Boko Haram topshot killed — JTF

...towards a better life for the peopleN150VOL. 25: NO. 61712

ONLINE | www.vanguardngr.com

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2012**

Mr & Mrs

•15 others killed in Bauchi, Maiduguri•Yuguda condemns killings in Bauchi

Continues on page 5

Boko Haram topshot killed — JTF

NationalHonours listand critics

•P.17

Why Bakassibelongs to Nigeria

•P.46

BY ABDULSALAMMUHAMMAD, NDA-

HI MARAMA &SUZAN EDEH

KANO—IN whatappeared to be a

major victory against theBoko Haram sect, theJoint Military Task Forceconfirmed, yesterday,that the sect’s spokes-man, Abu Qaqa, hasbeen killed, while twoother members were ar-rested after a shootoutbetween the sect and

OGBEMUDIA@ 80

From left: Gov.Adams Oshiomholeof Edo State; Dr.Samuel Ogbemudia,and his wife,Yetunde, cutting thecake to celebrate the80th birthday of Dr.Ogbemudia inBenin City, yester-day.

NATIONAL AWARD RECIPIENTS: From left: Chairman Heirs Holdings, Mr. Tony Elumelu, CON;Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, CON and Chairman of Globacom, Dr. Mike Adenuga, GCON, during the na-tional awards investiture ceremony in Abuja, yesterday.

•P.19

Method forchoosing optionin US Armystabilityoperations(2)

National Honours:Jonathan defends choiceof awardees •P.6

National Assembly resumes....To confront executive on N5,000

note, budget, PIB, others •P.6

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2 — Vanguard, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2012

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Vanguard, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2012—3

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POCKET CARTOON

TAKE HEARTBY ELLA RANDLE

Continues from Page 1


Boko Haram top shot killed — JTF

LIFEWORDSBY PASTOR ITUAH

NOT he who has much is rich, but he who givesmuch –Erich Fromm.

Don’t waste another day upset, disappointed, orcontrolled by problems. Discover how to make eachday a great day!— Joyce Meyers.

That man do not learn very much from the les-sons of history is the most important of all thelessons that history has to teach — Aldous Huxley

NEVER assume you know it all or confuse material possessions or geographical advantage

as tool of superiority, the truth is, a higher con-sciousness is earned constantly with a great of howwisdom is applied in your dealing with others. Thereis a great divide between the ego and the person-ality.

A great personality will shine like a beacon oflight to others. It is just what it is, a shining light.So never get too smug to think you’re smarter thanothers, this may just be the Achilles heels to bringdown the forth.

Be open to new ways of doing things, new ideasto accomplish goals and dreams. Learn from othersand listen to the voice of truth even from unexpectedquarters. A wise sage sums aptly: “No matter whatyou have, do not like it too much.” But this much Ihave come to know too, everything in life is fungi-ble... everyone and everything is fungible.

Paying close attention to details draws me to vir-tues like humility, compassion, love, and tolerance.I may falter at this, but whenever I get it right, itdraws me faster into a path of balance like a fastgale on a smooth sailing wind into the heart of di-vine love.

security operatives.There were, however,different accounts onhow the encounter tookplace.

According to one ac-count, quoting an officialof the task force, theshooting occurred yes-terday morning inMariri, a town southeastof Kano, where soldiersstopped a vehicle withthe sect spokesman, thecommander, the spokes-man’s wife and theirchildren, the officialsaid. It was not clearwhat happened next,though the official saidsoldiers shot dead boththe commander and thespokesman. The wifeand children remain inmilitary custody. Thewife told soldiers themen had accompaniedher to Kano as shesought medical help.The military official wassaid to have spoken oncondition of anonymityas the information wasnot to be made publicyesterday. Lt. IwehaIkedichi, a militaryspokesman in the re-gion, later told journal-ists that soldiers had

only killed one man, theBoko Haram spokes-man. However, the offi-cial who spoke to TheAssociated Press hadbeen at the scene of theattack and offered fur-ther details about thescene.

A different accountsaid a team of the JointMilitary Task Forcestormed the hideout ofthe sect in Hotoro areaof Kano municipalwhere one of the com-manders of the sect waskilled, while two othermembers were arrestedduring the combat op-eration.

Vanguard was toldthat the military actionfollowed intelligence re-port indicating the pres-ence of high profile sectmembers, who had beenon the wanted list of se-curity agents in the area.

The source further re-vealed that the daylightoperation involving sev-eral infantry and coun-ter terrorism officers wasswift and ended withinhalf an hour.

The sources, however,refused to divulge theidentity of the “top com-

mander” killed duringthe operation and thosetaken into custody,pointing out that “whatmattered at the momentis the success recordedduring the military ac-tion”.

Residents were appre-hensive when a militaryhelicopter was seen hov-ering the skyline of thecity indicating a majormilitary operation.

JTF confirmsoperation

Confirming the arrest,JTF spokesman in thecity, Lt. Ikediche Iwehatold Vanguard on phonethat “we carried out araid this morningaround Hotoro generalarea where we killed amember of a terroristgroup and arrested twoduring the operation”

Lt Iweha, howeverfailed to clarify the iden-tity of the top com-mander killed and thosearrested. He only saidthat “we don’t have theirnominal roll and can notsay who was killed andarrested but investiga-tion would certainly re-veal their identity.”

Meanwhile, Kano cityand environ were gen-erally calm after the op-eration as business ac-tivities resumed whilethere were increased ac-tivities in all the militarycheck points in the city.

Yesterday’s combat op-eration came on theheels of a devastatingattack by yet to be iden-tified gunmen at Hotoroarea where a member ofNational Security andCivil Defense Corp(NSCDC) was killedwith his entire family.

In a related develop-ment, bloody confronta-tion between the JTFand some suspected ter-rorists in Maiduguri left10 persons dead, whilegunmen killed five per-sons in Zango area ofBauchi Metropolis.

An eye witness of theMaiduguri incident,Mallam UsmanAbdullahi, who residesin the troubled Gwangeward, which is one of theblack spots identified bythe JTF, told Vanguardthat “an Improvised Ex-plosive Device (IED)suspected to have beenplanted on Sunday bysome terrorists targetinga security patrol vehiclein Gwange Ward of

Maiduguri, the BornoState capital exploded,leaving two men of theJTF seriously injured.

Abdullahi said: “Soonafter the explosion,gunshots ensued, butthe JTF after repellingthe attack quickly cor-doned off the area, whilethe exchange of gunduel between the JTFand the attackers led tothe killing of some peo-ple and burning of sev-eral houses.

“I cannot tell whetherthose killed were inno-cent people or thehouses which were setablaze belong to the sus-pected terrorists, but allI saw with my eyes wasthat some corpses lit-tered the streets onMonday (yesterday)morning, even as somehouses were still burn-ing as I am talking toyou now”, Abdullahistated.

A hospital attendant atthe State Specialist Hos-pital who did not wanthis name mentioned,told Vanguard that hesaw two patrol vehiclesof the JTF with somecorpses around the gateof the hospital. Headded that each of thevehicles carried fivedead bodies.

Bizman shot inYobe

Also on Sundayevening, at about8:45pm, some gunmenshot and injured a Busi-ness man and a topANPP stakeholder inYobe State, AlhajiMustapha SheriffMashidimami.

It was gathered thatthe gunmen who in-vaded the family houseof the politician onDamboa Road,Maiduguri Metropolisdemanded unspecifiedamount of money, butwhen they were not ableto get the money fromthe business man, theyshot and injured himbefore they fled.

Already, AlhajiMashidimami has beenrushed to an undis-closed hospital where hewas said to be respond-ing to treatment.

Unknowngunmen kill

five, injure sevenin Bauchi

In Bauchi, five peoplewere confirmed killedwhile seven others sus-tained injuries whenunknown gunmen yes-terday attacked Zangoarea, near federal lowcost housing estate, asuburb of Bauchi me-tropolis.

The area, it was gath-ered, was one of theflash points in the townthat witnessed severalethno-religious andcommunal clashes.

A community leader inthe area told Vanguardthat “the gunmen tar-geted an area where peo-ple used to assemble inthe evening to playcards and gamble. Theycame inside a tricycleand started shootingsporadically, killing fivepeople on the spot andinjuring several otherswho were later taken tothe hospital.

Some residents saidthey were scared whenthey heard severalgunshots near theirhouses which causedfear, confusion and pan-demonium as theyscampered for safety.Immediately after theincident, security mencordoned the area.

Efforts to get the statecommissioner of PoliceMohammed Ladanfailed as he did not pickhis calls while the PolicePublic Relations OfficerASP Hassan Moham-med Auyo said he was oncasual leave and hadtravelled out of the state.

A reliable securitysource confirmed thatfive people were killedon the spot and sevenwere injured but that noarrest was made and se-curity men have com-menced investigationinto the matter.

In his reaction, Gover-nor Isa Yuguda con-demned the attack oninnocent people at theZango area of Bauchimetropolis describing itas an act of terrorismwhich his administration

and other governmentsin the country are fight-ing hard to eradicate.

Yugudacondemnskillings

The Governor accord-ing to a statement fromthe Office of the ChiefPress Secretary, IsholaMichael Adeyemi, con-doled with families of allthose who lost theirloved ones in the bar-baric act.

Yuguda who de-scribed the assailantsas terrorists assuredthat government woulddo everything humanlypossible to track themdown and bring them tobook because, accord-ing to him, “there is noway we will allowcriminals and terroriststo continue to liveamong us terrorizinginnocent people; wemust join hands to stopthese heinous acts.”

He added that terror-ist acts are not directedat one direction, eitherbecause of religion,tribe or political affilia-tion, but a general tar-get at every citizen ofthe country, sayingthat, “we must all cometogether to fight theseevil men, they liveamong us and we mustexpose them at all cost.These wanton killingmust stop now.”

He, therefore, ap-pealed to all those af-fected not to do any-thing that would ag-gravate the alreadytensed situation whichmay lead to breakdownof law and order. Let usallow the security op-eratives to do their workand eventually trackdown the criminals. Weshould please avoidanything that will leadto the loss of more livesand disrupt the peacethat we are enjoying inthe state, he appealed.”

6—Vanguard, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2012

National honours: Jonathan

defends choice of awardees'

BY JOSEPH ERUNKE

& EMMANUEL

EBELEKE

�Says none has questionable character

N-Assembly resumes

BY CLIFFORD

NDUJIHE & HENRY

UMORU

�Confronts executive on N5,000note, budget, PIB, pension, others

ABUJA—TWO monthsof annual recess over,

members of the NationalAssembly will resume todayto be confronted by amountain of issues awaitingdeliberation.

Among the issues are: thePetroleum Industry Bill,PIB, N1.7trillion oil subsidycontroversy, N700 billionpension scam, 2013 budget,which may be presentedtoday, controversies trailingpoor implementation of the2012 budget for which theHouse of Representativesthreatened to commenceimpeachment movesagainst PresidentGoodluck Jonathan unlesshe has ensured 100 percent implementation of thebudget. A Federal HighCourt sitting Abuja, Friday,declined to stop the Houseof Representatives fromcommencing impeachmentproceedings againstPresident Jonathan overpoor implementation of thebudget.

Senators will also beconfronted with screeningof new ministerialnominees for Defence andPower following the sack ofthe former Minister andpast Acting NationalChairman of the PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP, Dr.Haliru Bello Mohammedand the resignation of Prof.Barth Nnaji respectively.

The lawmakers wouldhave to take a decision onthe proposed introductionof N5,000 note andconversion of N20, N10 andN5 into coins by the CentralBank of Nigeria, CBN, withthe support of the executivearm of government. TheSenate Committee onBanking asked the CBN toput the policy on hold butthe apex bank insisted thatthere was no going back.

The matter may put theexecutive and legislativearms of government on acollision course. A stormysession will be expected atthe plenary against thebackdrop that some senatorsmay be against it whilesome will support, thoughthe Chairman, SenateCommittee on Banking,Insurance and otherInstitutions, SenatorBasssey Edet Otu, PDP,Cross River South hadasked the apex bank todrop the proposal.

The legislators would alsobe faced with amendmentof the 1999 Constitution, ofwhich serious issues likestate creation and statepolice among others have

been generating ripplesThey are expected to take

action on the $5 billion fineit ordered Shell to pay overenvironmental pollution inOgoni, Rivers State in theNiger Delta region.

For Senator MagnusNgei Abe, PDP, RiversSouth-East, he must haveused the holiday to preparethe report of the SenateJoint Committee onPetroleum Resources( D o w n s t r e a m ) ,Appropriation and Financethat investigated how muchwas spent and whocollected what from theN1.7tr oil subsidy.

The holiday may alsohave given SenatorAloysius Akpan Etok, PDPAkwa Ibom North West andChairman, SenateCommittee onEstablishment and PublicServices to put together thefindings of the Senate jointCommittee thatinvestigated the N700billion pension fund andsubmit same to the entirehouse.

Senator HopeUzodinma, PDP, Imo Westand Chairman, SenateCommittee on Aviation mayhave also used the recessto prepare reports on twopublic hearings he carriedout, one on tax evasion andfare disparity by BritishAirways and Virgin AtlanticAirways and the other onthe National Assembly jointc o m m i t t e ethat investigated the crashwhich involved Dana andAllied Airlines aircraft inLagos and Accrarespectively.

As the Senate resumes,there are various issues,especially the unfinishedjobs that must be done andone of such assignments,which must beaccomplished today beforethe 109 Senators isdiscussions on the 2013budget which PresidentGoodluck Jonathan isexpected to present beforethe Senate, as well asdiscussions on theachievement of the 2012appropriation.

Security challenges withbombings in some parts ofthe country will feature atboth the open and closeddoor sessions of the Senate,just as discussions onPetroleum Industry Bill. TheSenators are also expectedto review the outcome of theSenate retreat which tookplace in Uyo, Akwa IbomState capital.

At the end of the day,reports by SenatorsUzodinma, Abe, Etok andothers will be tabled beforethe Senators fordiscussions.

ABUJA—IN anapparent response to

criticisms against theselection of candidates forthis year ’s NationalHonours Award, PresidentGoodluck Jonathanyesterday, defended hisaction, saying none of therecipients of the variousawards hadunquestionable character,just as he said the numberof the awardees was still notenough.

President GoodluckJonathan said he haddirected the NationalHonours AwardCommittee, NHAC, tocompile the list ofhonourees with the aim ofstripping those with“questionable credibility”.

He said the move was toensure that holders of thehonours did not fall shortof the collectiveexpectations of Nigerians.He noted: “We areconvinced that the NationalHonours Award is a veryimportant part of thesymbols of the country’svalues and pride.

“Whilst government isalways pleased to admitdeserving persons into theranks of those honoured byNigeria, all holders mustnot fall short of our collectiveexpectations. The dignity,honour and respect of theNational Honours mustnever be tarnished

Rewardingexcellence

“In light of the foregoing,I have directed that theNational HonoursCommittee compile a list ofpersons conferred with theNational Honours but thattheir current credibility isquestionable.

“If they are foundwanting, our prestigiousHonours will bewithdrawn. This is essentialin ensuring that holders ofNational Honours are trulyworthy representatives ofour nation, chains of valuesand honour, and especiallyare patriotic Nigerians orreal friends of our dearland.”

Jonathan also directed theaward committee to expandthe scope of the search forrecipients to include allstrata of the society.

He noted that the 4430recipients of categories of

the award since inceptionin 1963 was not enough,adding that many moreNigerians deserved therecognition.

The president said thenumber of the awardees,which stood at 149 inaddition to fiveparalympaians, wasinsignificant compared tothe country’s population.

In this regard, hecharged desirable peoplein the country to participatemore in the NationalHonours Award nominationprocesses in future.

The president said heapproved the nomination ofthe awardees, havingrealized that the NationalHonours AwardCommittee, headed byformer Chief Justice of theFederation, Justice AlfaMohammed Belgore, hadundertaken a thoroughexercise.

He said the awardeeswere credible Nigerianswho have distinguishedthemselves in their variousfields of endeavour, sayinghis administration wascommitted to rewardingexcellence.

“Their greatest efforts liein the sacrifices andcommitments, selflessnessand passion for nationaldevelopment. Theawardees today havedistinguished themselvesfrom far and wide as icons.Nigerians can learn somelessons from theirachievement. Their effortsare commendablebehaviour that should berecognized.

“We will continue tohonour our business menand women who do usproud in the worldinternational Paralympics. Ichallenge Nigerians to rise

above board. Nationbuilding requires sacrifice,transparency, accountabilityand we remain committedto due process,accountability andtransparency inmanagement of publicfund. For us to succeed, weneed an inclusive will tomake it happen.

The president, whilecongratulating the awardrecipients for what hedescribed as “deservinghonours”, chargedNigerians to strive todeliver quality service to thenation and her peoplewherever they findthemselves, noting that theawards were meant to showappreciation to those whohe noted, have made thecountry proud.

His words: “At theinception of thisadministration, I urged allNigerians to be part of ourefforts to transform our dearcountry. We initiatedpolitical and socio-economicinitiatives; most of them arebeginning to bear fruits.Others will need little moretime to make the rightimpact. Our economy isdelivering on key targetsincluding steady powerdelivery, better servicedelivery in agriculturalsector, employmentgeneration and wealthcreation.

“We are proud of your lifelong achievements andcontributions to Nigeria. Toensure the foregoing andreposition our dear nation,we need to sustain valuereorientation andconfidence building in thepolity. There is therefore anurgent need for us all toembrace attitudinal changein our collective resolve tomake Nigeria a great

nation”.He congratulated all the

awardees, particularlyChief Mike Adenuga, therecipient of the highestaward at the ceremony,saying he was proud toassociate with them.President Jonathan saidAdenugu had made thecountry in particular andWest Africa in generalproud by his businessoutfits which he noted, hadprovided over 100,000 jobsfor Nigerians alone.

Encomiums onAdenuga

Dr Mike Adenuga theCEO of Globacom, wasdecorated with the GrandCommander of the Orderof the Niger, GCON.

Jonathan said Adenugacontributed immensely, asa businessman andentrepreneur, to the growthand development of theeconomy.

“He worked hard toestablish Globacom as ani n t e r n a t i o n a lcommunication companywhich provides means oflivelihood to over 100,000Nigerians.

‘’Today across Ghana,Benin Republic, he hasbuilt a formidable brandand is expanding footholdsin Cote d’Ivoire andSenegal.”

President Jonathanthanked the fiveparalympian goldmedalists who, he awardedthe national honours alongside the 149 awardees forwhat he simply describedas “their exceptionalcourage,” saying thegesture was part of hisadministration’s relentlessefforts at re-awakening thecountry’s sports sector.

FUEL SCARCITY HITS LAGOS—Vehicles queue at a petrol station alongOshodi-Gbagada expressway, Lagos yesterday. Photo by Lamidi Bamidele.


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8— Vanguard, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2012

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R-L: Dr. Yewande Adeshina, Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor on Public Health; Gov. BabatundeFashola of Lagos; Dr. Jide Idris, Commissioner for Health and Dr. Leke Pitan, former Commissionerfor Health, during the graduation of Health Volunteers, organized by Lagos State Health Volunteers'Scheme{LSHVS} in Lagos. Photo: Bunmi Azeez

I didn’t approve street trading inComputer Village – Olu of Ikeja

BY OLASUNKANMIAKONI

THE Olu of Ikeja,Oba Adeniyi

Matemi Amore, haddebunked the allegationleveled against him thathe instructed thedisplaced street tradersat the popularCommuter Village, inIkeja to return to the

streets, saying; “At notime did I instruct thestreet traders to go backto Computer Village; thereport is baseless,malicious and with nosubstance whatsoever.”

It would be recalledthat last week, theComputer Village, one ofthe biggest markets forall kinds of computerhard and software

materials in West Africansub-region, was lastThursday, temporarilysealed and laterreopened by men of theLagos StateEnvironmental andSpecial OffencesEnforcement Unit.

According to reports,the closure wasnecessitated when agroup of miscreants,

already displaced in themarket over streettrading by the LagosState Government, wereaddressed by the Oba ofIkeja, who allegedlyordered the dislodgedtraders to return to thestreet for businesses.

When Vanguardcontacted Oba Amore forhis reaction, he stated:“That I said streettraders should trade inComputer Village is nottrue.

“That was what took meto the market -to addressthem, the shop owners,on the need to allowthose who want to openfor business to do so.That’s all.”

Meantime, the stateDeputy Governor, Mrs.Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, whilereceiving in her office,the executive members ofPolice Officers’ WivesAssociation, POWA, inthe state, led by the stateChairman, Mrs. RabiManko, implored womenin the state to desist fromtrading on major roadsand highways, notingthat such does not onlycause traffic gridlock butalso endanger the lives ofwomen as witnessed inthe frequent cases ofmotor vehicles runningover street traders.

Fashola challenges judiciary overnational development

BY ABDULWAHABABDULAH, ONOZURE

DANIA & ADEOLAADENUGA

GO V E R N O RB a b a t u n d e

Fashola, of Lagos Stateyesterday decried thesocio-economic problemsin the country and saidthe situation has placeda big responsibility andchallenges at the doorstep of the nation’sjudiciary.

Governor Fashola whogave a keynote addressat the Lagos CentralMosque for thecommemoration of thenew legal year said theroles of the judiciary andjudges cut across allhuman endeavours,thereby placing onerous

task on their shoulders.Also, Bishop of Lagos

and Archbishop ofEcclesiastical Province ofLagos, The Most Rev.Adebola Ademowo at thechurch service held atthe Cathedral Church ofChrist, Marina,disclosed that thecountry ’s values aredeteriorating fast.

The Bishop saidlawlessness pervadesthe country at all levelsstating this may notaugur well for thenation.

The test for the legalyear service was takenfrom the book of DanielChapter 7, verses 1-14and the reading wastaken by the Chief Judgeof Lagos State, JusticeAyotunde Phillips.

Governor Fashola said,“Our country is at greatcrossroads, facingenourmous challengesthat put to test our selfgovernance anddemocracy.”

He said it is the lawthat regulates the society,especially when thecountry is faced withissues of nationalsecurity and economicdevelopment, adding, "itis law that regulates manand guarantees hisproperties.

“In Nigeria, roadtraffick constituteschallenges to our socio-economic development. Ifthere is traffick problem,a worker will not be ableto get to his work timely."

THE Economic andFinancial Crimes

Commission, EFCC, andother relevant agenciesin the maritime sector,weekend , carried out anevacuation exercise on avessel, MT Takoradi,seized eight months agoby the Nigerian Navy foralleged illegal

BY EVELYN USMAN

EFCC, others evacuate oil from seized vesselbunkering.

The vessel, loaded withone million litres ofdiesel was arrested bythe navy ’s newlyacquired platform, NNSThunder , while onpatrol .

After its interception,the vessel wasreportedly discovered tobe operating on the highsea without clearance

after which it was handedover to the EFCC forfurther investigation.

