06012017 - Army recovers another Chibok girl with child

We raped our victim, 

got N2m ransom 

— Kidnap suspect 

6 

Investors lose N227.9bn on 

stock market in three days 

•As CBN mops up N172bn 

5 

** ** 

VOL. 25: NO. 63197 FRIDAY, JANUARY 6, 2017 

FREED CHIBOK GIRL 

Army recovers 

another Chibok 

girl with child 

•Hope alive other girls'll return —Buhari 

•Boko Haram completely decimated — Army 

FREE AT LAST—Recovered Chibok school girl, Rakiya Abubakar, with her 

baby, yesterday. 

Buhari orders 

NEMA to assess 

situation in 

S-Kaduna 

SEARCH FOR CREDIBLE 

LEADERS: 

Presidency 

insulting 

N-Delta 

— PANDEF 

13 

8 

By Jimitota 

Onoyume, Levinus 

Nwabughiogu & 

Joseph Erunke 

A BUJA—NIGERIAN 

troops of Operation 

Lafiya Dole, during 

investigation of arrested 

suspected Boko Haram 

terrorists in Borno State, 

have discovered one of 

the abducted Chibok 

school girls, Rakiya 

Abubakar, with her six 

months old baby in 

Alagarno in Damboa Local 

Government Area of the 

state. 

Meanwhile, President 

Muhammadu Buhari has 

expressed happiness over 

Continues on Page 5 

Mr & Mrs 

COLUMNISTS 

OWEI 

LAKEMFA 

Conversations with 

African liberation 

fighters 

DONU 

KOGBARA 

An exemplary 

daughter of 

Africa 

31 17 

MEGA PARTY 

ADP zones positions, 

submits registration 

documents next 

week 

14 

Ogun govt 

wages war 

against fake 

monarchs 

SEE STORY INSIDE

C 

M 

Y 

K 

2—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 6, 2017

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 6, 2017—3

C 

M 

Y 

K 

4—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 6, 2017

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 6, 2017 — 5 

POCKET CARTOON 

AVIATION —From left: Minister of State for Power, Works and Housing, 

Alhaji Mustapha Baba-Shehuri; Senior Special Assistant to the President on 

National Assembly Matters, Sen. Ita Enang; Minister of State for Aviation, 

Sen. Hadi Sirika; and Chairman, Security and Intelligence Committee of the 

Senate, Sen. Shaba Lafiaji, at the Special Stakeholders' meeting on the 

temporary closure of Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja for repairs 

of the runway, in Abuja, yesterday. Photo: NAN. 

Troops recover another 

Chibok school girl with child 

Continues from Page 1 

the recovery of Rakiya 

Abubakar. 

In a statement by his 

spokesman, President 

Buhari, said the recovery 

raises renewed hope that 

other abducted girls will 

one day be reunited with 

their families, friends and 

community. 

President Buhari also 

“commended the military 

for the diligent 

investigation which led to 

the recovery of Rakiya 

and urged them to 

continue in the spirit with 

which they cleared the 

Sambisa forest of 

terrorists.” 

He “assured that the 

Nigerian Government will 

continue to do all within 

its powers to assist the 

military in locating the rest 

of the girls and eradicate 

the menace of terrorism in 

Nigeria.” 

The recovered 

Chibok girl 

A statement by the 

Director, Army Public 

Relations, Brigadier 

General Sani Usman, 

yesterday, in Abuja on 

the recovered young 

woman, said after a 

p r e l i m i n a r y 

investigation, “it was 

discovered that she is 

the daughter of Abubakar 

Gali Mulima and Habiba 

Abubakar of Chibok.” 

The recovered school 

girl “further stated that 

she was a student of 

Senior Secondary School 

Class 3B (SS 3B), before 

her abduction along with 

her colleagues on April 

14, 2014 by the Boko 

Haram terrorists." 

The statement said 

Rakiya Abubakar is 

presently undergoing 

further medical 

investigation and would 

soon be released to the 

IT'S UP TO YOU 

BY AYO ADIO - 08104802192 

It is wonderful to be in pursuit of great goals but, 

sometimes, you have to slow down and evaluate 

your life to be sure that you are in pursuit of what 

you really want. It’s up to you. 

TAKE HEART 

BY ELLA RANDLE- O8084919482 

It is during our darkest moment that we must 

focus to see the light—Aristotle Onassis 

LIFE is a journey. We are like billions of stars in 

the cosmos, each of us a speck of light in the 

great oblivion. Be aware of your light in the 

darkness, this radiance begets and intensifies the 

expectation of all that’s sublime. We are continually 

awakening to a greater beauty of our life’s purpose. 

Suddenly, we know, the meandering pathways, all 

along, was part of the greater design in the grand 

scheme to lead us into a direct route of knowing 

who we are, why we are here, and what’s next. 

SAYINGS OF OUR PEOPLE 

You cannot stay in your room and kill an 

antelope in the bush. 

Borno 

State 

Government. 

It will be recalled that 

21 Chibok schoolgirls 

abducted by Islamist 

Boko Haram 

insurgents, were 

released to the Nigerian 

government on October 

13, 2016. 

The girls were picked 

up by military helicopter 

from Banki area of Borno 

State, where Boko 

Haram militants dropped 

them off earlier that day. 

It had been earlier 

reported that the girls 

were freed in a swap for 

detained Boko Haram 

leaders, a claim 

government denied. 

The girls were among 

the 219 students 

abducted by the 

insurgents in Chibok, 

Borno State, on April 14, 

2014. One of them, 

Amina Ali Nkeki, had 

earlier this year, escaped 

from the abductors’ grip 

and was received by 

President Muhammadu 

Buhari at the 

Presidential Villa, Abuja. 

Meanwhile, Director of 

Defence Information, 

Brigadier General Rabe 

Abubakar, has reiterated 

that Boko Haram has 

been wiped out in the 

North East, stressing 

that there was no way 

the Islamist terrorist sect 

could regroup to wreak 

havoc in the region. 

General Abubakar, 

who spoke at a media 

parley with journalists 

in Port Harcourt, Rivers 

State, yesterday, called 

for vigilance, noting that 

some escapees of the 

terrorist group could be 

struggling to infiltrate 

communities. 

He said the few attacks 

by the group recently 

were carried out by 

fleeing remnants of the 

sect. “Boko Haram is 

gone in Nigeria and it 

has gone for good. 

There is no Jupiter that 

Investors lose N227.9bn at stock market 

in three days 

By Peter Egwuatu 

L fortunes 

AGOS—THE 

of 

investors on the Nigeria 

Stock Exchange (NSE), 

yesterday, declined for the 

third consecutive day, 

resulting to N227.9 billion 

loss in the first three 

trading days of the year. 

Meanwhile, the Central 

Bank of Nigeria (CBN), 

yesterday, mopped up 

N172.8 billion excess cash 

from the banking system 

through the sale of 

treasury bills, prompting 

cost of funds to rise 

moderately. 

Analysis of trading on 

the NSE for the first three 

days showed that market 

capitalization, which 

represents total value of 

listed shares, dropped 

steadily from N9.25 trillion 

at the end of 2016 to N9.02 

trillion yesterday. The 

market capitalization 

dropped by N88.7 billion 

on Tuesday, N41.9 billion 

on Wednesday and by 

N97.4billion, yesterday. 

The All share Index (ASI) 

also dropped steadily to 

26, 212.09 points, 

yesterday, from 26,874.62 

at the end of 2016. 

Last year, investors lost 

N603.7 billion on the NSE 

as the market 

capitalisation fell from 

N9.850 trillion on 

December 31, 2015 to 

N9.246 trillion at the close 

of trading on December 

30, 2016, representing 

6.13 per cent Year to Date 

loss. Capital market 

operators attributed the 

loss to the impact of the 

economic recession on the 

•As CBN mops up N172bn 

stock market. 

Yesterday’s decline in 

market capitalisation was 

majorly driven by sell 

sentiment in highly 

capitalised stocks. 

Dangote Cement Plc 

dropped by 4.0 per cent. 

However, market activity 

improved as volume and 

value traded rose by 121.8 

per cent and 14.4 per cent 

to close at 137.7m units 

and N898.7million 

respectively. 

Mixed Sector 

Performance 

Sector performance was 

mixed as three indices 

gained while two 

declined. The Industrial 

Goods index led the 

losers’ chart with a loss of 

1.8 per cent dragged by 

Dangote Cement four per 

cent loss. 

The Consumer Goods 

index followed, closing 29 

bases points, bps, lower on 

account of price 

depreciation in Guinness 

Nigeria Plc, which 

dropped by 5.0 per cent 

and Dangote Flour Plc 

that declined by 4.9 per 

cent, while the Oil & Gas 

index slid 14 bps due to a 

price decline in Forte Oil, 

which dropped by 3.4 per 

cent. 

On the contrary, the 

Banking index gained 1.7 

per cent as investors took 

position in Guaranty Trust 

Bank, which gained 2.5 

per cent and Access Bank 

with 4.9 per cent, while 

the Insurance index 

gained 0.7 per cent trailed 

on the back of gains in 

Continental Insurance, 

which garnered 4.2 per 

cent and WAPIC 

Insurance, 3.9 per cent. 

However, despite 

yesterday’s negative 

close, investors sentiment 

improved as reflected in 

the gainers’ chart, 17 

stocks gained against 16 

decliners in the previous 

session. The best 

performing stocks were 

UAC-Property which 

gained 7.3 per cent, 

followed by Oando Plc 

with 5.6 per cent and 

Access Bank 5.0 per cent, 

while NAHCO Plc 

declined by 9.5 per cent 

followed by Guinness 

which nosedived by 5.0 

per cent and Dangote 

Flour 4.9 per cent 

recorded as the worst 

performers. 

CBN mops up 

N172bn 

The Central Bank of 

Nigeria (CBN), yesterday, 

mopped up N172.8 billion 

of excess cash in the 

banking system through 

the sale of treasury bills. 

The amount of treasury 

bills sold was, however, 50 

per cent higher than what 

was scheduled for the 

week. According to the 

Treasury bill issuance 

calendar for the first 

quarter, the apex bank was 

scheduled to N123.2 billion 

worth of treasury bills this 

week. 

Result of treasury bills 

sale, yesterday, revealed 

that the CBN sold N115.85 

billion worth of 364 days 

treasury bills at interest rate 

of 18.68 per cent; N35 

billion worth of 91 days bills 

can bring Boko Haram. 

What we are doing is to 

only sensitise citizens 

on the need to alert us 

on fleeing Boko Haram 

members. 

“Boko Haram and all its 

apparatus have been 

completely destroyed. 

Boko Haram members 

are in disarray and that 

was why we issued a 

statement, last week, that 

due to the ongoing 

crackdown on Boko 

Haram, some escapees 

may try to integrate into 

the communities,” he 

said. 

at 14 per cent; and N22 


bills at 17.5 per cent. 

The treasury bills sale, 

however, led to mild 

scarcity of funds in the 

interbank money market 

prompting cost of funds to 

rise marginally. 

According to the 

Nigerian Interbank Offered 

rate, interest rate for 

Overnight borrowing rose 

by 138 basis points to 9.67 

percent; interest rate for 

three months borrowing 

also rose by 36 basis points 

to 17.88 percent while 91 

days borrowing rose by 73 

basis points to 22.3 percent. 

On the other hand, the 

apex bank paid for N123.2 

billion for treasury bills that 

matured also yesterday. 

These comprise N28 billion 

worth of 91 days bills, N42 


bills and N55.9 billion worth 

364 days bills. 

Last week the CBN 

offered N70 billion worth of 

bills but sold N48.4 billion 

at average interest rate of 

18.3 percent. 

Meanwhile the naira 

appreciated to N488 per 

dollar at the parallel market 

due to weak demand. The 

naira had closed at N490 

per dollar last week. 

Managing Director/Chief 

Executive, H.J Trust BDC, 

Mr. Harrison Owoh said 

that the market is quite with 

little activity. He said: 

“Activity will pick up next 

week when most traders 

would have resumed, and 

people would be buying for 

travelling and other 

purposes. The CBN too will 

also resume sale of dollars 

to BDCs next week, so that 

is when activity will pick 

up.”

6—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 6, 2017 

:Vanguard News :@vanguardnews :@vanguardnews NEWS HOTLINES: 08052867023, 08052867058 

Woman 

allegedly 

injures 

man's 

genitals 

over N100 

Ogogoro 

LAGOS—A Surulere 

Chief Magistrate’s 

Court, yesterday, 

granted N100,000 bail to 

a woman, Bukky 

Babalola, who allegedly 

inflicted injury on her 

neighbour’s genitals 

over N100 debt. 

The Chief Magistrate, 

Mrs Ipaye Nwachukwu, 

also granted the accused 

two sureties in like sum. 

Nwachukwu ordered 

that one of the sureties 

must be a civil servant, 

who should not be on 

less than Grade Level 

14. 

She said the sureties 

should also provide 

evidence of tax 

payments and their 

addresses verified. 

Babalola, 38, who 

resides at 7, Atan St., 

Surulere, Lagos, 

pleaded not guilty to a 

charge of assault. 

The prosecutor, 

Sergeant Anthonia 

Osayande, had told the 

court that the accused 

committed the offence at 

7, Atan Street, Surulere, 

Lagos, at about 1:20a.m. 

on December 27, 2016. 

Osayande said that the 

accused, who resides in 

same compound with the 

complainant, Segun 

Atan, had sold N100 

worth of local gin 

(Ogogoro) to the 

complainant, which he 

refused to pay. 

