuanyi

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By Chinedu Adonu

NUGU—CAMPAIGN Organisation of Gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, known as Gburugburu Campaign Organisation, GCO, has expressed gratitude with the large turn-out of voters during the presidential and national assembly elections

in the state especially as they voted massively for all the PDP candidates.

In a release made available to the media by the Director of Media, Barr.

Nana Ogbodo, the campaign organisation also called on Enugu indigenes to come out en-masse on March 9 to vote for Gov. Ugwuanyi as well as the PDP candidates for the

House of Assembly polls.

According to the release, Ugwuanyi should be reelected to continue with his good governance.

“With the Presidential and National Assembly elections concluded and results duly announced, we would like to express our profound appreciation to the good people of Enugu State for their

immense support to our great party, the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), and all our candidates at the last Saturday’s general election.

“The overwhelming victory recorded by our candidates in the state is yet a bold reaffirmation of the electorate's strong belief in the PDP’s people-friendly policies."

Returning Officer makes u-turn, declares Anambra South result inconclusive ...says he declared Ubah winner to save his life

By Vincent Ujumadu

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WKA—THE Returning officer for Anambra South Senatorial district in last Saturday’s election, Prof.

Meshach N. Umenweke yesterday made a detour after declaring Chief Ifeanyi Ubah of the Young Progressives Party, YPP, winner for the zone, claiming that he made the declaration to save his life.

In a letter he wrote to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, dated February 25, 2019, Umenweke declared the senatorial election in the zone inconclusive, adding that he declared the candidate of YPP winner due to the volatile situation at the collation centre, which he said, was a great threat to his life.

Umenweke, a law professor at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka listed some wards and polling units across the senatorial district where, according to him, card readers were not

used.

It was gathered that one of the candidates in the election had petitioned INEC, which prompted Umenweke’s response.

His letter to INEC read: “The letter which was addressed to your good self and copied to me was delivered to me at 9.15pm on 24/02/19. At the material time, I could not act on the letter due to the following reasons: That there was insufficient time to investigate the allegation contained therein.

“That there were skirmishes within the compound of the Nnewi North local government where the results were being collated between the police and some thugs, who sought to gain entrance into the area of collation.

The situation was volatile, intense and charged.

“The police had to spray teargas to disperse the thugs and supporters, most of whom waited nearby.

There was insufficient security in the collation arena and there was the imminent danger to my person given the situation at hand to delve into the merits of the petition at the material time."

PDP sweeps Nsukka, as Asadu returns to House for 4th term

By Chinenyeh Ozor

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NUGU—THE Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, delivered 100 percent in last Saturday’s Presidential and national assembly elections as Dr. Pat Asadu, representing Nsukka/Igboeze South Federal Constituency won the House of Representatives election in a peaceful exercise.

Asadu, a fourth time Reps member polled a total of 60,863 votes to defeat his closest rival, Ikechukwu Ugwuegede of the APC who scored 12,106 votes.

Asadu led other returnee Reps members from Enugu as the PDP swept the polls in the state.

Others who were returned included Tob Okechukwu of the PDP who scored 50,173 votes to retain the Aninri/ Awgu/Oji-River Federal Constituency.

Okechukwu defeated veteran journalist and broadcaster, Vin Martins

Ilo of the APC who scored 8,354 votes.

Despite reports of malfunctioning card readers and late arrival of INEC materials in some areas, there was no report of violence all through the period of the elections.

Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State who voted in Amube ward polling booth II in Udenu Local Government Area of the state, told newsmen and his supporters that “in everything we do, we give God the glory”.

Speaking with newsmen at Nkpologwu, Sen Chukwuka Utazi, representing Enugu North Senatorial District commended the turn-out and peaceful nature of the election but expressed concern on reports of card reader failure in some places in Uzouwani, even in his own polling unit, Hilltop Primary School, Nkpologu.

“I am not happy about the failure of card readers in Uzouwani and many other polling units," he noted.

16—Vanguard, WEDNESSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2019

US inflation to fall further below 2% target - Powell

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INSPECTION: From right— Governor State of Osun, Mr. Gboyega Oyetola, Supervisor for Tourism and Home Affairs, Dr Adebisi Obawale, and Supervisor for Agriculture, Dr. Charles Akinola, during the inspection of the scene of the fire incident that razed part of Ifelodun saw-mill, at Alekunwodo area of Osogbo, yesterday.

‘Galadima’s whereabouts still unknown’ A BUJA—THE toughtalking opposition leader of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Buba Galadima’s whereabout is still unknown, according to PR Nigeria.

Checks from the Department of State Services, DSS, the Police and military intelligence indicate that Alhaji Galadima is not held by any of the mentioned security agencies since his abduction by hooded operatives on Sunday, a day after the Presidential and National Assembly elec-

tions.

A host of opposition voices quickly pointed at the State Security Service as the agency responsible for Mr Galadima’s arrest and demanded his immediate release.

Speaking to PRNigeria, the spokespersons of the DSS, Peter Afunanya; the Police, ACP Frank Mba and the Army, Colonel Sagir Musa, all denied arresting the stalwart of PDP Campaign Council.

Galadima, who was one of the APC leaders that de-

fected to the PDP from the ruling All Progressives Congress, was reported to have been arrested in Abuja on Sunday.

The spokesperson for the Buhari Campaign Organisation, Festus Keyamo, had called for the arrest of Galadima in a statement, accusing him of a plan to “release fake presidential result ahead of INEC, apart from planning to mobilise hoodlums for choreographed protests.

The National Chairman of PDP, Prince Uche

Secondus, condemned the alleged arrest of Buba Galadima by security operatives.

Prince Secondus in a statement Sunday night, said the development was an act of intimidation, and demanded also the arrest of APC national leader, Bola Tinubu, over bullion vans allegedly seen in his house.

He said: “What crime has he committed? Mr. Galadima is constitutionally guaranteed a right of freedom of speech.”

Anti-graft: Contractor must adhere to procurement law —LASG of

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By Monsuru Olowoopejo

AGOS—TO ensure project completion, Lagos State Government has tasked contractors and anyone aiming to engage it in business to adhere strictly to the state procurement law.

The State Government added that effective and efficient public procurement process further strengthen anticorruption efforts and curb excesses of public officials.

Addressing stakeholders at a one-day engagement with business community in procurement process in Ikeja, the state Deputy Governor, Dr. Idiat Adebule, yesterday, stated that better results would be achieved with less resources.

According to the Deputy Governor, who was represented by Special Adviser to the Governor on Urban Development, Mrs. Yetunde Onabule, efficient

public procurement processes is one of the tools to achieve efficient management of public resources and delivery of infrastructure to the citizens which are the hallmark of any responsible government.

She told the business community that "your role

is significant to realise our objectives of doing more for our citizens with the scarce resources at our disposal, and ultimately help guarantee good governance achored on t r a n s p a r e n c y, accountability and probity".

Earlier in his welcome address, General Manager

LPA, Mr. Idowu Onafowote said it is in the interest of the state government to create opportunity for businesses to increase in capacity, create employment opportunities, sustain themselves, produce wealth as well as foster innovation and contribute to the Gross Development Product, GDP, of the state.

Diebiri kingdom condemns attack on NGPTCL gas plant

By Jimitota Onoyume

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ARRI—DIEBIRI kingdom in Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta State has condemned recent attack on NGPTCL gas line in Btan community, urging security agencies to bring those behind the criminal acts to book.

A statement by the community signed by Michael Douglas , Ambrose Ogulasuogha

and J.G Urybis said the community will not tolerate incessant attack on oil facilities by criminal elements, adding that the criminal activities pollute their environment.

“We also want to use this medium to warn economic saboteurs such as illegal bunkers, dubious contractors conniving with criminals within and outside our kingdom to desist forthwith as this cannot be business as usual, as

the Diebiri kingdom will take decisive measures against perpetrators.

“The above call become necessary as the Diebiri people cannot condone the incessant destruction of economic assets by these unscrupulous element resulting to devastation and pollution of the environment causing unbearable living condition of the inhabitants in these communities,” the community said.

ESPITE solid growth and continuing job gains, the US economy will see inflation fall even further below the Fed's 2% goal, at least for a time, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said today.

That forecast added weight to Powell's repetition that the Fed will be "patient" before making any further changes in the benchmark borrowing rate.

"Recent declines in energy prices will likely push headline inflation further below the longer-run goal of 2% for a time," he said in semi-annual testimony before the US Senate Banking Committee.

The US Fed increased the key policy interest rate four times last year.

But rising uncertainty, especially around the US trade confrontation with China, amplified concerns about slowing global growth and fears the Fed was moving too aggressively.

That prompted the Fed to signal clearly for the past several weeks that it would tread carefully and many economists now do not expect any increase this year.

Oil slumps 3 percent after Trump again criticizes OPEC

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N 2018, Israeli startups received $1.19 billion or almost 20% of global VC investments in cybersecurity, up 47% from the previous year, according to a new report from Start-Up Nation Central. Another report, published today by Strategic Cyber Ventures, shows that Israel has surpassed China last year as the hottest spot for VC investments in cybersecurity companies outside of the US. Start-Up Nation Central has also observed the increased participation by non-Israeli investors (most active were ClearSky Security Fund, Blumberg Capital, Boldstart Ventures, and Sequoia Capital) who were involved in 65% of investment deals and by corporate VCs (Intel Capital) who participated in 21% of deals.

£8.6bn public sector fund appoints managers for equity protection

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he Merseyside Pension Fund has appointed five managers to help it run equity overlays to protect its stock market exposure against a downturn.

According to publicly available documents, the £8.6bn (•10bn) pension fund has appointed Eaton Vance, Insight Investment, Legal & General Investment Management, River & Mercantile and Schroders to a panel that will advise on risk management design and construction.

The document said Merseyside was "seeking to control equity risk on a medium-term basis" roughly 18 months - "and possibly on a longer term strategic basis through the use of an equity overlay solution".

In the financial year 2017-18 "the potential for the fund to implement equity protection strategies was identified as an area of development", according to its annual report.

At the end of March 2018, Merseyside had roughly 40% of its portfolio - £3.4bn - invested in UK and international equities, either directly or through pooled funds.

Ibec's McCoy calls for 'new SSIA-type scheme' to promote savings

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HE idea of promoting savings to cool the economy during times of rapid economic expansion has been revisited by Danny McCoy, the head of business group Ibec.

The Special Saving Incentive Account (SSIA) scheme was introduced in 2001 but was criticised at the same as being too expensive and ill-timed - with an estimated •16bn in accumulated savings subsequently released into an already overheating economy.

But last year, Philip Lane, governor of the Central Bank, said that some sort of revised scheme could work to help smooth the boom-bust cycles that have afflicted the Irish economy.

That gave rise to speculation that Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe would announce a new special savings scheme in the budget last October.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2019 —17

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HE outcome of this election has revealed a division of public opinion on class lines: Looking at the electoral map, it seems President Muhammadu Buhari lost in many areas with a high concentration of affluent Nigerians and won in zones with a higher number of underprivileged people.

It also revealed the continuance of the deeply politicized and manipulated tensions and anxieties between the North and the South: many discriminatory, prejudiced comments were seen on social media, such as “the North likes poverty, they voted Buhari”: implying citizens in that part of the country were not capable of making rational choices based on their best interests (at least ethnicity couldn’t be said to be a factor, as both leading candidates for president are Muslim and Fulani).

Such comments also go with the polemical idea (often volunteered by Southern ethnic associations and politicians) that the North’s “backwardness” and reluctance to modernise is the root of Nigeria’s problems.

African institutional dysfunction, which allows the rich and well-connected to take huge risks using depositors and shareholders funds, with the near assurance of “rescue” using public funds (while denying there is enough money to boost public education or provide universal

An election based on class lines: The beginning of something new?

Diverging class interests This narrative encouraging fear of the “other” is rooted in the colonial era: it was a strategy used by the British to stop the people of the North and South from uniting against them.

Modern day politicians have found it useful, a means of preventing the realisation that the real conflict isn’t between the North and the South but between the diverging class interests of the rich and the poor in Nigeria.

A poor man in Kano suffers from many of the same issues as a poor man in Anambra, despite surface cultural differences.

The little naira in both pockets is stretched in impossible ways because of economic and political decisions taken by a unified class of individuals even though they pretend to belong to different parties, or to dislike each other based on religion or other identities.

In the run-up to the 2015 elections, Patience Jonathan, reportedly described Buhari as “brain dead” (after which she avoided appearing at PDP rallies in the North) and said the North practices “born throway ” referring to the

•Voters queuing to vote in last Saturday's election...a new dawn? “almajiri” population and the large out of school demographic in the core North.

This idea that only illiteracy could explain support for a candidate like Buhari) is a cruder version of what is found in liberal, elitist circles where any attempt to defend the rights of the poor against the vagaries of the free market is seen as “illogical” or worse, a scam.

Rights of the poor Turning the poor against each other, as well as turning them against policies and ideas which benefit them directly, in favour of amnesty for corrupt individuals or helping individuals whose greed and mismanagement cause financial ruin of banks and other enterprises subsequently bailed out using public funds, is a play straight out of the global capitalist agenda which most African politicians have been trained or unconsciously forced to accept as the norm.

No high-level executives

HE US government called the 2019 elections “free and fair”. While one has no quarrel with foreign observers performing their duties, it’s interesting we’re still unable to judge the process ourselves and need foreign validation to feel we’ve done things “properly ”. Who “checks” America’s voter suppression

Lasting progress in Nigeria will require the masses, in the future, in the North for example, to vote for a pro-poor candidate who comes from the South crisis which ensued. One day this must become a subject of national, pan-African conversation: the template for

Initial support of the establishment healthcare) was developed in the West, from whence the alliance between political and corporate interests was exported to the rest of the world.

So, when so-called “modern” and “business friendly ” politicians talk about privatisation and cutting government spending on vulnerable group’s access to public housing, food security and other basic needs, the average African might not fully make the connection between this discourse and the destructive structural adjustment programmes, but he certainly realises, even at an embryonic level, the difference between government spending on the poor and the absence of such spending.

The North represents the highest percentage of poverty in Nigeria. It also represents the consistent backbone of proBuhari support in every election he has ever contested in. In 2019, we witnessed the firming up of class solidarity: given the choice between two Muslim, Fulani men, the

Uche Secondus

Foreign interference

T

were prosecuted following the fall of Lehman brothers (an American financial services firm) and the global financial

and fraud (in Alabama and Florida especially). Africans must begin to question a global system where foreigners directly and indirectly dictate who becomes President in our countries and influence our policies based on their own interests, not ours. To quote Fela: Teacher don’t teach me nonsense.

C

HAIRMAN of the PDP, Uche Secondus, refuted the results announced by INEC (even before the final result) stating the PDP had the “original results” which the international community was “aware” of. Interesting double standard: those referred to as “dictators” went to court three times and accepted their electoral loss.

North apparently chose the one who presented a pro-poor outlook. What does this mean for the rest of Nigeria?

Violence, in these elections, was interestingly confined to the South. The South-East voted the Atiku/Obi ticket. The South-South and South-East have always favoured conservatives (or what passes for a conservative agenda in Nigeria).

A good number of its former governors were already “IBB Boys” and favourites of the military junta in the 1980s.

Interestingly, politicians in that part of the country have sold the North as the South-East and South-South’s problem while consistently allying with the pro-North, Northern Peoples Congress, NPC (which morphed into the PDP) since the First Republic.

The South-West has been familiar with the progressive agenda since Awolowo. It was neither ready to turn its back on the Vice-President, Yemi Osinbajo, nor on the welfarist policies whose introduction he oversaw.

Lasting progress in Nigeria will require the masses, in the future, in the North for example, to vote for a pro-poor candidate who comes from the South.

•PDP Chairman, Uche Secondus

It’s much too early to encourage an Osinbajo candidacy, but if a Southern Christian candidate can win the North’s support we’ll begin the urgent work of unravelling the North/South divide.

You might say: “But former President Jonathan won in the North” or even, “so did Obasanjo” (which depending on who you ask is debatable, based on constantly resurfacing allegations).

Either way, the aforementioned were thrust into reckoning by the initial support of the establishment, rather than the support of the poor “talakawa”, the commoners.

If we can have a succession of men and women in public office whose struggle for national development the poor of every region can identify with and believe in, we’ll defeat tribal sentiment.

Class sentiment, in the not too distant future, will and must overtake ethno-religious alliances: a poor man is a poor man wherever he’s from, and the masses must realise who amongst their leaders works for national development, who serves the interests of a few, and also who serves the foreign business interests which have impoverished Africa.

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

18 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2019 THE Academic Union of Universities, ASUU, on Thursday, February 7, 2019, called off the strike it embarked upon on November 4, 2018 shortly after resumption from the long holidays.

Its President, Professor Biodun Ogunyemi, said it was suspended after reaching a “Memorandum of Action, MoA, with the Federal Government.” ASUU obviously had to press for an MoA instead of the usual Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, which the Federal Government always failed to honour. The Union’s main reasons for the recurring strikes boil down to low wages and the continued degeneration of the tertiary institutions due to poor funding by governments.

We hope that the MoA will be implemented to prevent further strikes. More importantly, we hope that the new leaders being elected during the ongoing general elections

Hydra-headed implications of ASUU strikes will look at education in a new, positive light by increasing funding to the sector. For instance, in the 2017 Federal Budget, only N605.8 billion (or 7.04 per cent) was budgeted for education, which was a far cry from the 15 to 20 per cent recommended minimum by the United Nations Educational, Social and Cultural Organisation, UNESCO. The Minister of Education, Mr. Adamu Adamu, has acknowledged that Nigeria’s attitude to education funding is a non-starter: “None of the E9 (Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria and Pakistan) or D8 countries (Bangladesh, Egypt, Nigeria,

Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Pakistan, and Turkey) other than Nigeria, allocates less than 20 per cent of its annual budget to education. Indeed even among sub-Saharan Africa countries, we are trailing far behind smaller and less endowed nations in terms of our investment in education”.

Increased funding of education at all levels will, apart from minimising strikes in the sector, also help alleviate the poor quality of graduates we turn out. The National Employers Consultative Association, NECA, Director- General, Mr. Timothy Olawale, has pointed out that frequent ASUU strikes help to render our graduates unemployable.

Besides, when youths are forced to languish at home for prolonged periods and spend more years at school than prescribed by their course schedules, they tend to lose faith in the system in addition to losing many useful years of their active lives.

There is no way the Nigerian university system can inspire confidence or enjoy reasonable rating internationally unless stability is restored.

All stakeholders must also be mindful of the danger of knowledge dichotomy it imposes on the children of the common man (including those of university lecturers) since most of our politicians send their children abroad due to their corrupt access to the public treasury.

It requires a stronger, more focused action to force policy makers to increase education funding.

Abandoning the struggle to ASUU alone will only leave them with fewer options other than the resort to strikes.

OPINION On foreign interference

By Sunny Ikhioya

A

FTER the postponement of the 2019 presidential and national assembly elections from February 16 to 23, there was a strong rumour that the postponement had the unseen hands of foreign groups.

Remarkably, we always want to eat our cake and still have it in our hands. We want true democracy to flourish in the land but we do not want to make the necessary sacrifices for it to be actualised.

We all travel to Europe and other developed parts of the world; we enjoy what they have there and crave it, but as soon as we assume power, we allow our personal and selfish interests to over ride the common goal. That is the way we are. With all the inherent potentials to make us a great nation, our peculiar way of doing things has made this dream utopian; not realisable.

What are the basic needs of a people in a nation? Food, shelter, security and education.

Are these achievable? Yes. Why is Nigeria finding it difficult to achieve this? Greed of the elites and poor leadership. For example, a Senator Godswill Akpabio will, from every indication, sacrifice Akwa Ibom State for his personal ambition. Same with Rochas Okorocha in Imo State. That is our way: me first and last, and let the nation go to hell.

If you doubt this scenario, why are people being needlessly massacred even before an election takes place. Why must our elections be a do-or-die affair? This is what we want our leaders to provide answers to. Hypocrisy has so eaten deep into us that we shamelessly carry it like a badge.

What do you say about an El Rufai who ran to Europe and the USA for refuge during the Umaru Yar’Adua reign? Now the same man is

threatening foreign observers, while forgetting that President Muhammadu Buhari has announced almost all of his major policies abroad, even before the Nigerian press gets a whiff of it.

It is also curious that Lai Mohammed who is noted for granting world press conferences at every opportunity will see the activities of foreign observers as interference. That is our way; everything is all about self interest. You want to practice democracy and you do not want to open your process to scrutiny, you want democracy and you are regularly feeding the populace with untruth; you want democracy and you can’t stand criticism from the opposition; you want democracy and you cannot allow free and fair election to hold.

The worst of it is that you came to power under the popular wave of a free and fair election and you cannot sustain this tempo as a democratic government. Now the international community is asking you to give account, and like Esau in the Bible, you want to run into hiding; you do not want to be accountable. How then will your democracy work when the bedrock of democracy is accountability to the people?

The US and other countries with democratic culture are asking questions through their representatives and you are issuing threats. Do you have the capacity to stand them if they decide to bite? I believe we should learn from the experience of Venezuela. You cannot fight these super powers, especially for a country that does not produce anything. Yes, even the oil in our land are being produced by foreigners; they fully in control of all aspects of the production process. So, how can you be totally dependent on foreigners for your countries sustenance and you say they cannot have an opinion in your democratic

process! That is the dilemma we face as a nation as we go through another election cycle. Suffice to mention here that the people in government today were once friends of the foreigners they have threatened.

Buhari, El Rufai, Tinubu and the rest were at the forefront of the international observers activities during the run-up to the 2015 elections. When, how and why this partnership fell apart is a matter for further analysis. It is safe for us to assume that things are no longer the same. But how do you put away these foreigners when you are still

Our orientation and common ways of doing things must change; it will require sacrifice but the sacrifice must be matched by sincerity of purpose, coupled with a dynamic leadership that will drive it dependent on them for almost everything.

Our President is totally dependent on them for his medical care, his children are having their education abroad, same for all top government functionaries in the country. You run to them, cap in hand, at the slightest problem; you depend on them for weapons to fight the insurgency in our land; you are totally dependent on them for everything and you feel they do not have a right to comment on

how you operate your government, when their business interests are involved? The only time we can claim independence from these foreign powers is only when we have sufficiently developed our own capacity to handle our problems or challenges on our own.

Can it be done? Yes, but not with the present crop of leadership and the way we are going about it. In fact, we have gone further to compound our problem with the present romance with China, given the unfavorable balance of trade relationships with them. We must go into relationships as equal partners and at terms that will be of utmost benefit to all parties.

But how do you achieve this when you have nothing of substance as collateral to give in place for what we are getting? That is what is presently lacking with those ruling us. The solutions are there but they will prefer the lazy man’s approach; the lazy, sweet-talking and all is well approach and using the past as excuses.

What will happen to our health institutions if the government decides that all medical challenges, irrespective of the personnel involved, must be handled in Nigeria? What will happen if individual use of generators is banned across board, including the Presidency? What will happen if we take our destinies in our own hands in our productive sectors- oil, manufacturing, agric and others?

What about education. All these are possible because we have been in such situation in the past when the country could feed itself. It is then we can talk to the super powers as equals.

Unfortunately, that is not the case now. It is possible but our orientation and common ways of doing things must change. It will require sacrifice but the sacrifice must be matched by sincerity of purpose and direction, coupled with a dynamic leadership that will drive it.

•Ikhioya, www.southsouthecho.com Twitter: @SunnyIkhioya

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27 , 2019

Nigeria earns N3.72trn from royalties, petroleum tax in one year •Begins fuel import from China

By Michael Eboh

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igeria earned N3.72 trillion from royalties and petroleum profit tax, PPT, in the oil and gas sector in 2018, according to data obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN. The CBN, in its Economic Report for the Fourth Quarter of 2018, stated that the amount the country earned from royalties and PPT in 2018 represented an improvement of 106.7 per cent compared to N1.8 trillion recorded in 2017.

Analysis of the report showed that the amount earned from royalties and PPT from the petroleum industry in 2018 represented 40.9 per cent of the 2018 budget of N9.1 trillion and 42.6 per cent of the N8.73 trillion budget proposals for 2019.

Further analysis showed that royalties and PPT revenue represented 153.2 per cent, 61.2 per cent and 43.2 per cent of capital, recurrent and total allocation in the 2018 budget respectively, while in the 2019 budget proposals, PPT and royalties represented 168.8 per cent, 54.8 per cent and 42.1 per cent of capital, recurrent and total allocations respectively.

In the 2018 budget, N2.4 trillion was budgeted for capital expenditure; N6.07 trillion was earmarked for recurrent expenditure, while total allocation was N8.61 trillion.

In the 2019 budget, capital and recurrent expenditures stood at N2.032 trillion and N6.79 trillion respectively, while total allocation stood at N8.83 trillion.

Royalties and PPT, according to the report, accounted for 67.22 per cent of total gross oil revenue of N5.54 trillion recorded in 2018.

Meanwhile, the Nigeria conducted its first importation of gasoline, also known as Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, of51,000 metric tonnes (MT) from China in January, according to a report, yesterday, by global energy data firm, S&P Global Platts.

Platts, in the report obtained from China’s General Administration, said this was Nigeria’s first import of petrol from China.

Platts noted in the report that Nigeria was the fourth largest buyer of Chinese gasoline in January, and was also the only buyer outside Asia last month.

It added that Nigeria was the second country in Africa to have received gasoline from China gasoline, with the first

being Togo that got 50,000 mt of gasoline in April 2018.

The report noted that PetroChina, China’s largest gasoline exporter, had in 2018 set up an office in Nigeria, which could possibly point to the first gasoline cargo landing in the country.

Platts disclosed that China’s gasoil exports to African countries also continued to grow, with Mozambique and South Africa climbing to the top 10 destinations in January, receiving 147,000 mt and 82,000 mt of gasoil, respectively.

L-R: Azubike Emodi (Executive Director); Nonso Okpala (MD/CEO); and Gbenga Omolokun (Executive Director) all of VFD Group Plc at a press briefing held yesterday in Lagos to announce the transformation of the group to a public company.

Post election: Stock market sheds N84bn as (+7.3 percent ), followed by cautious trading persist AIICO Insurance (+5.4

By Peter Egwuatu

I

nvestors yesterday maintained their cautious approach to trading on the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE), as the nation continues to $93.80 -2.60 wait for the final result of the presidential 2,250.00 3.00 election, resulting to N84.4 $12.89 -0.2 billion loss in the market capitalisation.

Similarly, the bench mark index, Nigerian $65.42 0.66 Stock Exchange, NSE All Share Index, ASI $55.80 0.32 also fell by 0.69 percent to close at CURRENCY BUYING SELLING 32,473.82 following US DOLLAR 305.85 306.35 306.85 heavy losses recorded 399.9906 400.6445 401.2984 POUNDS

by Nestle Nigeria (347.4762 348.0442 348.6123 EURO 4.4 percent), Union 305.4335 305.9329 306.4323 FRANC 2.7619 2.7664 2.7709 YEN Bank Nigeria, UBN (0.5088 0.5188 0.5288 CFA 8.3percent) and First 424.8519 425.5465 426.241 WAUA Bank Nigeria 45.7173 45.7925 45.8677 RENMINBI Holding, FBNH (-3.6 81.5358 81.6691 81.8024 RIYAL 424.2669 424.9606 425.6543 SDR percent).