Agencies present at theevacuation processincluded theDepartment forPetroleum Resources,DPR, Nigeria MaritimeAdministration andSafety Agency, NIMASA,Nigeria Ports Authority,NPA and the evacuating

company, Fenix ImpexN i g e r i a .Chairman of the FenixImpex Limited, Mr.Tenebe Jarret explainedthat the company ’sparticipation in theevacuation was anindication thatindigenous companiescould perform effectivelyif given the opportunity.

Job-seekers throng Alausafor employment

Businessman charged withN8.4m fraud

BY MONSUR OLOW-OOPEJO

NO fewer than 1000j o b - s e e k e r s

yesterday thronged thepremises of the LagosState Secretariat, Alausa,to submit applicationsfor employments in to thestate‘s civil service.

Vanguard gatheredthat the applicantstrooped into thesecretariat as early as8:00 am, to submit theircompleted applicationforms at the Lagos CivilService Commission,building.

However, a goodnumber of the applicantswere seen making franticefforts to obtain theirapplication forms,seeking enquiries and

help from those who hadalready completedtheirs.

Owners of businesscentres within Alausasecretariat had a fieldday, as applicantspatronise their outlets tomake photocopies oftheir documents and tookpassport photographs.

One of the applicants,Mr. Bolaji Samuel saidhe had applied for a jobin the state‘s civil servicein the hope of gettingsomething better thanhis present marketingjob.

According to Samuel,“At present I work as amarketer but I mustconfess it is not betterthan a menial job as it isstrenuous and hardlygives me any reward orsatisfaction.”

BY BARTHOLOMEWMADUKWE & EM-

MANUEL IBUWARISO

Hoodlums attack LPchieftains in Owo

BY DAYO JOHNSON

AKURE — AT least,six persons have

been arrested followingbreakdown of law andorder in Owo councilarea of Ondo State aheadof the October 20governorship election.

According to reportsthe hoodlums numberingabout 12 drove in a whitebus invaded theresidence of a Labour

Party member, Mr. AdeOmoloja but when theycould not find himunleashed terror onpeople in the areaincluding Mrs. AbimbolaFagbade, Omoloja’spregnant wife, injuringher with sharp objects.

A report said the thugslater went berserk as theycontinued to harass Oworesidents shootingsporadically.

Police authorities in thestate confirmed theviolent clash in the townbut said the number ofthose arrested would bemade public later.

Image maker of theCommand, AdeniranAremu, said however,that the situation hasbeen put under control.

A 43-year-old Lagosbusinessman, Fatai

Adetunji, has been ar-raigned before a TinubuMagistrate Court in La-gos, for allegedly obtain-ing N8.4 million fromVictor Olufunsho andOlushola Lawanson un-der false pretense.

The accused, who re-sides at No. 5, OdunfaStreet in Lagos, was saidto have on August 17,2012 collected N6 millionfrom Olufunsho with apromise to remit themoney to account No.00187538 at HalifaxBank, UK, owned byMrs. Yetunde Sarumi,Olufunsho’s sister.

He was also accused ofhaving collected 9, 235pounds (N2.4 million)from Olushola Lawansonunder false pretenses;

offences said to have con-travened Sections 285,312 and 409 of the Crim-inal Code, Laws of LagosState.

Adetunji is standing tri-al on a three-countcharge of conspiracy, ob-taining money underfalse pretenses and steal-ing. However, when hisplea was taken beforeMagistrate MartinsOwumi, he pleaded notguilty to the charges pre-ferred against him.

Owumi granted the ac-cused bail in the sum ofN500, 000 with two sure-ties in like sum, afterasking him if he couldpay back the money with-in a year for amicablesettlement of the matterand he replied inthe affirmative.

The case wasadjourned to October10, 2012 for further hear-ing.

A BOOK entitled“Entrepreneurship afterRetirement” written byProfessor Femi Pearsewill be presented to thepublic today at the AgipRecital Hall, MusonCentre, Onikan, Lagosat 11 a.m.

Book launch

CMYK


S-West PDP chides Aregbesolaover appointments

ACO debunksMImiko’sperformanceclaim

BY GBENGA OKE

THE AkeredoluC a m p a i g n

Organisation, ACO, hasthrough its Director ofMedia, Publicity andStrategy, Mr. IdowuAjanaku, dismissedclaims by GovernorOlusegun Mimiko ofOndo State that hisadministration hasperformed well in thelast three years.

The group alsodescribed as baselessand untrue claims by theGovernor that tertiaryinstitutions in the statepay the least tuition feesin the South-West and aminimum wage ofN22,000.

ACO described thestatement credited to thegovernor a cheappropaganda gearedtowards hoodwinkingOndo State indigines tovote for them at thef o r t h c o m i n ggubernatorial elections.

According to thespokesperson of ACO,Mr. Idowu Ajanaku,Ondo people cannot bedeceived with emptypromises again by theMimiko administration.

Ogun PDP tackles Amosunover workers' strike

BY DAUD OLATUNJI

THE PeoplesDemocratic Party,

PDP, in the South-Westhas decried the refusal ofthe Action Congress ofNigeria, ACN, governorof Osun State, Mr. RaufAregbesola to appoint aHead Of Service, HOS,and PermanentSecretaries in the state.

The PDP said it was anaberration and outrightillegality that GovernorAregbesola will also,alongside his functions asa governor, beperforming the functionsof Commissioner for

Works while his Depu-ty, Laoye Tomori holdsthe office of the Com-missioner for Educationin addition to her posi-tion as the Deputy Gov-ernor.

According to astatement issuedyesterday by the PDPZonal PublicitySecretary, Mr. KayodeBabade, “Osun Statedoes not have a Headof Service since theimmediate past HOS,Mr. Segun Akinwusiretired two months ago,,no Commissioners for

Works and Educationsince Aregbesola be-came governor 22months ago and thereare only six PermanentSecretaries left in theState Civil Service.

“It should also be notedthat in flagrantdisregard to Sections192, 193 and 195 of the1999 Constitution of theFederal Republic ofNigeria, Aregbesola didnot appoint a singlecommissioner untilAugust 12, 2011, eightmonths after he becamegovernor.”

“Also, despite that

there are only six Per-manent Secretaries inthe State Civil Service,the governor has re-fused to appoint SeniorDirectors as PermanentSecretaries since lastyear. Instead, he usesconsultants in minis-tries instead of Perma-nent Secretaries.

“In addition, instead ofappointing a new HOSto replace Akinwusi,who retired two monthsago, Aregbesola is plan-ning to appoint some-one from Lagos State,who will transfer his ser-vice to Osun State.

ABEOKUTA—TheP e o p l e s ’

Democratic Party, PDP,in Ogun State yesterdaycondemned thedisagrement betweenOgun State governmentand the workers in the20 local governmentareas of the state whichresulted in a strikeaction.

The party through astatement signed byPublicity Secretary, Mr.Bidemi Osunbiyiblamed Amosun ofinsincerity, describingthe action of the localgovernment council staffas “medicine after

death”.It would be recalled

that, workers in all thelocal government areasof the state hadembarked on strike actionover unpaid salaries andallowances.

According Osunbiyi,the situation of thestriking workers in the 20councils could still be“salvaged” consideringthe support Amosun’sgovernment receivedfrom the people.

He blamed the councilworkers for not showinginterest when the stateHouse of Assemblypassed into law the billon joint peojects betweenthe state and thecouncils.

He said “where werethese workers and theirunions when the stateHouse of Assemblyhurriedly passed a bill onthe joint projects betweenthe state and thecouncils? The law hasamong others given legalbacking to the desire ofthe governor to make thecouncils extension of thegovernor ’s office. Youdon’t close your eyes andallow someone todetermine your futurewithout your input.

“It was this desire thatrobbed the state of a freeand fair local governmentelection last July 21because the oppositionchairmen would notcooperate”.


Fresh oil spill hits Bayelsa communityBY SAMUEL OYADONGHA

BY CLIFFORD NDUJIHE

Delta: ACN group hailsdissolution of DESOPADEC

Oshiomhole on 2nd term: We'llincrease GDP, create wealthBY SIMON EBEGBULEM

Shift Okada deadline to April2013, students beg Uduaghan

YENAGOA—A fresh

crude oil spill hasbeen reported at Obamaflow station trunk linebelonging to NigerianAgip Oil Company inNembe creek, NembeLocal Government Areaof Bayelsa State.

The spill, according tothe natives, has disrupt-ed fishing activities inthe creek and waterwaysand is spreading at highspeed due to the currentof the water and movinginto the creeks of Igbeta-Ewoama, Iwokiri,Sabaturo and other fish-ing settlements and com-munities of Nembe King-dom.

A local fisherman wassaid to have spotted theleakage, last week, whileon a fishing expedition.

The natives accusedAgip of performing a badjob on the repair of a sim-ilar ruptured trunk linethat caused huge oilspillage sometime in

July.Speaking on the latest

spill, Chairman, Oil andGas Committee of NembeKingdom, Chief NengiJames, said though theoil producing areas hadrepeatedly called for areview to the approachby oil exploration compa-nies to spillages andmop ups, the situation inNembe Kingdom was pa-thetic and required ur-gent attention.

He called on the com-pany to change the trun-kline instead of doingshabby repairs to makequick returns.

Lamenting the plight ofthe people of the oil richregion, James said: “Oilcompanies operating inthe Niger Delta are nowusing harmful chemicalsto suppress and induceoil spill into the water,with injurious effects onsea foods, living organ-

ism and human beings.”He urged the oil com-

panies operating inNembe Kingdom andbeyond to have humanface in their operationalenvironments ratherthan employing blamegame tactics by sayingall spills are caused bysaboteurs while in effectthey are running awayfrom paying compensa-tions to spill affectedcommunities.

BENIN — G O V E RNOR Adams Osh-

iomhole of Edo State,weekend, said his ad-ministration would con-centrate on expandingthe economy of the stateby increasing the GrossDomestic Product, GDPand creating wealth dur-ing his second term.

Speaking during the

visit of the managementof Nigeria Institute forOil Palm Research, NI-FOR, led by its ExecutiveDirector, Dr. Omoefe Ase-mota, the governor saidthis would be done in ad-dition to ongoing infra-structural developmentand urban renewal pro-gramme in the state.

He said: “In this sec-ond term, it is clear to methat we have to sustain

what we are already do-ing but also focus on ex-panding the economy ofthe state, increasing theGDP and creatingwealth.

“To get full value of therural roads we have con-structed, agriculturemust be taken seriouslyand I have directed theCommissioner for Agri-culture that we have tobe more active.”

Expressing the readi-ness of the state govern-ment to collaborate withNIFOR, Oshiomholesaid: “The Dangotegroup has indicated in-terest to invest about N1billion in oil palm in thestate when land is pro-vided and we are work-ing to keep the peoplebusy by planting cassa-va not only for domesticconsumption but also forexport.”

Speaking earlier, Dr.Asemota commendedthe governor's efforts atrepositioning the statewithin the last fouryears, especially in thearea of agriculture.

BY EMMA AMAIZE

Youths lay siege to DESOPADEC

WA R R I — H U NDREDS of plac-

ard-carrying youths fromoil communities in DeltaState, weekend, tookover Delta State Oil Pro-ducing Areas Develop-ment Commission,DESOPADEC, office inWarri, in protest over thedissolution of the boardby the state House ofAssembly.

Some of the placardsread: “We will not take

this decision by theHouse of Assembly,”“Marginalisation cancause ethnic crisis,” “Noto unwarranted interfer-ence from lawmakers,”among others.

Following the protest,combat-ready soldiersand mobile policemenwere deployed to protectthe office complex.

Delta State House ofAssembly dissolvedDESOPADEC board,last Wednesday, citingnon-performance.

Niger Delta activist andVice President of ItsekiriNational Youth Council,INYC, who spoke to Van-guard, yesterday, said:“The House acted in badfaith.”

Omolubi insisted thatthe House rushed to dis-solve the board that wasfighting to bring devel-opment to the people ofthe state, adding, “Theboard was not even al-lowed to approve anybudget before it was dis-solved.”

BY TOMMY ANADUAKA

STUDENTS in Delta

State, under the ae-gis of National Associa-tion of Nigerian Stu-dents, NANS/Joint Cam-pus Committee, JCC,have appealed to thestate government to shiftthe deadline given tocommercial motorcycleoperators, commonlycalled Okada, to April 1,2013.

Mr. Koyoyo Uhrorho,chairman of NANS, Del-ta State Chapter, in a

statement, appealed toGovernor Emmanuel Ud-uaghan, to shift the inter-diction on Okada in ma-jor cities in the state toApril next year to enablethem, being breadwin-ners, ample time to diver-sify their source of liveli-hood.

Commending the stategovernment for distribut-ing enough tricycles thatwould accommodate alarger percentage of the“mobilised” Okadamen,NANS advised the Oka-da riders to remain calm.

ACTION Congress

of Nigeria, ACN,chieftains in Delta State,known as ACN Demo-crats, have hailed the dis-solution of Delta State OilProducing Areas Devel-opment Commission,DESOPADEC, by thestate House of Assembly,saying that the move waslong overdue becausethe commission had notaddressed the problemsfor which it was set up.

The commission wasdissolved on September12 and is to be re-consti-tuted in two weeks time.

But before the body isre-constituted, ACNDemocrats leader, Mr.

A.Mene, urged theHouse to amend the lawsetting up DESOPADECto put it in tandem withthe law creating the 13per cent derivation toensure economic and so-cial justice in Delta State.

He said: “The 13 percent derivation fund ismeant for the develop-ment of the oil producingareas only to address theenvironmental degrada-tion occasioned by oil ex-ploration in these areas.

“The law creating DES-OPADEC which stipu-lates that only 50 per centof the 13 per cent deriva-tion fund should be giv-en to the commission isagainst the spirit and let-ters of the law creatingthe fund.”

CONFERENCE: From left: Dr. Augustine Omoh of the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital;Aniekan Umanah, Akwa Ibom State Commissioner for Information and Communication and Mr.Gbenga Adefaye, President, Nigerian Guild of Editors and Editor-in-Chief/GM Publication,Vanguard Newspapers, during an interactive session with the doctor after the 8th All NigerianEditors Conference in Uyo. Photo: Nwankpa Chijioke.


Outgoing Perm Sec tasks Ministeron East-West Road

BY CHRIS OCHAYI

BY SIMON EBEGBULEM

Ogbemudia @ 80, saysNigeria better as federation

CONTRACT SIGNING: From left: Chairman Chevy Chase Nig. Ltd., Dr. Chris Edordu; ProjectPromoter/Chairman, Bliss International Hotels, Mr. Tony Ubogu; Managing Director, China RailwayNO 3 Engineering Group Nig. Ltd., Mr. Zhang Kibin and Project Consultant/Chairman, CEO, CharlesAdebiyi Consulting Ltd., Chief Charles Adebiyi, at the contract signing ceremony of proposed develop-ment of Protea Hotel, Asaba, Delta State, held in Lagos, weekend.

OUTGOING Perma

nent Secretary inthe Ministry of Niger Del-ta Affairs, Alhaji SheiduOzigis, has challengedthe Minister, Elder Gods-day Orubebe, to work as-siduously to complete theEast-West Road projectwithin the stipulated time,so that his name would bewritten on the sands oftime.

Alhaji Ozigis, who de-scribed the dualisation ofthe road as the ministry’sflagship project, ex-

pressed confidence that“despite the financial sit-uation of the ministry, I amvery impressed with theway the Minister and histeam are working dedicat-edly to ensure that theprojected was completed.”

Speaking at a farewellparty organised in hishonour, following his re-tirement from the civilservice in Abuja, Ozigisrecalled that when he re-sumed at the ministry,they met challenges ofdifferent types, but theywere committed and pas-sionate to deliver themandate on the ministry.

“When I came to theMinistry of Niger DeltaAffairs, I was receivedwith open mind by theMinister, Elder Orubebeand the Minister of State,Hajia Zainab Kuchi, andafter some time, withoutskirmishes, I felt at easethat now I have humanepeople as ministers.

“We were unable to movemountain in the ministry.We met different chal-lenges but one thing truckme, the commitment andpassion exhibited by theMinister and the Minis-ter of State, the Directorsand everybody."

Fuel scarcity: NNPC increases dailytruck loading

NIGERIAN NationalPetroleum Corpora-

tion, NNPC, said, yes-terday, that it had in-creased daily loading ofpetroleum products bytrucking, following thedamage of System 2Bdistribution pipeline atArepo, in Ogun State,which resulted in thecurrent scarcity of fuel inmajor parts of the Southfrom Lagos to Ilorin andbeyond.

Accordingly, the corpo-ration said that dailysupply of products tomarketers have in-creased as follows:

Folawiyo tank farm from150 to 250 trucks;

MRS from 100 to 200trucks;

Capital Oil to 300trucks;

AITEO and NIPCO 100

and 70 trucks, respec-tively

The corporation, in astatement by its spokes-man, Mr. Fidel Pepple,said the move was partof measures to end thecurrent fuel scarcity be-ing witnessed in Lagosand some parts of thecountry.

He added that the cur-rent scarcity was as a re-sult of the “shut down ofSystem 2B, a major pipe-line that evacuates be-tween 9 to 11 million li-tres of fuel from Lagos toIbadan, Ilorin and theNorth due to vandalismby oil thieves someweeks ago.”

Consequently, he said,the corporation had toresorted to products dis-tribution by trucking,while assuring Nigeri-

ans that “NNPC hasstepped up fuel supplyto marketers and distrib-utors for effective andefficient supply of fuel.”

He added that fuel de-livery and supply to PortHarcourt, Aba and Cala-bar depots were also be-ing augmented, just asbridging to the Northhad been beefed up.

On the Arepo pipelinethat was vandalised byoil thieves where threeNNPC engineers werealso killed, Pepple saidthe corporation was col-laborating with securityagencies to fix the pipe-line in order to restorenormal fuel supply to theaffected areas.

He noted that the safe-ty and security of oilpipelines were the col-lective responsibility of

all citizens and appealedto the public to be vigi-lant and contribute tomaking oil installationssafe and secure.

BENIN — G O V E RNOR Adams Osh-

iomhole of Edo State,former military Head ofState, Gen. Yakubu Gow-on and former Chief ofArmy Staff, Gen. ChrisAlli (rtd), were amongdignitaries that gracedthe 80th birthday cele-bration of former gover-nor of old Bendel State,Dr. Samuel Ogbemudia.

Meanwhile, Ogbemu-dia has insisted that Ni-geria was better off as afederation than confed-eration, as being agitat-ed by some persons.

Calling for more auton-omy to be granted stateswith “corresponding in-crease in fiscal alloca-tion,” Ogbemudia ar-gued that to make thestates more viable in afederal system, the con-troversial derivationprinciple should bebased on 50 per cent,noting that if “confeder-ation and zonal aggre-gations are favoured,

there should be MidwestZone for Edo and Deltastates.”

He lamented the de-plorable state of sports inthe country, which hesaid “has the capacity togainfully and produc-tively engage half of ourunemployed youths.Look at what Europe andAmerica have done withsports. China has sincediscovered it and is tap-ping its dividends.Sports should, therefore,find a place, a prominentplace in our constitution.Government should takethe lead and encourageprivate sector participa-tion and eventual takeover. What I say aboutsports here also appliesto agriculture.”

Gowon, under whosemilitary administrationOgbemudia served asMilitary Administrator ofthe Mid-West and laterMilitary Governor ofMid-West State, said healways liked to remem-ber Ogbemudia as a ver-satile and resourcefulofficer and gentleman.

Vanguard, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2012 —13

Enugu CJ declines to vacate order against APGA chair

BY TONY EDIKE

Ban on Okadastill in force

—Abia govtBY ANAYO OKOLI

ENUGU—AN EnuguState High Court,

yesterday, declined tovacate the ex-parte orderit made on July 25, 2012restraining NationalChairman of AllProgressives Grand Alli-ance, APGA, Chief Vic-tor Umeh from conveninga national, state or localgovernment executivecommittee meeting of theparty.

Trial judge, also theChief Judge of the state,Justice InnocentUmezulike, who had ad-journed to rule on the

UMUAHIA—ABIAState Government

has warned that the banplaced on the operationsof commercial motorcy-cles popularly known asOkada in the state wasstill in force.

The government saidthe warning was neces-sary as it had been ob-served that the use ofmotorcycle as means oftransportation wasgradually resurfacing inAba, the commercial cityof the state.

Chief Press Secretary toGovernor Theodore Orji,Mr. Ugochukwu Emezuein a statement, weekend,said that the ban on theuse of Okada was still inforce in Umuahia, Abaand major towns in thestate.

Emezue, said thosewho were involved in theillegal act were warnedto desist from it, addingthat security agencieshad been directed to ar-rest any offender forprosecution.

He warned that thestate government wasserious over the issue ofsecurity in the state,hence anybody foundsabotaging the efforts ofgovernment in this re-gard would not bespared.

preliminary objection byUmeh, against the juris-diction of the court toentertain the case, yes-terday, said he wouldrather wait for the out-come of the appeal chal-lenging the validity ofthe prolonged interimorder made by the court,which the defendant con-tended should not havelasted more than twoweeks.

In a ruling that lastedclose to two hours, Jus-tice Umezulike, said thatsince the defendant hadapproached the Court ofAppeal to challenge theinterim order made by

him, it would be wrongfor him to do anythingfurther on the order “soI had decided to wait forthe outcome of the ap-peal.”

He said that eventhough the interim in-junction ought not tohave lasted beyond July31, 2012 when partiesappeared before thecourt and made submis-sions in support of theircase, the notice of appealserved his court made itimperative for him to stepdown further action onthe order until the appel-late court rule on the ap-peal.

He said: “I am boundto wait for the decisionof the Court of Appealas to whether the interimorder was right orwrong. I should not beseen to be locking hornswith the Appeal Court onthis matter. I had, there-fore, decided to remandmy ruling on the interimorder.”

On the preliminary ob-jection, JusticeUmezulike held that itwould not be in the in-terest of justice to deter-mine it without hearingthe substantive motionbrought by the plaintiff,

Mr. Jude Okuli, whichcentered on his “wrong-ful expulsion from APGAfor alleged anti-party ac-tivities.”

He adjourned the mat-ter till September 24,2012 for parties to arguethe originating summon.

It will be recalled thatthe interim order grantedby the court had abortedthe National ExecutiveCommittee, NEC meet-ing of APGA slated forAbuja on August 1 andthe meeting had not beenrescheduled owing to thesubsisting ex-parte orderof the court.

LAGUS—ASSOCIATION of Anambra State

Development Unions,AASDU, in Lagos State, hasconcluded its election in La-gos.