‘She held unto it’ 

She said when the 

accused saw the 

complainant on her way 

to the bathroom and 

demanded for her 

money, the complainant 

pushed her and she fell, 

while her towel came off 

her body. 

According to 

Osayande, “but when 

she was able to stand 

up, she held the man’s 

genital organ and 

inflicted injuries on him. 

“Atan is yet to recover, 

but still receiving 

medication in a 

hospital.” 

Osayande said that the 

offence contravened 

Section 244(a) of the 

Criminal Law of Lagos 

State, 2011. 

The case was 

adjourned to February 

28 for mention. 

5 persons pass out as fire razes Nn 

Amidnight fire, yesterday, 

gutted part of the Nnewi 

Timber Market in Nnewi North 

Local Government Area of 

Anambra State, destroying 

goods and machines worth 

millions of Naira. 

Eyewitnesses said five 

traders in the market collapsed 

and were rushed to hospitals 

due to the magnitude of their 

loss. 

Chief Chukwunonso Nnetu, 

Chairman of the Nnewi Timber 

Dealers Association, said that 

a security guard in the market 

alerted him around midnight 

about the inferno. 

Nnetu explained that fire 

fighters in Awka, Nnewi and 

Onitsha fire service stations 

were immediately contacted to 

fight the fire. 

According to him, “the 

Nnewi Fire Service men later 

arrived though the fire had 

reached an advanced stage. 

“We lost about 155 shops, 555 

sawing and curving machines, 

valued at N2 million each, were 

destroyed; different categories 

and quantities of woods and 

planks were also destroyed. 

“We do not know the exact According to him, most of Mr Jude Ugwu, the machines, wondered how the 

cause of the fire, but we have the traders have lost their only Secretary to the association, traders would overcome the loss 

lost well over N3 billion to the means of survival unless who noted that the fire in this time of recession. 

inferno.” 

government intervenes. affected mostly processing Ugwu, who recalled that a 

... as another fire guts shops, brothel, others in Ondo 

By Dayo Johnson 

A KURE—ANOTHER 

mysterious fire outbreak 

wrecked havoc in Akure, the 

Ondo State capital yesterday, 

as several shops, a brothel 

and buildings were razed to 

ashes. 

It was a pitiable sight as 

Ogunpa Channel, Oke-Padi area, Ibadan, taken over by 

refuse, yesterday. PHOTO: Dare Fasube. 

By Gabriel Enogholase 

BENIN—A 32-year-old 

kidnap suspect, Desmond 

Ozo, yesterday, narrated to 

journalists in Benin how his 

gang kidnapped and raped a 

middle-aged woman (names 

withheld) serially. 

Ozo, who was arrested 

alongside three other 

members of his gang, namely 

Innocent Lucky, 27; Roland 

Ode, 22, and Friday 

Dominion, 26, had kidnapped 

their victim in Benin and 

raped her after collecting N2 

million ransom from her 

relations. 

When asked if he used 

condom, Ozo said: “I did not 

use condom, while raping 

her.” 

Luck, however, ran out of 

them, when they were 

arrested by operatives of Edo 

State Police Command on 

New Year day. 

Narrating how they were 

arrested, one of the gang 

owners of the shops ravaged 

by the fire were rolling on 

the floor crying and wailing, 

saying they got micro-credit 

loans to buy the goods 

destroyed by the fire. 

No life was lost in the 

inferno, but reports had it 

that security guards 

employed by the shop 

owners sustained some 

injuries while trying to put 

out the fire. 

This is coming barely two 

weeks after Odopetu Market 

was consumed by a 

mysterious fire outbreak. 

Vanguard gathered that 

the fire outbreak ravaged the 

shops situated at Egbe 

Street in Ayedun area in 

Akure metropolis in the early 

hours of yesterday. Items 

destroyed by the fire were 

similar to that of Odopetu. 

‘We raped our victim, got N2m ransom’ 

members, Innocent Lucky, 

said the four of them were 

driving along Sapele Road, 

when the operatives, who 

were on patrol, nabbed 

them. 

The kidnappers were 

among the 85 suspects 

arrested for various crimes, 

ranging from robbery, 

murder, cultism, stealing 

and impersonation. They 

were paraded by the State 

Commissioner of Police, 

Mr. Haliru Gwandu. 

Food items including bags of 

rice, beans, bags of pepper, 

tubers of yams, kegs of palm oil 

and vegetable oil, stocked in the 

shops, were burnt to ashes by 

the fire, which started at about 

1a.m., yesterday. 

Eyewitness account said the 

fire started from one of the 

locked shops and spread to 

many others before it was 

noticed. 

The cause of the fire could not 

be ascertained as residents in 

the area and the security guards 

said it happened suddenly and 

spread fast. 

Speaking with Vanguard one 

of the shop owners, Bola 

Makinde, said she got a distress 

call at about 1a.m. from one of 

those leaving beside her shop. 

Makinde said by the time she 

rushed to the market, all her 

goods were gone with the fire. 

2 Urhobo, Isoko in 

By Emma Amaize 

WARRI—TWO indigenes of 

Urhobo and Isoko ethnic 

nationalities in Delta State have 

been abducted at Aladja, Udu 

Local Government Area of the 

state by suspected ethnic 

warlords. 

The victims, Anthony Oshioya 

from Aradhe community, Isoko 

North Local Government Area 

and Arwotu Ohwoavwodjoghan 

from Aladja, were kidnapped, 

Tuesday, when they went to a

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 6, 2017—7 


ewi timber market 

similar fire incident occurred in 

2002, appealed to the state and 

Federal Governments to assist 

the traders recover from the loss. 

Mr Chukwudi Onyejekwe, a 

By Kingsley Omonobi 

ABUJA—POLICEMEN from 

Force Headquarters, Abuja, 

working with men of Rivers State 

Police Command, have smashed 

a robbery operation at a bank in 

Port Harcourt. 

The robbers, including a 

dismissed Police Sergeant, 

armed with welding machines, 

iron cutters and arms, were 

arrested with one bank official 

suspected to have provided the 

gang with information on how 

to break into the bank’s vault. 

Giving details of the foiled 

robbery, Force Public Relations 

Officer, DCP Don Awunah, 

said: “Police have arrested 

robbers, who specialised in 

bank robbery and recovered 

caches of arms and 

ammunition. 

“A senior bank staff and 

plantain farm in Aladja forest. 

Vanguard learned that despite 

the riot act read by Governor 

Ifeanyi Okowa to the warring 

Ogbe Ijoh, Isaba, Esaba and 

Aladja communities in Ogbe Ijoh 

and Udu Local Government 

areas last month, tension was 

still high in the areas, yesterday. 

The President General of 

Aradhe community, F. E. 

Omakoba, who spoke to 

Vanguard on phone, stated 

emphatically that Ijaw people 

were behind the kidnap. 

Director in the state Emergency 

Management Agency, SEMA, 

described the incident as a 

“painful and a bizarre situation,” 

considering the quantity of 

goods destroyed. 

“The fire fighters have been 

battling the fire since 1a.m. The 

agency will later ascertain the 

remote cause of the fire. 

“We will assist the traders by 

pleading with the state and 

federal governments to come to 

their rescue through the 

National Emergency 

Management Agency, NEMA. 

“We anticipated this and had 

been moving round the markets 

sensitising the traders on how 

to fight such fires,” Onyejekwe 

added. 

Police foil robbery bid on Port Harcourt bank 

security personnel attached to 

the bank involved in the foiled 

robbery attack on a new 

generation bank branch in Port 

Harcourt, Rivers State, were 

also arrested.” 

He gave the names of the 

suspects as Samuel Ndudiri, 

28, (staff of the bank), a 

principal suspect and the 

mastermind of the foiled 

robbery attack, ex-Police 

Sergeant Promise Ukwuoma, a 

dismissed policeman. 

Others are Samuel Nwala, 

28; Lucky Ukwuoma, and Kaale 

Taagabah, 27. 

Items recovered from the 

gang include two AK-47 rifles, 

fully-loaded magazines, a 

welding machine, two gas 

cylinders, iron cutters, a chisel, 

cutting saw, hammer and 

acetylene gas power. 

Awunah said: “On December 

digenes abducted in Delta 

He said: “I appeal to Ijaw 

people of Isaba to 

unconditionally release our son, 

Mr Anthony Oshioya, who has 

been held hostage by them since 

Tuesday. He went to his plantain 

farm in Aladja bush in company 

of an Aladja man. 

“We have no issue with Aladja 

community or Isaba of Ijaw 

community. Until now, he has 

not returned to his house in 

Aladja.” 

A source said before Tuesday’s 

abduction, two youths from Oleri 

Babcock Varsity student 

commits suicide in Ogun 

•We're not aware; still investigatiing—POLICE 

AN undergraduate of 

Babcock University, 

Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State, 

Unokyoh Junior, has reportedly 

committed suicide. 

The reason for his action is yet 

to be ascertained. 

The story was shared by 

Nollywood actress, Foluke 

Daramola’s husband, 

Olukayode Salako, on his 

Facebook page. 

Salako, who runs a school 

where the deceased passed out 

from, wrote: “Sadly, this boy 

committed suicide. So sad! What 

must have made this boy to take 

his own life?! What?!” 

Salako said he was from a very 

responsible and financially 

comfortable home. 

“He was a very good, brilliant 

and quiet boy, who had the best 

of education,” he added. 

He wrote that the boy’s mum, 

Mrs. Unokyoh, has been a very 

good woman to her children, 

who has committed everything 

she has to their development. 

“Oh! God! Who did this to my 

friend and buxom sister?!” 

Salako continued. 

He added: “Who did this to 

the Bosworth College 

community? Who did this to 

Babcock University? Who 

The suspects and their tools of trade. 

22, 2016, the five suspects and 

others still at large stormed a 

bank branch in Port Harcourt, 

relying on information and 

active involvement of one of 

the bank’s staff. 

community were taken 

hostage and their 

whereabouts unknown since 

the incident. 

Two other Esaba villa-gers, 

also abducted earlier, were 

released following pressure 

on the kidnappers by security 

agencies. 

An Urhobo leader told 

Vanguard: “We are surprised 

that security agencies, who 

received the two released 

hostages, have not bothered 

to arrest the kidnappers 

despite information made 

available to them.” 

remoted (sic) this boy to cause 

this widow this terrible pain?! 

Who?! Who?!! Who?!!! Who did 

this to my friend?! Ah! Africa! A 

fi ika! 

“It is only God who can 

console you Pat! Good bye, my 

boy! May God accept your 

innocent soul! Bosworth 

College International will 

always miss you!” 

However, when the Ogun 

State Police Public Relations 

Officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi, 

was contacted, he said that 

such information had not been 

received by the command. 

Police 

According to Oyeyemi, “there 

is nothing like that. We have 

contacted the Chief Security 

Officer of the school, he said he 

also read it on social media but 

that the school was not aware 

of such incident. 

“I also called the Divisional 

Police Officer in-charge of 

Ikenne and the Area 

Commander, Shagamu, both of 

them also said that such case 

was not reported to them. 

“Such case has not been 

reported to any of our 

jurisdiction. But in any case, we 

are still investigating.” 

“The robbers successfully 

broke down the well-fortified 

security doors and barriers 

and took over the banking 

hall. 

“They were almost pulling 

down the vault and other 

strong rooms in the bank 

with use of gas cylinder 

welding machine and iron 

cutters before the joint police 

teams of the IG’s 

Intelligence Response Team 

and policemen from Rivers 

State Police Command 

swiftly moved in and 

arrested three of the 

suspects at the scene. 

“The principal suspect, 

who is a staff of the bank and 

the mastermind, was 

arrested based on statements 

by three suspects arrested at 

the scene.” 

Cultists kill 

one in Lagos 

By Evelyn Usman 

L AGOS—CULTISTS, 

Wednesday, went on 

rampage in Igbe Kapo 

area of Ikorodu, Lagos, 

leaving in their trail the 

death of a 24-year-old 

barber. 

Some residents also 

sustained injuries in the 

resultant stampede. 

The deceased, identified 

as Ademola Olarape, was 

shot dead in front of a 

saloon opposite Ijede 

palace, where he worked 

as a stylist. 


there was a cult war in the 

area, during which 

cultists unleashed 

mayhem on rival members 

as well as innocent 

residents. 

... as police 

arrest 71 

street traders, 

miscreants 

By Monsuru 

Olowoopejo 

LAGOS 

State 

Government, 

yesterday, arrested 71 

street traders and 

miscreants, for terrorising 

residents and violating the 

state environmental laws 

in Ikorodu axis of the 

state. 

Of the 71 suspects 

arrested by the state 

Environmental Sanitation 

and Special Offence Unit 

(Task Force), 38 were 

street traders and 33 

miscreants, who had been 

terrorising and collecting 

illegal fees from residents 

of Ketu, Owode-Elede, 

Ajelogo, Alapere and Mile 

12 axis of the state. 


13 of the 38 traders were 

female, arrested for 

hawking, displaying and 

selling wares on the sixlane 

Mile 12-Ikorodu 

Road setbacks and 

walkways. 

Sources disclosed to 

Vanguard that the arrest 

was sequel to complaints 

by residents that the 

activities of traders and 

miscreants within that 

axis was becoming a 

nightmare. 

One of the arrested 

traders at Mile 12, Mrs. 

Awawu Adeyemi, said she 

owned a shop in Ikorodu 

market, but that she 

resulted to trading on the 

ever-busy road after 

discovering customers 

prefer patronising street 

traders and hawkers to 

visiting the market.

