...towards a better life for the people

N150VOL. 25: NO. 62682

ONLINE | www.vanguardngr.com

FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 2016**

Mr & Mrs

COLUMNISTS:

•P.19

Ethiopia can stillbe saved frombloodshed •P.17

•Buhari fighting insurgency with arms I bought — Jonathan•Says PDP'll bounce back•Jonathan bought junk weapons—Presidency

No money!

Continues on Page 5

See inside

Royal rumbleover Olubadanstool

N29BN ARMS PROBE:

EFCC detains ex-Chiefof Air Staff, Amosu

By Soni Daniel,Kingsley Omonobi,Clifford Ndujihe &

Dapo Akinrefon

A B U J A —FOLLOWING

his alleged indictment inthe N29 billion armsprobe, former Chief ofAir Staff, Air MarshallAdesola Amosu, was,Wednesday, invited bythe Economic andFinancial CrimesCommission, EFCC,grilled on his role anddetained because allissues pertaining to hisalleged indictment were

I won't devalueNaira, says Buhari

9

$3BN LOSS:Senate probes powerprojects sale by Jonathan,queries BPE 43

43

Nigeria imported16.03 MT offuel in 2015

Obasanjo'slettermisdirected—REPS•He introducedbribery to NASS— Melaye

43

FIRE—MRS filing station gutted by Fire at Lawanson, in Lagos, yesterday. Photos: Akeem Salau.

CMYK

2— Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 29 , 2016

CMYK

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 29 , 2016—3

CMYK

4—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 29 , 2016

CMYK

POCKET CARTOONVanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 29 , 2016—5

IT'S UP TO YOUBY AYO ADIO

TAKE HEARTBY ELLA RANDLE

EFCC detains ex-Chief of AirStaff, Amosu

SAYINGS OF OUR PEOPLE

Continues from Page 1

If an animal runs a dangerous race, thehunter will take a dangerous shot.

As we express our gratitude, we must rememberthat the highest appreciation is not to utter wordsbut to live by them —John F Kennedy

GRATEFUL people have a higher sense of self-worth. I think that’s because when you’re

grateful, you have the sense that someone else islooking out for you. Once you start to recognize thecontributions that other people have made to yourlife, once you realize that other people have seenthe value in you, you can transform the way you seeyourself. Just because gratitude is good doesn’t meanit’s always easy. Practicing gratitude can be at oddswith some deeply ingrained psychologicaltendencies but if we focus on gratitude, we’ll attractour heart desires.

THE challenges of life could bring you down.However, the choice to stay down is absolutely

yours. It’s up to you.

not concluded.This came as former

President, Dr. GoodluckJonathan, said PresidentMuhammadu Buhari'sgovernment wasprosecuting the waragainst the Boko Haraminsurgency with arms hisadministration procured.

Operatives of theEFCC were said to havecontinued theinterrogation of theformer Air Chief,yesterday, at EFCCheadquarters and atpress time, Amosu wasstill with the anti-graftagency.

Sources disclosed thatAir Marshal Amosuarrived EFCC premisesin the evening ofWednesday, but was laterjoined by some otherofficers of the ranks of AirVice-Marshals, some ofwho served under him asPrincipal Staff Officers orDirectors at theHeadquarters of theNigerian Air Force.

Asked if the former AirChief will be grantedadministrative bail sincehe honoured hisinvitation, a source saidthat depended on thelevel of the interrogation.

NAF under Amosun,was alleged to have

admitted receiving non-existent ammunition andaircraft, a developmentwhich a presidentialpanel frowned at.

P r e s i d e n tMuhammadu Buhariordered the probe ofarms procurement andthe panel indicted topmilitary and politicalactors who are beingtried in court.

Many other topmilitary officers namedin the arms scam havehad their property sealedas a first step towardsconfiscating them.

Efforts to get thespokesman of EFCC,Wilson Uwujaren toconfirm the interrogationof the former Air Chiefproved abortive.

Buhari fightinginsurgency witharms I bought— Jonathan

Meanwhile, formerPresident GoodluckJonathan, has said thatPresident MuhammaduBuhari’s governmentwas prosecuting the waragainst the Boko Haraminsurgency with the armshis administrationprocured.

Insisting that he laid asolid foundation forterrorism to be defeated,Dr Jonathan expressedhope that very soon, thenew government woulddefeat the insurgency.

Jonathan, who spoke inan interview withFrance 24 as quoted byThe Cable, said thatinsurgency caught the

country unawares butnoted that hisgovernment laid a solidfoundation for terrorismto be defeated.

His words: “The newgovernment is workinghard and I believe theyare still using theequipment we procured.Though the budget isstill being debated, nonew equipment has beenbought, so even thoseequipment the Presidentis using to prosecute thewar against Boko Haramare those equipment weprocured.

“When Boko Haramstarted in Nigeria, wehad no terror experience.Yes, we had armedrobbery and othercommon crimes, butterrorism was differentbecause the peopleinvolved were not afraidto die. So, you need adifferent mechanism toconfront terrorism; youneed superior technologyto be able to stop themeven before they attack.We never had theequipment, but when wewere confronted, westarted acquiring andbefore I left office, webuilt reasonable capacityand I believe with whatwe left behind and alsowith what the newgovernment will acquire,they will be able toprosecute this terror warto a reasonableconclusion.”

PDP ‘ll bounceback

On the crisis ravagingthe Peoples DemocraticParty, PDP, Jonathan

expressed optimism thatthe former ruling partywould soon gainstability.

“The PDP definitelywill have some minorissues, it is expected. Welost the presidency anddefinitely we will havesome kind of leadershipproblems. When youhave a president,everybody looks up to thepresident. But when youno longer have thepresident, it becomesdifficult for the party tohave strong leadership.I believe whatever youobserve will be sortedout. Leaders of the party,elders of the party havebeen meeting and all theperceived disagreementswill soon be sorted out.

“Every political partyhas misunderstanding, itis not new, it is alwaysthere. From thebeginning of PDP, evenbefore I got to Abuja as aVice-President andPresident, there wereinstances when thechairman of the party willbe asked to step down.And some officers leavefrom time to time whenthere are issues. So whatis happening is not newbut I promise you thatPDP will stabilize.

"In fact, by March thisyear, we are going toelect officers at thelowest levels of the wardsto the local government,to the states, to the zonesthen of course thenational officers will beelected. So the party willbounce back, whateveryou are perceiving, italways happens and wewill get over it,” he said.

Jonathanbought junkweapons—Presidency

Debunking the formerPresident’s claim, thePresidency, yesterday,maintained that weaponsbought by the previousadministration weremostly junk.

In a statement bySenior Special Assistant

to the President onMedia and Publicity,Mallam Garba Shehu,the presidency said theformer president got hisfacts mixed up.

The statement read: "Wehave it on good authoritythat the former Presidentdid not get the correctbriefing on these facts.

Weapons bought by hisgovernment were mostlyjunk.

"From the revelations ofthe procurementinvestigation committeenow going on, it is clearthat his government wasill-advised in itsprocurement processes.

"Evidence shows thatsome of his service chiefsused criminally-mindedvendors to defraud thecountry of billions ofNaira.

"For instance, bullionvans, the ones used inferrying cash to and frombanks were procured andpresented in militarycolours as armouredpersonnel carriers.Bullion vans have whatthe military call “softskin,” which is easilypenetrated by bullet.

"On good authority, wehave equally beeninformed that “floatationjackets” were brought inas bullet-proof jackets. Ifthe correct procurementprocedure had beenfollowed, in ag o v e r n m e n t - t o -government order as wenow have under theBuhari administration,this disservice to thenation would not havehappened.

"This administrationfound out, uponinvestigation that most ofthose things the soldiersat the front werecomplaining againstwere true. The personalweapons they weremade to carry were thosebought in the 60s, 70sand the 80s.

Those defectiveweapons are now beingreplaced even asinvestigations are stillgoing on."

CELEBRATION—Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, celebrating his victory at the SupremeCourt on the streets of Port-Harcourt, yesterday.

6—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 2016

Commercialsex workerdocked forallegedlyassaultingpoliceman

RAZED: Ikosi Ketu Saw Mill, Lagos, yesterday. PHOTO: Akeem Salau.

LAGOS—A teenager, whoalleged that she had been

abandoned after beingimpregnated by an operative ofthe Economic and FinancialCrimes Commission, EFCC,has appealed to authorities ofthe commission to intervene.

The pregnant teenager,Blessing Nwokpa, also allegedthat effort to reach herestranged lover (nameswithheld) earned her a beatingat the commission’s office inIkoyi, Lagos.

The 19-year-old claimed thatthe operative took advantage ofher homelessness to put her inthe family way, only to abandonher when it mattered most.

Trouble, as gathered, startedafter Nwokpa who worked as acanteen attendant at theAwolowo Road, Ikoyi office ofEFCC, had accommodationproblem. She was compelled tobe sleeping in the canteen,when her lover reportedlyoffered to give her shelter.

Her storyAccording to the expectant

mother, who is currently in thecustody of the Legal AidsCouncil, “I was staying with mybrother when I left Enugu for

EFCC operative batters, abandons loverover refusal to abort pregnancy

‘He gave me N18,000 for abortion’Lagos. He found the canteenjob for me.

“At a point he hadaccommodation problem and Iwas sleeping in the canteenwhen the EFCC man said Icould be sleeping in his houseuntil my brother get anotherapartment.

“I accepted without thinkingof the impossible. But at nighthe would lure me into havingsex with him until I becamepregnant without knowing.

“When I eventuallydiscovered I was pregnant, Itold him and his attitudetowards me changed. He gaveme N18,000 to abort thepregnancy but I refused. Whenhe discovered I was stillkeeping the pregnancy, hestarted beating me and threwmy things out of his apartment.

“He beat me to a pulp when Iwent to his office to request formoney for ante-natal. Some ofhis senior colleagues rescuedme,” adding that she wassacked at the canteen becauseof her pregnancy.

Legal Aids intervenesShe was reportedly directed

By Evelyn Usman

to the Legal Aids Councilwhere she lodged thecomplaint.

Vanguard was informed thatattempt by the council to makepeace between the duo failedas the EFCC officer did notshow up when invited.

The teenager said all sheneeded was for the EFCC

operative to take responsi-bility of the pregnancy and notnecessarily to marry her.

Efforts by Vanguard to reachthe concerned EFCC officeron his mobile phone failed asit was switched off. Sourcesat the commission toldVanguard that the matter wasa private one.

Blessing Nwokpa... He should take care of the baby.

LAGOS—NO fewer than 200traders were, yesterday,

displaced after an earlymorning fire razed JakandePlank Market, Ketu, KosofeLocal Government Area, Lagos,destroying property worthmillions of Naira.

When Vanguard visited themarket, it was gathered that thefire started at about 4a.m.,razing three buildings, severalmakeshift shops and threevehicles in the market.

Other burnt items wereseveral power generating sets,cutting machines, smoothers,sawmills and animals.

Although Lagos StateEmergency Response Team,ERT, which include officials ofthe Lagos State EmergencyManagement Agency,LASEMA and State Fire Serviceeventually arrived the scene,their access into the market wasinitially hampered by poordrainage system.

There were divergent viewsover the cause of the inferno.While some attributed the causeof the fire to power surge fromone of the poles in the market,others said it was caused bynaked fire from the sawmillsection of the market.

Many of the affected traders

kept sealed lips whenVanguard visited the scene ofthe incident believing that theincident might lead to theirrelocation by the government.

Director Lagos State FireService, Razak Fadipe, andLASEMA General Manager,Mr. Michael Akindele, saidthree fire trucks were used tobattle the fire, which raged forabout an hour before they couldaccess the scene.

Fadipe said: “My men arrivedthe scene 10 minutes after adistress call, but the sawmill waslocated inside Ketu Market andthe nearest bus stop to the scenewas inaccessible due to adamaged drainage covered by

200 traders displaced as fire razes Ketu plank marketBy Bose Adebayo &

Monsuru Olowoopejo

planks.“Although small vehicles were

able to access the place, trucksand haulage vehicles could not,

a situation which made my mento seek alternative route andbefore this was done lots ofproperties were affected.”

BAUCHI—BAUCHI Policedetectives in collaboration

with the Taraba State PoliceCommand have exhumed theremains of a kidnapped victimidentified as Alhaji BelloMaikarfi Haruna, who wasreportedly abducted and buried

alive in a shallow grave.According to a statement by

the state Police Public RelationsOfficer, DSP HarunaMohammed, the Police inBauchi received a formalcomplaint on December 4, 2015from relatives of the deceasedin Alkaleri Local GovernmentArea of Bauchi State, that on

Police in Bauchi, Tarabaexhume remains of kidnap victim

By Suzan Edeh

A 27-year-old commercialsex worker, Faith

Imojire, who allegedlyassaulted a policeman, wasyesterday arraigned in anIkeja Magistrate’s Court,Lagos.

The prosecutor, CorporalMike Unah, told the courtthat the accused committedthe offence on January 21 at14, Aromire Street, Ikeja,Lagos.

Unah said the accusedassaulted one SergeantFriday Orah by beating himup and attempting to seizehis rifle.

He said the policemanwas trying to settle a disputebetween the accused and aman who refused to pay herafter patronising her.

The accused, however,pleaded not guilty to thecharge.

The Senior Magistrate,Mrs A. O. Gbajumo, grantedthe accused N25,000 bail,with one surety in like sumand adjourned the case tillFebruary 17 for mention.

LAGOS StateGovernment has

cautioned residents toobserve the first monthlyenvironmental sanitationexercise for the year 2016,scheduled for tomorrow,Saturday, January 30.

It warned that anyonecaught flouting the usualrestriction of human andvehicular movement duringthe exercise between thehours of 7a.m. and 10a.m.will be arrested andprosecuted accordingly.

Commissioner for theEnvironment, Dr.Babatunde Adejare, whogave the warning yesterday,urged residents toparticipate actively in theexercise, being the first inthe year, by cleaning theirhomes, drains and theirenvironment.

Adejare said that relevantagencies have been fullyequipped to cart away thebacklog of refuse.

Lagos readsriot act overtomorrow'ssanitationexercise

By OlasunkanmiAkoni

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 2016—7

November 29, 2015 at about5a.m., a group of armed mensuspected to be vigilante fromKarim Lamido in Taraba State,conspired with theircounterparts in Gwana districtof Alkaleri council of BauchiState to abduct one Alhaji BelloMai Karfi Haruna.

He said that the suspects tookthe victim to Karim Lamido inTaraba State and went awaywith N4.4 million.

DSP Mohammed said the

suspects confessed to haveconspired, taken away thevictim, tied him up and forcedhim into their white ToyotaHilux vehicle with an inscriptionof Bachama Vigilante Group.

He said the victim was laterkilled and buried at a locationin Karim Lamido council ofTaraba State.

He added that discreetinvestigation by officers fromboth states' Police Commandsled to the arrest of eight.

AWKA—SIX persons wereinjured in multiple

accidents involving a tankerconveying Premium MotorSpirit, PMS, and four othervehicles along the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway in Awka.

It was learned that the tankerconveying PMS lost control andcollided with a tipper, two buses,a Nissan Sunny with numberplates YA 262 ENU and acommercial motorcycle,popularly known as Okada.

The tanker was descendingthe Government House slopefrom the Onitsha end of theexpressway when the accidentoccurred.

No life was lost and theinjured persons were quicklyrushed to the hospital by menof the Federal Road SafetyCorps, FRSC, the police trafficpersonnel, the fire service andsympathizers, who were onhand to assist the victims.

A fire fighter, Mr.Uchechukwu Samuel, said thesituation would have been verybad if they had not arrived thescene immediately they werecontacted, explaining that theywere able to control thesituation with the assistance ofother agencies.

There were similar accidentsat the same spot in recent time,with many lives lost.

6 injured as fuel tanker runs overfour vehicles, Okada in Awka

By Vincent Ujumadu

CRASH: The petrol tanker.

A 50-year-old man, LukuLabi, who allegedly

trafficked 10 children fromBenin Republic into Nigeria,was yesterday charged beforea Yaba Chief Magistrate’sCourt in Lagos.

The accused, whose addresswas not given, is facing athree-count charge ofconspiracy, unlawful importand confining children.

The prosecutor, InspectorRita Momah, told the court

that the accused and someothers at large committed theoffences on January 19, atabout 3:30pm. at Ojo area,Lagos.

Momah alleged that theaccused and his accomplicesbrought the children, whoseages ranged from 10 to 16years with an intention to usethem as child labourers.

She said that the accusedwas caught at Ojo, a Lagossuburb, where he kept the

children.Momah said the offences

contravened Sections 207, 274and 409 of the Criminal Lawof Lagos State, 2011.

The accused, however,pleaded not guilty to thecharges.

The Chief Magistrate, MrsF. A. Adeeyo granted theaccused N500,000 bail withtwo sureties in like sum andadjourned the case tillFebruary 21 for mention.

Man, 50, arraigned for trafficking 10 children

A B E O K U TA — F O U Rteenagers and three

others are allegedlylanguishing in detention at OtaDivisional Headquarters ofOgun State Police for over ayear without trial, on the orderof an Ota Magistrate’s Court.

The detainees, 16-year-oldSunday Wasiu; Azeez Alabi, 18;Segun Abayomi 19; RasakiAbdul Azeez; SulaimonBankole 20; Ifadele Osuolaleand Rilwan Sodiq 23, wereaccused of armed robbery since2014 and were subsequentlyarrested and detained.

The Federal PublicComplaints Commissiondisclosed this in a petitionwritten to the Chief Judge ofOgun State, Justice OlatokunboOlopade.

The Federal Commissioner incharge of the Commission inOgun, Mrs. OluyemisiDawodu, submitted the petitionin Abeokuta yesterday, whenshe paid a courtesy call on theChief Judge.

The petition said sevenpersons, who are young boysbetween ages 16 and 23 havebeen detained by the policesince July 19, 2014, because thecourt is yet to receive advice

from the Director of PublicProsecution, DPP.

The commission, therefore,sought the intervention of theChief Judge for speedydispensation of justice.

According to the petition, fourout of the 11 accused personswere released on bail by the

police, while the remainingseven whose parents could notafford the bail conditions, weresubsequently charged to court.

Dawodu explained that thecommission was established to,among others, investigatecomplaints of injustice,oppression and victimisation.

Complaints Commission petitions Ogun CJ over 4 teenagers,others in detention without trial

By Daud Olatunji

OPERATIVES of the SpecialAnti-Robbery Squad,

SARS, have arrested a memberof a two-man armed robberygang that specialised in robbingcommercial cyclists alongIjanikin-Badagry Expressway,Lagos.

It was learned that the 22-year-old suspect identified asOluwaseun Ajewole wasnabbed after his gang attackedone Mr. Ibrahim Lukman ofOke-Agbo Street of Ilogbo inOjo, and disposed him of hismotorcycle.

The victim, it was gathered,reported the attack to IjanikinPolice Division, leading to thearrest of Ajewole.

ConfessionRevealing that he specialises

in snatching motorcycles andother valuables, Ajewole saidthe first bike he stole at the ageof 17 in 2011 was sold forN40,000, but that he was givenN10,000 by the friend thathelped in disposing of the bike.

He said: “After I stole the firstone, I went back to work as aplumber where I spent twoyears as an apprentice. After Igraduated, I went back to OsunState for some time.

“It was when I came back toLagos that my colleague Segunsaid we should go back to ourformer robbery business.”

Disclosing how they operate,Ajewole said whenever theyspot a new motorcycle along the

road, they would flag down thecommercial cyclist likepassengers, “call a relativelyunknown destination, offeringto pay a very attractive andtempting fare. Usually theydon’t refuse because of theattractive fare we offer.

“Midway, we force him to stopat gunpoint. We also order himto leave his motorcycle key. Thegun we are using is notfunctional; we use it to threatenthem.

“In cases where the owner isstubborn, we will quickly runaway before he alerts people.”

Vanguard gathered that thecase, which was latertransferred to SARS, is stillundergoing investigation totrack down his accomplice.

‘I started robbery at 17’By Faith Ake

LAGOS—A 39-year-oldb u s i n e s s m a n ,

Adekanla Ayodele, whoallegedly impersonated aNaval officer, and obtainedtwo vehicles worth N13.9million, was yesterdayarraigned before anIgbosere Magistrate’s courtin Lagos.

The defendant is facing afour-count chargebordering on conspiracy,obtaining by false pretence,stealing and impersonationpreferred against him bythe police.

The prosecutor, InspectorStephen Molo, told thecourt that the defendantand others, who are still atlarge, committed thealleged offences sometimein December 2012.

He said the defendantunlawfully obtained twoNissan Pathfinder SUVs,2005 model and one ToyotaHighlander SUV, 2004model, one Toyota RAV4SUV, 2008 model, and oneToyota Tundra SUV, 2002model, all unregistered,valued at N13.9 millionfrom one Usman Muda,being properties of oneIredodia Obazee.

Molo also alleged thatthe defendant presentedhimself as a NavalCommander.

The magistrate, Mrs A. O.Sholadoye, granted thedefendant N500,000 bail,with two sureties in likesum and adjourned thecase to March 22.

Bizmandocked forallegedimpersonation,N13.9m fraud

By Onozure Dania

8—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 2016

Arms probe: Metuh paid N77.5m forJonathan’s media campaign —WitnessMetuh regains freedom

Court admits payment vouchers into evidence

Adjourns trial till Feb 4

PDP govs sack Secondus, ask NationalSecretary to take over

By Ikechukwu Nnochiri

ABUJA— MORE revelationsemerged, yesterday, on how

the embattled National PublicitySecretary of Peoples DemocraticParty, PDP, Chief Olisa Metuh,spent part of the N400 million hereceived from the erstwhileNational Security Adviser, NSA,Col. Sambo Dasuki, (retd).

Metuh regainsfreedom

Meanwhile, Chief Metuh hasregained his freedom, having methis bail conditions as stipulated bya Federal High Court, in Abuja.

Metuh was arrested anddetained by operatives of theEconomic and Financial CrimesCommission (EFCC) onallegations of diversion of securityfunds and money laundering.

At the resumed hearing on thematter, yesterday, a witnessbrought by the Economic andFinancial Crimes Commission,EFCC, Mr. Yomi GbadejoOgunsanya, told the Federal HighCourt sitting in Abuja that the PDPspokesman used N77.5 million tosponsor media campaigns for there-election of ex-PresidentGoodluck Jonathan.

Ogunsanya told the court that hewas the Managing Director ofCMC Connect, a public relationsagency he said handled mediaconsultancy jobs for the PDP, priorto the 2015 general elections.

The witness, who testified as thefifth prosecution witness, PW-5,said the N77.5 million was paid tothe PR firm through the bankaccount of Metuh’s company,Destra Investment Limited, whichis the second defendant before thecourt.

Insisting that the fund wasreleased for the agency to ‘launderthe image’ of ex-PresidentJonathan to the electorate, the

witness told the court thatCMC Connect used the bulk ofit to pay for advertorials in fourtelevision stations.

Payment vouchersThe EFCC, through the

witness, tendered into evidencevouchers addressed to DestraInvestment Limited for paymentby CMC Connect to AfricanIndependent Television, AIT;Nigerian Television Authority,NTA; Channels TV; andSilverbird Television, STV.

Ogunsanya told the court thatbefore his firm was hired,Metuh helped him to getaudience with ex-PresidentJonathan, who he said gave hisapproval after listening to hispresentation.

He said: “When Metuhbecame National PublicitySecretary of the PDP, I met withhim, and he said he liked thework we did for the party in thepast, but unfortunately that theparty did not have money to payus to continue with the work.

“He promised to compensateus whenever an opportunityarose. This was in 2012. EarlyNovember 2014, I got a call fromhim and he asked me where Iwas. I told him I was in Lagos.He said he wanted me to cometo Abuja to attend a meeting.

“When I arrived in Abuja andmet him at his house, he droveme to the Presidential Villawhere we met a meeting inprogress. At the meeting wasformer President GoodluckJonathan; his Deputy, NamadiSambo; former PDP chairman,Adamu Mu’azu; former SenatePresident, David Mark; ReubenAbati, Alkali Rufai and DoyinOkupe.

“Although, the meeting was inprogress, I was able to pick thatit had to do with how to win the2015 presidential election.

“In the course of the meeting,Metuh introduced me as thecommunication consultant thatworked for the party before. He thenasked me to speak. I proceeded tospeak what I considered very franklywith the President.

“I felt it was very important to lethim know the critical things he hadto do to get the nation right. Heasked me a couple of questions

himself, and I specificallyremembered telling him thatthere was a disconnect betweenhis government and the people.

“He took everything in goodfaith and asked us to go. Thenext evening, Metuh called meand said that it seemed like Imade an impression on thePresident. He asked me tocoordinate the media campaignplan for the PDP presidentialelection.

“So, we set about the workwith a plan. I was meetingMetuh severally on the ideaswe had on how we couldposition the party in the mindsof Nigerians.

First payment“We got the first payment from

him on December 1, 2014 whichwas N7.5 million, a cheque heissued in my name and Itransferred the money to mycompany’s account. This chequewas from Destra InvestmentLimited.

“On December 15, 2015, hedid a transfer from DestraInvestment Limited of N70million to our company. Bymiddle of December we hadstarted the work.

“The first batch of work we didwas to get Nigerians toappreciate the role of the militaryin the fight against Boko Haram.We also made advertplacements in newspapers, radioand television.”

Nothing unusualabout the transaction

However, while being cross-examined by Metuh’s lawyer,Dr. Onyechi Ikpeazu, SAN,Ogunsanya, who maintainedthat he had been in the PR job

for the past 27 years, told thecourt that there was nothingunusual about his transactionwith the defendants.

He said his firm, in line withthe terms of the contract,monitored media contents ondaily basis and reported to thePDP any publication thatconcerned the party, until the2015 general election took place.

The witness said his agencywould have terminated thecontract if it had perceived anywrongdoing.

Other documents the courtadmitted into evidence, yesterdayincluded bundle of documentswith various newspaperpublications.

Meanwhile, the EFCC alsoproduced a Bureau de Changeoperator, Mr. Kabiru Ibrahim,who helped Metuh to change $1million to its Naira equivalent,and transferred same to hiscompany’s account, to testifybefore the court, yesterday.

Ibrahim told the court that itwas the PW-1, Nneka Ararume,that sold the $1 million to himsometime in December 2014, andasked him to transfer the Nairaequivalent which amounted toN183 million to the account ofDestra Investment Limited.

The witness, who was led inevidence by the prosecutingcounsel, Mr, Sylvanus Tahir,insisted that there was no limitto the amount of dollars he couldbuy or sell, saying he did nottransact the business with Metuhbut with Nneka who he saidgave him the account numberof the 2nd defendant.

However, Justice Okon Abangadjourned further hearing onthe case till next Thursday.

Disown Gulak, say action regrettableBy Henry Umoru

ABUJA — THE crisis rockingthe national leadership of

Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, hastaken a new twist as governorselected on the platform of the partyhave asked the Acting NationalChairman, Prince Uche Secondus,to handover the leadership to theNational Secretary, Prof AdewaleOladipo.

The governors also disownedformer Special Adviser to formerPresident Goodluck Jonathan, AlhajiAhmed Gulak, who stormed thesecretariat with his supporters andmade himself national chairman.

Acting under the aegis of PDPGovernors’ Forum, PDPGF, thegovernors said the national secretarywould oversee the affairs of the partyfor now in line with its constitution.

In a communiqué issued at theend of the PDPGF meeting, lateWednesday night in Abuja, thegovernors frowned at the refusal ofthe acting National Chairman,Prince Uche Secondus, to honourthe judgment of an FCT High Courtwhich last December ordered himto vacate office for any other personfrom the North-East zone.

Reading the communiqué,Chairman of the forum and governor

of Ondo State, Dr. OlusegunMimiko, said: “We takecognizance of the judgment bythe court in Abuja whichordered the acting chairman tovacate office for any otherperson from the North-Eastzone of Nigeria.

“Our party’s constitution hasenough provisions for that andthe necessary process has beenput in motion. In recognizanceof the judgment the court gave,we call on the national secretaryto take over the leadership ofthe party immediately and thatis in line with the provisions ofthe PDP constitution.

"The decision of the governorscame barely some hours afterthe former Political Adviser topast President GoodluckJonathan, Alhaji Ahmed Gulak,stormed the secretariat with hissupporters and made himselfthe national chairman of theparty.

PDP govsdisown Gulak

The governors alsolampooned Gulak for daring tounilaterally declare himself thenew chairman of the party

without recourse to the appro-priate organs of the party.

Mimiko said: “The invasionof the party headquarters byAhmed Ali Gulak, whoreportedly assumed thechairmanship of PeoplesDemocratic Party is regrettableand condemnable.”

In a communique issued atthe end of its meeting, yesterday,in Abuja, the governors in verystrong terms, described theaction as unfortunate,regrettable, adding that thegovernors will meet soon to geta new national chairman.

It said: “The invasion of theparty headquarters today byAhmed Ali Gulak whoreportedly assumed thechairmanship of the PeoplesDemocratic Party (PDP) isregrettable and condemnable.

“We take cognizance of thejudgment by the court in Abujawhich ordered the actingchairman to vacate office for anyother person from the North-East zone of Nigeria. Ourparty constitution has enoughprovisions for that and thenecessary process has beenput in motion."

MEETING: From left, Minister, National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma; GovernorAminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State and Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State at the 65th NationalEconomic Council meeting at the State House, Abuja, yesterday. Photo: Abayomi Adeshida.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 2016—9

I won’t devalue Naira, Buhari insistsSays policy'll impoverish Nigerians

By LevinusNwabughiogu

ABUJA — PRESIDENTMuhammadu Buhari has said

further devaluation of the Nairawould kill the currency, insisting thatit was one decision he was not readyto take at the moment.

