Why Buhari holds on to 15 other nominees

...towards a better life for the people

N150VOL. 25: NO. 62506

ONLINE | www.vanguardngr.com

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2015**

Mr & Mrs

COLUMNIST:

Continues on Page 5

See insideThe roasting ofSepp Blatter •P.19

•Security checks, party leaders, stakeholders' interests cited•Buhari may send list of remaining nominees next Tuesday — Shehu•Babatope, Urhoghide, Ogunlewe, others react

Fresh abductionepidemic hits S-West Lessons learned

•P.17

Why Buhari holds onto 15 other nominees

MINISTERIAL LIST:

NIGERIA @55— Third from left: Speaker, House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara; Vice President Yemi Osinbajo;President Muhammadu Buhari; Senate President, Bukola Saraki and Chief Justice of the Federation Mahmud Mohammed andothers, cutting the cake to celebrate the 55th Independence Anniversary of Nigeria at the forecourt of the Presidential Villa,Abuja, yesterday. Photo by Abayomi Adeshida.

By Henry Umoru,Dapo Akinrefon &Charles Kumolu

ABUJA—THERE arefeelers from the

Presidency that theremaining 15 names ofministerial nominees willhit the Senate early nextweek after what sourcesdescribed as ‘laborious’security checks andvetting of theprospective nominees.

4We'll rescue Chibok girls —Military

10

LagosshutsChinesefirm overworker'sdeath

11

Fayose cancelsindependencefair, asstudentsprotest

CMYK

2 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2015

CMYK

CMYK

Vanguard, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2015 — 3

4—Vanguard, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2015

REVENUE projections ofthe Federal Government

appears to be under internalpressure, as import dutycollection by NigerianCustoms Service, NCS,dropped to N651 billion fromN710 billion in the first ninemonths of the year.

External pressure on therevenue profile has mountedfollowing persistent decline inoil prices at the internationalmarket this year.

The decline in customsrevenue is coming in the firstmonth of the new performancetarget set by the DeputyComptroller-General ofCustoms, FinanceAdministration & TechnicalService, Dr. John Atte, whichstipulated a weekly revenue of

N35 billion, expected to yieldabout N140 billion per month.

This decline is also comingagainst the backdrop of a majorshortfall recorded in the overallrevenue of the FederalGovernment in the first eightmonths of this year, whichshow a total of N3.03 trillion,about N1.08 trillion, or 26.3percent, less than the N4.11trillion targeted by thegovernment for the period.

Monthly gross revenuetarget has been recordingsignificant shortfall everymonth this year with theexception of June, whichposted N485.9 billion, stillbelow target.

With the currentperformance, the overall targetof about N1.6 trillionenvisaged by NCS for 2015appears to be a mirage.

Also, the weekly target of

N35 billion appearsunrealistic, especially goingby the initial estimate of N13billion per week.

CausesEconomy observers have

attributed the declines indomestic revenue targets,especially customs duty, tothe lacklustre economicactivities since this yearwhich have resulted insignificant decline in grossdomestic product, GDP, to 2.3percent as against 5.5percent projected for 2015.

Specifically, importbusiness is said to have beenseverely affected by recentdevelop-ments in the foreignexchange market, whereexchange rates have beenhigh and volatile, whileaccess to foreign exchangehas been curtailed.

However, NCS is determinedto make the best out of the tightsituation by working on itsinternal loopholes.

Consequently, Dr. Atte, in astrategy session presided overby him when he acted asComptroller-General of NSC,discussed various areas ofrevenue leakages and put inplace measures to plug them.

He directed the immediatesetting up of anti-corruptionseats in all area commands tomonitor officers’ conduct andreport to his office.

With regard to anti-smugglingactivities, while the FederalOperations Units, FOUs, weredirected to intensify their borderpatrols to bring smugglers tobook, Atte ordered an immediatereview of operational proceduresto give maximum effect to theban on all hinterland patrols inthe country.

Import duty revenue in free fallBy Emeka Anaeto,Economy Editor

LAGOS—THE Military,yesterday, reassured

Nigerians of its resolve torescue the over 200 schoolgirlskidnapped in Chibok, BornoState, from the claws ofterrorists, explaining,however, that the operationrequired high diligence.

It added that the waragainst insurgency in thecountry would soon be a thingof the past, owing to theavailability of what is neededfor unconventional war.

Addressing journalists inLagos, the Director, DefenceInformation, Colonel RabeAbubakar, noted that already,

the Military had maderemarkable achievements inthe fight against terrorism,with the discovery andsubsequent bombardment ofinsurgents' hideouts andcommands.

He said: “The Military isnot in any way sleeping; it iscoordinating properly withrelevant stakeholders in thefight against terrorists.

“A lot of tremendousachievement has beenrecorded owing to the fact ofpurposeful leadership,supply of equipment andhigh morale of the troops.

“The Military is doingeverything possible to ensurethe safe rescue of the

abducted girls ofGovernment SecondarySchool, Chibok.

‘We needpatience diligence'

“We have been able torescue lots of women andchildren and the operationis still ongoing. Peopleshould be patient. Nobodyis happy with the situation.

“We are doing everythingwithin our powers to ensurethey are rescued alive. Wewill not rush because thisoperation demands highdiligence. Not only for theChibok girls, but everycaptive with Boko Haramwill be rescued.”

He stated that the resort topoisoning of water in someparts of the North-East bymembers of Boko Harm was asign of weakness anddesperation on their part.

He said: “Since they havebeen dislodged from theirstrongholds, they are engagingin all sorts of practices. And thisis a sign of weakness.

“The factory where theyproduce Imrovised ExplosiveDevices, IEDs, has beendiscovered, their commandsdecimated and their lines ofsupply blocked.

“They no longer have centralcommand. Their centre ofgravity has been destroyed andthey are running helter skelter.”

We' ll rescue Chibok schoolgirls—MILITARY

By Evelyn Usman

NIMRrekindleshope forcancerpatients

By Chioma Obinna

WITH over 250,000Nigerians affected by

cancer annually, NigerianInstitute of MedicalResearch, NIMR, has saidthat its new CancerResearch and TrainingCentre would providetraining and qualityresearches into the risingcases of cancer.

Speaking during thecommissioning of the newbiomedical training andcancer research centre inLagos, the centre's DirectorGeneral, Professor InnocentUjah, disclosed that thecapacity of the diagnosticmachines at the centre builtand equipped by Sysmex-Patec of Germany wascapable of investigatingvarious kinds ofhaematological disorders.

Ujah said the project,which was formalized in a2013 Memorandum ofUnderstanding, MoU, wassolely a private partnershipinitiative devoid ofgovernment funding.

ABUJA—THE NigerianArmy said, yesterday,

that it was ready to partnerwith Nigeria Union ofPetroleum and Natural GasWorkers, NUPENG, toensure safety of itsmembers, noting theimportant roles the unionmembers played instabilizing petroleumproducts distribution in thecountry.

Chief of Army Staff, Lt.General Tukur Buratai,made the disclosure whenhe received President of theunion, Mr. Igwe Achese,and thanked NUPENG forappreciating the good workthe Nigerian Army wasdoing, especially in thearea of security for smoothoperations of its members.

He said the Army wouldcontinue to providesecurity for their smoothoperation, adding that oiltheft was a serious dangerto the economy.

Army topartnerNUPENG onfueldistribution

By KingsleyOmonobi

TETE-A-TETE: President Muhammadu Buhari (left) and the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, during the 55thIndependence Day parade at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, yesterday.

POCKET CARTOONVanguard, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2015—5

Continues from Page 1

IT'S UP TO YOUBY AYO ADIO

TAKE HEARTBY ELLA RANDLE

Why Buhari holds on to 15 other nominees

SAYINGS OF OUR PEOPLE

OPPORTUNITY hardly walks past an expectantheart. Expectation opens your eyes to see what

others don’t and encourages you to prepareadequately for your harvest. Be Expectant! It’s upto you.

A HUNTER pursuing an animal should call itsname to save the smelly shrew from a

needless race.

One day your life will flash before you, makesure it is worth watching —Gerald Way

THE ultimate in life is living unconditional love,and so how does the face of love look like? For

me, it has the heart that reaches out to help others,to listen always with compassion, while living a lifeof gratitude. People who are grateful always arehappy people; they magnetize happy circumstancesto themselves. Walk your talk, enjoy life blessings.And no matter what is happening in your life,gratitude keeps you going strong always.

INDEPENDENCE—Cultural dancers performing during Nigeria's 55th Independence Daycelebration in Asaba, Delta State, yesterday. Photo: NAN.

The high-wire tensionand expectations withwhich Nigerians awaitedPresident MuhammaduBuhari’s ministerialnominees have beendoused with hissubmission of names of21 nominees to theSenate.

As of last night, thevarious securityagencies were said to beworking frantically tobeat the new deadlinesaid to have been givento them by the President.

Vanguard gatheredthat the security checkson the remainingnominees are beingcarried out within andoutside Nigeria.

The President onWednesday forwarded tothe Senate, names of 21nominees forconfirmation, with apromise to send theothers in due course.

Each state of thefederation is, by virtue ofthe constitution, entitled

to a ministerial slot in thefederal cabinet.

Vanguard gathered,yesterday, that thePresidency insisted thatmore background checksbe conducted on thenominees, especiallyagainst the backdrop ofthe need to avoid makingmistakes in appointingthe wrong persons intothe cabinet.

It was further learnedthat the names of thosetransmitted to the Senateon Wednesday werethose whose backgroundchecks had beenconcluded.

"It is not certain whenthe checks on theremaining 15 will becompleted. Thisexplains why thePresident, in hisi n d e p e n d e n c eanniversary speech, didnot give a time framebecause it is dependenton when the securityagencies, including theEconomic and FinancialCrimes Commission,EFCC, will conclude

their job on thenominees," a source saidlast night.

The source said the 21names already with theSenate had gonethrough the sameprocess, adding that theissue had taken so muchtime because of the needto do a thorough job.

"If the President hadhis way, the process ofappointing ministerswould have long beenconcluded but thesecurity people handlingthe checks pleaded fortime to do a thoroughjob," a reliable sourcetold Vanguard.

Horse-tradingApart from the checks,

Vanguard investigationalso revealed that thecause of the delay insubmitting the 15 namesis the horse-trading stillgoing on within the AllProgressives Congress,APC, over theirnomination.

It was further learnedthat there was noconsensus yet on thechoice of the nomineesby leaders in their states.

Next batch hitsSenate nextTuesday– Garba ShehuIn his reaction last

night, Senior SpecialAssistant to thePresident on Media andPublicity, Mallam GarbaShehu, said the nextbatch would be sent tothe National Assembly,Tuesday.

He said: “To be honestwith you, I have beentravelling in the last twodays. I came in earlytoday (yesterday). I amnot privy to any list.However, everygovernment from 1999till date under thisconstitution, has notgiven the names ofministers from day one.

"They (ministerialnominees) have always

been sent to the NationalAssembly in batches, thisis nothing extraordinary.Where is the balance? Ido not know. May be byTuesday next weekwhen they come back,they (National Assembly)will probably have thebalance waiting for thembut if it will take a longerperiod, the Presidentwill decide that.”

Although the Senate isyet to officially makepublic names of the 21nominees forwarded to itby the President, mediareports reeled outnames, including Dr.Chris Ngige (Anambra),Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti),Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers),Babatunde Fashola(Lagos), Gen.A b d u r r a h m a nDambazau, retd, (Kano),Aisha AlHassan (Taraba),Ogbonnaya Onu (Abia),Kemi Adeosun (Ogun)and Abubakar Malami,SAN, (Kebbi).

Others are SenatorSirika Hadi (Katsina),Adebayo Shittu (Oyo),Sulaiman Adamu(Jigawa), SolomonDalong (Plateau), IbeKachikwu (Delta),Osagie Ehanire (Edo,Udoma Udo-Udoma(Akwa Ibom), Ahmed IsaIbeto (Niger), IbrahimJibril, Audu Ogbeh(Benue), and AminaMohammed (Kaduna).

I doubt thenames reportedby the media– BabatopeH o w e v e r , f o r m e r

Minister of Transport,Chief EbenezerBabatope, said hedoubted the authenticityof the list. He said: “Iam not a member of theAPC. What comment doI want to make on peoplewho are not members ofmy party? I do not knowthem, I only know themby their names. All I cansay is to wish them thebest of luck when they

are appointed. Anyway,they have not all beenappointed. Buhari toldus that he would bereleasing their namespiece-meal, so we willwait for the rest of thenames. We do not knowif the list is authenticbecause the President ofthe Senate said he woulddisclose their names onOctober 6, so, let us waitand see what happens."

Be patient withBuhari– OgunleweFormer Minister of

Works, Senator AdeseyeOgunlewe, appealed toNigerians to be patientwith the President as faras the ministerial list isconcerned.

Ogunlewe said: “It isat the discretion of thePresident to send thenames but we must firstcommend him. Whycan’t we wait till October6 because all thesethings we are readingare speculations.

"What Saraki said isthat he has the listsealed and that he wouldnot allow anybody accessthe contents untilTuesday. My suggestionis: Let everybody waitbecause we do not knowthe number of names onthe list. We have to bepatient with ourgovernment andreasonable. It is notevery time we criticise,that is my own position."

Buhari wantsthe best– FasehunFounder of Oodua

Peoples Congress, OPC,Dr. Fredrick Fasehun,said: "Probably thePresident does not wantto over work the Senate.That is why he is takinghis time in sending thenames, making it to lookas if he has embraced apiecemeal method. As aman with a vision of whathe wants for the country,I want to believe that thePresident is not in ahurry to send all the listbecause he wants thebest hands for the job."

Also reacting, retiredPolice Commissioner,Alhaji Abubakar Tsav,urged Nigerians to

support the President inhis war on graft, saying"we hope and pray thatthe corrupt and selfishelite will repent and giveBuhari maximumsupport to take Nigeriato the next level."

Nothing unique– OdumakinNational Publicity

Secretary of the Yorubasocio-political group,Afenifere, YinkaOdumakin said,yesterday, that PresidentBuhari would havesubmitted the names ofthe ministerial nomineesat Eagle Square ratherthan to the Senate.

Reacting to thespeculated names ofpossible ministers,Odumakin, who notedthat there was nothingunique about the list,said the President didnot surprise anyone.

According to him, thenames are not worthwaiting for a period offour months.

“There is no excitementor surprise in the list.They are mostly run-of-the-mill people that donot warrant the nationwaiting four months.Those names could havebeen submitted at EaglesSquare on May 29.”

Buhari didn’tneed to waitthis long—Sen. UrhoghideSenator Matthew

Urhoghide (PDP, EdoSouth) sharedOdumakin’s views. Hesaid it was not necessaryfor President Buhari tohave waited this longbefore coming up withthe list he madeavailable.

According to SenatorUrhoghide, the personswhose names weresubmitted have beenaround and known to thePresident, especially thenominee from Edo State,Osagie Ehanire.

Urhoghide, who notedthat though the characterand personality of thenominees were not indoubt, said what wasparamount wasperformance asministers.


INDEPENDENCE TRAGEDY: Mob attempts tolynch naval personnel over death of man

By Ufuoma Tiveruahor

KOGI—AS search for theabducted traditional ruler

of Apaa Bunu in Kabba/BunuLocal Government Area ofKogi State, HRH Oba AdebisiObademi, intensifies,indications have emerged thatthe family had been contactedfor a N1 million ransom.

Impeccable family sourcesinformed Vanguard that theabductors have contacted thefamily to demand ransom forthe release of Oba Obademi.

The ransom is said to be onemillion naira, giving up theabductors as low keycriminals.

A source who cravedanonymity, told Vanguardthat the family members andtraditional chiefs in thecommunity had been meetingover the matter.

“Yes, they have contactedthe family demanding forransom. They told us thatKabiyesi is in safe hands andthat we need to pay for hisrelease. The abductors didn’tsound hostile during theconversation.

“ We may not want to makefurther statements not tojeopardize the efforts of thePolice in tracking theabductors. But we have beenmeeting to ensure our royalfather is released to us soon,’’the source said.

When contacted, theDivisional Police Officer,DPO, in Kabba, toldVanguard that they weredoing whatever wasnecessary to ensure therelease of the traditional rulersoon.

He said the Commissionerof Police in the state hadstepped into the matter.

However, residents ofKabba/Bunu have called forproactive policing to stem thetide of kidnapping in thestate.

An engineer, Olu Adebayo,told Vanguard that the Policeshould invest more onintelligence gathering toavert unpleasant occurrences.

He said: “It is unfortunatethat even traditional rulers arenot spared by these inhumanelements among us. What thePolice should do is to investin modern intelligencegathering gadgets. Thesekidnappers are not spirits.

‘’They live among us too.We need a crime databaseand community policing to beable to apprehend these anti-social elements before theyperpetrate their acts.”

By Kingsley Fanwo

Kidnappersof KogimonarchdemandN1m ransom

Alleges extortion by naval rating as cause of tragedy

The tanker whose conductor was allegedly killed by Naval Rating in Kirikiri area of Lagos, yesterday.

LAGOS—KIRIKIRI area ofLagos, was yesterday,

thrown into pandemonium,following attempt by a mob tolynch some naval personnelwhom they accused causing ofthe death of a conductorattached to a truck driver.

The deceased was reportedlycrushed by the truck he wasattached to, while the driver,Ibrahim Salima, wasreportedly running away fromnaval personnel stationed atthe Kirikiri bridge, by Tokunbocar park road, to control theperennial gridlock.

There were, however,different accounts to how thetragedy happened. A versionof the account, alleged thatnaval personnel stationedthere usually collect N500 fromtruck drivers who wait on thequeue to get petroleumproducts from jetties, daily.

How truck conductor diedHowever at about 9am

yesterday, Salisu was said tohave refused to part with theamount, an action that wastaken as affront by the navalratings. One of them was saidto have chased the movingtruck, in the process of whichhe allegedly dragged themotor boy, identified as AbassKasali, out.

Unfortunately, Kasalireportedly fell right under thetruck and was crushed by themoving truck.

Another version of theaccount, said when the truckdriver sighted the naval ratingapproaching, he reportedlyjumped into the truck startedthe ignition, with a view tovacate the illegal parking spot.In the process, the conductorfollowed suit, but reportedlymissed his steps and fell rightunder the truck, causing thetyres to run over him.

A third version also had itthat the truck had a breakfailure and in the driver ’s bidto control it, it rammed into acommercial motorcyclist,killing him on the spot.

The incident reportedlysparked off a protest, as anangry mob reportedlydescended on the navalrating. Some of his colleagueswho were on their way to workreportedly stopped to rescuehim from the angry mob. Butthey were reportedlyoverpowered.

It took the combined effortsof armed military men,including the Police to quellthe situation.

Eye witnesses said: “Theman was sitting down here(pointing to a position) whenthe tanker driver approachedhim to come and work withhim, explaining that his realmotor boy was ill. It was notup to two hours that we sawhim struggling with a knownnaval personnel who usuallycomes around to collect N500from all tanker drivers. By thistime, the driver had veeredoff his lane in a bid to move.In the process, he hit a carwith the number plate BX 941ABC and a motorcycle withplate number KSF342 QE.

“Along the line, the ratingsucceeded in dragging themotor boy down from thetruck. Unfortunately, he felland had his head crushed bythe tyres of the truck and diedinstantly.

“A mob held the navalpersonnel hostage and lockedhim inside a shop until thearrival of his colleagues whocame and rescued him.Tanker drivers and theirconductors started protestingthe death of their member. Butthe Navy condoned off allroutes leading to theirbarracks and shotsporadically to wade off theprotesters.”

When Vanguard arrived thescene, blood stained as wellas particles suspected to bethe deceased’s skull weresighted on the spot. Theincident worsened the trafficsituation in the area, asvehicles remained stand still

position for the better part ofthe day.

However, when this reporterattempted to take shots of thescene, some men in plainclothes who identifiedthemselves as naval personnelapprehended this reporter.Her phone was seized, as shewas whisked into a waitingvan, to a place where someuniformed naval personnelwere, with threat from some ofthem to beat her up. It took theintervention of some officers ofthe ranks of Lieutenants tofree this reporter from the theratings.

Petroleum tankerdrivers react

National spokesman of thePetroleum Tanker Drivers,PTDbranch of the Nigeria Unionof Petroleum and Natural GasWorkers, NUPENG, AdebayoAkande said, the deceasedwas yet to be identified at thetime of filing this report.

Akange also said the grouphad got in touch with theNaval Base in Satellite Town,noting that investigation intothe cause of the death of theconductor was still ongoing.

“The Navy has alsocommenced its owninvestigation and both groupswill compare notes at the endof the exercise,” Akanga said,informing that the outcome ofthe investigation woulddetermine the association’snext line of action.

Naval sources speak

Efforts to reach theCommander, Nigerian NavyShip, NNS WEY, whosejurisdiction controls the point,failed as he was not in theoffice when Vanguard called.But Naval sources debunkedallegation that the ratingswere extorting money fromtanker drivers. Rather sourcesstated that the Ratings werestationed there to control theflow of traffic.

Naval sources said: “TheNavy is not responsible for thedeath of the conductor asalleged. And the Navy doesnot collect dues from tankerdrivers. The dues is betweenthe tanker drivers and thedesignated union Task Force.

“When the incidenthappened, our men were heldhostage by a mob and in theprocess, they sustainedinjuries. Even when areinforcement went for theirrescue, stones were hauled atthem, with the mobthreatening to kill at least oneof our men. What we did wasto fire warning shots into theair to disperse them andnobody died as a result of thebullets fired.

“The area is calm now.Driver of the truck , IbrahimSalima, has been arrested bythe Police. We did not lose anyof our personnel as widelyrumoured. The CommandersNNS Beecroft and NNS WEYwere at the scene to get on thespot information.”

As Navy denies extortion allegation

Vanguard, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2015—7

Police yet to arrest killers of MC Oluomo'saide

By Bartholomew Madukwe

Court acquits 3 robbery suspects

By Esther Onyegbula

LAGOS—A Lagos HighCourt sitting at Igbosere

has discharged and acquittedthree accused personsstanding trial for the offencesof conspiracy and robbery.

The three accused personsinclude Peter Odigwe, SodiqAkindele and SodiqOlaogun.

The presiding judge,Justice R.I.B Adebiyi, heldthat the prosecution failed to

AKURE—AFTER 11 daysin kidnappers den, a 70-

year-old cleric at Ikare-Akokoarea of Ondo State, JaphetObafemi, has regained hisfreedom.

Pastor Obafemi of theApostolic Faith, Ilepa inIkare-Akoko, was ambushedby some suspected Fulaniherdsmen who abducted himalong Augu/AkunmuExpressway, while comingback from a churchengagement in Kogi State.

His son was said to bedriving his SUV when hisabductors, numbering about13, reportedly ambushedhim.

The kidnappers later calledthe wife, identified as Olu,that her husband was withthem and that the family andthe church should pay N16million ransom for hisfreedom.

Vanguard gathered that thefamily and the church wereable to raise N300,000 but thekidnappers insisted theywon’t go below N3 million.

They reportedly told thewife to sell his property andthat of the church to raisemoney to pay the ransom.

Vanguard, however, couldnot ascertain if thekidnappers ended upcollecting the N300,000 orthat the family and the churchpaid more.

But it was reliably gatheredthat the family parted withsome “good money” beforethe pastor was freed.

A police source said thepastor was seen at Ise-Akoko,a few kilometres from wherehe was kidnapped.

Narrating his ordeal, PastorObafemi who reportedlysustained injury on his head,said he trekked over sixkilometres to Ise-Akoko fromthe bush where he wasreleased.

His family membersprevented him from goinginto details of how he waskidnapped and where hewas taken to by his abductors.

They stated that his healthwas of more importance tothem now than grantingpress interview.

Vanguard gathered that thefamily are planning to takehim to a private hospital inLagos for a thorough medicalexamination.

The Christian Associationof Nigeria, CAN, had lastweek declared three daysfasting and prayer for therelease of the abductedpastor.

By Dayo Johnson

KidnappedOndo clericfreed after11 days

LAGOS—CALM has sincereturned to troubled

Mosaku street in Oshodi areaof Lagos after gunmensuspected to be members of arival faction of the NationalUnion of Road TransportWorkers, NURTW, Oshodi,shot dead one OlayinkaMamowora aka Mamok onWednesday, September, 30.

Although no arrest had beenmade, Lagos State PolicePublic Relations Officer, DSPJoe Offor, who confirmed theincident to Vanguard, said thePolice were on the trail of thekillers.

According to him “we havebeen able to identify the killersof Olayinka Mamowora andwe are on their trail.”

It will be recalled that onWednesday, unidentifiedgunmen stormed Mosakustreet, Oshodi, where theyreportedly shot dead an aideof MC Oluomo.

Shot in the headseveral times

It was learned that thedeceased was shot on thehead several times inside abarbing saloon, a stone throwaway from his residence.

Vanguard gathered thatOlayinka was a very close allyof Alhaji Musiliu Akinsanya,MC Oluomo, the union’sState Treasurer and Oshodichapter Chairman, NationalUnion of Road TransportWorkers, NURTW.

We are on the trail of killers—Police

ACCIDENT: Scene of an accident on Ojuelegba bridge, enroute Apapa in Lagos, yesterday. Photo: NAN.

According to an eyewitness,Shaibu Agibola who spoke toVanguard at the scene thismorning, “the entire area waslike a war zone yesterdaywhen some men stormed thearea with motorcycles shootingsporadically into the air toscare residents away.Residents in the area had toscamper for safety as theincident caused pandemoniumaround the area. By the timethe area was calm, Olayinkawas found in pool of hisblood.”

A resident in the area whospoke on condition ofanonymity, he noted thatalthough Mamok was a veryarticulate young man,unfortunately, he turnedhimself to a common aide ofNURTW chairman, MCOluomo, for luxury. But you

will understand that no onecan stop karma, as those wholive by the gun die by thegun. This is the consequenceof such lifestyles. All thewealth gathered by thuggeryhas eventually ended. Duringthe change campaign, theykilled Esi Oluwo, they evenwent ahead and killedanother guy at Fadeyi whowas an ally of Toba Ijaya.

Street gangsA trader in the area who

identified himself simply asOla Adebajo said: “Streetgangs only breed violenceand destruction asgangsterism and cultism issoaring high here in LagosState. People are being killedevery day as a result of theirmenace. Aiye and Eiye arethe most notorious among

transport union members. TheGovernor of Lagos State, Mr.Ambode, should wake up andarrest it before it spreadsthroughout the whole state.”

It was gathered that beforehis death, Mamok was MCOluomo’s point-man. He wasthe one that allegedly led thegang that killed Baba Esi, apopular area boy in Oshodi.Mamok was the one that firedthe shot that hit Baba Esi inthe head, which resulted in hisdeath on April 9, 2015

Before pitching his tent withOluomo, Mamok was one ofthe private bodyguards offormer Speaker of the Houseof Representatives, DimejiBankole. He attendedMoshood Abiola Polytechnic,Abeokuta. The late Mamok, isa relative of SenatorOlorunnimbe Mamora.

prove its case beyondreasonable doubt.

After reviewing the finalwritten addresses of bothcounsels, Justice Adebiyidismissed the two-countcharge brought against thethree accused persons.

Counsel to the accusedpersons, Worer Obuagbaka,submitted that theprosecution failed to proveits case beyond reasonabledoubt.

According to the charge, thethree accused persons on May27, 2012, robbed the duo ofArike Odejide and CatherineOdejide of a Sagem handsetvalued at N10,000 and Nokiahandset valued at N15,000.

It was gathered that theaccused persons had been inprison custody since May2012.

Counsel to the accusedpersons thanked the court forits well considered judgement.


NSE tosupportOnosode’sburial

By JonahNwokpoku

By Henry Umoru

THE Managing Director ofShell Nigeria, a subsidiary

of Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Mr.Osagie Okunbor, said,yesterday, that the company wasready to explore natural gas tomake Nigeria a hub for domesticconsumption and export forprospective investments.

Okunbor, in a statement in PortHarcourt, reiterated thecompany’s commitment to deve-loping gas for domestic use.

He said: “Our strategy is toinvest a lot more in gas fordomestic consumption andexport. We want to grow ourdeep water and constrain ouronshore oil production.

“Shell’s flagship project wouldbe the Gbarain-Ubie project,which will increase gas suppliesto the Bonny liquefied naturalgas export terminal. A firstphase began production in2010.“

Shell has been divestingonshore oil-producing assets forthe last few years and completedanother set near the end ofMarch.

The sales are part of an effortto move away from onshore oilprojects in Nigeria, which areplagued by industrial scaletheft, security problems andpipeline spills, which havebecome a growing legal liability.

Bonny Island, which issituated at the southern edge ofRivers State, near Port Harcourt,is Nigeria’s only liquefiednatural gas export terminal.

Ghana's gainThis was even as Ghana Gas

Company had, a couple of daysago, recorded an improvementin its gas supply and the excessof over 140 million standardcubic feet of gas per day, whichmakes it the country’s highestreserves since 2009.

The report added that thisdevelopment could be bestattributed to supply fromNigeria.

The report said it ishappening after a year'sbreakdown of gas supply fromNigeria to Ghana, Togo andBenin, due to pipelinedamage by a vessel in Togolesewaters.

The company had said itsgas supply was barely up to50 percent of the requiredexpectation, and when supplyrecommenced after thepipeline was fixed, there wasstill no improvement for quite

a while until lately, when thevolumes being supplied toGhana dropped to a record lowlevel between 30 million and50 million standard cubic feetper day, making it knotty forthe solely gas-reliant Sunon-Asogli Power Plant at Kponenear Tema (200 megawatts) tocontinue.

At the inception, when theWest African Gas Pipelinestarted delivering gas, VoltaRiver Authority, VRA, wasunable to consume all theincoming gas and, perhaps,now more than ever, the stretchof the pipeline between Tema

and Takoradi is beingutilized.

Gas from Nigeria has beengoing to Takoradi due toincreased volumes and dueto challenges with Ghana’sown gas on the FPSO KwameNkrumah.

In a statement from Mr. KofiEllis, Business DevelopmentManager of the VRA, tobusiness newspapers on thesidelines of the Ghana GasForum in Accra recently, hesaid: “Currently, we aregetting in excess of 140million standard cubic feetper day of gas from Nigeria.”

Shell plans big investment in gasBy Ediri Ejoh,

with agency report

A B U J A — S E N AT O RHamman Isa Misau

(APC, Bauchi Central) saidyesterday that Senator AhmedLawan, (APC, Yobe North)was rejected by the North-Eastcaucus of All ProgressivesCongress, APC.

According to Misau, there isno way anyone can blameSenate President, Dr. BukolaSaraki, for Lawan’s inability toemerge as the Senate Majorityleader of the 8th Senate asproposed by APC.

In a statement in Abuja,Misau noted that rather thanblame Saraki, the accusationshould go to members of theNorth-East caucus of the partyin the Senate, who votedoverwhelmingly against thedecision and rather settledfor Senator Ali Ndume, APC,Borno South, as the SenateLeader.

Senator Misauexplained that of the 11senators who were members of

the caucus, eight voted forNdume, while three voted forLawan.

He added that since politicswas a game of numbers, thecandidate with majority of thevotes emerged as leader.

Misau noted that theexplanation became necessary,in view of the belief that theSenate President deliberatelyantagonized the partyleadership by refusing to nameLawan and the others intoleadership positions, therebyfavouring a ‘winner takes-all’ arrangement.

He said: “Many people donot know or understand whathappened then. Truly, many ofus prefer Ndume to Lawan.The fact that Ndume contestedfor the post of Deputy SenatePresident and sought thesupport of most senators madeit easy for him to get oursupport.

“In any case, Senator Lawannever told anybody that he wasinterested in the post ofMajority Leader. We, therefore,voted for a person who actuallylobbied and sought for our

support. So, we takeresponsibility for ourdecisions. Nobody shouldblame the Senate President.”

Senator Misau furtherexplained that many peopleerroneously over-rated thepowers of the SenatePresident in making certaindecisions in the Senate.

He said: “The SenatePresident is just first amongequals. He represents onedistrict like every othersenator. He is not like a stategovernor or President, whohas executive powers anddiscretion to select ministersand commissioners.

“The Senate President mustalways do what the Senatorswant and must even carryalong his colleagues at alltimes. Dr. Saraki is verypopular among us todaybecause he is alwaysrespecting our opinion andusually doing what we want.

“He has a way of relatingto all of us as equals that weare trying to aggregate theoverall interest and positionof majority.”

Don’t blame Lawan’s failure on Saraki—LAWMAKER

L A G O S — T H ENigerian Stock

Exchange, NSE, haspledged to support thefamily of late investmentbanker and stockbroker,Deacon GamalielOnosode, who passed onTuesday in Lagos, to givehim a befitting burial.

The Chief ExecutiveOfficer of NSE, Mr. OscarOnyema, told Vanguardat Onosode’s residence,when he came to pay hiscondolence yesterday: “Ihave spoken withmembers of the familyand we will receiveinformation on what theywant to do.

“We will do our own partto make sure that we givehim a befitting goodbyeceremony.”

THE InternationalTelecommunications

Union, ITU, hasannounced a Nigerian,Ogbonnaya Bassey, as thewinner of the final TelecomWorld 2015 Young Innova-tors Competition challenge.

Bassey is joined by aTurkish innovator, UgurBastik, whose entry alsowon the ITU award.

The duo are expected totake part in ITU TelecomWorld 2015, the global ICTinnovation platform forgovernment, corporatebodies and small andmedium enterprises,SMEs, to be held fromOctober 12 to 15 inBudapest, Hungary.

Winning entries wereselected from 124applications from 34 coun-tries on the basis of theirdemonstrated innovation,business potential and clearsocial value proposition.

It said: “OgbonnayaBassey’s entry, SolarKobo,provides solar powersystems with zero-upfrontfinancing as a cheaper,more reliable and cleanerelectricity source than theprivate oil generators thatare widely used tosupplement the insufficientpublic electricity supply.”

Nigerianwins ITUinnovatorscompetition

By Prince Osuagwu

AGM: From left—Managing Director, Olanrewaju Jaiyeola; Chairman, Dr. Oba Otudeko; Company Secretary,Oluwayemisi Busari, all of Honeywell Flour Mills, at the firm's 6th annual general meeting in Lagos.


Lagos shuts Chinese firm over worker's deathBy Monsuru

Olowoopejo

LAGOS—LAGOS StateGovernment has shut

Hongxing Steel Company

Limited, a Chinese companybased in Amuwo-Odofin LocalGovernment for safetyviolations.

The state government issuedthe stop-work order followingthe death of a casual worker,

Mr. Emeka Umoh.He sustained severe burns

after liquefied iron spilled onhim on September 23, 2015.

Vanguard learnt that hedied at the Lagos UniversityTeaching Hospital, LUTH,

where he was rushed to fortreatment by the management.

Director General of the LagosState Safety Commission,LSSC, Mr. Fouad Oki, in astatement after visiting thecompany, said that thecompany failed to adhere tothe state safety standards.

Oki lamented the workingcondition in the company,saying it was deplorable.

He noted that a safety auditof the company that was earlierconducted by the LSSC teamshowed that very little safetymeasure was put in place bythe management.

Oki said: “We have no optionthan to give the closuredirective because the workingcondition in the company isharsh and totallyunacceptable. It wasunacceptable to Lagos as awork-place.”

Mr. Uche Eke, the PublicRelations Manager of thecompany, while reacting to theclosure, said it would serve asa notice to the management toimprove on its work-placesafety measures, adding,“when it is improved, it willhelp to avoid future hazards.’’

Ambode urges Nigerians to return nation’s glorious past

G O V E R N O RA K I N W U N M I

Ambode of Lagos State,yesterday, urged Nigerians torededicate themselves to theservice of the country as a wayof returning the glorious pastof the nation.

Ambode, who wasrepresented by the DeputyGovernor, Dr. Idiat Adebule,made the call at theIndependence Day parade tomark Nigeria's 55thanniversary.

He said there was need torekindle the flame that ignitedthe determination of thefounding fathers to fight forand obtain independence.

“On this day, Nigeria definedher sovereignty as a peopleand since then had collectivelybuilt a strong nation, unitedand indivisible in spite oftough challenges.

“Together, we shall continueto reflect on the labours of ourfounding fathers and heroes of

democracy, so that their labourwill not be in vain,” he said.

Ambode also urgedresidents to key into theaspirations of the stategovernment to move the stateto the next level ofdevelopment and take centre

stage in global reckoning.“My message to Lagosians

as we celebrate today is torededicate ourselves to thecommon goal of taking thestate to greater heights.

“This administration willensure that it delivers on its

mandate to make life morecomfortable for the people,” hesaid.

The Nigerian Police,paramilitary organizationsand students took part in theparade.

Task force impounds 1,000 motorcycles in 4months

By Olasunkanmi Akoni

OVER 1,000 commercialmotorcycles, popularly

called Okoda, have beenimpounded in Lagos within thelast four month for varioustraffic offences.

Chairman, Lagos State TaskForce on Environmental andSpecial Offences unit,Superintendent of Police,Supol Olubukola Abe, whodisclosed this, yesterday, saidthe seized motorcycles have

been sent to crushing plants.Abe said the decision to crush

the bikes was taken to stopthem from finding their wayback on the roads.

Abe said his men confiscatedthe highest number of 814Okada last month

According to him, 146 wereseized in June, 278 in July and484 in August.

Abe noted that the complaintsfrom members of the public inrecent times over variouscrimes being perpetrated byOkada riders further informed

the enforcementThe task force boss said on

assumption of office heconvened a stakeholders’meeting with the leaders ofvarious Okada and tricycle,popularly called 'Keke Marwa'operators on the need tocomply with the state traffic lawor face the consequences of thelaw.

The seized motorcycles, heexplained, were taken to Ojotacrushing plants where they arebeing crushed and recycled intometal by-products.

Abe, however, said the activitiesof his men were being guided andconducted in line with best globalpractices, adding that in theirfirmness they were also civil.

On allegation that the agencykept suspects beyond 24 hours asstipulated by the law, Abeexplained that one of the reasonsfor that was proximity to the court.

He also cleared the air on whatwas done with perishable itemsseized during operations, sayingthe Task Force always distributedsuch to various motherless orwelfare homes across the state.

Lagos family sues Police over harassment

Groupcondemnssenators'vote ofconfidenceon Saraki

By Jane Onazure

LAGOS—THE Okunnu -Eleku family of Oko-Olomi

Village, Bogije area of Ibeju -Lekki Local Government Area,Lagos, has asked a Federal HighCourt sitting in Lagos, to restrainthe Police from further harassmentand detention of its members.

Plaintiffs in the suit by PaulOgundele are the ManagingDirector of Otofem PropertiesNigeria Limited, Mr. FemiOtolowo, Chief Tajudeen Eleku,

Chief Segun Eleku and fiveothers.

Respondents are the Inspector- General of Police, AssistantInspector - General of Police inCharge of Zone 2, Onikan,Lagos, Officer In Charge of D1,Zone 2, Lagos, Supol Lanre andSergeant Idowu Kolawole, bothof D1, Zone 2, Lagos, Lagos StatePolice Commissioner, Officer - incharge of State CID, Panti,Lagos O/ C D8, Panti, Lagos,Inspector Isiakai, Sgt YinkaAdeoye, and AIG RolandIrohami (ret'd)

The family is asking the courtto compel the respondents to payN1 million to the family ascompensation for the series ofintimidation, harassment anddetention of principal familymembers at various police stationsin Lagos and Abuja.

The family is also seeking adeclaration that it is not within theconstitutional responsibility of thepolice to dabble into land matters,especially when such matter waspending in court.

The family is asking the court

By KelechukwuIruoma

A GROUP, Value andIntegrity Group,

VIG, has condemned thevote of confidence passedon the Senate President, Dr.Bukola Saraki by 84senators

National Coordinator ofthe group, Mr. SinaOdugbemi, has also calledon Dr. Saraki to resign hisposition as the President ofthe Senate, to prevent theridiculing of the senate.

Odugbemi said that anacceptable global standard,ethics and etiquetterequires that when a leaderoccupying a position ofresponsibility is facingcriminal charges, he shouldstep down.

According to him, “Thecriminal trial of SenatePresident, Dr. Saraki forfalse declaration of assetsamong other charges bythe Code of ConductTribunal, CCT, and hiscontinuous occupation ofthe prestigious seat ofSenate President has putthe entire Senate on the badspot, undermined itsintegrity, embarrassed itsmembers and is makingNigeria a laughing stock inthe face of discerningmembers of globalcommunity.”

MRS. AYODELEAdesola Eneli

(Nee Sowande) is dead,aged 76. She died onSeptember 1, 2015 .

She will be buried onOctober 2, at IkoyiCemetery after a serviceat Cathedral Church ofChrist.

She is survived bychildren and grandchildren.

Mrs AyodeleEneli dies at76

Late Mrs. Ayodele Eneli

CONFERENCE: From left, Group Director and Advisor, African Industries, Richhpal Singh;Director General, Manufacturer Association of Nigeria, Remi Ogunmefun; Group ExecutiveDirector, African Industries, Uche Iwuamadi, and Chief Executive Officer, Steel Business,Sanjay Kumar, during the press conference on the challenges facing the iron manufacturercompanies in Nigeria, at Moore House, Ikoyi, Lagos.


Ogun Assemblyto screenAmosun’s 16nominees Wed

Fayose cancels independence fair,students protest

A D O - E K I T I —GOVERNOR Ayo

Fayose of Ekiti state yesterdaycancelled all forms of fare as wellas parades usually held onIndependence Days.

Giving his reason for the action,Fayose in a broadcast said therewas nothing to celebrate in viewof the economic situation in thecountry.

“I do not think it is proper toengage in jamboree when it isbecoming increasingly difficult topay workers salaries.

“The current situation demandssober reflection from all and wecannot pretend about this,”Fayose said.

He ordered residents to stay athome and enjoy the celebrationin low-key.

As a result of the governor’sorder, the usual activitiesassociated with the celebrationwere absent in most parts of Ado-Ekiti yesterday.

However, there were few placeswhere pockets of activities wereorganised by individuals orcorporate bodies.

Students protestMeantime, Ekiti State Students

under the aegis of the Federationof Ekiti State Students Union,FESSU, and the NationalAssociation of Nigeria Students,NANS, yesterday protestedagainst the scrapping of freeeducation in the state by theadministration.

