FG orders sack of20,000 PHCN workers

...towards a better life for the people

N150VOL. 25: NO. 61870

ONLINE | www.vanguardngr.com

MONDAY, APRIL 29, 2013**

Mr & Mrs

FG orders sack of20,000 PHCN workers

LES LEBA

•P.34

DELESOBOWALE

•P.40

COLUMNISTS:

•P. 45

OCHEREOMENNANNA

Continues on page 5

•Set to pay them off•Labour directs workers to shut down if...

BY EMMA UJAH,ABUJA BUREAUCHIEF & VICTORAHIUMA-YOUNG

ABUJA — THE Fed-eral Government has

ordered the retrench-ment of no fewer than

•Pgs.17-40

Obasanjo tackles Jonathan on proposed pipeline protection —P.9

Residents returning to Baga community after clashes between men of the Multinational Task Force and members of the Islamistsect Boko Haram on April 19 in the town near Lake Chad, 200 kms north of Maiduguri, in Borno State. PHOTOS: AFP.

•P.6

KIDNAPPING:

•P.8

.... As ACN, others kick

Grounded aircraft: We arenot aware — Rivers govt

We'llenforcedeathpenalty— Delta Gov

AFTER THE BAGA OPERATION

2 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 29, 2013

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 29, 2013 — 3


CMYK

POCKET CARTOON

TAKE HEARTBY ELLA RANDLE

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 29, 2013—5

LIFEWORDSBY PASTOR ITUAH

Continues from page 1

To achieve success, we do not need to try and besomeone else, we simply need to be the best of whowe are.

THE truth is: Belonging starts with self-acceptance. Your level of belonging, in fact, can never

be greater than your level of self-acceptance, be-cause believing that you’re enough is what givesyou the courage to be authentic, vulnerable andimperfect. When we don’t have that, we shape-shiftand turn into chameleons; we hustle for the wor-thiness we already possess —Brene Brown.

According to psychologist, Alice Domar, peoplewho aim for perfection in all areas of life are reach-ing for an unrealistic, stress-inducing goal that willleave them feeling unhappy and unfulfilled. “Theway we are operating these days, no matter howmany good things are going on in our life, we zeroin on what’s not going right.”

Here are some suggestions to remind us of how tostay in balance, keep a gratitude journal.

Every night before bed, jot down the things inyour life for which you’re grateful. People who dothis get less anxious and they feel better about theirlives. More often than not, the negative things wethink about ourselves are illogical and untrue.

Dr. Domar says: “The stuff we say to ourselves iseither based on something someone said to us along time ago or it’s our fear speaking.”

Ideally, we should rid ourselves of judgmentalthoughts altogether.

From left: Minister of Energy, Republic of Cameroon, Mr. Antagana Basile; Group Managing Direc-tor, UBA Plc, Mr. Phillips Oduoza; Chairman, UBA Cameroon, Mr Ekoko Mukete and CEO, UBAAfrica, Mr. Emmanuel Nnorom, during a working visit by UBA management to the CameroonianPrime Minister, in Yaounde.

20,000 workers of thePower Holding Com-pany of Nigeria, PHCN,ahead of takeover bysuccessful bidders of itsassets.

Vanguard gatheredthat the Bureau for Pub-lic Enterprises, BPE, is-sued the directive to theChief Executive Officers,CEOs, of the 18 successorcompanies to PHCN at ameeting in Abuja, to com-pile names and drasticallyreduce the 50,000 strongworkforce before the newinvestors take over.

It was gathered that newinvestors demanded thatthe workforce must be

pruned before governmenthands off.

Labour kicks, warnson danger of action

Though it is not clearhow government arrived atthis figure, however, Gen-eral Secretary of the Na-tional Union of ElectricityEmployees, NUEE, MrJoe Ajaero, who confirmedthe directive to massivelyretrench the workforce, saidit was obvious that the Fed-eral Government had de-cided to truncate the imple-mentation of the collectiveagreement reached withthe unions.

Already, organised labourhad kicked against the

FG orders sack of 20,000 PHCN workersmove and warned the gov-ernment against such ac-tion even as the agreementreached between both par-ties in December 2012 onthe terminal benefits ofworkers had not been im-plemented.

The Senior Staff Associa-tion of Electricity and Al-lied Companies, SSAEAC,has petitioned the govern-ment through the FederalMinistry of Labour to ex-plain the dangers and fu-tility of government actionwhen agreement on termi-nal benefits had not beenhonoured by the govern-ment.

On its part, NUEE di-rected members to shutdown the power sectoronce any worker is issueda retrenchment letter with-out a financial back up inline with the December2012 agreement.

NUEE, in a statement byAjaero, rejected theplanned retrenchment ofworkers without honour-ing the agreement the gov-ernment entered into withthe workers.

According to NUEE, “ourattention has been drawnto the nocturnal meetingsbeing held between Fed-eral Government and allchief executive officers inPower Holding Companyof Nigeria, PHCN, wherea mandate to retrenchworkers in the power sec-tor has been handed downto them. It is rather unfor-tunate and provoking thatthe Federal Government ishatching such obnoxiousidea when agreementreached with the unions onpayment of severance ben-efit is yet to be imple-mented.

"Information reaching usreveals that arrangementto close down PHCN’s Cor-porate Headquarters hasbeen put in place. Whilepeople are still working,government plans to kill

their management.“It was equally gathered

that the Federal Govern-ment has concluded plansnot to pay pension or trans-fer money to the PensionFund Administrators,PFAs, all in the name ofdriving workers to theirearly graves. We are wor-ried that the governmentcould be privatizing with-out cash backing, as infor-mation at our disposal sug-gests that about N43 billionis available out of the overN400 billion agreed withthe unions.

"At the moment, agree-ment on certain indices tobe used in calculating en-titlements like life expect-ancy which the FederalGovernment put at 14years is yet to be reconciled.

“By this posture, it is ob-vious that the Federal Gov-ernment has decided totruncate the implementa-tion of collective agreementreached with the unions.Nigerians should, there-fore, hold government re-sponsible for any reactionthis action may generate.

"While there is still op-portunity for the FederalGovernment to follow dueprocess, we wish to stateunequivocally that PHCNworkers will legitimatelyresist every attempt toshave their hair in theirabsence. Should the Fed-eral Government makegood its threat to retrenchworkers in the sector whenlabour issues have not beensettled, all members areadvised to stop work, whilethose monies paid intotheir accounts should beseen as free money. Thehour has come for you todefend your rights.”

FG set to pay offworkers —Igali

Meanwhile, the FederalGovernment has said it isnow set to pay off the staff

of PHCN. The PermanentSecretary, Federal Minis-try of Power, AmbassadorGodknows Igali disclosedthis, weekend.

Igali told journalists inAbuja that the fund for thepayment of the workers’severance package wasready and that in a matterof weeks, they would bepaid as part of the processof the takeover of the sec-tor by private investors.

His words: ”What wehave done so far is to try toensure that the entitlementof these people and theirseverance package is wellcalculated from the point oftheir engagement to thepoint where the govern-ment is bringing the pri-vate people to take over.

“We have agreed on vir-tually everything. Govern-ment is preparing towardsthe formal takeover by theprivate sector. We expectthe process to be seamless.So far, there is no majorproblem; the fund requiredto pay the people is avail-able.”

...assures workers

The Permanent Secretaryexpressed satisfaction atthe resolution of the issuessurrounding the disen-gagement with the PHCNstaff as well as casual work-ers and assured that theFederal Government wasworking to ensure thatthey were all happily dis-engaged.

According to him, thenew owners would cer-tainly re-engage many ofthe workers as it would bepractically impossible tooperate without the oldstaff. He said the privatesector operators would bemade to adhere to the na-tion’s labour laws.

His words: “The peoplethat are working in thesepower plants are Nigeri-ans, and when the privatepeople take over, they arenot going to bring workersfrom Jupiter, Mercury orChina; most of their work-ers would remain Nigeri-ans.

“The only difference isthat they have been gov-ernment workers up tillnow and as the govern-ment finishes with them,they will transfer their serv-

ices to private operatorswho are driving the sectornow. But the private sectorwill still follow the Labourlaw of this country.

“So, it is not a situationof whether there is goingto be mass exodus of peo-ple out of the sector. Mostof these workers have beenvery competent; they havebeen serving the countryvery well with commit-ment. And you cannot justreplace those who havebeen on the job for manyyears.”

Training andretraining ofworkers

For those who would notbe re-employed by thenew owners and those whomay choose to go into pri-vate business, Igali said:“Government also has avery robust programme totrain and retrain the work-ers of most of these com-panies. Retraining them isat two levels: first is to re-train people in such a waythat they can fit into a newnature of the sector. Be-fore it was public servicebut now, we have privatepeople taking over.

“So we are retrainingthem so that those who willcontinue working on con-tract basis will fit into thesystem properly. The sec-ond training is directed atthose who would opt forprivate life. A lot of peoplemay want to go into con-sultancy; like I said, theprivate people coming incannot go out of the coun-try to import thousandsupon thousands of work-ers to take over our elec-tricity sector. They will stillneed these same people.

“Government from thehighest political authorityhas assured people of theircommitment to ensure thatall parties are satisfied withthe way the issues are re-solved.”

He added that the powerreform transaction signingsummit presided over byPresident GoodluckJonathan, last Monday,was an eloquent demon-stration of highest commit-ment by the government toensure a successful conclu-sion of the power transac-tion.

6—Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 29, 2013

Police foil Ababank robbery

... asrobbers steal$5m in Asaba

BY AUSTIN OGWUDA

Kidnap: We 'll enforcedeath penalty— Delta A-G

BY AUSTIN OGWUDAABA—POLICE in Aba,Abia State, have foiled

a bank robbery attempt, kill-ing one of the robbery sus-pects.

Commissioner of Police inAbia, Alhaji Usman Mo-hammed, who confirmedthe incident, said the rob-bery was foiled as the gangbroke into the bank, locatedon Asa Road.

Mohammed said that therobbers came at about2a.m. and attempted toforce their way into thebanking hall. He said po-licemen promptly stoppedthem.

According to him, one ofthe robbers was gun downwhile others escaped.

ASABA—AN Onitsha-based bureau-de-

change operator was alleg-edly robbed while exchang-ing five million dollars intoits naira equivalent for aguest in an Asaba hotel.

His fellow bureau-de-change operator, whom thevictim said invited him forthe transaction has been ar-rested.

Delta State Police PublicRelations Officer, PPRO, Mr.Lucky Uyabeme, confirmedthe story.

He said detectives swunginto action and arrested one,while investigation is inprogress and efforts are onto arrest other suspects.

ASABA—DELTA State At-torney-General and Com-

missioner for Justice, Mr.Charles Ajuyah (SAN), hasassured Deltans that there isno going back in implement-ing the law recently passed bythe state House of Assemblyprescribing death penalty forkidnappers, in which the gov-ernor’s veto was overturned.

Also, Chairman of theHouse Committee on Informa-tion, Mr. Johnson Erijo, in-sisted that the passage of theBill into law by overriding thegovernor’s veto was in linewith what their respectiveconstituents craved for be-cause of the menace of kid-napping.

Both spoke in Asaba in a tel-evision programme, Focus, onthe state Broadcasting Serv-ice, DBS, weekend.

According to the Attorney-General, “the penalty for mur-der is death, but I can tell you

that every other day you findthis offence being committed.

“So it is an argument nowwhether it will serve as a de-terrent or not, but as far as weare concerned we have lawsand we will apply them.

“We will see what comes outof it. As Ministry of Justiceand the executive, we will cer-tainly go ahead to implementthe laws as it is. The extantlaws, of course, we have aduty to do that.

"We cannot go to court andsay we don’t like that law. Itis the law that is in force. Wewill certainly press that themaximum punishment isgiven because that is the law.”

Erijo, who is the DeputyMajority Leader of the House,said overriding the gover-nor’s veto would not breedany form of friction betweenthe legislature and executive.

He said: “It is because peo-ple feel we are still at the el-ementary stage of our democ-racy."

Court remands18-yr-old, 13others overrobbery

BY DAYO JOHNSON

AKURE—A teenager,Kazeem Adedun, was

among the 14 persons or-dered to be remanded inOlokuta Prison for armedrobbery by an Akure ChiefMagistrate Court, weekend.

Three others were orderedto be remanded in policecustody by the Chief Mag-istrates, Mrs FunkeAdegoroye and JohnsonAdelegan, following their ar-raignment in two separatecourts in Akure for armedrobbery cases.

Two others were grantedbail and one discharged.

The offences were commit-ted between December 13,2012 and March 31, 2013.

LAGOS State Police Com-mand has smashed another

kidnap syndicate, rescuing a16-year-old student of theAmerican International SchoolLekki, who was kidnapped onhis way to school two weeks ago.

During the rescue operation,one of the abductors was report-edly killed, while two otherswere arrested. Alleged master-mind of the kidnap was thefamily’s driver, one AdebayoJohn, who was taking the teen-ager to school when the kidnapoccurred.

The teenager (names with-held) as reliably gathered byVanguard, was rescued by po-licemen attached to Ikoyi divi-sion under Area ‘A’ command,from the kidnapper’s den lastFriday, in a forest located inOlorun Lekan village, Oja-Odan, in Ilaro, Ogun State.

One of the suspected kidnap-pers reportedly attacked one ofthe policemen, stabbing himtwice in the head.

The kidnapVanguard was informed that

the driver, John, went to dropthe boy’s father at the MurtalaMohammed International Air-port the previous day before heinvited two of the kidnappers.

The following day (Thurs-day), while supposedly goingto drop the teenager in school,he picked the kidnap suspectsand drove to their den in Ilaro,from where they called the vic-

Police rescue abducted AmericanSchool student Family driver among suspects

tim’s family two days later, de-manding for a N60 million ran-som.

The news of the teenager’sabduction reportedly forced hisfather, who had traveled out ofthe country, to return immedi-ately, while his mother wassaid to have been admitted inhospital.

RescueHowever, on the day the kid-

nappers were to receive theransom (last Friday) operativesfrom Ikoyi, acting on a tip-off,stormed Ilaro, where they ar-rested one of the suspects, whoduring interrogation, disclosedwhere the teenager was kept.

However, on their way to thedreaded forest, two other mem-bers, John and one other person,were said to have been waitingby the bush path for the ransom.

On sighting the policemen,one of them reportedly attackedthem with a knife, followingwhich he was shot.

The deceased suspect wasreportedly discovered to be thebrother of the driver.

Victim madeto swear oath

Family sources told Van-guard that after he was res-cued, the teenager could nottalk to anyone.

The source said: “When heeventually opened up, he saidhe was made to take an oathnever to reveal anything thathappened in the forest to any-one or else he would die.

“Even when the police wentto rescue him, he was reluctantto leave because he wasscared.”

...narrates experienceNarrating his 10-day ordeal

in the hands of his abductors,the teenager was quoted tohave said he never suspectedhe was kidnapped until theygot to the bush.

He was quoted to have said“even when Mr. Adedayostopped to pick the men on theway, I did not bulge. I did not

know where I being taken tountil I was taken to the forest.

“They kept me in a tent madewith bamboo sticks, with fetishobjects hung everywhere. Atthat point, I became afraid. Ieven thought they kidnappedboth of us. I was scared allthrough.

“I was only fed twice. Thefirst time I was given rice andthe second time I was givenpap and bean cake.

“They threatened to kill meif my father did not bring theransom.”

BY EVELYN USMAN

Crude theft: JTF nabs 76, BY SAMUEL

OYADONGHA

YENAGOA—THE JointTask Force in the Niger

Delta, otherwise known asOperation Pulo Shield, yester-day, said its operatives have

impounded a vessel over al-leged involvement in crudeoil theft along Otokomabiecreek near Oloma communityin Rivers State.