The President said he was not alsoready to inflict more hardship on thepoor citizens of Nigeria who alreadyhad doses of penury.

He stressed that while export-driven economies could benefit fromdevaluation of their currencies,Naira devaluation would only resultin further inflation and hardship forthe poor and middle classes inNigeria’s import-dependenteconomy.

President Buhari spoke,Wednesday, in Nairobi, Kenya,during a meeting with Nigeriansresident in the county.

A statement by his SpecialAssistant on Media and Publicity,

Mallam Garba Shehu, saidordinary Nigerians wouldbenefit from the policy.

He said the President alsorejected suggestions that theCentral Bank of Nigeria, CBN,resumed the sale of foreignexchange to Bureaux deChange (BDCs), saying BDCbusiness had become a scamand a drain on the economy.

“We had just 74 of thebureaux in 2005, now they havegrown to about 2,800,” Shehuquoted Buhari as saying.

He alleged that some bankand government officials usedsurrogates to run the BDCs andprosper at public expense byobtaining foreign exchangefrom government at official ratesand selling it at much higherrates.

He said: “We will use ourforeign exchange for industry,spare parts and thedevelopment of needed

infrastructure. We don’t have thedollars to give to the BDCs. Letthem go and get it fromwherever they can, other thanthe Central Bank.”

The President also maintainedhis suspicion that about a thirdof petroleum subsidy paymentsunder the previousadministration was fake.

“They just stamped papersand collected our foreignexchange,” he said.

The President, however,appealed to Nigerians studyingabroad to bear with hisadministration as it strove toaddress the challenges theywere facing as a result of newforeign exchange measures.

He said he was optimistic thatthe Nigerian economy wouldstabilize soon, with the efficientimplementation of measuresand policies that had beenintroduced by hisadministration.

RETREAT: Minister of Works, Power and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (middle), Director-General, National Pension Commission (PenCom), Mrs. Chinelo Anohu-Amazu (left) andChairman, Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria (PENOP), Eguarekhide Longe,during the Pension Industry Strategy Retreat, in Abuja.

RIVERS: Dakuku accepts S-CourtverdictPromises to work with Wike

Judiciary is our only hope —Wike

NASS to incorporate card reader in Electoral Act

S/Court verdicts rekindle hope in democracy— PDP

By Clifford Ndujihe,Henry Umoru, Jimitota

Onoyume, Dayo Johnson,Emman Ovuakporie,

Johnbosco Agbakwuru &Davies Iheamnachor

LAGOS— AS mixed viewscontinued to trail the Supreme

Court’s affirmation of Mr. NyesomWike of the Peoples DemocraticParty, PDP, as the duly electedgovernor of Rivers State, thegovernorship candidate of the AllProgressives Congress, APC, DrDakuku Peterside, has acceptedthe verdict and called on hissupporters to do same.

In a statement by his campaignteam, Dakuku said his team willoffer help to the state governmentand continue to work for the goodand development of the state.

He said: “We urge all oursupporters to take a cue from us inaccepting this verdict.Consequently, we shall do our bestto work for the peace anddevelopment of Rivers State andall who reside in it. We shallcreatively offer our help toGovernor Nyesom Wike. We willprovide a virile opposition, servingas a mirror for the conscience ofgovernment, in the interest ofRivers people. Whenencouragement is needed towardsa just and proper course ofdealings, we will offer ourcommendation to thegovernment.”

He also thanked all hissupporters, saying: “I thankeveryone who has supported usduring this long and arduousjourney in the political evolutionof Rivers State. May God satisfyyou with blessings from the depthof His unfathomable love, so thatyou will eternally remain true toall that is noble and just.Remember, we are ultimately

greater together.”

Judiciary the onlyhope for Nigeria— Wike

An elated Wike, yesterday,declared that the judiciaryremained the only hope of thecountry, if the judiciarycrumbles, the nation is gone.

Speaking when the NationalWorking Committee of the PDP,led by the Acting NationalChairman, Prince UcheSecondus, paid him acongratulatory visit atGovernment House, PortHarcourt, Wike said theSupreme Court passed ajudgment based on theconstitution, while the lowercourts aired their opinions in theRivers State governorshipelection.

“The Supreme Court is theonly hope we have in thecountry. Therefore, if thejudiciary crumbles, the nationwill crumble. The tribunal airedher opinion, the Appeal Courtaired her opinion, while theSupreme Court deliveredjudgment based on theconstitution and the ElectoralAct,” Wike said.

The governor noted thatRivers State will remain a PDPstate and assured theleadership of the PDP of hissupport and that of Rivers Stateto ensure the resolution of theparty’s challenges and set iton the path of recovery.

“As a party in opposition, wemust put our house in order sothat within the shortest possibletime, the PDP will return topower at the federal level,” thegovernor said.

NASS to incorporateCard Reader in

Electoral Act Meanwhile, the National

Assembly may amend the ElectoralAct to incorporate the Voters’ CardReader.

Minority Leader of the House ofRepresentatives, Leo Ogor,yesterday, said the lawmakerswould soon embark on theamendment of the Electoral Act toincorporate card reader as one of theprocesses for the conduct of credibleelections in the country.

Ogor hinted of the move whilereacting to the Supreme Courtjudgment, saying though the cardreader, which was used in the last

election by the IndependentNational Electoral Commission,INEC, was a good innovation,it had no place in law at present.

The Election Tribunal andCourt of Appeal nullified Wike’selection on account of votes notcaptured by the card reader, adecision the apex court has setaside.

Ogor said the Supreme Courtruling "goes a long way to showclearly that card reader is notthe finality vis-à-vis theprovisions of the Electoral Act.Section 49 of the Electoral Actis very clear, it did not makeprovisions for anything like cardreader."

Verdicts rekindlehope in democracy —PDP

The national leadership of thePDP said the Supreme Court’sjudgment on Rivers and Ebonyistates in favour of the party hasrekindled hope in the nation’sdemocracy.

In a statement by its ActingNational Chairman, PrinceUche Secondus, the PDPcongratulated the governmentand people of Rivers and Ebonyistates on the apex court’saffirmation of the elections ofGovernors Nyesom Wike(Rivers) and Dave Umahi(Ebonyi).

Secondus said: “Thelandmark rulings of the apexcourt have not only rekindledhope in democracy but alsopungently underscored thestrategic importance of animpartial judiciary for thesurvival of democracy in ourcountry.

“Indeed, the PDP commendsthe maturity, responsivenessand patriotism displayed by theSupreme Court in arriving at itsrulings, which have resoundedamong the people not only forbeing in consonant with theirwishes and aspiration asexpressed at the elections, butalso for reviving their already

dwindling confidence in thedemocratic process and theNigerian project.’’

Verdict is call toservice— Banigo,Rivers dep gov

The Rivers State DeputyGovernor, Mrs. Ipalibo Banigo,has described the verdict as anend to distraction and a call toservice.

In a statement by her PressSecretary, Mr. Paul Damgbor,she said with litigations over, thestate government would nowconcentrate on deliveringdividends of democracy to thepeople of the state.

Banigo commended thepeople of the state for theirsupport and understandingwhile the matter was in court,adding that the administrationwill justify the collective will ofpeople of the state.

Wike, Umahi ‘ve neededboost to deliver —Mimiko

Also commenting, Chairmanof the PDP Governors Forum,Dr Olusegun Mimiko, urgedhis Ebonyi and Riverscounterparts to rev up theirperformances now that theburden of litigation has beenlifted off their shoulders.

Mimiko, in congratulatorymessages to the governors byhis Chief Press Secretary, EniAkinsola, urged them tocompensate the electorate whostood by them in the course ofthe courts proceeding withexemplary performance, saying“now is the time to settle downto work and rev up theirperformances as the burden oflitigation has finally been lifted.

“The judgements affirm thevotes you had in the electionsand attest to the love yourcitizens have for you. Theirsteadfastness through theprocess of adjudication is a signof their confidence in yourabilities to deliver on your

10 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 29 , 2016

FG should use recovered loot to build refineries — NLC

LECTURE: From left; Mrs Funke Olatubosun; Vice President, Zonta Club Ibadan; Hon. JusticeTiti Mabogunje (rtd); Prof. Olufunke Egunjobi, President Zonta Club Ibadan and Engr DunniFemi Jemilohun; guest speaker during a motivational lecture for Secondary School Girls tomark Amelia Earhart's Day organised by Zonta Club yesterday. Photos by Dare Fasube.

EXAM MALPRACTICES: WAECsanctions 30 schools in Lagos

Some participating Secondary School Girls at the lecture.

Erelu of Lagos bags ICON of truesilent mega philanthropist

LAGOS—THE West AfricanExamination Council,

WAEC, has sanctioned 30secondary schools in Lagos Stateover alleged involvement inexamination malpractices at the May/June 2015 Senior SchoolCertificate Examination, SSCE.

Meantime, the Lagos StateGovernment has concluded plansto shut any private schooloperating illegally in the state,saying “of the 11, 000 privateschools in Lagos, only 4, 000 areregistered.”

Deputy Governor of LagosState, Dr. Oluranti Adebule saidthis at a stakeholders meetingwith Proprietors and Owners ofPrivate Schools in the state heldat Alausa Secretariat, Ikeja.

Adebule said, “I am not happywith how the 2015 WAECexamination was held. 30 schoolswere caught engaging inexamination malpractices. This isnot good at all as it affects thestate in terms of national rating.”

The deputy governorlamented that a larger percentof the private schools in the statedo not employ qualified teachersand school administrators,adding that “at the end, students’outcome and performances arenegatively affected.”

According to her, “I urge schoolowners to stop cutting corners forthe sake of making money and

protect the integrity of theeducation sector.”

Adebule said “Statistics showthat we have over 11, 000private schools in the state, butonly 4, 000 are registered withthe ministry of education,meaning that many areoperating illegally in the state.”

The deputy governor said thatthe census government wouldcommence censors of privateschools in the state and

intensify regulations to ensurethat required standards areupheld.

She also promised to meet withthe tax authority to review levies,dues and taxes to makeoperations of schools easier for theproprietors.

Adebule said “We recogniseyour role in the sector and as agovernment we will ensure thatyou get all the support and weare ready to partner with you tomove the sector forward.”

LAGOS—THE Erelu ofLagos, Princess Abiola

Dosunmu, has been conferredwith an award of ICON of TrueSilent Mega Philanthropist inAfrica by the African Youth GlobalNetwork, AYGN.

The award was conferred on herin recognition of her commitmenttowards youth empowerment andother contributions to socialdevelopment in Nigeria.

In her acceptance speech, EreluDosunmu called for strategicpolicies that will empowerNigerian youths in a time like this.

According to her, “Before now,about 15 years ago, I had advisedthe then government of PresidentOlusegun Obasanjo, to put inplace mechanism that will shoreup agricultural development inthe country. I had urged for a plot

of land to be issued to some of theyouths to develop in farming, andan addition incentive to better thesupport, but they were not takenbecause none of these suggestionswere implemented.”

In addition, she said “When youthink about the huge sum of moneybeen stolen from the country, itthen troubles me to say that, if myidea were implementedjudiciously, the challenges we passthrough at this global economycrash wouldn’t have affected us thisbad, as some of the jobs are beenthreatened.”

Urging the Federal Governmentto map out strategy on the wayforward to stolen funds retrievedfrom corrupt officials, she said“When the government retrievesstolen funds from probed officials,it should be channelled todevelopment of agriculture andother sectors respectively”.

By Ediri Ejoh

...Lagos to shut 7, 000 illegal schoolsBy Monsuru Olowoopejo

By Jonah Nwokpoku

LAGOS—THE NigeriaLabour Congress,

NLC has called on the FederalGovernment to use the fundrecovered from those wholooted the treasury to build

refineries in order to meet thecountry’s energy needs.

The union made the call ata stakeholders meeting heldin Lagos on fuel subsidy andpetrol pricing in Nigeria.

Speaking at the end of themeeting, General Secretary,NLC, Dr. Peter Ozo-Eson,said: “From the discussionswe had today, it has becomeobvious that buildingrefineries is imperative forNigeria to meet its energyneeds. And we are calling onthe federal government to usethe recovered loot to buildrefineries. We do not wantNigerian workers to be usedto pay the price of Nigeria’seconomic mismanagement bythose who have had theopportunity of running thiscountry. The refineries mustwork. We must insist that thosewho ruined the economy mustbe made to pay for it.

Speaking earlier in anopening remark, factionalPresident of NLC, AyubaWabba said the stakeholdermeeting was inspired by theneed to build capacity amonglabour stakeholders to betterengage the government on itspolicies regarding fuel subsidy

MADAM TemitayoAdelaja Shogunwa,

aged 75 of the family of AdelajaShogunwa of Ikenne Remo inIkenne LGA.Ogun State has died.She died on December 6,2015.

Her social wake was heldyesterday at 5, Solomon AdekoyaStr., Ijegun rd. Ikotun, Lagos.

Funeral mass would hold todayat St. John Anglican Church,Ikotun, Lagos State. Whileinternment and entertainment ofguests will follow immidiately afterat her residence, 5,SolomonAdekoya Street, Ikotun Lagos.

Madam Temitayofor burial

Late Madam Shogunwa.

Dell upgrades open networkingsoftware range

and petrol pricing in Nigeria.

TECHNOLOGY giant,Dell has extended its

reach in Open Networking withthe introduction of OperatingSystem 10 (OS10) from DellNetworking, a next-generationnetworking software.

The new product is designedto introduce new levels ofsoftware flexibility andprogrammability in large-scaledata centre environments.

Speaking on the new product,the Vice President and GeneralManager at Dell Networkingand Enterprise Infrastructure,Tom Burns, said that the OS10platform was designed aroundnew benchmarks for opensoftware modularity so users cancreate the most efficient andflexible paths across networkedsystems.

“Modern, software-defined,

data centres require a freshapproach to operations – not justfor the network, but acrosscompute and storage elements aswell.

The solution gives customers afuture-ready springboard toinnovate their networks and datacentre infrastructure more quicklyand consistently, affordingcustomers greater efficiency andcapability at scale.” Burns said.

The solution comprises a basemodule and various optionalapplication modules. The OS10Base Module is available for freeand runs a fully-open,unmodified Linux distribution.

Below it, the OS 10 BaseModule employs the OpenCompute Project SwitchAbstraction Interface (SAI) thatenables a common, programmer-friendly language betweenvendor network operatingsystems and the particular siliconresiding on the physical switch.

By Emeka Aginam

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 2016 — 11

You sued dead people, Olubadan-in-Counciltells Seriki line

Drop charges against Jelili Atiku,group urges Lagos CP

By Ola Ajayi

How Nigeria can rise again, by Anya, Utomi, others

AS an Oyo State HighCourt began hearing of a

suit filed by Seriki royal lineagainst the Olubadan-in-Council over the appointmentof a new Olubadan ofIbadanland, counsel to thecouncil, Mr Michael FolorunsoLana, yesterday, told the courtthat the complainant had onlysucceeded in institutinglitigation against dead people.

According to him, defendantsin the case except Chief SaliuAdetunji are dead.

But, in response, counsel toSeriki Line, Mr AbideenAdeniran said they couldexclude those who are deadthrough a motion he hadalready prepared.

Since the death of the lateOlubadan of Ibadanland, ObaSamuel Odulana Odugade 1, thetraditional council has beenenmeshed in crisis over whosucceeds him.

The defendants in the caseinclude: Oba Samuel Odulana,Chief Omowale Kuye , ChiefAdeleke Ajani, Chief SaliuAdetunji and Busari Alarape.

The applicants’ counsel wasabout to present a motion to the

THANKSGIVING SERVICE: From left; Senator Anthony Adefuye; Former Chief of General Staff,Lt. Gen Oladipo Diya (retd) a Business Consultant, Chief Toyin Oyewoga and an All ProgressivesCongress APC chieftain, Alhaji Tajudeen Olusi at Senator Adefuye the 2016 New Year ThanksgivingService at his Lekki Phase 1 Lagos Residence.

court when the other counsel toldthe court that he just took over thecase and would require for somedays to react to the motion.

Mr. Adeniran said his learnedcolleague was just using a delaytactics adding that he had servedall the necessary processes six daysago wondering how much time itwould take his learned colleagueto react to it.

The court insisted that counsel toOlubadan was right to say he would

need to study it and react.Before the adjournment of

the case to February 16, 2016,the two counsel were engagedin a heated argued before theycould agree on the nextadjourned date.

While the counsel to Serikiwas praying the court for ashort adjournment date, thecounsel to Olubadan incouncil wanted the sitting tobe adjourned to March whichthe other counsel objected to.

While objecting, he beggedthe court to consider a short

adjournment date becauseof the urgency of the case .

But, the court presided overby Justice Mukhtar Abimbolawho is the Oyo State ChiefJudge, said the counselshould agree on a date.

Speaking after the court hadrisen, Counsel to Olubadan-in-Council, Mr Lana saidthere was an application that thecourt has no jurisdiction to hearthis matter and that we are notaware whether the motion hasbeen heard and the ruling orjudgment delivered”.

L A G O S — N O TA B L Escholars were yesterday

unanimous in their call formeritocracy to be entrenched in themanner Nigeria is governed inorder to have strong institutionsneeded for growth.

They also noted that theprevailing malfunctioning of thevarious institutions of the state,makes it imperative for the Federal

Character Principle to be abolished.The scholars, who took this position

in Lagos at the 79-year anniversarycolloquium in honour of Prof AnyaO. Anya, said the practice of quotasystem in Nigeria is inimical togrowth.

At the forum which was entitled:‘’Creating an Enabling Environmentfor Private Sector- Led Growth:Education, Institutions and CreativeDestruction,’’ it was agreed that whatNigeria needs in the face of the

current economic crisis is to regigit’s institutions in order to inspiregrowth.

Those at the event includeChief Emeka Anyaoku, ProfGeorge Obiozor, Prof Pat Utomi,Prof Oye Ibidapo Obe, Mr. FredAgbeyegbe, Chief LawsonOmokhodion and Mr. LaoyeJaiyeola among others.

In his remarks, Utomi, who wasthe moderator of the event, said:‘’Most agree that things wouldhave been much worse withoutthe work of the Nigeria EconomicSummit Group. Yet it is oftennoted that government has notdrawn from the conclusions ofannual economic summits orimplemented even those thingsit has committed to with the kindof discipline that will earn it anexecution premium. If institutionsthat support private sectorinvestments and reduce the dragof corruption and toll gates thatdelay permits, licenses andharassment by tax agencies arereduced, new growth can heraldthe Nigeria renewal. Political willis key to making that happen.

‘’People are upset about thecollapse of the price of crude oilbut I am extremely happy becauseit may bring the madness inNigeria to an end. We can notafford this madness until theentire citizenry is alive and awakebecause what Nigeria needs isgrowth.’’

Also speaking, Obe said: ‘’Weneed to have total commitmentto merit. The quota system and

federal character are nothelpful. They are retrogressiveeven to those who it is meantto help. There should becompetition based on merit.That is the only way to avoidthe wrath of the youths. Let usput aside primordialsentiments and think becausewe need to face facts and saythings the way they are so thatwe can move on.’’

Anya said: ‘’The panelistsfound a way of injecting theNigerian realism into thediscussion. That is good.Change will happen but it maynot be the change we areclamouring for but the one Godwants. I want young people tochose their role models wisely.In doing that they should be

THE Ooni of Ife, ObaAdeyeye Ogunwusi

yesterday commissionedseven coastal buses worthN56m to ease inter-statetransportation for the peopleof Ile-Ife and its environs.

This came as thetraditional ruler alsoannounced free medicaltreatment for the people ofthe ancient town.

Oba Ogunwusi, whilecommissioning the made-in-Nigeria buses at hispalace at Enuwa Square inIle-Ife, urged Nigerians topatronise locally madeproducts.

He stressed that thepresent economicdownturn battling Nigeriawould be reduced shouldthe citizens of the countrystarted patronisingproducts and goodsproduced locally.

The monarch said hedecided to partner withOlofin Micro FinanceBank, Ile-Ife to purchase thevehicles in order to bringabout economic growth ofIle-Ife and also easetransportation into andoutside Ife town.

He urged the people ofthe town to make good useof the free healthcare careservices saying thatdevelopment cannot thrivein a town that dwells inhealth challenges.

Speaking, the ManagingDirector of Olofin MicroFinance Bank, Mr. ToyinOlufolahan disclosed thatthe buses cost N8m each.

Ooni flags offN56m buses

...Launches freehealth care servicefor Ife people

By GbengaOlarinoye

THE Society of NigerianArtists have called on

the Commissioner of Police inLagos, Mr. Fatai Owoseni todrop the 4-count criminalcharge instituted against anartist, Jelili Atiku

The artists, under the aegisof Committee for Relevant Art(CORA) accused a traditionalruler in Lagos of instigatingthe lawsuit.

Hearing resumes onFebruary 1, 2016, against theartist, who is being arraignedon criminal charges of“constituting publicdisturbance, and inciting thepublic with his performance ofJanuary 14, 2016.”

CORA stated that the

By Charles Kumolu

accusation levelled against theartist before a Magistrate Courtis that the artist conspired withfour others to “commit felony”with his art.

Jelili Atiku, winner of the2015 edition of the PrinceClaus Prize for CultureDevelopment, was arrested onMonday, January 18, 2016,after staging a performance art.

The statement reads in part:“We are deeply worried that adisplay of a visual work of art,expressed without violence,would have been criminalisedby policemen, who arrestedand brutalised the artist, andsome others involved in theperformance of the art."

TRANSFORMING theworld’s food systems

through country-led actionpartnerships will be key tosustainably feeding over 9 billionpeople by 2050, according to anew report from the WorldEconomic Forum and DeloitteTouche Tohmatsu Limited(Deloitte Global), BuildingPartnerships for SustainableAgriculture and Food Security: AGuide for Country-Led Action.

The report was launched at theForum’s 2016 Annual Meetingin Davos.

According to Deloitte, based onthe experience of the Forum’sNew Vision for Agricultureinitiative (NVA), the report is apractical, user-friendly guide forcountry-level and global leaderswho are working to build andstrengthen multi-stakeholder

partnerships for sustainableagriculture and food security. It drawson best practices and lessons learnedfrom 19 countries in Africa, Asia andthe Americas, where partnershipscatalysed and supported by the NVAhave benefitted 9.6 million farmersto date.

“Many of the world’s most pressingchallenges, from poverty and hungerto climate change and social equality,are linked to agriculture and foodsecurity,” says Shay Eliaz, a Principalwith Deloitte United States (DeloitteConsulting LLP), who leads the teamthat worked closely with the Forumon the NVA report. “The NVAPartnership Model, which draws onthe joint experience of the NVA andDeloitte Global, outlines the NVA’sapproach which has already seensuccess in driving investment,innovation, and collaboration towardthe issues of food security,environmental sustainability, andeconomic opportunity.”

‘How food, sustainability challengescan be addressed'

12—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 2016

N-Delta militancy fuelled by failure toclean up Ogoniland —Buhari

By LevinusNwabughiogu

Ibori to Justice Minister: No Ibori loot anywhere

By Tare Youdeowei

Garden of LifeAssembly holds3-dayprogramme

THE Garden of LifeAssembly, Sapele, will

hold a three-day propheticwind programme with thetheme: By This Time at thechurch premises, 5, CrudasRoad Sapele, Delta State. The programme will fromFebruary 3-5, 2016. BishopOrovwuje Edward, founder,and other anointed men ofGod will be ministering.

By Fred Okopie

A BUJA— PRESIDENTMuhammadu Buhari,

yesterday, in Nairobi, Kenya,said that failure to clean up oilspillages in the Niger Deltaespecially in Ogoniland, wasresponsible for the militancythe region witnessed in timespast.

The president consequentlyvowed to clean up the land byimplementing the UnitedNations EnvironmentalProgramme, UNEP’srecommendations to save theland.

President Buhari made thepromise during a visit to theUnited Nations Office in theKenyan capital.

He also appealed for moresupport from the UnitedNations in the clean-up of theregion.

He said: “When I came intooffice on May 29, 2015, one ofthe first tasks I carried out wasto authorise theimplementation of therecommendations of the UNEPreport for the clean-up ofOgoniland.

“The devastation caused byoil spillage has destroyedmany lives and livelihoods andis clearly one of the reasonsmany people in that region lostfaith in government and

resorted to the many criminalactivities we are seeing in theregion today.

“The action ourgovernment took toimplement UNEP’srecommendations has giventhe indigenes of the regionhope that there are betterdays ahead. Let me,therefore, expressappreciation on behalf of the

Government of Nigeria toUNEP and otherdevelopment partners fortheir cooperation andsupport on this very delicatematter and also request fortheir continued support aswe implement therecommendations andtransform the fortunes of theregion.”

President Buhari also

applauded the outcome ofthe 21st session of theConference of the Parties(COP 21) to the UnitedNations FrameworkConvention on ClimateChange, UNFCCC, held inParis, France, in Decemberlast year.

He called for rapidurbanization as the worldpopulation increases.

FORMER Delta Stategovernor, Chief James Ibori,

has expressed shock at astatement, credited to the Ministerof Justice and Attorney-General ofthe Federation, Mr. AbubakarMalami, SAN, that about 6.9million British Pounds Sterlingwas being expected as Ibori loot.

A statement by Mr. TonyEluemunor, his Media Assistant,said “There is no Ibori lootanywhere in the world. Suchmoney, whether in British pounds,American dollars or the Nigeriannaira just does not exist. This isbecause the Ibori London trial isnot yet over. It is anincontrovertible fact that theconfiscation hearing has notstarted at all, and remains monthsaway into the future.

“This makes it disappointing thata high official of state such as theAttorney-General may have beenmisled into believing that an Iboriloot not only exists anywhere, buthe even put a figure (6.9 millionpounds) to it.

“With all due respect to theMinister and the President

Muhammadu Buhariadministration, it is curious thatsuch a misleading statementcould have come less than aweek that dozens of well-respected foreign mediaorganisations, including theBritish BroadcastingCorporation, BBC, The Times ofLondon, The Guardian ofLondon, and a host of Nigeriannews outlets reported that thecase against Ibori and hisassociates have become shakyas some operatives of theLondon Metropolitan Policehave been accused of briberyand corruption in the course oftheir investigations. Thus, at theJanuary 21, 2016 hearing, theprosecution wasforced to withdrawits case against oneof Ibori’s counsel,Mr. Bradesh Gohil.

“It had chargedGohil of leakingf a b r i c a t e ddocuments tom e d i aorganisations andmembers of( B r i t i s h )

Parliament, but Gohil turned thecase against the Police,accusing them of misleading thecourt with tainted evidence fromcorrupt operatives and ofwithholding key documentswhich could have proved policecorruption.”

Eluemunor said that heassumed that the Ministermight have been misquotedand so did not issue a rebuttalimmediately, but it was onlywhen he failed to retract thestatement after 24 hours that hedecided to give Nigerians(including the Minister) the trueperspective of the Ibori Londontrial and state categorically thatthe so called “Ibori Loot” Mr.

Abubakar Malami saw as a “lowhanging fruit ripe for plucking”must have been a terrible mirage.

“This has done nothingthough to affect in any way, thehigh regard Chief Ibori and hisMedia Office have for PresidentBuhari, his administration andministers, including the JusticeMinister, Mr. Malami. ChiefIbori wishes them well in theirstated bid to leave a betterNigeria than they found it.”

...says case not concluded

By Jimitota Onoyume

INEC fixesFebruary 6 forrerun electionsin Rivers

PORT HARCOURT—OUTGOING Resident

Electoral Commissioner inRivers State, Dame GeciliaKhan, said, yesterday, thatFebruary 6 had been fixedtentatively for the re-runelections in the state.

Khan, who used the occasionof an interaction with leadersof the various political partiesat the state headquarters of thecommission in Port Harcourt,to formerly break the news ofher transfer ahead of the rerunelections, said that the re-runelections would be conductedfor 37 elective positions in thestate.

She gave a run-down of theoffices to be contested for as22 House of Assembly seats,12 House of Representativesseats and three senatorialseats in the state.

She said that only registeredvoters for the 2015 generalelection would be allowed tovote. She put the number ofthe registered voters at2,148,289.

Meantime, the PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP andother parties, except the APCin the state have expresseddissatisfaction with theFebruary 6 date for the rerunelections, saying the time wasnot enough for parties toprepare adequately for theexercise.

VISIT: From left: Immediate Past President, UNILAG Mass Comm Alumni Association,UMCAA, Chief Lawson Omokhodion; Vice Chancellor, University of Lagos, Prof. RahamanAde Bello; President, UNILAG UMCAA, Mr. Vincent Oyo and Chairman/CEO, ChannelsTelevision, Mr. John Momoh, during a courtesy visit on the Vice Chancellor by the delegationof UMCAA, at his office in Akoka, Lagos, yesterday.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 2016—13

EFCC: Tompolo backtracks, now to appear in courtBy Emma Amaize &Kingsley Omonobi

BenedictaAgbah paseson

NEPC, AgricMinistry listpath toeconomictransformation

Pipeline attack allegations: Call Ayiri to order,Ijaw urge Buhari, Warri monarch

By Etop Ekanem

By Daniel Gumm

MRS BenedictaAgbah, daughter of

the late Osuivie of AgbarhoKingdom, Delta State, is dead,aged 63.

She retired from the DeltaState Health ManagementBoard, Agbarho.

She is survived by a widower,Chief Ejiro Agbah, children,grand children, and otherrelatives.

Late Benedicta Agbah

W A R R I — F O R M E RGeneral Officer

Commanding, GOC, Movementfor the Emanicipation of the NigerDelta, MEND, GovernmentEkpumupolo, alias Tompolo,yesterday, said he will appearbefore the Federal High Courtsitting in Lagos, which issued abench warrant for his arrest,January 14, but “at the appropriatetime.”