As early as 8.30 am the placard-carrying students, who weremobilized from the state-ownedtertiary institutions, poured intothe streets of Ado Ekiti chantingsongs denouncing the allegedgovernment’s poor attitude toeducation.

The angry students marchedfrom Ajilosun, stopping at variousjunctions where they addressedmembers of the public on theirgrievances saying they would beforced to continue the protest untilFayose accedes to their demands.

The march caused a huge traffic

By Rotimi Olaleye

As APC sues him over SIEC composition

snarl at Ijigbo roundabout withsome officers of the Departmentof State Services, DSS, on handto prevent hoodlums fromhijacking the protest.

Some of the students' placardsread: ”Ekiti Students Pass Vote ofNo Confidence on Fayose”,“Primary/Secondary EducationMust Be Free In Ekiti”, “EkitiBursary, Nothing But A Scam”,“Blackout in Ekiti StateUniversity”, “College ofEducation, Ikere Ekiti Fees MustBe Reduced”, “No To N50,000Acceptance Fee at College ofHealth Technology, Ijero”, “Don’tStop Payment of WAEC Fees forPoor Students”, “We RejectExclusion From EducationSummit”, among others.

Addressing reporters duringthe protest, FESSU NationalPresident, Peter Obayemi, saidthat students no longer have

access to bursary from the stategovernment accusing officials ofthe Scholarship Board ofunderhand dealings.

Obayemi revealed that he wasallegedly detained on the ordersof the Deputy Governor, Dr.Kolapo Olusola, over hisagitation for the payment ofbursary to Ekiti students at theState Scholarship Board.

He said the student bodieswould no longer tolerateintimidation by any governmentofficial no matter how highlyplaced, saying the Fayoseadministration had declared waron students by its actions.

APC kicks over SIECcomposition

Meantime, the All ProgressivesCongress, APC, in the state hastaken the governor and StateIndependent Electoral

Commission, SIEC, to court overcomposition of the electoral body.

In a suit filed by its counsel,Abiodun Fasakin and TajudeenAkingbolu, the party said thecomposition of the electoral bodycontradicted the constitutionalrequirement for a non-partisanelectoral body that could organisecredible elections that would beacceptable to all contesting parties.

In the originating summonsbefore the State High Court, Ado-Ekiti, the defendants are to appearbefore the court within seven daysafter service of the summons onthem.

Commenting on thedevelopment, the party’s statepublicity secretary, TaiwoOlatunbosun, alleged thatmembers of the electoral body asconstituted by the governor iscomposed of card-carryingmembers of the Peoples DemocraticParty, PDP, noting that such actionwas illegal and invitation to chaosinherent in the electoral umpireproviding support for a contestingparty to the detriment of others.

ABEOKUTA—THEOgun State House of

Assembly has said it willscreen all the nominees forthe post of Commissioners onthe list sent to it by the StateGovernor, Senator IbikunleAmosun, on Wednesday nextweek.

The assembly in astatement signed by the clerkMr Muyiwa Adenopoindicated that the approval ofthe nominees by the Housewould assist the governor toconstitute the State ExecutiveCouncil for the second termto consolidate on hisRebuilding Mission.

According to the statement,the nominees are Mrs RonkeSokefun, Mrs Kemi Adeosun,Basorun Muyiwa Oladipo,Arc. Segun Abiodun, Arc.Olamilekan Adegbite, Hon.Jide Ojuko, Sunday SegunBamiwola, Dr. BabatundeIpaye and Mr Bolaji Oyeleye.

Others are Barr. LekeAdewolu, Afolabi Afuwape,Gbenga Adenmosun, ChiefKolawole Wasiu Lawal,Otunba Bimbo Asiru,MrsYewande Amusan and Barr.Olumide Ayeni.

By Daud Olatunji

A BEOKUTA—OGUNState Ministry of Health

in partnership with aconsultant, the Food Hygieneand Training Consult , FHTC,will train food vendors in the20 Local Government Areas ofthe State on best hygienicpractices in food preparationwith the theme “Food safetyand hygiene: Responsibility ofHandlers”.

A statement by the PermanentSecretary, Ministry of Health,

Dr. Daisi Odeniyi stated thatthe training was aimed ateradicating various food andwater borne diseases in theState, adding that participantsslated to attend the trainingwill be grouped into two at aspecific date for each LocalGovernment.

He said that all low cadrefood handlers includingbutchers, pure water makersand meat sellers are groupedunder the first phase, while

bakery owners, cold roomoperators/owners of fast foodoutlets and workers in thekitchen/bar section of allhotels fall under the secondphase.

According to the release,the training will expose allcategories of food handlers in thestate to medical examination toascertain their health status,calling on all food handlers toensure their full participationin the programme.

DISEASES: Ogun to train food vendors

OLUREMI OYOREMEMBERED:From left; DameComfort Obi,Publisher/Editor-in-Chief, The Source;Mr GbengaAdefaye, GeneralManager/Editor-in-Chief, VanguardNewspapers, andMrs Remi Abudiore,during the one yearr e m e m b r a n c eservice for LateDame FeliciaOluremi Oyo, at StJoachim &AnneCatholic ChurchIjegun, Lagos,yesterday. Photo byKehinde Gbadamosi.

By Daud Olatunji

Environmentaliststask FG oninsecurity,

funding

AKURE—ONDO Stateworkers yesterday

suspended their two-day-oldwarning strike over non payment

of their outstanding salaries anddeductions following theintervention of the nationalsecretariat of the Nigeria LabourCongress NLC.

Addressing newsmen after a

meeting lasting for over four hoursin Akure, the Chairman of the JointNegotiating Council, JNC,Sunday Adeleye, asked workers toresume work today.

Adeleye said governmentshould by Wednesday next weekpay all outstanding salaries anddeductions up to last month.

He also denied that the two-daywarning strike was an agreementby all unions and was notpolitically-motivated as beenrumoured, adding that whathappened in the last two days wasa family affair that would beresolved. He said the unions werepushed to the wall.

“Following the intervention ofour national secretariat and theforum of permanent secretaries inthe state and leaders of otherunions, we have decided tosuspend the two day warningstrike,’’ he said.

A B E O K U T A — ENVIRONMENTALprofessionals across the countryhave called on the federalgovernment to urgentlyestablish a NationalEnvironmental AdvisoryCommission.

The professionals who met atthe Federal polytechnic, Ilaro,Ogun State,said creation of anational environmentaladvisory commission wouldhelp in addressing theincreasing dynamics ofenvironmental and securityissues in the country.

Rising from the 5th nationalconference with a theme“Environment and Insecurity :Issues and Challenges,Conference Chairman, Mr. O.P Okafor in a communique hesigned noted that globalwarming and climate changewill continue to soar.

According to thecommuniqué, the participantsurged government at all levelsto evolve policies andregulations on floodprevention, bulk watercontrol, diversions and interbasin transfers.

UNPAID SALARIES: Ondo workers suspend strike

By Dayo Johnson


Isoko North legislative arm sacks Majority Leader,deputy

Delta LG ViceChairman getsIDU award

NIGERIA AT 55: Amaechi urges support forBuhari's govt to achieve growth, devt

By Ochuko Akuopha

By JimitotaOnoyume

NIGERIA AT 55: Emerhor reiterates confidence in Buhari

By Egufe Yafugborhi

ISOKO DevelopmentUnion, Women’s Wing,

has honoured the ViceChairman of Isoko South LocalGovernment Council, DeltaState, Chief Ralph Okaruefe,with an award of ‘excellentservice’ to humanity, inrecognition of his integrity inbusiness, youth empowermentand leadership.

The award, which waspresented during the firstannual conference of theunion held at Otobo EkpreHall, Oleh, had Senator StellaOmu, Mrs. Ovie Agas, whorepresented Dame EdithOkowa, Delta State First Lady,Itiako Constantine IkpokpoMalik, Chairman, Isoko SouthLocal Government Council,among other dignitaries, inattendance.

Speaking at the occasion,Ambassador CarolineU s i k p e d o - O m o n i y e ,President-General, IsokoDevelopment Union, Women'sWing, said Chief Okaruefebagged the award because ofhis accomplishments intackling the problems ofunemployment in Delta State.

In his response, Okaruefethanked the IsokoDevelopment Union women’swing for finding him worthyof the award. He dedicated theaward to Prince Johnson Erijo,member representing IsokoSouth Constituency II at theDelta State House ofAssembly.

OLEH—MAJORITYLeader of Isoko

North Local GovernmentCouncil legislative arm,Delta State, Mr. AlexOkathe, and his deputy,Mr. Ighogboja Imuoma,have been removed fromoffice for alleged unrulybehaviour anddisobedience to theconstituted authorities ofPeoples Democratic Party,PDP in the area.

This came as BurutuLegislative Arm summonedthe chairman of the council,Chief Ebikeme Clark, toappear before it on October6, to explain the council’smonthly statutory financialallocation and expenditurefrom his assumption ofoffice to date.

The Isoko North majorityleader and his deputy,Vanguard gathered, wererelieved of their duties,following a letter broughtbefore the House by theleadership of the party inthe council area,demanding the removal ofthe duo. The letter said tohave been signed by theparty ’s Chairman, Mr.Daniel Tutumor, andSecretary, Mr. PeterAshaka, also accused themof lack of respect for theparty’s constitution.

But Okathe, in hisreaction, insisted that theywere not removed, saying:

“When the Clerk of the Houseread the letter, there was anargument as to whether tomove a motion to adopt it ornot, and there wasdisorderliness. Nobodydiscussed the letter and thenwe adjourned indefinitely.”

He alleged that his problemsemanated from a motion hehad moved two weeks agoagainst the failure of thecouncil chairman, Mr.Emmanuel Egbabor, to renderaccount of income andexpenditure since the

inception of theadministration, and a motionagainst a backdated bill onInternally Generated Revenuethe council chairman hadproposed.

In a related development,the Burutu legislative arm hassummoned the Chairman ofthe council, Chief EbikemeClark, to appear before it onTuesday to explain thecouncil’s monthly statutoryfinancial allocation, andexpenditure since hisassumption of office to date.

The House which reachedthe decision at plenary, alsoimpeached the DeputyLeader, Godspower Akiefa,for divulging official matters.

The impeachment motionwas moved by DotiGovernment, and secondedby Asiyai Richard, and wasadopted by the House.

The House nominatedNathan Tubotu, as the newDeputy Leader, following amotion by William Elagha,and seconded by TrustEdumogiren.

As Burutu summons council chair, impeaches deputyleader

PORT HAR-COURT— FORMER

governor of Rivers State,Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, hasurged Nigerians to supportthe President MuhammaduBuhari-led FederalGovernment in achievingsuccess, growth andsustainable development,as the country marks its55th independenceanniversary

The former governorcontended that the nation’sproblems could besuccessfully dealt withwhen the people unite toforge a common front.

Amaechi, in a statement byhis media office, yesterday,said: “Our problems as anation can only besuccessfully dealt with inunity. We need to imbibepatriotism to ensure that thesacrifices of our foundingfathers and heroes are notin vain. President Buhari's

government is a verypromising one and with thesupport and cooperation of allNigerians, the governmentwill achieve its aim and turnthe fortunes of our countryaround.”

The statement also called for

continued prayers for thecountry and its leaders to stayon the right path and urgedthe people to reflect on thejourney of the nation, itstransition, gains and manychallenges from 1960 till date,and think of what could be

done to better our lot even asthey go all out to celebratethis 55th IndependenceAnniversary.

Amaechi further wishedthe government and thepeople of Nigeria happyIndependence celebrations.

W A R R I — A SNigeria attains 55

years of independence, AllProgressives Congress,APC, candidate for DeltaState 2015 governorshipelection, Olorogun O'tegaEmerhor, has expressedconfidence in PresidentMuhammadu Buhari, andthe APC’s ability to get thenation’s economy back ontrack.

Emerhor, in hisindependence anniversaryreflection, yesterday, said:“Since his assumption ofoffice, President Buhari hasbeen extremely busydismantling retrogressivesocio-economic structures putin place by pastadministrations so as toestablish transparency,

accountability and goodgovernance across board.With Buhari in charge,Nigerians can now be restassured that their human and

material resources will beproperly managed andprudently channeledtowards productiveventures."

Oshiomhole commiserates withDeputy on mum’s death

By Simon Ebegbulem

B E N I N —G O V E R N O R

Adams Oshiomhole of EdoState has commiserated withhis Deputy, Dr Pius Odubu,on the death of his mother,Madam ImuegbeyoghorOdubu.

In a condolence letter to theDeputy Governor,Oshiomhole said: “Let me,from the depth of my heart,convey to you my personalcondolence and that of the

great people andgovernment of Edo State, onthe demise of your belovedand very affectionatemother, MadamImuegbeyoghor Odubuwhich sad event took placeon September 23 at the ageof 80.

“Your mother no doubthad a great influence inyour upbringing and thetotality of your humanity,your sense of loyalty to anycause and the generality ofyour admirable conduct."

By Emem Idio

Bayelsa APCchieftain warnsagainst hatecampaigns

YENAGOA—AHEADof December 5

governorship election inBayelsa State, a chieftain of All Progressives Congress,APC, in the state, Mr.Ebipadei Fekoweimo, hascalled on politicians in the stateto base their electioneeringcampaigns on issues, ratherthan personalities.

Fekoweimo, who is also aformer state legislator, in astatement in Yenagoa, decriedthe incessant hate campaignsby politicians in the state,describing same asunnecessary, regretting thatthe trend could causedisaffection among Ijawpeople.

The former lawmakeralleged a campaign ofcalumny against formerBayelsa state governor, andgovernorship candidate of theAPC, for the December 5governorship poll, ChiefTimipre Sylva.

PRESENTATION: Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State (middle) receiving hiscertificate of return from Prince Uche Secondus, Acting National Chairman of the PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP, while the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh (1st left)watches with interest.

VANGUARD, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2015—13

A-Ibom not planning to raise workers' taxes—FINANCE COMMISSIONER

Glo Slide,Bounce, LafftaFest arrive Ikeja,Ijebu-Ode

By Tom Moses

Avoid utterances that threaten Nigeria's unity—URANTA

By Tare Youdeowei

Rep, Delta Speaker lament Onosode's demiseBy Festus Ahon

Okowa, Ayadeothers to graceGCUOBA's 70thanniversary

UYO—AKWA Ibom StateGovernment has dismissed

speculations that it is planning toadd more tax burden on publicworkers in the state, saying, thestate government is only about toimplement the 2011 tax policy asapproved by the FederalGovernment.

Speaking to Vanguardyesterday, through theCommissioner for Finance, Mr.Akan Okon, the governmenturged mischief makers, includinglocal media organisations, to stopmisinforming the populace andinstigating citizens against thegood intentions of the presentgovernment.

He said: “The issue of taxes oncivil servants in Akwa Ibom Stateis an issue of law put in place bythe Federal Government, as itrelates to the PAYE (Pay As YouEarn) policy. It is guided by thepersonal income tax of civilservants and from time to time, theFederal Government reviews thistax policy. The last review was in2011, but what was in place inAkwa Ibom State, was the 2006tax regime. So, the stategovernment is now about toimplement the 2011 tax policy asapproved by the FederalGovernment. This is applicable toall the states in the federation. For

Akwa Ibom State, inimplementing this policy, whichought to have been implementedsince 2011, the state governor isnot looking back, he intends toimplement this policy from themonth of September 2015, andis still allowing 50 percent rebateof what the civil servants weresupposed to pay.

“From the calculationsavailable to my office,government by this gesture, hasforfeited over N9 billion for notimplementing this policy since2011. So, it is wrong for anybodyto wake up and begin to malignthe governor and thisgovernment. What we are doingis simply the implementation of

the 2011 tax regime, asapproved by the federalgovernment and I will like toemphasize here that the AkwaIbom State government unlikeother states, notwithstandingthe present economiccircumstances, still allows 50percent rebate to civilservants.”

ASABA—THE memberrepresenting Ughelli/Udu

Federal Constituency in theHouse of Representatives, Mr.Solomon Ahwinahwi, andSpeaker of Delta State House ofAssembly, Ovwigho Igbuya, havedescribed the death of DeaconGamaliel Onosode as amonumental loss to Nigeria andthe Urhobo nation in particular.Ahwinahwi, who stated this in achat with newsmen, said thedemise of the boardroom giant andelder statesman was the biggestcalamity that had befallen UghelliKingdom and a great misfortuneto the whole of Urhoboland.

He said: “The death of thebusiness titan and symbol ofintegrity is a scary reminder thatthe list of the finest creations ofGod will soon be exhausted,”lamenting that “the vacuumcreated by the demise of thisillustrious son of Urhobo iscomparable to the devastatingadverse effect that the death ofChief Obafemi Awolowo had onthe Yoruba of the South-West andthat of the late Owelle of Onitshaon the Igbos of the South-East.

“All I can say is that forever inour hearts and on the marble ofhistory, this foremost technocrat,leading chief executive inNigeria’s corporate environmentand reputable sailor from

Government College, Ughelliwill always remain indellible.”

Similarly, Igbuya saidOnosode's demise had deprivedNigerians, particularly thepeople of Delta State, of theservices of one of the mostconsistent administrators of thisage, adding: “Onosode was afamily man who radiated thebest of family values.”

Igbuya, who also describedthe death of the former chairmanof Dunlop Nigeria Plc, CadburyNigeria Plc and Zain Nigeria,

as sad and painful, noted thatthe boardroom guru proved toNigerians and the internationalcommunity that there waseverything to gain from beingprincipled.

A statement by the Chief PressSecretary to the Speaker, Mr.Henry Ebireri, urged theyounger generation ofNigerians to take a cue from theideals that Onosode lived for,building a better Urhobo nation,Delta State and Nigeria.

“In Nigeria, Onosode stood

out. He was a rare gem and avisionary leader with the knackfor identifying talents. As thehead of NAL merchant bankof Nigeria, he brought togetherbright young men and women,some of whom are today in topbanking position in the countryand abroad. As a presidentialadviser to President Shagariand a former president of theNigerian Institute ofManagement, hedemonstrated exceptionaladministrative prowess."

THE excitementsweeping across major

Nigerian cities, courtesy ofGlobacom’s mega shows,Laffta Fest comedy show andSlide n Bounce concert, willreach an all-time high thisweekend when the showshold in Ikeja and Ijebu-Oderespectively.

While Slide and Bounce willhappen at De Prime Hotel,Ijebu Ode, tomorrow, LafftaFest will take place at the WaterParks Hotel, Toyin Street, Ikejaon the same day.

A statement by Glo said themusical concert in Ijebu-Ode,Slide and Bounce will featuretop-rated artistes and Gloambassadors includingSupreme Mavin Dynastyprotégé, Korede Bello,Bumper to Bumper Crooner,Wande Coal, Ego and BurnaBoy.

On the other hand, GloLaffta Fest will featureNigeria’s funniest comediansincluding AY, Okey Bakassi,Gordons, Funny Bone, Bash,Buchi, Acapella, Senator andGandoki. One of Nigeria’sbest rappers, M.I and one ofthe country’s best femalemusicians, Di’ja of MavinRecords, will thrill the crowdwith exciting musicalperformances.

D I G N I T A R I E Sincluding Governor

Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State,his Cross River Statecounterpart, Prof BenedictAyade, and former Minister ofPolice Affairs, ProfessorGoddini Darah, are billed tograce activities marking the70th anniversary ofGovernment College, Ughelli,Old Boys Association,GCUOBA.

The association’s President-General, Worldwide, ProfessorOritsegbemi Omatete, at abriefing in Lagos, saidGovernor Okowa would beguest of honour during theanniversary lecture and fund-raising dinner in Warri.

Professor Omatete said: “AtUghelli, there will be ani n t e r d e n o m i n a t i o n a lthanksgiving service followedby a lecture on the Cultureand Traditions of the Collegeon October 2, while the guestof honour, Governor IfeanyiOkowa of Delta State, willunveil a specialcommemorative logo markingthe 70th anniversary of thecollege."

By Dapo Akinrefon

NIGERIAN NationalSummit Group,

NNSG, has called onNigerians to avoid volatileand insensitive utterancesthat may threaten the unityof Nigeria.

Executive Secretary ofNNSG, Mr Tony Uranta, whospoke in Lagos, warned that“the trends of seeminglyinsensitive power-thrusts arenot conducive with theaccepted national aspirationsfor equitable economicdevelopment, democratic

politics and social justice.These trends ought to bedriven by the constitution andthe respect for rule-of-law,plus the pragmaticrecognition of diversities thata united Nigeria needs to bepremised upon.”

Uranta, who is also theSecretary General of theUnited Niger Delta EnergyDevelopment SecurityStrategy, UNDEDSS, notedthat “as a patriotic Nigerian,who ardently loves hisnation, and prays daily thatPresident MuhammaduBuhari succeeds in changing

the negative trajectory thatcorruption, mediocrity andloss of positive values haveforced this country into, onecannot remain silent in theface of these new trends thatcould threaten the veryfabric of Nigeria’s survival.

“The economy is in shockfollowing the series of oilrevenue's downturns,foreign exchange policyfallouts, absence of aholistic economic strategyrevelation from Abuja, andthe absence to date of asense of urgency in creatingthe presidential team to runthe nation."

FREE HEALTHCARE: Cross section of staff of Vanguard Newspapers waiting to testtheir blood pressure during the free High Blood Pressure test by Mrs Shade Animashaun,Managing Director, Carlisle Healthcare Limited, at the corporate headquarters of Vanguard,in Lagos. Photo: Akeem Salau.

CMYK


NIGERIA @ 55NIGERIA @ 55NIGERIA @ 55NIGERIA @ 55NIGERIA @ 55... ... ... ... ... NIGERIA @ 55... NIGERIA @ 55...NIGERIA @ 55... NIGERIA @ 55...NIGERIA @ 55... NIGERIA @ 55...NIGERIA @ 55... NIGERIA @ 55...NIGERIA @ 55... NIGERIA @ 55...PhotPhotPhotPhotPhotos bos bos bos bos by y y y y OOOOOur ur ur ur ur PPPPPhothothothothotogrogrogrogrographerapherapherapheraphersssss

President Muhammadu Buhari and the service chiefs

President Muhammadu Buhari exchanging pleasantries with formerhead of Interim National Govt., Chief Ernest Shonekan, while formerHead of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, retd.(left) and former VicePresident, Alex Ekwueme watch.

From left; Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara; VicePresident Yemi Osinbajo; President Muhammadu Buhari; Chief Justice ofNigeria, Mahmud Mohammed and Senate President, Bukola Saraki at theforecourt of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

From left; Chief Edwin Uzor, Peoples Pemocratic Party, PDP chairman, Delta State;Hon. Joan Mrakpor; Senator Peter Nwaboshi, Hon. Monday Igbuya, Speaker, DeltaState House of Assembly; Governor Ifeanyi Okowa; Justice Marshall Mukoro, ChiefGovernor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State acknowledging cheers from students

of Nomadic Nursery School, Kaduna at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium,Kaduna.

Lagos State Deputy Governor, Dr. (Mrs.) Oluranti Adebule in a motorcadeinspecting the guard of honor at the Police College ground, Ikeja, Lagos.

Judge,Delta State; Justice Stella Ogene, President, Customary Court of Appeal,Delta State and Senator Ighoyota Amori cutting the cake.

Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State (3rd right), Pastor Chris Abayomi(left); Pastor Kola John (2nd left); Bishop of Akure Diocese of The AfricanChurch, Rt. Rev Samuel Ojo (3rd left); Mrs Deola Akinboboye (2nd right); andDr Kole Akinboboye at the Covenant Renewal Day organized by the TerritorialAltar Calling Body of Christ, with the theme: “Possessing and Inhabiting theNation” in commemoration of Nigeria’s Independence Day in Akure.

Primary school pupils in Asaba, Delta State during a march-past.


OJUDOJUDOJUDOJUDOJUD

Cross River State Governor, Professor Ben Ayade, inspecting a guardof honour by men and officers of the Nigerian Police Force in Calabar.

Lagos State Deputy Governor, Dr. Oluranti Adebule (2nd right), member of the StateHouse of Assembly representing Ikeja Constituency 1, Hon. Folajimi Lai-Mohammed(right), Head of Service, Mrs. Folashade Jaji (2nd left) and the Perm Sec, Min of WealthCreation & Employment, Mrs. Nike Oduwole at the Police College ground, Ikeja, Lagos.

From right; Oba Adedotun Gbadebo, Alake of Egbaland; Brig-General M. S. Danwalis,Brigade Commander, 35 Artillery Division, Abeokuta; Mrs. Funso Amosun; GovernorIbikunle Amosun; Mrs. F.U Arukwe; Chief Mrs. Yetunde Onanuga, Deputy Gov; ObaKehinde Olugbenle, Olu of Ilaro; Iyalode Alaba Lawson and others cutting theanniversary cake at MKO Abiola Stadium, Kuto Abeokuta.

Chief Willie Obiano, Governor of Anambra State inspecting a guard of honourat the Alex Ekwueme Square, Awka.

Governor Rochas Okorocha inspecting a parade at Heroes Square, Owerri.

Children having fun at Amusement Park, Apapa, Lagos.

Chief of Staff, Government House Yenagoa and representativeof the Governor, Rt. Hon. Talford Ongolo (left) speaking duringa solidarity visit by National Youth Council of Nigeria, BayelsaState Chapter as part of activities to mark the Independence andBayelsa at 19th Anniversary at Govt House, Yenagoa.

Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State inspecting a guard ofhonour by men of the Nigeria Police Force at Uyo Township Stadium.

NIGERIA @ 55NIGERIA @ 55NIGERIA @ 55NIGERIA @ 55NIGERIA @ 55... ... ... ... ... NIGERIA @ 55... NIGERIA @ 55...NIGERIA @ 55... NIGERIA @ 55...NIGERIA @ 55... NIGERIA @ 55...NIGERIA @ 55... NIGERIA @ 55...NIGERIA @ 55... NIGERIA @ 55...PhotPhotPhotPhotPhotos bos bos bos bos by y y y y OOOOOur ur ur ur ur PPPPPhothothothothotogrogrogrogrographerapherapherapheraphersssss


EZEAGU CONSTITUENCY PDP TICKET: Aggrievedcandidate asks court to declare him winner

By Francis Igata

ENUGU—A candidate ofthe Peoples Democratic

Party, PDP, Ezeagu consistency tothe Enugu State House ofAssembly, Mr. Sunday Umeha,has asked the Federal HighCourt,Enugu Division, to declarehim winner, as the authenticcandidate of the party, havingparticipated in its primaries inNovember 29, 2014.

In a suit number: FH/EN/CS/70/2015,the petitioner, Umeha,alleged that the incumbent andsecond respondent to the suit,Chima Obieze, never participatedin the primaries held at Ezeagucouncil headquarters,Aguobuowa,which was monitoredby the Independent NationalElectoral Commission, INEC.

According to Umeha,”the onlytwo candidates that participatedin the primaries are Mrs. CeciliaEzeilo and myself.

At the end of the exercise,Ezeilo came first while I camesecond. But Ezeillo was elevatedto be the governor’s running matein the days leading to the generalelections. She then withdrew fromthe House of Assembly race.

“As a result of her victory at the

poll, she is now the incumbentdeputy governor. Instead of PDPto forward my name to INEC asthe first runner up at theprimaries for Ezeaguconstituency, Chima’s name

was forwarded by PDP. The courtshould declare the election thatproduced Chima null and voidbecause he never took part in theprimaries.

“His candidature never passed

through any known primary. Thecourt should declare me winnerin line with Supreme Courtdecision in the case of RotimiAmaechi which was resurrectedin February 2015.”

Transformer installation sets Anambracommunity on war path

By Chimaobi Nwaiwu

NNEWI—NO fewer than250 customers of Enugu

Electricity Distribution Company,EEDC, at Anazodo street and itsenvirons in Awada Obosi inIdemili North Local GovernmentArea of Anambra State,yesterday, took to the streets inthe area to protest against theelectricity company.

The electricity consumers tooktheir protest to Awada and Ogidioffices of the EEDC anddemanded for their Enuguheadquarter's intervention to thealleged attempt to disconnectelectricity consumers in the areafrom a community-owned transf-ormer to an alleged private one.

The affected Awada communitymembers are Igboamaeze,

Anazodo, Aniche and Ndiejeziestreets Landlord Association withMr. Ifeanyi Maduekwe aschairman and Kamsolu Oguka assecretary.

The customers threatened thatif the EEDC did not act fast toaddress the energy crises whichincluded what they called ”over-estimated billing by the EEDC,”the crisis might escalate tofisticuffs and blood-letting.

In a letter by the lawyer to theaffected residents of Awada, Mr.Victor Ejide addressed to theGeneral Manager, EEDC,Enugu zonal headquarterswhich was signed by 11landlords and property owners,the community alleged that anindigene was bragging that hewas authorized by the EEDC tosecure and instal his own

transformer.The community also alleged that

the person was said to haveclaimed that the authoritybestowed on him, furtherempowered him to disconnect allthe occupants of Anazodo Streetand connect same to his privatetransformer.

“Our clients are, at present,comfortable with the power supplythey enjoy. The supply comes froma transformer of superlative cadrepurchased and installed by acommittee comprising ofreputable, responsible, rationaland respectable members of thecommunity, wherein our clientsreside.

"Our clients duly contributed tothe present transformer thatsupplies power to the street andits environs,” he said.

Alcatel Onetouchunfolds growth plansfor Nigerian market

By Emeka Aginam

ONE OF the world leaders in mobile phonefastest-growing smartphone

manufacturers, Alcatel OneTouch has re-entered the Nigerian market with the launchof a wide range of affordable, attractive andfeature-rich mobile devices into the mobileecosystem.

Unfolding plans to push the device to theNigerian mobile phone market last week inLagos, promoters of Alcatel, a brand withininternational mobile and internet device makerTCL Communication said it has chosen TDMobile as its distributor for Nigeria.

With this development, Alcatel has appointedNick Imudia, as the Regional Director forAlcatel Onetouch , looking after Nigeria andCentral Africa. “I’m pleased to be a part ofAlcatel Onetouch as it strives to bring the latestmobile innovations to mass market consumersin Nigeria,” Imudia said.

Poverty in Imocommunitiesworries CSOs

By ChinonsoAlozie

POOR BUDGETimplementation and

under-representation of the27 local government areasin Imo State, have beenidentified as the cause tothe unending povertysituation in the state.

This was the outcome ofa town hall meeting ofmainly community basedCivil Society Organisations,CSOs, organized recentlyin Owerri, by the SouthSahara Social DevelopmentOrgarnistion, SSSDO.

Among other issuesraised in the round-tablemeeting, they wanted theImo State government torun an open budget system,a process, which they said,would not only capture thelack of basic socialamenities in the ruralareas, but would also go along way to address thecontinual denial of theelectorate to enjoy thebenefits of their God givenresources.

Another area of concernwas the “inexplicable” thatthe Imo State governmenthad refused despiteinvitations to participate inthe many accountability andtransparency programmesby the CSOs in the state.

They also appealed to thegovernment to form it as ahabit to endeavour toorganize a public hearing,in order to know how far thepeople had been deprivedof their dividends ofdemocracy, adding that,through the public hearingdevelopment could beextended to the rural areasand the people would haveinput in the budget, in orderto make it the people'sbudget.

One of the facilitators ofthe South Sahara SocialDevelopment Organi-zation, Mr. Emeka Onona-madu, said the programmewas aimed at intimating theelectorate that theirresponsibilities includeactively involving in theprocess of governance.

MAIDUGURI—MULTIPLE female suicide bombers, yesterday evening,sneaked into Sageri, Ajilari and other communities on the outskirts of

Maiduguri, Borno State capital, and detonated bombs which left scores dead andmany injured.

Ajilari ward, which is on outskirt of Maiduguri, had two days to Sallah, witnesseda suicide bomb attack which left over 100 people dead with 97 seriously injured.

The multiple explosions in Sageri and Ajilari occurred simultaneously atabout 7:30p.m., after which men of the 7 Division, Nigerian Army, respondedwith their artillery fire power.

A source close to the scene at Sageri told Vanguard that the female suicidebombers who sneaked into the area on tricycles, detonated their explosives at apopular public gathering near at tea seller joint (Mai Shai).

Female suicide bombers hit MaiduguriBy Ndahi Marama

CMYK

CMYK

Vanguard, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2015 —17

Responses to:[email protected] to 0802 747 6458 OR0811 675 9752 (texts only).PLEASE KINDLY NOTETHAT UNLESS YOU RE-QUEST ANONYMITY,YOUR COMMENTS MAYBE PUBLISHED, WITHYOUR NAMES AND CON-TACT DETAILS AT-TACHED.

Lessons learned

LAST week, I told you thatI was abducted from my

Port Harcourt residence lastmonth and held by kidnappersfor nearly 13 days in a remotecreek location. This terribleexperience has inspired me toreflect deeply about the meaningof Life and has taught me a fewlessons that I’d like to share withyou: Before the kidnappers ab-ducted me, they entered mybedroom and demanded myjewellery.

I meekly, hands trembling,handed over keys to the case inwhich I kept several quality itemsthat had been skillfully fashionedfrom various precious metals andgemstones and gradually accu-mulated over the past threedecades.

All were expensive, by mystandards at least. And somemeant a lot to me in terms of sen-timental value – for example, apretty little diamond and gold

ring that Brian Midgley, my latefather-in-law, gave me when Imarried his son Dominic in 1993.The ring had belonged to Brian’smother and was nearly 100 yearsold. Brian, a staunch Catholic,had not bestowed any similargifts on his other (White) daugh-ters-in-law because none of themhad displayed any interest inCatholicism.

I was his favourite becausethough I wasn’t as doggedlydevout as he was, I occasionallywent to mass and shared hisrespect for Catholic values.

Whenever I wore that ring, Ifondly marveled at the fact thatBrian - a conservative Englishacademic who had led a

somewhat cocooned life andhadn’t socialised with any Blackpeople until he met me – wasn’tbothered AT ALL about the colourof my skin (at a time wheninterracial marriages were stillquite rare and not widelyapproved of) and judged mepurely on the basis of myreligious beliefs.

Now thieving boys who had noright to my possessions havetaken that ring and the warmmemories associated with it. And,yes, I am distraught. But youknow what? No matter howemotionally attached one is tocertain rings, necklaces, etc –and no matter how much theycost – jewellery and materialthings are not important.

Standardof living

Dr Max Pemberton, a psychia-trist who deals with mentalhealth issues for the Daily Mail,a British newspaper, recentlywrote an article in which he saidthat: “Affluence does not neces-sarily translate intohappiness…Studies haveshown that once you meet abasic standard of living –enough food and adequateshelter – everything else turnsout to be a bit meaningless whenit comes to happiness…

“…It is not STUFF that makesus happy, but other people…afact that [too many of us forget]in the drive to own the nextiphone, a bigger car or flashierhandbag…

“I have seen many people die.I have never heard someone ontheir deathbed say that they wishthey’d earned more money…butI have heard lots of patients saythey wish they’d spent more timewith their family…The truth isthat some of the wealthiestpeople I’ve met have also beensome of the most miserable…

“…[So] why do we toil awayto be able to afford the latestdesigner clothes to the detrimentof spending time with our lovedones?”

Dr Pemberton’s views echo mylate father Ignatius Kogbara’sinsistence that the rampant ma-terialism that afflicts too manyNigerians is a spiritual ailment.And I shall try to keep these wisemen’s words at the forefront of mymind whenever I am missing mylost jewellery or yearning to buysomething I don’t actually need.

The Bottom Line is that Icould easily have lost my lifeduring the robbery or while I wasin captivity. And the main lessonthis sad experience taught me isthat NOTHING matters morethan the fact that I am immenselylucky – and HAPPY - to be aliveto tell this tale…and SO tremen-dously grateful that God allowedme to survive and continue tolook after my son and continue toenjoy the warm attentions offriends, relatives, mediacolleagues, Vangurad readersand well-wishers ingeneral…who have made me feelso appreciated since I wasreleased.

Another lesson the kidnaptaught me is that one should notconstantly look over one’s shoul-der and become obsessivelysuspicious of Humanity, eventhough some of the peoplearound us may be secret and evilenemies who cannot be trusted.

The kidnappers told me thatthey had “worked” with someoneI know well and that this anony-mous person had not only invitedthem to abduct me but providedthem with details about my move-ments, professional achieve-

*Kidnappers...Still on the prowl as more Nigerians fall victimsto them

*Police men...Yet to find answers to kidnapping

The main lessonthis sad experiencetaught me is thatNOTHING mattersmore than the factthat I amimmensely lucky –and HAPPY - to bealive to tell this tale

ments and so on.A police officer later confirmed

to me that most abductors getinside information from victims’current staff or former staff.Meanwhile, a businessman whowas abducted last year told methat he eventually discoveredthat it was a blood brother he hadhelped, employed and paid gen-erously who had sold him out.

Sometimes, the traitor inquestion is bearing a festeringgrudge. On other occasions, heor she is simply willing to messanyone up - for financial ratherthan personal reasons. Mosttimes, victims aren’t even awarethat they are harbouring vipersin their bosoms. I certainly didn’tknow that anyone who was closeto me disliked me enough to putme into that kind of potentiallyfatal wahala.

Since I didn’t have a clue whohad betrayed me, my initialinstinct was to conclude thathardly anyone could be trustedthenceforth. And I was reluctantto open up to anyone about anyissue. But I soon got out of thatparanoid mindset because thetruth is that most folks areessentially decent and the badeggs are a minority and you’regoing to make yourself utterlymiserable if you persuade your-self to constantly feel as if youare surrounded by individualswho want to destroy you.

I pray, every single day, thatthe bad egg who attracted andassisted the kidnappers will beunveiled and punished severely.But I won’t permit him or her tochange my personality and turnme into a perpetually hyper-vigilant nervous wreck!

OPINION


In Akwa Ibom, the merriment continues

By Etim Etim

*Mr. Etim, a policy anlayst, wrotefrom Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

ON Wednesday 23rd September, theAkwa Ibom State government rolled

out the drums to celebrate the 28th

anniversary of the creation of the statein a very lavish and ostentatious eventthat defied logic and common sense andran contrary to the mood of the nation.The cost ran into billions, an amount farmore than what many stategovernments receive in a month. AkwaIbom people are shocked that GovernorUdom Emmanuel is continuing in thewastefulness of the last administration.Oil price is going southwards every day,hovering around $40 per barrel in lateSeptember. Analysts have confirmedthat the trend will continue severalmonths or years down the road, and theCBN has even warned that the Nigerianeconomy will go into a recession nextyear. Akwa Ibom is among the heavilyindebted states in the federation, owingover N500 billion to both the banks andcontractors. Recently, Governor Udom,taking advantage of President Buhari’sbailout programme, has restructuredthe commercial bank debts into federalgovernment bonds just because we couldnot service them. This means that therepayment of these debts, incurredthrough the profligacy of the lastadministration, is now the responsibilityof our grand children. The relief has

drastically reduced the state’s debtrepayment burden from over N3 billionto less than N400 million a month; thusoffering Mr. Udom Emmanuel a falsesense of liquidity. Equally pathetic isthat despite its unparalleled oil wealththat rolled in for about decade, AkwaIbom does not have a single kobo in anyform of savings against the rainy day.And the rains are here! Rather, we areso neck deep in debt that we haveshamelessly and irresponsibly shiftedthe responsibility for repayment to thefuture generation. The mood in thenation now is that of sobriety, levelheadedness and maturity. Many stategovernments cannot meet their basicobligations to their workers, families arein dire straits and poverty is bothendemic and pervasive. The economy iscontracting steadily and insecurity is notabating. To stay afloat, states likeKaduna are cutting down on wastagesby discontinuing wasteful pastimes likesponsorship of people on pilgrimage. If

Udom Emmnuel could restructure ourdebts so that our grand children will pay,why does he have the conscience to blowaway so much on an anniversarycelebration? The bulk of the money wentinto media campaign that lasted forweeks, including billboards, press, radioand TV advertising; Production ofbranded T-shirts, artistes andentertainers’ fees, Travels, hotels andaccommodations to guests & pastors &former governors, Foods & drinks,Mobilization of women form the LGAs,Live TV coverage, decorations, etc

Katsina State, which was created onthe same day with Akwa Ibom,acknowledges the mood of the nation,and is not even celebrating. The FederalGovernment only spent N70m tocelebrate the nation’s 55th anniversary.Reports say that President Buharireluctantly gave approval to thisrelatively meagre sum. So why did Udomblowing away so much so effortlessly inthese very hard times when prudence,cost cutting and austerity should be thewatchwords in public financemanagement? Across the nation, we arenow a laughing stock as a people whohave no respect for public resources.Officials of the DMO (Debt ManagementOffice) should regret that they hadrecently approved the debt restructurefor the Akwa Ibom State government,despite warnings from the state chapterof the APC.

In the last dispensation, the

government behaved as if it had noregard for money. There were wastesupon wastes, with no single savings outof the N3 trillion it earned for the eightyears. Instead, we have a litany ofabandoned projects. But now, we haveUdom Emmnauel, a banker touted as afinancial wizard and presented by hissupporters as the one who knows how tomanage public finance, yet theindications are that he isn’t any better.In December, just three months away,the government will spend anotherwhooping sum on Christmas Carol, withsingers brought in from the Caribbean!This is another yearly cash-guzzlingbazaar started by Akpabio. So in justthree months, Akwa Ibom governmentunder Udom will fritter away billions ofNaira on singing, celebrations andmerry making! Usually, governors takea cue from the behaviour of the federalgovernment. With the arrival ofBuhari, many self-respecting state chiefexecutives do know that a new sheriff isin town, and so they are sensitive to costs,governance and good conduct. Thepresident has set a good example bydiscontinuing the sponsorship ofpilgrims to Mecca and Jerusalem. Hetravels with far smaller delegations andhas reigned in on spousal flamboyance,among other cost-cutting measures.Many other states like Kaduna, Abia andLagos are also driving costs down. Goneare the days of the excesses. But for AkwaIbom, the revelry continues.

So in just threemonths, Akwa Ibomgovernment underUdom will fritter awaybillions of Naira onsinging, celebrationsand merry making

YESTERDAY October 1, 2015, Nigeriamarked her 55th independence anniversary,an annual ritual which has assumed less andless significance in the consciousness of ourcitizens, particularly the young ones.