46.4593 46.535 46.6113 DANISH Activity level also 21.848 21.8837 21.9195 RAND remained mixed as CBN Exchange rate as at 26/02/2019 volume traded

increased 46.6 percent to 322.2 million units while value traded dipped 56.1 percent to N2.4 billion.

The top traded stocks by volume were Access Bank (32.3million units), Diamond Bank (28.6million units) and UBA (19.0million units) while the top values traded were Guaranty Trust Bank (N677.7million), Zenith Bank (N378.1million) and Access Bank (N203.1million).

Sector performance was mixed as 2 out of 5 sectors recorded decline. The Consumer Goods and Banking indices shed 1.6 percent and 1.2 percent respectively, on the back of profit taking in Nestle (-4.4 percent ), Guaranty Trust Bank (-0.1 percent ) and Zenith Bank (-0.8 percent).

On the flipside, the Insurance and Oil & Gas indices improved 3.2 percent and 1.6 percent respectively based on price appreciations recorded by MANSARD Insurance which gained

percent) and OANDO (+9.9 percent) while the Industrial Goods index closed flattish, inching four bases points, bps following gains in CUTIX (+9.6 percent ).

Investor sentiment as measured by the market breadth moderated as 21 stocks advanced against 20 decliners.

African Prudential led the gainers’ chart rising by 10.0 percent following the release of its full year, FY 2018 result.

It was followed by Oando (+9.8 percent) and AG Leventis (+9.7 percent) while NPF Microfinance Bank led the worst performing stocks, dropping by 9.7 percent, followed by UBN (-8.3 percent) and Japaul Oil (-7.4 percent.

Analysts at Afrinvest Research said: “Based on market performance today, Tuesday we advise cautious trading till the final results of the presidential elections are announced.”

— 19

VFD Group targets N5bn bond offer with PLC status

By Babajide Komolafe

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FD Group Plc said it would leverage on its new status as a public company to float a N5 billion bond offer.

Group Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer of the company, Nonso Okpala, disclosed this yesterday while briefing the press on the transformation of the company to a public company.

He said that the transformation from a private company (Limited) to public company (PLC) follows the successful raising of N2.8 billion through a public offering that also increased the number of its shareholders from 50 to more than 120.

Okpala said: “We have last year, towards the end of last year we concluded our public offer which was a combination of a Right and private placement.

We were expected to raise N2 billion, we ended up raising about N2.8 billion.

“In the process of the success of that offer we had significantly increased our shareholding base. We went from about, we went from less than 50 shareholders to more than 120 shareholders and that simply puts you within the purview of a public company.

“So what we quickly did was to go to the Security and Exchange Commission and CAC and we file our intention to become a public company.

That has been successfully approved and as we are currently, we are delighted to say that we are a public company.

So going forward, we have been referred to as VFD Group plc.”

Explaining the importance of the new status of the group, he said: “First, it gives us the reputational alignment for us to raise N5 billion in our proposed VFD Group bond which should happen before the end of the second quarter of this year.

“But on the largest scale it also aligns with our strategy to be a listed company in 2022. As you know, VFD group has strong and huge ambition which would include having a leading presence in all the sectors in the financial services industry.

“Currently, we have done well in that respect but we are still seeking to have interest in insurance company and in the banking sector itself. We have finalised an application currently for the regional banking licence. We hope that that process would be completed within this year and worst case scenario within the first quarter of next year.”

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2019—20

plans to make The revival of M&A as strategy for Microsoft AI available to Africa Nigerian businesses M Stories by Princewill Ekwujuru

IGERIA in the past N 10 years has recorded over 26 mergers & acquisition (M&A) exercise, the latest being the acquisition of Chi Limited by Coca Cola.

The total value of M&A transactions in Nigeria is over N500 billlion, according to analyst estimate, excluding some fringe mergers and acquisitions. Merger is a deal to unite two or more existing companies into one new, bigger company.

There are several types of mergers and reasons companies embrace mergers. Acquisition is part ownership of a business or total ownership of a business.

Most of the companies that participated are quoted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE. They range from the Conglomerates sub-sector to Insurance, Banking, Packaging, Healthcare, Textiles, Food & Beverages sub-sectors as well as Oil & Gas (Petroleum Marketing) sub-sector.

Examples include the acquisition of ConocoPhilips, COP at $1.55 billion by Oando Energy Resources, OER, a subsidiary of Oando Plc now 11 Plc. The acquisition of Mainstreet Bank Limited from Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria, AMCON by Skye Bank Plc for a total consideration of N120 billion and Polaris Bank acquisition of Skye Bank.

Others are the acquisition of 25 per cent share in Insight Communications by Redefini, a French advertising firm; Access Bank acquisition of Diamond Bank; Teleology acquisition of Etisalat for $301million, now 9mobile; and Nigeria Breweries Plc acquisition of Consolidated Breweries.

Vanguard Companies and Markets, C&M investigation also show that official data on M&A between 2017 and 2019 indicated that three mergers and 21 acquisitions were consummated.

*Senior Manager, High Value of MTN Nigeria, Idowu Adesokan with some staff of the organisation distributing gifts to members of the public during the MTN Season of Surprise held across the country.

However, the Coca Cola acquisition of Chi took the public by surprise, despite the fact that the former had bought 40 per cent of the latter ’s shares, with a promise to conclude the final acquisition in three years time, but to the chagrin of distributors and consumers, the deal came earlier than expected.

Expert speaks Managing Partner of Rocks Resources, Bruce Akuwara said: “Monopolies give terrible business advantages that do not benefit any free economy.

These days, there are cut throat and tough financial times fraught with crumbling turnovers, dwindling profits, uncertain economic policies and upheavals.

And competitors are wooing what little precious clientele they can barely hold on to, with mouth-watering offers that would be particularly ridiculous to lose, a deal is struck. In this cut-throat commercial environment we find ourselves, the time may have come for you to consider a not-so-novel, more aggressive business tool to ensure your enterprise stays ahead of the horde, particularly as new competition now seems to practically sprout by the day.”

Okwy Odinga of the same company quipped,:“Mind you, some of the mergers and acquisitions are not as a result of poor performance.

Some entrepreneurs grow a business to a certain level, decide to sell it and move into another business. Sometimes it may not be necessarily as a result of tough financial times or crumbling turnovers or dwindling profits.

“There will be more M&A in the next three years if the economy continues in the trend its heading. As at the last eight to 10 years, M&A transaction is well over N500 billion," said Rufus Adingba of Veritas Consult, Lagos.

Distributors speak Majority of the distributors that spoke to C&M were excited with the deal, they said the acquisition will further strengthen the activities of the beverage giant by evenly distributing Chi brands especially to the hinterlands.

According to a Manager in one of the superstores in Ikeja who pleaded anonymity: “The coming together of both companies signifies a great advantage for both brands. This will help strengthen the presence of Chi brands in the hinterlands. What this means to us is more great brands to boost our profit in the coming years.”

Amos Akpandem, Depot Manager at Coca cola, Igbo-Elerin axis of the Lagos-Badagry Expressway said: “This is a great marriage consummated in one of the most amusing ways.

NB fetes customers with “33” Export Connect’ experience BPlc has kicked off the “33” Export Connect N designed to celebrate consum-

ers in a unique way.

“33” Connect is a new experiential platform that brings people together to celebrate shared interests and moments in a convivial environment.

Speaking about the “33” Connect platform, Portfolio Manager, Mainstream Brands, NB Plc, Omotunde Adenusi said: “We believe in fostering bonds and nurturing relationships. We revel in using

this uniqueplatform thatbrings people together to showcase a very important part of what "33" Export stands for as a brand and we are thrilled to be able to connect with our consumers in a truly fun and exciting way.”

“33” Export Lager will be looking to host 33 of these experiences this year in a bid to strengthen its foothold in its key regions and increase the bond with its consumers.

The platform transforms everyday beer parlor occasions to the most exciting and unfor-

gettable experiences for all guests.Guestscanlookforward toanightofnetworking,games, comedy, music, fantastic prizes and of course ,ice cold “33” Export.

The first of these larger than life experiences was themed: The Valentine Mingle and held simultaneously on Valentine’s day in Uyo and Lagos.

Aso Rock International Bar, Ikotunhostedtheexperiencein Lagos while Pyramid Bar and Grill played host to the experience in Uy

"I understand it took them about three years to put this right before both parties. I think it is a move in the right direction. This will also boost our sales profile as we see this marriage as a one-stop–shop for us, because of all the best products in juice drinks and carbonated soft drink.”

Manufacturers speak On what the acquisition means to coca cola, President of Coca-Cola West Africa, Peter Njonjo said: “For us, it is significant for many reasons, first it points to our company’s global aspiration to become a total beverage offering consumers a broad variety of brands that suit different taste, occasions and lifestyles.

“This acquisition further signals Coca-Cola’s optimism about Africa’s consumer opportunity and a commitment to its longterm investment and growth plan on the continent, where it has been present for more than 90 years.

“Coca-Cola is continuing to evolve as a total beverage company, and Chi’s diverse range of beverages perfectly complements our existing portfolio, enabling us to accelerate expansion into new categories and grow our business in Africa. We will support the Chi management team in building on the company ’s remarkable heritage and achievements, while using the scale of the Coca-Cola system to replicate their success in more markets across Africa.”

General Manager, Chi Limited, Deepanjan Roy said: “The acquisition means a lot to the Chi brand. This means that Chi as a company is doing something good that attracted Coca Cola to it.

The deal is a welcome development.” He however, refused to divulge the financial terms involved in the acquisition. It is a business decision,” he said.

ICROSOFT says through its 4Africa initiatives has its sights set on making Artificial Intelligence, AI available to everyone on the continent.

The company in a statement said this is in line with its global mission to empower every person and organisation on the planet to achieve more. “We are partnering with forward-thinking policy makers, innovative startups, technology partners, civil society groups and stakeholders to promote the growth of a vibrant AI ecosystem in Africa – one that enables inclusive growth and provides a clear and trusted path to digital transformation.”

In promoting innovation with AI, the statememnt said: “Many of our local partners, including SMEs and startups, have already begun their AI journeys.

Nigerian startup, MyMusic, has experimented with chatbots to help users discover new local music. And fintech startup, who we first met in 2016, is now building AI into their credit-scoring algorithms, enabling more unbanked farmers and small business owners to access loans the first time.”

The statement further said that in the finance industry, 66 per cent of the population in subSaharan Africa is listed as unbanked. The proliferation of mobile banking across the con-

tinent has increased financial inclusion, and AI-powered intelligent applications are now taking this further. AI can capture and crunch large volumes of non-traditional data, such as mobile wallet transactions, that enable service providers to make automated loan decisions to new customers, with no previous financial track records, in seconds.

“While AI is primed to be the driving force of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, its widespread acceptance and adoption among businesses is still in early stages. The year 2018 was an important one in shifting current perceptions around AI, demonstrating it as a technology that is here to augment human capabilities, not replace them, and to benefit the speed and scale of any organisation, large or small.

“These conversations have carried weight. In just four years, the number of global organisations deploying AI has increased by 270 percent.”

The statement said: “In Africa, the momentum is similar, and continues to grow as access to high quality broadband and cloud computing improves. Organisations are recognising AI’s ability to help with some of the continent’s most pervasive problems, from reducing poverty to improving healthcare and enhancing crop yields to feed a growing population.”

PHD Nigeria wins at Global PR Initiative Competition HD Nigeria has been selected as P one of the winners of the

Global Public Relations Initiative competition, Amplify Fund, organised

by PHD Worldwide across its 74 markets.

The competition was aimed at awarding up to £10,000 to the country with the best idea to project and promote PHD within its market, strengthen the brand and add value to the team.

PHD Nigeria was chosen out of 19 submissions from across the world.

Its idea was to create video stories on client’s success, incorporating PHD’s five values and build brand awareness for PHD Nigeria. This was executed through series of case study videos framed around PHD’s values of openness, curiosity, courage, creativity and collabo-

ration.

PHD Nigeria has therefore become the first and only African office to be selected among other winners in the highly coveted competition.

In addition to the win, PHD Nigeria was recently announced as part of the top 10 PHD offices across the world for its use of Source, PHD’s proprietary media strategy and planning tool, which has been part of its global success story.

The Managing Director of PHD Nigeria, Dozie Okafor said the win is a further testament to the quality of work provided to clients and expressed gratitude to those who entrusted their media budgets with the company.

“With Source, we have been able to deliver better strategic media planning and results to our clients,” he declared.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2019 — 21

Aliko Dangote Foundation boosts Nigeria’s effort to end polio scourge *Releases feedback polio eradication report Storoes by Princewill Ekwujuru

A

S Nigeria eagerly awaits her certification as polio-free by the World Health Organisation, WHO, the Aliko Dangote Foundation, ADF, has boosted the nation’s efforts to finally end a scourge which had affected thousands of children across the country.

The organisation, in support of government’s efforts to end polio, has released a detailed report which showed the impact of a partnership agreement on routine immunisation, RI and polio eradication, which was signed between the ADF, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, BMGF and six Northern states comprising Kano, Bauchi, Kaduna, Sokoto, Borno and Yobe.

The 114-page report, which showcased the efforts of the ADF in the fight against polio, was released in Lagos recently. It catalogued RI activities before and after the MoU was signed between the tripartite partners, with a marked upsurge in RI efforts after the MoUs were signed. It also revealed that hundreds of thousands of under-5 children, who are most prone to polio, have been successfully immunised against the virus.

The document, which contains analyses, interviews and pictures, was based on find-

*From left: Azeezat Olaoluwa, Nifemi Oguntoye, Ngozi Alaegbu, Mike Okwoche and Veronica Onuchi; all lead anchors at TVC Newsduring the unveiling of a brand-new high definition news studio at its headquarters in Lagos. ings obtained from a recent spotlight visit undertaken by the philanthropic arm of the Dangote Group to the six MoU partner states, while tracking the progress made by each of the six states on RI and polio eradication under the partnership agreements.

The report revealed that the tripartite agreements have helped to strengthen RI and also provided technical, material and financial support to the partner states and their relevant agencies and stakeholders; with resultant rise in RI coverage for eligible children in both rural and urban areas, including those in hard-toreach and inaccessible communities; and also

greater involvement of traditional and religious leaders in the process.

It also highlighted the back-up efforts of the ADF and BMGF through improved logistics; which have ensured better access to healthcare in both rural and urban communities in the six Northern partner states; some of whom have devoted higher parts of their annual budgets to ensure adequate healthcare for millions of their citizens.

Aside the financial and logistics support for RI in the six MoU partner states, the ADF has also constructed 11 Primary Healthcare Centres, PHCs in seven LGAs in Kano State and two PHCs in two LGAs in

Yobe State.

Speaking on the impact of the MoU on RI, the Managing Director/ CEO of the Aliko Dangote Foundation, Zouera Youssoufou said the state governments were able to abide by the letter and spirit of the MoU, which has largely accounted for the success of the RI process and stamping out of the scourge of polio.

ADF, which was endowed with $1.25 billion by its Chairman, Aliko Dangote, has actively supported the polio eradication activities in the partner states, through provision of funding and logistics under a Memorandum of Understanding between the six Northern

many. As always, we are very keen on delighting our consumers and encouraging them to step out and be themselves. The Real Deal Experience is one of the ways we appreciate them for their continued loyalty to Legend Extra Stout”.

She also stated: “The platform is also aimed at bringing the brand closer

to the grassroot fans. This practice took the headline act to perform in the city in which they have a massive base of loyal followers thereby creating an avenue for fans in the local community to connect with their favorite entertainers.”

Timaya who performed at the event said:”I was

turned up for this show.

Enugu is a very lively city with a unique energy and drive and I was excited to meet up with my fans at the Real Deal Experience.

Knowing the folks at Legend Extra Stout and how much passion they put into organizing the events, the Valentine edition was better than the last one.

states and the two foundations. The MoU, which initially began with Kano State in 2012, was renewed and extended last year.

Speaking further, Youssoufou, said: “My assessment is that the tripartite MoUs have been very useful tools in supporting the six states in effectively implementing vaccine programmes, and by that same token, strengthening the capacity of the existing primary health care system to deliver needed services to the community. This improved system is what will allow us to help deliver our nutrition programme through the PHC system.”

Responding to inquiries on the published Polio Report and the feedback from the partner states, Yousouffou said: “Yes, the states are all pleased to see that we are documenting our work with them. But we still have more work to do in terms of socialising the report with the states.”

On ADF’s next move to help ensure total eradication of polio so that Nigeria can attain poliofree status in the nearest future, the MD noted: “We will continue to work on the polio campaigns and ensure that many kids are immunised so as to maintain ‘herd immunity’”.

It is widely believed that sustained population immunity through RI remains key for polio

eradication in Nigeria and Africa, while ongoing accelerated efforts to increase coverage for all expanded programmes on immunisation vaccines have been commended by stakeholders.

Nigeria is on the cusp of being certified poliofree, with the support of ADF and BMGF. This has been achieved with the support of the six Northern MoU states, the National Emergency Response initiated in January 2018 by the NPHCDA and the Federal Ministry of Health.

One of the key impacts of the MoU was the greater involvement of traditional and religious rulers to help persuade resistant populations and encourage them to embrace RI to help protect their children and eradicate polio. The buy-in of the leaders has improved line-listing in the six states and increased response to immunisation exercises from state level all the way down to the settlement level; with better access to nomadic children and those in hardto-reach communities.

The Emergency Operations Centres in each of the six partnership states, which are the coordinating centres on polio eradication activities, are also playing crucial roles to complement the states’ efforts and leverage on the MoU basket funds to help end polio in Nigeria.

Coca-Cola sales volume in Nigeria Legend fetes consumers at Enugu Real Deal declines *Group volume increase 4.2%

Experience N

IGERIAN Brewer ies (NB) Plc’s Legend Extra stout engaged consumers at its Real Deal Experience in Enugu state.

Legend Real Deal Experience is a nationwide brand engagement exercise featuring comedy, games and performances from some of Nigeria’s biggest music stars. The multi-layered stream of experiential activities was designed to attract, reward and engage Stout drinkers.

According to Portfolio Manager - National Premium Brands NB Plc, Sarah Agha,”2018 was a fantastic year, but the 2019 edition of Real Deal Experience promises to be bigger and who better to headline the first show than the incredible Timaya himself.

Legend consumers and fun lovers definitely had a mind-blowing experience in Enugu as this is a first of

PRCAN holds Masterclass on presentation skills

HE Public Relations Consultants AssociaT tion of Nigeria, PRCAN, has

concluded plans to hold the 17th edition of its capacitybuilding workshop, The PRCAN Masterclass.

The training session titled: Effective Presentation Skills is targeted at senior level executives in Integrated Marketing Communications, IMC, agencies and departments, as well as managers in other sectors who manage their organisations’ communications responsibilities holds in Lagos.

Speakers lined for the workshop include: Jaiye Opayemi, Chief Strategist, Chain Reactions Nigeria, a member firm of PRCAN. Other speakers are Bolaji Okusaga, Chief Executive Officer of Precise Platforms Limited, a reputation management company and Kenneth Esere,a faculty member at the School of Media and Communications, SMC, Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos.

John Ehiguese, President of PRCAN said: “One major

challenge with the public relations industry in Nigeria today is capacity. The profession suffers from an inadequacy of well trained professionals who will enable it grow at the rate that it should and bring it up to speed with what obtains in other parts of the world. PRCAN will continue to focus on its core objective of capacity-building, by organising training programmes to help improve the level of skills and competencies in the industry at large.”

OCA-Cola HBC the parent company of C The Coca-Cola Company

in Nigeria said its sales volume in Nigeria has continued to nose-dive in a highly competitive environment.

The global Coca-Cola company made this disclosure in its 2018 full year result released penultimate week, but stated that its Group volume increased by 4.2 percent in emerging markets, the volume also increased by 4.3percent with growth in all countries except Nigeria.

In developing markets, the Company said volume grew by 8.8percent driven

by Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. According to the results, it recorded lower volume in Nigeria due to intense competition in Sparkling segment which comprises the trademark Coca-Cola and the Coca-Cola Zero variants, Water, while juice and Energy delivered pos-

itive results.

Highlights of the result show the second year of FX-neutral revenue growth above its 4-5percent target range, as it marches towards the company’s 2020 margin targets. Established and developing segment countries improved price/mix at a higher rate than in 2017. Emerging segment price/mix growth was up 2.4%, a moderation from prior years due to the cycling of 2016/17 price increases in Nigeria and lower Premium Spirits sales in Russia.

Giving an outlook into the 2019 market, the company said it expects volume growth in all segments, continued improvement in FX-neutral net sales revenue per case, input cost headwind in low single digits FX headwind of •50m at current favourable spot rates, and another good year of FX-neutral revenue growth and profit margin expansion.

22 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2019

*Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment

*Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State

*Mr. Kayode Pitan, Managing Director of the Bank of Industry

*Akinwunmi Adeshina, President, African Development Bank (AfDB)

Special Economic Zones: FG, DFIs target $30bn export earnings by 2025

By Babajide Komolafe

T

HE federal government through the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment and five development finance institutions (DFIs) have commenced implementation of the special economic zones (SEZs) initiatives aimed at increasing Nigeria’s export earnings by $30 billion as well as generate 1.5 million jobs by 2025. The five DFIs are Afreximbank, Bank of Industry, Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), African Development Bank (AfDB) and Africa Finance Corporation (AFC).

Recently, the DFIs signed an MoU with Nigeria SEZ Investment Company Limited (NZESCO) and the Ministry of Finance Incorporated to raise $500 million in equity over the first five years to develop special economic zones in the country.

Eyimba Economic City Even as the five DFIs were committing to funding the development of Nigeria’s special economic zones in Abuja work had commenced on Enyimba Economic City in Abia State, which is one of the eight special economic zones, under the pilot phase of the initiative.

“We agreed to be part of the project because it has been long-overdue. We have no doubt that it will succeed,” said Mr. Kayode Pitan, Managing Director of the Bank of Industry.

For Abia State Governor Okezie Ikpeazu and the communities that denoted land, it was hope kept alive as the management of Nigeria SEZ Investment Company Limited (NZESCO) and the Chief Executive Officers of Afreximbank, Bank of Industry and Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) signed the dotted lines at an event presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari in the council chambers of Aso Rock.

According to Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah, whose ministry -Industry, Trade and Investment – is implementing the development of the special economic zones under the direct supervision of President Muhammadu Buhari, “the initial projects such as the Enyimba Economic City, are underway and feasibility studies are going on in 8 states. The President described the ceremony as another landmark in the journey to industrialize Nigeria and create jobs for people; and thanked the DFIs for “their strong demonstration of support for this important.”

At that same venue a few months back, the President had presided over the signing of an agreement for the development of Enyimba Economic City. Speaking in an interview after the event, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu said: ” Most of our people don’t bequeath

legacies that are futuristic. I am from the South-east and I am pushing for the Enyimba Economic City.

“This project will blossom and create 200,000 jobs because of the sheer enormity of the positive effects on my people. I see the concomitant impact on the life of my people and area.

“I know my people are people who want to create things, so all you need to do is to make them neighbours to people who are actively manufacturing.”

The Enyimba Economic City project believed to be capable of sparking industrial revolution in the South-East is a 9, 803 hectares of land, spanning three local government areas of Ukwa East, Ukwa West and Ugwunagbo.

It is located at the centre of the five South-east and four South-south states and it is to be designed to drive massive economic expansion of the region and by extension Nigeria. The agreement for the economic city is a public- private partnership of NSEZCO, which holds 20 per cent stake, with the Abia State Government and Crown Realities Plc. Abia State Commissioner for Lands, Survey and Urban Planning, Uche Ihediwa, signed the agreement on behalf of the state government; Mr. Femi Edun, a director of NSEZCO signed for the Federal Government, while Mr. Darl Uzu signed for Crown Realities Limited, the private sector developer.

Uzu, who is also the Managing Director of Enyimba Economic City Development Company Limited, noted that “the investment will facilitate the development of the economic city in line with government’s policy objectives and have a transformational impact in the entire South-Eastern and South-Southern area of the country.”

But the special economic zones hold much more promise for the entire country and the rest of the continent.

Indeed, the accelerated pre-development work had been carried out by a multi-disciplinary team of consultants including Surbana Jurong of Singapore; CBRE, India; Allott Nigeria Limited; Roughton International, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, and a number of others.

And further to the Memorandum of Understanding signed with the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment in June 2018, Shandong Ruyi Group of China who met with Mr. President in China announced an investment commitment of $2 billion to the Cotton, Textile and Garment industry in Nigeria by way of anchor investments in manufacturing facilities in Enyimba Economic City, Abia State, Funtua Cotton Cluster and Lekki Free Trade Zone. In Lekki, the Lagos State Government has allocated a parcel of 1,000 hectares of land in the North East Quadrant of the Lekki Free Zone to the project company to be

owned jointly by its holding company, Lekki Worldwide Investments Limited and NSEZCO. Project MINE Project MINE (Made in Nigeria for Export) which is to develop the worldclass special economic zones (SEZ) is designed to position Nigeria as the preeminent manufacturing hub in sub-Saharan Africa, and a major exporter of made in Nigeria goods and services regionally and globally.

The project was indeed envisioned by the Federal Ministry of Industry Trade and Investment and the Nigeria Export Processing Zone Authority.

According to NSEZCO, it had been noted from recent economic history that when SEZs are developed within a coherent, well designed, executed and funded framework, they help developing countries to utilise their factor endowments and comparative advantage to industrialise, diversify their economies and achieve prosperity for their people within one generation.

It had been noted from recent economic history that when SEZs are developed within a coherent, well designed, executed and funded framework, they help developing countries to utilise their factor endowments and comparative advantage to industrialise, diversify their economies and achieve prosperity for their people within one generation

Such countries, an official of the company explained, have used SEZs to overcome infrastructural disadvantages and constraints; mobilized substantial domestic and foreign direct investment; increased technology penetration; attracted new skills and technologies; integrated into global value chains; created large number of quality jobs; increased export earnings; and achieved structural transformation of their economies. Project MINE seeks to achieve the following specific objectives: Aid structural transformation of the Nigerian economy by increasing the manufacturing sector’s contribution to GDP to 20 percent by 2025; Contribute to sustainable inclusive growth by creating 1.5 million new direct manufacturing jobs in the initial

phase of Project MINE; Increase and diversify foreign exchange earnings to at least $30 billion annually by 2025, by increasing manufacturing sector exports; Create local models of global best practice in provision of world class infrastructure at competitive costs connecting SEZs to international and regional markets with transport links, uninterrupted power, ICT, water, sewage and other services to ensure smooth and efficient operation of SEZ businesses; Promote the “cluster” effect to be gained by locating similar export-oriented manufacturing businesses within the same locality; Attract world class investors with strong positions in global supply chains and investors with potential to increase the scale of operations rapidly to set up operations in SEZs; and Create an enabling environment for SEZ businesses by instituting best in class legal and regulatory frameworks, using technology and streamlined processes to facilitate movement of people, goods and capital and easy access to government services, approvals and permits. At the signing ceremony, President Buhari said the federal government set up NSEZCO as a vehicle for participating in Public Private Partnerships involving federal and state governments and local and foreign private investors to develop new special economic zones all over the country, offering world class infrastructure and facilities at competitive costs. The first sets of projects in the pilot phase are Enyimba Economic City, Funtua Cotton Cluster and Lekki Model Industrial Park.