8—VANGUARD, FRIDAY, JANUARY 6, 2017 


Accidental 

discharge: 

Presidential 

Villa safe, 

Presidency 

assures 

By Levinus 

Nwabughiogu 

A 

B U J A — 

PRESIDENCY 

has assured Nigerians 

and foreigners that the 

Presidential Villa, Abuja 

was safe and secure. 

The assurance followed 

an accidental discharge 

by a security operative 

on Wednesday. 

A staff of the State 

House, Mrs. Gladys 

Okpa, escaped death by 

the whiskers when the 

gun suddenly went off. 

The incident occurred 

about noon when the 

security operative, 

apparently from the 

Department of State 

Service, DSS, came into 

the Presidential Villa 

with his gun loaded and 

while trying to empty the 

gun, as required by 

other security men 

mounting sentry at the 

main entrance of the 

building, it suddenly 

went off. 

He was injured on his 

hand just as the pellet 

also strayed, hitting Mrs. 

Okpa, who was standing 

nearby un-mindful of the 

development. 

Both persons were 

immediately rushed to 

the Villa clinic for first 

aid. 

Reacting to the incident 

in statement, yesterday, 

Presidential spokesman, 

Mallam Garba Shehu, 

said the Villa was safe. 

The statement read: 

“According to reports 

received so far, the 

security official involved 

in this incident is not 

attached to the State 

House. 

“Rather, he came on 

invitation as a witness in 

an ongoing investigation 

and was required, as is 

the rule, to surrender his 

weapon at the gates 

before entry. 

“Investigation revealed 

that the operative 

conducted the normal 

safety precaution as 

professionally required 

when the pistol 

accidentally fired. 

“The lady by his side, 

a caterer, was hit by a 

pellet of the bullet. Both 

of them were attended to 

at the clinic and 

discharged.” 

Southern Kaduna: Buhari orders NEMA to 

assess situation 

By Levinus 

Nwabughiogu 

ABUJA — PRESIDENT 

Muhammadu Buhari has 

ordered the National 

Emergency Management 

Agency, NEMA, to carry out an 

assessment of the situation in 

Southern part of Kaduna 

State,which has been engulfed 

in sectarian violence in recent 

times 

The President directed 

NEMA, with the sister agency 

in Kaduna, SEMA, to determine 

the level of response required 

for urgent aid to the victims of 

the violence. 

A statement by presidential 

spokesman, Mallam Garba 

Shehu, yesterday, said: 

“President Buhari has equally 

directed NEMA to carry out a 

joint assessment of the situation 

with the sister agency in 

Kaduna, SEMA, to determine 

the level of response required 

for urgent aid to the victims of 

the violence. 

“These measures should soon 

ensure the return of normalcy to 

the region, while the Kaduna State 

government continues its peace 

building efforts.” 

President Buhari also 

commended the efforts of the state 

government and the security 

agencies in the steps taken so far 

to curtail the violence. 

He also sent condolences to the 

people of the troubled zone who 

have lost loved ones in the 

violence. 

PDP leadership tussle: Makarfi wants A-Court to deliver reserved 

judgment 

ABUJA—THE 

Senator 

Ahmed Makarfi-led 

Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, 

has urged the Appeal Court 

sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers 

State to deliver the reserved 

judgment on the party’s 

leadership feud pending before 

it. 

The party made the call in a 

statement by its National 

Publicity Secretary, Mr Dayo 

Adeyeye, yesterday, in Abuja. 

Adeyeye said the delivery of 

the reserved judgment would 

allow the PDP concentrate on its 

rebuilding process and provide 

alternative governance in the 

Nigeria posts biggest 

decline as OPEC output 

falls 

By Sebastine Obasi, with agency 

report 

ABUJA— NIGERIA recorded the biggest 

oil production decline among 

Organisation of Petroleum Exporting 

Countries, OPEC, members last December, as 

output dropped by 200,000 barrels to 1.45 

million barrels per day, bpd, industry sources 

said. 

This is even as OPEC’s crude production 

fell by 310,000 barrels a day, as unplanned 

disruptions in Nigeria reduced the group’s 

supply before deliberate cuts took effect this 

month. 

Nigeria’s huge output decline was attributed 

to maintenance on the Erha field and strike 

by workers at ExxonMobil Corporation’s 

operations in the country which disrupted both 

exports and production, Amrita Sen, Chief Oil 

Analyst at London-based consultant Energy 

Aspects Limited, said. 

A year ago, the country was pumping almost 

two million barrels a day. Also, no cargo of 

the Agbami crude grade was shipped in first 

half of December, while three of the four Erha 

cargoes originally scheduled to load were 

deferred, with two moved into January, 

according to loading programmes. 

country. 

He said: “It is no gain saying 

that any democracy without a 

viable opposition is considered 

a dictatorship, unstable, 

unhealthy and a recipe for 

anarchy. 

“We also urge the National 

Judicial Council, NJC, to 

urgently do the needful in 

respect of the petition submitted 

against the Special Appeal Panel 

of the Court of Appeal, Abuja 

Division, by Senator Ali Modu 

Sheriff. 

“The current petition, like the 

two previous ones, is another 

delay tactics he devised with 

his collaborators against justice 

to the PDP and its membership 

nationwide.” 

He commended the judiciary 

for its effort to actualise the 

principles of separation of 

powers, which he described as 

the main pillar of democracy. 

“We, therefore, urge the courts 

to keep up the good work by 

maintaining independence on 

all matters brought before it,” 

Adeyeye said. 

Adeyeye, however, 

commended staff of the party for 

their peaceful protest on 

Tuesday to demand the 

unconditional and immediate 

reopening of the party’s National 

Secretariat in Abuja. 

The peaceful protest was carried 

out by the workers under 

the auspices of PDP Staff Welfare 

Forum. 

The staff members also demanded 

speedy delivery of the 

judgment on the party’s matters 

pending before the appellate 

court. 

Adeyeye described the peaceful 

protest as a demonstration 

of their commitment to service, 

loyalty and dedication to the party’s 

well-being, peaceful Nigeria 

and advancement of democracy 

at large.

VANGUARD, FRIDAY, JANUARY 6, 2017—9 

Internet users 

decline to 92.4m 

in Nov — NCC 

ABUJA — THE number of 

internet users in Nigeria’s 

telecommunications networks 

have further reduced to 

92,446,687 in November, the 

Nigerian Communications 

Commission, NCC, has said. 

The telecommunications 

industry umpire made the 

disclosure in its Monthly 

Internet Subscribers Data for 

November, obtained by NAN, 

yesterday, in Lagos, indicating 

that internet users on both 

Global System for Mobile 

communications, GSM and 

Code Division Multiple 

Access, CDMA, networks 

reduced by 759,683 in 

November. 

It showed that of the 

92,446,687 million internet 

users in November, 92,416,378 

were on GSM networks, while 

30,309 users were on CDMA 

networks. 

Also, the GSM service 

providers lost 759,683 internet 

customers after recording 

92,416,378 users in November, 

as against 93,176,061 it 

recorded in October. 

The CDMA operators had 

retained 30,309 internet 

subscribers in November as 

recorded in October 2016. 

The data revealed that MTN 

had 32,017,779 subscribers 

browsing the internet on its 

network in the month under 

review. 

According to the data, 

Globacom had 27,122,892 

customers surfing the net on 

its network in November, 

revealing a decrease of 62,660 

users, from the 27,185,552 that 

surfed the internet on the 

network in October. 

Airtel had 19,143,700 

internet users in November, 

adding 311,462 customers to 

its October record of 

18,832,238. 

The data also showed that 

Etisalat had 14,132,007 

customers who browsed the 

internet in November, 

revealing a decrease of 

561,485 users against the 

14,693,492 users recorded in 

October. 


Abuja Airport closure: Why we chose Kaduna 

as alternative —FG 

•As stakeholders differ on closure 

By Favour Nnabugwu 

ABUJA — THE Federal 

Government has said the 

three airports close to Nnamdi 

Azikiwe International Airport, 

NAIA, Abuja, do not meet the 

criteria set for alternative airports 

to Abuja. 

This, however, did not go 

down well with stakeholders in 

the aviation industry, who 

expressed divergent views on 

the alternative airport and the 

total closure of the Abuja Airport 

from March 8 to April 19, 2017. 

Minister of State for Aviation, 

Senator Hadi Sirika, during the 

stakeholders forum in Abuja, 

yesterday, said three other 

airports close to Abuja— Minna 

Airport in Niger State, Yakubu 

Gowon Airport in Jos and Ilorin 

Airport in Kwara— did not meet 

the criteria set by the Federal 

Government as alternative 

airports. 

The minister, while explaining 

the rationale behind the choice 

of Kaduna airport, said: “Niger 

and Kwara states are probably 

thinking they are better 

alternatives, they are very good 

alternatives for sure but 

unfortunately, there are quite a 

number of criteria we looked at 

which the other airports did not 

meet before we chose Kaduna. 

“The three are good airports 

close to Abuja but they simply 

did not meet with the criteria 

we used. Minna, Ilorin and 

even Jos airport as well.” 

What necessitated 

rehabilitation 

Stating what necessitated the 

rehabilitation of Abuja airport 

runway, the minister recalled 

that the Abuja runway was 

constructed in 1982, adding 

that it had overshot its design 

Reps set to probe misappropriation of 

funds for construction of PHCs 

By Imanuel Jannah 

ABUJA —THE House of 

Representatives is to probe 

alleged misappropriation of 

funds meant for the construction 

of Primary Healthcare Centres, 

PHCs, in the 774 local 

governments under former 

President Goodluck Jonathan’s 

administration. 

Chairman, House Committee 

on Legislative Compliance, 

Olasupo Abiodun, gave the hint 

in an interview with Vanguard, 

shortly after the public 

presentation of a report on the 

state of primary healthcare 

centres by Public and Private 

Development Centre, PPDC, in 

Abuja. 

He said the House, through 

Forex rubbishes N304bn Health budget for 2017 

ABUJA— DUE to continuous 

depreciation of Naira to 

other foreign currencies, 

stakeholders in the health sector 

have raised an alarm over 

inadequate budgetary provision 

of N304 billion for the Federal 

Ministry of Health in the 2017 

national budget. 

The stakeholders on the 

platform of Partnership for 

Advocacy in Child and Family 

Health, PACFAH, disclosed that 

the proposed health budget was 

cumulatively lower than that of 

2016 due to foreign exchange 

challenges in the value of naira 

to the dollar. 

In a statement on the State 

of Nigeria Health Budget – 

2017 issued by the PACFAH, 

the stakeholders, noted that the 

proposed 2017 health budget 

was an improvement from past 

trends on the face value, 

especially the capital 

expenditure bit. 

The statement read: “The 

total sum of N304 billion has 

been proposed for the Federal 

Ministry of Health, amounting 

to 83 percent for recurrent 

expenditures (salaries and 

overheads) and 17 percent for 

capital expenditure (health 

infrastructures and services). 

“This 2017 proposed 

Ministry of Health budget is 

4.17 percent of the national 

budget, a poor improvement 

on the 2016 budget of 4.13 

percent. With about 80 about 

improvement in terms of 

capital expenditure of the 

2017 proposed budget 

compared to that of 2016, the 

reality is that this proposed 

health budget is cumulatively 

lower than that of 2016 due to 

the skyrocketed foreign 

exchange value of a naira to 

dollar." 

MEETING: 

From left, 

Member of the 

House of 

Representatives, 

Ayo Omidiran; 

Minister of State 

for Aviation, Sen. 

Hadi Sirika; and 

Chairman, House 

Committee on 

Aviation, Nkiru 

Onyejeocha, at the 

special 

stakeholders' 

meeting on the 

temporary closure 

of Nnamdi 

Azikiwe 

International 

Airport, Abuja for 

repairs of the 

runway, in Abuja, 

yesterday. Photo: 

NAN. 

its Committee on Healthcare 

Delivery, was ready to 

investigate the allegations made 

in the report indicting several 

contractors of collecting money 

for the construction of PHCs 

across the country without 

moving to site or executing the 

projects halfway before 

abandoning them. 

“I can assure you that the 

investigation will be thoroughly 

carried out by the Committee on 

Healthcare Delivery and their 

findings will be presented to the 

committee of the whole on the 

floor of the House. After its 

adoption, it will now be passed 

to the Committee on Legislative 

Compliance which I head. I can 

assure you that you will see 

result,” he said. 

Praising the thoroughness of 

the PPDC report, he encouraged 

private organisations to furnish 

the leadership of the House with 

reports of independent 

investigations that are of public 

interest, adding that the House 

will stop at nothing in ensuring 

that the issues raised are 

resolved. 

lifespan by 14 years, resulting in a 

number of distressed and failed 

portions of the runaway. 

He recalled the experiences of 

airlines on the Abuja runway, 

saying: “On December 4, 2013, a 

Saudi Arabian cargo plane 

damaged its landing gear in a 

major incident at the Abuja airport 

runway, which led to the closure of 

the airport for several hours, from 

the night of December 4 to the 

evening of the following day. 

“In August 2016, there was also 

another major incident involving 

South Africa Airways flight that got 

damaged when it landed on the 

same Abuja airport runway. 

“Just last year, Emirates aircraft 

was also damaged when it landed 

on the same runway and it was one 

of the reasons the airline gave for 

stopping operations to Abuja 

airport, while other international 

airlines were considering pulling 

out of Abuja airport like the Kenya 

Airways because of the dangerous 

runway and multiple incidences of 

landing gear damages that had 

been reported by operators of 

private jets caused by the poor 

condition of the Abuja runway. 