In a keenly contestedelection conducted by a Pa-tron of the Association andsupervised by some mem-bers of Board of Trustees,BOT led by Chief C.Ifeanyi. The officers were fi-nally elected in a process notonly considered free andfair but devoid of rancourand acrimony. Thoseelected were 1st Vice Presi-dent, Sir OnuorahOrji; 2ndVice President, Mr. BenChukwukelu; General Sec-retary, Mr. Emeka Nwosu;2nd Assistant Secretary, Mr.Emeka Onwujiobi; Treas-urer, Mr. Iyke Okwuma;Publicity Secretary, Mr.Ejike Metu; Assistant Fi-nancial Seceretary, Mr.Sam Okpanduka; Directorof Socials, EvangelistC.C.Iwegbune; Asst Direc-tor of Socials, Mr. Ezenwile;Legal Adviser, Mr EmekaOdikpo and UcheDikenafayi,Provost.

AASDU inLagos getsnew exco

14—Vanguard, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER, 18, 2012

BY VINCENT UJUMADU

Steer clear of Orient Petroleum,Anambra youths warn Kogi,Enugu states

CLO faults Chime over planneddemolition of secretariatBY INNOCENT ANABA

ENUGU—CIVIL Liberties Organisation,

CLO, has faulted plans byGovernor Sullivan Chimeof Enugu State to demol-ish the state secretariat com-plex and build a new oneat the cost of N13.6 billion.

CLO said it learnt that theold but very strong build-ings at the secretariatwould be demolished topave way for the erectionof a new weak secretariat,adding that the project wasnot included in the 2012budget appropriated by thestate House of Assemblyled by Mr. Eugene Odogu.

AWKA—THE youthwing of Association

of Anambra Town Un-ions, ASATU, yesterdaywarned Kogi and Enugustates, which are layingclaims to the oil deposits inAnambra State to steer clearof the newly-commissionedOrient Petroleum at AguleriOtu in Anambra East LocalGovernment Area or be pre-pared for a showdown.

Rising from a meeting inAwka, the youths said, itamounted to bad blood forthe two states to want toreap from where they didnot sow.

The youths described asunfortunate, a situation

Don't politicise demolition, Abiagovt tells opposition

UMUAHIA—ABIAState Government

has said that it was un-charitable for the opposi-tion to politicise theplanned demolition of il-legal structures in the state.

It, however, warned thatthe demolition of illegalstructures in Aba despiteits politicisation by the few“who will never see anygood about Abia State willgo ahead as scheduled be-cause it is for the generalpurpose of enhancing con-ducive and comfortable liv-ing standard for the peo-ple.”

Mr. Ben Onyechere, Spe-cial Adviser to the Gover-nor on Public Communica-tion, in a statement saidthat the vituperation of theopposition in the stateabout the developmentpace was not only “insin-cere but highly insensitive,irrespective of the fact thatthey are talking from thediaspora. It is assumed that

tion, particularly inUmuahia and Aba wherethe cities are been rebuilt.

“The government is how-ever encouraged in it’sreconstructive efforts by thesupport of the majority, whoare aware that it is in theinterest of Abians that wa-terways should be openedup so that road construc-tions can be enhanced."

they should be getting feed-backs from the state, be-cause opposition should notonly be about falsehood.

“ It is highly dishearten-ing for anybody not to ac-knowledge the expansion-ist programmes of theTheodore Orji administra-

Rep raises alarm over flood inAnambra

VISIT: Mr Ejike Metu, Publicity Secretary, Association of Anambra StateDevelopment Unions, AASDU (left) and Mr. Mideno Bayagbon, Editor, Van-guard Newspapers, during a condolence visit by Mr. Ejike on behalf of theUnion to Vanguard Media Limited on the death of Mr. Ogbonna Amadi, formerVanguard Entertainment Editor, at Vanguard Corporate Headquarters, Apapa,Lagos, yesterday. Photo: Shola Oyelese.

wherethe two states waitedwhile successive adminis-trations in Anambra Statemade effective investmentstowards the realisation ofOrient Petroleum, only toshow up when success hadbeen achieved.

President of the associa-tion, Mr. Osita Ozalagba,said what was needed in thearea after many years of toil-ing by the people ofAnambra State to realise theproject was peace andurged agitators not to dis-tract the company and itsoperations.

The association alsourged youths in AguleriOtu, where Orient Petro-leum is situated not to al-

low violence to defeat theeconomic benefits, assuringthat Anambra youths wouldassist in ensuring adequatesecurity of lives and prop-erty in the area.

“It is on record that suc-cessive administrations inAnambra State had sacri-ficed and invested greatlytowards the success story ofOrient Petroleum and it istherefore, surprising thatthese two states (Kogi andEnugu) suddenly woke upfrom their slumber to beginto lay claims to what is nottheirs. Our humble adviceto the two states is for themto mobilise their resourcestowards striking oil in theirown land instead of play-ing the role of meddlesomeinterlopers.”

It argued that since samewas not captured in thebudget, it was crime pun-ishable under our law forthe state government to goahead with the plan.

CLO Executive Director,Mr Ibuchukwu Ezike, in astatement in Lagos, said“we are worried by the in-tention of Chime’s govern-ment to spend Enugu peo-ple’s money without re-course to fiscal regulations,due process and the rule oflaw, and in view of the factthat “As at today, all the in-dustries in the state havecollapsed and thousands ofthe youth, populated bygraduates, roam the streets

of Enugu without jobs.Aboveall, hunger, povertyand social dislocationswhich had widened thegap between the thievingpoliticians and the poor inNigeria are worse andthreatening in the state.

“Aside the above, the sec-retariat was only renovatedthis year with large sums ofthe people’s money. One ofour contention is; if the gov-ernor knew that his govern-ment was going to demol-ish the secretariat and buildweaker structures to replacethe strong and solid onesbuilt by the British, why didhe waste public funds onrenovation of the old build-ings few months ago.?"

BY OKEY NDIRIBE

ABUJA—DEPUTYChairman House of

Representatives Committeeon Media Affairs, Mr AfamOgene, has raised alarmover the possibility of a re-peat of the flood that re-cently ravaged Ogbaru fed-eral constituency inAnambra State.

He said that the concernwas based on a meteoro-logical warning, which in-dicated that there was alikelihood of a repeat flood

in the area in the comingdays.

He described the previ-ous flood in the constitu-ency as a grave disaster.

In a statement, yesterday,in Abuja, Ogene who rep-resents the constituencybemoaned the destructiveeffect of the flood that threat-ened communities in thearea.

He called on NationalEmergency ManagementAgency, NEMA and otherrelevant agencies, to ur-gently come to the aid of theaffected areas.

CMYK


DR. SAMUEL OGBEMUDIA'S 80TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

From left— Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State; Dr. Samuel Osaig-bovo Ogbemudia, his wife, and Senator Felix Ibru, at the celebration of Dr.Ogbemudia's 80th birthday in Benin, yesterday.

Mr. Sam Ogbemudia Jnr. (right) and Mr. Nath Bunuju.

Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, former Edo State Governor (left),and Brig.-Gen. Obi Umahi.

From right— Prof. Oserheimen Osunbor, former Edo State Governor; Gen.Godwin Abbey (rtd), and other dignitaries.

CMYK


CMYK


National honours listand critics

A FEW years ago Nigerians were voted the happiest peo-

ple on earth. We did not reject theAward which lumped all of us, happyand unhappy ones together. Howev-er, that is no longer true today. Any-body who does not know that Nigeri-ans are angry; angry at anything andreally lashing out does not live here.This anger has had the tendency toturn the most innocuous issue into amonumental controversy. And whenit comes to controversy, trust Nigeri-ans, everybody yells to be heard andeverybody fights to sink his teeth init! If you think you are the only experton even your exclusive professionalcalling or assigned responsibility,then, you have not been living here,my friend.

Prior to imposing the Structural Ad-justment Programme on us in 1986,were we not made to debate the IMFloan? And did we disappoint? DidNigerians not show our dexterity ineconomic matters like the IMF condi-tionalities and World Bank better thanDr Kalu Idika Kalu, KIK? Even mar-ket associations from Balogun to Ari-aria organized IMF debates. Everysophomoric economist got a Ph.Dabusing Kalu Idika Kalu.

Alternative toIMF conditionalities

Don’t ask me where that got us be-cause nobody ever wants to discussthat now, especially after the authorsof the alternative to IMF conditional-ities, SAP, have all vamoosed. But you

that public servants must be seen, notheard. So it may not be very public toyou and me what a Public Servant hasbeen doing silently to merit a nation-al honour. So I find it very embarrass-ing, not for but for Prof Tam David-West, to make such jaundiced com-ment on Justice Mary Ukaego Odili,JSC. I say jaundiced because where-as Prof David-West sees no flaws withMajor-General Muhammadu Buhari(and am not saying there is), he hasno kind word for Gen Ibrahim Ba-bangida who sent him to jail for a cupof tea (was it Earl Grey tea?) and aSwiss wrist watch. In like manner Idon’t expect him to acknowledge themerits of the wife of Dr. Peter Odiliwith whom he has a lingering beef.But anybody as respected as Prof Dav-id-West, is expected to rein in his prej-udices, if he cannot rise above them.

The Prof was simply petty about Jus-tice Odili. Apart from being Dr. PeterOdili’s wife, what else does Prof Dav-id-West know about Justice MaryOdili’s personal life, character andcareer? Is it how long on the bench orhow well?

Rejectionof honours

What makes one a role model? If Jus-tice Mary Odili does not qualify as arole model to Prof David-West becauseshe is not a fossil on the Bench, herachievements at her youthful age arethe very reasons she is a role modelto all who know her!

And those who have forgotten sosoon and are now breezily placing ProfChinua Achebe’s rejection of the ho-nours out of context should remem-ber that his reasons were well adver-tised. When Prof Achebe rejected thenational honour from PresidentObasanjo it was because of the polit-ical crises and the sufferings in thecountry, particularly the shenanigansin his home state, Anambra, where

the honours list to pieces! Mind you,the release of the list came on the heelsof the investiture of 25 new Senior Ad-vocates of Nigeria; that is, the innerchambers of the Bar, those who drinkfirst before the other lawyers in thecourt! Those whose cases are takenfirst before the small fries and who getall the controversial, if you like, thepolitically exposed cases! I saw someof those who yesterday berated theSAN awards as discriminatory andunworthy of the Nigerian legal prac-tice. I saw those who decried the num-ber of yearly awardees as too large.Now they no longer see anythingwrong with the prestigious title, SAN!

I have followed the criticism of thelist of honourees with interest. Thecritics are not serious! First, you wouldthink that the critics know how the listwas arrived at or if it violates the ex-isting law on national honours. Butfrom what they are saying, they do not.If so, can the critics assume that theyknow the nominees better than thosewho nominated them?

How then can you question the“achievements” of people you hardlyknow? Why is it so easy in this coun-try to abuse and condemn people

those close to Obasanjo (renegades hecalled them) trashed Anambra statewithout being punished. When thesecond time he rejected it from Presi-dent Jonathan, he said the conditionsfor which he rejected it the first timehad not changed. Achebe’s rejectionwas a protest and had nothing to dowith the caliber of other nominees onthe list and he never discredited thelist or the honours! I concede that weall have the democratic right to com-ment on any matter we wish. But suchcomments must be sensible and fac-tual. I would have thought that wewould be fair to allow those who werenominated for awards to be the onesto reject or accept them. When it getsto our turn, we are at liberty to act aswe wish. If we want the criteria forNational Honours changed, it does notrequire impugning the integrity of re-cipients or politicizing the Honours toeffect a change.

,

,list several times since the controver-sy. What I see is that people are hyp-ocritically selective in condemning it.They pick out and celebrate theirfriends who, in their opinion, deservethe honours, while they rubbish therest of the list, either because it con-tains names of those they don’t liketheir faces! For example it is mereopinion, not fact, that a businessmandeserves the honour more than a pub-lic servant.

There may be another opinion that,wait a minute, we do not know whatunderhand methods by which thebusinessman got to where he is to-day! We may not have factored intoour assessment how much the busi-ness mogul may have cheated theeconomy or how much of our foreignexchange he may have guzzled quitedisproportionate to his contribution tothe economy or his wage bill!

It used to be an established norm

Why is it so easy in this countryto abuse and condemn peoplebased on whom and what weassume they are? Why must ev-ery policy satiate our own indi-vidual wishes, irrespective ofother facts of the matter?

know, people are still either ignorant-ly or mischievously dumping the SAPdisaster on the doorsteps of KIK whowas reassigned to the Ministry ofPlanning, and later Transport for SAPto be forced on us!

Now Sanusi Lamido Sanusi wantsto introduce N5000 note and, as usu-al, every Nigerian has become an ex-pert on inflation! “Don’t dare to intro-duce N5000 note!” everybody yells atSLS! The people who have not spo-ken are the bankers and those of uswho are already carrying cashlesswallets! Wetin concern udele (the vul-ture) and the barber?

As if on cue, another controversyburst loose on the land when the listof those to be conferred with nationalhonours was released last week. NowSLS can have a respite as we chew

based onwhom andwhat we as-sume theyare? Whymust everypolicy satiateour own indi-vidual wish-es, irrespec-tive of otherfacts of thematter?

I have gonethrough the

CMYK

OPINION

18 — Vanguard, TUESDAY, SEPTENBER 18, 2012

The Christian nameBY PAUL KOKOSKI

FOR centuries the practice of naming one’s childafter a saint was almost second nature. Typically,

Catholics named their child after the saint on whoseday he was born. Over the past few decades, however,the invasion of secularism and moral relativism hasworked to undermine the family and religious faiththreatening, in turn, this and other such Christian tra-ditions. Swept away by the lack of stable cultural refer-ences and by the rapid transformation of society wesee more and more Catholic parents naming their chil-dren whatever seems to suit their fancy.

Sir Bob Geldof, for example, has daughters named“Pixie” and “Peaches”. Victoria and David Beckhamcalled their first son “Brooklyn”, after the district of NewYork. In 2008, a couple in Italy sought to name theirson “Friday” after Robinson Crusoe’s manservant. Ita-ly’s highest court rightly denied this request saying itwas “ridiculous” and would expose the child to mock-ery from his classmates. Naming children after celebri-ties, perfumes, bicycles and countries, as is often thecase today, puts limits on children’s potential. Chil-dren are not merchandise or commodities.

Recent records show that the name “Mary” - whichin every year from 1910-1965 was either the first or thesecond most popular girls’ name - is no longer even inthe top 100. The names of the foster-father of Jesusand of the four evangelists were also firmly entrenchedin the top 10 each year during that period. The nameJoseph is now 16th, Matthew is 13th, John is 26th,Luke is 48th, and Mark is 154th.

The name given to a child is the name that child willbe referred to for the rest of his life. He will hear thatname perhaps millions of times. It cannot help buthave a profound impact on the child’s developmentand self-identity. If a child is given a neologism or aname that is common to both boys and girls he orshe is likely to have a lifetime of misaddressed en-velopes, unnecessary hassles, and other tiresomeor embarrassing gender-confused situations.

Parents who name their child after a soap opera star,professional athlete, rock star, or reality show person-ality, will not only be manifesting a regrettable super-ficiality, but will also be linking their child to someonewho almost certainly will be irrelevant when they be-come adults.

Sacred Scripture tells us that God took names veryseriously. He changed the names of Abram to

Abraham, Sarai to Sarah, Jacob to Israel and Simon toPeter. He commanded Zechariah to name his son John,and Joseph to name Mary’s Son Jesus: “You shall callHis name Jesus, for He shall save His people fromtheir sins”. To give someone a name is a sacred act; itis a participation in God’s creative plan. Such a sol-emn responsibility should be carried out with prayerand joyful seriousness rather than done capriciouslyand in careless ignorance of the consequences.

Pope Benedict XVI recently said that in baptism, theChristian “acquires the character of the son of God,

beginning with their Christian name, an unmistakablesign that the Holy Spirit causes man to be born anew inthe womb of the Church”. This “indelible spiritual seal”raises the baptized person to the supernatural orderand sets him off on a lifelong “journey of religious faith“. After baptism the child must be educated in the faith,instructed in accordance with Sacred Scripture and theteachings of the Church so that the seed of faith re-ceived in baptism will grow within him and that hemay attain full Christian maturity.

Naming a child after a Christian saint or Biblical herois a concrete reminder for the child and everyone elsethat God is calling that child, like his or her Christiannamesake, to holiness and heaven where the mysteri-ous and unique character of each person marked withGod’s name will eventually shine forth in splendor.

The patron saint provides a model of charity and theassurance of his prayer. For Catholics, naming theirchildren after saints is an acknowledgment that theytruly believe in the communion of saints. Thus, whenwe choose a Christian name for our child, we shouldhave a particular saint in mind. Is Margaret namedafter Saint Margaret of Scotland or Saint Margaret MaryAlacoque? Is Francis named after Saint Francis of Assi-si or St. Francis Xavier?

As Christians, we never walk through this life alone,but in communion with all the saints. And that realityshould be reflected in the names we give to our chil-dren.

*Mr Kokoski wrote from 234 Columbia Drive Hamilton,Ontario, Canada.

Mismanaging infrastructuredeficit

NIGERIANS are hurt about the inadequa- cy of basic facilities the country requires

to run effectively. Their absence affects eco-nomic and social life. Many Nigerians con-sider the situation irredeemable.

Unknown to them, the country has added toinfrastructure challenges by mismanaging thefew that are available or refusing to createlinkages that could result in their optimal use.

Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa IbomState told the Annual Nigerian Guild of Edi-tors Conference in Uyo about disconnectionbetween the federal and state governments inmanaging infrastructure nationwide. Two oth-er governors at the event — Dr. EmmanuelUduaghan (Delta) and Air Commodore Jon-ah Jang (Plateau) — confirmed the situation.

The concern was roads. Uyo has been cut offfrom Calabar (Cross River State), Aba andUmuahia (both in Abia State). The roads areall federal, but Akpabio said the Federal Min-istry of Works turned down his requests to fixthe roads, even if Abuja does not refund theexpenses.

Uduaghan spoke of the Warri-Asaba Ex-pressway, a federal road, he had envisionedto evacuate goods from Warri Ports to connect

markets in Onitsha and Nnewi. The FederalMinistry of Works told him to hands off theroad.

Jang said the same Federal Ministry ofWorks said he would not get refunds for fed-eral roads that he did in Plateau State, whichPresident Goodluck Jonathan promised to payfor, when he commissioned them.

More governors have more stories to tellabout their dealings with the Federal Govern-ment. Even with electricity, whatever statesgenerate from independent power plants, islost in the inability of the Power HoldingCompany of Nigeria to provide enough trans-mission and distribution facilities.

Interestingly, the three concerned state gov-ernments belong to the Peoples Democratic

Party, PDP, the President’s party. If it is im-possible to agree about developing the coun-try among key officials of the PDP, what hap-pens when governors of non-PDP states arein the same quagmire?

The road links through Abia, Akwa Ibomand Cross River states would improve theireconomies, and possibly create better imageof PDP among the people. Why would theFederal Government reject something thatsimple and that could improve the economy?

A trip to Calabar, which ordinarily is lessthan an hour from Uyo, now takes about fivehours. Motorists avoid going to Aba fromAkwa Ibom. Should governments not be ea-ger to address the situation? Obviously, de-cision-makers in Abuja cannot appreciatethese challenges and their implications asmuch as those they affect.

The Federal Government should be grate-ful for partnerships with states that couldimprove infrastructure, especially with fed-eral roads that are becoming death traps na-tionwide.

Initiatives like the ones in Asaba, Jos andUyo should be encouraged not discouraged.

CMYK

Vanguard, TUESDAY,SEPTEMBER 18, 2012— 19

,

,

,

,BY NELSON MANGO

•Dr Mango is a rural development So-ciologist with Consultative Group on In-ternational Agricultural Research(CGIAR).

INSECURITY of life in Nigeriahas become the context

of social life in the country. Thewonder is that government isadapting to this condition ofinsecurity. Governance is goingon auto-pilot while societalinsecurity is treated as animportant issue. And this attitudeto the societal condition reveals astaggering lack of knowledge ofthe nature of Africa’s post colonialsocial structure. It is theimplication of this naiveté that isfrightening.

The point is that governmentproceeds the state in the grantingof autonomy to colonies ofEuropean empires. This fact iseasier to appreciate in the case ofthe granting of independence tothe Nigerian colony on October1, 1960. Independence for Nigeriameant institutionally that thecolony of Nigeria had now beengranted self-rule through theterminal election of 1959. Thetransformation of the colonialgovernment into the Nigeriangovernment was evolutionary.The colonial bureaucracy wasincreasingly transferred fromBritish control to Nigeriancontrol. Independence was

Method for choosing optionin US Army stabilityoperations(2)

through a process ofNigerianisation of theofficeholders and not of theoffices held. Indeed the Britishofficeholder had to be paid off,an issue that was raised byMargret Thatcher, the BritishPrime Minister, on her visit toNigeria. The import of this fact isin the nature of the colonialgovernment. The colonialgovernment was different fromthe British government at home.

The colonial government wasthe institution for theadministration of subject societiesreconstructed into sectors of themetropolitan imperial economy.The colonial government was tocontain rebellion and subduearmed opposition and resistanceto the rule of the empire in thecolony. It was an instrument oforder, that is an instrument ofdomination, first and foremost.And it played this role throughthe colonial security apparatusmade up of the Army, the Policeand the court system. The colonialgovernment contained the societyof the colony and was thus not aproduct of the society. This wasthe structural difference betweenthe metropolitan society and the

colonial society. Government inthe imperial metropole wasdependent upon the metropolitansociety and was the agent of theruling classes in England. In thecolony, the colonial governmentwas independent of the colonialsociety and was an instrument ofconquest and domination. Thiswas the nature of the governmentwhose administration wasNigerianised.

The constitutionalisation ofelection into the offices

of this government adapted foruse as the government of anindependent Nigeria did notchange the nature of governmentthat remained unchanged fromthe inception of independence.Nigerian government is a fusionof instruments of domination,pacification and administration.It exercises proprietary control ofthe society. This is why it was easyfor the military to shift control ofgovernment from the electedofficeholders to the organisers ofmilitary coups. This is why coupscan still be staged whenever sucha project is deemed important tothe ‘coupists’. The reason whythis is the case is becausegovernment still retains its nature

as an instrument of dominationand pacification irrespective ofthe constitutionalisation ofcompetition for office holdingamong parties organised for thatpurpose. Electoral parties are notparties of state. Parties of stateare organised to institute a statethrough which their sovereigntyis established. It is a state thatsecures the dominance of theparty in the society as it uses thestate to ensure its dominationover all competitors for sovereigncommand of society. Nigeria wascreated by the British imperialparties of state. The colony was anew structure of society securedby the British imperial state. Itwas through the order defendedby the state that the colony wasconstructed and its instrumentsof command and controlestablished. Within such acommand and control order ofsociety the colonial governmentcould be instituted for thedevelopment of the colony andfor its administration.Independence meant that Britishstate would no longer beresponsible for securing thecolonial government as itsadministration was Nigerianized.From 1960 to date thegovernment has had to functionwithout the security provided bya state. The only time in whichthe need for a state to be createdfor securing the society asenvisaged by parties of state wasthe Civil War. The war washowever fought by Gowon as awar to defeat secession and to re-establish a united Nigeria, thatis, Nigeria as transferred by theBritish to the electoral parties.The military rule has since thenbeen presented as a transitionbetween eras of civilianconstitutional administration ofthe offices of government. Aslong as Nigerian politics waslimited to competition for office-holding either between civilianpoliticians and military

politicians, or between factionsof these two governmental rivals,the structure of government hasremained unaltered. Governmenthas been able to secure societythrough domination andpacification. This has been sobecause the sole aim of bothcategories of politicians, civilianelected or military coupists hasbeen the holding of office, that isadministration and “growing”government, not its change ortransformation.