Providing the background of the initiative, the President said, “When we decided to continue with the implementation of the Nigeria Industrial Revolution Plan of the previous administration and launched our Economic Recovery and Growth Plan to fast track implementation, we had a vision of Nigeria as the pre-eminent manufacturing hub in SubSaharan Africa and a major exporter to our immediate West African sub-region, the rest of Africa and indeed the World.

“Special Economic Zones have an important role to play in achieving this vision. They offer investor friendly incentives, world class infrastructure and ease of doing business in order to attract local and foreign investment and have been used as a catalyst for rapid and inclusive development, job creation, industrialisation and diversified export earnings in several countries.

“Under my direct supervision, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment is implementing Project MINE as a Presidential special priority intervention using Special Economic Zones to achieve the objectives of: boosting manufacturing’s share of GDP to 20 percent, generating $30 billion in annual export earnings; and creating 1.5 million new jobs all by 2025.”

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2019 — 23

How Facebook is mitigating fake news in Africa A

By Juliet Umeh

s elections are currently holding in Nigeria and most other African countries, many unsubstantiated news items are making the rounds, across social media and other platforms.

However, social media giant, Facebook, said it is committed to reducing spread in a bid to protect election integrity and support civic engagement across the continent.

The platform said in recent

times, it dedicated resources towards reducing fake news in Africa through different engagements. Those include fighting false news, boosting digital literacy to help people spot false news, promoting civic engagement, making political ads more transparent, proactive removal of impersonation accounts among others.

Facebook’s Public Policy Manager, Africa Elections, Akua Gyekye, said: “We want to stop the spread of false news on our

platforms. That’s why we’ve teamed up with local thirdparty fact-checkers across South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Cameroon and Senegal, including Africa Check, AFP (Agence France-Presse), Pesa Check (a local Kenyan factchecking organisation) and Dubawa (a local Nigerian fact-checking organisation).

“These independent groups helped us assess the accuracy of news shared on Facebook, and when they determine con-

tent is false, we reduce its distribution in News Feed so fewer people see it. We also show related articles from fact-checkers for more contexts and notify users if a story they have shared is rated false.”

She added that “in Nigeria, WhatsApp has worked with Africa Check and CrossCheck Nigeria to let users send questions about potential rumours they have received through the platform. These fact-checking expansions are part of a broader

By Emmanuel Elebeke

S

takeholders in the nation’s ICT sector gathered in Abuja recently to appraise the performance of the 30 per cent broadband target set for the country between 2013 and 2018 by the National Broadband Plan.

The event featured participants in the industry including, investors, regulators, government representatives as well as professionals in the sector.

This came one month after it was announced that Nigeria surpassed the five-year target of 30 per cent by attaining 31.8 per cent as at December 2018.

The discussion focused on the theme: The National Broadband Plan 2013-2018: Success, Prospects and Challenges and was organised by the Association of Telecom Companies of Nigeria, ATCON. President of ATCON, Mr. Olusola Teniola set the ball rolling by informing the gathering that the purpose of the meeting was principally to see how the entire industry could work towards achieving a greater broadband penetration in the next five years having acquired enough experience with the journey of the last five years.

The industry suggested that having surpassed 30 percent in five years without much experience, it could be realistic to aim at 70 percent in the next five years.

However, participants agreed that actualisation was also dependent on how fast the industry could do away with obstacles that worked against the initial plan.

Teniola in his opening speech noted that the previous plan helped all stakeholders to have a focus as to what should have been done to ‘shift the dial’ in deepening the broadband penetration.

“Now that the plan has come to an end, the industry needs a new one as a matter of urgency in order to lay a further foundation leading the industry to a truly digital transformation that has 5G as a central vehicle for collaborative innovations to grow our GDP and raise our GDP per capita in five years’ time”, he said.

Meanwhile, the Executive Vice-Chairman of the Nigeria Communications Commission, NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta noted that Broadband networks deliver benefits across the whole of C M Y K

•Adebayo, ALTON Chairman

•Danbatta, NCC, EVC

•Pantami, NITDA DG

•Adebayo Shittu, Minister of Communications

•Teniola, ATCON President

Broadband plan: Our experience, future plans, by industry stakeholders society in order to meet the Sustainable Development Goals in every sector.

He said the Federal Government's first step was to establish clear strategies and milestones for the attainment of affordable, accessible and available broadband infrastructure and services through the Nigerian National Broadband Plan, NBP. He said: “The NBP is designed to be implemented over a span of five years ((20132018), targeting a five-fold increase of broadband penetration. The target areas of the NBP document are policy and regulation, enabling infrastructure, costing and pricing, funding and investment, driving demand, building fiber infrastructure, wireless broadband infrastructure and upgrading,” he noted.

Challenges of NBP For him, the major challenges of the NBP included “inadequate metro fiber infrastructure

The implementation of the Commission’s SVP roadmap has so far resulted in the attainment of 30.9 per cent broadband penetration as at November 2018 in several towns and cities that will effectively distribute in the hinterland the adequate bandwidth from international submarine cables at the landing point in Lagos of more than nine terabits.

He said that arbitrary Right of Way, RoW, charges, multiple regulation and taxation and delays in obtaining site acquisition permits were also serious bottlenecks to the NBP. In addressing the NBP chal-

lenges, tDanbatta said the NatNCC deliberately developed a Strategic Vision Plan, SVP, which is in sync with the Commission’s Strategic Management Plan, SMP. He noted that: “The implementation of the Commission’s SVP roadmap has so far resulted in the attainment of 30.9 per cent broadband penetration as at November 2018. What this connotes is that, a total of 58,965,478 were connected to the broadband networks out of 108,457,051 internet subscribers in the nation’s telecom networks.

The figures rose in December to 60,087,199 taking the penetration to 31.48 per cent.

“The Commission is working with the NBC as mandated by the National Frequency Management Council, NFMC to develop guidelines for the introduction of TV White Space, TVWS development in the country. This will further deepen broadband penetration.

“Yet even more pertinent to broadband penetration is the fact

strategy to fight fake news that includes extensive work to remove fake accounts, cut off incentives to the financially-motivated actors that spread disinformation, promote news literacy, and give more context so people can decide for themselves what to read, trust, and share,” Gyekye, said.

Facebook said it has also intensified efforts to help people spot false news on their own and to flag it, rolling out educational tips on national and regional radio and in print media across Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia, Kenya and Zimbabwe.

that six infrastructure companies (InfrasCos) have been licensed to drive the development of infrastructure across the nation’s geographical zones and Lagos,” Danbatta added.

In his own address, the Director-General of National Information Technology Development Agency, NITDA, Dr. Isa Ibrahim Pantami, represented by Director of Corporate Planning and Strategy, Dr Agu Collins, said: ‘‘This is the event that will help assess the National Broadband Plan 2013-2018, in terms of its achievements, challenges, and way forward, thereby increasing broadband penetration in the country within the next five years.’’

However, the Minister of Communications, Barrister Adebayo Shittu in his submission said over the years Nigeria has been improving its use of ICT-enabled services to drive socio-economic activities and has created enormous need for sustainable broadband capacity and improved quality of services.

The Minister added that he was dissatisfied with the 31.8 per cent penetration for Nigeria but assured that the Council has been reviewing the progress made so far, and identified areas of program adjustment to permit the realisation of new and emerging opportunities, including development of an Integrated National Broadband Backbone; development of National Policy on Open Access; constitution of Inter-Ministerial Committee on ICT Convergence and related issues; engagement of Strategic Partners on specific issues,such as RoW, Funding, Tax waivers among others.

He listed the gaps identified in the Nigerian National Broadband Plan 2013 – 2018, to include the omission of key stakeholders on the responsibility matrix, Funding and investment modalities to be addressed in the new plan; and participation of all stakeholders in the review process through suggestions to improve on the new strategy document.

He reminded the participants that the Ministry on the other hand, has developed some critical policy documents to guide interested investors and industry players and to engender trust.

24 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2019

MOBILE MARKET Reliable laptop accessories available across Nigeria online shops

O

By Juliet Umeh

f recent, all manner of laptop accessories with different brand names have flooded the Nigerian market.

It is clear that managing substandard accessory makes working on laptop so frustrating

thereby affecting its service delivery. However, this week, Vanguard Mobile Market presents you few dependable accessories to help protect and leverage your devices capabilities across Nigeria online shops.

Ultra Thin Wireless 2.4G Keyboard & Mouse Combo u s

e s t h e ltra thin wireless keyboard advancedinteligencewirelessnetworktechnology.Above together with its mouse are high all, the mouse can automatically quality accessories for that laptop you match with the ID. so cherish. It comes with 2.4G keyboard mouse combo and 2.4G USB receiver for Mac PC Laptop TV. The device is so fashionable because of its exquisite design.

The mouse adopts infrared AVL technology and it’s •Ultra Thin Wireless 2.4G more accurate and fluent. It also

U

Keyboard & Mouse Combo

Smart watch

N

ew smart backpack is a generic 2018 model anti theft bag. It can serve as security travel backpack and laptop bag as well. The smart backpack is water resistant and comes with USB charging port.

Interestingly, it is equipped `with applies anti-theft technology and the zipper of its main pocket is fully hidden in the back. For this, no thief can easily open it.

The bag is good for your laptop because the external USB with builtin charging cable offers a convenient charging of your electronic device anywhere.

•New Smart Backpack

Qasa Yam Cook and Pounding Machine

P

ower is the most basic necessity, and if you’re using your laptop away from home, you may need extra laptop accessories, like adapters . Use Kara adapters and chargers to charge your laptop in a vehicle or even plug into outlets in other facilities.

•Adapters and chargers

Kenwood Coffee Maker

I

f you are looking for a replacement battery for your HP 650 laptop, you need not to go too far because this compatible HP 650 laptop battery at Jiji online shop is a perfect option for you. It is dependable.

•Hp 650 laptop battery

How new digital identity ecosystem will facilitate biometric data

By Juliet Umeh ver time, efforts at collecting Nigerian citizens’ biometric data have always been a challenge.

However, these hurdles will soon be overcome as the Federal Government recently launched new Digital Identity Ecosystem programme to facilitate the process of collection of biometric data nationwide within the shortest time by leveraging existing ecosystem of all government agencies.

Director-General of the National Identity Management Commission, NIMC, Engr. Aliyu Aziz, explained during the 2019 lunch time reform seminar organised by the Bureau of Public Service Reforms, BPSR, that new Digital Identity Ecosystem programme will facilitate the process.

Aliyu said: “The purpose of the ecosystem approach is to leverage existing capabilities

O

•Aziz and enrolment facilities of government agencies, partners and private sector organisations in Nigeria, as opposed to building new ones.”

He said this involves “coordinated efforts of all enrolment partners,” including all government agencies involved in

biometric data collection as well as partners and companies in the private sector to be licensed by NIMC. In his presentation titled, Reinventing Nigeria’s Digital Identity Ecosystem, Aziz said with the approval of the Federal Executive Council of the National Roadmap on Identity Development in Nigeria, the NIMC Regulations 2017, it becomes imperative to commence the implementation of the Mandatory usage of the National Identification Number, NIN. The new Digital Identity Ecosystem is a Federal Government-led initiative to collect biometric data nationwide in one-go by leveraging existing ecosystem of all government agencies including federal, state and LGAs and the private sector.

Samsung: Democratising mobile phone with Galaxy S10

By Prince Osuagwu

D

EVICE makers, Samsung has said it is democratising the mobilephone market with the introduction of a new line of Galaxy series, the S10 and two others, the Galaxy S10+ and S10E. The devices, according to Samsung is engineered to meet the distinct needs of today ’s smartphone market, so consumers can do more of what they love.

Introducing the phones in Lagos at an unpacked event recently, the company said in ten years of debuting with the Galaxy series, it has shipped more than two billion phones to substantiate its claim of having democratised the mobile phone.

It claims to not only have continued to change the shape of the mobile phones but also the shape of tomorrow with what the devices can do.

Officials of the company who spoke at the event were unanimous in boasting that the technology deployed in making the new devices was akin to making what cannot be made so that Samsung's teeming customers can do what could have not been done.

Managing Director Samsung Electronics West Africa, Mr. David Suh, said each device delivers a nextgeneration experience in the categories consumers care most about including display, camera and performance.

He said that as a testament to a decade of innovations, Galaxy S10 is designed for those who want a premium smartphone with powerful performance and sets the stage for the next generation of mobile experiences. For consumers looking for a supercharged device, Galaxy S10+ takes every spec – from display, to camera, to performance – to the next level. Galaxy S10e is built for those who want all the premium essentials in a compact package on a flat

screen.

According to him, “Since its launch 10 years ago, the Galaxy S series has stood for premium innovation – offering consumers an incredible experience, and the ability to find the device that’s right for them,” He added: “Galaxy S10 builds on that incredible legacy and delivers breakthrough display, camera and performance innovations.

With three premium devices, each built for a unique consumer in mind, Samsung is leveraging a decade of industry leadership to usher in a new era of smartphone technology.”

Galaxy S10 is made with Samsung’s best screen yet, the world’s first Dynamic AMOLED display. As the first HDR10+-certified smartphone, the display delivers vivid digital content, and with dynamic tone mapping, to enable users see a wider range of

colour for a brilliant, realistic picture. Galaxy S10’s Dynamic AMOLED display is also VDEcertified for vibrant bright colours, contrast ratio on a mobile device for even deeper blacks and brighter whites.

The AMOLED display also reduces blue light through its TÜV Eye Comfort display without compromising picture quality or adding a filter.

Galaxy S10’s unique Infinity-O Display packs an array of sensors and camera technology into a hole-in display, so that a user can maximise screen ramification without any distractions.

Galaxy S10’s Dynamic AMOLED display also includes the first-ever embedded Ultrasonic Fingerprint Scanner that reads the 3D contours of your physical thumbprint – not a 2D image of it – for improved anti-spoofing.

•From Left: MD/CEO, Slot Systems Limited, Mr. Nnamdi Ezeigbo; Mr. John Park, President, Samsung Central Africa; Mr. David Suh, MD, Samsung Electronics West Africa at the launch of Samsung Galaxy S10 series in Lagos recently.

•From Left: Celebrity brand endorser, Florence Otedola aka DJ Cuppy; Mr. John Park, President, Samsung, Central Africa; Mr. David Suh, MD, Samsung Electronics, West Africa, and MC/Celebrity brand endorser, Bolanle Olukanni at the event.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2019 —25

‘Why over 500 million Africans lack reliable means of identification’

By Emmanuel Elebeke

F

rom available statistics, over half a billion people living in Africa do not have reliable means of identification. A recent report from the Financial Inclusion Global Initiative, FIGI says out of the one billion people lacking reliable means of identification globally, half of the number reside in Africa.

The report corresponds with the World Bank’s 2017 Global Forex Survey which discovered that lack of documentation was the primary barrier to access to financial services by 26 per cent of unbanked people in low-income countries.

The Senior Financial Sector Specialist at the World Bank, Sharmista Appaya, who explained this, said that this constitutes major barrier to their inclusion in formal systems.

Appaya, who is the co-chair of the FIGI Working Group, said they are studying the relationship between Digital identification, DID, and financial inclusion to develop relevant policy recommendations.

FIGI is a three-year programme of collective action led by ITU, the World Bank Group and the Committee on Payments and

M a r k e t Infrastructure, with support from the Bill & Melinda G a t e s Foundation. It aims at advancing research in digital finance and accelerating financial inclusion in developing countries.

By Juliet Umeh

M •Identity card

Appaya stated: ”A lack of reliable, unique ID is a major barrier to inclusion in formal systems of all kinds, including the financial system.”

ID as a foundation for devt According to the study, key to the pursuit of development goals across a wide range of sectors, with healthcare, education and financial services among the best-known examples, is proper identification process.

It contended that the expansion of ID programs is a specific target of the UN Sustainable Development goals, SDGs, calling for UN member-states to “provide legal identity for all, including birth registration” by 2030.

The report further revealed that at least 10 of the 17 SDGs will require an enabling foundation of coherent ID programs.

The World Bank’s Identification for Development, ID4D programme plays a leading role in global efforts to stimulate the introduction of reliable, unique ID. According to Appaya: “The World Bank’s ID4D programme is trying to solve a universal problem, addressing the basic challenges surrounding ID. He said: “In FIGI, however, our focus is very much how ID relates to access to financial services.

“ID has many characteristics. But what we are seeing is that three characteristics are crucial in enabling access to financial services: ID should have a legal basis, be unique, and have the ability to exist in a digital format.”

MainOne partners Facebook on openaccess fiber network in Nigeria

By Prince Osuagwu

Commenting on the partnership, she said: “MainOne has always been committed to broadband innovation, job creation, as well as growing the digital economy of West Africa. We believe that this partnership and the open-access network we have developed will be beneficial to improving the quality of access and accelerating the digital transformation in Ogun and Edo states.”

SWIFT2PAY gives Nigerians new smart wallet

By Prince Osuagwu

•Opeke

M

ainOne has announced a metro fiber infrastructure project in two states of Nigeria, with support from Facebook. The collaboration is part of Facebook’s efforts to connect more people to broadband internet. As part of this project, MainOne is building and operating approximately 750 km terrestrial fiber infrastructure in Edo and Ogun states, two of Nigeria’s fastest growing states.

These open-access transport networks will provide metro fiber connectivity to reach more than 1,000,000 people in Benin City, Abeokuta, Sagamu and 10 other towns by connecting mobile operators’ base stations, Internet Service providers, Points of presence, PoPs, and public locations including schools and hospitals.

This partnership will leverage MainOne’s strength as a wholesale Telecoms Infrastructure service provider with investment from Facebook and support from local regulatory and state authorities to further deepen broadband penetration in Nigeria.

Speaking on the partnership, Ibrahima Ba, Network Investments Lead for Emerging Markets at Facebook, said: “We are working closely with MainOne and other partners to accelerate broadband deployment.

In Nigeria, we are bringing together Facebook’s learnings from scaling our global infrastructure with MainOne’s knowledge of the local environment to develop and test new working models for multiple operators to access common infrastructure.”

Chief Executive Officer, MainOne, Funke Opeke, lauded the collaboration, saying the commitment of Facebook will help Nigeria improve broadband penetration across the country.

NCSC conference to help firms deliver innovative service

N

igeria’s bill payment service, Swift2pay, has commenced operations in Nigeria offering Nigerians a new range of smart wallets to carry out online business activities.

The company provides seamless services to consumers and suppliers through a strong and rugged platform designed to make payments easy including Airtime recharge, Data, Internet, utilities and fund transfers.

Operations Director of the company, Mr. Chinedu Amadi, revealed that Swift2pay is an easy to use payment gateway and card to ensure that only users’smart wallet feature is exposed to online transactions.

Amadi said Swift2pay is an innovation that enables Nigerians to move around with a smart wallet that has an additional feature of the ATM card, literally enlarging the coast for the cashless society.

He said consumers can tap into the boom by registering on the web app to complete their transactions. He promised that the Swift2pay App would soon be on Google Play Store and the Apple Store to enable consumers to fund their wallet through a transfer.

The benefit of the service, according to Amadi is that Nigerians can truly save time, cut off the waiting game at the bank, at the electricity office where sometimes the queue stretches to 100 metres, or even the drive around in search of recharge cards.

ulti-sectoral media company, TenticP Communications, says it has concluded plans to hold the maiden edition of the Nigeria Corporate Services Conference, NCSC. The event scheduled for April at Eko Hotel & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos is theme: Building Sustainable Economic Growth through Quality Corporate Services Delivery. It is said to be targeted at driving best practices and innovations in the delivery of quality corporate services for economic growth.

Lead Strategist of TenticP Communications and Convener of the NCSC, Mrs. Nahimah Ajikanle-Nurudeen, said there is need to create platforms aimed at reinforcing due diligence and injection of best practices in corporate services delivery.

She said: ”In this direction,

Nigeria Corporate Services Conference, complemented by Nigeria Corporate Services Awards, will set new tone for application of due diligence at workplaces and best practices in our business environments in Nigeria.

“We hope to use the unique platform to raise and highlight imperatives of quality public conversation on standard business practices, global best practices and doing things right within our corporate and public-service space. This, no doubt, will go a long way in building enduring openness, profitability and big-time trust around our business space,” she added.

Ajikanle-Nurudeen said the event will feature Nigeria Corporate Services Awards, NCSA, where notable Nigerian achievers in corporate services such as Mr. Akintola Williams, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, would be honoured for their contributions to the corporate service ecosystem.

OPPO dazzles Mobile world Congress with 5G, latest camera innovations

By Prince Osuagwu

S

mart phone makers, OPPO, shared some exciting announcements on the innovation behind its advancements in mobile technologies in 2019 at the ongoing Mobile World congress, saying debuting with 10x lossless zoom technology and industry leading developments in 5G technology, has cemented its reputation as an innovator in the mobile communications space.

The OPPO brand says it takes inspiration from the amazing possibilities of the everyday environment and in helping people to realise the beauty that is around them.

The smartphone maker said it has been driven by consumer feedback, and has been investing heavily in innovation with a huge commitment to R&D. It said this commitment has helped it to develop industry-first innovations time and time again, be it through image beautification technology, 5G, AI, AR/VR or other emerging mobile technologies.

According to OPPO VicePresident, Anyi Jiang: “We’re proud to deliver our first Innovation event for media and partners today.

Innovation is our top priority

and we have made many recent developments to bring the future into consumer ’s hands. We look forward to continuing with this commitment and bringing to market more advances particularly in 5G and photography.

“5G is the future of the smartphone industry, bringing with it endless possibilities for creativity, imagination and closer connectivity. Today, OPPO brought the 5G era closer with the announcement of its first 5G smartphone and the OPPO 5G Landing Project,” he added.

Meanwhile, President of Qualcomm Incorporated, Cristiano Amon, has endorsed OPPO’s commitment to 5G innovation, saying that “given their leadership in the 4G era, OPPO is well positioned to be a leader in the transition to 5G. We see tremendous opportunities to drive further innovation in the 5G era, and Qualcomm Technologies looks forward to working closely with OPPO to realise the true potential of 5G and support the launch of their first 5G smartphone powered by our flagship Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 Mobile Platform with the X50 5G modem, integrated RF transceiver and RF Front-End solutions,” he said.

The cumulative effect of the service would be increased productivity on both the individual, corporate and national levels.

Swift2pay was initially launched as a payment platform embedded in the CarXie e-hailing Cab App in July 2018. A good number of banks and financial institutions have bought into and are doing business successfully with •Smart Wallet Swift2pay.

26—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2019

Should I make a comeback?

My mistress flaunts her lovers Dear Bunmi, I am a contented family man with a loving wife and two children.

About six months ago, a single mother of two moved into the flat next door and her kids became friendly with mine.

Naturally, we invited her to our flat and we became good neighbours. There was an evening she invited us for a get-together but my wife couldn’t make it. I went alone and when she needed more drinks, I gave her some from the fridge at home. One thing led to another and we ended up making love.

We’d been having a sizzling relationship since then, only for her to bring in one or two lovers to her flat. This has driven me round the bend but she told me point blank that I should take it or leave it. She said she wanted nothing from me but sex since I was already married.

I love my wife, of course, but

my lover is hotter than my wife in bed and I get burnt up with jealousy when I see these other men with her.

Patrick, by e-mail.

Dear Patrick, The earlier you cut loose from this woman, the easier it would be for your marriage.

She admitted she’s using you for love-making, which is exactly what you’re using her for. What else do you have to offer her?

I would forget her if I were you. Women like her are nothing but trouble. Just think of the mess you’ll find yourself in if your wile should find out.

As is often the case, you’re hoping that true love, in the shape of your colleague, will rescue you from trouble at home, and excuse you from having to confront the real problem; why not talk to your husband about making your marriage fun and happy again?

Is he keeping off because I’m married?

Dear Bunmi, I’ve been married for eight years now and have fallen in love for the second time in my life — with a colleague. The problem is, I believe my marriage is preventing this man from making a commitment.

A few weeks ago, I told this man I fancied him and he said he was flattered, but couldn’t start a relationship that would ruin my marriage. But I’m the first person he makes eye contact with when he enters the room, and his body language implies he’d like us to be more than friends.

I can’t stop thinking about him and every time I see him, I just want to grab him and kiss him. Please help.

Mulikat, By e-mail

Dear Mulikat, You haven’t fallen in love you’ve fallen in lust. You tell me nothing about this man, except that you fancy him. Is he funny or smart or sensitive? Is he married or single or dating?

As for his ‘body language, that is just as open to misinterpretation as any other human language. His eyes seeking you out, for example, could be due to wanting to keep tabs on you because of anxiety about your persistence. And other signals may simply be because he is flattered by your

desire.

You say this is your second time in love, I hope you still love your husband and if you were ever in lust with him, I hope you will try to restore it before you destroy the relationship.

As is often the case, you’re

hoping that true love, in the shape of your colleague, will rescue you from trouble at home, and excuse you from having to confront the real problem. Why not talk to your husband about making your marriage fun and happy again?

My husband stole from me Dear Bunmi, I recently got married and although I’ve known my husband for almost three years, I’m not sure I could trust him completely. Some few weeks back, I withdrew some money from my bank account and hid it at home in a section of my wardrobe. Later, I went to get it and the money had disappeared. I asked my husband if he knew anything about it — afterall it’s just the two of us in the flat.

While he didn’t actually confess to taking the money, he promised he’d do all he could to make sure I got all my money back. I know he’s in debt; he’d borrowed money off me a few times. Do I just accuse him outright of stealing, or wait for him to pay the money back before I do?

Ndidi, By e-mail,

Dear Ndidi, If you suspect your husband of stealing from you, you have to address this and deal with the consequences. If you don’t, how will you be able to trust him again?

His response sounds like a tacit admission of guilt to me; to be suspicious, both of his motives and of his promise to return the money. Since there is no third party, let him know you believe he’s taken your money and that such a behaviour is not on.

It’s sad that an issue of trust will surface at such an early stage of the marriage.

H o p e f u l l y, when he realised he couldn’t get away with such dishonest b e h a v i o u r, h e w o u l d behave.

DearBunmi, My ex-boyfriend has an older girlfriend who is pressuring him to move in with her. A few weeks ago, he came to my flat and we had fantastic love-making.