“This administration with safety 

and security as its priority, has 

decided to face the problem headon. 

The cooperation of all 

stakeholders is, therefore, required 

to enable us go through this 

transition period with minimal 

discomfort.” 

Stakeholders differ 

on closure 

Expressing their misgivings 

about the decision of the Federal 

Government, stakeholders, 

including Aviation Operators of 

Nigeria, AON; International Airline 

Operators, IAO; embassies in Abuja 

and the Nigerian Association of 

Travel Agencies, NATA, among 

others were not in agreement with 

Federal Government on the choice 

of Kaduna as alternative airport 

and total closure of the Abuja airport 

Chairman of AON, Capt. Nogie 

Meggison, said operators were in 

total support of the rehabilitation of 

the Abuja airport runway but do not 

agree with the complete shutdown 

of the airport. 

Meggison was of the view that 

the 3900-metre runway could be 

divided into sections while a 

section is undergoing repair, the 

other is left open till the repairs of 

the closed section is completed. 

He suggested that a section that 

would be left open could 

accommodate a Boeing 737, adding 

that international flights could go 

to Lagos or Kano for the period of 

repairs. 

He wondered if Kaduna airport 

was ready to accommodate the 

traffic of passengers and aircraft. 

Responding, however, Executive 

Secretary, Kaduna Investment 

Promotion Agency, Mallam Gambo 

Hamza, said Kaduna was ready to 

take the traffic while the state had 

made provision for security with 20 

policemen on standby at every 

kilometre.

10 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 6, 2017 

Coker family 

re-possesses 

Ikeja land after 

tussle with police 

By Onozure Dania 

L AGOS—THE 

protracted legal 

tussle between the family of 

the late Supreme Court judge, 

Justice G.B. Coker and the 

Police authorities was, 

yesterday, laid to rest as the 

family took possession of the 

land. 

The land, measuring 2.2 

acres located within Alausa 

Police Barracks along 

Obafemi Awolowo Way, Ikeja, 

Lagos, had been a subject of 

controversy for years. 

The execution of the court 

order for possession was 

sequel to the judgment 

delivered in suit no NID/992/ 

2004 on April 20, 2016 by 

Justice B. A. Oke-Lawal, of 

the Lagos High Court. 

The plaintiffs in the suit, 

Chief Henry Oke-Ade Coker 

and Dr Esther Oguntuga, 

suing as representatives of 

Justice Coker, had dragged 

the Inspector General of 

Police, Assistant Inspector 

General of Police (Works 

Department), Commissioner 

of Police, Lagos State and the 

Divisional Police Officer 

(Alausa Division) to court 

over the land. 

In her judgment, Justice 

Oke-Lawal granted an order 

of perpetual injunction 

restraining the defendants, 

whether by themselves or 

their officers from entering or 

remaining on the land. 

The judge further held that 

the police authorities have no 

right to take possession of the 

land with survey plan no LS/ 

D/LKS/239 from the claimants 

except in accordance with due 

process of law. 

Insisting that occupying the 

land by the police authorities 

was unlawful and amounted 

to trespass, the trial judge also 

awarded costs against the 

defendants. 

It was gathered that the 

Coker family, however, 

encountered series of setback 

while trying to execute the 

court order, and therefore, 

petitioned the IG, Mr Ibrahim 

Idris, who in turn 

commissioned the Police 

Legal Department to 

examine the matter. 


Lagos Assembly ratifies death penalty for 

kidnappers if ... 

By Ebun Sessou 

LAGOS—THE 

Lagos 

State House of Assembly 

yesterday passed a bill aimed at 

checking the spate of kidnapping 

in the state into law, with stiff 

penalties including death 

sentence for offenders. 

The lawmakers passed the 

Law to Provide for the 

Prohibition of the Act of 

Kidnapping and for Other 

Connected Purposes after the 

third reading. 

The passage of the bill was also 

sequel to the adoption of a report 

presented by Mrs Adefunmilayo 

Tejuosho, the Chairman of the 

House Committee on Judiciary, 

Petitions, Human Rights and 

Lagos State Independent 

Electoral Commission, LASIEC. 

Sponsored by the Speaker of 

the House, Mr Mudashiru 

Obasa, it prescribes death 

sentence for kidnappers whose 

victims die in their custody and 

life sentence for those whose 

victims do not die in the hands 

SANITATION TOUR: From left; Mr Samuel Ojo, Sole Administrator, Igando/Ikotun, LCDA; Dr 

Babatunde Adejare, Lagos State Commissioner for Environment, and Dr Afolabi, Director of 

Enforcement, Min of Environment, during the sanitation inspection tour to Ikotun Igando and Egbe- 

Idimu Area by Lagos State Government Minisrty of Environment yesterday. Photo by Kehinde Gbadamosi. 

STRIKE: Resident doctors lament FG’s ‘anti-labour policies’ 

By Chioma Obinna 

LAGOS—MEDICAL doctors 

under the auspices of 

National Association of Resident 

Doctors, NARD, yesterday 

condemned what they described 

as anti-labour measures being 

meted on doctors in Federal 

Government-owned health 

institutions across the country. 

Meanwhile, the doctors are also 

appealing to the Federal 

Government and Non- 

Governmental Organisations to 

wade into the crisis with a view 

to resolving issues responsible for 

the strike notice served on the 

government. 

The doctors spoke in Lagos at a 

joint press conference organised 

by members of NARD from the 

Lagos University Teaching 

Hospital, LUTH, Federal 

Neuropsychiatric Hospital, 

FNPH, Yaba and the National 

Orthopaedic Hospital, NOH, 

Igbobi in Lagos on the ultimatum 

issued by the association and their 

impending strike. 

Speaking, the President of 

LUTH-ARD, Dr Adebayo 

Sekumade said the association 

was worried about the selective 

application and misapplication of 

the rules by the different hospital 

managements. 

Sekumade who called for a 

uniform template for Residency 

training in Nigeria said the 

agitation for a uniform template 

had been ongoing for years and 

has contributed to industrial 

disharmony in the health sector. 

He further condemned the 

unceremonious withdrawal of 

Resident Doctors from the 

Pension Scheme. 

Lagos outlaws indiscriminate waste dumping, shanties 

of their abductors. 

The bill states that any person 

who kidnaps, abducts, detains, 

captures or takes another person 

by any means or trick with intent 

to demand ransom or do 

anything against his/her will, 

commits an offence. 

The bill also stipulates life 

imprisonment for anyone who 

makes an attempt to kidnap 

another person. 

Also the bill prescribes seven 

years imprisonment for anyone 

making false representation to 

release a kidnapped or 

abducted person. 

The lawmakers also approved 

On the impending strike, 

President, ARD FNPH, Yaba, Dr. 

Kenneth Uwajeh who noted that 

patient care remained their core 

area and reason why they 

became doctors said: “We 

never wanted to get involved 

in administration but the 

dynamics of the government in 

Nigeria has forced us to do so.'' 

25 years imprisonment as penalty 

for anyone found guilty of 

threatening to kidnap another 

person through phone call, e- 

mail, text message or any other 

means of communication. 

The bill prescribes penalty for 

any person, who knowingly or 

wilfully allows or permits his 

premises, building or a place or 

belonging to which he has control 

of, to be used for the purpose of 

keeping a person kidnapped. 

According to the bill, such a 

person is guilty of an offence 

under the law and liable to 14 

years imprisonment without an 

option of fine. 

The speaker, who read the 20 

sections of the bill one after the 

other for members’ approval, 

conducted a voice vote before its 

passage. 

Obasa directed the Acting Clerk 

of the House, Mr Azeez Sanni, 

to forward a clean copy of the bill 

to Governor Akinwunmi Ambode 

for assent. 

The state recorded recurrent 

cases of kidnappings, with the 

incident affecting students in two 

schools in 2016. 

In February 2016, three school 

girls were seized from Babington 

Macaulay Junior Seminary, 

Ikorodu, but were later freed by 

the police. 

In October, gunmen stormed the 

Lagos Model College, Igbonla, 

Ikorodu, and took away the vice 

principal, a teacher and four 

students. 

They were released after several 

days. 

Also, kidnappers stormed the 

palace of a traditional ruler, the 

Oniba of Iba, Yishau Goriola 

Oseni, in July and abducted him. 

His release was later secured 

and several persons are on trial 

over the kidnap. 

Also at yesterday’s sitting, the 

House adopted the 

recommendations of its 

Committee on Youths and Sports 

on a Bill for a Law to Provide for 

the Establishment of the Lagos 

State Sports Commission and for 

Connected Purpose after a debate. 

By Olasunkanmi Akoni 

FOLLOWING 

the 

unprecedented thousands of 

metric tons of refuse generated across 

the state during the recent festive 

period, Lagos State Government, 

yesterday, commenced aggressive 

removal of waste and illegal structures 

with the warning to sanction any group 

or person found dumping waste 

indiscriminately in the state. 

This came even as the state 

government issued a seven day 

ultimatum to traders at Ikotun 

roundabout, in Igando/Ikotun Local 

Council Development Area, LCDA, to 

remove illegal structures which have 

constituted shanties and obstruction 

to easy flow of traffic or be prosecuted 

at the expiration of the ultimatum. 

The Commissioner for the 

Environment, Dr. Samuel 

Babatunde Adejare gave the 

warning yesterday, when he led an 

enforcement team of the ministry on 

an unscheduled inspection tour to 

assess level of waste evacuation in 

Egbe-Idimu and Igando-Ikotun 

LCDAs, Alimosho area of the state.



Embattled Osun monarch's case for withdrawal today 

By Gbenga Olarinoye 

OSOGBO — THERE are 

strong indications that the 

Oluwo of Iwo-Oke, Oba Kadiri 

Adeoye may today drop his case 

against the Oluwo of of Iwo, Oba 

Abdulrasheed Akanbi, a first class 

traditional ruler in the state 

following the intervention of the 

governor of the state, Mr Rauf 

Aregbesola just as Magistrates’s 

Association of Nigeria, Osun State 

branch threatened to embark on 

strike action over the 

development. 

It was gathered in Osogbo 

yesterday that Oba Adeoye will 

move for the discontinuation of the 

charges preferred against Oba 

Akanbi when the court resumes 

hearing of the matter today. 

A reliable source in the 

government circle said that 

governor Aregbesola during the 

week directed one of his aides to 

mediate in the matter towards 

withdrawing the case from the 

court. 

Oba Akanbi was dragged to the 

Magistrate Court by the Oluwo 

of Iwo Oke, Adeoye for allegedly 

engaging in Internet fraud and 

being an ex-convict before he was 

crowned as a traditional ruler, 

among other accusations. 

The Court had on Friday, 

December 30, 2016 ordered the 

State Commissioner of Police, Mr. 

Fimihan Adeoye to immediately 

arrest the Oluwo 

Aregbesola, Ajimobi appeal for calm over LAUTECH 

1ST 

Magistrate 

YEAR 

Olusola Aluko 

CORONATION 

on statement in Osogbo 

ANNIVERSARY 

yesterday two states, OF OONI OF IFE, SATURDAY 

Friday, December 20, 2016 had 

issued a bench warrant for 

Oluwo’s arrest and also on 

December 28 2016 ordered the 

monarch to appear in court on 

•As Magistrates protest insecurity 

Friday, December, 30, 2016 but 

the traditional ruler was 

conspicuously absent when the 

case came up for hearing. 

According to the Magistrate, 

the case brought before him 

against the Oluwo of Iwo was a 

criminal case and by the bench 

warrant issued by him, “the 

accused person supposed to have 

been arrested and kept in prison 

custody.” 

Although, the defendant’s 

counsel, Olayide Yekeen wrote the 

court on why himself would not 

be present for the proceeding, 

counsel to the applicant, Barrister 


O SOGBO—GOVERNORS 

Rauf Aregbesola of Osun 

State and Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo 

State have appealed to the 

striking workers of Ladoke 

Akintola University of Technology, 

LAUTECH, Ogbomoso, to remain 

calm while the two owner states 

find solution to their problems. 

Workers of the institution have 

been on prolonged strike for 

about seven months over unpaid 

salaries. 

The two governors in a joint 

said the development was deeply 

regretted. 

Academic activities have been 

put on hold as a result of the 

industrial action embarked upon 

Soji Oyetayo explained that no 

reason was given for the 

absenteeism of his client. 

While highlighting the alleged 

criminal matters brought against 

Oba Akanbi, Magistrate Aluko 

noted that the applicant, the 

Oluwo of Iwo-Oke, Oba Kadiri 

Adeoye did not file a chieftaincy 

case before him. 

Magistrates protest 

insecurity 

Meantime, Osun State branch 

of Magistrates’ Association of 

Nigeria yesterday in a letter 

forwarded to Osun State Chief 

by the academic and nonacademic 

staff of the university. 

This is due to the challenges 

faced by the owner states in 

fulfilling salary obligations to 

categories of workers in the 

institution. 

But the governors in the 

statement declared that “this is not 

due to lack of will on their part 

but the dire financial headwinds 

in the country, affecting all tiers 

of government, 

putting strain in 

paying salaries 

of workers in the 

including the 

university. 

The statement 

read in part: “It 

is important to 

Judge, Justice Adepele Ojo and 

the Chief Registrar, Mr Lawrence 

O. Arojo said; “We wish to humbly 

draw your Lordship’s attention to 

the series of events that have been 

evolving recently in relation to 

our career and safety of our lives. 

