WHO/Boko Haram's doctor arrested

...towards a better life for the people

N150VOL. 25: NO. 61943

ONLINE | www.vanguardngr.com

FRIDAY, AUGUST 9, 2013**

Mr & Mrs

WHO/Boko Haram'sdoctor arrested•Treats wounded Boko Haram members•How Amnesty International's probe exposed him

COLUMNISTS:

•P.17

ADISAADELEYE

•P.47

DONUKOGBARA

Continues on Page 5

SALLAH— President Goodluck Jonathan (left) and Vice President Namadi Sambo with children who joined their par-ents at the Sallah Homage to the president, by the FCT Muslim communities at the State House, Abuja, yesterday. Inset: Crosssection of Muslims' praying at Agege Prayer Ground, Agege, Lagos during the 2013 Eid-El-Fitr Prayers, yesterday. Photos: StateHouse/Diran Oshe. More photos on Page 39.

BY KINGSLEYOMONOBI

ABUJA—THE JointTask Force, JTF,

implementing the stateof emergency imposedon Borno, Yobe andAdamawa states, has ar-rested a medical doctor(names with-held) inBorno State, who is themedical consultant to theterrorist group. He is atthe same time a consult-ant with the World HealthOrganization (WHO).

Vanguard gatheredfrom reliable securitysources that the arrest ofthe medical doctor fol-lowed a tip-off that the

How GODOGODO ledAjao Estate, Lagosrobbery — Gang member

Advocates of Nigeria'sdisintegration 'll bedisappointed — Jonathan

•P.6

FG hands over PHCN tonew investors Sept 21 P.41

Female teacherarrested for defiling2½-yr-old girl •P.6

P.8

2 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, AUGUST 9, 2013

CMYK

Vanguard, FRIDAY, AUGUST 9, 2013 — 3

CMYK


POCKET CARTOON

TAKE HEARTBY ELLA RANDLE

LIFEWORDSBY PASTOR ITUAH

Vanguard, FRIDAY, AUGUST 9, 2013—5

Continues from page 1

WHO/Boko Haram's doctorarrested

It does not cost too much to do good, do as muchgood as you can. You really cannot lose.

SALLAH— President Goodluck Jonathan 2nd left;Vice President Namadi Sambo(2nd right); ChiefImam of Abuja, Sheik Musa Mohammed (left) and FCT CAN Chairman, Rev. Israel Akanji, duringthe Sallah Homage to the President by the FCT Muslim communities at the State House, Abuja, yester-day. Photo: State House.

terrorists had a well or-ganized mobile medicalfacility with whichwounded insurgents aretreated.

The international con-nection of the medicaldoctor was, however,brought to the fore when, the international

human rights watch dog,Amnesty International,sent its officials to inves-tigate the circumstancessurrounding the arrest ofthe supposedly WHOconsultant.

“In fact, what gave himout was his suit case con-taining sophisticatedmedical equipment fromwhich he rendered diag-nostic services to the ter-rorists”, the source said.

Disclosing how the doc-tor was arrested, thesource said: “A truck sus-pected to be carrying in-surgents and IEDS aswell as other dangerousweapons was stopped ata check point but it spedoff. Unknown to thetruck’s driver and otheroccupants of the truck,there was another check-point which had beenalerted of their coming.When the truck got to thatcheckpoint, the securityoperatives fired at itwhile the occupants raninto the bush.

“When the truck wassearched, various typesof IEDS, AK 47 rifles andother bomb-making ma-terials were found. Alsofound was a suit casecontaining medicalequipment. After sometime, when the doctor feltthe Special Forces hadleft, he came back to re-trieve his suit case butwas ambushed and ar-rested”.

The source added that“immediately the doctorwas arrested, AmnestyInternational called themilitary authoritiesalleging that an innocentdoctor has been arrestedby the JTF forces andthat he should be re-leased because of hishuman rights, though themilitary authorities arenot moved by their plea”.

In another develop-ment, Vanguard gath-

ered that the recent at-tack at Government Sec-ondary School, nearPotiskum in Yobe Stateduring which 29 stu-dents and a teacher werekilled, was the fallout ofthe arrest of a lawyer

with alleged links to thesect.

Vanguard gatheredthat the lawyer (nameswith-held), was the onewho provided legalservices for suspectedBoko Haram terroristseach time they werearrested and he was saidto be an ideological/intellectual contributor totheir activities in YobeState.

Following his arrest byJTF forces, the lawyerallegedly said, “So youhave arrested me. Let mewarn you that this townwill know no peace untilI am released”.

The source said thattwo days after, the sec-ondary school nearPotiskum was attackedand the children (stu-dents) slaughtered”.

After the massacre ofthe children, neighboursliving in the area said

they heard the terroristsshouting “Allahu Akbar,yes we have taken re-venge for his arrest”.

The source said: “Themost horrifying aspect ofthe students’ killing wasthat they asked the stu-dents, both boys andgirls to pull off theirdresses, and any studentfound with pubic hair onhis or her private parts,was not only shot andkilled, they also usedaxes or machetes to cutoff their legs.

Both the medical doc-tor and the lawyer arehowever said to be incustody of the JTF forcesand would not be re-leased until investiga-tions into their allegedconnivance with the ter-rorists are concludedand they are pros-ecuted”.

EID-EL-FITRI: Extend love beyondRamadan period — Oritsejafor

BY CALEB AYANSI-NA

A B U J A — T H EPresident of

Christian Association ofNigeria, Pastor AyoOritsejafor, yesterday,appealed to Nigerians tolet the denials and sacri-fices experienced byMuslim faithful in themonth of Ramadan serveas the fulcrum of unityand peace in the coun-try, irrespective of reli-gious belief, language ortribe.

The CAN Presidentwhile celebrating withMuslims across thecountry over the suc-cessful completion of themonth-long Ramadanfast, however, expressedhis condolence to theNigeria Union of Jour-nalists, NUJ, over thedeath of its three unionofficials in a motor acci-dent.

In a statement by CAN

Spokesman, Mr. KennyAshaka, Oritsejaforstated that the entireChristian community re-joiced with their Muslimbrothers and sisters onthe occasion of Eid-el-Fitri.

The CAN Presidenturged Nigerians irre-spective of religious be-lief to let the fear of Godbe the basis of theirthought and alwaysstrive to promote peace-ful coexistence in theirvicinity.

He said: “The lessonsof Ramadan should notbe lost on our Muslimbrothers and sisters evenas the Holy month hasjust ended.

“The injunctions ofkindness and fear of Godshould rule our lives notonly during fasting pe-riod but at all times andcircumstances.”

Meanwhile, Oritsejaforalso expressed deepsympathy to the Nigerian

media community andthe nation over thedeath, in an auto crash,of three officials of theNUJ.

While he bemoaned theincreasing spate of acci-dents across the country,he prayed for the reposeof the dead.

The accident, whichclaimed the lives of NUJNational Financial Secre-tary, Mr. AdolphusOkonkwo, Mrs KafayatOdunsi of NTA VictoriaIsland, Lagos and MrTunde Oluwanike ofFRCN Ibadan, also left10 other union officials,including Mr DejiElumoye, Chairman ofLagos State council, withvarious degrees of inju-ries.

Oritsejafor urged theunion and its members toremain steadfast in theirdrive to uphold the ten-ets of journalism.

MOST people do not take challenges and situations as life’s teaching moment. They de-

test them. And find all means to escape reality —all addictions stem from this moment when we meetour edge and we just can’t stand it. We feel wehave to soften it, pad it with something, and webecome addicted to whatever it is that seems toease the pain — P.Chodron

Life is glorious, but life is also full of adversities.Appreciating the gloriousness inspires us, encour-ages us, cheers us up, gives us a bigger perspec-tive, and energizes us. We feel connected. But ifthat’s all that’s happening, we get arrogant andstart to look down on others, and there is a sense ofmaking ourselves a big deal and being really seri-ous about it, wanting it to be like that forever. Thegloriousness becomes tinged by craving and ad-diction. On the other hand, the challenges of life’spainful aspect, softens us up considerably. Know-ing pain is a very important ingredient of being therefor another person. When you are feeling a lot ofgrief, you can look right into somebody’s eyes be-cause you feel you haven’t got anything to lose,you’re just there. This moment of compassion hum-bles us and softens us. Gloriousness and its con-trasts need each other. One inspires us, the othersoftens us. They go together.

6—Vanguard, FRIDAY, AUGUST 9, 2013

How Godogodo led Ajao Estate robberyBY IFEANYI OKOLIE

GODOGODO AND HIS GANG: From left: Leke, Yinusa, Adelawo and Godogodo at the Police CommandHeadqauters, Ikeja, Lagos, Wednesday.

LAGOS — ON Sunday, July 14, 2013, a deadly gang of

robbers, led by notorious robberyczar, Abiodun Ogunjobi, aka,Godogodo, attacked a warehousebelonging to Blessing Aporie Ni-geria Limited at Ajao Estate areaof Lagos State and carted awaymobile phones worth more thanN50 million.

The robbers also killed a police-man on guard at the warehouse,leaving one other with severebullet wounds.

Five members of that gang werelater killed by operatives of theSpecial Anti-Robbery Squad,SARS, during a shoot-out alongEko Bridge while three others es-caped with bullet wounds.

However, operatives of SARS,led by Superintendent of Police,Abba Kyari, have arrested thethree bandits who escaped dur-ing the shoot-out and they haveconfessed to the crime and nar-rated how Godogodo led themthrough the operation, whichturned out to be his last in Lagos.

Sources at SARS said four teamsof operatives were deployed thatnight to track down the robberswhen news of the incident andthe attack on policemen filteredin.

The trailVanguard gathered that the

team which was deployed toSurulere area, spotted a Hondaspace bus, matching the descrip-tion of the one used by the rob-bers and they chased it up to theEko Bridge where a gun battleensued, leaving four personsdead while three escaped. Oneof the suspects identified asGaniu Mental was arrested withbullet wounds.

A source, who spoke on the con-dition of anonymity said: “Men-tal told us that Godogodo led theoperation and that they snatchedtwo Range Rover Sports UtilityVehicles, SUVs, from the Island,

where they also killed a police-man. He provided us with theinformation that led to the arrestof the three other bandits that es-caped earlier.”

The source added that the po-lice arrested the first suspect,Ahmed Adelawo, who sustainedbullet injury on his leg, when theyintercepted conversation betweenhim and a native doctor, whomhe paid N15,000 to prepare acharm that will prevent the po-lice from arresting him.

“We arrested the native doctorand we used him to arrestAdelawo in Ikotun, where he wasreceiving treatment for his bulletwound.

“We then used Adelowo to ar-rest Leke Ayinde and AbiodunYinusa,” the source said.

Meantime, the arrest of Yinusa

didn’t come easy as he fled fromLagos State after the robbery in-cident.

The source said: “He ran toAkwa Ibom State when he learntthat we had arrested Adelawo, buthe came back last Wednesday toattend to a case he had in courtfor stealing. Our operatives gotinformation and stormed the courtand arrested him on his way out.

The Ajao Estate operation“When the bandits were

brought before Godogodo whowas arrested penultimate Thurs-day in Egbeda area of Ibadan, af-ter a massive manhunt by SARSoperatives, they explained thatthey brought in Godogodo tohelp them dislodge the mobilepolicemen that were on guard atthe warehouse where the robbery

took place.Yinusa, who is a resident of Ajao

Estate, said: “ I owned the job. Iwas the one who got Adelawoand others involved. I, Adelawoand Chuks have been operatingwithin Ajao Estate because we areall residents of that area and weare familiar with the terrain.

“The warehouse is located at thespot where I usually go to smokeIndian hemp and I know theyused to store expensive mobilephones.

“I have also assisted them in offloading one of their containers,an opportunity I seized to surveythe place. Three months ago, I,Adelawo and Chuks went to robat the warehouse and we stolephones worth only N200,000.

“We couldn’t get into the placewhere the expensive phoneswere stored. After that operation,the owner of the warehousechanged the doors, installed se-curity camera and they alsobrought some armed mobile po-licemen to guard the place.

Godogodo's involvement“My friend, Adelawo, got broke

and he said he wanted us to at-tack the warehouse again. I toldhim that it would be difficult be-cause there were policemen onguard, he said he knew peoplewho could repel policemen andget what ever they wanted.

“I told him to contact them. Oneof them was Godogodo.

“On the night of that operation,Godogodo came to Ajao Estate intwo Range Rover SUVs and hecalled us to lead them to theplace. On arrival, they cut the keyto the gate of the warehouse,Godogodo and his friends wentinto the security house, openedfire on a policeman on guard andcollected his rifle, uniform and

bullet proof shirt.“Then they smashed the wall to

the warehouse with a sledge ham-mer and gained entrance into thewarehouse. After about 30 min-utes, they loaded the SUVs withmobile phones and other gadg-ets.

“But on our way out, some po-licemen who attempted to con-front us were repelled byGodogodo’s superior fire powerand we escaped.

5 members killed“We drove down to a street in

Oshodi where we shared ourloot, but on our way to the Island,where we wanted to drop offGaniu Mental, the policemenaccosted us and killed five mem-bers of our gang. I managed toescape. I don’t know howAdelawo and Ayinde escaped.”

I didn't know mobilephones were target—Godogodo

Reacting to the narrative,Godogodo told Vanguard that hewasn’t aware that their target inthat operation was mobile phoneswarehouse.

“I am bigger than mobilephones, I can’t steal suchanymore. These boys told me thatthere was N70 million in thatwarehouse; that was why I wentwith them.

“If I had known that what wewere going to steal were justmobile phones, I wouldn’t havefollowed them. Yes, they told methat policemen were there so I wasprepared. I carried over 300rounds of live ammunition, so Icould stand any attack. I don’tknow these boys even if I see themon the road.”

Says ‘I didn't know mobile phones were target, I'm bigger than that’

Female teacher arrested for allegedlydefiling two-and-half-year old girl

BY EVELYN USMAN

LAGOS — THE Lagos StatePolice Command has ar-

rested a woman who allegedlydefiled a two-and-a half-year-old girl in Ilupeju area of La-gos.

The suspect, identified asFunmi, is a teacher in an un-disclosed nursery and primaryschool around Ilupeju.

Sources revealed that Funmiallegedly inserted a fork intothe little girl’s private part.

It was gathered that the bub-ble burst after the toddler ar-rived home crying. In an at-tempt to pacify her, her mother

reportedly took her to thebathroom for a shower. Butimmediately she reached outto wash the baby’s privatepart, the kindergarten babyreportedly wailed.

The curious mother was saidto have taken a closer look ather child but could not con-clude what the problem was,until the child revealed thealleged deed by her teacher inschool.

The mother was said to havereported the case to the police,and the school’s managementwas informed. But all theteachers reportedly denied,saying the child might notknow what she was talking

about.To ascertain the toddler ’s

claim, all the teachers in theschool were said to have beenparaded before the child toidentify the culprit, in the proc-ess of which she pointed atFunmi, following which shewas arrested.

Police sources hinted that thecase was, Wednesday, chargedto a special court after themedical test conducted on thechild showed that her hymenhad been broken.

However, Funmi denied theallegation. In her statement tothe Police, she claimed to beoblivious of the allegation.


Victim for overseas treatmentBY SAMUEL

OYADONGHA

Mrs. Bosede Akapo and the triplet

IG probes alleged deaththreats on Lagos cleric

BY UDO IBUOT

LAGOS— THE InspectorGeneral of Police, Mo-

hammed Abubakar, hasordered a full scale investiga-tion into the allegedpersistent death threats on aLagos cleric, Most SeniorEvangelist Bola Odupitanand his spouse, Aderonke.

Already, a crack team ofthree special investigatorsfrom the IGP Monitoring Unitin the IGP’s Office, Abuja,has been despatched to Lagos“to get to its root and ascertainthe extent of the alleged in-volvement” of a former OgunState commissioner.

The IG’s intervention followsa petition, dated July 22,2013, in which the Odupitansaccused the former OgunState commissioner of teamingup with their former employeeto threaten their lives.

In the petition, Odupitanstated: “The whole storydated back to 2011, when mywife introduced a member ofher former church (nameswithheld) to me for employ-ment.

“He was employed andplaced on salary of N70, 000per month, but due to his in-competence, misconduct andrudeness, he was relieved ofthe job.

"The suspect and his wife,who had earlier receivedsome financial assistancefrom me from the proceeds ofa property I sold to repay thebank loan on it, furtherapproached me within fewweeks, for more financialassistance to fund an LPO hereceived from the Delta Stategovernor to supply 25 cars.

“I told him that as a pen-sioner, it would be difficult forme to get such amount ofmoney to fund the supply of25 cars.

"For my refusal to help himout, he felt embittered,believing that it was myspouse, Aderonke, that wasresponsible for my not oblig-

Ogun opens bank account for mum of triplet

with Sterling Bank with theaccount name: Akapo TaiwoKehinde Idowu, Accountnumber: 0021422589, Sortcode: 232170012.

The state Commissioner forWomen Affairs and Social De-velopment, Mrs ElizabethSokunbi, had led the govern-ment delegates to visit theAfojupa village house of themother of the babies in Owode-Egba in Obafemi/ Owode Lo-cal Government Area of Ogun

State with the traditional rulerof Owode, Oba KolawoleSowemimo.

The state government do-nated clothing materials, ba-bies’ needs and cash.

Mrs. Bosede Akapo ex-pressed appreciation for thegovernment's gesture and alsothanked the traditional rulerfor his support before and af-ter her delivery

She used the occasion to ap-peal to her runaway husband,who has not shown up at homesince she delivered the babies,to come out of hiding, espe-cially now that governmenthas offered assistance to them.

The 30-year-old mother offive was assisted by aneigbhour on a motorcycle tothe hospital on Wednesday,July 24, 2013 when she waspressed with labour andthereafter delivered triplet atOre-ofe Maternity Home inOwode-Egba town.

The monarch of the commu-nity paid the hospital bill. Boththe woman and her childrenare in good condition.

Two suspected attackers of Bayelsa NYSCmember nabbed

ABEOKUTA — THEmother of the triplet

whose husband ran awaywhen the news of the birthreached him, last week, hasreceived assistance from herhome state, the Ogun Stategovernment.

Responding to calls frompeople, the government hasfacilitated the opening of abank account for the woman toenable those who want to as-sist her and the children do so.

The account was opened

ing his request. Since then,Aderonke, my wife, has beenreceiving “death threats” ontelephone over the matter.

Vanguard understood thatsince arriving Lagos, theAbuja team of investigatorshave successfully interrogat-ed the petitioner, BolaOdupitan, and his spouse,Aderonke. It was, however,learnt that throughout theirfive-day stay in Lagos, all thesuspects and their guarantorswere not made available to theteam by the IGP MonitoringUnit in Obalende, Lagos. Asa result, they have since re-turned to Abuja “ veryfurious.”

Meanwhile, it is believedthat the Police may declarethe suspect, the wife and theircohorts wanted in connectionwith the alleged persistentdeath threats, “any momentfrom now”.

Top police officials at theMonitoring Unit in KamSalem House, Obalende areaof Lagos, kept “sealed lips”when contacted for commentsover the matter.

Elders from IBB Square in Bauchi, Bauchi State sharing meat for Eid-el-Fitr celebration, yesterday. Photo: NAN

YENAGOA —THE police inBayelsa State have ar-

rested the alleged attackers ofMiss Folakemi Akinbode, aNational Youth Service Corps,NYSC, member serving in thestate whose right hand was al-most chopped off, Mondaynight, at Obunagha inYenagoa Local GovernmentArea.

Meantime, an Italian firmhas agreed to sponsor the vic-tim who has regainedconciousness overseas forproper medical treatment andrehabilitation.

The two suspects, identifiedas Ebi Jatto and Weriye Aluwa,who are currently in policecustody, it was learnt, were

nabbed 72 hours after the at-tack through the support of theObunagha community youths.

Miss Akinbode was attackedwith a machete for reportedlyrefusing to hand over unspeci-fied amount of money in herpossession while returningfrom work that fateful, Mon-day.

It was reliably gathered thatthe suspects were arrested atKoroama community about twokilometres from the scene ofcrime while attempting to sellthe mobile phone of their vic-tim.

A security source told Van-guard that the suspects hadconfessed to the crime andclaimed that the lady strug-gled with them in their attemptto snatch her bag.

The corps member, it would

of money used by the hospitalto pay blood donors at theblood bank section of the hos-pital.

The arrested suspects, ac-cording to a security source,were present during the pay-ment made to the blood donorsby the corps member.

According to the securitysource, “they claimed that allthey wanted from her was theremaining money she kept inher bag after the payments inthe afternoon. But that when shestruggled and identified one ofthem, she was attacked withmachete.”

Confirming the arrest, the tra-ditional rule of the Obunaghacommunity, the Ibolou XI,H.R.H Godsgive Apoh, said theprompt arrest of the suspectedattackers was made possible byemergency meeting of youthvigilante body set up to inves-tigate and apprehend those in-volved in the attack.

The state Police Public Rela-tions Officer, Mr. Alex Akhigbe,confirmed the arrest but saidthey were yet to establish themotive behind the attack.

Victim for overseastreatment

Meanwhile, an unnamed Ital-ian firm, it was learnt, is makingfrantic effort to fly the victim over-seas for treatment.

Sources, however, told Van-guard that the move was stalled,yesterday, due to the Sallah holi-days and other logistics.

“We are optimistic that the prob-lem would be sorted out on Mon-day after the Sallah holidays toenable her travel overseas forproper medical attention and re-habilitation,” a source told Van-guard.

be recalled,was attackedat about8 . 3 0 p mwhile re-turning tothe lodgenear theNiger DeltaUniversityTe a c h i n gH o s p i t a l ,Okolobori,her place ofprimary as-signment.

M i s sAkinbode,26, a gradu-ate Nurse ofM a d o n n aUniversitywas reportedto have beenin charge ofhuge amount


EID-EL-FITR: From left— Sen. Bala Mohammed, FCT Minister; Vice-President Namadi Sambo; Col. Sambo Dasuki, National Security Adviser; AdmiralOla Ibrahim, Chief of Defence Staff; Mr. Mohammed Abubakar, Inspector-General of Police, and Justice Alfa Belgore, former Chief Justice of Nigeria, during theEid-el-Fitr prayer in Abuja, yesterday. Leading the prayer is Alhaji Musa Mohammed, Chief Imam of National Mosque.

PRESIDENT GoodluckJonathan declared, yester-

day, that those who predictedthat Nigeria will disintegrate in2015 will be disappointed evenas former heads of state, Gen.Ibrahim Babangida(rtd.) andGen. AbdulsalamiAbubakar(rtd.) and otherprominent Nigerians, havecalled for peaceful co-existenceamong different ethnic groupsfor the country to develop.

They spoke, yesterday, at thecelebration of Eid-el-Fitri,marking the end of Ramadanfasting.

Speaking after the Vice Presi-dent, Namadi Sambo, led otherMuslim faithful on a Sallah hom-age to him, President Jonathannoted that some of the problemsthe country was experiencingwere temporary and largelyfueled by some selfish elite.

The President said: “Chris-tians and Muslims are broth-ers and sisters and we mustlive together. For those who arepredicting that this country willdisintegrate in 2015 based onthe fault lines at the time of theamalgamation, will know thatthis prediction will not be ofany consequence. Nigeria willcontinue to remain one indivis-ible country.”

‘We're unique’He said that Nigeria’s

uniqueness is borne out of itsposition as a deeply religiouspeople and that it was thecountry’s unique advantage.

He said: “For us, we cannotimagine a Nigeria without

Muslims and Christians. It is ablessing that this is one countrythat you have significant popu-lation of Muslims and Chris-tians and this religious diversitywill enhance our developmentbecause we can get across thewhole world and wherever wego we are accepted.

“It helps us in so many ways.We are not even exploiting ourdiversity because of the myopicviews of the elite about our situ-ations.”

While congratulating all Mus-lims for a successful fasting,which he described as a “tempt-ing period,” President Jonathanreiterated the commitment of hisadministration to reposition thecountry for better.

He called for more prayers, notjust for peace in the country, butin the world, saying that therecan be no development withoutpeace.

Jonathan said: “Today is aunique day. I urge our Muslimbrothers and sisters that theyshould continue to pray for peace,not just in Nigeria, but all overthe world. If you watch televisionthese days, more than 60 percentof the time is spent on showingcrises all over the world.

“For the world to move aheadand for Nigeria to move ahead,for us to develop first and fore-most, there must be peace andsecurity. Nobody will come andinvest in an environment whereyou are not sure of the safety ofyour workers and investment.

“As a nation, for our childrento get where we want them tobe, we must create a very peace-ful environment for them so theycan develop mentally and befocused and use their brains ina manner that will bring eco-

nomic changes to us.“In Nigeria, we are a very

religious people and we be-lieve in one Almighty Godand as we continue to pray,God will see us through. Yes,we have some few chal-lenges, but surely Allah willsee us through.”

Thank you Mr.President — Sambo

Earlier in his remarks, VicePresident Namadi Sambo,thanked President Jonathanfor providing the requiredleadership in the country.

He said: “We are here to payhomage and to thank you forwhat you have been doing forNigeria. The month ofRamadan is a holy month.

“The imam, during the ser-mon, reminded us that Godwill forgive the sins of who-ever fasted throughout thatperiod, and accept all ourprayers.

“We prayed for peace, forGod to grant you good healthand wisdom and the grace totransform Nigeria to a bettercountry.”

IBB, Abubakarpreach peace

Meanwhile, as Muslimsacross the world celebrate Eid-el-Fitri, former leaders andother prominent Nigerianshave called for peaceful co-existence among different eth-nic groups for the country todevelop.

Former Head of State,Abubakar, in his message,called on all Nigerians to im-bibe the lessons of theRamadan fasting by living

peacefully with one anotherfor the progress of the coun-try.

Speaking with journalistsshortly after the prayers inMinna, yesterday, he enjoinedNigerians to join hands withgovernment at all levels, point-ing out that no meaningful de-velopment can take place in anatmosphere of chaos and crisis.

Speaking in the same vein,former Military President,Babangida, called on Nigeri-ans to co-exist and respect thereligion and culture of oneanother, adding that it wouldmake peace to reign in thecountry.

Ado Bayero, tooSimilarly, the Emir of Kano,

Alhaji Ado Bayero, called onthe people of the state to con-tinue to pray for the suste-nance of peace and stabilityin the state and the country.

Bayero told Muslims faith-ful at his palace after the Eid-el-Fitri prayer at the CentralMosque, Kano, that no soci-ety could achieve any mean-ingful development in an at-mosphere of rancour and un-certainty.

Represented by WambanKano, Alhaji Abbas Sanusi, theEmir warned the people, par-ticularly Kano residents, to de-sist from indiscriminate build-ing of structures on water waysto avoid flood disaster.

Sultan of Sokototasks clergy

In his Sallah message, theSultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’adAbubakar, called on Islamicand Christian clergy to preachwith the absolute fear of Godin the country.

Abubakar said the clergyshould fear Allah and live

above their own selfish inter-ests, while preaching to theirfollowers.

He said: “They should avoidprovocative statements thatcould lead to the breach ofpeace and lead to violence inthe country.

“They should also know thatstaying attuned to the religiousteachings is the only way thatbring mutual respect and love,which eventually lead to thedesired peace in the nation.”

The monarch also said that itwas not right for a non-Mus-lim to interfere in the affairs ofMuslims and Islam or to im-pose his views on the religionhe did not profess.

On security c’tteeAbubakar then commended

Federal Government for consti-tuting the committee on the se-curity challenges in the north.

He said that those calling forthe scrapping of the committeewere enemies of peace andwere “unpatriotic,” andcharged Nigerians to give thecommittee the necessary sup-port to accomplish its job.

The Sultan said: “It is aknown fact that no peace couldbe achieved except throughconstructive dialogue.

“On our part, we are satisfiedwith the work of this commit-tee and we are ready to give itall necessary support.”

The Sultan also called onleaders at all levels to fear Al-lah by accomplishing the trustplaced on them in leading theirsubjects.

He said: “The precarious situ-ation of the nation is only dueto bad governance and neglectof divine injunctions.

“Most of the leaders are busyamassing wealth and forgettingtheir subjects they are meantto serve.”

Advocates of Nigeria's disintegration'llbe disappointed— Jonathan

BY BEN AGANDE,HENRY UMORU, WOLE

MOSADOMI

DIALOGUE: From left— Mr. Dayo Adesina, Chairman, Liquefied Petroleum Gas,LPG, Association of Nigeria; Mrs. Dupe Akindele, Facilitator, Nigerian Economic SummitGroup, NESG, Environmental Sustainability Policy Commission; Professor Collins Gardner,Co-Chairman, Private Sector Environmental Policy Commission of NESG, and Dr. SopeWilliams-Elegbe, Associate Director/Head of Research, NESG, at the stakeholders' dialoguewith NESG on Environmental Sustainability Policy Commission Low Carbon Emissions:Mainstreaming LPG Utilisation in Nigeria, in Lagos.

Late Chief Unegbu.

SERAP gives Jonathan 7 daysultimatum on new electricity tariff

Unu Habib,Unegbugoes homes

REMAINS of frontlinejournalist and formerEditor, West African Pi-lot, Chief HerbertUnegbu, will be buriedtomorrow.

Friend of the deceased,Igwe Ezeoba Nwokedi,who spoke to Vanguardin Awka, yesterday, saidthe burial would be pre-ceded by presentation ofa goodbye-clock by lateUnegbu’s old profes-sional friends, includingChief Peter Osugo, Mr.Sam Amuka, PeterEnahoro and others.

Popularly called UnuHabib, Unegbu died athis home in Onitsha,Anambra State, onWednesday, July 3, aged89.

Born November 9,1924, Herbert Unegbuhad his education inOnitsha and started writ-ing in the sameplace. He was a re-nowned columnist andanchor of the popularUnu Habib, which be-came his alias.

He made his mark injournalism havingserved as News Editor,Daily Times, and Editor,West African Pilot.

He was also EasternRegional Editor, RadioNigeria. At the declara-tion of Biafra Republic,he became Head ofNews, Biafran Broad-casting Corporation,when it had Voice ofBiafra and Radio Biafrafor foreign and local au-dience, respectively.

A detribalised Nigerianof eastern extraction,Unegbu, had a good re-lationship with late ChiefObafemi Awolowo.

His media contemporar-ies are Peter Osugo, AlexNwokedi, Peter Enahoro,Peter Obe, EmmanuelJaja, Olu Fadairo, SonnyChu Okongwu and manyothers

He is survived by twowives and children.

BY BASHIRADEFAKA

Gunmen kill Army Captain, aslover burns NYSC member to death

PORT HARCOURT—GUN-MEN shot dead an Army

Captain, simply identified asJoseph, in Port Harcourt, yester-day.

Rivers State Police Public Re-lations Officer, PPPRO, AngelaAgaba, who confirmed the devel-opment, identified the victim,adding that the crime was stillunder investigation.

It was, however, gathered thatthe gunmen had trailed the de-ceased from Aba Road throughRumuola to Psychiatric HospitalRoad, where they caught up withhim at a traffic gridlock.

A resident, who spoke to Van-guard said: “Four gunmen in aToyota Camry car chased the vic-tim and caught him here as hetried in vain to reverse on the traf-fic jam.”

It was also gathered that thevictim was pleading loudly inIkwerre dialect for the assail-ants to spare his life, indicat-ing that he may be of Ikwerreextraction and possibly knewthe killers.

Meanwhile, Police in PortHarcourt, Rivers State, are cur-rently questioning a gradu-ate, one Francis Ogbonna,said to be from Ovim inIsikwuato Local GovernmentArea of Abia State, on why heallegedly burnt to death a 23-year-old girl, a National YouthService Corps, NYSC, mem-ber in Port Harcourt.

The girl, Miss Winifred Oke,was said to have been killedby Francis Ogbonna, believedto be her lover. They were saidto have attended the sameuniversity, Michael Okpara

University of Agriculture,Umudike, Abia State.

Miss Oke, a native of Amawo,Oboro in Ikwuano Local Govern-ment Area of the state, was saidto have graduated from the uni-versity with a second class up-per in Home Economics.