Now there is a change in thepolitics of Nigeria. The

overthrow of government hasbecome the context for multi-faceted threats undermining thesecurity of the Nigerian citizenry.Government is the structure ofthe integrity of society. Threats tothe viability of the government’scommand and control of societydoes not only result in theinstability of government but inthe likelihood of the unravelingof the social fabric. Somaliabecame a society of warlordsthrough the process of theoverthrow and fragmentation ofgovernment. Somalisation ispossible even when insurgenciesfail because the capacity ofgovernment to remain theintegrity and thus sustain theintegrity of society is weakenedor destroyed.

The collapse of governmenthas more severe consequencesthan the failure of the state. StateFailure results in the anarchy ofcontestations for power amongparties of state each capable ofmaintaining law and order in theareas it controls. Collapse ofgovernments, however, results inthe emergence of warlords,bandits, kidnappers, ethnic andcommunal feuds. We are seeingthe course of collapse ofgovernments as reported in themedia.

Continues next week

Achieving food security agenda inNigeria

LIVESTOCK in Nigeria plays a bigrole in the livelihood of farmers

and nutritional needs of the country.Livestock also contributes to farming inmany other ways. Animals are used asdraught power to pull plows or helpweed farmland, and cow dung is anexcellent fertilizer.

With so much at stake, farmers couldbenefit from simple, yet highly efficientways to increase the health andproductivity of their livestock. Thesefactors are often compromised whenanimals roam free in open pasture,exposed to disease vectors and left tofeed on unwholesome grasses andplants.

One technique that can be veryeffective in maintaining healthyproductive animals is a zero-grazingsystem.

In zero-grazing, livestock is kept installs all the time, and feed and waterare brought to the animals. Zero-grazing keeps animals healthier. It canward off diseases such as sleepingsickness caused by tse-tse flies and tickborne diseases, which are so prevalentthroughout Nigeria . Zero-grazing alsohelps farmers increase productivityeither from their current livestock orfrom the purchase of higher-yieldingbreeds of livestock which would not beable to thrive in an open pasture.

Zero-grazing has side benefits aswell. The increased efficiency of this

management practice means moreweight or milk can be produced per unitof feed eaten. Zero-grazing uses lessland to produce more nutritious fodderplants, which allows the farmer tomaximize the use of available land.Processes such as milking are easier toperform when the animals are keptcorralled and calm. Manure can becollected from the enclosure and usedas fertilizer for growing crops. Diseasesare minimized because troublesomeinsects, such as biting and nuisanceflies, are easier to control.

Zero-grazing is capital intensive butthe benefits are enormous, and can faroutweigh the cost of implementing thesystem. A study by the KenyaAgricultural Research Institute showedthat the rate of return on a dollar investedranged from USD2.60 to USD3.00.Farmers achieved an average grossmargin of USD248 and a net profit ofUSD125 per cow per year. At this rateof return, capital investment wasrecouped within two years.

In another study of smallholder dairyfarming in Uganda by the InternationalLivestock Research Institute, five dairyproduction systems were compared,from most intensive (zero-grazing) toleast intensive (herding). The studyfound that increasing the level ofintensification resulted in a significantincrease in milk productivity andpercentage of milk sold.

A successful zero-grazing systeminvolves four major components:

Housing (the zero-grazing unit).

Building materials for the shed includewood, cement, sand, gravel, posts, androofing material. Individual pensshould be large enough to allow foradequate free movement and theopportunity for animals to exhibitnormal behaviour patterns. (Arecommended pen size for a cow is 120cm wide x 210 cm long or 4 feet x 7feet.) The floor should be made ofslatted wood or bamboo floor raisedabout one metre above the ground toallow slurry to collect underneath andbe directed to a slurry pit through adrainage channel.

Maintenance: Animals in shedsmust be kept clean (which is

greatly assisted by placing them onslatted floors), fed and watered.Livestock should have access to freshair and natural daylight and the shedshould be located near a clean watersource.

Feed: A choice needs to be made

between the production of fodder or theuse of commercial feeds. Usingpreserved fodder and hay to feed herdsreduces the variability in the supply ofpasture and fresh feed in dry periods.If the farmer wants to grow his ownfodder, he must have ample field to doso.

Breeding: A livestock breeding expertshould be consulted when cross-breeding local stock with importedbreeds to obtain cattle that produce moremilk or meat and are resistant to localdisease such as sleeping sickness.

Since zero-grazing is an intensivemanagement system, it does require afarmer to have a reliable source of foodfor livestock and sufficient labor to cutand carry the field-grown fodder. Butfarmers can adapt the system to theirindividual needs and environment.They can also seek the help ofagricultural specialists who can educatethem on the benefits of a zero-grazingsystem and help them design one thatmeets their financial and operationalcapabilities.

The future of agriculture – as well asa well-fed nation -- lies in the hands offarmers who are faced with manychallenges. Confining animals willhelp farmers increase productivity byimproving the animals’ nutritionalstatus, maintaining calming conditions,and preventing the spread of diseases.Zero-grazing is an example of a simplebut highly effective initiative that cango a long way towards easing thefarmer ’s burdens, by helping himproduce more food for himself andothers.

Nigeriangovernment is afusion ofinstruments ofdomination,pacification andadministration; itexercisesproprietarycontrol of thesociety

The future ofagriculture – as well asa well-fed nation -- liesin the hands offarmers who are facedwith many challenges;confining animals willhelp farmers increaseproductivity

CMYK


S-West PDP chides Aregbesolaover appointments

ACO debunksMImiko’sperformanceclaim

BY GBENGA OKE

THE AkeredoluC a m p a i g n

Organisation, ACO, hasthrough its Director ofMedia, Publicity andStrategy, Mr. IdowuAjanaku, dismissedclaims by GovernorOlusegun Mimiko ofOndo State that hisadministration hasperformed well in thelast three years.

The group alsodescribed as baselessand untrue claims by theGovernor that tertiaryinstitutions in the statepay the least tuition feesin the South-West and aminimum wage ofN22,000.

ACO described thestatement credited to thegovernor a cheappropaganda gearedtowards hoodwinkingOndo State indigines tovote for them at thef o r t h c o m i n ggubernatorial elections.

According to thespokesperson of ACO,Mr. Idowu Ajanaku,Ondo people cannot bedeceived with emptypromises again by theMimiko administration.

Ogun PDP tackles Amosunover workers' strike

BY DAUD OLATUNJI

THE PeoplesDemocratic Party,

PDP, in the South-Westhas decried the refusal ofthe Action Congress ofNigeria, ACN, governorof Osun State, Mr. RaufAregbesola to appoint aHead Of Service, HOS,and PermanentSecretaries in the state.

The PDP said it was anaberration and outrightillegality that GovernorAregbesola will also,alongside his functions asa governor, beperforming the functionsof Commissioner for

Works while his Depu-ty, Laoye Tomori holdsthe office of the Com-missioner for Educationin addition to her posi-tion as the Deputy Gov-ernor.

According to astatement issuedyesterday by the PDPZonal PublicitySecretary, Mr. KayodeBabade, “Osun Statedoes not have a Headof Service since theimmediate past HOS,Mr. Segun Akinwusiretired two months ago,,no Commissioners for

Works and Educationsince Aregbesola be-came governor 22months ago and thereare only six PermanentSecretaries left in theState Civil Service.

“It should also be notedthat in flagrantdisregard to Sections192, 193 and 195 of the1999 Constitution of theFederal Republic ofNigeria, Aregbesola didnot appoint a singlecommissioner untilAugust 12, 2011, eightmonths after he becamegovernor.”

“Also, despite that

there are only six Per-manent Secretaries inthe State Civil Service,the governor has re-fused to appoint SeniorDirectors as PermanentSecretaries since lastyear. Instead, he usesconsultants in minis-tries instead of Perma-nent Secretaries.

“In addition, instead ofappointing a new HOSto replace Akinwusi,who retired two monthsago, Aregbesola is plan-ning to appoint some-one from Lagos State,who will transfer his ser-vice to Osun State.

ABEOKUTA—TheP e o p l e s ’

Democratic Party, PDP,in Ogun State yesterdaycondemned thedisagrement betweenOgun State governmentand the workers in the20 local governmentareas of the state whichresulted in a strikeaction.

The party through astatement signed byPublicity Secretary, Mr.Bidemi Osunbiyiblamed Amosun ofinsincerity, describingthe action of the localgovernment council staffas “medicine after

death”.It would be recalled

that, workers in all thelocal government areasof the state hadembarked on strike actionover unpaid salaries andallowances.

According Osunbiyi,the situation of thestriking workers in the 20councils could still be“salvaged” consideringthe support Amosun’sgovernment receivedfrom the people.

He blamed the councilworkers for not showinginterest when the stateHouse of Assemblypassed into law the billon joint peojects betweenthe state and thecouncils.

He said “where werethese workers and theirunions when the stateHouse of Assemblyhurriedly passed a bill onthe joint projects betweenthe state and thecouncils? The law hasamong others given legalbacking to the desire ofthe governor to make thecouncils extension of thegovernor ’s office. Youdon’t close your eyes andallow someone todetermine your futurewithout your input.

“It was this desire thatrobbed the state of a freeand fair local governmentelection last July 21because the oppositionchairmen would notcooperate”.

Vanguard, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2012 — 21

CURRENCY BUYING CENTRAL SELLING

CBN Exchange rate as at 17/09/2012

112.45 -1.04

94.94 -0.59

162.00 +3.80

2,685.00 -6.00

19.23 +0.36

THE bidding process for thedredging of the lower River

Benue may have been truncated as theforeign firms involved in the selectionprocedure have kicked against thechoice of a local firm for the job.

A local firm, name withheld waschosen as the winner of the bid process,but Vanguard’s investigation revealedthat the choice of the local firm did notgo down well with some officials of theBureau for Public Procurement (BPP)who have vowed to ensure that theprocess is canceled and re-started infavour of the foreign contractors.

It was also gathered that at thebeginning of the bid process, only sevenof about 13 firms that participated wereper-qualified and five of these pre-

Crisis rocks N26bn River Benuedredging bid process

qualified bidders were local firms andone of them came out the most preferredbidder, a development that did not godown well with the foreign contractorsand some officials of the Bureau.

Vanguard learnt that one of the foreignfirms that is opposing the process hadbeen involved in the failed CalabarChannel dredging project.

Sources close to the National InlandWaterways Authority (NIWA) had gonethrough the entire gamut of theprocurement exercise andrecommended one of the local firms forthe job.

The source stated that immediately afterthe firm was selected, a no objection letterwas written to the contractor, but the BPP

THE approval granted the Councilfor the Regulation of Freight

Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) by thefederal government for the collection oftransaction fees is threatening therelative peace in the freight forwardingsector of the maritime industry.

The approval which will see theCouncil raking in billions of nairaannually from the collection oftransaction fees, registration fee andsubscription fees respectively, has ledto the resignation of the NationalPresident of the Association of NigeriaLicensed Customs Agents (ANLCA),Prince Olayiwola Shittu.

The resignation of the ANLCA bosson the directive of the NationalExecutive Council (NEC), according tosources close to the body, was as a resultof the fact that the approval will depriveANLCA from its major source ofrevenue. The source told Vanguard thatthe leadership of ANLCA directed thatshould all entreaties to dissuade boththe minister and the CRFFN to rescindtheir decision on the collection of thecharges fail, the association shouldimmediately put measures in place inorder to go to court to stop the councilfrom collecting the fees from portoperators.

Proposedsubvention

The source further noted that memberswarned the leadership to be careful withthe proposed subvention to associations,which many saw as a Greek Gift to makethem an appendage of the council andtherefore voiceless.

In a letter titled “Report on thestakeholders’ meeting on the annualsubscription and other fees to becollected by the CRFFN”with referencenumber T.0160/s.172/1 and dated 3rdJuly, 2012, government approvedtransaction fees for airports, seaportsand land borders cargoes.

The charges approved by governmentincludes, N1.50 per kilometer for aircargo, N1.000 per 20 feet container,N2,000 per 40 feet container, N500 percar/jeep, N1,000 per truck or 20 feetequivalent, N2,000 per truck or 40 feetequivalent, N3.50 per ton for generalcargo and N1.00 per ton for dry bulkcargo respectively. Should the abovewhich adds up to N6, 506 be multipliedby 205, 595, 088 which is the total grosstonnage and cargo throughput declaredby the Management of NPA for last year,the Council is expected to earn aboutN1.3 trillion annually.

The federal government equallyapproved various registration fees forNigerians and non Nigerians, rangingfrom N7,500 to N50,000 depending onthe category of membership. Similarly,annual subscription fees ranging fromN10,000 to N60,000 was approved,depending on the category ofmembership.

CORNERSTONE Insurance Plc now

operates an e-platformdistribution channel as it has commenced24 hours business operations.

Accordingly, the Board of the companyrecently appointed Mr. Ganiyu Musa asits Group Managing Director and CEO,to drive the operations of the company.

In an interview with Vanguard in Lagos,Musa said “Right now, Cornerstone isopen for business 24 hours a day, drivingits product distribution via its e-platform.From your laptop or smart phone, you canlog onto Cornerstone website and buymotor cover (comprehensive or thirdparty) and some other products; makepayments and print your certificate on thego.”

Musa said that he is a highlyexperienced management professionaland will bring on board his wealth ofexperience in insurance, reinsurance,

CRFFN, agentsset for war overapproval ofcollection fee

Cornerstone Insurance drivesproduct distribution on e-platform

audit and consulting, business advisoryand financial management. He said hewould be leading the underwriting firms’growth strategy anchored on qualityservice delivery via e-platforms to buoythe lot of its teaming clients andshareholders.

Prior to joining Cornerstone, Ganiyuworked at African ReinsuranceCorporation for 19 years, holding keypositions including Director of Financeand Accounts/Chief Financial Officer for10 years and Deputy ManagementDirector, Services for five years.

He played a lead role in the creationand initial supervision of the riskmanagement function at Africa Re andsupervised the design of the Corporation’sinvestment guidelines and assetsallocation. Ganiyu was also instrumentalin the preparatory work and eventualsetting up of the African Reinsurancesubsidiary in South Africa, where hesubsequently served on the Board andAudit Committee.

refused to release the letter to the winnerof the bid.

Officials of the BPP are of the opinionthat the winner of the bid does not havethe capacity to execute the N26billionRiver Benue dredging project.

Efforts to speak with the Director-General of BPP, Engr Emeka Eze, wasfutile as he refused to pick or reply textmessages sent to his phone.

However, the Ministry of Transport haswarned the management of the BPP tocontinue with the process and ensure thatthe winner of the bid is given the job.

The firm Vanguard further learnt hadboasted to NIWA to hold on the themobilization fee until 20 per cent of thejob is done.

By GODWIN ORITSE

By ROSEMARY ONUOHA

By GODFREY BIVBERE

Minister of transport, Senator Idris Umar (Middle) flanked by Managing Director ,Nigerian Ports Authority MallamHabib Abdullahi (left) and Managing Director Royal Salt Company Mr Mahendra (R) at the inspection tour ofport facilities at Kirikiri Lighter Terminal 1 in Lagos.

DOLLAR 154.78 155.28 155.78POUNDS 251.0377 251.8486 252.6596EURO 203.2261 203.8826 204.5391FRANC 166.9327 167.472 168.0112YEN 1.974 1.9804 1.9868CFA 0.2856 0.2956 0.3056WAUA 237.6424 238.4101 239.1778RENMINBI 24.4579 24.5373 24.6168RIYAL 41.2186 41.3518 41.4849KRONA 27.251 27.339 27.427SDR 239.8316 240.6064 241.3811


Stockbrokers back NSE on delisting ofmoribund stocks

CAPITAL market operators have thrown their

weight behind the NigerianStock Exchange’s planneddelisting of nine moribundcompanies from the Exchange’sofficial list, saying that it was acommendable move.

The Managing Director/CEO, Trust Yield Securities,Alhaji Rasheed Yussuff, saidthe plan to delist non-perform-ing stocks by the NSE was anadditional confidence buildingfactor for the market.

He added that it would im-prove sanity in the market asboth operators and investorsalike would know that the NSEwas serious with compliance toentrenched rules of the system.

“We all have been takingabout enforcement of rules andregulations. If we believe thatenforcement is a proper thingto do and some quoted compa-nies are not living up to thepost listing rules requirementsof the Exchange, then delist-ing them will be a proper thingto do to safeguard investors,”he stated.

Besides, he stated that theaction if executed would senda signal to the investing publicthat only competent companies

bert Trust & Investment Co.Limited, Mr. David Adonri,said any security that fails tomeet the post-listing rules ofthe NSE was not fit to remainquoted, stressing that contin-ued existence of such securi-

DANGOTE Flour Millshas recorded a gross

profit of N2.61 billion for thefirst quarter ended March 31,2012. The foremost flour mill-er earned revenue of N13.80billion in the same period.

The company in a statementweekend said the manage-ment would continue to workhard so as to deliver improvedreturns to shareholders in the2012 financial year.

According to the statement,Dangote Flour Mills wouldperform better as the expan-sion project of the company toenlarge its manufacturingand packaging facilities,which started some years backis almost complete.

It stated “dedicated plant forproduction of our wheat mealbrand Alkama and Danvitawould soon be ready for com-missioning any moment fromnow. This would no doubt, tre-mendously boost our top linegrowth this year as plans arealready in place to massively

ties on the Daily Official Listof The Exchange poses graverisk to the investing public.

On his own part, Mr.Johnson Chukwu, MD/CEOCowry Asset ManagementLimited, observed that delist-

Dangote Flour posts N2.61bn profit

launch the products and in-crease the distribution net-works to all the hinterlands.”

The company has signifi-cantly raised its capacity overthe past decadein anticipationof soaring demand for breadflour and, more recently, sem-olina, pasta and noodles.

Dangote Flour Mills has ex-panded its manufacturing ca-pacities across the country.The investment is despite theglobal economic meltdownwhile direct export into Chad,Cameroon, Niger and theWest Coast has kicked off. Thedirect export goes on side byside with ongoing indirect ex-port of Dangote Flour prod-ucts through the activities ofmiddlemen and customers.

The company plans to con-trol a major chunk of the 295million population within theEconomic Community of WestAfrican States (ECOWAS)market, stressing that it re-mains thoroughly Nigeria-centric dedicating 80 per cent

FCMB, FinBank merger at 95% completion

FIRST City MonumentBank Plc (FCMB) has re-

assured its various stakehold-ers and those of FinBank thatthe two institutions which havebeen going through the pro-cess of integration will con-clude the merger process inOctober, 2012.

Segun Odusanya, DeputyManaging Director/ExecutiveDirector (DMD) of FCMB whogave this reassurance in a chatwith newsmen in Lagos overthe weekend said the processis 95 percent completed.

“Our initial target was secondquarter of the year, but we gotdelayed by issues around theCapital Market probe and theremoval of the Securities andExchange Commission Board.Things are now back to normal,and most of the approvals havebeen obtained”.The FCMBDMD also revealed that postmerger, the bank which hasbeen noted for its niche in cor-porate banking will be expand-ing its retail banking focus tocreate a more robust and sta-ble institution.

“We want to drive solutionsacross the various segments -corporate, commercial, smallenterprises and consumer seg-ments - of the economy. Wehave been doing this organi-cally in the last five years, andhave seen steady growths in allthese segments”.

According to Odusanya, theacquisition of Fin Bank is ex-pected to give two/three yearsleap (especially in the area ofbranch network, liquidity, andbalance sheet size) to FCMB.He revealed that with the ac-quisition, FCMB has doubledits branch network, doubled itscustomer base, improved theliquidity position of the bank,and all these create a verygood platform to provide bet-ter customer-centric productsand services in the consumerspace.

Financialadvisory

“We are now better situatedto provide our expertise tomore commercial and smallenterprises to grow their busi-nesses with not just the bank-ing products we offer, but alsowith our expertise in corporateand financial advisory. We wantto help create more entrepre-neurs in this country and theopportunity to do this is enor-mous” he stated.

He went further to state “Weare aggressively driving re-tail, but in doing this, we arenot de-emphasizing corpo-rate. We have made a lot ofinvestments in people, prod-ucts, systems and branches(from the acquisition) in bothsegments. We understand

that both segments comple-ment each other, and for usto continue to create endear-ing value a universal bank,we needed to provide servicesbased on deep rooted insights

across all the segments. We arecurrently having discussionswith the central bank to furtherextend these services to themass market”.

By NKIRUKA NNOROM that meet the rules of the Ex-change are listed, saying thatit would give them the assur-ance that they are not puttingtheir money in wrong place.

Speaking in the same vein,the Managing Director, Lam-

ing of companies that havefailed to comply with the postlisting requirements of the Ni-gerian Stock Exchange wouldhelp send the right signal toboth the listed companies andother market participants.

He explained that quotedcompanies, for instance wouldhenceforth realize that the Ex-change is serious with the en-forcement of its standards, add-ing, “Consequently we shouldsee some improvements in thereporting standards and othercompliance issues.

“On the part of other marketparticipants, it will help bolsterinvestor confidence on the reli-ability and integrity of publishfinancial statements,” he stat-ed.

The NSE had announced itsintension to delist nine compa-nies that have not been meet-ing its post listing requirementin November, 2012.

To be delisted from the dailyofficial list in November, thisyear, according to the NSE arethe shares of Aluminum Man-ufacturing Company of Nige-ria Plc, Capital Oil Plc and W.A.Glass Industry Plc. Other com-panies are: Union Dicon SaltPlc, Hallmark Paper ProductsPlc, Nigeria Wire Industry Plc,Rokana Industry Plc, LenardsNigeria Plc and Udeofson Gar-ment Factory (Nig) Plc.

According to NSE, the re-solve to delist the companieswas endorsed by its council dueto their persistent non-compli-ance with the post-listing rulesof the Exchange.”