A giant barge was inter-cepted lurking around an il-legal oil loading point close

Joint Task Force, Operation Pulo Shield, impounded this

One of the suspected oil thieves and his weapons


UTME: NSCDCarrests 82over exammalpractice

BY DAUD OLATUNJI

ABEOKUTA—NIGERIASecurity and Civil De-

fence Corps, Ogun StateCommand, said weekend,that it had arrested about 82candidates of the just-con-cluded Unified Tertiary Ma-triculation Examination,UTME, in the state for al-leged involvment in exami-nation malpractices.

The exam, held last Satur-day in about 108 centresacross the state, however,recorded no violence.

State Corps Commandant,Aboluwoye Akinwande, in astatement by the CommandPublic Relations Officer,Kareem Olanrewaju, saidthe candidates were arrestedfrom different centres acrossthe state for cutting cornersduring the examination.

Akinwande said, 30 candi-dates were arrested in vari-ous centres in Abeokuta,nine in Ewekoro local gov-ernment, while others werearrested at Olabisi OnabanjoUniversity, OOU centre, andMolusi College in Ijebu-Ode, Ijebu-Ode Local Gov-ernment Area of the state.

AKURE—KIDNAPPED90 years old former

President of the Associationof Master Bakers, OndoState chapter, Alhaji MusaAdisa, was, weekend, freedjust as detectives picked upthree of his abductors.

A ransom of N30 millionwas requested for by the kid-nappers last week.

Detectives from OndoState Police Command,weekend, secured his re-lease. He was abducted lastweek Wednesday while go-ing to the mosque in Akure,the state capital.

Vanguard gathered thatdetectives from the statecommand stormed the kid-nappers’ hideout in Ado-Ekiti, capital of Ekiti State,where he was held hostage.

Three of the abductorswere arrested at the hideoutby the detectives, who actedon a tip-off.

The old man was abductedby four armed men in frontof his 121, Isolo Street,Akure home while he wasabout to cross the road to anearby mosque.

90-yr-oldkidnapvictim freed

BY DAYO JOHNSONADO-EKITI—COMMER-

CIAL drivers operatingunder the umbrella of the Na-tional Union of Road TransportWorkers, NURTW, and men ofEkiti State Police Commandengaged in a violent clash forseveral hours in Ado-Ekiti,weekend

The face-off was allegedlycaused by the refusal of a po-lice officer to pay N300 trans-port fare from Akure to AdoEkiti.

The driver of the 18-seaterbus was said to have insistedthat the cop must pay his farelike other passengers

The policeman, who was saidto be armed, allegedly fired ashot at the bus shattering therare windshield, which at-tracted other drivers fromnearby, who joined their col-league to beat up the police-man.

After the telling-off by theother drivers and the co-pas-sengers, the policeman, a Ser-geant, was said to have re-

Drivers, police clash in Ekiti

ported the case to his col-leagues at his police station.

According to the report, thepolicemen mobilised to themotor-park located in Ajilosunand started shooting sporadi-cally.

The action of the policemenwas said to have forced thedrivers and commuters at thepark to flee into the bush, asthe policemen dealt with thedrivers that were not fortunateto escape.

The source revealed that asthe policemen were firing theshots, the commercial driverswere also replying with danger-ous missiles like stones, brokenbottles and iron rods, brandish-ing cutlasses and axes.

Several people were said tohave sustained serious inju-ries in the ensuing melee.

Motorists going towardsIjigbo from the old garage hadto make a detour at Irona toescape through the GRA side,while those coming fromAjilosun towards Ijigbo passedthrough Moferere to Agric atOdo Ado.

BY GBENGA ARIYIBI

impounds vessel, barge

to Burma Rice Farm betweenBrass and Obiama water-waysin Brass Local GovernmentArea of Bayelsa State.

Seventy-six suspects werereportedly arrested during theraids on identified locations byoperatives of the JTF.

The vessel, MT Shandy, ac-cording to JTF, was inter-cepted by personnel of 146Battalion patrol team of Sec-tor 2.

Spokesman of the JTF, Lt.-Col.Onyema Nwachukwu, in astatement in Yenagoa, said thevessel, before its arrest, hadbeen kept under surveillance byits operatives while it lurkedaround Bonny anchorage.

He said: “JTF gun boat patrolteam laid in wait until the ves-sel prowled into Otokomabiecreek close to Shell Petroleum

Development Company, SPDC,pipelines before swooping on it.

“The 12-man crew on the ves-sel initially resisted arrest by re-fusing to let down the vessel’sstairway (ladder) for the patrolteam to access the vessel untilthe troops threatened to applysome force."

...raids 7 communities, kills one in DeltaBY EMMA ARUBI

WARRI—OPERATIVES ofthe Joint Task Force, JTF,

was Saturday morning, allegedto have shot one person deadin Warri North Local Govern-ment Area of Delta State afterraiding seven communities.

Ami Dada, the spokespersonsfor Egbema for Positive Change,

a socio-cultural organisation,who spoke to Vanguard, listedthe raided communities to in-clude Elume- Ugbo, Itagbene,Itagbene- Zion, Okunfaba,Abadegbene, Adagbarasa andAsantuagbene.

Dada said the victim was shotdead at Elume-Ugbo village.

He added that the raid maybe connected with the plan

peaceful protest the people ofthe communities intended toembark on in furtherance oftheir protest against the stategovernment and the authoritiesof Chevron Nigeria limited.

According to him, "at 5a.m.,gunboats from the army (JTF)went to raid everybody in sevencommunities in Warri North lo-cal government area."

9 oil workers kidnapped in Bayelsa

YENAGOA—NINE oilworkers, attached to the

Nigerian Oil Servicing Com-panies of the Octopus ClanNigerian Limited and the DeckOil Services, have been report-edly kidnapped by gunmensuspected to be renegade mili-tants along the Ilebiri Creekin the Southern Ijaw Area ofBayelsa State.

Though the alleged kidnapof the oil workers could not beindependently confirmed, se-curity sources said they wereseized last Thursday at 2p.m.

by gunmen suspected to bepart of the gang that killed 12policemen three weeks ago atLobia II in the creek of South-ern Ijaw Local GovernmentArea.

It was learnt that the ab-ducted oil workers are Nige-rians and were on their way

to resume repair work on sev-eral pipeline leaks rangingfrom 18 Tebidaba Brass line,Ogoda Ogboinbiri 24 line atOporoma, Ogboinbiri Tebidaba14 line at Ikebiri, Kemebiama,Osiama 6 flowline, Tebidabawells 14 & 11 flowline replace-ment and several others for the

Nigerian Agip Oil Company,NOAC.

An indigene of the Ikebiricommunity, Kelvin Okuneibie,said some local fishermenalong the waters witnessed theabduction of the oil workers byarmed gunmen operating intwo speedboats.

BY SAMUELOYADONGHA

A B A K A L I K I — O N EEmmanuel Nwegwe, 40,

from Umunaga village in Uburu

community of Ohaozara LocalGovernment Area of EbonyiState, weekend, was reported tohave murdered his relative, In-nocent Onu, 54, over an unre-solved misunderstanding.

Vanguard gathered that thesuspect had been engaged in afeud with the deceased andother relatives on Saturday overthe suspects’ decision to offloadsand inside the compoundwhere the family members hadplanned to use for a weddingreception of another familymember on Sunday.

It was further learnt that thefamily members of the suspecthad scolded him over his deci-

sion to build a house for his fa-ther on a part of the compounddifferent from the one allocatedto him for that purpose.

After much persuasion, heagreed to move the sand to an-other part of the compound andto abide by their decision onwhere to site the building.

A source said: “On Sunday(yesterday) morning, when thefamily members gathered to putfinishing touches to their planfor the wedding, he came outwith a pump action gun and or-dered the elders to lie down.

"He opened fire on the headof one the family members, In-nocent, who died on the spot.”

Man, 40, murders relative in EbonyiBY PETER OKUTU

vessel, MT Shandy, over suspected crude oil theft.


Grounded aircraft: We 're not aware— Rivers govt

BY EMMANUEL AZIK-EN, POLITICAL EDITOR,KENNETH EHIGIATOR &

JIMITOTA ONOYUME

TURBANING—FCT Minister, Bala Mohammed (left) and former Military President, Gen-eral Ibrahim Babangida discussing during the turbaning of members of Minna EmirateCouncil at Emir's palace, Minna on Saturday.

Captain Tito flays procedure

Patience Jonathan tasks Chief Judges,others on prison congestion

BY CALEB AYANSINA

ABUJA – NIGERIAN FirstLady, Dame Patience

Jonathan, weekend, called onthe state chief judges to paymore attention to problems ofprison congestion and designways of finding a lasting solu-tion to it. Mrs. Jonathan also called onprison authorities to device ap-propriate strategy that wouldproperly take care of about 6,000Nigerian children living in pris-ons and detention centresacross the country. Jonathan, who spoke at thecommissioning of the PrisonStaff School built by the Prisons

Officers Wives’ Association,PROWA, in Abuja, noted thatthere were inmates that had nocase to answer, but suffered in-justice because they had nobody to stand for them. She added that the presentsituation of the country’s pris-ons had defeated the purposeof prison system to reform of-fenders, while urging statechief judges, including theFederal Capital Territory, FCT,to carry out periodic visit toprison for the purpose of ex-amining the cases of suspectsawaiting trial, adding that, herNGO was willing to render anyassistance on the matter.

Mrs. Jonathan said: “It will in-terest you to note that a 2012 re-port by the African Union on therights and welfare of a child hasshown that an estimated 6,000Nigerian Children live in prisonand detention centres. “Some of these children are saidto have been born in the prison,while a majority are minors whoare awaiting trial. I hope that theprison authorities will urgentlylook into the situation of babiesborn in prisons. Such children can possibly behanded over to a responsible fam-ily member or to the Departmentof Social Welfare for proper careand integration.

It's FG's plot to humiliate Gov Amaechi—ACN

THE Rivers State government,yesterday, claimed ignorance

of the ban on the state’s aircraftflying in the country, saying itwould not give heed to mediaspeculations on the issue in theface of its own compliance to reg-ulatory procedures on the regis-tration of the aircraft.

The assertion nonetheless, rip-ples arising from the ban contin-ued, yesterday, across the politi-cal and aviation sectors.

The Action Congress of Niger-ia, ACN, alleged the ban to bepart of a growing scheme by theruling administration to humili-ate and cripple GovernorChibuike Amaechi, saying theban had more than anything ex-posed the hypocrisy of thepresent administration.

Leading aviation expert, Cap-tain Tito Omaghomi, a formercaptain with the defunct Nigeri-an Airways on his part, flayed theprocedure adopted by the avia-tion authorities on the matter.

Caution was, however, the re-frain across the political land-scape in Rivers State as both sup-porters of the governor and histraducers recently empowered toform the new executive of thePeoples Democratic Party, PDP, inthe state shied away from speak-ing on the issue.

The 700 Bombardier Global Ex-press aircraft belonging to theRivers State government normal-ly used in conveying GovernorAmaechi was on Friday tempo-rarily stopped from taking off inAkure allegedly for the failure ofthe crew to provide a manifest.

The aircraft was subsequentlyon Saturday banned from flyingin the country by the aviation au-thorities on the claim that its pa-pers expired on April 2.

The ACN was quick to read po-litical meanings into the actionalleging it was the beginning ofthe days of sorrow for GovernorAmaechi from the Federal Gov-ernment

Amaechi, chairman of the Ni-gerian Governors Forum haslately been in the news on alle-gations that he is opposed to the2015 re-election of PresidentGoodluck Jonathan and conceiv-ing a plan to run as a runningmate to an incumbent northerngovernor in the 2015 presiden-tial election. The governor hasrepeatedly denied the claims.

In its reaction yesterday, theRivers State government in astatement by the Commissionerfor Information and Communi-cations, Mrs Ibim Semenitari,claimed ignorance of any actiontaken against the aircraft by theNigerian Civil Aviation Authori-ty, NCAA.

"As we speak, all I have is in-formation that I have gleanedfrom the media. All we have as agovernment is that information.

"No formal communication hasreached us in Rivers State. Webelieve that it would be best thatwe await formal communicationfrom the regulatory agency.

"Just to say that all our docu-mentations are in place. And toalso say that as a responsiblesub-national, we have compliedwith the norms that regulateaviation business in Nigeria.

"We have applied formally tothe minister of aviation for theimport license. That applicationwas received in her office inSept. 2012.

"So, we believe that all of theprocedure, we have complied asbest as we know.

"However, we do understandthat the regulatory agencies arebest equipped to tell us if theythink there is any lapse and wewill expect that the communi-cation will come to us formallyand not through the media," shesaid.

But asserting vengeance forthe ban, the national publicitysecretary of the ACN Alhaji LaiMohammed said:

“One thing I can assure youis that the PDP and Jonathanwill never allow Amaechi oneminute. They will use everytrick in their arsenal to fightAmaechi’s government. I haveno doubt in my mind that theultimate is to remove him as gov-ernor, but before then, they willdo everything to ground him.People don’t know the signifi-cance of grounding Amaechi’saircraft. When you ground theaircraft of a person like Amae-chi you are demobilizing himcompletely. He no longer canplan his programmes as hewishes,” Mohammed told Van-guard.

“He will now be at the mercyof commercial aircraft, friends orfellow governors to even moveout of Port-Harcourt. Now, Gov-ernor Amaechi should get readyand accept more humiliation,more frustration, from theJonathan-led Federal Govern-ment.”

“Nothing has unveiled thehypocrisy of Jonathan and thePDP more than what is happen-ing to Amaechi.

When the aircraft wasgrounded in Akure, theyclaimed it was because the crewdid not file the passenger s'manifest, but of course it is nottrue. Now we know the real rea-son is to completely humiliateand embarrass him and they willstop at nothing.”

Calling on well meaning Ni-gerians to rise and speakagainst arbitrariness, he said:“And I think it is about time toothat well meaning Nigeriansshould start cautioning the gov-ernment because matters likethis, you can only know the be-

ginning, you can never knowthe end.

"I will not be surprised in thenext couple of days that theymobilize the Rivers State Houseof Assembly to impeach him orif the EFCC and ICPC nowsuddenly find allegationsagainst the speaker and mem-bers of the house. They did itbefore in Plateau, Oyo andBayelsa. But we all know whereit almost led Nigeria. All thesedeliberate acts of destabilizationof the polity, the governmentshould desist from it.”

Captain Tito one of the coun-try’s most respected voices inthe aviation sector slammed theprocedure adopted by the avi-ation authorities.

The regulatory agency hadclaimed that the clearance ap-proval expired on April 2, 2013,after which the aircraft ought

to have been grounded imme-diately.

But Capt Tito wondered whyit took the NCAA till April 27 totake action on the aircraft, not-ing that if the Nigerian AirspaceManagement Agency, NAMA,had not raised issues about thepilot’s flight plan in Akure, theregulatory agency wouldn’thave known that the aircraft doc-umentation had expired.

“NCAA is just trying to coverits track in grounding that air-craft. Why did they have to waittill April 27 to ground the plane,if its documentation expiredApril 2?

“Is it not the same NCAA thatgranted extension for the air-craft to continue to fly, if therewas any extension? What hashappened is to tell you that theNCAA is not doing its job.What the agency did was fire

brigade approach,” he said.Tito, who said the regulatory

body was right in grounding theplane, said the manner it was car-ried out was what led to the con-troversy.

He disclosed also that theNCAA had also long before nowallowed the aircraft to fly usingRivers State government as callsign which, according to him, isagainst standard practice in avia-tion.

According to him, it was not untilabout a month ago that it startedusing the right call sign, which isthe registration number N565RS.

On ways out of the logjam, nowthat the aircraft had been ground-ed, Tito said Rivers State govern-ment could re-apply for extensionof the concession earlier grantedthe government to operate the air-craft.


JonathancongratulatesAdenuga on his60th birthday

BY BEN AGANDE

Obasanjo tackles Jonathan on proposedpipeline protection

Lagos govtseals off 30illegal medicinestores

BY OLASUNKANMIAKONI

LAGOS State government,through its task force on

counterfeit, fake drugs and un-wholesome processed foods,weekend, sealed off at least 30illegal patent medicine stores,in the Ajah-Lekki axis of thestate.