The body was transferred fromthe University of Port HarcourtTeaching Hospital, UPTH, to theFederal Medical Centre, FMC,Umuahia, Wednesday, with anNYSC ambulance.

According to her 53-year-oldfather, Mr. Okechukwu Oke, thesuspect, Francis, allegedly sprin-kled petrol around the house ofhis daughter and set it ablaze,which gave Winifred severeburns.

Her roommate, whose nameVanguard could not ascertain atpress time, also sustained seri-

ous injuries and is still receivingtreatment at UPTH.

Her father said: “Sometime lastmonth, July, somebody called meon phone at 7a.m., that I shouldcome to Port Harcourt, saying mydaughter had an accident.

“I asked the type of accident andhe said that she had an accident atthe NYSC members' residence inPort Harcourt. On further enquiry,he said somebody poured petrol inher apartment and set it ablaze.

“According to the report, at 1a.m.,the suspect first locked the door fromoutside, went through the window,sprinkled petrol and then set herroom ablaze. I and her mother hadto go to Port Harcourt.

“She had plastic surgery on herlegs and she remained in the in-tensive care unit, ICU. She was onoxygen until Wednesday, July 31,before she died at 5.30a.m.”

SOCIO-Economic Rightsand Accountability

Project, SERAP, has ap-pealed to PresidentGoodluck Jonathan to,within seven days “use hisleadership and position tourgently instruct the PowerHolding Company of Ni-geria, PHCN, and the Ni-gerian Electricity RegulatoryCommission, NERC, to re-verse the new electricity tar-iff as it is manifestly arbitrary,unfair, unjust and discrimi-natory.”

In a letter dated August 2by SERAP's Executive Di-rector AdetokunboMumuni, the organisationsaid: “We are seriously con-cerned about the increasedelectricity tariff by your gov-

ernment under the Multi-YearTariff Order, MYTO, and con-sider this increase as anti-peo-ple and a flagrant violation ofthe human rights of the mostvulnerable and marginalisedsector of the population.

“Our requests are entirelyconsistent with the country’sinternational human rights ob-ligations and commitments,”and threatened “internationaland national legal actions if thegovernment fails and or neglectsto reverse the increase withinseven days of the receipt and/orpublication of this letter.”

The organisation also statedthat it would “work with civilsociety, social movements andcommunity organisations andthe citizens to challenge thismanifestly unlawful action by

the government.“Increasing electricity tariff by

over 100 percent at a time powersupply has not improved and in-deed remains irregular and de-spite this government’s often-ex-pressed commitment to improveelectricity supply, is anti-people.

“The much promised transfor-mation of the power sector by thegovernment has remained unful-filled, while the majority of thecitizens continue to face extremepoverty.

“Rather than arbitrarily increas-ing electricity tariffs, the govern-ment should investigate thespending of about $3.5 billionannually on power in the last 10years, and bring to justice any-one suspected to be responsiblefor the stealing or mismanage-ment of public funds.”

BY ANAYO OKOLI &EGUFE YAFUGBORHI


B A U C H I — U N -KNOWN persons

allegedly dumped twochildren in a fish pondalong Dumi Road, closeto Railway Quarters inBauchi metropolis, yes-terday.

It was gathered thatone of the kids, who arebetween three and fouryears, died before helpcould come, while theother one was rushed toAbubakar Tafawa BalewaTeaching Hospital,Bauchi, and is receivingmedical attention.

Vanguard learnt thattwo women and a man,who came in a tricycle,popularly known as KekeNAPEP, threw the twochildren inside the fishpond and sped off.

Meanwhile, tragedystruck, yesterday, asseven persons were burntbeyond recognition whilefive others sustained in-juries in an auto crashalong Durum village inBauchi Local Govern-ment Area of BauchiState.

Vanguard gatheredthat the accident, whichoccurred around12.50p.m., involved twocommercial vehicles withplate numbers AE 609NNG, AA 698.

2 dumped infish pond,accidentclaims 7 inBauchi

BY SUZAN EDEH


‘DEPORTATION’ SAGA: Civil societycoalition blames FG

COALITION OF CivilSociety Group, CCSG,

has blamed the Federal Gov-ernment for the alleged “de-portation’ of 14 destitute fromLagos to Anambra State, say-ing rather, “the central gov-ernment is lacking in the pro-vision of social care for thevulnerable.”

The group also described theaction of Governor Peter Obiof Anambra State as an abdi-cation of its responsibility tothe citizens of the state.

Briefing at the InternationalPress Centre, Ogba, Ikeja, on‘Security Challenges and theRaging Controversy,’ thegroup said rather than con-demn Lagos State Govern-ment, citizens of Igbo extrac-tion should blame the Presi-dency for not providing thenecessary support for the vul-nerable persons in the coun-try.

Speaking on behalf of thegroup, Mr. Abiodun Sowunmilamented that the “centralgovernment hardly inter-venes in the provision of masshousing and there is norecord of any intervention inthe provision of social care forthe destitute in the country.

“Rather than care for them,the Federal Government em-barked on a zero policy on thepresence of destitute in theFederal Capital territory, FCT,Abuja and is currently demol-ishing villages belonging tothe Gwari people (the indi-genes of Abuja) and drivingthem out of the vicinity of theseat of power.

“Therefore, it is beyond be-

lief that any governor of astate in Nigeria, specificallyGovernor Obi, with the knowl-edge of above-mentioned in-tolerance of the poor, will in-vite the Presidency to cautiona state government that wasimplementing the law of itsstate.

“For instance the Lagos

State Environmental law 2012,allows the state to clear beg-gars and destitute off thestreets and then rehabilitatethem. So what the state gov-ernment did was absolutelyright.”

Speaking against the actionof the Anambra State Govern-ment, Mr. Nelson Ekujumi

said “the government whosecitizens have migrated enmasse to other states as des-titute are themselves indictedand Anambra State ought totake measures to rehabilitatethem instead of accusing an-other state government of ‘de-portation.’”

BY MONSUR OLOWOOPE-JO

Lagos IslandPDP washeshands offOlabodeGeorge’ssuspension

LAGOS — THE Lagos Is-land chapter

of the Peoples Demo-cratic Party, PDP, has dis-tanced itself from thepurported suspension offormer Deputy NationalChairman, South of theparty, Chief OlabodeGeorge.

Also, the committee ofPDP Elders in LagosState, called on a chief-tain of the party, Dr.Oluyomi Finnih and hisgroup to desist from cam-paign of calumnyagainst George.

BY DAPO AKINREFON

TUCcondolesFahola

LASAAapprovesdigitaladvertisingon waterways

TRADE Union Con-gress of Nigeria, TUC,has commiserated withGovernor BabatudeFashola of Lagos State,over the death of his fa-ther, Pa IbrahimAdemola Fashola.

In the condolence let-ter by the President andSecretary of TUC,Bobboi Kagaima andMusa Lawal, the bodysaid “On behalf of theentire members of TUC,we do hereby extend ourheartfelt condolence toyou and other survivorsof Pa Ibrahim AdemolaFashola.”

THE FIRST outdooradvertising display onwater-ways will hold inLagos State, followingapproval by Lagos StateSignage and Advertise-ment Agency, LASAA,for the deployment offacilities and infrastruc-ture to support thelaunch.

According to the Man-aging Director of theAgency, Mr. GeorgeKayode Noah, “this isanother format for out-door advertising, whichprovides a unique can-vas for a variety of dig-ital advertising.”

Motorists barred from Ahmadu Bello Way, V/I tillSunday

LAGOS — Lagos StateGovernment has re-

stricted movement of motoristsalong Ahmadu Bello Way, Vic-toria Island, saying only onelane of the road will be usedfrom Thursday, August 8 (yes-terday) to Sunday, August 11,2013.

The temporary regulation isdue to the ongoing construc-

tion work on Ahmadu BelloWay, Victoria Island.

The restriction is to allow foreasy movement of equipmentalong the construction siteand the impact on motorists.

Commissioner for Transpor-tation, Mr. Kayode Opeifa,who disclosed this, said withthe use of one lane, motoristswho did not have importantbusiness or activity along theaxis were advised to stay offthe road.

Opeifa said those going toGalleria to enjoy their holidaywere free to do so in orderlymanner, noting that pedestri-ans should use the walk-waysto ensure their safety.

The commissioner, however,urged motorists to be cautiouson the road as Traffic SignalLights, TSL, installed on theaxis would be put off and traf-fic would be controlled manu-ally.

BY OLASUNKANMI AKONI

BY OLASUNKANMI AKONI

LAWMA wants cleaner Lagos forEid el Fitr

LAGOS — LAGOSWaste Management Au-

thority, LAWMA, has directedoperators of the Private Sec-tor Participants, PSPs, to en-sure 24 hours effective dis-posal of waste during thisfestive period.

The agency, however,warned all motorists to ob-serve the speed limit and

drive properly to prevent ac-cident and incidental death asvarious street sweepers wouldbe on the road to maintain ad-equate clean up of the roads.

Also, to ensure easy move-ment during the celebration,the Lagos Metropolitan AreaTransport Authority LAMATA,regulators of Bus Rapid Tran-sit BRT, is providing free busride to Lagos residents today,August 9, 2013.

On the 24 hours operation,

LAWMA’s Managing Direc-tor, Mr. Ola Oresanya whodisclosed this while unveilingplans by the agency to hostthis year ’s edition of theWaste to Food programmebilled to take place at AgegeStadium on August 17, 2013,said it was aimed at ensuringfilth–free environment.

The authority also wishedMuslims in the state a happyEid-el-Fitr celebration.

EID-EL-FITR: From left, Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari; Kwara State Governor, Dr. Abdulfatah Ahmed; Senatorrepresenting Kwara Central, Sen. Bukola Saraki, and Minister of Sports & Youth Development, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, atEid-el-fitr praying ground, Ilorin, yesterday.


... Upholdlessons ofRamadan,Oni urgesMuslims

NSCIA bemoans South-WestMuslims’ exclusion from FEC

BY DAUD OLATUNJI

ABEOKUTA — NI-GERIA Supreme Coun-

cil for Islamic Affairs, NSCIA,has frowned at the non-inclu-sion of Muslims from South-West geo-political zone of thecountry in the Federal Execu-tive Council, describing the ac-tion as “unfair, inequitableand unjust to Muslims fromthe zone.”

The Nigeria apex Islamicbody submitted that the coun-try was in mess because Ni-gerian leaders are not fair, eq-uitable, just and truthful .

The Secretary-General, Ni-geria Supreme Council for Is-

lamic Affairs, Prof. IshaqOloyede stated this, yester-day, shortly after he observedEid el Fitr prayer, at LantoroPrayer Ground, in Abeokuta.

According to Oloyede, "wewant to appeal to the FederalGovernment to be fair to us,to be fair to all. Is it an acci-dent that throughout theSouth-West, Nigeria, there isno Cabinet member who is aMuslim and yet you will sayMuslims are intolerant.

“I think it is important for usto be fair, to be just, we mightthink we are clever, that peo-ple don’t see what we are do-ing, but we are deceivingourselves.

"I think the truth of the mat-

ter is, we should be just to all,we should be equitable insuch a way that we will notplay ourselves into the handsof those hell-bent on disinte-grating this community ofours,” he said.

Meantime, GovernorIbikunle Amosun of Ogun statehas sued for peace and unityamong Nigerians, irrespec-tive of one’s religion.

He said that people shouldbe wary of violence, religiousbigotry, misunderstanding andethnicity.

“We want to admonish all ofus to sustain all good deedsand virtues we did duringRamadan and to be pious af-ter the Holy month,” Amosun

said.Similarly, the former Minis-

ter for Steel and Mineral Re-sources, Sarafa Ishola ex-horted Muslims to eshew vio-lence and embrace peace andunity, describing them as thepanacea for national develop-ment.

Speaking earlier, LiadiOrunsolu, the Chief Imam ofEgbaland, cautioned Nigeri-ans to be mindful of their ut-terances and be pious andequitable.

He tasked Nigerians, espe-cially those in the corridor ofpower, not to let people downand forfeit trust people reposein them.

Fayemi advocates Yoruba language usage in schools

EKITI STATE Governor,Dr. Kayode Fayemi has

renewed his call for the intro-duction of Yoruba language asa means of education andcommunication in schoolsacross the South-Western partof Nigeria.

The Governor made the callin Akure, Ondo State capital,yesterday, at the first interna-tional conference commemo-

rating the 50th anniversary ofthe death of foremost indig-enous novelist, DanielFagunwa.

Supporting his stance,Fayemi said various experi-ments have shown that stu-dents who study in theirmother tongue are betterequipped than those taught ina second language.

He added that this was whythe promotion of Yoruba lan-guage and culture is one ofthe cardinal elements of theregional integration agenda ofthe South West states.

“We must admit that every-day Fagunwa’s looming imagecontinues to challenge us asa people. His works continueto remind us that our lan-

guage is complete and thatthe Yoruba language must notbe left to rot away,” he said.

In his remarks, chairman ofthe occasion and Orangun ofOke Ila, Oba AdedokunAbolarin, said Fagunwa’sbooks show his brilliance andtalents, adding that they arequite useful in legal proceed-ings on criminal cases.

Oyocommissionerraises fund forlate Atayero

OYO STATE Com-mis-sioner for Ag-

riculture, Mr. PeterOdetomi, is spearhead-ing the fifth year remem-brance and fundraisingfor the family of the lategospel artiste, Evange-list Bayo Adegboyega,a.k.a. Atayero, who diedin 2008.

A statement from theRemi Odetomi Musicand Foundation for theLess-privileged, yester-day, said that the gesturebecame necessary to as-sist the family of the de-ceased renowned musi-cian.

EID-EL-FITR:

Adeyeye callsfor moreprayers forNigeria

A F E N I F E R ECHIEFTAIN and

Peoples DemocraticParty, PDP, governorshipaspirant in Ekiti State,Prince AdedayoAdeyeye has urgedMuslim faithful in thecountry not to relent inthe prayers for Nigeriaand President GoodluckJonathan-led FederalGovernment.

He said: “The peacenow being enjoyed inthe Northern part of Ni-geria is an indicationthat the prayers of ourMuslim brothers and sis-ters during Ramadanfasting period were an-swered and we shouldnot stop praying for thecountry and its leadersnow that Ramadan hasended.

FORMER GOVER-NOR of Ekiti State,

Chief Segun Oni hasurged Muslim faithful inthe country to continue touphold the lessons of theHoly Month of Ramadanby avoiding all sinfulacts.

He said: “Those thingsthat were abhorred dur-ing the Ramadan fastingperiod should no longerbe allowed to becomepart of our lives now thatthe fasting has ended.”

CONFERENCE: From left, daughter of late D.O. Fagunwa, Barr. Yejide Ogundipe; Ondo State Governor, Dr. OlusegunMimiko; Nobel Laureate/Keynote Speaker, Prof. Wole Soyinka, and Diwura Fagunwa-Adebayo, at the opening of the inter-national conference on late Fagunwa, entitled: 'D.O Fagunwa - 50 Years on,' in Akure, yesterday.

NGO asks Fashola to apologise for 'deporting' Anambra indigenes

BY JOHNBOSCO AGBAK-WURU

ABUJA — A non-govern-mental organisation,

Citizens Network for Peaceand Development, CNPD, hascondemned the 'deportation'of some indigenes ofAnambra State by the LagosState Government and asked

Governor Babatunde Fashola,SAN, to apologise for the ac-tion.

The Director-General ofCNPD, Comrade PreyeDressman, who led the groupon a courtesy visit to Van-guard Regional Office, Abuja,said that the action of the gov-ernor was capable of causingethnic crisis in the country andthat if not tackled immediately

it could have ripple effects.According to him: “The ac-

tion of Lagos State Governmentis capable of attracting ethnic re-prisals which in turn may gener-ate into a crisis that might noteasily be contained by govern-ment.

“We believe that every citizenof Nigeria as provided by theconstitution has the right to livefreely in any part of the country

irrespective of his/her status, tribe,or religion. We therefore advisethat the authorities concerned toshow maturity in resolving theissue.

“If Lagos governor claimedhe had written to the AnambraState government, does it jus-tify him to dump the people atthe time and place they weredumped?" Dressman asked.


IG to Rivers CP: Be professionalBY BEN AGANDE

Rep, others condemn alleged arrest of Amaechi’ssupporters

BY JIMITOTA ONOYUME

BY SAMUELOYADONGHA

IAAN to holdannualconference

Anger trails postponement of IYC election

ABUJA—THE Inspector-General of Police, Mr.

Mohammed Abubakar, yester-day, charged the Rivers StatePolice Commissioner, Mr.Joseph Mbu, to be a profes-sional police officer by provid-ing safety and security for thepeople and development ofthe state.

He also said that the policeshould not be dragged into thepolitics of states.

Addressing State HouseCorrespondents after payingthe traditional Sallah visit toPresident Goodluck Jonathanin Abuja, Abubakar said: “Weare not politicians, we cannotbe brought into the politics ofthis country. Professional po-lice officers are supposed todo what they are supposed todo: to protect lives and prop-erty and that is why we re-main where we are and wecharge the Commissioner ofPolice (Mbu) to be a profes-sional police officer by provid-ing safety and security for thegood people of Rivers Stateand for the development of thestate.”

On the dismissal of a policeSergeant caught on video,while extorting a motorist inLagos, he said same was tosend a strong message that hewould not preside over a cor-rupt police force, noting thatthe fact that the police officerwas caught in the act meantthat he did not deserve any

punishment less than what hegot.

He added that the dismissalof the Sergeant was an indi-cation that the police authori-ties closely monitor the per-sonnel to check their misde-meanour.

He said: “You can see thatwe are information technolo-gy compliant. We know whatis happening on YouTube, weknow what is happening allover the world. And becausewe believe that we have to dowhat is right, we warned our

officers and men, sometimeswe set them up, to ensure thatwe catch them in the act. Andwhoever is caught in the actis dismissed.

“There is a process that ison-going. If the man involvedis willing and ready to giveevidence in court, the dis-missed police officer will alsobe charged to court.”

Speaking further, he ex-plained that the peace beingexperienced during the Sal-lah celebration was as a resultof collaboration between the

police and other securityagencies as well as the coop-eration of Nigerians in fight-ing insecurity in the country.

“We want to thank AlmightyAllah for His mercies, for Hisgrace that the country is be-coming more peaceful thanever before. We shall contin-ue to pray and I want to usethis opportunity to thank Ni-gerians for their support, co-operation, partnership infighting crime and criminali-ty in the country,” he added.

INTERNATIONALAssociation of Afri-

can Non-governmentalOrganisations, IAAN, isset to hold its annualconference, aimed at ad-dressing issues of capac-ity building for NGOsand empowering themwith technology amongother developmental is-sues in developingcountries.

The conference sched-uled to hold at theHilton Hotel, Rockville,Maryland, with thetheme, EmpoweringNGOS through Aware-ness in the Age of Glo-balization, will featureMrs. Sarah Jiibril, Spe-cial Assistant to Presi-dent Goodluck Jonathanon Ethics and Values,among other speakersand participants.

BY RITAOBODOECHINA

PORT HARCOURT—HOUSE of Representa-

tives member, Mr. OgbonnaNwuke, has condemned whathe described as the arbitraryarrest of loyalists of GovernorChibuike Amaechi of RiversState in his constituency.

Noting that the alleged ar-rest was a violation of the ten-ets of popular democracy,Nwuke, representing Etche/Omuma federal constituency,Rivers State, warned that thepeople should not be harassedover their political views.

He said: “I condemn the ar-bitrary arrests and detentionof my constituents. Peopleshould be allowed to expresstheir views. It is against thetenets of our democracy. Theanti-Amaechi leaders andgroups are attacking the gov-ernor and the Rivers StateGovernment on a daily basis,nobody has touched them, so

why should they arrest per-sons in my constituency, whowere only expressing theirminds and political affiliation.This is a clear case of intimi-dation and victimisation.

“The Police must be seenand perceived to be actingabove board. This looks like a

clear case of taking sidesagainst Rivers people in thepolitical crisis in the state. Inthe midst of this crisis, onewould have expected that thepolice would be neutral anddischarge their duties withoutbias but unfortunately, the re-verse is the case.”

A Peoples Democratic Party,PDP chieftain in the area, MrDarlington Nwanju, who alsocondemned the actions of se-curity operatives in the ar-rests, said it was sad thatsome had chosen to use secu-rity operatives to harass andintimidate loyalists of the gov-ernor in the area.

Y E N A G O A — T H Eplanned national elec-

tion of the crisis-torn Ijaw YouthCouncil, IYC, worldwide, slat-ed for Saturday has been post-poned, following the interven-tion of Ijaw National Congress,INC.

Though no new date has beenfixed for the election of the cri-sis-ridden and factionalisedIYC, it was learnt that support-ers of some aspirants, who hadcampaigned round all Ijaw ar-

eas to canvass for votes are nothappy with the development.

The cancellation of the IYCpoll by the parent body of thegroup, INC, they argued, hadrubbished the peace meetingsinitiated by the Bayelsa Stategovernor, Mr. Seriake Dickson,towards the August 10 poll.

It was learnt that while theAnn Kio-Briggs-led electoralcommittee had concluded thescreening of t62 aspirants,printed ballot papers and thecompilation of the list of dele-gates for the election, the Jere-miah Oba-led electoral com-

mittee, had, yesterday, pub-lished the list of delegates forthe same election slated forweekend, an indication of adivided IYC.

But INC, in a letter, after itsmeeting with Governor Dick-son, the Chairman and Secre-tary of the 2013 IYC electoralCommittee, Ann Kio Briggsand Akpos Mezeh, the formerINC President, Joshua Fumu-dor and Senator EmmanuelDiffa, said the suspension wasdue to receipt of several peti-tions and appeals from mem-bers of IYC.

Uduaghanmournspassage ofFashola’sdad

DELTA State Gover-nor, Dr Emmanuel

Uduaghan has ex-pressed sadness at thepassing on of Alhaji Ad-emola Fashola, father ofGovernor BabatundeRaji Fashola (SAN) ofLagos State. Dr. Uduaghan, in acondolence message byhis Press Secretary, Mr.Felix Ofou, said thatthe people and Govern-ment of Delta Stateshare in the pain andsense of loss occasionedby Fashola’s father ’sdeath.

SALLAH: Chicken hawkers in Bauchi in search of buyers on Stadium Road, Bauchi, duringthe Sallah, yesterday.

Imokef e l i c i t a t e swith Muslims

GOVERNOR LiyelImoke of Cross

River State has felicitat-ed with Muslims on thecelebration of Ed-ill-fitr.

While congratulatingthem on the successfulcompletion of their fast-ing, Governor Imoke, ina statement by his ChiefPress Secretary, Mr.Christian Ita, urgedthem to use the occasionof Ed-ill-fitr celebrationsto rededicate themselvesto the values of peaceand unity in the country.

CMYK



Eid-el-Fitri: PDP calls for unity, love

BY HENRY UMORU

2 injured astruck drivers,task forceofficials clashin Anambra

BY ENYIM ENYIM

Abia appointsJusticeNwakanmaActing CJ ...begs terrorists to have a change of mind

A B U J A — N AT I O N A Lleadership of Peoples

Democratic Party, PDP, has calledon Nigerians to, in the spirit of Eid-El Fitri celebration, inculcate andsustain the lessons from the holymonth of Ramadan in all facets oflife to ensure a united andprosperous Nigeria.

The party also called on thosebehind the series of violent attacksand bloodletting in various partsof the country to use this year’s Eid-El Fitri to have a rethink andunderstand that life was sacrosanctand should not be taken by anyperson under any guise.

The PDP, in an Eid-El Fitrimessage by its Acting NationalPublicity Secretary, Tony Okeke,urged Nigerians to eschew allforms of bitterness and violenceand make room for forgiveness,patriotism, love and peaceful co-existence among themselves.

The party said: “We cannot moveforward or get to the promised landas a nation in the void of love, unityand patriotism. It is imperative thatwe eschew all forms of bitternessand unite as one people under Godwho in his infinite wisdom andmercy decided to bring us together.

“Our nation is replete withimmense human and materialresources but we can only harness

them maximally for the overallbenefit of the people if we learnto work together as a peopleand put the interest of thenation above personal orsectional considerations.

“Nigerians are known forrallying around their leaders atthe time of critical challenges.We must therefore not allow theenemies of our dear nation whoseek personal gains and stoke

the fires of divisions and violenceamong our people to have theirway.”

It wished Nigerians a happySallah celebration and prayed forenduring peace in the country.

Nigeria may losecategory-oneaviationc e r t i f i c a t i o nif...,says AON

BY ANAYO OKOLI

U M U A H I A —FOLLOWING the

compulsory retirement ofJustice ShedrackNwanosike as the actingChief Judge, Abia Stategovernment has sworn-in anew acting chief judge.

She is Justice StellaNwakanma, who by herappointment becomes thefifth acting chief judge, asthe state judiciary had, sinceDecember 2010, when thelast substantive chief judge,Justice Sunday Imo’sretirement, beenadministered by actingchief judges.

Swearing-in the newacting chief judge atGovernment House,Governor Theodore Orjitasked the state judiciary toput its house in order tomake for the appointment ofa substantive chief judge.

He explained thatgovernment followed theextant laws in filling thevacant position, andcongratulated the newacting chief judge on herappointment.

BY UDEME CLEMENT

AIRLINE Operators of Nigeria,AON, has said Nigeria may

lose the Category-One certificationin aviation sector, if the CivilAviation Act of 2006, which is stillin operation was jettisoned for thenew policy introduced by theMinister of Aviation, Stella Oduah.

AON also called on PresidentGoodluck Jonathan to scrap theaviation ministry and grantNigerian Civil Aviation Authority,NCAA, full autonomy to run thesector in line with internationalstandard, even as it called on theSenate to set up a committee toprobe airport projects across thecountry to ascertain if the hugesums put into the projects werecommensurate with the level ofwork done.

The Deputy Secretary General ofAON, Alhaji Mohammed Tukur,disclosed this in a chat withVanguard, stressing that theexisting Act 2006 complied strictlywith aviation regulation globally.

O N I T S H A —B U S I N E S S

activities were yesterdayhalted at Uga rod market inAguata, Anambra State,following a violent clashbetween truck drivers andtask force officials of theMinistry of Transport onroad decongestion in thecompany of the police andarmy.

Two persons, a driver anda staff of Anambra State TaskForce Agency, ASTAreportedly sustained seriousinjuries during the clashand were hospitalised .

The commissioner gavethe traders and truck drivers24 hours to remove vehiclescausing obstruction in theplace, threatening toprosecute any defaulter.

“ We as a government cannot condone suchlawlessness. It isunacceptable and we aregoing to reinforce securityto flush them out".

EID-EL-FITRI—From left: Governor Theodore Orji of Abia State; Alhaji Aliyu Ukariwo,Chief Imam of Umuahia; and Alhaji Suleiman Ukandu, Chairman, Muslim Pilgrim WelfareBoard of Abia State, during the visit of Abia Muslim community to the governor incommemoration of Eid-el-Fitri in Umuahia.

CMYK



From left: Mrs. Omolara Fashola,widow; Governor Babatunde Fashola ofLagos State; Mrs. Abimbola Fashola, First Lady; Mrs. Arinola Fuwa, daugh-ter and Ms. Yinka Fashola, daughter, during the Three Day's Fidau Prayersfor Late Alhaji Ibrahim Ademola Bayo Fashola, father of Governor Raji Fas-hola, in Surulere, Lagos, yesterday.

THREE DAYS FIDAU PRAYERS FOR LATE ALHAJI ADEMOLA FASHOLA

From left: Mr. Wale Tinubu, Oluwayemisi Tinubu and Alhaja Bimtu Fati-mah Tinubu.

From left: Sir Kesington Adebukunola Adebutu, ChiefMolade Okoya-Thomas and Otunba Solomon Oladun-ni.

From left: Mr. Abiodun Fuwa, son-in-law, OtunbaHenry Ajomale, Chairman, APC, Lagos State and SirPius Akinyelure.

From left: Dr. (Mrs.) Funmi Fashola, Alh-ja Abimbola Jakande and Mrs. Mayowa Iku-foriji. Photos : Bunmi Azeez.

CMYK


Responses to: [email protected] or to 0802 747 6458 or 081 1675 9752(texts only). PLEASE KINDLY NOTE THAT UNLESS YOU REQUESTANONYMITY, YOUR COMMENTS MAY BE PUBLISHED, WITH YOURNAMES AND CONTACT DETAILS ATTACHED.

LAST week and the weekbefore, I condemned men

like Senator Ahmed SaniYerima who think it is OK tolure underage females intopremature marriage. It has to be said thatpaedophilia is a perversionthat is not restricted to anygeographical location orreligion…that there arepaedophiles in everyhabitable corner of the globe,including Western nationsand Southern Nigeria….andthat many of thesepaedophiles are Christians,Buddhists, Animists, Hindus,etc. However, different cultureshave different attitudestowards this social evil; andthere’s no getting away fromthe sad and shameful fact thattoo many Northern NigerianMuslims either defendpaedophilia or turn a blindeye to it. I will continue to speak out,at intervals, against thosewho subject fragile little girlsto sexual exploitation,

Liberating childbrides

Readers’ responsesReaders’ responsesReaders’ responsesReaders’ responsesReaders’ responses

emotional trauma and serioushealth problems. But it’s hard to achievechange from a distance; andthe question I keep askingmyself is this: Why areprivileged Northern women –who are much closer to thishuman rights violation than Ican ever be - not making ahuge fuss about it? I know several NorthernMuslim women who arehighly educated,professionally successful,politically powerful,financially independent No-nonsense types. And I know

LAST week, I also wroteabout the political crisis in

Rivers State and criticised themob that threw stones at theNorthern Governors whovisited Amaechi. Here areresponses I received.

+2347084903928 : OdiiOkeke--a pharmacist

The four Northern and Riverstates governors were votedinto power to better the lot ofpeople in their states and notto fan the embers of conflict ordistract the Presidency for someselfish reasons.

It’s irrational for Gov.Amaechi to scheme to unseata president from his region inconnivance with Northerngovernors just for him to benumber two man? Thisambition is first class self-centeredness and an insult onpsyche of Niger Deltans

+2348067275228: Tony AjayiI am a big fan of your column

but was incredibly amazed atthe naivete you displayed inyesterday’s edition. WhileFemi Falana’s intententionmay be altruistic ,the motive ofthe five Northern governors isnot only selfish but alsosinister. Is what is happeningin Rivers State worse than theBoko Haram insurgency in theNorth?

Decorum andpatriotism

Why didn’t they rally formerheads of state to find a solutionto that crisis? Why is it thatopposition governors who alsovisited Amaechi showed morerestraint, maturity, decorumand patriotism in their adviceto Amaechi? Donu try to seebeyond your nose!

+2348033598186: OvuorieDear Donu, the crisis in

Rivers State is not beyond theGovernor and the President tosettle between themselves butthe Yoruba and Northernintruders would not want thatto happen. Use your column totell the intruders to leave RiversState alone.

+ 2 3 4 8 0 2 3 2 0 6 2 0 9Anonymous

Donu, Nigeria is a tradition-based society. We welcomevisitors; we don’t throw stonesat them. I am shocked that theelders in Rivers State defendthis type of action. Let us seewhether there will be a need

for them to visit the North.

+2348030861967: BassyLekam

Donu, some of us aredisappointed in some of youSouth-South people, especiallythose of you who claim topossess all the civilizedknowledge in the world. Yourwrite-ups, as far as this Riverscrisis is concerned, havealready shown that you havetaken sides with the Governor’scamp. What makes you feel thatif Rotimi becomes thepresident today the sametreatment the North is givingJonathan will not be meted outto him? In your write-up ofAugust 2, 2013 in theVanguard, you did not evenmention how a fellow lawmakeralmost murdered a colleague,a lawyer for that matter.

+2347082934271: Ven R Y OAyadju

Since l developed interest inyour write-ups, l have beenpraying for you. You are bold,arrow-straight, pragmatic,objective and thruthful. But Iam afraid you will attract a massof enemies through your sharppen! Our society is so rottenand full of heartless people whodidn’t want to hear the truth!However, God will continue toprotect you.