From right: Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, Mr Oscar Onyema,Director General-General, National Pension Commission, Mr. Muhammad Ahmad andExecutive Director, Market Operations Technology of The Exchange , Mr Adeolu Bajomoat Market Making, Securities Lending and Soft Selling workshop organized by theNigerian Stock Exchange in Lagos.

of its capacity to domestic mar-ket, and the remaining for theregion.

Dangote Flour has investedin ultra-modern technology,with machines that are be-tween three months and nineyears, in an industry withwhere equipments are as oldas 35 years old.

The statement added “Theongoing semolina mills of1,500MT per day would comeon stream by the end of thesecond quarter. This is a ded-icated mill for the productionof Danvita- our brand of sem-olina with the latest millingtechnology. This would defi-nitely lead to product consis-tency of every bag of Danvitaand for the complete satisfac-tion of the general public. Notonly are we one of the very fewflour millers in Nigeria thathave mills dedicated to semo-lina production, we are theonly dedicated mill with thehighest number of productionlines.”

CMYK


CMYK

B-R-I-E-F-S

THE Central Bank ofNigeria, CBN, is set to

mop up a total of N863.032billion from circulation withinthe next three months, with theissuance of 91-days, 182-daysand one-year Treasury Bills,TBs.

The CBN, in its Treasury BillsIssue Programme for fourthquarter 2012, said it will mopup N220.052 billion fromcirculation through the issuanceof TBs with maturities of three-month; N381.303 billion will bemopped up from circulationthrough the issuance of 182-days TBs , while it will issueN261.677 billion in one-yearTBs.

The issuance of the TreasuryBills will commence fromSeptember 20, 2012 to December13, 2012.

For the remaining part ofSeptember, the CBN will holdtwo auctions, issuing a total ofN205.924 billion in TBs ofdifferent maturities. The CBNwill issue N59.329 billion,N122.812 billion and N23.783billion in 91-days, 182-days andone-year Treasury Bills.

Specifically, September 20, theCBN will issue N37.489 billion91-days TBs and N63.731billion 182-days TBs.

One week later, September 27,precisely, the CBN will issue 91-days TBs valued at N21.839billion, 182-days TBs valued atN59.081 billion and one-year

CBN to mop up N863bn fromcirculation in three months

BY MICHAEL EBOH

bid result.“We see the naira

trending around thepresent level for the rest ofthe week because ofanticipated dollar inflowsfrom offshore investors, in

Naira dips against dollar on strong foreign exchange demand

SPANISH governmentbonds declined, pushing

the two-year yield to thehighest in more than a week,after European Union financeministers meeting in Cyprusfailed to agree on a timetablefor a more unified bankingsystem.

German bunds advanced.Spanish 10-year bonds slid asthe nation’s debt office said itplans to sell as much as 4.5billion euros ($5.9 billion) ofthree- and 10-year debt onSept. 20. Two-year notesextended losses from last weekwhen officials said Spain willunveil reforms to boost theeconomy, holding back from anaid request that may includebond purchases by theEuropean Central Bank.

“The finance ministers’meeting has come and goneand despite the indication ofwillingness by the ECB to buybonds, we are still no closer towhat many in the marketconsider the ultimateendgame,” said Brian Barry,an analyst at Investec Bank Plcin London. “Until we reach aposition where their resolve tocontain yields can be tested,yields could continue to drifthigher.”

Spanish bondsdecline as EUpolicy makersclash on bank plan

INDIA’S central bankunexpectedly reduced

the amount of depositslenders must set aside asreserves, supporting thegovernment’s push to revivegrowth even as it keptinterest rates unchanged todamp elevated inflation.

Governor Duvvuri Subbaraocut the cash reserve ratio to4.5 percent from 4.75 percent,effective Sept. 22, addingabout 170 billion rupees ($3.1billion) to the banking system,the Reserve Bank of Indiasaid today. Three of 39economists in a BloombergNews survey predicted thereduction to the lowest levelsince 2004. The rest forecastno change after two cutsearlier in 2012.

Inflation has quickenedbeyond 7.5 percent, a climbthat may be exacerbated bythe first increase in dieselprices in 14 months and a risein commodities as the U.S.steps up monetary easing.India boosted the subsidizedfuel’s tariff last week to pareits fiscal deficit and allowedmore foreign investment inthe economy, the biggestpolicy overhaul of PrimeMinister ’s previouslygridlocked second term.

India cuts reserveratio to boostgrowth, holds rates

From left Mr Mike Purves, Director, UK Trade and Investment; Arch Thomas Wagu,President, Nigeria Chamber of Commerce; Dr Olusegun Aganga, Hon. Minister of Tradeand InvestmentMr. Adeyemi Adefulu, CEO, Odade Publishers and Dr Evelyn Oputu, MD,Bank of Industry at the Nigerian British Chamber of Commerce breakfast meeting with theHon Minister of Trade and Investment in Lagos. Photo by Lamidi Bamidele

TBs worth N23.783 billion.In October, the CBN will

mop up a total of N282.119billion in its twice weeklyauction, selling N64.048billion, N118.5 billion and99.571 billion in 91-days,182-days and one-year TBs.

The CBN, will on October11, 2012, auction N30.159billion 91-days TBs, N73.5billion 182-days TBs andN68.185 billion TBs, whileon October 25, it will sell

N34.889 billion 91-days, N45billion 182-days and N31.386billion one-year TBs.

In November, the CBN willissue N62.705 billion 91-daysTBs, N95 billion 182-days TBsand 88.323 billion one-yearTBs, representing a total mopup of N246.028 billion.

November 8, the CBN willissue TBs totaling N129.843billion, with the auction ofN32.057 billion 91-days TBs,N50 billion 182-days TBs and

N47.786 billion one-year TBs.The CBN, will on November

22, issue N30.647 billion in 91-days TBs, N45 billion in 182-days TBs and N40.537 billionin one-year TBs, totalingN130.537 billion.

In December, the CBN willhold only one auction, sellingN32.971 billion in 91-daysTBs, N45 billion in 182-daysTBs and N50 billion in one-year TBs, totaling N127.971billion.

Standard last year reversedits expansion strategy inemerging markets, sellingassets in Russia, Turkey andArgentina to raise cash forAfrica investment. It agreedin 2011 to sell 80 percent ofits stake in the Argentineunit to ICBC for about $400million. The price was inpart dependent on the netasset value of Standard BankArgentina in pesosconverted to dollars.

“The Argentine bank hasbeen doing so well that it hasbeen doing better than thepeso, so we don’t expect asignificantly differentamount,” Finance Director

THE naira, yesterday, fell toits lowest in a week against

the United States’ dollar on theinterbank market as strongdollar demand outpaced thinsupply from an oil company andsome offshore investors intolocal debt.

The naira closed at 157.75 tothe dollar, weaker than the157.55 it closed at on Friday, butback at the level it was lastMonday.

Dealers said unit of Addaxpetroleum sold about $10million to some lenders onMonday, while dollar flow fromoffshore investors trickled intothe market, but not enough tostem the depreciation.

The naira has been hoveringat around 157-158 level forthree weeks, owing to dollarsales by the Nigerian NationalPetroleum Corporation, NNPC,multinational oil firms andinflows from offshore investorsbuying local debt.

Dealers said the nairaweakened to as low of 157.90intraday because of buying bysome importers, but closed at157.75 after Addax released its

Standard Bank Argentina stake sale to China’s ICBCdelayed

Simon Ridley said in atelephone interview on Sept.14. The peso has fallen 12percent against the dollarsince Standard Bankannounced its agreementwith ICBC, according to datacompiled by Bloomberg.

In the past year, to lurecustomers and gain marketshare, Standard Bank hasfocused on offering servicesto low-income customers inSouth Africa. It has alsoincreased mortgage lendingto become the country ’sbiggest provider of homeloans, according to datasubmitted to the centralbank.

a bond auction later in theweek,” one dealer said.

Nigeria plans to issue N60billion ($379.75 million) inlocal bonds, with maturities ofbetween five and seven yearsat its regular auction on

September 19.At its bi-weekly foreign

exchange auction, the centralbank sold $130 million at155.78 to the dollar, comparedwith $200 million sold at thesame rate at the last auction

STANDARD BankGroup Limited, which

expected to close the saleof a stake in its Argentineunit to Industrial &Commercial Bank of ChinaLtd. by June, said the dealmay not conclude beforeyear ’s-end on regulatoryhurdles.

“We’re disappointed itdidn’t close in the firsthalf and we’ll do it as fastas we can,” David Munro,chief executive officer forcorporate and investmentbanking at the bank, saidin a telephone interviewfrom Johannesburg onSeptember 14.

24 — TUESDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 18, 2012

L-R: Managing Partner, Argentil, Mr. Adekunle Adedeji; Director, Oando Energy Resources,Mr. Christopher Harrop; Legal advisor, Mr.Yomi Akinjide; Group Chief Executive, OandoPlc, Mr. Wale Tinubu; Deputy Group Chief Executive, Mr. Omamofe Boyo; Chief FinancialOfficer, Mr. Adeola Ogunsemi; CEO, Oando Energy, Mr. Pade Durotoye; and Director, OandoPlc, Mr. Femi Adeyemo, during the listing of Oando Energy Resources – first Nigeria’sindigenous oil and gas company on the Toronto Stock Exchange, on September 11, 2012 inToronto, Canada.

Subsidy: Integrated lawyers petitionPPPRA on N8.68bn claims… Iheanacho says personal safety at risk

,

,

TAYO Oyetibo & Co., a legalfirm representing

Integrated Oil and GasLimited, has written to themanagement of the PetroleumProducts Pricing RegulatoryAgency, PPPRA, over anoutstanding claim of aboutN8.68billion owed thecompany for petroleumproducts importation underthe Federal Government’sPetroleum Support Fund, PSF.

In a 10-page letter tiled,“Demand for the ImmediateSettlement of OutstandingRefunds Owed Integrated Oiland Gas Limited Under thePetroleum Support FundScheme,” the lawyers gavethe breakdown of PPPRA’sindebtedness to its client toinclude:

i. Outstanding PrincipalPSF refund —N6.548Billion

ii. PPPRA Advice not yetissued for Access Bank’s —N0.5 Billion

balance cargo of Dec 2011.iii. PPPRA’s earlier short

payments on our claims —N0.98 Billion

iv. Outstanding AccruedInterest —N0.651 Billion

Sub- Total —N8.679 BillionThe letter, which was

addressed to the Executive

BY CLARA NWACHUKWU& KUNLE KALEJAYE

Secretary, PPPRA, dated,September 11, 2012, the legalfirm, noted that it was writingfor the “umpteenth time” onthe matter and is therefore,demanding “the immediatepayment of the monies owedour Client as subsidy refundsunder the PSF schemeoperated by yourorganisation.”

The lawyers equally notedthat by virtue of theagreements entered intobetween Integrated Oil andthe PPPRA on April 24, 2008,in accordance with theprovision of Item 4 of Part Vof the PPPRA RevisedGuidelines for theAdministration of SubsidyFunds 2009, its client wasexpected to have beenreimbursed within 45 days ofthe verification of its claims.

The lawyers maintained thattheir client submitted a totalof 38 documents for the claimsverification, adding that“From the date our Clientjoined the operation of thePSF Scheme, it has dutifullyand honestly performed itsobligations by importing andsupplying Premium MotorSpirit (PMS) to the Nigerianmarket based on theagreement it had with thePPPRA.”

They further maintainedthat the inability of the PPPRAto honour its part of the

agreements “has completelyhampered our Client’s abilityto honour the contractualobligations it owes to itsfinanciers notably, AccessBank Plc.”

According to them, “Themonthly interest accruals onthe loan facility our Clientowes to Access Bank inrespect of the fuelimportations in issue runs intoabout N65-70Million and ourClient is unable to settle theseinterest accruals because it

dilemma, saying that “TheMinistry of Finance and theDebt Management Office,DMO are strictly responsiblefor paying the marketers.Ours is to approve claims forpayment, and we have donethat with regard to IntegratedOil and Gas and all othermarketers that we haveprocessed their claims.”

It is strange that the FinanceMinistry and the DMO hasnot looked into the culpabilityof the banks in the subsidysaga, as they financed thepetroleum productsimportations by raising theLetters of Credit, LCs, for theimports.

In the counter exchangesbetween the marketers andthe ministry at its agency, theDMO merely sent a rejoinderto a Vanguard exclusive storythat it did not say that themarketers were lying whenthey claimed they had notbeen paid.

The DMO by itsrejoinder, inadvertently

admitted that the marketerswere telling the truth whenthey insisted that they had notbeen paid and that theSovereign Debt Notes, SDNs,issued by it to some of themarketers are not backed bycash.

Already, Vanguardinvestigations has uncovereda big industry scam, whereby,banks are deliberately

has been starved of the fundsto do so as a result of thecontinued delay by the PPPRAin paying the subsidy claimsowed our Client.”

PPPRA blames Finance,DMO

However, a top PPPRAmanagement sourcemaintained on Sunday thatthe agency has nothing to dothe with oil marketer ’s

withholding information thatwill facilitate the payment ofthe claims in view of the huge22 percent interest chargesrunning into billions of Nairaaccruable to them monthly foras long as the PSF claims aredelayed.

The development is slowlycrippling operations in thedownstream sector, wherehundreds are at risk of losing

Capt. Iheanacho lamentedthat there was no formal

notification as to the causeof the attack on his tankfarm or the siege on his

business

their jobs if nothing is doneurgently, while the bankswaited on the sideline toinvite the Asset ManagementCompany, AMCON, to placethe companies underreceivership, in an attempt toacquire them.

‘My security is at risk’Meanwhile, speaking with

Vanguard exclusively, theChairman of Integrated Oiland Gas, Capt. EmmanuelIheanacho, who is also aformer Minister of Interior,expressed concerns over hissecurity.

Iheanacho, who spoke afterhis release from the StateSecurity Services, SSS, wherehe was whisked to on Friday,over allegations of beinginvolved in a stolen petrolsyndicate, decried his and hisstaff ’s ordeal in the hands ofthe security operatives.

The Nigerian MaritimeAdministration and SafetyAgency, NIMASA, andGlobal West SpecialistVessels, GWSV, headed byGovernment Ekpemupolo akaTompolo, had alleged thatIntegrated Oil and Gasreceived a vessel, ‘M.T. Grace’laden with suspected stolenrefined petroleum products.

In an interview withVanguard, the former ministersaid the management of hiscompany were surprised bythe vicious invasion of thecompany’s tank farm at Ibafonin Apapa by a group of armeduniformed men numberingabout 30, purportedly actingon the orders of the DirectorGeneral, NIMASA, Mr.Patrick Akpobolokemi and theMD of GWSV, Tompolo.

In the course of the invasioninto the tank farm, Capt.Iheanacho said the intruderson Thursday, ransacked theentire tank farm complex,arresting and violentlymanhandling the workers atthe complex, laying them flaton the floor, and seized theirhand sets.

At the end of the day, herevealed that four of his staffwere abducted and taken toNIMASA for interrogationand have since beentransferred to the SSSShangissha where they arecurrently being held.

Similarly on Friday, he saidthat Tompolo and his menheld him hostage for manyhours in his Headquarters,before being transferred tothe Lagos State Command ofthe SSS. Capt. Iheanacholamented that there was noformal notification as to thecause of the attack on his tankfarm or the siege on hisbusiness and maintained that“The product currently storedin our tank farm are fullyserved by the availability ofclearance documents whichinclude Navy.

CMYK

BRIEF


Midwestern recordszero hour to injury

NIPP improves power delivery in Lagos, others

BY KUNLE KALEJAYE

L-R Engr. Assistant Director of Marginal/Indigenous Operator, Engr. Uche Obiorah, Upstream Advisor ofSuntrust Oil, Mr. Nicholas Unazdi, MD/CEO Midwestern Oil and Gas Company, Engr. Adams Okoeneand Mr. Jagjit Arora, MD Mak Resources Services Ltd during the celebration of four million man hourLoss Time Injury Free operation by Midwestern Oil and Gas Ltd in Lagos

Midwestern Oil & GasCompany, partlyowned by the Delta

State Government with someNigerian entrepreneurs, inthe past four years, hasmaintained a zero lost timeincidents, LTI/injury inmarginal field operation.

The company wasincorporated in 1999, butcommenced operations in theexploration and productionsection of the oil industry inNigeria in 2005.

Speaking at the company’sachievement of four millionman-hour LTI-Free operationin Lagos, the ManagingDirector/Chief ExecutiveOfficer, Mr. Adams Okoene,also tasked staff, especiallysupervisors, managers, theHealth, Safety andEnvironment, HSE team toensure safety consciousnessand practice at all time.

Okoene said theachievement of four millionman-hour LTI on February27, this year was remarkable.“This great feat was achievedby our dedicated workforce.We say a big thank you to ourstaff, stakeholders andregulators of oil and gasindustry, who in one way oranother made notablecontributions that made thismilestone possible.”

He reinforced the need forthe organisation to constantlythink safety first, saying, “Aswe celebrate today, let usremind ourselves of the needto continuously think safety

and act safely always. Beingthe leading indigenousmarginal field operator, it isexpected that our leadershipshould not just end with beingthe highest marginal field

producer of oil and gas, butwe should also extend thisgood HSE performance at alltimes.”

Midwestern said it hasshort, medium, and long term

goals that will enable thecompany achieve a steadystate of operations on itscurrent field, and completetakeover of all activities fromits current technical partners.

WARRI –SHELLP e t r o l e u m

Development Company,SPDC, has trained 45youths drawn from eighthost communities in DeltaState in different skillacquisition programmes,including computertechnology, electricalinstallation, welding, andhotel and catering.

Speaking at thegraduation ceremony ofthe youths in Warri,SPDC’s Media RelationsOfficer, Joseph Obari,said it was a 15-monthskill development-training and businessprogramme to tackleyouth unemployment inthe host communities andurged the graduates tomake appropriate use ofthe knowledge theyacquired to better theirlives.

Participants in thescheme, tagged‘’Southern SwampAggregated Gas (SSGA)youth training andenterprise developmentprogramme werereportedly shortlistedthrough a successfulselection test exercisefrom Ojobo, Obotobo 1and 2, Odimodi,Ogulagha, Sokebolou,Yokri and Yobebecommunities.

General Manager,S u s t a i n a b l e

Development andCommunity Relations,Philip Mshelbila, in aspeech delivered by theCommunity RelationOfficer, Major Projects,Dele Aiskhalaye, saidinvestigation had shownthat large number of theyouth do not establishbusiness after acquiringthe prerequisite skillsthrough the programme.

He lamented that they“dispose the starter packitems and spend all thefunds made availableupon graduation on lesserinterests” and urgedparents and guardians toencourage the youth todesist from squanderingthe opportunity.

Director of Training,National Directorate ofEmployment, Asaba,Andrew Erue, extolledthe virtues of thegraduates, saying ‘’sinceI have been trainingpeople, this set has beenthe best”.

THE National IntegratedPower Project (NIPP) is

gradually increasing the totalpower distribution capacity inLagos towards lightening upthe entire state as well as theadjoining states of Ogun .

This, according to theManaging Director/ChiefExecutive Officer of the NigerDelta Power Holding CompanyLimited (NDPHC), owners ofthe NIPP projects, Mr. JamesOlotu, is in line with thetransformation agenda of thePresident Goodluck Jonathan’sgovernment.

Olotu stated this whilecommissioning both theadditional 15 MVA capacitytransformer at new Idumagbodistribution injection sub-stationunder the Eko ElectricityDistribution Company andanother 150 MVA additionalcapacity at the Ikeja Westtransmission substation locatedin Ayobo in Lagos.

He stressed that with thecommissioning of the 15 MVAadditional capacity, the NIPPhas increased powerdistribution in the Idumagbo

area of Lagos and its environsincluding the Palace of Oba ofLagos Oba Rilwan Akiolu,while the new 150 MVA atAyobo, increased thetransmission capacity of thestation by 25 per cent to750MVA from 600MVA.

The Ikeja West Station inAyobo area of Lagos Stateserves not only its immediateenvirons in Lagos State but alsoextends to Ogun Stateincluding Abeokuta the capital.

With these developments, theCEO observed that power willbe more stable in the coveredareas in the states, reduce lowcurrent, load shedding, andimprove quality of power baseand distribution along with itsmultiplier effects on other strataof life and the economy of theentire people of the states.

Olotu also hinted that workhas progressed tremendouslyon the power generationprojects in Olorunsogo in OgunState; Omotosho in Ondo State;Sapele in Delta state and morerecently from Alaoji powerstation in Abia state which in allare now contributing about

1,300MW and rising to thenational grid subject to gaslimitation, he added. This iseven as works on the other 6generation projects areprogressing appreciably.

To this end, he said thecompany is working assiduouslywith the gas suppliers to end theincidence of gas supplyshortages by the second quarterof next year, as about 400mscf ofgas per day under the gas topower emergency scheme willbe made available solely for theNIPP power stations across thecountry.

While acknowledging thatpower supply is capital

intensive, the NDPHC bossnoted that most of theequipment used in powerprovision were imported. But headded that some foreigncompanies were already settingup manufacturing plants inNigeria to help in repair andlocal manufacture of powerequipment with its attendantmultiplier effects on the economyespecially in the areas ofemployment generation, growth

of Nigeria’s gross domesticproducts, amongst others apartfrom better power services andsupply.

On his part, the ChiefExecutive Officer, CEO, EkoElectricity DistributionCompany, Mr. Oladele Amoda,said that with thecommissioning of the 15 MWAcapacity, customers in underthe DISCO will enjoy moresteady power supply. He alsothanked the people of the area,especially the customers of thecompany, for their supportsthroughout the period of theconstruction of the plant.

Also speaking, the GeneralManager TransmissionCompany of Nigeria (TCN),Lagos region, Mr. OyelekeAdeoye, said the older 600MVA transformer has been wellmaintained having served thearea for over 40 years and thatwith the additional capacity of150 MVA from NIPP brings thetotal capacity of Ikeja West to750MVA, which will makecustomers in the area toexperience better power supply.

Shelltrains 45youths inDelta

BY CLIFFORD NDUJIHE


Continues on page 27

Bakassi: Soon, Gowon, Obasanjomay be tried for treason — Anya•Three reasons ICJ judgment can’t stand

PROFESSOR Anya Oko Anya, 75, pioneer chairman of the Nigeria Economic Summit Group(NESG) and 1992 National Merit Award winner is sad over Nigeria’s handling of the BakassiPeninsula and insists that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) would reverse its 2002judgment ceding the territory to Cameroon if Nigeria appeals the verdict with prevailing factsand documents. In this interview, he urges former heads of state, retired Generals YakubuGowon and Olusegun Obasanjo, who signed off and ceded the territory respectively toCameroon to take part in the recovery efforts because they might be charged with treason infuture.