The government warnedmembers of the public on theinherent risks in the purchaseand consumption of drugs fromhawkers.

Special Adviser to the Gover-nor on Public Health, Dr.Yewande Adeshina, who dis-closed this, noted that the stategovernment was not only wor-ried by the dangers posed byillegal drug hawkers but also bynefarious activities of illegal op-erators of patent medicine andpharmaceutical stores in thestate hence, the latest clamp-down on illegal operators inAjah-Lekki axis.

BY LEVINUS NWABUGHI-OGU

As Oby Ezekwesili marks 50 years

Obasanjo who said he wouldhave been in Ghana but for theimportance he attached to thecelebration, however, stated thattheir role as citizens of Nigeriaand stakeholders in the affairsof the nation was to continue of-fering advice that would bringthe needed change.

He also recounted an experi-ence he had with a friend onthe natural endowment of thecountry, stressing that misman-agement of resources is Niger-ia’s greatest challenge.

Obasanjo: “Today is a greatday in your life and I know thatotherwise I should have beenin Ghana. But because I realizehow important this day is to you,when I leave here I will proceedto Ghana. I want to thank youfor what we jointly worked for

and lived for; service and val-ues. And I do hope that we willnever stop meditating, repeat-ing, shouting and talking.

“One of my friends said theother day when I said let us pray,he said stop tempting God andI said what do you mean by that,he said Look, God has doneeverything for you and you aremismanaging it. You are tempt-ing God. I hope you will stoptempting God.

But let me say personally whatOby stands for, what she haslived for and the exemplaryservice she has rendered undermy own administration and in-deed in the global setting

Speaking to newsmen at thereception on how she feels at50 years, the celebrant, Mrs.Oby Ezekwesili looked back and

said it was the grace of God thathas brought her thus far.

Her words: “It feels reallygreat. I have to tell you that Ifeel a sense of completion of acertain phase in my life andwhen I look back I just remem-ber so much that God has donein my life, you know I can’t helpbut really understand God as theOne who gives greatness.

"It is only because of the Graceof God that I am what I am to-day and grace is called unmer-ited favour, not because I de-serve it but because God decid-ed that He will take a child froma humble home and enabled myparents to give me educationand He laid on my path the op-portunity to prove myself thenHe blessed the work that I didat different stages of my life.

BY OLASUNKANMIAKONI

that journalists have borne thebrunt of the administration’s in-creasing propensity to stifle free-dom of expression and pressfreedom, while members of theopposition are being portrayedmore and more as enemies of theadministration, rather than be-ing seen as indispensable alliesin the nation’s quest to evolve astrong and enduring democra-cy.

"These may have been the mo-tivation for the administration toacquire the internet surveillancecapability".

"However, no government inthe history of our country, wheth-er elected or otherwise, has tak-en this kind of brazen measurefor whatever reason, hence itmust raise serious concernsamong the citizenry, their politi-cal representatives as well as civ-il liberties organisations,’’ theACN said.

ABUJA—PRESIDENTGoodluck Jonathan has

congratulated one of Nigeria’smost successful and renownedbusinessmen, Otunba MichaelAdenuga, as he celebrates his60th birthday today.In a statement, Special Adviserto the President on Media andPublicity, Dr Reuben Abati, quot-ed President Jonathan as notingthat Otunba Adenuga was cele-brating 60 years of great achieve-ments in business and philan-thropy.

Mike Adenuga is one of onlytwo Nigerians not former lead-ers that was recently conferredwith Nigeria’s second highestNational Honour of Grand Com-mander of the Order of the Ni-ger, GCON.The President described Otun-ba Adenuga as an embodimentof the ideals of “diligence, com-mitment, unmediated patriotismand selfless service.”

“On behalf of the governmentand people of the Federal Re-public of Nigeria, I join your fam-ily, friends, protégés and well-wishers in thanking God for yourexemplary life.

“It is my prayer that AlmightyGod continues to bless you withrobust health and enduring hap-piness,” President Jonathan said.

VISIT—From left: Mr Eze Anaba, Deputy Editor, Vanguard Newspaper; Mr Mideno Bay-agbon, Editor; Mr Gbenga Adefaye, Editor-in-Chief/GM Publication; Dr Doyin Okupe,Senior Special Assistant for Public Affairs to the President; Mr Taofik Gani, PublicitySecretary, Lagos PDP; Dr Olusanya Awosan, Special Assistant to the President (PublicRelations) and Bamidele Salam, Special Assistant to the President, Director Media onPublic Affairs, during a visit to Vanguard. Photo: Akeem Salau.

ACTION Congress of Nigeria, ACN, has accused Pres-

ident Goodluck Jonathan’s ad-ministration of launching an un-precedented assault on the civ-il rights of Nigerian citizens,through the reported planned$40 million internet surveillancecontract that will allow the gov-ernment to invade the privacyof citizens, especially journal-ists and those considered to beopponents of the administra-t i o n . National Publicity Secretary ofthe party, Alhaji Lai Moham-med, in a statement, yesterday,posited that since the report ofthe contract, said to have beenawarded to an Israeli firm, hadnot been denied several daysafter it was published, it was anindication that it was true.

The party stated: "For a gov-

ACN accuses FG of plans to spy on privateemails of Nigerians

ernment that is increasinglyparanoid, having failed to meetthe yearnings and aspirationsof the citizenry who are justifi-ably becoming restive by theday, the ability to spy on theinternet communications of cit-izens as well as to intercept andread private emails, not to talkof being able to suppress un-wanted connections, is a potentweapon against the civil rightsof Nigerians as well as the con-stitutionally-guaranteed rightslike freedom of expression,freedom of the press and free-dom of association.

"It is common knowledge thatthe Jonathan's administrationhas been getting a bad rap fromNigerians in the traditional me-dia as well as the social media- a veritable platform for the cit-izens to vent their frustrationsat a do-nothing government.

"It is also common knowledge

AAAAABUJABUJABUJABUJABUJA—FORMER PresidentOlusegun Obasanjo, yester-

day, faulted move by the FederalGovernment to set up an agencyfor pipeline protection, saying itwas another way of stealing fromthe government coffers.

Obasanjo who spoke at a thanks-giving at the Redeemed ChristianChurch of God, RCCG, Garki Abu-ja to mark the 50ththththth birthday of theformer Minister of Education, Dr.Oby Ezekwesili also said he tookfull responsibility for any failurehis regime has been accused of andthat his team of ministers whoworked with him should not beblamed for any inadequacies.

The former President who ex-tolled the outstanding qualities ofEzekwesili who served under himstated that no one would haveprobed her following her positionon the state of the nation as wide-ly reported recently.

Instead, Obasanjo said the gov-ernment would have paid her forthe services she rendered to thecountry during the time she served.

Obasanjo who chided the presentgovernment for a move to set upan agency for pipeline protection,argued that this was another wayof stealing from the governmentcoffers.

Said he: “When I was comingfrom Abeokuta, I was listening tothe radio and they said they aregoing to set up an agency for pipe-line protection. Now, what are thePolice there for? All the securityagencies that we have, what arethey for. This is another chop-chop.

We have no choice we have toget it right. Let us decide individu-ally that I will have to do what Iwill do to bring about change inNigeria. And if you do that, let meassure you, you will be abused. Youwill be called names. Some peopleare hired to do that. But like Oby,say what you believe is right andstand by it.”

Commending his former minis-ter for the role she played in gov-ernment, the former president said,“those who wanted to probe you,I think if they were honest, afterprobing you, they would ask thatthe government of Nigeria shouldhave specially given you moneyfor work you have done for thiscountry.

But as one of those who workedwith me and to achieve whateverwe may claim we achieved, and Ihave always said it you should becommended. Whatever you mightwant to blame in my government,blame me, don’t blame any ofthose people who assisted me.Blame me. If there is any credit,we share together. But if there isanything you want to say it iswrong, I was the one in-charge.”


FAIR: From left— Prince Julius Adelusi-Adeluyi, former Minister of Health and guest ofhonour; Dr. Jide Idris, Lagos State Commissioner for Health; Mrs Ayodele Iroko, Chief ofParty, Strengthening Health Outcomes Through the Private Sector, SHOP; and Dr. AnthonyOmolola, National President, Association of General and Private Medical Practitioner of Nigeria,AGPMPN, during the opening of private health sector trade fair themed Effective Public-PrivatePartnership: A Sure Way of Promoting Healthcare Delivery System in Nigeria, oragnised byUSAID Nigeria and SHOP in Lagos. PHOTO: Kehinde Gbadamosi.

Labour calls for Director of AgricInstitute's sack over arrest of workers

Stakeholders advocatemore efforts in malaria fight

STAKEHOLDERS in thehealth sector in Ogun

State, have called for an all-inclusive strategy to drasticallyreduce the current unaccept-ably high malaria prevalencein the country and other Afri-can countries.

The stakeholders lamentedthat although malaria was pre-ventable, there was need forproactive steps to halt the cur-rent trend of avoidable deathsresulting from malaria, espe-cially among pregnant womenand children below five years.

Ogun Commissioner forHealth, Dr. Olaokun Soyinka,spoke at the flag-off ceremonyto mark the 2013 World Ma-laria Day organised by OgunState Government in collabo-ration with Reckitt Benckiser’sMortein insecticide brand inAbeokuta.

He said due to the strategicplacement of Africa as the new

hub for the world’s economy,it was imperative to accordmalaria eradication priorityand solicit every support.

Soyinka commended ReckittBenckiser for its Mortein anti-malaria initiative and calledon well-meaning corporatebodies and institutions to emu-late the company in its bid tomake the country malaria-free.

General Manager for Cen-tral (West & East) Africa,Reckitt Benckiser, Mr. AshokBashin, said the need to fillwhat he described as the“deadly gaps” in the variousmalaria eradication pro-grammes, informed the com-pany's intervention initiative.

BY CHIOMA OBINNA

IBADAN—FOLLOWING the arrest of some

of the striking workers ofthe Institute of Agricul-ture, Research and Train-ing, IAR & T, Moor Plan-tation, Ibadan, the work-ers have called for the re-moval of the director ofthe institute, Prof.Benjamin Ogunbodede.

The call was made bythe National Vice-Presi-dent, Senior Staff Asso-ciation of Nigerian Uni-versities, SSANU, IAR &T branch, Mr. AlfredJimoh, weekend.

Fifteen members of theunion were arrested overthe industrial unrest thathas paralysed activitiesin the institute for thepast 10 months.

Meanwhile, the unionmembers, who were ar-raigned in court, weregranted N50,000.00 bailwith a surety eachJustifying the call for theremoval of the director,Jimoh accused him ofabuse of office, fraudu-lent diversion and misap-propriation of funds.

He said: “The workers

no longer have confi-dence in the leadershipof Prof. BenjaminOgunbodede.”

However, Ogunbodededenied all the allega-tions, saying “I will notwait a minute longer atthe institute if foundguilty of any offence orwrong doing in office.”

He added that the alle-gations of misappropria-tion of funds were spuri-ous and unfounded.

Contrary to the claims ofthe aggrieved workers,the panel that was set upby the management of theinstitute did not find himguilty.

Jimoh said: “I whole-

heartedly support the callof the workers of the in-stitute for Ogunbo-dede’sremoval as the director,due to loss of confidencein his administration.

"We are at the instituteto have a meeting withthe members and to briefthem about developmentat the court on Thursday."

BY OLA AJAYI

GOVERNOR RaufAregbesola of Osun

State, weekend, ex-pressed fear that the na-tion was gradually mov-ing towards disintegra-tion.

Aregbesola spoke inOsogbo at a social gath-ering the government or-ganised in honour of thenewly-elected Presidentof the Nigerian Guild ofEditors, Mr. FemiAdesina, and other ex-ecutive members of theguild.

The governor said un-less the Federal Govern-ment urgently took con-

crete steps to arrest theprotracted unrest in virtu-ally all the regions of thecountry, the nation maycollapse.

According to him, any-one with the interest of thecountry at heart wouldcertainly know that Ni-geria was at presentcloser to failure than suc-cess as a nation.

He said rather than ad-dress the fundamentalcauses of the crisis, Fed-eral Government was onlyscratching them on thesurface.

The governor said: “I amparticularly worried about

the fate of this nation to-day. Nigeria is very closeto being a failed state thanbeing successful."

The governor chargedthe media to practice de-velopmental journalismand said through thisbrand of journalism, itwould interest allstakeholders where thenation is going.

He said: “Media shouldchallenge the leaders andwake them up to their re-sponsibilities.

“I want you to use yourmedium to also correct thebad impressions createdfor our state."

OSUN State Govern-ment has warned

students against absen-teeism, saying a 90 per-cent school attendanceby senior secondary stu-dents is a condition to sitfor the May/June 2013West African Senior Sec-ondary School Examina-tions, WASSSCE.

State Deputy Governor,Mrs. Titi Laoye-Tomori,gave the warning in

Osogbo during an inter-active session with prin-cipals of secondaryschools.

She cited cases wheresecondary schools stu-dents resorted to com-mercial motorcycle op-erations during schoolhours, saying “a studentthat refuses to complywith a 90 percent attend-ance requirement wouldnot be allowed to sit for

the final examinations.”She urged principals to

be diligent with record-keeping to enable themidentify those who stayedaway from classes.

Laoye-Tomori, whodoubles as the Commis-sioner for Educationsaid: “From the statisti-cal standpoint, out of44,388 students, who satfor the 2010 May/JuneWASSCE, 6,773 students

made credit level passesin five subjects, includ-ing English and Math-ematics.

“In 2011 May /JuneWASSCE, 54,810 stu-dents sat for the exami-nations, while 11,949 stu-dents recorded creditlevel passes in five sub-jects, including Englishand Mathematics. This isan improvement of 76.4percent.”

90% attendance prerequisite for WAEC— Osun State

Aregbesola warnsof impending disintegration


Amaechi tasks state varsity onfinancial autonomy

BY JIMITOTAONOYUME

PTMLCustomscommandfirst quarterrevenue upslast year's byN1bn

BY IFEYINWA OBI

THE Area Comptrol-ler of Port Multitermi-

nal, PTML, of Nigeria Cus-toms Service, Alhaji ZakariJubril, said, yesterday, thatcomparatively, this year'sfirst quarter revenue sur-passed last year's revenuefigures by over N1 billion,adding that the feat wasdue to the efforts of men andofficers of the command.

Against this backdrop,the command said it wasconfident that it wouldachieve its 2013 revenuetargets and even surpasssame. Mr Jubril, in Lagos,said the command gener-ated over N17.38 billionduring the period under re-view, and raked in N16 .44billion into the FederationAccount in the correspond-ing period last year.

FUNERAL SERVICE: From left: Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu Tambuw-al; Governor Chibuike Amaechi of Rivers State; former Presidential Adviser on Media, SegunAdeniyi and Deputy Speaker, Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, during the funeral service for the Dep-uty Speaker's late sister, Mrs. Natachi Ben-Chukwuma, at St.Cyprian's Church Umuihi, ImoState, weekend.

Edo LP chieftain urges Sanusi to checkillegal sale of Naira

BY GABRIELENOGHOLASE

B E N I N — D E P U T YChairman of Labour

Party in Edo State, ChiefPatrick Eholor, yesterday,challenged the governor ofCentral Bank of Nigeria,CBN, Mallam Lamido Sanu-si, to address the sale of thenation’s currency by illegaloperators in the open mar-ket.

Wondering why the sale ofthe nation’s currency hasbecome a thriving businessin major motor parks in thecountry, he blamed officialsof the apex bank for theproblem.

Eholor, weekend, in Ben-in, Edo State, maintainedthat the ban on the sale ofthe Nigerian currency by il-legal operators of bureau dechange would be a ruse,unless there was outrightstoppage in the patronage ofthe business by governmentofficials and other highlyplaced persons.

He said the illegal sale of

the currency had depreciatedthe value of the naira and hadalso dampened the morale ofcitizens.