+2348036195863: CollinsDonu, your article

“Xenophobia” which centeredon the Rivers State crisis isexcellent, but remember thatwhen PDP have problems, it isa family affair. When it comesto early child marriage in theNorth, the customs were noneof your business; then inRivers State, no Nigerian is anoutsider. We from the Southshould think of knowingourselves.

+2348082477787: AyodeleI wonder how many walks

and visits and protests these so-called leaders have paid to thevictims of terrorists attacks inthe North. They love Riversmoney not the people. Riverspeople are not stupid, theinterest of these so-calledfriends have only fueled theproblem instead of dousing it.They have been taking sidesrather than try to bring all sidesto the table. They are notwanted in Rivers, period. Theyare crying more than thebereaved. Are they professionalcriers?

that none of them woulddream of handing their smalldaughters over to predatoryadult males.I wish that these sophisticatedand strong Northern Muslimladies would loudly expresstheir objections to child bridesand use their clout to seekprotection for fellow femaleswho are voiceless and not ina position to protectthemselves.

,

,

A teenage mother and her child

Child brides

I wish thatsophisticated andstrong NorthernMuslim ladieswould loudlyexpress theirobjections to childbrides and usetheir clout to seekprotection forfellow females whoare voiceless andnot in a position toprotect themselves

OPINION


BY SUNKANMI OGUNS

**Mr. Oguns, a political analyst, wrotefrom Lagos.

FRESH victFRESH victFRESH victFRESH victFRESH victorororororyyyyy: Hope f: Hope f: Hope f: Hope f: Hope for democracyor democracyor democracyor democracyor democracyTHE FRESH news last week is the

quashing of the controversial INEC’sorder that deregistered Rev Chris Okotie’sFRESH and 27 other political parties byJustice Gabriel Kolawole of an Abuja HighCourt last Monday. Something historic hasa way of happening under your eyes whenyou least expect. This is not the kind of newsany serious media outlet would ignore.Most news watchers, including this writer,were amazed at the sudden turn of events.About nine months ago, INEC, armed withthe controversial Electoral Act 2012(AsAmended), began to deregister parties thatfailed to win any seat in our Legislature inthe last elections. This strange,unprecedented development drew the flakof civil rights activists and politicalcommentators.The decision of the ruling PDP governmentto limit the number of parties to a“manageable few” was widely condemnedas an attempt by the party to abridge thepolitical space for its own selfish agenda,not to rid the polity of mushroom parties asINEC claimed.In a style reminiscent of the defunct militaryregimes, the Commission’s Secretary, MrAbdullahi Kaugara, in a letter to FRESHand 27 other political parties on December6, 2012, said that consequent upon the“failure of the parties to meet therequirement of section 223(1)&(2) of theConstitution of the Federal Republic ofNigeria, 1999( as amended) and failure towin a seat in the National Assembly as

provided in section 78(7)(ii) of Electoral Act2012; ( As Amended)”, the affected partiesstand deregistered.The Electoral Act 2012 (as amended) is alaw that appropriates the powers of thejudiciary to invoke legal sanctions againstparties that fell short of its provisions. It alsoallows the National Assembly to encroachon the functions of the executive in the areaof deciding the criteria for the setting up ofpolitical parties. A law maker cannotinterpret the law; neither can the executivebe a judge in any matter which is within thepurview of the judiciary. The Electoral Act2012 (as amended) is a piece of legislationthat creates over-lapping functions that havethe potential to create conflicts between thethree arms of government.The attempt by INEC to play the judge in acase involving it led to this legal dispute withthe parties. This is not the first time that thejudiciary had resolved disputes of this naturein favour of parties. It will be recalled thatthe late legal icon and human rightsactivist, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, went tocourt to contest the refusal of the thenNational Electoral Commission to registerhis party, the National Conscience Party,NCP. He won the case and that was how hisparty and others joined the fray.One wonders why the ruling party shouldbe concerned with small rival parties whodo not pose any visible threat to its power. Ifit is true as often claimed after each election

that FRESH and other deregistered partiesdidn’t win a single seat in the Legislaturewhy should that be a PDP problem?The truth is that FRESH probablyperformed better in those elections than weare led to believe, and so realising theparty’s true potential as a contender forpower, the PDP made the Electoral Act 2012(as amended) to crowd out all the small, but“dangerous” parties before they attain theirfull potential. It thus becomes wise to killthe small snakes before they grow tobecome fearful predators.However, God has a way of catching thewise in his own craftiness. The Electoral Act2012 (as amended) is INEC’s weapon ofmass destruction of the smaller parties; thesame law has becomes its nemesis. Granted, the ruling PDP says it would appealthe verdict, even up to the Supreme Court, itdoes nothing to change the fact that a newface of justice in the shape of this verdictwon by FRESH has exposed the anti-democratic tendencies of Jonathan’sgovernment.

The race is never to the swift. What theElectoral Act 2012 is trying to achieve is

to make participation in elective politics theexclusive preserve of the strong and mighty.But democracy is a game of equals. Wherethere’s no level playing field, there can beno democracy. And in the absence ofdemocracy you can only have chaos.

Many are of the view that what is beingpractised in Nigeria today is a mockery ofdemocracy. That may be true but it is stillbetter than military dictatorship or whatexperts call “democratic closure“; that is asituation where democracy is fore-closedbecause an authoritarian or totalitariansystem of government is in place. The closestwe ever came to this fearful leadership wasthe cruel Abacha military dictatorship.That happened because the democraticforces in existence then were pen-wieldinghuman rights activists like ChiefFawehinmi, Shehu Sanni, Beko Ransome-Kuti, Femi Falana, Sylvester OdionAkhaine, Col. Abubakar Umar and theNational Democratic Coalition, NADECObeing the arrow-head.George Bernard Shaw said: “Every despotneeds a disloyal subject to keep him sane”.These men kept the military dictators sane.This FRESH verdict, we hope, will keep thepolity sane under a PDP government that isbecoming increasingly intolerant ofdissenting views. Rather than physicallydescend on opponents, it is applying legalgymnastics and legislative abracadabra todeal with its opponents.But thank God, with our new-found hope inthe FRESH effort, we have a choice to fightback, knowing full well that justice could bedone.

FOR the umpteenth time, the nation wasagain, told that Nigeria holds the dismal recordof having the highest paid legislators globally.Had this report not emanated from The

Economist of London Magazine, it would havebeen dismissed as a none issue since the matterhas been in the public domain and Nigeriansseemed helpless about the situation.The report said that federal legislators with

a basic salary of $189,500 per annum (N30.6m)were the highest paid lawmakers in the world.Quoting data from the International

Monetary Fund (IMF) and The Economist ofLondon, the study looked at the law makers’basic salary as a ratio of the Gross DomesticProduct per person across countries of theworld.It further suggested that the lowest paid

legislator in Nigeria earns N30.6 million($189.5,000) per annum which was put at 116times the Gross Domestic Product, GDP, perperson. As a ratio to GDP per person, Kenyawas second with 76 times, Ghana 30 times andIndonesia 18 times.While the report did not add anything new to

the debate on the take home of our lawmakers,it however, reactivated public consciousnessabout the issue.The actual take home of the federal

Continued secrecy onContinued secrecy onContinued secrecy onContinued secrecy onContinued secrecy onjumbo payjumbo payjumbo payjumbo payjumbo pay

legislators has continued to remain in the dark,for reasons best known to the RevenueMobilisation Allocation and FiscalCommission, (RMAFC).However, the RMAFC report of 2007, said the

subsisting approved packages for NationalAssembly (NASS) members includeaccommodation: (Senator N4m, Rep N3.97m),vehicle loan (Senator N8m, Rep N6.948m),furniture (Senator N6m, Rep N5.956m) andseverance gratuity (Senator N6m, RepN5.956m), which are due once in four years.Other allowances, payable annually, are car

maintenance (Senator N1.52m, Rep N595,563),constituency (Senator N5m, Rep N1.687m),domestic staff (Senator N1.5m, Rep N1.488m),personal assistant (Senator N506,600; RepN496,303), entertainment (Senator N202,640,

Rep N198,521), recess (Senator N202,640; RepN198,521), utilities (Senator N607,920; RepN397,042), newspaper/periodicals (SenatorN303,960; Rep N297,781), house maintenance(Senator N101,320; Rep N99,260) and wardrobe (Senator N405,280; Rep N397,4020).The Senate and the House of

Representatives, through their spokesmen,have alleged mischief in the report, saying itwas a figment of imagination of the authors.Civil society activists have denounced thelegislators, saying they could bankrupt theeconomy, a sentiment that Central BankGovernor, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, oncevoiced.Against this backdrop, we call on the

RMAFC to make public the actual take homeof our law makers. There is need foradjustment of the wages of the legislators toreflect the pay structure in a country wherethe minimum wage is N18,000. The Nigerianpublic also has the right to know the actualearnings of those elected to represent themin the legislature.We frown on any act of impunity whereby

legislators, simply because they are in chargeof the public purse, help themselves to jumbopackages without resort to constitutionalchecks and balances.

CMYK

Vanguard, FRIDAY, AUGUST 9, 2013—————1919191919

CMYK

,

,

,

,

BY CLEMENT UDEGBE

*Mr. Udegbe, a lawyer, wrote fromLagos.

THE Independent NationalElectoral Commission, INEC,

has just approved the registrationof the All Progressives Congress,APC, as a political party. Onceagain excitement is in the air; aparty that can checkmate theoctopoidal PDP with its vastnetwork and federal might is born.Is the APC a whited sepulchre (pretender ) or the real threat to thePDP? Let us examine the situationas it is on ground.

In the course of our analysis, weshall attempt to answer a fewquestions. Does the merger of CPC,ACN, ANPP and othersautomatically translate to aformidable force that can uprootthe PDP? How can a party whosemembership is drawn from diversepolitical ideologies operate inunison? Will the political ambitionof the leadership of this party notscuttle the APC dream? Where dothey stand against the federalmight? Can a disunited PDP holdout against the APC? What partwill a volatile North play in theequation? Is the new party readyto adhere to democratic tenets?What happens to other parties like

APC: A whited sepulchre orthe real deal

APGA and Labour?First and foremost is the simple

arithmetic matter. Out of a totalof 36 states, the combined APC canonly boast of 10 states under itseffective control. How can 10 outof 36 translate into a majority? Thiscan only be possible if anabracadabra situation is conjured.Some argue that the PDP hasperformed so woefully, that withproper sensitization the massescan be swayed against them. Butthis is easier said than done. Thereality is that the state governorsare in full control of the politicalflow of their individual states andnothing has shown that the nextelection will be different.

Some have also stated that theinternal crises generated by thePDP membership will bring theparty to its knee. The recentreconciliation exercise by theAPGA factions has shown thatpoliticians can never be reliedupon. Nobody ever gave peace achance in the Obi versus Umehbrouhaha but last week both sidesembraced peace publicly. I foreseea similar situation in the case ofthe rebel PDP Governors. No one

should hope that they will beswayed to the side of APC.

Another area we must look at isthe bandwagon effect of ourpeople in their political decisions;they are easily persuaded by littlegifts and carrots because of thelevel of illiteracy in the land. Thisis the system the Boko Haramleadership is using to cajoleinnocent people to join them. Thepeople will only follow thedirection their leaders havepointed out to them and if the PDPstates are in majority ( presently20), it then follows that majority ofthe people will support them come2015.

Also, we must note that the APCfoundation is not solid

because of the personal ambitionof its leadership; in this instance, Iam referring to Asiwaju AhmedTinubu and GeneralMuhammadu Buhari. Althoughboth of them have publicly agreedto subsume their interests toenable the party progress, there isno doubt that camp loyalties willcome into play when it is time toshare offices. Buhari already hassaid that he is still interested incontesting the next presidential

election; if the Tinubu side say no,what will be the impact on theparty unity? We saw a sign of thisschism between the CPC and ANPPleadership before the party wasregistered. Will such not occuragain?

Again the APC elements aretaking too much for granted. Amerger of ACN, CPC and ANPPdoes not, on its own, confersympathy from the side of thepeople, there’s a lot of work to doat winning the people to their side.Decisions that will make peoplelook at them unfavorably shouldbe avoided. For example: How doFashola and Tinubu expect theSouth East to join their wagon aftergiving the impression ( through theexpulsion of Igbos from Lagos andthe frequent closures of LadipoMarket ) that the APC governmentdoes not like them.

Furthermore, APC leaders haveto improve on their democratictenets. Situations where people arenominated/handpicked intopositions, instead of throughhealthy balloting processes do notspeak in their favour. Buhari musttry to remove that bias of religiousand ethnic bigotry that has beentainting his politics. How heintends to do that, I do not knowbut that is his cross to bear.

The APC boasts that it cancheckmate the PDP. How they cansucceed in the present volatileNorth is difficult to fathom.Nigeria’s elections have alwaysbeen in favour of those who wieldsuperior force. Almost half of theNorth is presently underoccupation by the Nigerian Army;they will not leave the region untilafter the 2015 election for securityreasons. While maintainingsecurity, the regional commanderswill be prone to directives fromheadquarters, Oga at the top sortof situation and if any one fails tofollow directive, he will be replaced

immediately. I do not see how theAPC can win under such situation.The more riotous or volatile thesituation in the North is, the morethey will play into the hands of thePDP as witnessed by thedecimation of the CPC in the lastgeneral elections. Unless the APCencourages a peaceful North, theycan never win any election and ifthey attempt to encourage revoltslike the last time, it will be the icingof the cake for a PDP victory.

We must also not forget thebystanders, I mean other smallerparties like the Labour and APGA.In what direction are they likely togo? For now, Mimiko and Obi areflirting with the PDP whileOkorocha is with the APC. WillOkorocha succeed in taking APGAto APC, with the Igbo animositytowards CPC and ACN? Time willtell.

Now the most telling factor thatwill decide the fate of the APC innational politics is the choice theywill arrive at in their presidentialand vice presidential candidates.The person that can unite theSouth and the North, with nopolitical baggage. Do they havesuch amongst their midst? Yes theyhave, but will tribal and ethnicconsiderations allow them toaccept these candidates? I fear. Willthey accept an Oshiomhole aspresidential candidate? or aFashola? or a Tambuwal, if he canbe persuaded to leave PDP?

These are people that can buildbridges along the divide, bothpolitically and geographically,their candidacy will help the APCto become a formidable force andhelp their chances in the nextelection.

This is the situation presently,now let us watch and see how itplays out.

*Mr. Sikhioya, wrote fromLagos.

How do Fasholaand Tinubuexpect the SouthEast to join theirwagon aftergiving theimpression thatthe APCgovernment doesnot like them

The birth of APCseems to be fraughtwith some issues ofconcern which needurgent resolution.While the issuesremain unresolved,the APC may be ledinto more worrisomeissues, and as timegoes on their positionmay become compli-cated such that theirfirst major outing mayend with a jaundicedleg

Is this APC the party?

DEMOCRACY, which is government ofthe people, by the people for the peo-

ple, thrives best when the people have choic-es from which to pick who should leadthem in any election. In those climes wheredemocracy is allowed to produce qualityand true leaders, many political parties areregistered, and with time, a few of thembecome the parties to reckon with.

In America there are 32 registered Fed-eral parties, and another 30 registeredRegional parties, with independent candi-dacy allowed by their constitution. Out ofall these, the Democratic Party and theRepublican Party, have, over time, becomethe two main Federal parties.

In the United Kingdom, there are about17 registered political parties existingalong with many minor parties. Since the1920s the Conservative Party and LabourParty have dominated British politics, andhave alternated in government ever since.However, the UK’s is not quite a two-partysystem since a third party (recently, the Lib-eral Democrats) can prevent 50 per cent ofthe votes/seats from going to a single par-ty. Following electoral co-operation aspart of the SDP-Liberal Alliance, the Lib-eral Party merged with the Social Demo-cratic Party in 1988 becoming the LiberalDemocrats, which is now the third largestparty that produced the current PrimeMinister.

In Nigeria, since the annulment of theJune 12, 1993 presidential result, it becamedifficult to produce a two-party system thatwill offer the people the opportunity tomake a reasonable choice. We had onlythe PDP as the truly Federal party and ex-pectedly they have continued to take thepeople for granted to the extent that one of

their leading members boasted in 2007 thatthey would rule Nigeria for 50 years. Poli-tics and the process of selection of a presi-dent for Nigeria, has become boring, andfull of the known antiques of the PDP. Thus,the snatching of most of the South West-ern states by the ACN was a welcome de-velopment to offer the people the desir-able opportunity to make quality decisionsin their choice of leaders, and to give thePDP a good run for their mouth! The re-sult is the healthy and robust contestamong the gubernatorial candidates inthe recent elections which sawDr.Olusegun Mimiko and Comrade Ad-ams Oshiomhole returned to the govern-ment houses in Ondo and Edo states, re-spectively. It is against the backgroundthat many lovers of the people’s right tochoose who should lead them, welcomedthe idea of an alternative party which willexpand the choices of Nigerians in select-ing who will occupy Aso Rock in the near-est future. No matter how good the PDPmay have been in the delivery of electoralpromises, after 14 years, it is just abouttime for Nigerians to experience a changeof party in Aso Rock. Nigerians just wanta change not for the sake of change, but togain the dividends which those non-PDPstates are getting, because the ruling par-ties in those states know that the opposi-tion PDP is watching and waiting. We de-sire same consciousness at the centre. Thisis why the registration of APC as a mergerbetween ACN, CPC, ANPP, and a faction ofAPGA led by Owelle Rochas Okorocha wasmost welcomed by all, if indeed they canpush the PDP out of Aso Rock, and giveNigerians the change they so much thirstfor.

But the birth of APC seems to be fraughtwith some issues of concern which need

urgent resolution. While the issues remainunresolved, the effect is that the APC maybe led into more worrisome issues, and astime goes on their position may becomecomplicated such that their first majorouting may end with a jaundiced leg. Thefirst issue from birth was in the nature ofthe founders of the APC, in the persons ofGeneral Muhammadu Buhari Rtd, andAsiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. We know thatGen.Buhari wants to challenge GEJ at theelections and push the PDP out of Aso Rock.But,General Buhari will be a very hard can-didate to sell to Nigerians, especially Chris-tians and most South Easterners becauseof his initial utterances and stance on thekillings by Boko Haram. The second issueis that of the ACN Emperor, Asiwaju Tinu-bu. While he remains a bold and wise pol-

itician, people fear he will bring undue in-fluence to bear in the party in one formor the other. There is, therefore, a needfor a balancing of personalities to pro-vide the needed assurance that APC is anall-inclusive party. While these two birthissues remained unresolved, the APCchose her interim officers for purposes ofregistration with INEC, and almost ev-ery key post was virtually turned over tothe South West and Muslims, compound-ing the dilemma of those who wished tosee a better arrangement. The combinedeffect of non-resolution of these issues hascreated the newest problem the APC willface. This week, the APC was reported asdemanding that Governor Peter Obishould apologise to Nigerians for query-ing why 70 Igbo indigenes were dumpedby Gov. Babatunde Fashola on AnambraState without any regard or courtesy tothe people and government of AnambraState, or Igbo people for that matter.Their reason is that Governor Obi wascrying wolf and trying to give their partya bad name in order to hang it. The APC,by this, has shown that it is insensitive toany issue that does not affect the mainbase of their party. They cannot see any-thing wrong in the very bad action of La-gos State in the unconscionable and un-constitutional deportation of Nigerians;it is politics or more because Igbo peopleare the victims. The question then is, wheth-er the Igbo man can trust the APC, or betterstill, is the APC the party we expect?

This brings me to worrying participationof a faction of APGA in APC. It will be wisefor those involved to sit down and reassesstheir positions. It is better to consolidatetheir foothold on Imo State than to spreadtoo thin with this worrisome APC gamble.They should strengthen APGA first.

20—20—20—20—20—VVVVVanguardanguardanguardanguardanguard, FRID, FRID, FRID, FRID, FRIDAAAAAYYYYY, A, A, A, A, AUGUSUGUSUGUSUGUSUGUST 9T 9T 9T 9T 9 , , , , , 20202020201111133333

Day childrentook to thestreets

STORIES BY DAUD OLA-TUNJI, ABEOKUTA

HUNDREDS of underagechildren in Ogun State

recently embarked on a pro-test against the Senate en-dorsed controversial childmarriage bill, vowing to goon hunger strike if the law-makers failed to retrace theirsteps and jettison the idea.

Leading her colleaguesdrawn from different parts ofthe state, 13-year-old Pasca-lyne Ogbuli, submitted thus:“We do not wish to grow upand tell our young daughtersthat we were forced into ear-ly marriage and that samefate awaited them becausethere is a law that supportsit.

“It is shameful that the Sen-ate with people that childrenrespect and aspire to be like,could even consider a law

For 5,000 Ogun residents, a day ofjoy via kerosene bonanza

OGUN state is one of thestates in the country which

often experiece acute shortageof kerosene. People, especiallywomen, go the extra mile to getthe product, often at outrageousprices. The problem, accordingto findings, is more pro-nounced in the rural areas ofthe state which harbour ma-

•Vow to embark on hunger strike

saying our childhood and in-nocence could be taken away,and education destroyed inexchange for a bride price,and that we (kids) could besold as slaves to early mar-riage.

“To this end, we, the Nige-rian children, demand a na-tional apology from the Nige-rian Senate for belittling ourchild right and wilfully delib-

it”. Pascalyne spoke on behalfof other children during apress conference they ad-

film titled, ‘Yerima: Diary of aChild’ which will be shownthroughout the country to ex-press their opposition andexpose the danger of earlymarriage.

According to Pascalyne: “Itwas during the making of thefilm against early child mar-riage that many of us rea-lised the cruelty of early childmarriage and its humiliatingimpact and consequences onchildren, especially the girl-child”.

Producer of the film, FemiOlabode-George, who dou-bles as Chairman, UTV Me-

jority of residents.Happily, relief has come the

way of residents in some localgovernment areas of the state,courtesy of a non-governmentorganisation popularly calledOmo- Ilu Foundation. TheFoundation recently distribut-ed more than 100,000 litres ofkerosene worth N10 million to

the people in Ijebu-North, Ije-bu-Ode and Remo local gov-ernment areas of the state at asubsidized rate.

Vanguard Metro, VM, gath-ered that in spite of the factthat the founder of the foun-dation, Chief Buruji Kashamu,is a chieftain of the PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP, thephilanthropic empowermentwas not based on partisan con-sideration as members of theparty and other residents ofthe area received the free ker-osene.

Speaking with VM, some ofthe beneficiaries profuselyexpressed appreciation for thekind gesture against the back-drop of their long suffering onaccount of prolonged acuteshortage of kerosene and at-tendant high prices.

One of the beneficiaries,self-employed Awodeyin Ay-odele, thanked the NGO for its

kind gesture, saying: “I didn’teven expect such a thing.Imagine paying only N420 forsix litres of kerosene. If it wasin the market, I would havepaid about N750".

Interest of thecommon people

Another beneficiary, Mrs.Oladeniyi Bosede , said: “Ijust want to say thank you tothe founder of the initiative,Prince Buruji Kashamu, whohas the interest of the commonpeople at heart”.

According to her, Kashamuhas been assisting the less-privileged through his em-powerment programmes. “Ifyou consider what has hap-pened in the past and what ishappening now, you will haveno choice but to give kudos tohim,” she said.

Speaking with newsmen dur-

ing the distribution, Manag-ing Director of the Foundation,Onasile Adebowale, dis-closed that the programmestarted from Ijebu-North be-fore it spread to Ijebu-Ode,Ikenne, Ogere, Ilisan, amongother areas in the state. Ac-cording to him, the aim is toensure that people at thegrass root are given a newlease of life after being in theshackles of poverty for manyyears.

“We started from Ijebu-Northand have supplied about 36thousand litres . In Ijebu-Ode,we supplied 22 thousand litresof kerosene. Here in Iperu, it’s22 thousand litres. We havebeen to Ikenne; we were inOgere and Ilisan... We havesupplied over 100, 000 litresof the kerosene. Our aim is tosupply more to cut across thestate soonest.”

*Residents queuing to buy the subsidised kerosene

*Some of the children addressing a press conference after the protest

EARLY MARRIAGE:

erating and considering thestamping of early marriage inNigeria. And if we die tellingour leaders that our educationand our future count morethan an early marriage, so be

dressed in Abeokuta underthe banner of Volunteer Teamof Children.

As part of their war againstchild marriage, the childrensaid they have produced a

dia, informed that it was noteasy producing the film. Ac-cording to him, 35 childrenparticipated in the produc-tion, adding that he took upthe challenge to embark on theproject when contacted byvolunteer artistes led by MrsOmowunmi Freeman

He disclosed that the 82minutes film will premieresoon in Abeokuta, before on-ward transmission to all oth-er parts of the country. Hecalled on parents, guardians,children and other stakehold-ers to come out en masse towatch the film.

It was during the making of the film againstearly child marriage that many of us realisedthe cruelty of early child marriage and itshumiliating impact and consequences onchildren, especially the girl-child

,,

CMYK


THE Petroleum ProductsPricing Regulatory

Agency, PPPRA has appealedto the Nigeria Extractive In-dustries TransparencyInitiative, NEITI, to desist fromconfusing the public further onits audit report which said thatthe PPPRA should remitN4.423 billion to the Federa-tion Account.

In a swift reaction to NEITI’sstatement affirming that it stoodby its controversial audit report,the Executive Secretary of the

PPPRA advises NEITI to stopconfusing public

PPPRA, Mr Reginald Stanley,told reporters in Abuja that“NEITI appeared to haveembarked on a wild-goosechase, instead of addressingthe issues at stake”. He saidthere was never a time theaudit report was ‘signed-off’ bythe management of the PPPRA,challenging NEITI to make acopy of the sign-off public, toprove its claim against PPPRA.

On July 29, NEITI releasedits 2009-2011 audit report on theoil and gas sector, recommend-

ing that the PPPRA shouldremit N4.423 billion, arisingfrom “over-recovery” to theFederation Account.

“We challenge NEITI to tellNigerians where the N4.423billion it claims was ware-housed. If NEITI is indeed,desirous of efficiently doing itsjob, we challenge it to go andconsult the records at the Cen-tral Bank of Nigeria, where thePetroleum Support Fund (PSF)account is domiciled. It shouldalso go a step further by

visiting the records at theFederal Ministry of Finance toconfirm if certain amount ofmoney as claimed was remit-ted accordingly or not by thePPPRA. To all intents and pur-poses, it is apparent that NEI-TI is on a wild-goose chase andself-seeking in its putridclaims,” he stated.

Stanley also faulted NEITI’slatest claim that “all the com-panies and government agen-cies covered by the audit, in-cluding the PPPRA were fully

involved and participated ac-tively in the audit process”.

The PPPRA chief cited a sec-tion of NEITI’s report thatclaimed that N3.715 billion wasyet to be refunded by the NNPCand two other marketers, sayingthat NEITI’s report was incon-gruous with the realities of whatwas outstanding in over-recovery, “which is N3.98 billionowed only by the NNPC.

SMEs: Lagos unveils plans to promote locally made products

AS part of effort topromote Small and

Medium Enterprises,SMEs, the Lagos StateGovernment has con-cluded plans to host theyear 2013 domestic tradefair tagged Eko Expo,aimed at promotinglocally made products inthe country.

Special Adviser to Gov-ernor Babatunde Fasholaon Commerce and In-dustry, Mr. OluseyeOladejo, who disclosedthis in Ikeja, said foreignexhibitors from Indone-sia and China wereamong the various or-ganizations that have in-dicated interest to partic-ipate in the fair billed to

hold at Lekki Free Trade Zone.Oladejo, explained that the

government is organising thecoming expo in collaborationwith the Lekki Free Zone De-velopment Company, as a resultof the successes recorded withlast year’s fair, where a total of175 investors participated. Hesaid the fair would furtherpromote investmentopportunities available at thezone, as well as provide plat-form for operators in small andmedium scale industries toshowcase what they do.

According to him, “Thechoice of Lekki Free Zone asthe venue for this year’s fair isto familiarise the businesscommunity with the peculiarincentives offered by the zoneand the need to invest there-in.”

He listed such incentives toinclude, complete tax holidayfrom all federal, State and Local

governments, taxes, rates,customs duties and levies; one-stop approval for all permits,operating license and incorpo-ration papers.

Others include; Duty free,tax-free import of raw materialsand components destined forre-export; duty- free capitalgoods, consumer goods, ma-chinery, equipments andfurniture among others.

The Special Adviser said theministry will make provision ofa free shuttle buses that will bestationed at Oriental Hotelalong Lekki-Epe road to conveyinterested people to and fro thefairground all through theseven days that the fair will last. “This is meant to assist visitorsto get to the fair venue withease, in addition to accommo-dations available at the zonefor exhibitors to make their stayduring this periodcomfortable.”

CURRENCY BUYING CENTRAL SELLING

CBN Exchange rate as at 08/08/2013

107.44 -0.74

104.33 -0.97

120.25 2.35

2,449.00 +75.00

16.79 0.24

DOLLAR 154.75 155.25 155.75POUNDS 239.2435 240.0165 240.7895EURO 205.9568 206.6222 207.2877FRANC 167.0805 167.6204 168.1602YEN 1.5909 1.5961 1.6012CFA 0.2943 0.3043 0.3143WAUA 233.7167 234.4719 235.227RENMINBI 25.2875 25.3697 25.4518RIYA 41.2612 41.3945 41.5278KRONA 27.6078 27.697 27.7862SDR 234.9415 235.7006 236.4597

By OLASUNKANMIAKONI

THE Central Bank ofNigeria, CBN, has

approved the appointed ofthree new directors by FSDHMerchant Bank Limited.

According to a statement bythe bank, the three newdirectors are Mr OsaroIsokpan, who becomes the newChairman, Mr Olufemi Agbajeand Alhaji Bello Garba, bothdirectors.

FSDH Merchant Bank,formerly First SecuritiesDiscount House, FSDH, wasgranted a merchant bankinglicense by the CBN, last year,following which it transformedto a merchant bank.

Mr. Rilwan Belo-Osagie,Managing Director, FSDH, hadstated that whilst the companydoes not underestimate thechallenges that it will face, it ishowever confident that with itscorporate culture of customerorientation, high performance,image building, collaborationand learning, all obstacles thatmay come its way can besurmounted.”

The recent Boardappointments is following theresignations of the formerChairman, Mr. Ibrahim Dikko;Junaid Dikko, a director andBashir El- Rufai anIndependent Director

Giving a profile of the newappointees, the company saidIsokpan is a former ManagingDirector of Nigerian AmericanMerchant Bank Limited, withover thirty years of bankingexperience.

“He is an alumni ofStrathclyde, Stanford andHarvard Business Schools. Heis also a Solicitor and Barristerof the Supreme Court ofNigeria.

“Agbaje is a charteredaccountant with over 30 yearsof experience in Audit andBanking. He is a Fellow of theChartered Association ofCertified Accountants, UK.“Garba is a former ExecutiveDirector/Head North BankUBA.”

CBN approvesFSDH’sappointment ofthree newdirectors

From left: Mrs. Bisi Bright, Chief Executive Officer, LiveWell Initiative, LWI; Dr. Olufemi Olugbile, Permanent SecretaryHealth, Lagos State and Dr. Mona Khanna Associate Professor in Chicago, and Fox News Contributor at the StrategicHealthsector Focus Group, SHFG, Meeting, in Lagos.

22 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, AUGUST 9, 201 3

CONFAB: From left: Mrs. Chinelo Anohu-Amazu; Director General, Securities andExchange Commission (SEC), Arunma Oteh and Vice-President and Treasurer, InternationalFinance Corporation (IFC), Mr. Jingdong Hau at a one-day conference on Nigerian DebtMarket, in Lagos.

THE Securities and Exchange Commission(SEC) has charged the

newly inaugurated committeeof Chief Compliance Officersof Capital Market (CCOCIN)to fight against money laun-dering and financing of terror-ism.

The Committee according toSEC, is to ensure that the op-erations of the capital marketare undertaken in line withregulatory guidelines. Themove was specifically aimedat checking the penetration ofillegal funds or proceeds ofcriminal acts into the capitalmarket with the intention ofconcealing its real origin.