The bench warrant followed amotion by the Economic andFinancial Crimes Commission,EFCC, which had filed differentcharges against Tompolo, overallegation of diverting N34 billionbelonging to the NigerianMaritime and Safety Agency,NIMASA, to personal use andlaundering of N22.6 billion.

Tompolo, who spoke through hisMedia Adviser and Consultant,Mr. Paul Bebenimibo, also said hewill never commence war againstthe Federal Government havingaccepted amnesty in 2009,reiterating that he was not partyto the recent three-day bombingof crude oil and gas pipelines inDelta State.

He said: “Tompolo has no reasonto bomb pipelines because of theEFCC case. He knows he isinnocent. As he has stated onseveral occasions, he will appearin court at the appropriate time ashis lawyers are working towardsthat.

“The truth of the matter is thatTompolo does not know anythingabout the N34 billion EFCC istalking about. First, it was N13billion, now it is N34 billion. Heis not a signatory to any of thecompanies mentioned in the saidN34 billion case. So he does notknow where this one is comingfrom.”

On allegation by another ex-militant leader, AfricanusUkparasia, alias “General” Africathat he bombed pipelines,Tompolo said he alerted the publicthat some aggrieved AllProgressives Congress, APC,members in Bayesla and DeltaStates wanted to destroy nationalassets in the Niger Delta andfinger him because of the outcomeof the Bayelsa State governorshipelection.

“True to his fears, these APCchieftains that joined the partyimmediately after the presidentialelection of 2015 were the firstpeople to accuse him of bombingthe pipelines to divert publicattention from themselves.

“These new APC members, whothe former chairman of the party,Chief Bisi Akande, described asparasites, also threatened to causeproblem in the Niger Delta regionif the pipeline surveillance contractin Delta State already awarded toMessrs Ocean Marine Solutionwas not re-awarded to them.

“This is a clear testimony of theirinvolvement in the bombing of thepipelines. Since then, we all haveseen their role in misleading the

military and the general public,”he said.

Digital surveillanceMeanwhile, the Centre for

Crisis Communication, CCC,has urged the Nigerian NationalPetroleum Corporation, NNPCand other stakeholders tourgently invest in, and deploydigital system of surveillance,including drones, which has thecapacity to detect and reportanywhere pipelines aretampered with.

In a statement by its ExecutiveSecretary, Air Commodore YusufAnas (retd), the Centre alsocalled for consultations and

negotiations amongstakeholders in the regionespecially the Niger DeltaDevelopment Commission,NDDC, Traditional rulers of OilMineral ProducingCommunities, TROMCON,Nigeria National PetroleumCorporation, NNPC, the JointTask Force, JTF and youthleaders in the region with a viewto identifying the real cause ofthe recent monumentaleconomic sabotage and toproffer solutions.

Meanwhile, followingrenewed attacks on oilplatforms and gas pipelines inthe Niger Delta, the Nigerian

Navy, yesterday, commencedmodalities to train its officers andratings in the use of un-mannedmaritime vessels, UMVs, as wellas un-manned aerial vessels,UAVs, to be incorporated sooninto its operations.

Chief of Naval Staff, ViceAdmiral Ibok Ibas, who madethe disclosure at the signing ofa Memorandum ofUnderstanding, between theNigerian Navy and the IndianNavy, noted that Navy personnelfor the un-manned vesselswould be trained in India with aview to enhancing surveillancecapability.

OPOROZA communityin Warri South-West

Local Government Area ofDelta State, has said thatChief Emami Ayiri’s allegedinstigation of the Joint TaskForce, JTF, against the Ijawand insinuations that ChiefGovernment Ekpemupolo,alias Tompolo, was themastermind of the recent oilpipelines vandalism in thearea, could trigger anotherItsekiri versus Ijaw crisis.

Chairman of Oporoza,headquarters of communitiesin Gbaramatu Kingdom, Mr.Johnbull Demebi, therefore,appealed to PresidentMuhammadu Buhari andOgiame Ikenwoli I, the Oluof Warri, to call Ayiri to order.

Demebi, who also urgedPresident Buhari to reject thealleged plan to scrap theNigerian MaritimeUniversity, Okerenkoko, saidthat Ayiri should not beallowed to cause another

Ijaw and Itsekiri war.“Both the Itsekiri and the

Ijaw have resolved to live inpeace following the 1997—2003 crisis in Warri area. Wedo not want disruption of thepeace in any form,” Demebisaid.

Alleging that Ayiri hadsubsisting hatred for

Tompolo and the Ijaw,Demebi said his hastyaccompaniment of the JTF toinspect bombed oil pipelinescould only have amounted topropagation of self-servinginterest. Demebi maintainedthat the security forces shouldhave done their independentassessment at the beginning.

AS the presenta d m i n i s t r a t i o n

intensifies efforts to drive theeconomy through agriculture,the Nigerian Export PromotionCouncil, NEPC and theFederal Ministry ofAgriculture, yesterday,proffered ways to transformthe sector as a key sector forjob creation, food security andforeign exchange earner.

Speaking in his office,yesterday, when he receivedthe Executive Director/ChiefExecutive Officer of NEPC,Mr Olusegun Awolowo, whowas on a courtesy visit, theMinister, Chief Audu Ogbe,lamented that the country hadnot been able to achieve thefull potentials of the sectorwhen compared to itsabundant human and naturalresources, especially in theagriculture and solid mineralsectors.

The Minister announcedplans to organise a nationalagricultural summit aimed atengaging the youths to gettheir buy-in and change theorientation that agriculturewas only meant for never-do-wells in the society even as hecommended NEPC forarticulating a zero oil plan tosupport the rapiddiversification of the nation’seconomy through non-oilexports.

Noting that although therewere several inhibitions toachieving a totaldiversification from oil to non-oil, the Minister was, however,optimistic that the challengeswere not insurmountable.

Delta to implement educationsummit report

By Festus Ahon

ASABA—DELTA StateCommissioner for

Higher Education, Mr JudeSinebe, has said that therecommendations of the stateEducation Summit would beimplemented to the latter.Sinebe, while fieldingquestions from newsmenduring the two-day educationsummit held in Asaba, said thatthe state government efforts togrow knowledge-basedeconomy in the state requiresthe support of all stakeholders

in the education sector tosucceed.

Saying that standardassurance was key to realisingthe set goal, he said that thesummit had brought togethercritical stakeholders to discussways of moving the educationsector to meet the demands ofthe 21st century.

Meanwhile, some members ofthe Delta State House ofAssembly, said the legislativearm will enact enabling laws togive force to the resolutionsreached at the two day educationsummit.

JUBILATION: PDP supporters jubilating over the outcome the Supreme Court judgmenton Rivers State governorship election in Port Harcourt, yesterday.

CMYK

14 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 29 , 2016

ERELU ABIOLA DOSUNMU RECEIVES AWARDIN LAGOS. Photos by Shola Oyelese.

Erelu Abiola Dosumu receiving her award from Mr EmmanuelApiah,Coordinator AYGN Accra, Ghana, Mr Paul Atsou Kekeh,Country Repand Mr Kossi Dosey, Asst Coordinator, Ivory Coast.

Erelu Abiola Dosumu receiving her award from Mr Emmanuel Apiah, CoordinatorAYGN, Accra, Ghana (centre) and Mr Paul Atsou Kekeh, Country Rep.

Erelu Abiola Dosumu displaying the Nelson Mandela Pan-African ExemplaryLeadership Honour 2016 Icon of True Silent Mega Philantropist in Africa awardpresented to her by African Youth Global Network (AYGN) in Lagos yesterday. Withher is Mrs Remmy Diagbare, Vanguard Allure Editor (4th left) and the AYGN team.

Erelu Dosumu presenting a copy of Lagos Legacy Honour book to theCountry representative, Mr Paul Atsou Kekeh during the ceremony.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 29 , 2016 — 15

BIAFRA: MASSOB to open liaison offices in S-East, N-Delta

By Ugochukwu Alaribe

Uwazuruikemoves toentrenchsecessionclause inBiafraConstitution

....Debunks bid to colonise S-South region

By Emman Ovuakporie &Johnbosco Agbakwuru

By NwabuezeOkonkwo

ABUJA—THE Bureau ofPublic Procurement,

BPP, yesterday said the $470million contract awarded bythe late President MusaYar ’Adua’s administrationfor the procurement andinstallation of Close CircuitTelevision, CCTV, in Lagosand Abuja did not follow dueprocess.

The Director General ofBPP, Emeka Ezeh, disclosedthis at an investigativehearing by the House ofRepresentatives Ad-hocCommittee set up by theSpeaker, Yakubu Dogara, tounravel the circumstances ofthe award of the contract andthe failure of ZTECorporation to complete the

ABA—MOVEMENT for theActualization of Sovereign

States of Biafra, MASSOB,yesterday, said it would openliaison offices in the South Eastand Niger Delta areas which itdescribed as territories of Biafra.

Addressing more than 3,000members of the group during asensitization tour of Aba region,Abia State, Leader of MASSOB,Chief Solomon Chukwu, whonoted that MASSOB wasfounded in Aba from where itspread to other cities, said theopening of liaison offices wouldhelp coordinate its activities andspread the gospel of nonviolence in the struggle for theactualization of an independentstate of Biafra.

He contended that thereception he got during his visitsto Ogoni, Ugep, Uyo, Ogoja,Warri, Ikom, Aba, among others,had assured him that the peopleof the former Eastern regionwere united in the agitation toactualize Biafra.

According to him, “We areopening liaison offices in allcities, regions and states of theBiafran territory. We need toacquaint MASSOB memberswith what we are doing, wedon’t want violence. We don’twant to lose anybody or shedblood in the name of Biafra. We

ONITSHA—THE BiafraI n d e p e n d e n c e

Movement, BIM,yesterday, said it hadperfected arrangement toentrench secession clausein the constitution of Biafraas was obtained in SWISSworking document.

He said the document,said “any region that isdissatisfied with how thefederation is run can secedewithout interference.”

The newly appointedBiafra Director ofInformation, Mazi ChrisMocha, in statement a inOnitsha, Anambra State,after a joint specialmeeting of BIM/MASSOBin Rumuekini communityin Obio/Akpor LocalGovernment Area of RiversState, said BIM observedthat because of goodgovernance in Switzerland,many decades after thecountry's independence, noregion had ever indicatedits interest to break away.

Mocha noted that theissue of secession clausewas discussed extensivelyand agreed upon duringthe joint special meetingattended by Chief MondayDibia, Okolo Mba, RSMNwafor and the NewMASSOB leader, SolomonChukwu among others.

ENUGU—THE Movementfor In a related development,

MASSOB, yesterday, dismissedinsinuation of championing thecourse of Biafra secession tocolonise the south-southgeopolitical zone given its hugeoil resources.

MASSOB was reacting to astatement credited to SagirMohammed wherein hedescribed the agitation for Biafraas a desperate ploy to colonizethe south-south region and tapthe crude oil reserves as itseconomic mainstay.

Frowning at the comment,Leader of MASSOB, UchennaMadu, in a statement said:“MASSOB can never beintimidated, disorganized orshaken because of somedisgruntled, frustrated,confused, defeated people likeSagir Mohammed who infrustration, alleged that NdiIgbo wants to capture andcolonize the people of south-south with Biafra.

“MASSOB, IndigenousPeoples of Biafra, IPOB, andLower Niger Congress, LNC,with our affiliates in Diasporaare more determined, consistentand articulated for Biafraactualization not minding thecries of Sagir Mohammed andhis likes. We are not in the Biafra

have fought civil war and manypeople died; but in this era, wewill achieve Biafra through nonviolence. What we are doingnow is to continue to state ourcomplaints to the EuropeanUnion, African Union and otherinternational unions. We needfreedom. Some of them havesaid a referendum should beconducted in Nigeria, but weknow that those who have beensabotaging Biafra are still atwork. We won’t be deterred

because Biafra is at hand. I’mhappy the people of the formerEastern region now understandthemselves and are workingtogether to actualize Biafra.

“Those who collect money tosabotage Biafra knowthemselves. They will soon covertheir faces in shame. It is like thatin every struggle for freedom andliberation worldwide. TheGovernors, Senators,Representatives and otherpolitical leaders of South Eastand South-South origin arefeeding from the Nigerian

government and cannot workagainst it. But we, the people atthe grassroots; the owners ofBiafra, we want freedom.”

Earlier, the National Director ofInformation, MASSOB, ChiefSunny Okereafor, while reactingto an allegation by the UchennaMadu faction that Chief RalphUwazuruike, was planning toattack MASSOB headquarters inOkwe, Onuimo council area ofImo State, dismissed the report asfalse stories being spread byexpelled members and warnedthem to stop using the name ofthe organization.

$470m CCTV contract award didn't follow due process—BPP

By Francis Igata struggle to colonize our south-south brethren but todecolonize them from Hausa,Fulani, Yoruba oligarchy whohave held them captives fordecades, subjected our brothersand sisters into slavery as wasmeted to Ndigbo.

“90 per cent oil wells in Niger

Delta were owned by thesecriminal parasites of northernoligarchy. Today, the Fulani arecrying fowl because they haveno stake again as Nigeria is innear collapse under theleadership PresidentMuhammad Buhari. The peopleof eastern region are wiser now,

formidable, united, focused anddetermined for survival,emancipation and independenceof Biafra. Igboland is not lockedas alleged by Sagir Mohammed.The people and land of south-eastregion are more developed individuallythan the entire 19 states of northernNigeria."

•We delivered best video surveillance system to FG—ZTE

contract.The BPP Director-General

told the Ahmed Yerima-ledcommittee that his office didnot issue certificate of noobjection in the award.

But the former DG ofNigComSat, Ahmed Rufa’i,said award of the contract wasthrough a presidentialapproval, contending that itwas not all issues, especiallythose that had to do with thesecurity of the country, thatshould pass through the BPPdue to its implications.

Rufa’i told the committeethat there was no problemwith the award of the projectwhich he said was completedbut that the government didnot provide money for theoperational cost for it tofunction.

He added that in the

Procurement Act, the Presidenthad discretionary powers toapprove procurement withoutgoing through the BPP.

Chinese telecom giant, ZTE,in its submission, denied anywrong doing in the executionof the National Public SecurityCommunication System,NPSCS, project.

ZTENigeria Managing Director,Mr. Had Fuqiang, said itcompleted and delivered what itdescribed as one of the world’s bestVideo Surveillance System, VSS,to the Federal Government.

Fuqiang said: “Contrary to publicperception, the project was not tomerely install cameras but oneconceived to deploycomprehensive, reliable, modernand robust National Public SecurityCommunications System, NPSCS.

‘’The NPSCS project is made up

of five components or subsystems.”The Managing Director of BPP,

Mr. Ezeh had in his submissionsaid BPP did not recognize theexistence of any contract for theinstallation of CCTV cameras inLagos and Abuja by the Ministryof Police Affairs.

“The contract for the installationof CCTV Cameras in Abuja andLagos under the National PublicSecurity Communication Systemproject was not processed at theBureau of Public Procurement priorto award. In other words, theproject was not issued a dueprocess certificate of no objectionby the BPP.

“Considering the purported costof contract in US$470 million, thecontract ought to have beenaccompanied with a certificate ofno objection issued by the BPP."

UNVEILING: From left: Mr. Olivier Thiry, MD, Promasidor Nigeria Ltd, Prof. NgoziNnam, guest speaker/Dean, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Mr FestusTettey, Head, Marketing, Promasidor Nigeria, Mr Andrew Enahoro, Head, Legal & PublicRelations Manager, Promasidor Nigeria, during the unveilling of a new Promasidor product,in Lagos. Photo: Kehinde Gbadamoisi.

CMYK

16—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 2016

REHABILITATION OF FEDERAL ROADS:Enugu Assembly appeals toFG for refund of N25bn

By Francis Igata

Anambra to build N2bn truck parksBy Vincent Ujumadu

Senate wades into NAFDAC excodeployment saga

By Franklin Alli

AWKA—ANAMBRAState Government

yesterday said it wouldconstruct four speciallydesigned motor parks fortrucks in four border townsin the state as part ofmeasures to restrict theirmovement.

The parks are to be sitedin Onitsha, Amoka inIhiala local governmentarea, Ogbunka in OrumbaSouth Local GovernmentArea and Amansea in AwkaNorth Local GovernmentArea.

Commissioner forT r a n s p o r t ,Dr.Ifeanyichukwu Ejikeme,said in Awka that the stategovernment was alsodetermined to restrictarticulated vehicles fromplying roads in the statebetween 6a.m. and 7 p.m.to reduce road carnage inthe state.

According to thecommissioner, once thetruck parks were in place,it would be easy to enforce

ABUJA—ONGOINGbrawl over

deployment of topexecutives at the NationalAgency for Food and DrugAdministration andControl, NAFDAC, mayhave taken a newdimension with theintervention of the NationalAssembly.

The legislativeintervention came with aletter signed by the Clerk

LAGOS—ABIA YouthTeam, AYT, has faulted

the recent judgment of theAppeal Court, whichdeclared the AllProgressives GrandAlliance, APGA, candidate,Mr. Alex Otti, the winnerof Abia State governorshipelection.

President of AYT, PrinceObinna Ehumadu, whospoke during a protest inLagos, asked the SupremeCourt to set aside theDecember 31, 2015, rulingof the Appeal Court, whichnullified the election ofOkezie Ikpeazu citing

ENUGU—THE EnuguState House of

Assembly has passed amotion appealing to theFederal Government torefund the N25.9 billion,the state government spentfor the rehabilitation offederal roads in the state.

The motion, sponsored byChinedu Nwamba,representing Nsukka EastConstituency and 18others, was seconded byElochukwu Ugwueze,representing Igbo-EzeSouth.

Nwamba while movingthe motion stated that therequest was not out ofplace, “since such exercisehas taken place in someother states of Anambra andGombe.”

He noted that moneyspent on those roads couldhave been directed to thedevelopment of otherspheres in the State,lamenting that “its nonreimbursement has actuallyhampered thedevelopment of othersectors like agriculture,commerce, industry,education, tourism, amongothers.

“We are constrained tomake this appeal afterwaiting for about two yearsin which the roads wererehabilitated without anyreimbursement from theFederal Governmentdespite series of efforts andappeals put in place fromdifferent quarters.”

He recalled that theEnugu State Government

drew the FederalGovernment’s attention inthe past, which he saideventually necessitated thesetting up of a monitoringand verification committeeby the then Minister ofWorks, Architect MikeOnolememen.

The road projects, whichwere embarked upon by theadministration of formerGovernor Sullivan Chime,included New MarketRoundabout to Agu Aborinterchange, EnuguAbakiliki DualCarriageway, 9th Mile-Ngwo-Milken Hill-NewMarket Road andr e c o n s t r u c t i o n /rehabilitation of 9th Mile-Udi-Oji River-Ugwuoba-Anambra State border,among others.

of the National Assembly,Salisu Maikasuwa, datedDecember 15, 2015 andaddressed to the Secretaryto the Government of theFederation, SGF, urginghim to regularise thepostings made recently atNAFDAC.

The letter also urged himto bring the development atNAFDAC to the attentionof President MuhammaduBuhari and other relevantgovernment agencies.

In the letter Maikasuwasaid the Senate had sat anddeliberated on the report onthe petition againstNAFDAC’s recentexecutive deployments andresolved that “Mrs. EstherAmuta be immediatelyrestored to her position asthe temporary Head/Deputy Director in chargeof FSAN (Food Safety andApplied Nutrition)Directorate, pending theappointment of asubstantive Director to thatposition.”

the order restricting theirmovements, explainingthat Governor WillieObiano had wanted theorder to take effect from thismonth, but for logisticschallenges.

He said the state

Attorney- General andcommissioner for Justice,Mr. Anali Chude wasalready working on a billto be sent to the House ofAssembly for passage togive the restriction therequired legal teeth.

Group faults A-Courtruling against Ikpeazu

By Ikenna Asomba inconsistency in the votescast in three LocalGovernment Areas ofOsisioma, Obingwa andIsi-Alangwa.

According to him, “Weare here because of equityand justice. We are here tomake our voices known toAbians and Nigerians thatthe votes of the good peopleof Abia State must count.The rights of the peoplemust be respected becausewe are in a democraticsystem of governance. Weare showing solidarity withour Governor OkezieIkpeazu, to tell whole worldthat he is already aperformer."

CMYK

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 2016 —17

Responses to:donzol2002@yahoo.co.ukor to 0802 747 6458 OR0811 675 9752 (texts only).PLEASE KINDLY NOTETHAT UNLESS YOU RE-QUEST ANONYMITY,YOUR COMMENTS MAYBE PUBLISHED, WITHYOUR NAMES AND CON-TACT DETAILS AT-TACHED.

No money!I’VE spent the past three months

in London. And while I wasaway, I regularly received phonecalls from friends and relativeswho are based in various Nige-rian states.

Some of these friends andrelatives are staunch PDPsympathisers who voted for ex-President Jonathan during lastyear’s election, while others arestaunch APC sympathisers whovoted for President Buhari.

But they all have one thing incommon: Whether they blameJonathan or Buhari for the

country’s myriad economicwoes, they are all bitterly com-plaining about the fact that thereis “no money in the system” andseriously worried about the fu-ture.

When I flew into Abuja onMonday, I was in a fairly buoy-ant frame of mind. But I wasimmediately struck by the dis-

mal atmosphere; and I haven’t yetmet any Abuja resident or habituewho has cheered me up withpositive news.

At best, people are wearilyphilosophical and praying thatless stressful times will eventuallymaterialise; and I must tell youthat 4 days after my arrival in acapital city that used to buzz with

irrepressible energy andunbridled optimism, I haveceased to feel fairly buoyant andhave descended into a deep de-pression!

Matters have not been helpedby the fact that when I decided –two days ago – to raid my Nige-rian bank account, so I could sendsome pocket money to my son,

who is studying in the UK, I wastold that the naira/sterling ex-change rate was 427:1.

Four Hundred And Twenty-seven To One?! AbsolutelyUnbelievable! It wasn’t so longago that the exchange rate wasonly 250:1. And it’s the same storywith dollars and other foreigncurrencies.

Meanwhile, a few prophetsof doom (who own companies orhave financial sector jobs andsound as if they know what theyare talking about) have assuredme that things will get worserather than better, not least be-cause of plunging oil prices.

The status quo is very fright-ening for those of us who haveoverseas commitments but aren’trich enough to cope with a crazy,out-of-control scenario like this.

And it can’t be good for entre-preneurs either. When will thismess end?

President Buhari travels a lot.And I wish he would travel lessbecause even if his physical pres-ence will not miraculously elevatethe economy overnight, domes-tic challenges are more impor-tant than international PR at themoment; and I will feel safer if hestays home and concentrates ongetting us out of this slough ofdespair.

Rivers State judgement

ON Wednesday, the Supreme Court overturned an

Appeal Court ruling and con-firmed Nyesom Wike, a PDP stal-wart, as the Governor of RiversState…thereby dashing thehopes of the APC candidate,Dakuku Peterside (whom I sup-ported).

Frankly, I’m extremely shockedbecause I traversed Rivers Stateduring the run-up to last year’sgubernatorial election and on theactual election day; and whilethere were exceptions to the ruleand parts of the state (my villagein Ogoniland, for example)where PDP supporters behavedacceptably, I think it is fair to saythat chronic irregularities werethe norm and that violence waswidespread.

One would have thought thatthe Supreme Court judges wouldhave listened to the witnesses thatthe APC presented and insistedthat an election that was somarred by logistical imperfec-tions, fraud and fatalities should

Readers’ responsesexplore, exploit and sell the oiland gas in their lands.

08075493437 Irikefe EricksDear Donu, your piece on solid

mineral issues will only makesense if ministers of petroleumwill also permit states to explorethe crude oil in their domains.

I passionately agree with bothof these readers. I have longbelieved in Resource Control andwill be thrilled to the point of sheerecstasy if oil-producing statesacquire much more power andcan control the wealth that flowsfrom their ancestral lands andcreeks…and quit being so be-holden to the Federal Authori-ties.

But let’s face it: Resource

Control within a hydrocarboncontext is a revolutionary idea byNaija standards; and it is notlikely to be actualized in my life-time or yours!

•Dakuku

•Wike

be re-run. But the justices de-cided to let sleeping dogs lieand to let Wike continue for thenext 4 or 8 years;

On reflection, the PDP is notinconsequential in Rivers State;and it is possible that Wike (aseasoned grassroots populist)would have won anyway, evenif re-run had been ordered andeven if the re-run had been com-pletely devoid of skulduggery.

And I can only plead with Wiketo clean up his administration,get rid of dubious and danger-ous elements, focus on honestservice delivery and prove scep-tics like me wrong by becominga great leader who unites thewarring factions in our state.

As for Dakuku Peterside, he isa decent young man who stillhas a lot to offer Nigeria; and Ihope that Mr President willkindly offer him a senior Fed-eral-level role that will enablehim to contribute significantlyto our collective wellbeing.

LAST week, I expressed approval of the fact that the

Minister in charge of solid miner-als, Dr Kayode Fayemi, had dis-closed that state governments arenow free to explore and exploitmineral deposits in their domains,provided they do so in a legalmanner that won’t interfere withlocations already given to otherstakeholders.

Two Vanguard readers re-

sponded as follows: 08033397921 AnonymousIf states will be allowed to ex-

plore and exploit mineral re-sources in their states againstSection 1 of the Minerals andMining Act of 2007, oil and gasstates should also be allowed to

18 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 2016

OPINIONLest we rail against the rule of lawLest we rail against the rule of lawLest we rail against the rule of lawLest we rail against the rule of lawLest we rail against the rule of law

By Emeka Odikpo

•Mr. Odikpo, a legal practitioner, wrotefrom Lagos.

IMAGINE being involved in the typicalMotor Vehicle versus Commercial

Motorcycle accident. In this country that isa clear invitation to jungle justice againstthe driver of the Motor vehicle. It does notmatter whose misadventure caused theaccident. It matters not whether the “Okada”driver is clearly high on drugs or alcohol. Itmatters not that the “Okada” driver wasdriving against the traffic at breath takingspeed. The verdict of the mob of fellowmotorcycle drivers is always against thedriver of the car. They will descend on thecar and pulverize it. If the motorcycle driverdied from the accident, the car driver will belucky to escape with his life. That is the veryanti thesis of the rule of law. What happensis the rule of the lynch mob. Guilty without ahope of ever being proven innocent. Theeffect of this crazy practice has led to thedeath of many a motorcyclist. The car drivernever waits for the mob to gather. He escapesto the nearest police station abandoning themotorcyclist that he would ordinarily havetaken to hospital. That is the effect of therule of the lynch mob. The suspect has nochoice than to run or fight to save his life.

Move over illiterate commercialmotorcyclists. In their stead we now havewell educated Nigerians baying for blood ofthe allegedly corrupt. The remarkablecharacter trait of these educated Nigerians

is that they are partisan to the hilt.Corruption is only corruption when it allegedagainst the political party they detest. Whenmembers of their preferred political party,or sometimes their preferred wing of apolitical party are cited for corruption, theywave the allegations away with surprisingease. These set of supposedly educatedNigerians are currently at the forefront ofencouraging the present government todisobey court orders and abuse the rule oflaw. It does not appear to occur to them thatkey members of this present government areactually beneficiaries of the presumption ofinnocence; a very key adjunct of the rule oflaw. It appears to escape their mind that bailprovisions under our constitution and lawsare clearly directed at preserving theconstitutional rule on presumption ofinnocence of an accused person.

From the allegory of the motorcycleaccident above, certain lessons are clear. Itis the rule of law that ensures that suspectsreport to the EFCC and the Police when theyare invited. It is precisely because of theprospect of the observance of the rule of lawthat ensured that even a suspect like SamboDasuki remained in Nigeria to be arrested.

If it was apparent that the rule of law will beobserved in the breach, the man would havebeen thousands of miles away before anarrest was even contemplated. It is exactlythe rule of law that made Chief Olisa Metuhto positively report himself to the EFCC uponhis invitation. He could have re-invented theNADECO route if he had doubts about theapplication of the rule of law to theallegations levied against him. The rule oflaw is that indescribable right that allowsan educated Nigerian to stand up to theDivisional Police Officer, who is attemptingto play god, and demand for his case to becharged to court. It is this same vilified ruleof law that ensured that Governor Nasir ElRufai was not sent to the gulag without trialon the allegations made against him abouthis tenure as FCT head. It is this same ruleof law that protected Senator Bola AhmedTinubu when the charges of failing to declarehis assets properly were raised against him.

The rule of law is at the foundation of everydemocracy. Mobs, even media lynch mobsare extremely hysterical. They have no timefor the niceties of the contents of the law.Their only interest is to muscle the story oftheir victim and exact their pound of flesh.Such lynch mobs cannot be allowed in anydemocracy. Even during militarygovernments, the rule of law was actuallyobserved, that is apart from when thenotorious decree no 2 was introduced in1984. That unfortunate decree allowed thegovernment of the day to detain any personindefinitely and without any declared reason.Otherwise, in the other military governmentsthat Nigeria has unfortunately experienced,

the semblance of the rule of law wasmaintained. Apart from that era, othermilitary governments at least attempted tocomply with court orders and most of thenecessary adjuncts of the rule of law.

The greatest enemies of PresidentMohammadu Buhari are those advisinghim to jettison the constitutional rule of lawthat he swore to uphold. The President didnot do himself any credit with his commentson the allegations of breaches of the rule oflaw in the Sambo Dasuki and Nnamdi Kanucases. The men advising the President todisregard court orders actually want ourPresident to execute a leap from theconstitutional order he is presiding into anunconstitutional and clearly unchartedterritory. The very concept of a civiliandemocratic government brazenly refusingto comply with court orders will go to theroot of the whole system. It even legitimisesa retaliatory contempt of the rule of law byother competing power blocs. Our Presidentmust be advised to empower more robustlegal teams to argue the case on behalf ofthe State. If despite the strong advocacy bythe State, the court reaches a conclusion thatis at variance with the contention of the State,our President and indeed the other agenciesof his government have absolutely no choicethan to obey the verdict of the court.Continued observance of the rule of law isactually in the enlightened self interest ofthe President, as that is the only moral andlegal force that empowered him to presideover our affairs in the first place.