He said: “What is Mallam Sa-

nusi doing about it? Theseare not the ordinary citizens,they are the bourgeois, whoare selling our money. It isbetter to stop them but rath-

er, we are playing blindto them, as they are us-ing tax payers' money toprint our currency andafter doing so, they re-sell it to the ordinary cit-izens.”

PORT HARCOURT—G O V - E R N O R

Chibuike Amaechi of Riv-ers State, has called onthe management of Riv-ers State University ofScience and Technologyto evolve measures toachieve financial auton-omy in the running of theuniversity.

The governor, at thesilver jubilee convoca-tion of the university,charged the granduandsto remain good ambassa-dors of the university,just as he urged themanagement to ensurethat the lecturers wereperiodically examined toensure their ability to de-liver quality education.

Amaechi, who gave theuniversity the go ahead

to recruit more lecturers,said the institutionshould endeavour to al-ways vote funds for re-search and capacitybuilding for the lectur-ers.

He tasked the univer-sity authority not to hes-itate to punish lecturerswho fail in their jobs,stressing that his govern-ment will continue tosupport qualitative uni-versity education in thestate.

Olu of Warri charges Nigerians to embrace peace

BY FESTUS AHON

U G H E L L I — T H EOlu of Warri, His

Royal Majesty, OgiameAtuwatse II, has charged

Nigerians to shun actscapable of underminingthe peace of the country.

Giving the chargewhen the founder andPresident of Destiny

Helpers International,DHI, Mrs. Victoria Sillo-Fregene, led other offi-cials of the non-govern-mental organisation, ona thank you visit to theroral father and to felic-itate with him on hisforthcoming 26th corona-tion anniversary, themonarch appealed toNigerians to show gen-uine love to one anoth-er.

He commended Desti-ny Helpers Internation-al for keeping faith withthe vision and goals ofthe foundation, stressingthe need for Nigerians toclose ranks and demon-strate true love for oneanother irrespective oftheir religion and tribe.He added that ‘’love cov-ereth sin while hatredstirs up strife.”


Etok’s allegations spurious —Akpabio

Riverscouncillorsreject newstate PDPexco

BY EGUFEYAFUGBORHI

PORT HAR-C O U R T — F O L -

LOWING the footsteps ofserving local governmentarea chairmen and theRivers State House of As-sembly, councillors in thestate, have rejected thenewly inaugurated stateexecutive council of Peo-ples Democratic Party,PDP.

In a communique afteran extra-ordinary meet-ing in Port Harcourt, thelocal government law-makers, under the aegisof National CouncillorsForum of Nigeria, RiversState chapter, pledgedtheir loyalty to the sackedChief G.U. Ake-led exec-utive of the party, de-scribing the court ruling,which legitimised FelixObuah-led executive as“kangaroo and unaccept-able.”

The communique, bythe executive of the forumand presented by Dago-go Humphrey, PublicitySecretary, said the forumalso pledged “full sup-port” for Governor RotimiAmaechi while advisinghim not to be distracted bycurrent political antago-nism against him.

RETREAT: From left: Mr. Adewale Peter, Director-General, Administrative Staff College ofNigeria, ASCON; Mrs. Jumoke Okoya-Thomas; Mr. Emeka Ezeh, Director, Bureau of PublicProcurement, BPP, and Mr. Victor Nwokolo, at a retreat for chief executive officers of par-astatals, at ASCON,Badagry. Photo: Joe Akintola, Photo Editor.

AKWA Ibom StateGovernment has

described as unfortunate,statement credited to Sen-ator Aloysius Etok, of IkotEkpene Senatorial Dis-trict, wherein he made“spurious allegations thatthe state governor, ChiefGodswill Akpabio, wasafter his life.”

The state commissionerfor Information and Com-munications, Mr. Ani-ekan Umanah, in a state-ment, dismissed the alle-gations as paranoid, de-ceitful, baseless and merehallucinations that serve

no purpose whatsoever.He maintained that Gov-

ernor Akpabio has noproblem with SenatorEtok and would not joinissues with anyone onconjectures credited to thesenator, who the gover-nor, worked hard with thepeople to produce.

Umanah said: “Gover-nor Akpabio is a God fear-ing and peace lovingman, and has never, andwill never contemplateevil against anyone, letalone, his brother andfriend, Senator AloysiusEtok.”

He described the alle-gation of mobilising localgovernment chairmenand members of the stateHouse of Assemblyagainst Sen. Etok as a fig-ment of the imagination ofthe authors of such de-mented scripts becauseGovernor Akpabio was notin the country at the timethe alleged actions weretaken neither was he par-ty to same as he was at-tending the Common-wealth Bar AssociationConference in Cape Town,South Africa at the time.

BY CHRIS OCHAYI

Jonathan endorses N-Delta Trust Fund

U Y O — P R E S I D E N TGoodluck Jonathan,

has endorsed the establish-ment of a Multi-Stakehold-er Trust Fund, MSTF, to fasttrack the development of theNiger Delta region.

President Jonathan, whileinaugurating the 40-memberNational Council on NigerDelta, weekend, in Uyo,Akwa Ibom State, said theprocess will create develop-ment partners to ensure thetransformation of the region.

The proposed MSTF is ex-pected to solve the decadesof funding problems faced inthe process of developing theregion.

Under the arrangement, ascontained in the Niger Del-ta Action Plan, developed bythe Ministry, MSTF willmobilise an additional $200million, about N3.2 billion,as the first tranche of fund.

President Jonathan, rep-resented by his Vice, MrNamadi Sambo, said the gov-ernment was committed topushing forward a newdawn for development in theregion.

He said: “This mechanismwill assist the Ministry ofNiger Delta Affairs to moreeffectively coordinate devel-opment resources from dif-ferent stakeholders toachieve the intended objec-tives.

“Today’s event marks one

in the series of efforts by theFederal Government to consoli-date and reaffirm all commit-ments to the people of the Ni-ger Delta, made within theframework of the amnesty pro-gramme in 2010.

“We must now capitalise on theprevailing peace framework inthe region to push forward a new

dawn in the region. Whenwe work together, we arebetter able to unleash ourcreative potentials in opti-mising our huge human andnatural resources for the sta-bility and prosperity of theNiger Delta, and the goodand progress of our people.

“We consider it a priority

to sustain the consolidationof the current security situa-tion in order to deepen thevery foundations of durableand mutually beneficialpeace. This is achievable ifwe forthrightly, and with ar-ticulation, address the devel-opment challenges and ne-glect of the people.”

60,000 women die through pregnancycomplications annually —NPHCDA

BY VICTORIAOJEME

ABUJA—EXECU-TIVE Secretary of

National Primary HealthCare DevelopmentAgency, NPHCDA, Dr.Ado Mohammed, hassaid that no fewer than60,000 Nigerian womendie annually from com-plications in pregnancy. He spoke when he re-

ceived an award of excel-lence confered on him bythe Medical and HealthWorkers Union of Niger-ia, MHWUN, for hisagency’s commitment toefficient health care serv-ice delivery in Nigeria. Ado, in a statement bythe Assistant Public Re-lation Officer ofNPHC-DA, Mr. AbubakarMusa, said: “The agen-cy solicits for more sup-port and cooperation of

well meaning Nigeriansin collaborating withNPHCDA towards pro-viding better health careservice delivery to all Ni-gerians, especially at thegrassroots level.”He said to achieve this,“all hands must be ondeck towards ensuringthat Nigeria attains theMDG’s goal 4 & 5, re-duction in maternal andchild mortality, before2015.”


Poly teachers begin indefinite strike

L-r: National president, Motion Pictures Distributors of Nigeria, Igwe Gabosky; minister of finance, Dr.Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; minister of tourism, Chief Edem Duke, and president, Association of Movie Producers,Zik Zulu Okafor, during a media briefing after Federal Government delegates and Nollywood stakeholdersmeeting on FG/Nollywood grant disbursement plan in Lagos...yesterday

Edo LGA Polls: Nigeria’s democracy under threat•PDP raises alarm

•Asks FG to probe military presence in Esan North East; Says Oshiomhole wants

to be the only Emperor

•To drag ACN, Oshiomhole to Court

•Says EDSIEC members are ACN card carrying members

•Most PDP chieftains are suffering from political curses imposed on them by the

people of Edo State— Oshiomhole

•Says PDP failed to campaign like ACN

By HENRY UMORU

ABUJA— NATIONALLeadership of the Peo-

ples Democratic Party, PDP, yes-terday, raised alarm that thenation’s democracy was underserious threat, just as it con-demned the just concluded lo-cal government election in EdoState.

According to PDP, since June12, 1993, presidential electionthat was annulled, Nigeria as acountry had never witnessedwhat the party alleged to beassault on the people as wellas harassment and intimidationduring the polls, especially inEsan North East local govern-ment, the place of the Chair-man, Board of Trustees, BoT,Chief Tony Anenih.

The PDP also said that Gov-ernor Adams Oshiomhole ofEdo State wanted to make him-self the only emperor as well asthe only leader, adding that pow-er and leadership were ephem-eral.

Addressing Journalists inAbuja, PDP national PublicitySecretary, Chief Olisa Metuh,who urged the military author-ities to investigate the role of theBrigade commander in Beninin the use of the military againstPDP members during the elec-tions, however, vowed that theparty would challenge the out-come of the election in court.

But in a swift reaction, Gov-ernor Adams Oshiomhole not-ed that some chieftains of PDPwere suffering from what hetermed political curses imposedon them by the good people ofEdo State.

Oshiomhole, who spokethrough his Special Adviser,Media, Kassim Afegbua said:"We are of the opinion that mostPDP chieftains are suffering frompolitical curses imposed onthem by the good people of EdoState over the misrule of theparty when they presided overthe affairs of the state for tenyears. The potency and effica-cy of that curse is still in force,that is why they cannot win anyelection in the State. Even if

they conduct elections in their bed-rooms among family members, theywill still lose because they have sincebecome political turn coats with lit-tle or no electoral value. This is whyyou see members of the PDP in EdoState behave often times like gangof sinuous fawns all over the place,gallivanting like unshepherdedflock just to remain visible.

"The LGA election complied sub-stantially with the provisions of theelectoral act of the State and to thatextent, we are satisfied with theoutcome so far. Rather than go onthe field to campaign for electionsthey were busy chasing after theage or no age of the Comrade Gov-ernor, like members of Jacobianscandal club of medieval age. Whywon’t they complain when they didnot campaign? They must give a

reason to cover up their indo-lence, lazying about with tiredadults struggling to remain rel-evant in the system. This is theage of ACN and the PDP shouldlearn how to play the new oppo-sition role which civilization hasthrust upon them. Edo State hasbeen liberated from the bucca-neering attitude of a Party as rud-derless as the PDP.”

Speaking further, Metuh whoalso accused members of the EdoState Independent ElectoralCommission, EDOSIEC, underthe chairmanship of Solomon ascard carrying members of ActionCongress of Nigeria, ACN,stressed that the Commissionstarted an onslaught against thePDP by imposing illegal fees ofN100,000 and N50,000 for col-

lection of forms on the chair-manship and councillorshipcandidates respectively de-signed to frustrate members ofPDP from contesting.

But when asked to commenton a similar situation in thepast where similar chargeswere made during former Gov-ernor Lucky Igbinedion, Metuhsimply responded saying,"Oshiomhole and Lucky Ig-binedion are birds of a feath-er.”

Metuh said: "As we speak, thesurvival of our democracy is un-der very serious threat. Unpa-triotic and undemocratic ele-ments have laid siege on ournation’s democracy and Nige-rians are now living in seriousfear and uncertainty. Since theannulment of June 12 1993,presidential elections, we havenever in the political history ofNigeria witnessed any suchassault on the people and de-mocracy like what is going onin Edo State today.

"As I address you, the peopleof Edo State are being subject-ed to the worst form of tyran-ny."

By BARTHOLOMEW MADUKWE

THE Academic Staff Union ofPolytechnics, ASUP, has

commenced an indefinite strike,following failure of the federal andstate governments to implementagreements on issues affectingpolytechnic education in thecountry.

The indefinite strike declared,

yesterday, by the union, followedend of a seven-day warningstrike which ended weekend.

Some of the issues incontention are non-migration ofmembers at the lower cadres onCONTISS 15 salary scale;release of white paper on thevisitation panel to federalpolytechnics; non-commencement of needs

failure of most stategovernments to implementapproved salary packages(CONPCASS) for polytechnicsand 65 years retirement age;continued recognition of theNBTE as a regulatory body forNigerian polytechnics againstthe creation of a nationalpolytechnics commission; andand the snail speed associatedwith the amendment of theFederal Polytechnics Act,amongst others.

National President of ASUP,Mr Chibuzor Asomugha, toldVanguard, yesterday, that theindefinite strike had become in-evitable because the meeting theunion had with Secretary to theGovernment of the Federation,Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, onthe issues yielded no positiveresults.

assessment ofN i g e r i a np o l y t e c h n i c s ;worrisome state ofs t a t e - o w n e dp o l y t e c h n i c s /monotechnics; andc o n t i n u e dappointment ofunqualified personsas rectors by somestate governments.

Others include

Tell BH to stopattackingChristians,Anglicanprimate urgesAmnestyPanel

By SONI DANIEL,Regional Editor, North

FOR peace to reign inNigeria, the Boko

Haram Amnesty Commit-tee raised by the FederalGovernment must prevailon the sect to stop killingChristians and destroyingtheir places of worship, thePrimate of Anglican Com-munion, Most Rev. Nicho-las Okoh, has cautioned.Okoh’s admonition is con-tained in a position paperreleased by the church andmade available to Van-guard last night.In the document entitled‘The rough edges of theamnesty proposition’, theprimate noted with concernthe rush to grant amnestyto the BH sect without anyform of truth and reconcili-ation, which he noted,should have preceded am-nesty.

The Anglican Commun-ion noted that although themotive of the Federal Gov-ernment was to achievepeace in the north, ignor-ing the first steps thatshould have been takenwould only result in the at-tainment of what it called‘half peace’.

The church said: "If theFederal Government goesahead through the amnes-ty committee to make peaceon BH’s terms, it wouldhave inadvertently and ef-fectively banned Christiansand Christianity from theNorth. In the amnesty com-mittee, who will speak forthe right of the church, notto be tolerated, but as Ni-gerian Christians to existside by side with Islam andMuslims, build churches,worship freely, move aboutfreely without being hunt-ed down with all sorts ofweapons?

”Will the amnesty com-mittee ensure that Chris-tians are not merely toler-ated in the north but areallowed to live abundantlife as Muslims as Chris-tians do in other parts of thecountry?"


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InfrastructureBank raisescapital toN29 billion

Baga: Defence hqtrs challenges Borno State govt•Denies claim that 185 persons were killed

By KINGSLEY OMONOBI

THE board of Infrastructure Bank has

approved the recapitalisa-tion of the bank to the tuneof N29 billion. Its Manag-ing Director, Mr Mr Ade-kunle Oyinloye, disclosedthis to journalists after thebank’s board meeting inLagos.

Oyinloye said that theboard had agreed to raisenew funds both in equityand debt capital to meet therecapitalisation exercise.

He explained that theboard members had agreedto raise three to four billionnaira as equity amongthemselves, while the restwould be raised from thecapital market.

He also said that the debtcapital would drive thebank’s business more thanthe direct equity because ofthe nature of bank’s businessnoting that the board be-lieved the new level of cap-italisation would be ade-quate enough to addressthe capital required for itsprojects based on its five-year capital plan.

ABUJA—THE Defenceheadquarters, yesterday,

accused politicians and officialsof Borno State government, ofdeliberately inflating the casu-alty figure in the shoot-out be-tween the military and membersof Boko Haram at Baga commu-nity in Borno State two weeksago to discredit the military sothat the troops will be withdrawnfrom the state.

It was reported that about 185residents of the communitywere killed by the Multi-nation-al Task Force during the shootout while over 2000 homes weredestroyed.

The Defence Headquarterssaid in a statement, however,that the series of allegationswere aimed at discrediting themilitary, with the aim to putpressure on government to or-der the withdrawal of troops fromBorno, adding that no massgrave was found anywhere af-ter two days of searching as al-leged by the politicians.