Unlike in the dim past when the NigerianIndependence Day was a day of great funfairand gaiety for all ages, when the front pagesof newspapers went green and white; thepresident, governors and local leaders led thecitizenry to the various stadiums and publicarenas to march and salute the National Flagand openly renew our vows to our “dearnative land”, our leaders now prefer to markit in “low-key”.

From 1987, when the General IbrahimBabangida regime started avoidingcelebrating our independence in the open, thePresidency now prefers to salute the flag fromthe safe and secluded confines of the AsoPresidential Villa. The grand symbolisms ofour nationhood and nationalism haveattenuated to a point where they are no longerof any effect on our collective consciousnessand psyches.

Nigeria At 55: Wake Up!

This is highly worrisome. Nigeria is a 101years old creation of colonialist Great Britainfrom a patchwork of Protectorates and Colonyof Lagos. The low-key of our National Dayanniversaries plays down the sacrifices andefforts invested by the founding fathers of ourfreedom, such as Dr Herbert Macaulay, DrNnamdi Azikiwe, Chief Margaret Ekpo, ChiefObafemi Awolowo, Sir Ernest Ikoli, AlhajiAbubakar Tafawa Balewa, Chief DennisOsadebay and so many others. Some of thempaid for the struggle with their lives.

It is a great disservice, even to the post-independence history of Nigeria of whichmost of youth of today know very little due to

the unpatriotic removal of history and civicsfrom the educational agenda of our primaryand secondary schools.

The Nigerian ruling class, by fleeing intohiding to mark our National Day is displayingcowardice in the face of billowing securitythreats, which started as fear of coups andassassinations to this moment where it hasdegenerated to fear of suicide bombings.

We cannot continue like this. We call forimmediate restoration of good governance atall levels. Good governance and thepromotion of genuine democracy will boostcitizen approval of government and love forour country. Nigerians must be given a sharedsense of belonging equally to this nation,rather than some sections of the countryseeming to lord it over the others while othersare made to look like outsiders in the sharingof the nation’s commonwealth.

We must bring the youth and women moreinto governance, and pay more attention to theneeds of the downtrodden. Nigeria’spotentials must be realised, and our place inthe comity of nations must be assured.

CMYK

VANGUARD, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2015—————1919191919

CMYK

Send Opinions & Letters to:[email protected]

The roasting of Sepp Blatter

*Mr Udegbe, a legal practitioner,wrote from Lagos.

For Ndigbo, it's thanksgivingall the way

JOSEPH Sepp Blatter, FIFAPresident and institutional

memory of world football, waspulled up by Swiss police onFriday, September 25, 2015 andhis offices searched. It was anexpected move, and the Swiss,working as proxies of the UnitedStates (US) did not disappoint.Blatter is being investigated “Onsuspicion of criminalmismanagement and-alternatively-misappropriation”

Ironically, America is not afootballing nation, and beyondseeing itself as the self-appointedpoliceman of the world, it is notclear where it derives its powerto arrest people of variousnationalities. Is it from theUnited Nations, Interpol, NATOor American laws?

Delegates had gathered for the2015 FIFA Annual Congress inZurich when on May 27, theSwiss police seized fourteen ofthem based on warrants issuedby the US Department of Justice.The claim is that they may beengaged in bribes and kick-backsof some $150 million over tenyears.

Obviously, Blatter is the target,and the Swiss having acted onbehalf of the US, might haveappealed for some dignity andnational pride in going after themost famous Swiss. What

America did was to carry out acampaign against Blatter, dig adeep hole round him by arrestingand harassing his colleagues inFIFA, and moving in to have himplucked off.

FIFA is a powerful state withlots of funds. The Blatteradministration has been sosuccessful in raising funds thatbetween 2007 and 2010 forinstance, it had a surplus of$631 billion or an average$157.75 billion per annum.Football is not just sports, it is alsoemotions; so much that youthsin faraway countries likeNigeria engage in fatal streetbattles over support for Europeanteams. This is apart from theusual hooliganism amongstEuropean club supporters.Football is religion which willaccount for a fan believing thatthe club he started supporting inhis teenage hood must continueto win matches ten, twentyyears later no matter the newrealities.

It is argued that politics shouldnot be allowed in sports, butfootball is politics. That is whymatches are like wars. Andwhere there are no points ortrophies to win, the matches areregarded as ‘friendlies”. Now, forsuch a powerful internationalforce to be outside NATO control,

might be intolerable.There are two contending

philosophies in world football. Toone, football is big business,requiring massive capital anddeserving huge profits. To thisschool, the game is for the super-rich that can build stadia, hirethe best legs and coaches, buildformidable teams and leagues bypoaching the best footballersaround the world. This is theprevailing ideological school inthe West.

The opposing school, seesfootball as a game that unifieshumanity, can be played byroyalty and the ragged, the richand the poor, and should bedeveloped in every part of theworld. To this school, belongsBlatter despite the fact that he isEuropean. His presidency hasdemocratised football, builtfootball infrastructure in theundeveloped world, and generallyused the huge resources of FIFA todevelop football.

In 2010 for instance, FIFA made

extra payments of $550,000 eachto 209 associations, $5 million toeach of its six federations, anddonated $100 million to SouthAfrica, the host of that year’s WorldCup; 80 percent of it forcommunity development. Underits Goal Development Project, theBlatter-led FIFA has givenmillions of dollars to variousfootball associations to improvefacilities including buildingheadquarters and youthacademies.

Under him, the much pricedWorld Cup came to Africa for thefirst time in 2010, moved in2014 to Latin America (Brazil)it is billed to go to Eastern Europe(Russia) in 2018, on to Asia(Qatar) in 2022.

Blatter'senemies

To Blatter’s enemies, the SouthAfrican, Russian and Qatarhosting rights were securedthrough bribes. To them,distributing funds across theworld under the Goal Project,amounts to misuse of FIFA fundsand bribery to get votes. Indeed,the 79-year old, has had a strongstaying power having joinedFIFA, forty years ago as TechnicalDirector and becoming GeneralSecretary, six years later. Hesucceeded Joao Havalange asFIFA President in 1998 afterdefeating then EuropeanFederation President, LennartJohansson amidst claims of vote-buying. When he ran in 2011, itwas reported to be his last, buthe came forward again this year.It was apparently an attempt toscuttle his chances that led to theZurich arrests two days beforethe elections. Despite this and aclear indication that Americaand Europe do not want Blatter,he won the first round by 133 votes

to Prince Alibin Hussein’s 73votes. The Prince withdrew fromthe second round voting andBlatter was returned. But on June2, just four days after his re-election, he announced he wasstepping down and calling snapelections on February 26, 2016.

But his opponents are not surehe will keep to his words, so theywant him out as quickly aspossible. This is apparentlyresponsible for the currentoffensive against him. Hispresent interrogation is based ontwo allegations. That FIFA underBlatter, awarded televisionrights to the Confederation ofNorth, Central America andCaribbean Association led by thenow indicted former FIFA VicePresident, Jack Warner for$600,000 while theConfederation retailed it for $20million. FIFA’s response is that“the contract was properlyprepared and negotiated”

The second allegation is thatFIFA paid European FederationPresident, Michel Platini over $2million in February 2011 forwork allegedly done fromJanuary 1999 to June, 2002.While the accusation is that thisis a “disloyal payment” Platiniwho is the leading contender toreplace Blatter, said this waslegitimate payment for hisservices to FIFA as technicaladviser.

From FIFA presidential electionresults since 1998, it is clear thatBlatter cannot be removedthrough the democratic process,hence the need to harass andintimidate him to step down. Anangry Blatter this weekthreatened to rescind his decisionto quit. Although he is presumedguilty by the powerful and richcountries, Blatter remains afriend of Latin America, Africaand Asia.

SINCE President Muhammadu Buhari,PMB came to power, people have

argued that Ndigbo should be punishedfor not voting massively for him. Somesay it was a political miscalculation bythe Igbos, that they put all their eggs inthe basket of former President GoodluckJonathan, they are politically naïve, andall that. Such people do not understandwhere Igbos are coming from. Igbos arevery grateful to God for the turnout ofevents, because if it were not so, theywould have been the victims of postelections violence in the north. Igbos haveinvestments in almost every nook andcorner of Nigeria, which would have beentorched. Ndigbo are the ones who need apeaceful Nigeria more than any othertribe, because they have more at stake inthe unity and stability of Nigeria. Wesimply continue to thank God for Nigeria,in spite of all.

But these men have continued to goadPMB to do all he can to punish Igbos fornot voting for him, and his kitchencabinet appointments, to the completeexclusion of Ndigbo, confirms his position.

Newspaper reports carry a speculatedlist of PMB’s Ministers’ nominees, and outof 27, there are only three Igbo names,10 percent, of which two of them, weremajor instruments in hacking down GEJ.In essence,and properly too, Igbos haveonly one person on that list.

The South South has six names, 22percent; The north has four names,15percent, while the Yorubas, the owners ofAPC have 14 names, 52 percent of the list.Subject to Senate clearance, these plus the

northern dominated kitchen cabinet will bethe face of leadership under PMB for thenext four years.

This list explains why all our fierynewspaper and television commentatorscould not see anything wrong with thelast four months as they are mostly onthe list. Two Igbo proverbs will sufficehere; when your pear roasts, you lick it,and enjoy it, and; If the hunted gameescapes today, there will be huntingtomorrow. We thank God for them andfor this nation.

During the struggles for Nigeria'sindependence, the three major tribes ofIgbos, Hausas and Yorubas worked, foughtfor, and got it, but while the Yorubas andIgbos fought for a Nigeria, that would be afree state for all, the Hausas wanted aNigeria, that they would rule, dominate,and control politically. Post-independence, the three regions, were inhealthy competition, with Agriculture asthe mainstay of the economy. Power was

delicately balanced between the regions,until there was a confirmation, thatabundant oil resources was in the bowel ofthe South South (Niger Deltans), and SouthEast (Igbos). To dislodge the arrangementthey provoked the pogrom against Igbosfrom 1965 in the north, which lead to thedeclaration of Biafra, by Igbos and the warthat followed from 1966 to 1970, duringwhich Igbos were killed mercilessly, andblockaded economically.

Owelle Azikiwe in the heat of that warmade a representation for Peace Keeping,to the world, at the United Nations, butthe world looked the other way,engineered by our Colonial masters, andBiafra was defeated. After that war, theUN subsequently dusted Owelle Azikiwe’spresentation, and started applying it forPeace Keeping around the world today.What they laughed at when it was thecase of Igbo man, they used to preventkillings in subsequent cases. We thankGod that it was an Igbo man who sowedthe seed of Peace Keeping to preventgenocide around the world.

Ndigbo must always thank God forGeneral Yakubu Gowon. But for him,some of those claiming to love Igbos morethan their own parents today, wanted towipe Igbos from the face of this earth. Theyare still around us today, and havecontinued to make highly provocativestatements against Igbos, taunting Igbos,gloating in the victory of PMB. Yes, theyhave put Igbos out of governance today,but Igbos are grateful to God for this; theyhave come a long way from 1966, andhave made great contributions towardsthe building of the robust, virile, andgrowing economy of Nigeria.

God is using these hateful Nigerians, topull Igbos back to develop their region,which they shall begin to do with theguidance of the same God that kept themthus far. This is why good counsel must

be given to MASSOB to remain peaceful,and within the confines of Nigeria'sconstitution, because, until the philosophythat places one tribe in Nigeria above therest, is permanently discredited, lastingpeace and stability will remain an illusion.

Wisdom should teach MASSOB to avoidexposing themselves to blood thirsty Igbohaters in power.

It has become obvious that OwelleAzikiwe, and Chief Awolowo played intothe hands of the north, and lost theirmandate to create, and maintain equalopportunities for all in Nigeria. Forty eightyears after that mistake,Yorubas andIgbos have refused to look at where theystumbled and fell from, in order to plantheir restoration.

2015 is a year of Jubilee, and Change.All things come beautiful in God's time,and it is time for the recovery of lostmandates.

So why should an Igbo man expect anyappointment from a President they votedagainst? Igbos are wired differently fromthe rest. They operate a clean system ofCouncil of Elders. They are republican,and free people. The maxim is when ayoung person washes his hands he candine with the elders. They cherish andencourage hard work, and achievementin life. Yes, Ndigbo needs and want money,and they use it well, so let the wealth of allother tribes of Nigeria, who do not likemoney, flow to Ndigbo in Jesus Name. CanI hear someone say Amen ?

Let Ndigbo weep not for what they havelost, and fight for what they have; Weepnot for the one who abandoned them andfight for those with them. Weep not forthose who hate Ndigbo, but fight for thosewho want them. Ndigbo must work withothers to recover the mandate that theylost in 1965.

By Clement Udegbe

From FIFApresidentialelection resultssince 1998, it isclear that Blattercannot beremoved throughthe democraticprocess, hencethe need toharass andintimidate him tostep down

Weep not for thosewho hate Ndigbo, butfight for those whowant them. Ndigbo mustwork with others torecover the mandate thatthey lost in 1965

20 —Vanguard, FRIDAY20 —Vanguard, FRIDAY20 —Vanguard, FRIDAY20 —Vanguard, FRIDAY20 —Vanguard, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2015

CMYK

Aftermath of heavy rains:

•Enugu-Onitsha Expresswayendangered

By Nwabueze Okonkwo,Onitsha

Erosion, deep gulliesturn Anambra roadsto death-traps

ANAMBRA State is rapidly becoming endangered by

erosion gullies, no thanks tofloods resulting from heavy rainswhich have almost become adaily affair in the state. Indeed,no part of the state is spared thegullies which have been growingdeeper in many places as therains persist, threatening manyresidents in the process.

For now, the erosion gullycurrently ravaging the Nkporsection of the Enugu/Onitshaexpressway is considered thedeepest and deadliest by someconcerned citizens who alsodread its rapid rate of expansion.They expressed fear that ifnothing is done within the nextone month, the fast expandinggully would not only cut theexpressway into two but also leadto the collapse of the flyover atNew Auto Spare Parts market,Nkpor which was constructedfew years ago.

A visit to the the erosion siteshowed that commercial buseswhich frequently ply thatparticular side of the road are ata very big risk of plunging intothe deep gully located very closeto a bus-stop where thecommercial vehicle operators loadand discharge goods andpassengers.

Immediateaction

Commenting on thedevelopment, Chairman ofIdemili North Local GovernmentArea of the state, Emma Idemobi,told newsmen that he hadwritten to both the state and theFederal Ministry of Works witha view to drawing their attentionfor immediate action on the site,adding that he was still awaitingtheir response.

Idemobi, therefore, warnedcommercial bus drivers to stopplying that side of theendangered road but rather touse the fly over becauseprevention is better than cure.

Also commenting on thedevelopment, a pressure group,under the aegis of IgboezueInternational Association ofNigeria, has vehemently decriedthe poor condition of the Enugu/Onitsha expressway, saying thatapart from the erosion gullies, theUmunya to Awkuzu and Ninth

Mile to Oji River portions of theroad have become deplorableand that if allowed to remainunattended to, safe movementscannot be guaranteed during theYuletide celebrations ofChristmas and New Year.

They, therefore, called on theFederal Ministry Works tocommence work on the road immediately with a view to

avoiding loss of lives andproperty on the road before,during and after the Christmasseason..

President and spokesman ofthe group, Elder Pius UchennaOkoye (aka Oyi of Oyi) whomade the call, said the condition

of the road in places like Umunya,Nteje, Awkuzu, Igbariam, andAwka in Anambra State and allthrough Oji River and Ezeaguaxis in Enugu State is a source ofworry considering the heavyvehicular movement duringChristmas.

Erosion control projectsMeanwhile, contractors

handling erosion control projectsin Anambra State have beenreminded that the StateGovernment is not ready tocompromise quality standard andwould not entertain undue delayon their part to execute the erosioncontrol projects awarded to theirvarious companies.

Speaking while inspecting theon-going erosion control projectsin various parts of the State, thenew Commissioner forEnvironment, Princess ChinweNwaebili, lamented the extent ofdevastation of the State’s land byerosion and reiterated that theChief Willie Obianoadministration would stop atnothing in his efforts to tackleerosion problems in the State.

Princess Nwaebili who was theimmediate past Speaker of theState House of Assembly, statedthat machinery has been set inmotion by the Ministry to monitor

and ensure that quality materialswere used to ensure standardand acceptable erosion controlproject delivery within theagreed contract period, addingthat the State’s land ravaged byerosion must be reclaimed.

She warned that contractorsmust strictly adhere tospecifications to ensure that theerosion projects are sustainable.She added that investigationshave revealed that reasonablepercentage of the gully problemswere precipitated by humanactions, wrong termination ofroad constructions anddevelopment along flood plains.

She assured that her Ministrywould seek to partner withrelevant ministries and agenciesin the State to ensure that dueprecautionary measures likeconduct of Environmental

Impact Assessment, EIA andEnvironmental Audit, EA, arecarried out to protect theenvironment and save the State’slandscape.

She, therefore, called on theinhabitants of the State to pay dueattention to the environment andbe environment-friendly to savethe State from avoidablemonumental ecologicalproblems.

The General Manager ofMannison Nigeria Limited, theengineering companyhandling the New JudiciaryErosion project, Mr.Emmanuel Abbi, commendedthe Anambra State Governmentfor its resolve to deployresources in the area of erosioncontrol and floodmanagement.

*Princess Chinwe Nwaebili during her inspection of erosioncontrol projects

A visit to the theerosion site showedthat commercialbuses whichfrequently ply thatparticular side of theroad are at a very bigrisk of plunging intothe deep gullylocated very close toa bus-stop

*One of several erosion ravaged sites in the state

Another erosion ravaged site

A drainage was threatened by erosion


By Michael Eboh

NACCIMA responds to EU ban, launchese-certificate to authenticate local products

NIGERIAN Associationof Chambers of Com-

merce, Industry, Mines andAgriculture (NACCIMA), haslaunched the e Certificate ofOrigin that is designed to helpaddress and reverse the banof Nigerian products by theEuropean Union and othercountries.

Speaking at the presentationof the product in Abuja, Na-tional President of NACCIMA,Mr. Bassey Edem, stated thateCertify, as the product is alsocalled, will help ensure cred-ibility and further authenticate

tronic tool that will guaran-tee swift and flawless confir-mation of export productsfrom Nigeria through theportal.

He said, “It is NACCIMA’sresponsibility, by the Interna-tional Chamber of Commerce(ICC) to ensure that all Cer-tificate of Origin are traceable,accountable and transparentto ensure product acceptabil-ity by the terms of exportagreed at the G77 and D8countries for all export prod-ucts emanating from Nige-

ria.“These were endorsed and

agreed to by the Federal Gov-ernment through the FederalMinistry of Industry, Tradeand Investment in 1987 and2014 respectively. The NEPCand NIPC will have a muchmore effective platform to getaccurate data on export as theelectronic portal of NACCIMAe Certify will be accessible toconfirm and authenticatecertificate of origin fromNigeria.”

Harry further stated that go-ing forward, all certificate oforigin will be accompaniedwith declaration of value ad-dition and products made inNigeria for export under thepreferential or standard ex-port procedure, adding thatthis will be archived securelyand can be accessed by re-spective agencies related toexportation and importationinto Nigeria.

According to him, all region-al, state and city chambers ofcommerce going forward willinput all certificate of originapplications and documenta-tion in a centrally processedportal for easy archiving, col-lation and reporting of infor-mation to relevant agenciesand authorities.

“It will therefore be an in-valuable source of record andinformation to measure bal-ance of trade between the G77and D8 countries that are sig-natory to preferential andstandard export procedureswith Nigeria” he said.

Odili, NPA in court over renewalof retinal disagreement

By Godwin Oritse

THE Nigerian Ports Authority, (NPA) and Man-

aging Director of Aero Mari-time Group, Chief Victor Odiliare currently in court overNPA’s refusal to renew therental agreement of the BrawalShipping Limited, a subsidiaryof the group.

The rental disagreement be-tween the authority and theshipping firm is the port facili-ties at the Kirikiri LigterTerminal in Apapa.

Vanguard gathered that therent for the property had ex-pired and according to theagreement, the Brawal Ship-ping Limited could still occupyproperty for another two years

after expiration of its rent.It was gathered that the

management of Aero Mari-time Group approached themanagement of NPA for therenewal of the rent but the au-thority turned down the pro-posal and directed the com-pany to vacate the property.

It was further gathered thatChief Odili decided to go courtwhen NPA was not forthcoming in renewing its rent forthe use of the terminal.

Brawal Shipping is the onlysurviving subsidiary of theAero Maritime Group that isoffering skeletal services asmore than 70 per cent of itswork force have been laid offowing to decline in thecompany’s fortune.

In a reaction to the face off,the Group Head Administra-tion and Personnel, Mr. SlyAgbontian, confirmed that therent of the premises currentlybeing occupied by Brawal hadexpired since 2013.

Agbontian also said that ev-ery moves by Brawal Shippingto renew the rent had been fu-tile adding that the firm wasleft with no other choice thango to court.

Concessionprogramme

He explained that the man-agement of the Nigerian PortsAuthority had refused to renewagreement for the rent becausethe authority said that the placehad been scheduled for con-cession.

He disclosed that since theface off begun, clients ofBrawal Shipping had becomewary to do business with thecompany.

He however appealed toNPA to renew their rentagreement until they areready for their concessionprogramme, adding that thefirm was ready to pay when-ever they bring their debitnote. “ If they bring theirdebit note today, we will paythe next day” he said.

Efforts to reach the Nige-rian Ports Authority for com-ments was futile as the Gen-eral Manager in charge ofPublic Affairs, CaptainIhenacho Ebubeogu toldVanguard that he cannotcomment now as he neededto get the fact from the offic-ers in charge.

Ebubeogu also said that hewill not be available until to-day (Friday) and cross checkthe details of the case withtheir legal department.”Wewill talk when I come backon Friday”he added.

CURRENCY BUYING CENTRAL

CBN Exchange Rate as at 30/ 09 /15

48.08 -0.15

$3,134.00 -48.00

$12.10 0.34

DOLLAR 196 196.5 197POUNDS 297.6456 298.4049 299.1642EURO 218.932 219.4905 220.049FRANC 200.1225 200.633 201.1436YEN 1.6322 1.6364 1.6406CFA 0.314 0.324 0.334WAUA 274.0086 274.7076 275.4066RENMINBI 30.7732 30.8521 30.9311RIYAL 52.2597 52.393 52.5263SDR 274.8312 275.5323 276.2334KRONA 29.3453 29.4201 29.495

44.95 -0.28

122.35 1.50

every Nigeria products, be itnatural or manufactured inNigeria to ensure a newgrowth segment for the Nige-ria economy.

According to him, the eCER-TIFY is geared toward sup-porting product traceability,ease of doing business andaccountability for all exportoriginating from Nigeria.

He stated that the processentails all registered and un-registered members of NAC-CIMA in the private sector,especially corporate agenciesengaged in export businesshave a single source of ecerti-fication to guarantee speed, ef-

ficiency andrecord keeping.

Edem statedthat this will fur-ther enhance thecountry’s visibil-ity as product or-igin can be easi-ly verified andtraced.

Also speaking,Mr. Billy Harry,National VicePresident, NAC-CIMA, statedthat to a greatextent, the newN A C C I M AeCertify will col-late new exportstatistics, assistthe Nigeria Cus-tom and Exciseto function moreefficiently by thisadditional elec-

It will therefore bean invaluablesource of recordand information tomeasure balance oftrade between theG77 and D8 coun-tries that are signa-tory to preferentialand standard ex-port procedureswith Nigeria

VISIT: From left: Ayodele Alabi, Communication Manager, Unilever Nigeria Plc; Mr YawNsarkoh, Managing Director, Unilever Nigeria Plc; Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of LagosState; Mr Babatunde Durosimi-Etti and Mrs. Soromidayo George, Corporate Affairs Direc-tor, Unilever Nigeria Plc, at the courtesy visit by Unilever Nigeria Plc managemet team toLagos State Governor at Alausa. Photo; Akeem Salau.


THE Port FacilitySecurity Officers

Forum, PFSO, haveaccused terminaloperators of not investingin the security of theirfacilities hence thestringent sanctions by theNigerian MaritimeAdministration and SafetyAgency, (NIMASA).

Speaking to Vanguardin Lagos, Vice Chairmanof the Forum, Dr. ZebIkokide said that he isaware the terminaloperators concern overthe sanctions beingimposed on terminalsfound wanting in thesecurity arrangements oftheir facilities.

Ikiokide said that as aresult of the complaintsof the terminal operators,the Forum had to set upa Committee to look intothe reason for thecomplain with a view toraising the issue withNIMASA,the DesignatedAuthority.

Speaking on the issue,a maritime securityexpert, Mr. LuckyAghomi said that theseterminal operators makemoney from theiroperation in thesefacilities, adding that it isonly logical for them tosecure their investment.

Terminal operators not investing in securityof our facilities —PFSO

The five memberCommittee, it wasgathered, was yet to meeton the complaints of theoperators as some of thethem are said to be outof the country as at thetime of filling this report.

Already, theInternational Ship and

NAGAFF todevelopcargo villagein EnuguState

Port Facility, (ISPS)Security Code Unit atNIMASA has stepped upenforcement andimplementation of theCode.

A source close to theUnit told Vanguard thatit was cheaper for theterminal operators to

THE National Association of Government

Approved Freight Forward-ers (NAGAFF) has revealedplans to develop a cargo vil-lage within the proposedEast – Gate Enugu AirportCity Development project tobe anchored by NECI LandDevelopment CorporationLimited.

The proposed Cargo Vil-lage will be situated within142 hectares of land of theEast – Gate Enugu AirportCity Development Project,adjacent to the Akanu IbiamInternational Airport,Enugu.

To this end, the NationalPresident of NAGAFF, Chief(Dr.) Eugene Nweke re-cently paid a visit to Enuguin an on-the-spot inspectionand assessment of theProject Development sitewith the Representative ofthe Corporation, Mr. DanielKalu, the NAGAFF EnuguState Chapter, ComradeSunny Okonkwo and theProject Legal Consultantwho is also the Secretary ofNAGAFF Enugu Chapter,Barrister ChinedumAgwaramgbo.

According to theNAGAFF President, theproposed NAGAFF CargoVillage is to be fashionedafter a similar one inMalaysia. And infurtherance of the initiative,a delegation comprising of-ficials of NAGAFF, repre-sentatives of the EnuguState Government, and ofthe investor, NECI Land De-velopment CorporationLimited as well as other 27business venture companiesincluding the banks isscheduled to visit the Asiancountry in October.

Dr. Nweke enthused thatNAGAFF has the goodwilland trust of all stakeholdersinvolved in the Project andall hands must be on thedeck to make the project areality.

He added that the Cargovillage when completedwill boost and further sim-plify the process of Cargoclearing in the country andhelp in removing the con-gestion at the Lagos portsand entry points asImporters, Exporters andFreight Forwarders will behappy to divert their cargoesto the Akanu Ibiam Interna-tional Airport.

The proposed cargo vil-lage, would encompass theestablishment of key invest-ment component such as aircargo terminal logistics hub.

By Godwin Oritse

NIMASNIMASNIMASNIMASNIMASAAAAA, Na, Na, Na, Na, Navy renevy renevy renevy renevy renew parw parw parw parw partnertnertnertnertnershipshipshipshipship

THE Nigerian Maritime Administration

and Safety Agency (NI-MASA) and the Nigeri-an Navy have resolvedto deepen their collabo-ration with the aim ofproviding a safe andsecure maritime envi-ronment for shippingactivities.

This renewed cooper-ation was re-empha-sised when the ActingDirector General of NI-MASA, Mr. HarunaBaba Jauro paid a work-ing visit to the Chief ofthe Naval Staff, ViceAdmiral Ibok-Ete Ibas atthe Naval HeadQuarters Abuja.

Jauro stated NI-MASA’s commitment torenew and strengthenthe existing Memoran-dum of Understandingbetween bothorganisations. He com-mended the NigerianNavy for keeping to thespirit and letters of the

By Godwin Oritse MoU which he said hasdrastically improvedsafety in the Nigerianmaritime domain.

According to the DG,“having acquired a sat-ellite surveillance sys-tem that is capable ofmonitoring in real timevessel activities in ourmaritime domain, NI-MASA is also commit-ted to the MoU with theNigerian Navy both ofwhich have the overallaim of making Nigeria a

maritime destination ofchoice for both opera-tors and investors”.

The agency ’s bosssaid the determinationof the Agency to en-hance business activi-ties in the maritimesector by ensuring safe-ty and security also ledto a Public Private Part-nership (PPP) arrange-ment with Global WestVessel Specialists Lim-ited (GWVSL) whichwas approved by theFederal Government.

According to him, themandate of GWVSL isto procure and bunkervessels for NIMASA’soperations, manned bythe personnel of the Ni-gerian Navy on a Sup-ply, Operate and Trans-fer (SOT) basis for a 10year period after whichownership of the ves-sels will revert to NI-MASA.

Responding, theChief of the Naval Staff,Vice Admiral Ibok-EteIbas appreciated the

By Ifeyinwa Obi

TWELVE women of substance have been

nominated for induction intothe 2015 Class of MaritimeManagement Series(MMS) Plus’ Woman ofFortune Hall of Fame oth-erwise known as MMSHall of Fame,

The annual event, orga-nized by Kings Communi-cations Limited in collabo-ration with the Federal Min-istry of Women Affairs andSocial Development willcome up later this month inLagos

The nominated womenare: Former Minister of Avi-ation, Senator Stella Odu-ah; Ms Onyeka Onwenu,Director-General, NationalCentre for Women Develop-ment; Ms Tina Vukor-Quarshie, a seasoned bank-er and Chief Execuive Of-ficer, TVQ ConsultingGroup; Dr. Ibilola Amao, ahuman development expertand Principal Consultant,Lonadek Oil & Gas Consult-ants and others.

Senator Oduah,Vukor-Quarshie,others formaritime Hall ofFame

VISIT: Director-General of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, Mr. HarunaBaba Jauro (right) and Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas, during a visit to the CNS torenew the Memorandum of Understanding between their institutions.

To reflect cur-rent realitiesand to make itmore effectiveand beneficialto bothorganisationsand the countryat large

efforts of the Manage-ment of NIMASA in thepast eight years sincethe MoU was firstsigned most especiallyin the areas of trainingof officers and logisticssupport to Naval opera-tions.

Throwing light on theuse of NIMASA vesselsby the Nigerian Navypersonnel, Admiral Ibasstated that by theprovisions of the MoU,“we (Nigerian Navy)provide security, we armthose ships. Bywhatever means thevessels are acquired,the Nigerian Navy isfully manning thoseboats ”.

Admiral Ibas also ad-vocated for a review ofthe existing Memoran-dum of Understanding toreflect current realitiesand to make it moreeffective and beneficialto both organisationsand the country at large.

adhere to the regulationof the ISPS Code thanface sanction as they willpay more on the long run.

Vanguard also gatheredthat NIMASA had to shutdown some facilities forfailing to be ISPScompliant and were re-opened after the

shortfalls were ratified.The fines for non-

compliance ranges fromthe payment of N1millionto N2.5million per day inaddition to thewithdrawal of maritimeservices from thedefaulting facility.


CMYK

IN line with the UN GlobalGoals initiative, Unilever

Nigeria, has reiterated its com-mitment to continue advanc-ing the lives of Nigeriansthrough its sustainable livingplan.

Speaking on the 17 globalgoals recently ratified at theUN Summit held in New York,Mr. Yaw Nsarkoh, ManagingDirector, Unilever Nigeria Plcsaid the Unilever SustainableLiving Plan (USLP) waslaunched five years ago totackle some of the issuesraised at the summit.

“In 2010 we set out the USLPas a blueprint for achievingour vision to decouple growthfrom environmental impactand increase social impact”said Nsarkoh.

Socialimpact

On September 25, 2015,leaders of 193 UN memberstates in New York ratified the17 global goals that will pro-vide the blueprint for theworld’s development till2030.The ambitious agenda –which aims to tackle poverty,climate change and inequal-ity for all people in all coun-tries – was signed off at thestart of a three-day UN sum-mit on sustainable develop-ment.

“Through our brands socialmission, we have encapsu-lated some of the issues raisedin the UN Global Goals intothree focus areas of - reduc-ing our environmental impact,improving the health and well-being of more than a billion

people, and enhancing thelivelihoods of millions workingin our value chain” Nsarkohinformed.

For instance, Pepsodent, inpartnership with the NigerianDental Association, continuesto contribute to improving pro-fessional dental standards anddeliver oral health careprojects across multiple chan-nels to change people’s hab-its. Earlier this year,Pepsodent led the globalmovement for better dentalcare on World Oral Health dayby hosting 1000 children inthe same location to take apledge to brush day & night,and encourage their parents todo same. And by 2020,Unilever aims to reach 10 mil-lion children in Nigeria with

LISTING: From left: Mr. Chinua Azubike, MD, Dunn Loren Merrifield Advisory Part-ners Ltd.; Prof. Charles Inyangete, MD/CEO, Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company Plc;Mr. Bola Onadele Koko, MD/CEO, FMDQ OTC Plc and Mr. Jibril Aku, Vice-Chairman,Board of Directors, FMDQ OTC Plc, during the listing of the N8.0 billon NMRC Bond onFMDQ OTC Securities Exchange, Lagos.

Creating a bright future for Nigeriais our goal —Unilever

its ‘Brush Everyday Day andNight Oral Health’ campaignto ensure healthy life style.

Also, Knorr is contributing totackling anaemia amongstwomen and teenage girls inNigeria with its iron-fortifiedcubes and tailor-madebehaviour change initiatives toimprove their health and re-duce the prevalence of irondeficiency anaemia in Nigeria.

“Through our Women Em-powerment Programmetagged ‘Gbemiga’, Unileverhas helped women in ruralcommunities in South-WestNigeria set up their own busi-nesses, and increase theirearnings and quality of life.Many women have benefitedfrom this project so far ”,Nsarkoh said.

By Peter Egwuatu

STANDARD CharteredBank has announced that

September 21st to October20th will be ‘Employee Volun-teering Month’.

With over 8,000 staff in Af-rica, the Bank encourages itsstaff to use their interests andskills to help out in the localcommunities in which it isbased to make a real differ-ence.

Many spend time workingon causes the bank supports,such as eradicating prevent-able blindness, support forpeople living with HIV/AIDSor financial education. Otheremployees choose to volunteerfor a cause close to their ownheart, from planting trees,

mentoring or training youthon health and hygiene.

Commenting on the launch,Bola Adesola, CEO StandardChartered Bank Nigeria said:“We believe that volunteeringis good for our communities,staff and our business. TheBank offers every employeethree (3) days paid leave tovolunteer and its great to seestaff showing strong commit-ment and passion to serve thecommunity in which we oper-ate. We look forward to theopportunity of using our skillsin making a unique contribu-tion to Nigeria this year”.

Last year, Standard Char-tered staff donated over 9,700employee volunteering days inAfrica.

THE Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has an-

nounced the commencementof the 2015 edition of its an-nual essay competitionthemed ‘Building a Sustain-able Capital Market.’

The Exchange stated in astatement that the essay is oneof its financial literacy and in-clusion initiatives aimed atbuilding a financially savvygeneration.

Entries for this years’ com-petition titled ‘Explain the Im-portance of Financial Educa-tion and Describe How theNigerian Stock Exchange canhelp you become FinanciallySavvy’ is scheduled to start onTuesday, 29th September andclose on October 30th 2015.

The competition, accordingto the NSE, is open to only se-nior secondary school stu-dents, and award-winningentrants are expected to showoriginality, focus on topic andcompetent use of English as awritten language.

Prices to be won by students

Financial Literacy:NSE commences 2015annual essay competition

By Bisola Ologunde &Nnenna Joseph

include N250, 000 worth ofshares, N500, 000 scholarshipfund for university education,a personal Laptop, Certificateof achievement and Headlinedaily NSE (Market close),Closing Gong ceremony to beperformed by the first placewinner, and a trophy withthree PCs and a printer to theschool of the first place win-ner.

The second place winner hasthe opportunity of owning aN200,000 worth of shares,N400,000 scholarship fund foruniversity education, a per-sonal Laptop, Certificate ofachievement, an invite to par-ticipate in a Closing Gongceremony, and a trophy, plustwo PCs and a printer to theschool.

The third place winner willbe given N150,000 worth ofshares, N300,000 scholarshipfund for university education,a personal Laptop, Certificateof achievement, and an inviteto participate in a ClosingGong ceremony, while theschool, will be rewarded witha trophy, a PC, and a printer.

GUARANTY Trust Bank,GTBank Plc has reaf-

firmed its position as one ofthe leading global brand fol-lowing its recent recognitionfor good corporate governanceduring the 2015 African Busi-ness Awards held on the side-lines of the UN General As-sembly in New York.

Launched in 2008 by AfricanBusiness magazine, the Afri-can Business Awards has be-come the deûnitive businessawards in Africa, recognisingleadership and excellence onthe continent.

According to Omar BenYedder, Publisher & Manag-ing Director of IC Publications:“We are proud of all our win-

GTBank wins international awardfor good corporate governance

ners, their work and accom-plishments in various sectorsshow what can be achieved onthe African continent with hardwork and single minded de-termination. In winning thisyear’s award, GTBank standsout in Africa and the rest of theworld as a benchmark for goodcorporate governance, busi-ness ethics and adherence tointernational best practices.”

Commenting on the award,Segun Agbaje, Managing Di-rector/CEO of GTBank said:“We operate in challengingbusiness environments, but webelieve that our stakeholdersshould be better off forpartnering with us. Thus, weset high goals and benchmarkourselves against global stan-dards which influence our ser-vice culture and product offer-ings, thereby enabling us toremain relevant to our custom-ers while adding value to allstakeholders.

For us, winning this awardis an attestation of the hardwork and dedication of ourstaff, management and Boardtowards conducting businessin a manner that typifies ouradherence to global bestpractices. It also is an indica-tion that our business model,systems and management arerecognized globally as abenchmark for good corporategovernance.”

Standard Chartered to launch‘Employee Volunteering Month’

We operate inchallengingbusiness envi-ronments, butwe believe thatour stakehold-ers should bebetter off forpartnering withus

OVER the last decade, therehas been a gradual dip in

performance models andperception of the public about theNNPC. When PresidentMuhammadu Buhari called me tohead the NNPC and clean theAugean stable, my first responsewas one of fright, because I havebeen used to a life where processesworked. You can pre-determinedecisions, you knew where youwere headed in everything; therewasn’t some underneath the tabletype game going on. I wonderedwhether the Corporation was readyfor the sanitisation that I will needto do if I had to join the company.

My first response likely was tosay, maybe not. After we talked abit, I realised that it was not reallyan option. All of us should comeout of our comfort zones to helpsalvage the country. So, I foundmyself thrust in this immenseresponsibility and very determinedto make sense out it. I see a lot ofpeople take government jobs andworry about how long they will last.

Making adifference

I am not. I am only worried abouthow well I do with time I have. If itis one day or two days that I willmake a difference, there is noproblem. That is why if you lookedat some of the actions that come outof my table; you will see that I ammoving with a lot of speed; almostlike I have very limited time to dothis. Frankly, I would not forgivemyself, if I lasted here for one ortwo weeks and did not takedecisions I needed to be taken.

Getting it right: Every day, I lookat every model of our business andeconomy and see what needs to bedone. I am grateful to be workingwith President Buhari who hasgiven me the latitude to bring mythoughts on the table, discuss withhim and reach decisions that arecritical to this industry.

He has given me a free hand towork, which shows in the speedwith which we work. I have notstarted my sanitisation process onthe premise that people are bad.Sometimes people do the wrongthing because their operationalenvironment has enabled them toit. There is a lot of good people inNNPC who may have done thewrong thing because they werecompelled by politicians to do that.

One of the things I said in our

sense, we will get to where we areheaded. So much harm has beendone and so much needs to bechanged quickly. Price of oil is low.There are few things we need to doat OPEC level to get the price to atleast above the $50 level.

My expectation and my hope isthat by this time next year, we beginto see a trajectory of those pricesgetting more towards the mid-50s.Every action that we take mustgravitate towards how do we helpthat price uplift. That is why I saidwhen we take a decision, you tellyourself it is no longer a decisionyou take because of yourself,because it has almost a virtual effecton the entire world’s economy.

If you decide what to do with therefinery, it has an effect. You decidewhat to do with pricing, it has aneffect. You decide what to do withmanagement of the funds out ofNNPC, it has an effect. We beganthe process with weekly briefing tothe President, which is documented,in terms of what we do, as part ofour transparency efforts. I am verycomfortable on transparency

because I think that the Nigerianpeople have the right to know. It isnot a privilege. The Public AffairsDepartment has been told to putenough data out there so that thefacts will be seen by all.

It is an entitlement of the country.It is not a privilege for them to knowhow their oil money is obtained,how contracts are done, how theincome is spent. NNPC, not beinga private company, we must be veryopen. We will have monthlypublication that shows the data ofall what we do.

The other aspect of transparencyis how to deal with accountingissues. We are doing a couple ofthings in this direction. The first iswe are bringing back the auditorswho gave the partial audit ofNNPC, to come and do the fullaudit. The issue was that they werenot given all the data. We will givethem all the data. I need to knowthe state of finances of the NNPC,as well as the statement of fundsup till this date.

I understand NNPC was lastaudited in 2010. It will be auditedand brought to current in 2015. Thatis something I hope to achievebefore December. Once we knowthat, whether the accounts are good,whether the performance is goodor bad, is secondary. But at leastyou know what it is you want towork on. Again, like I said, we owethat to the country. We are doing itand the President is supportive ofthat.

Operational transparency: Thethird aspect of this transparency isthat the contract models that we runmust be transparent. Nigerianshave an entitlement to participatein government contracts. It is alsonot a privilege. It is their right.Everybody must have the sameopportunities to be able toparticipate in those. In doing this,you must choose the best contractual

model that offers the best valuechain yield for this country.