The letter dated 4th January, 

2017 and titled: “Threat to 

Magisterial Bench of Osun” 

reads in part: “Of particular 

importance is the case involving 

Oba Kadiri Olatunde Adeoye 11 

(Oluwo of Iwo Oke) and (1) Oba 

Abdulrasheed Adewale Akanbi 

(2) The Commissioner of Police, 

Osun State (MIW/MISC.6/2016), 

which is currently being heard 

before Magistrate E. Olusola of 

state that the Governments of 

Oyo and Osun have reaffirmed 

their commitment to the joint 

ownership of the institution, 

including its continued funding 

and comprehensive review of its 

finances. 

“It was in this regard that a 

Visitation Panel headed by Chief 

Wole Olanipekun, SAN, was set 

up in October last year. While 

waiting for the report of that 

Photos by Dare Fasube 

Chief Magistrate’s Court 2, 

Osogbo”. 

Signed by its chairman, Chief 

Magistrate F.A Sodamade and 

secretary, Magistrate F.I Omisade, 

the body stated that while the case 

was before a court in Iwo, the 

presiding Magistrate was almost 

attacked by miscreants before she 

was rescued and escorted to 

Ogbaagba by the Police and 

Prison officers. 

According to the letter, “At Chief 

Magistrate’s Court 2, Osogbo, the 

1st Respondent, Oluwo of Iwo 

refused to appear before court on 

four consecutive occasions despite 

an order of the court for him to 

appear. A bench warrant was 

panel, we want to appeal to 

students, parents and guardians 

to resist the temptation to result 

to self-help and or any action that 

might precipitate disruption of 

law and order. 

“With the steps already taken 

by the two owner governments, 

we are confident that the 

unfortunate situation in the 

institution will soon be resolved”, 

the statement added. 

FAYOSE'S REMOVAL PLOT: APC, PDP 

trade words 

By Rotimi Ojomoyela 

ADO-EKITI—THE All Progressives 

Congress (APC) in Ekiti State has 

dismissed the allegation by Governor 

Ayodele Fayose that the party was 

plotting his removal through the 

manipulation of the judiciary to re-open 

Army Panel report on the 2014 

governorship poll to have his election 

victory reversed. 

Fayose had in a letter to the Chief 

Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter 

Onnoghen, accused former Governor 

Segun Oni and Minister of Mines and 

Steel Development, Dr Kayode Fayemi, 

of clandestine moves to coerce the 

judiciary to use Army Panel report to 

reverse his election victory, praying the 

CJN to resist the move to preserve 

democracy and integrity of the judiciary. 

But APC Publicity Secretary, Taiwo 

Olatunbosun, described the allegation 

as unfounded and baseless. 

Accusing Fayose of crying wolf 

where none exists, Olatunbosun said 

there was no meeting where Fayemi and 

Oni met to boast that he would be 

removed, noting that the governor was 

only jittery and afraid of the consequences 

of his many infractions on the law. 

Insisting that there was no meeting 

between Fayemi and Oni to plot 

Fayose’s removal, Olatunbosun said: 

“Fayemi and Oni are too decent and 

busy in their assignments to engage in 

such frivolous boasts that Fayose is 

accusing them of. 

Fayose’s ‘Impeachment’ ‘ll 

consume Buhari’s govt – PDP 

Meantime, the Ekiti State chapter of the 

Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), yesterday 

declared that the alleged subterranean 

moves to impeach Governor Ayodele 

Fayuose as the governor of Ekiti State will 

lead to the total collapse of the 

administration of President Muhammadu 

Buhari, if eventually carried out. 

The party described as reasonable and 

justifiable, the letter written on Wednesday 

by the governor to the Chief Justice of the 

Federation, 

Justice Walter Onnoghen informing him 

on the alleged moves to co-opt a section of 

the judiciary to the devilish plot. 

Speaking in Ado Ekiti yesterday, the PDP 

State Chairman, Barr. Gboyega Oguntuase, 

said the alleged plot to remove the 

governor would create crisis of 

monumental proportion that would be 

difficult for the Nigeria Army to curtail.


:Vanguard News 

:@vanguardnews 

Wike to Police: Reveal how DSP 

Alkali was murdered 

RIVERS 

State 

governor, Mr. 

Nyesom Wike, has 

challenged the Nigeria 

Police to inform the world 

how and where DSP 

Mohammed Alkali was 

murdered during the rerun 

legislative elections. 

The governor also 

wondered why the Police 

have refused to make 

public alleged 

communication between 

an opposition party 

chieftain and the killers 

before the DSP was 

brutally murdered. 

Governor Wike, who 

spoke, yesterday, when 

he granted audience to 

the management of a 

private newspapers 

company, said: “The 

Police should let the world 

know where the DSP was 

killed. In which polling 

unit was he killed? The 

former Commissioner of 

Sapele 

Boma Boys 

Club holds 

end-of-year 

party 

A socio-cultural 

organization, 

Sapele Boma Boys Club 

(SBBC) will hold its 

annual end of year party, 

tomorrow, January 7. 

According to a release, 

the event, to be hosted by 

Mr. G.T.S. Adokpaye, will 

hold at NICON Town 

Recreation Centre, 

NICON Town(on the left 

before Jakande 

Roundabout), Elegushi, 

Lekki, at 2pm. 

THE Ohworode of 

Olomu Kingdom in 

Delta State, HRM Ovie 

R.L Ogbon, Ogoni- 

Oghoro I will be 100 

years on January 20. 

To thank God for long 

life and peaceful reign, 

the revered monarch will 

begin a seven-day series 

of activities to mark his 

centenary birthday on 

January 13. 

According to a 

programme of the event 

by Olorogun Moses 

Taiga, Prince Godwin 

Ogbon, Olorogun 

Ebenezer Okorodudu 

and Mr. Napoleon 

Ogifo, the traditional 

ruler, who is a Royal 

canon of the Anglican 

Communion, will 

between January 13 and 

15, confer chieftaincy 

titles on deserving 

people, at his palace. 

Other activities include 

football match between 

Power who was 

mentioned by the killers, 

has he been questioned? 

Where is the call log 

between the former 

commissioner and the 

killers? Have they checked 

the discussions between 

the commissioner and the 

arrested killers? They 

know the truth, but they 

want to cover a lot of 

things. The Army 

announced that they 

recovered the uniforms 

from the forest, was there 

a polling unit in the 

forest?” 

Olomu monarch begins 

7-day centenary celebration 

•Ohworode of Olomu, 

HRM Ovie R.L Ogbon 

Warri Wolves and Delta 

Force (January 18), 

Centenary lecture; 

praise and worship 

service; and midnight 

fire works (January 19). 

The activities will be 

capped on January 20 

with thanksgiving 

service, book launch, 

laying of foundation of 

the permanent palace of 

Ohworode of Olomu 

Kingdom and grand 

reception. 

He claimed that the 

steps being taken to 

blackmail the state 

government would fail 

because the Rivers people 

could not be cowed and 

appealed to journalists to 

always defend the truth 

and speak out regularly. 


governor: “The survival of 

democracy, to a large 

extent, depends on a 

vibrant media. Certain 

things happening in the 

country must be made 

public by the media.“ 

Security agencies conducting 16 

operations nationwide to stem 

kidnapping —DHQ 

By Samuel 

Oyadongha 

THE 

Defence 

Headquartres 

said, yesterday, that 

security agencies in the 

country were conducting 

over 16 operations 

nationwide to stem 

kidnapping, insurgency, 

oil theft among others. 

Acting Director, 

Defence Information, 

DDI, Defence 

Headquarters, 

Brigadier-General Rabe 

Abubakar, made this 

known in Yenagoa, 

Bayelsa State, during a 

media parley with the 

leadership of the Nigeria 

Union of Journalists, 

NUJ, Bayelsa council 

and journalists in the 

state. 

According to him, the 

military operations were 

not intended to harm any 

individual but to move 

the nation forward and 

bring about peace. 

He said: “We are 

conducting over 16 

operations in this 

country. Some of these 

operations are jointly 

and some are single 

handedly being carried 

out by the armed forces.” 

Abubakar cited some of 

the military campaigns 

in the country to include 

Operation Delta Safe, 

Eagle Eye in the Delta 

aimed at protecting the 

nation's critical assets as 

well as protecting the 

lives and property of the 

people and Operation 

Lafiya Dole in 

northeastern Nigeria, 

which means ‘Peace By 

All Means,’ to tackle 

insurgency. 

Others include a 

special outfit to tackle 

cattle-rustling, 

kidnapping and armed 

banditry in the 

Northwest geopolitical 

zone. 

The military 

operations, according to 

him, were aimed at 

ensuring the safety and 

protection of lives and 

properties of the 

citizens. 

Troops of the various 

operations, he said were 

deployed not to witch 

hunt anybody or group, 

assuring Nigerians that 

the military and other 

sister security agencies 

would continue to 

defend and protect the 

rights and dignity of the 

citizens.



PANDEF CWC MEETING: From left: Sen. Stella Omu; Prof. G. G. 

Darah; Sen. Aniete Okon and former DESOPADEC MD, Chief Wellington 

Okrika, during the Central Working Committee meeting of the Pan Niger 

Delta Forum, PANDEF, yesterday in Chief Edwin Clark's home, Kiagbodo, 

Burutu LGA, Delta State. 

From left; Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Clark; former Akwa Ibom State Military 

Administrator, Air Commodore Idongesit Nkanga; and former Police Affairs 

Minister, Alaowei Broderick Bozimo, during the PANDEF CWC meeting in 

Clark's Kiagbodo country home in yesterday. 

Search for credible leaders: Presidency insulting N-Delta 

—PANDEF 

By Emma Amaize, 

Regional Editor, S-South 

& Egufe Yafugborhi 

K IAGBODO—PAN- 

NIGER Delta Forum, 

PANDEF, the umbrella body of 

monarchs, leaders and 

stakeholders of the coastal 

states of the Niger Delta 

region, yesterday, said the 

claim by the Presidency that it 

was still in search of credible 

leaders of the region to 

dialogue with, was an assault 

on the sensibilities and 

integrity of the people of the 

region. 

The Forum, in a communiqué 

by the convener/leader of 

PANDEF, Chief Edwin Clark 

and former military 

Administrator of Akwa Ibom 

State, Air Commodore 

Idongesit Nkanga (retd.), who 

presided over an expanded 

meeting of the Central 

Working Committee, CWC, of 

the body, also expressed 

concern over the silence of 


Buhari in the face of alleged 

orchestrated assault on the 

family of former President 

Goodluck Jonathan with the 

obvious intention to humiliate 

him. 

The meeting, attended by 

Chief Clark, former Minister 

of Police Affairs, Alaowei 

Broderick Bozimo, Senator 

Aniete Okon, Senator Stella 

Omu, Prof. Godini Darah, Col. 

Paul Ogbebor (retd.), Chief 

Wellington Okirika, Pastor 

Power Aginighan and Elder T. 

K. Ogoriba, was held at the 

Kiagbodo country home of 

Chief Clark in Delta State. 

The forum, which noted the 

President’s endorsement of the 

primacy of dialogue as a sine 

qua non for the resolution of 

the issues in the Niger Delta 

in his New Year message, 

took very strong exception to 

the recent statement by the 

Special Adviser, Media, to 

the President, Mr. Femi 

Adesina, that the Presidency 

was still searching for 

credible leaders of the region 

to discuss with. 

It said: “This is an assault 

on the sensibilities and 

integrity of the people of the 

Niger Delta. PANDEF 

remains a united body of 

credible and patriotic leaders 

who have paid their dues in 

various walks of life and not 

a body of attention seekers as 

being bandied by enemies of 

the region.” 

The forum condemned “the 

wanton destruction of lives 

and properties in Southern 

Kaduna and calls on the 

Federal Government to 

urgently ensure the safety of 

lives in the area.” 

It demanded “the urgent 

release of the over N1 trillion 

federal government undercontribution 

to the funds of 

the Niger Delta Development 

Commission, NDDC.” 

Furthermore, the forum 

urged the Federal 

Government “to direct the 

immediate take-off of the 

Nigerian Maritime 

University, NMU, 

Okerenkoko, Delta State, as 

a follow-up to its recent policy 

statement on the issue 

during the visit of PANDEF 

to Mr. President on 

November 1, 2016.” 

Its words: “This will give 

enormous credibility and 

commitment to the proposed 

dialogue process.” 

The forum also reiterated its 

earlier position on the urgent 

need for the restructuring of 

the federation along the lines 

of fiscal federalism, as the 

only sustainable solution to 

the Nigerian crisis. 

PANDEF appreciated the 

efforts made by the Minister 

of State for Petroleum in 

facilitating the November, 

2016 meeting with the 

President, wondering why 

two months after the meeting, 

“the President has not 

constituted the Federal 

Government Dialouge Team 

for the speedy resolution of 

the various issues.” 

Clark's remarks 

Earlier in his opening 

remarks, Clark had said: 

“When Mr. President gave his 

New Year message, he paid 

particular attention to peace 

in the Niger Delta. He said 

he was prepared to dialogue 

with Niger Delta people and 

he used the words, I am 

persuading, the second time 

he is using those words. So, 

we congratulate him for 

agreeing for the first time 

that dialogue is the answer. 

We are ready, but no 

impression should be given 

that they are still looking for 

people to negotiate with, 

because on November 1, last 

year when we met with him, 

we were about 100; 

traditional leaders, opinion 

leaders, youths and women. 