The statement noted that af-ter the operation to flush out theterrorists from Baga had been

successfully carried out on April 16and 17, “the situation in the townhad been stabilized until the arrivalof some politicians and governmentofficials who addressed the commu-nity on Sunday, April 21, making aseries of allegations which ended upraising fresh tension and campaignto discredit the military. The politi-cians reiterated their call for with-drawal of soldiers from the Stateduring their address”.

The statement signed by BrigadierGeneral Chris Olukolade, Directorof Defence Information reads: “TheDefence Headquarters fact-findingteam to Baga has returned topresent its report to the Chief ofDefence Staff on the outcome of itsthree-day visit to Baga following thereports on last week's encounter be-tween the Multinational Joint TaskForce, MNJTF, and Boko HaramTerrorists in the town.

“The team which was led by theChief of Training and Operations,Defence Headquarters, Major Gen-eral Lawrence Ngubane interactedwith the commander, officers andtroops of the MNJTF as well as somecommunity leaders, the police, aidworkers and residents of the townwith a view of getting their perspec-tives on the incident. The team also

went round the town interview-ing those who participated orwitnessed the encounter at thevarious scenes connected withthe incident as it tries to verifyvarious claims reported in themedia concerning the profes-sional conduct of the soldiers.

“In its particular concern toascertain the claims of massiveloss of lives, the team was takento cemeteries in the town as ittried to locate the reported largenumber of civilian casualties thatwere buried. It, however, foundno mass grave after nearly twodays of search”.

No mass burialin domain

Responding to the enquiriesof the team, the District Head ofBaga, Alhaji Babagana Zanna,who was also accompanied bythe Local Government ChairmanAlhaji Kone, maintained that hehad not received any report ofthe said mass burial in his do-main. Also responding to theteam, the Chairman, KukawaLocal Government Area, whowas earlier quoted to have giv-en some figures, said he was not

in the town during the inci-dence and as such does notknow the number of civilianswho died in the incident”.

Briefing the team earlier, theTask Force Commander, Brig-adier General Austin Edokpayinarrated how the task forceoperation was conducted onApril 16 and 17, 2013.

General Edokpayi main-tained that the operation wasonly targetted at stopping theBoko Haram terrorists who hadestablished a pattern of burn-ing buildings and property asa mode of operation in the arealately. He cited instances ofhow the terrorists employed thetactic of burning properties incommunities such as Duguri,Metele, and Kangarwa wherethey operated recently.

The leader of the DHQ team,Major General Ngubane lateraddressed the troops of the taskforce, assuring them that theChief of Defence Staff was con-cerned about how operationsare carried out in any locationwhere the troops are deployed.According the General, histeam was also in Baga to con-firm the logistics and welfareneeds of the troops and briefthe CDS for immediate atten-tion.

OPINION


*Mr. Gbinije, a social critic, wrote fromWarri, Delta State.

BY BOBSON GBINIJE Between Delta State govt and Shell(2)

Concluded.

IN his address to the Institute ofDirectors, Brian Anderson,

who was until June 1997 theManaging Director of Nigeria’s ShellPetroleum Development CompanyLimited observed that: “The worldaround us is changing rapidly;liberalisation, globalisation andtechnology are three powerful forcesat the global level shaping the future.Societies are moving from a highlyregulated environment as trade andideas are globalised. Rapidtechnological development is takingplace of which information technologyis the great enabler”.

It is in the light of the aforesaid thatone could not help but wonder: Wherewere Governor Emmanuel Uduaghanand our Delta State leaders,brinkmanship, dialoguing dexterityand magnetic pull before Shelldecided to leave Warri and nay DeltaState. No matter what, this is a greatindictment on Governor Uduaghanand the entire Delta State leadership.Shell was the greatest provider ofemployment as it were in Delta State.The Delta State leadership isinexcusably guilty for this brazenadministrative socio-economicsolecism and harakiri.

It is has been vaunted with

goebelian gusto by the Uduaghanadministration that we should bethinking of alternatives to the oilindustry. But is this the way to goabout it? It is clear that theconsequences and effect will tellenormously on the Delta Stateeconomy as Shell contractors, alliedand service companies, are beginningto move to River State, Edo State andAkwa Ibom State, etc.

We know that Pan Ocean Oil ServiceCompany has already moved to EdoState. The buying of the divestmentcarcases of Shell, like equipment,estate houses, hospitals, etc, are nowthe focus for our Delta State leadersand politicians.

The Nigeria Petroleum DevelopmentCompany, NPDC, is supposed to takefull accommodation of all theinfrastructures that Shell is leavingbehind. But that is not the case as ourleaders and politicians are bendingover backwards to buy Shell's assetsand divestment paraphernalias. Whyis the NPDC that took over part ofShell’s divestment assets in DeltaState move its headquarters to EdoState? Why is the Bonga Oil Fieldbeing serviced from Lagos instead ofDelta State that is nearer? There are,

indeed, so many loose and open -ended omnibuses which GovernorUduaghan and his team must block tosalvage Delta State from the labyrinthof massive joblessness, social kamikazeand economic contretemps.

There are virtually no government-owned industries in Delta State asAsaba Textile Mills, Delta GlassFactory, Bendel Steel Structures,Africa Timber and Plywood IndustriesSapele, etc, have been harakiried,comatosed and kwashiorkored bydubious privatisation. The Delta SteelCompany Limited Ovwian-Aladjawas sold out whilst the Iboriadministration slept and nowUduaghan has followed suit overSPDC. Delta is now the Mecca ofunemployed artisans and younggraduates and the socio-economicconsequences are too diabolicallydisastrous to contemplate.

The discourtesy of Shell leavingtheir host communities without

a farewell is a disgrace to diplomacyafter over 46 years of operations. Wecall on theses oil service companies torelocate their secretariats andheadquarters to the communities inwhich they operate, and development

projects and assistance should not bechanneled through fraudulentconduits, but by providing themdirectly through their in-houseagencies.

In spite of the recent events thatthreatened the bold initiatives andstrategies of the Federal Government,further dialogue and conciliationamongst the host-governors,communities and other stakeholdersdrawing on reliable statistical datashould douse the embers of conflictand reckless relocation of oilcompanies and their contractors fromlong drawn-out contracts and location.

In conclusion, it must be emphasizedthat the environmental protectionissues and the politics relating to themcannot be divorced from the vitaleconomic role of the Niger Delta.While oil from the region accounts forover 90 per cent of national and statebudgets, the attribution of derivation,that is, the proportion of fundsallocated to producing areas or states,which now stands at the mere pittanceof 13 percent should be all-embracingly repositioned withreasonable increase to 25 percent. Butour Governors must put these moniesto good use with honesty andtransparency.

Continued from Friday viewpoints

ONE of the biggest achievements of the Houseof Representatives – involving the people – inthe constitution-making process is passingunnoticed because many Nigerians keepfocusing on daily issues.The Constitution Review Adhoc Committeewhich Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, Deputy Speakerof the House chaired raised a 43-item templateon which Nigerians voted on 10 November 2012,a referendum of sorts. The issues ranged fromliberties to creation of States and localgovernment councils, the judiciary, state police,aspects of federalism and electoral commissions.More than 200 memoranda from diverse interestgroups and the public formed the core of 43items that were tested at 10am throughout the360 federal constituencies. Even places withpersistent securities challenges participated inthe process that was reported in details for eachconstituency.At different stages, the transparency of theprocess was enhanced. From Ihedioha declaringhis non-interference, to the people having copiesof decisions reached at their sessions,benchmarks for checking the sanctity of theprocesses were set.

Finally A Peoples’Finally A Peoples’Finally A Peoples’Finally A Peoples’Finally A Peoples’Constitution?Constitution?Constitution?Constitution?Constitution?

Were the processes perfect? They were not. Theinequality in the sizes of federal constituencies,differences in interests in the constituencies,produced results that reflected the diversities ofthe constituencies. What remained constant wasthe involvement of organised labour groups,professional bodies, civil society organisations,women and youth groups to ensure the fidelityof the process.“This process may not be perfect, but I dare say,that it is the first time in the history of this countrythat Nigerians at the grassroots have been madepart of the constitution review process in a practicaland transparent manner,” Ihedioha admitted.Efforts to protect the process included thecollation of the results before the media and the

various groups that had monitored it from thebeginning. The openness, transparency andaccountability limited chances of its manipulation.It is possibly the most thorough work the Houseof Representatives has done. The presentationof the collated report was delayed until 18 Aprilfor members to cross-check with theirconstituents that the results reflected theirvoting at the sessions. The House and itsleadership deserve commendation for deepeningthe peoples’ involvement in its work.More remains to be done. Members’ convictionswould be tasked during debates and voting onthe issues. Would they vote against views thattheir constituents have expressed on certainissues? How would the collated results influencethe harmonisation sessions of the House ofRepresentatives and the Senate that wouldamend the Constitution?If the public’s views are in the amendedConstitution, the document would have becometrue to its opening words, “We the people of theFederal Republic of Nigeria… Do hereby make, enact and give to ourselvesthe following Constitution”.

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,

OPINIONBY ERIC TENIOLA

*Mr. Teniola, a former director in the Presidency,wrote from Lagos.

A BOLD foreign policy has become major mishap inthe face of grave internal problems confronting

Nigeria today. As they say in Latin, FUIMUS TROVES-we were once Trojans but TROY is no more.

Though we recently hosted the South African President,the Polish Prime Minister, and even the GhanaianPresident was in Uyo recently and we can still boast of anexperienced foreign Minister who spent almost his entirepublic service life in the foreign Affairs Ministry, but thefire for which Nigeria was known in the foreign scene,has extinguished.

In the past when Nigeria spoke the world noted andwhen Nigeria led the rest of Africa followed not becauseof population or resources but because of bold globalforeign policy initiatives. But no more.

It is either we lack the initiatives now or we are nowhostage to our internal problems. In the global scene, wehave become very inert and supine.

No doubt, we still attend regular global summits,regional meetings, Presidential inaugurations, Foreignburials, ceremonies and events but not in an active capacitybut as onlookers, bystanders and mere back benchers.Passive is the word.

Even Nigerian students, who in the past, use to be veryoperative and dynamic on foreign affairs particularly onAfrican affairs to the extent that they marched along withthe government, have now been submerged with internalcontradictions.

Lost in the global radar

WHAT happened in Baga, the bordertown of Borno State, on Friday,

April 19th 2013 was very regrettable. Aconfrontation between the Nigeria-ledmultinational Joint Task Force (JTF) andthe Islamist sect, Boko Haram, led to thenear-total destruction of the fish markettown, reportedly leaving over 200people, mainly vulnerable civilians,dead and about 2,000 houses burnt. Itwas a typical military expedition.

But unfortunately, it was not the firstsuch expedition in this crisis-riddlednation. We saw something of this scalein Odi, Bayelsa State on November 20th1999 when over a dozen policemen weremassacred by unknown hoodlums.There was another macabre militarystrike, this time in Zaki Biam, theSankera axis of Benue State, on October29th 2001. The Nigerian military hadresponded with vehemence to theslaughtering of nineteen of theircolleagues sent to keep the peace there.They left in their wake over 300 civiliansdead and the town completely flattened.

There have been other military forays,especially in Gbaramatu kingdom inDelta State, just before the amnestyprogramme was proclaimed for repentantNiger Delta militants in 2009. Anothermilitary mission was witnessed in Abaand Ngwa areas of Abia State toliquidate kidnap networks, which led tothe elimination of Obioma Nwankwo,alias Osisikankwu, the kidnappers’generalissimo.

It was after the Niger Delta and AbiaState expeditions that Joint MilitaryTask Force (JTF) Commander, MajorGeneral Sarki Yakin Bello, earned hispromotion to Lt General and eventuallybecame the presidential assistant oncounter-terrorism.

It is instructive the glaring differencesin the reactions of the federal

The Baga military expedition

government after each of these bloodyadventures. When Obasanjo thrashedOdi and Zaki Biam he virtually went onthe rooftops to beat his chest over his“feats”. In fact, he boasted to the NigerDelta people that the federalgovernment went to war against Biafrabecause, according to him, thesecessionists’ real motive was to controlthe oil weath of the defunct EasternRegion of Nigeria. He warned that thefederal government would not hesitateto do to the Niger Delta militants whatit did to Biafra.

Even when he was politicallypressurised to apologise for the humancasualties in Odi and Zaki Biam,Obasanjo did so, but boldly restated thatany person or community that violentlytargets our security forces must beprepared to pay a heavy price. Hismessage was clear: never attack theNigerian armed forces. It is not good foryou.

When Governor Theodore Orji of AbiaState eventually got the President todeploy the military to tackle thekidnappers I applauded on this column.While at it, the JTF under General Bellospare no effort. Villages were flattened,and innocent bystanders lost their lives.But in the end, the situation was broughtunder control.

Just like in the Odi, Zaki Biam, Ngwaand other instances, the indigenes

of Baga allowed enemies of the nation,the Boko Haram terrorists, to livecomfortably among them. Theyworshipped in the same mosques. Infact, some of those mosques were usedas armouries to stock the arsenal of theJihadists. And it was from one of these

“armoured mosques” that a Nigeriansoldier sent as part of the multinationaleffort to eliminate the terrorists, was shotand killed. The terrorists resorted tousing the locals who harboured them ashuman shields.

Much as we regret the human tragedyin Baga, let what happened be objectlesson to any other community thatdecides to hide terrorists and so-calledmilitants. You attack Nigerian security

forces on duty to your own utter peril.Before you decide to harbour criminals,terrorists and militants who seek todestabilise the nation, be reminded thatyou are setting down conditions thatcould lead to a severe military action.You are inviting tragedy upon yourcommunity.

I am happy that the Presidency hasreacted in a manner different from

Obasanjo’s gloating after Odi and ZakiBiam. He has set up a committee toinvestigate whether some elements inthe military violated the rules ofengagement. If it is found out that thepeople of Baga were not hiding terroristsas alleged or that they did not allow theirmosques to become armouries forterrorists, or that the deceased soldierwas not a victim of unprovoked attackby terrorists or anybody, then thoseresponsible for what happened in Bagamust pay according to law. But if theinformation in the public domain iscorrect, then I am afraid we are wastingour outrage.

We must support the military forces tosafeguard our lives and property andsecure the country. We must alsoencourage them to do their workprofessionally and responsibly. We mustnot make them feel they are on athankless assignment. We must openlyexpress our gratitude for their sacrificesand see them for the heroes of the nationthat they are. If Nigeria is to remain oneunited nation, the military, being the lastman in defence, must be esteemed ratherthan made an object of ridicule.

We must beware of the growing trendof Boko Haram supporters who noisilyblame and blackmail the President, theFederal Government and the Nigerianmilitary for every firm response to theterrorist threats. These noisemakersnever see anything wrong in what theterrorists are doing even to them andtheir people. They want the governmentto abdicate its constitutionalresponsibilities and withdraw the armedforces to allow Boko Haram take over.Then, they would turn around andaccuse President Goodluck Jonathan offailing to protect that country as theconstitution mandates him.

These people are simply implacable.They must fail. The best answer is toignore them and do what is right and inthe overall interest of the nation.

We must stay the course in the effortto reassert totally the sovereignty ofNigeria over all its territories.

Chief Clark,please don’t

CHIEF E.K. Clark is quoted as sayingthat at 85 years old he is free to say

whatever he likes. Well, the Ijaw Leaderhas been living it up lately. He evenmarried another wife recently and wasphotographed putting a piece of cakein the bride’s mouth! Enjoy your oldage, baba. Na God give you.

But don’t say anything you like. Youcould set the nation ablaze. Since it isunlikely anyone would arrest an 85 year-old for what he says, that is the morereason not to say it. Let your long life bea blessing to Nigeria, not a curse?.

These noisemakersnever see anythingwrong in what theterrorists are doing evento them and their people.They want thegovernment to abdicateits constitutionalresponsibilities andwithdraw the armedforces to allow BokoHaram take over. Then,they would turn aroundand accuse PresidentGoodluck Jonathan offailing to protect thatcountry as theconstitution mandateshim

Bad and negative stories have become part of our foreignexports.