The first bullish effort that we didwas to cancel all the former contractswe felt had challenges or issues.That is not to say that the contractingparties were bad. Again, I pay lessemphasis on individuals andinstitutions. I pay more attentionon processes and outcomes. It isnot for me to say a company is bador good. I am not a judge. But if acontract does not give a goodfinancial yield for the country andfor the company, I cancel it. It is notto say that individual who isoperating that contract is bad. Whatit simply calls for is you open it upand ask others to give you analternative. If an individual comesup and he is the best alternative,so be it.

If you look at the contracts wehave cancelled, we have saved anaverage of $150 million a month,just that some of those contractswere cancelled and were beinggiven new models, even for theinterim period. In December,obviously we are going to have thecrude bids. We are going to havethe coastal bids. We are going tohave the OPA bids.

Sequenceof results

They will be thrown out to theentire world. Hopefully, we end upwith a sequence of results that willonly save money, improveefficiency and be seen astransparent.

The thing with transparency isthat sometimes you are, but theperception is that you are not. So,you have got to deal with theperception issues. Once you areopen about it, people will see thatyou are open about it. I am veryfocused on transparency issues,because if NNPC must get back itscredibility, it must be on the altar oftransparency.

Performance model: Iintroduced three Ps, which arepeople, process and performance.The people aspect is very key forme. Individuals, who have aidedand abetted the wrong that havesunk the Corporation, willobviously be let out. There is nospace in any business in the worldto keep doing wrong and keepprogressing. The only way you cando that is that performancemodelling and evaluation must be

Efficiency, transparency,profitability are watchword for new NNPC

very strong. Right now, it is fairlypoor in the system. I will like to seeHR do a better job of evaluatingpeople’s performance every year.Salary increases and promotions willbe based on those.

One of the things that I havestarted doing is weekly report cards.It is going to happen every weekfrom now to December. We aredealing with all manners of issues -from performance to behaviouralnorms to where we are headed. Thewhole idea is to carry everybodyalong. It is one thing to do arestructuring exercise, but if you doit in such a way that you lose yourstaff, you are not going to be a oneman soldier.

Refinery operations: Nothingpleases me more like when I go tothe refineries and see the amountof enthusiasm that they show withwhat they are doing. At the end ofthe day, you need to clean, but youalso need to take along those whoare there, to make them feel theyare part and parcel of the processand that they can provide solutions.

Maintenanceof refineries

There are lots of skilled people inNNPC. Some of the best engineersin Nigeria are found in NNPC. Thefact they have continued to maintainrefineries that are about 30 years old,some with no spare parts, no turnaround maintenance for over 15years, is share miracle. It isunbelievable. Every internationalteam you call tells to scrap them,but our people continue to maintainthe refineries. So, we must respecttheir intelligence. What we need todo to have is some level ofindependence, be able to shut downand do our TAM when they are due,be able to fund the refineries, andbe able to create a contractual modelthat makes the business profitable.Right now we are losing quite a lot.

As at last Monday, my recordsshowed that we are losing about N10billion annually for each of thoserefineries. That is why we need tomove from the areas of emotion tothe areas of the business. Sometimespeople say that I am a lot of business,instead of social services. No, not asa Corporation. The day NNPC iscalled NNPC Social Services, thenI would not have to have thisconversation. But if it is called aCorporation, it means that thecountry expects them to make ayield, make profit and manage thecompany profitably so that peoplecan benefit. The word corporationwas not put there by accident by thefounding fathers of this country. So,we have to go back to that model.Over time we have confused oursocial responsibilities and societalresponsibilities with a moreimportant relationship that shouldhelp us generate money for thiscountry. So, I am very focused onthe Corporation affair. I am veryfocused on the business aspect. Indoing that, I am sure that we aregoing to meet even better some ofthe social aspects that are expectedof us.

To be continued


GOING above the norm, the Group ManagingDirector, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation,

NNPC, Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, had an interactiveno-holds-barred session with journalists in Lagos, tointimate them with what his plans are for the Corporationin terms of making it more efficient, more transparent andmore profitable.

Below are Kachikwu’s plans for moving NNPC from ahighly lax system to a world class competent Corporation,and how he plans to get there despite the enormousexternal and internal challenges. Excerpts:

town hall meeting was thatManagers and GeneralManagers and officers havelost the authority to askanybody to do what is wrong.And even if I ask you to dowhat is wrong, you mustrefuse it. If I insist, report tothe President. Really, there isno meeting line between rightand wrong. Something iseither right or wrong. If youfollow that precept, you willdo the right thing all the time.If we keep to the concept ofwhat is right and what makes

I understandNNPC was lastaudited in 2010. Itwill be audited andbrought to currentin 2015

VANGUARD, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2015—25

CMYK

WHAT inspire yourtrending song

“Corner”?It’s just a flirting song which

basically talks about how to wooa girl. The song is just for fun.And you won’t believe thatwithin the period the song wasreleased, it has already overtwenty thousand views online.

Are you working on anyproject at the moment?

I’m concentrating onpromoting the video of mylatest single “Corner ”including two other songs,“Sugar Baby” and “Tomorrow”.

Your song “ Katapot” soundsmore like an aggressive song,what actually inspired it?

“Katapot” has no element ofbeef or violent at all. Whatinspires each and every of mysong is simply to reach out todifferent people at a particulartime.

Traces ofaggressiveness

And if you listen to the song,‘Katapot”, you would observethat you can relate it toanything like love, life andeverything around you. So,there is no trace ofaggressiveness in the song. Iam a songwriter and I can justwrite anything.

How did you get signed toMavin record label?

It all started after Don Jazzyannounced on the internet thatartistes should send in theirdemos. My brother stumbledon the announcement as hequickly sent my demos to him.Luckily, I was selected out of

Reekado Banks explodes!

Lil Kesh, Kiss Daniel andKorede Bello areno threats to me

•Reekadobanks

Mavin Records artiste, and Dorobucci lead singer, Reekado Banks is one of the promisingartistes that is bound to rule the Nigerian music scene in future. In this interview with WG,Reekado opens up on what transpired between him and UNILAG students, whichresulted in the smashing of his windscreen recently. He also put the record straight,declaring that he does not see the likes of Lil Kesh, Kiss Daniel and Godwincrooner, Korede Bello as potential threats to his blossoming career in music.According to him, while he respects their individual talent, they do not inany way pose a serious threat to his becoming a superstar.

about five thousand people that sent intheirs.

What was it like working with Don Jazzy?It has been memorable because Mavin

records is like one big family. From thefirst day, I was introduced to the family, Ifelt at home because everybody was soeager to welcome me. May be, becausethey ’ve heard about me as ahardworking artiste before I joinedthe label.

Do you see Lil Kesh, Kiss Danieland Korede Bello as threats in theindustry?

Everybody is different. I don’t seeany of them as a threat. I’m happywith the fact that some emergingartistes are making it big in theindustry. For someone like Lil Kesh,I’ve known him long before I joinedMavin records.

So, it is really a thing of joy for himto be making waves in the industryjust as I am. I don’t want to underrateany artiste or make them feel bad that theyare not doing well in their chosen career.I am just happy for everybody and am notin any competition with anybody. I justwant to do good music for myself andfor the people.

You seem to be enjoying somepreferential treatment from DonJazzy despite the fact that thelabel signed on other newartistes. What’s the secret?

Basically, talking about thesongs “Dorobucci”, “Adaobi”and “ Chop Am”, I was luckyto be the lead singer. At themoment Mavin records has somany recorded songs that areyet to be released.

Also, Mavin has so manysongs that featured all theartistes signed under the label.However, the songs that I wasthe lead vocalist are the onesthat are making waves at themoment. The next songs, wewill be dropping may haveDiJa as the lead singer or

Korede. And, let me tell youhow we work in Mavin records.When an artiste comes up with

a beat, the Mavin boss will askthe person to go and record thebeat.

Thereafter, he will berequired to do a freestyling ofthe beat. Luckily for me, afterfreestyling everybodyapplauded the beat and Iended up adopting it. So, thereis nothing like preferentialtreatment at all.

You bagged the Rookie of theYear award at 2014 Headies.Do you think you deserve itdespite the fact that you werestill new in the industry then?

I wouldn’t say anybody everdeserves any award. It’s justGod that gives awards. I feelblessed receiving the award.We have so many talentedartistes out there with goodsongs and videos to show fortheir creativity. Despite that, Istill beat them to clinch theprize. It shows that myhardwork is beginning to payoff and that Reekado Banks hasbeen granted that membershipcard into the industry.

By Iyabo Aina

There is no trace ofaggressiveness inthe song. I am asongwriter and Ican just writeanything


WINNER of the MTNProject Fame West

Africa Season 8, Jeffrey Ufedowhich wrapped up lastSaturday,has described hisvictory as a surprise, saying “Iwas not expecting to win theshow.”

Jeff emerged winner afterbeating other five finalists. Hesmiled home with the star prizeof N5 million, a brand new SUVcar and a recording contractworth millions of Naira.

In a chat with WG, the 18-yearold sound engineeringgraduate from Cape Town, said,he was surprised when thejudges announced him as thewinner of the competition.

Winner of thecompetition

”I was surprised when theyannounced my name as thewinner. I just believed that I wasfavoured.I can’t explain how Ifelt because I was so tensed,”he echoed.

According to Jeff,while thecompetition lasted, all thecontestants were tipping Tundeas the potential winner of the

I’m favoured to winProject Fameseason 8 — Jeff

•JeffreyUfedo Akor

show. But this was never to be.“The truth is that all the finalistswere looking up to Tunde. Hewas amazingly good.”

Speaking further, the buddingsinger, who started singing atthe age of 5, said, he wouldsoon hit the studio to startrecording some of his songs. Heplays afro pop with a blend ofRnB. “It’s a different kind ofmusic, he said adding, “ I willbe doing great music that willactually convey great messageto the people.”

For the six contestants thatmade it to the finals (Ada,Arewa, Anderson, Deinde, Jeff,and Pearl), things would neverbe the same again as they haveindeed gone through abeneficial and life-altering eightweeks in the Academy. Ada

Tosanwumi who was thirdrunner-up went home with acash prize of two million nairawhile second runner-up,Anderson Amoswalked awaywith N2 million and a brandnew saloon car. Paul Awa-Agwu( First runner-up) earnedN3 million and a brand newsaloon car. The sixth and fifthpositions were rewarded withN500,000 and N1 million

respectively.The grand finale which held

last weekend, in Lagos,was fullof suspense, intrigues andentertainment. The nightturned out to be an excitingjourney with greatentertainment lined up in formof collabos. The six finalistshad been paired up with someA-list artistes to produceamazing remixed versions oftheir songs, and so each teamstepped on stage and broughtnothing but pure joy as theysang, danced and glowed. Firstup were Jeff and energeticYemi Alade doing‘K.I.S.S.I.N.G’ remix. Followed

by Pearl and Chidinma whogracefully performed ‘Kedike’remix. Deinde and Iyanya goteveryone dancing with ‘MrOreo’ remix. Anderson andPraiz with their vocal dexteritiesdelivered ‘Rich and Famous’remix. While Arewa and 9icepaired up for the remix of theevergreen ‘Gongo Aso’.

Ada and Sound Sultan closedthis round of entertainment withtheir creative rendition of‘MotherLand’ remix.

Amazingly, these collaborationsare now available as caller ringback tunes.

DETERMINED top r o m o t e

the rights ofchildren in Nigeria asstipulated in the 2003 ChildRights Act, a group known asLove to the World Initiativehas concluded plans to launcha movie, “Searching”toenlighten the populace.

The movie, featuring veteranNollywood actors and On AirPersonalities is to expose theincessant cases of violenceagainst the girl child andtheir consequences on thesociety.

“Searching”, is a classicmovie that chronicles a storyof a young girl, who wasmarried off by her father at the

Group set to promote childrights through movie

By Caleb Ayansina age of 14. She was batteredby her husband, who is adrunk, forcing her to runaway from her matrimonialhome (Kaduna) to the city(Abuja), where she ended upin the hands of anotherpolitician who deceived her.She later found herselfroaming the streets of Abuja.

Speaking at a press parley,in Abuja, Chief ExecutiveOfficer of the group, MrsJosephine

Anumbor advocated theenactment of laws that willspell out punishment foradults who take advantage ofchildren or seek to engativelyinfluence the.

She also stressed the needfor intensive education on thegravity of the violence againstthe Nigerian child.

HE may not be as popular as AY orBasket-mouth, but Samuel Peter a.k.a, Mr

P London is an instant stand-up comedian tobehold anyday. He has all it takes to hold his ownin the Nigerian comedy industry.

The Abia State-born comedian, whose comedyalbum is billed to drop soon, he started has openedup on how the journey inherited his craft from latefather. “ I started cracking jokes while I was still inmy motehr’s womb. I inherited the trait from mylate father,”he said.

Continuing, he said, “My mother toldme that while I was still in her womb,each time I kicked her, instead of herto be angry or feel pain, she wouldstart laughing. And that was whenshe knew she was going to give birthto a cooperate fool. Secondly,imagine my father gettingmarried at the age of 11 and hegot married to 11 wives. Allthese things to me are veryfunny and they contributed alot to what I am doing for aliving today.”

“When I came to Lagos in2005, I was deceived to workin a restaurant with thepromise that I would betrained in school. But Iworked there for five years,washing plates but all to noavail. All the promise theymade to me were notfulfilled,”he said.

Benin-based make up artist, who started her career aboutfive years ago, said winning the award will not only launchher into the hall of fame, but more importantly, it willopen new doors for her.

According to her, with seven nomination for this year’sGIAMA, “Ïnvasion 1897” will surely be the film to watchat the awards night as she expressed optimism that shewill lift the trophy.

To be hosted by comedian and actor AY Makun,GIAMA celebrates the very best of African entertainmentand rich culture through filmography. The event,according to the organizers will feature some exclusiveperformances by the industry’s highly-acclaimedentertainers and comedians.

RISING Make Up artist, UmudiOsahenrumwen Freda who was nominated

for an award in the forthcoming Golden IconsAcademy Movie Awards,GIAMA, in Houston,Texas, has declared that she’s expecting nothingless than a win at awards night. The awardsceremony is billed to hold on the 17th of October.

Umudi was nominated as one of the Best MakeUp Artists/Costumiers for her craft in the epic film,“Invasion 1897”, produced by Lancelot Imasuen.

She will be battling for the award with the likesof Chiemela Nwagboso/Matthew Elechenu,

(Jafa), Adefunke Olowu(Ojuju), InemesitUdonquak(Stalker) among others.

Overwhelmed by her nomination, the

•Mr P London

I inheritedcomedy frommy father— Mr P London

By Anozie Egole

I can’texplain howI feltbecause Iwas tensed

‘I’m expecting nothing less than awin at GIAMA'

CMYK


HIP Hop maestro,Oladapo Daniel

Oyebanjo, popularly known asD’Banj last week, put allactivities at the popular devicemarket, Computer villageIkeja, to a halt when hestormed the area to signAmbassadorship deal with Slotsystems.

Not even the rain whichstarted prior to the unveilingof the man known as the KokoMaster by his teeming fans,was enough to deter themultitude of music lovers whowanted to catch the glimpse oftheir idol.

In his typical fashion, theshow master, on arrivalimmediately climbed the rooftop of his car, displaying his ‘nolong thing’ symbol to thethunderous applause of thecrowd.

He was later to be whiskedaway by a combination of plainclothed security men andmobile policemen to be able tomove down to where hepenned the deal.

Managing Director of SlotMr. Nnamdi Ezeigbo admittedthat it was a great pleasure andprivilege to have D’Banj pendown a brand Ambassador dealwith his company.

According to him: “This eventis the celebration of partnershipof two great brands, SLOT and

D’Banj disrupts activities atComputer Village, becomesSLOT Brand Ambassador

By Prince Osuagwu

NIGERIA was 55yesterday. There was widecelebration by Nigerians allaround the world. Thecelebrations were not also lost onsocial media, particularly thetwitter. Popular Twitter Hashtagssuch #October1st and#NigerianIndependence wereused by Nigerians tocommemorate the day on socialmedia, sharing facts and fondlyremembering key moments inhistory. Part of Nigerians whocelebrated and have also playedkey part in shaping the face ofNigeria, included:

*@MBuhari is the current and7th president of Nigeria. He hasbeen a prominent politician for along time now and has remaineda popular face within politics forseveral generations.

*@Kunleafolayan is a Nigerianactor and film director who

Independence Day: Shapersof today’s Nigeria on Twitter

D’banj. SLOT, is a householdname for top quality phonesand accessories. From havingjust one outlet in 1998 when westarted, we now have 50 topnotch outlets scattered aroundthe country, and as part of ourvision to continue to beNigeria’s number one phoneseller, we have decided topartner with a true Nigerianand African music icon, Dbanj,to be our brand Ambassador”.

D’banj is a singer-songwriter,harmonica player, andbusinessman. He has wonseveral music awards,including the awards for BestAfrican Act at the MTV EuropeMusic Awards 2007, Artist of theYear at the MTV Africa Music

Awards 2009,Best InternationalAct: Africa at the 2011 BETAwards, Best-selling AfricanArtist at the 2014 World MusicAwards, and Evolution awardat the 2015 MTV Africa Musicawards among others.

D’banj is the founder of KokoFoundation for Youth and PeaceDevelopment. He is alsoNigeria’s first United NationsYouth Ambassador for Peace.Dbanj is a ONE campaignambassador; he released thesong “Cocoa Na Chocolate” insupport of agricultureinvestments.

‘The song featured 18 otherAfrican artistes and won BestAfrican Collaboration at the AllAfrica Music Awards in 2014.

He was recently applaudedby World Bank Chief, Jim YongKim for using his music powerand high celebrity status tobringing attention to seriousand critical issues in Africa withspecial focuson agricultureand povertyalleviation. Ezeigbo saidthat theseachievementswere also partof thereasons hisc o m p a n yappointedhim brandambassador.

Nigerian singer-songwriter whohas won many music awards inNigeria and around the world,including awards for Best AfricanAct at the @mtvema, Artist of theYear and Evolution Award at the@mtvza Music Awards, BestInternational Act: Africa at the@BETAwards. Through hismusical achievements, he hasgiven Nigerians a platform tospread the music globally.

*@papilokanu is one of themost famous Nigerian footballplayers and during his career heplayed on a winning team of@ChampionsLeague and wonan Olympics Gold medal. AsNigeria is country that lovesfootball, @papilokanu has madeNigerians proud through hissuccess.

*@UzoAduba is a Nigerian-American actress, popularlyknown for her role on the@netflix show @OITNB.

Dreams, Selfies come togetherin Samsung’s new campaign

By Laju Iren

IF there is one set of peoplethat could be referred to as

selfie conscious, it must be thisgeneration of young people.From Europe to Africa, themillenials are clicking aware. Onthe other hand, if there is acountry where dreams can befound, it has to be Nigeria. Fromthe Kano to Aba, Kwara to Lagos,Nigerians have big dreams.

It therefore seemed apt to manyobservers when SamsungElectronics West Africaannounced the launch of a newbrand theme, Dream YourDream, which seeks to nurture

the aspiration of youngNigerians who have greatdreams with the potential toimpact the country positively.

What better way to kick of thenew theme campaign than withselfies? The new Samsung J7device, which is being launchedwith the slogan, “Picture YourDream” is currently driving apalm selfie competition whereone lucky Nigerian will have hisdream actualized.

Individuals are expected toparticipate by writing theirdreams on their palms, taking apalm selfie and uploading selfiesto www.pictureyourdream.ng.“The idea is to select sevenfinalists based on internal judges’discretion who will be rewardeda Samsung Galaxy J7 each. Theseven finalists will then competefor social media votes in thesecond and final round. Thefinalist with the highest numberof votes will emerge as thewinner,” said Samsungs’s WestAfrica Manager, Mr. Brovo Kim.

Kim also stated that thecompany understands that thedesire of people to succeed inthe pursuit of their dreams isenhanced by their ability toaccess the needed resources.

•From right: Nnamdi Ezeigbo,Managing Director of Slot Systems, Hip Hop artiste, Dbanj andDeputy Managing Director, Slot Systems, Mrs. Nkechi Ezeigbo as D’banj becomes Slot brandambassador

Not even the rainwhich started priorto the unveiling ofthe man known asthe Koko Masterby his teemingfans, was enoughto deter themultitude of musiclovers who wantedto catch theglimpse of theiridol

By Prince Osuagwu

directed the well-k n o w nIndependence Dayfilm that came outlast year ‘October1st’. He is reveredmedia personality,who has boosted theimage of Nigeria tothe rest of the world,through The Arts.

*@iamdbanj is a

CMYK

PLANNING andpreparation for a woman's

multi-faceted life should startearly- that way she is able todiscover herself and make betterdecisions so that she doesn'tmake preparations prematurelythat will affect the quality of lifelater on or even the work/ lifebalance because once there is nobalance things can get verydifficult.

Even the era of social mediawhere she can further enhanceher business and anything shedoes, it is a bit difficult whenthere is no direction andplanning, I am discovering newthings all the time even on socialmedia.

Socialmedia

One of the banes of society isthat as Nigerians we don't focuson planning and preparationand there are so many factors;there are things that you can'tcontrol because even when youhave planned and you havestructured and you have your fiveyear plan and you are living okay,something somewhere just sortof goes wrong. Personally for meI have plan A, B,C, D, E,plumber 1, 2, 3, 4, Carpenter 1,2, 3, and 4, because we are in asociety where anything can gowrong and people don't justfocus on quality and planningand all that.

Ibironke Ojesebholo We live

in a society where people arefocused on women having a worklife balance, what about the men?I know this is about women butwe can't have a structure that ismeant for women alone.

I think we are even moreprepared to have work lifebalance because it is easier forus women to change our career,it is easier for us to make plansfor this, shift our time aroundsome other things that needs ourattention, but it is different formen.

When they have a job, they aremore focused on going to workin the morning and getting itdone, come back home andeverything is sweet and happy.Whereas we tend to miss the menwhen we are at home, we womenare more conscious about how wespend time with our family

Kola Alappini I think what youare saying is cultural, and I amgoing to juxtapose two examples.It is cultural because here themen are actually meant to bebreadwinner; most times in thesociety 80%-90% of theexpenditure is borne by thehusband, he is expected to lookfor a flat, he is expected to paythe bills, pay the school fees andprobably have one or two siblingswho are staying and he is alsoexpected to stretch forth his handsto his in-laws.

And take care of his own parentsas well so it is therefore notattractive for a man to change hiscareer because you are planning

with certainty. I schooled abroad,I was a student father in the UKwhen I was doing my mastersand I was fortunate to work for aUK company where projectplanning is part of everyday life.We ran our operations like theArmy in the Niger-Delta and youcompare us to the guys who workhere in NNPC which isstructureless because whetheryou like it or not you are going toget paid by the government butif you work for the British it isproduction driven so once youmess up you are going. You don'thave any god-father anywhere.

What they do is that they makesure they lock down your life, itis a test of nerves, a test of howyou can cope under pressure. Inow had to rely on my partner tosupport me. We decided that itwill be better for her to work onSaturday and Sunday night-

nobody likes to work weekendsand weekends paid more so shewas paid more by working twonights than working four days.So what did I need to do inreturn? Those two nights whenshe was working, I baby sat andthat was great way of bonding forme and my son.

He would be on the car seat, Iwould be doing myassignment.Then in the morning7am she finishes her shift, shewalks 7mintues down the road,she wasn't driving because shedidn't have a license so I had toquickly pick up the baby put himon the car seat, quickly drivedown pick her and bring herhome while I dash off to class;whereas if my mum saw me inthat situation she will say my wifehas turned my head round.

There is some cultural shift weneed to make like men don'twash dishes, who said so? Dothings to make things fit, andwhen it is time for you guys todown tools and rest you can,otherwise it is not going to work.

Mind you it is cheaper whenyou live together abroad becauseeverybody is supposed to chip intheir own, if you are going to geta mortgage, if you are notearning more than 3000 pounds,and you want to rent a house,and you want to get a house thatcost more than a 100,000 poundsnobody is going to give you amortgage, because you aresupposed to deposit 20% of theactual amount so where are yougoing to get it from?

Mortgage is easier if both of you

28 — Vanguard,28 — Vanguard,28 — Vanguard,28 — Vanguard,28 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, FRIDAY, FRIDAY, FRIDAY, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2OCTOBER 2OCTOBER 2OCTOBER 2OCTOBER 2,,,,, 20 20 20 20 201515151515

are working even if what she isbringing is not more than 200 or300 pounds provided it is two ofyou the bank will feel a lot morecomfortable.My office is inVictoria Island but I don't go tothe office if I don't have to and Idon't get out of bed before 11amin the morning if I want, I haveworked so hard.

(Moderator)I am glad you talked about

culture because in actual fact thatis why we are here- we are herebecause of culture in the way wework and do business. This iswhere the e-commerce comes in.

Electronicmeans

I want to ask Mr Bolade if hecan define what e-commerce isfrom a technical point of view.

Bolade Omowole Breaking itdown, it simply means electroniccommerce, it is buying andselling using electronic means,then what you are doing is e-commerce, whichever means youdo that is up to you.

Ehizojie Ojesebholo I want toadd something but not just thedefinition of e-commerce, moreoften I use the term bread andbutter winner. For me it is not justwork life integration, but work lifesynergy.

One of the important plans youmake as young person whointends to raise family is thereasons why we pick our partner.My dad is a surgeon and he ismarried to a nurse so at differentpoints they gave me differentkind of advice based on theirexperiences .

When you are finding a partnerfind one that compliments yourjob. There has to be synergy inyour partner. I mean it is cool thathe is tall, dark and handsome ,or she has all the curves in the

•Cross section of attendees of the women's conference

Women, e-commerce and theattainment of work, life balanceThe first part of this conference hall was pub-lished in Vanguard two days ago.

Electroniccommerce meansbuying and sellingusing electronicmeans, then whatyou are doing is e-commerce,whichever meansyou do that is up toyou

Continues on page 29

world, with the long hair andshort hair if that is your taste, butit is important that you find apartner that will actually be acompliment with what you do. Iam a film maker, I have medicalparents who expected me as thefirst son to take over the medicalprofession but I went the way ofNollywood.

When I was looking for apartner at a time, most of theyoung ladies I was meeting wereactresses but one day I foundsomeone who was very goodwith the costumes, the designs,the props, her makeup style wasvery unique and I wascompletely blown away when wehad a film project to shoot. It wasactually my first project and wewere looking for a village.

This happened when I was in200 level and Nollywood was inits infancy.At that time epic filmswere in vogue, and we couldn'tfind a village to rent or at least touse. My dear art director saidshe was going to build one if wecould find her space. Nobodybelieved she could do it but I andthe executive producer decidedto give her a shot.

Majorsuccess

She built a village out of raffia,complete with the Oba's palacein it, complete with about 30huts. The film was a majorsuccess and while everybodywas clapping for themselves atthe premiere, I just had one thingto say to her, please will youmarry me? I basically work forher at Ceroms media.“

She still does her productiondesign called Fabric Afriquewhere she sells her basic props,costumes, shoes, dress, clothes,handmade, crafted, othersimported but she markets themand sells them online the juiceof it is that most of my films getcostumed by Fabric Afrique, sowhether I am shooting a homevideo for someone in Alaba oran original film for M-net AfricaMagic she compliments me.

We don't stop talking to eachother or close from work so tospeak. And then with the familyit is interesting because we gethome and continue work evenwhen we have an office. We havefour children, our eldest son is13, while the youngest is 6 yearsold, they join in, at this point it isa six man band right now.

So we have a situation whereI am not struggling anymore tobe the breadwinner becauseeven if I did bring bread foreverybody here without thebutter is not interesting, there isbutter winner. The last film wefinished I didn't have to push

myself to promote it, we justpushed it online, it is fast, it iseasier. She does her fabric stuffin Fabric Afrique and get actressand models to advertise it for her,they give me favors because thedirector will give me a chance tofeature in his new film, so it is avery, very interesting thing.

And this goes beyond theoutside looks or how he or shemakes me feel, oh does the hairraise from my neck when I seehim. It is more like in the future,ten 20 years from now when wedo have kids how do we stillhave that blend no matter theissue: whether she has to go seemum, or someone is ill orpregnancy comes like some ofthose times when it does, it iswork, it is life, it is family it is allin one.

Sometime we had an interviewon Wazobia FM and someoneasked her if she enjoys her joband she said why not when sheis sleeping with the boss. It alsogets to that point where thesynergy is just so beautiful.When we are in the kitchen weare working, when we are in thesitting room we are working; weare constantly working, but weare still a family still together.

Yetunde Arebi Let me firstcongratulate Mr. and Mrs.because you are quite luckybeing in the same field anddoing everything together, I willtake it from the point ofprioritizing. We have started thisjourney for quite some time also.A lot of us,women we tend to befrivolous most of the time.

Nurturing ofrelationships

When you have a young family,you are trying to nurture therelationship it is difficult for youto be at everywhere and beengaged in everything at thesame time. We have severalphases in life and as madam saidhere the life of a woman ismultifaceted and if you do notprioritize what you are doing atevery point in life then you aregoing to run into problems.

I would use myself as example,I came to Vanguard as a singlegirl, and right from thebeginning, I knew I will neverwork somewhere far from myhouse. I was living at Ijesha, Igot a job then with Punch, andPunch is way, way out of Lagosand the closest to my house thenwas Vanguard, it was my bestshot.

Then you didn't need to knowanyone to get a job, Nigeria wasnot as corrupt as we now have it,so you could walk in and if youmerit it, they will give it to you.So that was how I came to workwith Vanguard close to my

house. Unfortunately when I got

married, I was living somewhereat Agege- coming to Vanguardbecame a problem; I wanted tonow go back to Punch because itwas the closest to me but I wasnot encouraged to make thejourney.

The main Challenge was takingcare of my son, who came a yearlater, and he practically grew uphere. I think he is the first babythat grew up here, now we havemany children, but he was thefirst child that was raised in theVanguard because I had a househelp for just one month, I havenever had another one since.

And she always refused tocome to work with me, she willtell me leave the baby go to workthat is how women do, and thencome back, and I said it is notpossible. You have to follow mecarry the baby while I am workingand then we go back hometogether.

So there is need for us toprioritize what we are doing. Youcannot have your cake and eat itat the same time, if you want towork, then you need to work. Andthe challenge to work is veryserious because of the economy,because of the familyexpectations. Parents sent you toschool, as a woman too theyexpect that you will rise up to besomething.

And there is need for us to finda balance, balancing the acthowever there is need toprioritize. When we have outings

we leave what we are supposedto be doing, you want to meet upwith friends, and you want tomeet up with the society. Theseare things that take us way fromour primary assignment. We wantto dress up and be seen to beeverywhere, things that do notconcern us at that particular timeis what we engage in, and thenwe want to be like Mrs. so andso. She is into politics, herchildren are grown up, they don'tneed her attention at that time,and you have kids of 10, 5, 8 and you want to be going fornight meetings.

Familyresources

We have lost focus, nobody isthere to monitor the children,nobody is there to harness thefamily resources, which is whyyou find couples who areemployed but are finding itdifficult to make things workbecause you are not working insynergy and they are notprioritizing their needs anddesires to fit into the family life.

(Moderator)Let's examine the value chain

in Nigeria. At what points canwomen key in strategically intoe-commerce?

Bolade Omowole: Things arechanging sporadically that evenwith our mobile phones, I meanwith our mobile phones, you haveaccess to a very powerful tool thateven the President of the Unitedstates of America could not boastof twenty years ago. This issomething that can change one'slife. Although, misinformationcomes in especially in this partof the world where technology isnot yet at its peak. We have fearsabout the use of technology likewhen one wants to create awebsite.

Our elderly seem to not to be''techy". The youngest billionairein the world is a 24year boy MarkZuchaborg who invented Facebook. He sells nothing inparticular; all he has isinformation with the right use oftechnology. Before e-commerceemerged, you must have anoffice, pay staffs which is quiteexpensive.

But you can cut this cost withthe use of e commerce. Mostyoung persons in and outside

Don’t start with a website— Agbolade Omowole

Just be yourself online— Murna Danmadani

Vanguard,Vanguard,Vanguard,Vanguard,Vanguard, FRIDAY, FRIDAY, FRIDAY, FRIDAY, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2OCTOBER 2OCTOBER 2OCTOBER 2OCTOBER 2,,,,, 20 20 20 20 201515151515—29—29—29—29—29

Nigeria have a mobile phoneconnected to the internet at leastsix feet to them. That means inNigeria we are goingsomewhere. E-commerce is allabout buying and selling goodsand services through the use ofdifferent applications and socialmedia like face book. We alsohave mobile commerce which isselling of your products usingmobile applications on yourphone. Before the advent of e-commerce, we do think of gettingan office, employ staffs etc butthat is now old fashioned. Wehave also moved into e-shopping. All we require to dobusiness online is to take sometime out and think of what everyou can do with Google whichseems to have answers to almostall questions. After satisfyingyour curiosity, then get a webdeveloper or agent to do thetechnical work like designingyour mobile app, loading picturesof products on Facebook orbuilding a website. Two thingsare important: one, we have toconsider what we want to makemoney doing.

Startinge-commerce

Making money is importantbecause we have to make moneyand doing what you love is alsoimportant.This is the best time tostart e- commerce before it is overflogged.

Micheal Umogun: One cangive a product to an onlineplatform to sell and they willshare some percentage for sellingthe product. However, there aresome things which ought to havetaken place in Nigeria. The typesof applications that are cominghere are embarrassing.

We are what is referred to inother part of the world as a defaultplayer in global e-commerce. Thismeans Nigerians are peripheralplayers in e-commerce. It is notpossible to operate an effectivee-commerce when we do nothave relevant structure in place.What we have presently are bookbased policy by government thathave not been implemented.

For example, the majorequipment, engines, systemsthat are supposed to back e -

Women, e-commerceand the attainmentof work, life balance

A woman’s life can bemulti- faceted— OlayinkaThomas Ogboja

The majorequipment, engines,systems that aresuppose to back e -commerce in thecountry are not onground

Continues from page 28


commerce in the country are noton ground. We can't even delveinto where they are to supportours.

If we do not embark on aconcerted policy to putappropriate system, structure andequipment in place, then our e-commerce system will definitelybe struggling. It is only in Nigeriathat you make a call and after15minutes, your ear is hurtingbecause the phone is not what weshould be using, or the networkcuts you short.

This is because the appropriatestructure of our base station,signal has not been done.Automatically, we are billed foreverything which is not the samein other countries where they payless. Operators are collaboratingwith each other because there aregovernment policies as to how tooperate and the final users arebenefiting.

In our own system, we do nothave it and when we do not havesuch thing in place, our e-commerce will struggle. That isone of the reasons people outsideNigeria refer to us as an outsider.This is a country that herpopulation is close to 200 millionand these things are not available.

Mobilephones

Recently, I carried out a studywhere we spoke with 2000women within the age of 22 and45 and when the questions wereposted to the users of mobilephones, the study was completedunder three and a half hours inKenya. This same study took ussix days in Nigeria.

We also had another study fora global multi-national companyand for five days we struggled toget women to participate in thestudy because they spent moreon recharge cards, we usephones that are of poor standard,many of them don't use our owntype of phones.

In other parts of the world thereis a deliberate effort either from

formal or informal systems toeducate the people on e-commerce and how they shouldparticipate. We are not turningon enough ''tech'' people.

A multinational organizationthat is into soft drinks wasplanning to set up a lab centrein Africa and they called onpeople from South Africa,Nigeria and I was fortunate tobe in the room. And they askedeach of us to tell them why thecentre should be built in ourcountry. You need to listen to thequality responses otherparticipants were putting on thetable. In the whole of Nigeria wehave a ''tech'' village in Yaba,Lagos because we have sometertiary institutions around there.

ModeratorPlease, what exactly is a tech

village?Michael Umogun A tech

village is an environment or acommunity where you provideoffice space, powerful internetstructure, relevant equipmentthat people will use to get onlineand training facilities. You don'tjust tell people what to do butprovide facilities and support

facilities and trainers. Youngpeople with interest will comeinto the tech village and will becharged a stipend to talk withlike minds about issues,exchange ideas. This is our newproducts and applicationsemerge. When people who are''techy'' come together, theoutcome is referred to as a techspark. A standard tech villagewill have an incubator to turn outyoung professionals who willteach others. Our own techvillage is not sponsored by ourgovernment and for it to becomenational thing, the governmenthas to be involved.

This will help youths in therural areas plug into the system.I believe that if our people cando so well in yahoo yahoo,imagine if they channel that tothe right thing, our e commerceshould be flying. We should notexpect miracle to come up whenwe have not done the needful asa country.

Yinka Thomas-Ogboja: WhenI started to sell things using theFacebook platform, I didn't sellmuch. Then I tried to put awebsite and I went for Googleworkshop and we were given afree web site and I tried that butI was not so knowledgeableabout it, so I didn't sell too on thewebsite.

Onlineplatform

Last year December, the freewebsite was scrapped but I wasnot bothered about it. I laterapproached Jumia to sell myproducts. I didn't like thepercentage they weredemanding, so I backed out. Itwas a drawback for me because Ihad many items to sell. I laterwent to another on line platform,Konga whose percentage wasless than that of Jumia.

This helped my business somuch and I was encouraged toput up my website again. This isbecause I am planning to leaveKonga. I made sure my websitewas busy with new uploads,

pictures of my products , newdesigns.

This has helped my businessand it will still help more becauseit has helped me have more timefor my family and other things.When I advertise things I put onKonga, I am indirectlyadvertising Konga and not mybusiness. I almost gave up but itreally helped a lot.

Morin Obaweya Myphilosophy in business is to usewhat you have to get what youwant. The e- commerce platformsseem to be rewarding. As muchas I will like to be ''techy'' there isjust no point. I believe it is betterfor someone who is a specialistto handle that so I can focus onthe business.

Personalpage

The truth is if you have to usee-commerce, you have to bemarketable, in terms of yourinformation you are puttingoutside. I have my personal pageon Facebook and a businesspage. On your business page,nobody wants to add you theyjust like you because you have aproduct.

The product I do is gelebusiness which started Marchthis year. I do pleated gele and Iam very conversant with thesocial media because I choose to.The buck stops on my desk, thestrategies are decided. Am I theone that does the media? No. Iam clear as to what I want, so itis easy for me to give directionas to what I want.

Like you said, google is mybest friend, the good the bad theugly, why I said so is becausebefore you come to me forsomething you must have an ideaof solution because I don’t knoweverything but while you go onto google. You will see things thatwill can give you an idea of whatyou are looking for and you takeit up from there.

As business owners andwomen, you must know how tosource for information because it

We have to make the time count— Ibironke Ojesebholo

People do business with those they cantrust — Adaora Ezeji

30 — Vanguard,30 — Vanguard,30 — Vanguard,30 — Vanguard,30 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, FRIDAY, FRIDAY, FRIDAY, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2OCTOBER 2OCTOBER 2OCTOBER 2OCTOBER 2,,,,, 20 20 20 20 201515151515

is power. I started my gelebusiness in March and I said let'sgo on Facebook. It was only mynumber that was there and wewere scheduled to go for LindaIkeji but I told the PR person tohalt posting on Linda Ikejibecause the one I posted on FB,I could not manage the amountof calls I was getting on myphone.

FB is a free platform like hesaid but because there are somany free contents online,sometimes you have to promotesome post, which is whysometimes you see some postbecause a lot people have hugebudget for online promotionbecause everything is there.

It gives women opportunity tostreamline what you want andgives you estimated number ofpeople you can reach, so thatonce you have your cardinformation they already haveyour details and they can easilycall you and FB is good becauseyour friends are there, they canhelp you share.

Sometimes it could provoke apurchase, so the same way youhave an offline strategy for yourbusiness, same way online musthave its own strategy too andwhen we promoted on LindaIkeji we got a lot of responses andeven till now, some people willstill call and say I got yournumber from Linda Ikeji.

E-commercewebsite

The truth is that we did that inabout two months ago but theycall you and say we got it throughIkeji, they got it and pen it downto call later.

These things as you can seehave a ripple effect. We furtherrealise that the use of e-commerce is as successful as thecontent you put online. When wedid gele I realized that it is betterto tie the gele than fold it forpeople to see.

E-commerce has actuallyhelped my business and whenMichael said we are not evenanywhere yet, I was so excitedbecause of the potentials of whatI can achieve in e-commerce. 80%percent of the sales we make don'tcome to our office and before wegot our e-commerce website, Iused to wonder how somebodycould have such faith and justpay into my account withoutknowing whom I am, all they dois pay and call you to say theyhave paid into your account forso and so gele.

As a result of this, we startedcoding our gele and when theycall us we just check on thewebsite and quickly know whichone is paid for as a result of thecoding. So this has made it easyfor us to do business. In whateveryou want to do you must leverageon technology but technologyalone cannot achieve anything-it depends on how you use it. Youhave to spend money if you wantto make money.

It’s cultural - Kola Alapini

Women, e-commerce and the attainment of work, life balance



In whatever youwant to do you mustleverage ontechnology buttechnology alonecannot achieveanything- it dependson how you use it

Morin Obaweya I am heretoday because of social media, Ihad never met Mrs. Taire before-she saw what we did onFacebook. We opened a page butI have my personal page, whereI have friends of friends. We have100 friends in common, 50 friendsin common and I told myself thatthis two would be a good start forme. I only received a call and wetalked and I am here today. Ihave had interviews on NTAbecause probably from Facebookthey saw our products and theysent a message to me that theywould like to feature me on airand I responded yes, so it isworking for me both on mypersonal account and thebusiness page.

(Moderator)It is true we are not where we

are supposed to be in terms ofonline business and it would bedifficult to do because there areno clear systems. At what levelcan women key in on e-commerce?

Michael Umogun. I think Ihave mentioned my answer inpassing but I want to reallyemphasise it because you wantme to look at it from a researchersangle and from a legaldimension.

Legaldimension

For people in our profession, wethink there is a need for masseducation. We want to get womenengaged in e-commerce andallow that to create what has beendescribed as educationcommitment “work lifeintegration”.

To enable that integrationhappen properly we really needto use all possible platforms toexplain to people how thesethings work. I am convinced thatthe whole concept of e-commerceis so elitist and millions of ourpeople are outside the system. Ihave mentioned that they areputting structures in place, butwe cannot really move far exceptwe have that structure in place.