Speaking at the launchingceremony of the committee inLagos, Director General ofthe commission, Ms ArunmaOteh, who performed the in-auguration, urged the com-mittee to discharge its job ef-fectively to make the countryproud and ensure that thecapital market is taken to thenext level. She said “it is notjust for our market to beworld class, but to be the firstpoint of call for anyone whois looking for a market of in-tegrity”

In her welcome address,Mrs. Saidatu Bello, ExecutiveCommissioner, Legal and En-forcement, SEC highlightedthe roles of the committeewhich includes the fightagainst money laundering

SEC tasks committee to tacklemoney laundering, terrorism

and financing of terrorism.Bello, who said the Nigeri-

an capital market was not asafe place for fraudsters be-cause, all transactions weretraceable. She added “TheSEC has established anAMT/CFT unit within thecommission and had issuednumerous regulations in com-pliance with the MoneyLaundering Prohibition Act,2011. We have also ensuredthe implementation of sever-

al recommendations of the fi-nancial task force, which isthe international body cham-pioning the cause of AML/CFT and its counterpart, theinter governmental actiongroup against money laun-dering in West Africa. Thisfight is not for any entityalone, it is our collective re-sponsibility as stakeholdersin this market to save Niger-ia from such acts”

According to her, “The es-

STANDARD Charteredhave signed an agree-

ment with South African Air-way, SAA to buy 10 aircrafts-A320-200.

The agreement which wasSAA’s regional expansionplans was brokered throughthe bank’s Aviation Financeteam, Pembroke. The aircraftswill be delivered over thenext two years with the twodeliveries already made lastmonth.

A statement emanating fromthe bank said that this is thefirst aviation finance deal inSouth Africa by StandardChartered which is a demon-stration of the bank’s commit-ment to South Africa and itsstrategy of leveraging its glo-bal team and world class in-novative financial products tosupport the international ex-pansion of South African cor-porates and institutions.

In the statement, DanielHanna, Co-Head of Whole-sale Banking, Southern Afri-ca, said: “We are delighted tobe able to support SAA in thisimportant transaction and toleverage our investment bank-ing expertise to finance theseaircraft, as well as to partici-pate in this new sale andleaseback agreement.”

Diamond Bank partners WWB toadvance financial inclusion

AS part of its plan totake banking servic-

es to the unbanked andunder-banked segmentsof the Nigerian popula-tion, Diamond Bank Plcsaid it is partnering withWomen’s World Banking,WWB, to map out strate-gies to advance financialinclusion for thesesegments in the country.

Addressing a pressconference after ameeting with officials ofWWB, Executive Director,Diamond Bank Plc,Uzoma Dozie said, “Forus in Diamond Bank, weare constantly looking atchanging the way

banking is done to takethe frontiers of bankingbeyond just savingmoney to empoweringour customers. We arealso interested inensuring that theunbanked and under-banked segments of thesociety, who are notproperly serviced, areadequately catered forand there is no betterway to do this than topartner with Women’sWorld Banking that hasdone this successfully ina number of countries.”

Mary EllenIskenderian, President/CEO, Women’s WWB,observed that it was anexciting development toinclude Nigeria to the 28

developing countrieswhere the organisationswork in providingaccess to finance tolow-income earners,especially women.

“We work around theworld with financialinstitutions that see thefinancial and socialvalue in deliveringproducts for low incomeearners, particularlywomen. Diamond Bankwith its strong humanresources andtechnologicalcapabilities is anexcellent partner tohelp us reach thepopulation, who areunbanked and under-banked,” she said.

BY NKIRUKANNOROM

By MAGBEGOR ZINO

StandardChartered,SAA seal dealon aircraftpurchase

By Princewill Ekwujuru

tablishment of CCOCIN willprovide a united front in or-der to fight against moneylaundering and financing ofterrorism.”

She also listed some of theobjectives of the committeewhich includes encouragingand promoting the culture ofcompliance within the Nige-rian market; to provide an av-enue for interaction, ideas andexperiences among the stakeholders.

KEYSTONE Bank Limitedhas said it will continue to

provide convenient andreliable services to allcustomers of the bank throughthe bank’s online andalternative channels during theforthcoming public holiday tomark the Eid-el-Fitricelebration.

With this offer, customers ofthe bank who are willing totransact business can do sowith ease using the banksinternet banking facilitydesigned to meet the bankingneeds of its teemingCustomers.

During the holidays,customers can review and verifytheir transactions, transferfunds, buy recharge (Airtel,Etisalat, Glo, MTN, Starcomms)and Pay Bills (Airtel, DStv, Hitv,PHCN, Swift).

Apart from these, customersusing the Keystone BankInternet Banking services canverify the status of theircheques and print accountstatements.

According to a statementsigned by Mohammed Ciroma,Divisional Head, Marketingand CorporateCommunications, customerswho want to experiencebanking from the comfort oftheir home or while abroadduring the public holidays canavail themselves theopportunity of the BanksInternet Banking services.

With the Keystone Bankinternet banking, you can,enjoy the convenience ofmanaging your financesquickly and easily at a time thatsuits you during the Eid-el-Fitricelebration,” he said.

Keystone Bank offersholiday online banking


RESEARCHERS have raisedalarm over the increasing spread

of banana bunchy top virus (BBTV)across West Africa with more farmsin Nigeria—West Africa’s secondlargest producer— being ravaged bythe disease.

“If not checked the virus will dev-astate banana farms, and jeopar-dize the livelihoods of millions offarmers who earn their livelihoodsfrom the crop”, says Dr Lava Kumar,Virologist at the International Insti-tute of Tropical Agriculture during avisit to farms ravaged by the diseasein Idiroko—a border town in OgunState on Monday during a farmers’Field Day.

Mr. Charles Onyeani, Head of the

Researchers raise alarm overspread of banana bunchy top virus

of banana, according to the Food andAgriculture Organization, makingthe crop one of the important staplesin the country.

Devastation by BBTV on bananafields will have a negative impact onthe country’s economy, and thwartefforts towards food security.

Caused by a virus called, Bananabunchy top virus, BBTD is a seriousthreat to banana in SSA. The diseasehas been recognized in 14 countriesin Africa; 13 of these are in SSAwhich represents a combined bananaproduction area of 2.28 million ha,contributing 19.75 million tons offruit per annum (FAO 2011). The dis-ease is known to occur in all themajor banana production regions in

TECHNOSERVE, a Washington basedpoverty eradicating organization, in

collaboration with OLAM Nigeria haslaunched a training program aimed at em-powering cashew farmers in Nigeria.According to a statement released byAde Adefeko, OLAM’s Head Corporateand Government Relations, the programwhich took place at Ayangba, Kogi Statewas expected to impact positively on 6,000farmers, 3,000 of whom are womenThe cashew farmers were drawn from Kogi,Kwara and Oyo States known for their highlevel of cashew production while thetraining was made possible through agrant from the Walmart Foundation.

The expected impact would be in formof adoption of good agronomic practicesand improved methods for harvest andpost harvest handling of raw cashew nutsamong others. Cashew production currently accounts formore than a third of household income inKogi state alone, according to an inde-pendent research conducted by Tech-noServe.

TechnoServe estimates the new farmingpractices would translate into an estimat-ed 20 percent increase in yields and im-proved quality of cashew nut production

The production estimate are for targetedhouseholds in the three Nigerian key cash-ew producing states.“Cashew farming is one of the most eco-nomically important crops in West Africa,yet its potential have not yet been fullyrealized,” said Shakti Pal, Regional Cash-ew Expert for TechnoServe.“In Nigeria alone an estimated 125,000households are engaged in cashew farm-ing, but they lack the knowledge to im-prove their yields and maximize theirincomes.

”Through this program these farmers willhave access to the training needed toimprove the quality of their product andin turn the quality of their lives ” Pal said.The virus is also spread through an insect,

banana aphid (Pentalonia nigronervosa),which is widespread in all the banana andplantain-producing areas in Nigeria andmany parts of the world

,

,

The Alliance for a Green Revo-lution in Africa (AGRA) and theEthiopian Institute for AgriculturalResearch (EIAR) have launched anew breeding program for fiveEthiopian grain crops.

The initiative - ‘Seed SystemEnhancement through Develop-ment of Improved Varieties ofMaize, Tef, Sorghum, Soybean andFaba bean in Ethiopia’ - which willrun for three years will make a sig-nificant contribution to enhancehousehold food security and in-comes.

TechnoServe, Olamtrain cashewfarmers in Oyo,Kogi, Kwara

L-R: Chief Executive Officer, Bio-Organics Nutrient Systems Ltd, Mr. Kenny Uzoma Acholonu; Group Chief ExecutiveOfficer/Managing Director, Notore, Mr. Jite Okoloko; Hon. Commissioner for Agriculture & Cooperatives, LagosState, Prince Gbolahan Lawal; and Representative & Special Technical Assistant to the Minister of Agriculture & RuralDevelopment, Mr. Tunji Adedipe during the Agribusiness & Food Security Summit in Lagos

THE Alliance for a Green Revolution (AGRA) will invest over

US$ 1 million to reach directly andindirectly more than 200,000 small-holder farmers in Ethiopia.

The majority of Ethiopians rely onthese key grain crops for their calo-rie and protein intake, but yields arecurrently low. This initiative willhelp to improve the food securitysituation through developing anddeploying more than 10 improvedcrop varieties better than varietieson farmers hand and previouslyreleased and promoting theseamong farmers.

The initiative will also build ca-pacity among researchers, exten-sion agents, and public-privateseed companies, and enhance thelinkages between all the seed valuechain players of target crops.

The initiative will be implementedthrough various EIAR research

EIAR, AGRA launch new breeding initiative

hubs/centers at Bako, Debre Zeit,Melkasa, Kulumsa and Pawe.

Dr. Adeferis Teklewolde, Crop Re-search Director at EIAR says: “Ethio-pian farmers face a number of con-straints, such as drought, diseasesand insect pests that, combined to-gether, greatly lower their yields. Thisinitiative will introduce crop varietiesthat can better withstand these con-straints, thereby contributing to im-proved food security in Ethiopia.”

Joe DeVries, Director for AGRA’sProgram for African seed Systems(PASS) which oversees the program,says: “AGRA is pleased to have thisopportunity to work with the Ethio-pian Government to tackle a key bot-tleneck to farmers’ productivity.Through this collaboration, 20 tons ofbreeder and foundation seeds – thebasic seed multiplied and sold to farm-ers – will be availed to seed enter-prises annually.”

DRC, Congo Brazzaville, Burundi,Rwanda, Malawi, Gabon, Equatori-al Guinea, and Zambia. Whereas,disease spread is limited to a fewregions in Angola, Benin, Came-roon, and Nigeria.

BBTD was first reported from thecontinent in 1901, however extensivespread into new production areaswere observed during the last twodecades. The disease has very re-cently invaded the Bénin (first re-ported 2011) and Nigeria (first re-ported in 2013) in West Africa.

“The virus is also spread throughan insect, banana aphid (Pentalonianigronervosa), which is widespreadin all the banana and plantain-pro-ducing areas in Nigeria and manyparts of the world, said Dr RachidHanna, entomologist at IITA.

Infected banana plants become pro-gressively smaller and stand moreerect giving the plant a bunchy ap-pearance. Plants infected early in

their growth do not produce fruitsresulting in total loss of yield, whileplants infected at later stages mayproduce deformed fruits. The plantmay eventually die, but often re-mains with its lateral shoots whichserve as a source of infection forfurther spread.

The spread of the disease intonew areas can initially remain un-detected, complicating timely erad-ication work and prevention of newoutbreaks. Once the disease ispresent in a region, it is extremelydifficult to eradicate.

No durable sources of resistancehave yet beenidentified. Eradication of infectedplants and planting healthy plant-ing material is the best availablesolution.

Post-Entry Quarantine, Nigeria Ag-ricultural Quarantine Service(NAQS) has warned against themovement of banana planting mate-rials from infected areas to uninfect-ed areas to check the spread of thedisease.

First discovered in 2012 by IITAin collaboration with the Universityof Ibadan and the Nigerian Agricul-ture Quarantine Service (NAQS), thedisease is now widespread in Ilas-he, Odan-Itoro, Ido-Ologun, andIgbogila, in Ogun State.

“Systematic studies on yield loss-es have not been done but empiricalobservations indicate 50 to 90% lossin the affected region,” Dr Kumaradded, stressing, “There is a severeshortage of clean planting material.Urgent management actions are re-quired to prevent further spread andalso help farmers in the affected ar-eas.”

Nigeria produces 2.74 million tons


US seeks seamless renewal ofAfrican trade agreement

SMEDAN tosupportentrepreneurialprogrammesin schools

THE United States wants a "seamless" renewal of the

African Growth and OpportunityAct, AGOA, the U.S. law that of-fers trade incentives to Africancountries that open their econo-mies.

U.S. Trade Representative,Michael Froman said the UnitedStates is beginning its review ofthe current agreement, whichexpires in 2015, by looking at itssuccesses. He said that in AGOA's13 years, two-way trade has morethan doubled, U.S. exports to Af-rica have tripled, African oil ex-ports to the United States havetripled and an estimated 43 mil-lion jobs in Africa have been cre-ated.

"By all those metrics, it is a sig-nificant success," Froman has saidin a briefing at the Brookings In-stitution, a Washington-basedpolicy research centre. Hestressed that the United Stateswants "to take the relationshipeven further" by helping Africa re-alise more of its economic andtrade potential.

That's a message that Fromanwill take to the 12th AGOA Fo-rum August 12-13 in Addis Aba-ba, Ethiopia. Currently 39 sub-Saharan African nations partici-pate in the trade programme.

The negotiator said that sinceAGOA was signed into law inMay 2000, much in Africa has

changed. Economists, he said,now say that sub-Saharan Afri-ca, home to six of the top 10 fast-

est growing economies in the world, "is ris-ing."

Froman also cited a "whole new cadre of

"This is not just about aidanymore," he said," it's alsoabout trade; not just aboutassistance but about in-vestment, whether it's theprivate sector or govern-ment officials or youngleaders."

Froman added thatthrough AGOA, the Unit-ed States wants to build onits recent work with Africa,beginning with PresidentObama spearheading aneffort in 2009 to get theGroup of Eight (G8) lead-ing industrialised nationsto commit more than $22billion to support country-led plans for agriculturaldevelopment, with a focuson smallholder farmers.

THE Small and Medium

D e v e l o p m e n tEntreppprises Agency ofNigeria, SMEDAN, in itsquest to impart Nigerianyouths withentrepreneurial skillswould do all that isnecessary to supportentrepreneurialshipprogrammes in schoolsbecause it holds the keyto youth employmentand economicdevelopment of anynation.

Director-General ofSMEDAN, Alhaji BatureMasari, made thecommitment at a worldpress conference to markthe official openingceremony of the worldstudents globalentrepreneurialshipcompetition beinghosted by the city ofAbuja under theumbrella of the StudentsAdvancement for GlobalEntrepreneurialship,SAGE, Nigeria.

Masari, who said theagency was committed toto achieving its mandateof promoting anddeveloping the Micro,Small, and MediumEnterprises, MSMEs,sector in Nigeria, saidthe agency had beensupporting SAGENigeria since 2005.

He said the eventschedule to end onAugust 12, haspresented the countrywith opportunity toshowcase its potentialsand achievements in theMSME sub-sector.

According to him,SMEDAN was awarethat sustainability of theyouth entrepreneurial-ship programme wasnessary in promotingentrepreneurialship de-velopment amongyoung people and andreducing dependence ongovernment for jobs.

He also added that theprogramme, which isaimed at teaching youngpeople entrepreneurial-ship and financial liter-acy skills needed to besuccessful would contin-ue to enjoy the supportof the agency as it con-tinues in its quest createnext the next generationof entrepreneurial lead-ers, whose innovationsand social entrepriseswould address the majorneeds of the global com-munity.

From left: Specialist, Products and Services Division, Etisalat Nigeria, Doubrapade Koroye;Associate Professor of Physics and STEM Education, St. Catherine University in Minnesota,Dr. Kaye Smith; Founder, WAAW Foundation, Dr. Unoma Okorafor; Team Leader of YellowTeam and a student of Air Force Secondary School, Adesola Adegeye, and STEM CampDirector, WAAW Foundation, Frances Van Sloun, at the WAAW Foundation award ceremonyfor science and technology project participants selected from eight all-girls schools acrossLagos State, at Laureates College.

leaders" in many of the re-gion's countries who arewilling to put their politi-cal will behind economicreform; devote some oftheir resources to supportfood security, educationand health; and build sys-tems so they no longer de-pend on continual human-itarian assistance.

He said that while ac-companying PresidentObama during his recenttrip to sub-Saharan Africa,at every stop, the underly-ing themes were trade andinvestment.

Small-holder farmers export freshvegetables with NAQS guidelines

FOLLOWING the guidelines of the NationalAgricultural Quarantine Services (NAQS), some

small-holder farmers are exporting fresh vegetables toEurope and the United States on a regular basis.

Some of these small-holder farmers farming in Lagosalong roads — such as those opposite the Lagos StateUniversity gate between Iyana Oba and Igando — arerecording turnover of about $280,000 (N44.8 million)monthly.

Mike Nwaneri, co-ordinating director, NAQS, recent-ly in Lagos, explained the reasons farmers must complywith the directives in order to access the export market,saying “the National Agricultural Quarantine Serviceshas the primary mandate of preventing pests and dis-eases of plant, animals and aquatic resources from beingintroduced into the agricultural economy of Nigeria.

“As the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development,Akinwunmi Adesina is making efforts to grow Nigeria’sagricultural economy and create wealth through agri-businesses, we realise that a single pest or disease issufficient to destroy 10 years of labour in any aspect ofagriculture. So, prevention of pests and diseases is keyto achieving food security and wealth for farmers.”

According to him, NAQS also focuses on facilitatingexport just as import, saying “when we ask people tosubmit the agricultural items they want to export for in-spection, screening and certification, they look at it as ameans of delaying their business transactions or intro-ducing bottlenecks.

BY DANIEL GUMM

CMYK



Tourism identified askey sector for tradeTHE developmental impact

and potential of tourismwas highlighted at the WorldTrade Organization’s FourthGlobal Review of Aid for Tradein Geneva.

At the meeting, UNWTOemphasized the increasinglyprominent role of tourism indeveloping countries, particu-larly Least Developed Coun-tries (LDCs), and called for in-creased support for tourism ininternational aid for develop-ment

The Fourth Global Review ofAid for Trade, centered on thetheme “Connecting to valuechains”, aimed to examinedevelopment assistance inconnecting developing coun-tries and firms of developingcountries to value chains. Forthe first time tourism has beenidentified by the World TradeOrganization (WTO) and theOrganization for EconomicCo-operation and Develop-ment (OECD), as one of thekey five sectors with great po-tential for high impact in Aidfor Trade.

Speaking at the event,UNWTO Secretary-GeneralTaleb Rifai made a call for theincreased recognition andsupport for tourism. “Recentresearch shows a striking dis-parity between tourism´s highpotential and current contribu-tion to development and the

low priority it has been givenso far in terms of aid, namelyregarding Aid for Trade andOfficial Development Assist-ance (ODA)”, he said. “Tour-ism is a key trade category indeveloping countries, ac-counting for 56% of the over-all service exports of LDCsand thus has a great potentialfor high impact in Aid forTrade”. Mr. Rifai added.

In spite of tourism account-ing for 9% of global GDP, in-

cluding direct, indirect andinduced impacts, the sector isonly allocated 0.13% of ODAand 0.5% of Aid for Trade, withaverage projects size at US$300,000 in Aid Support, ac-cording to ‘Connecting Devel-oping Country Firms to Tour-ism Value Chains’, a jointstudy by the OECD, the WTOand UNWTO, launched at themeeting.

As part of the Fourth GlobalReview of Aid for Trade, the

‘Joint WTO-OECD side eventon the Aid-For-Trade Monitor-ing and Evaluation Exercise’underscored the tourismsector´s actual and potentialdevelopmental impacts, withmultiple linkages into the restof the economy. It cited actionsthat developing countries,their development partnersand tourism stakeholderscould take to maximize posi-tive linkages, in order to helpachieve job creation and sus-tainable development objec-tives.

AS part of efforts to rapidlydevelop domestic tourism

destinations by the NigerianTourism Development Corpo-ration (NTDC) six tourismcentres are to be built acrossthe six geopolitical zones inthe country.

The Director-General ofNTDC, Mrs. Sally Mbanefomade this declaration whileaddressing members of Man-agement and staff in an inter-active session at the tourismvillage in Abuja recently.

The D G who took time tointimate staff on progress re-port and recent developmentssince her assumption of duty,

THE coming of Royal Jordanian airways into the Ni-

geria market will open a newfrontier for tourism and travelmarkets in both countries.

Head of Marketing , Mr.Anwar Atalla said Jordan as adestination will benefit from theinbound tourism that will begenerated from the Nigerianmarket to the kingdom.

Speaking at an Iftar banquetfor tor its customers and travelbusiness practitioners in Lagosrecently, he said the responsesfrom the Nigerian travellingpublic have been encouraging.

While promising to alwaysdeplore its best aircraft to theLagos – Amman route, AnwarAtalla, said it commenced flightsinto the country with its wide-bodied, 280-seat Airbus A330s ,because of the importanceattached to the Nigeria market.

Speaking on the tourism bentof the airline, he said the airlineis set to attract large numbers ofpassengers, particularly Muslimpilgrims who wish to continuetheir flights to Saudi Arabia toconduct Hajj and Umrah, andthose who like to visit the shrinesand tombs of ProphetMohammad’s companionsbefore they proceed on theirreligious journey.

Anwar Atalla added that theservice will also transport Chris-tian pilgrims who come to Jordanto visit the Baptism site and otherChristian holy sites in Jordan andthe Middle East.

“Passengers can discover thebeauty and culture of Jordanthrough one of our Zuwar tours.Designed to highlight some ofJordan’s most renowned desti-nations, as well as introduce ourguests to the uniqueness of ourland, these half, full, or multipleday tours encompass the Arab ex-perience for a variety of stylesand tastes.”

The Head Marketing of theairline said passengers canequally experience the life re-plenishing power of the DeadSea, the earth’s lowest point andone of Jordan’s most visited sites.

“This new route will serve sev-eral types of tourism, such asmedical, as Jordan is renownedfor its high-standard medicaltreatment, and help businesstravelers and investors wishingto do business with Jordan andthus help develop economic andtrade relations, and support themovement of goods amongcountries,” he said.

NTDC to build tourismcentres across Nigeria

emphasized that the core ofher administration remains acomprehensive developmentof Nigeria’s local tourism at-tractions hence the need forthe tourism centres across thegeopolitical zones.

According to her, the NTDCalso plans to introduce infor-mation desks at major airportsin Nigeria with the aim of sup-plying tourists and visitors,relevant information on areasof interest, directory on placesto visit, activities of NTDC andthe tourism industry in gen-eral.

During the meeting, Mrs.

Mbanefo noted that NTDC willwork with stakeholders andprofessionals on strategic im-peratives aimed at growingrevenue base while restructur-ing the corporation and repo-sitioning it to better finance itsactivities.

The NTDC boss also said thata productive workforce is es-sential to achieving her visionwhich is to make NTDC anemployer of choice in the pub-lic sector, putting measures inplace to make the work envi-ronment conducive for staff,with a comprehensive welfarepackage.

RoyalJordanianto boostNigeriatourism

As Muslims celebrate the Eid-el-Fitr (commemorating the end of the holy month of Ramadan), one of the festivals in thecountry that is synonymous with the Muslims in Northern Nigeria is the Durbar festival. Major cities like Kano, Katsina andBida will be having horse parades today. Durbar festival is a great tourist attraction.

CMYK

Vanguard, FRIDAY, AUGUST 9, 2013 —27

CMYK

I N S I D E:

Pg 29

Glo has takGlo has takGlo has takGlo has takGlo has taken the leaden the leaden the leaden the leaden the leadin dein dein dein dein devvvvveloping Africaneloping Africaneloping Africaneloping Africaneloping Africantalents in musictalents in musictalents in musictalents in musictalents in music— Spiro Damaskinos, Sony Music scribe

BY AYO ONIKOYI

Spiro Damaskinos, is theInternational MarketingDirector of Sony Music’s RCAAfrica label and the Greekguy who has put in 17 years

of his life into producing musicdescribes himself simply as “ a musicguy” and in the simplest terms, a DiscJockey, who has worked with countlessestablished international names acrossthe world. He has worked with the likesof R-Kelly, Beyonce, Alicia Keys, ChrisBrown, to name a few. In this chat withWeekend Groove, Spiro speaks aboutSony’s contract with Glo, the companywho has brought the internationallyacclaimed best reality TV show, X-Factor to Africa for the first time andmany more: excerpts

Why did Sony decide to partner withGlo on X Factor Show?

We at Sony, globally, are the partnerfor X Factor. And like two great minds,with Glo sponsoring the show and withSony Music being the global musiccompany for X Factor, a natural synergycame into being. It has been good.

What’s your impression of theartistes you have seen on the show sofar?

First of all, we are so excited we arelaunching X Factor in Africa, specificallyin Nigeria and Ghana throughGlobacom who have taken the initiativeto bring the best reality TV show toAfrica. We are so happy to just developthe talents here and to give the platform

for these talents to showcasethemselves. The show is not aired inSouth Africa but we are keeping abreastwith the production company, back thereand they give us the CDs, the DvDsand we are very impressed. There is awide range of talents here, either withthe solo or the group artistes. It is veryexciting. I think it is a fantastic level ofartistes we have for the show and youwill see as the show develops intosecond and third season, the artistes canonly get better, developing even more.

How do you compare the talents youhave seen here with those you haveworked with across the world?

You must remember this is all aboutdeveloping raw talents and if you talkabout artistes I have worked with, youare talking about professionals whohave been in the trade for a long time.There is no way you can comparedeveloping artistes to establishedartistes but from the perspective of rawtalent what we have here can hold theirown anywhere in the world. I must tellyou the music talents here in Nigeriaand in Ghana are of world class quality.Quite impressive and simply worldclass.

Can you tell us briefly about Sony asa Brand?

At Sony, our role is simply to discovertalents, record talents and release themand we have got high ethics how weoperate. We like to be a recordingcompany of choice because of high levelof development and service we givewith the artistes that are signed to us.

What should the contestants have?It’s about having the X Factor, at least,

that was the reason we identified withthis project globally. X Factor is abouthaving a little extra quality, maybe inthe voice, in the way they carrythemselves and connect with theaudience. There is a certain factor thereabout the way an artiste grabs you, thedelivery, the poise and all the factorsthat combine to make an artisteendearing and different to the listeningpublic.

Glo is the first organisation to bringthe show to Africa. What is your viewabout what Glo has done?

I thinki t ’ sfantastic. Ithink it’swonderful thatGlo has got the visionto bring on board, tosponsor and launch ashow like this, to investin the growth of Africantalents. It is highlycommendable.

Would the winningact record a singleor full album?

The winner gets afull album contractthough it’s goingto be in stages.

How would youmarket the winning act in Africa?

Of course, through normal marketingavenues. We have quite an extensivenetwork throughout Africa. We are goingto explore all traditional marketingroots, everything, from recordingsingles, radios, videos, onlinecampaign, touring, essentially, allelements of marketing will be explored.

Which artistes have you worked with?Internationally, we have the likes of

Beyonce, Chris Brown, R-Kelly, FooFighters, Britney Spears, Alicia Keys-so many. In Africa, we started signingartistes only recently and we havesigned D’Banj, some East Africanartistes like K-Switch. We are justplugging into the African market, and

really, it’s been so exciting in such ashort time.

What would you advise the votingpublic to look out for while voting forthe contestants?

It’s so hard to say because differentthings work for different people. It isreally up to the voters to go with theirheart depending on who they connectwith. You cannot really advise what thepublic should look out for. It is the mostchallenging aspect of the show andthat’s why it is much fun because younever know what ‘s going to connectthe public to the artistes. People seethings in different perspectives.

But what are the qualities that makea good artiste?

It’s about everything: it can range froma good voice, good song-writing,instrumental to just someone beingmarketable. It is also very importantwhen you sign an artiste, you identifywho the artiste is and why you aremarketing the artiste too. You never cantell, it varies from artiste to artiste.

Apart from the 150 thousand dollarsGlo is giving out, what is your own totalpackage?

The winning act is automaticallysigned to Sony Music to record a fullalbum. So, he has the opportunity to tapinto the Sony system to be label mateswith the likes of Beyonce, Chris Brownand many others. It is like coming intothe world of Sony Music, so to speak.At Sony we are all family and they getall the resources we have got over theyears, recording, making videos, aninternational platform to work with.

So in essence, it’s like the winningact having their lives changedovernight?

I don’t believe in the overnightchange of life but it is a continuousprocess. I must tell you the real workbegins after the winner emerges. It isnot a matter where you think becauseyou have won you go to sleep,no. Themoment you are on screen, that’s whenthe real work starts. Sincerely, they mustwork even harder after the show.

Where will you be producing thewinner, in Africa or Europe?

We believe in Africa. We don’t believethere is any advantage other parts ofthe world have over say, Nigeria, Ghanaor South Africa. Whatever we can do inthose places we can replicate in Africajust as efficiently as in Europe or anywhere in the world.

,

,GeneGeneGeneGeneGenevievievievievievvvvveeeeefloorsOmoOmoOmoOmoOmotttttolaolaolaolaolaagain!

111116 y6 y6 y6 y6 yearearearearearsssssafafafafafttttter eer eer eer eer exit,xit,xit,xit,xit,

FFFFFelaelaelaelaelaKKKKKuti’suti’suti’suti’suti’slegacylegacylegacylegacylegacylives onlives onlives onlives onlives on

Pg 28

Internationally, we have the likes ofBeyonce, Chris Brown, R-Kelly, FooFighters, Britney Spears, AliciaKeys- so many. In Africa, we startedsigning artistes only recently


his love of marijuana was well-documented, Fela has sincetransformed into a deity. Hisfollowers hold the belief that he stilllives on.Since his death at the age of 58, in1997, from an AIDS -related illness,Fela’s legacy has in some waystoday been sustained. TheBroadway musical about his life thatdrew rare reviews a few years agoand turning his last house,located inIkeja, into a museum were some ofthe efforts made by his family andthose whom he influenced with

By BENJAMIN NJOKU &ANOZIE EGOLE

SINCE the death of Afro-beatlegend, Fela Anikulapo Kutiabout 16 years ago, his

musical influence and activism havecontinued to grow in the conscienceof millions of his fans who arescattered all over the world.

This fact comes alive once againas the world remembers the undyingcontributions of the late Afro-beatlegend to the world music with theflagging of the week-long annual‘Felabration’ to mark his 75thbirthday soon.

No doubt, the impact of Fela whodied on August 2, 1997 at the age of58 would continue to reverberate,especially in Nigeria where manyyears after independence, thecountry has failed to take its rightfulplace in the comity of nations as it isbugged down by the social issuesthat dominated Fela’s music whilehe lived.

Oppression, corruption, sex,poverty, wicked multinationals,exploitative tendencies of bothreligious divide, pollution, amongothers were some of the socialmaladies which unfortunately formthe bane of underdevelopment thatlegendary Afro-beat musicianfrowned at and strongly criticised inhis music. Today, 16 years after hisdeath, Nigeria has not been able tomake headway as to disprove someof the issues that Fela raised in hismusic.

It would not be forgotten in hurrythat Fela fearlessly criticisedNigeria’s corrupt elite, lashing outin songs like “Coffin for Head ofState” or “International Thief Thief”,but with irresistible grooves thatcombined jazz, traditional music andother sounds.

As a major activist for Pan-Africanism and anti-colonialism, andbecause of his socialist beliefs, Felahad many run-ins with theauthorities of several Africancountries. His struggles made himan icon of the Black Powermovement. He attempted to run forNigerian President several times,but was never allowed to.