From 1960 till date, this country Nigeria has contributedin 25 peace keeping operations:

1.United Nations Operations in the Congo(ONUG),1960-64

2.United Nations Transition Assurance AssistanceGroup in Namibia (UNTAG),1989-90

3.United Nations Angola Verification Mission II(UNAVEM II) 1991-95

4.United Nations Angola Verification Mission III(UNAVEM III) 1995-97

5.United Nations Observer Mission in Angola(MONUA), 1997

6.United Nations Mission for the Referendum inWestern Sahara ( MINURSO), 1991-

7.United Nations Operation in Somalia II (UNOSOMII) 1993-1995

8.United Nations Operation in Mozambique(ONUMOZ), 1992-1994

9.United Nations Assistance Mission of Rwanda(UNAMIR), 1993-96

10.United Nations Aouzou Strip Observer Group(UNASOG),1994

11.United Nations India-Pakistan Observer Mission(UNIPOM),1965-66

12.United Nations Security Force in West New Guinea

(UNSF),1962-63 13.United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia

(UNTA), 1992-193 14.United Nations Mission of Observers in Tajikistan

(UNMOT),1994- 15.United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFR),1992-

95 16.United Nations Confidence Restoration Operation

in Croatia (UNCRO),1995-1996) 17.United Nations Preventive Deployment Force in

Macedonia (UNPREDEP),1995 18.United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina

(UNMIBH), 1995- 19.United Nations Transitional Administration or

Eastern Slovenia, Baraja and Western Sirmium(UNTAES),1996-98

20.United Nations Mission of Observers in Prevlaka(UNMOP), 1996-

21.United Nations Civilian Police Support Group inCroatia,1998

22.United Nations Iran-Iraq Military ObserverGroup,1988-91

23.United Nations Iraq-Kuwait Observer Mission (UNIKOM), 1991-

Continues tomorrow on pg 18

46—VANGUARD, MONDAY, APRIL 29, 2013

*Okupe...no federalism inside the PDP

FLIP-flopping of the FG onBoko Haram

We are not in touch withShekau. There is no flip-flopping. When you are saddledto run and govern a country likeNigeria, there are so many somany considerations that comeinto play. To manage and to pilotthe ship of this country in orderthat it does not capsize is anarduous task.

When the president went toBorno and Yobe, and he said ‘Iwill not grant amnesty to ghosts’,he was right and it was correct. Isaid Shekau is the leader, I didnot say he is the recognisedleader because he is the one thatcomes up and nobody hasopposed him. So, it is not like thepresidency has recognised himas the leader but the whole worldknows that the face of BokoHaram is Shekau.

Are you in touch with him?The argument is unassailable

that we do not know the realperson because Shekau himselfis a virtual personality. You onlysee him on television andyoutube

Virtualpersonality

He is a virtual personality andwe have been corroborated bythe fact that two or three peoplein the Boko Haram arrangementhave borne the same name. So,these are virtual personalitiesand virtual personalities are notin perspective terms, are not toofar from ghosts. So, that was theposition of government.

But then, the issue of politicsin Nigeria and the peculiarity ofNigeria now comes into play. Youhave the president of a nationtaking a logical, decisive andcorrect step. The Sultan of Sokotois the spiritual leader of the entireMuslims in the entire north. Heis also the paramount traditionalleader in the entire north and hewas the one who spoke at first.

Later on, virtually all thespiritual leaders in the northexcept for Sheik Gumi, cametogether and said theysupported the suggestion givenby the Sultan. .

The leadership of the elite classin the north came together tostate their position. Should they

be ignored?Are you aware Northern

Christians are opposed to theAmnesty plan?

That is true. When we have aconflict like this, various interestsare at play. We have faced a civilwar in this country, over onemillion people were killed on allsides, but eventually it ended. Weall had to bear the individualpains that we bore in order forthe country to move on, it isimpossible to ponder on allshades of opinion and rule anation.

Sacrifices forthe country

Some will pay sacrifice, somewill keep paying sacrifices andthe country must find a way forwhich it must go ahead.Christians in the north have beenconsistently victims of many ofthese religious riots and yetChristians in the south have notthought it necessary for areprisal, even though we arepained. That is the sacrifice weare paying for nation building, itwill not always be like this.

Some people have been killed,some churches have been burnt,

some people have been forcedto relocate but the crisiscontinues. If the crisis continues,more people will be killed andso, you solve the problem oneafter the other. If we are able forinstance to end the Boko Haraminsurgency with this amnesty,everything becomes quiet, thenyou now go back to the victimsand see how you can attend tothem. But can we be attendingto the victims now that morevictims are been brought intoplay; or is it not better for us tostop the things that causevictimization first? Whatever isrequired for us to have peace, letus have peace.

What is the problem betweenPresident Jonathan andGovernor Amaechi of Riversstate?

It is politics. The answer ispolitics. I can tell politics is atplay.

What kind of PDP politics areyou talking about?

Are you not aware that PDP isits own problem and all theproblems of criticism within thePDP is created by the PDP.

Why does the presidentpercieve Amaechi to be astumbling block ahead of 2015?

Governor Amaechi cannot be astumbling block to Mr President'saspiration.

So why is he moving againsthim?

NGF is headed by a PDPgovernor. Now if the NGF nowbecomes an opposition platform,then there is a problem. It is notwhat people are thinking, it is nota matter of whether somebodywants to get to a position orsomebody wants to run for anoffice.

We are a government, we areparty and we must move in onedirection. If we move in differentdirections, we are not going toachieve much.

Why must all Governors agreeto the President?

All the governors do not haveto agree with the President. WhatI am saying is that we are themajority party in Nigeria and theruling party is the PDP andinside the PDP, there is nofederalism and that is the truth.There is no federalism inside thepolitical party, we have just oneparty, the party has one mission,one goal, one objective and oneleader. So you cannot saybecause of democracy, you nowstart to pull the party apart or pullthe party down. That is ourbusiness and that is why wehave problems with people whodo not understand politics, theyhave refused to understand thereis no federalism in the party. Ifthe party takes a decision that weare going this way and membersof the party seem to be going theother direction, the party hastaken a decision and we shouldall move in that direction.

Can you give one examplewhere Amaechi went against theinterest of the party?

There are too many examples.Give an example where some

PDP Governors in the forumspoke against the wishes of Mr

Jonathan is playing politics with Amaechi — Okupe•We must pay sacrifice to make peace with Boko HaramDR. Doyin Okupe, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs was in the Corporate Officeof Vanguard Media Limited during which he had an interactive session with Vanguard editors on topicalissues affecting the polity. He spoke on the administration’s response to the Boko Haram insurgency,corruption and the face off between the presidency and Governor Chibuke Amaechi of Rivers Stateamong other issues.

BY EMMANUEL AZIKEN,POLITICAL EDITOR, DAPO

AKINREFON, GBENGA OKE

President?If the Federal Government

takes a decision for example onSovereign Wealth Fund and it issomething the party has agreedthat it must be established andthe NGF says no it cannot beestablished.

Despite being a fugitive fromthe United Kingdom, formerGovernor of Bayelsa state,Diepreye Alamieyeseigha waspardoned. Did the governmenttake the case in Britain intoconsideration?

Why should government takeinto consideration what is existingoutside its own shores? We gettoo much holier than thou in thiscountry. We are a sovereignnation and if Alamieyeseigha hasa problem with Britain, let themsort it out with him.

He is not moving against him.There are two things. If I want toachieve an objective and inachieving that objective, it willaffect you, my primary purposeis not that it will affect you, myprimary purpose is to achieve theset goal that is before me. So ifthere are collateral damages,there are collateral damages.

What are goals of thePresident for the NigerianGovernors Forum?

Stability of the country. We allknow that the NGF was alreadybecoming a destabilizing factorin the polity, that is the truth andlet us all face it.

In what way?The government must go in one

direction and if there aredissension, there is problem. Wehave 36states in Nigeria, 23 ofthem are PDP governors and the

We are the majority party in Nigeria and theruling party is the PDP and inside the PDP,there is no federalism and that is the truth

, ,

VANGUARD, MONDAY, APRIL 29, 2013 —47

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THE tenure of the lastdemocratically elected

council chairmen in Kogi stateended in July 2011 and eversince, the councils havebecome a fighting groundbetween Governor Idris Wadaand the state House ofAssembly each trying toexercise authority.

Once the tenure ended,Directors of Local Government(DLG) were mandated to takeover the affairs of the councilsas indication was given thatelections will hold in May2012.

However that was not to beas the Supreme Court cutshort the elongated tenure ofthe then governor, AlhajiIbrahim Idris.

Wada who succeeded himnot surprisingly jettisoned theidea of holding councilelections four months into histenure, having been sworninto office in January 2012.

Though he was believed tohave initially resisted the ideaof appointing caretakercommittees, the governor,however, was understood tohave succumbed to pressuresfrom his predecessor, Idrisand other stakeholders toappoint two Liaison officers

Kogi: Power showLOCAL governments in Kogi State have for long borne the brunt of themuscle flexing between successive governors and the State House ofAssembly. The power show has in course paralysed democratic franchise atthe local government level. Given that background, there are no reasons tocheer ahead of the forthcoming local government elections next month.

BY BOLUWAJI OBAHOPO

for each of the 21 LocalGovernment areas of theState.

The appointment of theliaison officers was, however,resisted by the State House ofAssembly, but for reasons thatsubsequently emerged to beselfish motif. The oppositionof the legislators emergedafter the governor rejectedsome of the nomineesproposed by them, notablythose of one of the prominentprincipal officers of the house.

LG and State AssemblyEven before the expiration

of the tenure of the lastdemocratically electedcouncils, the councils werecontinuously the subject ofseveral attacks from theHouse of Assembly.

Three chairmen weresuspended by that legislatureand it was no secret thatoversight visits by thelegislators were considered as

visitations from hell and thepeak of the animosity was thetruncation of the term of thecouncils from three to twoyears.

Though, the then governor,Idris refused to give assent tothe bill, but his veto wasoverridden by the House ofAssembly.

The chairmen at that timejointly sued the Assembly andwon as the court ruled thatthough the Assembly had theconstitutional right to regulatethe administration of theLGAs, but that it could notmake the new law to takeretroactive effect.

SIEC electionBy last September the State

Independent ElectoralCommission (KOSIEC) rolledout another time table for

tension that the appointmentof Liaison officers generatedgiven that no one thought thetime frame to be viable.

It was as such not surprisingwhen the SIEC chairman,Barrister Ayo Olaniran whohad earlier boasted that theelection would not becancelled again, swallowedhis words and postponed theelection to May 5th, 2013. Itwas the third postponement ina space of 12 months.

Will election hold?The fate of the May 5th

council election date itselfhanging in the air as threepolitical parties, the ActionCongress of Nigeria, (ACN),All Nigerian Peoples Party(ANPP) and Congress forPolitical Change (CPC) arechallenging the neutrality ofthe SIEC chairman and othercommissioners as they claimthat a number of them are cardcarrying members of theruling PDP.

The three parties havepresented what they claim isthe campaign poster ofOlaniran as a candidate in the2011 PDP primaries for theKabba/Bunu House ofAssembly constituency.

The parties are also warythat what they claim to be thealleged bias of the KGSIEC inthe last election whenOlaniran was head of theelectoral body could again bereplayed.

The case which was filed inDecember, 2012 is yet to bedecided and henceapprehension about thefeasibility of next month’selection.

CNPP kicks

Though he was believed to haveinitially resisted the idea of appointingcaretaker committees, the governor,however, was understood to havesuccumbed to pressures from hispredecessor, Idris

•Wada: Is he following the path of his predecessor?

council election which it fixedfor December 20th, 2012.

It was, however, obvious thetime table was a scheme fromthe executive to douse the

The state chapter of theConference of NigerianPolitical Parties (CNPP) has,however, taken a positionagainst the court action by thethree parties describing it asvexatious.

The Chairman of the CNPPBarr. Abubakar Aliu at a pressconference penultimate weekchided the parties saying thecourt action was in totaldisregard of desire of thepeople.


,

,

,

BY ALABI OYELEKE

,*Mr. Adinudu, a social critic,wrote from Aba, Abia State.

*Mr. Oyeleke, a commentator onnational issues, wrote from Osogbo,Osun State.

BY GODWIN ADINDU

I HAVE lived through severaladministrations since the creation of

Osun State and none has had the sort ofvisible impact that this man has had in soshort a time. Perhaps what makes thedifference is that no governor before himhas approached the issue of theenvironment from a deliberate policyperspective as he is doing. He hasdeveloped a coherent policy on theenvironment, with a focus on health, whichhe has been implementing since he tookoffice.

Previously the situation in Osun wascharacterised by heaps of refuseeverywhere, resulting from peopleuncaringly dumping waste in any openspaces they deemed suitable for thatpurpose – on roadsides and road median,in streams and rivers and just aboutanywhere. Another prominent feature ofthe landscape was the ubiquitous marketsthat opportunistically sprang upeverywhere, with their enormous capacityfor generating garbage. It needs littleemphasis that we have had to live with theresultant untoward health implication,and we actually lived through the floodingconsequent upon silting and blocking ofwaterways by refuse. Flood-occasioneddestruction of lives and properties is oneof my most enduring recollections of thereign of the last administration in the state.

Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, on assumptionof office, declared a state of emergency inenvironmental sanitation, with hisO’Clean programme aimed at ridding ourenvironment of filth and getting the people

Osun’s changing environment

to have a change of attitude in the waythey treat the environment. The 90-dayemergency period saw a mandatoryweekly sanitation exercise in Osun and theweekly cleaning of markets and places ofwork. This is strengthened by the dailystreet cleaning exercise by the O’YESvolunteers.

Obviously, ridding the streets of garbageheaps requires a waste managementpolicy. The government of OgbeniAregbesola is no less impressive in thisarea. Besides getting the people to cleanup and gather their refuse, collection andclearing of rubbish have been a fruitfulpartnership between government andprivate waste collectors who charge fees,but go into the inner streets wheregovernment trucks cannot reach. And thereis the fee-free government alternative, butwhich requires taking one’s refuse todesignated collection points for onwardevacuation to landfill sites for processing.The green-painted garbage trucks – andI’ve seen scores of them – with theirpeculiar honk are now a part of our dailymorning traffic in Osun. The wastemanagement is aimed at achieving anintegrated system that will comprisetransfer-loading-stations in all the localgovernment areas of the state, from wherethe refuse would then be carted away tothe central landfill site. Recyclingfacilities that are still under constructionare a component of the system. Thesefacilities, meant to enable the re-use ofplastic waste, are to be complemented bya buyback scheme for plastic waste for amore effective control of the hazardsconstituted by plastic bottles and purewater sachets.

The environment policy includes thecomprehensive dredging and de-

silting of the quite numerous streams andrivers across Osun to make for free-flowof water. Anybody who is well familiarwith the landscape in Osun State wouldunderstand what it means to take up thedredging and de-silting of its extensivenetwork of streams, rivers and tributaries.Yet, this is precisely what OgbeniAregbesola’s government has been doing,and is still doing, even now, because thedredging and de-silting are still ongoing.The exercise has covered streams andrivers extending over large areas,including Ipetu-Ijesa, Ife Ilesa, Ejigbo,Iragbiji, Ode-Omu, Iwo, Ila-Orangun,and Osogbo, the state capital. In Osogboalone, more than 15 rivers, streams andcanals are being dredged and de-silted.

The effect of all these dredging and de-silting activities has been the safety of thelives and properties of the people of Osunfrom the devastation of flooding that was

their lot under the immediate pastadministration in the state. It is on recordthat there has been more rain sinceGovernor Aregbesola came into office yetthere has been no flood, especially inOsogbo, unlike the tragedy that floodinghas wreaked in neighbouring states in theSouth West.