Continued observance ofthe rule of law is actually inthe enlightened self interestof the President

Monetary Policy Committee,MPC of the Central Bank of Nige-ria, CBN met early this week andobserved that the last episode oflow oil prices in 2005 lasted for amaximum period of eight months.The current episode of lower oilprices it said is projected to remainover a very long period warningthat it is imperative for Nigeriansto brace up for a longer period oflow government revenues from oilsources, which would necessitatehard and uncomfortable choices asthe economy transits to more sus-tainable sources of revenue, con-sistent with the economic realitiesand strategic objectives of thecountry.

We agree with the Committeethat in the circumstance facing thecountry, certain tradeoffs must beenvisaged and duly accommodated.

But given the situation, the im-perative for consistently sound andcoordinated macroeconomic policyhas become inevitable. As stated bythe committee the need to allowpolicy to produce the desired out-

comes becomes a key considerationin policy mix. The foreign ex-change market has become conten-tious.

Nigerian firms and foreign inves-tors have complained that they can-not get hard currency to fund es-sential imports such as food or ma-chinery spare parts. Foreign stockand bond market investors havebecome reluctant to put money intoNigeria because they assume itwill have to devalue its currencyeventually. All these are the argu-ment pushing for the devaluationof the naira.

The CBN decision to stop sellingdollars to foreign exchange bu-

CBN’s MPC forex policy needsurgent fine tuning

reaus, because there is not enoughforeign exchange has also spark offfuror in the market.

Nigerians are optimistic that theeconomy will stabilise soon withthe efficient implementation ofmeasures and policies that havebeen introduced by current admin-istration. While to an averageeconomist the necessary conditionfor devaluation are in the Nigeri-an horizon, they really are not suf-ficient for a government interest-ed in the over all welfare of its cit-izens. Devaluation of the curren-cy will inflict more hardship on thepoor citizens of Nigeria who al-ready had doses of penury. Nige-ria is not an export driven econo-

my and can not profit over all fromdevaluation. It is export-driveneconomies that could benefit fromdevaluation of their currencies,Naira devaluation would only re-sult in further inflation and hard-ship for the poor and middle class-es in Nigeria’s import-dependenteconomy.

How ever, hoping that the econ-omy will improve soon, the CBNshould as a matter of urgency comeout with its announced plan tofine-tuning the framework for for-eign exchange management witha view to ensuring a more effectiveand liquid foreign exchange mar-ket. This is needed to ensure anenhanced funding of the marketand the removal of all forms of rentseeking activities. We agree thatdevaluation will not benefit the na-tion now, Government must workhard on tax revenue and diversifi-cation of the economy. This willbring permanent solution to thiscycle of revenue crisis when everoil prices crash in the internation-al market.

VANGUARD, FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 2016—————1919191919

CMYK

Send Opinions & Letters to:opinions1234@yahoo.com

*Mr Udegbe, a lawyer, can be reachedat ceeaai@yahoo.com.

Between Okerenkoko, Aso rock, and the rest of us

OKERENKOKO, is a town in Ijaw landin the Niger Delta region, where

former President Goodluck EbeleJonathan, GEJ, performed the groundbreaking ceremony for the NigerianMaritime University on the 10th May2014.It has a Pro-Chancellor, with aUniversity Council, and should take offthis year with full academic activities asapproved by the National UniversitiesCommission. The University operatesfrom a temporary site in a town calledKurutie, near Okerenkoko, a major townin Gbaramatu Kingdom, which was oneof the centres of Niger Delta militancy inthe days of former military Head of State,GAA to former President OlusegunObasanjo, OBJ.

Between these two former occupants ofAso Rock, the Naval Maritime trainingactivities in Owerri, Imo State, in theSouth East, was ‘stepped down’ to Yenegoa,Bayelsa, in the Niger Delta, to beupgraded to a Maritime University as partof the deal to settle the militants and keepthe creeks safe for the milking of Crudeoil, our national main stay.

Ndigbo and Imolites did not say a word,and if they did, no one listened, as it hadbecome usual, with Ndigbo matters inNigeria. In any case, the institution wasleaving Igboland to a brother region, theNiger Delta, so no qualms, and no badfeelings.

Late President Yar Ardua, approved thefinal Amnesty to Militants, some of whominclude Ateke Tom, Asari Dokugbo, andGovernment Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo,to name a few, who were at the time underdetention and the Niger delta region wasvery tensed.

Part of the deal was the setting up of theMinistry of Niger Delta Affairs, theempowerment of the key Militants invarious ways to re-integrate them into thesystem for gainful and peaceful living, andthe Maritime University to be located inthat region.

Asari Dokugbo set up a University inRepublic of Benin, while Tompolo set upthe Mieka Dive Training Institute ( aMaritime Institute) at Kuritie, whichGovernment bought under GEJ for thetakeoff of the maritime university atOkerekoko.

Tompolo, fortunately and unfortunately,also was given the contract for thesurveillance of oil pipelines in the region.

It was fortunate for him because he wasmaking money buying gun boats etc, butit was unfortunate because this is a countrywhere the rich and mighty do very dirty

things under cover to make money,including stealing of the crude oil, soTompolo stepped on their toes. They criedout against him, from Niger Delta, SouthWest, and the north, but not one Igbo manspoke a word against, because Ndigbo,like GEJ, focused more on the need to stopthe stealing of our crude oil, than on whodid the job, or took the benefits. So thesebig guns waited, till the pharaoh who didnot know Joseph came to power in 2015.

Now the fight against corruption, hasfound a bed mate, in unbridled appetitefor Power and on the bed of divided voicesfrom the Niger Delta, the two are goingfor a great sexual rumpus, while the oilthieves are peeping, watching, directingand clapping!

That is why the whole deal must first,under this fight against corruption, beinvestigated such that Tompolo will paydearly for his sins, by losing all he madefrom the deals, from the University to thesurveillance jobs, but unknown to all ofthem, the kite was hovering in the sky tocarry away the Maritime University fromtheir region.

It is perhaps why in spite of Tompolo’sspirited denials, they have pinned, orintend to pin the recent blow up of oil pipesin that region on him.

Their argument and perhaps reasoningis simple;Why did the blow ups start aftera bench warrant was issued for his arrestby a Federal High Court in Lagos? If thewitch cries in the night and the child diesin the morning, who does not know that itwas the witch that killed the child, theyask? Vengeance against Tompolo may beresponsible, but government does notappear willing to dig deeper to unearththe criminals.

Those of them in the Niger Delta Region,

who want power at all cost, if only tohumiliate their former boss GEJ, must beused to do the bad job, and to make it looklike normal, NIMASA must be attackedand possibly killed, so that the issue ofkilling the university at Okerekoko willbe a small matter.

The facility that left Imo state, in 1998,to Niger Delta, is now ripe and ready tolift to the north, driven and flown by greed,and power, all occasioned by NigerDeltans themselves.

Those of them who have just woken upto realise the real issues at stake havestarted shouting and kicking feebly, butthey do not understand their master, whois very far ahead of them all.

Their cries will end up like that of thechick caught by a hawk, that cries for theworld to hear its voice knowing that it’scaptor will never set it free! Are the signsof the times not clearly discernible? I thinkthey are. First, an Army Commanderannounces that given the opportunity, hewould destroy the whole area, to make theOdi cleansing under OBJ, a child’s play.But the world when Odi genocidehappened is not the same today. The ICChas become more empowered to deal withsuch killings, and who knows if someonewill not one day send Odi matter to theICC.

Second, the government now asksleaders of the area, to produce the oilpipeline vandals, and what happens if theyrefuse as they appear to be doing? In theBible, the Isrealites once out of fear,handed over their champion and strongman Samson, to the Philistines, to havetheir peace. The Philistines gorged outSamson’s two eyes, humiliated him, andused him as an object of entertainment,yet it was the same Samson that killed theking and so many Philistines in theirhistory of wars. Let those who have earshear.

By Clement Udegbe

ETHIOPIA is primarily in thenews this week, but not

because it is hosting the on-goingAfrican Union (AU) Heads of StateSummit. Rather, it is about twoworrying developments. Theadvancing drought for whichneeded international funds are inshort supply and an estimated350,000 newborns are expected indrought-affected communitiesbetween March and August, 2016.The other reason is the renewedviolent protests by the Oromo inwhich 140 souls have beendispatched by security forces toearly graves.The protests are not coming to meand other Ethiopia watchers as asurprise. I told myself in 2013 aftera visit to the holiday resort town ofDebre Zeyit, a picturesque havenwith five crater lakes, that violentreaction was not far from thesurface. At the resort, I gotconfused after realising that Iwas actually in Bishoftu, and thesignboards were there to announcewhere I actually was. Myconfusion was cleared when I waseducated that the two names werefor one and the same town. Theofficial name for many years;Debre Zeyit was the Amharic name

Ethiopia can still be savedfrom bloodshed

which is the official language ofthe country, while the inhabitantswho are Oromo insist on thetraditional name, Bishoftu. I dugdeeper, and found that all the wayfrom the resort to Addis Ababa, thecapital, shops and businesses havetwo names; one written in theofficial language, and the other inOromo. This was a show of Oromonationalism. The Oromo whoconstitute 40 percent of theEthiopian population feelmarginalised, oppressed andrepressed. They think theirlanguage and culture have beenrelegated to the background.The immediate trigger of theprotests is government decision toimplement an Addis Ababa MasterPlan which would further expandthe capital and develop theoutlining farmlands near it into abusiness zone. But the Oromo whoown those lands will have none ofit. They see the plan as an attemptby other ethnic groups to seizemore of their lands. The protestingOromo have not forgotten that theyare the original owners of thecapital before they wereconquered by the ChristianAbyssinian Kingdom which thenmoved its capital to Oromo land,

and established Addis Ababa in1886.To be sure, Ethiopia is a verycomplex country. For many years,the Amharic who are 30 percent ofthe population, ruled, first as amonarchy and later as a militaryjunta under the Colonel MengistuHaile Mariam. The Tigrayans whoconstitute 15 percent wereregarded as the warriors while theOromo felt left out. From the ruleof Emperor Haile Selassie (said tobe actually of Oromo parentage)to Mengistu, there was an armedrebellion by three componentsparts of the country. The Oromohad in 1973 founded the OromoLiberation Front (OLF) with theobjective of winning self-determination for the Oromo. TheTigrayans founded the TigrayanPeoples Liberation Front (TPLF)while the Eritreans founded theEritrean Peoples Liberation Front(EPLF) The combined forces and

pressure of the three groups weretoo much for the Mengistu regimewhich gave way.With that collapse, the Eritreansgained independence and becamea separate country while theTigray-dominated EthiopianPeoples Revolutionary DemocraticFront (EPRDF) led by MelesZenawi Asres, pushed into thecountry and seized power. Withthat, the power equation in thecountry changed with theTigrayans becoming the newruling group.Feeling increasinglymarginalised, the Oromo bidedtheir time for the return todemocratic rule under which theyhoped to use their numericalstrength to gain political power.There was also understandabledisaffection amongst the Amharic.In the 1995 and 2000 elections, theruling party won easily amidstclaims by the opposition thatforce, intimidation and rigginggave the winners victory.However, the 2005 elections weredifferent. The opposition led by theCoalition for Unity andDemocracy (CUD)made a verystrong showing and believed it hadwon the elections. The CUD forinstance, won all the 23 seats inAddis Ababa and made goodshowing in the Oromo, Amharicand Southern areas. The officialelection results however gave adifferent narration; the rulingparty had 327 seats, its allies, 40seats while the opposition seatsincreased from 12 in the previouselections, to 174. The officialresults triggered street protests inNovember 2005 in which securityforces allegedly gunned downhundreds of persons. Thegovernment followed up with themass arrests of the oppositionincluding the Mayor of AddisAbaba, local election observers

and thirteen journalists. They werecharged with treason whichattracted the death penalty.The Oromo claimed that between2005 and 2008, 594 Oromo wereextra-judicially executed while 43disappeared. The renewed protestsby Oromo is therefore notunexpected. Similar protests inApril and May, 2014 led toanother round of killings.But it must be emphasised that thechallenge in Ethiopia is notprimarily about the Oromo; thereis marked depression in thecountry with many, includingjournalists fleeing. Freedom ofexpression and press freedom areobserved more in the breach andmany Ethiopians have left thecountry to do menial jobs mainlyin the Middle East where they haveno labour rights. Many have alsoembarked on the perilous journeyof crossing the Mediterranean Seain overcrowded, makeshift boatsto seek refuge in Europe.But the country can still avoidcatastrophe by the governmentemploying dialogue and makingconcessions. For instance, if itmust go ahead with its AddisAbaba Master Plan, it needs tonegotiate with the owners of thelands to be affected. Labeling thefarmers and students leading thoseprotests as terrorists and using thatas a pretext to physically eliminatethem, is dangerous. Also, theTigray-dominated governmentnominally led by Prime MinisterHailemariam Desalgn (who isfrom Southern Ethiopia) needs torelax the rules in the country andallow fundamental human rightsto reign. But if it insists on acontinued clamping of the lid onEthiopians, one day, the lid willblow off and Africa mayexperience another tragedy with ahuge toll on human lives. Now isthe time to take a new direction.

The protestingOromo have notforgotten that theyare the originalowners of thecapital before theywere conquered bythe ChristianAbyssinianKingdom whichthen moved itscapital to Oromoland,andestablished AddisAbaba in 1886

The governmentnow asks leadersof the area, toproduce the oilpipeline vandals,and what happensif they refuse asthey appear to bedoing?

20—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 2016

CMYK

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 2016 — 21

CURRENCY BUYING SELLING

CBN Exchange rate as at 28/01/2016

US DOLLAR POUNDS EUROFRANCYENCFAWAUARENMINBIRIYALKRONASDR

196 196.5 197279. 0452 279. 7571 280. 4689213.2284 213.7724 214.3163192. 9704 193.4626 193.95491.6569 1.6612 1.66540.3046 0.3146 0. 3246269. 4142 270.1015 270. 788829.7863 29.8628 29.939252. 2249 52.3581 52.491328.5656 28.6385 28.7113270.6956 271.3862 272.0767

$118.75 0.55

$2,792.00 28.00

$13.20 -0.38

$34.75 1.65

$33.70 1.40

OPERATORS in theNigerian capital market

have moved for Federal Gov-ernment intervention fund tosave the market from the cur-rent volatility and grow theeconomy.

The coalition of the CharteredInstitute of Stockbrokers, CIS,Association of Issuing Housesof Nigeria, ASHON and Asso-ciation of Issuing Houses ofNigeria, AIHN at a press con-ference in Lagos kicked againstthe reintroduction of stamp dutyby the Federal Government,saying “it will add to the cost oftransaction in the market.”

Speaking, Acting President,CIS, Mr. Oluwaseyi Abe said“ The capital market is goingthrough challenges that are notuncommon with other marketsespecially the automated mar-kets which operate in a crest andtrough pattern in response tovariables in the macro economyand within the market itself.”

Pulse of theeconomy

According to him “This is sobecause the capital market is anintegral part of the economywhich ideally serves as a ba-rometer for measuring thepulse of the economy. Moreo-ver, we operate in a globalisedeconomy where geographicalbarriers have been broken downby the internet, so global trendstend to create a domino effectin various economies and mar-kets. Until 2008, the Nigeriancapital market had remainedrelatively stable.

He stressed that the originalproblem of the market can betraced to lacuna created by theCentral Bank of Nigeria, CBNby failing to regulate banks’involvement in margin loans forspeculative trading and theapex bank’s mismanagement ofthe information to stop marginloan which created panic in themarket and coincided with the2008 global financial meltdown.

In his own contribution,Chairman, ASHON, Mr.Emeka Madubuike said “Itmust be noted that margin loanis not a bad thing per se. It is anormal stock market practicebut it has to be regulated, oth-erwise it has the potential todestabilize stock markets when

things go awry, especially smalland developing markets.”

According to him “Since 2008there have been a lot of trans-formational changes that werestructured by the regulatoryauthorities to place the marketon a stronger keel as a result ofwhich the market took a turn.But, because stock markets arecyclical in nature and respondto emerging trends, there arebound to be crest and troughperiods as presently exists.

“Presently, the South warddirection of the market is de-termined by three major factors,namely, adverse macro-eco-nomic situation largely due toa drastic drop in the price of oil;negative public sentiment

which is related to the state ofthe macro-economy, and retreatof foreign portfolio investorswhich is related to CBN policyon foreign exchange.

He explained that the markethas deprecated by about 21.25%since the beginning of the year,2016 due to sell pressure andinvestor apathy which are re-lated to the factors enumeratedabove.

While, proffering solution,Madubuike said “In recognitionof the importance of the capitalmarket, government shouldmake a pronouncement on thestate of the market as comfort tothe investing public.”

He explained that market op-

erators are working closely toseek audience with the govern-ment for further interaction onthe state of the market. “As ashort term measure for the im-mediate the CBN should cre-ate an intervention window forabout N200billion to beaccessed by market makers toshore up the market.

Each market maker should beavailed of N1billion toN10billion; SEC should alsoconsider structuring accrueddividend to shore up the mar-ket; the government shouldsupport the market by buyingand warehousing shares as itis done in advanced markets;there should be a policy forbanks to operate zero interestrate to stimulate activities in thecapital market” he stated.

Stock market volatility:Operators seek FG intervention fund

By Peter Egwuatu

NIGERIAN Export Promotion

Council (NEPC) has put in place some plansthat will help increase the country’s earningson non-oil export to $30billion from the$2.7billion it currently stands even as theCouncil and the Ministry of Agriculture haveevolve ways to transform the nation’s economy.Speaking in his office yesterday when hereceived the Executive Director/ChiefExecutive Officer of Nigerian Export PromotionCouncil Mr Olusegun Awolowo who was on acourtesy visit to Minister of Agriculture,ChiefAudu Ogbe in Abuja, he said:“The plan identifies 11 strategicproducts\sectors, and 21 countries, for Nigeriangoods, to grow non-oil foreign exchange from$2.7 billion today, to $30 billion in five years.”It will be recalled that the country’s total non-oil export volume in the first three-quarters of2015 was 612.73 million dollars.

He said the volume of non-oil exportsdropped slightly during the year whencompared to the preceding year. Heattributed the drop to the uncertaintiessurrounding political activities in thecountry as well as the activities ofinsurgents in the northeast region.“Statistics of non-oil exports dipped a littlein 2015 when compared to the precedingyear.

“This can be attributed largely to two majorreasons, which are – 2015 being an electionyear, there were plenty of uncertaintiessurrounding political activities and that of theinsurgents in the northeast. “However, somemarginal impact was made though onlystatistics of the first three-quarters are capturedfor now. “For the first quarter, we have grossweight of 516, 428. 63 metric tonneswith export value of $664, 638. 89.“ The second quarter has gross weightof 368, 529. 64 metric tonnes withexport value of $391, 602,161. 02,while for third quarter we have grossweight of 311, 769. 10 metric tonneswith export value of 220, 460, 728dollars respectively’’ he said. Awolowo said the council wasworking on a Zero Oil Plan thatwould enable it to achieve itsobjective in the current year.

NEPC targets $30 billion earning from non-oil export

By Favour Nnabugwu

BRIEFING:From left: Registrar/Chief Executive Officer, Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers,Mr. Adedeji Ajadi; Past President, Mr. Ariyo Olushekun; Acting President, Mr. OluwaseyiAbe; and President, Association of Stockbroking Houses of Nigeria, Mr. Emeka Madubuike,during a press conference on the state of the market, in Lagos.

However, somemarginal impact wasmade though onlystatistics of the firstthree-quarters arecaptured for now

22—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 2016

‘FG should enforce regulations to stopfinancial leakages’

CONGRATULATIONS on yourrecent election as LCCI President.

How has it been?So far so good I have hit the ground

running and eager to see how we can usethe Chamber’s platforms to better the lotsof businesses in the coming years asPresident of the Chamber. We are perfect-ing structures that would drive ourprogrammes in areas like advocacy, tradepromotion, research, capacity building forSMEs, international relations etc.

As President of the LCCI and alsoPresident of the New Partnership for De-velopment (NEPAD) Business Group Ni-geria, how are you managing bothportfolios?

Well, good enough both institutions havesimilar focus which is private sector busi-ness. I wish to take advantage of the col-laborative power of both institutions toinfluence policies and decisions that wouldtranslate to a better business environmentin Nigeria. I will facilitate a better workingrelationship between the two institutionsto deliver better results to the private sector.Both institutions have similar objectives,framework, profile and structure.

As a two time Minister of Industry, howwould you compare Nigeria’s industriallandscape, then and now?

First, my experience as a two-timeMinister of Industry was very exciting andyet challenging. But I thank God for theopportunity to serve my country at such ahigh level.

Industriallandscape

Since my tenure as minister from 1999,Nigeria’s industrial landscape has evolvedinto a more sophisticated and morechallenging space today comparatively. In1999, Nigeria was not the largest economyin Africa, today we are. This presents itspeculiar challenges. Our industrial basehas been too skewed towards oil and gasand the present oil price challenges aretaking our focus from oil to non-oilmanufacturing. This is expected to boostthe industrial base of the country in comingyears. During my tenure, we set upindustrial development centres all over thecountry to support industrialization, espe-cially small scale industries. I also super-vised many parastatals that interfaced withinvestors. One of them was the NIDB,which is now Bank of Industry, MachineTools Oshogbo and many more.

Recently, the IMF Chief, ChristineLagarde was in the country. What areyour comments on her visit?

The IMF’s Chief Executive visit toNigeria is firstly an indication that Nigeriaremains on the top list of emergingeconomies with potentials for growth anddevelopment.

The IMF is also seeing the Nigerianeconomy as having a great impact on theeconomy of the Sub-Saharan Africa. At a

During my tenureas minister, we set upindustrial develop-ment centres all overthe country tosupport industrial-ization, especiallysmall scale indus-tries. I also super-vised manyparastatals that inter-faced with investors

sources, enforce regulations to stopfinancial leakages and adopt global bestpractices in generating more tax revenuesto mitigate the effects of dwindling oilprices on our economy.

The framework and estimates for the2016 budget have been presented to theNational Assembly. What are yourviews?

We commend the fact that capitalexpenditure provision is higher than inthe previous budget. It is 30 per centagainst 15 per cent in the 2015 budget. This is commendable. It would help toimprove infrastructure through betterfunding.

We also agree with the budgetbenchmark of $38 per barrel, even thoughthere is a lot of pressure on the crude oilprice. Current oil price stands at around$37/barrel. There are also heightenedfears that oil prices may take a furtherdownward slide. Following from IMF’srecommendation on fiscal discipline, weneed to be careful about too much debt.

We are currently spending a lot to servicedebt, amounting to one trillion naira.Generally I believe that the budgetproposal is good.

What advice will you give on thediversification of the economy?

The diversification of the economy hasbecome so critical now that Nigeria is facedwith an unprecedented revenue challengearising from falling oil prices and pres-sure on our currency. I will advise that thegovernment look at sectors that havecapacity to generate jobs and foreign ex-change at the same time. Let’s look at ag-riculture to produce food that can beprocessed for export and local consump-tion, solid minerals development that canbe exported and information technology.These can all generate quite a number ofjobs for our teeming unemployed youths.

How do you intend to run the LCCIover the next two years?

First of all, I give glory to the AlmightyGod for the opportunity to serve my countryon this platform and in this capacity. I amalso grateful to members of the LCCI forelecting me. Being the President of theChamber is, indeed, a great task. I will,therefore, be resolute in contributing myquota to the advancement of the cause ofthe Nigerian private sector and theprogress of our economy as a whole.

Furthermore, while a lot has been doneby all my predecessors in office at achiev-ing the core objectives of the Chamber, Iam prepared to build on their worthy lega-cies by pushing the frontiers forward inregards of the following:

Strengthening the effectiveness of theLCCI advocacy and research activities tocreate a more conducive environment forinvestors. Putting in place strategic andinnovative programmes to attract andretain more members across sectors.

CHIEF Nike Akande, a former Minister ofIndustry and the current President, Lagos Chamberof Commerce and Industry, LCCI, spoke with Van-guard on her election as the second female presi-dent of the chamber, her vision, among other burn-ing issues affecting the economy. Excerpts:

By Naomi Uzor

LAGOS State GovernorAkinwumi Ambode, has

c o m m i s s i o n e dFrieslandCampina WAMCONigeria Plc’s “FinishedGoods Warehouse”, worthover N2 billion (•8.3 million)at the Ogba, Ikeja Industrialarea. He emphasized the needfor tax payment in the state.

Speaking at the ceremony,Ambode said that the State-of-the-Art warehouse testifiesto the company’s faith in thecountry ’s economicdevelopment and its desire tocontribute to the growth ofcommerce in the face ofuncertainties.

The governor who wasrepresented by the State’sAttorney General a n dCommissioner for Justice,Mr. Adeniji Kazeem, saidthat the warehouse will boostthe dairy company ’sdistribution capability,increase the number ofemployees, wholesalers andretailers. He added that withthe commissioning, Nigeriaand Lagos State in particular,will enjoy more access toquality nutrition.

He said that the state isproud to have provided theenabling environment for thecompany over the years, justas he commended thecompany for increasing itsinvestment in the state despitethe current economicchallenges.

On tax payment, Ambodesaid: “In Lagos State, weemphasize the importance ofpaying your tax regularly.Companies and individualswho evade tax definitely workagainst the good of thesociety. Indeed, the benefitsof tax are enormous to thegrowth and sustenance ofevery progressive society withpeople oriented initiatives. Itgoes a long way to facilitategovernment policies,economic system as well associal infrastructures.”

Also speaking at the event,Managing Director ofFrieslandCampina WAMCO,Mr. Rahul Colaco, said: “Weare really pleased with thisnew warehouse, which allowsus to continue to meet thegrowing demand of ouroperations. This means wecan offer our customers betterstock guarantees accruingfrom the state-of-the-artfacilities of this investment.The new Finished GoodsWarehouse underlinesFrieslandCampina WAMCO’sstrategy in reinforcing worldclass operations.

AmbodecommissionsN2bnFrieslandCampinawarehouse

By Providence Obuh

Chief Nike Akande, President LCCI

time like this, Nigerianeeds inputs from inter-nationally focused orga-nizations like the IMF inseeking for newdirections in managingher economy.

She has offered toassist the FederalGovernment of Nigeriain plugging revenueleakages, tracing stolenfunds and restructuringthe tax system.

She challenged us toidentify new revenuesources to compensatefor the shortfall resultingfrom oil price decline.

Moreover, she urgedthat fiscal discipline wasneeded for the country tobe sustainable.

In response to the IMFrecommendations, weexpect that the FederalGovernment would lookinwards for new revenue

CMYK

VOL. 1: NO. 17VOL. 1: NO. 17VOL. 1: NO. 17VOL. 1: NO. 17VOL. 1: NO. 17 FRIDAY, FRIDAY, FRIDAY, FRIDAY, FRIDAY, JANUARY 29JANUARY 29JANUARY 29JANUARY 29JANUARY 29, 2016, 2016, 2016, 2016, 2016

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IN THIS EDITIONIN THIS EDITIONIN THIS EDITIONIN THIS EDITIONIN THIS EDITION

Continues on page 26

UNTIL the late Olubadanof Ibadanland, Oba

Samuel Odulana Odugade 1joined his ancestors 10 daysago, no one in his wildestimagination could think thatthe orderly arrangedascendancy to the throne ofOlubadan could beenmeshed in this kind of crisis.

Hitherto, many had thoughtthe rancour-free arrangementof the titles was the best in theSouth West .

However, unfolding eventsin the traditional council of theancient city have shown that‘the rich also cry’.

Until the court saysotherwise, there are two rulinglines to the throne ofOlubadan. They are the civiland military lines. These tworoyal lines have beenproducing the Olubadan.

Previous kings wereappointed on rotational basisto occupy the stool on thedeath of a monarch.

The next to Olubadan andmost senior on both lines arethe Otun Olubadan andBalogun.

But now a third royal line,the Seriki line led by ChiefAdebayo Oyediji is layingclaim to the crown, saying ithas a court judgment, whichhad long ago recognised it asthe third line.

The trouble started when twohigh chiefs, late OmowaleKuye and Sulaiman Omiyaledied in quick succession thus

By Ola Ajayi

leaving the stools of Balogunand Otun Olubadan ofIbadanland vacant.

Oyedeji, sensing allegedplans to by-pass his lineage,headed to the court to seekredress.

In a motion filed on hisbehalf by his lawyer, A.G.Adeniran in an Oyo state Highcourt, Chief Adediji alleged

that the Olubadan-in-Councilhad since 1989 refused to obeya Supreme Court judgment,which ordered that the Seriki

line be admitted into theOlubadan line.

According to him, since thedeath of Chief Adisa MeredithAkinloye, who was alsodenied the opportunity, theOlubadan in Council has beendenying his line their rightsof becoming the third royalline in accordance with thecourt judgment.

The chief alluded to a 1959Ekerin Balogun of IbadanChieftaincy Declaration thatput Seriki under the EkerinBalogun of Ibadan and statedthat Seriki can only bepromoted to Ekerin Balogun,if there are two simultaneousvacancies occurring in theAshipa and Ekerin Baloguntitles.

Based on the victory his linegot, the then Olubadan ofIbadan, Oba Oloyede Asankeand all the Chiefs prevailed onthe Seriki chiefs not to insiston three lines for theOlubadan chieftaincy, thatrather, chiefs in the Seriki lineshould cross to EkerinBalogun and EkerinOlubadan whenever there isa vacancy in any of the twolines.