THE Bakassi matter:Bakassi is a very

unfortunate development forNigeria. It is also not a verygood advertisement for ourleadership. Nations developmilitary power. The wholearmed forces is established toprotect the territorial integrityof the nation. Serious nationsdon’t cede their territory exceptin war; in peace time, nonation cedes its territory.

ICJ judgment can’t stand:There are three reasons whythe International Court ofJustice judgment on Bakassicannot stand. The reasons arehistorical, international law andthe concept of patriotism.

History -The Efiks are amajor tribe in Nigeria andhistorically have been on theAtlantic Coast. Bakassi hasalways been part of the Efikswithout a war. In 1884, theBritish entered into a treatywith the Efiks, which includedBakassi. There would not havebeen a treaty if there was noownership.

International law: It does notmake sense to cede any part ofNigeria. Arnold Smith, formerCommonwealth secretarygeneral, is alleged to have saidin his memoirs that he wassurprised at the ease withwhich General Yakubu Gowonappeared ready to handoverBakassi to Cameroon. He wasalleged to have raised thematter with Gowon, who told

him that he wanted to makesure that Biafrans are deniedaccess to the sea in case of afuture war. That shows hoeserious he was about endingthe war and reconcilingNigerians.

Gowon is said to have said itwasn’t true. Anyway, Gowoncould have wished to cedeBakassi to Cameroon but hecould not have effected it andhe did not effect it for tworeasons.

One, the matter of delineationof boundaries and ceding ofterritory must be bound by anagreement and a treaty. A treatycannot be valid or binding ona nation unless it is approvedor ratified by the sovereignauthority, which in most casesis the Parliament. Under

Gowon, no treaty waspresented to the SupremeMilitary Council, SMC, whichwielded executive andparliamentary powers at thetime. So, there was nothingthat could have been effected.

Then came PresidentOlusegun Obasanjo, whosigned the Bakassi Green TreeAgreement, GTA. His case wasworse because it was during acivilian era and the NationalAssembly was in place. A headof state can reach an agreementwith a foreign power but thatagreement has to be approvedby the National Assembly,which has the sovereignauthority.

Beyond that, subjectingyourself to the authority of theICJ is by choice, it is notmandatory. That is why the USdoes not recognise the ICJ onany matter of national interest.So, why did Obasanjo agree togo to the ICJ? It was notnecessary and mandatory.There is an opinion that eithernow or in the future, Gowonand Obasanjo would beaccused of and tried for treasonbecause you don’t give awayyour territory.

Another dimensionof the 1884 treaty

Turkey came and seized partof Cyprus because it has notbeen recognised by anybody.The world cannot allow it orelse the world would be anunstable place. Anotherdimension to the treaty of 1884between the Kings of Calabarand Great Britain is that it wasconcluded between twosovereign people and it pre-dated the Vienna Conventionof 1885. So, the 1913agreement with Germany hasto return to the source, 1884,which does not support it. Ininternational law, laws followearlier laws, which setprecedent.

So Bakassi has always beenadministered as part ofNigeria. The people of Bakassitook part in all election beforeand after independence. Theywere not treated as part ofCameroon as the 1913agreement claimed. Even if itwas in the trusteeshipagreement, there is a clausethat says you cannot changethe trusteeship agreementwithout going to the peoplethrough a plebiscite orreferendum to determine wherethey want to go. The right toself-determination still exists.You must consult the people ofBakassi and that has nothappened. You can’t justremove them from theirancestral land and settle themelsewhere as if they are stones.

Lack of compassion: There isa surprising dimension to the

,

,

We mustdefend ourterritoryand recoverBakassi

Bakassi Local Government council

CMYK


Continues from page 26

Three reasons ICJ judgment can’t stand

patriotism and reward ofcitizenship. By donatingBakassi, your territory toanother, what are you tellingNigerians? You are tellingNigerians that no Nigerian isworth anything. How do youexpect the citizen to be patrioticin that circumstance?

We must defend our territoryand recover Bakassi. Lookingat the map of Africa, we oftensay God has shaped Africa likea gun and Nigeria is thetrigger and in Nigeria, theactual point where the triggeris, is Bakassi. It is important torecognise the significance ofthat. Bakassi is so strategicallylocated that anybody whocontrols power there can controlthe Southern Atlantic. Why isFrance, Britain and US sointerested in Bakassi? Nigeriawith the potential to developinto a major power will be in aposition to control whathappens in the SouthernAtlantic, therefore.

The solution: The Nigeriangovernment must immediatelyrespond to what has happenedby inviting the ICJ to revisit theBakassi issue. The bases forsuch requests are:

First, ICJ expects you to comeback if you are not satisfiedwithin 10 years of th judgment,which will expire in October.Secondly, the decision of theICJ was not even unanimous.Three dissenting judges -Madagascar, Senegal andJordan, faulted the judgmentof their colleagues. If it were asplit decision then, you will winnow if the ruling is appealedwith facts and developmentsthat were not available then.

We should approach theappeal with our A Team, acompetent team to handle thecase. With due respect to ChiefRichard Akinjide, the issue ofBakassi were not issues he hadfirst hand experience. Even ifhe had, he needed insightbecause the matter had legal,

cultural, historical and strategicdimensions. So, the Nigerianteam should have had the bestthat Nigeria has in those areas.

An authority in Nigeria andin the world on the history ofBakassi; the interactions ofpeople of that area with themetropolitan authorities;interactions of traders that livein the area is Dr WalterOfonagoro. His Ph.D Thesis atColumbian University dealtwith the treaties in that area.

I understand that when thematter reared its head duringlate General Sani Abacha era,Abacha sent Ofonagoro to theUnited Nations with sourcedocuments to show thatCameroon had no leg inBakassi and the matter dieduntil Obasanjo came. Thequestion is, did anybodyconsult Walter before going tothe World Court? I doubt.

Politicaldimension

Finally, one must say there isa huge political dimension tothe problem, which the currentNigerian government must beaware of.

The political dimension iswhile it could be easy forGowon and Obasanjo to take adecision relating to EasternNigeria in a whimsical andcavalier manner. Politics willnot favour President GoodluckJonathan, to take that kind ofdecision because he is an

,

whole issue. The dimension isthat those of us, who claim tobe Christians like Gowon andObasanjo, should havecompassion, an importantcharacter of a Christian iscompassion. If you havecompassion, you will ask: havebeen compassionate towardsour brothers and sisters inBakassi? The answer is no. Itis not only Gowon andObasanjo, even the press andother Nigerians are guiltybecause they have treated thematter as if it is not a matter ofgreat interest.

That shows we have not learntlessons from the civil war andbecause we have notrecognised those lessons weare repeating them. We treatproblems affecting other partsof the country as ‘it is theirproblem, it is not our problem.’We cannot continue treatingproblems like that if we wantremain as a united country. Ina united country, a problemaffecting one part is treated asa collective problem.

Collectiveproblem

The press has not shownmuch interest. In the effort toevict Bakassi people from theirancestral home, Nigerianshave not asked themselveswhat they would do if they werein Bakassi’s shoes. We have tolearn a lesson from the US, whoare prepared to go to war overone American citizen. Evenwhen an American commits acrime, they will fight that theAmerican should be repatriatedand tried at home underAmerican law.

Bosnian war, Americamobilised to Bosnian to rescueon American. If you have acountry that is prepared to goto war because of you, whywon’t you give your life for thatcountry? We are talking about

,

It is a matter of simple personalinterest. It is beginning tohappen where people, in otherparts of the world, are called toaccount for what they did 20,30 years after they left office.They can say, ‘I made mistake,how do we solve the Bakassiproblem?’ The problem will notvanish, future generations willask questions.

easterner. An easternercannot be at the helmto rubber stamp thedonation of an easternterritory to a foreigncountry. It is a dilemmafor Jonathan. Even ifhe fails, history willrecord that he tried.

Dealing with issueslike this intellectualpower. Nigeriangovernments don’tpay enough attentionto harnessing theintellectual power ofthe nation. We must doso in this case becausewe don’t have analternative to Bakassi.

We must appeal toGowon and Obasanjoto be involved in thecrusade for restorationof Bakassi to Nigeria.

UnderGowon, notreaty waspresented tothe SupremeMilitaryCouncil,SMC, whichwieldedexecutiveandparliamentarypowers at thetime.So, there wasnothing thatcould havebeeneffected.Then camePresidentOlusegunObasanjo,who signedthe BakassiGreen TreeAgreement,GTA

Prof Anya Oko Anya...future generations will askquestions

Attorney General and Minister ofJustice, Mohammed Adoke, SAN

Former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo

CMYK


Anambra LG workers threaten strikeover scheme of service

BY ENYIM ENYIM

Consortium to handle 4.5mtonnes of cargo in 2012

FG urged to disband pensiontask forceBY JOSEPH ERUNKE

Democracy has paid off —Akpabio

Amnesty: Include Urhoboex-militants in 3rd phase —UYC

Group accuses Delta ACNchieftains of anti-party activities

RosicrucianOrder holdsseminar

QUR'ANIC RECITATION: Fromleft: Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence, AlhajiMuhammad Sa'ad Abubakar III; Governor Mu'azu Babangida Aliyu of NigerState and national chairman, Ulama's Council of Jama'atul Izalatul Bid'ahWa'ikamatis Sunnah, JIBWIS, during the closing ceremony of the 16th An-nual Qur'anic Recitation competition in Minna, weekend.

REMEMBRANCE SERVICE: From left: Former Governor of Oyo State,Otunba Adebayo Alao-Akala, his wives, Florence and Oluwakemi, duringthe thanksgiving and 60 years remembrance service of Pa Joshua Akala, atFirst Baptist Church, Oke-Eelerin, Ogbomoso, Oyo State.

ONITSHA—WORKERS in the 21 lo-

cal government areas ofAnambra State havethreatened to embark onindefinite industrial ac-tion, should GovernorPeter Obi fail to fully im-plement the 2006 ap-proved scheme of servicefor council staff within 21days.

Nigeria Union of LocalGovernment Employees,NULGE, in the state, ina statement by its Presi-dent, Mr. Jerry Nnubia,also demanded the de-centralisation of the pay-roll units of local govern-ments as against the cur-rent process where con-sultants employed by thestate government hadbeen doing the job alone.

NULGE argued thatthe use of contractors forpay rolling had causeduntold hardship on coun-cil staff in the payment ofsalaries, including whatit described as illegal re-cruitment in the localgovernment system.

The union also re-

quested for the compu-terisation of pay rollunits and other essentialdepartments in the 21councils of the state, aswell as training of per-sonnel to man them.

Calling on the stategovernment to as a mat-

ter of urgency conductthe council polls in thestate, NULGE said it re-jected the transfer of sixof its branch officers atIdemili North Local Gov-ernment Area withoutdue process and urgedthe government to re-

verse the transfer within21 days.

It said: “The union callson the state governmentto address the above is-sues within 21 days toavoid industrial dishar-mony in the local gov-ernment system.”

BY FESTUS AHON

U G H E L L I —URHOBO Youth

Council, UYC, has ap-pealed to the amnestyauthority to includeformer militants ofUrhobo extraction in thethird phase of the am-nesty programme, la-menting that Urhobo ex-militants wereshortchanged in the firstand second phases of theprogramme.

UYC, in a petition toPresident GoodluckJonathan, insisted that

the Urhobo have beenshortchanged in thescheme of things despitetheir unflinching supportto the Federal Govern-ment.

The youths also copiedthe National SecurityAdviser and Special Ad-viser on Niger Delta,Presidential Amnesty.

The petition, signed byMr. Henry Baro, Na-tional President of UYC,demanded that 1,000slots be allocated to theirpeople in the third phaseof the programme toameliorate theirsufferings.

BY IFEYINWA OBI

LEADING indigenous port operator

and concessionaire of Ter-minals C and D of theLagos Port Complex,Apapa, ENL ConsortiumLimited, has projected acargo throughput of 4.5million tonnes in its areaof operation this year.

General Manager ofENL Consortium, Mr.Mark Walsh, in Lagos,weekend, said the 2012projected cargo volumerepresents eight per centincrease over the 4.2 mil-

lion tonnes handled atthe two terminals lastyear.

He said: “We continu-ally improve on our effi-ciency at the terminaland this is a direct resultof the improvement wehad brought to bear onport operation since 2006when we took over theterminals.” He said thatcargo volume at the gen-eral cargo terminal hadmore than doubled in thelast six years from 1.8 mil-lion tons in 2006 to 4.5million tons projected in2012.

A B U J A — P E NSIONERS in the

Federal Civil Servicehave said they were dis-appointed at the FederalGovernment’s attitude tothe pension fraud, whichthey said, was unearthedby the Senate Joint Com-mittee on Pension Fund.

The retired civil serv-ants, under the aegis ofNigerian Union of Pen-sioners, NUP, FederalCivil Service PensionersSector, said they wereparticularly worried that

despite the startling rev-elation by the SenateJoint Committee, theFederal Government hadnot disbanded the taskforce, let alone prosecuteits members for allegedsharp practices.

In a statement by Mr.Clement Ogunrinde, theunion’s Sectoral Secre-tary, Abuja branch, week-end, they called on Pres-ident Goodluck Jonathanto immediately disbandthe Pension Task Forceand order the arrest andprosecution of its chair-man.

U G H E L L I —URHOBO Politi-

cal Agenda, UPA, hascalled for the expulsionof Senator Adego Efer-akeya and Action Con-gress of Nigeria, ACN,House of Representa-tives candidate in theUvwie/Okpe/Sapele Fed-eral constituency, DeltaState, in the 2011 gener-al elections, Dr. Veroni-ca Ogbuagu, from theparty for their allegedgross misconduct and

anti-party activities.UPA’s National Chair-

man, Mr. Clement Unior,said the Urhobo peoplewould never forgive theerstwhile senator, whorepresented the CentralSenatorial District of thestate between 2007.

The group alleged thatEferakeya converted hisprivate hospital to “amodern Abuja type du-plex at the expense ofhis Peoples DemocraticParty, PDP, followers.

LAGOS Zone of theRosicrucian Order,

AMORC, a cultural, edu-cational and philosophi-cal organisation will onSaturday, September 22,at the Lagos SheratonHotel and Towers, hold apublic sSeminar on thetheme: Character andvalues in national peaceand progress.

According to a state-ment signed by its mediaco-ordinator, Mr. Mon-day Evawomaha, theevent parades eminentscholars of internationalrepute. They includeProfessor Olu Akeusola,Professor Femi Otubanjoand Professor FridayNdubisi, Head, Depart-ment of Philiosophy, Uni-versity of Lagos, whilethe special sessions willbe chaired by AlagbaOladipo Yemitan. Themoderator for the occa-sion is Professor IsaacAlaba, an independentconsultant on culture andlanguages. Dr. KennethIdiodi, Grand Adminis-trator and Director, Su-preme Board, AMORCwill be the special guestof honour.

CMYK

AKWA Ibom StateGovernor, Chief

Godswill Akpabio, week-end, urged Nigerians tobe thankful to God for thedividends of democracythat they were enjoying inthe country. He said, look-ing back over the last 13years, Nigeria has madesome modest achieve-ments.

Akpabio, who made theassertion in Abuja afterbeing conferred with theHonourary Fellow Awardof the Nigerian Institute ofTown Planners, NITP, saidNigerians should avoid ablanket condemnation ofdemocracy as it led to thedevelopment of varioussectors of the economy.

Represented by hisdeputy, Mr. Nsima Ekere,

the governor said even ashe was aware of theachievements of his othercolleagues across thecountry, the infrastructuraldevelopment in AkwaIbom State in the last fiveyears has been phenom-enal and unprecedented.

He cited achievements

of the administration toinclude free and compul-sory education; construc-tion of 205 roads coveringover 1,000 kilometres;building of five brand newgeneral hospitals and asoon-to-be completed In-ternational Specialist Hos-pital.

King’s College holds founder’s day

ALL is set for King’sCollege Old Boys

Association, KCOBA, tocelebrate its 103 years ofexistence, the Principal,Otunba Dele Adepejuhas said.

Speaking at a jointpress conference, Ade-peju outlined events thatwill characterise theweek long celebration

which will hold from 18to 23 September, 2012.

He said, today, Tues-day, there will a sympo-sium lecture titled: “Vi-sion 20:2020, which WayForward” which will bedelivered by SamsudeenUsman, the former Min-ister of Finance and Min-ister of National Plan-ning Committee.

Vanguard, TUESDAY,SEPTEMBER 18, 2012 — 29

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30 — Vanguard, TUESDAY,SEPTEMBER 18, 2012

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VanguardVanguardVanguardVanguardVanguard, TUESDAY, TUESDAY, TUESDAY, TUESDAY, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, , SEPTEMBER 18, , SEPTEMBER 18, , SEPTEMBER 18, , SEPTEMBER 18, 2012 — 312012 — 312012 — 312012 — 312012 — 31

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CMYK


Odds that favour areview of NHF scheme

By JUDE NJOKU

THE National HousingFund, NHF, the scheme

set up by Decree 3 (Act) of 1992to provide cheap loanablefunds for housingdevelopment, has been thesubject of intense criticisms inthe last few years. Nigerianworkers who felt that they havenot benefitted enough from thescheme, have repeatedlycanvassed its abrogation. Theclamour for the scrapping of theFund seemed to have gatheredweight when in February, theMinister of Labour andProductivity, Chief Emeka Wogu,hinted that the FederalGovernment will considerscrapping the Fund.

The Minister explained that themove is in line with the positionof Nigerian workers who haverequested that the NHF bescrapped because it has beenineffective and wasteful all theyears.

Chief Nwogu who spoke at ameeting with the executives of theJoint National Public ServiceNegotiating Council, JNPSNC,said the government wouldconsider scrapping the Fund asrequested by the council.

His words: “Government willconsider your earlier position onStaff Housing Loan Board.However, the National HousingFund was created by an Act andconsequently, where there is anAct, it is either you repeal, amendor totally set it aside, and that ispurely the duty of the NationalAssembly. I will reach out to theHead of Civil Service of theFederation with your request thatthe National Housing Fund Actbe repealed, amended orreviewed.”

Urgent medicalattention

The NHF has indeed become asick baby in need of urgentmedical attention. Banks andInsurance companies who weresupposed to be major contributors,have failed to buy into the scheme.In fact it was reported that banksand insurance firms in the countryare between 2006 and 2010, owingabout N8.58 trillion which thefailed to remit in the Fund in linewith the provisions of the Act.Banks should have investedN8.49 trillion, being 10 percent oftheir loans and advances for thefive year period.

Mortgage operators who spoketo Vanguard Homes & Propertygave further insight into why theNHF has failed to achieved thegoal was setting it up.

Vice Chairman of CrossoverSavings & Loans Limited, MrBode Akinboye stated that thegreatest drawback to the NHFscheme is the fact that it focusedmore on the formal sector whileneglecting the informal sector.“The fundamental problem withthe National Housing Fund, NHF,is that people are not contributing

to the Fund. It is supposed to be apool of large funds but you findout that there are a lot of defaulters-companies, institutions are notparticipating. That is the numberone problem. This scheme hasfocused mainly on the formalsector but you know that thestrength of this economy is in theinformal sector.

If you go to Idumota or AlabaInternational, that is where theeconomy is controlled from. Howcan you start a housing schemethat does not carry these peoplealong. It is bound to fail,” he said.Continuing, Akinboye noted thatthe current management of theFederal Mortgage Bank is tryingto address that problem. “They aretrying to invite the informal sector-road transport workers,carpenters, bricklayers, all thesepeople have money. You need toknow how much the tipper driversare making, that is, those who are

selling sand. They are earningmore than me,” he said.

The Crossover Savings andLoans Vice Chairman regrettedthat prior to this time, the NHFand FMBN have not beenproperly managed. “Even the fewfunds they had were used to buildbefitting offices. You see theFMBN building on Marina andAbuja, that is not what they oughtto have been doing. It is not thiscurrent management that did that.

So, when you look at the pastleadership of that institution, theyhaven’t really done well. But thisnew team is trying to do a turnaround of the place butunfortunately, when they came in,there were not funds. They arenow trying to generate more fundsfor people to draw from thescheme. So, the more moneycomes, the more money will beavailable to pay,he explained.

He decried the penchant to

borrow money and not repayingthe loan. “Again some people aredefaulting; those who have takenthe loans are defaulting. Theculture of people taking moneyand not wanting to pay back is alsoa problem which is an element ofwhat we are addressing inCrossover because once you doyour underwriting properly andyou have the title right andeverything with you, it is easier torecover the house if they defaultby carelessness.

Proper duediligence

Then you can recover becauseit is also very sensitive to recoverhouses where people live. In ordernot to do that, you have to do yourproper due diligence and alsoencourage them to buy insurance.There is insurance for default as aresult of your inability to have

money to pay and there is defaultdue to death. You don’t want todrive out somebody whosebreadwinner is dead from thehouse. People must embrace allthose small small policies thatwould make easier for them tocontinue to enjoy the house onwhich they have put their funds,”he posited.

Initially, the NHF loan was fixedat a maximum of N500,000 andwhen granted, must be utilisedfor the purchase of building,purchasing or renovating aresidential accommodation. Butwhen the clamour for its increasebecame intense, the loan wasincreased to a maximum of N5million. Each applicant is expectedto provide 10 per cent of the totalamount being sought for whileFMBN will grant a loan in excessof 90 per cent of the cost or valueof the property to be mortgaged.

The interest rate as prescribedby the NHF Act shall not exceedsix per cent per annum while amaximum of 30 years is therepayment period. Repayment isto be made through a PMIthrough which the loan wasdisbursed.

Also, security for the loan soughtfor is ensured by the propertywhich must have a validCertificate of Occupancy, C of O.It must also conform to theexisting planning laws whichserve as the approved buildingplan just as the property must beinsured against hazards and itsvalue should be sufficient enoughto recover the loan.

MOULDS are essential in makingbrie and penicillin, for example,

and necessary for the decompositionof organic matter in nature — but itcan also be very bad, especially whenit grows undetected in your home.Mould spores spread easily andcannot be completely eradicated.

Mold can grow anywhere: oncarpet, clothing, food, paper, andeven in places you can’t see, such asthe backside of drywall, areas insidewalls around leaking or condensingpipes, and above ceiling tiles.

Not only is a mould problem difficultand costly to fix, but mould can also

HIGH POINTS

*Banks and insurance

companies have not been

making contributions to the

Fund*The rate of default is very

high as some companies do

not remit proceeds from the

NHF deductions to the

appropriate authorities

*The scheme’s target is the

formal sector while the

informal sector is neglected

*Some persons who

borrowed money from the

Fund have failed to repay

the loans, thereby depriving

others of the opportunity

How to get rid of moulds at homeproduce allergens and irritants thatmay compromise your health.

So what can you do if you’reconcerned about mold growing inyour home?

The best approach is preventingmold before it becomes a problem.The key to mould prevention issimple: moisture control.