Ogbeni Aregbesola’s environmentalpolicy also covers urban development andbeautification. Here, indiscriminatemarket activities are being discouraged,while ultra-modern market complexes arebeing constructed around the state.Notable among these are Dagbolu,Aiyegbaju and Aje markets, which are allin various stages of completion.

The beautification project involves thedevelopment and modernisation ofstrategic public spaces for public use in amanner that enhances the landscapearchitecture of our cities. The HassanOladokun Park at Gbongan Junction andthe Freedom Park at Old GarageRoundabout stand out in this regard. Thebeautification also involves a massive treeplanting exercise, for which some 2.5million seedlings of different tree specieshave been purchased. The trees areintended to line the major roads right fromthe Oyo State border into the heart of themajor cities in Osun, including the statecapital, Osogbo. The trees will not onlyserve as beautifiers, they will also serve aschecks to erosion as well as help to limitthe negative impact of stormy winds, notto mention their roles in reducinggreenhouse gas emission.

In only two years, Ogbeni Aregbesola’senvironmental management is already alegacy that will be better appreciated.

YOU cannot legislate a societyof law and order into

existence. Neither can you causeit by fiat. You build. Law andorder are the conditions for allother socio-economic activitiesof man,” wrote AlozieOgugbuaja, in his controversialmemo on "The People’s Police".Indeed, beyond the legacyprojects, one outstandingachievement of great value byGovernor Theodore Orji of AbiaState is the building of a newsociety of law and order. Orji’sAbia is standing tall in thefederation as a model state interms of law and order and socialharmony. And this was notlegislated into existence but aproduct of committed andpragmatic action.

In the midst of a countrygripped by violence, wherebloodshed either by accident orby deliberate organised crimemake the headlines everyday inthe papers, Abia State hasremained an isolated case of asort of haven on earth wherepeace reigns and where residentssleep with their doors wide open.And, I emphasise again, this didnot come by fiat or by providencebut a product of judicious andstrategic governance. GovernorOrji toiled day and night, taskedhis brain and mind to attain thisstate for his people.

Orji’s model state of Lawand Order

From Umuahia, the statecapital, to Aba, the business huband to the villages andcommunities, it is a verycommendable story of a societyat peace with itself. The Governorsucceeded in clamping down allmanners of social deviancy, fromstreet gangsterism, city mugging,and armed banditry to themenace of kidnapping. Today,while the neighbouring states arestill battling with the scourge ofviolent crimes, Orji has movedahead to consolidate his visionof legacy projects. The Governorhas even moved beyond Abia toinvest energy on a programme ofregional integration, with theargument of harnessing theregional abundances which werethe glories of those regions.

If you realise that the firstprimary duty of government isthe maintenance of law andorder and the greatestachievement of any leader canmake is the sustenance of peacein the land, then you wouldappreciate the sacrifice of Orji inbuilding an Abia of peace andharmony. This is why I argue thatsocietal peace which is a productof law and order is a cardinalhuman need. But, unfortunately,Abraham Maslow, the legendarypsychologist missed this point inhis theory of the hierarchy ofhuman need.

For Governor Orji, peace andan atmosphere of law and orderare the very ultimate of humanneed. Anybody who hasexperienced war like the Igbos ofthe Biafran generation wouldagree with Orji. In a state ofanarchy, people abandon theirshelter to find refuge in the coldcorners of the bush. Nobody talksabout the need for socialacceptance or recognition.Nobody remembers the desire forcomfort or pleasure. Self-actualisation becomes anillusion. The only drive and needbecome the protection andpreservation of life.

It is on the basis of theimportance of law and order

and a sustainable atmosphere ofpeace that one must give kudosto the dynamic Governor of Abiafor his vision of building a newsociety of peace out of the

wreckage of the past. Orjiinherited a society hangingprecariously on the precipice ofanarchy. He inherited an Abiawhere kidnappers and othersundry criminals were the lordsof the manor. But, today, all theseanomalies have become a thingof the past.

At a time of global anarchywhen violence has been let looseon earth and blood has dentedour lands, peace becomes atreasured diamond. Law andorder becomes an oasis for ahapless wanderer. In Nigeriaparticularly, it has been a regimeof violence. From kidnapping inthe South-South and South East,Boko Haram in the North, ethniccleansing in the Plateau, armedbanditry in the West, Nigeria hasbeen a state under siege. But, inthe midst of this upheaval, Orji’sAbia has been an oasis of sanity.With a sincere sense of purpose,he sanitised the streets of Aba andUmuahia and staged an intensivefight against insecurity in all itsmanifestations.

But, the Black Americancivil rights leader, Martin LutherKing, once observed that:“Injustice anywhere is a threat tojustice everywhere.” The sadnews of kidnapping emanatingfrom neighbouring states andother sundry criminal activitiesand spate of insecurity stillreigning in some parts of theregion are obviously a threat tothe peace of Abia. So also is theregime of bloodbath in the entireNigeria. They all constitute athreat to the ideal of law andorder.

Thus, today, Orji is audaciouslysaying after the legendaryGhanaian leader, KwameNkrumah, that the liberation of

Abia is meaningless unless it islinked up to the total liberationof the Nigeria. Orji is speakingto the nation, that the revolutionhe orchestrated in Abia that hasprogressively expanded thefrontiers of existence and upliftedthe lives of the ordinary citizenswill be meaningless unless suchtransformation are transmutedto other states. This is preciselythe new mandate and the newmission for this visionary leader.

Indeed, the Nigerian federationhas a lesson to learn from Abia.The state of Abia today is a proofthat law and order is not anutopian dream. Orji has provenbeyond doubts that it is realisableeven within the context of thelimitations of Nigeria. First,there is a lesson from Orji’spersonality which he translatedinto governance. The Governorgave his heart and soul to thepolitics of service. The nationmust draw from the workablemechanisms which Abiadeployed in tackling insecurityand which has been verysuccessful. For technicalreasons, security strategies arenot discussed in the open whichis why I suggest that GovernorOrji must be the consultant forthis national quest.

As the national dialogue andnegotiation for peace andprogress, Orji would become theinspiration for the affirmation ofthe possibility of national peace.For the promoters and advocates,Abia must be the new signage forthe campaign for a new Nigeriaof peaceful co-existence.

“

The state of Abiatoday is a proofthat law and orderis not an utopiandream; Orji hasproven beyonddoubt that it isrealisable evenwithin the contextof the limitationsof Nigeria

Anybody who iswell familiar withthe landscape inOsun State wouldunderstand what itmeans to take up thedredging and de-silting of itsextensive network ofstreams, rivers andtributaries


A Bosnian court hasordered the

president of theautonomous Bosniak-Croat Federation to bedetained for a month oncorruption charges.

Zivko Budimir wasarrested on Friday alongwith at least 17 others.

On Sunday,prosecutors said Budimirand four other officials

Bosnia court detains Bosniak-Croat President Zivko Budimirhad taken bribes toarrange pardons forconvicts. They demandedhis detention in case hetried to flee the country.

Lawyers for the accusedsaid they would appealagainst the ruling.

The court said it wasdetaining Budimir andhis co-accused aide, PetarBarisic, because of thedanger of flight.

Budimir ’s Party ofJustice and Trust hasaccused state prosecutorsof “meddling in politics”.

It has described hisarrest as a “show ofstrength put on for thesake of the public”.

The Bosniak-CroatFederation, together withthe Republika Srpska,make up Bosnia-Herzegovina. Each hasits own president,government, parliament,police and other bodies.

Bosnia was split intotwo autonomous regions- joined by a relativelyweak central government- under a US-brokeredpeace deal that ended the1992-95 war.

A L G E R I A ’ Spresident was in

France on Saturdaywhere he was beingtreated for a “mini-stroke,” medical andgovernment officials toldthe state-run Algeriannews agency.

President AbdelazizBouteflika’s conditionwas characterized as “notserious,” Prime MinisterAbdelmalek Sellal toldthe Algerian PressService.

The news agencyreported the 76-year-oldpresident was transferredto a Paris hospital fortreatment.

“There was no reasonfor worry,” RachidBougherbal, the directorof the National Center ofSports Medicine told thenews agency. He said thepresident “needs restbefore continuing

Algeria’s president suffers ‘mini-stroke’

•Firemen walk past the collapsed section of an apartment building yesterday inReims, eastern France, after a suspected gas explosion killed at least two peopleand injured nine others leaving people trapped under debris, authorities said. Photo:AFPTWO national police

officers werewounded Sunday when agunman shot at officersoutside the Italian primeminister ’s office,authorities said.

The gunman, describedas a 49-year-old man,fired six shots at policebefore being taken intocustody, said a nationalpolice officer who was notauthorized to speak to themedia. The officers didn’tsuffer life-threateningwounds, and the shooterwas also hospitalized —though not wounded, thesource said.

Rome prosecutor,Pierfilippo Laviani, saidthe gunman had hoped totarget politicians but as hewas unable to, he shot thepolice officers instead.

The attack came as anew government wassworn in across the city atthe Quirinale Palace.Democratic Party DeputyLeader (PD), EnricoLetta, 46, becomes primeminister at the head of a

Two shot outsideItalian PM’s office

“grand coalition”including SilvioBerlusconi’s People ofFreedom party (PDL).

Preiti was reported tobe an unemployed manfrom the southern regionof Calabria with nocriminal record. A manbelieved to be thegunman is detained atthe scene

The Ansa news agencysaid the gunman,dressed in a darkbusiness suit, firedseveral shots outside theChigi palace, about akilometre (mile) awayfrom the Quirinale andhad acted alone.

There had been earlierreports that the gunmanmay have suffered mentalproblems.

Ansa quoted Mr Preiti’sbrother as saying that MrPreiti suffered no suchdisorders and that thefamily was shocked atwhat had happened. Theagency reported that MrPreiti had separated fromhis wife, with whom hehas a son.

examinations.”Bouteflika was first

elected president in 1999.He is considered central

to the stability of thecountry, overseeing theend of the country’s civilwar, staving off Arab

Spring uprisings andcooperating with Westernpowers in the fightagainst al Qaeda.

E G Y P T I A NP r e s i d e n t

Mohamed Mursi and topjudges agreed on Sundayto seek a compromise todefuse a battle overIslamist attempts to forceout thousands of judgesthat have deeplypolarized the Arabworld’s most populousnation.

Mursi’s Islamist allieshad proposed legislationto purge more than 3,000judges at a stroke byreducing their mandatoryretirement age to 60 from70 to sweep away seniorjurists appointed under

Egypt’s Mursi climbs down, seekscompromise on judges

autocratic formerPresident HosniMubarak.

But after nearly threehours of talks, thepresident’s office and theSupreme JudicialCouncil said they hadagreed to launch aconference on the futureof the justice system thatwould work out a reformacceptable to both sides.

The deal appeared to bea significant climbdownby the ruling MuslimBrotherhood in the faceof fierce resistance to itspush for a fast-track lawto “cleanse the

judiciary”.A presidential

spokesman said in astatement read on statetelevision that Mursi hadpraised the idea of ajustice conference andwould start preparatorysessions at thepresidency on Tuesday.

Mursi would“personally adopt all theconclusions of thisconference from projectlaws to present it to thelegislative council,” hesaid. Mohamed Mumtaz,president of the SupremeJudicial Council, gave analmost identically wordedstatement.

YOUR LUCK TODAYYOUR LUCK TODAYYOUR LUCK TODAYYOUR LUCK TODAYYOUR LUCK TODAY

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

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

VIRGINIA

KAPTAIN AFRIKA in “Princess Shii’ By Andy Akman

[email protected]

TERROR MUDA in “Never say goodbye” By Lanre Kehinde

Commen3 by Lawrence Akapa

By Joshua Adeyemo Phone 08056180139

50 — Vanguard50 — Vanguard50 — Vanguard50 — Vanguard50 — Vanguard,,,,, MONDAY, MONDAY, MONDAY, MONDAY, MONDAY, APRIL 29,APRIL 29,APRIL 29,APRIL 29,APRIL 29, 2013 2013 2013 2013 2013

By Richard EromoseleGEMINI; Although friends are willing to assist you cir-cumstances may not allow complete help as expected.9.46am to 12.43pm can be a bit sensitive.

CANCER; Emphasis will continue to be on career relat-ed issues. However you will not be wrong if you take mat-ters-of-the-heart more seriously now. Be more loving.

LEO; Mid-morning till early afternoon period may bringmore promises than it can actually deliver; your beingclever will see you through. Be very practical.

VIRGO; Continue to attach necessary importance toyour family values. Here is a day when joint ventures canbring you under pressure between 9.46am and 12.43pm.

LIBRA; Other people will continue to feature in youractivities; that is to say you will need to be as co-operativeas reason permits. Watch it between 9.46am&12.43pm

SCORPIO; You will be in good position to consolidateon progress made yesterday. However you will need towatch your mood from 9.46am to 12.43pm.

SAGITTARIUS; It is important you don’t take thingsfor granted around mid-morning and early afternoon pe-riod so that you will not run into avoidable disappoint-ments.

CAPRICORN; If you are in position to control your ac-tions you would fare better if you can wait till after 12,43pmbefore you make an important move. Be family minded.

AQUARIUS; Your being receptive can enhance yourprospects but that is not to say you have to be naïve, espe-cially during mid-morning and early afternoon periods.

PISCES; Success is boldly printed on your cards andlike yesterday if priority attention is given to money thescope of your success will be wider.

ARIES; Although things may be happening around you,you are the right person to make things happen and giveothers opportunities.. Be wise.

TAURUS; Take note that others may break promisesmade before early afternoon period; that is to say youshould not take anybody for granted before 12.43pm.

Dear Joshua,

MY daughter seems to be seriously committed to aboy. And from the look of things they may be willing tomarry each other. And before it is too late I want toknow if they are compatible or not. However publishnot their names and birthday.

Giwa.

Dear Giwa,

What will follow here-under are analyses of two horo-scopes of two willing heart, so

that you will know them very well vis-à-vis strongand weak points of each other. By this you will decideif actually what you are looking for is in the relation-ship.

THE HOROSCOPE DATA/PLANETARY PLACE-MENT OF THE LADY

SUN SIGN = AQUARIUS; SUN IN 13TH DEGREEOF AQUARIUS.

MOON SIGN = CANCER ; MOON IN 3RD DEGREEOF CANCER

MERCURY IN IST DEGREE OF AQUARIUSVENUS IN ZERO DEGREE OF ARIESMARS IN 29TH DEGREE OF PISCESJUPITER IN 29TH DEGREE OF CAPRICORNSATURN IN 27TH DEGREE OF SCORPIO.URANUS IN 16TH DEGREE OF SAGITTARIUS.NEPTUNE IN 2ND DEGREE OF CAPRICORNPLUTO IN 4TH DEGREE OF SCORPIO.NORTH NODE IN 23RD DEGREE OF TAURUS.SOUTH NODE IN 23RD DEGREE OF SCORPIO.SUMMARY ANALYSIS OF HER CHARTHere is a gentle person who cares so much for both

her extended family (especially her mother) and herpersonal family. She can be highly emotional, althoughhighly intelligent too

THE WEAK POINTShe can unexpectedly burst into tears whenever she

fails to control her husband. And if she does not resultto weeping she can many times force this man to turnviolent to the detriment of too many things. She inparticular will many times become jealous for no rea-son and can be difficult to manage by this man.

Although she loves freedom, she will want to be infirm control of the man’s freedom. Issues of controland freedom must be clearly defined before final mar-ital rite, or else serious trouble would be the result.

Are they compatible?

IT is Easter peri-od, Paschal Time.

Everybody that an-swers to that name‘Christian’ is expect-ed to purge himself/herself of the variousiniquities he hascommitted all thewhile. Among thesepenitents could be

The Glory of the Cross

included, the grand-children and perhapsthe great-grand-chil-dren of those thatmurdered our LordJesus Christ.

Ordinarily, theCross is seen as a bur-den. It symbolizes

pain, sorrow, agony,loneliness, anguishetc. Our Lord Jesusunderwent all ofthese in order to re-store us back to ourFather. But for ourLord dying on theCross, Salvation

would have been farfrom us today. Ourfuture here and in thehereafter, would havebeen bleak. ThankGod, our Lord Jesusaccepted the cup andthereby restored oursonship with the Fa-ther.