We all met at Aso Rock. 

“So, we are appealing to 

Mr. President that we have 

been waiting. We cannot wait 

endlessly. If he is not 

prepared for dialogue, let us 

know. We are not begging 

anybody. We want peace in 

our region. We do not want 

a repetition of the military 

operations in North Eastern 

Nigeria. That is why we came 

in. Our youths in the region, 

they call them militants, have 

agreed and said: 'Our daddies, 

you should go and negotiate on 

our behalf.' So, I do not think 

the President wants to dialogue 

with the youths. They have 

mandated us, and we have 

agreed. We do not want 

Operation Crocodile Smile in 

our region.” 

Clark advised: “So, the 

President should have a rethink 

and summon his team to 

negotiate with us. We cannot 

continue to wait. There is a limit 

to which we can wait and the 

boys are impatient too. We have 

been appealing to them from 

time to time.” 

Obaseki attributes Nigeria's unity to 

ex-servicemen's contributions 

GOVERNOR 

Godwin 

Obaseki of Edo State, 

yesterday said the continuous 

coexistence of Nigeria as one 

nation, was attributable to the 

huge contributions of exservicemen. 

The governor spoke at the 

launch of the ‘emblem appeal 

fund’ at the 2017, Armed Forces 

Remembrance Day celebration 

at Urhokpota Hall, King’s 

Square, in Benin City. 

Governor Obaseki, who 

appreciated the huge sacrifices 

of the ex-servicemen, said their 

huge sacrifices have been 

responsible for the peace and 

unity being enjoyed today in the 

country. 

According to him: “The fact 

that we have a country today is 

as a result of the sacrifices of 

these great men. So, we do not 

always take it for granted that 

Nigeria is what it is today 

because God made it so. Yes, 

God did it, but some people 

have sacrificed their lives to 

make sure this country remains 

united and to that, we say, we 

are very grateful. I want to also 

use this opportunity to thank you 

for the role you played and the 

support you gave to the 

government of Edo State 

particularly during the election 

in the state last year. 

“I have listened to your 

request and I want to assure you 

that this administration will 

consolidate and continue to 

work with you. We must also 

incorporate you into our 

programme, especially in the 

area of agriculture. I make a 

commitment to you today that 

we will carry you along and will 

ask you to participate in our out 

grower programme. 

“I know that most of you are 

retired but not tired. The proposal 

we received from you indicating 

that you are ready to assist us as 

regards the community policing, I 

have studied the proposal and will 

get back to you in a few weeks. 

“In my New Year’s Day 

broadcast, I said, none is happy 

unless all are happy. We shall not 

compromise on assisting you 

especially in providing wheel 

chairs and artificial limbs to some 

of your members who need them.” 

Earlier, the Assistant 

Commandant General, Nigeria 

Legion, Edo State Command, 

Osawaru Johnbull Awanbor 

expressed delight over this year’s 

launch of the emblem appeal fund.


NUPENG 

shuts down 

Total Plc over 

sacked 

workers 

By Victor Ahiuma-Young 

NIGERIA Union of 

Petroleum and Natural 

Gas Workers, NUPENG, 

yesterday, crippled loading 

activities at Total Nig Plc 

depots nationwide, over 

termination of workers 

appointments. 

Alhaji Tokunbo Korodo, 

South-West Chairman of the 

union, said the management 

of Total had been resisting the 

unionisation of workers under 

its contract programme in 

Lagos, Kaduna and Koko in 

Delta blending plants. 

Korodo lamented that the 

management of Total had 

moved further in terminate the 

employment of workers, who 

had joined the union despite 

the union efforts aimed at 

resolving the issue amicably. 

According to him: “In view 

of this, the union has directed 

all workers in Total 

Downstream to stop work until 

the management allows 

workers to unionise and slave 

labour introduced are 

cancelled. This action should 

commence immediately.” 

In compliance to the 

directives, workers at Total 

Blending Plant in Kirikiri, 

Apapa blocked the gate with 

two tankers yesterday. 

The workers were seen with 

various placards with 

inscriptions, such as: 

“Nigerians enslaving 

Nigerians in Nigeria, Total 

and Jomog want to sack us 

because we joined 

NUPENG.” 

However, after several hours 

of a meeting involving the 

union, the management of 

Total management and its 

contractors, the union agreed 

to call off the action. 

Speaking to Vanguard at the 

end of the meeting. 

Alhaji Korodu said the 

management of Total had 

agreed to not only recall the 

sacked workers, but to accept 

full unionisation of its contract 

staff without victimisation, 

among other agreements. 


MEGA PARTY: ADP zones positions, submits 

registration documents next week 

•Zones Nat'l chair position to North Central, Dep Chairmen to S/West, N/East 

•Creates office of National Diaspora Adviser 

By Henry Umoru 

ABUJA—IN pursuit of 

their quest to wrest 

political power from the ruling All 

Progressives Congress, APC, 

leaders of the emerging mega 

political association, Action 

Democratic Party, ADP, yesterday, 

zoned National Executive 

Committee slots to the various 

zones of the country. 

They also declared their 

readiness to submit the 

documents for registration as a 

political party to the Independent 

National Electoral Commission, 

INEC, next week. 

The ADP is said t o be promoted 

by aggrieved leaders of the APC 

and Peoples Democratic Party, 

PDP. 

According to a document 

released by the political 

association, the National 

chairmanship position has been 

zoned to the North Central; 

South West, Deputy National 

Chairman; South East, National 

Secretary and National Legal 

Adviser; North-West, National 

Organising; and South South, 

National Treasurer. 

The ADP has made provisions 

for two zones to produce the 

deputy national chairmen as it 

was during the early days of the 

PDP, just as it created a new office, 

National Diaspora Adviser, which 

has never existed in PDP and 

APC. 

According to the breakdown, 

North Central will produce: 

National Welfare Secretary, 

National Vice Chairman, Vice 

National Organising Secretary, 

Deputy National Woman Leader, 

Assistant National Secretary, 

Deputy National Treasurer; 

National Vice woman leader, 

National Vice Youth Leader and 

Ex-Official (2 males, 1 female). 

The North-West, aside the 

position of National Organising 

Secretary, will produce: National 

Woman leader, National Vice 

Chairman, Vice Publicity 

Secretary, Deputy National 

Secretary, Deputy National 

Youth Leader, Deputy National 

Welfare Secretary, National 

Vice Woman Leader and Ex- 

FG to accept Naira instead of Dollars from debtor airlines 

By Lawani Mikairu 

ABUJA—THE Federal 

Government has said 

that it will accept Naira from 

airlines which owe it in Dollar 

transactions, adding that the 

decision to accept Naira instead 

of Dollars was taken last week 

by the government. 

This revelation was made, 

yesterday by the Minister of 

State, Aviation, Hadi Sirika in 

an interview, in Abuja, before the 

stakeholders meeting on aviation. 

He said that the decision was 

arrived at because of the current 

economic recession which has 

resulted in scarcity of foreign 

exchange, especially dollars. 

He added that this was one 

of the ways the Federal 

Government could assist 

airlines operating in Nigeria 

from going under, adding that 

this was also one of the 

From left;T eam Lead, Communication and Media, Union Bank, Omotola Oyebanjo; Founder, 

LEAP Africa, Ndidi Nwuneli; Group Head, Commercial Banking, Union Bank, Gloria Omereonye; 

Country Director, Alstrom Group, Tola Sapara; Lead, Media & External Affairs, Union Bank, 

Olufemi Adekola, at the Union Bank 'Engage' event held at Four Points by Sheraton in Lagos. 

Officio (2 males,1 female). 

To the North-East, the positions 

are Deputy National Chairman, 

National Vice Chairman, National 

Auditor, Deputy National 

Financial Secretary, National Vice 

Woman Leader, National Vice 

Youth leader and Ex-Officio (2 

males, 1 female). 

South South has the positions 

of Vice National Welfare 

Secretary, National Vice 

Chairman, National Youth leader, 

Deputy Woman Leader, National 

Leader- PLWD, Deputy National 

Legal Adviser, National Vice 

Youth Leader and Ex-Officio (2 

males,1 female). 

South-West will produce Deputy 

National Chairman, National 

By Prince Okafor 

IN a bid to stem 

losses associated with 

incessant pipeline vandalism and 

sundry security challenges 

bedevilling the oil and gas 

industry, the Nigerian National 

Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, 

Publicity Secretary, National Vice 

Chairman, National Financial 

Secretary, Vice National 

Organising Secretary, Deputy 

National Youth Leader, Deputy 

National Auditor, National Vice 

Woman Leader, National Vice 

Youth leader and Ex-Officio (2 

males,1 female). 

To the South East, the slots are 

Vice Publicity Secretary, National 

Vice Chairman, National 

Diaspora Adviser, Deputy 

National Organising Secretary, 

Deputy National Leader- PLWD, 

National Vice Woman Leader, 

National Vice Youth Leader and 

Ex-Officio (2 males, 1 female). 

Meanwhile, following the nod 

to go ahead with the procedures 

yesterday, said it will establish a 

security advisory council 

comprising security agencies, 

Niger Delta leaders and 

International Oil Companies, 

IOCs. 

Speaking during a visit to 

NNPC by the management of 

Media Trust Limited, the Group 

Managing Director of NNPC, Dr. 

Maikanti Baru said: “The 

corporation has outlined plans to 

establish a security advisory 

council aimed at bringing a 

lasting solution to the perennial 

problem of pipeline vandalism 

and sundry security challenges 

bedevilling the oil and gas 

industry. 

“The security advisory council 

would involve critical 

stakeholders, which include 

security agencies, Niger Delta 

leaders, IOCs which would 

address all security and host 

community agitations.” 

He also said that there was 

for full registration as a political 

party by the INEC, the convener 

of ADP, Alhaji Yabagi Sani, told 

Vanguard, yesterday that the 

association would submit all the 

required documents to the 

electoral commission, next week. 

He said: “We have just entered 

a new year, a lot of activities are 

going on, people are excited 

about what is taking place; the 

time has come because of 

excitement. Papers are being 

prepared to be sent to INEC, we 

are putting everything together 

for INEC and in a week or two, 

everything would be concluded 

and sent to the Commission. 

What we are seeing now is 

beyond our imagination.” 

Security advisory council against vandalism 

underway, says NNPC 

decisions the ministry will 

implement in the new year. 

According to the minister, “For 

airlines that are operating within 

the country and domestically 

owned, we have the moral 

challenge to help them. Just last 

week, we took a decision that most 

of the airlines that are owing us 

in dollars which they do not have, 

not that they do not want to pay, 

maybe it will be good to take the 

Naira equivalent.” 

need to evolve new measures to 

bring an end to pipeline 

vandalism which is a major threat 

to the nation’s economy, adding, 

“We want to appeal to those 

behind indiscriminate acts of 

infrastructure vandalism to put an 

end forthwith to these despicable 

acts which are a great threat to 

the economy, the eco-system and 

energy security of the country.” 

The GMD also said that the 

corporation has kick-started the 

implementation of policies to 

place the organisation on the path 

of growth and profitability, 

through its 12 Business Focus 

Areas, BUFA. 

Aside increasing the nation’s oil 

and gas reserves to 37 billion 

barrels of oil and 192 trillion cubic 

feet of gas respectively, the 

corporation has also commenced 

exploratory activities in the 

Gongola Basin with the aim of 

further growing oil and gas 

reserves and taking advantage 

of low oil prices which make 

inland exploration cost effective.



Three vandals 

nabbed for 

attacking EEDC 

Distribution 

Substation 

By Emeka Mamah 

E NUGU—Three 

people are now being 

quizzed by the police for 

allegedly vandalising the 

Enugu Electricity Distribution 

Company, EEDC, stations at 

Ariara and Ekenna in Abia 

State. 

The Ekenna Distribution 

Station at Ariara in Aba was 

vandalised by two persons 

(names withheld) while 

another suspect was arrested 

for allegedly vandalising the 

Civil Defence Distribution 

substation in Umuahia, Abia 

State. 

A statement signed by the 

Head, 

Public 

Communications of the 

EEDC, Emeka Eze said that 

the vandalism at the Ekenna 

Distribution Substation 

occurred some few days after 

the Civil Defence Substation 

in Umuahia was vandalised. 

Eze stated that the vandal 

at Umuahia was caught while 

burning off the insulator on 

the vandalised armoured 

cable, and consequently 

handed over to the police for 

further interrogation and 

possible prosecution, just as 

the two suspects at Ariaria 

were handed over to the police 

for possible prosecution. 

The statement read in part, 

•"At a time EEDC is 

promising its customers better 

service delivery in the new 

year, a few elements in our 

society are bent on frustrating 

this commitment, thereby 

subjecting the larger members 

of the public to black-out and 

other inconveniencies; while 

millions of Naira is being 

spent replacing the 

vandalised equipment." 

Okorocha has taken Imo backward — OHAKIM 

By Chinonso Alozie 

OWERRI—A 

former 

Governor of Imo state, 

Ikedi Ohakim, said the present 

administration under Rochas 

Okorocha, has taken Imo State 

backward in terms of governance. 

Ohakim stated this, when he 

stopped to see for himself a water 

scheme at Achingali in Obowo 

Local Government Area of the 

state, which was built by his 

administration. 

It did not give Ohakim joy that 

the project had been abandoned. 

According to the former 

governor,”you can see that the 

water scheme has been 

abandoned and vandalised.” 