Below are some of the ways youcan curb moisture indoors and themoulds that grow on them

* Identify problem areas in yourhome and correct them.

*Dry wet areas immediately.Mould can’t grow without moisture,

so tackle wet areas right away. * Prevent moisture with proper

ventilation. *Equip your home with mold-

resistant products*Direct water away from your

home. If the ground around yourhome isn’t sufficiently sloped awayfrom the foundation, water maycollect there and seep into yourcrawlspace or basement.

*Clean or repair roof gutters* Improve air flow in your home *Keep mold off household plants.

They’re beautiful and help keepyour indoor air clean

A housing project... such schemes are hampered by ineffective mortgage system

CMYK

ENVIRONMENT WATCH


IT is now mandatory forproperty owners,

tenements and occupiers tolandscape and beautify theperimeter areas of theirproperties in Lagos State andviolation of this order shallattract a penalty of N250,000.Similarly, it is now an offenceto walk on lawns and gardens,spit, urinate or defecate in anyarea of the 128 landscapedgardens and 14 parks in theState.

These facts were contained ina new law which set up Parks/Gardens management agencyin the state. The law furtherstates that it is an offence toloiter, carry out illegal business,distribute controlled substanceor engage in disorderlyconduct, litter, pollute or dumprefuse in any park or garden.

Failure to control animals orallowing their defecation orengaging in an unhygienic useof fountains, pools or water inthe parks, gardens and openspaces is equally prohibited inthe state.

The Lagos StateCommissioner forEnvironment, Mr. Tunji Bello,made this known last week atthe handing over of Lagos parksand gardens to the new agencyknown as Lagos State Parks andGardens, LASPARK. The newbody is headed by Mr.Olukunle Shotade as theGeneral Manager.

Adequatetime frame

Bello who noted that theintention of the new law is notpunitive or revenue driven,added however, that failure tocomply with the law shall attractstipulated the fines. He pointedout that adequate time frameshall be given to Lagosresidents to acquaintthemselves with the new law.

While appealing to theresidents to cooperate with thenew agency to take Lagos togreater heights inenvironmental transformation,the Commissioner gave insightinto how the new law came intobeing. “In order to create asustaining structure for thelandmark beautification andlandscaping of open spaces inLagos, a bill was initiated byGovernor Babatunde Fashola toset up the Lagos State Parks andGardens Agency. This bill wasapproved and passed as theLagos State Parks and GardensLaw No.13 of 2011 by the LagosState House of Assembly,’’ hersaid.

According to him, the Agencyis saddled with theresponsibility to administer,maintain, and manage alldesignated parks and gardensin the state. It is to chargeappropriate fees for the use offacilities provided at the parksand gardens, carry out

Lagos rolls out new law topreserve parks and walkwaysdirectives and policies of thegovernment in respect of thedevelopment, maintenanceand management of parks,recreation centres, gardens,play grounds and open spacesin the state.

Other responsibilities of theagency include granting ofpermit on the payment of theprescribed fees to any club,association or any similar bodyor person for the purpose ofholding events exclusively inany of the open spaces in the

parks or gardens managed bythe agency, regulating theperiod of use of the open spacesat the parks or gardens bymembers of the public andproviding and maintainingadequate securityenvironmental sanitation at theparks, gardens, open spacesand recreation centres.

The agency is equally topromote afforestation in allramifications in the state,enumerate and tag all treeswithin the state inclusive of

those in private tenements,monitor and supervisetrimmings and felling of treeswithin the state, advise on allmatters to the greeningprogramme of the state, causefunds for the maintenance ofparks and gardens as well ascarry out such otherassignments as may bedirected by the state governor.

The Commissioner who saidthe new agency is committedtowards building on the solidfoundation laid by the

Conservation and EcologyDepartment of his Ministry,however, reiterated that the lawwhich forbids the felling of treesin the state is still very muchin force. According to him, thelaw stipulates a fine notexceeding N50,000 or yearimprisonment or other non-custodial sentences for anyperson or corporate body foundfelling or trimming trees in thestate without obtainingrequired permit fromLASPARK.

CONCERNS for theexpansion of the Sahara

Desert and the devastating effectof climate change found a voicein one of Africa’s novelist,Chimamanda Adichie, whourged government and corporateorganizations to respond to thethreats.

Adichie said all efforts mustbe made by governments andcorporate organizations to checkthe

devastating effects of desertencroachment into the savannaforest, which she described as ashame on the continent.

Adichie who was speaking atthe auctioning of the works ofart from the six team of desertworriers during their recent thirdexpedition from Lagos toLondon. said that the continued

Africa must rise to check desert encroachment — Adichiedisappearance of grazing fields,farmlands, and depleting waterresources, and the negativeeffects on food production, the airand even the migration problemresulting from desertification canno longer be neglected byAfrican people, if the survival ofthe people must be assured.

She lamented that while othercontinents were striving tomitigate desert encroachment intotheir territory, Africa and Nigeriaare doing noting.

Adichie then called on bothgovernment and corporatebodies including individuals tojoin hands with fight againstdesert encroachment, FADE inthe crusade to mitigate desertencroachment to save Nigeriafrom the imminent danger.

Also speaking at the occasion,CEO of Fine and CountryInternational, Mrs. Udo Okonjo

said the crusade being led by Dr.Newton Jubnoh is a worthycourse that needs the support ofevery government andindividual to address theimminent danger facing Africa

from the continued spread ofSahara desert, saying that thenear death experience of theworriers since 1967 and themessage from them points to the

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Dr Newton Jibunoh, JK Randle atthe event in Lagos.

One of the parks in Lagos.

By KINGSLEY ADEGBOYE

By EMMANUEL ELEBEKE

CMYK


CMYK

46 — Vanguard, 46 — Vanguard, 46 — Vanguard, 46 — Vanguard, 46 — Vanguard, TUESDAY,TUESDAY,TUESDAY,TUESDAY,TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, SEPTEMBER 18, SEPTEMBER 18, SEPTEMBER 18, SEPTEMBER 18, 20122012201220122012

Friends Searching Males

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Also note that we do not run any match-making agency in oroutside the country. Any reader who transacts business withanyone claiming to be our agent does so at his/her own risk.Henceforth, only messages sent through the numbers readerswant to be contacted on will be published.

This notice is necessary in order to serve you better in ourrefreshingly different style. To get your requests published,just text it to the code number 33055. For further enquiries, call08026651636. Cheers!

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BY ONOZURE DANIA

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Asisited by Onozure Dania

In the valley of darkness(3)HI. Without much rhet-

oric, I will go straight to thecrux of the matter today.The story you are about toread was narrated to meby a woman I met a coupleof weeks ago. For the sakeof this publication, we willcall her Monica. Monicajust recently gave birth to abouncing, healthy, baby boyafter almost a decade in achildless marriage.

One would think that sheought to be the happiestwoman on the planet rightnow, but Monica’s situationis far from this as she isdeeply depressed and al-most mentally unstableright now. Her story in fact,raises a number of ques-tions which I’m hoping wewill be able to analyse andput in proper perspective.Please do write in for pos-sible solution or simply con-tribute to this interestingand mind blowing story.The deed has already beendone, but there ought to bea way out for Monica. Ouraddresses remain: The Hu-man Angle, Vanguard,P.M.B. 1007, Apapa, Lagosand e-mail,[email protected] to read fro yousoon. Cheers! I would be on my own andin hot soup too, going byall that the pastor's wife hadwarned me about. She hadeven confided in me that thepastor does not know any-thing about the old man.

That she had been intro-duced to the man by one ofher mother's friends whohad taken them there afterthe death of her only broth-er. This was a long time ago,long before she met andmarried the pastor. How-ever, her warning that awoman who wants to havea happy and peaceful mat-rimonial home has to knowher wayaround sank homethe most.

According to her, the say-ing that heavens help thosewho help themselves isvery true of the marriageinstitution. She insistedthat I was not taking thefacts of life into proper per-spective as no man can everget too old to have a child,only women do. She ad-vised that, if I waited long-

To be continued

er than necessary, I maylive to regret things later.By the time we got back toLagos, I knew there was nogoing back for me anymore,I had not only compro-mised myself, but commit-ted myself too.

Besides, the thoughts ofholding my own child inmy arms was beginning topresent itself in real life pix-tures in my head. She didnot have to put it into words,but I knew that her firstchild named Miracle musthave something to do withthe herbalist.

Even if the old manwould not be able to per-form my own miracle, therewas probably no harm intrying. We travelled to themountain as scheduled.The pastor’s wife had as-sisted me in getting the kit-ten which she said she gotfrom the herbs dealer atOyingbo market.

The man welcomed usand soon went into busi-ness. He gave me a pot ofconcoction to eat. I was notable to identify some of theitems in it, but was sick tothe point of vomiting be-cause I saw something thatlooked like claws to me.

I was given a cup of wa-ter to push it down. Were

the circumstance different,I would have spewed it allout and with this, I conclud-ed that truly, there is no lim-it to human endurance. Inever suspected that therewas more in store for me.After the meal, the old manwho had been working onthe things we brought toldme I would be returning to

Lagos with the white kittenand white piece of cloth webrought.

This time however, I willbe carrying it on my back,tied with the piece of clothas if it were a baby. Hewould conclude the otherrituals on his own. I don’tneed to tell you how scaredI became at that point.

How would I successful-ly carry a kitten on my backall the way to Lagos withall the Police check pointson the way? Wouldn’t webe accused of somethingsinister like child theft if thePolice should insist that thekitten was a human whomwe transformed into a kit-ten? Or perhaps on gettinghome, my neighbourswould see me.

But my friend assured methat nothing of sort wouldhappen and that I must re-main calm. True to herwords, nothing happened.Even when the policestopped us, they didn’teven pay me any attention.When we eventually got tomy compound, it was al-ready dark. I dropped thekitten as instructed and itran away almost immedi-ately. I thought the speedit ran was too much for a

kitten, more so, one thathad remained so placidand strapped in one placefor several hours.

My friend later told methat I had been able to car-ry the kitten on my backwithout getting clawed be-cause baba had placed aspell on it. That was the lasttime I saw the cat. I was notafraid because the old manhad told us that should thecat refuse to run off on be-ing let down, it meant thatthe sacrifice had not beensuccessful.

We continued to live ourlives as normal, prayingand waiting for the miracleto come to pass. Twomonths after, it was con-firmed at the hospital that Ihad conceived a child. Icould not believe it.

My husband was so hap-py he fell down and weptas he praised God. Whenthe news of my pregnancywas reported, my in-lawsand friends, including thechurch members, our joyknew no bounds.

People kept coming to vis-it and take care of me as ifthe baby had already beenborn. My once hostilemother-in-law even apolo-gised to me, attributing herbehaviour to the devil. Al-most everyone startedbringing gifts for the babyeven before it was born. Inmy heart, I wished I couldshare the secret with myhusband but all the warn-ings from my pastor’s wifekept ringing in my ears. Inthe end, I reasoned thatthere was nothing to gainfrom such a revelation any-way.

Besides, I want to believewhat my friend has told me,the ritual only helped tohasten God’s plans whichthe devil was holdingdown. The child is from Godand since it is going to beborn and raised in thechurch, it will be a godlychild. In any case, we couldalways take it for deliver-ance should we notice any-thing amiss. And by thegrace of God nothing willgo wrong.My baby turned out a boy.Though he is just a fewmonths old now, he isshowing potentials of beinga strong and great man infuture.

Healing after a brokenrelationship

ONE of the hardest things to go

through in life is the break-ing of a relationship withsomeone, especially if youwere particularly close tothat person and haveknown them for a long time.Once a relationship ends itcan be very difficult to re-store.

The more intimate you arewith someone, the deeperthe pain when things gowrong. In this article wewill not only discuss howto repair a broken relation-ship but deal with relation-ships in general.The goodnews is that relationshipscan be restored if everyoneinvolved is willing to putthe effort into the processof healing. It may take time,but the end result is worththe time and effort.

There is nothing trivialabout pain resulting from abroken relationship, wheth-er the loss is from death,divorce or medical prob-lems.

Emotional loss can becompared to our reflex ofdoubling over whenpunched in the stomach.We tend to wrap ourselvesaround the pain in order toabsorb it and protect our-selves from further harm.

At some point however,we must be willing tostraighten up again andmove forward. What followsare some actions which canbe taken to move ourselvesinto a positive attitude anddirection again.

Allow time for grieving.Even when the relationshiphas ended in anger or bypersonal choice, somethingis gone which we are ac-customed to having in ourlives. Allowing ourselves toacknowledge this vacancyis essential to the healingprocess. Denying that thislack exists only postponesthe healing.

Alternatively, we maycontinue in mourning be-

yond the time of our per-sonal recuperative abilities.This can occur when wesubstitute pain for the per-son. The hole in our livesis now occupied by our hurtand this is an indication thatthe time for grieving is overand we must take otheraction for healing to oc-cur.

Bless your partner and letthem go. Blessing anotheropens up one’s own heartand allows a decent closureto the situation.

We may have to reachback to memories of love inorder to get past our angerin order to do this.

That’s alright. If nothingelse, we can understandthat this person is also achild of the Most High andas such, deserves ourblessing.

This sort of blessing is ourbenediction upon the oth-er, stating that they are en-titled to a joyful existenceeven if we aren’t includedin it.

Granting this to the otheropens us to this opportuni-ty for ourselves. Withhold-ing our blessing only holdsus back from our healing,it does no harm to the oth-er. Locate what you lovewithin yourself.

A metaphysical principleis that we cannot perceivewhat we do already havewithin ourselves. So, if youhave perceived a specialbeauty, grace or quality inyour loved one that you feelyou cannot do without, italso resides in you.

Our unwillingness to re-lease another from our livesis usually based on a per-ceived need to have thatelement in our lives, notrecognizing that we al-ready have it. Visualizeyourself having that quali-ty. Affirm that this qualityis already yours and is nowrevealed. It can be surpris-ing how our dependencyon the other diminishes aswe do this.

Two months after, it wasconfirmed at the hospital

that I had conceived achild, I could not believe

it

MATERIALS WATCH


CementDangote cement per bag of 50kg ---N1,800.00Burham Cement per bag of 50kg ---N1,800.00Elephant cement per bag of 50kg ---N1,800.00

Sandcrete Blocks6 inches vibrated per block---N1309 inches vibrated per block---N1506 inches hand mould per block---N809 inches hand mould per block---N90

SandSoft per tipper load ---N13,000Sharp double tipper load---N23,000Gravel double tipper load---N25,000Gravel single tipper load---N18,000Granite per tipper load----N120,000

Reinforcement8 mm (153) pieces per ton ---N125,00010 mm (153) pieces per ton---N136,00012 mm (93) pieces per ton---N161,00016 mm (93) pieces per ton---N172,00020 mm (53) pieces per ton---N122,000

WoodsTimber (hard) 1x1x12---N1,000Timber (hard) 2x2x12---N800Timber (hard) 2x4x12---N700Softwood2x2x12---N2602x3x12---N300Plywood3x3x8---N3,5002x4x8---N2,400

Roofing SheetsCorrugated iron sheets per bundle---N10,000Asbestos (Super) 4x8 per piece---N1,600Asbestos (Solo) 4x6 per piece---N1,500Wall tiles (ceramic)6 x 6 per square metre----------N1,20020 x 20 (China) per square metre----------N1,10020 x 25 (China) per square metre---....N1,400Floor tiles (ceramic)14 x 14 (Spain) per square metre------------N1,80014 x 14 (Brazil) per square metre------------N1,42013 x 13 (Spain) per square metre---------N1, 55045 x 45 (Spain) per square metre------------N1,90040 x 40 (Marble Spain) per square metre--N3,80030 x 30 (Marble Spain) per square metre----N2,000Plumbing MaterialsGalvanised conduit pipes per length20 mm diameter -----------------N17025 mm diameter---------------N170

PVC conduit pipes20 mm diameter per length -------N12025 mm diameter per length------N130Source-----------Cement tiles and building materials market alongLagos/Abeokuta Expressway.

THE Federal Governmenthas assured that massive recon-struction work on Lagos/IbadanExpressway will commence atthe end of the rainy season. Thegovernment has also decided toenforce the concession agree-ment entered into with Bi-Courtney Highway Services Ltdon the reconstruction of theever-busy highway.

Minister of Works, MikeOnolemenme, an architect, whodisclosed this while inspectingthe ongoing repair works onThird Mainland Bridge week-end, said the decision of thegovernment to fix the roadwithout further delay, was in-formed by the fact that about 63per cent of income earned bythe government comes fromLagos State and the realizationthat the dual carriageway isimportant to motorists thatcome to do business in the com-mercial nerve centre of thecountry from all geo-politicalzones of the nation.

“Yes, I did promise last monthwhen we came for the inspec-tion of ongoing repair works onThird Mainland Bridge that intwo weeks’ time, we are goingto take a definitive position onLagos/Ibadan Expressway. Atthe highest level of government,we have met, and the decisionthat we took was that one, thatthe road is very important to mo-torists not only in the south-west,but to all motorists that come fromall geo-political zones across thecountry to do business in Lagos.

Concessionagreement

‘’Also, in realization of the factthat about 63 per cent of incomeearned by the governmentcomes from Lagos state, theFederal government decidedthat the road must be fixed. Andone of the ways to ensure fixingit is to enforce the concessionagreement entered into by thegovernment with Bi-Courtney.Let me tell you that the enforce-ment of that agreement is on,and I want to assure Lagosiansand indeed Nigerians that thegovernment will not shy awayfrom its responsibility. I am verysure that by the end of this rainyseason, massive work willcommence on Lagos/Ibadan Ex-pressway ’’, Onolemenmestated.

The Minister who said he wassatisfied with the level ofprogress made by Borini Prono,on the repair of Third Main-land Bridge, noted that thecontractor has achieved majormilestones within the sort pe-riod it has handled the project.

LAGOS-IBADAN EXPRESSWAY:

By KINGSLEY ADEGBOYE

‘’Having seen what the con-tractor has done in the last onemonth, I am pleased to tell yougentlemen of the press that thecontractor has achieved majormilestones. The three joints Iinspected on the Lagos boundcarriageway have been com-pleted and that side has beenopened to traffic as you haveobserved. The contractor is nowon Oworoshoki bound carriage-way of the Third MainlandBridge. After my inspection ofthe work this afternoon, I amsatisfied that the work is pro-

gressing as scheduled. In fact,I can attest to the fact that thecontractor is one week ahead ofschedule which is in line withour promise last month that thisproject will be delivered aheadof schedule. We are still verymuch optimistic that this projectwill be delivered in October’’, hesaid.

He described the ongoing re-pair works on Third MainlandBridge as the first in the seriesof routine maintenance job to beembarked upon by the Federalministry of works in Lagos.

THE National Chairman ofUrhobo Political

Movement, UPM, in DeltaState, Chief Ominimini ChrisObiuwevbi has appealed to theFederal Government to provideadequate funding to the Min-istry of Niger Delta Affairs toenable it complete thedualisation of the East- Westhighway projects at the stipu-lated time.

Chief Obiuwevbi who spokewith Vanguard Homes & Prop-erty in Abuja described thehighways as very vital to thesocio-economic development ofthe Niger Delta region. Hepleaded with the governmentto prioritise the projects andensure that it is completed byDecember 2014 as promised bythe Minister, Elder GodsdayOrubebe..

Obiuwevbi who is also the

Urhobo group tasks FG on East West highway projectBy CHRIS OCHAYI National President of Oil Pro-

ducing Area Association ofNigeria, OPAAN, warned thatthe ministry may not recordmeaningful achievements forthe people of the region if thecurrent paltry yearly budgetaryallocation persists.

Decrying the paucity of fundsconfronting the ministry,Obiuwevbi said the N65billionallocated to the Ministry for2012, would not be enough tofund the construction of the EastWest road.

“I want to say that the minis-try of Niger Delta is under-funded because what it takes toconstruct 100km in the north-ern part of Nigeria will not beenough to construct 10km in theNiger Delta. If you know theterrain of what is called theNiger Delta, first of all you haveto excavate to a reasonableextent, take away those areas

Ongoing repair works on Third Mainland Bridge. Inset:Minister of Works, Mike Onolemenme

and sand fill. The quantity ofsand that is needed for piling,before you can now prime andlay asphalt is much. So if it takesyou three months to construct100 kilometres of roads in thenorthern Nigeria, it will takeyou much more longer periodto do a project of such magni-tude in the Niger Delta. So thatis what I want people tounderstand,” he said.

Noting that the budget ofNiger Delta ministry for 2012was not even enough to com-plete two projects, he called forincreased funding to the min-istry, adding, “if the ministrywas properly funded, that roadwould have been completedbefore now.

“So the contractors handlingthe projects are working in slowpace due to the quantity ofmoney that is available for them.So I am still calling on the gov-

ernment of the FederalRepublic of Nigeria to properlyfund the ministry of the NigerDelta, because it looks as if theministry is now a punishmentto the entire people of NigerDelta. What is the essence ofcreating a ministry when youcannot fund it?

He stated that the money thatthe government of late Presi-dent Umaru Yar’Adua, had putinto the ministry, at creation wasfar much more than what thisadministration is putting intothat ministry.

“Niger Deltans are waitingand that is a commitment state-ment and we believe in him. Infact, I was one of the personswho earlier call on Mr. Presidentto prioritize that road. But sincethe Minster came on board andsaid look by 2014 that is ourcalendar for completion, every-body’s mind in now at rest."

FG pledges to enforce concessionpact with Bi-Courtney

CMYK


CMYK


MANCHESTER CITY

boss RobertoMancini has no fear despitecoming up against the historyand world-class talents of RealMadrid.

City return to theChampions League with amouth-watering trip to theBernabeu Stadium to face theSpanish champions today.

City’s historic credentialspale in comparison to those oftheir illustrious opponents,but Mancini sees no reasonwhy the reigning PremierLeague champions should becowed by the nine-timeEuropean title-winners.

The Italian said: “Ourmentality is not to go there -to Madrid or anywhere - for adraw, or to lose. We want towin always.

“But we know it will be atough game. We play againstone of the best teams in theworld, but we want to do ourjob well.

“I think it will be a fantasticgame, and a fantastic momentfor everyone at the club. Butwhen you play Champions

We’re in Madrid for victory —ManciniReal Madrid v Man. City

League, every team is a topteam, every game is difficult.

“If you play against Real orBarca, you are up against 100years of history, they woneverything.

“For this reason, I also thinkit will be difficult.”

Real’s chief threat is former

Manchester United starCristiano Ronaldo, whoscored a remarkable 60 goalslast season. Yet Mancini iswary of focusing too much onthe £80million man.

He said: “Real Madrid don’thave only Ronaldo. Ronaldois, with (Lionel) Messi, thebest player in the world butthey have 15, 16, 18 playersat the top.”

Champions League Splash....Champions League Splash....Champions League Splash....