Since the two occupants ofthe titles are dead on bothsides of the Balogun and OtunOlubadan, he says it is theturn of Seriki to become theOlubadan.

He went further, saying,“when the agreement wasreached, the late Odulana wasthe only senior ranking HighChief in the Olubadan lineand we were on the same rank.If that agreement is followed,I am the next person to succeedhim.”

He also prayed the court to“set aside the purportedappointments made by the 1stdefendant (Oba Odulana) tofill vacancies existing in thechieftaincy titles of EkerinOlubadan, Ashipa Olubadan,Osi Olubadan, OtunOlubadan and BalogunOlubadan of Ibadan since the21st of November, 2008 up tillthe last appointment he madeon the 1st of January, 2016.

He also said that the courtshould “set aside thepurported approval granted bythe Governor of Oyo state onthe 5th of January, 2016 orthereabout to theappointments made by the 1stdefendant on the 1st ofJanuary, 2016 to fill vacanciesexisting in the chieftaincytitles.

This, of course, did not go

Until the court saysotherwise, there aretwo ruling lines tothe throne ofOlubadan. They arethe civil andmilitary lines.These two royallines have beenproducing theOlubadan

When FayosevisitedAregbesola

Royal rumble overOlubadan stool

Who blinks first?FUTA VS STRIKING UNIONS:

•Ajimobi

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 2016—23

24—VANGUARD, FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 2016

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VANGUARD, FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 2016—25

26 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 2016

OSUN STATE

THE visit of the newlycrowned Ooni of Ife, His

Imperial Majesty, Oba EnitanAdeyeye Ogunwusi, Ojaja II,to Oyo early in the year tofelicitate with Alaafin of Oyo,Oba Lamidi Adeyemi on theoccasion of his 45th coronationanniversary has definitelyopened a new vitsa on themuch sought after unity of theYoruba race.

Barely two weeks after thehistoric visit of the reveredmonarch to the ancient town ofOyo, Ekiti state governor, Mr.Ayo Fayose, also paid a surprisevisit to his Osun statecounterpart, Mr. RaufAregbesola, at the OkefiaGovernment House, Osogbo.

Fayose, who came with a 50-man contingent that comprisescommissioners, members of thestate House of Assembly, andsome stalwarts of the PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP, in abrief chat with newsmen, saidthe visit was basically to fosterunity among Yoruba states.

Osun state governor, Mr.Rauf Aregbesola, had at ameeting hosted by his wife,Alhaja Sherifat Aregbesola thathad in attendance Ekiti Statefirst lady, Mrs FeyisetanFayose, last November, onfemale circumcision in Osogbo,hinted of a close affinitybetween him and his Ekiticounterpart.

Aregbesola, who also at themeeting, disclosed thatregardless of the differences inpolitical party the two of themremain very good friends.

He, however, declined givingdetails of the kind ofrelationship the two of themhave.

Speaking further during thecourtesy call, Governor Fayosesaid "the visit to Osun will bethe first official visit to any APCstate. Our ideology may bedifferent but we all are ofYoruba extraction".

Explaining the reason for thevisit, Fayose said it wasprimarily because of his beliefin the Yoruba race, saying the

When Fayosevisited Aregbesola

By Gbenga Olarinoye

race comes first before the seatof the governor.

"We must preserve the racebecause of our children. I amhere to encourage the unity of

Yoruba people. The visit ofOoni to Alaafin is instructive.We must make sure nothinghappens to our leader. We mustfind solutions to the economicproblems we are facing.

"I will never decamp toanother political party. I haveright to my views and I willcontinue to push my viewsforward. Strength of democracyis in opposition. It is to put ourleaders on their toes," Fayoseaverred.

He added that the Yoruba raceis greater than any politicaloffice hence his belief in thedevelopment of the race.

The governor said that theOoni's visit to the Alaafin ofOyo is instructive hence theneed for all Yoruba sons anddaughters to see to the unityand progress of the race.

His words: "This is my firstofficial visit to any APC statein Nigeria. I am not in Osogboto ask Aregbesola to help me

beg as being speculated insome quarters. We are allYoruba, politics is like water, itcan flow anywhere.

"I believe in the Yoruba race,

the race comes first before theoffice of the governor. The raceis eternal while that of governoris momentary. We must watchtoday to be guided tomorrow. Iam here for the unity of Yorubaas it affects the Oodua, theprogenitor"

Responding, GovernorAregbesola, who receivedFayose in the company offormer Osun state governor,Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola,said Fayose's visitdemonstrated maturity.

"We must look for alternativeto oil. We must translate theunity of culture to strongeconomic bonds that will takeour people from mistery ofpoverty to the level where theycan stand on their own.

"Our leaders must not beabandoned and discriminatedagainst or molested. We mustbe careful because everystruggle requires strategy sothat its import will not bedefeated.

"I want my good friend andbrother to know that PDP hasexhausted it's stay in Nigeria,it can no longer be revived, letus look at a political party thatwill give hope to our people.Opposition must be for apurpose, I stand by you on theunity of Yoruba land and thatour leaders should not putdown in the country.

"The war is over, we are in aseason of mobilising our peoplefor agriculture and to producesuch that we will economicallyhave the strength to giveleadership to the nation andAfrica. Our energy must bedirected at bringing human andphysical development, we haveenough in this region to giveleadershship," Aregbesolastressed.

I want my goodfriend and brotherto know that PDPhas exhausted it'sstay in Nigeria, itcan no longer berevived, let us lookat a political partythat will give hopeto our people— Aregbesola

I will never decampto another politicalparty. I have rightto my views and Iwill continue topush my viewsforward. Strengthof democracy is inopposition. It is toput our leaders ontheir toes — Fayose

Continues from page 23

down well with the 11 highchiefs that constituteOlubadan-in-council.

The high chiefs in thecouncil include: OsiOlubadan, Asipa Olubadan,Ekerin Olubadan and EkarunOlubadan. From the secondline, we have Otun Balogun,Osi Balogun, Asipa Balogun,Ekerin Balogun and EkarunBalogun. Seriki and Iyalodeare also members of theOlubadan privy council.

These high chiefs alsodouble as the kingmakers.They hold the power of lifeand death as regards

chieftaincy matters. Exceptwhen the agitation of theSeriki royal line first came up,no one had the guts tochallenge the council. Theirvoice is akin to the voice ofthe gods.

These high chiefs have saidin unequivocal terms thatthey recognise High ChiefSaliu Adetunji as the nextOlubadan.

Speaking through HighChief Abimbola TajudeenAjibola, the Ashipa Balogunof Ibadanland, the councilshowed its preference,saying:“It is undisputed that thecurrent High Chief qualified

to be Olubadan is High ChiefS. A. Adetunji. That is theauthentic one. No other one.Any other one is acounterfeit. You know in thisour institution, we have linesand there are only two linesrecognized so far, both by lawand otherwise. It is OtunOlubadan Line and BalogunLine, and that is all. There isno third line. Nobody iscompetent to say he can beOlubadan. He cannot appointhimself; he cannot put himselfthere. “

As things are now, the Serikiline seems to be walking on atight rope.

Royal rumble over Olubadan stool

•Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State in a warm handsake with Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State

It is gathered that the linemay never be allowed to jointhe queue since the samechiefs who are equallyaspiring to become Olubadanare the ones to approve thepromotion of Chief Adediji toSeriki.

South West Voice gatheredthat since the death of ChiefAdisa Akinloye, many peoplewho belonged to the Serikiother line had moved to eitherof the two lines. Pending theoutcome of the suit, it isdifficult to say specificallywho will win the royal tusslebetween Olubadan in counciland the Seriki line.

CMYK

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 2016 — 27

28— Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 2016

T H E T E A MEDITOR:Adeleke Adeseri 08054682557 (sms only)

CORRESPONDENTS:Dapo Akinrefon LagosOla Ajayi IbadanGbenga Olarinoye OsogboDayo Johnson AkureDaud Olatunji AbeokutaOlasunkanmi Akoni LagosRotimi Ojomoyela EkitiMonsuru Olowoepejo

ONDO STATE

THE face off between theauthorities of the Federal

University of Technology Akure,FUTA and the National Officersof the Senior Staff Association ofNigerian Universities SSANUand the institution's chapter ofthe Non-Academic Staff ofUniversities, NASU, is taking itstoll on over 600 pupils of theUniversity staff primary School.

Members of the two unionshave downed tools since thecrisis started thereby paralyzingmost activities in the institution.They have vowed to fight theauthorities until it rescinds the “offensive circular”.

FUTA Staff Primary school was

LAGOS State Governor, Mr.Akinwunmi Ambode,

penultimate Tuesday, met with thepeople of Lagos CentralSenatorial District in the SecondTown Hall meeting of hisadministration to render accountsof his stewardship to Lagosians.

The Town Hall meeting, whichwas in fulfillment of his electoralpromise to Lagosians on inclusivegovernance, is aimed at informingthe people of his achievementsin the last three months inparticular; his administration’splans, policies and programmesas well as getting the people tosupport and contribute to thevarious programmes andactivities of the government.

The event was the second in theseries of his administration’squarterly interaction withLagosians to render account ofstewardship as their electedgovernor. This initiative's first

By Dayo Johnson

•Samson Ugwoke: SSANUPresident

•Aladetohun: NASUchairman of FUTA

established in 1983, three yearsafter the University took off.

The pupils have been

unceremoniously sent home andtheir classrooms put under lockand key in the last four weeks

following the disengagement oftheir teachers by the authoritieswho said it was acting on orderfrom above. But the teachersthrough the unions kicckedagainst the hasty decision of theVice Chancellor to implement theFederal Government's decisionon the disengagement of teachersin federal universy staff schoolsacross the country.

The popular axiom that whentwo elephants fight, the grasssuffers is apt in the case of thesehapless pupils who for the fourthweek running have been senthome sequel to the hardlinestance of the authorities and thatof the teachers.

The pupils are like sheepwithout a shepherd even as theirparents are aggressively lookingfor alternative schools in theneighborhood for their wards.

Consequently, proprietors ofschools around the FUTApremises have hiked their schoolfees ostensibly to cash in on thesituation to make briskbusinesses. Eighty percent of thepupils in the school are childrenof FUTA staff.

Speaking with Vanguard someparents said they have paidschool fees before the January 4resumption. “ Now we have topay another school fees in our newschools, buy books, uniform. Wedo not know the fate of those thatare writing common entrance.

Vanguard gathered that whilethe Management of theUniversity asked the teachers toreapply following a circular fromthe National Salaries, Incomesand Wages Commission directingVice Chancellors of federaluniversities to remove thepersonnel costs of the UniversityStaff Primary School Workers, theyreportedly ignored the advice.

The union leaders wonderedwhy it was only FUTA that hascarried out the said Federalgovernment directive. They

alleged that their Vice Chancellorbeing the Chairman of the.Committee of Vice Chancellorswanted to use his university as aguinea pig so that others willfollow suit.

But the Vice Chancellor ProfAdebiyi Daramola denied sayingthat three Universities have sinceimplemented the Federalgovernment directive- Universityof Lagos, Usman Dan FodioUniversity Sokoto and theUniversity of Nigeria Nsukka.

It was gathered that only thehead teacher and his assistantactually re-applied and were re-absorbed while others stayedaway. But the teachers said thatthe two are not teaching staff butmanagement staff who have nochoice but to join forces with theauthorities of the institution.

They equally alleged that somemanagement staff “ wanted to killthe staff school to pave way fortheir newly established privateschools scattered in Akure, theOndo state capital”.

New sets of teachers were laterrecruited by the managementfollowing the refusal of theteachers to reapply even after anassurance that all of them wouldbe re-absorbed and their salariespaid till December last year.

But the union leaders said thedisengagement was done by theauthorities to pave way for theirrelations, girlfriends and familymembers.

The disengaged teachers laidsiege on the school on daily basispreventing the newly recruitedteachers from functioning whilethe university security personnelsequally keep vigil.

Several protests have takenplace on campus by the twounions to make the authoritiesrescind the order dis engagingthe teachers. In fact they havepointedly called for the sack of theVice Chancellor Prof AdebiyiDaramola.

Town Hall Meeeting: Ambode assures of better days aheadBy Olasunkanmi Akoni meeting commenced with the

Lagos West Senatorial District onOctober 6, 2015 at Abesan, in oldAlimosho Local GovernmentArea.

At the First Town Hall meeting,Ambode defined the strategicvision of his administration“which is to make Lagos aglobally competitive City-State, aLagos that works for all.”

“Since the last Town HallMeeting, we have sworn inCommissioners and SpecialAdvisers who have joined theCabinet to steer the ship of ourState. Together we have embarkedon some landmark projects aswell as taken some giant stridesto reassure the citizenry of ourcommitment to deliver a Lagosthat is safe, secure andprosperous.”

With this introductory statementAmbode rendered his quarterreport covering October 2015 –December 2015.

The overall policy thrust whichhe said remained the same, a

Tripod of Security, InfrastructuralDevelopment and Job Creation,reaffirmed his commitment toremain resolute to serve andjustify the trust reposed in him,assuring that he would continueto work tirelessly to deliver goodgovernance for the collective goodof all Lagosians.

Addressing a large gathering ofparty chieftains, market men andwomen, captains of industry,members of the diplomatic corpsas well as top governmentfunctionaries, Ambode who had

earlier signed the 2016Appropriation Bill into law in earlyJanuary, said his administrationis fully aware that a safer Lagoswill attract more investments fromlocal and foreign investors, hencehe kept to his promise in the firstquarter to improve on security inthe state with investment insecurity equipment worth overN4.7billion.

The governor reported that theinvestment in the securityequipment has led to thereduction of the crime rate in the

state by 65 percent in the lastquarter of 2015.

“I am happy to report that ourState is a lot safer today asstatistics show that crime ratereduced by 65% during the lastquarter compared to Year 2014,”he said.

He said his administration, inanother spirited effort to tacklecrime, invested towards the“Light Up Lagos” project, whichhas since restored light on majorhighways and inner roads in thestate at night.

•Ambode: Lagos state gov

Who Blinks first?FUTA VS STRIKING UNIONS:

CMYK

CMYK

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 2016—29

Harrysong becomes Gala ambassador

The Voices Nigeria: Ourviewers can expect thebest TV entertainment—M-net boss

BRIEFING: General Manager, Marketing, UAC Foods Limited, Mrs. Joan Ihekwaba,

5-Star Music Group Stars, Mr. Harrison Okiri (Harysong) and Mr. Kingsley Okonkwo

(KCEE) during media briefing for the unveiling of the new Gala Brand Ambassador at

the UAC Foods Limited head office in Lagos.

By Kehinde Ajose

REGGAE Blue singer,Harrysong was unveiled

on Wednesday, as the newGala ambassador.

The unveiling took place atUAC Foods head office inLagos.

Harrysong, one of themusicians under the 5 StarMusic group, would be thenew face of the brand whileother two musicians under therecord label Kcee and Skiibiiare also expected to promotethe brand.

Speaking at the unveiling ofthe brand ambassadors andsigning of the deal, theGeneral Manager-Marketing,UAC Foods Limited, Mrs. JoanIhekwaba explained that thesigning of the new brandambassador is another waythrough which the companyintends to engender a morerobust brand affinity with the

target consumers and tofurther reaffirm the leadershippositioning of Gala in thecategory.

Mrs. Ihekwaba affirmed thatfor over 50 years, the brand‘Gala’ has come to occupy aspecial place in the hearts ofthe Nigerian people, bysupporting them on theirjourney to success. ”At thistime we feel it is important forthe brand to identify with anambassador, from theNigerian Music industry, thatrepresents the values of theGala brand. “

Responding, the new Galabrand ambassador, Harrysongrevealed that he was excitedto be the face of Gala brand.He then pledged to ensurethat the brand derivesmaximum value for theinvestment by promoting thebrand among the targetaudience and his fans throughhis music and his huge socialmedia network.

Omawunmi sharesexperience working withAngelique Kidjo

SHE may not make thelist of top Nigerian

songstresses at the moment,but vocal power house,Omawunmi has relaunchedher career. The music sensationis back with a new song titledPlay na play, which shefeatures legendary singer,Angelique Kidjo.

In a recent interview, shedescribes her experienceworking with this musiclegend as refreshing andmemorable.

“She is so good at what shedoes. MamaAngelique

that is what I call her. Shedoesn’t have any airs. She isplayful, fun and very hygienic.She sings effortlessly. Whenshe was recording I was justin awe. I was just saying: “Iwant to be slim like this”, Iwant to be energetic when I amher age,” she said.

Narrating how difficult it wasto reach out to her, Omawunmisaid, “It was difficult to get her,but it wasn’t difficult themoment I reached her. With thehelp of my manager, he got intouch with her through

someone else that alsodoubles as a booking

agent for me. It waslike a dream cometrue for me. WhenI was shootingwith Angelique atsome point Istarted crying Icouldn’t believe it.It was like a realhonour for me”THE Director, M-Net

West Africa, Wangi Mba-Uzoukwu has been explainingwhy they unveiled legendarysinger, Tuface Idibia alongsidesongstress Waje, Timi Dakoloand indigenous rapperPatoranking as the coaches forthe maiden edition of Nigerianversion of the popular realitytalent show, The Voice.

Mba-Uzoukwu said,besidesbeing role models to the youngNigerians, the music iconsrepresent the best of thecountry ’s music stars. The

From left: Danesh Balsingh, Director, Segment, Usage andRetention, Airtel; Waje Iruobe, The Voice Coach; Innocent Idibia(2Face); Wangi Mba-Uzoukwu, Regional Director, M-Net WestAfrica; Timi Dakolo, The Voice Coach and Emeka Oparah,Director, Corporate Communications, Airtel, during the pressconference to unveil The Voice Nigeria Judges in Lagos.

celebrity coaches wereunveiled last week in Lagos.

The organizers noted that theunveiling of the coaches waspart of preparations for themaiden edition of the showwhich kicks off in April, inCalabar, Port Harcourt, Abujaand Lagos, with auditions.

Speaking further at the event,Wangi Mba-Uzoukwu said,”It’san exciting time for us at M-Net.

The Voice is an internationallyrenowned franchise and hasconsistently provided excitingtelevision content whilst giving

great opportunities to talentedindividuals to showcase theirtalent to the world. TheNigerian adaptation will be nodifferent and our viewers canexpect the best televisionentertainment even as we waitto discover the next generationof talented singers!”

Since its original launch in2010, The Voice has wonaudiences in countries like theUS, Australia, South Africa andthe UK, where other renownedartistes have occupied theshow’s famous red chairs ascoaches.

Famousred chairs

The Voice Nigeria employsthe same format including apanel of four coaches whocritique the contestants’performances. The coachesguide their teams of selectedartistes through the remainderof the season whilst alsocompeting to ensure that theiract wins the competition.

Commenting on theunveiling of Coaches, Mr.Ahmad Mokhles, the ChiefCommercial Officer of AirtelNigeria, sponsors of The VoiceNigeria, noted that Airtel ispassionate about creatingplatforms that will delight,excite, entertain and engagetalented youth as well astelecoms consumers across thecountry. Auditions for the showwill kick off in April.

Omawunmi

Rabiul-Thani 19, 1437 A.H.

THE University of Ibadan Muslim Graduates Association(UIMGA) is set to hold its annual education summit. This year’s

event themed “Education: Panacea to Insurgency” is the 10th in the annalsof the association. According to the Chairman, Organising Committee,Alhaji Imran Abdul Mojeed, the event which will attract eminent Muslimsacross the country will hold on Saturday February 6, 2016 at the Universityof Ibadan Conference Centre, opposite UI Central Mosque, Ibadan, OyoState.

Among the dignitaries expected at the occasion are the HonourableMinister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu who will chair the event;His Eminence, Emir of Kano, Malam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi; GovernorIbikunle Amosun of Ogun State, Dr. Abdul Rauf Wale Babalakin (SAN),Chairman, Bi–Courtney Limited who will deliver lecture of the day amongother personalities.

Abdul Mojeed said: “In April 2004, the Association organized the firstMuslim Education Summit. The summit brought together variousstakeholders in the field of education. The event which took place at theUniversity of Ibadan Conference Centre had in attendance Muslimorganizations, educational institutions and notable scholars. At the end ofthe summit, the enormity of the challenges confronting Muslim educationin the country were identified and brought to the fore. Since then, theassociation has intensified its support for the indigent Muslim students invarious universities across the country. The association is involved in avariety of programmes that impart positively in the lives of individualsand community at large,” he stated

The programme is slated for 10am.

UIMGA set to hold 10th annualeduc summit

WHAT is your vision for settingup a school like this in thisenvironment?

As a Muslim parent, I found itnecessary to make Islamic schoolsavailable for our children. Betweenthe year 1986 and 1987, I tried to setup one called Crescent Nursery andPrimary school because my childrenwere still young then. The Muslimsaround me did not really see thenecessity for it, so I had to drop it.The passion and dream remainedin me. My mother also shared thesame dream with me. So, Iestablished an Arabic school at mymosque at Idi-aba where I engagedthe services of some clerics to teachchildren for free. The mosque latertook over the Arabic school.Eventually, one of my childrenstudied Education . So, we acquiredtwo acres of land (where we aresitting now) and I married mymother’s dream of an Arabic schoolwith my own dream of building aschool. My mother loved andappreciated people who speakArabic. I really thank Almighty Allahbecause we were always havingreasons to construct more buildingtill we got to this height. Most of whatyou see here today wasn’t part ofthe original plan like the laboratory,e-library among others.

Apart from the Arabic language,what other aqeeda do you intendto inculcate in your pupils andstudents?

Here, we study Quran recitationand memorisation and also Arabiclanguage as a subject. We wanted aschool that the average Muslim canbe proud of. We are breeding acomplete Muslim armed with fullIslamic and Western education. Ourschool intends to serve as a modeland benchmark for others. That isour goal.

How many years will it take a childin your school to memorise theQur’an?

We have our methods of teachingour pupils and I can assure you thata child without fore knowledge ofthe Quran will be able to recite itbefore the end of the first session.This is because we don’t only teachour pupils in class but will allow themto recite and practice what theyhave learned on daily basis. Weencourage them. Qur’an recitationis part of our activities every morningboth in the primary and secondary

Our aim is to build a completeMuslim — Labode

schools. Our concern is building achild to become a complete Muslim.Apart from being an Islamic school,our school is an international one inevery sense considered round theworld. Our teachers are also selectedfrom the best. Our teachers are wellqualified with nothing less than fiveyears experience. Since it haspleased Allah to choose me for thistask, we will not compromisestandard for anything, not even formoney.

What security measures have youalso put in place?

You will agree with me that it isonly Allah that provides security. Butas creatures of Allah, we can also dosomething to put some measures inplace like considering the locationof the school. I could have built theschool at a different environment. Ifelt this location is more serene andconducive for learning. Apart fromour security men, we have ourCCTV at strategic places coveringthe whole perimeter of the school.

Do you intend to run the schoolas charity or strictly business?

I have a foundation, Dabira Helpfoundation which has nothing to dowith education but economicempowerment for Muslims. Weencourage Muslims to establishinterest-free cooperative system inthat foundation. And all thanks toAlmighty Allah, we have achievedhuge success especially at As-salatugroups. Originally, the school wasincorporated and as such runs on asustainable level. I have anotherfoundation that cares for the schoolwhich is known as Shakiru OlabodeFoundation. This serve as the Board

Alhaji (Dr.) SakirudeenTunji Labode

From left: Sheikh Abdullah Akinbode, Chief Missioner, NASFAT Worldwide; Alhaji Soli-udeen Alade, VIce Chairman, National Elders' Council, NASFAT; Alhaji Sakariyau Babalola,Chairman, S.O.B Investment Ltd and donor of the multi-million naira building; Alhaji YinkaAdeola, Chairman BoT Fountain University, Oshogbo and Prof Bashir Ademola Raji, ViceChancellor, Fountain University during the signing of MoU for the delivery of Multi-millionnaira administative offices to Fountain University, recently.

THE Chairman of SOB Investment Limited and President ofMuslims in South West Nigeria, MUSWEN, Alhaji Sakariyau

Babalola has donated a multi-million naira administrative building toFountain University, Oshogbo. The faith based ivory tower is owned byNasrul-Lahi-l-Fatih Society, NASFAT.

The building which include the Vice-Chancellor’s office, the SenateChamber, Registrar, Bursary among other administrative offices will behandled by Ijunt Construction Limited and will be completed anddelivered in March 2016.

Speaking during the signing of the Memorandum of Understandingin Lagos recently, Chief Babalola stated that he was impressed by theachievements made so far by NASFAT, adding that Fountain universitystands out as the only university not owned by an individual but by theMuslim Ummah in the country.

“The gesture is part of my humble contribution to Islam. I was impressedwhen I first entered the university. I saw discipline and the Islamicvalues in the students. It is a good development for Islam in the country.

In his own remark, the vice Chancellor, Prof Bashir Raji, stated: “It isgoing to be an edifice, a unique one indeed and we are delighted aboutit. It is strategic because it is the first port-of-call and the impression youtake away from the building is very strategic.”

He added that the project will be commissioned at the next convocationceremony of the university scheduled to hold in March.

Also, the chief Missioner, Shiekh Abdullah Akinbode praised themagnanimity of the donor describing the project as massive with a greatreward in this world and the hereafter.

Philanthropist donates multi-millionnaira building to NASFAT

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It was the state-of-the-art facilities in Mueenat International Academy,Abeokuta that spurred this interview. The e-Library, Standard andCertified ICT centre with internet, Laptops available for students andpupils, fully air-conditioned classrooms and laboratories, CCTV monitorsin the administrative, academic and hostel blocks, among others wereclassy. The question is who is the man behind this massive investmentin a faith based academy? Alhaji Chief (Dr.) Sakirudeen Tunji Labode,the President, Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN), aFellow Certified National Accountant with more than 40 years ofProfessional Practice experience, a renowned philanthropist is theproprietor of the school. He shares his vision.

of Trustees for the school.Based on the massive facilities

you have already put in place, doyou subsidise the fees?

I won’t say the fee is subsidisedbut our fees are below the expectedrange compared to what isobtainable in similar or even lessquality schools. Our school isaffordable. We give free transport topupils and students who are withinthe metropolis. And as time goes

on, we will leave the transport systemto Parents Teachers Association,PTA, to manage. We have studentswho have enrolled for the 2016/2017session. It takes a substantial amountof money to manage this place butAllah is providing it with ease. Istarted as a trainee clerk and I roseto the peak of becoming a FellowCertified National Accountant withmore than 40 years of ProfessionalPractice experience. I am a fulfilledperson.

Rabiul-Thani 19, 1437 A.H.

THE head of AhmadiyyaMuslim Jama’at, Nigeria,

Dr Mashuud Fashola has warnedall those who plundered thenation’s resources to return sameor face the wrath of God.

Dr Fashola was fieldingquestions from newsmen duringa press conference heralding thecentenary celebration of theAhmadiyya Muslim Jama’at inNigeria, held at Ojokoro, Lagos,headquarters of the Islamicgroup.

Dr Fashola who saluted thecourage of President Buhari infighting corruption, warned selfcentered Nigerians whoplundered the nation’s resourcesto return what they had taken orface the wrath of God. “It is anindication of widespreadcorruption that has hardly sparedanyone. They have to return allthey have taken or face the wrathof God. We will support thegovernment on the anti-graft warin our prayers. Our own form ofsupport is through prayers and wewill continue to admonish them

Corruption: God's wrath is coming uponlooters —Dr Fashola

so that the war against corruptionwill succeed.

He also urged the governmentto embark on mass production offood for its citizenry, adding thatno nation develops withoutdeveloping its agriculture systemto ensure food sufficiency.

“We are not self reliant in food.We have neglected agriculture forso long and no nation developswithout first developing itsagriculture and food production,”he stated.

Reacting also to the incessanttraffic snarl in Lagos metropolis,Dr Fashola advised the stategovernment to develop therailway and waterwaystransportation system to reducethe traffic gridlock on Lagos roads.

He expressed appreciation toGod for the growth of the Islamicorganisation in Nigeria since 1916with the efforts of the first 21members.

Dr Mash’ud Fashola recalledwith nostalgia: “from initialestablishment of the Jama’at inLagos Island in 1916, we spread

in the early 20’s to the North,middle-belt, West and East,having 49 circuits (regionalzones) across all parts of Nigeria”.

Some of the activities lined upfor the celebration include theNational Peace symposium,Religious founders Day, FreeMedical camps, Tree Plantingacross the country, establishmentof more hospitals, farmsettlements, educationalinstitutions, Ahmadi Youths AllAfrica Games (AYAAG),inauguration of mosques inIbadan, Calabar, Kano as well asa grand finale centenaryconference.

According to him, The AYAAGwill feature games such asfootball, table tennis, track events,basketball among others. The ten-day AYAAG sports competition willbe held at Otunba Dipo DinaInternational Stadium, Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, Nigeriabetween 17- 26 March, 2016.

DR Saheed Timehin, amember of Nigeria Inter-

religious Council has appealedto the Nigerian Media not toattribute Boko Haram activitiesto Islam, adding that activitiesof the insurgents are anti-Islam.

Timehin who was reacting toquestions from newsmenduring a press conference on the100 years celebration ofAhmadiyya Muslim Jamaat inNigeria, held at Ojokoro, Lagossaid: “The fact that theinsurgents speak Arabic doesnot mean they are Muslims,Arabic is a language.

“The Media has not been fairparticularly to Islam in thereportage of Boko Haraminsurgency. They call it Islamicterrorists or Islamic group. Thereis a group in Uganda which hasbeen terrorising the country forover 25 years, nobody has calledthem Christian terrorists. Everyreligion is inherentlyrevolutionary.