The other side of it is aboutcreating the awareness, if I askhow many of our women arethere? It is not about educatedpeople, it shouldn't be so. Forinstance, in the UK, you haveworking mummies from home,women can do so much fromhome in terms of work and stillmaintains their regular job.

In Sweden it has become invogue, 35 percent of mummieswork from home and they are stillearning their pay. It is not justabout social media, but how wecan integrate technology to createbetter life for women and businessis just a small part of it. Structures,Education, Awareness,Orientation, all of these we havenot done.

We need to do these, not all ofthem but some of them and wecan then move from there. A littlebit of organization will take usfar.

(Moderator)We are really focused on

product here forgetting thatservices are also inclusive, howdo you think technology comein to make work life balancepossible for a young professionallike you?

Adaora Ezeji. Technology hasactually helped a lot, reachingout to people, letting them knowwhat services are all about andproducts you are able to provide,number of people you are ableto reach by using the socialmedia technology in place isreally limitless. In terms of mywork, there are some times whenI cannot be in the office, if Icannot be physically present inthe office I need to get on Skype.

We do a lot of meetings thatway and my boss most of thetime is not in Nigeria but hisoffice has to run and we havehad a lot of meetings virtuallywith even our partners who areoutside Nigeria. Technology hasreally helped us, you wouldn’timagine what it would havebeen if we don't have all thesethings in place.

There are times when youhave to call these people andthey will not hear what you aresaying, virtually the timedifference too- these are all thethings that technology hashelped to bridge. So in terms ofmy work, I can say it has helpeda lot especially for us who sellservices.

You cannot physically seethese things, you are going tomeet a client and you are tellinghim I have an innovative solutionwhich can help you and theperson is saying I am not seeing

anything and you expect me topay so much, it is a different ballgame because you cannot seewhat you are paying for.

My boss always says, peopledo business with people they cantrust. Imagine you just walk intoa client's office and start tellinghim him/her, I have tools that canmake you work faster at less cost,how do you prove that to thatperson when he has not provedyour tools and you are not givinganybody a trial FoC (Free ofCharge) because those thingsare expensive, so it is what isgoing to make him give it to youover your competitors?

Littlemistakes

Why I will give you a business,is because I trust you. The kindof industry I work in, it is highrisk, high capital intensivebusiness, so errors are notacceptable.

People have lost their job justbecause they made just verylittle mistakes that can aggravatea lot of things. People's lives,company's reputation are at stakefor just that little mistake so thereare no excuses.

For us it is even more difficultselling our services becausepeople cannot put in a physicalvalue to what you are showingthem, they just have to trust thatyou with your profile based onwhere you are coming from andwhat you have done, that givesthem some sort of latitude thatcan make them trust you to someextent.

For me technology is now theway forward because most ofthese process are nowautomated, people makemistakes we are human and weare bound to error. Even withcomputers it is garbage ingarbage out. Humans are proneto error but it depends on thestate of the mind at the time.Automating the processes makesthings better, faster, moreefficient.

Ehizojie Ojesebholo.Theinternet is every film producer’s

We are peripheral practicers of global e-commerce — Umogun Michael

Use what you have to get what you want— Morin Obaweya

Vanguard,Vanguard,Vanguard,Vanguard,Vanguard, FRIDAY, FRIDAY, FRIDAY, FRIDAY, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2OCTOBER 2OCTOBER 2OCTOBER 2OCTOBER 2,,,,, 20 20 20 20 201515151515—31—31—31—31—31

nightmare. There is a story aboutone of the greatest film makerson earth Steven Spielberg. Theboys who created Yahoo!, in theirinitiation stage came to him toplease support this business sothat when internet grows hewould be part of it. He said hewould not. Do you know how thefilm maker makes his moneyquoting Spielberg?

It is not from ticket sales. It hasnever been from ticket sales soeven when you hear a film boxoffice makes a certain figure fromsales like AY made about 2 milliondollars from his last sale but yousee that is just peanuts comparedto what the film makers, filmproducers, film distributorsactually made. Film makers; backto Spielberg make their moneyfrom pop corn.

When we make a film and putit in the cinema, the stipends youpay is nothing compared to theamount made on popcorn, pizza,soft drinks and all the otherthings around. The tee-shirts, theface caps, the bags. Most parentshere would have heard of theBen 10 phenomenon. If you area parent and you don’t have aBen 10 toy in your house, youare a bad parent.

Buying ofdecoders

Dr. Spielberg asked the Yahoo!boys what do you think willhappen if I support you andinstead of releasing JurassicWorld in the cinemas, I release iton their mobile tabs.

What happens to all that popcorn? We want you to buy tickets,we want you to buy decoders,and we want you to buy DVDsbecause these are all subsidiariesof our business. How do we sellpieces? To a film producer, it ishow many pieces will sellwhether it is ticket or souvenirsor DVD pieces.

Tracking the views with themoney is still the issue with thefilm-maker and the internet. Thesweet part with the internet andthe film maker is if everybody hasit on their phones, tabs, laptops,

who is going to start buying the150 copy on the street?

It will be the cure for piracy themoment someone tells us howthe film maker can make hismoney from the internet. I havemy own personal experiencethough. I have actually enjoyedthe internet long before peoplewere shouting about PR and selfpromotion.

I was already talking aboutmyself on the internet. Two thingshappened immediately. Mycustomer base went through theroof. A lot of people startedcalling me and giving me jobs.The sweetest so far was thatwithin five minutes of putting onFacebook that I had just finishedfrom an international film schoolin London endless calls came in.

Onlinefilm school

Before I left the country, Ibarely had up to 500 friends. NowI have four pages. A lot of themask for the most wonderfulthings. The first thing I alwaysget is, bros I want to act.

What I started doing for someof them was an online film schooltraining and giving them tips. Ihave asked upcoming actors andactresses to use their phones.They should put themselves onYouTube. I sent them to a friend’ssite to see what happens on it.The last time I checked he hadover 2,500 contacts on it.You area film maker in Nollywood whichmeans you are a third world filmmaker, I advised them on thingsto use to help them save up oncost.

My fan base has grown suchthat if I put a post up, it circulatesfast. Most film makers wouldavoid the internet as we are stillvery afraid of it. Somebody closeto me even called to say that heheard my current film was out.He wanted the link so he coulddown load it. For him, it is anormal thing. The internet issupposed to solve our piracyproblem but now it’s helping.Youtube helps.

Women, e-commerce and theattainment of work, life balance


To be concluded

To a filmproducer, it is howmany pieces willsell whether it isticket or souvenirsor DVD pieces


By Prince Osuagwu

CHAIRMAN oftechnology company,

iSON BPO, Mr. RameshAwtaney, has challengedNigeria to encourage businessoutsourcing because of its greatpotential to develop theNigerian economy.

Speaking in Lagos, he saidoutsourcing had been tested inIndia for decades and found tobe a sure economic enabler.

Awtaney said, “what will notwork in the Nigerian economyis offshoring. Taking a job fromNigeria to execute in India,

which is offshoring, is not agood business plan. Staying inNigeria to operate supportservice business, which isoutsourcing, is of course abusiness model that will workin Nigeria, just the way it isworking well in India.

What we do at iSON is todevelop intellectual propertyand bring it to the job place andwe do not take the job to placeswhere there is alreadydeveloped intellectual property.What we are saying is that wetrain local skills and allow themto do the job, rather than takingthe job out of Nigeria to places

Business outsourcing: Indianinvestor challenges Nigeria

THE Deputy Speakerof Delta State House

of Assembly, Mr. FridayOsanebi, has urgedNigerians to remainpositive, saying thepresent challengesconfronting the countrywill not stop its marchtowards greatness.

In an independence daymessage yesterday, hesaid: “On this historicalevent of the 55thanniversary of ourindependence, let mereiterate that despite theobvious shortcomings andchallenges facing ournation in areas ofeducation, health,infrastructure, roads,security, governanceamong others, thecountry ’s march togreatness cannot becompromised.

“We must not give uphope. We might havemissed opportunities, butwe are also overcomingour challenges. Nigeriansmust join the presentcrusade to reinvent andtransform Nigeria. In thiswise, I urge hope,courage, perseverance,prayers, reconciliation,peaceful co-existence andpatriotic fervour to buildthe Nigeria of our dreamsas no one else would dothat for us.”

Delta depspeaker tasksNigerians

where there are developedskilled manpower.

When we started operationsin Nigeria in 2011, we said toourselves that the combinationof outsourcing and offshoringwill not work for us in Nigeriabecause we do not see it as agood business model. Webelieve in the transformationthat outsourcing brings, henceour business in Nigeria is allabout outsourcing alone, wherewe train local skills to do thejob in Nigeria. What we aredoing is to bring the skills andknowledge of outsourcing from

India and develop it in Nigeria,in order to replicate India’sgrowth in business outsourcingin Nigeria. In doing so, weneed to create an outsourcingindustry for Nigerians. In ourbusiness model, offshoring is

completely out of it because wewant to give Nigeria the best ofservice that will impactpositively on the country’seconomy and on her citizens”he added.

Explaining his company’scontributions in the country’s

economy, Awtaney notedthat in the last four yearsiSON has trainedNigerians to do the jobin addition to openingcall centres in differentcities of the country.”

He also said that thecompany had employedover 4,000 Nigerianswith plans to increase thenumber to over 5,000 bythe end of the year.

Students of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife on protestat Ibadan yesterday.

VOL. 1: NO. 17VOL. 1: NO. 17VOL. 1: NO. 17VOL. 1: NO. 17VOL. 1: NO. 17 FRIDAY, FRIDAY, FRIDAY, FRIDAY, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2OCTOBER 2OCTOBER 2OCTOBER 2OCTOBER 2, 2015, 2015, 2015, 2015, 2015

CMYK

•Page 2 •Page 4

IN THIS EDITIONIN THIS EDITIONIN THIS EDITIONIN THIS EDITIONIN THIS EDITION

THE menace of abduction-for-ransom has hit the

South-West.Recent kidnappings in the zone

has proved that the trend my bebecoming lucrative.

Kidnapping-for-ransom in theregion, prior to now, was alien.

The worrisome trend has beenattributed to factors including:unemployment, poverty andvengeance.

The recent high profileabductions of a former Secretaryto the Government of theFederation, Chief Olu Falae andwife of the Deputy ManagingDirector of The Sun PublishingLimited, Mr. Steve Nwosu aredanger signals that the South-West is fast becoming the nexthub of the kidnapping business.

The kidnappers usually use thelarge forests and waterways in theregion to perpetuate theirnefarious acts. These channels,abundant in states like Oyo,Ogun, Ekiti, Osun and Ondo,are used as escape routes forthese kidnappers.

Besides the use of these forestsand canals, the kidnappersreportedly come from statesoutside the South West.

Despite the act’s gainingmomentum in the region, thesecurity agencies seem to behapless in curbing the menace.

It is taking a toll on economicactivities in the zone as investors

Freshabductionepidemic hitsS-West

•Arase: IGP

BY DAPO AKINREFON

are becoming worried.A recent victim of this worrisome

trend was Mrs Toyin Nwosu, whowas abducted right in thepresence of her family, from theirLagos residence in the Okota areaof Lagos, at about 2:30am onMonday, September 14, 2015.

Mrs Nwosu, a mother of 4 waswhisked away by her abductors,who escaped through the canalat Amuwo Odofin area.

Incidentally, Toyin is married toSteve Nwosu, the DeputyManaging Director/DeputyEditor-in-Chief.

Though the husband wasdumbfounded as to what led tothe kidnapping of his wife, MrsNwosu was, however, laterreleased by her abductors afterthey collected an unspecifiedransom.

Toyin was released in the earlyhours of Sep 17, 2015 by the

kidnappers who had taken heraway for three days.

The kidnappers had droppedher off near Zenith Bank byFestac bridge and sped off withtheir boat.

Narrating her ordeal, Toyin saidthat the seven-man gang whichkidnapped her from her Okota

residence were actually paid andsent to kill her.

She said she knew this becauseone of them informed her.

She said: “When I was in theircaptivity, they told me thatsomebody paid for my life. I don’tknow why yet. They came into myhouse, packed many things;jewellery, wristwatches and gold.From there they took me away.They took me to their camp. Theytook me away in a boat. I was putin the jungle not in a room. Inthe jungle, my face was notcovered. It was in the bush that Ispent three nights until I wasreleased.”

Speaking further, she said: “Ittook them 30 minutes to take mein the speed boat to the jungle.On my way, it was dark I couldonly hear noise. I could not seeanything. Throughout my stay,they asked me to eat but I refused.They were even begging me to

Despite the act’sgainingmomentum inthe region, thesecurity agenciesseem to behapless incurbing themenace

•Falae:

Continues on page 2

•Toyin:

Abductors advise70-yr-old cleric'sfamily on raisingransom

How Fulaniherdsmen kill,rape Ogunresidents, farmers

CMYK


CMYK

ONDO STATE

•Pastor Japhet Obafemi: Abducted

THE spate of kidnapping acrossOndo State is becomingworrisome and is sending jittersdown the spines of both the lowand the high in the state.

While the people of the state aresavouring the joy of the release ofthe former Secretary to theGovernment of the FederationSGF, Chief Olu Falae after 72hours in the captivity of some gunwielding Fulani herds men whoinvaded his farm and abductedhim, another septuagenarianPastor Japhet Obafemi has beenabducted by a similar group ofhoodlums.

This is coming as Falae at athanksgiving service in Akuresaid he went through “ hell” inthe hands of his captors.

Vanguard learnt that theabduction of the clergyman whosuperintends over the ApostolicFaith Church, Ilepa in Ikare Akokoarea of the state has generatedcontroversy as to the securitylapses in the state in recent times.

The abduction of the clergymanaccording to police sources iscoming four days after the formerMinister for Finance was let offthe hook.


eat. They asked me to request forany kind of food I wanted.”

Conclusively, she said hercaptors “did that because theywere expecting money but thankGod something touched theirheart. And now I am alive. I wasthe only person there.”

While still trying to recover fromthe Lagos episode, the South-Westwas jolted by another shocker.

This time, the zone reverberatedwith another kidnap scenario –The abduction of Chief Olu Falaefrom his farm in Ilado village nearAkure, the Ondo State capital,sent shivers down the spines ofthe leaders and followers in the

Fresh abductionepidemic hits S-West

region.Sadly, Falae, a former Minister

of Finance was kidnapped on his77th birthday by Fulaniherdsmen.

On Monday, September 21, atabout 1pm gun-wielding Fulaniherdsmen, invaded theseptuagenarian’s farm located atIlado village in Akure North LocalCouncil of Ondo State.

Less than three hours after theformer Finance Minister waskidnapped, the abductorscontacted the family, demandingfor N100 million ransom.

The former SGF said anunstated amount was paid asransom before he was released.

It was reliably gathered that theclergyman, his son Ope and hisfriend, one Gbenga Adelana,were ambushed by some gun menalong Auga-Akunnu expressroad, close to the Ondo-Kogi stateborder.

Ope who was later released bythe kidnappers after taking awayhis father to an unknowndestination claimed that theirattackers were 13 Fulani herdsmen, the state police commandsaid the assertion was not correct.

Although, the Police confirmedthe abduction of the clergyman,it however said it was yet toascertain that the perpetratorswere herds men.

Speaking with Vanguard, thewife of the victim, Mrs OluObafemi sent a save our soul(SOS) message to securityoperatives and the stategovernment to help secure therelease of her husband.

She said that her husband wasrecently discharged from thehospital after a protracted illnessthat lasted over one year and wasnot physically fit for the traumahis captors would subject him to.

According to her, thekidnappers took her husband butspared her son and his friend so

that they could return to informthe family of what happened.

The wife explained that theirson- Ope was the one driving thefather’s KIA Optima car while hisfriend Gbenga sat beside him inthe front seat.

According to her, they were ontheir way to Ayetoro Gbede, acommunity in Kogi State whenthey were ambushed by the gunmen numbering 13 .

“While I was contemplatingreporting to the Elders of thechurch that the Pastor has notreturned from the engagementwhen it was getting too late, Ireceived a strange phone call thatmy husband was safe and soundwith some people who said thatthey were kidnappers.

“They informed me and thechurch to look for good money ifwe are ready to see the pastoragain. They asked the family andthe church to pay N16millionransom for the release of myhusband.

She said that she was too afraidto tell the said kidnappers thatthe N16million ransom wasunreasonable but that sheinformed the elders in the churchwho were able to contribute N300,000.

According to her, thekidnappers after she pleaded withthem that there was no way theycould raise such an amount andthat the victim has some healthchallenges reduced the ransomto N3million.

The clergy’s wife, who is aprimary school teacher noted thatwhen she again pleaded with theabductors that they could not evenraise N3 million, they shockedher when they asked her to auctionthe Pastor's property and that ofthe church to raise the ransom.

Also speaking with Vanguard,the son of the victim, Ope, who isan eyewitness and the onedriving the car when the theywere attacked said that the attackwas like a movie scene.

Ope insisted that they wereattacked with “guns, daggers,cutlasses and other deadlyweapons along Auga-Akunnu

Road when coming from KogiState by about 13 Fulaniherdsmen.

He said that they weremaltreated by the kidnappers,who spared him and his friend,Gbenga, 27, and dashed into thenearby forest.

Contacted, the police imagemaker in the state Wole Ogodosaid that all hands are on the deckto ensure the release of thekidnapped clergyman.

On the allegation that Fulaniherdsmen were the abductors,Ogodo said; “We are not awareof anything about Fulani, it is notonly Fulani who kidnap. It hasnot been linked to any ethnicity,there is nothing like that.”

Also, the caretaker chairman ofAkoko North East council areawhere the abduction took place,Alhaji Abdulazeez Al-amampointed out that the people of thecouncil are praying for his releasesoonest.

Meantime, Chief Olu Falayehas said that ransom was paidbefore he was released by hiscaptors.

This submission has puncturedthe argument by the InspectorGeneral of Police that no ransomwas paid to the kidnappers.

Falae said this when the formerChief of Defence Staff, GeneralAlani Akinrinade visited him athis residence in Akure.

Although Chief Falae did notmention the specific amount paidbut said his abductors “ used tothreaten to kill him every 30minutes until they received


By Dayo Johnson

Abductors advise 70-yr-

old cleric's family on

raising ransom

They informed meand the Church tolook for good moneyif we are ready to seethe pastor again.They asked the familyand the church to payN16million ransomfor the release of myhusband


OGUN STATE

How Fulani herdsmen kill,rape Ogun residents, farmers

By Daud Olatunji

FARMERS and residentsof agrarian communities in

some local government areas ofOgun State have some gory talesto tell on the menace of Fulanicattle rearers, otherwise knownas Fulani herdsmen.

So many lives have been lostwhile property worth millions ofNaira has been destroyedallegedly by these Fulanimarauders .

It was gathered that, the Fulaniherdsmen move with their cattlefrom one of these agrariancommunities to the otherwreaking havoc.

Further findings have alsoshown that worse still, they donot respect the borders of thestate. They did not only seekpasture they inflict deaths andmayhem.

Records have shown that, notquiet long ago, the border townof Oja-Odan in Yewa North LocalGovernment Area of Ogun Statewas invaded by some Fulaniherdsmen who killed a farmerand injured dozens of others.

The farmer, identified asAgbaose Sewotan, was killedbecause he complained againstthe invasion of his farm.

It was learnt that his elderbrother, Mr. OluwoleSewontan,while narrating theirordeal, said; “this is not the firsttime that our people wereslaughtered like cows on our ownsoil with impunity. My dearbrother was killed simply becausehe protested the invasion of hisfarmland by the herdsmen.”

Also, a mother of three, MrsAyesi Balogun, was allegedlyraped and killed by somesuspected Fulani herdsmen atAsa village, in the Oja Odanarea,Yewa North LocalGovernment Area of Ogun State.

Balogun, was said to have beenkilled after being raped on herfarm.This damning revelationwas contained in a statementmade available to ourcorrespondent by the KetuAdvancement Front.

The statement which wassigned by its Coordinator andSecretary, Kunle Abiose andJoseph Bankole respectively,read thus, “For the umpteenthtime, we, members of KetuAdvancement Front want toregister our strong protest withthe Government of SenatorIbikunle Amosun over its callousabdication of its constitutionalresponsibility of ensuring thesecurity of lives of Ketu Peoplefrom wanton killing bymarauding herdsmen.

“We are sad to announce thatMrs Ayesi Balogun, a poormother of three, was raped andhacked to death on her farm inAsa, Yewa North LocalGovernment Area of Ogun Stateover the weekend by Fulaniherdsmen.

“On sighting her entering thefarm, the killer-herdsmen, whohad taken over her farm, pouncedon her, probably gang raped her,

information that money had beengiven to them as demanded.

“There were six of them withthree or four guns and every halfan hour or so they will say; Babawe are going to kill you, if youdon’t give us money we are goingto kill you."

“On Wednesday one of themcame and said ‘look we are goingto leave here on Thursday morning. Since we cannot leaveyou here alone, if we don’t getwhat we want we are going tokill you.

“And they said they gave meuntil 3pm and if at 3pm they don’tget the money they would executeme. I thank God that at 21 minutes


Abductors advise 70-yr-old cleric'sfamily on raising ransom

to 3pm, one of them came andsaid, ‘the money done complete,’’he said.

Meanwhile, a thanksgivingwas held weekend for the formerSGF at Saint Davids Cathedralof the Anglican Communion inAkure.

Falae said it was important thathe expresses thanks to God forthe favour he experienced.

He, however, called thecreation of state police tostrengthen the security apparatusof the country.

"I have been to hell and backbut for the grace of God I wouldhave been dead by now. So theleast I can do is to thank God forsparing my life and for returning

me safely to my family, mycommunity and to my church.

While thanking those whoshowed concern, Falae said that“ it is at times like this that youknow how you stand beforepeople.

“ It has been an eye opener forme, nationwide not just here,people have reacted to mykidnap. Nigerian leaders havereacted very sharply againstwhat they did to me. This makesme more humble. It tells me thatmany people think that I am ofsome use to them and to thissociety.

“So I have a duty therefore tocontinue to do my best to be ofuse to the community.

His wife Rachel described theperiod her husband was in the

kidnappers den as a very difficultmoment for her.

She said; “ I am happy, I cannoteven express my joy because themore I think about this incidentthe more terrified I become. It wasfour days of tension anduncertainty.

“ And when you do not knowwhat is happening to your lovedone, then you yourself will feelemotional pain while he is feelingboth physical and emotionalpains.

“ So it was a period of sleeplessnights, In fact there were timeswhen I wanted to pray but couldnot. It was just too much for me.But I thank God because as aChristian, one must expectproblems, the Bible tells us that.

“ But Jesus has assured us thatno problem will overcome us andI still rest on that promise that noproblem will ever overcome usonce we put our trust in Him .’’

before hacking her to death.”According to the statement,

Balogun’s case brought to 25, thenumber of innocent and poorpeople, who had been sent totheir early graves in agonisingand dehumanisingcircumstances.

It said, “the latest in the seriesof the ceaseless murder cases hadbeen reported at the Oja-OdanPolice Station for anybody toconfirm.

“The state Police PublicRelations Officer, OlumuyiwaAdejobi, confirmed that thecorpse of Balogun was found inthe bush, adding that it had notbeen established that she waskilled by Fulani herdsmen.

He argued that it might be areprisal killing by the Fulaniherdsmen.”A few days ago, thecorpse of a Fulani man was found

in the bush in the same axis,” hesaid.

Earlier, a septuagenarian, PaMathew Olukogun had narratedhow a newly wedded lady in AsaVillage, in Yewa North Local

Government Area of Ogun State,(name withheld) was allegedlyraped by armed nomadic Fulaniherdsmen.

Speaking on behalf of hundredsof farmers in the area, Olukogunsaid these marauders have beenterrorizing more than 30communities in the Council Area.

He said the immoral acts by thenormal Fulani had instilled fearsinto the communities, saying,fears of being attacked by theherdsmen had gripped thevillagers who were appealing tothe state government to come totheir aid

He said “aside from thisimmoral act by the intruders,many of our sons and daughtershave been gruesomely murderedin a way that appears as if wedon’t have government.

“Our brilliant ones including

our wives have been raped,assaulted and even killed by thestrangers.” He said many of theirwives and ladies that had beenraped were either on their wayto the market or river to fetchwater.

“How would you feel if Imention your wife’s name as oneof those that have been raped bythe cattle rearers?,” the old manreplied in an answer to a questionon the need for him to mentionnames. Olukogun said thosewho had been raped by themarauders knew themselves.

“Many of our wives , ladies anddaughter who have been rapedwere largely taken to the hospitalin Abeokuta, the statecapital.”We are losing people aswell as being prevented fromdoing what we know how to dobest because of the grazing of ourfarms by the herdsmen’s cattle.

‘’With the terrible experience ofthe raping of our daughters andones, including newly weddedwives, living in our communitiesis no longer safe, hence, we havedeserted the communities inhundreds, praying that the stategovernment would urgentlycome to our aid.

‘’The worst of the action of themarauders was the raping ofmany newly wedded wives inour communities and we arebitter about this.”

“In a matter of days, they enterthe country through ourcommunities and destroy ourfarmlands with the indiscriminategrazing of their cattle. We arehelpless and that’s why we areappealing to the stategovernment to urgentlycheckmate them.”

Reacting to the incident, theState Police Public RelationsOfficer, Mr. Muyiwa Adejobisaid that the Ketu people wereonly crying wolf where noneexisted.

While warning the Ketu peoplenot to drag the Police into thematter, he stressed that ‘’thePolice could only ensure thatthere was no breakdown of law

•A Fulani herdsman with his cows

Continues on page 4

The worst of theaction of themarauders wasthe raping ofmany newlywedded wives inour communitiesand we are bitterabout this


LAGOS STATE

•Fulani herdsmen

By Olasunkanmi Akoni

THERE have been rising cases ofkillings and wanton destruction of

properties by Fulani herdsmen in someparts of the South West region in recenttimes.

Lagos State is also located in the south-western part of Nigeria on the narrowcoastal flood plain of Bight of Benin.

The state is bound in the north and eastby Ogun State of Nigeria, in the west bythe Republic of Benin, and in the southby the Atlantic Ocean. It has fiveadministrative divisions of Ikeja, Badagry,Ikorodu, Lagos Island and Epe.

There was a period when the cases ofFulani herdsmen attacks were on the rise,particularly at the border line betweenOgun and Lagos States, at Berger, alongLagos-Ogun Expressway.

Consequently, as part of measures tocurtail the development, with the aim ofbringing the culprits to book, governmentof Ogun and Lagos State, under theincumbent Governor Ibikunle Amosunand immediate past Governor BabatundeFashola, respectively, created a joint policeteam to arrest the situation.

The then Lagos Police Commissioner,Umar Manko, announced that a newoperational order had been released forthe Lagos and Ogun Police Commandsto constitute joint border patrol teams.

According to Manko, “Already, we havean operational order which we are goingto implement very soon, criminals aroundthe border areas of these two states haveno choice than to leave.”

He said that the patrol teams would beprovided with working tools and aconducive atmosphere to enhance theiroperations.

“We don’t expect anything less thanpositive results from the patrol teams,” headded.

Motorists on the Lagos/Ibadanexpressway have been exposed to robberyand Fulani herdsmen attacks, at specificareas such as; Sapade, Ogere and the 7-km bridge, near Lagos

How Lagos tamed Fulani herdsmen

Some of the incidents that led to thesecurity measures are as follows:

A commercial motorcyclist, popularlycalled okada rider was stabbed in thestomach by two hoodlums suspected tobe Fulani herdsmen on the long bridgeend of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

It was learnt that the victim, Mr. OwolabiHabib, had picked his assailants at Berger,Lagos, who posed as passengers.

The hoodlums had told him they weregoing to NewKara, Ogun State,located around thelong bridge.

According to asource withinHabib’s family: “Assoon as they gotnear theirdestination andOwolabi(Habib)slowed down, oneof the men pulledout a long knifeand stabbed him inthe stomach.

“Habib told usthat he abandonedhis okada and fledto save himself.But the stab was sodeep that hisintestine cameout.”

Habib was later rushed to the LagosState University Teaching Hospital.

A doctor at the centre, who preferredanonymity said: “The wound he sustainedneeded intensive care. That is why he wasmoved to LASUTH.”

Also on July 7, 2012, a retired Brigadier-General, (retd), Sylvester Iruh, was killedon the bridge by suspected Fulaniherdsmen as he was changing the tyre ofhis car.

Iruh left Ilorin, Kwara State to return tohis family in Akute, Ogun, Lagos border,only to meet his death on the long bridge.

He was attacked by suspected herdsmenon the Long Bridge on Lagos-Ibadan

Expressway.Iruh’s wife, Christiana, explained,

“When I got to the Lagos State EmergencyHospital where he was rushed to, I wastold he was dead.

“I asked the other occupants of thevehicle – two men and a woman – whathappened to my husband and they saidthe tyre of the Hilux vehicle he was drivinghad a problem. So, he had to stop on thebridge to change it.

“They said othermotorists going onthe road keptwarning them thatthe place wasdangerous. So, hedecided to leave theplace and changethe tyre when theygot to a safe spot.”

But before Iruhcould leave theplace, two men cameout from under thebridge andimmediately shothim with an arrow.

Christiana said, “Iwas told theyi m m e d i a t e l ypounced on himafter that andstabbed him all over

his body and face. One of the daggersstuck to his back.

“Iru was confirmed dead at LASUTH.The dagger was also removed at thehospital.. The men who attacked him weresaid to be carrying sticks like Fulaninomads with bows and arrows in theirbags.”

Iruh was the Commander, Army Records,Lokoja, Kogi State and was at a timeappointed Chief Security Officer in thestate during Alhaji Idris Ibrahim’sadministration.

He retired in 2009 and had his pull-outceremony on January 23, 2009.

The state Police Public Relations Officer,then, Mr. Muyiwa Adejobi, said, “We are

always patrolling the long bridge becausethe area is notorious for robberies andattacks.

“Last night, we even arrested fivesuspected robbers there. When the policegot wind of the attack, we did what wewere supposed to do and we will continueto pay attention to the area.

“But we have to be careful with sayingthey are herdsmen until we catch theculprits and are able to ascertain theiridentity.”

The numerous incidents by suspectedherdsmen on the long bridge and otherareas elicited pragmatic measures by thepolice of both states to restore sanity inthe states, especially along Lagos-IbadanExpressway.

The security measures, it was gatheredis being supported by efforts of themembers of the Oodua Peoples Congress,OPC, and vigilante group by monitoringthe area with the aim of arresting anysuspected assailant as well as defendthemselves and their land from themarauders.

The measure which has been sustained,has practically reduced the spate of attacksin the border areas and within the Lagosmetropolis.

The present administration of Governor,Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode through the stateCommissioner of Police, Mr. FataiOwoseni had warned criminals to steerclear of the state or be ruthlessly dealt with.

The Police Commissioner while speakingwith newsmen enumerated strategiesbeing put in place to prevent armedgroups from infiltrating the state.

He said, “It is important that we do notallow any form of armed groups to comeinto the state before reacting. This is whywe have put in place proactive measuressuch as constant raids on dark spots andcriminal hide outs as well as random checksat entry points into the state.”

He however, urged all law abidingcitizens to continue to go about theirlegitimate business without fear ofmolestation.

How Fulani herdsmenkill, rape Ogunresidents, farmers

Continues on page 7

and order rather than stopping the Fulaniherdsmen from coming into the area.

Meanwhile, a coalition of socio-culturalgroups from the area, including KetuAdvancement Front, Ketu South People’sAssembly and Ketu Alliance have allegedthat about 21 innocent residents of the areahave allegedly been killed by the Fulaniherdsmen since 2000.

The representative of the socio-culturalgroups, Mr. Lasisi Adewole, said threeresidents of the area, including PhillipAkanan from Owode-Ketu, AmosuOlofinjin and Akinola Tunde from Agbon-Ojodu have been killed this year alone bythe Fulani herdsmen.

Adewole also lamented that all efforts toensure that the police, the State SecurityService and the state government put inplace adequate security measures toprotect the people, particularly during dryseason when the Fulani herdsmen usuallyencroached and destroyed their farms bythe indiscriminate grazing of their cattlehad yielded no fruits.

The numerousincidents bysuspected herdsmenon the long bridgeand other areaselicited pragmaticmeasures by thePolice of bothstates to restoresanity in the states,especially alongLagos-IbadanExpressway

•A Fulani herdsman and his cattle


ONDO STATE

By Ola Ajayi

•Gov Ajimobi

AS a result of the cord ofunity that binds all diverseethnic groups together as anindivisible entity, it is notout of place for anybodyfrom the 44 ethnic groupsthat make up Nigeria to liveanywhere in the country.

But, what happens ifvisitors now pose a seriousthreat to security of livesand property of their hosts?

That aptly paints thepicture of the frostyrelationship betweenresidents of Oyo Stateespecially people from OkeOgun area and Fulaniherdsmen. The constantclashes between the twogroups.

The people of Oke Ogunare not complaining aboutco-habiting with the Fulaniherdsmen, but their grudgeagainst them stems fromconstant and unabateddestruction of theirfarmlands by the cattle ofthese nomads.

The cold war between thetwo groups dates back tomany years ago. Accordingto a resident of the area,about 20 or 30 people havelost their lives since theproblem started. Theherdsmen are scattered allover towns and cities likeIrawo, Agbonle in Saki EastLocal Government, Igboho,Igbeti, Iganna, Otu, Eruwaand Igboora. In all theseareas, they always haveserious problems with them.

He said, “The Fulaniherdsmen believe they cankill human beings to protectlives of their animals. Theirpopulation is increasingseriously and this is due tosome factors. One is that ourarea is savannah area. Theyknow that their cattle growbigger here than elsewherebecause they have enoughgrass to eat. Two, we havelarge expanse of land that islarge enough for them.Another factor is the issue ofBoko Haram. There was atime, they even pleadedwith our traditional rulershere to allow their people tocome down and live herebecause of the problem ofBoko Haram in the North.On market days, if you seethem, they almostoutnumber the indigenes.Most of these people come

In Oyo, herdsmenbelieve theiranimals are utmost

from Niger Republicbecause of its proximity toSaki.”

A lawyer in the area, Mr.Adeola Fehintola toldVanguard that the issue is avery herculean task forpeople in the area addingthat they don’t sleep withtheir eyes closed any more.

According to him,indigenes especiallyfarmers in Oke Ogunalways have theirhectares of farmlandsdestroyed by thevoracious cattle thatthe Fulani men graze.When asked if therehad been anyimprovement on theincident, he said, “it iseven getting worse bythe day and the recentkidnap of the formerSecretary to theFederal Governmentand former Minister ofFinance, Chief OluFalae has furtherheightened the fears ofour people. They say if‘fire can consume atortoise with iron coat, whatwill it not do to the flesh ofa frog’ meaning ifsomebody like Chief Falaecould be kidnapped, peopleof low estate are not safe”.

“Recently, there was afarmer whose hectares offarmland where he plantedmaize were completelydestroyed. When I askedhim to let us take up thematter, he simply said Ishould not bother justbecause he was afraidthey(Fulani) could kill him.He is just one of the

farmers that suffer insilence here in Oke Ogun”.

He said what baffles himwas a response of one ofthe cattle rearers who saidtheir animals too have afundamental right to eatand what will they feed onif not grass?

He further explained that

what the herdsmen do nowis to pay for damageswhenever their animalsencroach upon anyfarmland but thecompensation is nevercommensurate with thecrops they destroy.

“For instance, if theircows destroyed crops worthN100,000 they offer youbetween N40, 000 andN60,000. Who will pay forthe rest. That is the issuehere. There have beenseveral attacks on farmers

and most of the physicalattacks are unreported”.

Apart from destroyingfarmlands, most of theseherdsmen are dare-devilrobbers who don’t have anyrespect for sanctity ofhuman life. In the past, thestate police command hadparaded them as robbery

suspects and most theattacks would claimcasualty.

Recently, theChairman, Arewa Chiefsin southern Nigeria andthe Seriki Hausa inShasha, Oyo State, AlhajiHaruna Katsina advisedthat both groups shouldvalue peaceful co-existence.

The Hausa leaderurged the Fulaniherdsmen to maintainpeace, respect theirneighbors, and respectlaw and government toengender peace in thestate.

Katsina said observingthe laws of the land andrespect for the host

community will preventconflict from escalating toviolence saying the regionwill not allow the terriblecondition being witnessedin the north to rear its headin southern Nigeria.

Alhaji Katsina stated thiswhile meeting with theleaders of the Fulani in the17 southern states of thecountry held at his palacein Ibadan.

The Seriki in Shasha isthe Chairman of the ArewaChiefs across the 17southern states of the

country. He called on theFulani/ Bororo herdsmen tomaintain peace, obey the government and holdpeaceful meetingsoccasionally and settle their differences withfarmers in the state.

Early this month, thestate House of Assemblyconstituted a committeethat is saddled with theresponsibility of ensuringpeaceful existence betweenthe herdsmen and theirhost. The committee is headed by the majorityleader of the legislative arm,Mr. Kehinde Subair.

The Speaker, MichaelAdeyemo called on allfeuding parties and otherstakeholders to appearbefore the House so as tofind lasting solutions to therecurring problem.

Among those the Housesummoned are thePermanent Secretary andDirector, Livestock, Ministryof Agriculture and RuralDevelopment, theCommissioner of Police, theChairman and Secretary,Fulani/Bororo CattleBreeders Association.Others are the head, OyoState Farmers Associationand the head, Oke-OgunFarmers Association.

Mr. Gabriel Kehinde, theActing Permanent Secretary,Ministry of Agriculture, saidthe only antidote to theproblem was the creation ofgrazing reserve for thenomads.

Also, Mr. SolomonOdedeji, the Chairman, AllFarmers’ Association ofNigeria(AFAN), Oyo StateChapter also urged thelegislative arm to warntraditional heads, whoallegedly connived with theherdsmen after collectingmoney from them.

In his own contribution,Alhaji Yakubu Bello, theChairman, Miyetta AllahCattle Breeders Associationof Nigeria(MACBAN), OyoState Chapter saidcomplained that somefarmers in the state oftenspray their farmlands andcrops with poisonoussubstances which oftenresults to the death of manyof their livestock, addingthat the grazing reserve atAyete and Igangan areas ofthe state were not accessiblebecause the community hadploughed the land andchased them away.

Mr. Joshua Oyebamiji whorepresents Akinyele 1,called on all stakeholders toconsult agriculturists on howbest to provide alternativemeans of feeding the cattle.

The Speaker then calledon traditional chiefs and thesecurity agencies to be morevigilant and discharge theirduties as expected of them.

The Fulaniherdsmenbelieve they cankill humanbeings to protectlives of theiranimals. Theirpopulation isincreasingseriously andthis is due tosome factors

ONDO STATE


AfAfAfAfAfenifenifenifenifenifere spits fere spits fere spits fere spits fere spits fire oire oire oire oire ovvvvver cattle rearing in S-er cattle rearing in S-er cattle rearing in S-er cattle rearing in S-er cattle rearing in S-WWWWWestestestestest

•Fasoranti: Afenifere leader

AFENIFERE, a Pan-Yoruba Socio Political

group rose from anemergency meeting inAkure, the Ondo statecapital and called for thestoppage of cattle rearingactivities in South Weststates following the menaceof Fulani herdsmen.

The group said that theactivities of the herdsmenin the states haveendangered the lives of thepeople.

Spokesman of the group,Yinka Odumakin said thattheir activities should bestopped in every space ofYoruba land just as hecalled for the arrest ofthose who abducted aChieftain of the group,Chief Olu Falae.

Odumakin declared that;“ In the event this call isnot heeded then our peoplemay resort to self help toprotect themselves.’’

The meeting lasted forover six hours and it waschaired by Afenifere’sNational Chairman, PaReuben Fasoranti at hiscountry home in Akure.

The group described theattack and abduction of oneof its leaders who was theformer Secretary to theGovernment of theFederation SGF, Chief OluFalae as an insult to therace.

A communique read byOdumakin said: “Wedemand that nomadic cattlerearing should be stoppedin ever y state of Yorubaland.

“We believe now that afterwhat has happened toChief Falae, people wouldnot tolerate such thing inany part of Yoruba land .

“So while we await thearrest of the criminals, thecattle rearing should bestopped in Yoruba land.

“Yoruba people go to anypart of the country to trade,no history or record of suchanywhere that the Yorubasdestroy the business oftheir hosts. What we cannotdo to others, nobody shoulddo it to us."

Odumakin said that themeeting” decried insecurity in the country asrelate to the unrelentingblood letting by theterrorist Boko Haram andthe wave of uncheckedkidnapping going on in thecountry.

“A special focus wasbeamed on the recentabduction of one of ourrevered leaders inAfenifere,Chief Olu Falae,also a former secretary to

By Dayo Johnson Fulani herdsmen andfarmers had a major clashwhich led a strongdelegation from Arewaconsultative forum to stormthe office of the thenGovernor Lam Adesina in arowdy and angry manneron behalf of Fulani .

“The meeting also notedthat the 2014 nationalconference in which ChiefFalae led the Yorubadelegation ,extensivelydiscussed this matter ofnomadic cattle rearing andthe conference resolvedthat it should be stoppedand instead they shouldhave ranches for cattlebusiness.

“We condemned theabduction of Chief OluFalae and his gruesomeexperience as shameful,insensitive and a violentviolation of Yoruba culture,values and space.

“It is a total disrespect tous as a people and aninsult that such a highprominent Yoruba personwho almost became thePresident of this country,who is a traditional ruler inthe community could beabducted by the vandalswho have been busydestroying people’s farmsrobbing people andrapping women.

“We therefore demand theimmediate arrest andprosecution of theabductors of Chief OluFalae.

“Chief Falae sustaineddeep cut on his hand fromthese Fulaniherdsmen,those cuts are onChief Falae’s hand, theyare deep cuts on the soul ofNigerians and the cutwould not heal until justiceis done, until these Fulaniherdsmen are arrested andprosecuted, the woundswill not heal.

Odumakin said the groupthanked” all those groupsand individuals who raisedtheir voices against thisbarbaric act of theabducting Chief OluFalae.

According to him: “We arenot unmindful of somesilence, but the voices ofthose who spoke forsolidarity and boldnesswith which they havespoken out on thisbarbarity.