Unfortunately, the condom split and he saw how anxious I was as it was during my ovulating period.

Thank God I wasn’t pregnant but I was devastated when he didn’t even phone to check if I was okay when my period was due. He said he was too scared to speak to me and that he didn’t feel he could give me what I wanted.

We were great together when we were an item and I won’t want to lose him again but can a leopard really

change his spots?

Selina, by e-maiL

Dear Selina, You won’t lose this man again— you can’t, because you don’t have him in the first place. If you’re smart, you will retreat and let his current girlfriend be the one to pressure him. But I doubt if she’ll get him either.

His behaviour is trying to tell you what he hasn’t the nerve to say outright — that he is not ready or willing to commit to relationship with anyone right now, despite the old saying, spots do change and maybe his will someday. In the meantime, change yours. Find other leopards to play with until this one grows up.

Embarrassed by too much hair growth lower abdomen.

Dear Bunmi, For quite a while now I’ve got what looks like a dark moustache on my upper lip, and recently, I’ve started to sprout hairs on the chin and my chest.

Not exactly magnet when you want to pull a man, you’ll agree. I’ve tried shaving, but it seems to encourage the growth. Are there lasting remedies?

Uju, by e-mail.

Dear Uju, Quite a number of women have noticeable facial hair on the chin, upper lip or as 'sidebums,’ and you can get it on your nipples, shoulders and

It’s not sexy but you shouldn’t let your growth bother you. It is all down to over-sensitivity to the male hormone, testosterone, which can either be inherited or triggered by drugs like steroids, used to treat skin conditions like dermatitis.

For permanent hair removal, electrolysis is best.

Unfortunately, you can’t easily get it in the country.

Shaving is quite effective; so are hair-removing creams.

Occasionally though, excess hair is symptom. If you have irregular periods, acne, greasy hair and a tendency to gain weight, see your doctor for a blood test.

He's lost his libido all of a sudden!

Dear Bunmi, When I met my current boyfriend two years ago, we had a very active love life.

These days, his libido has totally tapered off and I can’t figure out why. I know I haven’t changed, but he’s now seldom able to rev his engine.

He’s currently having some financial issues, so I can’t really suggest a romantic getaway to reignite his flame. Do you have an idea of what the problem could be?

Angelica,by e-mail.

Dear Angelica, It could be a number of things: a medical issue, depression or stress. But I think you actually provided a much more specific answer to your question than I ever could. That’s because money or lack of it has a tremendous effect on his

manhood. So your guy is probably depressed and stressed out by his current lack of funds.

Unfortunately, there’s not enough hot and sexy undies to solve his problems. So, instead of concentrating on seduction, focus on lifting his spirit while avoiding the subject of money as much as possible.

Whatever you do, don’t offer to pay for everything, it’ll just make him feel worse.

Instead, suggest low-key dates: renting movies, visiting mutual friends or even going for walks. It’ll prove to him that you don’t care about fancy things at least for now, and love him enough to see him through his rough patch.

Eventually, he’ll regain his mojo and demonstrate his appreciation in the sack!

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

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2019 — 27

Verification: Lamentation as Airways Pensioners no sleep at center

By Victor Ahiuma-Young & Monsuru Olowoopejo

vicahiyoung@yahoo.com

PFAs making life difficult for retirees, workers tell PenCom •NLC vows to deal with PFA found to be stressing retirees unnecessarily Stories By Victor Ahiuma-Young

N

IGERIAN workers have accused Pension Fund Administrator, PFA, of deliberately frustrating and making life difficult for retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme, CPS, pleading with Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, for intervention.

Consequently, NLC has vowed to deal decisively with any PFA found be making life unnecessarily difficult and stressful for pensioners while assessing their benefits which they labored for.

The workers spoke through their delegates at the 12th Quadrennial National Delegates Conference of NLC that took place in Abuja.

In a motion titled “Cries out over difficulty of Pensioners to access pension Benefits”, the Senior Staff Union of Colleges of Education of Nigeria, SSUCOEN, informed the conference that retirees had cried out over the difficulty and delay being experienced by civil and public servants who retired under the pension scheme to ac-

*The Commandant, NAFRC, Air Vice Marshal Abubakar-Sadick Liman,(5th r); Flag officer Commanding Western Naval Command, Rear Admiral Obed Ngalabak(6th r) lead Consultant, Empretek, Mr. Lemmy Omoyinmi (7th r) with NAFRC principal officers and the middle cadre officers who participanted in the four-week training on Entrepreneurship and Management cess their pension benefit.

According to the union SSUCOEN “ Civil and Public servant who retired under the contributory person scheme from

both Federal and state government services, access their pension benefit with much difficulty and are yet to benefit fully from

their contributory savings”.

The union said that this had led to avoidable hardship and even deaths of retirees.

SSUCOEN informed that the problem ranges from defaulting in remittances of accrued benefits by relevant organs to process management bottlenecks of pension.

The union claimed PenCom and pension fund administrators are not giving the retirees the rightful value of their savings.

The Union also “notes that the retirees experience untold hardship for over one year of delay before accessing part of their saved benefits as against one month and determined the NLC and affiliate union should rise up and demand that the retirees rights be given to them in due time.”

Meanwhile, NLC has vowed to bright the full weight of its strength on any PFA found to be making life difficult for pensioners through stressful access to their benefits under the CPS. This followed the adoption of a motion presented the Senior Staff Union in Colleges of Education, Nigeria, SSUCOEN, that PFAs were making it difficult for both public and private sector retirees to access their benefits under the CPS.

Military prepares middle cadre officers for retirement life

By Evelyn Usman

T

HE military authorities have prepared no fewer than 35 middle cadre officers from the three services of the Armed Forces for retirement life through a four-week training programme on entrepreneurship and management.

Incidentally, this is the maiden training of middle cadre officers in entrepreneur and management, in the history of the Nigerian Armed Forces.

At the commencement of the training, only 16 officers: two from the Nigerian Army, six from the Nigerian Navy and eight from the Nigerian Air Force , were present, while others joined along the line.

Speaking at the closing ceremony of the training, at the resource centre of the Nigerian Armed Forces Resettlement Centre, NAFRC, Oshodi, Lagos, Flag officer Commanding Western Naval Command, Rear Admiral Obed Ngalabak, charged the officers to utilise the skills and knowledge acquired in a manner that their success stories would eliminate the age long phobia of retirement.

He said, “It is noteworthy to mention that all previous courses you have undergone were tailored towards enhancing your service to our country.

However, the training which you have just concluded is exclusively meant to develop your individual capacity to work and serve yourselves, especially after your disengagement from active service.

“I am reliably informed that in the last four weeks of intensive training, you were adequately

exposed to several presentations, lectures, discussions and several exercises as well as sturdy tour to Songhai Farm in Porto Novo , Benin Republic All these were carefully and methodologically selected to equip you with necessary skills and knowledge that will enable you confront and overcome the many challenges you are likely to encounter in the entrepreneurship environment, during and after your disengagement from service.

“I urge you not to rest in your oars in using the knowledge and skills acquired to the beneficial use in such a way that your success story will eliminate the age long phobia of retirement but restore its delightful nature. If this is achieved, then the objective of this workshop would have been fully realized.”

The Commandant NAFRC, Air Vice Marshal Abubakar-Sadick Liman, who disclosed that the training was the first of its kind for the middle cadre officers of the Armed Forces, said it was organised by the centre in conjunction with Empretec Nigeria Foundation, to equip the officers within the retirement bracket, for productive retirement life.

He said, “Our belief is that experiences and skills which were accumulated while in service could still be skillfully put to use in civilian business pursuits in order to live a wholesome and fulfilling life after military service. I strongly believe that this workshop has widened your horizon on the various entrepreneurial opportunities that you can leverage to eke out a productive venture when you eventually disengage from the Service”.

Giving an overview of the training, lead Consultant, Empretech, Mr Lemmy Omoyinmi, said one of the essence of the training was to infuse requite behavioural virtues into the personnel, who he said were mainly used to the regimented and disciplined pattern of the military.

Though he noted that discipline was a major requirement for any successful business but was quick to point out that there were other requirements, if not meant, might affect their social life upon disengagement from service.

The participants, according to him, were taken on modules which included entrepreneurship and Agriculture, Business plan and Model, Fundamentals of business Laws and Taxation as well as Human Resource Supply Chain Management and

Marketing.

The centre’s Director of Training, Brigadier- General Dominic Onyemulu , earlier revealed that the course was borne out of the transformation initiatives of the Commandant , AVM Limam, saying , “ upon assumption of office, he (Commandant) identified a gap in the NAFRC Training Curriculum. It was noticed that the transformation of NAFRC in terms of the ongoing change in mandate, name and curriculum of the centre as well as infrastructural development, made no provision for the training of middle level officers of the Armed Forces of Nigeria.

“Senior officers of the ranks of Brigadier General and Major General have been benefitting from some forms of entrepreneurship and management training at the centre since 2011.

Feedback indicates that the re-

tired senior officers who benefited from these courses are performing excellently in their chosen businesses while those in service are performing their assigned tasks better” One of the participants, Navy Captain Olusanya Babatope, described the course as an eye opener i to entrepreneurship skills.

He said, “We learnt a lot of things during the workshop. We did theory, outdoor experiences and also did some exercises within the classroom. It was full package. The major thing learnt was how to set up a business, how to be an entrepreneur, problems envisaged and how to solve them as entrepreneur and how to seek financial assistance from financial institutions. This workshop has actually prepared me for life after retirement”

Ex-Savanah Sugar workers to smile soon A

FTER 17 years of lan guishing in pains over nonpayment of benefits, there is hope in the horizon for workers and retirees of defunct Savannah Sugar Company Limited, SSCL, as the Federal Government is preparing to pay the balance of their terminal benefits This followed the announcement by the government through Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate, PTAD, that it had concluded the verification exercise of the workers disengaged in 2002 when the company was privatized.

According to PTAD in a statement, the verification exercise, took place between February 4 and February 13, 2019, in Jimeta – Yola, Adamawa State.

It noted that no fewer than 1,621 ex-workers and Next of Kins, NoKs, presented themselves for the exercise, and were verified as well as their biometrics captured, saying 1,290 ex-workers and 331 NoKs turned out for the nine-day exercise.

Executive Secretary of PTAD, Sharon Ikeazor, in the statement informed that the verification was for the payment of the balance of the one-off terminal benefits paid to the

former workers by the Bureau of Public Enterprises, BPE, in 2002 at the time of privatization.

She said, “The verification of SSCL brings the total number of defunct/privatised agencies verified by PTAD to eight, including Delta Steel Company, DSC, NITEL/Mtel, NICON Insurance Plc, New Nigeria Newspapers and Nigeria Reinsurance. The Directorate has assured that preparations for the verification of all other treasury funded parastatals, including defunct/privatised agencies, has been completed and will commence shortly across the country.”

28— Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2019

VOL. 2 NO. 43

By Chinonso Alozie, Owerr i

H

undreds of community leaders from Ngor Okpala Local Government Area of Imo State, have begged security agencies in the state to end killings in their area which they alleged to be politically sponsored.

South-East Voice in Owerri captured the mood of the leaders of the affected community of Umuohiagu/ Logara, that since 2015, many lives have been claimed as narrated by the chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Tony Anamelechi.

The recent one which forced the community leaders to march to the Po l i c e h e a d q u a r t e r s i n Owerri was the killing of Andrew Ugwuezomba, ward chairman of Umuohiagu/ Logara.

Andrew was murdered after a political meeting with his party leaders in the state.

Anamelechi recalled that it was same scenario that played out when a House of Assembly candidate was also murdered in 2015.

He said that at the moment, strange faces and cultists have been recruited into the community and camped in a hotel along Owerri/Aba road and Umuocham Ntu, adding that the purpose was to cause mayhem on and around the community before and during elections in the entire Ngor Okpala Local Government Area.

Not only that, he said a meeting was held by the sponsors of the ugly activities in the community where names of some notable personalities were pencilled down.

Narrating the pains of the people of the area to SouthEast Voice, they said: “We recall with sheer sense of regret that during the build up to 2015 general elections, another promising and enterprising young man in Ngor Okpala , Onyeaghalanwanneya area, the late Andrew Ugwuezomba who himself was a House of Assembly candidate of Labour Party for Ngor Okpala State Constituency seat, was brutally and recklessly murdered in cold blood.

“We also recall that during the last 2015 general elections into the Imo State H o u s e o f A s s e m b l y, i n particular, Ngor Okpala recorded various degrees of high profile political assassinations in the same

*Members of the All Progressives Congress, APC, protesting the murder of a party member from Ngor Okpala Local Government Area at the Imo Police Command.

Photo by Chinonso Alozie

Imo community demands end to political killings Onyeaghalanwanneya area where one Bennett Nnaji popularly known as coach, was murdered.

“A lecturer with University of Abuja was mistakenly

murdered before they assassinated their real target, the late Andrew Ugwuezomba.

This particular murder case we believe, is still ongoing.

“From our close association with Mr Odoemena as a critical and influential political stakeholder in his immediate community of Umuohiagu/Logara, we

have no doubt that such status may have exposed him to risk of some desperate political office seekers of the opposition party within his community, who may have felt terribly threatened by his towering influence as well as his position as the ward chairman of our party.”

He pointed out that, “As members of APC, we were aware that during the postponed presidential/ National Assembly elections of Saturday February 16,2019, there was heavy presence of hired armed thugs for the purpose of election.

He told South-East Voice that all they needed was to end the killings in their a r e a . “ We a r e f u r t h e r worried that as at this very moment, there is still obvious movement of these strange faces in Ngor Okpala quartered in places like Umuaga Nguru, a particular hotel situated along Ihitte junction by Owerri-Aba road, and Umuocham Ntu. “In a clandestine meeting held, some names have been pencilled down for possible harassment, intimidation and where necessary, elimination with the aid of fake police and uniformed bandits, who are allegedly linked with the dreaded Egbesu cult men from Niger- Delta area during the forthcoming elections, especially at ward and LGA collation centres.

“We hereby call on the N i g e r i a Po l i c e , a l l l a w enforcement agencies, the governor of Imo State, as well as traditional rulers in Ngor Okpala to rise to the occasion to unveil the perpetrators of this ugly trend so as to avert further bloodshed in Ngor Okpala.”

Indigenes of Umudike-Ukwu crown HRH, Eze Chaplain Ben as ‘Dike 1'

By Princewill Ekwujuru

O

gechimereze Oriaku, the traditional ruler of Umudike-Ukwu Autonomous Community with the title: Dike 1, in a very colourful ceremony attended by dignitaries from all walks of life. He is widely touted as the youngest Eze in Abia State.

Highly reckoned as a solid and sound Christian, his glamorous installation event had in dominant attendance, distinguished men of God such as Rev. Dr. John Onyeanusi of Assemblies of God Church, Kaduna; Bishop Nath Ofor of Jesus Campaigners Ministry Lagos; Rev. Chukwukere Peter of Methodist Church Nigeria Abakiliki; Pst. Dennis Inyang, General Overseer, Sure Word Assembly International Lagos; Pst Dickson Okafor of Kingdom Glory Christian Centre, among others whose

beautiful sermons, powerful prayers and songs of praise enlivened the ceremony.

Other celebrities who graced the occasion include Hon. Sam Onuigbo, member, Federal House of Representatives who represented Abia State Gover nor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, Ezinne Ngozi Oji, Chairman, Ikwuano L.G.A, Prof. Madu Iwe, Deputy Vice- Chancellor, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike who represented the university's Vice- Chancellor, Prof.

Francis Otunta; H.R.H Eze C h r i s t o p h e r Ejirika,Chairman, Ikwuano Traditional Rulers Council, King Larry Ogbonnaya Agwu, Chairman, Oboro Traditional Rulers Council, H.R.H Eze Peter Anyaegbu, Dike Oha II of Umudike Ancient Kingdom, Nollywood stars notable among whom was Jane Cosmos O. popularly known as C.J Mama and a host of

Crowning ceremony of the Eze. other eminent personalities. anybody can do to void it.”

Making comments on He further praised Eze behalf of Abia State Chaplain Oriaku for his Gover nor, Hon. Sam humility, courage and Onuigbu said: "Whether resilience in taking his some people like it or not, people to the Promised Land Umudike-Ukwu Autonomous even in the face of tough Community has come to stay challenges. and there is nothing Continues on page 29

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27 , 2019 —29

Anambra’s PPP giant rice mill kicks off with 120,000mt annual production target • Water/irrigation project to boost economic income of 20,000 farmers, 100,000 dependants

By Nwabueze Okonkwo

O

NITSHA - Anambra state is now counting the gains associated with the resuscitation and expansion of a moribund rice mill, under the Public Private Partnership, PPP venture.

The mill was established in the state by the Federal Government as a federal project at Umumbo community in Ayamelum Local Government Area of the state, as far back as 1997.

Formerly known as Omor Rice Mill, the project which was established in collaboration with the World Bank and the Old Anambra State Government before it was abandoned, was, however, handed over to Anambra State Government in 2010 by the Federal Government and it later went into PPP agreement with an agro-based investor, Josan, to ensure its resuscitation, expansion and full capacity utilisation.

All efforts by successive federal and state governments, since that 1997 to rehabilitate the vandalised and abandoned giant mill proved abortive until the advent of Governor Willie Obiano administration which contracted Josan on PPP for the technical resuscitation and all round investments to this effect.

Obiano’s first contact with Joseph Agro Industries, Josan, was in 2015 when he contracted Josan to

THE TEAM

SUPERVISING EDITOR: Chioma Gabriel, Lagos (08052201257) EDITOR: Emeka Mamah, Enugu email: emekemamah@yahoo.com Anayo Okoli, Umuahia Vincent Ujumadu, Awka Chidi Nkwopara, Owerri Peter Okutu, Abakaliki Chimaobi Nwaiwu, Nnewi Nwabueze Okonkwo, Onitsha Ugochukwu Alaribe, Aba Denis Agbo, Enugu

rehabilitate the former dilapidated World Bank Rice Farm at Ufuma, Orumba North Local Government Area of the state, as a pilot test scheme.

Amazingly, Josan proved its mettle by installing two new rice mills at Ufuma, built allyear round irrigation facilities under the Lower Anambra Irrigation Prtoject, LAIP and engaged in a large cosponsored out-growers scheme with International Funds for Agricultural Development, IFAD-value chain, which earned Josan the national award as the IFAD off-taker.

Based on the quality job done at the Ufuma rice mill project, with a functional irrigation programme, Obiano handed over the moribund Omor Rice Mill to Josan in 2018 for resuscitation.

Consequently, Josan transformed the 30,000 metric tonnes annual capacity former Omor Rice Mill into a giant rice mill with its current expanded annual production capacity of 80,000 metric tonnes of paddy rice input and 50,000 metric tonnes of milled rice, which now raised its status as the biggest rice mill in Africa.

To make the mill function all year round, Obiano decided to site a World Bank water and irrigation project very close to the mill, to enable it produce and mill rice at full capacity.

At the commissioning

*Igwe Chris Oranu Chidume of Omor community (extreme left) acknowledging Governor Obiano as he lays the foundation stone of the water/irrigation project ceremony of the rice mill which coincided with the foundation stone-laying ceremony of the water and irrigation project, known as Anambra Water and Irrigation Project, AWIP, aimed at pumping water from a river, creating water treatment plants along the water lines of key communities for potable community water and irrigating potentially 10,000 hectares of land, Obiano noted that the essence of siting the AWIP project near the rice mill was to ensure that there is at least production of 120,000 metric tonnes of paddies a year.

Obiano who was visibly satisfied with the level of technical work done on the mill, praised Josan for completing the project within a record time and explained that the project would boost national self-sufficiency in rice production.

The governor contended that Umumbo remained a great contributor to the rice production transformation agenda of the state government, adding that the projects were indication of his administration’s commitment towards improving the state’s agricultural production capacity, even as he urged farmers to take advantage of the great opportunity provided by the mill to open more doors of employment and development.

Earlier, the state Commissioner for Agriculture, Processing and Mechanisation, Afam Mbanefo had expressed gratitude to Obiano for making the mill operational once more.

On the irrigation project, Mbanefo stressed that the project would drive massive agricultural production as it would serve areas stretching

Indigenes of Umudike-Ukwu have crowned his royal highness, HRH, Eze Chaplain Ben Continued from Page Speaking after a chieftaincy title was conferred on her by Eze Oriaku, excited Ikwuano Local Government boss, Ezinne Oji admonished her fellow women to always strive to attain greater heights in all fields of human endeavour and asserted emphatically that with hard work and dedication, the sky is the limit for every woman. She equally praised Eze Oriaku for resolutely standing by his people at all times.

The sanctification of the throne was performed by two prominent clergymen – Rev. John Onyeanusi and Bishop Nath Ofor both of whom are indigenes of

Umudike-Ukwu Autonomous Community.

Summing up the sermon that took greater part of the coronation, Pastor Inyang unequivocally declared that

...with hard work and dedication, the sky is the limit for every woman

kingship is divine and that whosoever is destined by God to be a king will certainly be.

In his brief acceptance speech, Eze Oriaku promised to serve his people in a Godly manner, take them to the next level and ensure that Umudike-Ukwu becomes a leading autonomous community in Abia State in terms of human and material development. In conclusion, he charged all the recipients of chieftaincy honours to be good ambassadors of the community wherever they may find themselves.

One of the side attractions was the heroic display by the famous Ohafia war dancers which electrified the occasion.

not less than 200 kilometres.

In his welcome address, Chairman of Josan Integrated Rice Mills and Farms and Joseph Agro Industries, Chief Oliver Okeke who spoke about the genesis and the vision of the project, disclosed that the firm, in a record time, was able to completely resuscitate the giant rice mill at its own expense, fixing the intake unit, the dryers, the power elements, the boilers, the parboiling unit and the rice mill.

Okeke noted that prior to this, the rice mill was totally vandalised and abandoned for years, with all the electrical wires and parts ripped out and the mill completely written off by successive governments since 1997, adding that other investors who were brought in over the years, abandoned the project, as it was not technically and financially possible for them to resuscitate the giant rice mill, after the vandalisation, until Josan took up the challenge by the Governor and made the requisite resuscitation and expansion investment.

According to Okeke: “This is a testimony of the federal and state government’s successful agriculture policies to bring in genuine investors into the agriculture sector. Anambra State Rice produced by Josan (different from Anambra Rice), was also launched at the event, as a testimony to rice that is grown in Anambra, milled in Anambra and packaged in Anambra. This will become a proudly Anambra State Rice, “Made in Nigeria” product, to reduce the importation of rice and save foreign exchange for

Continues on Page30

30—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2019

FMBN facilitates housing schemes in Anambra N500m project takes off in June

By Vincent Ujumadu

A

wka—AS part of efforts to provide decent and affordable houses for all categories of Nigerians, the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, FMBN, has concluded plans to collaborate with the Anambra State Housing Corporation for the take off of some of its programmes in the state.

An executive director with the bank, Mr. Melville Ebo, who hinted on the proposed schemes when he led officials of FMBN for an interaction with the managing director of Anambra State Housing C o r p o r a t i o n , M r. Wi l l i e Okafor in Awka, said the state was qualified for the schemes because it is up to date with contributions of the National Housing Fu n d , N H F, f o r t h e development of housing schemes.

Essentially, Ebo was in

the state to appeal to Anambra State for land for the housing projects expected to take off by the middle of this year after the commissioning of ongoing projects in Enugu and Abia states in the South-East geopolitical zone, as well as in Akwa Ibom and Delta states in the South-South.

Among the housing programmes likely to take off in the state in the near future are the Cooperative Housing Scheme in which 50 houses expected to cost N500 million at N10 million for each unit and the Home Renovation Programme in which loans that would attract six per cent interest, would be given to workers to renovate and upgrade their existing houses.

According to Ebo, there is also another scheme jointly being promoted by the FMBN, the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, the Trade

*Ebo (second left) with other officials of FMBN and Anambra Housing Corporation Union Congress, TUC, and the Nigeria Employers’

Consultative Association, NECA, which is an

Anambra’s PPP giant rice mill kicks off with 120,000mt annual production target

*Oliver Okeke carrying a bag of rice as Obiano commissions the rice mill Continued from Page29 Nigeria.”

Okeke whose address was read on his behalf by Uche Bennett, the assistant coordinator of Josan Farms, stated that the vision started when he spoke with his partner, Benedict Peters, the Chair man of Joseph Agro Foundation (a foundation set up to empower the rural farmers of Africa), who elaborated that it was time to empower the local farmers of Africa, become self-sufficient in food production and bring in development to the rural areas of Nigeria.

He therefore commended Governor Obiano, the Hon. Commissioner of Agriculture, Mr Afam Mbanefo and the executives of Anambra State Investment Promotion and Protection A g e n c y, A N S I P PA , t h e traditional rulers and the host communities, for their unrelenting support.

He also commended Umumbo community for agreeing to give them 5,000 hectares of land to develop a highly irrigated and mechanised farm, with Josan as the anchor offtaker for the Lower

Anambra Irrigation Project, LAIP, in conjunction with NISRAL, IFAD, FADAMA and other development partners, as the LAIP farm was attached to the Josan giant mill, which potentially has 10,000 rice farmers.

He maintained that the mill would help to create employment all year round, for over 20,000 farmers and thousands of agro processors, as using irrigation, there will now be all year water for farming, annual supply and full capacity processing of rice paddies

into milled rice, since rice is Nigeria’s main staple food and Anambra will become a major supplier of rice to Nigeria and beyond.

This Anambra Water and Irrigation project will also boost the economic income of over 20,000 rice farmers and 100,000 family dependents, ensure all year round farming, there would be enough rice paddies all year for hundreds of rice mills in Anambra State, plus, it will usher in increased economic multiplier development into the rural areas of Anambra State ( f e e d e r r o a d s , p o w e r, community water, logistics, ware houses, housing, schools and service industries).

Igwe Cyril Enweze, the managing director of ANSIPPA, said the vision of the project was to promote food security and revenue generation.

To n y N n a a m a h , t h e president-general, Umumbo c o m m u n i t y, alleged that herdsmen had in the past destroyed farms and sources of water.

In his vote of thanks, the traditional ruler of Omor, one of the communities benefitting from the project, Igwe Oranu Chidume, lauded government’s effort in resuscitating the project.

umbrella body of employers in the organised private sector in Nigeria.

He recalled that Anambra State Government received a disbursement of N200 million in 2007 for the cooperative housing project, adding, however, that because the project was not implemented as required, the incumbent governor of the state, Chief Willie Obiano, refunded the money, thus qualifying the state to benefit fully from the N500 million project.

Ebo said: “Participation of Anambra State from the NHF is very low and we hope that with Mr. Okafor in the saddle, the state will take its rightful position in the programme because there are a lot of programmes the state can benefit from.

“The housing projects are for every Nigerian and our expectation is that everybody should benefit f r o m i t . We e x p e c t o u r projects to be sited in areas that workers can transport themselves easily to work.”

In his response, Okafor assured that the state housing corporation, as the arrowhead for housing development in the state, would collaborate with the FMBN to ensure quick implementation of the various schemes.