He further stated:”My 

administration built this project 

in almost every nook and 

cranny of the state. We built 

1,930 of the water scheme 

across the state.” 

It was Ohakim’s view that “the 

idea of the water project was to 

make sure there is water in every 

kitchen in Imo State.” 

But he wondered why a 

water project would be 

Support your gov, ensure peace in your community, Orji tells kinsmen 

By Anayo Okoli 

U MUAHIA—THE 

immediate past governor 

of Abia State and Senator 

representing Abia Central 

Senatorial district, Chief 

Theodore Orji has urged his 

Ibeku kinsmen to sustain their 

support for Governor Okezie 

Ikpeazu in spite of the legal 

tussles he is going through. 

According to Senator Orji, as 

good citizens, one of their duties 

was to pray for and support the 

government in power. 

Senator Orji who spoke when 

he received the newly elected 

members of Ibeku Egwuasa 

Development Association (IEDA) 

led by the President-General, Mr. 

Emeka Enyeazu who visited him, 

admonished them to continue to 

support Governor Ikpeazu for the 

good of all Abians. 

He reminded them that the 

Ikpeazu administration was a 

product of the collective mandate 

of Abia people, hence the need 

to support and pray for him to 

succeed. 

The former governor expressed 

regret that Governor Okezie 

Ikpeazu is the only governor who 

is still in court fighting to retain 

his mandate which he blamed on 

the type of politics that “some 

people play in Abia.” 

According to him, Ikpeazu 

should have by this time focuse 

his attention on governance like 

other governors instead of 

fighting election legal battles. 

Senator Orji also recalled with 

regret the type of bad talks that 

he has been hearing from among 

some of his kinsmen during his 

period as the governor of the 

state, saying that such idle talks 

continued even after he has left 

office and moved on to the 

Ohanaeze reschedules national election to Jan 10 

By Dennis Agbo 

ENUGU—THE apex body 

of Igbo socio-cultural 

organization, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, 

has rescheduled its general 

election that was to take place on 

Monday, January 9 ,2017 to 

Tuesday January 10. 

The rescheduled election is 

only for the national executive 

officers of the organization, while 

the local and state elections 

remain as scheduled. 

A statement by the out-going 

Secretary General of the 

PEOPLE SPEAK 

On Magu’s rejection as EFCC chairman 

abandoned by Okorocha’s 

administration but embarked 

on building”empty halls, 

substandard roads and people 

are left without good drinking 

water.” 

Ohakim asked,”who will 

drive on the roads when they 

have no water to drink or if 

they die from diseases gotten 

from unclean water sources. 

“Where are the two 

generators we provided to 

pump water ? You can see that 

cables have been destroyed 

and vandalised, the whole 

national assembly. 

He said that has done his best 

to uplift the people of Ibeku and 

assured that he would do more 

with any opportunity he has. 

“What I want people to 

appreciate is what God has done 

for them through me, the level of 

development seen in Ibeku land 

[Umuahia Capital territory] today 

and its environs was of my own 

making and I intend to do more 

if the opportunity comes my way”, 

Orji said. 

The ex-governor said he has left 

organization, Dr. Joe Nwaorgu, 

said that the rescheduled election 

of the national officers will still 

take place at same venue, which 

is the national secretariat complex 

of the organization, located at No 

7 Park Avenue,GRA, Enugu. 

Nwaorgu did not give reasons 

why the national executive 

election was shifted to January 

10 but it was gathered that all 

stakeholders of the organization 

have been duly informed. 

The statement indicated that the 

elections into the local 

governments and at the state 

place over grown with weeds 

and left to fall apart just 

because it was Ohakim’s 

project”, he added. 

In what looks like an advice 

to Okorocha, Ohakim 

said:”Governance is about 

continuity and essentially for 

the benefit of the people and 

not for the ego of one single 

individual. 

“You cannot keep 

abandoning or destroying 

what Ohakim built for the 

people just because you want 

to erase Ohakim’s legacies.” 

tangible things that should 

make his kinsmen to be proud 

of him and reminded them that 

simply because their land hosts 

the capital city does not give 

them the right to get things on 

a platter of gold. 

Earlier in his remarks, new the 

President-General, Emeka 

Enyeazu, explained that their visit 

was to introduce the members of 

the new executive council of 

Ibeku Development Association 

and assured Dr Orji that the 

people of Ibeku were behind him. 

levels will hold as initially 

scheduled. 

The local government elections 

will hold today (Friday) at various 

local governments in the South 

East zone, Delta and Rivers states 

while the state elections will hold 

on Saturday,January 7,2017. 

Ohanaeze in the statement 

specified that every adult, 

whether male or female is eligible 

to contest in the positions zoned 

to their state except for officials 

who have occupied elective 

positions in the organization for 

two consecutive terms. 

By Bartholomew Madukwe 

(08102479985) 

nwamad@yahoo.com 

This is a gang-up be 

tween the Senate and 

Reps to go away with the 

issue of budget padding as 

Magu is serious about it. It 

shows the world that Nigerian 

senate are only protecting 

their interest. It is 

our collective responsibility 

to eliminate such 

group. Mr Japhet 

Emejuru, Businessman 

Magu was not con 

firmed based on 

DSS security report on 

him. It was the same DSS 

report on selected judges 

that was used in terrorizing 

the judges at the 

odd hours of the night. Is 

the DSS an agent of the 

Presidency, same with 

EFCC? Mr Daniel Nwodi, 

Entrepreneur 

In my view, if the DSS re 

port on Magu has indicted 

him, following reports 

that contained facts about 

misgivings of one of the 

anointed ones in the Presidency, 

then Nigerians 

need to pray for this country 

to be healed from hypocrisy 

and double-speak. 

Miss Blessing Okoye, 

Graduate 

My concern here is 

why can’t an independent 

body investigate 

this DSS report to 

confirm its authenticity. 

Also, can any replacement 

to Magu not be already 

intimidated by the 

senate before assuming 

office? Mr Solanke Ayokunle, 

Worker 

Ithink it is proper that Ni 

gerians allow the senate 

do their legislative work? 

If they received a report 

against Magu, then it is in 

their power to reject the 

nomination. All the crimes 

and allegation levelled 

against him is enough to 

stop his confirmation. 

Miss Chika Dike, Teacher 

Why were the allega 

tions in the so-called 

security report not thrown 

open to all members of the 

Senate for deliberation? Is 

the Nigerian Senate afraid 

of Magu? The best way was 

not to debate the issue on 

the floor to do away with 

Magu automatically. Mr 

Ben Onyekachi, Public 

Relations


Stories by Akin Sokoya 

RESPECTED gospel act, Evangelist 

Oluwarotimi Michael Onimole popularly 

known as Oba Ara dazzled his teeming fans at 

the just concluded ‘One Lagos Fiesta’ which was 

held in Ikorodu zone of the state. 

The Lagos State-born Oba Ara gave a good 

account of himself as he dished out good music 

to the large crowd at the show sponsored by 

Governor Ambode. 

This motivational and spirit-filled act elicited 

loud ovation for the superlative performance. 

Interestingly, after his performance, Ayangburen 

of Ikorodu, Oba Abdulkabir Sotobi gave his royal 

blessing to the popular gospel act. 

BUSINESS mogul and 

entrepreneur, Hajia Bola 

Shagaya surely means different 

things to different people, despite 

her visible feature in the upscale 

social circuit. 

A story about her on the society 

circuit recently alleged that she 

allegedly misappropriated billions 

of naira, which forced her to go 

underground in recent times. 

It was alleged then that certain 

accounts belonging to the multibillionnaire 

Kwara State-born 

woman in some banks were 

frozen because of her 

suspicious deposits with the 

banks in question, to the 

extent that she was touted 

Gospel act, Oba Ara gets royal blessing 

Saraki 

Hajia Bola 

By Tony Ibe 

PHILANTHROPIST and 

CEO, Livelihood Homes, 

Dr. Kelly Nworgu, Sunday, put 

smiles on the faces of some 

physically challenged persons in 

Lagos as he made five hectares 

of land available to them for 

farming. 

Instead of becoming a liability 

during this period of economic 

recession, Nworgu who is the 

only son of a disabled mother, 

urged all who would benefit from 

his gesture to obtain a valid 

National I.D card as the scheme 

is meant only for Nigerians. 

The new year occasion tagged; 

‘Season of Love for the Disabled’ 

and held at the Milo hall of the 

National Stadium had many 

By Benjamin Njoku 

Hajia Bola Shagaya overcoming all odds 

*Oba Ara 

On Bukola Saraki•• 

SENATE President Bukola 

Saraki has proven to be 

resilient in the face of many 

political storms that have come 

his way. 

Despite the difficulties he has 

faced since the beginning of 

eighth Assembly, the number 

three citizen has continued to 

survive the many odds that 

have come his way, from legal 

to political. 

Many had predicted that he 

would be the shortest serving 

disabled persons in attendance. 

They had enough to eat and drink 

as well as quality music and 

comedy. 

“The disabled people in Nigeria 

according to records are over 23 

million. What I want to do 

presently is to get a place I can 

call a national place for 

agriculture for these people. 

“Agriculture is the way forward, 

if they start planting early this 

year, this is the first day of January 

2017, by the time they start 

planting this year, by August they 

should be harvesting depending 

on the crops. Let everybody 

follow me to engage in 

agriculture in Nigeria so that 

2017 will not be tough or tougher 

than the previous year,” he said. 

Senate president in the 

country as he was fought 

more ‘wars’ within his own 

party. But Saraki is always 

seen with his usual smiles and 

is now becoming a major force 

in the country’s political 

arena. 

Meanwhile, the backing 

down of the Presidency on the 

ambassadorial list and the 

many concessions granted the 

Senate in the budgetary 

allocations shows that Saraki 

Kelly Nworgu’s new year presents to the physically challenged 

L-R comedian Kelly Blind, Dr.and 

Mrs Kelly Nwogu while he was 

being presented award for the 

Disabled Man of the Year Award. 

to be fronting for the former First 

Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, 

who was believed to be her 

godmother while in government. 

That was the story then, but 

recent happenings have shown 

that the woman of substance is 

not in anyway deterred by these 

accusations levelled against her. 

In fact, she recently proved 

her critics wrong when she 

surfaced gleefully at some top 

society events in quick 

successions to the admiration of 

those who spotted her at these 

outings. 

They readily affirmed that 

Hajia Bola is not a woman that 

can maintain low profile because 

of some unfounded statements 

made about her. In the last one 

month, the billionaire 

businesswoman dazzled the 

society circuit with her 

sophisticated attires which only 

good money can buy. While 

people are still talking about 

Hajia’s magnificent 

reappearance, she was spotted 

at yet another society event 

decked in an eye-popping 

piece of jewellery. 

The woman with incredible 

wealth from different legitimate 

business ventures made yet 

another grand standing out at 

the Deola Sagoe Skirt 

Collections show. 

Only God knows how she is 

going to make another 

appearance when next she 

surfaces at the usually highoctane 

event she attends on a 

regular basis. No doubt, 

people find it very hard to 

believe that she’s not in 

anyway moved by many snide 

remarks made about her in a 

couple of months back. 

Hon. Remmy Hazzan’s 

plan for 2019 

HE has carved a niche for himself in his constituency 

while his contributions to the growth and development 

of the state have made his name as a strong household in the 

political terrain of Ogun State. Hon. Remmy Hazzan, a former 

deputy speaker of the Ogun State House of Assembly is now 

a force to reckon with in the unfolding political equation of 

the gateway state. 

As you are reading this; there are unclear permutations 

that the deeply grass-rooted politician and youth empowerer 

maybe having shot at the Oke Mosan Government House 

come 2019. As it stands Hon. Remmy is in the Labour Party, 

but trust politicians for what they are, 2019 is still far and 

criss-cross to get a soft landing in any party is not out of 

place for Remmy Hazzan, so we cannot tell precisely on which 

platform the mercurial politician who is loved across the state, 

will be flying his kite as a governorship aspirant. 

But the political climate in the country is not allowing many 

intending 2019 aspirants to really pitch their tents with any 

party for now because it is still too far for any far-reaching 

decision to be taken. 

One thing is sure, however, and this is that Hon. Remmy 

Hazzen has an unquenchable thirst for a plum post in 2019. 

Remmy’s frosty relationship with former governor OGD, has 

now turned chummy. Hear him “in Yorubaland, when an older 

man offends a younger one, it is the younger one that 

apologizes. I have gone to OGD to apologize and we have a 

good relationship now. In fact, all of us who had the issues 

back then had realised that the misunderstanding was 

unnecessary.” 

He has also intensified his empowerment programmes 

notably in education, artisanship, technical skills and cash 

gifts to widows, just to mention a few. Hon. (Pastor) Remmy 

Hazzan is a two-term member of Ogun State House of 

Assembly who represents Odogbolu constituency is simply 

on course. 

Hon. Remmy Hazzan 

C 

M 

Y 

K

VANGUARD, FRIDAY, JANUARY 6, 2017 —17 

An exemplary daughter of Africa 

WHEN we were young 

(many moons ago!), I 

shared a flat in London with a 

clever, vivacious and beautiful 

fellow journalist called 

Aminatta Forna. Her mother 

was Scottish. Her father, Mohammed 

Forna, a highly principled 

native of Sierra Leone, 

had started his career as a 

medical doctor, then branched 

into politics. 