Leaders at the meetinginclude secretary of thegroup Basorun SeindeArogbofa, former EducationCommissioner in the stateChief Korede Duyile,former Police AffairsMinister Jelili Adesiyanand other politicians fromacross the country.

compensation. “The Fulani elements

coming to abduct himtwo months later, ispresumably avengeance mission forjustice that he pursuedagainst the invasion ofhis farm and thedestruction of his handwork.

“The meeting recalledthat for years, farmersin Yoruba land havebeen complaining aboutwhat Chief Falae wasgoing through in thehands of these nomadiccattle rearers.

“You will recall that inyear 2000 in Oke Ogunarea of Oyo State, the

the government ofthe federation andformer presidentialcandidate,while onhis farm.

“We describe thisas scandalous andchilling regardingthe harrowingexperience of the 77year old man in thehands ofvandals,miscreants.

“The meeting didnot consider it as a merecoincidence that chief OluFalae for two to three yearshas been having runningbattles with the Fulaniherdsmen on the very farmbefore he was abducted.

“Last of such was about

two months earlier whenthey entered his farmlandand destroyed it and chiefFalae pursued the matterwith the Police andgrudgingly accepted half ofwhat the police said theyshould pay as

Yoruba people go to anypart of the country to trade,no history or record of suchanywhere that the Yorubasdestroy the business oftheir host. What we cannotdo to others, nobodyshould do it to us


OGUN STATE

“A RESULT of a recentsurvey it conducted showsthat you are more likely to beabducted in the South Westthan any other region inNigeria.”

Contrary to the perceptionthat kidnapping is moreprevalent in the South Eastand South South geo-political zones, a recentsurvey shows that people aremore likely to be kidnappedin the South West than anyother region in Nigeria.

The 2013 National CrimeVictimisation and SafetySurvey conducted byCLEEN Foundation withsupport from the UnitedStates based MacarthurFoundation shows that theSouth West has the highestincidents of kidnapping with5 per cent of the respondentsfrom the region saying theyhave either been kidnappedor attempts have been madeto kidnap them.

The South South and theSouth East closely followswith a 4 per cent kidnaprate. The region with thelowest rate of kidnapping isthe North Central regionwith 2 per cent.

Rape and Attempted

FRIGHTENING STATISTICS:S-West is Nigeria’s kidnap capital — REPORT

RapeWith a 10 per cent incident

of rape or attempted rape,the South South region isthe rape capital of thecountry followed by theNorth East (6 per cent) andthe South West andNorth West (4 per centeach). The South Eastis the region with thelowest propensity forrape with just 1 percent.

The survey alsoshows that the nationalincidence of rapealmost doubled from 3per cent in 2011 to 5per cent in 2013. Mostof the respondents whoclaimed to have beenraped said they wereraped in and around theirhomes. Thirty-three per centsaid they were raped nearestto their homes; 19 per centwere raped in their homeswhile 13 per cent of cases ofrape occurred in schools orplaces of work.

RobberiesThe survey shows that

cases of robbery rose 1 percent from last yearnationally. Kaduna recordedthe highest cases of robbery

with 43 per cent closelyfollowed by Akwa-Ibom 42per cent and Cross River 39per cent. Jigawa and KanoStates recorded the lowestcases of robbery with 5 and 3per cents respectively.

The survey shows thatmore needs to be done aboutsecurity in and aroundhomes as 63 per cent ofrespondents said robberiesoccurred in homes or near tohome.

Physical AssaultsSouth East states recorded

the highest rate of physicalassaults, the report showed.Enugu State had the highestcases of assault with 84 percent, closely followed byEbonyi (77 per cent) Rivers

(58 per cent) and Anambra(50 per cent). The cases ofphysical assault in Abujarose from 15 per cent lastyear to 24 per cent. Howevercases of physical assaultdropped drastically in Niger

State from 68 percent in 2012 to 6 percent this year. Alsophysical assaultdropped from 23 percent in 2012 to 8 percent this year inJigawa State.

Meantime, anAkure Magistrates’Court recentlyremanded a 25-year-old man, TaiwoEbenezer, in prisonfor allegedlykidnapping a 21-

year-old, Olayemi Olatunji.The Chief Magistrate, Mr

Sunday Adedapo, whohanded down the verdict,said Ebenezer should bekept behind bars at OlokutaPrisons in Akure pendingadvice from the StateDirector of PublicProsecutions (DPP).

According to reports, thecourt did not take the plea ofthe accused in spite of effortsby his counsel, Mr AdemolaAbemkemo to secure bail for

him.The accused, whose

address is unknown, isfacing a two count charge ofconspiracy and kidnapping.

The prosecutor, ASP PelumiAdejuwon, had earlier toldthe court that the accusedwith others still at large,kidnapped Olatunji.

Adejuwon said the accusedand his accomplices werearmed with a gun, cutlassesand some other dangerousweapons when theycommitted the offences.

According to him, theaccused committed theoffences on May 7 between8.00 a.m. and 6. 00 p.m. atAyeyemi Street, Ondo.

He said the kidnap was,however, foiled when thevictim raised an alarm whichattracted passers-by whoapprehended the accused.

The offences, Adejuwonsaid, contravened Section516 of the Criminal Code,Laws of Ondo State, 2006.

The offences also violatedSection 3(1) of the SpecialAnti-Kidnapping and Anti-Abduction Law of OndoState, 2010.

The case was adjourned tillJune 22 for mention.

The South West has thehighest incidents ofkidnapping with 5 per centof the respondent from theregion saying they haveeither been kidnapped orattempts have been madeto kidnap them

•Policemen ready to combat crime


T H E T E A MEDITOR:Adeleke Adeseri 08054682557 (sms only)

CORRESPONDENTS:Ola Ajayi IbadanGbenga Olarinoye OsogboDayo Johnson AkureDapo Akinrefon LagosDaud Olatunji AbeokutaOlasunkanmi Akoni LagosMonsuru Olowoepejo

OGUN STATE

•Awujale and paramount ruler of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Adetona being paid homage to during this year's Ojude Oba.

•Women's group at the 2015 Ojude Oba. •Men group at the 2015 Ojude Oba.

•Men group at the 2015 Ojude Oba.

THE length and breadth of Ijebu-Ode became agog last Saturday,September 26, 2015 whendignitaries from all walks of lifethronged the town in their numbersto celebrate the annual Ojude ObaFestival.Ojude-Oba, fast becoming Nigeria’smost attended festival, is annuallyhosted by the paramount ruler ofIjebu land, His Royal Majesty, theAwujale of the Ijebu Kingdom, ObaSikiru Kayode Adetona.The event which took place at thearcade ground opposite the Oba’spalace, was filled with traditionaldancers, cultural displays andcolourful attires of participants.Expectedly, all the groups

OJUDE-OBA:

When culture

took centre stage

otherwise known as regberegbes andfamilies moved round the venueacknowledging cheers from the peopleand later mounted the podium to payhomage to Oba Adetona.Prominent Nigerians who graced thefestival include the Ogun state governor,Ibikunle Amosun who was represented byhis deputy, Yetunde Onanuga, Bayelsastate governor, Seriake Dickson,former Ogun state governor, GbengaDaniel, former Bayelsa state governor,Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, Elder statesman, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, former senators,Gbenga Kaka, Olurunimbe Mamora,Musician, Queen Salawa Abeni,Billionaires Oskar Ibru, Olorogun Dr.Sunny Kuku, who is an indigene of Ijebuland and Otunba Subomi Balogun.


CMYK

34—Vanguard,34—Vanguard,34—Vanguard,34—Vanguard,34—Vanguard, FRIDAY, FRIDAY, FRIDAY, FRIDAY, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2, OCTOBER 2, OCTOBER 2, OCTOBER 2, OCTOBER 2, 20152015201520152015

CMYK


CMYK

36—Vanguard,36—Vanguard,36—Vanguard,36—Vanguard,36—Vanguard, FRIDAY, FRIDAY, FRIDAY, FRIDAY, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2, OCTOBER 2, OCTOBER 2, OCTOBER 2, OCTOBER 2, 20152015201520152015

AS Nigerians Tuesday joined the rest of the world to mark this year’sWorld Heart Day, with the theme: “HealthyHeart Choices for Everyone, Everywhere”,Nigerians have been urged to shun anunhealthy lifestyle.

Making the call yesterday at a free healthscreening exercise in Lagos to mark thisyear’s World Heart Day in Lagos, expertswho gathered at the 8th Chike Okoli Weekorganised by Chike Okoli Foundation withsupport from Dangote Foundation, WorldHeart Federation, Nigerian HeartFoundation, NHF and Daily-Need urgedNigerians to surround themselves withhealthy food options.

According to them, healthy environmentcan prevent cardiovascular disease whichhas become the World’s number one killerbut despite the growing incidences ofsudden deaths, many Nigerians havefailed to recognise the need to pay attentionto their health.

Programme Coordinator, Mrs. BeautyAlfred while addressing traders at thepopular Computer Village, Ikeja, Lagossaid the environment where we live, workand play can have a huge effect on ourability to make the right choices for hearthealth, especially in increasinglyurbanised environments that havechanged our lifestyles and diets.

Alfred who noted that majority of the 6million people reached by Chike OkoliFoundation in the course of the freescreening exercise in the last 10 years haveHigh Blood Pressure, HBP, said peopleshould cut down on packaged foods, asthey are often rich in sugar, salt and fat.“Make fruits and vegetable consumptionyour new best friend, swap sweet treats

By Chioma Obinna

FREE HEALTH SCREENING: Health officials from Chike Okoli Foundation ata free health screening exercise organised by the Foundation in collaborationwith Dangote Foundation, Daily-Need, Nigeria Heart Foundation and the WorldHeart Federation, for traders at the Computer Village in Ikeja, Lagos, yesterday.

HEART HEALTH: Shun unhealthy lifestyle, Nigerians urgedNigerians on the need to monitor theirblood pressure regularly and make rightfood choices.

She appealed to the Federal Governmentto pay more attention to public hospitalsas many Nigerians cannot afford to payfor basic health checks.

Every year, the World Health Federation,WHF and the World Health Organisations,WHO, mark the World Health Day on 29September to draw attention to the needfor people across the globe to take part inthe world’s biggest intervention againstcardiovascular disease, CVD. This yearfocuses on creating healthy heartenvironments by ensuring that everyonehas the chance to make healthy heartchoices wherever they live, work and play.The day also encourages us all to reduceour cardiovascular risk, and promotes aheart-healthy planet for those around us.

LUTH explains why cancer machine is down...faults call for CMD’s removal

THE Lagos University TeachingHospital, LUTH, has explained why

its cancer machine (Linear accelerator) hasnot been functioning in the last two months,blaming it on technical faults.

Meanwhile, the hospital has faulted therecent call for the removal of the Hospital’sChief Medical Director, CMD, Prof. ChrisBode from office by the Lagos State branchof the Nigerian Medical Association, NMAquerying the legality of such call.

Addressing a press conference in Lagos,alongside top LUTH ManagementOfficers in Lagos, the Chief MedicalDirector disclosed that not less than N18million is required to fix the problem.

Bode who also explained that money wasnot the reason why the machine hasremained unrepaired, said the work on themachine was stalled due to lack of localexpertise and the materials needed for therepairs.

“The machine broke down two monthsago when the iron pump failed and it isnot about money because we want it to berepaired like yesterday. It will cost us N18million to repair, as we speak we areholding onto the money. When thecompany will import what they need wewill give them the money.

“Infact, there is plan now to engageanother private investor to put the second

linear accelerator in operation because ofthe enormity of the number of people thatrequire it.

“We have the money is just for us torelease it to them but we must followgovernment guideline,” he explained.

Reacting to the call for his removal,theChief Medical Director allegedorchestrated efforts by the Lagos StateNMA to forment trouble.

Bode who said LUTH only functionedfor six months in the last one year due toincessant strikes, warned resident doctorswho are not ready to be trained to stayaway from the hospital.

Further, he alleged that the hospital isbeing persecuted because it did not jointhe last strike called by the NationalAssociation of Resident Doctors.

“LUTH remained open and workedthroughout the last six -week strike periodin July /August because gallantconsultants, residents, nurses,pharmacists, physiotherapists, lab workers,etc kept the hospital open.

“We stopped the salaries of those onstrike. We all, for once, decided thatuninterrupted services should be availablefor Nigerians if you do not wish to train,stay away. Services are paramount andshould be given whether or not trainingtakes place. We also stopped the salariesof striking workers as we considered itfraudulent for anyone to continue receivingtaxpayers’ money while denying the sametaxpayers their entitled essential medicalservices in our hospital.”

On allegation of over age, he explainedthat the post of CMD is appointed by thePresident for tenure, adding that the currentLUTH CMD is an academic staff ofUNILAG and is only on leave of absenceto take up the political appointment.

He said an academic professor cannotbe retired because an association says soand that LUTH does not report to NMA.

“The retiring age of academic staff of theUniversity was formerly 65 but was lateramended in 2012 to 70 years for fullprofessors.

By Chioma Obinna & GabrielOlawale

targeting about 10,000 people for freehealth screening this week.

The Week was initiated in memory of lateChike Okoli who died at the age of 25 yearsdue to undetected coronary disease.

Alfred stated that, the Foundation wasset up to prevent Nigerian youths fromsuffering from late Chike’s fate by reachingthem with the save-your-heart message.The Foundation creates awareness among

‘Dedicate polio featto slain healthworkers’

AS Nigeria celebrates removal of thecountry from the list of polio

endemic countries, the FederalGovernment has been urged to dedicatethe global feat to the memories of all thehealth workers, particularly thevaccination health workers who weregruesomely murdered in the course ofvaccinating children.

Making the call in a telephone chatwith Vanguard, Vice President,Commonwealth Medical Association,Dr. Osahon Enabulele maintained thatall the slain polio vaccinators remainNigeria’s heroes in her war againstpolio, and therefore deserve to beimmortalised.

Enabulale also called on thegovernment and its implementingagency, National Primary HealthcareDevelopment Agency, NPHCDA, not torest on their oars, but to make improvedefforts in the current polio campaign.There is need for the country toconsolidate on the present gains throughsustained and focused politicalcommitment to the health sector and thepolio campaign.

“Sincere and sustained improvementin the Public health system, particularlyNigeria’s weak Primary HealthcareSystem, expeditious implementation ofthe National Health Act, provision ofbetter security cover for healthcareworkers in all public health facilities inNigeria, as well as sustainedcommitment of all stakeholders,including Professional Associations inthe health sector, among others is onesure way Nigeria can permanentlyconsign the disabling disease of polioto the dustbin of history.

“This feat which has been achieveddespite the numerous challenges whichhas befuddled Nigeria’s health sectorand her polio campaign, is amanifestation of the top level politicalcommitment to the polio campaign bythe government, particularly theimmediate past government and theresilience and commitment of health careworkers despite recurring threats to theirlives.

for mango or other fruits. Prepare healthyschool or work lunches at home.” Hefurther stressed the need for people to actas reports have shown that by 2030 tobacco– related deaths will increase to more than8 million deaths a year. She said about 80percent of premature deaths arepreventable through healthy diet, regularphysical activity and avoiding tobacco.Alfred said the 8th Chike Okoli Week is

LUTH only functionedfor six months in thelast one year due toincessant strikes;resident doctors whoare not ready to betrained should to stayaway from the hospital

CMYK

Vanguard, FRIDAY, OCTOMBER 2 , 2015—37

Saraki'strial, notwitch hunt—BIUKEME

Councillors sack Udu LG boss, freeze account

Delta govt wades into Itsekiri youths, Chevron dispute

FLOOD: Relocate, Delta warns residentsof coastal communities

By Festus Ahon

ASABA—DELTA StateGovernment, has, warned

residents in coastal areas of thestate, to relocate as soon aspossible, to avoid beingsubmerged or trapped by theimpending flood.

Handing down the warningwhile briefing newsmen after theweekly State Executive Council,SEC, meeting of the state,Commissioners for Information,Mr. Patrick Ukah; for Works,Chief James Augoye ,and hisBasic and Secondary Educationcounterpart, Mr. Chiedu Ebie,said as part of effort towardstackling the flood, thegovernment had set up a high-powered committee with thestate Deputy Governor, MrKingsley Otuaro, as Chairman.

He said though an awarenesscampaign was going on indifferent riverine communities,sensitizing them on the urgentneed to relocate to safe areas, thecommittee was necessary toreduce the effects of theimpending disaster.

Ukah held that GovernorIfeanyi Okowa’s administration,was not leaving any stoneunturned to safeguard the livesand properties of Deltans, andsaid the committee was to ensurethat appropriate measures wereapplied to educate and protectthe people.

•Plans 3 new schools

On his part, Commissioner forBasic and Secondary Education,Mr Ebie, disclosed that at themeeting, presided over byGovernor Okowa, approval wasgiven for the establishment ofthree new secondary schools inAsaba, Ughelli and Agbor, toaddress the problem of risingpopulation in public schools as aresult of the handover of someschools to the missionaries.

Ebie explained that due to thecurrent financial crunch, existingstructures would be used for the

new schools and said the intentionof Government was to maintain theuniversally accepted students toteachers’ ratio.

Saying that teachers would bedeployed to the new schools, hesaid the Post Primary EducationBoard, PPEB, had more than 14,000 teachers in its payroll.

He said: “Despite the financialsituation of the economy, theEXCO looked at the need to ensurethat our children get the best ineducation, so, the new schools willreduce the crowding being

witnessed in some of theschools and we are doing itwith little or no cost because weare using existing structures”.

Commissioner for Works, MrAugoye, said government haddirected the State Direct LabourAgency, DLA, to embark onpalliative measures to make theroads motorable, while waitingfor the dry season to commentto stop.

He said: “We are going to embarkon massive construction of roads, weare just waiting for the rain to stop.”

By Amarachi Chukwudi

WARRI—THE Chairman ofUdu Local Government

Area, in Delta State, SolomonKpoma, was Wednesday,impeached by the legislativecouncil, while the localgovernment account was alsoordered frozen.

Motion for the chairman’simpeachment was moved byHenry Igbine, Councillorrepresenting Ward 20, Aladja, andsupported by Duke Efegbere,Councillor representing Ward 8,Owhase, and signed by 16 out ofthe 17 Councillors that attendedthe sitting.

According to the councillors, the

Chairman was impeached forrefusing to furnish the legislativehouse with income andexpenditure of the council sincehis assumption in office overalleged misappropriation ofpublic funds and misinformingthe public through showcasing ofnon-existent projects and high-

By Festus Ahon

ASABA—DELTA StateGovernment, has wadded

into the dispute between Itsekiriyouths on the aegis of ItsekiriInterest Initiative, III, and

handedness.Another motion was also moved

by Henry Egbine, and secondedby Benjamin Sharta, and signedby 16 councillors that all accountsof Udu Local Government Areabe frozen till further notice.

Speaking after the sitting,Chairman, House Committee on

Finance and Appropriation,Benjamin Sharta, said a copy ofthe impeachment notice andletter ordering the Udu LocalGovernment Area accountfrozen had been sent to theappropriate quarters forimplementation.

Chevron Nigeria Limited, CNL,forcing the youths to relax the threeweeks ultimatum to CNL.

The youths had two weeks agohanded down the ultimatumto thecompany over what theydescribed as gross negligence of

the Ugborode people.Speaking after a closed door

meeting with the SpecialAdviser to the State Governoron Niger Delta Affairs, PrinceKelly Penawou, Chairman of thegroup, Austin Leleji, alleged

that Chevron had messed uptheir community.

Leleji said the Ugborodecommunity had nothing to showfor the oil exploration activitiesin the area.

While wondering whetherCNL was a blessing or a curseto the community, he claimed theoil company was reneging on theagreement it entered with thecommunity.

He said government hadpleaded with them to hold on tillthe end of October 2015, toaddress the issues raised withthe management of Chevron.

On his part, Penawou thankedthe group for honouring theinvitation and listening togovernment, adding thatgovernment would also inviteCNL with a view to resolving theissues.

AGBOR—NATIONAL Unionof Road Transport Workers,

NURTW, Ika South chapter,Delta State, has called onGovernor Ifeanyi Okowa, of thestate and security agencies, toinvestigate activities of twoformer leaders of the union, benton inflicting mayhem oninnocent citizens in the localgovernment.

The union in a statement, saidthe government and the securityagencies should act fast with

Ika South NURTW wants 2 former leaders probed

WARRI—THE DeltaState governorship

candidate of Mega PeopleProgressive Party, MPPP, in2011 governorshipelection, Chief AfroBiukeme, has faulted thoseclaiming that the trial of theSenate President, SenatorBukola Saraki is a witch-hunt.

Speaking in Warri, heargued that it was left forSaraki to clear himself of theallegations levelled againsthim, even as he advisedPresident MuhammaduBuhari, to face the businessof governance, focusing onelectricity and otheri n f r a s t r u c t u r a ldevelopment instead ofconcentrating on probe ofpast governments.

According to him, “theway the judicial systemoperates today will delayrecovery of money lootedfrom our treasury. I willprefer a situation where thepresident starts providingdividends of democracy tothe people instead ofembarking on probemission which might endup wasting a lot of histime.”

Biukeme, whocommended PresidentBuhari, over his effort inensuring Ogoni spill clean-up, noted that he wasoptimistic that the Presidentwould do more indeveloping Niger Deltaregion due to its strategiceconomic importance to thecountry.

He, however, urgedPresident Buhari to growthe economy “as everythingis stagnant now and nomoney everywhere."

view to ensuring that peace andsecurity prevail in the area,blaming crisis rocking the union,on the activities of the two pastleaders of the union (nameswithheld), bent on causingmayhem for personal interests.

The union alleged in a threepage statement by its Branch Aand Branch B Chairmen, EddyOfuani and Charles Agboje,respectively that the two pastchairmen of the union causedsuspected cultists from

neigbhouring towns, to invademotor parks in the localgovernment and unleashedmayhem on members of the unionin a desperate bid to unseat thepresent executive.

While pledging support to theadministration of Governor Okowain the state, the union called onrelevant authorities to investigatethe matter with a view to ensuringthat peace and security prevailedin the area.

The union described as false,

malicious, selfish andunfounded the claim by the pastleaders that the currentleadership of the union neversupported the emergence of thepresent state government, saying,“the union did its best to ensure thatmovement during the period of thecampaign was facilitated. The unionunder the leadership of Eddy Ofuani,Alex Orueh and Charles Agboje is verypeaceful and no act of violence hadbeen recorded since the presentleadership took its oath of office."

MEETING: From left—Professor Jerry Gana, Senate Minority Leader, Godswill Akpabio,and former Deputy Senate President, Ibrahim Mantu, at Peoples Democratic Party, PDP,stakeholders' meeting in Abuja.

By Tare Youdewei

CMYK


On Nigeria @ 55yrs

PEOPLE SPEAK By Bartholomew Madukwe(08102479985)

[email protected]

Sinner will run when noone pursues him, but

the faithful will be as boldas a lion. PMB is sent byGod. I pray that God Al-mighty will grant himlonger life with goodhealth to accomplishgreater things for Nigeriaat age 55. -Mr. KayodeOyedeji, Worker

As Nigeria clocks 55-years old, Buhari is

going to be a hero. Hisname will go down in his-tory as a man who stoodfor transparency andfought to eradicate cor-ruption against all odds.-Miss Wunmi Taiwo, SelfEmployed

Before good things canbe put in place, there

must be a sacrifice. Andsacrifice could be of free-dom, sacrifice of peace,and sacrifice of brother-hood. Let all Nigerianslive together in peace. -Mr. Christian Udoka,Contractor

Some Nigerians aremaking huge sacrific-

es to make the countrybetter, but the ones de-manding the contraryare terribly bad exam-ples. Which way Nigeria?Well, it is definitely head-ing somewhere. -Mrs.Miligu Osayimwen,Businesswoman

We should not bethinking about how

corruption has damagedour nation, we should bethinking of how to eradi-cate from our country themonster called corrup-tion. Nigeria is one of thebrightest nations in theWorld. -Mr. Dado SantosJay, Student

Most Nigerians arealready corrupt be-

cause they follow theirleaders. Churches thatshould preach against cor-ruption and ill-gottenmoney and imbibe disci-pline to the youths alsolove corruption. May Godhelp Nigeria! -Miss Chi-oma Ani, Model

Obiano grants amnesty to 25 inmates,gives each N1m

By Enyim Enyim

O N I T S H A —G O V E R N O R

Willie Obiano of AnambraState, yesterday, grantedamnesty to 25 inmates drawnfrom Awka, Onitsha and

Aguata prisons in the state,just as he announced thatgovernment had approved N1million for each to rehabilitatethem.

Those from Awka prisons areObumneme Okafor, ChibikeNwogwu, Daniel Philemon,

Ude Chidiebere, andInnocent Okeke who wassentenced to death, but wascommuted to lifeimprisonment.

In Aguata, the six inmateswho benefited from thegesture included Chinedu

Onyebuchi, Okwudili Offor,Emmanuel Enemchukwu, NwaforReuben, Camilus Ikensor andCyril Ogufuba. The list of the 14inmates from Onitsha prison wasnot made available as at press time.

Speaking on the occasion, thegovernor also said governmentwould give them training in thestate vocational skill acquisitioncentre after which they would begiven N1m as a life-line to enablethem to be self-employed andcontribute meaningfully to thesociety.

He charged them to be of goodbehaviour and join hands withgovernment in their little way tomove the state forward.

The Attorney General of the state,Mr. Chude Nnadi, while speakingearlier, said the inmates werequalified for the amnesty becausesome of them had only threemonths left in prison.

The Comptroller of Prisons in thestate assured the governor that theinmates had been transformedproperly and would not relapseinto the crime that took them to theprisons.

Gov Umahi to demolish identifiedkidnappers' den within 24 hours

By Peter Okutu

A B A K A L I K I —GOVERNOR Dave

Umahi of Ebonyi State,yesterday, stated that anyuncompleted buildingdiscovered to be the hide-outof kidnappers would bedemolished by the stategovernment within 24 hours.

The governor, who statedthis on the occasion of the 55thanniversary of NigerianIndependence and 19thanniversary of the creation ofEbonyi State, urged owners ofuncompleted buildings to

mount security surveillance onthem, so as to curtail theheinous activities ofkidnappers in the state.

Umahi, who regretted therising trend of kidnapping inthe country, vowed to sign thedeath sentence of anysuspected kidnappers foundculpable of the crime.

On Internally GeneratedRevenue, IGR, the governorstressed that the stategovernment would not tolerateany act of fraudulent practicesby revenue collectors asanybody caught engaging inillegal collection of revenues

would soon face jail term.He further announced the

state government would sooncommence the construction ofbefitting houses for widowsin the 171 wards across thestate.

“The distinctive features ofour approach totransformation, therefore, isto bring to our peoplemodern features ofdevelopment, establishconditions that will allowequity of opportunities,robust, moral and a spiritualstrength, and genuine senseof brotherhood to thrive.”

NCS to FG: Appoint seasoned IT professional to head CT ministryBy Emeka Aginam

TO MAXIMIZE and deepenthe benefits of electronicgovernance and digitaltransformation in Nigeria, thePresident of the NigerianComputer Soceity, NCS, Prof.Adesola Aderounmu has urgedthe Federal Government ofNigeria to consider theappointment of seasoned ITprofessionals to head the Ministryof Communication Technologyand other IT agencies in thecountry.

Professionalism in governanceAderounmu, who stated this in

Abuja recently during a courtesy

visit to Engr. Babachir Lawal,Secretary to the Government ofthe Federation, SGF, said thatthe CT ministry, with other ITagencies in Nigeria, if wellmanaged, can resolve Nigeria'sjob crises and further createwealth for the nation similar tothe IT revolution going on inIndia.

Pre-qualification requirementsfor IT projects

According to him, thegovernment should as a matterof urgency direct the Bureau ofPublic Procurement, BPP, toamend the pre-qualificationrequirements for IT projects toinclude evidence of registration

with Computer ProfessionalsRegistration Council of Nigeria,CPN, and the NigerianComputer Society, NCS, inaddition to the newly introducedpre-qualification requirementssuch as evidence of registrationwith National PensionCommission, PENCOM, andevidence of remittance of fundsto Industrial Training Fund, ITF.

IT professionals in MDAsFor a digital Nigeria, he said

that the present administrationshould mandate MDAs toappoint IT professionals asdirectors of IT, as well as directall MDAs to establish IT careerstructure if not yet in place.

To avoid quackery in the ITprofession, he advised thegovernment to implement theuse of CPN registration as acondition to employ ITprofessional staff in MDAs tolevel 10 as approved andgazetted by the FederalGovernment of Nigeria.

IT penetrationTo further deepen IT

penetration in the group, theNCS President also called forthe urgent push for comprehe-nsive broadband access allover the country as well asimplementation and monitor-ing of local content policy toencourage MDAs to patronize

indigenous software and hardware.While calling for the

establishment of IT parks usingpublic-private-partnership models,he noted that the establishment ofdigital centres in all the 774 localgovernment areas in collaborationwith the state governments wasimperative.

SecurityOn use of IT to tackle insecurity,

NCS President said: “We call forurgent deployment of IT to tackleBoko Haram and terrorism inNigeria, assuring that NCS wasready to provide solutions using ITto solve the problem, and collabora-ting with stakeholders for fullimplementation of Cybercrime Act.

Imo youthsuse farmingimplements torepair roads

By ChinonsoAlozie

TIRED OF waiting forthe Imo State

government to give themmotorable roads, the youthsin the state now use hoes,shovels, cutlasses and otherfarming tools to make theirroads passable.

One of such incidents,was the filling of sand onthe Umuchima Road inUratta, Owerri North LocalGovernment Area of ImoState, where the youths ofthe area had decided tomake their road, at least,motorable.

Expressing their viewson the neglected road, theypointed out that it wasmanageable until thegovernment began constr-uction on it and laterabandoned it, which, theysaid, resulted in its badstate, and that since before2014 nothing significanthad been done on the road.

CMYK


BOKO HARAM: IDPs beg to be recruitedinto military

E-PAYMENT: 8,000 ghost workers discovered in Benue

‘Rising casesof high-profilekidnapworrisome'

By Johnbosco Agbakwuru

By Evelyn Usman

ABUJA—IN a move thatappears to be vengeful, some

of the Internally Displaced Persons,IDPs, from Borno State havepleaded with the FederalGovernment to recruit them into themilitary to help fight the BokoHaram terrorists as well as help inthe protection of the country.

This came as the leadership ofNational Union of Petroleum andNatural Gas Workers, NUPENG,led by its President, Comrade IgweAchese, has lamented the poorcondition of the IDPs camp in Abujaand called on the government tomake the place conducive for theinmates of the camp.

12-year-old Matthew Ayuba, whois a primary three pupil in theschool at the camp, said he hopedto join the Nigerian army to helpfight the insurgency and alsodefend the country.

Ayuba, who was passionate onjoining the military, said he and hisfellow inmates in the camps wouldmake the difference if they weregiven the opportunity to join themilitary.

Speaking while on a visit to theIDPS camp in Abuja where hemade donations of food items,blankets, toiletries worth over onemillion Naira and another cash

donation of N1 million for theupkeep of the 1450 inmates andthe education of some of themexpressed disappointment overthe porous security situation andlack of facilities in the camp.

Comrade Achese said: “Wecame to express our love and toshow our concern to the IDPs whowere displaced internally in theirhome communities and theircountry Nigeria because of thethe insurgency that we are facingtoday.

“The situation is painful andshocking that for the past fouryears we have been fighting this

issue of insurgency and bringingpeople out of their communitiesto safeguard them.

“You are also putting them ina very hostile environmentwhere anything can happen tothem at any time, you canimagine where the schoolchildren are learning, they arelearning in an open atmospherethat if it rains today, it will bedifficult for these children to sitdown to learn and read theirbooks.

“We are calling ongovernment, this is leastexpected of our country which

is the biggest country in Africaand the sixth largest producer ofArgo-carbon and has what ittakes in terms of the natural gasto make this environmentconducive for these displacedcitizens.

“It is so sad that there is no light,there is no security, we are talkingabout the insecurity we have todayin North east and North west andhere the IDPs are not secured.”

The inmates, who were full ofjubilation for the gesture byNUPENG, lamented that thecondition they had foundthemselves was pathetic.

, adding that some of thechildren

...As NUPENG laments poor condition of Abuja IDP camp

VISIT: Fromleft: AbolajiOmotayo, KwaraState Governor,Dr. AbdulfatahAhmed, PekerVictor andAdeyemi Sikiru,gold medalistsfrom Kwara Stateat theCommonwealthYouth AthleticsGames in Samoaduring a courtesyvisit toG o v e r n m e n tHouse, Ilorin.

MAKURDI—OVER 8,000ghost workers have been

discovered on the payroll of the 23local government councils of Benue

State in the ongoing e-paymentof local government staff.

The state also saved overN400million of local funds fromgoing into private pockets duringthe payment of the August salaries

of the workers.Special Adviser to Governor

Samuel Ortom on LocalGovernment and ChieftaincyAffairs, Mr. Titus Zam, made thisknown yesterday in a state-owned radio station newsprogramme monitored inMakurdi, the state capital.

He said: “The e-payment oflocal government staff hasexposed the fraud beingperpetrated at the localgovernment level where evenformer staff of some of thecouncils were still drawingmonthly salaries.

“The point is that the fraud andsharp practices beingperpetrated at the councils waswhat shot up the monthly wagebill to N1.8billion and staffstrength of 27,000 which is

certainly unacceptable.“With the e-payment system,

we have been able to check thefraud and the staff strength hasso far dropped to 19,000 and webelieve that the figure will godown further at the end of theverification exercise being carriedout by the committee set up bythe Bureau for Local Governmentand Chieftaincy Affairs.”

Zam insisted that allemployments made into thecouncils from 2013 were illegaland unsustainable, adding thatall those involved would berelieved of their appointment.

“I have been receiving threatmessages over our decision toreposition the councils, and thetruth is that I cannot beintimidated by such threatmessages,” he said.

LOKOJA—A former two-term Senator and Kogi West

leader, Senator Tunde Ogbeha hashailed the administration ofGovernor Idris Wada for ensuringdevelopment in the state.

In an exclusive chat withVanguard in Lokoja yesterday,Ogbeha said the governorperformed well but refused to playthe politics of performance.

He said: “With the resources athis disposal, Capt. Idris Wada hasperformed creditably. At times Iwonder how he was able to executeall the projects he has executed aswell as repay some of the loansowed by the state.

“The only thing the governorfailed to do was play the politics ofperformance. Nigeria is not a placewhere you execute projects andkeep quiet. You need to make noiseabout what you have done.Nobody will do it for you.

“The various empowermentprograms executed by thisgovernment are enough to silencethe opposition. With the rightenvironment and partnership, this

government have attracted a lotof foreign investments into thestate. The administration hasdone well in the agriculturalsector as well as the developmentof solid minerals which hascreated thousands of jobs.

“I saw some of the works donein our tertiary institutions andsome secondary schools and Imarvelled at the unpatriotic spiritof those still condemning thegovernor today.''

By Peter Duru

Late Madam Awobiyi

A Non-Governmental Organisation, NGO,

Free Society Nigeria, yesterdayraised the alarm over risingcases of high profile kidnap inthe country, urging support forthe police to deal with thesituation.

Media and Public AffairsDirector of the group, MrDamola Williams, iexpressedsympathy to families of formerSecretary to the Government ofthe Federation, Chief Olu Falaeand wife of the DeputyManaging Director of The SunNewspapers, Mrs ToyinNwosu, who were recentlyreleased from their abductorsden.

The group, which accordingto Williams is committed to anti-crime and police supportinitiatives , however, expressedhope in the abilities of the policeand other security agencies tocheckmate activities of theperpetrators.

To achieve this, he said therewas need for Nigerians to joinhands with the Police to stampout kidnapping from the societyby giving them usefulinformation that could lead totheir apprehension.

By Kingsley Fanwo

Ogbeha drums support for Wada

THE former matron ofIlesa Grammar School

and Methodist High School,Ilesa, Madam ComfortOlayemi Awobiyi, has diedat the age of 97.Madam Awobiyi is survived bysix children and 24 grand andgreat grand children,including a fellow and formerGeneral Secretary of theNigerian Guild of Editors,NGE, Mr Tunde Awobiyi.The interment of the leader ofmany church societies and theIjesa Ladies ImprovementSociety, will be preceded by awake-keep ceremony onFriday, October 9, 2015, as wellas funeral and outing servicesat the Otapete MethodistCathedral, Ilesa, Osun State,the next day, Saturday October10, 2015 from 10am.

Madam Awobiyidies at 97

AS part of efforts gearedtowards enlightening and

encouraging Nigerians on theneed to maintain a healthy heartas well as adopt a healthylifestyle, Power Oil, Nigeria’smost heart-friendly familycooking oil brand recentlyorganised a walk event tagged‘Power-Oil-walk-Heart-On’.

The event attracted a largenumber of participants andalso afforded them theopportunity to have freemedical check-ups.

The walk was preceded byan aerobics session, afterwhich participants walkedfrom the National StadiumSurlere, through Costain andback to the National Stadium.

The walk became necessaryto sensitize Nigerians on theneed to maintain a healthyheart and engage in physicalexercises regularly.

Speaking at the event,Brand Manager, DishaArgawal, stated that thebrand is focused on

promoting healthier lifestylesamong its valued consumers andthe society at large.

She said, “As a brand, PowerOil’s total focus and commitmentis the well-being of consumers.The Power-Oil-Walk-heart-on is areflection of our commitment to ourconsumers. With the increasingrate of health complications in thesociety, we see it as ourresponsibility to educateNigerians on the need to maintaina healthy lifestyle throughexercises and healthy eating.''

Power Oil advocates healthy living, organises ‘heart walk'

CMYK


UNVELLING: From left— General Manager, Golden Tulip EssentialAirport Hotel, Mr. Ronald Stilting; Group Manager, Cowry Banking, HeritageBank, Mr. Davidson Regha; Managing Director, Golden Tulip, Mr. IfeanyiOnwubiko and his wife, at the unvelling of the hotel at Mafoluku, Lagos.

BRIEFING: From left— Group Director and Advisor, AfricanIndustries, Richhpal Singh; Director General, Manufacturer Association ofNigeria, MAN, Remi Ogunmefun; Group Executive Director, AfricanIndustries, Uche Iwuamadi and Chief Executive Officer, Steel Business, SanjayKumar, during the media parley on the challenges facing the ironmanufacturing companies in Nigeria, in Ikoyi, Lagos.

TECNO: From left— Chief host, Mr. Uti Nwachukwu; Deputy MarketingManager, Mr. Attai; General Manager, Mr. Oye Akindeinde, both of TecnoMobile; and Head Judge, Mr. MI Abaga, at a briefing on Tecno-sponsoredkaraoke competition, in Lagos. PHOTO: Shola Oyelese.

STERLING ACADEMY: From left— Executive Director, SterlingBank Plc, Mr. Abubakar Suleiman; Managing Director, Floodgate InsuranceBrokers, Mr. Rotimi Olukorede; Managing Director, SEE the World Travel &Tours Ltd, Mrs Awoderu Oluwatosin, and Facilitator, Sterling MSME Academy/CEO Mark-George Consultants, Mr. Olugbolahan Mark-George, at theopening of the academy in Lagos. PHOTO: Akeem Salau.

STANBIC SME TRAINING: From left—Head, North Central,Stanbic IBTC Bank, Mr. Victor Aghaowa; Consultant, Performance SpecialistsLimited, Mrs. Abimbola Osuchukwu, and Regional Relationship Manager,Small and Medium Enterprises, SMEs, Stanbic, Mr. Iheanacho Obi, at anSME training programme organized by the bank in Abuja.

CHRIST EMBASSY: From left— Zonal Director, Lagos Zone One,Pastor Lanre Alabi; Zonal Director, Abuja, Pastor Chidi Ezimake, andChairman, 2015 Reachout Nigeria National Organizing Committee/ ZonalDirector, Port Harcourt Zone One, Pastor Tony Aduroja, all of Christ Embassy,at a briefing on the reachout in Lagos. PHOTO: Diran Oshe.

PEAK REACH: One million Naira winner of the Peak Reach for Millionspromo, Ajumaka Ifechukwude (left), Area Sales Manager, FrieslandCampinaWAMCO Nigeria Plc, Collins Olowu, at the prize presentation in Benin.

THANKSGIVING: Deacon I. D. Lemuel (3rd left) and his familyduring their thanksgiving service held at the Faith Baptist Church FederalHousing Authority, Lugbe, Abuja.

CMYK


Ikpeazu cautions those who lobby fordiversion of bailout fund

By Anayo Okoli, EricUgbor & Ugochukwu

Alaribe

UMUAHIA—ABIA Stategovernor, Dr. Okezie

Ikpeazu has warned peoplelobbying for the N14.152 bailoutfund to be diverted to otherpurposes, saying it cannot happenunder his watch.

Governor Ikpeazu also gave thecommittee he set up to managethe bailout fund to ensure that allthe salary arrears owed Abiaworkers were cleared by the endof this month.

At an interactive session withjournalists in Umuahia yesterday,Ikpeazu gave the hint that somepeople had been lobbying for thefund to be diverted for otherpurposes and warned them tostop the lobby as it would not work.

“We have received the bailoutfund and it has been channelledto clear the salary arrears. I havesaid it that we are going todedicate it to what it is meant, andwe have opened up the systemby setting up a committee tomanage the fund and ensure it isused for the purpose.

“People should stop lobbying forthe bailout fund to be diverted forsomething else. It will not happenunder my watch,” Ikpeazu said.

He disclosed that hisadministration was still blockingall the leakages in the revenuegeneration.

“In the days ahead, all thosewith proven economic sabotagewill be prosecuted according to thelaw. This is a new era andeverybody should key in.”

Earlier in a broadcast to thepeople of the state to mark thenation’s 55th Independenceanniversary, Governor Ikpeazutold them: “The Central Bank ofNigeria approved N14.15 billionfor Abia State for this purpose. Ihave since set up a committee tomanage this fund and ensure thatit is judiciously utilized for thepurpose for which it was

requested."I wish to reiterate my charge to

the members of the BailoutCommittee to ensure that byFriday, October 30, 2015, alloutstanding salaries and pensions

in Abia State have been defrayed.“I wish to state that contrary to

the fears expressed in somequarters, the setting up of thecommittee to manage thedisbursement of the funds does

not have any ulterior motive. Thework of the committee is notcosting us any money. It is madeup of those who are already inthe system and they are workingfor their state."