He informed Ebo that the state housing corporation was already executing a number of housing projects in the state in line with the state government’s policy of providing adequate houses for its workers in various parts of the state.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2019—31

The 2019 general elections- and the recriminations and counterrecriminations continue

T

HE Presidential and Nationals Assembly elections held on February 23 against the background of fears and speculations that they would again be postponed. They were to have held a week earlier before Mahmood Yakubu, the chair of the Independent National Electoral Commission, announced they had been postponed just a couple hours before the polls were to open.

The reason for the postponement was mainly logistical. Considering INEC had postponed the elections after it had dismissed fears that they would be postponed, it was understandable why Nigerians were tensed and would not take INEC’s words for it the second time around.

The only thing that would convince them that the elections had not again been postponed was if the polls actually opened on the rescheduled date and they were allowed the free exercise of their right to vote for the candidates of their choice. And after all said and done, after the tense anticipation, the polls did open to a slow start on the rescheduled date.

Even when initial reports indicated a high voter turnout, it’s becoming apparent, as I write this two days

after the elections, that turnout had been lower than anticipated. The optimism that informed or greeted the earlier reports of high voter turnout must have been based on the fact that contrary to fears that the postponement would induce voter apathy, many Nigerians had reported early at their voting units to vote on the day of the rescheduled elections. That gave the impression that most were still galvanized and eager to vote. Which is not to say that Nigerians did badly given the general atmosphere that pervaded.

Indeed, the faith demonstrated by Nigerians who went out to vote ought to be praised. It was heroic in certain places where going out to vote was tantamount to staring death in the face and daring it in its lair.

Yet, it would be denying the evidence of our own eyes to say anything other than that this latest elections would go down in history as perhaps the vilest in the political history of this country. Going by perception alone, it must hold the record for being the vilest election ever held within the boundaries of the country called Nigeria. It was in most cases a despicable exercise in

self-flagellation. There is hardly anything redeeming about it, and there are very credible reasons for this. First is the especially low grade quality of the debates that characterised the elections. This was perhaps due to the complete lack of ideological difference between the two leading parties that contested the elections, namely, the All Progressives Congress, APC, and the People's Democratic Party, PDP. The reason for this is well known to Nigerians- the internal wrangling that saw members of one party

Fake news has taken a life of its own as unauthenticated election results are released on social media even as both the APC and the PDP claim victory for themselves and accuse one another of both real and imaginary crimes parting ways with their associates to team up with opponents in the other party. The motivation for these movements across party lines was nothing other than the selfish fight over who gets what. There is nothing to distinguish between the ideological posturing of both the APC and the PDP beyond the rhetoric of anger being spewed by members of both parties.

With nothing to separate them ideologically, all members of the two parties have to share are nothing but gutter snippets, shameless propaganda and, above all, crude insults disguised as political debates.

Synergy for effective management strategies

By Akintola Benson-Oke

I

T has been said that, "since the onset of the Great Recession, 'doing more with less' has become a policy mantra. However, this mantra has not translated into actual implementable policies in most segments of the public service in Nigeria.

Echoing this sentiment, Daniel Egbunu, in an online article published on March 12, 2017 noted that, the "impact of today's rapidly changing economic and technological landscape has made government's task of delivering public service more complex. More than ever before, governments all over the world have increasingly come under serious public scrutiny and fiscal pressure to deliver better outcomes to citizens, and to do so more efficiently. As is evident, Nigeria has not been spared from this in recent times. On the one hand, the dynamism presented by the impact of the interaction of economic, technological and other superintending elements in these scenarios have no doubt made governments' public service delivery duties onerous. On the other hand, however, it has also opened up opportunities for the exploration of out-of-thebox strategies that governments can adopt if found to better the lot of their citizens."

It is delightful to note, however, that the Lagos State Civil Service has come a long way and has led the way in reducing waste while increasing productivity. This is partly the result of the extensive investments in knowledge and skills by the administration of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode. For these investments, the Lagos State Civil Service must remain grateful.

The importance of eliminating waste cannot be over-emphasised. Countless studies have shown that with good and sound processes relating to management of time and resources, one finds that meagre resources can be extended to produce outstanding results. In other words, organisations and individuals can achieve more with less.

Explaining the rationale for such an objective as described above, an article by McKinsey & C M Y K

Company states as follows: "Governments around the world want to deliver better education, better health care, better pensions, and better transportation services. They know that impatient electorate expect to see change, and fast. But the funds required to meet such expectations are enormous-particularly in the many developed economies where populations are aging and the public sector's productivity hasn't kept pace with that of the private sector.

The need to get value for money from governments at all levels is therefore under the spotlight as never before. But cost-cutting programmes that seek savings of 1 to 3 percent a year will not be enough and in some cases, may even weaken the quality of service."

The author of the article then stated that, in order to "address the problem, public-sector leaders are looking with growing interest at 'lean' techniques long used in private industry.

From the repair of military vehicles to the processing of income tax returns, from surgery to urban planning, lean is showing that it cannot only improve public services but also transform them for the better. Crucially for the public sector, a lean approach breaks with the prevailing view that there has to be a trade-off between the quality of public services and the cost of providing them."

I fully agree with the viewpoints expressed above. Indeed, it would be a great achievement if the Lagos State Civil Service is able to import the principles of lean operations from the private sector and apply them, mutatis mutandis, to the operations of the public sector.

Now, to the second of the strategies for effectively improving performance and embracing higher responsibilities. Team work and synergy hold the key to maximum and ultimate performance. Stephen Covey, the best selling author and management consultant said, team work and synergy "is what happens when one plus one equals ten or a hundred or even a thousand! It is the profound result when two or more respectful human beings determine to go beyond their pre-conceived ideas to meet a great challenge." Expatiating on the value of Synergy, Stephen Covey said,

And their supporters wasted no time to follow the lead of their leaders.

Thus ethnic, political and religious insults, all to the last one induced by primordial considerations, are hurled across the media with the virulence of age long personal hatred. The situation is not helped by the fact that the current circle of general elections is the most social media-driven in the history of Nigeria. In an age of fake news and deliberate misinformation/ disinformation, every Nigerian with a mobile phone is a journalist able to manufacture and disseminate their own brand of fake news. The power to make and disseminate information has never being this democratised. And most of what passes for news are the imaginative creations of hands hired and paid solely for that purpose- to make and spread fake news.

Campaigns for the elections started quite late into the electioneering period in spite of the fact that most of the politicians have spent the better part of the last four years engaged in one form or another of subtle campaigns. The APC, assured that the presidential election was for it to win for example, failed to make any serious attempt at campaigning. The PDP that chose its flag bearer rather late did not appear to know what next to do after that, leaving many of its supporters confused as to whether it really wanted to wrest power from the APC. What cannot be denied though is that it took the entry of the PDP flag bearer, Atiku Abubakar, for the APC to realise that the election was not going to be about mindless screaming of Sai Baba down the paved roads of Abuja and nothing more. It realised that it was not going to win the election by simply

"synergy is better than my way or your way. It is our way."

There are some who underestimate the value and importance of synergy and team work.

Listen to this transformational testimony of a late convert to the power of synergy and teamwork: "I was never a big fan of teamwork.

Being a naturally-inclined leader, I always felt that I could do things best on my own, and dismissed collaboration as a sign of weakness.

In his book, Success Intelligence, Robert Holden refers to this compulsive urge for selfsufficiency as the 'By Myself Syndrome.'

According to Holden, "people who suffer from 'By Myself Syndrome' are lousy at asking for help. They are blind to opportunities for support. They are blocked by their inability to get past themselves. Irreverently refusing to embrace the truth behind this concept, I skipped the entire chapter in the book and rendered it irrelevant to me or my success. It wasn't until a year and countless of burnouts later, that I finally decided to give up my ego and give in to teamwork.

It would be a great achievement if the Lagos State Civil Service is able to import the principles of lean operations from the private sector and apply them

Having thrown myself into the heavily teambased MSc Management course at Imperial, I had the perfect chance to re-visit my rigid viewpoints. Although the transition from Me to Us was challenging at first, I was eventually awakened to the benefits of working in a team, and came to see teamwork as one of the most important aspects to success."

That was the statement of George Lizos when he was a student at the Imperial Business School. Without a doubt, he was echoing the views of many thought leaders in the business world. Permit me to begin by briefly sharing the thoughts of these leaders with you. Mark Twain described synergy as the "bonus that is achieved when things work together harmoniously."7 "Synergy is everywhere in nature," another observer noted. "If you plant two plants close together, the roots commingle

claiming victory in its desultory fight against corruption and merely mounting up sound bites about the president’s life of integrity. But the PDP offered nothing better.

When the campaigns eventually took off, there was no way to get the leading contenders to a debate, one of them, Muhammadu Buhari, having decided he had no need for it. Nor would Atiku himself offer more than a political gesture in that direction. It was left to the underdogs to sell themselves at debate venues.

Bucking any attempt to make them present coherent views of their touted manifestoes, members and leaders of both the APC and the PDP took to hurling insults at one another, retailing fear, rumour and wild gossips about their opponents. No election has been more characterised by wild rumours and false claims. It is therefore not surprising that within hours of the polls opening and days after they were closed, all Nigerians have been treated to have been news of violence on a scale that beggars belief. All of this despite the peace accord signed and endorsed by the leading contenders in the elections.

Ballot snatching for which Buhari had threatened summary death to perpetrators, intimidation of opponents and burning of votes and INEC offices were rife. From Rivers, to Delta, Osun to Lagos, Akwa-Ibom to Cross River; Benue to Kogi, the casualty figures are rising. There have been careless and completely avoidable deaths. Fake news has taken a life of its own as unauthenticated election results are released on social media even as both the APC and the PDP claim victory for themselves and accuse one another of both real and imaginary crimes. We’ve never had it so bad!

and improve the quality of the soil so that both plants will grow better than if they were separated.

If you put two pieces of wood together, they will hold much more than the total weight held by each separately. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. One plus one equals three or more."8 Drawing from his extensive wealth of hands-on knowledge, Henry Ford said, "Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success." Hellen Keller opined that "Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much."

And Michael Jordan posited that, "Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships."

Of all the commentators, Carlos Ghosn made the best attempt to describe the wider benefits of synergy and team work when he stated that, "synergies are not only about cost reduction.

Synergies can be access to markets, exchange of products, avoiding overlaps, and exchange of best practices." And Babara Max Hubbard allayed the fear of those who think synergy would result in the loss of individuality.

He rightly noted that, "Synergy does not mean giving up what we want. It means joining to co-create so each is able to receive ever more of what attracts us through joining rather than opposing."

Luis E. Romero is another of the foremost thinkers on this subject. He brilliantly identified the factors that make synergy work. He said, "just as the numbers of protons, neutrons, and electrons define the potential for chemical synergy, the combination of common interests, common values, and complementary talents defines the potential for team synergy."

Along with the earlier-advocated strategy of lean management and the other strategies to be considered in this training, I am confident that the Lagos State Civil Service will be on the path to being re-positioned for higher effectiveness and responsibilities. In the final analysis, we find that there is much to gain from pursuing these strategies and, in so doing, to build a Lagos State Civil Service that is always ready and prepared to fulfill higher responsibilities.

•Dr. Benson-Oke, Lagos State Commissioner for Establishment, Training and Pensions.

32 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY February 27, 2019

LEISURE

YOUR LUCK TODAY

By Joshua Adeyemo Phone 08056180139 ARIES: The more self assertive you are the better but then it is important you don’t take things and people for granted. Be wise.

TAURUS: ALTHOUGH there seem to be an air of understanding within your working arena today, tomorrow may turn the whole thing the other way.

GEMINI: HERE is an exciting day that will climax tomorrow. After a long time, others will see how passionate you can be even in love. Don’t gamble, please.

CANCER: IF your desire is to make money today, you will need to be less emotional and prepare for domestic challenges tomorrow. Enjoy your love life.

LEO: GOOD relationship between the Moon and other Planets will bring you good opportunities. Be less argumentative and take your love life more seriously.

SAYINGS OF OUR PEOPLE

TAKE HEART — ELLA RANDLE

“If you ever want to see a rainbow you have to Pretend you stand a little rain.” Take Heart QuotesWhen life gives you lemons, make lemonade is a common phrase. It is meant to encourage optimism in the face of adversity or as the case may be, in everyday life situations.

But as the saying goes. “Within the problem lies a solution”.

Life’s challenges are actually stepping stones to something better. -Ella Randle -

TERROR MUDA

are dead and you will see who really loves you. ~ African proverb

in “Never say goodbye”

By Kola Fayemi

VIRGO: THIS is your day when things will go according to your plans. Financial success indicated but if you wait till tomorrow, opposition’ll bring disappointment.

LIBRA: THE Moon encourages you to be as assertive as possible but you will need to expect certain level of opposition. Try to be more friendly.

SCORPIO: HAPPENINGS within your working arena should be taken more seriously now or else, avoidable trouble would start tomorrow. Again, it’s important you are more practical about your health. Be more loving.

SAGITTARIUS: EVEN, if friends and others are helpful and pledging loyalty today, they may be forced and get on your nerve tomorrow. Be graceful in your expression.

CAPRICORN: WHATEVER can lead to avoidable trouble tomorrow, either at home or along your career/ business lines, should be well taken care of today. Be very open.

DUDU

in

“ROLLING HOT”

By A.O. OLAIDE

AQUARIUS: YOUR best bet today is to seek important co-operation of influential people and that of your spouse/partner. The more legal conscious you are, the better for you.

PISCES: IF others want you to conclude an important financial transactions that can possibly be done today, you’ll need to say no and go ahead as tomorrow may not be as conducive as today.

ASTROLOGICAL COUNSELLING ASTROLOGICAL COUNSELLING Send y our dat e and place of bir th t o the As tr ological datee and place of bir birth Astr trological Send yyour our dat th ttoo the As tr ological Counselling, PP.M.B .M.B 1100 00 7, Apapa, Lagos 007,

WHAT,S MY IMMEDIATE FUTURE? Dear Joshua, Iaminterestedinwhatyouaredoing.PleasetellmewhatIshouldexpect concerningmyimmediatefuture.WouldIsucceedinbusiness?

George, Lagos.

Dear George, Few years back you have started a very longer (years) great cycle of success and happiness, and this year you will be moving closer to the peak of the said cycle. What are ahead of you between now and the month of May, 2019.

Similar to your immediate past period. Good opportunities to assert yourselfwillcomeyourwaybuttheStarsaresayingtarryawhiletillyour next period that will prove tremendously fortunate for you.

Thatisnottosaythebusinessworldhavetobeavoidedbutwhateverwill need higher degrees of positive luck should be delayed a bit, when the heavenswillsmilebroadlyatyou.Duringthisperiodyouwillhavemore to gain if you take your younger subordinates seriously so also your personal new ideas on the best ways to successfully forge ahead in the businessworld.

A particularmemberofyouroppositesexmaybelookingforamanshe wouldliketolureintosecretaffairs;itisbetterforhertogetsuchelsewhere so that one will not run into avoidable troubles.

Major emphasis will be on MONEY, YOUR INITIATIVE, TRAVELLING,CONTROVERSYandveryimportantLOVEAFFAIRS.Thisis your first most fortunate periodof the year 2016 which must be fully utilised.

MONEY willcomeinwhereyouexpectitandfromunexpectedsources too. If there are times when element of luck is needed to succeed, this is one of such periods; actually British Astrologer will say go for sweepstakes(likelotteries,lotto,poolbettingandthelike)andtrulyyoucanwin.

With romantic Venus in your Star Sign, important matters-of-the-heart shouldbetakenveryseriously.Whateveryourposture,naturewillhave it’s way and you will give in to enjoy your love life; members of your opposite sex will be willing to assist you now, either for romantic interest orotherwise.

VIRGINIA

dadadekola@yahoo.com

HOME & ABROAD

By Lawrence Akapa

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2019—33

Court dismisses certificate suit against Buhari

By Egufe Yafugborhi

P LSETF/FORD FOUNDATION: From left—Market Editor, West Africa, CNBC/Moderator, Wole Famurewa; Senior Lecturer, Lagos Business School, LBS, Dr. Doyin Salami; Director, Strategy, Partnerships and Stakeholder Management, Lagos State Employment Trust Fund, LSETF, Abosede Alimi; Group Chief, Sustainability and Governance, Dangote Industries Limited, Dr. Ndidi Nnoli-Edozien, and Founding Partner, Ventures Platform Limited, Mr. Kola Aina, at the official report presentation on the LSETF impact, progress and lessons, with support from Ford Foundation, to development partners in Lagos State.

HYPREP dismisses reports of Ogoni rejecting cleanup project

By Davies Iheamnachor

P

ORT HARCOURT— THE Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project, HYPREP, has dismissed rumours that the people of Ogoni have rejected the ongoing cleanup project in their devastated environment.

Project Coordinator, HYPREP, Dr. Marvin Dekil, disclosed this in Port Harcourt yesterday, in a statement by the Head, Information, Ekaete Umo. Dekil noted that Ogoni people are receptive and supportive of the clean-up project, adding that the project meets the need of the area.

Dekil also denied allegations that the cleanup programme was at variance with the recommendations in the UNEP report, stressing that HYPREP had not in any way deviated from the recommendations of UNEP in its operations.

He disclosed that the Federal Government had re-engaged UNEP to work with HYPREP in the field and in the office, to provide technical support and build capacity of staff on the project, noting that it was a demonstration of the commitment of FG to the cleanup of Ogoni in strict compliance with the recommendations of UNEP. Dekil said: “UNEP Technical Team during its one-week assessment visit to HYPREP office studied the activities of project since its inception and confirmed that the implementation process was in line with the recommendations in the UNEP Report.

“To successfully implement the UNEP report submitted eight

years ago, HYPREP had to prioritize some of the activities that were not considered emergency at the time the report was submitted without deviating from the recommendations.”

Dekil, however, revealed that HYPREP had adopted a thorough process that will enable the provision of

sustainable potable water in Ogoniland, confirming that the process for the implementation of the water project had reached an advanced stage.

Dekil also denied insinuations that members of the impacted communities were excluded from the project.

He said the project had

carried out series of engagements with the various groups and segments within and outside the communities.

Dekil urged Ogoni people to remain receptive and supportive of government programmes and projects that are aimed at impacting positively on their lives.

… as Batan-Diebiri raises alarm over firm's refusal to clean up oil spillage

T

HE people of BatanDiebiri community in Warri South-West Local Government Area of Delta State have called on the Federal Government and w e l l - m e a n i n g organisations to prevail on Heritage Energy Service Nig. Limited to clean up the oil spillage that occurred on November 2018 in the kingdom.

The community, in a statement by Sir Ambrose Ogulasuogha and Chief Joseph Egbelegbele, its Chairman and Vice Chairman, respectively,

lamented that their traditional means of livelihood, which is fishing, had been destroyed due to the spillage.

They lamented that thousands of persons living in the affected communities— Diebiri, Kokologbene, Dibigbene, Ebobigbene, One Man Village and Eweregbene— have developed strange illnesses due to the consumption of contaminated seafood.

Other communities affected by the spillage, they said, include

Ugbanabobu, Brosgbene, Aresenegbene and Bulobu-Ugbanagbene.

The Batan-Diebiri community, while raising the alarm over the nonchalant attitude of the company to clean up the environment, stressed that the oil spill posed great danger to their existence.

They called on the Federal and state governments, alongside environmental activists to call on the oil firm to be responsive, show concern and compensate the affected communities.

Edo ADP candidate tasks FG on roads construction to boost devt

By Alemma Aliu

B

E N I N — A S Nigerians await the declaration of results of the presidential election, especially between President Muhammadu Buhari of All Progressives Congress, APC, and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Edo State Action Democratic Party, ADP, state House of Assembly candidate for U h u n m w o n d e constituency, Mr. Austin

Osaghae, has called on the Federal Government to tar link roads in his constituency to fulfill the area’s potentials of becoming the food basket of the state.

He said the massive production of fruits such as pineapple, water melon and orange in Ehor, Uhi and Igieduma wards and food crops such as cassava and plantain in Ohuan, Egbede and Irhue wards, among others, qualifies Uhunmwode to be a food basket.

He said: “Uhunmwode

actually can be the food basket of Edo State, just like Benue State is to Nigeria and that is why the communities involved have to be connected with good motorable roads to enhance communal interaction and evacuation of farm produce.

“There are many federal roads in Uhunmwode, which due to poor representation in the past have remained unmotorable; such as the Ehor-Ekpoma Road and Ehor-Orhua-Sobe roads.”

ORT HARCOURT— A Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, has struck out the case seeking to disqualify President Muhammadu Buhari from the 2019 elections over circumstances surrounding his school certificate.

A lawyer, Lezina Amegua, had prayed the court to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to disqualify the President, but the trial judge, Justice Ishaq Sani, struck out the case for lack of merit.

Also joined as respondents in the suit were All Progressives Congress, APC, and the Attorney-General of the Federation.

Amegua had sought an order of the court for the President to produce his original school certificate or its equivalent and master sheet of the said results before the court and for INEC to also tender receipt of its record of same documents or its equivalent submitted to it by the President.

Justice Sani, in his ruling, said the plaintiff from the facts deposed to in his affidavit in support, did not show how production of the first defendant’s original school certificate or its equivalent affects his interest as an individual.

The court further held that the plaintiff did not contest any electoral position in 2015, neither was he a presidential candidate nor a political party to protest the participation and qualification of the President in 2015 and the 2019 general election.

According to Justice Sani, “the concept of locus standi focuses not on the merit of the case, but of the person seeking to approach the court.

“The essence is to protect the court from being used as playground by professional litigants, busy bodies, meddlesome interlopers and cranks that have no real stake or interest in the subject matter of the litigation they seek to pursue.

“I agree with learned counsel for the fourth defendant that the plaintiff has no relationship with the reliefs in this suit and to grant same as rightly submitted would amount to opening the floodgates for the institution of actions, whether or not it affects the right of the plaintiff.

“There must be a dispute between a person who makes a claim and the one against whom the claim is made and the action must be justiciable.

“Plaintiff must show that the act complained of affects rights and obligations peculiar or personal thereto. He must also show that his private rights have been infringed upon or there is a threat of such infringement or injury.”

Gov candidates forum hails A-Ibom REC over polls

By Chioma Onuegbu

U

YO—A forum of governorship candidates in Akwa Ibom State has lauded the stae's Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, Mr. Mike Igini, for conducting credible and transparent presidential and National Assembly polls.

The forum, in a communiqué after its meeting in Uyo yesterday, said the election was a milestone in the country’s democratic development.

The forum expressed satisfaction over the display of professionalism and integrity by the REC during the polls, noting

that the polls complied with international best practices and globallyaccepted standards.

The communiqué by its Chairman, and governorship candidate of Young Progressive Party YPP, Mr. Ekong Eyo, and Secretary and governorship candidate o Green Party of Nigeria, Itoro Bassey, particularly applauded the timely deployment of personnel and materials during the polls.

It read in part: “We note with gladness that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC's deployment of its personnel and materials on election day was timely, efficient and has received accolades from all relevant stakeholders.”

34—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2019

APGA faithful lament party's poor performance seats of Anambra at the polls senate North, Anambra Central

By Chimaobi Nwaiwu

N

NEWI—AS the winner of last Saturday's Presidential election is still being awaited to be declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, aggrieved faithful of All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA, in Anambra State have called for the removal of the national chairman of the party following the lack lustre performance of the party in the Presidential and national assembly elections.

Since last Sunday when the results of the senatorial and House of Representative elections started indicating that APGA lost most of the seats, there have been condemnations of the national leadership of the party for its alleged role in the shameful loss of majority of the national assembly seats following the result of the last governorship election in Anambra State where it swept victory in the 21 Local Governments Areas in the state.

The victory of Governor Willie Obiano in the 21 Council Areas in the state which brought the sobriquet for the party, 21 over 21, attracted politicians from the main opposition parties, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and All Progressives Congress, APC, to join the party to executive their ambition through the party’s ticket.

As the results of the Presidential and National Assembly elections started emerging, newspaper stands in Nnewi and Onitsha were inundated with discussions of APGA's woeful loss of the three

Burial

and Anambra South.

Many discussants who were arguing in high voices and with anger in both Nnewi and Onitsha were accusing the national leadership of the party of being behind its woes by conducting rancorous party primaries that ushered in the candidates of the party.

Chief Solomon Nwoko, a chieftain of the party and one of the discussants argued that “apart from Senator Victor Umeh who deserved automatic ticket for the senate contest having been its former national chairman and also being a sitting Senator, all other candidates should have emerged through open, clear and competitive primary elections.

He said: “The surprising and unbelievable defeat of the three APGA senatorial candidates in last Saturdays national assembly elections was the greatest minus of the party built and sustained by Chief Victor Umeh and his able Secretary Alhaji Shinkafi.

“The spirit of Dim Chukwuemeka Ojukwu is fighting back and working against the party because of the national leadership of the party's disgraceful and disrespectful attitude towards his beloved wife, Ambassador Bianca Ojukwu who was denied the party ’s ticket for contesting senatorial seat.

“The choice of Chief Oye as the national chairman of APGA was the greatest mistake the party made and it will take the party his removal for it to get its feet again in the South East."

O R

By Dennis Agbo

E

NUGU—NINE candidates of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Ebonyi State have demanded cancellation of last Saturday’s National Assembly elections in the state.

The candidates were participants in the three senatorial and six House of Representatives elections in the state.

They alleged that the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, led by Governor Dave Umahi, conspired with the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to commit various

forms of electoral fraud during elections in the state.

Leader of the group and candidate for Ebonyi South Senatorial district, Prince Onu Nweze in a press briefing with his colleagues, in Enugu yesterday said that what took place in Ebonyi was a case of widespread irregularities, targeted violence, voters inducement, mutilation of APC valid votes and open collaboration by security agents and INEC ad-hoc staff.

In a joint statement at the briefing, the candidates alleged that the election was marred by

WERRI—THE Imo State office of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has declared the Imo North Senatorial election inconclusive.

The INEC Pubic Relations Officer, PRO, Emmanuella Opara disclosed this yesterday in Owerri but said a date had not been fixed for a rerun election.

Imo North Senatorial zone has been under intense pressure following series of protests by voters in the area against what they described as massive rigging, intimidation and

flagrant abuse of the Electoral Act. They said the fraud was “a template that saw the jettisoning of card readers, massive thumb-printing of ballot papers, pre-writing of results, denial of party agents access to polling units, use of hoarded PVCs, over voting and violence against APC party members.

“These were prevalent in Ohaukwu, Ohaozara, Ebonyi,Ivo, Abakaliki, Afikpo South, Afikpo North, Izzi, Ishielu, Ikwo, and Onicha Local Government Areas.

“Valid votes gotten by APC were randomly

rendered invalid through double thumb-printing on such votes. PDP thugs and agents openly shared rice and money to induce voters; there was suppression, abduction and intimidation of APC agents and members at the polling units.