"It depends on theinterpretation you give to thereligion's ideals. Muslims havebeen crying loud and clear thatIslam has nothing to do with thisbut yet the media still call themIslamic groups.

“Recall that when a group ofChristians were celebratingEaster in a church, someMuslim youths formed a ringround the Church to preventany attack on the Christians. Itwas reported during the OAU

Don’t attribute Boko Haram to Islam —Timehin

in Cotonou that the incidentwas not well reported inNigeria's media. Internationalbodies already knew thatMuslims in the north willprovide security for theChristians during worship toprevent any attack on them. Ifsuch thing was well reported,it would have informed peoplewell that the whole thing aboutBoko Haram is not about Islam.So, when an individualmisbehaves, it is not thereligion that encourages such.

Professor ofArabic language

“Arabic is a language we alllearn. Incidentally the firstprofessor of Arabic language inYoruba-land is a Christian. Hehas trained generations ofyouths both Muslims and non-Muslims in the language. Hewas even recognised by theSaudi authority.

Prof Kole Omotosho, achristian also got a Ph.D inArabic Drama from Universityof London and also Universityof Ibadan but people know himmore in Dramatic Arts but heactually studied Arabic.

“In the same vein, we haveArabs who are neither Muslimsnor Christians. Rememberagain that the Shuwa Arabs aremore in the north who speakArabic as their motherlanguage. So, it is possible that

this Boko Haram drew most oftheir followers from that area.

He added that “when theUnited States said Nigeriagovernment was not sincere infighting insurgency then, wethought they didn’t want tohelp but with the recentdevelopment, we can concludethat they knew what they weretalking about”.

From left: General Secretary, Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at Nigeria, Alhaji Abbas OlawaleIromini; Guess Lecturer II, Missionary Barrister Rabiu Uthman; Chairman of the occasion,Alhaji Abdul Malik Ahoton; Lagos State Missionary, Missionary Abdul Qahaar Olowonmiand Member House of Representative and Special Guest, Honorable Mutiu Shodimu, duringthe Seeratu Nabiyy to mark 100 years of the Jama’at in Lagos.

Sheikh Abdullah Akinbode, Chief Missioner, NASFATWorldwide, (right) Alhaji Taofeeq Adeseun, formerChairman, Zone 1 (left) and others during inaugurationceremony of Owode-Ajegunle branch last Sunday in Lagos.

From left: Alhaji Taofeeq Adeseun, former Chairman, Zone1, Alhaji Sheriff Akinpelu, Chairman Zone 1, NASFAT andrepresentative of the President, Alhaji Kamil Bolarinwaduring inauguration ceremony of Owode-Ajegunle branchlast Sunday in Lagos.

From left: Alhaji AbdulHakeem Adekoya, Chairman Owode-Ajegunle,Alhaji Zakariyau Nurain, Chairman Council of Elders, Alhaji SheriffAkinpelu, Chairman Zone 1, NASFAT 1st VP, Engr. AbdullahMohammed and 2nd VP, Alh. AbdulRauf Ayodeji during inaugurationceremony of Owode-Ajegunle branch last Sunday in Lagos.

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32—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 2016

WIFE of the Lagos StateGovernor, Mrs Bolanle

Ambode, has identified prayer as thekey to solving the sundry challengesconfronting the country.

She made the submission at theprayer for the Nation 2016,organized by Fatimah CharityFoundation, a non-governmentalorganization, at the Muson Centre,Onikan, Lagos.

Bolanle noted that although thecountry was facing a number ofchallenges like many countries of theworld, fervent prayers to God wouldspeedily resolve them.

According to her, “Prayer is the keyfor solution to all challenges in thelives of individuals or of nations. Thatis why this prayer session, meant tocommit our country into the handsof God for 2016, is a step in the rightdirection”

Speaking further, Bolanle notedthat an anti-corruption leadershipin Nigeria as it is now, wouldrestore the dignity of the country,fix infrastructure, createemployment in abundance and lifewould begin to look up again.

While commending the FatimahCharity Foundation for itscommitment to championingnational rebirth, she urged countrymen and women, to see beyond thecurrent socio-economic challengesand embrace the hope that thefuture would be glorious.

In her welcome address, theIyalode of Lagos and President,Fatima Charity Foundation, HajiaBintu-Fatima Tinubu, noted thatthe presence of the caliber ofdignitaries at the event, wastestimony that Nigeria would beprosperous again and live up to herclaim as giant of Africa.

She urged the citizenery not todespair despite challenges, stressingthat there was light at the end of thetunnel.

Speaking on the topic, “TheBenefits of Anti-corruptionLeadership in Nigeria”, the LagosState commissioner for Home Affairsand guest speaker, Dr. Abdul HakeemAbdul Lateef, enjoined the threearms of government and everyone,to participate fully in the crusadeagainst corruption and to be sensitiveto the plight of the citizenry.

He listed good leadership byexample, good parenthood andproper child up-bringing, andrecognizing religious leaders asdevelopment leaders, as necessarysteps towards ending corruption.

Present at the event were topgovernment functionaries, league oflmams and market men and womenamongst others.

Low income, capitalbarrier to women’sdevt, says LagosWomen AffairsCommissioner

By Josephine Agbonkhese

LAGOS State Commissioner for Ministryof Women Affairs and Poverty

Alleviation, Lola Akande, has called on thefederal and state governments topromulgate laws and policies that would boost women sources of income/capital.

Akande stated that such laws should bepromulgated at the federal level andreplicated in states, to boost women’sfinancial capacity in order to grow theirproductivity, which will automaticallytranslate into national productivity.

She said this while receiving top officialsof Nigeria’s premiere women-only radiostation, W.fm, at her Alausa office.

Tying women’s economic challenge tothe spate of violence and child abuse inthe society, Akande said women were notspeaking out, not only because ofstigmatization and cultural belief, butbecause majority of them lacked theresources with which to care for and defendthemselves.

“This informed the state governmentdecision to have the tuition-free SkillAcquisition Centres to empower ourwomen. Presently, this ministry has 18Skill Acquisition Centres spread across thestate, for the training of women and youthsacross the three Senatorial Districts of thestate. We hope to add more before the yearruns out,” Akande enthused.

She there appealed to good-spiritedNigerians to complement the efforts of thestate government by partnering with theMinistry in its skill acquisitionprogrammes.

While commending the radio station onits focus, she also urged its managementto complement the state government’sefforts towards ending violence againstwomen and children by publicising theministry’s programmes and helplines:08102678443, 080575426, 0805594141,08085753932 and 0815267842.

Responding on behalf of the delegation,Mrs Toun Okewale Sonaiya, ManagingDirector, (WFM 91.7), said the radiostation was set to work with every womanand girl in Nigeria, towards restoring theirdignity and bridging the gap on all mattersrelating to women and their families.

Prayer'll solve Nigeria’s problems—Bolanle Ambode

information and tools they need to timeand space their pregnancies.”

Family planning will play a criticalrole in realizing the SustainableDevelopment Goals (SDGs) – the newdevelopment agenda for the next 15years, adopted in September at theUnited Nations General Assembly –and reducing the global unmet needfor family planning services could savean estimated 1 in 4 women fromdeaths related to pregnancy orchildbirth and prevent 1.1 millioninfant deaths each year. The 2016 ICFPwill serve as a platform for globalpartners to revisit global commitmentsto family planning and accelerateprogress towards the FP2020 goal.

“Family planning is about women’srights and their capacity to makedecisions about their health and well-being, contributing to the objectives ofFP2020,” said Dr. BabatundeOsotimehin, Under-Secretary-General

CONFERENCE: From left, Wife of Lagos State Governor, Mrs. Bolanle Ambode (3rd right); Bishop Felix Adejumo;his wife & Convener, Women on the Winning Edge, Pastor Funke Felix-Adejumo; wife of Minister for Power, Works& Housing, Dame Abimbola Fashola; Group Managing Director, Rose of SharonGroup, Mrs. Folorunsho Alakija and former Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Princess Adebisi Sosan, during the 2016 Women on the Winning EdgeConference organized by the Funke Felix-Adejumo Foundation, at the Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos.

of the United Nations and ExecutiveDirector of UNFPA. “It is a mostsignificant investment to promotehuman capital development, combatpoverty and harness a demographicdividend, thus contributing to equitable and sustainable economicdevelopment within the context of theSustainable Development Goals.”

Policymakersand advocates

In the following days of theconference, scientists, researchers,policymakers and advocates attendingthe ICFP will discuss the latest trends,challenges, innovations and researchin the effort to increase access to familyplanning around the world.

Held biennially since 2009, the ICFPserves as a strategic inflection point forthe family planning communityworldwide. It provides an opportunity

for scientists, researchers, policymakersand advocates to disseminate knowledge,celebrate successes and identify nextsteps toward reaching the goal ofenabling an additional 120 millionwomen to access voluntary, qualitycontraception by 2020.

The 2016 ICFP is co-hosted by the Bill& Melinda Gates Institute for Populationand Reproductive Health at the JohnsHopkins Bloomberg School of PublicHealth and the National Population andFamily Planning Board of Indonesia(BKKBN). The conference is madepossible through the ICFP Core Group—the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation,the William and Flora HewlettFoundation, the David and LucilePackard Foundation, UNFPA, USAID,FP2020, the International PlannedParenthood Federation (IPPF), MarieStopes International (MSI) and the UNFoundation—as well as the InternationalSteering Committee and NationalSteering Committee of the ICFP.

Indonesian PresidentContinued from page 31

Lola Akande,

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 2016—33

AniomaProfessionalspartners Deltagovt on youthemployment

Abe predicts mass defection of PDP members to APC

Edo Govt flays PDP's comment on AAUinfrastructures

We check vices through undergraduatescholarships —Osanebi Foundation

Pipelineattacks: NGOlauds DefenceMinister's visit

By Simon Ebegbulem

By Oboh Agbonkhese

By Lucky Oji

SENATOR Magnus Abe,the All Progressives

Congress, APC, candidate inthe Rivers South-East senatorialdistrict re-run election, haspredicted that members of thePeoples Democratic Party, PDP,will decamp en-masse to theAPC, before the state andNational Assembly re-runelections.

Speaking at the reception ofover 700 decampees of PDP toAPC in Khana LocalGovernment Area, Senator Abesaid that the Ogoni people haverealised that PDP has nothingto offer them.

He urged those still in PDPand wishing to decamp to do soimmediately as the APC waswilling to accept them and workwith them in the campaigns,pointing out that those whoworked for the party during theelection would also beconsidered by the party invictory.

“We expect that we will worktogether to move Ogoni togreater heights whereeverybody will have a chance toprosper,” he said.

Earlier, one of the decampees,Mr. Marvin Yobana, the AfricanRepresentative in the WorldAssembly of Youths and formeraide to Mrs. Patience Jonathan,said that he was an ardentsupporter of former president,Dr. Goodluck Jonathan and wasdeceived into believing thatPresident Buhari did not likeNiger Delta people, but, 60 days

after his assumption of office,the President approved theimplementation of the UnitedNations EnvironmentProgramme, UNEP report.

He explained that thatsingular act confirms that theOgoni stand to benefit morein Buhari’s administrationthan being in opposition in

PDP.He urged Ogoni people to

vote massively for Senator Abeand other candidates of APCat the re-run elections.

By Tare Youdeowei

BENIN—EDO StateGovernment, faulted the

state chairman of PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP, in thestate, Chief Dan Orbih, over hiscomment that the projectscommissioned recently byGovernor Adams Oshiomhole atthe state- owned Ambrose AlliUniversity, Ekpoma, wereprojects initiated by the pastPDP-led administration in thestate.

The state Commissioner forInformation and Orientation,Prince Kaseem Afegbua, whodescribed the claims as wickedand irresponsible on the part ofthe PDP leadership, said thatrather than continue to makefruitless efforts to confuse thepeople of the state, the PDPleaders should hide their facesin shame considering how theyran the state aground for 10years.

Prince Afegbua, who briefednewsmen at GovernmentHouse, said, “I expected thePDP to be ashamed ofthemselves as a party, to covertheir heads in shame rather thantelling wicked lies. Nothing

could be farther than the truth.The fact of the matter is that thePDP government is aware thatin terms of development of EdoState, in terms of achievement,they have nothing to writehome about.

“The governor has increasedAAU's monthly subvention byover 150 per cent. He has also

given them infrastructural fundthat has been applied veryprudently by the managementof the university. In the last sixto seven years, we have been ableto build four different 500capacity lecture theatres apartfrom the one that was donatedby Pastor Chris Oyiakhilome,which makes it five.”

BRIEFING: From left: Mr Oluyemi Taiwo, General Secretary; Mr Ayo Ogunyadeka,National President and Mrs Kofo Adegboye, National Treasurer, all of Pest ControlAssociation of Nigeria, PECAN, during a press conference on rodent control as measurefor prevention of Lassa fever, in Lagos.

CHAIRMAN , FridayOsanebi Foundation,

FOF, Mr. Friday Osanebi,has said that the foundationwas using its undergraduatescholarship programme tocheck vices and socially-related challenges amongNigerian youths.

Osanebi, who is theDeputy Speaker, Delta StateHouse of Assembly, at thePeoples Democratic Party,PDP, stakeholders meetingin Ushie, Ndokwa East LocalGovernment Area of thestate, said, "I have been astreet boy, and I understandthe thoughts and emotions ofstudents on the streets. I feel

their pulse and understandthe challenges they face to beeducated. So, what we aredoing in FOF is to touch livesas much as God gives us thegrace.”

He said the foundation waspositioned to extend itsempowerment philosophy toindigent Nigerian studentsand motivate them to befocused.

Osanebi added thatbeneficiaries were expected tomake a Cumulative GradePoint Average, CGPA, of notless than 3.5 or its equivalentof second class upper andabove, every year to remainbeneficiaries of thescholarship that will run tillgraduation.

By Victor Ahiuma-Young

ASSOCIATION ofAnioma Professionals,

AAP, has said that it wascompiling a data base ofunemployed youths in thestate, with the aim ofpartnering the government incombating unemploymentand youth restiveness in thestate.

The group, during afamiliarization andsensitization tour of the localgovernment areas in the ninecouncils of Anioma ethnicnationalities, said thatunemployment was the majorproblem of the youths in thearea.

Led by its President General,Dr. Clement Nwadozie, AAPsaid that it was committed tomoral re -orientation of theyouths, engagement in skillacquisition, financialassistance, organisation ofworkshops and seminars onregular basis as well ashosting of sports festivals,among other socio-economicactivities for the youths.

WARRI PeaceMonitors, a non-

governmental organisation,NGO, has commended thevisit by the Minister ofDefence, Brigadier-GeneralMonsur Mohammed Dan-Ali(retd), Chief of Defence Staff,Major-General AbayomiOlonishakin and other militarypersonnel to Delta State, foron-the-spot assessment of therecent vandalization of criticaloil and gas infrastructure in thestate.

The group, in a statement byits Chairman, Albert Ebikoro,noted: “The visit will no doubtdeepen intelligence on theimmediate and remote causesof the recurring vandalizationof oil facilities, illegalbunkering and the consequentdespoliation of theenvironment.”

The visit, the groupmaintained, will provide “alasting solution to thiscondemnable act, as the nationis today faced with problemsranging from falling oil pricesand value of the naira, unrestin the North East and SouthEastern parts of the country.”

Jubilation in Delta over Omo-Agege's swearing-in

ASABA—THE people ofDelta Central senatorial

district, yesterday, went intojubilation, following the swearing-in of Obaisi Ovie Omo-Agege asthe senator representing thedistrict by the President of theSenate, Senator Bukola Saraki, atthe National Assembly, in Abuja.

The people who danced roundsome streets in Ughelli, Orogun,Sapele, Effurun and Okpe,described Omo-Agege'sinauguration in the Senate as agood omen for the Urhobo nation.

The swearing-in of Omo-Agegeof the Labour Party was sequel tothe Appeal Court judgment whichremoved Chief Ighoyota Amori ofthe Peoples Democratic Party, PDP

Speaking to Vanguard, thenational leader of Urhobo YouthsNationality Council, OlorogunJaro Egbo, a prominent Urhoboleader, Chief Austin Uloho, MrFriday Onodjae and Prince ElvisOharisi, said it was a new dawnfor the people of the area.

Congratulating Omo-Agege onhis swearing-in, Egbo expressedconfidence that Omo-Agegewould give adequaterepresentation to the Urhobo

nation.Uloho, on his part, said that

the election of Omo-Agege intothe Senate was a good omen forthe Urhobo, noting that Omo-Agege was very passionate and

committed to the Urhoboproject.

Onodjae said: “The Urhobowill for once see whatrepresentation at the Senatemeans. Omo-Agege is a man

that will use his contacts to attractdevelopment to Delta Central.”

Speaking in the same vein,Oharisi said, “This is the handof God. The Urhobo mandatehas been restored."

By Festus Ahon

34 —Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 2016

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Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 2016 — 35

BOKO HARAM: Kabiru Sokoto sues FG over conviction

Bello appoints Vanguard reporter as CPS

Plateau NUTfaults allegedplan to recruitnon-professionalteachers

MOU: From left; Governors Ibrahim Gaidam of Yobe, Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto and KashimShettima of Borno; US Ambassador to Nigeria, James Enthwistle and Governor Nasir El-Rufai atthe signing of MoU for the expansion of immunisation activities in six Northern States, in Kaduna.

Fidson earmarksN4.8m to rewardloyalty

By Tare Youdeowei

Lawmaker tasked on purposefulrepresentation

JOS—THE Plateau State chapter of the Nigeria

Union of Teachers, NUT, hasdecried the influx of amateursinto the teaching professionwhich it says is contributing tothe low standard of educationin the state.

The State Chairman of theUnion, Mr. Gunshin Yarlings, who disclosed this yesterdayin Jos promised that the unionwill resist attempt to maketeaching profession an “allcomers affairs”.

He added that all handsmust be on deck in sanitizingthe profession if Nigeria reallywants to improve on itseducation sector.

Yarlings was reacting togovernment’s proposed planto recruit 500,000 teachers,adding that the exercise mustbe transparent and conductedwith professionalism as, “wewill resist attempt by anybodyto make teaching an allcomersaffairs.”

He maintained that onlyNational Certificate inEducation (NCE) holders,Education degree holders andother teaching recognizedcertificates should be engagedin teaching.

“The education sector hasgrossly decayed becauseunqualified teachers arerecruited,'' he said.

THE sum ofN37.2 million has been

earmarked by FidsonHealthcare Plc as reward forits customers in a rewardscheme tagged: ‘Astymin GetAlert campaign’ to celebrate thebrand at 15.

Mr. Ola Ijimakin, GeneralManager, Marketing, of thecompany said customers willwin N10, 000 every day of amonth for 12 months, which isN3.6 million and N100, 000 byone person each month for 12months which is N1.2 million,totalling N4.8 million, if thecustomer purchases theAstymin brand, and scratch afoil on the pack, and send thenumber on the pack to 1393.

He also stated that thecustomer will get aconfirmation message from thecode which eventually willlead to an electronic draw thatwill produce the winners, evenas online participants will berewarded.

LOKOJA—KOGI StateGovernor, Yahaya Bello

has appointed his Chief ofState, special Adviser onMedia Strategy and ChiefPress Secretary.

Amongst the appointees is areporter with VanguardNewspaper, Kingsley Fanwo, whois to serve as Chief Press Secretary.

of the state and has worked asa correspondent with Vanguardnewspaper.

The governor, who said theappointments are withimmediate effect, congratulatesthe appointees and demandsutmost commitment and humbleservice to the state from them.

By Boluwaji Obahopo

FIVE million naira is up forgrab as the God’s Children

Great Talent, GCGT, is set to kickstart the season 6 of its annualgospel talent contest

The programme will giveuntapped talents in the city theopportunity to go away with awhopping sum of N5 million cashprize.

God’s Children Great TalentGCGT, a gospel talent

development contest, is aplatform for discovering,nurturing and producing youngtalents and stars in various fieldsof artistic expressions acrossNigeria, the United Kingdom,Europe and the United States ofAmerica.

Pastor Bimbo Ozomah, memberof the Organising team of theevent, said that “God’s Children’sGreat talent is a credible platformprovided to help identify earlytalents in children. These talentsare then honed for the greatergood of the child and the society.”

By Prince Okafor

N5m up for grabs in 2016 GCGTtalent hunt

ABUJA—THE AbujaDivision of the Federal High

Court has fixed February 4 to heara fresh suit lodged against theFederal Government by theconvicted kingpin of the BokoHaram sect, Kabiru Umar. a.k.a.Kabiru Sokoto.

The High Court had onDecember 20, 2013, convicted andsentenced Sokoto to lifeimprisonment after he was foundguilty of masterminding the Christmas day bomb blast thatkilled about 44 persons andwounded 75 others at St.Theresa’s Catholic Church atMadalla, Niger State, in 2011.

In his judgment, trial JusticeAdeniyi Ademola said he wassatisfied that the federalgovernment successfullyestablished the culpability of theconvict beyond every reasonabledoubt, noting that ‘Sokoto’ had intwo separate confessionalstatements, admitted that he hadprior knowledge of the attack.

The court noted that the accusedperson, throughout the trial, nevershowed any remorse for hisactions, describing him as “apathological liar with no regardsfor the truth.”

Besides, the court observed that‘Sokoto’ had in a statement hevoluntarily made on January 14,2012, shortly after he wasapprehended, confessed that hewas a key member of the BokoHaram sect.

Justice Adeniyi who read aportion of the said statement wherethe accused person averred: “Herein Abaji, nobody knows that I ama Boko Haram member, much so,I have about 500 children that Iteach Quran”, added that ‘Sokoto’,

in page four of his statement,confessed that under hissupervision, “the Madallachurch bombing was carried outby one Bashir Mohammed,Muhktar Kafanchan and otherswho I cannot remember theirnames now.”

The court further noted that oneof the eight Boko Harammembers the accused gave AK-47 Rifles and directed to bombpolice stations and othergovernment agencies in Sokotostate, after he was caught by ateam of policemen during ashootout, exposed the operationsof the sect and fingered ‘KabiruSokoto’ as the person in chargeof the coordination of bombattacks.

Meantime, Sokoto who earlierinstituted N300 million suitagainst the government overalleged torture, yesterday, re-approached the high court,accusing the federal government

of frustrating his efforts to get hisconviction upturned at the Courtof Appeal.

In a fresh motion on notice hefiled through his lawyer, Mr.Sheriff Okoh, Sokoto furtheralleged that the Comptroller ofPrisons and his men have madeit impossible for him to haveaccess to his lawyer, to enable himperfect his appeal process.

The motion which has theComptroller General of Prisons,CGP, and Attorney General ofthe Federation, AGF, asrespondents, is seeking an orderfrom the court, compelling therespondents to allow Sokotowho is currently detained at theKirikiri Maximum SecurityPrison, Lagos, to have access tohis legal team.

The applicant is equally seekinga declaration that the federalgovernment, by denying himaccess to his lawyers, havethus violated his right to fair

hearing, right to counsel andaccess to justice.

In a supporting affidavitdeposed to by Okoh, it wasalleged that several applicationsto the CGP by Sokoto’s lawyerfor opportunity to see him, wereturned down.

“We have made severalpersonal contacts with the 1stdefendant (CGP), his men: S. N.Nwanchukwu (PSO), E. O.Ogundele (DCG) among others,at the Nigeria Prisonsheadquarters, Abuja in a bid topersuade them to permit us tosee the applicant, but they keptmaking us indulge in fruitlessreturns for approvals from the2nd respondent (AGF) that hasnot come for over two years.

“Wherefore, we verily believethat their actions are aimed atensuring that the applicant’sappeal of his conviction andsentence continues to befrustrated in perpetuity.''

By Ikechukwu Nnochiri

The other two appointees areMr. Edward Onoja and Mr.Abdulkarim Abdulmalik.

Onoja is to serve as Chief ofStaff to the Governor, whileAbdulmalik is the SpecialAdviser on Media andStrategy.

Kingsley Fanwo, who is nowthe Chief Press Secretary tothe Governor hails fromTakete-Ide in Mopamuro LGA

By Marie-ThereseNanlong

THE Warri ProgressiveForum, WPF, has urged the

member representing Warri South,I, Constituency in the Delta StateHouse of Assembly, MrsOmawumi Udoh to key into theSMART Agenda of the Delta Stategovernment so as to better the livesher constituents.

The WPF, which was thecampaign organisation of Udohurged Udoh to see her victory atthe Court of Appeal as call tofurther work towards thedeepening of democracy inNigeria.

Addressing newsmen in Warri,Spokesperson of the group andSpecial Adviser, News Media toDelta State governor, Mr. MichaelTidi said: “We are pleased to offerour most sincere congratulations

upon Hon. Omawumi Udoh’shistoric oath-taking as theHonorable Member representingWarri South 1, Constituency in theDelta State House of Assembly.

”Warri South youths and eldersalike are happy with thisdevelopment because theupholding of her mandate by theappellate court was a rulinggrounded in solid legalprecedence and jurisprudence. At least just for once, our faith inNigeria’s judiciary has beenrestored, even though we stillbelieve that branch ofgovernment needs to bereorganized and better stillsanitized.

”We hope that she will be quitehumbled by the tortuous electoraljourney she went through andcannot afford to conduct thebusiness of legislation withoutregard for the genuine feelingsof her constituents.''

By Elizabeth Nwandu

36—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 2016

WAKE: From left— Assistant Production Manager, Mr. Soji Olawale;Admin Officer, Mr. Francis Oputa-Oji; Assistant Transport Manager, Mr.Solomon Emori, and Chief Driver, Mr. Felix Oregbeyiwa, all of VanguardMedia Ltd., at the Christian wake-keep of late Mr. Sunday Otuonye, WorkshopSuperintendent, at Olodi-Apapa, Lagos. PHOTOS: Kehinde Gbadamosi.

MEETING: From left—Head, Human Resources, DHL GlobalForwarding Nigeria limited, Western Africa, Mr. Jose Rodrigues; FundDevelopment & Communications Adviser, SOS Children Villages, Mrs. UcheOdiase-Omozoje; Managing Director, DHL Global, Mrs. Heather Frankle,and Finance & Control Adviser, SOS-Children Village, Mr. Tunde Irunukhar,at the breakfast meeting to brainstorm on the 3-year partnership agreementbetween the groups on youth development.

From left— Chief Sunday Okelebi, Mr. Monday Okelese, Mr. ClementOnyekwere, Mr. Sunday Nduka, and Mr. Peter Ineddi, relations of late Mr.Otuonye, during the wake.

MTN FOUNDATION: From left— Executive Secretary, MTNFoundation, Ms. Nonny Ugboma; Corporate Services/Human ResourcesExecutive, MTN Nigeria, Mrs. Amina Oyagbola, and Ms. Olubunmi Ajayi,chaperon travelling with the 14 beneficiaries of the Foundation's MedicalIntervention Scheme to India for heart surgeries.

ECONOMIC OUTLOOK: From left— Coordinator NetworksBusiness Club, Mr. Emeka Ndu; Pastor Idowu Iluyomade; GMD Access BankGroup, Mr. Herbert Wigwe; Former, MD Shell Petroleum DevelopmentCooperation, Mr. Mutiu Sunmonu; Former Executive Chairman, NigerianCommunications Commission, Dr. Ernest Ndukwe; Commissioner forEconomic Planning and Budget, Mr. Akinyemi Ashade; Chairman, NetworksBusiness Club, Mr. Ernest Ebi; and MD Financial Derivatives, Mr. BismarckRewane, at the Nigerian Economic Outlook 2016 organised by NetworksBusiness Club of RCCG, City of David.

CIPM'S LEADERS FORUM: From left— Head, Learning andDevelopment, Mrs Titi Ashiru; President, Chairman of Council, Mr. AnthonyArabome; Nigeria National Treasurer, Mrs Ifeoma Adeniyi; Vice Chairman,Learning and Development Committee, Mrs Modupe Oyekunle, and Director,Professional Development Directorate, Dr. Charles Ugwu, all of CharteredInstitute of Personnel Management of Nigeria, CIPM, at the institute's 2016Learning Leaders Forum in Lagos.

OYSAA PARLEY: From left— General Manager, CitiMark OutdoorLimited, Mr. Ayo Balogun; Director-General, Oyo State Signage andAdvertising Agency, OYSAA, Mr. Babs Fagade, and Chief Executive Officer,Mediatek Global Limited, Mr. Dotun Solanke, after a stakeholder parley byOYSAA, Ibadan, Oyo State.

CONVOCATION: From left— Miss Folashade Adediran, MissTitilayo Adediran, Master Abiola Adediran, and Miss Omolara Adediran,during the convocation ceremony of The Polytechnic, Ibadan, recently.

CMYK

VANGUARD, FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 2016—37

Continues on page 39

THE Supreme Court ofNigeria has since 1963

when it became the court of fi-nal arbitration been regardedas a god which can do andundo. Last Wednesday, thecourt, out of the blues, gave afinal ruling on three governor-ship contests that inevitably puta seal to the aspirations of someof the major political contend-ers in three states – Rivers,Ebonyi and Ogun.

However, of the three, nonehas drawn more controversyand searchlight than the judg-ment in Rivers. It validated themandate of Governor NyesomWike of the Peoples DemocraticParty, PDP and cut off the aspi-ration of Dr. Dakuku Peterside,his major rival from the AllProgressives Congress, APC.

The finality of the judgmentand the consequence remain awonder to many supporters ofDakuku who had been eggedon by the positive judgmentsgiven by the two lower courts.The Tribunal and the Court ofAppeal had earlier annulled

By Emmanuel Aziken,Political Editor

•Wike: Wins at Supreme Court

Warped or wise?THE Supreme Court judgment affirming Governor Nyesom Wikeas the validly elected governor of Rivers State will stretch theimaginations and permutations of political gladiators.