Interestingly, Fela did not onlyconcern himself with Nigeria’sproblems. His first son, Femi Kutionce remarked that his late fatheralso spoke against the injustices ofcolonialism.,

,His songs repeatedly landed him

in trouble with the authorities,including arrests and the allegedlyburning of his compound, bysoldiers,which he had christened theKalakuta Republic and declaredindependent. Fela’s original Shrineclub where he regularly performedwas shut down after his death byhis family. But they later re-openedthe New Afrika Shrine at anotherlocation in Ikeja.

Married to 27 women on the sameday, most of them his dancers, and

music to preserve his legacy.Aknowledging Fela’s unequalled

contribution towards thedevelopment of Nigerian music,reggae artiste, Orits Wiliki notedthat the Afrobeat king set a recordthat no musician in Nigeria hasbeen able to beat. “To me, Fela set arecord that has not been beaten byany musician since death”, adding“he maintained the highest fan basein the Nigerian music industry. Infact, I doubt if anyone can beat hisrecord until eternity. He really

inspired a whole lot of Nigerianmusicians.”

Also, speaking in the same vein,gospel singer, Buchi said, althoughhe disagreed with the latemusician’s social philosophy,hecommended his followers forsustaining his legacy. “ I commendhis discipline and focus in music, itwas legendary. But his socialphilosophy I totally disagree with.

He left on his trail, a largecommunity of Indian hempsmokers and miscreants,”Buch said.

Indeed,it would berecalled that after the firstKalakuta Republic wasdestroyed, Kuti moved tothe three-storey building,which has been turned intoa museum,courtesy of LagosState government.

“It is very important tome, and this is why weburied him here in the firstplace because we wantedto turn this place into amuseum after he passed

away,” said Yeni Kuti as she stoodon the building’s rooftop terrace.

Meanwhile, to immortalise hisname, the Lagos State governmentprovided the family with N40million (200,000 euros, $250,000) toset up a museum in Fela’smemorywhich was opened in October, lastyear during “Felebration”, anannual series of events honouringFela around his birthday.

15 y15 y15 y15 y15 yearearearearears afs afs afs afs afttttter eer eer eer eer exit,xit,xit,xit,xit,FFFFFela Kela Kela Kela Kela Kuti’suti’suti’suti’suti’slegacy livlegacy livlegacy livlegacy livlegacy lives ones ones ones ones on

111116 y6 y6 y6 y6 yearearearearears afs afs afs afs afttttter eer eer eer eer exit,xit,xit,xit,xit,FFFFFela Kela Kela Kela Kela Kuti’suti’suti’suti’suti’slegacy livlegacy livlegacy livlegacy livlegacy lives ones ones ones ones on

Since his death at the age of 58,in 1997, from an AIDS -relatedillness, Fela’s legacy has in someways today been sustained

CMYK


THE TEAMBENJAMIN NJOKU

[email protected]

AYO [email protected]

OPEOLUWANIOGUNJIMI

BY AYO ONIKOYI

For quite sometime now the criteria formeasuring popularity,especiallyamong entertainment stars have been all

about the social media. And the best way to gothese days have been to see who has thehighest number of fans or followers on theTwitter.

Lady Gaga made a big hit with her followersbase last year by creating her own social mediaplatform because she got so big and couldn’tjust stick with Twitter with her traffic offollowers. Now, the Nollywood stars up there,though not in the class of Lady Gaga, are

Popularity contest:

GeneGeneGeneGeneGenevievievievievievvvvveeeee floorsOmoOmoOmoOmoOmotttttolaolaolaolaola again!

Genevieve Nnaji and Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde. The duo are not exactly swornenemies but the latent rivalry between themis said to have a spark to light up a building.

At the last count, Genevive Nnaji wasleading by a good 100 thousand followers andshe still is with followers in excess of 380thousand followers while Omotola has excessof 231 thousand followers. Funny enough,even Tonto Dikeh, with all her ups and downs,has brushed off Omotola in the race, boastingof more than 237 thousand followers. But isn’tOmotola the one smiling home with all theawards these days?

Monalisa unveiledas Nigeria 100Centenaryambassador

BY AYO ONIKOYI

Monalisa Chinda may not be losing so muchsleep over losing her ambassadorial

endorsement with foremost telecommunicationsgiant, Globacom, as the multiple award-winningactress Monalisa Chinda was officially unveiledas an ambassador for the Nigeria100 CentenaryProject, an inter-continental road show set to holdacross the world.

In addition to the unveiling of MonalisaChinda, other celebrity ambassadors for theNigeria100 Centenary Project were alsoannounced during an exclusive press conferencewhich took place at the prestigious Federal PalaceHotel in Victoria Island, Lagos.

According to Tope Esan, the Centenary mediamanager, “Other confirmed ambassadors whowould simultaneously appear as the Centenaryproject progresses include Stephanie Okereke,Segun Arinze, Desmond Elliot, Jayjay Okocha,Kanu Nwankwo, RMD and Ali Nuhu.”

BY OPEOLUWANI OGUNJIMI

Following his public declaration that he’sproud to be an atheist, son of Afro Beatlegend, Fela Kuti, Seun, has been receiving

lashes from fans who condemned his affiliationwith the religion.

Seun Kuti who seems to be following in thefootsteps of his late father, Fela, took to socialnetwork, Facebook, where he openly declared thathis affiliation with Atheism is not in question, ashe doesn’t fancy Christianity or Islam.

In his words, Seun described Christianity andIslam as “imported religion”, saying both are notunified in their beliefs.

Provoking reactions, while some of his fansagreed with his stance, some just hissed while alarger percentage expressed disgust at his belief,with some blaming it on his weed smoking.

A fan by the name Anonymous, said “the igbowey you dey smoke na im dey worry you(you arebeing disturbed by the weed you smoke). If youlike believe or not, every mallam to im(his)kettle!”, he blasted.

FFFFFans mocans mocans mocans mocans mockkkkk

Seun KSeun KSeun KSeun KSeun Kuti’suti’suti’suti’suti’satheist inclinationatheist inclinationatheist inclinationatheist inclinationatheist inclination

Smooth Boiz and Symphony made the cut last week asthe two bottom contestants who got the least votes last

week and thus stood for eviction last week but somehow theysurvived but that may be for as long as today when the judgeshave to vote.

Come what may today, the followers of the reality TV showare set for a crunch showdown as one group have to go home.There are ninecontestants stillstanding in theshow butw h a t e v e rhappens tonightthere will beseven left.

X-Factor: SmooSmooSmooSmooSmooth Boiz,th Boiz,th Boiz,th Boiz,th Boiz,SymphonSymphonSymphonSymphonSymphony ty ty ty ty to knoo knoo knoo knoo know fatw fatw fatw fatw fate te te te te todaodaodaodaodayyyyy

•Monalisa

•Omotola Jalade•Genevieve Nnaji

CMYK

30 —30 —30 —30 —30 — V V V V Vanguardanguardanguardanguardanguard, FRID, FRID, FRID, FRID, FRIDAAAAAYYYYY, A, A, A, A, AUGUSUGUSUGUSUGUSUGUST 9T 9T 9T 9T 9 , , , , , 20202020201111133333

CMYK

CMYK


The MOJO age…Journalists everywhere!iPad tells the difference

32—32—32—32—32—VanguardVanguardVanguardVanguardVanguard, FRIDAY, FRIDAY, FRIDAY, FRIDAY, FRIDAY, AUGUST 9, , AUGUST 9, , AUGUST 9, , AUGUST 9, , AUGUST 9, 20132013201320132013

With PRINCE OSUAGWUPRINCE OSUAGWUPRINCE OSUAGWUPRINCE OSUAGWUPRINCE [email protected]

08050498513

21st century technologicaladvancement is taking atoll on journalism.

Depending on which divideone stands, the effects couldeither be positive or negative.

But the truth is that journalismis shifting from a small groupof people who access, treatinformation and disseminatesame to a large; usuallyheterogeneous audience whoare dependent on them to knowwhat goes on in the society.With the emergence of MobileJournalism, MOJO, occasionedby the spread of smartphonesand other mobile devices, thatlarge audience is alsobecoming a news carrier.

MOJO is Journalism ofgathering news content on thego, through the use of mobiletechnology.

MOJO has made it that as ajournalist, you never can betyour pay package against theargument that your next doorneighbour had alreadypublished the news you arerushing home to break.

The influence of facebook,twitter, Linkedin, Instagram andother platforms makes it high-ly possible. MOJO is easy tocome by. With a smartphone, atablet or other mobile devices,the mobile journalist is his ownnewsroom. He sharesinformation easily. His contentsare even TV ready.

However, this new trend injournalism comes with itsnegative effects; it has little orno regards for ethics andlowers standards of theprofession. It also negatesquality of news and cares verylittle about the stability of thesociety.

But last week, Apple Inc,maker of the iPad, Iphone andother devices submitted thatmuch as Mobile Journalism iscreating journalistseverywhere, what would makethe difference is when thetraditional journalists who havetraining and respect for ethicsof the profession also migrateto the new revolution.

Presenting training forNigerian journalist on the

MOJO revolution, TarynHyam, of Core Group Africa,Apple’s authorised represen-tatives listed some practicalsteps core journalists shouldtake in order to remain relevantin the new order and as wellsalvage the integrity of theircherished profession.

Chief among the steps is thata modern day journalist mustembrace technology. The mo-bile journalist must fall in lovewith technology and follow upits dynamism. He must also besocial; this means that the so-cial platforms must interest himeven as he must follow trend-ing issues from them.

The Mobile Journalist mustalso not be afraid toexperiment. The problemHyam said she discovered withcore the journalist is routine. Soif he must take centre stage in

the Mobile Journalism ecosys-tem, he must be ready to ex-periment without fear andwatch how his experiments panout. Most importantly, he mustalso invest in good apps. Jobsdon’t do themselves and thereare facilitators which at the endof the day make the journalistsuper human when heachieves success. Suchfacilitators must be prime in hisapproach to this new task.

However, she also listedsome good Apps, mainly fromApple’s store that can helpMOJO. While majority of themcan be downloaded free ofchange, some of them wouldneed to be paid for.

Voddio: This app accordingto her is made for mobilejournalism, video and audioediting, podcasts, sending andsharing functions. It is mainlyrecommended for radio and Tvmobile journalists.

iJournalist Pro: This isanother MOJO app that canrecord and edit videos, help theonline journalist to add histitles bylines on his site or blog.

There is also the CoveritLiveapp. This enables realtime re-porting, live blogging, social Tv,reader comments and chat

events. She revealed thatpopular media outfits like Sky,Fox and Washington post usethe app to cover critical events.

Wordpress: This app helps towrite and edit blog contents,upload photos and help theBlogger in reading commentsfrom his posts. There is alsoanother important app calledthe DropBox. This app helpsto compress large files likevideos and pictures to make it

easy for the journalist to uploadand download.

Yet another important toolis the iPad Mini.

However, there are factswhich she said actually makethe device a perfect tool for theMobile Journalist. Right fromthe start, there’s a lot to loveabout the mini iPad. It’s simpleyet powerful. Thin and light.Yet it’s full-featured. It can do

just about everything and bejust about anything. Andbecause it’s so easy to use, it’sdefinitely going to be easy tolove by users who are alwayson the move.

Besides the light weight,ease of use and a hugeadvantage of easy tuck awaylike a mere purse whiletravelling, the beautiful screen,powerful A5 chip, FaceTimeand iSight cameras, amazingapps, and 10-hour battery life,make iPad mini every inch aniPad.

It has a beautiful screen, fastand fluid performance,FaceTime and iSight cameras,thousands of amazing apps,10-hour battery life. Theclincher is that you can actuallyhold it in one hand

Colors are vivid and text issharp on the iPad mini display.But what really makes it standout is its size. At 7.9 inches, it’sperfectly sized to deliver anexperience every bit as big asiPad.

With advanced Wi- Fi that’sup to twice as fast as anyprevious-generation iPad andaccess to fast cellular datanetworks around the world,iPad mini lets you downloadcontent, stream video, andbrowse the web at amazingspeeds.

Right from the start, appsmade for iPad also work withiPad mini. They’re immersive,full-screen apps that let you doalmost anything you canimagine. And they make iPadmini practically impossible toput down.

•Apple iPad Mini

Treatment, Prostitution, SexWork and forced Labour.

Email sample:

Dear Colleagues,On behalf of California

Human Right FoundationCHRF USA, It is a greatprivilege for us to invite you toglobal Congress meetingagainst Economic Crisis, ChildProtection & HIV/AIDSTreatment, Prostitution, SexWork and forced Labor. Theaims of the conference are tobring together researchersand practitioners in aneffort to lay the groundwork for futurecollaborative research,

IT may sound strange, butthere are more victims of

cyber crime in the society thanthere are perpetrators. Andcontrary to the belief thatscammers are smart, strategicand on top of the game, theymerely harp on your inabilityto pay attention to details thando any major brain work.

In fact they are cowards andcareful look into their modusoperandi would expose theirignorance and timidity. Here atGlamtech, we want to makesure you are never a victim.That’s why we’ve chosen toopen your eyes to the holes intheir trap which you may havenever thought of. We’ll try tobring a couple of samplesevery week and let you intotheir lies.

Now take this for example:The scam is: You get an email

from “The California HumanRight Foundation (CHRF US)”inviting you to a global Congress meeting againstEconomic Crisis, ChildProtection & HIV/AIDS

advocacy, and programdevelopment as well as toeducate social service, healthcare, and criminal justiceprofessionals on humantrafficking and the needs andrisks of those victimized by thecommercial sex industry.The global Congress meetingagainst Economic Crisis, ChildProtection & HIV/AIDSTreatment, Prostitution, SexWork and forced Labor is

scheduled totake place

from August19th –

2 3 r d2013 in

California the United Statesand in Dakar-Senegal, fromAugust 26th – 30th of 2013. Theglobal congress is hosted by theCampaign against Child LaborCoalition and sponsored by(The Bill & Melinda GatesFoundation, The William J.Clinton Foundation and otherbenevolent donors worldwide.

The target: NonGovernmental Organizations,Charity Organizations, Wellmeaning individuals, peoplewho want to travel abroad.

The catch: These guys wouldask you to send money to payfor your hotel room inCalifornia, and promise tocover all other costs. As soonas you send the money, youwill never hear from themagain.

The fact: There is noCalifornia Human RightsFoundation. Di

Attention to details: Had youignored their link, went togoogle to check them out,contact relevant institutionsfrom the hosting country amongother due processes, you wouldhave easily found out.

Scammers are not smart; you never paid attention to detailsDON’T BE FOOLED!

By LAJU ARENYEKA

•CyberScammer

CMYK

LATELATELATELATELATETIPSTIPSTIPSTIPSTIPS

TREBLE CHANCE

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CREDIT EXCELLENTRaith 2 Bolton 7Ross County 2 Brighton 7Hearts . 2 Ipswich 7Morecambe 3 Leicester 5Dagenham 3 Sheff Wed. 5Chesterfield 3 Bradford C. 5Tranmere 3 Colchester 5Rotherham 3 Notts Co. 5

SOCCER TIPSSOCCER TIPSSOCCER TIPSSOCCER TIPSSOCCER TIPS

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X 27PERMUTATION

4 X 5 X 9 X10 X 19 X 23

TIPS30 X 33 X 38

4 x5, 23 x 2933 x 38, 43 x 46

45

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Community ShieldCommunity ShieldCommunity ShieldCommunity ShieldCommunity Shield1 Man U. v Wigan 1

English English English English EnglishChampionshipLeagueChampionshipLeagueChampionshipLeagueChampionshipLeagueChampionshipLeague

2 Blackburn v Nottm. For. X23 Blackpool v Barnsley 14 Bolton v Reading XX5 Brighton v Derby XX6 Charlton v Middlesbro 17 Huddersfield v Q.P.R. 28 Ipswich v Millwall XX9 Leicester v Leeds XX10 Sheff Wed. v Burnley XX11 Watford vBournemouth 112 Yeovil v Birmingham 2X

English League One English League One English League One English League One English League One13 Bradford C v Carlisle XX14 Brentford v Sheff Utd. XX15 Colchester v Port Vale XX16 Coventry v Bristol C. XX17 Leyton O. v Shrewsbury 118 Milton KD v Crewe 119 Notts Co. v Peterboro XX20 Oldham v Walsall 221 Rotherham v Preston XX22 Swindon v Stevenage 123 Tranmere v Crawley XX24 Wolves v Gillingham 1X

25 AFC Wimbldon v Wycombe XX26 Accrinton S v Portsmouth 227 Bristol R. v Scunthorpe 228 Burton A. v Rochdale 129 Chesterfield v Cheltenham XX30 Dagenham v York XX31 Hartlepool v Southend 132 Mansfield v Exeter 233 Morecambe v Torquay XX34 Northhampton v Newport Co. 135 Oxford v Bury 236 Plymouth v Fleetwood 2

37 Dundee Utd v Inverness CTXX38 Hearts v Hibernian XX39 KIlmarnock v St. Johnstone 240 Motherwell v Aberdeen 141 Ross County v Partick XX

42 Alloa v Livingston XX43Dumbarton v Falkirk 244 Morton v Cowdenbeath145 Queen O' Sth v Dundee XX46 Raith v Hamilton XX

47 Abroath v AYR Utd. 148 East Fife v Dunfermline 249 Rangers v Brechin 1

X-RAY OF THE DRAWS

FOUR HOMES

.

Scottish Premier LeagueScottish Premier LeagueScottish Premier LeagueScottish Premier LeagueScottish Premier League

.WEEK 04WEEK 04WEEK 04WEEK 04WEEK 04 Bolton v Reading

Colchester v Port ValeSheff Wed. v Burnley

Brighton v Derby

Dagenham v York

Ross County v Partick

Leicester v Leeds

Notts Co. v Peterboro

Morecambe v Torquay

Tranmere v Crawley

English League OneEnglish League OneEnglish League OneEnglish League OneEnglish League One

Scottish Division OneScottish Division OneScottish Division OneScottish Division OneScottish Division One

ScoScoScoScoScottish Division Tttish Division Tttish Division Tttish Division Tttish Division Twwwwwooooo

MANCHETER United have opened negotiationswith Everton over a deal for Marouane Fellaini, asDavid Moyes fears that his top midfield target, CescFábregas of Barcelona, could prove out of reach.

Moyes, who has so far added only the young Uru-guayan full-back Guillermo Varela to his squad be-fore his debut season at Old Trafford, worked withFellaini at Everton, having signed him for £15m fromStandard Liege in 2008.

Fellaini is understood to have offers from elsewherein the Premier League but the 25-year-old would rel-ish the opportunity to join United and continue hisworking relationship with Moyes. United are in poleposition for his signature. Fellaini’s Everton contractcontained a £23.5m buyout clause but this expired on31 July, meaning that his value will determined bythe market.

United’s need for reinforcement in midfield has beenintensified by Paul Scholes’s retirement at the end oflast season and Moyes has pushed to take Fábregas,the former Arsenal captain, seeing two bids turneddown by Barcelona. Moyes has also been linked witha move for Luka Modric of Real Madrid althoughthat, too, has been fraught with complications.

Arsène Wenger, the Arsenal manager, has said forthe past three weeks that his information was thatFábregas would stay at Camp Nou for at least an-other season. Despite the acrimony of Fábregas’s de-parture from Arsenal, Wenger has retained a goodrelationship with him while the player’s agent is theson of David Dein, Wenger’s closest contact in thegame. In this summer of the contractual transfer clause,Arsenal have one that effectively entitles them to firstrefusal on Fábregas. Wenger’s information would

Man U open talks withEverton over £23.5m

Marouane Fellaini

appear to be well-sourced.Fellaini is a different type of midfielder,

with reservations over his passing abilityand disciplinary record. But he has skill,tremendous presence and threat, as evi-denced by his 12 goals for Everton last sea-son.

Let me go, Suarez begsSUAREZ has pleaded with Liverpool to

fulfil the promise they made a year agoand let him leave Anfield. The Uruguaystriker insists that he is prepared to submita written transfer request by the end of theweek if the club continue to block his moveto Arsenal. Speaking for the first time sinceArsenal made a £40,000,001 bid for him,Suárez told the Guardian he believes thathe has been left little alternative.

Suárez claims the club told him theywould let him depart if they failed to qualifyfor the Champions League this season andthat a clause in his contract allows him toleave should someone make a bid of morethan £40m. He says he has the backing ofthe Professional Footballers’ Associationand that he his prepared to take the issueto the Premier League to force his exit andmove to the Emirates before the transferwindow closes on 2 September.

“Last year I had the opportunity to moveto a big European club and I stayed onthe understanding that if we failed toqualify for the Champions League thefollowing season I’d be allowed to go.”

34—VANGUARD, 34—VANGUARD, 34—VANGUARD, 34—VANGUARD, 34—VANGUARD, FRIDAY, AUGUST 9, 2013FRIDAY, AUGUST 9, 2013FRIDAY, AUGUST 9, 2013FRIDAY, AUGUST 9, 2013FRIDAY, AUGUST 9, 2013

,

,

NoNoNoNoNothing likthing likthing likthing likthing like ce ce ce ce childhildhildhildhildmarriage in Islammarriage in Islammarriage in Islammarriage in Islammarriage in Islam

THERE was absolutely nospur to comment on the

raging controversy of childmarriage during the month ofRamadan basically becauseother issues relevant to theholy month and fastingremained inexhaustible.While preparing for the Eidyesterday, I recalled a numberof people had sought myopinion and that of Islam onthe issue, so, it became oneof the issues staring at me onmy table. With what I haveread in the newspapers, Ipulled a call through to a fewscholars in order to know theirposition. I was notdissappointed afterallbecause, the Quran andhadiths are clear and anyonewho without prejudice wantsto know the truth, will discernclearly that Islam is not onlya religion but a perfect way oflife that provides answers toevery question in this so-called modern world. Withoutany anachronistic moraljudgments, Islam does notsupport marriage to a minor.

First, the Quran indicatesmaturity and sound judgmentas marriageable level. Itdoes not specify certain agelimit for marriage neither thehadiths, perhaps becauseAllah has created everyhuman being with his or herown uniqueness. Some growtall while some are short;

cultural prejudices andpractices persist, but Islamicposition must be noted. InSaudi Arabia, a few yearsback, despite Islam, an 8-year-old girl who had beenmarried by her father to a 47year-old “friend” to settleDad’s debt of about $13,000approached the court andannulled the wedding.

Islam as a religion providesguidelines on the stage,conditions and process ofmariage. In Quran 4:6, itsays: “And test the orphans[in their abilities] until theyreach marriageable age/

majority could be said to meanattainment of menstrualperiod, development to fullwomanhood; soundjudgement is attained withsome level of education,whether formal or informal.Here, the ability to discern theimplication of marriage, aswell as to being able to carryout the responsibility of a wifeand a mother is veryimportant. The element of

having a mature intellect is theability to understand that onehas choices, and the ability tochoose the preferential option.The fact remains that a childdoes not know about theintricacies of marriage and theburden of bearing a child.Even if under any pretense tosubvert this proviso by anydesperado, there are four basicconditions that must be metbefore marriage is establishedin Islam. These are (1)proposal and acceptance (al-Ijaab waalqubuul), (2)approval by both parents(ridaa waalidayn), (3)payment of a dowry by thegroom (al-mihr) and (4) thepresence of at least two malewitnesses at the ceremony(shaahidayn ‘aadilayn)

The import of these condition

is that the female has theright to accept or rejectmarriage proposal. Herconsent is a prerequisite tothe validity of the marriagecontract. If a marriage of a girlis arranged without herconsent, then such a marriagemay be annulled if she sowishes. To prove this, in Ibn-Majah hadiths collection, “IbnAbbas reported that a girlcame to the Messenger of

is not fit, marriage will not beestablished. And in the casewhere the girl having attainedmaturity and soundjudgement declines herinterest in marrying the man,the marriage becomesannuled. Note also that it isonly after the bride attainsmaturity, or sound judgementto be able to handle her ownproperty that she can receiveher dowry; (sadaak) just as itis also stated that withoutdowry, no marriage isestablished. It points to thefact that the injunction of theQuran on maturity and soundjudgement must be properlyestablished.

Again, another point of noteis that even as the Quran didnot fix the age of marriage, itdoes not support the marriageof girl who has not attainedmaturity.

Conditionsof fitness

When a girl is married outat an early age, she will notlive with the husband untilshe is fit for marital sexualrelations. (hata tutilqal-rijal)All the scholars of Islamic fiqhmaintain that a wife must notbe taken to her husband’shouse until she reaches thecondition of fitness for sexualrelations. Betrothal may takeplace at any age, actualmarriage comes later afterattainment of puberty andsound judgement. We willnot close our eyes to theaccount that Aisha (r.t.a) wasmarried to the Prophet at theage of nine. But the issueitself has generated mixedreaction from the Muslimsworld-over. While someinsisted that Aisha’s age atmarriage was nine, othersmaintained that she was 19years of age when she arrivedin the house of the Prophet asa wife.

Sheikh Waheed-ud-Deenwrites in his well-known book‘Ahmal fi Asma al-Rajja’: “Atthe time of the consummationof her marriage SeyidaAisha’s age was not less than18-19 years.” Aisha wasmarried in 622 C.E., andalthough her exact birthday isunknown, Abu Ja’far

Where the girl having attainedmaturity and sound judgementdeclines her interest in marrying theman, the marriage becomes annuled

Continues on page 35

Muhammed Mijinyawa Abdullah, Vice President, Nasrul-Lahi-l-Fatih Society of Nigeria, NASFAT (left) and Sheikh AbdullahGbade Akinbode, National Chief Missioner, NASFAT during theSociety's Lailatul-Quadr, at Mowe, Ogun State.

Allah, and she reported thather father had forced her tomarry without her consent.The Messenger of God gaveher the choice betweenaccepting the marriage orinvalidating it.”

In all of the classical legalopinions, the age of majoritywas equated with attainingpuberty and demonstratingadequate mentaldevelopment.

Let us even assume that aminor may not know theimplication of what she wasgiving her consent to; in mostcases where the practice iscommon, a judge (qadi) willappoint two matron toexamine the girl on herphysical preparedness formarriage. And if the Matronfound out that the bride to be

some fair and some dark, someattain maturity earlier than theother. Physical characteristicsvary depending upon ourgenes and the environment inwhich we grow.

Back in medieval age, evenin Europe, girls were marriedwhen they are children. InAfrica as well, early marriageswere a common phenomena.Many grandmas married atearly ages irrespective ofreligion. In fact, the issue ofearly marriage is not aboutreligion but mainly aboutculture and the environment.Prior to Prophet Muhammad(s.a.w) in Arabia, it was acommon knowledge thatfemales were consideredproperty, objects for sacrifice.Those ignorant tribal and

puberty. (baligh) Then if youperceive in them soundjudgement, (rushdah)release their property tothem. And do not consume itexcessively and quickly,[anticipating] that they willgrow up. And whoever,[when acting as guardian], isself-sufficient should refrain[from taking a fee]; andwhoever is poor - let him takeaccording to what isacceptable. Then when yourelease their property tothem, bring witnesses uponthem. And sufficient is Allahas Accountant.”

Under this verse, the stageat which Islam recommendsmarriage is majority andsound judgement (balighand rushdah) . While

Sheikh Abdullah Gbade Akinbode leading a superrogatory prayer during the Lailatul-Quadr held byNASFAT in Mowe, Ogun State.

Vanguard, Vanguard, Vanguard, Vanguard, Vanguard, FRIDAY, FRIDAY, FRIDAY, FRIDAY, FRIDAY, AUGUST 9AUGUST 9AUGUST 9AUGUST 9AUGUST 9, 2013, 2013, 2013, 2013, 2013—35—35—35—35—35

ASK YOUR IMAMASK YOUR IMAMASK YOUR IMAMASK YOUR IMAMASK YOUR IMAM

Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari recorded that ithappened before Islamwas revealed in 610. Theearliest survivingbiography ofMuhammad, AbuMuhammad ‘Abd al-Malik bin Hisham’srecension of Ibn Ishaq’sSirat Rasul Allah — TheLife of the Messenger ofGod records that Aishaaccepted Islam shortlyafter it was revealed —12 years before hermarriage — and there isno way she could havedone so as an infant ortoddler.

Days ofignorance

In ‘Book of History’,volume 4, page number50 Ibn Jazeer al-Tabariwrites that Abu Bakrmarried two ladies in thedays of ignorance.Fateelah, daughter ofAbd al-Aza was the firstand Umm-i-Rooman wasthe second, from whomAbd al-Rahman andAisha were born. All thechildren of Abu Bakrwere born in the days of

ignorance. Abd al-Rahman, son of Abu Bakrfought against theMuslims in the battle ofBadr. His age was 21-22years and he was olderthan Aisha; but thedifference between theirages was not more thanthree to four years.

It is on record thatAisha was involved in theassistant of Muslims inthe Battles of Badr in 624and Uhud in 625, inneither of which wasanyone under the age of15 allowed.

Again, Imam Wali-ud-Din Muhammad ibnAbdullah Al-Khatib, whodied more than 700 yearsago, recorded in thebiographical section ofMiskat al-Masabih thatAsma, her sister who was10 years older, died at theage of 100, and 72 yearsafter Aisha’s wedding.This makes Aisha’s ageat the time of hermarriage at least 14, andat the time of herm a r r i a g e ’ sconsummation almost 18.

Again, that the Prophethas not done anythingthat the companions havenot emulated. How did

they treat this issue? Maybe we will have to do moreresearch on that.

Lastly, the Prophethimself said: ‘O youngpeople! Whoever amongyou is able to marry,should marry, andwhoever is not able tomarry, is recommended tofast, as fasting diminisheshis sexual power.(Translation of SahihBukhari, Volume 7, BOOK62: Wedlock, Marriage(Nikah), Number 3)” Inthis context, scholars saythe hadith is referring toyoung grown up man andwoman.

The polemics that Aishawas an adult when sheconsummated hermarriage withMuhammad was moreplausible and no oneshould use that as an alibito potray Islam in badlight. The concern to wantto protect young people isa genuine concern ofMuslims and Islam. Thisis so because it will protectthe entire human dignity.Maturity and soundjudgement are imperativein providing the dignity,not necessarily age.

The truth about Child MarriageThe truth about Child MarriageThe truth about Child MarriageThe truth about Child MarriageThe truth about Child Marriage

NSCDC boss charges Muslimfaithful•assures security during festivalBY BOSE ADELAJA

THE CommandantGeneral of Nigeria

Security and Civil DefenceCorps, Dr. Ade Abolurin,has called on Muslimfaithful to see the Ramadanseason as a means oflending a helping hand toothers as well aschanneling ones’ requestto God irrespective ofpattern of worship.

Also, he assured of theCorp’s determination toprovide adequate securityof life and propertythroughout the festiveperiod and called onundesirable elements in thesociety to repent or face thewrath of law.

In a statement signed the

Corp’s National PublicRelations Officer, PRO CSCOkeh, Emmanuel, theNSCDC boss said thereligion preaches tolerancewhich must be adhered toby the followers, ‘’Islam likethe Christian religionpreaches tolerance, love,unity and peace in society.If we can all abide by theteachings of the HolyProphet without beingheretic about the practicesof our faith, there won’t bethe problem of hurting orkilling one another rather,we shall be concerned withliving in unity,’’ The NSCDC bosscongratulated the Muslimsfor a successful fastingexercise as well as theopportunity to witness the

celebration that followsadding, ‘’this is the sign ofAllah’s acceptance of theprayers and penitencewhich has called for a soberreflection. Nigeria candevelop if we give peace achance and allow thegovernment’s Transfor-mation Agenda’ to work soas to enjoy the full benefitsand the dividend ofdemocracy,’’ said theCommandant General.

Abolurin called onreligious leaders to becrusaders of govern-mentactivities in their domain,while also urging thecitizens to go about theircelebrations with the fear ofGod, respect for the rule oflaw and mutual tolerancefor others.

From left: Mustapha Adebayo Bello, Assistant General Secretary, Nasfat;Bashir Biyi Bamgbose, National Public Relations Secretary; LukmanFolorunsho, General Secretary, and Alhaja Nofisat Arogundade, NationalWomen Affairs Sercretary during Iftar with newsmen organised by Nasfat, inIkeja Lagos. Photos: Akeem Salau.