“On the above premise, we make bold to say that the Presidential and national assembly elections in Ebonyi State were not free and fair; there were widespread irregularities and violence against APC. The results announced by INEC was not the true reflection of votes cast in Ebonyi State and should be cancelled.”

EXHIBITION: Lanre Gbajabiamila, DG National Lottery Regulatory Commission (Middle) declares the ICE 2019 exhibition open in London. He is flanked by international gaming industry stakeholders and the event organisers, Clarion Gaming.

Wipe your tears, I'll rebuild Ekeukwu Market —Uzodinma

By Chinonso Alozie

O

WERRI—IMO State governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress,

APC, Senator Hope Uzodinma, yesterday pleaded with Owerri people to wipe away their tears over the demolition of Ekeukwu Market.

Imo North, Okigwe South elections declared inconclusive and Okigwe where elecBy Chinonso Alozie

 Late Rev Iyasere E V E R E N D Ferdinand Iyasere of Ika Diocese Anglican Communion is dead, aged 53. Service of songs holds today at St Mark’s Anglican Church Ute–Ogbeje, while funeral service takes place tomorrow at St Georges Anglican Church, Igbodo, Delta State. He is survived by his widow and other relations.

APC NASS candidates in Ebonyi want election results cancelled

inflation of figures by politicians.

The situation was said to have led to the burning of the INEC office in Isiala Mbano Local Government Area.

Similarly, members of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, from Okigwe South had protested against the results of Ehime Mbano being moved to Owerri, instead of announcing them in Okigwe South collation centre.

The areas affected by the INEC declaration of inconclusive results included Ihitte Uboama, Isiala Mbano and Obowo Local Government Areas.

Also affected was Onuimo

tion will be conducted in six polling units.

The election in Okigwe South Federal Constituency in Imo North senatorial district has also been declared inconclusive.

The Imo State office of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Public Relations Officer, PRO, Emmanuella Opara spoke to Vanguard in Owerri.

She also said that the commission is still studying the situation in Okigwe North Federal Constituency and that it would come out with a final conclusion on the happenings in the area.

He made the promise in Owerri North Local Government Area during his governorship rally in the area.

He said he would rebuild the Ekeukwu market to reward Owerri people for giving so much in the development of the state.

The APC governorship candidate noted that since 2011, the state had been "held hostage", adding that he was "ready to neutralise moves to destroy the identity of the Owerri people.

Uzodinma maintained that his government would focus on growing the economy, enhancing the security and creating the needed environment to empower the young people of of the state.

He said: “I have promised to rebuild Ekeukwu Market which Governor Rochas Okorocha destroyed. I want Imo people to know that the upcoming governorship election in the state is a

clear choice between bondage and liberty. I represent the path to liberty while the out-going government of Rochas Okorocha represents bondage.

"I have both the courage and the determination to obliterate bondage from Imo State; that is why I urge Imo people to vote for me."

He claimed that “Since 2011, the incumbent has held Imo people hostage while appropriating their collective wealth. My government will ursher in an unprecedented era of economic growth and wealth creation,prosperity and liberty for Imo people.

“I will restore the lost glory of the town and will build an ultra modern market to replace the Ekeukwu market by building a modern Oha Owerri Hall for the elders of the ancient Owerri Kingdom among other things that will support and improve the economy of the people in the area.”

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2019—35

PDP to APC: Go to court if you have issues with Dogara’s re-election A

LHAJI Hamza Akuyam, Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Bauchi State, has challenged All Progressives Congress, APC, to go to court if it has issues with the re-election of Speaker, House of Representatives, Mr. Yakubu Dogara.

Akuyam threw the challenge, yesterday, in Bauchi, while reacting to Monday’s news conference

by APC where it alleged that Dogara’s re-election was marred by irregularities.

He said the re-election of Dogara in Tafawa Balewa, Bogoro and Dass federal constituency in Saturday’s National Assembly election was done in line with electoral guidelines.

Akuyam observed that no adverse report was issued either by international or domestic election observers

or security agencies during the polls.

He, therefore, wondered where APC might have gotten its own facts that the polls were marred by irregularities.

Akuyam said APC under the leadership of Alhaji Uba Nana raised various issues just to simply discredit the election.

According to him, Nana simply addressed

journalists to cause mischief and to subvert the PDP’s ideals.

The PDP chairman further observed that in spite of false claims by APC, there was no petition written either by the party or individual to disclaim Dogara’s victory.

He challenged APC chieftains in the state to seek legal redress if they felt strongly about the reelection of Dogara.

... rejects Kano, Katsina presidential election results

By Bahsir Bello, with agency report

P

EOPLE’S Democratic Party, PDP, in Kano and Katsina states, yesterday, rejected the presidential election results announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, in the two states.

The party claimed the results were not only inflated, but that the election was marred with irregularities among others.

In Kano State, the PDP’s Agent at the collation

centre, Alhaji Rabiu Sulaiman-Bichi, who is also the state PDP Chairman, alleged that the figures were inflated.

According to him, “We cannot accept such an inflated figures and that is our stand, so we will go back and analyse the issue to know the next line of action to take.

“As you can see, the presiding officers complained of lack of use of card readers during the voting in the presidential and national assembly elections in the state

coupled with over-voting.

“We shall look at the circumstances and provisions of the law and see what the law says so as to pursue our rights,” he said.

Similarly, in Kastina, Alhaji Salisu Majigiri, the state PDP Chairman, at a briefing in Katsina, alleged that there were some election irregularities committed in some local government areas of the state during the poll that were unacceptable to the PDP. “Like in Kankara Local

Government Area, some uncustomised result sheets were used to enter results.

Even though they are from INEC, they were not the ones specifically meant to be used for 2019 elections.

“In other places, there are over voting which we also observed, we are not satisfied with the result, that is why we rejected it and refused to sign.

“We raised objections on these issues during collation, but we were overruled. We will also raise these issues in Abuja during the final collation.”

APC wins Senate, Reps seats in Zamfara

T

HE candidate of All Progressives Congress, APC, for Zamfara North, Alhaji Tijjani Yahaya-Kaura, has retained his seat in the Senate.

Yahaya-Kaura, who is Chairman, Senate Committee on Federal Character, was declared winner with 68,027 votes by the Returning Officer, Professor Aliyu Bunza, yesterday in KauraNamoda.

Bunza said the candidate of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Sahabi Ya’u, polled 43,521 votes.

“Total number of votes cast is 127,507 made up of 123,056 valid votes and 4,451 rejected votes,” he said.

Also, the Returning Officer for KauraNamoda/Birnin-Magaji Federal Constituency, Salisu Sabo, declared the candidate of APC Ibrahim Mohammed winner with 35,795 votes, beating PDP’s candidate, Alhaji Sani Umar, who scored 23,672 votes.

Sabo said other candidates who took part in the election areAhmad Rabiu of All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, who got 430 votes, and Aminu Isa

Sakajiki of National Rescue Movement, NRM, who got 1,383 votes, among others.

The APC’s candidate for Shinkafi/Zurmi federal constituency, Alhaji Abubukar HussainiMoriki has also been declared winner.

The Returning Officer, Dr Ahmad Galadima, said Hussaini-Moriki won with 32,915 votes against the PDP’s candidate, Alhaji Bello Hassan who polled 16,638 votes.

He said the candidates of All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, scored 3,231 votes, while the candidate of National Rescue Movement, NRM, got 3012 votes.

Speaking shortly after, state APC Chairman, Alhaji Lawal Liman commended party supporters and the entire people of the constituency for electing the party’s candidates.

Liman said APC had retained its position as the strongest party in the state.

“This indicate that people of Zamfara State are satisfied with APC's administration led by Governor Abdula’ziz Yari and President M u h a m m a d u Buhari,”he said.

Orbih lauds security agencies in Edo, scores INEC low

By Gabriel Enogholase

B STARDOM: From left— Renowned vocalist, Ego Ogbaro; multi-intsrumentalist, producer and singer, Cobhams Asuquo; instrumentalist, Rotimi Keys; host of the event, Simi Drey; winners, Jesse Alordiah, Caesar and Tchella, during the grand finale of Stardom Season 1 Nigeria in Lagos

High court urged to stop Ogboru from gov election

By Jimitota Onoyume

W

ARRI—AHEAD of the governorship election, Delta State governorship candidate of Reform and Advancement Party, RAP, Mr. Omo Olotu, has filed a suit before a state High Court sitting in Warri, urging it to prevail on the governorship candidate of All Progressives Congress, APC, Chief Great Ogboru, to stop parading himself as standard bearer of the APC for the coming elections.

Respondents in the suit are Ogboru, APC, the party's National Chariman, Adams Oshiomhole, and

the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC. Olotu is asking the court to compel Ogboru to, among other things, obey a state High Court sitting in Kwale's order, which restrained him from parading himself as APC's governorship candidate, further praying that INEC should explain why Ogboru should not comply with the order.

He said he was also aware as a matter of fact that the court order had not been set aside or vacated.

He said he was also aware that the state High Court sitting in Kwale in an

interim order restrained the INEC as 4th respondent in the matter or its agents from according recognition to only the Chief Cyril Ogodo led state executive of the APC, adding that he was aware the interim order had also not been set aside or vacated by any court.

Olotu said he was constrained to file the suit so he could know who his opponent truly is in APC. Olotu said he was aware that “on July 4, 2018, an order was made by the High Court sitting in Kwale restraining the defendants in the suit from recognising and swearing in any other state executive of APC, apart

from that chaired by Chief Ogodo and his members, pending the hearing and determination of the motion of notice for interlocutory injunction before the court.”

He added that he also knew that an interim order was equally made by the same court “restraining INEC, whether by itself, its agents, servants or howsoever called from recognising and/or dealing with any other state executive of APC in Delta State apart from that chaired

by Ogodo and its members, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice already filed in this case before this court.”

ENIN—EDO State chapter of the Peoples Democratic, PDP, has scored the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, less than 25 percent in the conduct of last weekend's presidential and National Assembly elections, saying the outcome of the elections so far shows “we have a long way to go in our democracy.”

The party, however, commended the conduct of security agencies in Edo State for their display of professionalism during the elections.

State Chairman of the party, Chief Dan Orbih, who addressed newsmen in Benin City yesterday, said the security agencies in the state displayed high level of professionalism and nonpartisanship during the conduct of the election.

He said: “With the way and manner INEC conducted last week’s election, we still have a

long way in our quest for democracy.

“With what happened in Edo State and other parts of the country, INEC performed below 25 percent. INEC has become an embarrassment to the country and the whole world is watching events in Nigeria.

“There is an urgent need for the stoppage of the announcement of results from Abuja, because the results do not reflect the wishes of Nigerians. So, something must be done to save our democracy.

“Nigerians are disappointed with INEC over its conduct of the elections. This is going to affect the turn out in the governorship and Houses of Assembly election, as most Nigerians are already losing faith in our electoral system. This will cause voters’ apathy.

“Edo people have shown that they are solidly behind the change the PDP has put in place.”

36 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2019

WITH CHARLES

KUMOLU

midweekpersonality@gmail.com

08052140865 (sms only)

JOSEPH AKPIEYI@80:

United States, was regarded as the good old days in Nigeria. Looking back at those days in the light of the state of affairs in Nigeria, how do you feel?

In fact, we are very distressed. I was the President of Lagos Branch of Government College, Ughelli.

I was also the President General, of Ugheli Old Boys Association between 2011 and 2015. Therefore, I know much about the low quality of education in Nigeria.

I lay blame for the terrible decline in the education system on the military governments, and some previous civilian governments, who completely ruined the education system in our country. The standard that was instituted in our days, has disappeared. Teachers are not devoted to teaching, and students themselves do not care these days. For example, I know many students gain access to sites where they get answers to West African Examination Council Examination, WAEC, examination.

His days, stewardship, achievements Chairman of Arco Group Plc and former Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian Petroleum Refining Company, Chief Joseph Akpieyi, who would be 80 tomorrow, reflects on his modest beginning, stewardship in the oil and gas sector among others, and concludes that the desire to be successful brought him this far.

C

locking 80 is a milestone in a society where life expectancy is very low for men?

I feel happy and I want to thank God for blessing me with longevity. My father passed on at 103, while my mother was 92. So, it looks as though longevity is a blessing from God to my family.

A lot has happened in a span of 80 years. I was born in the backyard of my paternal grandmother in Efurun, Delta State. When I was seven, my parents relocated to Warri and decided I should go to school.

For my dad, going to school was a priority. He enrolled us in a Catholic school in Warri.

We sat for entrance examination into Government College, Ughelli.

I later found out that my grandfather did not allow my father to benefit from western education because he was a Prince. Also, the man didn’t want his children to be caned by white men.

Treated by the military As time went on, he discovered that the children that went to school were the ones whose living standard was higher than those who did not. I passed the entrance examination and got a scholarship after my secondary school. I gained admission into the University of Ibadan. After my university education, I worked in the public sector for 26 years and I retired voluntarily because I hated the way public officers were being treated by the military.

The situation at the time was quite challenging. One could wake up in his house, and a message would be delivered that person had been retired. To avoid that , I retired voluntarily. After my retirement, I set up my own company.

It has been 50 years of happy marriage for me. We are blessed with six children and 14 grandchildren as well.

By the grace of God, I am not suffering from any disability of any sort. I also thank God at

80 I feel fulfilled, my faculties are still very much alert.

Can you share the memorable moments of your upbringing and how instrumental they were to the successful person you are in the society?

I must confess that my dad was a very strict person. But I did not realise that the strictness inculcated in me the need to always produce quality output. As a young boy, my dad had a white Raleigh Bicycle which was my duty to clean. After cleaning it, he inspected it to see if it was thoroughly clean. If he found any area of the bicycle dirty, he gave me a very heavy knock on my head.

I had to devise my own method of making sure that after washing it, I would inspect it myself to see if he will find any fault. After three or four knocks, he never found any reason to knock me again.

He was now saying ‘’your work is very good.’’ Also, he used to send me on errands to my mother in the market place which was about three kilometres from where we lived. Sometimes when he woke up and found me sleeping, he scolded me thinking I had not gone to see my mother. The training influenced my habit of waking up early. Catholic School, Sapele Road Warri, which is now a cathedral, was where I started getting my religious training. I was a mass server at my tender age. It influenced my religious culture.

Government College Ughelli Attending Government College Ugheli was a turning point in my life. I was a scholar. In those days, the first six candidates in common entrance were automatically given scholarships. I did not get a scholarship immediately. I learned I was beaten to the seventh position. When I got there, within three months, we were called by the Principal to his

•Chief Joseph Akpieyi

PERSONALITY ETHICS

*I don’t look down on anyone *Desire to be successful has been my driving force *I cherish emotional intelligence office. He told me I had been granted a scholarship by the government of the Western Region. At the time, the school fee was 32 pounds yearly. By the virtue of the scholarship, we were paying just three pounds. This gave my dad a relief. I maintained it to avoid it being withdrawn from me.

We had Cambridge School Certificate, not the West African Examination Council Certificate. Ughelli instilled excellence, values, and culture in us. The school was an excellent one. Values like punctuality, morality, humility were instilled in us. In GCU, we were not allowed to wear pants, we wore shorts but no pant because they believed it will affect our fertility in the future.

Everybody was required to put on the attire that represented their locality, like

wrapper and skirt, irrespective of the family you belong. We never knew who came from a rich or a poor family.

Secret of success Cutting grass was a routine to keep the environment clean. The effect on me is that I never looked down on anyone involved in manual labour activities because we were all taught to do such works.

Most college boys of my time, were very law-abiding because, for those schooling years, we were under strict control.

It also instilled time management in us. The Ughelli boys of my generation placed a lot of importance on time. In our days, if you were not punctual, you would be detained. Those things instilled in us good time management skills, obedience to the law, and value of hard work as the secret of success.

I have been living in a disciplined environment. To a large extent, I would say that most of those principles guided me. I can say that for the 26 years I was in service, I did not get to work late any day, even when I was chief executive at the organisation.

The period you schooled in Ughelli, Ibadan, England and the

Future of this country I am afraid about the future of this country, because, it is the quality of students from secondary schools that go to university.

And those from the universities go into the civil service, the media, and military among others.

Those who do not have a good grounding, add to the inefficiency in the civil service.

Our systems are completely ruined. It makes my heart bleed when I think of it.

It is sad that a university student cannot even construct a simple sentence these days. How can we grow the system?

I sincerely hope that the government will realise that we need more attention to the education system.

We were taught how to study, how to research and we worked with an encyclopedia, and trained ourselves.

We also learned how to train ourselves. These days I don’t know if those things still exist.

I just hope this country does not collapse. If you go to Ghana today, the Ghanaians are very proud to be Ghanaians, but, here in Nigeria, it is different.

•To be Concluded was instilled in us to keep to the rule when I entered the

VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2019—37

PANDEF condemns killings, violence in last Saturday polls Emma Amaize

A

SABA—PAN Niger Delta Forum, PANDEF, yesterday, condemned the violence and killings that attended the Presidential and National Assembly polls held last Saturday, in parts of the country, particularly in Rivers, Bayelsa and Delta states.

“While we sympathise with the families of the victims, who were cut down in the their prime in the orgy of electoral violence, we demand a full scale inquiry into these incidents,” the South South

group said in a statement by its National Secretary, Dr. Alfred Mulade.

It said the inquiry must bring the perpetrators “under the weight of the law, irrespective of their status in the society.

“We note with disappointment the alleged involvement of some security and paramilitary operatives, who are expected to protect the electorate as well as the denials and counter accusations, in the condemnable episodes.

“Furthermore, PANDEF is disturbed by the reported

activities of supposedly influential politicians, in or out of government, bent on causing mayhem and

breach of the peace in an attempt to swing electoral fortunes in their preferred direction.

“We caution that Nigeria is a country governed by laws. No person is permitted to take laws into

his hands by resorting to violence and killing, or sponsorship of brigandage in the name of elections, in any form; and that, the rule of law must be applied, in full measure,” he said.

Oboro seeks cancellation of Delta Central senatorial INEC. Oboro while reacting to constituency in the House result The Returning Officer in the results, alleged of Representatives, alleged Perez Brisibe

U

G H E L L I — CANDIDATE of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP for Delta Central senatorial district, Evelyn Oboro, has called for the cancellation of the results for the district as announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission,

charge of the election, Prof.

Godfrey Ariavie at the Ughelli INEC collation Center, had declared incumbent and candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege as winner of the election having scored a total of 111, 100 to beat Oboro who scored 99, 422.

instances of rigging, adding that the collation process was “manipulated” in favour of the APC candidate.

In a statement by the Director of Media and Publicity of her campaign organisation, Sunday Apah, Oboro who is the member representing Uvwie, Okpe and Sapele

that the election was massively rigged in Ughelli North, Udu, Ethiope East, Ughelli South and Ethiope West Local Government Areas in favour of the APC lawmaker.

She cited instances of results manipulation at Agbarho, Orogun, Afiesere, ward 2/6 in Ughelli North council area, Mosogar and Jesse in Ethiope West council, Okpe-Olomu and Ewu in Ughelli South council against the wish of the people.

She said: “At a point, our agents and collation officers were intimidated and denied entry into INEC office at Ughelli just to ensure that the manipulated figures were announced in favour of Omo-Agege who was still losing after the collation of six local government areas.”

ESUT teaching hospital builds 10-ton incinerator

By Dennis Agbo

E

NUGU—THE Enugu State University Teaching Hospital, Parklane, has completed construction of over ten tons volume incinerator which the management said was aimed at reducing infection prevalence among patients and staff of the hospital.

Commissioning the facility in the hospital, yesterday, Chief Medical Director, ESUTH Teaching Hospital, Prof Hyacinth Onah stated that incinerators were trends in medical practice that are useful for best practices all over the world.

He noted that it was also in compliance with medical best standards, beneficial to both staff and patients of the hospital, as waste generated in the hospital would have to be burnt to abort possibilities of infections and other forms of diseases associated with medically generated wastes.

Onah said: “Although we have a smaller incinerator, the waste being built up here on daily basis is quite high and for that reason, the hospital management board decided we should do a more modern medical waste incinerator which was started in November and is now completed."

38 — Vanguard WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2019

Nigerians missed opportunity to improve on 2015 polls – Observer group

Restructuring promoters are misguided, Obasanjo has no respect for his age — Masari

Trending on the Twitter Ibrahim B. Babangida @General_Ibbro I encourage the general public, mostly the youth, to desist from announcing false results and publications on social media. Let’s wait for the appropriate authority (INEC) to do that.

Gaskins Is that the kind of leadership Nigeria can boast of? Shame!

Former President Obasanjo his watch.’

U. K. Charles Masari, so you’re anti-restructuring? You want to continue lording it over others.

That plan is bound to fail.

Kangiwa Osazee Omoruyi Former President Obasanjo is a leader.

Hate or love him, he remains an icon and the conscience of the nation. He is the only

man standing. He didn’t chicken out like others. But you are allowed to say anything. Comment, as the saying goes, is free.

Presidency mounting pressure on INEC to change results in Rivers, Kaduna, Nasarawa, Kogi, Bauchi, others — PDP Ofuzo TOBBY777 He’s already losing in Oyo and Ondo states. The results coming out of the rest of SW states and the FCT show Atiku doing very well. He’s even doing better than Jonathan in the core North. If this is the case, with the turnout being the same as 2015, that means Atiku stands a good chance of winning.The results transmitted to the parties by their polling agents from each polling station have already confirmed that.

Anthony Nwobodo Justice delayed is Justice denied; result delayed is result altered. So why the delay? By this time in 2015 Jonathan had congratulated Buhari.

Ben I was one of the ad-hoc staff then. Major reason Nigeria failed to improve was because of the use of purely inexperienced corps members. They should have added experienced 2011 and 2015 corps members to help them get it right. rnne How is INEC’s electronics voting taking three days to count?They are manipulating the numbers. So send the polllng units tallies to the international community, now.

Joris IPBN He claimed that the price of crude oil went down right from the inception of the APCled government. I'm not aware that Katsina is an oil producing state.

Mystic mallam Listening to Mr Masari, one has to feel pain at the quality of what passes for leadership in Nigeria.

Other than admitting that Jonathan conducted the most peaceful election in Nigeria’s history, of course without giving him any credit for that, he went on the usual APC trip of excuses, blames, and self-praise for invisible achievements under

Eze APC knows that Buhari has lost. INEC declare Atiku President now.

Buhari

Petsan I wonder what Atiku is waiting for. He should be a good sportsman like the last PDP candidate before him and congratulate Buhari now.

Okwesirieze President Buhari want to doctor the election result to his

Yakubu Mahmood

favor but the plan has already failed.Congratulations your Excellency President Atiku Abubakar and bye bye former President Muhammadu Buhari. kodo APC can't win without rigging.

Fada4Life Era of results writing by few individuals is over; the people’s votes are now being counted and acknowledged.

President Buhari's popularity is real; Mr integrity is acknowledged by all Nigerians.

Tony Ojobo @TonyOjobo1 · 4h After #NigeraDecides2019 we can move forward and embrace #technology in our future #electoral processes. #Technology reduces human errors and manipulations, thus enhancing the #transparency of the process.

The World expects #Nigeria to do better than this.

Femi Fani-Kayode @realFFK Clearly Atiku has won hands down. He has defeated Buhari almost everywhere in the South and the North Central with the exception of Kwara. He has also defeated Buhari in parts of the core North. My advice to Buhari: do not tamper with the results or we will Venezuela you!

Ben Murray-Bruce @benmurraybruce “The eyes of the United States, of Africa, and the world are upon Nigeria and INEC. I also ask Secretary Michael Pompeo to hold accountable anyone who seeks to cheat the Nigerian people — who have waited patiently — of their vote or foments violence.” Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ).

Amnesty International @amnesty What are human rights to you? The foundation for an open & inclusive society. The opportunity to defend what we believe in. The fight not just for people, but for nature.It’s a big question, but someone’s got to ask it. And we want to know what you think. jamesagada @jamesagada Education is for the mind. Training is for the skill. They are not the same. Our education system is broken.

Buhari I was pleased to spend time on my farm in Daura, this morning. Agriculture will continue to be one of the priorities of our administration. I‘m proud of what we have achieved in domestic fertilizer production; financing for farmers, and support and incentives for Agric investors.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2019 — 39

Pullout, guarantees dominate talks with US — Taliban Spokesman

T

Theresa May offers MPs Brexit delay vote T

heresa May has promised MPs a vote on delaying the UK’s departure from the EU or ruling out a nodeal Brexit, if they reject her deal next month.

Mrs May made a statement to MPs about Brexit on Tuesday, amid the threat of a revolt by Remain-supporting ministers.

The prime minister promised MPs a meaningful vote on her Brexit deal by 12 March.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn accused the prime minister of another “grotesquely reckless” Brexit delay.

The prime minister said she will put her withdrawal agreement - including any changes she has agreed with the EU to a meaningful vote by 12 March. If that fails, MPs will be offered two separate votes: ?One, on the following day, on whether MPs support a no-deal Brexit - so the UK would “only leave without a deal on 29 March if there is explicit consent in the House for that outcome” ?

If that fails, then MPs will get a vote by 14 March on requesting an extension to the two-year Article 50 negotiation process to delay EU withdrawal beyond 29 March “Let me be clear, I do not want to see Article 50 extended,” she told MPs. “Our absolute focus should be on working to get a deal and leaving on 29 March.”

Any extension should not go beyond the end of June and “would almost certainly have to be a one-off ”, she added.

Mrs May said an extension “cannot take no deal off the table”, adding: “The only way to do that is to revoke Article

WO main issues being discussed in the high-lev el talks between the Taliban and the United States in Qatar are US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan and assurances that the country not be used for further attacks in the future, a Taliban spokesman told Al Jazeera.

At the site of the second day of the talks in Doha, Al Jazeera’s Stefanie Dekker asked Suhail Shaheen what guarantees the Taliban could offer to end their military operations once an agreement is reached.

“When the occupation has ended, there is full withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan and there is an Afghan-inclusive Islamic government in the country, I think there is no need for military operation and war,” Shaheen told Al Jazeera.

“So, there will be sustainable peace in the country, and all the military people and our people, they will be included in a national army,” he added.

U.S. slams new sanctions on Venezuela as Lima Group opposes military Intervention

V

ice President Mike Pence met with Venezuela’s self-proclaimed president Juan Guaidó Monday during a meeting of the Lima Group in Bogotá, Colombia. Pence announced new sanctions against Venezuelan officials for their role in blocking the so-called humanitarian aid from entering the country over the weekend, as the U.S. continues to ratchet up pressure on the government of President Nicolás Maduro.

Pence said: “Effective today, the United States will impose additional sanctions on regime officials, including three border state governors implicated in last weekend’s violence and a member of Maduro’s inner circle. These men worked to block aid for people in need and suppressed peaceful protests.”

Pence also said the U.S. is preparing for a new set of sanctions designed to isolate the government of President Maduro. Pence reiterated the U.S. threat that all options remain on the table, but the Lima Group said at the end of their Monday meeting that they support a democratic transition of power.