WIKE IN RIVERS:

the election that brought Wiketo office on the strength of whatwas claimed as the non adher-ence by the electoral officers inthe state to the guidelines forthe election issued by the In-dependent National ElectoralCommission, INEC.

One of the major guidelineswas that votes which do notpass through the test of the cardreader should be discounte-nanced.

Subsistingprovisions

Remarkably, the Dakuku le-gal team had at the lower courtsproduced two senior officials ofINEC who affirmed that thegovernorship election in Riv-ers State was largely conductedin disregard of the subsistingprovisions of the Electoral Act.

That was besides the ava-lanche of reports of violencethat characterised the elections.Reflective of suggestions of thepoor conduct of the elections,the elections that produced allthree senators and all ninemembers of the House of Rep-resentatives from the state

were dismissed by the Court ofAppeal.

In dismissing the appeal byWike against the judgment ofthe Tribunal for a rerun of thegovernorship election, theCourt of Appeal had said thatit would be a bad precedent tooverlook the glaring malprac-

tices that attended the election."It portends great danger for

our democracy and electoralprocess for INEC officials tohave the effrontery and temer-ity to thwart laid down direc-tives and go ahead to conductelections according to their ownwhims and caprices, notwith-standing the approved guide-lines".

Remarkably, the elections thatproduced the majority of themembers of the State House ofAssembly have also been an-nulled by the Court of Appealwhich ordered fresh electionsin the affected constituencies.

Suggestive of what was al-leged as the wide scale impro-prieties that characterised thegovernorship and the stateHouse of Assembly electionsthat took place on the sameday, the 32 member State Houseof Assembly has been unableto form a quorum because ofthe annulment of the electionsof 22 members of the state leg-islators who were all but oneelected on the platform of thePDP.

The annulment of the elec-tions of the legislators had

given hope to the camp of theAPC that at worst, a fresh gov-ernorship election would beordered as had been done forthe legislative election. Sug-gestions of a fresh governorshipelection had in recent times cre-ated panic among residentsand stakeholders who livedthrough the orgy of violencethat characterised the cam-paigns and processes that ledto the 2015 governorship elec-tion. Scores of persons werekilled in the violence mar-shalled by sympathisers of thecontenders. Not even securitymen were spared in the vio-lence.

Wednesday’s judgment, tostave off another election,would no doubt be welcomedby panicky residents, even if,the decision would be seen asa pain to democracy enthusi-asts.

Wike and Dakuku had in thelast few months been on cam-paign mood preparatory to afresh election. Governor Wike’son the spot inspections ofprojects in Port-Harcourt werelargely seen as pre-campaignactivities, especially when henormally came out to denouncethe activities of his predeces-sor, Chibuke Amaechi, who islargely regarded as the powerbehind Dakuku.

The decision to uphold theelection of Wike would irre-trievably mean a continuationof the political face off betweenAmaechi and Wike, who wasonce his chief of staff as gover-nor but who subsequentlyemerged as Amaechi's most for-midable political rival in thestate.

The next battles: The stagingpost for the next battle betweenthe two men would be the forth-coming rerun elections in theNational Assembly constituen-cies and the vacant seats in theHouse of Assembly.

Widespreadallegations

Amaechi is expected to mo-bilise his supporters with a freerhand given widespread allega-tions that the GoodluckJonathan administration sup-pressed him through the in-strumentality of federal securityforces during the 2015 elec-tions. The showdown in theforthcoming elections woulddetermine the scale of politicalpower in the state as the PDPand the APC fight to get theadvantage over one another.

Conspiracies: It was not be-ing voiced out by many, thereare, however, suggestions thatthe Supreme Court decisionmay have been a bold reactionby the judiciary to the allegeddisobedience of court orders byPresident Muhammadu Buhariin recent cases involving some

The finality ofthe judgment andthe consequencewas still awonder to manysupporters ofDakuku who hadbeen egged on bythe positivejudgments givenby the two lowercourts

CMYK

38—VANGUARD, FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 2016

THESE are not the best oftimes for the

administration of AbdulfatahAhmed in Kwara State as aresult of its failure to be up todate with the payment ofsalaries.

Virtually all the civilservants in the state have notbeen paid in the last fivemonths, leading to industrialaction embarked upon by theNigeria Union of LocalGovernment Employees,NULGE.

The leadership of the unionhas vowed not to return towork unless the stategovernment pays theaccumulated wages.

Advocacymeeting

In a chat with Vanguard,Secretary of NULGE,Comrade Abayomi A?folabi,noted that the strike wouldremain until the needful isdone by the state govern-ment.

The worst hit is the educa-tion sector where both pri-mary and post- primaryschools have remainedclosed, resulting indiscontent among parents andguardians.

Worried about the situation,16 Local Governmentchairmen in the state underthe aegis of Association ofLocal Government Council ofNigeria, ALGON, and thestate chapter of the AllProgressives Congress, APC,convened an advocacymeeting among stakeholdersto find a solution to the

corruption cases.The Supreme Court prides it-

self as the ultimate protector ofthe law of the country and see-ing court decisions beingflouted by the APC led admin-istration may have infuriatedthe jurists in the apex court whosome now claim, may have de-cided to showcase its powersby hurting the APC led govern-ment where it pained most inRivers State. Some also recol-lect how the Supreme Courtalso dealt a severe blow on aformer president who allegedlytrampled with the power of thejudiciary. Interestingly, it issuggested in some quartersthat that case may have also ledthe Supreme Court to delay itsdeclaratory judgment that

helped Amaechi to becomegovernor in 2007.

Ahead of the 2007 election,the court had upheld the nomi-nation of a former disciple ofthe president turned foe, Sena-tor Ifeanyi Ararume as the PDPgovernorship candidate in theelection in Imo State.

President OlusegunObasanjo, the leader of the PDPat that time had in annoyanceof the judgment of the courtgone to Owerri and declaredthat the PDP does not have acandidate, a development thatallowed the emergence of Mr.Ikedi Ohakim of the Progres-sive Peoples Alliance, PPA asgovernor of the state.

Having seen its intentscorned by the president, theapex court allegedly waited toget its pound of flesh on the

rists using their body languageto show their anger at the con-tempt of the judiciary by thosewho hold executive power.

Other innuendoes that arebound to surface include thefact that the spouse of a Su-preme Court justice is an im-placable foe of Amaechi.

WIKE IN RIVERS: Warped or wise?

By Demola Akinyemi

How salarycrisis is holdingAhmed’s Kwarahostage•Ahmed: Not the best of times

Continues from page 37

impasse.The forum was also aimed at

sensitising the public aboutthe factors responsible for thecrisis and as well plead thatthey return to work.

To achieve their aim, thechairmen, who visited thethree senatorial districts in thestate, also made a stop at thepalace of the Emir of Ilorin,Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu Gambari.

While appealing to the Emirto prevail on workers to returnto work, the chairmendisclosed that all revenuealternatives had been utilisedwithout success.

From the state council ofchiefs also came the call forsynergy between the state

•Peterside: APC governorshipcandidate

government and the leader-ship of the labour unions inorder to find amicable solutionto the problem.

The traditional rulers, after

their meeting, urged the?state government to ensurethat the welfare of its workersat all levels remain paramountas soon as the financial sta-tus of the state improves.

This among others was con-tained in a communiqué is-sued at the end of an emer-gency meeting of all the tra-ditional rulers in the state.

Held at the Emir's Palaceand attended by members ofthe traditional council,representatives of all localgovernments and theleadership of the labourunions, the gathering wasaimed at deliberating on theprotracted funding challengesfacing the state.

The communiqué reads:

"Given the need to forestallany impending strike actionsthat may occur and in view ofthe fact that the masses areterribly affected by the pau-city of fund to pay workers, itis therefore pertinent to ap-praise the entire gamut of theissue with a view to contrib-uting to what may becomesuccour to the problems.

"The council notes that theinability of both the state andlocal governments topresently provide adequatefunds for the payment ofsalaries and allowances andmeet other commitments ofgovernance, at ratescommensurate with pastprovisions, had arisen due tothe drastic fall in the statutoryallocation from the FederationAccount."

Statutoryallocation

“The Internally GeneratedRevenue by both the state andlocal governments has notbeen adequate to bridge thefunding gap noting that thenewly established KwaraState Internal Revenue Serv-ice will assist in curbing leak-ages and enhance revenuebase of the state.

"The council observed thatthe workers are entitled totheir salaries because it is aright and not a privilege.

"We sympathise with thestate government for nothaving enough money fortheir projects and to satisfy theneeds of the people butappeal to the Kwara Stategovernment and the 16 LocalGovernment Chairmen tocontinue to explore allavenues for stabilizing thesituation.

"After an exhaustive discus-sion with the leadership of the

Continues on page 37

The councilobserved that theworkers areentitled to theirsalaries because itis a right and not aprivilege

former president. Twoweeks after the presidentexited office, the courtshocked many when itsacked Obasanjo’s ManFriday, Andy Uba as gov-ernor of Anambra State.

Just as it did onWednesday night, thecourt did not give its rea-sons immediately andwaited much longer towrite out its judgment.Such actions some sug-gest could mean the ju-

Though all such claims of apolitical or underhand motif forthe judgment remain specula-tive, political stakeholders arebound to bring such innuen-does to play in giving theirown interpretations of the judg-ment.

CMYK

VANGUARD, FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 2016—39

Continues from page 37

EIGHT months ago, afterwinning the governorship

elections in Plateau state on theplatform of the All ProgressivesCongress, APC, Governor Si-mon Lalong began the journeyof governance by constitutingdifferent committees to look intothe various activities of hispredecessor, Jonah Jang, nowsenator representing PlateauNorth in the Senate.

Many in the state had ap-plauded the steps taken by thegovernor at that time, while oth-ers saw the exercise as a wasteof time, energy and resources.Even some others were in be-tween opinion.

Huge debtprofile

However, the applause for thegovernor quickly began toplummet when the governorembarked on a borrowing spreedespite the huge debt profilehe inherited a situation thatwas worsened when he tookmore than six months to con-stitute his cabinet. Even moretouching was the fact that ittook more than seven monthsto clear the arrears of salariesof civil servants.

Now, fresh issues are beingraised to portray the governoras having seemingly failed tosustain the goodwill withwhich he came to office.

Among the fresh issues en-

tangling the governor includethe sack of the elected localgovernment chairmen last year,the choice of his cabinet mem-bers, the administration’s sourpublic relations, the allegedexpenditure of about N600 mil-lion in the celebrations of Sal-lah and Christmas, accusationof suppression of some tribesin the state, the purported face-off between him and the Min-ister of Youth and Sports De-velopment, Solomon Dalungand the lopsided appointmentsamong others.

Though the Governor andDalong have denied any face-off between them, feelers, how-

ever, indicate that there is moreto it as it appears a cold war isalready raging in the factionsof the APC in the state.

Among those disenchantedwith the governor are the An-aguta Youths Movement andthe Plateau Unity Forum, Abu-ja who have accused the Gov-ernor of a ploy to “seize theirancestral lands to give to non-indigenes” as well as his “re-fusal to consult other stakehold-ers in appointment of Commis-sioners and his alleged insen-sitivity to those that assistedhim to power.”

The President of AnagutaYouth Movement, AYM, EmniNyam allege that previous ad-ministrations both civilian and

military recognized the statusof the Anaguta people and ac-corded them their rightfulplace but the reverse was thecase now.

"Previous administrations inPlateau State have recognizedthe Anaguta people in terms ofpolitical appointment especial-ly as regards to membership inthe State Executive Council aswell as other sensitive appoint-ments in the State and JosNorth local government area.

"The present administrationof Governor Lalong has delib-erately and craftily failed, re-fused and neglected to followthe right and proper precedentand solid foundation laid by theprevious administrations in rec-

ognizing and honouring theAnaguta people.

The outburst follows thechoice of three persons from theHausa community in Jos Northto fill the three major positionsallocated to the Council whichinclude the office of the Depu-ty Chief of Staff, Governor’sOffice, the Secretary of theTransition Committee of JosNorth as well as the Commis-sioner representative from thelocal government area.

Reacting to the issue, the Sen-ior Special Assistant to the Gov-ernor, Mark Longyen deniedthe allegations stressing thatthe governor is committed tocarrying all the tribes in thestate along in governance.

According to him, "The An-aguta people are not beingmarginalized; we are calling onthem to be patient because allthe tribes in the local govern-ment are entitled to be appoint-ed. Governor Lalong is apply-ing principle of balance and isnot marginalizing any tribe;they would also be carriedalong in government."

Similarly, an Abuja-basedgroup, Plateau Unity Forumwhich claims to have mobilizedabout N100 million for the gov-ernor’s campaign hinted thatmore trouble is on the way asthey decried the frosty relation-ship between the governor andthe three Senators from theState saying it portrays lack ofunity.

Fund raisingdinner

The group’s spokespersons,Pastor Jerry Datim and Mrs.Dikkof challenged stakehold-ers in the State to “rise to therescue and bring the leaderstogether before Plateau disin-tegrates.”

The assertions were immedi-ately dismissed by the Directorof Press and Public Affairs tothe Governor, Emmanuel Nan-le who said, “I am not aware ofany group called Plateau Uni-ty Forum mobilizing N100m forGovernor Lalong during theelectioneering campaign.

“The Plateau People in Abu-ja came together in Abuja tohost Gov Lalong to a Stakehold-ers’ Meeting and fund raisingdinner which gave several ofthem the opportunity of contrib-uting their widow’s mite to therescue campaign.”

In all of these, relative peacehas been observed to have setin; perhaps, due to the appoint-ment of the "non indigenes"that, the people have allegedto be responsible for the crisesthat have bedevilled the statein the past years.

Indeed, the killings in Riyomand Barkin Ladi, which oc-curred almost on daily basishave ceased, and some allegethat it may be a result of the“all-inclusive style of govern-ance”, Lalong has introducedto involve the so called non-indigenes; at least to give thema sense of belonging.

THE goodwill that shadowed the advent of theSimon Lalong led administration in Plateau State isbeing ebbed by multifarious challenges.

Lalong’s lingeringproblems on thePlateau

By Marie-ThereseNanlong

•Lalong: Denies face-off with Dalung

Though theGovernor andDalong havedenied any face-offbetween them,feelers, however,indicate that thereis more to it as itappears a cold waris already raging inthe factions of theAPC in the state

labour unions, they haveagreed to convince their mem-bers to call off the strike andfurther resolve that we shouldwork to ensure that subse-quent salaries are regularlypaid as and when due.

"The one month salary ar-rears must be paid before thecommencement of the bio-metrics exercise and to alsourge the government to re-view the number of emolu-ments of political office hold-ers? at both state and localgovernment levels as theirstatus cannot be compared tothose of the civil servants.

"The state government isalso urged to urgently set up

a committee to address theissue of ghost workers andpensioners at the local gov-ernment areas.’’

On its part, the state gov-ernment had earlier conveneda similar forum in Ilorin whereit pleaded for patience overthe paucity of funds in thestate.

Paucityof funds

The Commissioner for Fi-nance Alhaji NurudeenBanu, who led thegovernment delegation, hadhectic time explaining thesituation.

Those present include lead-

ers of NULGE, Nigeria Unionof Teachers , NUT, pensioners,health workers and marketwomen among others .

Banu told the gathering :"The state was collectingN3.4billion before the fall ofthe prices of crude oil in theinternational market but nowit has reduced to N1.4billionevery month.

“Apart from this, theInternally GeneratedRevenue is N200millionevery month while the ExcessCrude fund is N400millionevery month but this cannotresolve the current precariousfinancial situation in KwaraState."

“Our monthly wage bill isN2.4billion and this is a

serious deficit to the stategovernment in view of theN1.4billion we collect asfederal allocation."

While appealing forpatience Banu urged thestakeholders to come out withfacts that would help the stateout of the present financiallogjam.

Proffering solutions, theNUT called on the stategovernor and other politicaloffice holders to forfeit theirsecurity votes and other fringebenefits pending the time theeconomy of the stateimproves.

This, they said would alsohelp the state to meet itsfinancial commitments toworkers.

How salary crisis is holding Ahmed’s Kwara hostage

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W I L L I A M — I ,formerly known, calledand addressed as MissWilliam RoselineAkpevweoghene, nowwish to be known,called and addressedas Mrs VaikosenR o s e l i n eAkpevweoghene. Alldocuments bearing myformer name remainvalid. General Publicplease note.

OKORIE—I, formerlyknown as OkorieEkene Freedom, nowwish to be known asFreedoline EkeneAmange. All formerdocuments remainvalid. Generalpublic take note.

Confirmation of NameThis is to confirm thatthe name Alikali Ada,refers to one and thesame person asAlakali Ada. But nowwish to be known andaddressed as AlkaliAda. All formerdocuments remainvalid. Keystone Bankand general publicplease take note.

ADUDU—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss Adudu AnitaUnoma, now wish tobe known andaddressed as Mrs.Eyidia Anita Unoma.All former documentsremain valid. NYSC,University of PortHarcourt and generalpublic please takenote.

S H A A P E R A — I ,formerly known andaddressed as MissCatherine Shaapera,now wish to be knownand addressed as MrsCatherine Orhungur.All former documentsremain valid. GumaLocal GovernmentArea and GeneralPublic please take note.

I S L A M I YAT — I ,formerly known andaddressed as MissIslamiyat KhalidBello, now wish to beknown andaddressed as MrsI s l a m i y a tAbdulyekeen Bello.All former documentsremain valid. General publicplease take note.

40—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 2016

VanguardVanguardVanguardVanguardVanguardCLASSIFIED

D A N L A D I — I ,formerlly known andaddressed asMurjanatu Danladi,now wish to be knownand addressed asMurjanatu Abubakar.All former documentsremain valid. Mayo-belwa L.G.A ofAdamawa state andgeneral public shouldplease take note.

DURU—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss DuruChizoba Eugenia andMrs. Olaogun,Chizoba Eugenia,now wish to be knownand addressed as Mrs.Oladayo ChizobaEugenia. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

Correction of NameMy name wasmistakenly written onmy GTB bank accountas Fidelis Richardinstead of FidelisRichard Udokah. Mycorrect name is nowFidelis RichardUdokah. All formerdocuments remainvalid. GTB Bank andgeneral public pleasetake note.

ORJI—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss Orji ChukaPerpetua, now wish tobe known andaddressed as Mrs.Nwobodo ChukaPerpetua. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

IGWE—I, formerlyknown and addressedas OgbonnayaChukwudi Igwe, nowwish to be known andaddressed as Mrs.Ogbonna Chukwu.All former documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

UNACHUKWU—I,formerly known andaddressed as MissUnachukwu RuthObianujunwa, nowwish to be known andaddressed as Mrs.Okwuosa RuthN g o z i k aObianujunwa. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

JOSEPH—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Jubilee Odiezor,now wish to be knownand addressed asJubilee JosephOdiezor. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

LOIKI—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss OmosuyiEmilola Loiki, nowwish to be known andaddressed as Mrs.Omosuyi EmilolaTheresa. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

I B E Z I M A K O — I ,formerly known andaddressed as MissIbezimako ChiomaChinazom, now wishto be known andaddressed as Mrs.Chindo ChiomaChinazom. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

ERNEST—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Oforkaja ErnestNzubechukwu, nowwish to be known andaddressed as OforkajaMikel Nzubechukwu.All former documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

NWAINOKPOR—I,formerly known andaddressed as MissIfeanyichukwu HelenUchenna, now wish tobe known andaddressed as Mrs.Nwainokpor HelenUchenna. All formerdocuments remainvalid. UBA andgeneral public, pleasetake note.

O N Y E B U C H I — I ,formerly known andaddressed as MissChioma KateOnyebuchi, now wishto be known andaddressed as Mrs.Chioma KateMeregini. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

TOHEEB—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Toheeb GbolahunOlasunka Bashorun,now wish to be knownand addressed asToheeb GbolahunO l a s u n k a n m iBashorun. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

BASSEY—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Akpan BasseyComfort, now wish tobe known andaddressed as AkpanMmaete Comfort. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

P R I N C E S S — I ,formerly known andaddressed as MissIyedo PrincessNyerovwo, now wish tobe known andaddressed as Mrs.Asin PrincessNyerovwo. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

IKOYO—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss IkoyoOghenevwairhe, nowwish to be known andaddressed as Mrs.Edafiekpako AseromaO g h e n e v w a i r h eTreasure. All formerdocuments remainvalid. Access Bank,First Bank and generalpublic please takenote.

RITA—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss ItianiOghenekevwe Rita,now wish to be knownand addressed asMrs. OghenekevweRita Ogwu. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

L A W R E N C E — I ,formerly known andaddressed as MissFrances ObianujuLawrence, now wish tobe known andaddressed as Mrs.Frances ObianujuOkuhon. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

OWOH—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss Ifeoma JuliethOwoh, now wish to beknown and addressedas Mrs. Ifeoma JuliethChime. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

ADEKU —I, formerlyknown and addressedas Adeku SamuelOluwafemi, now wishto be known andaddressed asAdekusibe SamuelOluwafemi. All formerdocuments remain thesame, general publictake note.

B A B A L O L A — I ,formerly known andaddressed asO l u w a m a y o w aRoselyn Agbana, nowwish to be known andaddressed asO l u w a m a y o w aRoselyn Babalola. Allformer documentsremain the same,general public takenote.

E J I K E M E — I ,formerly known andaddressed as MissCynthia StephanieEjikeme, now wish tobe known andaddressed as Mrs.Nchedo CynthiaObidigwe. All formerdocuments remain thesame, general publictake note.

Confirmation of NameThis is to confirm thatthe name IbrahimMoruf Tunde, refersto one and the sameperson as IbrahimohMoruf Tunde. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

Confirmation of NameThis is to confirm thatthe Mrs. OlubukolaAndikara and Mrs.Olubukola JohnAndikara is one andthe same person. Butnow wish to be knownand addressed as Mrs.Olubukola Andikara.All former documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

Confirmation of NameThis is to confirm that

the name Iwara Daniel

Praise, refers to one

and the same person

as Iwara Daniel Abam.

All former documents

remain valid. General

public please take note.

A D E T O B I — I ,formerly known andaddressed as AdegbiteIdaya Adetobi andAdegbite AdetobiAbolore, now wish tobe known andaddressed as AdegbiteIdaya Tobi. All formerdocuments remain thesame, general publictake note.

I N N O C E N T — I ,formerly known andaddressed asInnocent EnduranceAbwami, now wish tobe known andaddressed as MichaelAbwami Innocent. Allformer documentsremain valid.Diamond Bank andgeneral public pleasetake note.

ODOH—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss NdidiamakaHelen Odoh, nowwish to be known andaddressed as MissNdidiamaka HelenIkerionwu. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

BASSEY—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss AfiongFavour Bassey, nowwish to be known andaddressed as MrsFavour AfiongBabadoko Garba. Allformer documentsremain valid. FederalFire Service andgeneral public pleasetake note.

NKWOCHA-IBIK—I, formerly known andaddressed as Barr.(Mrs) Nkwocha-IbikOdera ChinweStephanie, now wishto be known andaddressed as Barr.(Mrs) Ibik OderaStephanie Chinwe.All former documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

OSAGIE—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss Esther OsaroOsagie, now wish to beknown and addressedas Dr. (Mrs) EstherOsagie Ashibuogwu.All former documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please take note.

A N J O R I N — I ,formerly known andaddressed as MissAnjorin KehindeOluwatoyin, now wishto be known andaddressed as MrsAmos KehindeOluwatoyin. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

JIMBA—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Jimba TokunboIslamiyat, now wish tobe known andaddressed as QuadriTokunbo Islamiyat. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

ANYAHAIWE—I,formerly known andaddressed asE m m a n u e lAnyahaiwe, wish to beknown and address asJames EmmanuelIbezim. All formerdocuments remainsvalid. General publicplease take note.

A M A R A C H I — I ,formerly known andaddressed as TabithaAmarachi Inya, nowwish to be known andaddressed as TabithaInya Eimoga. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

UKWU—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss Ukwu MercyOkoro, now wish to beknown and addressedas Mrs. EnogweMercy Noble. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

SPIFF—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss AyebaifieWilhelmina Spiff, nowwish to be known andaddressed as Mrs.Ayebaifie WilhelminaUviase. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

ISAIAH—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss Isaiah Liah,now wish to be knownand addressed as Mrs.Okwuonu MabingtonLiah. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

OKORO—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss OkoroFlorence Uyoyou, nowwish to be known andaddressed as Mrs.Adeosun FlorenceUyoyou. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

I B I R O N K E — I ,formerly known andaddressed as MissRemilekun YetundeIbironke, now wish tobe known andaddressed as Mrs.Remilekun YetundeAbikoye. All formerdocuments remainvalid. InterswitchLimited and generalpublic please takenote.

E G B E O K U — I ,formerly known andaddressed as MissEgbeoku LucyObioma, now wish tobe known andaddressed as Mrs.Ukasoanya ObinnaLucy Obioma. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

C H I K E R E — I ,formerly known andaddresses as AdanzeChiamaka Chikere,now wish to be knownand addressed asAdanze ChiamakaIbe-Ekeocha. Alldocuments bearingthese names remainrelevant and valid.General public,please take note.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 29 , 2016—41

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OSSAI—I, formerly

known and addressed

as Miss Ossai Juliet,

now wish to be known

and addressed as Mrs.

Ekagha Juliet. All

former documents

remain valid. General

public please take note.

AZINO—I, formerly

known and addressed

as Azino French, now

wish to be known and

addressed as

Aziakpono French. All

former documents

remain valid. General

public please take note.

DOWELL—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss DowellOyindoubra Sarah,now wish to be knownand addressed as Mrs.Oyindoubra SarahGodfrey Andakuro.All former documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

A M A J I G I — I ,formerly known andaddressed as RhodaAmajigi, now wish tobe known andaddressed as RhodaEldred. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

EZEH—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Ezeh OsinachiHappiness, now wishto be known andaddressed asEzennaya OsinachiHappiness. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

GLORY—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss DowellEdisemi Glory, nowwish to be known andaddressed as Mrs.Johnny ComfortEdisemi. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

O S E B H O T A — I ,formerly known andaddressed as MissMary Osebhota,henceforth want to beknown, called andaddressed as Mrs.Mary GodwinOmonode. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

OKORODUDU —I,formerly known andaddressed as BeautyMarkson Okorodudu,henceforth want to beknown, called andaddressed as Mrs.Beauty Abi Uwawah.All former documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

Confirmation of namesThat the names,Charles Ofoye andCharles ChukwukaOdum, refer to oneand the same person- me, but henceforth Iwish to remainknown, called andaddressed as CharlesChukwuka Odum. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

DAVID —I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss David JoyEyitueremi, now wishto be known,addressed and calledMrs. Jombo JoyEyituerei. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

DJOMA—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss DjomaOghenerume Andrea,now wish to be knownand addressed asMrs. AmakekeOghenerume Andrea.All former documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

S I M E O N — I ,formerly known andaddressed as MissUchenna StellaSimeon, now wish tobe known andaddressed as Mrs.Uchenna StellaUgwu. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

AKINDE—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss Toyin Akinde,now wish to be knownand addressed as Mrs.Toyin Ezekiel-Kabadi.All former documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

OSEGBO—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss OsegboChinenye Ruth, nowwish to be known andaddressed as Mrs.Chijioke ChinenyeRuth. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

ISEDEH—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss Isedeh UcheAnn, now wish to beknown and addressedas Mrs. Nkemchor-Collins Ngozi Ann. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

O S U N D E — I ,formerly known andaddressed as OsundeCollins Onyinye, nowwish to be known andaddressed asNkemchor CollinsOnyinye. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

E Z I A S H I — I ,formerly known andaddressed as EziashiCharity Ndidi, nowwish to be known andaddressed as EziashiAugustina Ndidi. Allformer documentsremain valid. LEA,Asaba and generalpublic please takenote.

M A R T I N S — I ,formerly known andaddressed as OkelekeEmeka Martins, nowwish to be known andaddressed asEgwuatu OkelekeChukwuemeka. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

Reconciliation of NamesThis is to confirm thatthe names IgweUchenna Henry, IgweUchenna Williams andIgwe UchennaWilliams Henry refer toone and same person.I now wish to beknown and addressedas Igwe UchennaWilliams. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

Reconciliation of NamesThis is to confirm thatthe namesUmeanyikwa ChristianUgochukwu and UmehChristian Ugochukwurefer to one and sameperson. I now wish tobe known andaddressed as UmehChristian Ugochukwu.All former documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please take note.

Reconciliation of NamesThis is to confirm thatthe names OkekeChidiogo Nelson andOkeke Chidi Nelsonrefer to one and sameperson. I now wish tobe known andaddressed as OkekeChidiogo Nelson. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

Reconciliation of NamesThis is to confirm thatthe names CeciliaAigbe and CeliaAigbe refer to oneand same person. Inow wish to be knownand addressed asCelia Aigbe. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

MUNLO—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss ChrissyMunlo, now wish to beknown and addressedas Mrs ChrissyAnyadiegwu. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

O N O N U J U — I ,formerly known andaddressed as MissOnonuju JenniferOlili, now wish to beknown and addressedas Mrs ObinaboJennifer Olili. Allformer documentsremain valid. NYSCand geýneral publicplease take note.

NWACHUKWU—We,formerly known andaddressed as MrNwachukwu OliverEme and MrsNwachukwu NnekaCatherine, now wishto be known andaddressed as MrNwachineke Oliverand Mrs NwachinekeNneka Catherine. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

EZEANI—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss EzeaniChizoba Felicia, nowwish to be known andaddressed as Mrs.Nosakhare ChizobaFelicia. All formerdocuments remainvalid. UNIBEN,NYSC, NMCN andgeneral public pleasetake note.