From right: Abdul Ganiy Babatunde Aremu, member PR Committee, Nasfat;Ajiroba Moroof Adedokun, Nasfat National Audit Sercretary and AbdulRasheed Onanuga, Nasfat National Project Secretary at the event.

Muslim faithful at the NASFAT 2013 Lailatul-Quadr at Mowe, Ogun State.

continues from page 34

Don't link Islam with childmarriage discourse — Akinbode•as thousands throng Mowe for Lailatul-Qadr

LAGOS — AS thousandsof Muslims gathered at

the Nasrul-Lahi-l-Fatih So-ciety of Nigeria, NASFAT,Islamic centre, Mowe,Ogun State to observe theLailatul Qadr otherwiseknown as Night of Majes-ty, yesterday, the NationalMissioner of the group,Sheikh Abdullah Akinbodehas warned that no oneshould link Islam with theraging controversy of childmarriage, saying Islam ad-vocates maturity before agirl's hand can be given outin marriage.

Akinbode while fieldingquestions from Vanguardsaid, maturity cum pubertyis a condition for a girl inIslamic marriage.

He said: “Islam cannot belinked with the issue ofchild marriage, puberty andmaturity is one of the con-ditions for giving out a girl'shand in marriage.”

Reacting to the case ofAisha, Akinbode said:“When Aisha (r.t.a) was be-trothed to the prophet, shewas handed over to Khadi-jah to train and for manyyears she remained withKhadijah until her death.Beside, she was betrothedto the prophet for the rea-son of her outstanding in-tellect, she was very giftedin memorizing the acts andsayings of the prophetwhich is the hadiths.”

Lessons ofRamadan

Akinbode urged Muslimsto reflect further on the les-sons of Ramadan even af-ter Ramadan.

He noted: “The lessons ofRamadan which revolvearound self restraint anddenials, self discipline andsacrifice for the good of alarger population, mutualcompassion and peaceful

cohabitation with others inthe community, sharingpart of our wealth and car-ing for the less privilegedas well as strengtheningour moral values of integ-rity, honesty and mutualsupport for progress mustcontinue to live with us.”

President of the associa-tion, Alhaji Sheriff Yussuf,whose speech was deliv-ered by the First Vice Pres-ident of the group, MrMuhammad Abdullah,disclosed that apart fromthe development ofFountain University,Osogbo and the MoweInternational Islamic ResortCentre, the group wouldsoon begin NASFATAgency for Zakaat andSadaqat as an NGO which,according to him, wouldrevolutionise thepropagation andadministration of Zakaatinstitution in Nigeria.


08102479985 By Bartholomew Madukwe([email protected])PEOPLE SPEAK

THE maiden OkpeYouth World Confer-

ence with the themeOkpe Kingdom Yester-day, Today and the Fu-ture, has been scheduledfor August 14 to 16.

The event, slated forEdion Hall, Orerokpe inOkpe Local GovernmentArea of Delta State, is tobe chaired by Prof. SamOyovbaire, while Orodjeof Okpe, HRM Orhue I,will be the chief host androyal father of the day.

Okpe youths'confab

THE National Association ofTelecommunications Sub-

scribers, NATCOMS, hasurged the Association of Li-cenced TelecommunicationsOperators of Nigeria, ALTON,operators of the Global Systemfor Mobile Communications,GSM, to compensate subscrib-ers in the country in the faceof poor quality service.

National president ofNATCOMS, Chief Deolu

Ogunbanjo, said in a state-ment that after 12 years of to-tal loyalty, storm weatheringand patronage, each telecom-munications operator shouldpay N5,000 as compensationto the consumers.

Ogunbanjo said that whenGSM was introduced in Ni-geria in August 2001, everysubscriber was given N6,000free to call any network.

According to him, 12 years

after, consumers were stillgroaning in pains as a resultof poor quality of service.

He said: “The quality of serv-ice profile that describes theperformance evaluation of thesystem from the consumer per-spective, using specific pa-rameters has been poor.

“In telephony and other serv-ices, parameters used includecall failure rate, call drop rate,call set-up rate, among others.”

Telecom subscribers seek N5,000 compensation

Edo govt wades into IPMAN crisis

BENIN—EDO State Gov-ernment has waded into

the factional crisis rocking theIndependent Petroleum Mar-keters Association of Nigeria,IPMAN, in the state and urgedthe new zonal chairman of theMid-Western Zone, Mr.Sylvanus Idanwekhai, to reachout to aggrieved members in theaftermath of the election.

It will be recalled that theChief Solomon Ogbewe-led fac-tion of IPMAN, which enjoysthe support of the national lead-ership, had described the pur-ported election of Idanwekhaias unconstitutional.

However, the Secretary to theEdo State Government, Prof.Julius Ihonvbere, who met withthe new leadership of IPMANin the state, when they paid hima courtesy visit, described theoil sector as critical to the growthof the country and warnedagainst further crisis in the as-sociation.

He urged the new leadershipto work closely with relevantgovernment agencies to ensure

steady distribution of petroleumproducts and warned the Ogbe-we-led leadership to hand overproperly to the new leadership.

Earlier, the zonal chairman,

Mr. Idanwekhai, whose ad-dress was read by the ZonalSecretary, Osaze Izedomwen,said that the visit was to for-mally express gratitude to the

state government for its inter-vention in the prolonged crisisthat rocked the association andassure of their continuous sup-port to the state government.

BY SIMON EBEGBULEM

Women work thrice harder, says PTI boss

THE Principal and Chief Executive of Petroleum Train-

ing Institute, PTI, Effurun, Dr.Nnenna Dennar, has said thatwomen work three times harderto make it in the oil and gas in-dustry.

Speaking at the 37th SPE Ni-geria Council annual interna-tional conference in Lagos,Dennar said gender discrimina-tion and institutionalised beliefthat women were better as

house-makers, teachers, nursesand social workers were re-sponsible for the small repre-sentation of women in the oiland gas insdustry.

She said that such invisible,artificial and self-imposedbarriers had made it difficultfor women to advance in theirjobs.

Speaking on Making it tothe Top as a Women Profes-sional in the Oil and Gas

World, Dennar said: “Malesaccount for 80 percent of in-dustries global workforce andthe United State oil companieshave only 9.6 percent ofwomen on their boards as di-rectors.”

She said, however, that withknowledge, skill, good workethics, motivation, characterconfidence and positive atti-tude, any determined womancan make it to the top.

No Elders' Forum in Delta APC— Eferakeya

FORMER University ofBenin don and chieftain of

All Progressives Congress,APC, in Delta State, Prof. AdegoEferakeya, has said that there wasno Elders’ Forum in the state

chapter of the party, contrary toclaims in some quarters.

Eferakeya, who spoke, yes-terday, to journalists in hisAmukpe country home inSapele Local Government Areaof the state, said he was anelder of the party and one ofthe foremost members.

He said that he was olderthan the eldest among those inDelta State spreading the ru-mour that there was an Elders’Forum in the state chapter ofthe party. He urged support-

ers of the party to disregardwhat he termed “power thirstyrumour carriers.”

On the preparation of thenewly registered APC to winelections in the state, Prof.Eferakeya said “When we getto the bridge, we will cross it.”

He denied claim offactionalism in APC, saying“there is neither division norfactionalism in Delta State APC.The party is only ensuring thatthe PDP cabal does not infil-trate APC.”

UGHELLI—THE peo-ple of Iyede, Isoko

North Local GovernmentArea, Delta State, haveadopted the commissionerrepresenting Isoko ethnicnationality on the board ofthe Delta State Oil Produc-ing Areas DevelopmentCommission, DESO-PADEC, Mr. Joseph Ogehas their political leader.

At a reconciliation meet-ing at the palace of theIyede traditional ruler,HRM Ogheneovo Ekwe II,the people noted that de-spite the fact that the king-dom has the highestnumber of registered vot-ers, it had not benefitedmuch from the governmentof the day.

Ovie-in-Council, Chair-man of the Iyede TraditionalCouncil of Chiefs andformer Attorney-General ofthe state, Chief A. Okpa-kpor, described Ogeh asthe highest political officeholder in the kingdom.

DeltacommunityadoptsOgeh politicalleader

BY FESTUS AHON

Delta Elite lauds revenue board chair

BY EMMA AMAIZE

W A R R I — N A -TIONAL Coordinator of

Delta Elite, Mr. HopeAgadaigho, has commendedthe Chairman of Delta StateBoard of Internal Revenue,DBIR, Mr. Joel Onowakpo-Tho-mas, for raising the internallygenerated revenue of the statefrom N12 billion a year to a pro-jected N65 billion.

Mr. Agadaigho said Thomas,who was re-appointed recentlyby Governor EmmanuelUduaghan, “has by his per-formance, made the Delta-be-yond-oil programme of theUduaghan administration real-istic and attainable.

“I applaud the governor for

the reappointment and urge thechairman and members of boardto justify the confidence the gov-ernor and people of the statehave in them.”

THIS issue addressesthe fundamental

rights of the Nigerian citi-zen, one of which is theright of freedom of move-ment. Every Nigerian hasa legal right to go wherethey choose and live. So Iam not in support of it, ifreally there was any formof deportation.— MissAlade Deborah, Model.

WELL, I believe it is adangerous thing to

do because of the possi-ble retaliation. For yourinformation, there arealso Lagosians in otherparts of the country, in-cluding Anambra State.Let us all live as one Ni-geria, whether Igbo,Yoruba or Hausa.— Mr.Nonso Azudife, Student.

DOES any state gov-ernment have the

constitutional right to de-port a citizen of Nigeria?Is it entrenched in theconstitution of Nigeria?If not, it becomes a caseof glaring impunity star-ing us all in the face. Andthe necessary steps mustbe taken.— Miss EzinneIkeri, Broadcaster.

IF some Igbo were ac-tually deported for

whatever reason fromLagos, then GovernorBabatunde Fasholashould not shy away fromcoming out and apologis-ing to Igbo. Most majormarkets in Lagos are oc-cupied and kept going byIgbo.— Miss NwaoforChinaenye, Student.

SOME people are saying 14 Igbo without

resident were deported,while some held that 70Igbo were picked at vari-ous places and droppedat Upper Iweka inAnambra. However, a Ni-gerian has a constitutionalright to reside anywherein the country.— MissFortune Ajie, Model.

IT is a violation of theirfundamental human

rights as Nigerians, in-cluding the right to seekand work anywhere inNigeria, the right tomovement, and associa-tion. It subverts the lettersand spirit of our Consti-tution. It must be ad-dressed properly.— Mr.Ayode Longe, Journalist.

On ‘deportation' of Ibo from Lagos


Monarch laudsDelta gov’s devtstrides Extend certificates verification to MDAs,

Edo PDP tells state govt

Partychieftainchides Kokoriovercomment onDPP

BY GABRIELENOGHOLASE

17 months after Bonga spill: Over 173Itsekiri, Ijaw communities cry out for help

Uduaghan hails Gbagi’s investment initiative

‘PPMC notresponsiblefor kerosenescarcity’

WARRI—SEVENTEENmonths after the devas-

tating Shell Nigeria Explora-tion Production Company,SNEPCo crude oil spillagefrom its Bonga Field in Decem-ber, 2011, over 173 Itsekiri andIjaw communities in Delta andBayelsa States, affected by thespill, have cried out that theywere still suffering the adverseeffects of the spill.

The Association of NamedItsekiri/Ijaw Communities inWarri North, Warri South, Bu-rutu and Ekeremor Local Gov-ernment Areas in Delta andBayelsa States, in a letter to theDirector General, NationalEmergency Management Au-thority, NEMA, lamented thatthe people were dying of hun-ger and effects of harmful dis-persant used by SNEPCo todisperse oil spill on the seasurface.

The communities, with a pop-ulation of over 850,000, in theletter by the Chairman/Coor-dinator, Mr. Francis Mondayand two others, called onNEMA and governments ofDelta and Bayelsa States tocome to the aid of the peoplewith relief materials, especial-

ly food and drugs.They also appealed for aid

from the International RedCross, National Oil Spill De-tection and Response Agen-cy, NOSDRA, United Nations,non-governmental organisa-tions and the internationalcommunity, pending whenthe National Assembly, gov-ernment authorities and/orregulatory agencies in Niger-ia, which intervened in the

matter, would complete theirjob.

The communities alleged thatSNPECo had not properlycleaned up the pollutants usedto disperse the spill till date,consequently, contaminatingtheir fishing areas, as well asdepriving them of their majorsource of livelihood, which isfishing.

According to them, the inci-dent has “caused psychologi-

cal trauma, loss of daily in-come and impacted on thehealth of some of our people.

“The management of SNEP-Co only succeeded in supply-ing wrong and/or doctored in-formation to the general pub-lic without any investigationjointly conducted by the reg-ulatory and security agenciesas well as SNEPCo and theircommunities’ representa-tives.”

BY EMMA AMAIZE

BY SIMON EBEGBULEM

LEADERSHIP TRAINING: Rt. Hon. Victor Ochei (middle), Speaker, Delta State House ofAssembly and other members of DTHA in a group photograph during a leadership trainingat Goldman School of Public Policy, University of California and San Francisco, USA.

BY FESTUS AHON

UGHELLI—DELTA Stategovernor, Dr. Em-

manuel Uduaghan, has de-scribed Olorogun KennethGbagi, former Minister ofEducation, as a committedDeltan and great industrial-ist, who was deploying hisresources to build industriesin the state.

Uduaghan, when the formerminister paid him a visit atGovernment House, Asaba,said Gbagi’s industrial initi-

ative was complementing thestate government’s industrial-isation efforts.

The governor, who walkedside by side with Gbagi intothe Unity Hall, venue of theswearing-in ceremonies of ajudge of the Customary Courtof Appeal, the Committee onthe Prerogative of Mercy andthe reconstituted Board of In-ternal Revenue, said: “Ken-neth Gbagi is one of the high-est investors, if not the high-est indigenous investor, in Del-ta State.”

He thanked Gbagi for hisfaith and continuous invest-ments in the state and urgedother well placed Deltans toemulate him.

The governor called on Del-tans to take advantage of theinvestment opportunities inthe state, assuring Deltanswho wish to invest in the stateof the security of their invest-ments, adding, “My govern-ment has created the enablingenvironment and will contin-ue to do so to safeguard allinvestments.”

THE DemocraticPeoples Party, DPP,

chairmanship hopeful inOkpe Local GovernmentArea of Delta State, Mr.Blessing Oborevwori,has lambasted the formerSecretary of NationalUnion of Petroleum andNatural Gas, NUPENG,Chief Frank Ovie Koko-ri, describing his state-ment on DPP as undem-ocratic.

Oborevwori,in his re-action to the report in themedia, said the com-ment was a figment ofthe author ’s imagina-tion, noting that the par-ty was waxing strongerthan ever before.

He said:“I least ex-pected such statement tocome from such a high-ly respected personwho, l believe, knowsthe injustice the partyhas suffered over theyears.”

BENIN—EDO State chap-ter of Peoples Democrat-

ic Party, PDP, has challengedthe directive by the state gov-ernment asking no fewer than1,300 primary school teachersin the state to appear for cer-tificate verification, insistingthat the exercise should be ex-tended to the political class,government ministries andparastatals in the state.

It will be recalled that at ameeting held with the leader-

NIGER Delta Youthfor Transformation

Agenda, NDTA, hassaid that the manage-ment of Pipeline andProduct MarketingCompany, PPMC,should not be blamed forthe scarcity of kerosenein the country, attribut-ing same to the activitiesof oil bunkerers, pipe-line vandals and crudeoil thieves in the NigerDelta and other parts ofthe country.

NDTA after its meetingin Warri, Delta State,faulted calls by Ex-mili-tant Leaders Forum, forthe removal of the Man-aging Director ofPPMC, Prince HarunaMomoh, following scar-city of the product, not-ing that the call was un-necessary and counter-productive to the trans-formation taking placein PPMC and NigerianNational Petroleum Cor-poration, NNPC.

The statement wassigned by National Co-ordinator of the groupand ex-militant leader,Fiawei Pathfinder.

ship of Nigeria Labour Con-gress, NLC and Nigerian Un-ion of Teachers, NUT, on Tues-day, Governor Adams Oshiom-hole directed the 1,300 primaryschool teachers in the state toappear before a verification com-mittee to defend themselvesover issues bordering on irreg-ularities in their education cer-tificates and age records.

Edo PDP in a statement byits state Chairman, Chief DanOrbih, insisted that the certifi-cate audit was “discriminatory,and a witch-hunting of the pri-mary school teachers for de-manding the implementation of

the Teachers Salary Scale, TSA.“The certificate audit, to gain

general acceptability and cred-ibility, must involve all function-aries of the Edo State Govern-ment beginning from the staffof the Government House, chiefof which is Governor Oshiom-hole himself, through the min-istries and down to the par-astatals.

“Our party also suggests thatan independent body of univer-sity dons be empanelled toscreen these certificates as onlyan educated body like that willbe able to tell of the authentici-ty or otherwise of such docu-ment.”

BENIN—HIS Royal Maj-esty, King Uche Irenuma

II, the paramount ruler of Aba-vo Kingdom in Delta State, yes-terday, hailed the youth empow-erment programme of the stategovernor, Dr. Emmanuel Udu-aghan, and the completion ofthe Asaba Airport project, say-ing that his efforts will bringmore development and createjobs for the youths in the state.

The royal father, who also isthe Coordinator of the MonarchAssembly for Good Governanceand Defense of Democracy,MAGGAD, commended whathe described as the cordial re-lationship existing between thePresidency and the Delta StateGovernment, noting that the sit-uation was assisting immense-ly in the rapid development be-ing witnessed in the state.

Commending Governor Udu-aghan for the state’s micro-creditscheme, the modern transportservices and the ultra modernschools constructed by the stategovernment across the state, themonarch, who spoke to news-men in Benin City, Edo State,however, appealed to the gov-ernor to direct the Commission-ers of Works and Education inthe state to look into the aban-doned Abavo General Hospitaland the Obi’s Palace/Abavo RingRoad projects.


Igbo indiasporacondemndeportation of72 Ndigbo

Elechi sacks commissioner forenvironment

BY PETER OKUTU

2015: S-East, S-South leaders in Lagos drumsupport for Jonathan

Insecurity: US,Canada,Ukraine shun2013 SAGEevent inNigeria

Anambra:Group to holdtown hallmeeting withaspirants

BY IKENNA ASOMBA

BY FAVOURNNABUGWU

COMPETITION—From left: Prince Yemisi Shyllon, Director Adedoyin Shyllon ArtFoundation, Mr Joseph Gergel, Curator African Artists Foundation, Mr Azu Nwagbogu,Director African Artists Foundation, Mrs Emete Tonukari, Corporate Social ResponsibilityManager, Nigerian Breweries Plc and Mr Edem Vindah, Media/Public Affairs Manager,Nigerian Breweries Plc, during a briefing on the 2013 Nigerian Breweries Plc and AfricanArtists Foundation, AAF, National Art Competition in Lagos. Photo: Kehinde Gbadamosi.

DEACONESS AbigailEbere Ibeji, who died on

June 14, 2013, will be buriedtomorrow after Christian wakekeep today at her home town,Amaiba Ikputu, Ikwuano,Umuahia LGA, Abia State.She is survived by children,in-laws, grand children anda great grand child.

Late Deaconess Ibeji

MASSOB accuses Delta police ofkilling 7 members

Deaconess Ibejifor burial

PACadvocatescommunitypolicingABAKALIKI—GOVERNOR

Martin Elechi Of Ebonyi State,yesterday, sacked theCommissioner for Environment,Engr. Paul Okorie, for exhibitingacts inconsistent with his mandate

In a statement by theCommissioner for Information andState Orientation, Mr. Chike Onwe,the two times Commissioner forWorks and Transport ceased to be amember of the State ExecutiveCouncil with effect fromWednesday, August 7, 2013.

The statement read: “The

governor of Ebonyi State, ChiefMartin Elechi has approvedthe immediate removal of theCommissioner forEnvironment, Dr. Paul Okoriefrom office for acts inconsistentwith his mandate

“Accordingly, Dr. Paul Okorieis hereby directed to handovergovernment property in hispossession to the appropriateestablishment while he ceasesto be a member of the StateExecutive Council with effectfrom Wednesday, August 7,2013”

The sack of the commissioner

also followed the sacking ofanother member of the StateExecutive Council and SpecialAdviser to the Governor onPrimary Health, Dr Nora Alo,last month.

Meanwhile, a governmenthouse source disclosed that thesacked commissioner, popularlycalled “Action”, was removedfrom office to reduce hispopularity before theforthcoming 2015 governorshipelection as he had been tippedto be the only formidablecandidate from South senatorialzone of the state.

BY ONOZURE DANIA

AHEAD of the November26 Anambra State

governorship elections, asocio-political group,Association of AnambraIndigenes Revival Initiative,AAIRI, is set to organise atown hall meeting whereaspirants from will intimatethe people on their manifestos.

Speaking at a reception forone of the aspirants, Mr.Godwin Ezemo, at GoldenTulip Hotels, Lagos, InterimChairman, AAIRI, ClementChukwuka said the group waspoised to engender a newdawn in Anambra Stateleadership, where equity,fairness, justice and properaccountability will reignsupreme.

those heating up the issue todesist from doing so.

It noted that the nation wason the blink and that it was the

duty of every Nigeria tocontribute his quota to make ita better, progressive and ahappy nation.

THE present securitychallenge in the country

has caused a boycott byAmerican, Canadian andUkrainian delegation of theongoing Students for theAdvancement of GlocalEntrepreurship, SAGE, 2013World Cup being hosted byNigeria.

SAGE Global Director, Dr.Curtis DeBerg, disclosed thisat a briefing in Abuja,yesterday.

He said the three countriesrefused to come to Nigeriabecause of the current securitysituation in the country.

DeBerg said the refusal ofPresident Barrack Obama tocome to Nigeria furtherfuelled the countries’ fear ofcoming for the competition.

He said 12 countries weresupposed to have participatedin the 11th SAGE competitionfrom August 7 to 11, 2013,listing them to include GreatBritain, China, Russia,Singapore, Canada, SouthAfrica, China, Brazil,California, USA, Canada andUkraine, with the last threewithdrawing.

BY NWABUEZEOKONKWO

now believed to be held in Cell4 at the Anambra State SpecialAnti-Robbery Squad, SARS,headquarters, Awkuzu.

The group said the riad spreadto Delta State where the latestonslaught allegedly took place.

The accusation was containedin statement signed by MaziChris Mocha, Media Assistantto Chief Ralph Uwazuruike.

Mocha alleged that after theraid at MASSOB regional officeat Omelugboma in Oshimililocal government area of thestate, during which the sevenmembers were shot dead onthe spot, a similar operation wasrepeated on Wednesday.

LEADERS of variousorganisations and

professionals of Igboextraction in Malaysia andenvirons have condemneddeportation of 72 indigenes ofAnambra State by Lagos Stategovernment, saying the actionwas unconstitutional andshould be reversedimmediately.

According to a statementissued by representatives ofthe five Eastern states inMalaysia, the action of LagosState government isunacceptable to the Igbos andany of such similar treatmentof Ndigbo anywhere inNigeria will not be accepted.

The Convener of themeeting, Comrade BiafraOnyebuchi Diboh, who is alsoPresident of OfuobiNwanneamaka International,said the deportation within thesame nation was unnecessary,inhuman and retrogressive forNigeria.

POLICE AssistanceCommittee, PAC, has

again stressed the importanceof adopting communitypolicing strategy to addresssecurity problem prevalent inthe country.

At a one-day SecuritySeminar in Abuja, PAC, incollaboration with the office ofthe Assistant InspectorGeneral of Police (AIG0 Zone7, the Senate Committee onPolice Affairs / other Securityagencies, stated that its modusoperandi since it was foundedin 2002 had been to assistsecurity agencies throughgrassroots mobilization of itsmembers to gatherintelligence and informationfor crime prevention andcombating.

CMYK

SOUTH EAST and South- Southtraditional leaders in Lagos

have endorsed President GoodluckJonathan for the 2015 presidentialelections.

Chairman of the group, ChiefSylvan Ebigwe, told newsmen at abriefing that the group would workassiduously to ensure the Presidentmaximized the millions of votesavailable in Lagos during theelection.

He said this would enable himcontinue the good works he haddone, stressing that it would be anational economic and politicalsuicide to change a winning team.

The group also advised thegovernor of Rivers State, ChibuikeRotimi Amaechi, and the Presidentto resolve whatever differencesthey had to allow peace to reign.

Urging Governor Amechi to heedthe advice South West governorshad given him, asking him to paya visit to the President forreconciliation, the group urged

O N I T S H A —MOVEMENT for the

Actualization of Sovereign Stateof Biafra, MASSOB, yesterday,accused Delta State PoliceCommand of killing seven ofits members in two separateraids allegedly carried out byan anti-riot policemen andlocal vigilante operatives inDelta State.

According to MASSOB, theraid, which started at UpperIweka area of Onitsha,Anambra State, led to arrest anddetention of one NdubuisiNwosu, a MASSOB chieftain


2013 EID EL FITR CELEBRATION ACROSS NIGERIA

From left, Ogun State Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Arc. OlamilekanAdegbite; Secretary General, Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, Prof. Is-haqOloyede; Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun; Deputy Chief of Staff to theGovernor, Alhaji Shuaib Salisu, and Commissioner for Information and Strategy, AlhajiYusuph Olaniyonu, in Abeokuta..

From left, Sheikh Abdul Hafiz Abou, Baba Adinni of Lagos, Chief Lamina Sasi, Sasi of Lagos,Mr. Ademola Fashola, Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola, Oba Rilwan Akiolu, Oba ofLagos and Alhaji Lateef Okunnu, praying at Dodan Barracks prayer ground, Obalende, dur-ing the 2013 Eid-El-Fitr, in Lagos, yesterday. Photo: Bunmi Azeez

HRM Oba Aremu Ojora, Ojora of Ijora Kingdom(left), dashing gifts to children who thronged hispalace as part of the celebration, in Lagos. Photo:Lamidi Bamidele

From left, Alhaji 'Tunde Balogun, Senator 'Gbenga Ashafa,HRM, Oba Tajudeen Elemoro, at the Ibeju-Lekki Eid prayerground, in Lagos, yesterday.

Alhaji Haruna Suara, Chief Imam of Ibadanlandleading Muslim faithful to pray, during the end ofRamadan fasting, at Agodi Muslim prayingground, Ibadan. Photo: Dare Fasube

From left, Alhaji Sinari Daranijo, Bashorun Alabi Macfoy, AlhajiOlaiya Anibaba and Alhaji Nurudeen Shittabey, at Dodan Bar-racks praying ground, Obalende. Photo: Bunmi Azeez

From left, Alhaji Yaqub Agunbiade, Vice Chair-man, League of Imam and Alfas, Itireland; HRMOba Lateef Dauda, Onitire of Itireland; Alhaji Mo-hammed Anipele, Chief Imam of Itireland; AlhajiTajudeen Odubiyi, Otun Oba of Itireland, and ImamAbdul Alaro, in Lagos. Photo: Lamidi Bamidele

Cross-section of Muslims praying at Agege prayer ground, in Lagos. PhotoBy Diran Oshe

A cross-section Muslims, during the Rakiats prayer, yesterday, at the Cus-toms Field, Mile 4, Port Harcourt. Photo: Nwankpa Chijoke

CMYK


Emir of Ilorin urges collaborationwith security agencies for peace

It'll bedifficult forAPC todislodgePDP— Saraki

RTEAN wants FG to establishTransport Bank

Communityprocures GCEforms forindigenes

EID-EL FITRI PRAYERS—From left: Minister of National Planning Shamsudeen Usman;FCT Minister Sen. Bala Mohammed; Vice President Namadi Sambo, Minister of State for Fi-nance Dr. Yerima Lawal Ngama; Chief of Defence Staff, Admiral Ola Sa’ad Ibrahim, and ChiefImam of National Mosque, Alhaji Musa Mohammed leading Muslim faithful to Mark Eid-ElFitri prayers at the Eid Grounds, Umaru Musa Yar'adua Road, Abuja, yesterday. Photo: AbayomiAdeshida.

Assistant ComptrollerGeneral of Prisons(ACG) rtd, HenryOlutunde Kumolu isdead, aged 64.

A statement by the fam-ily signed by Mr.Olufosoye Kumolu, saidhe died of an illness atthe University of IllorinTeaching Hospital onAugust 2, 2013.

The statement said thelate Prisons chief hailedfrom Yagba West LocalGovernment Area of KogiState. The deceased heldvarious top appoint-ments in his 33-year ca-reer in the Nigeria Pris-ons Service,NPS.

Until his retirement in2008, the deceased’s lastcommand appointment,was the Zonal Com-mander of the NPS ZoneA Command, Alagbon,Lagos. He is survived bywife, five children andtwo grand sons.

Funeral arrangementswill be announced by thefamily.

Prisons chief,Kumolu isdead

LAGOS—AYANRECommunity Devel-

opment Association hasprocured GCE forms forsome indigenes of thecommunity to help themfurther their education.

The students were se-lected after they passeda test that was conductedfor all interested candi-dates in Ayanre,Olorunda, L.C.D.A ofLagos State.

The beneficiaries whowere six in number in-clude: Lawal Ibrahim,Ogoro Vivian, AkinbodeNosiru, AkanbiOluwatosin &Zakariyyah Qudrah.

Presenting the GCEforms to the students,the chairman, AyanreYouth Development andEmpowerment Pro-gramme, Dr J. Owoso,appreciated the efforts ofthe entire community forinitiating the pro-gramme.

I LORIN—CHAIRMAN,Kwara State Council of tra-

ditional rulers, Emir of Ilorin,Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, hascalled for continued collaborativeefforts between the people of thestate and the security agenciesfor peace to continue to reign inthe state.

The monarchparticularly commended thepeople of his community and se-curity agencies in Kwara Stateover the peace in the communityand the state at large.

The emir spoke, yesterday, atthe Eid prayer at the townshipEid prayer ground to mark theEid-el-fitri celebration.

The monarch also said that thepeace sustained by the peoplehad also made the task of main-taining security in the town andthe state as a whole a lot easierfor the security agencies com-pared with other parts of thecountry.

He, however, commended thesecurity operatives for strength-ening security in the communityto make the people more secured.

The Emir commended formergovernor of the state and Sena-tor representing Kwara Centralsenatorial district that is made upof most part of the emirate,Bukola Saraki for his contribu-tions at the Senate and hisuntiring efforts to take the stateto higher heights. The Emir alsolauded the performances of thestate governor, AbdulfatahAhmed and prayed that he wouldrun a successful administration.

The prayer which was led bythe Chief Imam of Ilorin, BashirMohammed was attended by

both Ahmed and Saraki,some members of the stateexecutive council, Vice chan-cellor of Kwara State Univer-sity, Rashid Na’ Allah, manyother public office holdersand chunk of Muslim resi-dents of the town.

Meanwhile the Grand khadiof the state Sharia Court ofAppeal, Idris Haroon in hissermon urged Muslimsacross the country to keepsustaining the virtue of holi-ness and kindness which theyimbibed during the Ramadanfast.

LAGOS—ROAD Transport Employers’ Asso-

ciation of Nigeria, RTEAN,yesterday called on the Fed-eral Government to establishTransport Bank that couldgive transporters free inter-est loans or friendly interestloans with not more thanthree per cent interest.

This came as it warned itsmembers not to increasetransport fares in this festiveperiod as Nigerians travel totheir respective homes andvillages to celebrate the Eid-el-Fitri. RTEAN President,Chief Musa Shehu Isiwele,gave the directive in Abuja,said “Rather than using thisperiod of Celebration to forceour customers to pay moremoney, I am telling our mem-bers and our sister union notto increase transport faresthis time.

"They should not use thisperiod to punish them; theyshould rather reduce trans-port fares. Any park that we

are controlling and we hearthat they increase transportfare during this period, wewill punish them. We shouldcreate relationship this timeand sister unions should alsoemulate this.”

Chief Isiwele also called ondrivers and vehicles ownersto avoid speed and drunkdriving, saying the unionwould monitore mechanismto deal with any driver thattake intoxicants.

He warned any driver un-der RTEAN control caughtunder the influence of alco-hol would forfeit his chanceof loading and carrying pas-sengers for the day to serveas deterrent to others andprotect lives of the people.