•Mancini•Mourinho

•Toure •Ronaldo

Okpala

that Liberia played betterand even deserved to win. Weall vowed to do betterthereafter.

“The next time Nigeriawent to Liberia was in 1981.“Then Odegbami was ourcaptain as Chukwu andOkala had retired. Adokiyeand Odegbami all played.We had a great squad.“We had a good team butagain, we escaped defeat aswe played goalless draw andwe admitted that Liberiawere better.

“That in 2001 whenNigeria went to Liberia forthe 2002 World Cup qualifierwith the likes of NwankwoKanu and Jay Jay Okocha theteam was one of the best inthe world. It was the sameteam that won the soccer goldin Atlanta. Liberia beatNigeria 2-1. Liberia haveproduced good playersincluding the only African

Continues from BP

world footballer of the year,George Oppong Weah.

“There have been othergood players too from there.I have stated these facts forpeople to know the extent towhich they look down onother nations. Liberia are notminnows. We ought to havewon the match in Liberia butwe couldn’t convert ourchances. We created chancesmore than Liberia. Four timeswe had one-on-one againstthe keeper. We are notperfect. We are building andif everybody recalls how itwas when we took overpeople will appreciate whatwe are doing. But we can domore and the criticisms arein good faith and we aretaking note. What we canassure Nigerians is that wewill qualify for the NationsCup. We have the team to doso and we will continue towork harder. ”

SUNSHINE are underdogs, says Idoko

Ondo State Football agencyboss, Mike Idoko acknowl-edged that the Nigerian rep-resentatives are the under-dogs in their CAF ChampionsLeague semi-final clash

•CAF Champions League Semi-finals

against Egyptian giants AhAhly.

Sunshine were handed theunenviable task of facing thesix-time winners when theycame second to Esperance ofTunisia in group A. Esperanceand former champions TP

Mazembe will play the othersemi-final in a repeat of the2010 final, which the Congo-lese club won convincingly.

“The odds are against us.Nobody expects us to win be-cause they are a great side butthis is football and anythingis possible. They will be theside playing with great pres-sure because it will be nonews if they beat us so thatcould work in our favour,”Idoko said

Sunshine will play the firstleg on the weekend of Octo-ber 5 and a good result willput them on a good pedestalfor the second decisive leg.

Sunshine are underdogs, says Idoko

FIFA President, SeppBlatter on Friday reiter-

ated his conviction thatthe U-20 Women NationalTeam, Falconets, were simplybrilliant at thejust-ended FIFA U-20Women’s World Cup finals inJapan.

In a personal letter to thePresident of Nigeria FootballFederation, Alhaji AminuMaigari, Mr. Blatter de-scribed the Falconets as being“symbol of a bright future forthe women’s game on the Af-rican continent”.

He wrote: “I would like to

Falconets were excellent Africanflagbearers — Blatter

congratulate Nigerian women’steam onanother successful campaign atthe FIFA U-20 Women’s WorldCup, in which the Falconets haveonce again been excellentflagbearers forAfrican women’s football and asymbol of a bright future for thewomen’s game on the Africancontinent.

“While it is only natural to bedisappointed not to have goneone stepfurther than at the last tourna-ment in Germany, the excitingcrop of players that you are de-veloping can only have benefited

from theirexperiences in this tournament.The challenge now is to keep thisteam together and turn the Fal-conets into Super Falcons inCanada in 2015.

“I wish you all the best withyour efforts to continue this ex-cellent run of results and wouldalso like to thank Nigeria for theircontribution to the promotion ofthe women’s game through theircreativity, strength and charac-ter.”

This huge applause came onthe eve of a reception organizedon Saturday for the Falconets bythe President, His Excellency,Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan(GCFR) at the State House, AsoRock Villa,

Kanu joins Keshi, Amokachifor Akpabio Cup

FORMER Super Eaglescaptain, Nwankwo Kanu is set

to thrill and inspire football youthsat the ongoing Akpabio Cup,organizers have said.

Chairman of the LocalOrganizing Committee, UkoAkpabio for the competition in astatement yesterday said the former Ajax and Arsenal talismanwould jet into Uyo this weekend toinspire youths participating in thecompetition.

“I am delighted to inform

BY JOHN EGBOKHAN Nigerians that Nwankwo Kanuand his younger brother, Ogbonnahave graciously agreed to be partof this year’s tournament, inaddition to earlier confirmation ofsuper Eagles coach, Stephen Keshiand his assistant Daniel Amokachi.

The initiator of the competition,Hon. John Ekpeyong, whilecelebrating Kanu’s acceptance toattend, urged teams that arecompeting for the gigantic trophy,to play by the rules as scouts fromEurope and other parts of Africawere already in Uyo for the week-long tourney.

54—Vanguard, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER, 18, 2012

BRIEFING: Mr. Olatunde Busari, President, Institute of Chartered Secre-taries and Administrators of Nigeria, ICSAN (middle); Mrs. Ifeyinwa Essien-Akpan, Treasurer (left) and Mr. Dele Togunde, Registrar/CEO at a briefingin Lagos, yesterday. Photo: Biodun Ogunleye

ABUJA—INSPECTOR General of Po-

lice, Mr. MohammedAbubakar, said, yesterday,that he owed gratitude toNigerians for the award of‘Commander of the FederalRepublic, CFR, on him byPresident GoodluckJonathan, noting “I am in-debted to all Nigerians forthis wonderful award.”

Speaking at a reception inhis honour at Police head-quarters, Abuja, Abubakarsaid: “Some people didn’tthink we can get to wherewe are today but by thepower of God, everything ispossible and he has madeit possible for me.”

He thanked PresidentJonathan, for “finding meworthy to be the IG in thefirst place. I thank the offic-

WARRI—THE Ogbe-Ijoh clan youth

council in Warri South-West Local GovernmentArea of Delta State hasinsisted that the decisionto impeach its formerpresident and his viceremain irreversible.

The youth councilmaintained that its cur-rent president and vice-president are Mr. JosephSmooth and James

FG appoints Sultan, Dokubo asmembers of Hajj delegation

AB U J A — P R E S IDENT Goodluck

Jonathan, yesterday, ap-pointed Sultan of Sokoto,Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad,Alhaji Asari Dokubo and 15others as members of theFederal Government’s del-egation to the 2012 Hajj.

Mr Sam Nwaobasi, Spe-cial Assistant to the Secre-tary to the Government ofthe Federation, SenatorAnyim Pius Anyim in astatement in Abuja, saidthat other members of thedelegation that would leadNigerian Muslims to

BY OKEY NDIRIBE

TSS: Orji appeals to teachers overstrike

UMUAHIA—AS teachers across the country

plan to go on strike overnon-implementation of newTeachers’ Salary Structure,TSS, Governor TheodoreOrji of Abia State has ap-pealed to teachers in thestate not to join the strike,saying that the state wasalways willing to pay thesalary but for paucity offunds.

The governor assured theteachers during a meetingwith the leadership of theNigeria Union of Teachers,NUT, in the state that oncethe finances of the state im-prove, the new salary wouldbe paid.

Orji, who met with NUTleadership led by its chair-man, Mr. Olua Omeoga, onhow to resolve the issues ofthe impending strike, re-minded them that his ad-ministration was one of thestates that had been paying

BY ANAYO OKOLI

teachers higher salaries.“It is always better to have

peace than to have waramongst ourselves,” thegovernor pleaded with theteachers, adding that labourhas the right to agitate fortheir rights and be paid,

pointing out that it was aknown fact that the statehad always been a friendlystate with labour unionsand would not be willingto engage them in any warover payment of TSS.

Mecca the IslamicHolyland, were Sen. AbdulNingi, Mr MudashiruAkinlabi, Justice SuleimanGaladima, Dr. NurudeenMohammed, Alh. SaniSami, Sami Gomo II, Emirof Zuru and Alhaji H.Momoh, the Otaru ofAuchi.

Others are AmbassadorHaruna Wando, Hajia RabiAbdu-Binchan, Sen. WalidJibrin, Alhaji Sani Dauda,Amb. Adamu Aliyu, SheikhAbdul Abu, MallamAhmed Bello, Alhaji BabaHashimi II, Emir ofDamaturu and IsmailaYusuf, who would serve asSecretary.

Ogbe-Ijoh clan re-affirmsimpeachment of President, VP

BY EMMA ARUBI Etimadimene, notingthat the former presidentand his vice were re-moved by seven out of the12 council member cabinet.

In a statement by Smoothand six others in Warri, thenew president advised theerstwhile officers to desistfrom parading themselvesas officers of the clan andstop going about intimidat-ing company officials anddeceiving the general pub-lic.

I'm indebted to Nigerians for my CFR award — IG

BY KINGSLEY OMONOBI ers and men of the NigeriaPolice Force for the supportand for standing by me. Ialso thank my late wife whotoiled with me in life andgave me every support to

get to where I am today. Itis a pity she is not here tocelebrate with me but Iknow she will be happy upthere."


CMYK

58— Vanguard, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2012

CMYK


Why Bakassi belongsto Nigeria —ExpertsBy HUGO ODIOGOR & JOHNBOSCO

AGBAKWURU

NIGERIANS have called on theFederal Government to assemble

experts with legal, diplomatic and historialexpertise to study the fresh facts that haveemerged showing that International Courtof Justice (ICJ) was misled in ceding theBakassi peninsula to Cameroun when vitalinformation that clearly placed Bakassi asa territory within the geographical, politicaland administrative jurisdiction and controlof Nigeria, were concealed to the jurists ofthe World Court.

The National Association of Seadogs,NAS, said in a statement: “The FederalGovernment should commence withoutdelay the process of appealing against theInternational Court of Justice rulingagainst the disputed oil-rich peninsula thatwas ceded to Cameroon before the October10, 2012 deadline”.

The Association also called on both thefederal and Cross River State governmentsto without delay provide a comfortableresettlement area to reduce the sufferingof the people. The association's statementsigned by its president, Mr. Ide Owodiong-Idemeko, said it was unimaginable thatthe country fought a civil war that lastedabout 30 months where millions of innocentpeople lost their lives but in a jiffy, willinglysurrendered its territory to another country.

In the statement entitled “Save theIndigenous People of Bakassi”, theassociation expressed great concern overwhat it described as the federalgovernment's apparent unwillingness toappeal against the ICJ judgment ofOctober 10, 2002 that ceded Bakassi toCameroon. It said: “It is unfortunate thatthe government of Nigeria under PresidentOlusegun Obasanjo, had after the ICJruling, hastily surrendered the sovereigntyof the country to the Cameroon and hadentered into a Green Tree Agreement,GTA, on June 12, 2006, to abide by thedecision of the ICJ without dueconsideration to any legitimate groundsupon which the judgment could beappealed under international law.

Displaced Bakassi

indigenes

“As the ten years window for appealagainst the judgment draws close, eminentNigerians including the Nigerian BarAssociation, representatives of Cross RiverState in the National Assembly, thedisplaced Bakassi indigenes and thePalace of Obong of Calabar, have calledon the federal government to commencethe process of appeal against the judgment,but to date no action in this regard appearsto be forthcoming from the FederalGovernment of Nigeria.

“It is ironic that the government that sworeto defend the people and the territorialintegrity of the country and even waged acivil war for 30 months to defend the unityof the country, willingly in a jiffy, handedover some portion of its territory to anothercountry.” It also noted with dismay thealleged “neglect, abandonment andinexplicable maltreatment of theindigenous people of Bakassi after cedingtheir land to Cameroon by the Nigerian

Government under the Green TreeAgreement signed on June 12, 2006 in NewYork.”

Recalling that former President, ChiefOlusegun Obasanjo submitted Nigeria tothe jurisdiction of the ICJ despite virulentprotests and court litigations from groupswithin and outside Nigeria, it noted thatwith the action coupled with several armedclashes along peninsula between bothcountries, the nation failed to act swiftlyand decisively when time was itscompatriot.

In a similar vein, International relationsexperts, renowned historians, researchersand politicians told Vanguard newspaperthat contrary to the claims by Cameroonand Nigerian legal teams that the first legaltreaty on the Land and Maritime bordersbetween Nigerian and Cameroon was the1913 Anglo-German treaty, there arediscoveries of fresh facts that revealed thatthe limits of the Land and maritimeboundaries between both countries wentas far back as 1811 when the British madethe treaty that went from the Lake Chadregion down to the Atlantic ocean throughthe Rio Del Rey Estuary.

The Great Fraud

1. There are evidence to show that in1994 when a new dispute erupted betweenNigeria and Cameroon, Nigeria asked theBritish government to attest to the true sta-tus of Bakassi Peninsula, the British gov-ernment replied to assert that the Penin-sula belongs to Nigeria.

2. This was when Alhaji Babagana Kin-gibe was Nigeria’s Minister of ExternalAffairs but curiously that document was nottendered at the ICJ trial.

3. There are fresh evidence to show thatin the March 18, 1961, plebiscite in South-ern Cameroon, to determine areas that ei-ther wanted to stay in Cameroun or joinNigeria, Bakassi Penisula was not amongthe areas that participated in the exercisebecause it was given that it was not part ofCameroun. According to Southern Cam-eroun gazette Volume 7 number14, theareas that were asked to determine wherethey want to belong included Mamfe, Bam-enda, Kumba, and Victoria. More impor-

Bakassi map as at April 14, 1893



tantly the people of Bakassi have voted inNigerian elections and the Nigerian Cus-toms has been in control of the territorialwaters since 1811.

4. The 1913 Anglo-German treaty whichCameroon rested its claim was not signedby both countries before the outbreak ofthe First World War in 1914.

5. Germany renounced all its terrirorialclaims at the end of the war in 1919 andall the former territories controlled by Ger-many came under the mandate of theLeague of Nations

6. There are clear cases of ethnic cleans-ing in Bakassi peninsula in the past 10years in violation of the Green Tree Agree-ment.

According to Prof. Walter Ofonagoro, whois a Historian and former Nigerian Infor-mation minister who did his Ph.D thesison Southern Oil protectorate, “fresh factshave emerged to show that the Cameroon-ian legal team deceived the ICJ into be-lieving that before the Ango-German trea-ty of 1913 upon which it rested its case,there were no other treaties that delineat-ed the land and maritime boundary be-tween Nigeria and Cameroon, which is afraudulent claim.”

Fraudulent

claim

Prof. Ofonagoro said that he has "in hispossession 1822 documents which vestedownership of the Bakassi Peninsula to theOld Calabar Chiefs by extension to Nige-ria and debunked claims that the 1913Anglo-German treaty was the first recong-nised treaty on the land and maritime

Nigerian territory. The predominant pop-ulation on the Peninsula then were theEfiks and Efuts, who were of Efik king-dom which stretched up to Khumba, Vic-toria and Bamenda.

Grounds for appeal for review: Al-though the Federal Government has beenreluctant to listen to the calls from the Na-tional Assembly, the Judiciary, the Nigeri-an Bar Association to appeal for a review,Prof. Ofonagoro said “Nigeria has verystrong ground to approach the ICJ for arevision of its decision because there areconcrete material facts and documentaryevidence that were not before the ICJ in2002 which would have helped to guidethe world jurists in their decision”.

Ofonagoro said: “If the ICJ should al-low a judgment that was obtained by fraudand concealment of feet to stand, and gravein justice would have been down to thepeople of ICJ. The reputation of ICJ wouldhave been tarnished because the wholeworld expects it to do justice at all time.”He added that the Nigerian defence teamwent to the Hague to agree with the Cam-eroonians that before 1913, there were noother treaties between the two colonialpower, which is false. But more fallaciousis the fact that the Cameroon of 1919, wasnot the Cameroon of 1913, because afterthe end of the First World War, Germanywas forced to give up all it territories inAfrica, which came under the mandate ofLeague of Nations.

Senator Ewah Bassey Henshaw said:“We have evidence from the memoir of theGerman ambassador in 1913 who negoti-ated the so-called 1913 Anglo German trea-ty. He said the treaty was not signed be-cause the distrust between Britain andGermany at that time and the conflict be-

Why Bakassi belongs to Nigeria —Experts

Continues from page 59

tween the envoy and some officials of hisown country. In 1961 when a referendumwas conducted in Southern Cameroon onwhich part it wishes to belong after theBritish ended its colonial rule Bakassi Pen-insula was not included by because it wasregarded as part and parcel of Nigeria. Inthe areas such as Issangale that were in-cluded in referendum, they voted to be inNigeria.

Speaking at the Vanguard ConferenceHall in Lagos, Senator Henshaw said theICJ has a duty to review its judgment wichgave the sovereignty of Bakassi to Came-roon because it was obtained by fraud anddeceits. He said we are not asking for toomuch for the ICJ to take a second look atthe fresh facts and our action is covered byArtcle 61 of ICJ which empowers peopleto come back for a review of their judg-ment if there are fresh facts that surfacedwhen the decision was made which havesubstantially affected the judgement. Thepresident who has sworn on oath to de-fend the territorial integrity of Nigeria andthe constitution should assist the peopleof Bakassi by asking the AGF to appeal fora review of the ICJ verdict.

boundary between Nigeria andCameroon. Said Prof. Ofonagoro“this is not true because as far backas 1811, the British had alreadyestablished a strong sphere of in-fluence over the territories thateventually became Nigeria in1914. He said “the Anglo-Germantreaty upon which Cameroon builtits case was contestible becauseafter the First World war ended in1919, all the territories controlledby Germany were taken awayfrom them and given to the leagueof nations.

He said “there were other trea-ties between Nigeria and Came-roon on the Land and Maritime

boundaries which were entered into in1884,1885 and 1886 all of which clearlydemarcated the land and Maritime bor-der between Nigeria and Cameroon fromthe Lake Chad region down to the AkwaYafe river which was the land border fromAkwa Yafe to Rio Del Rey estuary to theAtlantic ocean.

"When the Germans got to Akwa YafeRiver they discovered that they could notgain a direct access to the sea becausegoing toward west of Akwa Yafe river willtake them straight to the Calabar seaport.The Calabar Sea Port was clearly outlinedin the treaty this was the main port of en-try for the British merchants, and later mis-sionaries, who were the first to establishsphere of influence in Nigeria. He saidthere was no way the British would havegranted the Germans a boundary accessthat would have constrained their accessto the Calabar power.

"The British were fully in control of theCalabar sea Port. The Germans went Eastof Akwa Yafe River, which took them to theRio Del Rey estuary to the sea. This en-sured that the Bakassi Peninsula was onthe West, which put the Peninsula on the

Dr. Walter Ofonagoro


CMYK

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How to Play SudokuTHE VIGILANTE

Place a number (1-9) in each blank cell. (No line canhave two of the same number).

Each row (nine lines from left to right), column, (alsonine lines from top to bottom) and 3 X 3 block within abold block (nine blocks) contains number from 1through 9. This means that no number can appear twicein any block, column or row.

No mathematics is involved – no adding, subtraction, divisionor multiplication, just plain logic and your imagination.

YESTERDAY'S SOLUTIONS

YESTERDAY'S ANSWERS

VANGUARD, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2012

TODAY'S PUZZLEACROSS

1 Peculiarity (6)5 Stopper (4)8 Trap (5)9 Mournful (3)10 Expectant (4)11 Egg (4)12 Hector (5)13 Pitch tents (6)16 Unfortunately (4)18 Niche (4)20 Consumed (3)22 Tree (3)23 Revolver (3)24 Valley (4)25 Rushed (4)28 Dither (6)30 Surround (5)32 Aim (4)33 Tolled (4)34 Beverage (3)35 Staid (5)36 Profound (4)37 Crib (6)

DOWN

1 Ejected (6)2 Devote (8)3 Shock (6)4 Agonised (9)5 Extend (7)6 Tax (4)7 Sport (4)8 Weep (3)14 Daubed (9)15 Gained (3)17 Serpent (3)19 Old-fashioned (3-5)20 Beer (3)21 Cover (7)26 Knife (6)27 Composed (6)29 Elderly (4)30 Bottom (4)31 Sailor (3)

ACROSS: 3, Acute 9, Launch 10, Argent11, Terse 12, Spot 15, Poll 17, Humerus20, Mat 21, Bloat 23, Lace 25, Coup 26,Hoist 28, Sip 30, Halcyon 33, Knob 35,Hone 36, Bough 38, Lesson 39, Loaned40, Beget.

DOWN: 1, Flesh 2, Buxom 3, Act 4, Cherub 5,Task 6, Eve 7, Besom 8, Stilt 13, Purloin 14,Teach 16, Lampoon 18, Slash 18, Sac 22, Torch24, Eon 27, Tangle 28, Skull 29, Poise 31, Young32, Needs 34, None 36, Bob 37, Hot.

Eagles: Okpala takes critics down memory laneS

See Page 53

AD O K I Y EAmiesiemeka

is disappointed that theEagles could not beatLiberia in Monrovia. Herecalled (In the Sun)that in his time playinga team like Liberiaattracted discussionsthat centred on thenumber of goals to bescored and not whether

BY ONOCHIEANIBEZE

there would be victory ornot.

Segun Odegbami hasfollowed up in theVanguard, describingthe 2-2 outing in Liberiaas a shock that he is yetto come to terms with.Sylvanu Okpala, one ofthe rookies in GreenEagles at the time ofAdokiye and Odegbamiand now one of theassistants of StephenKeshi has said that the

criticisms were in goodfaith and that the crewhad equally taken themin that light.He has admitted thatEagles were expected towin the match but failedto do so. He has equallyadmitted that the entireteam needed to do moreand that they have vowedto do more.”

Many Nigerians havebeen loud incondemning the draw in

Liberia. Adokiye andOdegbami are justamong the lot.

Okpala has followedthe reactions since thematch and saidyesterday that he wouldsimply remind Nigeriansthe following:

“That in 1979 when wewere preparing for the1980 Nations Cup whichwe hosted and won weplayed Liberia in afriendly match in

Monrovia. “That our best players

who were arguably thebest in the continentplayed that match.Christian Chukwu,Segun Odegbami,Adokiye Amiesiemeka,Muda Lawal, TundeBamidele, Patrick Ekeji,Emma Okala, etcplayed that match. Wedrew 2-2 and in themeeting to review thematch they all agreed

Group AD/Zagreb v FC Porto7:45 pm PSG v Dynamo Kiev 7:45 pm

Group BMontpellier v Arsenal7:45 pmOlympiakos v Schalke7:45 Pm

Group CMilan v Anderlecht 7:45 Pm Málaga v Zenit7:45 pm

Group DB/Dortmund v Ajax7:45 pmReal Madrid v Man City7:45 pm

GOLDEN HANDSHAKE: President Goodluck Jonathan presenting certifi-cate of national honour(MON) to Grace Anochie, one of the gold-winningParalympians at the recently concluded London 2012 Paralympic Games

Today's ChampionsLeague Fixtures CAF CL: Sunshine are

underdogs, says Idoko P.53


CMYK

Boko Haram topshot killed — JTF

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