RECALLING whathappened between

Chioma Akpotha andYemisi (The Vanguardreporter) on the AMAAflight from Port Harcourt,one would have expecteda cultured woman to becontrite and apologizeforthwith, since everybodyis error-prone. I crave yourindulgence to say this notbecause the former is amovie star and the latter ajournalist. More so, I dreadnot to raise my voice for thetruth and my compassionagainst injustice.

It was quite unfortunateto read a report fromtoday’s Vanguard Onlinein favour of Yemisi (theirstaff), as against ChiomaAkpotha who was publiclyinsulted alongside everyIgbo speaking individualon that flight, by Yemisi.Besides, if some of us dohave the franchise to sufferdisharmony with ourpersonal values, I still wantto believe that in reportinga case, ProfessionalJournalism should keep itquite professional by notidentifying with any side inan issue of this manner. Butthis is obviously not thecase of the Vanguardreporter who wrote the storybetween Chioma Akpothaand Yemisi. The reporter inquestion has proven to methat fiction can sometimesmake a better job of thetruth and an exaggeratedrelativism.

Exaggeratedrelativisim

How could you in everysense of professionalismstart a story involving yourfellow reporter and ChiomaAkpotha by saying “Likemost Nollywood stars,Chioma Chukwuka-Akpotha is not given topretence. She’s alwaysready to vibrate and returnfire-for-fire. Last Sundayevening was not different.Smarting from the

frustration and exhaustionthat greeted everyone afterthe AMAA awards and theendless wait at the Port-Harcourt InternationalAirport, Chioma boardedthe evening flight back toLagos, determined to causeanother stir onboard”.Determined tocause another stir on board?I am 100 per centconvinced that even a blindreader could perceive thatyour biased and fullyloaded rifle was welltargeted at the Nollywoodactress from the verybeginning of your report.My dear journalist (thealmighty one with theability to make and kill thecareer that was given byGod), what happened tobeing objective and givingequal space to all sides inyour newsgathering? Sothe best you could do tojustify your false report wasto hide the identity of theVanguard reporter byconcluding thus: “A quarrelensued between herselfand a Lagos based femalejournalist, which causedthe actress toloose [sic] her temper in amanner that attracted theattention of everyone onboard. But for the fact thatshe was on board, thevisibly angry Chiomawould have done theunexpected.

She claimed that thejournalist was rude to her,adding that most painfully,she “called me Igbo bitchand all that’. I wouldn’tblame her because AMAAbrought us together. I canconveniently pay hersalary,” she fumed. Whocares!”

Now would you really liketo know who cares? AYcares! And yes I was on thatsame flight like many otherindustry people includinga good number offoreigners who flew in to bea part of AMAA 2013.

Chioma Chukwuka’s AMAAplane drama report: A response

By AY

To be concluded

Gunmen attack former IGRingim’s residence

BY ALIYU DANGIDA

THERE waspandemonium in

Ringim town,headquarters of Ringimlocal government area ofJigawa State last nightas gunmen stormed thetown and startedshooting.

An indigene of thetown who spoke toVanguard on phone saidthe gunmen arrivedRingim town around 8pm and took over thepersonal residence offormer Inspector General

of Police, Hafiz Ringimas well as the DivisionalPolice headquarters,while people desertedtheir business placesand entered theirrespective homes. Headded that there werebomb explosions in thetown. As at press timelast night shooting wasstill going on as theresidents were locked upinside their houses.

Contacted the PPROJigawa State Command,ASP Abdul Jinjiriconfirmed the incidentbut said the police hadlittle information to giveto the press.

Confirmation ofNameThis is to confirm thatthe name EzimohaClinton, refers to oneand the same personas EzimohaEmmanuel, now wishto be known andaddressed asEzimoha Emmanuel.All former documentsremain valid.General publicplease take note.

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ERNEST —I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss Janet Ernest,now wish to be knownand addressed as Mrs.Janet ErnestOlalekan. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

AYODEJI—I, formerlyknown and addressed asMiss Ayodeji ElizabethYetunde, now wish to beknown and addressed asMrs. Zainab E. Mustapha.All former documentsremain valid. FederalCourt of AppealHeadquarters, Abuja;Federal Judiciary ServiceCommission, Abuja;Nursing and MidwiferyCouncil of Nigeria andgeneral public please takenote.

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Correction of NameMy correct name is Mrs.Ezaka Eucharia Adali, butmy surname was wronglyspelt as Ezeaka in myNov/Dec 2001 WAECCertificate. This is toconfirm that Mrs. EzakaEucharia Adali, and Mrs.Ezeaka Eucharia Adali isone and same person. Allformer documents remainvalid. WAEC and generalpublic please take note.

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Commodore Mufutau Adeoye, Chief Staff Officer Naval Training Command(r) presenting the Football Trophy to AB Seaman Ilegogie Anthony of NNSBEECROFT at the end of the Intra Command Sports Championship of West-ern Naval Command Lagos.

Neymar snubs Santos dealNEYMAR has put

Chelsea andManchester City on redalert by rejecting a newcontract.

And Santos havedeclared their intention toput him up for sale.

The 21-year-old, whosedeal runs out next year, israted at £32million.

Barcelona are also on histrail but City lead the chasefor the 32-cap Brazil strikesensation after holdingtalks in January.

Santos vice-presidentOdilio Rodrigues said:“We’ve spoken withNeymar’s father, who is also

his agent.“Our intention has been

for him to stay beyond 2014.But he thinks his time atSantos and in Brazil is atan end.

“Now’s the time for thespeculation to start and foroffers to come in. If theyarrive, both Neymar andourselves will havedecisions to make.”

Milo Basketball: Adamawa,Katsina for final

THE stage is set forthe final of the

Confluence Conferenceof the 2013 Nestle MiloBasketball championshipholding at the IndoorSports Hall of theConfluence Stadium inLokoja, Kogi State.

The final which comesup Tuesday will seeAdamawa State takingon Katsina in the Boyscategory while Zamfaraand Kano will fight forhonours in the Girlscategory.

In the semi finalmatches decidedyesterday, Adamawa

Boys sent out hosts, KogiBoys by a marginal onepoint victory as theirhighly contested,t e n s i o n - s o a k e dencounter ended 33-32in favour of Adamawa.

The victors defied themassive support enjoyedby the home side fromthe spectators thatincluded the Chief Judgeof Kogi State, JusticeNasiru Ajana to achievetheir feat.

In the other semi final,Katsina Boys out dunkedtheir Borno Statecounterparts to qualifyfor the final. Katsina wonthe tie by 53 to 50 points.•Nermar

THE NationalO r g a n i s i n g

Committee of the NigerianUnity Football Tournamenttagged: Youth Peace andUnity Cup 2013, willtomorrow officially unveil

Nigerian Unity tourney: Iwuanyanwu, Tukur to unveil5,000 balls five thousand balls for the

tournament.The ceremony will take

place at the SheratonHotel and Towers, Abujaunder the chairmanshipof Chief EmmanuelIwuanyanwu.

Peoples Democratic Par-ty chairman, Dr. BamagaTukur will also grace theceremony.

According to the organ-isers, the balls will bebranded in the names ofthe sponsors and the 36state governors.

CMYK


AthletesContinues from BP

three years.The three athletes are:

Saheed Osanyande,Afeez Imama and LekanSoetan.

The federation said thethree had instigated aboycott of the 2ndGolden League by someathletes. The event wasstaged at the Universityof Benin SportsComplex at theweekend. AFN alsosuspended the GoldenLeague, a moneyspinning event for theathletes.

The Technical Directorof AFN, NavyCommodore OmatseyeNesiama, said in Lagosthat the athletes’behavior was ‘unruly’.

“The three athletesthat instigated theboycott of the event havebeen suspended fromparticipating in AFN-organised activities forthree years,” he said.

Nesiama noted that thesuspension was invoked

because they had alsodemanded that AFNreview downwards thestandard of thecompetition, in order toextend award of prizesto the top eight in eachGolden League event.

“This is totallyunacceptable to thefederation,” he said.

Nesiama said thatbased on the currentdevelopment, the Boardwould channel availablefunds into itsd e v e l o p m e n t a lprogrammes towardpromoting the youthsand the juniors.

“Rather than spendmoney on unrulyathletes like these, wewill rather develop ouryouths and juniorathletes because theyhave a brighter future.

“I will prefer that wespend money on ourd e v e l o p m e n t a lprogrammes, rather thanspend money on athletesthat want to remain aslocal champions,”

Nesiama said.He said that the

federation would notcondone any acts ofindiscipline, saying noathlete was forced toparticipate in the GoldenLeague.

“The demand is anindication that they arenot serious and probablydo not have the nationalinterest at heart but justpersonal interest.

“We have chosen to dosomething different fromwhat we were doing inthe past, in order to getbetter results, ‘’ he said.

“The unruly athletesdo not know what ittakes to put together aMeet of that magnitude,in terms of raisingfinances and otherancillary structures,” hesaid.

“There is nowhere inthe world that athletesdictate to Meetorganisers theconditions on which themeet should be run,” hesaid.

Eaglets who weredisqualified after MRItest didn’t place themunder the age of 17.

CAF organised thetests before the U-17event took off inMorocco. Thedisqualified playerscould not immediatelybe replaced in Morocco.Chukwu who watchedwith dismay as the highscoring Eaglets felltwice to the IvoriansBaby Elephants in thechampionship said itwas unfortunate thatthey had to lose onpenalties after failing toconvert many chancesthey created in the first

ChukwuContinues from BP

half in the final game onSaturday at the GrandStade, Marrakech.Chukwu said, “it’sunfortunate that we loston penalties but youcould see that we couldhave rapped off thematch in the first half aswe had clear chanceswhich we could notutilize. It is all part offootball. I think our boyshave done their best, westill need to keep themtogether and with moreexposure before theWorld Cup, I think wewill do better.”Again, we should nowreplace the threeplayers that we lostthrough the MRI test

immediately. Our teamstarted well in thetournament and gave ushigh hopes only for themtofail to live up toexpectation on the lastday. My advise is thatthe coach should keepthe boys together andgive them moreexposure with moreinternational friendlymatches before theWorld Cup properbecause I believe withthis team we can still dosomething at the WorldC u p .The former skipper of theGreen Eagles alsoadvised the coach tobeef up the team withmore attackers.

ReginaContinues from BPWorld Championships

this August in Russiawhen she ran 49.55seconds in her lap, duringthe women 4x400m in theevent. It was the fastesttime of the competitionattended by top worldathletics countries.

However, her effort wasnot able to power theNigerian womenfeaturing AjokeOdumosu, Idara Otu andBukola Abogunloko to the

top spot won by USA. Theteam placed fifth with atime of 3.28. 65 seconds.USA red won the racewith 3.22.66, while GreatBritain placed secondwith 3.22.68. USA bluewas third with 3.26.26.

The women 4x100malso retain a spot in thefinal they placed fourthwith a time of 43.52seconds BlessingOkagbare, EnduranceAbinuwa, Gloria Asumnu

and Olivia Kazie put upa spirited effort but it wasalways going to be theUSA and Jamaicadominating. Jamaica wonthe race with 42.42seconds USA red 42. 65and USA blue was thirdwith 42.66.

“I’m impressed with theperformance of ourathletes, considering thetime of the year. They didwell and I commendthem,”said SolomonOgba, President ofAthletics Federation ofNigeria.

CMYK

Printed and Published by VANGUARD MEDIA LIMITED, Vanguard Avenue, Kirikiri Canal, P.M.B.1007, Apapa. Phone: Newsroom: 018773962. Deputy Editor: 01-8944295. Advert Dept: 01-7924470;Hotline: 01-8737028; Abuja: 09-2341102, 09-2342704. 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.

e-mail: [email protected] to Play Sudoku THE VIGILANTE

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

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

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

VANGUARD, MONDAY, APRIL 29, 2013

YESTERYESTERYESTERYESTERYESTERDAY'S ANSWERSDAY'S ANSWERSDAY'S ANSWERSDAY'S ANSWERSDAY'S ANSWERSTODAY'S PUZZLETODAY'S PUZZLETODAY'S PUZZLETODAY'S PUZZLETODAY'S PUZZLE

Sudoku

YESTERDAY'S SOLUTIONS

QUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDACROSS1 Ballet-skirt (4)4 Rotter (3)6 Formerly (4)8 Obstruct (6)9 Hidden (6)10 Watch (3)12 Centre (5)14 Verdant (5)18 Fame (6)20 Sturdy (6)24 Avoid (5)26 Berate (5)28 Keen (5)30 Consumed (3)32 Rut (6)33 Shrewd (6)34 Repair (4)35 Still (3)36 Story (4)

DOWN2 Combine (5)3 Experience (7)4 Trouble (4)5 Valley (4)6 Exterior (5)7 Admit (7)11 Aye (3)12 Girl’s (3)13 Pull (3)16 Individual (3)17 Epoch (3)19 Omit (7)21 Poem (3)22 Nasty (7)23 Sailor (3)25 Tank (3)27 Sensational (5)29 Go in (5)30 Absent (4)31 Orient (4)

ACROSS: 2, Dream 7, Menu 8, Update9, Dated 11, Sea 13, Orb 15, Pelt 16, Tot18, Ever 19, Risible 20, Rued 22, Kris 23,Article 25, Eddy 27, Doe 28, Dual 30, Day31, Ewe 33, Petty 36, Fettle 37, Airy 38,Group.

DOWN: 1, Melee 2, Dud 3, Eft 4, Mud 5,Odd 6, Store 10, Eros 11, Spurned 12,Already 13, Overdue 14, Bristle 16, Timid17, Title 18, Elk 21, Dry 24, Core 26, Dazed29, Aware 32, Sty 33, Peg 34, Too 35, Yap.

Shocker! Athletesprotest against highstandards

BIZARRE! Scaredthat they would

not be able to measureup to the standards setfor them not only todevelop but also to earnmoney at the GoldenLeague, Nigerianathletes staged a protestin the Benin onSaturday and opted out,hoping that the theAthletics Federation ofNigeria (AFN) wouldlower the standards forthem.

Top athletes now easilyrun sub 10 seconds inthe 100m. But AFN set10.49 seconds as theirstandard and theathletes protested.

It was a show of shamefor which the AFN actedpromptly. They have

•AFN bans them, suspends Golden League

suspended threeathletes for instigatingthe boycott. They will

no longer compete intheir events for the nextContinues on Page 55

Regina George shines atPenn Relays•Ogba commends Nigerian teams

NIGERIA’s womenrelay teams made

appreciable impact atthe Penn Relays inPhiladelphia, USA at theweekend with ReginaGeorge being the starperformer.

George gave Nigerianofficials a reason tobelieve that the countrycould win a medal at the

BY BEN EFE

ROBIN van Persie scored on his return toArsenal as newly-crowned Premier League

champions Manchester United drew 1-1 at EmiratesStadium. On his first appearance back at his former homesince last summer’s £24million move to Old Trafford, theDutchman converted a penalty late in the first half tocancel out Theo Walcott’s early opener.

Van Persie frustrates Arsenal

Reading 0 QPRChelsea 2 Swansea 0Arsenal 1 Man Utd 1

Results

•George

CAF U-17: Chukwu calls for replacementof players

FORMER SuperEagles Coach

Christian Chukwu hascalled for the immediate

BY SOLOMONNWOKE

replacement of threeplayers of the GoldenContinues on Page 55

AERIAL BATTLE: Arsenal’s midfielder Aaron Ramsey (L) challengesManchester United’s defender Phil Jones (R) during the English PremierLeague football match at The Emirates Stadium yesterday. The match ended1-1. PHOTO / AFP

CMYK

NPFL resultRangers 4 Pillars 0Warri Wolves 2 Kw Utd 1Eyimba 2 Dolphin 0

Documents

FG orders sack of20,000 PHCN workers