Ohanaeze Youth Council disowns YouthMovement

By Anayo Okoli

U M U A H I A —OHANAEZE Youth

Council, OYC, has raisedalarm over what it called ahatched plan “by a certainfake Ohanaeze YouthMovement,” to wreak havoc inAbuja, saying the genuineOhanaeze was not part of anyactivity of the so-calledOhanaeze Youth Movement.

The Council, in a statement,alleged that the same grouphad earlier staged a “mockprotest” at the National

Assembly complex in Abuja,Tuesday.

According to the statement,by the Council’s DeputyNational Secretary, and thePublicity Secretary, StanleyNwanka and Mr. ObinnaAdibe, respectively, it called onthe Inspector General of Policeand the Director-General ofthe Department of StateService to monitor the activitiesof the group.

“The Ohanaeze YouthCouncil Worldwide is painedand deeply worried by the wellorchestrated plan by someelements to drag its name to

the current happenings at theNational Assembly for selfishreasons.

“We want to statecategorically that at no timedid the Ohanaeze YouthCouncil sit to discuss thecurrent happenings at theNational Assembly, neitherdid it sponsor or take part inany protest under whateverguise.

“We were indeed shockedand embarrassed over mediareports that Ohanaeze YouthMovement staged a protest atthe National Assembly. It isfor this purpose that wealerted the public that thereis nothing like OhanaezeYouth Movement. The youthwing of Ohanaeze Ndigbo isclearly identified asOhanaeze Youth Council.

“What happened at theNational Assembly was agathering of some criminalelements who weretransported to Abuja for somesinister motive. It beats ourimagination that they choseto hide under the OhanaezeYouth Council to satisfy theirpay-masters.

“No true Igbo man orwoman could have gone toAbuja to engage in such ajamboree on September 29, aday set aside as NationalIgbo-day celebration. Assuch, these people are notfrom Igbo land, nor are theymembers of the Ohanaezeyouth council".

OCTOBER 1: 315 kinsmen of Gov Obiano receivefree medical treatment

By Chimaobi Nwaiwu

ABOUT 315 people fromAguleri in Anambra East

Local Government Area ofAnambra State benefited from thefree medical service rendered bythe Onitsha MilitaryCantonment of the NigerianArmy, as part of activities lined upfor Nigeria's 55th Independenceanniversary.

Aguleri is the hometown of thegovernor of Anambra State, ChiefWillie Obiano, and incidentallythey happened to be the firstpeople to benefit from theprogramme.

Addressing the recipients fromAguleri community at AmaezeAguleri Square, opposite the

palace of the traditional ruler ofthe community, EzeChristopher Idigo, the Officer inCharge of the MilitaryCantonment Medical ReceptionStation, MRS, Captain SaheedShittu, said the medical servicewill be extended to othercommunities in the state.

“In line with the 55thIndependence anniversary ofNigeria, the Military CantonmentOnitsha led by Col. AbdullahiIsah, organized this medicaloutreach on behalf of the NigerianArmy. The medical outreach isfree for all patients.

“The military is using thismedical service to foster civil-military relationship, and to alsomake our civilian brothers andsisters know that we also care for

them. Despite that we play ourprimary and statutory function ofprotectiing the territorial integrityof Nigeria, we also care for theirhealth. That is why we came toAguleri to offer this free medicalservice,” he said.

According to him: “We areoffering services for many healthchallenges. We attend to you onoutpatient basis, we have justdone health talk on diseases thatare preventable and consultationis being provided, whereby afterbeing checked from the recordssection, the nurses check yourvital signs and from there, youwill come to see the doctors andthen to the pharmacy where thedrugs are being dispensed,” hesaid.

Ebonyi firstlady donateswelfarepackages toorphanages

By Peter Okutu

ABAKALIKI—WIFEof Ebonyi State

governor, Chief RachaelUmahi, last week, donatedwelfare packages tonumerous orphanagehomes within the statecapital, Abakaliki.

The packages include:tubers of yam, jerry cans ofoil, bags of garri, bags ofrice, bags of beans,beverages, diapers,detergents and cash.

In a chat with Vanguardat the Government House,Abakaliki, beforedistributing the items to theorphanage homes, Mrs.Umahi noted that the act ofdistributing welfare items tothe less privilege in societyhad always been her dreamand passion right fromchildhood.

According to her,carrying out such gestureof putting a smile on thefaces of the needy andgiving hope to orphans andvulnerable children usuallygave her inexplicablepleasure and satisfaction.

RICE

PRODUCTION:

Ebonyiemploysmechanizedagricequipment

By Peter Okutu

ABAKALIKI—IN itsbid to boost rice

production in every nookand cranny of Ebonyi State,the present administration,last week, procureddifferent types ofmechanized agriculturalequipment for farmers.

The state governor, Engr.David Umahi, at an event,organized at the StateUniversity permanent site,Ezzamgbo, to demonstratethe efficiency of theequipment, noted that thestate government wouldsoon introduce irrigationfarming in the state.

He said government wasready to provide all thefunds needed to boost riceproduction in every part ofthe state.

While re-affirming hisa d m i n i s t r a t i o n ’ scommitment to turn aroundthe fortunes of the statethrough rice production,Governor Umahi stated thathis government wouldpurchase three bulldozersto boost farming activities.

From left, first Military Administrator of Ebonyi State, Walter Feghabor; former governorof Ebonyi State, Senator Sam Egwu; Deputy Governor of Ebonyi State, Kelechi Igwe;Governor David Umahi, his wife, Rachael Umahi, and wife of the Deputy Governor, NnennaIgwe, cutting the cake, during the Independence Day celebration and 19th anniversary ofEbonyi State creation in Abakaliki, yesterday.


NIGERIA AT 55: Ayade lamentsNigeria’s dependence onimported goods

CROSS River Stategovernor, Professor

Ben Ayade, yesterday,lamented the state ofslavery in which Nigeriahad found herself afterover five decades as anation state.

Lamenting what hedescribed as the country’sover dependence onimported goods, in anaddress to mark thecountry's 55thI n d e p e n d e n c eAnniversary at the U.J.Esuene Stadium, Calabar,Governor Ayade saidwhile Nigeria might havegained politicalindependence, she hadremained in a quagmireof economic slavery.

He said: “We havegained democraticindependence, but today,we are still in economicslavery as long as we feedon imported food, live onforeign finished homes,clothe with importedgarments, export ourcrude, import our refinedpetroleum products,import our medicines,weapons, tooth pick,singlet, socks and evenunder wears. As long aswe still depend on theirtechnology tocommunicate and travel,use their instruments toknow what we have in thesoil, water and how to getthem out, we remainslaves. As far as ourpolitical leaders continueto seek medical attentionin foreign lands, sendtheir children overseas tostudy, steal and stash ourmoney in foreign lands,then we are still slaves.Slave, to our mentality,slave to our inertia andslave to our colour.”

He noted that anypolitical independencewithout economicindependence isindependence inparalysis.

The governor, whocongratulated Nigerianson attaining 55 years as anation state, said itrepresented a greatmilestone for the country,given the delicate stridesit had made.

He said: “Today offersus another opportunity tocelebrate our nation’sindependence from hercolonial masters. It is,therefore, with muchdelight and honour that Iaddress you on thishistoric 55th anniversarycelebration whichrepresents a great

milestone as a sovereignnation. As we reminisceon our undulatingodyssey as a nation, wedo so with mixedmemories of the delicatestrides we have made inthe past 55 years. Nonation has ever got to itsdestination on a rollercoaster; and so, ours hasnot been an easy ride. Buttoday ’s anniversarymarks another watershedas we continue to marchahead with great hopeand a refreshing optimismwith our eyes cast on asparkling horizon that isa harbinger of lush.”

While paying tribute tothe country ’s fallenheroes, Governor Ayadereflected on the variousobstacles the country hashad to overcome, urgingNigerians to remainsteadfast in building astable and virile country.

Ayade said: “My goodpeople of Cross RiverState, on a day such asthis, we cannot but reflecton our pre-independencestruggles and theindefatigable role playedby our heroes past,culminating in our breakaway from the shackles ofcolonial domination. Aswe ruminate on ournation’s chequeredpolitical journey, the tallmountains we have hadto climb, the steep valleyswe have had to descend,I want to urge us toremain steadfast by re-committing and re-dedicating ourselves tothe values and the visionthat define us as a people.It is by so doing that wecan achieve trueindependence for ourpeople, one that willguarantee true freedom,good governance andtotal emancipation of ourpeople in the real senseof it.”

He assured that hisadministration would notrelent until it ensured thatevery Cross Riverian wasfree from the clutches ofeconomic deprivations.

The governor noted that“we shall not relent untilevery Cross Riverian isindeed, free from thesocio-economic manaclesthat have held us captiveto hunger and want.

"My good people ofCross State, the sacrificeswe make today willdefinitely translate into anenduring legacy for ourcollective future as astate.”

VanguardVanguardVanguardVanguardVanguardCLASSIFIED

O G U N D A N A — I ,formerly known andaddressed as MissAdeola AbiodunOgundana, now wishto be known andaddressed as Mrs.Adeola AbiodunAshiru-Balogun. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please take note.

S O B A M O W O — I ,formerly known andaddressed asYewande Sobamowo,now wish to be knownand addressed asMrs. YewandeThorpe. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General public,please take note.

MBABIE—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss EuchariaAkudo Mbabie, nowwish to be known andaddressed as Mrs.Eucharia AkudoNjoku. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

SERIKI—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss AdiatOlatunbosun Seriki,now wish to be knownand addressed as Mrs.Adiat OlatunbosunOyelude. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

FADEYI—I, formerlyknown and addressedas BabajideEbunoluwa Fadeyi,now wish to be knownand addressed as JideE b u n o l u w aOluwadeyi. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

ELIAS—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Elias CharlesEmeka Believe Dim,now wish to be knownand addressed asElias-Dim CharlesEmeka. All formerdocuments remainvalid. University ofCalabar, WAEC,JAMB, Ministry ofEducation and generalpublic please take note.

TEBU—I, formerly

known and addressed

as Ovuakporaye Tebu,

now wish to be known

and addressed as

O v u a k p o r a y e

Chrisehigiamusoe

Aigbekaen. All former

documents remain

valid. General public

please take note.

U G U R U K A L U — I ,formerly known andaddressed as MissRosemary NnennaUgurukalu, now wish tobe known and addressedas Mrs. RosemaryNnenna Orji. All formerdocuments remain valid.Abia State SecondaryEducation ManagementBoard, Ministry ofEducation and GeneralPublic please take note.

ADEOLA—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss AdeolaDeborah Omo-Izirein,now wish to be knownand addressed as Mrs.Adeola DeborahAkinbuli. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

C L I F F O R D — I ,formerly known andaddressed as MissClifford DeborahNkiruka, now wish tobe known andaddressed as Mrs.Deborah GijoAyebapreye. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

KIGIGHA—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss JosephineBeneth Kigigha, nowwish to be known andaddressed as Mrs.Alfred Josephine B.EIgbikibogha. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

E N E O G E N E — I ,formerly known andaddressed asEneogene PeaceOnyinyechi, nowwish to be known andaddressed asNnamuka PeaceOnyinyechi. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic take note.

EJIROGHENE— I , formerly known andaddressed as MissEjiroghene Tina Ejafor,now wish to be knownand addressed as Mrs.Ejiroghene TinaEjafor-Tangbe. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please take note.

O J A R O V W E E — I ,formerly known andaddressed as MissOjarovwee MercyEjiro, now wish to beknown and addressedas Mrs. Glen MercyEjiro Ojarovwee Arigi.All former documentsremain valid. FederalUniversity ofPetroleum Resources,Effurun and generalpublic please takenote.

OGIZEH—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Ogizeh FlorenceEdeki, now wish to beknown and addressedas Grace FlorenceMatthew (Grace F.M). All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

EGWUNWOKE—I, formerly known andaddressed as MissE g w u n w o k eChimeziri Priscilla,now wish to be knownand addressed as Mrs.Ohanaka ChimeziriPriscilla. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

IBEKA—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss IbekaOnyinyechi ChizobaMiriam, now wish tobe known andaddressed as Mrs.Alioha OnyinyechiChizoba Miriam. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please take note.

EDOGHOGHO—I,formerly known andaddressed as MissE d o g h o g h oEjiroghene Blessing,now wish to be knownand addressed as Mrs.Okuro EjirogheneBlessing. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

N E W Y E A R — I ,formerly known andaddressed as MissOgagan Newyear, nowwish to be known andaddressed as Mrs.Ogagan DanEfekarurhobo (NeeNewyear). All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

O N O K P I T E — I ,formerly known andaddressed as MissOnokpite Vera Onome,now wish to be knownand addressed as Mrs.Vera Onome Okunola.All former documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please take

note.

OLOKPA—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss EjirogheneOlokpa, now wish to beknown and addressedas Mrs. EjirogheneOghenetejiri Christian.All former documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please take note.

OKORIE—I, formerly

known and addressed

as James Okorie, now

wish to be known and

addressed as James

Enebe. All former

documents remain

valid. General public

please take note.

AGU—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss Agu DorisEbere, now wish to beknown and addressedas Mrs. EmiemokumoDoris Ebere. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

LIVINUS—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Anozie ObinnaLivinus, now wish tobe known andaddressed as AnozieObinna Sean. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

Reconciliation of nameThis is to confirm thatthe names NwachukwuJoy and OmosedeBlessing Joy refer toone and same person.I now wish to be knownand addressed asOmosede Blessing Joy.All former documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please take note.

Correction of date of birthMy name is OmosedeBlessing Joy. I was bornon 11th July, 1990, but mydate of birth was wronglystated in my InternationalPassport as 8th January,1982. This is to affirm thatmy correct date of birth is11th July, 1990. All formerdocuments remain valid.General public please takenote.

YOU CAN BOOK YOUR ADVERT AT:

TRINITY MALL,79/81 OBAFEMI AWOLOWO WAY,

IKEJA. CALL: 08028289689, 08035449960,

MURPHÝ'S PLAZA, 27, SANUSIFAFUNWA STREET,VICTORIA ISLAND.

CALL: 08038092373, 08033163424


SOME Nigerians were dividedyesterday over the confidence

vote passed on Senate PresidentBukola Saraki and the Senateleadership by 83 senators onTuesday. While some okayed thevote, others thought otherwise inview of the alleged false assetsdeclaration suit that Saraki isfacing at the Code of ConductTribunal (CCT).

Why we passed vote ofconfidence on Saraki – SenatorUmaru

Senator David Umaru (APC,Niger East) explained the reasonbehind Tuesday’s vote ofconfidence on Senate PresidentBukola Saraki.

He said subtle attempts beingmade to influence some senatorsto withdraw their support for theSenate President to pave the wayfor his resignation or removalnecessitated the senators’ action.

Umaru said the action was toprove to strong individualsoutside, who are behind themove that majority of senators inthe 8th Senate were solidly insupport of the Saraki-ledleadership and cannot beinfluenced by any outside forcesto take action in their favour.

The senator, who sponsored the

SARAKI: Musings over vote of confidence

By Clifford Ndujihe,Charles Kumolu, Emman

Ovuakporie, Joseph Erunke& Johnbosco Agbakwuru

motion for the confidencevote,said the provisions of the1999 constitution as amended,guarantees the separation ofpowers and independence of thelegislative arm of government .

He said the action of the 83senators on Tuesday was a displayof their displeasure over what hecalled attempt and continuedinterference in the internal affairsof the Senate by outside forces.

“The vote of confidence on theSaraki-led leadership of theSenate was to tell our detractorsthat they won’t succeed indestroying the Senate by theirdistraction. Nigerians haveelected us here and nobody elsecan dictate to us from outside onwho to make our leader in anycapacity,”he added.

What matters is the confidenceof Nigerians — Gbagi

Commenting on thedevelopment, former Minister ofState for Education, ChiefKenneth Gbagi said: ‘’Myposition on the Saraki issueregarding his case at the CCT hasnot changed. Whether thesenators pass vote of confidenceon him or not does not matter,what matters is the confidence ofNigerians. ‘We were witnesses tohow most of them emerged assenators, so Nigerians should notbe carried away by thedevelopment. A number of times,we irresponsibly do things in this

country thinking that we arealone. No country is alonebecause the world isinterconnected. Because of thecareless attitude to salient issues,the country is often made alaughing stock in the eyes of theworld. The senators can dowhatever they like. Does vote ofconfidence stop the tribunal fromgoing ahead with prosecutingSaraki?’’

It was a good thing to do—TsavHowever, Former Lagos State

Commissioner of Police, AlhajiAbubakar Tsav, said: ‘’The electionof Senate president and otherprinciple officers in the Senate isthe prime responsibility of theSenate and not outsiders. Thevote of confidence passed on theSenate President clearly showsthat the Senators voluntarily votedhim as their leader and this is avictory for Democracy. This apart,his arraignment before the CCTis a gross violation of DueProcess. In addition, the chargesfor which he was arraigned aremere allegations which need beto proved before he ispronounced guilty. The 83Senators are men of honour andwisdom. They’ve done the rightthing.’’

Reps speakSome members of the House of

Representatives also yesterdayreacted to the development.

The Minority Leader of theHouse, Hon. Leo Ogor (PDP,Delta State) said he was verymuch in support of the confidencevote on Saraki and Deputy SenatePresident Ike Ekweremadu,adding that the legislature cannotafford to see anybody rubbish theinstitution.

Ogor said as the leader of theMinority party, the issue clearlyhas nothing to do with Saraki andthat the legislature is a separatearm of government with equal if

not superior rights than theexecutive.

He said that going by theprovision of the Constitution, theexecutive and the legislaturehave equal rights and that theConstitution created threedifferent institutions and now onehead of the arm is under trial.

He maintained that the SenatePresident is the head of thelegislative institution no matter thescenario and that nobody shouldsubject the institution to any formof embarrassment.

“Rubbishing him is rubbishingthe institution”, he stressed.

Hon. Chike Okafor (APC, ImoState), said the action of theSenate showed that “theprovisions in the Constitutionwhich make it such that thelegislature is independent of anyother arm from interference fromoutside is being upheld just as ithappened on the 9th of Junewhen we went into the twochambers against what the partyand some political leaders wanted,or had predicted and had desired.

Also commenting, Hon. OssaiOssai (PDP, Delta State) said:“The House feels it is aninstitution of the legislature andhe must be protected and theHouse feels in the past we havealways had political solutions andI believe that the decision of theHouse is an honourabledecision.”

The vote ofconfidence on theSaraki-ledleadership of theSenate was to tellour detractors thatthey won’t succeedin destroying theSenate by theirdistraction

House of Representatives

CMYK

2015: KOGI DECIDES


representatives of the EbiraPeoples Association, EPA,community leaders, opinionmoulders and civil societyorganisations among others.

The convener of the meeting,Mr. Baba Abdulrazak said thedecision to endorse Salawuwas to promote the aspirationof the zone.

“The meeting ratified andupheld the endorsement of thecandidacy of Dr. Philip Salawuas the sole candidate for KogiCentral senatorial district. His

•Wada

By Kindsley Fanwo

Issues that will shape polls

•Audu

ETHNIC consideration is amajor factor in Kogi State

politics. Instead of buildingwith the bricks of issues,politics is more of a brotherlycamaraderie among thepeople. And the 2015governorship election in thestate is not expected to departfrom the past.

DemographyAccording to the 2006

population census, Kogi Stateis inhabited by 3, 314, 043people, making it the 24thmost populous state inNigeria. Prior to the 2006census, the population of KogiEast which is predominated bythe Igala speaking people washigher than the addition of thetwo other districts of Kogi Westand Kogi Central. Kogi Westcomprises the Yoruba people,the Oworo and the Nupeamong others in Kogi andLokoja local councils.

Populationdistribution

But the 2006 census gave theWest and central a combinededge over the East inpopulation distribution. WhileKogi East boasts of apopulation of 1, 479, 144representing 45 per cent of thetotal population; Kogi Westhas a population of 906, 244which represents 27 per centof the population of the statewhile Kogi Central ispopulated by 928, 655 people,representing 28 per cent of thetotal population.

Okene Local GovernmentArea in Kogi Central is themost populous in the statewith a population of 325, 623.The figures from the 2006census embolden the West andCentral senatorial districts,

giving the impression thatthey have the population towin the governorship positionthat has eluded them since thecreation of the state.

Smart as the major politicalparties are, they have movedswiftly to promise the ethnicgroupings power rotation in2020 to possibly douse theagitations for power shift in theforthcoming election.

Voting patternUsing the 2015 presidential

election as a benchmark, thevoting pattern in the state,despite the poor turnout ofvoters, still reflected thepopulation distribution.

Out of the 439, 287 total votescast during the presidentialelection, Kogi West accountedfor 118, 894 which represented27.1 per cent of the total votescast while Kogi Central turnedin 120, 316 votes, representing27.3 per cent. Kogi East had200, 077 votes or 44.6 per centof the votes cast in the state.

As it is now, Kogi West isexpected to be the determiningfactor in the governorshipelection.

While the incumbentgovernor, Capt. Idris Wadaand the All ProgressivesCongress, APC Candidate,Prince Abubakar Audu areexpected to share the votes inKogi East, analysts are of theopinion that until October 7,2015 when substitution ofcandidates would wind up, noone can be sure of KogiCentral. The position of AlhajiYahaya Bello, who hails fromthe Central District is stillunclear.

After the demise of the latepolitical leader of Ebiraland,late Dr. A.T. Ahmed, Belloseems to be the most visiblepolitical leader in the zone.With increasing pressure onthe young entrepreneur to

defect to another party, thepeople of Central may do whatthey did in 2003 when theyfielded and supported one oftheir own in the governorshipelection that produced AlhajiIbrahim Idris.

Kogi West already boasts oftwo governorship runningmates. While Arc. AbayomiAwoniyi is expected to runwith the incumbent, Hon.Abiodun Faleke has emergedas the running mate to PrinceAbubakar Audu. Lokoja andKogi local councils, which arethe most densely populated inthe District, will play a decisiverole in determining who winsthe zone.

While Ijumu Local Councilmay choose to reward the APCfor giving them the Senate,deputy governorship and

ministerial positions, theYagba people of Mopamuro,Yagba East and Yagba WestLGAs may choose to go withany party that zones thedeputy governorship positionto the area. As it stands today,only the PDP has done that.Kabba/Bunu has always beena stronghold of the PDP. Theparty has never lost theresince 1999.

The incumbent is expectedto record a slight edge over theAPC in Lokoja LGA due to theinfluence of Senator TundeOgbeha. However, punditsare giving Kogi LocalGovernment Area to the APCdue to the strong showing ofthe party in the LGA duringthe last general election.

State legislatorsNever has the Kogi State

House of Assembly been asbalanced as it is now. PDP has14 members while theopposition APC has 11members. These numbers areexpected to impact on theoutcome of the polls. The

House of Assembly membershave been given marchingorders to deliver theirconstituencies. However, thismight prove a Herculean taskas the challenges thrown upby a governorship election arequite different.

With the Speaker still verypopular in the CentralSenatorial District, he mayswing votes in favour of thegovernor who wasinstrumental to his emergenceafter the impeachment of theformer Speaker, Rt. Hon.Abdullahi Bello.

Swing local councilsOkene, Adavi, Lokoja, Kogi,

Dekina and Anpa are the LGAsto watch out for in the election.With their numeric strenght,they are capable ofdetermining who wins orloses. The major politicalparties and their candidateswill traverse the length andbreadth of the state in searchof votes in what promises tobe a keenly contested electionin the history of the state.

choice is informed by his vastpolitical experience, courageand familiarity with thepolitical terrain of the state.These traits make him the mostqualified among all thecandidates”

He however urged Salawu towork with other concernedcitizens from the other twosenatorial zones towards theactualization of an all inclusivegovernment after theNovember 21 election.

Using the 2015presidentialelection as abenchmark, thevoting pattern inthe state, despitethe poor turnoutof voters, stillreflected thepopulationdistribution inKogi

Kogi Central endorses

SalawuBy Boluwaji Obahopo

•Salawu

THE Ebira people ofthe central

senatorial axis of KogiState have endorsedthe candidature of aformer deputy governorof the state, Dr. PhilipSalawu in thef o r t h c o m i n ggovernorship election.

The endorsement wasmade at a town hallmeeting convened bythe Ebira YouthCongress, EYC, andEbira RenaissanceGroup, ERG, whichhad in attendance the

CMYK

ON what he want the Federal Government to do inorder to hasten the journey towards nationhood

I am perturbed by the delay in the implementation of theNational Conference report. President Muhammadu Buharishould quickly adopt the outcome of the conference as ananti-corruption template. Ex-president Goodluck Jonathanhad convoked the Confab at the twilight of his administrationto address multiple structural imbalances plaguing the nation.The ‘change’ mantra adopted by the present administrationwill be tantamount to nothing without the implementation ofthe Confab report. There is need as every Nigerian hasidentified, to sit down and discuss how we are going to live.Most of the segments of the country are complaining. Whatbrought about the Biafran war? It is inequality and injustice.Some people think they own this country. These challengeswere what the Confab addressed. These challenges weregenerating a lot of mistrust among Nigerians. Jonathan tookthe bull by the horn and was able to convoke the Confabwhere all shades of people came together to discuss the wayforward.

A section of this country never wanted the Confab becausethey are benefiting from the lopsidedness of the structure.The Confab built a bridge over the rivers of division in thiscountry and everybody was happy. Jonathan vowed toimplement it. The All Progressives Congress, APC, thoughtthe Confab was political and that was why they kicked againstit. Now, we are almost five months down the line in the lifeof this administration and nobody is talking about the report.

The Confab report is a structural reconstruction of the countrytowards equity,justice and fair play. These recommendationsare what will help the fight against corruption. It is thedeterminant factor for our survival in the next 100 years.Buhari must bring out the report to ensure the structuralchange we all yearn for. Non implementation is an obviousindication of a sectional agenda which we do not want. As aman of integrity, he should know what is right. He said hebelongs to nobody and belongs to everybody. Let’s see ithappen.

•Nduka Eya

We must implement Confab report — Eya

By Francis Igata


Continued from yesterday

I’m worried, unhappy butoptimistic — Osoba

HE was a trustee of Asaboro’s Estate. He was taken tocourt as a trustee over the estate and judgement was inthe first instance given against the trustee, not againstOritsejolomi Thomas as a person.

Our correspondent in Akure, where the case took place,got compromised, the lawyer for the other side, aboutthree months after, instigated him to write the story of acourt judgement given three months earlier. It got to ourdesk, we thought it was a fresh story, we went ahead touse the story and that led to massive demonstration inthe University of Ibadan and led to the removal of aninnocent, decent, respected Nigerian - OritsejolomiThomas from the University of Ibadan as Vice Chancellor.

On the higher level, the case was over turned, theinnocence of Oritsejolomi Thomas was established buthe couldn’t be reinstated. By then we had fallen into thehands of a corrupt reporter to end the career of an amicableNigerian in the calibre of Oritsejolomi Thomas. That’swhy I say the way we’re conducting ourselves in themedia is bad. Government must not rely on the headlinesespecially in this era of Internet journalism to destroyinnocent Nigerians who perhaps have not had the chanceto know the records that they have about them to react tothose records whether they are right or wrong.

What are your thoughts about Nigeria at 55?Trying times, but we shall survive. I have observed and

seen Nigeria go through more terrible and worrisomethings but we have survived.

Whatever level we may be, we will recover. Was therenot a time when Harold Wilson had to devalue the PoundSterling? Did the British not get to the level, are they notback? And the Pound now is a very strong currency. Anation will always survive, it is leadership.

I’m worried, bothered and unhappy but I’m optimistic.You reacted to former President Obasanjo’s insinuation

that Awolowo was appointed as Yoruba leader by hisfollowers.

There has never been another Yoruba man of the calibre

of Awolowo so far. Awolowo laboured very hard, rightfrom the time he was a student in UK to bring the Yorubatogether, he worked hard for it, he earned it, he was neveraccepted by the entire Yoruba. For a long time, he neverwon elections in the urban centres, Lagos, Abeokuta,Ilesha, Ibadan, all the urban centres. He was winning inthe rural areas to offset the result of the urban centres.

Over time, the best election where he got the entireYoruba behind him was in 1963. I was involved. In thatpresidential election, he had total, massive support ofthe Yoruba race behind him.

For the election of August 12, 1966; I was present there,the intention of that meeting was not to elect a leader, theintention was to unite all the forces within Yoruba land, itwas the first time that Chief Mike Odu who wasadministrator in South West will be meeting Awolowo forthe first time. Awolowo had just come out of prison. Peoplelike TOS Benson, Aderogun, it was their first time of sittingwith Awolowo, it was a mere meeting of uniting Yorubaleaders and the man who organized it is still alive, that iswhy I still say that investigative journalism should bepursued vigorously. General Adeyinka Adebayo is stillalive. I said Obasanjo was also involved as GarrisonCommander in Ibadan then, I put all the facts before thewhole world.

It is not meant to be a war between me and Obasanjo, Ijust wanted to correct the fact that Awolowo wasspontaneously and unanimously; the emphasis onspontaneity and unanimity- he was spontaneously andunanimously, without single dissent, adopted as theleader of the Yoruba. If anyone says otherwise, I willproduce more records because the then Commissioner ofPolice, Emmanuel Olufunwa, one of the best police officersthis country has ever produced, was the father of aclassmate of mine and I was staying with him as a CPwho was also a member of the cabinet of General Adebayo.So through him I knew a lot, I knew too much so if anyoneputs his hand in my mouth, I’ll reveal more, more educativeinformation.

•Osoba

In the first part of this interview used yesterday,one Chief Mike Odu was said to be theadministrator of Western Region instead ofChief (Dr) Moses Adekoyejo Majekodunmi, whowas an eminent Physician and Administrator.The error is regretted— Editor

PRINTER’S DEVIL

The ‘change’mantra adopted bythe presentadministrationwill be tantamountto nothing withouttheimplementation ofthe Confab report.

Elder statesman and former scribe of the apex Igbosocio- cultural group, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief NdukaEya, in this interview, wants President MuhammaduBuhari to implement the National Conference reportas Nigeria marks her 55th anniversary. He said theConfab report is a panacea to the structural problemsplaguing Nigeria. Excerpts:

46—Vanguard, FRIDAY, OCTOMBER 2 , 2015

9-year-oldcries forjustice overallegedkilling ofmother byPolice

....As Borno Christians pray for peace atRamat Square

We're ready to explore gas devt inNigeria —SHELL MD

80 Boko Haram terroristssurrender to JTF in Borno

By Ndahi Marama

By Ebere Aham

VALEDICTORY SESSION: Deputy Governor of Enugu State, Mrs. Cecilia Ezeilo makingher speech during the valedictory court session in honour of Justice Louis Okereke, at theJudiciary headquarters in Enugu.

LAGOS—THE ManagingDirector of Shell Nigeria,

a subsidiary of Royal DutchShell plc (Shell), yesterday,said it is ready to exploreNatural gas development, tomake it a hub in domesticconsumption and export forprospective investment in thecountry.

In a statement by theDirector of Shell PetroleumDevelopment Company ofNigeria Limited, Mr. OsagieOkunbor, reiterated hiscompany’s commitment ondeveloping gas for domesticuse.

According to him, “Our

M A I D U G U R I —CHRISTIANS in Borno

State have been urged tointensify prayers for peace toreturn to the North East of thecountry and all other parts ofNigeria faced with crisis thatrecently claimed many lives andproperty.

Speaking at special prayers forthe 55th IndependenceAnniversary celebrationconducted by the ChristianAssociation of Nigeria, CAN,Maiduguri MetropolitanCouncil, Borno State chairman,Rev Titus Pona, who wasrepresented by the metrochairman, Rev Bitrus Bidiyah,said Nigeria needed moreprayers now from Christians andother faiths to help the nationovercome its challenges.

“God has asked us to pray forthe peace of Jerusalem and ourcountry is our Jerusalem. Wehave gathered here to pray forour country for God to help ourleaders at various level turnaround the situation both ineconomy and other spheres,”said the cleric yesterday at RamatSquare, Maiduguri.

Series of prayers were alsoheld for the President, governors,National and State Assemblies,judiciary and security agencies.

The CAN leader said PresidentMuhammadu Buhari could notsucceed alone without the

LAGOS—NINE-year-old Blessing Udoh

who witnessed the brutalmurder of her mother bytrigger happy Policeofficer, Musefiu Aremuon September 16, 2015,said yesterday shewanted justice for herfamily.

Blessing Udoh said thisat her brother’s one-yearbirthday party organizedby members of WomenArise, a non-g o v e r n m e n t a lorganization, yesterday.

According to her, “Iwant the government totake care of my family.My father is not workinganymore since theincident as he is stillundergoing treatment atLagos State UniversityTeaching Hospital.”

The team, led by Dr JoeOdumakin, thechairperson of theorganization, said:“There is no one whocan replace Elijah’smother but we will do ourbest to see that justice isdone.

"The deceased was amother to four kids,Mary who is 12 yearsold, Blessing who isnine, Abraham who isseven and Elijah who isjust one today. She wasa wife. She was deeplycommitted to familyvalues. She is not hereto celebrate her childtoday but I am sure thatshe is here in spirit.

"She was a greatwoman. She clutchedher son to her bosomwhile she died. We arecalling the attention ofour police to know thatthey are supposed tosecure lives andproperty.

"The death of Elijah’smother is grave andnothing can bring herback to life and that iswhy Women Arise ispleading that theyshould be our friends.Those who err should bepunished. Justice mustbe done. The killer ofElijah’s mother has beenarrested, tried,arraigned and he is nowremanded.

B A M A — E I G H T YBoko Haram

terrorists havesurrendered to troops ofOPERATION LAFIYADOLE at Bama, BornoState.

The terrorists, amongwho were commanders,suppliers and footsoldiers, confirmed tohave partook in severalterrorists attacks,especially in Bama town,Borno State.

The insurgents saidthey surrendered as aresult of the intense heatand continuous offensiveaction embarked upon bytroops.

It will be recalled thatthe Army had repeatedlystated that surrender wasthe only option availableto insurgents, saying theNigerian Army andNigerian Air Force, inconjunction with othersecurity agencies, weretotally committed to theachievement of the threemonths Presidentialdeadline for theeradication of terrorismin Nigeria.

The Army in a statementsigned by Colonel SaniKukasheka Usman,

Acting Director ArmyPublic Relations,

charged other terrorists to alsosurrender or face totalannihilation.

‘’As the new name of the

operation states ‘achievementof total peace is a must’.Citizens are please requestedto continue providing useful

information to securityagencies that will lead toapprehension of all knownterrorists,’’ he said.

prayers of the people.He said those working or will

work with the President must alsoshare the vision of the Presidentto bring positive change into thecountry, adding that the fear ofGod was inevitable in leadership.

“The clerics need prayers too tolead people right in the way ofGod rather than pursuingpersonal interest,” said Rev.Bidiyah.

Speaker at the special prayer,Rev. Christopher Twan of BaptistChurch in his sermon titled:“Praying and Celebrating ourLiberty in Christ,” urged Nigeriansto pray to God to release the nationfrom bondage of those who benefitfrom the nation’s under-development.

Quoting from the Bible, he saidApostle Paul admonishedChristians not to be entangled

again in yoke of bondagehaving received freedom fromGod through Christ, calling onChristians to shun all acts thatcould return them to “mental,spiritual and physical slaveryagain.”

He said God has a purposeto liberate the country from badleadership, adding thatcontinuous prayers wereneeded to make this purpose areality.”

strategy is to invest a lot morein gas, for domesticconsumption and export. Wewant to grow our deep waterand constrain our onshore oilproduction.

“Shell’s flagship projectwould be the Gbaran-Ubieproject, which will increase gassupplies for the Bonnyliquefied natural gas, LNG,export terminal. A first phasebegan production in 2010. “

Shell has been divestingonshore oil-producing assets forthe last few years andcompleted another set near theend of March.

The sales are part of efforts tomove away from onshore oilprojects in Nigeria, which areplagued by industrial scale

theft, security problems andpipeline spills, which havebecome a growing legalliability.

Bonny Island which issituated at the southern edgeof Rivers State, in the NigerDelta of Nigeria, near PortHarcourt, is Nigeria’s onlyliquefied natural gas exportterminal.

This was even as thecompany also disclosed thatit put to a halt crude exportfrom one of its key terminalsin the country as a result ofa leak in its pipeline system.

The report had it that itssuspension affected crudeexports from Forcadosterminal, which has acapacity of 400 000 barrels aday and also recorded as thecountry’s main export point.

By Ediri Ejoh with Agencyreport


MARCHING ON: Guards parade at the forecourt of the Presidential Villa during the 55th Independence Daycelebration yesterday in Abuja.

A BUJA—PRESIDENTMuhammadu Buhari,

yesterday, led an array of pastnational leaders in a colourfulceremony held at thePresidential Villa, Abuja, tomark the country's 55thindependence anniversary,where most of the leaders said,in spite of challenges, thecountry’s future is bright.

This was as the SenatePresident, Dr. Bukola Saraki, theChief Justice of Nigeria, CJN,Mr. Mahmoud Mohammed andthe National Chairman of AllProgressives Congress, APC,Chief John Odigie-Oyegun,eulogized the nation.

Saraki said the NationalAssembly was poised to makelaws that would impactpositively on Nigerians.

He said: “I am hopeful andconfident that the future is verybright. In the next few years,things will be even better. It willnot be business as usual.

“We will ensure that theNational Assembly will bepeople-oriented and will makelaws that will make impact onNigerians.”

For the CJN: “We will make itby the grace of God. We are onthe right path.”

On his part, Oyegun saidNigeria had finally discoveredthe road to greatness with thecoming of APC government andPresident Buhari in the saddle.

He said: “At 55, we havefinally discovered that we havebeen on the wrong road. Wehave finally moved to the roadthat leads to progress, hope,employment, prosperity andthat will lead Nigeria finally toattaining that greatness thatGod destined it for.”

Meanwhile, the event, whichturned out to be an affair of theNigerian Army, featuredinspection of new guard,quarter guard, silent drill,posting of sentries, colour/flagspatrol and 21-gun salute.

Roll callThere were also foot and arms

drill, rhythmic marches andinspection by paradecommander of the soldiers’weapons, among others.

Attended by dignitaries acrossall fields of human endeavour,the ceremony also sawPresident Buhari cutting theanniversary cake alongside theSenate President, Speaker of theHouse of Representatives, Mr.Yakubu Dogara, the CJN andothers.

Most of the dignitariesincluded the Vice President,Professor Yemi Osinbajo; formerHeads of State, General YakubuGowon (retd) and Chief ErnestShonekan; former VicePresident, Dr Alex Ekwueme;former Chief of General Staff,General Oladipo Diya (retd);former Chief of General Staff,

Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe(retd); and Second RepublicSenate President, ChiefJoseph Wayas.

Others included formerSenate President, KenNnamani; Secretary to theGovernment of the Federation,Babachir Lawal; former SGF,Babagana Kingibe; Chief ofDefence Staff, General TundeOlonishakin; Service Chiefsincluding the Chiefs of Army,Air Force and Navy and formerAdamawa State governor,Admiral Murtala Nyako(retd).

Govs' forumMeanwhile, the 36 state

governors have warnedNigerians against divisivetendencies.

The governors, who operateunder the platform of NigeriaGovernors’ Forum, NGF,called on Nigerians to alwaysgive national interest priorityin all their dealings.

In their joint independencemessage to the nation, thegovernors in a statement bytheir Chairman, GovernorAbdulaziz Yari of ZamfaraState, also charged Nigeriansto exhibit actions that promotedemocratic ideals andpeaceful co-existence at alllevels of government in thecountry.

According to Yari, theindependence anniversaryshould remind Nigerians oftheir common root, destiny anddetermination to succeed.

He charged Nigerians to seethemselves as change agents,wherever they find themselvesand to join hands withgovernment at all levels toenthrone the desired change.

ObasanjoSpeaking with reporters in

his Abeokuta home, OgunState, former President, ChiefOlusegun Obasanjo, said

Nigeria at 55 was still young,growing and has not donebadly.

Obasanjo said 50 years in thelife of a nation is comparativelyyoung, noting the developedcountries had made themistakes Nigeria was making.

He urged Nigerian leadersto correct their mistakes for thecountry to be great like othergreat countries.

While reacting to PresidentBuhari’s nationwideindependence broadcast,Obasanjo said for Nigeria toactualize her great potential,all hands must be on deckirrespective of the location,tribe and social standing.

He argued that Nigeria willactualize her great potential ifthe leaders do not play withthe issues of education, health,security, economy andunemployment and kick outcorruption.

He added that fightingcorruption should not berestricted to monetary issue,saying corruption of attitude,which he said comprisesnepotism, favouritism amongothers, should also beshunned by the leaders.

His words: “What isimportant is that certaincardinal principles, cardinalfeatures of our national live,values, should not be eroded.And then we should also bewilling to learn from ourmistakes.

OshiomholeAlso exuding optimism,

Governor Adams Oshiomholeof Edo State said for Nigeriato remain united despite thepoverty, insecurity and tensionwitnessed during the lastgeneral election, shows thatthe nation will overcome all itsproblems and become astronger nation.

Speaking at the SamuelOgbemudia Stadium, during

the celebration of the nation’sindependence yesterday,Oshiomhole said: “We haveevery reason to celebrate thisoccasion. Our great countryhas experienced ups anddown over the past 55 years.

“In all of this, it is my viewthat our country is strongertoday than it was 55 yearsago.”

ObianoGovernor Willie Obiano of

Anambra State said attaining55 years as a united country“is a milestone in the lifecycle of nations.

“It is even more so in Africaand other developingcountries of the world wherethe very idea of nationhoodis perpetually on trial. Wemust all be thankful toAlmighty God for his speciallove and infinite grace toNigeria.”

However, he said, theoccasion calls for a soberreflection because “55 yearsago, when the Nigerian flagreplaced the British UnionJack, our founding fathersdreamt of a country whosegreatness would finallyannounce to the free world,the rise of a super-power inBlack Africa.

“They dreamt of a strongcountry whose inherentpotential would outweigh itsin-born socio-culturalinhibitions and whosepromise would outshine theteething problems of nascentnationhood.