Fiona Onasanya released from prison four weeks into three-month sentence

D

50, which I shall not do, or agree a deal.”

Extending Article 50 would require the unanimous backing of the other 27 EU member states and, she said, she had not had conversations about it with them.

Mrs May repeatedly

declined to say whether she would vote against a no-deal Brexit, and whether Tory MPs would be whipped to vote for or against it.

Speaking after a meeting with Theresa May, DUP Leader Arlene Foster said the PM had to

deliver on her commitment to get legally-binding changes to her EU withdrawal agreement.

“Experience in Northern Ireland has shown that extending deadlines does nothing to encourage a deal,” she said.

isgraced MP Fiona Onasanya has been released from prison after serving a third of her sentence for perverting the course of justice.

The MP for Peterborough, who was expelled by the Labour Party, was driven out of HMP Bronzefield in Ashford, Surrey, on Tuesday morning - four weeks after she was jailed.

She was sentenced to three months at the Old Bailey on January 29 after being convicted of perverting the course of justice by lying to avoid a speeding charge.

Onasanya sat in the back of a white Vauxhall with the closest window to her covered by a hi-vis jacket as it drove past photographers at speed.

She has refused to stand down and trigger a by-election in her seat and having been freed under an early-release scheme, the politician - now sitting as an independent - could appear in the Commons for today’s crucial Brexit voting.

Trump lands in Vietnam for second summit with North down just before 9 from a border station to told reporters.

Korea’s Kim ing Hanoi by car. p.m. (1400 GMT).

They will meet again

U

.S. President Don ald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrived in Vietnam on Tuesday for their second summit in less than a year, at which the U.S. side will urge tangible steps by North Korea to dismantle its nuclear weapons program.

Trump flew into Hanoi on Air Force One, touch-

“Just arrived in Vietnam,” he wrote in a Twitter post. “Thank you to all of the people for the great reception in Hanoi. Tremendous crowds, and so much love!”

Kim arrived by train early in the day after a three-day, 3,000-km (1,850-mile) journey from his capital, Pyongyang, through China. He completed the last stretch

The two leaders, who seemed to strike up a surprisingly warm relationship at their first summit in Singapore last June, will meet for a brief oneon-one conversation on Wednesday evening, followed by a dinner, at which they will each be accompanied by two guests and interpreters, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders

Tension as Pakistan vows to respond after Indian lowing an attack on Indi- only parts of it. The two ’ air strikes an troops in Kashmir. have fought three wars

P

akistan says it will respond “at the time and place of its choosing” after India launched strikes against militants in Pakistani territory.

India said it had killed a large number of militants but Pakistan called the claim “reckless”.

Tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours have been high fol-

The attack was claimed by a group based in Pakistan, Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), and India had vowed to retaliate.

India accuses Pakistan of allowing militant groups to operate on its territory, something Pakistan denies.

Both India and Pakistan claim all of Muslim-majority Kashmir, but control

and a limited conflict since independence from Britain in 1947 - and all but one were over Kashmir. The strikes are the first launched across the line of control - the de facto border that divides India-administered Kashmir from Pakistan-administered Kashmir - since a war between the two countries in 1971.

on Thursday, she said.

Their talks come eight months after the historic summit in Singapore, the first between a sitting U.S. president and a North Korean leader.

While much of that first meeting was about breaking the ice after decades of bitter animosity between their two countries, this time there will be pressure to move beyond a vaguely worded commitment by Kim to work towards the complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.

Trump’s critics at home have warned him against cutting a deal that would do little to curb North Korea’s nuclear ambitions, urging specific, verifiable North Korean action to abandon the nuclear weapons that threaten the United States.

MP: Fiona Onasanya is driven away from Bronzefield prison in Surrey after serving 28 days: CREDIT:DAVID DYSON

Release Amankwa now, NLC tells Zimbabwean authorities

By Victor Ahiuma-Young

N

igeria Labour Congress, NLC, has condemned, the arrest and repatriation to the airport preparatory for possible deportation, Mr Kwasi Adu Amankwa, Secretary General of International Trade Union Confederation ITUC-Africa by the Zimbabwean authorities in Harare.

NLC in a statement by its General Secretary, Dr Peter Ozo-Eson, said the arrest of Mr Amankwa who was in Zimbabwe on an international solidarity meeting with the Zimbabwean Congress of Trade Unions, ZCTU, represents the height of intolerance and repression.

According to NLC, “We demand his immediate release as well as demand that he be given free and unfettered access to members of ZCTU, officials of the Ministry of Labour, Employers Confederation of Zimbabwe and other organisations with which he was scheduled to meet.

World News Wednesday -- 26/02/2019

40 —

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2019

“What we have in Nigeria is politics of enrichment”

E

LECTIONS are all about choosing leaders and I believe that no question has called for discussion in the history of our nation such as the question of leadership. Prior to and since independence, Nigerians from all walks of life have as a result of their individual and collective experiences made the issue of the country’s leadership a hot topic of debate in beer parlours, sport stadiums, buses, classrooms and board rooms. Every problem has been blamed on poor leadership.

Improved leadership has been offered as panacea to all ills of the society. The quality of leadership in every aspect of our lives affects and concerns us all.

The election of ideal leaders and our electoral process (1)

Meaning of Leadership

The Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary 7th Edition defines leadership as “state or position of being a leader;......... the ability to be a leader, or the qualities a good leader should have; a group of leader of a particular organization”.

Leadership can also be defined as a process by which a person influences others to accomplish an objective and direct the organisation in a way that makes it more cohesive and coherent. Leaders carry out this process by applying their leadership attributes such as beliefs, values, ethics, character, knowledge and skills. A person’s position as a manager or supervisor

President Muhammadu Buhari.

However, might give him the governed.

Nigeria has been “blessed” authority to accomplish with leaders who obviously certain task or objective in the organisation. This had no inkling about the however, does not make demands of their office. In him a leader. It simply most cases this flaw has makes him a boss. been demonstrated the Leadership differs in that it most in the manner in makes the followers want to which most leaders have achieve high goals displayed an utter lack of whereas followers merely self-control and discipline obey the directive of the in the affairs of their office.

A government or leader bosses. should be able to plan Whichever theory of adequately for the future. leadership is considered He should possess the appropriate it should be ability to plan, based on about service to the people. current indices of It should always be about development for constantly evolving ways to improve the lot of the challenges which are bound to occur occasionally.

However, our leaders seem to have been unable to come to grasp with this all important aspect of their duties. Many are unable to fashion out any long term plans for the development of the country. Many leaders simply react to the present in the hope that the future will sort itself out.

Many of them reason that they will not after all be in government forever and that problems of the future should be addressed by governments of the future.

Failure of Leaders to perform on assumption of office

However, one must ask why many politicians fail to perform after being sworn into office? Is it due to a failure to appreciate the enormity of the challenges of the office? Is it due to a lack of ability to confront and bring about a solution to the many problems which have continued to

Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. militate against development of country?

the our

Lack of political vision, identifiable idealogy or phylosophy

In many developed countries of the world, aspiring politicians take care to fashion out a discernible philosophy or ideology for themselves and their political career.

First Ladies or wives of elected officials are now almost as ubiquitous, much like their spouses in the display of power Thus, a politician, very early on, can be classified either as a conservative or otherwise. If he leans to the right or far left, it is easy to know. Such factors enable the electorate to know where the politician will stand on issues ranging from abortion rights, legalising gay marriages or even to privatisation of public assets. Thus, the politician is really in politics to contribute his quota to the development of his country.

In Nigeria this is far from the case. A politician who is today a so-called “progressive” will for the flimsiest of reasons or no reason at all metamorphose

into a conservative the following day. A year after, if things do not go well as expected he will decamp to the “progressive” fold.

Many politicians do not even have the faintest idea of what their political philosophy or orientation is.

The reason for this is not really far-fetched. What obtains is not really politics of ideas. It is really politics of self-aggrandizement and self-enrichment.

Political office is not seen as the means to an end, it is seen as the end itself.

Many simply relish the opportunity to be addressed as “Your E x c e l l e n c y ” , “Distinguished Senator”, “Honourable Chairman”, without bothering to bring any form of excellence, distinguished contribution, or act of honour to the discharge of their duties.

Political office is too attractive

To compound matters, political office in Nigeria has been made too attractive. Such is the huge size of governments and the immense remuneration of elected public officials that a huge percentage of government revenue is dedicated to recurrent expenditure.

There have been recurring allegations that the expenditure of the National Assembly alone accounts for a very substantial percentage of the National Budget. The 36 states of the Federation each have their own Houses of Assembly.

At the national level the country operates a

bicameral system of legislature. There are Commissioners and Ministers at the State and Federal levels. That the country has a bicameral system of legislation has not helped matter. However, the problem is not limited alone to the huge number of elected public officers but more importantly to the huge number of aides and assistants attached, at public expense, to these officials. There is a huge army of Personal Assistants, Special Assistants, Senior Special Assistants, Private Secretaries along the corridors of power in Nigeria’s state capitals.

These persons much like their principals are also entitled to a litany of allowances and assistants.

Members of the public who daily throng the abodes of these politicians for one form of financial assistance or the other see the assistance sought as their own share of the national cake. The effect that this has on the leadership of the country is profound.

This explains the huge allowances paid to politicians in every sphere of public life. An elected official has numerous special advisers who in turn have special assistants and administrative aides who also in addition to salary earn numerous allowances.

As strange as the above might sound, the advent of the phenomenon of “First Ladyship” is another instance of the attraction which the allures of office holds for many of our leaders. First Ladies or wives of elected officials are now almost as ubiquitous, much like their spouses in the display of power. It is often difficult to distinguish the motorcade of a governor from that of his wife. Even wives of local government chairmen are not left out.

Without a doubt, the phenomenon of First Ladies is not unique to Nigeria. However, it is perhaps only in Nigeria that activities of first ladies are funded with state resources. One of the states in the South West of the country even constructed an office with state funds for the “Office of the First Lady”.

A chairman of a local government now earns as much as a Professor. Yet, the local government is the closest tier of government to the people. In the seventies, we were only entitled to sitting allowance which most of us, including my humble self never collected.

To be continued.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2019 —41 vanguardnews

@vanguardnews

@vanguardnews

election, Professor Solomon Omonigho.

From the declared results across the 25 local government areas of the state Buhari won in Ughelli North and Ethiope East, while Atiku was victorious in Ukwuani, Udu, Uvwie, Ika South, Ethiope West, Ika North East, Ughelli South, Ndokwa West, Warri North, Aniocha South, Bomadi, Aniocha North, Patani, Oshimili North, Sapele, Oshimili South and Ndokwa East, Isoko South, Burutu, Warri South West, Okpe, Warri South and Isoko North local government areas.

APC wins Jigawa in a landslide

HOUSE OF REPS—Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara with his deputy, Yusuf Lasun proceeding to the chamber for plenary on resumption from Presidential and National Assembly Elections at the National Assembly in Abuja, yesterday.

Votes tally: Buhari coasting to victory, as Atiku trails Continues from Page 5 C o m m i s s i o n ’ s headquarters in Asaba, yesterday.

The exercise which was very peaceful, saw Alhaji Atiku Abubakar winning 23 of the 25 local government areas in the state, while President Buhari won in two local government areas.

The overall scores for the Presidential election in Delta State was announced by the Collation Officer for the election in the State, Prof Seth Accra Jaja.

According to Jaja, the PDP candidate scored 594,608, while the APC flagbearer got 221,292 votes.

He said registered voters in the state was 2,719,313, while accredited voters for the election was 891,647.

The State Collation Officer who is the Vice Chancellor, Niger Delta University, Otueke in Bayelsa State commended the peaceful

nature of the collation exercise.

He also commended the security agencies for their support and cooperation.

The various Returning Officers across the local government areas had earlier submitted their reports to the state collation officer for the presidential election.

In Ughelli North, the Returning Officer, Dr. Daniel Orunwese announced that the PDP scored 16,140, while APC got 24,193 votes.

For SAPELE local government area the Returning Officer Dr. Ben Akogbu said PDP won with 13,642 to beat APC to the second position with 9,776 votes.

In Ndokwa west, the Returning Officer for the election, Dr Monday Nwabudike announced that the PDP candidate scored 20,498 votes, while APC candidates got 3,579 votes.

PDP candidate also came on top in Bomadi

Naira up to N361.50/$ in I&E window

T

By Elizabeth Adegbesan

he naira yesterday appreciated to N361.54 per dollar in the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window due to a 380 percent rise in the volume of dollars traded.

Data from FMDQ showed that the indicative exchange rate for the window rose to N361.50 per dollar from N361.54 per dollar on Monday translating to four kobo appreciation of the naira.

The volume of dollars traded on the window rose by 380 percent to $ 354.88 million from $ 73.88 million last week Friday.

However, the naira, yesterday, was stable at N359 per dollar in the parallel market.

local government area with 62,297 votes, while APC candidate scored 1,742 votes.

In Ndokwa East, the Returning Officer for the election stated that the PDP won with 20,976 to beat the APC candidate who got 3,312 votes.

PDP won in Warri North local government with 25,394 votes, while APC got 12,744 votes.

In Ika South Local government area , the PDP presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar polled 20, 080 while President Mohammadu Buhari according to the returning officer, Dr Louis Chiejine, polled 6,378.

The PDP scored 29,331 votes in Ika North East local government area, while APC had 5,265 votes.

In Patani Local government area, PDP won with 17,028 against APC’s 4,789. PDP led with 12,99 in Aniocha North Local Government area, while APC candidate got 3,674.

Similarly, the PDP Alhaji Atiku Abubakar polled 19,700 votes and President Mohammadu Buhari had 1,960 votes in

Oshimili North Local Government area.

In Isoko North PDP scored 19515 to beat APC candidate who got 7045 votes as announced by the Returning Officer, Dr Lawrence Osagede.

The Returning Officer for Okpe local government area, Dr Samadi Labi, while reading out the scores from the council area, said APC got 7,769 votes and PDP, 11,167 votes.

In Warri South West local government area, APC scored 43,214 votes, while PDP got 81,833 votes.

For Burutu local government area, the Returning Officer for the election, Dr Chiweuba Okafor announced that the APC scored 5546 votes and PDP got 38,543 votes.

The Returning Officer for Isoko South local government area, Prof Josephine Mokwunye said APC scored 10536, while PDP got 19407 votes.

In Warri south APC scored 10,007, PDP 22086. The result was declared by the local government area’s returning officer for the

Presidential Election Result Update Sokoto Kebbi Total S/South Edo Bayelsa Rivers Delta C/River A/Ibom Total Grand Total

490,333 ****** ****** 5,414,099 Buhari 267,842 118,821 150,710 221,292 ***** ***** 758,665 14,322,804

361,604 2,126,183 Atiku 275,691 197,933 473,971 594,608 ****** ****** 1,542,203 10,201,980

In Jigawa, President Buhari recorded a landslide victory over Atiku.

Presenting the result at the INEC’s National Collation Centre, in Abuja, the Collation Officer for the state, Professor Abduzuru Abdullahi, the Vice Chancellor, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, said the APC polled 794,738 votes while Atiku scored 289,895 votes.

He said that the state, with 27 local government areas, had 2,104,889 registered voters of which 1,171,801 were accredited for the election. He added that 1,149,922 votes were cast in the polls of which 1,106,244 were valid.

Atiku clears Anambra However, Atiku achieved expected victory in Anambra State where his running mate, Peter Obi, hails from. He polled 524,738 votes while Buhari had 33,298 votes, Gbor Terwase of the All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA, scored 30,033 and Felix Nicholas of the Peoples Collation Party, PCP scored 4,374 votes among others, according to the State Returning Officer, Francis Otunta, the Vice-Chancellor of Michael Okpara University, who announced the result, yesterday, at the National Collation Centre, Abuja.

The state has 2,389,332 registered voters, 675,273 voters were accredited; 625,035 were total votes cast; 605,734 were valid votes; and and 19,301 were voided votes.

The state recorded 69,395 canceled votes in 114 polling units across seven local councils in the state.

NEWS HOTLINES 018773962, 08052867058 Meanwhile, a representative of the APGA raised an observation that the party state chairman briefed him that there was no voting in Onitsha North and hoodlum also attacked Opoko Local Government of the state.

Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, who said he has yet to receive any petition since the collation started, promised to attend to all petitions.

How Buhari beat Atiku in Zamfara In Zamfara, the Retur ning Officer, Professor Kabiru Bala, at the end of the collation of results, yesterday, in Gusau, said Buhari garnered 438,682 votes while Atiku scored 125,423 votes.

He however reported that many of the local government returning officers complained of attacks by either bandits or hoodlums leading to the rejection of 18,785 votes across 14 local councils of the state.

Atiku edges out Buhari in Taraba After a tough duel, Atiku edged out Buhari in the Taraba tough battle.

The state presidential elections collation officer, Prof. Shehu Iya, who is the deputy Vice Chancellor, Madibo Adamawa University of Technology, Yola, while announcing results, yesterday, in Jalingo at the state INEC secretariat, said Atiku polled 374,743 votes while Buhari had 324,906 votes.

Iya said said Taraba has 1,777,105 registered voters of which 741,564 were accredited to vote.

He also noted that the total number of valid votes was 712, 877 while 28,627 votes were rejected.

Of the 16 local councils in Taraba State, President Buhari won in six while Atiku Abubakar emerged victorious in 10.

Buhari wins Kano, Katsina with over one million votes each President Buhari showed his popularity in Kano and Katsina states by recording over one million votes in both states.

According to results announced, yesterday, at Continues on Page 45

42 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 27, 2019

Big winners and losers in the Ninth Senate WINNERS

By Emmanuel Aziken

Y

esterday ’s confirmation of the defeat of Senator Godswill Akpabio in last weekend’s Senate election brought to 24 the number of incumbent senators who lost their bid to return to the Senate, Nigeria’s most prestigious exclusive club.

Several other senators glancing defeat in the face also resorted not to bid for a return ticket or in some other cases, sought the governorship of their states or quietly retired.

There were, however, some like Senator Ben Murray-Bruce who upon the zoning permutation in his constituency opted not to seek for re-election.

Before Senator Akpabio’s uncommon defeat, the country had been gripped by the news of the defeat of the president of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki in his own constituency. Senator Saraki’s defeat was shocking given the level of control and influence he had held in the state since he ventured into the politics of the state in 2003.

Besides the 24 senators who would be bidding the Senate bye at least in the next four years, there were some other big names who also fell in the bid to join what is unarguably Nigeria’s most exclusive club.

Senator Victor Umeh, the former national chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA who came into the Senate late also lost his second term bid to Senator Uche Ekwunife who he replaced.

Senator Andy Uba’s bid to become Senate President was a campaign issue he sought to win over the electorate in Anambra South.

However, that bid was apparently not reckoned with by his constituents who apparently opted for Chief Ifeanyi Ubah.

Others who lost include Mao Ohuabunwa (PDP, Abia North), Rafiu Ibrahim (PDP, Kwara South), Nazif Gamawa (PDP, Bauchi) Tayo Alasoadura (APC, Ondo Central), Yele Omogunwa (Ondo South) and Suleiman Hunkuyi (PDP, Kaduna North).

Other senators who lost out included Shittu Ubali (PDP, Jigawa Continues on page 44

•Amosun

•Urhoghide

•Ifeanyi Ubah

•Uche Ekwenife

•Opeyemi Bamidele

•Orji kalu

•Stella Oduah

•Dino Melaye

•Ike Ekweremadu

•Chris Ekpeyong

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 27, 2019— 43

Big winners and losers in the Ninth Senate LOSERS

Continues from page 43 North East), Shehu Sani (PRP, Kaduna Central), Mohammed Hassan (PDP, Yobe South) and Binta Masi Garba (APC, Adamawa North) and Nelson Effiong, APC, Akwa Ibom South.

The losers also included Senators Hamman Isa Misau (PDP, Bauchi Central), Ahmed Ogembe (PDP, Kogi Central), Attai Aidoko (PDP, Kogi East), Barnabas Gemade (SDP, Benue North East), David Umaru (APC Niger East), Monsurat Sunmonu (ADC, Oyo Central), Rilwan Adesoji (ADP, Oyo South), Abiodun Olujimi (PDP, Ekiti South), Duro Faseyi (PDP, Ekiti North), While the jury is still out on the fate of Governor Rochas Okorocha following claims that the governor and his proxies coerced the returning officer to declare Okorocha as winner, the failure of a number of other high profile officers to win has also grabbed the attention of the public.

Among the high profile candidates who failed to make it were Dr.

Emmanuel Uduaghan, the immediate past governor of Delta State who for the second time in as many times failed to make it to the Senate. In 2015 he stepped away from the contest with Senator James Manager in the primary of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. Having defected to the All Progressives Congress, APC, Dr. Uduaghan got the ticket of the party a month or two after he joined but again fell to Senator Manager in the election declared yesterday.

Governor Ibrahim Dankwambo of Gombe State who failing his failure to get the presidential ticket of the PDP resorted to the Gombe North Senate seat, but lost out to Alhaji Saidu Alkali.

Governor Abiola Ajimobi who served in the Senate from 2003 to 2007 representing Oyo South also lost his high profile bid to return to the seat.

Another major loser was Mr. Bala Bantex, the outgoing deputy governor of Kaduna State who was defeated by the incumbent Senator Danjuma Lah in the contest for Kaduna South Senatorial District.

•Binta Garba

•Shehu Sani

•Nelson Effiong

•Godswill Akpabio

•Ibrahim Dankwambo

•Abiodun Olujimi

•George Akume

•Abiola Ajimobi

44 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 27, 2019

Gov Akeredolu initiates probe into APC’s loss in Ondo -Party stakeholders trade blame

By Dayo Johnson Akure

D

AZED by the poor performance of the All Progressives Congress, APC in last Saturday ’s presidential and National Assembly elections in Ondo State, Governor Rotimi Akeredolu yesterday summoned an emergency meeting of political office holders and other party stakeholders across the state.

Yesterday’s meeting was held at the Government House and lasted several hours.

The outcome of last Saturday election according to findings unsettled the governor, members of his cabinet, the party and other party stakeholders in the state.

He was alleged to have threatened to sack political appointees who failed to deliver their constituencies in the March 9 House of Assembly election in the state.

But in a swift reaction the information and Orientation commissioner Yemi Olowolabi denied the threat to sack political officer holders by the governor.

Olowolabi told Vanguard that the governor at the meeting encouraged and charged them to work harder in the March 9 election.

According to him the governor was said to have been peeved that the party did better as an opposition party and wondered “what has now happened to the party, we have all gone to sleep.

The governor ’s meeting with the stakeholders is coming ahead of the March 9 House of Assembly election which many party leaders are apprehensive may nailed the coffin of the party in the state.

The Presidential candidate of the All Progressive Congress Muhammadu Buhari was defeated by the Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP Atiku Abubakar by 34, 132 votes.

Also, the APC won four seats in the House of Representatives election while the PDP won in three, the African Democratic Party ADP won one and one remained inconclusive.

Reliable sources told Vanguard that the government asked the party leaders to go

Olumide Osoba returns to the House

By Emmanuel Aziken

O

lumide Osoba, a member of the immediate past House of Representatives has won election to again represent the Abeokuta North/ O d e d a / O b a f e m i Owode federal constituency.

•Osoba Son of the former governor of Ogun State, Aremo Segun Osoba, the former legislator won on the platform of the All Progressives Congress. He defeated Micky Kazzim, of the Allied Peoples Movement by polling 33, 538 votes to emerge as the winner of the election.

Kazzim who is the incumbent got 14, 903 votes to come second and Rinsola Abiola, a daughter of the late MKO Abiola came fourth on the platform of the Action Democratic Party, ADP. Mr. Osoba was in the House from 2011 to 2015 on the platform of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN.

•Akeredolu back to their constituencies and ensure that they deliver their candidates.

Akeredolu was said to have expressed concern over the poor performance of the party which led to the party losing the

state to the opposition in the presidential election and conceding three seats also in the National assembly election.

He was, however, said to have remained adamant and unapologetic about the option AA adopted in the last election which invariably spelt doom for the party.

Meanwhile, Vanguard gathered that party leaders are spoiling for war with the governor who they blamed for the party ’s defeat.

They reportedly are bent on ensuring that the party fail to control the majority seats in the state assembly election.

A party leader who spoke with Vanguard in confidence said “ the governor caused the party defeat by the option AA in the national assembly election. Some of us are also ready to engage in anti party activities on March 9. ”His action had caused the defeat of President Buhari in the state. We will also ensure that he fails to control the majority in the 9th state assembly on March 9."

My “Oga”, we’re all winners, Manager tells Uduaghan

By Perez Brisibe GHELLI – Following his victory in U last weekend’s National Assembly elections, Senator James Manager,

PDP, Delta South, has extended a hand of fellowship to his fellow contesant, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan urging for them to put the interest of the people ahead.

Senator Manager ’s assertion followed a petition by Dr. Uduaghan who was the All Progressives Congress, APC candidate in the election for the cancellation of the result on the basis of alleged malpractises.

Responding yesterday, Senator Manager who described Uduaghan as his “Oga” in a statement yesterday, said: “To all my fellow candidates,

•Manager

particularly my main challenger, my brother, friend, ally and “Oga”, Dr. Emmanuel Ewetan Uduaghan, we are all winners together after all it is about Delta South senatorial district.”

“I want to sincerely thank my teeming supporters, by that I mean all in Delta south. I want to thank you all for giving me your support thus far.

Your support is what I don’t take for granted.

“So, I am grateful to everybody for their continued confidence and faith in me. This victory is for all delta southerners. I am most grateful to Almighty God who has made this victory possible.

“It is not about me or a particular ethnic group. So I also congratulate them too. To God Almighty be the glory!”

•Uduaghan

How N2.5 billion Presidential Election fund caused Buhari’s fall in Adamawa

Y

By Umar Yusuf

OLA Barely few days after the Presidential election, Adamawa State chapter of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), is engulfed in fresh crisis, following alleged disagreement and lopsided distribution of campaign funds, allocated to the state by the APC Presidential Campaign Organisation.

Sources told Vanguard that the failure of some party chieftains to evenly distribute the N2.5billion funds for the purpose of winning the presidential election was responsible for the defeat of President Muhammadu Buhari by his major challenger, Atiku Abubakar who is an indigene of the state.

The source alleged that the sum of N2.5 billion was allocated to the state through a top government appointee of President Buhari who also lost his local government council area to the opposition.

The fund was for the purpose of mobilizing support and logistics for the conduct of the elections.

It was alleged that instead some stakeholders sat on the campaign fund.

The development which has been causing ripples in the party, reportedly led to moves by aggrieved party members to move for the removal of a top party official who they suspected of being behind the alleged mismanagement of the logistics funds.

The source said many of the stakeholders like the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Boss Mustapha, General Buba Marwa, Dr. Idi Hong, the chairman of Nigeria Drugs Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, Muhammad Mustapha Abdallah, Senator Binta Masi Garba lost in their local governments.

The APC entered the election with much crisis in its wings.