On the Transport Bank, hecalled on the Federal Govern-ment to establish a bank likethe Islamic Bank that wouldgive vehicle owners and driv-ers free interest loan or notmore than three per cent, say-ing that this is the vogue inother countries across theworld.

BY DEMOLA AK-INYEMI

I L O R I N — T H Eformer governor of

Kwara State, SenatorAbubakar Bukola Saraki,has said it will take a lotfor the newly registeredAll Progressive Party ,APC, to dislodge thePeoples DemocraticParty, PDP, in 2015 elec-tions.

Senator Bukola Sarakirepresenting kwara cen-tral in the National As-sembly who spoke inIlorin, Kwara state, yes-terday, however said thedebut of APC was a gooddevelopment.

According to him: “Letme congratulate the op-position on the registra-tion of APC. It’s good forour democracy. Now wehave a national opposi-tion party. The registra-tion of APC is a gooddevelopment, by theAPC’s registration, Ni-geria now has a real op-position party.

"Before now all the par-ties claiming to be oppo-sition parties are merelyregional parties. Elec-tions will not be taken forgranted again. APC isgood for our democracy.It is a real alternative. Itwill make those of us inthe Peoples DemocraticParty to sit tight.” The former governor,however, added: “Buttime will tell how cohe-sive the APC people are.

Before we have re-gional opposition partiesand that made them un-attractive. It will take alot to dislodge a party aslarge as PDP”.

On the issue of ram-pant oil theft in the coun-try, Saraki prescribed thediversification of the na-tion’s economy as apanacea.

He posited that thoseconcerned should havethe political will to tacklethe menace of oil theftheadlong.

“There should be lawsto check the activities ofoil thieves. We shouldhave the political will totackle headlong thoseinvolved in this act ofeconomic sabotage”, headded.

CMYK


BY SONI DANIEL,REGIONAL EDITOR,

NORTH

2015: Northern leaders clash overJonathan

Privatization:FG handsover PHCNto newinvestorsSept 21

BY EMMA UJAH,ABUJA BUREAU CHIEF

EID-EL-FITRI—Deputy Governor of Kaduna State, Ambassador Nuhu Bajoga, and Emirof Zazzau, Alhaji Shehu Idris, at the Eid-el-Fitri celebration at the Emir's Palace, Zaria,yesterday. Photo: Olu Ajayi.

ALSCON workers, natives tackleRUSAL over asset stripping

You are unfit to speak for North, Abdullahi, Mohammed reply Abba-Gana

FORMER Federal CapitalTerritory Minister,

Mohammed Abba Gana, hascome under attack from northernpolitical leaders for daring tocanvass for four more years forPresident Goodluck Jonathan.

The former minister incurredthe wrath of the northern leaderswhen he advocated in Lagos onMonday that giving Jonathananother four years would not hurtthe North in any way.

Abba-Gana, who was flankedby a lawmaker from Taraba State,had argued that giving Jonathana second term would enable theNorth to use the period to grooma successor to the President.

But the Secretary General ofthe Northern Elders’ Forum,Professor Ango Abdullahi and asecond Republic lawmaker, Dr.Junaid Mohammed, dismissedAbba-Gana’s suggestion for asecond term for Jonathan as ill-conceived, pointing out that thePresident did not deserve it.

According to the two northernleaders, Jonathan has failed totackle myriad of challengesconfronting the nation, therebyshowing that he lacks thecapacity to move Nigeriaforward.

They said another four yearsfor Jonathan would push thecountry into the abyss andNigerians cannot afford to takesuch a risk, pointing out thatAbba Gana was not qualified tospeak for the north, going by hisantecedents.

Junaid Mohammed andAngo Abdullahi dismissed Abba-Gana as a politician who hadalways fraternised with thewrong political group for hispersonal interest and asked himto speak for himself and leavethe North alone.

In separate interviews withVanguard, Abdullahi andMohammed insisted that Abba-Gana did not have the pedigreeto serve as an advocate for thenorth and should not be takenseriously by Nigerians.

Abdullahi said: “Even in Bornowhere Abba-Gana hails from; hehas never been part of themainstream politicalarrangement and for that reason,he lacks the locus standi to speakfor Borno and the North.

“Abba-Gana is more of abusinessman than a people-oriented leader from the north.Having failed to advance anyreason why the north shouldwait for another four years toenable Jonathan to run again, he

should hide his face in shame.“His advocacy is an insult to

the north and a product ofcompromise,” the former ABUVice Chancellor said.

Adding his voice to the debate,Mohammed described theformer minister as someone wholacked clout and challenged himto show one thing he hadachieved in his state of origin toqualify him to speak for the entirenorthern Nigeria.

Mohammed said, “Abba-Gana was one of the errandboys when we were in activepolitics and should not be takenseriously because he has nopolitical clout even in BornoState.

“If the former minister insistshe should speak for the north,he should be kind enough todemonstrate his politicalrelevance in Borno, his homestate or shut up forever. He does

not really merit any responsefrom right-thinkingnortherners”.

But while cautioning thenorthern elite on theirutterances, Abba-Gana said ifthe North had producedbetween eight and nine headsof state and presidents, withpoverty as a proof andunderdevelopment, then, fouryears of Jonathan would not killthem.

BY SONI DANIEL

WORKERS of theAluminium Smelter

Company of Nigeria, ALSCON,and Ikot Abasi community youthgroups have raised the alarmover what they described asmassive asset stripping in thecompany, which has been withouta legal management since thecourt sacked the Russian firm,UC RUSAL, from running it.

Although UC Rusal hassuspended production in the firstquarter of the year, pendingdetermination of ownership andgas supply to the firm, it has,nevertheless, continued to layclaim to ownership of ALSCON,insisting that the Supreme Courtruling of 2012 does not stop itfrom manning the steel firm.

While production has beenhalted, according to the workers,the company is engaged insystematic stripping of assets ina bid to cripple the plant andfrustrate the American firm,BFIG, which the courtrecognised as the bonafidebuyers of the firm.

The workers, under the aegisof the Metal Products SeniorStaff Association of Nigeria,MPSSAN, said UC RUSALhad been dismantling andselling for cash Stem Rods andAnodes, vital components of theplant used in the manufactureof steel ingots.

A spokesman of the workersassociation told newsmen inAbuja that the Russian firm,which had failed in recent timesto pay salaries to workers, wasalso cutting and melting theBussbar/Risers used intransmitting electric current tothe production pots for meltingaluminium and selling them asingots.

It was also gathered thatabout 20 fairly-used companycars are slated for immediatedisposal.

The association spokesman,who pleaded that his identitybe protected to avoid beingvictimised, said the cut StemRods and Anodes were oftensold to some Chinesecustomers.

Industry experts gave thecurrent estimated market valueof the Bussbar/Risers, whichhave never been used since thecompletion of the plant in 1998,at over N1billion, while each ofthe about 4,200 Stem Rods andAnodes at the plant are valuedat over $100,000.

The workers said the Russians,working with three top Nigerianmanagers in the plant, had beenactively selling off core assets ofthe firm without renderingaccounts to anyone.

An aggrieved worker said:“The Russians have puteverything in place to siphon theremaining coke and aluminafrom the silos for sale.

“When they took over the plantin 2007, they inherited over 8,000metric tonnes of alumina; 5,200pieces of anode blocks; 5,820pieces of cathode blocks; over8,000 anode stems; over 200tonnes of cryolite and over170,000 tonnes of cast iron. Whythey now want to sell even castiron blocks, together with thepots, is mind boggling.”

ABUJA—THE FederalGovernment will hand

over privatized successorcompanies of the PowerHolding Company of Nigeria,PHCN, to private investors onSeptember 21, 2013, if theinvestors pay on schedule.

The Director-General of theBureau of Public Enterprises,PBE, Mr. Benjamin Dikki,disclosed this in an interviewin Abuja.

He disclosed that the PHCNprivatization was expected toearn the Federal Governmentabout $2 billion.

Dikki said: “To purchase thisPower Holding Company, over$2 billion will be paid by thebidders, and that is becausethe investors can see a clearinvestment horizon. Theydon’t have to go and lobbyanybody, all they require is tomeet the technicalrequirement, go to theregulatory authority, apply forlicence and they are limited bytheir own ingenuity and theiraccess to the capital.

“When they pay bySeptember 21, we will handover the companies to them oranybody who pays earlier andthen they begin to operate.

"Labour issues have beenresolved and theimplementation committee onsettlement of the PHCN staffterminal benefits commencedpayment of N118 billion to theover 20,000 PHCN staff, at thebeginning of this month".

The BPE boss said theprivatization programme of theFederal Government hadsignificantly opened up theNigerian economy by creatingthe right atmosphere forgreater private sectorparticipation in several keysectors.

He said thetelecommunications sectorstood out in terms of attractingmassive foreign investment,which he put at about $40billion to date.

His words: “The Nigerianeconomy is becoming moreand more liberalised. So, wein the Bureau of PublicEntreprise are not surprised.That is what we have beenworking for.

“That is the benefit of thereform, which the Bureau ofPublic Entreprise has beenspearheading and also inconsonance with thetransformation agenda ofPresident Goodluck Jonathan’sadministration".

CMYK


Vanguard,Vanguard,Vanguard,Vanguard,Vanguard, FRIDAY, AUGUST 9 FRIDAY, AUGUST 9 FRIDAY, AUGUST 9 FRIDAY, AUGUST 9 FRIDAY, AUGUST 9,,,,, 2013 2013 2013 2013 2013—43—43—43—43—43

A 51-YEAR-OLD road accident victim isseeking N600, 000 finan-cial assistance to pay forfurther medical treatmenton his left leg which wasbadly crushed in an acci-dent involving a tankerdriver and a motor-cy-clist, popularly known asOkada in Agege area ofLagos in 2011.

The victim, an artisan,Mr. Modupe Ekundayo,of No. 3 Oluwole OladejoStreet, Ojodu-Berger inLagos, was on his way tobuy metal materials formolding pots for salewhen the accident oc-curred.

Ekundayo was said tohad been by injurredwhen an iron bar in frontof the trailer pressed onhis left leg and cut it intointo two. However, helpcame his way as sympa-thisers that were attractedto the scene rushed himto the Lagos State Uni-versity TeachingLASUTH.

Getting to the hospital,doctors handling his caseannounced thatEkundayo required a to-tal of N810, 000 for sur-gery and other treatmentsfor the broken leg, warn-ing that if he did not pro-duce the needed moneythey would not com-mence the treatment.

Unfortunately, the fa-ther of four children whodepends on his wife’sincome from retail purewater and soft drinkscould not afford it.

Ekundayo almost tookhis life but his attemptwas foiled after his sisterwho visited him at thehospital, found and de-stroyed the killer drugs toend his life.

The situation was saved

Artisan seeks N0.6m to treat broken leg

BY CHIOMA OBINNA

• Ekundayo.

when a philanthropistwho had read the reportof the accident in one ofthe national dailies do-nated the initial requirefee of N810, 000.

Narrating his experi-ence to Good \healthWeekly, Ekundayo whonoted that words cannotdescribed the pain andanguish he is currentlyfacing due to the accidentsince February 2, 2011said he needs additionalN6000,000 for furthertreatments to aid the sub-sequent healing process.

Appealing to philan-thropists and public-spir-ited Nigerians to donatetowards his course to endhis pain and anguish, hegave a breakdown of thefinancial expenses to beincurred for the treatmentto include; N220, 000 toremove the Linear Re-verse System (LRS) onthe fractured leg, skin-graft treatment for thehuge sore on the affectedleg and the installation ofa plaster-of-paris (POP)on the leg as well as payoutstanding N290,000from the previous bill in-curred.

Continuing, he said: “Ispent 182 days totalingsix months and two days

•L-R: Group Head, Human Capital Management, Skye Bank, Funmi Adegoke;GMD/CEO, Skye Bank Plc, Mr. Kehinde Durosinmi-Etti; Sonographer, COPE, Dr.Akhigbe Robert; CEO, COPE; Mrs. Ebunola Anozie; Permanent Secretary, LagosTelevision, Mr. Lekan Ogunbanwo, and Trustee COPE, Dr. Bola Fajemirokun, at thecommissioning of the Logi QC2 cancer screening machine in Lagos last week.

WOMEN inNigeria have

been assured of betterprotection against breastcancer through early de-tection, as the Care, Or-ganisation and PublicEnlightenment, COPE,Foundation commis-sioned two breast cancerscreening machines lastweek.

go back to the traditionalfoods which the countryis known for as a majorstrategy to preventingcancer. The Logi QC2 isa smartscan with trueaccess that enables livescanning to be applied tostored image and easy touse.

at LASUTH after which Iwas discharged.”

On how he has beensustaining himself in thepast three years, he said,“it is a very big problembecause I do not haveanything at all. I am notworking. I am not doinganything at all and I havefour children.Ekundayo said he and hisfour children depend on

Skye Bank, COPE wage war against breast cancer

his wife who sells retailpure water and softdrinks.

If you are touched byEkundayo story, pleasesend your donations toAccount No:6010200429, AccountName: Ekundayo AjayiModupe Emmanuel,Keystone Bank Plc orcall, 0708-826-1712 .

The machines - Logi QC2 and Mindray - areglobal standardultrasoundscan systemsthat enhance quality ofdiagnosis in clinicalpractices.

At the official launch,Group ManagingDirector/Chief ExecutiveOfficer, Skye Bank Plc,Mr. Kehinde Durosinmi-Etti, said the machineswere donated to enablewomen undergo earlybreast cancer screening toknow what to do at theappropriate time.

Durosinmi-Etti said thebank would continue tosupport worthy socialcauses in the healthsector to improve thewellbeing and healthcareof Nigerians, saying ahealthy nation is awealthy nation.

Founder, C.O.P.EFoundation, Mrs. EbunAnozie, whoacknowledged thegesture by Skye Banksaid the machines wouldenable her organizationto offer free breast ultra

sound scan to women atthe Skye Screening Cen-tre, noting that the sup-port from Skye Bank hasgiven birth to a publicprivate partnershipbetween the bank, LagosState Ministry of Healthand COPE.

She urged Nigerians to

BY CHIOMA OBINNA

NOT all seemingly healthy foods are createdequally. Here are five foods to strictly avoid if

you are on a dietGranolaMost people believe that this yummy cereal is diet

friendly. However, few realize that in as little as one-half cup, more than 400 calories is being ingested.

MuffinsThey keep getting bigger and bigger j and no matter

if it's a large bran, blueberry, or banana nut muffin,they all pack a whopping 400- 600 calories. Don't lookat muffins as diet food.

WrapsIf you are trying to make a healthier carbohydrate

choice, the last thing you need is a wrap of Sharwama.A sandwich is probably better. Many of the wrapssold around are up to 300 calories minus contents.

Dried fruitDehydrated fruit doesn't mean lower calories. One

cup of fresh grapes is 70 calories versus one cup ofraisins which is 300 calories. So stick with fresh wholefruit.

SaladsAll the lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, and other

Some ‘diet’ foods canmake you add weight!

• On a diet? Beware of the salad!

vegetables are excellentchoices,but it is thetoppings and dressingsthat make salads a not-so-diet friendly option. It isnot uncommon to eat alarge salad and end upconsuming over 1,000calories at one meal. Keepeating salads, but stay offthe dressing.

INVESTIGATIONS have revealed that an alarm ingly large number of multivitamins and children'svitamins sold in the open market are formulated withingredients derived from genetically modified corn.There is concern about GMOs out of belief that eatingany ingredients derived from GMOs may cause ex-posure to BT insecticide chemicals found in GM corn.

A report in “Natural News” said the GMO ingredi-ents to watch out for usually come from corn. A partiallist of all the GMO corn-derived ingredients used inmany vitamins and health products includemaltodextrin, sucrose, ascorbic acid (synthetic vitaminC), citric acid (used in many drink powders) and cornsyrup plus aspartame, which is also genetically modi-fied from a bacteria source.

GMOs discovered in

common vitamins


The Last Dictator; Ned TonyEmeni, Trafford Publishing, UnitedStates of America, 2013; PP. 1029

The Last Dictator authored by Ned Tony Eme-

ni, is hard cover book with 1029pages that is in the same size cat-egory as the Complete Works ofWilliam Shakespeare.

The author of this daunting ex-ercise in literary adventure cap-tures the ugly political situationthat bedeviled the Nigerian na-tion between 1979 and 2011. Abold statement on the failure ofleadership, The Last Dictator ex-amines the political intrigues ofthe military and political classwhich was hinged principally ontribal sentiment and how theserubbed off negatively on the so-ciety by stalling the developmentof true democracy and socialprogress.

The central theme of the bookis power and responsibility asthey affect political governance inNigeria. The novel chronicles thegross abuse of power and privi-lege, the corruption, bloodshed,moral and social decadence thatcharacterize leadership and thegeneral disillusionment with post-colonial political irresponsibility orrascality.

Thus, like in his debut novel,Daybreak Massacre, which cap-tured the infamous massacre ofObiaruku residents by police fol-lowing a mob action that burntdown the police station for fail-ure to respond to distress callsduring a bank robbery, the author

Nigeria’s wasted years in printBY M.O.OZAH deployed his incisive skill at the

service of the oppressed citizen-ry and has proved to be not just awriter or novelist but a chroniclerof socio-political events and a cru-sader for positive change andsocial justice.

The immoral and corrupt whirl-pool into which the nation hasdescended was such that societywas reduced to a jungle wheremight was right and survival wasthe natural preserve of the fittest;where injustice was the order, therule, rather than the exceptionand “monkey dey work and ba-boon dey chop”.

Social andpolitical events

The book examines severalmajor social and political eventsin Nigeria between 1979 and2011, capturing all the militarycoups which shocking, never-be-fore-heard revelations. The stiff-ling grip of the Kaduna mafia oli-garchy on political power and at-tempts by “General Olani” tobreak this hold on power, the cre-ation of states, Ecomog militaryintervention in Liberia, June 12election annulment and the com-plicity of the international com-munity and selfish local politi-cians, the gagging and drivingunderground of the press and hu-man rights activists, interim gov-ernment, the decay, rot and cor-ruption in government parast-atals, civil service and police, de-

caying facilities like roads andother infrastructures, the rot in theeducational system, Boko Haram,election rigging and environmen-tal issues like erosion and flood-ing are major features or high-lights of the book.

In spite of these challenges,political office holders carried onas if all was well, being more in-terested in seeking re-electioneven against constitutional pro-visions and procedures thanseeking the public good. The au-thor also captured the complacen-cy of the citizenry in what hecalled the ridiculous politicalawareness of Nigerians.

The author adopted a prosaic and satirical style of writingto interweave fiction and nonfic-tion. His critical and combativetake on the military juntas in par-ticular and leadership in general

are in line with modernapproach of literatureas tool for protest, as-sertion, emancipationand self re-evaluation.The intricate weavingand application of high-ly sensitive, sometimesclassified, materialsand the marriage ofstrands of contempo-rary experience withhistorical antecedentswent a long way toprove the writer as amaster craftsman.

The Last Dictator hasa compelling pull thatprods the reader intosearching for answers tothe broad question ofpolitical leadership in Nigeria.Notwithstanding a few literaryand grammatical imbalances,

the book is a must read and I rec-ommend it to all, particularly tothe conscious Nigerian.

Writers brainstorm on Chimamanda's AmericanahBY UCHE UDOH

LAST month, establishedwriters, literary aficionados,

Rainbow Book Club membersgathered on at Le Meridien,Ogeyi Place to discussChimamanda Adichie’s latestnovel, Americanah. Thosepresent grappled afresh withissues like race (‘blackness’),immigration, deportation andclass, thanks to Adichie’s skilledwriting that allows readers toform their own opinions. Thenovel was Rainbow Book Club’s

book-of-the-month for July.In Americanah, Adichie

introduces certain serious topicswith a light touch that makes fora much easier ingestion of thenovel. By writing in great detail,using well-developed characters,Adichie exposes the human heartas it deals with choicelessness,change and being an outsider.Part of the discussion was onwhether racism exists in Nigeria.People responded by drawingfrom personal experiences andobservations of their immediate

environment. Most peopleregarded themselves as‘Nigerians’ primarily,recognizing the label of ‘black’ asonly applying to them when theyventure beyond the country’sborders.

A discussion on blacknessseems incomplete without one onthe politics of hair. African (kinky)hair in many parts of the world isseen as a statement, a source ofpride or shame, depending onwho does the naming.


Continued on page 46

,

,HIS last military posting before he was proclaimed

military head of state inDecember 1983 was as GeneralOfficer Commanding the 3rdArmoured Brigade, Jos. Givingthat military backdrop, it is notsurprising that he is beingaccused of confusing the newlyregistered APC with theArmoured Personnel Carrier,APC, one of the military vehiclesused to position him in power 30years ago.

Though General Buhari hasrenounced the utilization of forcein the realization of politicalgoals, many of his new politicalallies are still apprehensive abouthim. Their fear is hisdetermination to contest the nextpresidential elections due in2015.

Receiving visitors from theDemocratic EmancipationMovement, who paid him a

Buhari: Bomb or bubble?THE newly formed All Progressives Congress, APC , is faced with the difficultpredicament of containing the determination of General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) tocontest the next presidential election

BY EMMANUEL AZIKEN,POLITICAL EDITOR

courtesy call in his Kaduna homelast Tuesday, the former militaryruler vowed that he wouldpresent himself for nomination tothe APC for the 2015 presidentialelection. He, nevertheless,pledged that he would abide bythe result of the primary contestif he loses out.

“My decision will be tied to theconstitution of the APC. If theparty chooses me as its candidate.I will contest. If the members donot consider me, I will not contest,but I will still support the party,”he said.

Refusal to rulehimself out

After contesting and failing inthe last three presidentialelections, 2011, 2007 and 2003,many of his allies in the APC arebothered by the refusal of theretired general to rule himself outof the next contest.

Their fear is essentially basedon their suspicion that the ruling

Peoples Democratic Party, PDPsee him as the easiest candidateof the APC to defeat. It is not fornothing. Apparently filedsomewhere in the nationalheadquarters of the PDP, is theelection manual: Easy steps todefeat Muhammadu Buhari inan election.

His refusal to rule himself outof the contest was just tooirritating for some.

Indeed, once his assertionemerged on Wednesday, a seniormember of the new party closeto Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubuand also close to Speaker AminuWaziri Tambuwal came out tochastise the former military rulerfor attempting to use his personalambition to derail the collectivegoal of the new party to oust theruling party.

“By our calculations, a youngerand vibrant politician should runas our candidate so as to give thePeoples Democratic Party a goodfight; but from the way things are,we are stocked in between telling

some ripple effects coming ourway later,” the ranking memberof the National Assembly toldnewsmen.

The response of the lawmakerwhich was on the basis ofanonymity because heapparently did not want to furtherstir crisis in the party that has justbeen registered. It wasnevertheless reflective of theincreasing difficulties of partyofficials in handling the Buhariquestion. The Buhari question is,remarkably, not suggestive of anymoral or integrity deficit in theformer military ruler.

While most Nigerians readilywould not fault Buhari on thecrucial issues of corruption facingthe country, most would readilyagree that he has been so muchpainted in the negative by thePDP in the last three elections asan Islamist and one who wouldput the majority of corrupt eliteto jail should he get his handson the levers of power again.

The National Assemblymember told journalists in the offthe record session, that Buhariand Tinubu had reached anagreement in the preliminarytalks leading to the merger of thethree parties that formed the APCfor the duo to abstain in the 2015presidential primary of the party.

He said it was the opinion ofparty stakeholders for the APCto look for fresh blood to confrontthe PDP. Such suggestions,however, do not go down wellwith many in the Buhari fan club,especially in the North who seehim as the only one with themoral fiber in the ruling class ableto deliver the country from itsdemons.

Internaldemocracy

Senator Sulieman Nazif, a onetime fervent supporter of AtikuAbubakar but now a vibrant fanof Buhari said as much during apress interaction with newsmenin Zaria, last month.

“What I am trying to point outis that when we talk of internaldemocracy, General Buhari is amember of APC, he is aNigerian, he was one of thosethat fought for the unity of thiscountry, so he has the mandateto contest.

“He is one individual alivetoday in the history of Nigeriathat has more than 12 millionvotes uninfluenced by money oranything, so if he contests againhe will win."

•Buhari: Needs another shot at the presidency

While most Nigerians readily would notfault Buhari on the crucial issues ofcorruption facing the country, most wouldreadily agree that he has been so muchpainted in the negative by the PDP in thelast three elections as an Islamist

Buhari outrightly not to run andallowing him to continue with

Claimingthat Buhari’s pastfailures were because of rigging,he said: “Today in Nigeria, thereis nobody that can beat him in afair and free election. I am ayoung man, I know what theman can do, I know the kind ofoverwhelming support he has,and we are talking aboutdemocracy, government of thepeople by the people and for thepeople.

Another Buhari enthusiast,Osita Okechukwu, who is achieftain of the APC, responded


WHY do you think there istension in the land?

All this tension, anger,bitterness, hatred and acrimonythroughout the country arecaused by the inordinate ambitionof just a few individuals, whowant to replace Jonathan in 2015.They forget that we have hadgreat leaders who deserve to rulethis country by any standard butcould not make it inspite of alltheir efforts.

All these leaders at one time oranother aspired to lead thiscountry but they never causedtrouble. Awolowo, Zik made a lotof efforts but the Lord never gavethem the chance to rule thiscountry. Same thing with AdamuCiroma. He did primaries with

North needs another four years togroom a presidential candidate — Abba Gana

•Ango Abdullahi does not speak for all northerners

ALHAJI Mohammed Abba Gana, former minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT,former special adviser to the president andpresently, member of the Board of Trustees, BoTof the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in thisinterview with newsmen gives his views onrecent political developments in the country andhis reasons why President Goodluck Jonathanshould serve another four years in office.

BY EMMANUEL AZIKEN,POLITICAL EDITOR

making noise, scheming andmanipulating or subterfuge.

So, do you mean you do notshare the views of Prof. AngoAbdullahi and the NorthernElders Forum, NEF?

People are allowed to talk,criticize, agree, disagree andpeople can promote theirinterests within the law. So, AngoAbdullahi and his group arepursuing what they consider astheir own view of Northerninterest but there are other groupswho are against them in the sameNorth.

So he doesn’t speak for you?He doesn’t speak for me, he

doesn’t speak for the North, no,no, no.

Once there is a political partyit becomes the institution forseeking power, no other group.The political parties are,

,recognized institutions, nobodycan seek anything outsidepolitical parties. It is not going towork. The political parties arethere. Even if Ango Abdullahisays anything it must come toeither APC or PDP, they cannotnominate anybody, they cannothave delegates. So, it is anotherNGO like the Governors Forum.

What is your view on theagitation that the North should

•Gana: North can afford to wait till 2019

produce the next president in2015?

Some people in the North wantthe presidency to go back to theNorth, some people also in theNorth do not see anything wrongin allowing Jonathan to finish hiseight years. In the North, wehave had about eight or nineheads of state of this country andallowing Jonathan another fouryears will not take awayanything.

We should not be talking as ifthe North has never had anypresident. We have had abouteight or nine presidents, yet allthe poverty, illiteracy, crises arein the North. So if the previouseight or nine leaders who arenortherners did not make any

difference, is it the remainingyears of Jonathan that will makethe difference?

The PDP already has a sittingpresident in Jonathan and if hesays I would like to seek for asecond term, there is no way thePDP should say no because thereare all sorts of advantages for theparty if the sitting president sayshe would like to seek anotherterm that he is entitled to.

It would be very unwise for thePDP to even bring in somebodywhen Jonathan is sitting downin Aso Rock and another PDPpresidential candidate isrunning about. How do youexpect him to support thatcandidate, so we will lose most

of the advantages ofincumbency.

T.Y Danjuma, our highlyrespected statesman told ournorthern elites that the Northneeds to plan very well, he alsosaid that the North needs to workvery hard and he also said thatthe North also needs to relatebetter and finally, he said theNorth should talk less.

So, for me, if you ask me, theNorth needs another four yearsto plan, to relate better, to workhard and create a programme sothat these our Boko Haram crisis,Jos crisis and so on will be settled.And we need a leader from theNorth. We should search for orgroom a leader from the Northwho will unite the North and atthe same time give Nigeria a verygood leadership and you can't dothis in a crash programme.

So you believe like Anenih,who said Jonathan should begiven the right of first refusal?

As a political party what iswrong with that? It is a PDParrangement and if my partyagrees with that, what is wrongwith that? I am a very loyal andcommitted member of the PDPand I am also a member of theBoard of Trustees and Chief TonyAnenih is my chairman and Iwouldn’t want to contradict mychairman in any way.

But why do you think Dr.Jonathan lost the goodwill thatpreceded his emergence aspresident just over two yearsago?

You see, some of these crisesthat we are having were notcreated by Jonathan. BokoHaram was not created byJonathan. Boko Haram is moretroublesome than the Biafran warbecause in the Biafran war youknow who you are fighting, butthis is an insurrection and thissecurity challenge is rare.

Dualisationof roads

In spite of all that, Jonathan isreally doing a lot of work. I amtelling you he is doing a lot ofwork and the press should giverecognition to his efforts becauseno nation can face such aninsurrection and do other thingsbecause fighting war andcarrying on other work is not aneasy matter.

The fact is that in most parts ofthe country where theinsurrection is a little less, workis going on, there is dualisationof roads and other programmesare there like in Abuja the lightrail project is going on, theNigeria Railway Corporation isdoing the Lagos – Kano line andthe Port Harcourt to Maiduguriline would be ready soon andNigerian Airport improvementprogramme is going on very welland most of the imprints of theTransformation Agenda aregoing on well but in places likein Adamawa, Borno and Yobe,understandably we havedifficulties because some of theEuropeans who were workingthere have left.

to what he claimed to be thenegative mud being deliberatelypoured on his man. He saidyesterday: “They rigged him outin 2003. They rigged him out in2007, the outcome was Doctrineof Necessity. They rigged him outin 2011, the outcome wasrudderless leadership.”

Buhari who is presently 71,would be 73 at the time of thenext presidential election.

aiming to resolve the Buhariquestion is to conduct apresidential primary which theyclaim Buhari would lose.

In the last three elections heconducted he almost alwaysemerged on the basis ofconsensus. In 2007 he wasnominated as the candidate ofthe All Nigeria Peoples Party,ANPP only after Ahmed Yerimawas forced to step down on theconvention ground.

In 2011, he was easily adopted

Continues from page 45 Though he has not been reportedto have suffered any major healthchallenge, many are of theopinion that at his age he shouldbetter give his moral support toany of the younger elements inthe party.

Speaker Tambuwal, who is amember of the PDP and has beenthe focus of many eyes as themost likely candidate of the APC,was endorsed by the NationalAssembly member.

One possible response of those

as the candidate of the Congressfor Progressive, CPC without acontest. In the APC, the formermilitary head of state is, however,bound to meet strong oppositionespecially from those desperateto stop the PDP.

How the new party respondsto the issues concerning Buhariwould be a major factor indetermining its prospects in the2015 election which is now lessthan two years away.

Buhari: Bomb or bubble?

In the North we have had about eight ornine heads of state of this country andallowing Jonathan another four years will nottake away anything. We should not be talkingas if the North has never had any president

Shagari and tried with the NRCbut he never succeeded.

So, this is a food for thoughtfor the five governors and otherswho are exercising inordinateambition as if this is the end ofthe world, there were othersbefore them who were greaterand more deserving. They hadall the efforts but God could notmake them to rule. So, it is aquestion of destiny, it is not

07059197616

IT is gratifying that after several false alarms, the voluntarily merging parties

have been recognized by the electoralumpire (INEC) as All Progressives Party(APC). Its registration has been hailedby the media as a triumph for the growthof democracy. Truly, democracy canblossom when opportunity exists for thecitizens to make a choice between partiesduring elections.

As it is recognized, democracy wouldflourish under a multi-party system – asystem that recognizes the existence ofmore than one political. Political partieswould be given the chances to proposeand enunciate their programmes on howto provide prosperity through reductionof poverty. Voters are given theopportunity to analyse the variousproposals and the means of achieving theirset goals under the prevailingcircumstances.