“Our founding fathers hadrightly hoped and prayed forthe sun to rise on Nigeria andfor a moment, their wishesseemed granted.

“However, 55 years afterindependence, our countryhas repeatedly danced on theedge of the cliff andexperienced harrowingmoments of civil

disturbances, religious andethnic violence and wide-spreaduncertainty and doubt about ourcorporate future. But Nigeria willsurvive through it all.”

OkowaDelta State Governor, Senator

Ifeanyi Okowa, told Nigerians toreflect on the myriads ofchallenges confronting thecountry in its 55 years ofnationhood, especially insecurityand corruption and tackle themheadlong.

He decried the insecurity of thecountry in the face of indigenousterrorism, the scourge ofcorruption ravaging not only thepublic institutions, but also theircollective national psyche and“grave questions over thecontrol and appropriation of ournatural resources, disturbingrate of unemployed andunemployable Nigerians andother challenges Nigerianshave faced and continue toencounter on their path torealizing the growth anddevelopment of the country.

Others who also expressedtheir views where Rev. ChrisOkotie, Senator Ayo Arise andSenator Babajide Omoworare.

Meanwhile, Lagos EastBishop of Church of GodMission International, BishopEgowa Matthew, has called onNigerians to desist from usingthe independence daycelebration as a day to mourn,regret and curse leaders forwhat is perceived as failure ormissed opportunities, but torejoice and celebrate Nigeria’sexistence and thank God forkeeping the nation thus far.

For Mr. Tajudeen Obasa,representing Ojo FederalConstituency in the House ofRepresentatives, Nigeriansshould not relent in supportingthe government at all levels.

He said: “Nigerians mustremain steadfast and pray for theprosperity of the nation.”

NIGERIA @ 55: We have a bright future—LEADERSBuhari leads former leaders in celebration; Saraki, Oyegun, CJN express optimism

OBJ to FG: Don’t limit war against graft to money

By Our Reporters

48 — VANGUARD, 48 — VANGUARD, 48 — VANGUARD, 48 — VANGUARD, 48 — VANGUARD, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2015FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2015FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2015FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2015FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2015

Dhul-Hijjah 18, 1436 A.H.

LAMIDI BAMIDELE'S LENSFROM SAUDI ARABIA

AS investigation continueson the fire that engulfed parts

of Baitul-Futuh Mosque in London,two suspects have been nabbed - a16-year-old boy and a 14-year-oldboy. Both have since remained incustody at a south London policestation.

According to a reliable source, thefire started from the ground floor andthrough to the first floor of thebuilding without affecting themosque on the first floor.

The National President of the UKJamaat, Rafiq Hayat, confirmed that“By the grace of God, the mosqueis safe and unaffected and therewere no injuries and no loss of life.

HistoryIn the late 90s and with the rapidly

growing number of the AhmadiyyaMuslim Jamaat in the UnitedKingdom, there was need to builda new mosque that could serve theever growing need of the

THE immediate pastLagos State governor,

Mr Babatunde Raji Fashola,SAN has said that no act ofterrorism should be linked withIslam. Fashola made thisassertion during the publicpresentaion of a book entitled:'Frontiers of Jihad: RadicalIslam in Africaat' held at theMuson Centre, Lagos,recently.

Fashola who was thechairman of the occasioncommended the author, DrYinka Olomojobi, Acting Headof Department, Jurisprudenceand Public Law Department,Babcock University, for exraying the subject matterradical Islam saying, "any actsof terrorism should not belikened with Islam."

Among other dignitaries thatwere present at the occasionwere the radical preacherPastor Tunde Bakare whopresented the book, theExecutive Secretary of MuslimUmmah of South/West Nigeria(MUSWEN) Professor DawudNoibi and a lecturer with theUniversity of Lagos Dr Adelaja

community. Over the last fewdecades, the Jamaat has built newmosques across the countryincluding London, Sheffield,Bradford, Hartlepool, Birmingham,Oxford, Scotland as well as otherparts of England.

The Baitul Futuh mosque -meaning ‘House of Victories’ whichwas on fire last week is notable for itaward winning architecturaldesigns and perfect construction.The main construction started in1999 and the foundation stone waslaid on October 19, 1999 in aceremony attended by about 2000guests. With the spirit of giving bymembers, donations poured in fromfar and near and four years later,the 5.2 acre site became an edifice,taking the status of the largesmosque in Britain and one of thelargest in Western Europe. OnOctober 3, 2003, it wascommissioned by His Holiness

Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad.The most noticeable feature of the

mosque is its simplicity. Apart fromthe administrative, communityfacilities as well as MTA’s studio,there are two prayer halls ofidentical size, one for men on thefirst floor and the other for womenin the lower ground floor. Thewomen’s prayer hall has a crechein an adjoining room that enableschildren to participate in theproceedings without distractingothers. It has its own kitchen andmother and baby facilities while itstriple glazed partition ensures thatany noise from the creche is notaudible in the women’s prayer hall.

For a number of years, the baituFutuh mosque has played hosts toAnnual Peace Conferences whererepresentatives of other religionsand people from all walks of lifeattend. It has about 5000capacity.

The story of Baitul-Futuh Mosque

Don't link act of terrorism withIslam — Fashola

By Bose Adelaja

MORE than 1,000 pilgrimsare still confined to a

number of hospitals in Makkahfor treatment of various ailments,Health Ministry’s spokesmanFaisal Al-Zahrani said.

He said the patients includesome pilgrims who were injuredin the crane crash in the GrandMosque on Sept. 11 and otherswho sustained injuries during theMina stampede.

Zahrani said pilgrims who wereinjured during the stampedewere transported to specialisthospitals outside the holy sites.

Giving a breakdown of thenumber of the pilgrims who weretreated during Hajj, thespokesman said the health centersand outpatient clinics in hospitalsreceived 386,072 cases.

He said as many as 405,542pilgrims visited emergency wards,1,115 were admitted for variousdiseases, 607 had sunstrokes, 885suffered from heat exhaustion and

More than 1More than 1More than 1More than 1More than 1,000 sic,000 sic,000 sic,000 sic,000 sick pilgrims stillk pilgrims stillk pilgrims stillk pilgrims stillk pilgrims stillin Makkah hospitalsin Makkah hospitalsin Makkah hospitalsin Makkah hospitalsin Makkah hospitals

five deliveries were made.Zahrani said 22 open-heart

surgeries were conducted inaddition to 668 catheter operations,2,213 kidney dialysis sessions and31 various endoscopic operations.

Around 10 pilgrims who wereinjured during the stamped weredischarged from King AbdullahMedical Complex in Jeddah afterreceiving treatment.

Saeed Hamad Al-Ghamdi,executive director, said the complexreceived 46 injured pilgrims, ofwhom 24 were admitted to theintensive care unit.

Ghamdi said the hospital alsoprovided the sick pilgrims with newclothes and other accessories andprovided their relatives with roomsto be near them.

Meanwhile, 99 pilgrims who diedduring the stampede were buriedin Al-Moaissem cemetery onMonday after funeral prayers wereheld for them in the Grand Mosque.

Culled from Saudi Gazette

Odukoya who reviewed thebook.

The book exposes the clash ofcivilisations between Islam andthe West focussing on issuesabout the factors that promoteradical Islam in Africa as wellas a global perspective toconflicts brewed by radicalism.

While reviewing the book, alecturer at the University ofLagos, Dr Adelaja Odukoyasaid the author has devoted hisintellectual efforts due to thecontemporary, epistemologicaland pedagogical discoursewhich commands a globalattention and currency acrosssocial, cultural, philosophical,intellectual and nationalboundaries.

In his submission, ProfessorNoibi said the book was apointer to the fact that peoplecan live together peacefully withmutual understanding, ‘’thosewho terrorise the society in thename of Islam cannot beregarded as adherents of Islamjust as the author has claimed.This message should be passedacross the country so that we canlove one another for the benefitof Nigerians,’’ Noibi stated.

The hujjaj (pilgrims) leaving Makkah, Saudi Arabia aftercompleting the Hajj rites.

Baitul Futuh Mosque where Ahmadiyya World leader, Hazrat Masroor delivers Sermonand leads Jumaat Prayers was last Saturday gutted by fire.

PRESIDENT and members ofthe Nasrul-Lahi-Fathi Society

(NASFAT) has commiserated withfamilies and entire Muslims acrossthe globe on the death of about 800pilgrims in Mina, Saudi Arabia, asa result of a stampede at Jamaratwhile performing the last rites of thisyear’s Hajj.

In a statement by the president ofthe society, Kamil Yomi Bolarinwahe noted that the group shared thegrief moment with the bereavedfamilies, saying, “ Our thoughts arewith these families as we pray

NASFAT commiserates with victims of Hajj stampede

BY Abdulwahab Abdulah Almighty Allah to grant the soulsof the victims eternal repose, andthe Ummah and all affected familiesthe fortitude to bear the loss.

“We urge them to take solace inthe words of Allah: “And say not ofthose who are killed in the way ofAllah; they are dead: nay they areliving but perceive (it) not.” - QuranChapter 2 : 154.”

He said the incidents havethrown the global Muslim Ummahinto sadness and grief, especiallywhen the recent tragedy happenedafter the collapse of the giant craneon the Grand Mosque of Makkak,

Masjid al-Haram, killing no fewerthan 107 pilgrims.

“NASFAT strongly supports thecall by various stakeholders for aprobe into the immediate andremote causes of this tragedy, aswe do all measures that will removedread from the observance of thisannual holy injunction of Allah.

“We believe people should be heldaccountable; but the overallobjective should be theentrenchment of a system that will,in the future, remove such failings,human and infrastructural fromsubsequent Hajj operations.

London Jalsa!It's all about ‘love for all, hatred for none'

VANGUARD, VANGUARD, VANGUARD, VANGUARD, VANGUARD, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2015 FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2015 FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2015 FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2015 FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2015 — 49— 49— 49— 49— 49

Dhul-Hijjah 18, 1436 A.H.

AS dignitaries from far andnear from no fewer than 207

countries who attended the 2015World convention in Londonreturned to their various countries,the lesson of hatred for none, love forall still reverberates. The Ahmaditenet of love for all, hatred for noneis a fantastic ideology that iscapable of bringing peace to theworld. It is a mantra wedesperately need to halt theimpending conflagration.

This is particularly important at thistime when many parts of the worldis in turmoil, when values withinfamilies, communities, nations havegone down to the lowest ebb; whenterrorism and violence have becomesynonyms for religion; when evenUlamas and those who should knoware shielding the truth for selfish gainand when our youths are beingbrainwashed to take up arms againstthe state and fellow human beings.A close examination at challengesfacing the West, the emergence ofthe Arab spring or the turbulencefacing countries across the MiddleEast, peace has remained elusive.Many have been radicalised, joiningthe evil regime of Boko Haram, ISIS,al-Qaedah and host of others. Lovewhich the Holy ProphetMuhammad emphasised has takena dive while man’s inhumanity toman has become commonplace.Governments and institutions knownothing but politics of hate.

Politicsof hate

This community has however setan example with the message of lovefor all, hatred for none. This is oneof the few Islamic organisations whohave been vociferous against the badname given to Islam. They continueto say loud and clear, that Islam isabout love, Islam is about peace andIslam tolerates, and abhors violence.

In fact, the only one way to savethe world from imminentconflagration, is that we must allendeavour to spread love, tolerateourselves and show mutual respectirrespective of religious background.It does not only start and end withthe Muslims and all the Islamic sects,but the entire human race.

This is the duty the entire Muslimshave merely because the pain andanguish in our hearts when Islam ismentioned at the slightest conflict andviolence in any part of the world isenough drive us into making agenerous jihad for change. Islamhas been perceived in the bad lightand we need to give the direction forachieving peace.

This is what the AhmadiyyaMuslim Jamaat is doing.

This was the message at the

recently concluded London JalsaSalana. We could see good charityworks, inter-religious harmony;friendliness; brotherhood; serviceto humanity, high volunteering spiritto serve humanity, et cetera. Therewere testimonials of fantastic waterprojects in some developingcountries provided by the Jamaat tohelp humanity.

The vice President of Serria Leonealso recounted the immeasurableassistance provided by the Jamaat tohis country particularly during theEbola crisis. In one of my interactionswith some volounteers, theChairman of Ahmadis ArchitectsAssociation, the European Chapter,Muhammad Akram Ahmad, said alot of charity works are on-going inover 12 countries in Africa includingNigeria.

According to him, “At the moment,we are working in at least 12 differentcountries in bringing water todifferent villages. In the last 6-7 yearswhen this project started, we havebeen doing a lot of work in ensuringthat communities and villages getwater and electricity. So far, we havetouched over 1500 villages in all partsof Africa in the area of water supply.We have also brought electricity to250 villages.

These projects will provide waterand electricity and they canconcentrate on other basic needs andthis will make life a lot better for them.We are going to have a villageproject in Nigeria where we will notonly provide water and electricity, wewill also embark on educationalprogramme. We will teach youngboys and girls, commuters. Thisparticularly is aimed at empoweringthe younger ones. We don’t wantthem to go begging. They should notonly stand on their feet, but also be ofimmense benefit to theircommunities,” he said.

As other Ahmadis reeled out detailsof their voluntary services to help theJamaat and humanity; several othernon-Ahmadis at the occasion gave

different remarks praising theJamaat for showing love,compassion and brotherhood inIslam as preached by ProphetMuhammad and above all themessage of peace to the world.

Besides, more than 5000 peoplefrom different professionalbackground volounteered to serveover 35,000 delegates and guestsat the event. Doctors, lawyers,engineers, high networthbusinessmen and individualsworked like labourers, servingpeople in different areas. Hospitalityand brotherhood were at its best.And for more than the three-weekperiod, food and drinks were inabundance. We gathered that 85%of the cost were borne by donorsfrom different parts of the countrywho declined their identities.

Dogmaticdifferences

Whatever doctrinal and dogmaticdifferences that various sects mayhold at this point, do not matter. Thebasis for being a Muslim is to holdand believe the Kalimah- theexistence of only one God, Allahand that Prophet Muhammad(s.a.w) is His messenger.

Every other thing falls under thekalimah. This is one fact that thosewho persecute the Ahmadis mustunderstand. If they persecute thosewho believe in the Kalimah andcarry out other pillars of Islam, whatthen will they do to those who donot believe in all of these. The rightof judgment is the exclusivepreserve of Almighty Allah whomwe serve. It should be noted thattolerance and freedom of religionare cornerstone for the world peace.

I wonder if 80 per cent of the allMuslim organisations have been soboisterous on the true values ofIslam; if apart from our normalibadah of salat, zakat, saum and hajj,we all imbibe these values of love,we serve humanity with all ourstrength and wherewithal, that ofcourse could have been a betterJihad that would have placed Islamon an enviable pedestal and may beour youths would not have beenvictims of brainwash to take up armsagainst fellow humans. It will alsogo to show that Islam is not only areligion of peace but it is the one thatspreads peace.

And like Barrie Schwortz, anAmerian-Jew researcher who wasalso invited to discuss a Christianrelics cum Islamic organisations saidat the event, “Before, we did not knowthe good news, we only hear the badnews about Islam, but now I can sayAhmadiyya with its ‘love-for-all and-hatred-for-none’ model, it is the goodnews.”

What is your own opinion?Send it to me if you care?

By Ishola Balogun

It should benoted thattolerance andfreedom ofreligion arecornerstone forthe world peace

From left, Circuit Missionary, Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’atNigeria, Manatan Ibadan, Missionary Abdul Ganiyyi Daramola;National Taribiya Secretary, Alhaji Abdul Ganiyyi Ahmad; Amir,Dr. Mashhud Adenrele Fashola; Circuit President, AlhajiMuniru Adeagbo and Prof. Abdul Fatai Fehintola, during theEid-il-Adha prayer in Ibadan recently.

From Left, Sadr Khudamul-ul Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’atNigeria, Bro. Abdul Rafi Abdul Qadir; National Auditor, Mr. IsmailMustapha; Jama’at President, Manatan Ibadan Mosque, AlhajiIsmail Olanipekun and General Secretary ,Manatan Circuit, Bro.Zikrullah Ajimoti, during the Eid-il-Adha prayer in Ibadan recently.

From left: Mrs Fausat Uthman; Amir wife, Mrs FatimahFashola; Mrs Rasheedat Famoriyo and Mrs Lateefat Fasholaduring the Eid-il-Adha

Amir, Ahmadiyya Musilm Jama’at Nigeria, Dr. MashhudAdenrele Fashola, leading the Eid-il-Adha prayer.

CMYK


VIRGINIA

KAPTAIN AFRIKA in “HEY’ By Andy Akman

[email protected]

TERROR MUDA in “Scavenger Elite” By Lanre Kehinde

HOME & ABROAD By Lawrence Akapa

ASTROLOGICAL COUNSELLINGASTROLOGICAL COUNSELLINGASTROLOGICAL COUNSELLINGASTROLOGICAL COUNSELLINGASTROLOGICAL COUNSELLINGSend ySend ySend ySend ySend your datour datour datour datour date and place of bire and place of bire and place of bire and place of bire and place of bir th tth tth tth tth to the Aso the Aso the Aso the Aso the Astrtrtrtrtrologicalologicalologicalologicalological

Counselling, PCounselling, PCounselling, PCounselling, PCounselling, P.M.B 1.M.B 1.M.B 1.M.B 1.M.B 100000000007, Apapa, Lagos7, Apapa, Lagos7, Apapa, Lagos7, Apapa, Lagos7, Apapa, Lagos

YOUR LUCK TODAYYOUR LUCK TODAYYOUR LUCK TODAYYOUR LUCK TODAYYOUR LUCK TODAY

By Joshua Adeyemo Phone 08056180139L E I S U R ETHOUGHT FOR TODAYTHOUGHT FOR TODAYTHOUGHT FOR TODAYTHOUGHT FOR TODAYTHOUGHT FOR TODAY

By Richard Eromosele


GEMINI: ROMANTIC Venus at positive angle may bringmatters-of-the heart related temptation through friends.But your best bet now is moderate ambition.

CANCER: The best bet for you is to consolidate on progressyou made yesterday and look for best way to pacify yournew friends.

LEO: EVERYBODY needs other people’s co-operation justlike you today but you will not be compelled by situationto dance to others’ tune; meaning that you can do thingsyour own way and rightly expect success

VIRGO: THOSE of you willing to give others the neededco-operation will be in better position to consolidate onprogress you have made recently. Don’t allow sex to dis-tract you.

LIBRA: WATCHOUT for minor and avoidable but costlymistake within your working arena, especially if you arein charge of other people’s money. If you develop newromantic liaison today, it may not last.

SCORPIO: AS the saying goes “time waits for nobody”it’s important you guard against unnecessary procrasti-nation capable of putting you at tight corner tomorrow.Be loving.

SAGITTARIUS: IT’S better you conclude what you’vebeen doing for a while rather than starting somethingnew you don’t know when to finish it. Be more familyminded.

CAPRICORN: IF careless remarks are made by you to-day, it would back-fire at resumption of work tomorrowmorning. Those who are eager for romantic attentionwill have their dream coming true. Be more loving.

AQUARIUS: IF you wait too long before an important(financial) decision is taken, you may find yourself keep-ing date with what you don’t bargain for.

PISCES: Placement of the Moon influences your associ-ates to become more self-assertive. If you take good ad-vice you’ll fare better. However, it’s important you don’tforget your tomorrow with others.

ARIES: BETTER than yesterday and luckily for you, op-portunity to rectify mistakes made yesterday may cometoday to the betterment of your finances. Don’t try to buylove with money.

TAURUS: BETTER than yesterday as you will be at amore comfortable place today and suddenly discover thatyour hope is alive. Venus bring you money.

What about me?Dear Joshua,

You have done many people’s horoscope; what about me?I want you to kindly analyse my star and tell me every-thing about my self. Please take note that I value myhealth and career than any other thing.

Adeyemi, Lagos.

Dear Adeyemi,#

What space can take will be given to you here-under. Scor-pio and Libra that hosted both your natal sun and moonare members of very strong star signs-health wise.Scorpio, in particular, has unusual survival ability. Thatis to say, even when health related challenges come, yoursurvival endowment will always see you through.Your major challenge is from your constant worries abouttoo many things, especially on career related issues. Busi-ness miscalculation can be another source of health re-lated challenge. You will agree with the fact that bothconstant worries and business miscalculation can affectone’s circulatory system.Other things to watch-out for include: Urino-genital or-gans, minor accident (fire), bones dislocations, a few othertimes, skin infections and, of-course, fever. Always takecare of the stomach. Please take note that all these aremere warnings as there is nothing fatalistic about them; agood guard, though.Oil related Neptune was the closet heavenly body to thesun when you were born at positive angle to Pluto in Leo.Thus, having things to do with oil along your career/busi-ness lines is not by accident.Then preponderance of water element and fixed quality inthe distribution of the planets when you were born arefavourable to commercial involvement with anything liq-uid.

Be kindI am sure you know

what it means to bekind. But if you do notknow, let me simplysay, it is beinggenerous beingcaring about otherpeople.

For everything wedo, there is a rewardfor us. Being kind is

no exception. If youare one of those thatbelieve that beingkind no longer pays,you need to read this:We all know howdifficult it is to obtainAmerican visa thesedays, so it was on this

fateful day a youngman went to theUnited StatesEmbassy to obtain avisa. He got thereearly and sat down ona chair. It happenedthat an elderly mancame and the young

man rose from hischair for the elder tosit down, unknown tohim an embassyofficial was watchinghim. That was how hewas called inside andgiving visa. Nointerview, nochecking ofdocuments.

Be kind, kindnesshas its own reward.


second half.“What impressed me

the most about my teamwas the unity and theway they stayed calm inthe dressing room athalf time.

“They were the firstthat realized that thingswere not going right.They were all trying tofind solutions amongthemselves.

“That is something youusually require theservices of apsychologist for,” Olisehsaid.

The coach then tookthe time to discuss hiscoaching philosophyand what he intends tobring to the three-timeAfrican champions ascoach, as regards theirplaying style.

“For us to go further,we must have a(definite) style of play.

“The philosophy issimple. When we don’thave the ball, we mustbehave and act in aparticular manner and

OlisehContinues from BP there should also be a

way we behave when wehave possession of theball.

“The problem we havehowever is thatNigerians just don’twant us to win.

“They want us to winplaying good footballbut that will require time.

“I cannot tellNigerians how long Iwill need to achieve thatbut we have a clearobjective at thismoment.

“That objective isqualifying for the 2017Africa Cup of Nations inGabon,” he said.

Oliseh has anunblemished record asNigeria coach as he isyet to taste defeat afteroverseeing his first twomatches.

He will be looking tocontinue his fine run asNigeria coach when theSuper Eagles faceCongo DR andCameroon ininternational friendlieslater this month.

and Deolinda Ngulelacombined for 34Mozambique points.

Adaora Elonu hit alayup with 5:45 minutesleft, giving Nigeria a60-58 lead, and theynever trailed again.

Stats Don’t Lie:Mozambique steppedon floor planing to makethe most of their three-point shooting.However, they seemed tohave crossed the line byattempting 5 of 29 frombeyond the arc.

It’s generalknowledge that NazirSale’s team arrived inYaounde with ashorthanded roster, andthat fact became evenmore evident as theteam’s benchcontributed only fivepoints against Nigeria’s28.

Game Hero: HelenOgunjimi has officiallybecome Nigeria’s secretweapon. She not onlyplayed aggressivedefense, but 30-year-old

NigeriaContinues from BP

guard provide twocrucial three-pointerskeeping Nigeria verymuch alive in thecontest.

Ten lead changestranslates howcompetitive the gamewas. Two years ago,Mozambique upsetNigeria in the Quarter-Finals, and on Thursdaythey were very close torepeat their fortunes,but Nigeria stepped onfloor a desperationmode, reaching thetournament’s Semi-Finals for the secondtime since 2011.

Ndidi Madu, whoclear the boards with agame-high 13 reboundslater told FIBA.com: “Itwas a tough game for us.Mozambique is a greatteam. We didn’t do agood of job rebounding.We definitely need toable to rebound in orderto win ball games. Itdoes not matter who weface tomorrow, we justneed to be ready for thefight.

Swaziland and Djiboutioccupy 135th and 206thpositions respectively.Argentina continue totop the ranking followed

FIFA rankingContinues from BP by Germany, Belgium,

Portugal and Colombia.The next world rankingwill be published by theofficial website of Fifa on5 November 2015.

Chukwu to Oliseh: Don’tignore Martins, Ogbeche

SEATTLE Sounders’O b a f e m i

Martins and FCCambuur forwardBartholomew Ogbechedeserve a recall to theNigeria squad,according to a formerSuper Eagles coachChristian Chukwu.

30-year-old Martinsannounced hisretirement frominternational football inDecember 2014 followinghis inability to get aninvite to the nationalteam under former coachStephen Keshi, whileOgbeche who has scoredfour goals in his last twogames for his Dutch clubfizzled out of the nationalteam after the 2002 FifaWorld Cup in SouthKorea and Japan.

Both have been ingood scoring form fortheir clubs lately andChukwu believes theirsuperlative form shouldnot be ignored by coachSunday Oliseh as theywill solve the attackingworries of the SuperEagles.

“Everything dependson the head coachthough I believe that theSuper Eagles is for everyNigerian provided they

are in a very good shape,”Chukwu told Goal.

“Ogbeche and Martinsare in the right form andI feel they should beinvited to the nationalteam.

“Both players aretested and boast ofexperience that canimprove the lot ofNigeria duringinternational matches.

“Also, they have theability to convertchances that come theirway, which is lackingnow in the SuperEagles.''

England beats Nigeria to Dele AlliNIGERIA is about

to lose yet anotheryoungster to the ThreeLions of England.

Tottenham Hotspurmidfielder, Dele Alli is aplayer with dual citizenshipand the English nationalteam have invited theplaymaker for their Euroqualifiers against Estoniaand Lithuania withmanager Roy Hodgsondescribing the player as “avery exciting talent”.

Alli’s father is Nigerianand he is also eligible to

play for the Super Eagleseven though he hasfeatured for variousEngland age-group teams.

The player, who hasscored a goal in 321minutes of action in theEPL this season has beenunder Sunday Oliseh’sradar as part of his newSuper Eagles team.

England have alreadyqualified for the Euros inFrance next year andmanager Hodgson saidhe has high regards forthe versatile Alli, whocould play as defensive,creative or attackingmidfielder.

“We’ve been impressedwith Dele Alli and this isa chance to get to knowhim. He’s a very excitingtalent,” remarked theEngland boss. •Dele Alli

Caf hands four-match banto Guinea-Bissau coach

GUINEA-BISSAUcoach Paulo

Torres has been bannedfor the rest of the 2017Africa Cup of Nationsqualifiers for abusing areferee.

The Confederation of

African Football (Caf)found Torres guilty ofusing “offensivelanguage and insultstowards the referee.”

The incidenthappened during agoalless draw againstZambia in June.

Torres will miss homeand away ties againstKenya in March nextyear and then gamesagainst Congo andZambia.

The draw for Guinea-Bissau left them bottomof Group E with a singlepoint, only the poolwinners are guaranteeda place at the 2017 finalsin Gabon.

•Torres

Why Van Gaal axed Valencia,Schweinsteiger against Wolfsburg

THE Red Devilscame from

behind at Old Trafford tobeat the Bundesliga side2-1 in the ChampionsLeague last night.

And Van Gaal admitspoor performances fromAntonio Valencia, BastianSchweinsteiger andMemphis Depay forcedhim to take the trio off.

The Dutchmanexplained: “Valencia? Ithink it was tacticalbecause I wanted to

prevent crosses from thatside and Antonio let themcross.

“Also, I saw that at thatside they could be moreeffective on that side.

“Schweinsteiger, he wastired I thought and thatwas the reason, becausehe also gave balls away.

“Schweinsteiger isnormally the bestpossession player, so thatis the reason I changedhim. The same forMemphis.”

•Martins


Ronaldo on wish list of MLS sideORLANDO City have

set their sights onan audacious transfercoup for Real Madridsuperstar CristianoRonaldo.

Majority owner of theMajor League Soccerfranchise Flavio Augus-to Da Silva has said thePortuguese is superior toLionel Messi and admit-ted that he would con-sider signing him.

The Florida-based clubdid manage to lure Bra-zilian star Kaka earlierthis year but their firstMLS campaign hasbeen something of a dis-appointment.

So now Da Silva,speaking to Spanishsports daily Marca, hasraised his transfer mar-ket ambitions.

‘Truthfully, we likeCristiano Ronaldo a lot.We’d sign him withoutthinking about it,’ DaSilva said.

‘Physically, he’s morecomplete than Messi,and he’d make more ofan impact on a market-

ing level in MLS thanthe Argentine.

‘Hopefully we can signhim for this upcomingseason. We’ve alwaysheard that he’d like tocome to the UnitedStates to play.’

Of course, any move tothe United States in thenear future is unlikely,with Ronaldo continu-ing to set a high stan-dard for Real.

He notched up his500th career goal onWednesday night whenscoring twice in theChampions League winover Malmo.

In the process, Ronal-do also drew level withRaul as Real Madrid’sall-time leading goal-scorer.

And, at the age of 30,there is plenty still tocome from the prolificPortuguese.

Orlando could do withsome magic - they sit16th overall in the MLSstandings and will al-most certainly miss outon the Eastern Confer-ence play-offs.

Chelsea players unhappy with MourinhoJOSE MOURINHO

has reportedly riledthe Chelsea dressingroom with his perceivedscapegoating of certainplayers.

Chelsea have endureda poor start to the sea-son and lost their secondChampions Leaguegame against Porto onTuesday.

Blues boss Mourinholeft attacking trio Oscar,Loic Remy and RadamelFalcao at home for themidweek trip - only in-forming them of the de-cision at the last minute.

And The Guardian re-port concern is growingamong the squad ofMourinho’s apparentblame game - particular-ly the decision to ostra-cise captain John Terryand hand the armbandto Branislav Ivanovic.

Mourinho raised eye-brows by not picking astriker on the bench inPortugal, opting to bringon summer signingKenedy when chasingthe game in the secondhalf.

The former RealMadrid coach has beenpublicly critical of hisplayers this term andagain hit out at his de-fence after losing 2-1 toPorto.

“We watch dozens and

dozens of repetitions ofPorto taking corners. Ithought we were com-pletely ready for that.And in a moment whenthe game was under con-trol and we were prepar-ing a change, to concedethat goal was like ice inthe players.

“The basic thing infootball to work at is adefensive set-play. Theball is stopped, you de-fend the spaces or theman or both. We hadanother similar mistake[from a corner] whenthey hit a post.”

Eden Hazard and Ne-manja Matic weredropped from the sidethat drew 2-2 with New-castle on Saturday, al-though both came off thebench against Porto.

Raul congratulatesRonaldo

CRISTIANO Ronaldowas congratulated

by Raul on matching hishaul of 323 goals forReal Madrid and theclub plan to honour himwith a special ceremonyat the Santiago Berna-beu on Friday.

Ronaldo scored twicein Real Madrid’s Champions League victory over Malmo onWednesday and also

passed 500 career goalsin a record-breakingnight.

‘Raul sent me a mes-sage saying that hehoped I scored another300 goals,’ Ronaldo ad-mitted after his bracesaw him draw level withthe former Spain cap-tain. ‘I was very happyto receive it because Iknow he means it fromthe heart.’

Hart hopes City canrediscover formJOE Hart hopes

Manchester City ’slast-gasp win at Borus-sia Monchengladbachwill provide the spark toget their season back ontrack.

Sergio Aguero scoreda 90th-minute penaltywinner as City camefrom behind to beat theGermans 2-1 at a rau-cous Borussia Park andsecure their first points

in Champions LeagueGroup D.

City, having lost threeof their previous fourgames, had looked setfor another night of frus-tration after falling be-hind to a Lars Stindlstrike early in the sec-ond half.

But City rallied, level-ling through MartinDemichelis and com-pleting the comeback asAguero, following anight of personal frustra-tion in front of goal, gotup after being fouledand struck from the spot.

It was a hard-foughtwin and City were stillsome way short of theform that saw themcruise through theiropening five games ofthe season without con-ceding.

Yet in terms of charac-ter, it was encouragingand Hart hopes perfor-mances can now im-prove.

Hart, who himself wasoutstanding in Germany,said: “We did it the hardway, as our fans knowthat’s how we’re doingthings at the moment. Itwasn’t really goodenough. We gave far toomany chances to them.

“The win is importantand we really need toimprove, but as badly aswe played I think westill deserved to win.''

�Hart

Redknapp criticises Wenger

HARRY Redknapp saysArsene Wenger’s de-

cision to rest Petr Cechagainst Olympiacos en-couraged complacencyfrom the rest of the Arse-nal team.

Wenger said it was a“farce” to blame Arsenal’s3-2 defeat on his decisionto start David Ospina ahead of Cech, but Red-knapp believes his selec-tion sent out the wrongmessage.

“It was too big a gamblein the most important club

competition in the world,especially when theydidn’t even win the firstgame against DinamoZagreb,” Redknapp wrotein his Evening Standardcolumn.

“Resting Cech sent thewrong message to the restof the team. We have seenit time and again in theCapital One Cup wherebig teams are knocked outafter making so manychanges because the play-ers think, ‘Oh well, it’s notthat important today’.•Redknapp (l) and Wenger

•Ronaldo

UNHAPPY .... Chelsea players showing their displeasure against Jose Mour-inho's scape-goating.

CMYK


SERENA Williams said yesterday she

was withdrawing fromthe season-ending WTAFinals and the ChinaOpen to take time toheal after playingthrough injuries allyear.

Williams, who was twowins from completing acalendar-year GrandSlam at the US Open,said she is “taking a pro-active step and with-drawing from tourna-ments in Beijing andSingapore to properly

Serena withdraws from WTAFinals, China Open

address my health andtake the time to heal.’’

“It’s no secret I’veplayed injured most ofthe year — whether itwas my elbow, my knee,or, in the final momentsafter a certain match inFlushing, my heart,”Williams was quoted onthe China Open website.

“This is a very difficultdecision, but one ulti-mately made because ofthe love of the game.”

In 2015, Williams wonthe Australian Open, theFrench Open and Wim-

bledon. But she missedout on becoming the firstplayer since 1988 to winall four majors in thesame season when shelost to Roberta Vinci inthe US Open semifinals.

“Serena’s health has tobe her No. 1 priority,”WTA president MickyLawler said in a state-ment Thursday. “Therisk of injury is a realityin the world of elite ath-letic performance. Wewill miss seeing Serenaon court in both Beijingand Singapore and wishher a speedy recovery.”

Williams’ coach,Patrick Mouratoglou, onWednesday questionedher desire to finish theseason after her loss toVinci, which somecalled the biggest upsetin women’s tennis histo-ry.

“I plan to return topracticing and partici-pating in exhibitionmatches later this year,”said Williams, who lostonly three singlesmatches in 2015. “Andwhen I do, l will focusand focus and focus so Ican continue my journeyin this beautiful game.”

Williams, who turned34 last Saturday, is onetitle short of tying SteffiGraf ’s career total of 22Grand Slam champion-ships and three behindMargaret Court’s all-time record of 24. Withher Open result, Will-iams already hasclinched the year-endNo. 1 ranking.

AHMED Musa hassaid his Russian

club CSKA Moscow areback on track in the UEFAChampions League aftera 3-2 home win over PSVEindhoven.

The Nigeria star scoredthe opening goal forCSKA in the seventhminute last Wednesdaynight and the Russianarmy club raced to a 3-0lead by half time with abrace from Ivorian strikerSeydou Doumbia, only tolet in two goals to the vis-iting Dutch side to en-dure a nervy finish.

Ahmed Musa has nowscored four goals in theChampions League.

CSKA Moscow nowhave three points fromtwo games like otherteams in the groupnamely PSV, ManchesterUnited and Wolfsburg.

“It was a good game forus and I am happy wewon,” Ahmed Musa toldAfricanFootball.com

Musa: CSKA back on track in Champions League

JAVIER Mascherano has been called

to testify in court on 29thOctober over allegationsthat he defrauded Span-ish tax authorities a to-tal of 1.5m eurosthrough the sale of hisimage rights to overseascompanies.

A court in Gavà (Bar-celona) will try the pros-ecutors’ case againstMascherano. The Ar-gentine allegedly usedtwo companies, one inMiami and another inMadeira, to defraud587,822 euros in 2011and 968,907 euros in2012.

Prosecutors have de-scribed the player’s ac-tions as a “strategy to

Mascherano chargedwith tax fraud

conceal earnings fromhis image rights”.Spain’s tax authoritiesbegan their investiga-tion in September.

•Mascherano PAUL Merson sayshe does not un-

Cech ommission stuns Mersonderstand ArseneWenger ’s decision toleave Petr Cech on thebench for Arsenal’s cru-cial Champions Leagueclash with Olympiakos.

An error-strewn dis-play against the Greekchampions saw theGunners slump to a sec-ond successive Europe-an defeat, followingtheir Matchday Oneloss away to DinamoZagreb.

Wenger’s decision toplay David Ospina ingoal instead of Cechproved to be costly asthe Colombia interna-tional’s bizarre errorgifted the visitors theirsecond goal in a 3-2win.

And, speaking on Sky Sports News HQ,Merson criticisedWenger’s team selectionand claimed Arsenal’shopes of progressingout of Group F are nowslim.

“It was a must-wingame for Arsenal andthey should have playedtheir best team,” he said.“Why English clubs don’tplay their best team beatsme.

“If you look at Barcelo-na - who played Bayer Le-verkusen - Messi was in-jured and they still playedtheir strongest team.•Cech

DOUBLE-FISTED... Serena Williams displays her Tennis prowessduring one of her games.

•Ahmed Musa

CMYK

Printed and Published by VANGUARD MEDIA LIMITED, Vanguard Avenue, Kirikiri Canal, P.M.B.1007, Apapa. Phone: Newsroom: 018773962. Deputy Editor: 01-4548355. Advert Dept Hotline: 01-4544821. Abuja Advert Hotline: 09-2921024. E-mail: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]. Advert:[email protected]

Website: www.vanguardngr.com (ISSN 0794-652X) Editor: MIDENO BAYAGBON. Phone: 01-7742861, All correspondence to P.M.B. 1007, Apapa Lagos.

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.

FRIFRIFRIFRIFRIDAY'S ANSWERSDAY'S ANSWERSDAY'S ANSWERSDAY'S ANSWERSDAY'S ANSWERSTODAY'S PUZZLETODAY'S PUZZLETODAY'S PUZZLETODAY'S PUZZLETODAY'S PUZZLE

Vanguard, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2015

YESTERDAY'S SOLUTIONS

CMYK

QUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDACROSS1 Certify (6)5 Divulge (6)9 Fragrance (5)10 Fester (6)11 Torment (6)12 Bird (5)14 Frozen (4)17 Attempt (3)18 Present (4)20 Challenged (5)22 Jockey (5)23 Paler (7)24 Pulled (5)26 Danger (5)29 Learn (4)30 Girl’s (3)32 Fruit (4)33 Hell (5)35 Reviser (6)36 Elbowed (6)37 Bar (5)38 Stubborn (6)39 Artisan (6)

DOWN1 Frightened (6)2 Offer (6)3 Auction (4)4 Handle (5)5 Insinuate (5)6 Masculine (4)7 Disputed (6)8 See-saw (6)13 Permitted (7)15 Boat (5)16 Postpone (5)18 Chartered (5)19 Send (5)21 Father (3)22 Material (3)24 Twine (6)25 Paddling (6)27 Tattered (6)28 Guide (6)30 Ran (5)31 Renovate (5)33 Cavity (4)34 Certain (4)

ACROS: 4, Legal 7, Laurel 9, Par 10, Lac 12,Total 3, Toss 15, Noted 17, Allege 19, Ewer20, Eerie 22, Ilk 24, Tattled 27, Pea 28, Erect31, Mass 33, Stoned 35, Water 37, Wise 38,Maker 39, Dam 41, Aim 42, Lament 43,Beard.

DOWN: 1, Blithe 2, Hussar 3, Gel 4, Late 5,Erode 6, Academic 8, Lane 11, Cogitated14, Slit 16, Tell 18, Leap 21, Escapade 23,Keen 25, Test 26, Drew 29, Edited 30, Twenty32, Swear 34, Oral 36, Arid 40, Mad.

Eagles' strengthimpresses Oliseh

•••Move one stepon FIFA ranking

Nigeria downMozambique,advance to thesemi-finals

ChelseaplayersunhappywithMourinho— Page 54

•Oliseh

NIGERIA headcoach, Sunday

Oliseh, says he hasbeen left impressed bythe mental strength ofthe players he hasworked with sincetaking charge of thenational team.

Oliseh’s first game incharge was a 2017 AfricaCup of Nations (Afcon)qualifier againstTanzania in Dar esSalaam on September 5and despite failing toguide the side to a win,he took positivememories from the 0-0draw with the

Tanzanians.With the score tied at

0-0 during the break andthe Taifa Stars clearly ontop in the first half,Oliseh said he wasstunned to meet hisplayers looking calm inthe changing room asthey sought to steadythe ship ahead of theContinues on Page 53

Continues on Page 53

NIGERIA becamethe first team to

advance to the AfroBasketWomen 2015 Semi-Finalsafter beating Mozambique71-66 in the first Quarter-Finals on Thursday inYaounde, Cameroon.

Joyce Ekworomadusparked Nigeria with agame-best 20 points,while Odelia MafanelaContinues on Page 53

DIFFERENT STROKES... D'Tigress Sarah Ogoke(l) scores for Nigeria while Ingvild Mucauro ofMozambique (above) laments defeat by D'Tigress.

NIGERIA climbedone spot to 52nd

in the latest FIFA rankingpublished yesterday inZurich. However, theSuper Eagles retainedthe tenth position in theAfrican continent.

Algeria, Ivory Coast,Ghana, Tunisia andSenegal are the best 5

teams in Africa in thatorder.

The Super Eagles nextopponents DemocraticRepublic of Congo andCameroon are ranked60th and 48th respectivelywhile potential WorldCup qualifyingopponents

•Mourinho

Why Buhari holds on to 15 other nominees

Documents

Transcript of Why Buhari holds on to 15 other nominees