Only a few days to the election, a top party functionary, Dr.Mahmud Halilu accused Governor Muhammad Umar Jibrilla of working in favour of the opposition political party.

NDCP accuses Delta INEC officials of conspriacy

he Delta State chapter of Nigeria Democratic Congress Party (NDCP) has T accused some key staff of the Independent

National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the state of working to undermine the election in the state.

The party in a letter dated February 18, signed by Chief Udiyobo Nonye Dafe, NDCP protested to INEC chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, Delta State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dr. Cyril Omoregbe, and the National Security Adviser, Major General Muhammad Babagana Mongunu the role of three staff in the state in collaborating with the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in the state to sabotage a free and fair election.

The letter alleged that as part of the efforts to sabotage a free and fair poll, key staff of the commission in Delta State were involved in a surreptitious plot to populate the ad-hoc staff for the election with known PDP partisans.

“I am bringing this evil machinations of your subordinates, to enable you take prompt and drastic measures that will enable you bequeath a free, fair and credible election that Nigerians are waiting to behold,” Chief Dafe said.

According to Dafe, who is also the leader of Delta Central Senatorial District chapter of the party: "Both the heads of GAP, Mr. Tony Ugboneh and ICT, Mr. Chidi, respectively, beside being PDP sympathizers, are very critical of policy initiatives of President Muhammadu Buhari, which they often expressed unconsciously in public fora. And if the trio, who recruited the RACHTEC personnel on the dictates of PDP, are not rescued before the rescheduled elections, the exercise in Delta State will end up being compromised.

46 — Vanguard,

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2019

Chelsea to sack Sarri this week

C

helsea will sack head coach Maurizio Sarri if the board notice 'signs of mutiny' during tonight's Premier League clash with Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge.

The Blues put in a muchimproved performance against Manchester City in the EFL •Sarri Cup final on Sunday afternoon, drawing 0-0 with Pep Guardiola's side before ultimately losing on penalties.

The display was overshadowed by the Kepa Arrizabalaga incident in the latter stages of extra-time, though, with the goalkeeper seemingly refusing to be substituted for Willy Caballero.

The Chelsea board were pleased with the performance against City, but remain concerned about Sarri's relationship with both the players and the supporters.

As a result, the club will be keeping a close eye on matters this week, with England assistant manager Steve Holland under consideration to replace Sarri as interim boss for the remainder of the season.

Man Utd injury crisis deepens as 10 will miss Crystal Palace game

A

nthony Martial has been ruled out of Manchester United's trip to Crystal Palace today, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has confirmed.

Martial, who missed Sunday's 0-0 draw with Liverpool because of a groin injury, will not be risked at Selhurst Park, according to caretaker boss Solskjaer.

With 10 players out injured, Solskjaer also called on big names, including Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez, to step up and prove their worth.

“Martial is not going to be ready for this one,” said Solskjaer. “We can't risk it.

Maybe Southampton, but we're not gonna risk another one.

“In hindsight, Jesse [Lingard] was [too] eager, he ticked all the boxes in training recovery work and rehab, but it was

maybe a couple of days too early.

“But it was Liverpool and he was desperate to be part of it.

“We've not had a session yet so I don't think there are a lot of positives, no.

“Marcus Rojo will be involved. With Rashy [Rashford], we're still waiting to see how his ankle is responding to the treatment.

“But muscle injuries are too early to think about. That's it.”

Lingard, Martial, Marcus Rashford, Antonio Valencia, Matteo Darmian, Phil Jones, Nemanja Matic, Ander Herrera, Juan Mata and Mason Greenwood are all out injured.

Guardiola: Don't use tiredness as an excuse in title bid

Neymar in tears over Messi N

•Neymar and Messi

eymar has spoken of his admiration for former Barcelona team-mate Lionel Messi, who he says gave him support when he needed it most.

The Brazilian, who has since moved on to Paris Saint-Germain, struggled to hold back the tears as he praised Messi for his help during a tough period in his life.

'It's a story I tell everyone,' he said in an interview with Globo Esporte. 'At the time when I needed the most support, the man on the team, the best in the world, came and gave me love.'

'He talked to me

Bale '100%' focused on Barcelona showdown

Klopp: Firmino may miss eal Madrid boss Santiago Watford clash R Solari sought to play down iverpool manager is not a good sign,' he any talk of a rift with Gareth Bale,

L

Jurgen Klopp has eased fears over Roberto Firmino's fitness, insisting the Brazilian could have a chance of playing against Watford on Wednesday night.

Firmino was forced off after half an hour against Manchester United with an ankle injury and replaced by Daniel Sturridge, before being spotted leaving the ground on crutches after the match.

There were fears he would miss the game against Watford and, while Klopp admitted the game at Anfield may come too quickly, he insisted Firmino should be fit to take on Everton on Sunday.

'He looks good, we were obviously lucky. It is not as serious as we thought in the first moment, but if Bobby leaves the pitch it

said.

'We play tomorrow and it will be very close for that, but there's still a chance for the derby (against Everton on Sunday).

'Because it's Bobby, I would say 'yes [there is a chance for Watford]', but I don't know if I would use that chance.

Writing Bobby off is a big mistake because he recovers very quick.'

'If we have to change things then we will.

Bobby has been almost always involved but we obviously have options.

'If there's anything good in that then it is Watford has no clue what we are doing.'

A goalless draw at Old Trafford saw the Reds move one point clear of Manchester City at the summit of the Premier League.

and said: "Come here, you must be yourself, you must be happy and the same as in Santos. Do not be shy, do not be afraid of me or anyone in this club. We are here to help you".'

Neymar has been consistently linked with a move back to the Nou Camp, given his strong friendship with members of the Barcelona squad.

When queried once more about the potential of a return, the 27-yearold refused to rule it out and reiterated how much his friendship with Messi means to him.

'It's difficult, it's difficult,' Neymar said. 'To be honest, it is very difficult because Leo was a very special guy for me at Barcelona.'

insisted it was business as usual and intimated he has dealt with the situation.

'I can understand why you are wanting to look at it like that and that the media are focusing on what they think they need to do, but we're just concentrating on the game,' the Madrid manager said.

'What's spoken about in private stays there. We've got a great game coming up, we've fought hard to be here, the first leg was a good game and we're 100 percent focused on the return leg. As is Gareth, as are all the players.'

saying the Welshman is '100 percent focused' on their two upcoming meetings with rivals Barcelona over the next four days.

The 29-year-old has been named as a substitute in Real's last three La Liga games and refused to celebrate after scoring the decisive goal in his side's 2-1 victory over Levante on Sunday, leading to heavy criticism in the media.

However, there was no indication of any problems within the dressing room as a jovial Bale trained with the rest of his team mates on Tuesday.

Speaking at a press conference ahead of today's Copa del Rey semi-final second leg (1-1 on aggregate), Solari fielded several •Bale questions regarding Bale. The Argentine

P

ep Guardiola has warned his Manchester City players he wants “no excuses” in the final 11 games of their Premier League title defence.

Guardiola’s side are second, one point behind Liverpool, and although they are also competing for the Champions League and FA Cup the manager believes the drive to retain the title should override any fatigue.

“I don’t want to see excuses about tiredness, fixtures, schedules or how •Guardiola many games,” Guardiola enough players, a second said before Wednesday’s team too. game at home to West Ham. “I want to see tomorrow “That is nothing. When you the desire that we really, have the illusion [dream] to really want to win this title. fight until the end, to retain I want to see it. I don’t care the title, the power and the about the way we want to energy to give you that, it is play or the other things. I higher than any excuses you want the ‘smell’ in the locker can find. room. I want to ‘smell’ in the “We have to run tomorrow beginning of the game, and beat them, and after that during the game, with our beat them again. In the last fans, now when one two months the mentality competition is over, really makes the difference. we want to win this title. I People say about this player want to see their faces or the other one. It doesn’t tomorrow, my players. After matter [who plays]. We have the game I’ll tell you if I saw a deep squad, we have good something special or not.”

Leicester to announce Rodgers as manager

L

eicester have agreed a deal in principle to appoint Brendan Rodgers as manager immediately.

The 46-year- old is poised to leave Celtic now and move to the King Power Stadium after Leicester convinced the Northern Irishman to •Brendan take over from Claude Puel.

Former Celtic manager Neil Lennon, who left Hibs earlier this season, is expected to replace Rodgers in a sensational return to the east end of Glasgow.

Initial inquiries were made before Christmas but Puel survived by virtue of wins over Chelsea and Manchester City.

Rodgers had planned to see out the campaign with Celtic in the aim of winning a treble of trebles but there was always a hope at Leicester he could be persuaded to forgo those ambitions for another crack at the Premier League.

He said his farewells at Celtic's Lennoxtown training ground late on Monday night with a deal agreed at midnight.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2019 —45 vanguardnews

@vanguardnews

Buhari coasting to victory, as Atiku trails Continues from Page 41

the Kano headquarters of the INEC by the state Collation Officer Professor Magaji Garba of the Federal University of Gusau, Buhari polled 1,464,768 votes while Atiku Abubakar scored 391,593 votes.

The total registered voters in the state is 5,391,581 of which 4,870,307 PVCs were collected but only 1,964,651 votes were cast of which 73,617 were declared as rejected votes. The voters turnout for the polls was 40 per cent.

In Katsina, President Buhari got 1,232,133 votes while Atiku scored 308,056.

Although, the PDP recorded an improved performance because Buhari won with a wider margin in 2015.

According to the results released by the state collation officer for Katsina State, Professor Fatima Mukhtar, Buhari scored 1,232,133 votes to beat his closest challenger, Atiku Abubakar of the PDP, who scored 308,056 votes. A difference of 924,077 votes exists between both candidates.

Buhari won in all the 34 local government areas in the state. However, he scored fewer votes in 2019 compared to 2015 while Abubakar scored more votes in the state than the PDP 2015 candidate, Goodluck Jonathan.

In 2015, while Buhari polled 1,345,441 votes, Jonathan of the PDP scored 98,937 votes.

Buhari improves performance but loses in Edo In Edo, Buhari recorded a mark-up in the number of votes he got this year compared to 2015 even though he lost the state.

APC got 267,842 votes compared to the PDP’s 275,691 votes.

An elated Governor Godwin Obaseki expressed appreciation to Edo people for the growing acceptance of the APC in Presidential and National Assembly elections.

In a statement by the Governor ’s Special Adviser on Media and Communication Strategy, Crusoe Osagie, the governor said that the state’s performance in the 2019 election is an improvement on its performance in the 2015 elections.

The governor ’s aide said that a comparison of the results shows that in 2019, PDP polled 275,691, and the APC got 267,842;

while in 2015, the PDP scored 286,869 against APC’s 208,469 in the presidential election.

“In 2015, the margin of defeat was 78400 votes, but in 2019, it dropped by 90 per cent to 7849 votes.

This is a considerable improvement on the party’s performance,” he added.

Atiku takes 13 LGAs to defeat Buhari in Benue The PDP Presidential Candidate Atiku Abubakar won the election in Benue state with a narrow margin.

According to the state collation officer, Prof.

Sebastian Maimako, Atiku polled 356,817 votes to defeat Buhari, who garnered 347,668 votes.

The PDP candidate, therefore beat his APC’s opponent by a total margin of 7,587 votes.

The total number of votes cast was put at 761,780, while total valid votes was 727,347 and rejected votes were 34,433. Of the 2,391,276 registered voters only 786, 069 were accredited for the polls.

The PDP candidate won in 13 of the 23 local governments of the state while Buhari won 10.

Atiku Abubakar won in Governor Samuel Ortom’s local government while Buhari won in George Akume, the APC leader’s local government.

Atiku takes Imo Also, Atiku secured a huge victory in Imo State where he scored 334, 923 votes compared to President Buhari’s 140,463 votes. He won in 25 of the 27 local councils while Buhari took two Oru East and Ideato South of his party ’s governorship candidate in the state, Hope Uzodinma, and Governor Rochas Okorocha respectively.

With this result, Buhari secured more votes than the 133,253 votes he got from the state in 2015 The result for Nkwerre LGA that was earlier declared for Buhari was changed when it was discovered that 1,000 votes were added to the score.

Instead of 5161, the officer wrote 6161 while the result of PDP remains at 5819, putting PDP ahead of APC. The INEC Returning Officer, Benjamin Ozumba, who is the Vice Chancellor of University of Nigeria, Nsukka, announced the remaining three LGAs, yesterday at the commissions’ office in Owerri, the state capital before he went to the

National Collation Centre to announce the overall result.

Buhari wins Bauchi In Bauchi, the APC polled 798,428 votes to beat the PDP, which scored 209,313 votes.

Alhassan Ghani, the State Collation officer, announced the result after collation from the 20 local government areas of the state, yesterday, in Bauchi.

He said the state had 2,453,512 registered voters, out of which 1,075,330 were accredited for the election.

Mr Ghani added that a total of 1,061,955 votes were cast, out of which APC scored 798,428 votes and PDP scored 209,313 votes.

According to the collation officer, the exercise recorded a total of 1,024,307 valid votes and 37,648 invalid votes.

Buhari wins 15 of 23 Kaduna local councils President Buhari also had the upper hand in Kaduna where in addition to winning in 15 of the 23 local government areas of the state, he polled 993, 445 to defeat his closest rival, Atiku Abubakar, who had 649, 612 votes.

Atiku floors Buhari in Bayelsa In Bayelsa, Atiku Abubakar emerged as the victor having scored 197,933 votes while Buhari got 118, 821 votes.

Out of the eight local government areas in the state, Atiku won in six and lost two to Buhari, according to the results announced at the INEC Collation Centre in Yenagoa, the State Collation Officer and Vice Chancellor of the University of Calabar, Professor Zana Akpagbo.

The PDP won in Yenagoa, KolokumaOpokuma, Sagbama, Ogbia, and Brass, the Local Government Area of the APC state party leader and former governor Chief Timipre Sylva and also in Ekeremor, the local government area of the Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri.

The APC won in Nembe and Southern Ijaw Local Government Areas.

Prof Akpagbo said out of a total of 923,189 registered voters in the state, 344,237 were accredited, while the total valid votes stood at 321,767 and total votes cast was 335856 and 14,089 were rejected votes.

Sir Monday John Onyeme: An insight into the leadership of Delta State Inland Revenue

By Whisky Okeme

T

HE story of Sir Monday John Onyeme is an exploration into a world of grit and excellence as his unassailable credentials bear an eloquent testimony of a man who Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, Governor of Delta State appointed as the Executive Chairman of the Delta State Board of Internal Revenue three and a half years ago.

Born in the early 1960’s , Onyeme attended the University of Calabar and graduated with a second class upper division in Accountancy in 1990. He subsequently enrolled with safe Association Accounting Tutors in Lagos and qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1993. He began his working career as an Assistant lecturer with Federal Polytechnic Kaura Namoda, Zamfara State between 1991 to 1992.

Onyeme joined Commercial Trust Bank Lagos between 1993 to 1995 as senior Executive Assistant Audit and before then he has worked briefly at the audit department of the National Electricity Power Authority, Lagos.

Chief Onyeme also worked as Chief Accountant of the Octopus Credential Limited, Lagos between 1995 to 1996 before joining the National Agriculture Land Development Authority, Asaba between 1996 to 2000 as Head of Finance and Supply department.

Managed all the Banking operations of the College The star in him began to radiate when he joined the Federal College of Education (Technical) Asaba as the Chief Accountant in 2000 and was promoted to the College Bursar in 2005. As Bursar of the College, he managed all the Banking operations of the College optimizing strategies to get the College on a sound financial footing.

By 2006, Onyeme was appointed the Bursar of the National Open University, Lagos. He brought his vast wealth of experience to bear on this job. So sterling were his leadership qualities that he was able to re – engineer the Finance and Accounts sector of the University to embrace due process.

By 2015, Onyeme’s sterling qualities has become too obvious to be suppressed.

Onyeme in his bid to serve his state was appointed the Head of the Board of Internal Revenue late last year. When he resumed duty as the Executive Chairman of the Delta State Inland Revenue, the first thing he did was to organize a strategic retreat at Songhai-Amukpe-Sapele to prepare his team for the task ahead.

Although overwhelming it seem at the beginning, Onyeme has been able to bring to bear his over 25 years experience as an Accountant of high repute with resultant improved Internal Revenue for the State. Under his leadership, the Agency has been revamped, redesigned and repacked to meet the need of the Delta State Government.

In the past one year, oil prices have plummeted to the lowest level. Allocation to States from the federal account have nosedived and the combination of Accountability and transparency which Onyeme impacted has repositioned the Agency towards increasing revenue to support the SMART Agenda of Dr. Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa, Governor of Delta State. So far he has performed creditably well and in

•Sir Monday John Onyeme keeping with his character of strict accountability and transparency in leadership, he will hit his projected internal revenue for the State very soon. A sticker for excellence and an unrelenting advocate of due process and upholder of the integrity which the Accounting profession epitomizes.

According to the Executive Chairman, increasing IGR is undoubtedly the only way forward for governments at all tiers in the country. He said it has become imperative to ask for the understanding and support of Deltans to pay all due tax for the purpose of provision of infrastructure across the state.

Chief Onyeme said that Deltans no matter their political persuasion, should support the State revenue drive in order for government to take development to all nooks and crannies of the State. He said taxation is therefore key to democratic sustainability and impactful economic development which is in line with the prosperity for all Deltans mantra of the Okowa’s administration.

He is an optimist who believes it is necessary for man to act benevolently, if he truly desires to see the good face of God. He sees the complete picture of a worst case scenario and still believes in the best outcome. He is a live crosser and a barrier breaker and at any opportunity with

The star in him began to radiate when he joined the Federal College of Education (Technical) Asaba as the Chief Accountant in 2000 and promoted the College Bursar in 2005 friends and relations, Onyeme does not fail to seek advice on how properly to run his Agency and raise funds for the state.

He can sustain continuous pressure without breaking down. He is very tough in his substantial texture but very soft with his relationship with people.

He reads people very fast and anticipates their motives quickly. He loves and has so much regards for people that are very creative and loves to assist them achieve glory. He has so much confidence in God that he believes that he can easily overcome adversities through his grace.

As the future becomes and with the kind of energy he exhibits, the future looks brighter for the Odoziani I of Ibabu Kingdom.

Whisky Okeme is an Executive Director with the forum for credible elections and good Governance in Africa.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2019 — 47

Joshua: I don’t use drugs arrell Miller has questioned the size and strength of IBF, IBO, WBA, WBO heavyweight champion Anthony J Joshua.

AFCON Qualifiers:

Don’t waste energy playing Seychelles, Yobo tells Rohr … Backs Super Eagles to win in Egypt

By Ben Efe

F

ormer Super Eagles captain, Joseph Yobo has urged the national team coach, Gernot Rohr not to bother to invite big name players to next month’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Seychelles on home soil.

The Super Eagles have booked their place already after beating Libya home and away. Against Seychelles who they also beat away 3-0, the game is a formality and, according to Yobo who captained the team to the 2013 AFCON trophy in South Africa, there was no need wasting energy chasing the game.

“The game is not as important as it’s meant to be.

•Yobo

So I want t h e coach to call up f r i n g e players and up and coming youngsters so that they can also showcase their talent.

“The team qualififed with a game in hand. It has never been easy for the Eagles to qualify, but they did it,” said Yobo.

He said the Eagles have benefited a lot participating in the 2018 World Cup and with that they are top contenders for the title in Egypt.

“They built on their performances at the world cup. Though they didn’t get

to the n e x t round t h e y made a g o o d impression.

The the future is looking bright for Nigeria.

“As a sports man you go into any tournament with the aim to win. In 2013 We won and since then we haven’t

qualified and as they ruturn to the tournament I have confidence that the team can win. But they shouldn’t put themselves under pressure take one game at time and let see how it goes.”

Watford may unleash Isaac Success on

Liverpool I

saac Success is in line to make his 24th Premier League appearance when Watford take on Liverpool who are winless in three of their last four league games this evening.

Hornets manager Javi Garcia

•Success

Obafemi to miss rest of Southampton season

Y

oung Southampton striker Michael Obafemi will miss the rest of the Premier League season due to a hamstring injury, manager Ralph Hasenhuttl said on Tuesday.

The 18-year-old Irish international was a half-time substitute for the relegation-threatened side in a 2-0 defeat to Arsenal at the Emirates last weekend but came off after 20 minutes.

Obafemi, who last year became the first player born after the year 2000 to feature for the club in a Premier League match, had only just returned from injury.

“It’s a big blow for Michael; until the end of the season he won’t play,” Hasenhuttl said ahead of today’s home game against fellow strugglers Fulham.

The Austrian had called the situation a “disaster” immediately after the match.

Hasenhuttl said forward Danny Ings and midfielder Mario Lemina would not feature against Fulham.

“It doesn’t seem like it’s possible to play Danny, the risk is too high,” he said of a player who has yet to return to training with the team.

“Mario Lemina is not training with the squad but he’s working every day to return.”

Southampton are 18th in the league, a point behind Cardiff City, while Fulham are 19th and seven points adrift of the Saints.

•Obafemi

confirmed at his pre-match press conference that Success and 24 other players are available for selection.

Success had earlier recovered from a hamstring injury last week and trained fully with his teammates ahead of their trip to the Cardiff City stadium but was eventually left out of the 18-man squad who beat Cardiff 5-1.

“In this moment we only have Kiko injured,” said Gracia.

Success has played 27 games this season for the Hornets who continue to chase European football in the English topflight, scoring four goals.

Nigeria manager Gernot Rohr will particularly be thrilled with having two of his attackers back on board with Ahmed Musa and Success recovering from injuries ahead of next month’s games against Seychelles and Egypt.

FIFA hands referee lifetime ban for taking bribes

F

IFA says its ethics committee imposed a life ban on referee Oden Charles Mbaga of Tanzania for taking bribes and also fined 200,000 Swiss francs ($262,954 Cda).

Without giving details of the bribery, FIFA says Mbaga breached the 2009 version of its code of ethics though the investigation was opened only in July last year.

Mbaga has reportedly been linked to match-fixer Wilson Perumal of Singapore, who was involved in providing referees to corrupt international friendly games for betting scams.

Perumal’s schemes included fixing warmup games for South Africa before it hosted the 2010 World Cup. Mbaga had been on FIFA’s international list of referees approved to handle national team games.

Miller, who himself tested for a banned substance in kickboxing competition, is not convinced that Joshua is an “all-natural” fighter. He alleges that Joshua, during his rise, was tampering with performance enhancing drugs and is no longer the same fighter. He explained his suspicions regarding Joshua.

“Nobody could have put on 20-pounds between winning the Olympics and his first pro fight the way Joshua did without taking something. Impossible. We’ve busted our balls to get full testing for 10 weeks to make sure he’s clean before June 1. We’ve covered the bases. If he’s been taking performance-enhancing drugs I couldn’t care less now. I’ve studied him. His physique, his power, his stamina,” Miller said.

“Since he won his titles his body’s slimmed down and he’s only really knocked out opponents who backed away.

There’s not the same strength and stamina. Klitschko pushed for testing. In what subjects did Wladimir and Vitali get their PHDs? Sports medicine. Why did people who know everything about physics of the body want Joshua to test every other week? They pushed on that but settled a bit to make the fight.”

Joshua raised his eyes at the comments and responded back.

“I take that as a compliment to all my dedication and strength and power training. If I was on steroids as well I wouldn’t fit in this shirt. He’s talking bull. At the London Olympics I was around 104 kilos and then weighed 107 kilos for my first pro fight the next year. What’s that, just half a stone with pro training? And he’s only talking about one year,” Joshua said.

“What about the 11 years I’ve been boxing since I was 18.

I’m now 115 kilos so that’s averaging just one kilo more a year. And that’s down to how hard I work and live. To all the strength and stamina training and weight-lifting. To how I control everything I eat and how I dedicate myself to boxing.

It’s my life. It’s pretty much all I do. And it’s expensive, the food and the drink and the lifestyle.

“I’m actually cutting weight now so it would be pretty odd if I was doing anything. By the way, all the anti-drugs programmes I’m signed up to cost plenty, too. I have to let them know where I’m going to be every day. I get random tested roughly twice a week round the year by VADA (Voluntary Anti-Doping Association), I have been on that since 2012 and I pay £40,000-a-fight to be tested by VADA two times a week. And nothing. If ever there was something wrong in my next 10 years boxing it would be an accident. I don’t do anything.”

Monday Odiaka’s U-20 World Cup record stands — FIFA

•Odiaka

W

orld soccer governing body, FIFA, has confirmed that Nigerian exinternational striker, Monday Odiaka still holds the record of scoring the fastest goal at the U-20 World Cup. FIFA disclosed on the sidelines of the draw

ceremony for this year’s competition that Odiaka opening goal, after only 14 second, against Canada at Moscow ’85 World Youth Championship (WYC) is the fastest ever and is still standing in the competition’s history.

It would also be recalled that Odiaka, who was then on the cards of defunct African Continental Bank (ACB) FC of Lagos, ended up as joint-top scorer of that year’s competition in Russia, as the Flying Eagles finished third in the world.

FIFA’s citation for him read in part: “Fourteen seconds were all Nigeria’s Monday Odiaka needed following kick-off to score against Canada in 1985, a record that still stands to this day.”

Rangers: We’re ready to sink Etoile on Sunday

R

angers International of Enugu have stated their readiness to turn the tide around in the second leg of their CAF Confederation Cup tie with Etoile du Sahel, as they expect to win the reverse fixture this Sunday.

While many observers were thinking of The Flying Antelopes going out against another Tunisian side, CS Sfaxien in the reverse fixture of an earlier draw in their second match of the series, the Enugu side disclosed that their next game is against Etoile.

With that in view, The Flying Antelopes are already talking tough ahead of the game at Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, Ogui Road, Enugu, and affirmed their determined to get back on top of the table with victory at home.

The Coal City side posted: “We thank our fans for the massive support. The ‘Battle of Sousse’ is over. “All attention shifts from the chilly Sousse to the sunny N.A.S, ‘The Cathedral’, Enugu for the return leg scheduled for March 3, 2019. Kickoff is 14.00 hours (2.00pm). #NeverSayDie.”

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2019

QUICK CROSSWORD

Sudoku TODAY’S PUZZLE

FRIDAY’S ANSWER

TODAY’S CROSSWORD

ACROSS 1 Mumbo-jumbo (5,5) 7 Criterion (8) 8 Replete (4) 9 Arab boat (4) 10 Somebody else (7) 12 Map-making (11) 14 Humble dwelling (7)

How to Play Sudoku

THURSDAY’S SOLUTION

16 Excursion (4) 19 Preserved (4) 20 Broadcasting (2,3,3) 21 Searcher for minerals (10) DOWN 1 Detested (5) 2 Frankness (7) 3 Stick around (4)

4 Common-or-garden (8) 5 Out of condition (5) 6 Drowsy (6) 11 Dazzlingly beautiful (8) 12 Selected (6) 13 Without fault (7) 15 Private instructor (5) 17 Previous (5) 18 Inflamed swelling on eyelid (4)

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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