UGWUEZUMBA—I,formerly known andaddressed as MissTina IfeyinwaUgwuezumba, nowwish to be known andaddressed as Mrs.Celestina IfeyinwaIlodibe. All formerdocuments remainvalid. U.B.A, DiamondBank and generalpublic please takenote.

C H U K W U M A — I ,formerly known andaddressed as MissGinika PerpetualChukwuma, now wishto be known andaddressed as Mrs.Ginika PerpetualUmeojiako. All formerdocuments remainvalid. NYSC, NnamdiAzikiwe Universityand general publicplease take note.

Addition of NameI, formerly known andaddressed as Mr.Obumneme BasilObiakor, now wish tobe known andaddressed as Mr.Obumneme BasilObiakor Nwafor. Allformer documentsremain valid. UnionBank an generalpublic please takenote.

U D E K W U — I ,formerly known andaddressed as UdekwuNneka Stella, nowwish to be known andaddressed as Mrs.Oliobi Stella Nneka.U. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publictake note.

U W E J E T A — I ,formerly known andaddressed as MissUwejeta RosebelOghenero, now wishto be known andaddressed as Mrs.Haruna RosebelOghenero. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

D A M A D I G I — I ,formerly known andaddressed as KingselyDamadigi, now wish tobe known andaddressed as KingselyAdamadigi. All formerdocuments remainvalid. ECO BANKPLC and generalpublic please takenote.

EZE—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss ThelmaOnome Eze, nowwish to be known andaddressed as Mrs.Thelma OnomeEhebhamhen. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

Confirmation of namesThis is to confirm thatAdewale Toyin Boseand Adeniran ToyinRacheal is one andsame person, nowwish to be known andaddressed asAdeniran ToyinRacheal. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

Confirmation of namesThis is to confirm thatMiss OkuniyiOyeyinka Modupe isalso the same personas Miss OkuniyiOyeyinka Janet, nowwish to be known andaddressed as LawalOyeyinka Janet. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

OWHOR—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss OwhorConfidence Nkesi,now wish to be knownand addressed as Mrs.Ahize ConfidenceNkesi. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

Confirmation of namesThis is to confirm thatAkwaiwu StellaOluchi is also thesame person asAkwaiwu SerahOluchi, now wish tobe known andaddressed as OguguaSerah Oluchi. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

Confirmation of namesThis is to confirm thatOmolara Akinade isalso the same personas ShakiratBuniaminu, now wishto be known andaddressed as ShakiratOmolara Akinade. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

EJIOGU—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss EjioguVictoria Chinonyerem,now wish to be knownand addressed as Mrs.Mgbodile VictoriaChinonyerem. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

IDRIS—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss IdrisO l u w a s e u nTawakalitu, now wishto be known andaddressed as Mrs.Adeshina OluwaseunTawakalitu. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

EKPEWU—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss OnomeEkpewu, now wish tobe known andaddressed as MrsOnome KelvinOgbekhiulu. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

Confirmation of nameThis is to certify thatIkechi ChidinmaJessica Ada,IkechiChidinma Ada andIkechi Ada Jessica isthe same and oneperson but now wishto be known andaddressed as IkechiChidinma JessicaAda. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

42—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 2016

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 2016—43

$3bn loss: Senate probes power projects saleby Jonathan, queries BPE

By Henry Umoru &Joseph Erunke

ABUJA— THE Senate hasbegun fresh investigations into

the sale of 10 National IntegratedPower Projects, NIPP, by the BureauFor Public Enterprises, BPE, duringformer President GoodluckJonathan's administration.

This investigation is coming onthe heels of the strong warning bySenate President Bukola Saraki thathenceforth, the red chambers wouldnot tolerate impunity and financialrecklessness on the part of publicoffice holders.

Saraki’s remarks came followinga motion on the allegedunwholesome practices byManitoba Hydro InternationalNigeria Limited under the directionand control of the Bureau of PublicEnterprises, BPE.

The Senate has also resolved toinvestigate the entire circumstancessurrounding the preparation,execution, and implementation ofthe management services forTransmission Company of Nigeria,TCN, and all other related matters;investigate the roles of all personsinvolved in these matters, andwhere appropriate, determine theculpability of any person who,whether by commission oromission, has acted against thepublic interest.

The Senate is also to ascertain therelevance of BPE on the Board ofDirectors of distribution companiesin Nigeria.

These were sequel to a motion,entitled: “Unwholesome practicesby Manitoba Hydro InternationalNigeria Limited under the directionand control of the Bureau of PublicEnterprises," and sponsored bySenators Muhammed Hassan,PDP, Yobe South.

It was co- sponsored by SenatorsDino Melaye, Shehu Sani,Abubakar Kyari, Albert Bassey andAli Wakil.

In the motion, they had accusedManitoba of refusal to accept Nairaas legal tender currency forpayments for goods and servicesin Nigeria, noting that the companywas incorporated under and,subject to the laws of the FederalRepublic of Nigeria carrying onbusiness in Nigeria and paid inmillions of dollars of scarce publicfunds.

While presenting the motion Sen.Hassan, who decried the activitiesof Hydro International Nigeria Ltd(Manitoba), a Canadian companymanaging the TransmissionCompany of Nigeria (TCN), saidthe company was incorporatedunder the laws of the FederalRepublic of Nigeria but frowned onthe company’s insistence to be paidin dollars instead of Naira.

The senators said: “It is a criminaloffense stipulated in Section 20(5)of the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) Act, 2007 for any person orbody corporate to refuse theacceptance of Naira as legalcurrency tender.

“We are worried that the TCN isimposed with this burden, underthe management Services Contract,of paying all taxes for the

Management contractors whileManitoba does not pay taxes onmonies paid under the contract.Section 9(2) of the CompaniesIncome Tax Act (CITA) Cap 21,2004 provides that tax shall beassessed and payable upon theprofit of any company accruingin Nigeria.

“The Management ServiceContract prepared by BPE for the

management of TCN is fraught withapparent illegalities and totalviolation of the laws of Nigeria.”

The Senate, however, directed itscommittees on Power andPrivatisation to look into the sale.

In his remark, the President of theSenate Bukola Saraki, who expresseddispleasure at how a governmentagency would decide to wave $3billion, and sell the projects for $5

billion after an over $8 billioninvestment, stressed that theSenate must set example withany agency of government thatencourages revenue leakages,especially at this time ofdwindling revenue.

The Senate President, whodirected the committees to reportback in four weeks, said thealleged non-payment of tax bysome of the companies in thepower sector amounted torevenue leakages.

UNVEILING: From left, Ubale Maska, Executive Commissioner, Technical Services,Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC); Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, Executive ViceChairman, NCC and Mr. Tony Ojobo, Director of Public Affairs during the unveiling of theEVC's eight-point agenda to the media, in Lagos.

Obasanjo’s letter misdirected —REPSHe introduced bribery to NASS —Melaye

By Clifford Ndujihe,Emman Ovuakporie &Johnbosco Agbakwuru

ABUJA — THE House ofR e p r e s e n t a t i v e s ,

yesterday, described formerPresident Olusegun Obasanjo’sletters to the leadership of theNational Assembly, accusing thelawmakers of greed, graft andinsensitivity to the decliningstate of the country’s economy,as misdirected, saying theywould not be distracted fromperforming their constitutionalduties.

Speaking at the NationalAssembly weekly briefing,Chairman, House ofRepresentatives Committee onMedia and Public Affairs,Abdulrazak Namdas, said theNational Assembly will not bedistracted by Obasanjo’s letters,which also accused thelegislature of insincerity over itsplanned purchase of 469 carsworth N4.7 billion.

Namdas stated that thelawmakers have tremendousrespect for Obasanjo, adding,however, that the formerpresident’s letters might nothave been meant for the 8thAssembly but rather the 4th or5th Assemblies.

“We have tremendous respectfor the former President. Wedon’t want to be distracted byletters. Probably the letter is notmeant for the 8th Assemblybecause we have cued in withPresident Muhammadu

Buhari. I think the letter is meantfor the 4th or 5th Assemblies. It wasmisdirected, “he said.

Commenting on the allegedsharing of N50m and 150motorcycles to all members by theHouse Leadership, Namdas saidthe matter would be investigatedand appropriate actions taken.

Obasanjo introducedbribery to NASS—Melaye

Speaking on the issue in aninterview with The Cable, SenatorDino Melaye, APC, Kogi West,described Obasanjo’s letters asmisplaced anger and accused himof introducing corruption into theNational Assembly while pursuinga third term ambition.

His words: “I have tremendousrespect for President OlusegunAremu Okikiola Obasanjo. Elderstatesman, respected pan-Africanistand committed patriot. The letter Ican see is a misplacement of anger.Our leader is mistaking the EighthNational Assembly as the sameSenate assembly that defrauded himin 2007.

"Those who collected his moneyand refused to implement the thirdterm agenda. I appeal to Baba thatwe are not the ones please. Afternine years of that bribery saga, thefirst of its kind, I expect forgivenessto have taken place.

“There was the case of briberyintroduced by the Obasanjo regimein the desperate attempt to removeSpeaker Ghali Umar Na’Abba fromoffice then. In fact, there was opendisplay of that bribery money on the

floor of the House. That govern-ment exposed the National As-sembly to corruption and easymoney. I hope this is not an at-tempt to cover up and distractattention from the Halliburtonand Siemens corruption allega-tions.

“While I am againstcorruption anywhere inNigeria, I will not supportaccusations based on anger andvindictiveness. The EighthSenate should also lookinwardly and purge herself ofall the deliberate misgivings ofthe past. Nigeria must workand we must support the anti-corruption stance of the Buhariadministration.”

Asked to speak on theallegation, Minority Leader ofthe House of Representatives,Leo Ogor, yesterday said:“First, I will not want to joinissues with former PresidentOlusegun Obasanjo. I believethat he has his freedom ofopinion which clearly isenshrined in the constitution. Iam not going to go into anylevel of altercation with him, buthe should realise that thesevehicles are meant purely foroversight functions.

“If he believes we should notcarry out oversight functions orprobably we should rely onministries and agencies ofgovernment even whentravelling outside the states tocarry out these responsibilities,he is at will to say whatever hewants to say."

‘Nigeriaimported16.03m MTfuels in2015’

By Clara Nwachukwu

LAGOS — DESPITE therefineries working above

an average of 26 percent in2015, Nigeria still importedabout 16.03 million metrictonnes, MT, of refinedpetroleum products betweenJanuary and December lastyear.

It is uncertain whether thisvolume included refinedproducts from FederalGovernment’s OffshoreProcessing Arrangements,OPAs, or the crude swap dealswith oil traders.

But the interesting thingabout the volume of imports isthe fact that Nigeria, whichboasts of five refineries, withcumulative capacity of 446,000barrels per day, bpd, or over28 million litres, importedthese products even fromcountries with very smallrefining capacity like Niger.

Ironically, one of Nigeria’sfive refineries, the Niger DeltaPetroleum Refinery, NDPR, a1000-barrel capacity plant isexclusively devoted to AGO/diesel refining.

Import of shameThis show of shame in

products importation ascontained in data exclusivelyobtained from the Ministry ofPetroleum Resources, showedthat about 2.1 million litres, or1770.58MT AGO came fromNiger Republic during theperiod.

Niger has only one refinery, the 20,000 bpd or 126,000litres/day, Soraz Refinery,came on stream in 2011, andas at Deceber 2015, targetedup to 2 million litres daily fuelexport to Nigeria.

Products importedThe data also revealed that

Nigeria imported as many aseight different fuels in 2015,including PMS; AGO; dualpurpose kerosene, DPK;aviation turbine kerosene,ATK; lour pour fuel oil, LPFO/black oil; base oil, B/Oil;bitumen, BIT; and liquefiedpetroleum gas, LPG/cookinggas, another shameful import.

Broken down further, totalproducts import in the 12-month period is as follows:PMS – 13, 393,574.20 x 1341= 17.961 billion litres; AGO:3,763,461.04 x 1,164 = 4.381billion litres; DPK:1,525,177.12 x 1,232 = 1.879billion litres; LPG: 8,158.52;ATK: 375,554.70 x 1,232 =462.683 million litres; LPFO:54,065.37 x 1059 = 52.255million litres; B/Oil: 186,308.65; BIT: 109,601.28.

Vanguard will unfolddetailed reports on therefineries operations in 2015,in its Monday edition.

44 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 2016

qualifications and maybe some players (mightnot come); I’m afraid.Already I’m gettingphone calls from them,you they’re still askingwhat they ’re beingowed.”

OlisehContinues from BP

Oliseh took charge ofhis first internationaltournament at theAfrican NationsChampionship (Chan)in Rwanda, whereNigeria failed to qualifyfrom the group stage.

adequately provided forthe team, a developmentthat forced him to feed theteam with his personalmoney.

General Secretary of theNFF, Dr. Mohammed Sa-nusi told Sports Vanguardthat there is no iota of truthin the claim because thefederation made adequatearrangements to ensurethat the team got all theyneeded ahead of thechampionship.

According to the scribe,the NFF made arrange-ment for camping of theteam at the South AfricanHigh Performance Centrein Pretoria through their

NFFContinues from BP

partners.He also explained that

at the championship prop-er in Rwanda, the Confed-eration of African Football(CAF) as a rule took overthe upkeep of the team.

“It is unfortunate thatOliseh was quoted to havemade such comments andI want to say that there isno iota of truth in suchclaims because we madeadequate arrangements forthe team to camp in SouthAfrica and this includedfeeding. So I don’t knowwhere that is coming frombecause the same Olisehon arrival at the camp fromhis base in Belgium ap-plauded the arrange-ment.”

Sanusi also wonderedwhy Oliseh never com-plained when his boysdefeated Niger Republic 4-1 in the opening groupmatch.

CHAN: Okocha, Ikpebadisagree on Eagles’ ouster

FORMER SuperEagles stars,

Austin Jay Jay Okochaand Victor Ikpeba havetaken contrastingpositions on theperformance of theSuper Eagles and coachSunday Oliseh at theCAF African NationsChampionship inRwanda.

Nigeria was bundledout of the tournament inthe preliminary stagesand coach Olisehattributed it to the lowmorale of the playerswho suffered accordingto him, from lack ofmotivation.

Okocha, said thedefeat mustn’t dampenthe spirit of the playersand coaches, but ratherthey should get back ontrack; adding that Oliseh

remains the best man forthe job.

“We are going througha rough period, butthere’s nothing to beashamed of. We justneed to battle back andget back to where webelong.

“ We can’t judgeOliseh by the outcome ofCHAN, rather weshould encourage andsupport him; let him dohis thing and hopefullyhe’s the right person totake us to where wewant to be,” Okocha tolda local website.

But Ikpeba stated thatOliseh should accept fullresponsibility for theteam’s failure, ratherthan play the blamegame.

“ It’s unfortunate tohear the comments from

Oliseh and some of theplayers on the issue ofmotivation. I think theNFF has done a goodjob, they took the teamto Pretoria forpreparation before thetournament.

“We all know theFederation has financialchallenges. So insteadof complaining aboutlack of motivation, theyshould have taken a cuefrom the U-17 and U-23.They had financialproblems yet won thetournaments; weshouldn’t forget thatSiasia’s mother waskidnapped also.”

He urged Oliseh tofocus on qualifyingNigeria for the 2017Afcon qualifiers with amust win game againstEgypt.

Port Harcourt HPC key to Nigeria’ssports development — Dalung

YOUTH and SportsM i n i s t e r ,

Solomon Dalung saidyesterday that theUniversity of PortHarcourt HighPerformance Centre iskey to the developmentof modern sports inNigeria.

Barrister Dalung madethe remark during a visitto the IAAF sanctionedHPC which is hostingNigerian athletestraining for the Rio 2016Olympics and otherinternational events.Dalung praised

the University of PortHarcourt vice chancellor,Professor Ndowa E. S.Lale for providingfacilities, accommoda-tion and warmhospitality for athletes.

“There is no doubt thatsports is now more thansheer determination andskill; it is more ofscience. “Nigeria’ssports cannot remainstagnant, and we expectto cope with thedynamics of modernsports? This is the area

BY BEN EFE we will wish theUniversity of PortHarcourt to be a keypartner” Dalung stated.

Barrister Dalungpledged government’scontinuous support tothe University of PortHarcourt in ensuringthat all necessaryfacilities that will lead tothe attainment of amodern and functionalhigh performance centeris realized despite thepaucity of funds.

In his response, Prof.Lale extolled theUniversity as a citadel ofsports excellence in thecountry adding that theywere grateful to have theHigh performancecentre cited in theinstitution.

“This University ranksvery high , not just inNigeria but in WestAfrica when it comes touniversity sports so weneed facilities to justifythat status. I thereforeimplore you to assistand position usadequately for the statusconferred upon us”.

The President of the

Athletics Federation ofNigeria Dr SolomonOgba also remarked thathe was excited to havethe minister visit thehigh performance centreat a very short notice.

LMC Pre-AGM: Dikko pledges improvedseason

A pre-annual GeneralMeeting of the LeagueManagement Company(LMC) held on Sunday inKaduna with the LMCChairman, Shehu Dikkopledging that the leaguewill build on the positivesof the last season while im-proving on observed chal-lenges.

The meeting tagged aConsultative forum betweenLMC and the NPFL Clubsby Barrister Isaac Danladi,the Chairman of the ClubOwners and Managers As-

sociation, was described bythe LMC Chairman as partof the activities to mark thecommencement of the2015/16 Nigeria Profes-sional Football League(NPFL) season.

Welcoming his fellow clubchairmen, Danladi re-marked that the meeting isa forum to share experienc-es and harmonise positionson issues before the AGM

and commended them formaking out time to attendthe meeting.

In his speech to declareopen the meeting, Dikkoobserved that “amongstseveral other matters onthe agenda will be a re-view of the past season toevaluate and update ourrules based on observedchallenges and events ofthe past season”.

THE Main Organising Committee (MOC) forthe forthcoming Go-Round/SWAN Secondary

School Athletics Championships slated for PortHarcourt has declared the facilities provided for thecompetition ready to host the event.

Speaking after going round the facilities at theUniversity of Port Harcourt yesterday, the MOCChairman, Honour Sirawoo, said he is satisfied withthe accommodation arrangement for the athletes andofficials for the event.

Sirawoo said the accommodation facility couldhouse 552 athletes and officials from the 23 LocalGovernment Area of Rivers State.

P/Harcourt ready for Go-Round/ SWANathletics championships

Rio Olympics: Nigeria House targets$22bn foreign investments

THE newlyconstituted 7-man

Nigeria House ProjectCommittee for the 2016Rio Olympic Games inBrazil is targeting to woodirect foreigninvestments worth $22billions into the country.

Project Coordinator andChief Executive Officer ofthe Nigeria HouseProject, Mohammed B.Abdullahi, stated thisyesterday in Abuja afterthe Committee’s firstmeeting following itsi n a u g u r a t i o n

Wednesday.Abdullahi said the

Olympics present bigopportunity for the nationto rebrand and promoteNigeria’s potentialsthrough the showcasingof her rich and diversecultural heritage andproducts by givingopportunity tostakeholders to attractinvestors to the country.

“We are going to use theOlympics to achieve thisbeginning from the Rioedition in Brazil becausethe Olympics remain aglobal brand and highestsporting fiesta in theworld that bringstogether about 205countries. We need to takeadvantage of such astage for a globalrecruitment fare.

*Checked Out... Nigeria’s Ifeanyi Mathew (8) battles Niger Republic for-ward Idrissa Halidou Garba(9) Nigeria won 4-1. But the Super Eagles failedto show up in their last group C match.

*From left... Athletics Federation of Nigeria pres-ident, Solomon Ogba, Sports Minister Solomonand Prof Ken Anugwueje at the HPC.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 2016 — 45

Djokovic sees offFederer to reach finalTOP seed Novak

Djokovic saw off athrilling fight-back by hisgreat rival Roger Federer

to reach his sixthAustralian Open finaland fifth consecutiveGrand Slam title matchyesterday.

The Serbian worldnumber one downedthird seed Federer 6-1 6-2 3-6 6-3 in two hours,19 minutes and will faceeither Andy Murray orMilos Raonic inSunday’s final.

It was the 45th meetingbetween the two greatswith Djokovic nowedging ahead of Federer23-22 in their head-to-head duels.

The amazing Serbcontinued his recentdomination over the 17-time Grand Slamchampion and onSunday, he will become

the first man in theOpen era to contest sixAustralian Open finals.

“I played anunbelievable first twosets but that is what isnecessary againstRoger as he has beenplaying at a very highlevel in thistournament,” Djokovicsaid.

“I knew he was goingto be aggressive andmix up the pace and tryto come to the net, butI came out with theright intensity withgreat concentration andI executed everythingperfect. But it was abattle in the end.”

It will also beDjokovic’s 19th GrandSlam final overall andhe moves into equal-third place with IvanLendl on the all-timelist of mostappearances in majorfinals, which is headedby Federer

Serena demolishes Radwanskato surge into 26th final

AN inspired worldnumber one Serena

Williams demolished Polishfourth seed AgnieszkaRadwanska yesterday tosurge into her 26th GrandSlam final and zero in on aseventh Australian Opentitle.

The dominant top seedwas untouchable inoverpowering the Pole 6-0,6-4 in just 64 minutes onRod Laver Arena to set up a

decider against Germanseventh seed AngeliqueKerber who beat unseededBriton Johanna Konta 7-5,6-2 in the second women’ssingle semis match onThursday.

Of her 25 previous majorfinals, Williams has won 21.

“I’m really excited to bein another final, it kind ofblows my mind right now,”said Williams, 34. “I feel Iam playing the best I can,

and I can’t believe I am inthe final.

“I started playingaggressive again in thesecond set and it workedout.”

The writing was on thewall for Radwanska -Williams had never lost asemi-final at Melbourne Parkon her way to six titles, andhad beaten the Pole in eachof their previous eightmeetings stretching back to2008.

Konta defeated but not deflated

DEFEATED BritJohanna Konta is

refusing to see herAustralian Open semi-final as a lost opportunity,instead moving on to thepossibilities for theseason ahead.

While Konta lost her

semi-final 7-5 6-2 toAngelique Kerber, therewas plenty of upside toher fortnight atMelbourne Park.

The 24-year-oldannounced herself as aforce for the seasonahead, and will re-enter

the WTA tour with aslashed ranking.

The world No.47 islikely to settle inside theworld’s top 30 players,making her a genuineprospect to be seeded ather home slam,Wimbledon.

Emenike undergoes Hammers medical

E M M A N U E LEmenike is

expected to undergo amedical today at WestHam United ahead of aloan move to Upton Park.

West Ham have agreeda deal with Fenerbahceto take Emenike, 28, onloan for the rest of theseason, with the view toa permanent move.

The potential move hadbeen held up because itneeded the agreement ofFenerbahce and Al Ainas the Nigerian hadbeen on loan at thelatter.

Al Ain agreed to cutshort his season-longloan deal to allow him toreturn to Fenerbahce sothat he could then makethe switch to West Ham.

West Ham boss SlavenBilic is looking to add tohis striking optionsbefore the close of thetransfer window withAndy Carroll and DiafraSakho on the sidelines.

Emenike has alreadyagreed personal termswith West Ham andshould he pass hismedical he will becometheir second signing ofthis month’s transfer

window after SamByram’s arrival fromLeeds United.

“Now we are waitingto see if it is going to betoday, tomorrow or not,”Bilic was quoted as

saying by the Daily Star.In October, Emenike,

who was top scorer asNigeria won the AfricaNations Cup in 2013,announced hisretirement frominternational football.

Ikorodu Utd ‘ll be Nigeria’s LeicesterCity — Edema

By Jacob Ajom

HEAD coach of Ikorodu United Foot-

ball Club of Lagos, Ede-ma Benson has declaredthat his wards are battleready for the new Globa-com Premier League sea-son due to kick off nextmonth. Speaking toSports Vanguard at theclub’s launch in Ikoroduyesterday, the former Ni-geria international whoguided the team to pro-motion within a seasonsaid, “we are aware of the

challenge ahead of us andI will say without equivo-cation that we are ready.This is our first season inthe top flight but we arenot scared of any team asbig names don’t play foot-ball.”

Drawing inspirationfrom what is happeningin the Barclays PremierLeague, where a relative-ly ‘small’ club, LeicesterCity is topping the tableat the moment, Bensonsaid, “we want to repli-cate what Leicester City isdoing in England here inNigeria. We played Eny-

imba in Otta a few daysback, it was tough forthem as we drew thegame 2-2. We are not go-ing into the league as sec-ond rate. We will justifyour place in the PremierLeague as worthy repre-sentatives of the goodpeople of Lagos state, andIkorodu in particular.”

Benson showered enco-miums on his players ashe recalled their strugglefor promotion: “The be-ginning was not easy. Welost the opening gameand from then on we neverlooked back again.”

Ibrahimovic signs new PSGcontract, becomes highestpaid player in France

ZLATAN Ibrahimovichas become the high-

est paid player in Franceafter signing a new dealwith Paris Saint-Ger-main that nearly doubleshis previous salary.

The 34-year-old ParisSaint-Germain strikerwas given the massivepay rise for meeting per-formance targets agreedwhen he joined the clubin 2012.

He could also pocketthree big bonus pay-

ments for winning theChampions league, theFrench league title andbecoming the league’shighest goal scorer.

The pay rise is expect-ed to trigger a storm ofprotest in France’s rul-ing socialist party.

When Ibrahimovicjoined PSG three yearsago, MPs slammed his‘disgusting’ £120,000-a-week salary — the high-est ever paid to a foot-baller in France.

SLAMMING . . . Serena Williams plays a forehandreturn during her women’s singles semi-final matchagainst Agnieszka Radwanska. Photo: AFP

GOODBYE . . . Novak Djokovic (L) sees off RogerFederer after victory in their men’s singles semi-finalmatch. Photo: AFP

MONEY MAN . . . Paris Saint-Germain striker ZlatanIbrahimovic shos off his bag of money

46—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 29 , 2016

CMYK

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 29 , 2016—47

CMYK

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How to Play Sudoku

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

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

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

YESTERDAY'S ANSWERSTTTTTODODODODODAAAAAY'S PUZZLEY'S PUZZLEY'S PUZZLEY'S PUZZLEY'S PUZZLE

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 2016

YESTERDAY'S SOLUTIONS

QUICK CRQUICK CRQUICK CRQUICK CRQUICK CROSSOSSOSSOSSOSSWORDWORDWORDWORDWORDACROSS3 Enquired (5)9 Encouraged (6)10 Puzzle (6)11 Tendency (5)12 Thought (4)15 Pleasant (4)17 Seance (7)20 Child (3)21 Magnificent (5)23 Cheese (4)25 Trampled (5)26 Rescuer (5)28 Serpent (3)30 Despair (7)33 Thrash (4)35 Always (4)36 Marsupial (5)38 Trifles (6)39 Die (6)40 Commerce (5)

DOWN1 Sponsorship (5)2 Pane (5)3 Skill (3)4 Cord (6)5 Sea-eagle (4)6 Performed (3)7 Confess (5)8 Cap (5)13 Varied (7)14 Map-book (5)16 Forgive (7)18 Avarice (5)19 Insect (3)22 Curtain (5)24 Rug (3)27 Staggered (6)28 Diminish (5)29 Confusion (5)31 Egg-shaped (5)32 Parched (5)34 Fly (4)36 Equipment (3)37 Hatchet (3)

ACROSS: 1, Healed 5, Stable 9, Water 10,Rafter 11, Earned 12, Reedy 14, Said 17,Dry 18, Here 20, Shrew 22, Jaded 23, Pirated24, Baton 26, Tenet 29, Edit 30, Fit 32, Site33, Vicar 35, Regain 36, Puppet 37, Ceded38, Reeked 39, Render.

DOWN: 1, Harass 2, Affair 3, Ewer 4, Dared5, Seedy 6, Tay 7, Banned 8, Endued 13,Erratic 15, Ahead 16, Depot 18, Hades 19,Reset 21, Win 22, Jet 24, Bearer 25, Tingle27, Nipped 28, Tester 30, Fined 31, Taper 33,Vice 34, Rude.

Eagles may shunfuture call ups – Oliseh

SERENA SLAM: Serena Williams celebrates after victory in her women's singlessemi-final match against Agnieszka Radwanska at the 2016 Australian Openin Melbourne yesterday. Serena won 6-0, 6-4. PHOTO:AFP.

CHAN: Okocha, Ikpeba disagreeon Eagles’ ouster — Pg.44

NFF debunks Oliseh’s $4,000 mealsclaim

THE NigeriaFootball Federation

(NFF) yesterdaydebunked claimscredited to Super EaglesChief Coach, SundayOliseh that he spent

BY JUDE OPARA,Abuja

about $4,000 dollars tofeed members of theTeam ‘B’ national team.

Coach Sunday Olisehwas quoted to haveblamed the ouster of histeam from the ongoingAfrican Nations Cham-pionship (CHAN) on thealleged failure of theNFF to have

SUPER Eagles headcoach, Sunday

Oliseh, has revealed hisfear about Nigeria’schances of having theirstrongest squad for thecoming qualifiers.

The Nigerian trainerexplained that he holdsthe fear that “some play-ers who are being owedvarious sums of moneymight not come if theyare not paid before the2017 Africa Cup of Na-tions (AFCON) qualifi-ers.

He added that a num-ber of the Nigerian inter-nationals had called himon telephone to ask for“ what they ’re beingowed.

“I only have one fear:“It is that I just hope thatthe next time we sendinvitations out, that play-ers won’t start refusing toplay for Nigeria. That is

something that is scarybut it is real. We have tostart thinking becausewe’re not going to workmiracles anymore,” saidOliseh.

“I’m just afraid that ifwe don’t put our acts inorder we might inviteplayers for the next

Continues on Page 44

Dejected Super Eagles players.

Continues on Page 44

•Oliseh

•Sanusi