Nigeria is not new to political parties andthe practice of party politics. It is oftenquoted that “Lagos in 1930s and 1940senjoyed robust politics under the colonialera. The Nigerian National DemocraticParty (NNDP) of Herbert Macaulay andthe Nigerian Youth Movement (NYC) ofDr Vaughan, H. O. Davies and DrAzikiwe. It is fair to say that politics ofthese halogen days were based on theideology or principle – what is good forLagos and later, Nigeria.

The pre-independence era (1951-60)was a bit tough but under a manageablepolitical terrain. The leading politicalparties were the Northern Peoples‘Congress (NPC) led by Sir Ahmadu Bello,the National Council of Nigeria andCameroons (NCNC), led by Dr NnamdiAzikiwe and the Action Group (AG), ledby Chief Obafemi Awolowo. During thecolonial period, opposition to the rulingparty in the North was mute, in the East;the NCNC under Dr Azikiwe (Zik) wasover-whelmingly predominant. It wasonly in the Western Region (includingLagos) where Chief Awolowo (AG) facedreal political fire-works from the rivalNCNC. In fact, political contest was so

keen that the Action Group (led by ChiefAwolowo) lost in the 1954 federal electionsto NCNC, under Dr Azikiwe. As a matterof historical record, the 1954 victory wasthe only one in favour of NCNC in theold Western Region.

In fairness, the NCNC took itssubsequent defeat in Western Region in1959 with grace and remained pacific untilin later years (early 1960s) when it alliedwith the remnants of Action Group (afterAwo‘s imprisonment) to unleash a reignof terror on the otherwise peaceful peopleof Western Region. The terrible operation,“wet e” in the Western Regionperpetuated by the combined oppositionparties (AG and NCNC) against thegovernment of Chief S. L. Akintola was asad reminder of the potential danger topolitical stability by a vicious opposition.

It is sad that the military incursions intopolitical life of the country did virtuallydestroy the political parties and the multi-party system as existed and developedthrough those past agonizing decades. The Babangida‘s vision of only twopolitical parties (one-to-the left and one-to-the right) succeeded initially untilsnuffed out by the crude view of dictator,Abacha with the five political parties

expediency. It looks as if mediocrity withits slogan – do as little as much as possible– is accepted as a party philosophy.

As it is being noted, the politicalatmosphere has been dominated for a longtime by a strong party (ruling withimpunity) and a few scattered oppositionparties, weak and ineffective. Now, whatshould Nigeria expect from the new APC(the party is new but the leaders arefamiliar faces)? Some Nigerians may notbe expecting a violent or viciousopposition like UPGA terrorists of the1960s; they may pray for a constructiveparty that is dedicated to the solution ofcrucial problems of the country. Thiscould be done either, through thecooperation with the existing ruling partyor by preparing the minds of the peoplefor a peaceful change of administrationthrough sensible politics, common-senseeconomics and sound administration. The goal is prosperity for all.

AladeOdunewuMany tributes which followed the

announcement of the death of that greatjournalist, Alhaji Alade Odunewu beartestimony to the power of the pen and therespect which responsible journalistscould earn in their community.

“Alla-De” was a column full of wits,humour and satires (disguised as a seriousanalysis). Like ̀ Sad Sam ,̀ the writer wasable to, howbeit, cleverly disguise hispolitical inclinations in the Daily Times ofthe turbulent 1960s.

When Alade Odunewu was the Editorof Daily Times, I was his Leader Writer,Head of Features and later, CommercialEditor. His support at every stage wasfantastic. Many of us under him doubledwhether he had any personal opinion onthe rumblings in the Daily Times at theperiod except that he was absolutely loyalto Alhaji Babatunde Jose (Chairman). To“Alla-De”, loyalty to a boss is the greatestvirtue. May His gracious soul Rest inpeace.

(ridiculed by Bola Ige as five fingers of aleprous hand). The common impressionis that those old military politicians (evenif in civilian togas) would always finddemocracy a strange word.

It is instructive to note that the present1999 Constitution recognizes the conceptof democracy and the multi-party systemwith (INEC) given the power to registerand de-register political parties. However, the visible panorama is that ofa very big party, the Peoples‘ DemocraticParty (PDP) which has continued to winevery presidential contest (1999, 2003,2007 and 2011) and whose members havecontinued to dominate both the Senateand the House of Representatives.

Many analysts believe that the PDP bysupplying the President and with heavynumerical domination of the Senate andthe House of Representatives have aunique opportunity to make Nigeria agreat nation, if it so wishes. Unfortunately, the party with dogmaticadherence to “winner takes all” attitudehas been able to distribute all juicy officesof the state to its members irrespective ofability and competence. Through suchaction, the party has sacrificed efficiencyin public life on the altar of political

The govt and opposition in aslippery environment

AS a stakeholder in RiversState, how do you feel about

the political crisis rocking thestate?

I will call it a politicaldisagreement first, only to addthat to bring violent dimensionto it is highly condemnable. It isnormal to disagree in politics, butit should not degenerate toviolence where cudgels andother dangerous weapons will beused. It is, therefore, importantthat we play by the rules at alltimes and remember that posteritywill judge us.

What do you consider to be thereal cause of the crisis?

It is the refusal to preach,adhere to and follow the rule oflaw. On April 15, an Abuja HighCourt, gave judgment declaringFelix Obuah as the duly-electedChairman of PDP Rivers State.The erstwhile chairman didappeal to the Court of Appeal,but the governor, Mr Rotimi

Rivers’ crises: It’s a political disagreement — Mark

BY INNOCENT ANABA

Mr. Ibrahim Mark, a legal practitioner and formerGeneral Secretary of Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, isa chieftain of the Peoples of Democratic Party, PDP. Inthis interview, he speaks on the Rivers State crisis, theprevailing political situation in the country, the role ofindividuals in the crisis and other national issues.Excerpts:

Amaechi and his side of thedivide failed, refused andneglected to accept the verdict ofthe court and have been pouringinvectives on the judiciary.

The governor in collaborationwith the House of Assemblysuspended duly elected localgovernment officials, includingthe 17 councilors, and setup acaretaker committee contrary tothe provisions of the NigerianConstitution and LocalGovernment Law of Rivers State.The alleged allegation wasagainst the chairman, but thecouncilors were joined in thesuspension.

What is the provision of theRivers State Local Governmentlaw in this respect?

The Local Government Law ofRivers State provides that wherethe council is suspended, theDirector of Personnel will holdbrief and not a caretakercommittee. The Nigeriaconstitution in Section 7 has

outlawed the phenomenon calledcaretaker committee. Themembers they call the group offive had their constituencyprojects, allowances seized andany contrary view is regarded asa looter. Somebody has decidedto play •god•and the lord of themanor. No respect for constituted

authority, no respectfor elders, no respectfor dissenting views.Somebody wants toclose the politicalspace.

When the currentPDP chairman, FelixObuah went to courtto reclaim hismandate, thegovernment wentafter him byc o m p u l s o r i l yacquiring his hotel inthe village of Omokufor purposes ofprimary school. Thisis a village that hasland in surplus. Thechairman had to go tocourt to halt theintended acquisition.In a democracy, allthese will be resisted,hence what you mayterm crises.

On speculations that the crisesare externally motivated

Certain persons outside aretrying to exacerbate the problem.Obuah went to court to reclaimhis mandate, the oppositionlawmakers are in Port Harcourt,so no external motivation, saveas I did say that some external

persons through their utterancestend to make the matter grow insize. All the gladiators are Riverssons and daughters andordinarily resident in RiversState.

The politicians termed externalinfluence in the matter are thefour PDP governors that went fora so called solidarity visit, namelyBabangida Aliyu, RabiuKwankwaso, Murtala Nyako andSule Lamido.

What is their business in RiversState if not to escalate the crisesespecially in their blind rage andhatred for President GoodluckJonathan? In the coming days,we shall see how their visit hashelped their host.

The North has been a very goodally of Rivers people but now,they have started sowing theseed of discord for their selfishinterest. Our people stillappreciate our Northern brothersand sisters and will not like themalfeasance of a minute crowedof four self seeking vain glorycome between us.

It is widely speculated that thePresidency has a hand in thecrises, what is your reaction tothis?

I am not competent to answerfor the presidency. They havemade statements in respect of thecrises. They are in a betterposition to do justice to thisquestion.

•Mark: Politicians must play by the rules



All roads lead to RedemptionCamp for Holy Ghost Service

By SAM EYOBOKA & OLAYINKALATONA

ROYAL DANCE: From left, Pastor (Mrs) Olori V.D.A. Adesanoye, Oba G. O.Adeniyi, HRM. Oba S. O. Oyebade and HRM. Oba Adedara Bankole dancing duringthe opening service.

ORDINATION: L-R: Pastor Segun Sonaike, Mrs. Blessing Udi, Pastor VincentUdi (Jesus Tabernacle Parish, Lagos) and Pastor Tele Quadri of Fountain ofGrace parish after their ordination as assistant pastors on Tuesday. Shots: SHOLAOYELESE.

*Wife of the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor(Mrs.) Folu Adeboye sharing a thought with Saxophonist, Pastor Kunle Ajayi duringthe graduation ceremony of the Redeemed Christian Bible College on Wednesday.

THOUGH the 61st annualconvention of the

Redeemed Christ-ian Church ofGod kicked of on Monday withthe ordi-nation of over 8,000deacons and deaconesses, theactual opening ceremony did nottake place until late Tuesdayevening.

The colourful ceremony saw thechildren displaying some culturalheritage the African continent

while not loosing sight of theirknowledge of the Word of God,the Holy Bible.

The activities began at about8.50 p.m. after prayers wereoffered for the nation by the wifeof the General Overseer, Pastor(Mrs.) Folu Adeboye as theChildren of RCCG filed out for avery colourful march past led bythe Redeemers’ Orchestra.

The children dressed in T-shirtsof different colours with the themeof the programme, JESUSinscribed at the back, carried

different national flags. Thehighpoint of the children's paradethat held every participant spellbound was the six-man guard ofhonour carrying an enlargedgolden crown symbolising thetriumphal entry of Jesus intoJerusalem. They marched slowlybut steadily across the healingground and on to the altar to anupraised platform, decorated innational colours, where theydiligenly placed the crown to theadmiration of the crowdedauditorium.

It was a spectacle. That wasfollowed by two sessions to locatethe place of Jesus from Genesisto Revelat-ion and they remindedthe elderly ones in the audienceabout how the differentprofessionals see the Prince ofPeace. There was a callistelicdisplay which was followed by ashort playlette depicting thevaroius miracles performed byJesus Christ while on earth insome Nigerian languages for thebenefit of those who still doubt thepower in the name of Jesus.

It was after that display whichwas profusely comm-ended by thechief celebrant, Pastor Adeboye,that he again warned participantsto be serious with theircommitment to the things of God,saying “those of you who arealready here but know that theyare not going to pray, praise andstudy the word of God wholeheartedly, should go back firstthing tomorrow morning to allowroom for others who are serious.”According to him, this year’sconvention is not a period for joke.

By SAM EYOBOKA &OLAYINKA LATONA

Children thrill at the opening ceremony

ALL roads lead to the RedemptionCamp of The Redeemed Christian

Church of Christ for the toast of the ongo-ing annual convention, the Holy GhostService as Nigerians from all corners areexpected to take advantage of the publicholi-days to attend.

The Holy Ghost service which holds ev-ery first Friday of every month is the starattraction of all RCCG pro-grammes be-cause it is always a power packed sessionwith diverse miracle and unusual minis-trations.

As a result of the huge crowd expected atthe Camp today, a new rule was announcedon Wednesday night to the effect that vehi-cles may not be allowed to approach theArena instead they will directed to the var-ious car parks around the camp from whereparti-cipants will be transported to the venueby special buses designed for that purpose.

“We know fully well that the traffic situa-tion along the Lagos-Baden Expresswayis usually very busy during this period andthere is the dire need to appeal to the con-science of motorists on the road adherestrictly to instructions from the various con-trollers on the expressway,” one of the traf-fic managers on the road told our reporter.

According to him, everybody coming from

Lagos or the opposite direction would bedirected to properly designate car parksfrom where they would take a bus to thearena for the programmed, appealing thatsuch persons should be mindful of the feel-ings of other road users who are not com-ing to the camp.

The new rule had become necessary be-cause of the unprecedented vehicles al-ready within the camp causing heavy traf-fic within the camp, just as the announceralso urged all participants who had built‘empires’ within the auditorium denyingnew arrivals access to seats to dismantleimmediately.

Those were the indications that today’sservice would attract a mammoth crowdespecially from Lagos and its environs. Inaddition to that, the security department aswell as the transport division which havebeen put on high alert to avert any disrup-tion of the peace.

Similarly, the General Overseer of thechurch, Pastor Enoch Adeboye had againwarned participants to stay way from theRedemption Camp if they are not ready toget serious with the ongoing move of God.According to him, this year’s convention isnot for jokers whose stock in trade is to cometo the camp to wile away time and causedistraction to others who are determined toworship God in truth and in Spirit.

He warned such participants, who arealready in the camp to pack their bags and

baggage and leave, stressingthat only those who are readyfor, what he called ‘heavy stuff’that should remain. As at theWednesday, Daddy G.O. as hefondly called by his membersand numerous spiritual chil-dren across the globe has fo-cused his ministration on truesalvation, sanctification and theneed for all true children ofGod to live holy lives, sayingthat without holiness nobodycan see the Lord. The first mes-

*EARLY ARRIVALS

sage titled, ‘The Saviour’ was followed byanother heavy stuff titled ‘The Sanctifier’and they were reminders that we must allleave the life of Jesus, the savior and sanc-tifier.

He maintained that sanctification is an-other grace of God by which our souls areprogressively and completely cleansed. Thisis the second accompli-shment of the gracewhich through our faith in the Blood ofJesus Christ is wrought after we have beenjustified and free from our sins or regene-rated

CMYK


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Confirmation of NamesThis is to inform the

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Israel Omesiri, Israel O.

Edibiohwo and Israel

Edis is the same person.

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remain valid. General

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50 — Vanguard,50 — Vanguard,50 — Vanguard,50 — Vanguard,50 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, FRIDAY, FRIDAY, FRIDAY, FRIDAY, AUGUST 9, AUGUST 9, AUGUST 9, AUGUST 9, AUGUST 9, 20202020201313131313


BRIEFS

Obama's snubbing of Putin offends RussiaPUTIN’s foreign

affairs adviser, YuriUshakov, told reportersyesterday that Obama’sdecision to cancelPresident reflected theUS’ inability to developrelations with Moscow onan “equal basis”.

But Russian PresidentVladimir Putin sent atelegram to his oldsparring partner, formerU.S. President George W.Bush, wishing him aquick recovery from heartsurgery. It may have beencoincidence that theKremlin released detailsof the telegram a dayafter Barack Obamapulled out of a plannedsummit with Putin, butlittle is left to chance inRussian politics.

The warm words to theman who once said helooked Putin in the eyeand got a “sense of hissoul” highlighted howdifferent the relationshipis between the leaders inthe Kremlin and theWhite House now.

Bush described Putinyears later as coldblooded, and ties soured

over the war betweenRussia and Georgiawhich began five yearsago this week, but therewas respect andcamaraderie on displaywhen they first met aspresidents in June 2001.

At Obama’s most recentmeeting with Putinduring a G8 summit inNorthern Ireland in June,the Russian presidentscowled, lectured andfidgeted. At times heglowered.

Would a betterrelationship with Putinhave made Obama take adifferent decision onattending the Septembertalks in Moscow? Perhapsnot, but a stronger rapportmight have helped themavoid a situation wheresuch a decision was evenconsidered.

At the same time, hesaid the invitation to theUS president to visitMoscow next month stillstands and added that

“Russian representativeswere ready to continueworking together withAmerican partners on all

key issues on the bilateraland multilateralagenda”.

Pope tightens control on Vatican banks

THE Pope has steppedup the fight against

corruption at the Vaticanby strengtheningsupervision of financialtransactions at its internalbank.

Pope Francis issued adecree designed tocombat money-laundering and preventany financing ofterrorism.

It is the latest move tostamp out abuses at theVatican bank, whichhandles funds for theCatholic Church.

The Pope recently setup a commission toinvestigate the bank andreport back to himpersonally.

Last month the Vaticanfroze the account of asenior cleric, Monsignor

Nunzio Scarano,suspected of involvementin money-laundering.

He and two others were

arrested by Italian policein June on suspicion oftrying to move 20m euros($26m; £17m) illegally.

US decries impact ofcorruption on Nigeria economy

BY VERA SAMUELANYAGAFU AND

PRISCA SAM-DURU

THE U.S Consulgeneral, Jeffery

Hawkins yesterday,decried the huge negativeimpact corruption hasplayed in forestalling thegrowth of Nigeriaeconomy.

Hawkins who made thisstatement during the U.S-Nigeria Bi-NationalCommission dialogue,held at the NigeriaInstitute of InternationalAffair (NIIA) noted alsothat the perniciousphenomenon of corruptionin Nigeria has drained thefederal treasury of fundsnecessary for expansionand improvement ofeducation provided tomillions of Nigerianchildren, which in turnwould enhance thenation’s economic future.

According to Hawkins, “Corruption in Nigeriadiverts financial resourcesfrom building roads andbridges, curtailing thedevelopment ofinfrastructure that isneeded to move Nigeria

towards a brightereconomic future.”

Also reaffirming UnitedStates commitment inissues of great concern toNigeria, he thereforeurged all to assist inpromoting efforts thatwould effectively addressthe underlying drivers ofinstability, noting thatlong-term stability andprosperity can be achievedonly when respect forhuman rights, rule of law,and security are madeavailable to all Nigerians

“ We recognize thatfighting corruption isprimarily a Nigerianproblem that requiresNigerians solutions, theU.S government is notrelentless in partneringwith the Economic andFinancial CrimesCommission to providetechnical assistance in anti-corruption efforts,” he said,adding that, “U.S alsocondemn in the strongestterms, the extremist attackscurrently being carried outin Northeast Nigeria thathave claimed the lives ofcountless innocentcivilians members ofNigeria security force.”

Morsi’s wife joins protesters

THE wife of Egypt’sousted president

Mohamed Morsi hasaddressed thousands ofhis supporters at aprotest rally in Cairo, inher first appearancesince her husband’soverthrow.

Naglaa Mahmoud,

Mugabe slams Western critics

ROBERT Mugabe,the Zimbabwean

president, has rejectedWestern criticism of hisdisputed re-election andvowed to press ahead

with nationalisteconomic policiestransferring majoritystakes in foreign-ownedfirms to blacks.

Mandela makes steady progress

THE South Africanpresidency has said

that former presidentand anti-apartheid icon

Nelson Mandela is stillin “critical but stablecondition”.

Israel approves more settlementsin West Bank

ISRAEL has givenpreliminary approval

for the construction ofmore than 800 newhomes in Jewishsettlements on theoccupied West Bank, an

Israeli official has said.Guy Inbar, the spokesmanfor Israel’s military-runCivil Administration in theWest Bank, said onThursday that initial plansto build 800 new settlerhomes were approved aday earlier.

Obama's in a faceoff with Russian President, Vlamidr Putin.

Morsi’s rarely seenwife, made a surpriseappearance on stage atthe main demonstrationin the capital onThursday, as Morsisupporters celebratedEid al-Fitr at a site whichhas been used regularlyfor protests in Nasr City.Syria denies

attack onAssad’s convoy

Syrian rebels say theyhave targeted PresidentBashar al-Assad’smotorcade near his homein Damascus, but statetelevision has shownhim unharmed and thegovernment deniesthere was an attack.

A spokesman for therebel group Liwa al-Islam, one of two thatsaid they had carried outattacks in Assad’sneighbourhood onThursday, told AlJazeera they were surethey had hit the convoywith rockets.

“We have monitors inthe area who confirmthat the attack hit someof the president’sguards,” he said.

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Doping athletDoping athletDoping athletDoping athletDoping athletes get fes get fes get fes get fes get fourourourourour-y-y-y-y-year banear banear banear banear ban

•Gay

ATHLETICS’ worldgoverning body, the

IAAF, will hand four-yearbans to those caughtdoping from 2015.

The sport has beenthrown into turmoilrecently by news thatTyson Gay, Asafa Powelland Veronica Campbell-Brown had failed tests,along with a number ofRussian and Turkishathletes.

Such developmentshave cast a cloud over theWorld Championships,which get under way inMoscow this weekend.

The IAAF has moved toreaffirm its ‘unwaveringcommitment’ againstdoping in the build-up,with its council todayapproving plans to revertto four-year bans foroffenders from January 1,2015.

A statement approvedby acclamation at theIAAF Congress inMoscow read: ‘The IAAFCouncil would like to takethe opportunity offered bythe gathering of the worldathletics family inMoscow on the occasionof the 49th IAAFCongress to reiterate theIAAF’s long standing andunwavering commitment

against doping inathletics.

‘The IAAF has anethical obligation to theoverwhelming majority ofathletes and officials whobelieve in clean sport.

As a leader in this fightthe IAAF has built anddelivers a programmethat is well resourced, farreaching, sophisticatedand increasingly able todetect and remove fromthe sport those whobreach our anti-dopingrules.

‘The IAAF hashistorically been thepioneering internationalsport federation in thefield of anti-doping. TheIAAF began out ofcompetition testing in1989 and blood testing in2001 and almost all of thekey procedures in anti-doping currently in usehave been originated byour sport.

‘The IAAF’s collectionof the blood samples ofnearly 2000 athletes inDaegu, as part of ourcommitment to theAthlete BiologicalPassport, was an historicachievement across allsports, and continues inMoscow. Arsenal prepare £51m offer for Suarez

L I V E R P O O Lyesterday took a

hardline approach withthe Uruguay hitman,ordering him to trainaway from the first team.

They are furious atSuarez for his publicoutburst, where heclaimed the Anfield sidehad broken their word -and breached hiscontract - by not lettinghim go.

He insisted Liverpoolagreed to let him leaveif they did not reach theChampions League anda bid over £40m came in.

Suarez also said hewould take his case tothe Premier League afterthe Gunners bid £40mplus a pound a fortnightago, having initiallyoffered £35m. ButStarsport understandsthe Gunners areprepared to pay morethan the £50m Liverpoolreceived from Chelseafor Fernando Torres inJanuary 2011.

Boss Arsene Wenger iswell aware a wrangleover the wording of thecontract is sure toinvolve lawyers and

could run on for months- ensuring they do notget their man in thistransfer window, whichcloses on September 2.Yesterday Wengeradmitted the club’s

pursuit of Suarez was onhold.

“At the moment thesituation is on standby,”he said.

“I really don’t knowwhat will be decided by

Liverpool, that’s forsure.”

Wenger is poised to upthe offer for theUruguayan Wenger ispoised to up the offer forthe Uruguayan.

Rooney trains with the Man U reserves

WAYNE Rooneytrained with

Manchester United’sreserves earlier thismorning, but not becauseof a fallout with the club.

The striker was keen tohave a vigorous workoutas he returns to fitness -and with the first-teamhaving a light sessionfollowing their trip toStockholm, he opted forthe second-team instead.

There weresuggestions that achange of routine wasbecause of a fallout withmanager David Moyes,but Mirror Footballunderstands that wasn’tthe case.

Rooney’s decision wasalso taken in light of himmissing tomorrownight’s Rio Ferdinandtestimonial match

against Seville.And David Moyes has

already suggested thestriker will also missSunday’s CommunityShield final againstWigan, saying earlierthis week: “I don’t thinkhe is going to be fit andavailable.

“Of course we are still

hoping he will, but Ihave a feeling he won’tmake it.”

The striker is stillbeing linked with amove away from OldTrafford with Chelsealeading the chase forthe 27-year-old’ssignature.

•Rooney

•Suarez

Perez: Bale price is too much

REAL Madridp r e s i d e n t

Florentino Perez hasclaimed a • 100m(£85million) price tag istoo much for Tottenhamstar Gareth Bale.

Real have beenchasing Bale all summerwith Spurs reluctant tosell him for anythingless than a world recordfee of £85million.

Bale is thought to bekeen on moving to theSpanish capital, but

Fabregas ends United chase

Tottenham are adamantlast season’s doubleplayer of the year willonly leave on theirterms.

Perez has admittedtalks are thought to beongoing between bothclubs as Real look tothrash out a deal to tryand secure theWelshman’s signature,but he questioned thefee Tottenham arereported to bedemanding for the 24-

CESC Fabregas hasmoved to end

speculation about apossible move toManchester United byinsisting he is ‘veryhappy’ at Barcelona.

David Moyes’s sidehad two bids for theformer Arsenal manrejected by Barcelonaearlier this summer,while Barca’s sportingdirector Andoni

Zubizarreta declared atthe start of the week thatUnited had given up ontrying to sign the Spainmidfielder.

Fabregas ruled out amove away from the NouCamp while at theConfederations Cup inJune but kept silent afterUnited made theirinterest in him official,prompting speculationthat he was in favour ofa transfer.

CMYK



Continues from B/PUrhobo

Okagbare who brokeAfrica’s record to win theLondon OlympicAnniversary show with10.79 seconds July 28has done well and couldwin a medal.

“I think that Blessingmay win a medal but theathlete to beat remainsFraser, the Jamaican,”Urhobo said yesterday.

“If you saw the race inLondon you would haveseen that the poor startShelly-Ann had deniedher victory. Even at thatshe was able to end therace well although sheplaced 4th. I think thatshe may win the race inMoscow. Blessing hasdone well and shouldwin a medal based oncurrent form,” Urhobo

said.The former Pole Vault

champion is not happythat only Blessing hasthe IAAF A standard inNigeria.

“The WorldChampionships are forthe best in the world.The standards are higherthan what happens atthe Olympics. Many ofthose who compete atthe Olympics do notqualify to compete at theWorld Championships.That’s the situation forNigeria. We should bebetter than we are intrack and field. It painsthat only Blessing hasthe A standard. Our girlsmay run the relays butthe men did not qualify.I think that we can dobetter but we must do the

right things first. Wecan’t be going for theWorld Championshipjust like we did at thelast Olympics when weall banked on oneathlete.”

Urhobo would like tosee a better coachingstructure in the AFN andprogrammes that canproduce and nurtureathletes.

Brown Ebewele,another veteran of trackand field said last weekthat AFN boss ChiefSolomon Ogbabankrolls many events inhis association andwished that the sportwas better funded sothat “many other ideasand programmes couldbe accommodated by thefederation.

EaglesEaglesEaglesEaglesEaglesContinues from B/P

tively as third, fourthand fifth African teamson the ranking.

Spain, Germany,Colombia and Argentinaconserved theirpositions from theprevious rankingwithout losing orgaining any point.

Ronaldo

loss for the Chelseamanager, who was facinghis old club just threemonths after hisacrimonious departurefrom the Spanish giants.Ramires scored in the16th minute but RealMadrid was the betterteam on the night andsecured a deserved win.

Continues from B/P

IAAF honours Ogba

A T H L E T I C SFederation of

Nigeria PresidentSolomon Ogba was oneof the 18 athletics buffshonoured by the IAAF inMoscow yesterday.

The athleticsgoverning body pickedthree people who havecontributed immenselyto the growth of the sportfrom each continent andOgba was among them.He received the IAAFPin Award during theCongress of the bodyyesterday.

“It’s a huge honour forwhich I’m grateful,”Ogba said.

NBBF modifies women's training schedule

AFTER consultationswith coaches and

academic advisers ofnational team playersespecially in the USAwho have been invited tothe training campearlier scheduled toopen in Abuja on 12thAugust, 2013, theNigeria BasketballFederation (NBBF) hasresolved to modify thetraining camp andtournament dates for theteam to enable the

players work aroundtheir school programmeand club duties to attend.

The situation is notunique to the federationas other Africancountries with players inAmerican schools andInternational Clubs arealso affected. The

modified schedule islikely to see theinternational playersreporting to the team inSeptember as theproposed Abuja trainingcamp has been put onhold.

Meanwhile six home-based players have been

selected for the nationalteam preparing for theAfrobasket schedule for

Mozambique inSeptember. They includeNkechi Akashili, Evelyn

Akhator, AmakaNwakamma, NkemAkarawe, Nkoyo Georgeand Upe Atosu

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How to Play Sudoku

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.

YESTERYESTERYESTERYESTERYESTERDAY'S ANSWERSDAY'S ANSWERSDAY'S ANSWERSDAY'S ANSWERSDAY'S ANSWERSTODAY'S PUZZLETODAY'S PUZZLETODAY'S PUZZLETODAY'S PUZZLETODAY'S PUZZLE

Sudoku

YESTERDAY'S SOLUTIONS

QUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORD

VANGUARD, FRIDAY, AUGUST 9 , 2013

ACROSS: 4, Scrap 7, Humbug 9, For 10, Pup12, Nerve 13, Reed 15, Range 17, Demure19, Dank 20, Scene 22, Cap 24, Enthral 27,Dim 28, Seedy 31, Serf 33, Lessen 35, Anent37, Romp 38, Write 39, Tea 41, Axe 42, Mingle43, Dealt.

DOWN: 1, Chorus 2, Impede 3, Cup 4,Song 5, Creed 6, Advanced 8, Guru 11,Parchment 14, Dene 16, Near 18, Mend21, Carefree 23, Pass 25, Tile 26, Leer 29,Enough 30, Yapped 32, Fatal 34, Stern 36,Next 40, Air.

ACROSS1 Delegate (6)5 Material (6)9 Ancient (5)10 Read (6)11 Spoken (6)12 Propeller (5)14 Lump (4)17 Sailor (3)18 Heap (4)20 Harmonised (5)22 Detested (5)23 Hide (7)24 Dogmatist (5)26 Whey (5)29 Lazily (4)30 Ermine (3)32 Challenge (4)33 Earn (5)35 Pill (6)36 Laud (6)37 Loose stones (5)38 Enjoy (6)39 Almost (6)

DOWN1 Portray (6)2 Forgive (6)3 Throw (4)4 Choose (5)5 Ague (5)6 Afresh (4)7 Mammal (6)8 Named (6)13 Enmity (7)15 Clear (5)16 Lure (5)18 Whitened (5)19 Primate (5)21 Speck (3)22 Possesses (3)24 Acrid (6)25 Universal (6)27 Sword (6)28 Just (6)30 Bring (5)31 Mature (5)33 Muddle (4)34 Plant (4)

Ronaldo shootsdown Chelsea

CRISTIANO scored agoal in each half to

lead Real Madrid to a 3-1 victory over Chelsea inthe ‘Guinness Interna-tional Champions Cup’ atSun Life Stadium inMiami.

The Portuguese scored

a wonderful free-kick andhelped seal the victorywith a header after 57minutes. Marcelo alsoscored and Real Madrdiwon agaisnt JoséMourinho’s team.

It was a disappointingEagles remain sEagles remain sEagles remain sEagles remain sEagles remain stttttaticaticaticaticatic•FIFArankingTHE Super Eagles

maintained theirplace as the 35th bestnational team in theWorld, according to thelatest Fifa rankingreleased in Zurichyesterday.

The Eagles alsoperched on the 5th

position in Africa.Ivory Coast is still

Africa’s number onenational side, a positionthe Elephants have heldfor nearly two years now.However, the Ivorianslost 5 points this time tofinish at 18 on theoverall rating.

Ghana is Africa’ssecond on the rankingand 24 in the lot whileMali, Algeria andNigeria follow

Continues on Page 55

Urhobo tips Jamaica Fraser for gold•Blessing good enough for a medal

BY ONOCHIEANIBEZE

VETERAN athleticscoach and one time

chairman of Athletics

Association Tony Urhobohas said that Jamaica’sShelly Ann Fraser is stillthe athlete to beat in theWomen’s 100m event ofthe World Champion-

ships that start tomorrowin Moscow, Russia.

Urhobo said thatNigeria’s BlessingContinues on Page 55

I-N-S-I-D-E

Continues on Page 55

GOAL MONGER.. . Real Madridfoward Chris-tiano Ronaldo re-acts after scoringagainst Chelseain the USAWednesday.

TWO WEEKS TO LIVE

WHO/Boko Haram's doctor arrested

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