When I met and bonded with 

Aminatta and her siblings, Dr 

Forna was dead, having paid 

the ultimate price for 

courageously and uncompromisingly 

opposing political 

violence and corruption (in 

1975, when Aminatta was only 

11 years old, her beloved Dad 

had been hanged for “treason” 

by the then brutal authorities 

in Sierra Leone). 

When the patriarch of your 

family clan is a genuine Martyr 

and a widely acclaimed 

Man Of Substance and Role 

Model, you have a lot to live 

up to. And very few sons and 

daughters of Special People 

are able to rise above the averageness 

that characterises 

most human existences and 

become stars in their own right. 

But I think it is fair to say that 

Aminatta has achieved this 

extremely difficult feat. She has 

become a brilliant, awardwinning 

author of outstanding 

books (The Hired Man, The 

Memory of Love, Ancestor 

Stones, The Devil that Danced 

on the Water, The Angel Of 

Mexico City). 

Her books have been translated 

into 16 languages. Her 

essays have appeared in several 

respected international 

publications. She’s a Fellow of 

the Royal Society of Literature 

and Member of the Folio 

Academy. She has acted as 

judge for a number of key literary 

awards, including the 

Samuel Johnson Prize, the 

Sunday Times EFG Short Story 

Award, the Caine Prize and 

the International Man Booker. 

She is currently Lannan Visiting 

Chair of Poetics at Georgetown 

University in the States 

and Professor of Creative 

Writing at Bath Spa University 

in the UK. 

Aminatta, an African as well 

as a Brit and global citizen, is 

a philanthropist as well as a 

writer of note, having established 

a charity, the Rogbonko 

Project in 2003. 

An excerpt from Aminatta’s 

official website: 

Rogbonko is a village of 500 

Aminatta, an African 

as well as a 

Brit and global 

citizen, is a philanthropist 

as well as 

a writer of note, 

having established 

a charity, the Rogbonko 

Project in 

2003 

people in central Sierra Leone. 

The name means “the place in 

the forest” in Temne [her 

father’s language]. Rogbonko 

was founded by Aminatta’s 

grandfather, a coffee grower 

and farmer, in the 1920s. 

During the country’s civil war 

which began in 1991, the 

village was caught behind 

rebel lines and cut off from the 

rest of the country for the following 

decade. 

When Aminatta returned 

[home] in 2002, years of economic 

decline had turned what 

was once a flourishing 

community into mere subsistence 

farmers. People were 

desperate to send their children 

to school, the only hope 

they saw of changing their 

circumstances. 

The Rogbonko Project unofficially 

began in December 

2002 out of a single village 

meeting to talk about building 

a school, the first in a series of 

initiatives which together 

would become the Rogbonko 

Project. 

Since 2002 the Project has 

spread to include education, 

infrastructure and health, in a 

community effort to create an 

escape route from poverty. 

The first school building 

opened its doors on January 

15, 2003, less than three weeks 

after the village meeting. It was 

erected using bamboo and 

thatch and had one teacher. We 

called it simply Rogbonko 

Village School. 

Today Rogbonko Village 

School comprises a five classroom 

school building with a 

library and solar power—the 

first electricity to reach the 

village—and some two hundred 

children. In addition to 

regular school activities, the 

school runs an adult literacy 

programme, skills training and 

a school meals programme. 

The work of the Rogbonko 

Project goes on. Following two 

cholera outbreaks the village 

*Aminatta Forna 

well has been entirely refitted, 

a second well sunk at the 

opposite end of the village and 

VIP (Ventilated Improved Pit 

latrines) toilets introduced. 

Effective malaria control has 

been achieved with the 

donation of mosquito nets to 

every household. Recently the 

Rogbonko Project has turned its 

efforts towards maternal and 

infant mortality, of which Sierra 

Leone suffers one of the 

highest incidence in the world. 

Dedicated 

birthing house 

A trained midwife has visited 

the village to hold seminars 

with local birth attendants and 

the construction of a dedicated 

birthing house is currently 

underway. 

At the heart of the Rogbonko 

Project lies the belief that Africans 

already possess the 

knowledge, will and systems to 

transform their living conditions. 

Every project undertaken in 

Rogbonko is initiated, administered 

and entirely run by the 

village. We have found this 

works, because we think Africa 

has all the experts it needs— 

they’re the people who live 

there. 

Aminatta has been nominated 

for many awards and won 

quite a few, including the 

Donald Windham-Sandy M. 

Campbell Literature Prize, 

which is awarded annually by 

Yale, one of the best universities 

in the world. 

And the latest icing on her 

cake? She has just been awarded 

an OBE (Order of the British 

Empire) by Queen Elizabeth II 

in the New Year’s Honours 

List. And I am SO proud of her 

and happy for her. 

I know that some Vanguard 

readers will rake about the 

archaic “British Empire” aspect. 

But it’s purely symbolic 

and the fact is that only a small 

handful of Black females – or 

writers, generally – have ever 

been recognised at such a lofty 

level. 

When we were chilling out, 

sharing recipes and cooking, 

worrying about our work assignments 

and discussing 

boyfriends and other issues 

that concern young women in 

our little flat in London three 

decades ago, I didn’t guess 

that she would do so well… 

…NOT because I didn’t think 

she was talented enough to 

shine, but because it is so 

damned hard to stand out from 

the crowd in ANY highly 

competitive profession. 

Dr Forna must be SO proud 

and smiling in Heaven! 

Responses to: 

donzol2002@yahoo.co.uk 

or to 0802 747 6458 OR 

0811 675 9752 (texts 

only). PLEASE 

KINDLY NOTE THAT 

UNLESS YOU RE- 

QUEST ANONYMITY, 

YOUR COMMENTS 

MAY BE PUBLISHED, 

WITH YOUR NAMES 

AND CONTACT 

DETAILS AT- 

TACHED. 

C 

M 

Y 

K


IN a bid to recover looted funds 

from alleged corrupt individuals 

and organisations, the Federal 

Government recently announced 

through the Minister of Finance, Mrs 

Kemi Adeosun the approval of the 

payment of not more than five per cent 

to any person who exposes corruption 

by providing relevant information 

leading to the recovery of public funds. 

According to Mrs Adeosun, the 

whistle-blower payment approval was 

the outcome of a Federal Executive 

Council meeting presided over by 

President Muhammadu Buhari last 

December. According to the 19-point 

agenda for the implementation of the 

policy, information that a whistleblower 

can provide to fight corruption include 

the mismanagement or 

misappropriation of public funds and 

assets (such as property and vehicles), 

financial malpractice or fraud, 

collecting or soliciting bribes, 

“corruption”, diversion of revenues, 

fraudulent and unapproved payments, 

Making the whistleblower 

policy work 

splitting of contracts, procurement 

frauds (such as kickbacks, overinvoicing) 

among others. 

While disclosing that a public portal 

had been set up to enable members of 

the public lodge their reports, the 

minister assured that a Bill to give 

legal effect to the policy will be sent 

to the National Assembly, adding that 

adequate steps will also be taken to 

protect those who participate in it, 

while their rewards are assured. 

This is a very good idea, though we 

wait to see the complete package. We 

strongly believe that the best way to 

fight corruption is to nip it in the bud, 

as the “strong-man” tactics of forceful 

recovery of stolen public funds and 

property are time-consuming and 

often, futile. If this idea is fully 

developed, it will be a strong way of 

fighting corruption institutionally, 

which will make the effort a tradition 

that endures irrespective of any regime 

in power. 

In more advanced countries, such 

as the United States of America, the 

Whistleblower Acts are not only 

used to fight corruption, they are 

also deployed to prevent or sanction 

all forms of abuses, including abuse 

of office and human rights both in 

private and public offices. It is 

generally used to get people to 

conform to acceptable standards in 

the work place and in personal life. 

Nigerians, however, might be 

skeptical about this measure as a 

means of fighting corruption, as 

government and its lawenforcement 

agencies (especially 

the Police) have long established 

notoriety for promising rewards for 

those who provide useful 

information to solve crimes only to 

turn around and victimise 

informants. 

For the whistleblower policy to 

succeed, civil liberty groups and 

lawyers must play active roles in 

ensuring that whistleblowers are not 

only adequately protected by law, 

but also get their due rewards. 

We hope the National Assembly 

will be brave enough to pass the law 

when it comes to them, as it will go 

far in assisting us win the war 

against corruption. 

Okowa's Felix Ibru secretariat 

By Michal Tidi 

IAM confident that Delta State Governor, 

Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, loves the Urhobos 

of Delta but what makes me even happier is 

the fact that this affection also extends to all 

ethnic groups in the state and every non-Deltan 

resident within our boundaries. Thus far, the 

Okowa administration has demonstrated its 

pan-Deltan credentials beyond reproach and 

indeed to the extent to which such a 

cosmopolitan perspective on governance is a 

sine qua non for impactful governance. 

Instructively and right from the onset, 

Governor Okowa had established the 

detribalised verve and direction of his vision 

for Delta beginning with the configuration of 

his campaign organisation. The Honourable 

Barrister Ovie Agas, was the chief executive 

officer of the campaign, a capacity in which he 

wielded real as opposed to mere notional 

power as might have been the case in certain 

quarters. That His Excellency subsequently 

made him the Secretary to the State 

Government remains a testament to Okowa’s 

abiding insistence on loyalty, rewarding 

faithfulness, ability and propriety. 

In terms of impact, the total number of projects 

so far awarded or already executed in the state 

reveals the Governor as a man of uncommon 

administrative competence and egalitarian 

disposition. The impact of the Okowa 

administration is spread and cuts across the 

three senatorial districts of the state with such 

an overriding attention to plurality of 

governmental impact that even if it were 

possible to isolate a part of the state that has 

not been equally carried along, it would be the 

Governor’s Delta North. Yet to speak of Delta 

His continuing determination 

has been to build upon what 

was bequeathed to him as 

Governor in a stoic 

commitment to honour all that 

is commendable in his 

predecessors while quietly 

making his own mark in the 

sands of history 

North within the context of His Excellency’s 

core constituency is at the end of the day, a 

clear and unambiguous misnomer given that 

in Okowa, we have a Chief Executive, who in 

the deepest recesses of his heart, embraces the 

entire state as his core constituency. 

If we may recall, this is a man who in the 

heydays of the “Delta North for Governor” 

OPINION 

and “Anioma Agenda” campaign, surprisingly 

refused to take advantage of the movement 

and instead preferred to present and project 

himself as simply a detribalised candidate from 

Delta for the governorship of the state for the 

benefit of the entirety of its people. While 

Okowa’s altruistic love for the totality of his 

constituency as governor requires little 

elaboration in the light of its palpable truism, 

what must be reiterated as incontestable is his 

ascendancy over those who thrive in maniacally 

and vainly trying to cast His Excellency in the 

mold of a sectionalist leader. Those who 

conveniently and opportunistically sought to 

portray the Governor as an ethnic chauvinist 

with a provincial approach to governance have 

been revealed as the ones who are themselves 

irretrievably chauvinistic and incurably 

provincial in their world view. 

Being career politicians with neither talent, 

profession nor job description, it has become 

their staple to mindlessly denigrate a Governor 

whose only sin is to insist on working for the 

downtrodden Deltans who gave him their 

mandate as governor. Having a Governor 

determined to execute genuine projects that are 

visible for all to see instead of rewarding 

political idleness at the expense of the welfare 

of the generality of Deltans would appear to be 

something so alien to them. Thus, their inability 

to bring up a coherent case against Okowa, 

they simply take refuge in whipping up ethnic 

sentiments . 

The state secretariat of Delta now bears the 

name of Olorogun Felix Ibru. That His 

Excellency, the late Ibru of blessed memory 

deserves an edifice as prestigious as the Delta 

State Secretariat to be named after him is 

without question. Yet, one wonders who would 

have even noticed had not the epicenter of 

administration in Delta been named after this 

departed iconic figure in the political history 

of our dear state. The engine room of 

government in Delta State, its very secretariat 

itself, has been properly and appropriately 

named after the late Ibru and henceforth the 

main port of call of everyone who does 

government business in Delta will be known as 

Felix Ibru Secretariat. 

His Excellency is a man given to deep thought 

and sober in decision making. There are those 

whose stock in trade is the denigration of their 

predecessors. There are those whose hobby is 

the destruction of the legacy of those who came 

before them. There are those whose overriding 

goal is to erase the memory of those in whose 

footsteps they now walk. In Governor Okowa’s 

case, his continuing determination has been to 

build upon what was bequeathed to him as 

Governor in a stoic commitment to honour all 

that is commendable in his predecessors while 

quietly making his own mark in the sands of 

history. 

So as our people make their way from time to 

time to Asaba, I happily welcome them to the 

Olorogun Felix Ibru Secretatriat. 

*Mr. Tidi, is SA on News media to Governor 

Okowa of Delta State.


PoS payments rise by 65% to N651bn 

THERE are indications that 

Nigerians are massively embracing 

electronic payment systems 

as the value of electronic 

payment transactions through 

Point of Sales, PoS, jumped by 65 

per cent to N651.37 billion in 11 

months from January to November 

2016, against the N395.05 billion 

recorded in the corresponding 

period of 2015. 

Giving the figures, yesterday, 

the Nigeria Interbank Settlement 

System Plc (NIBSS) said November 

2016 recorded the highest 

value of transactions with N81.15 

billion. In November 2015, N40.25 

billion transactions were recorded 

through PoS. The transaction figures 

had been on steady rise 

month-on-month before peaking 

in November and December as 

well as subsequent months are 

expected to sustain the trend. 

Electronic 

payment 

A breakdown of the value of PoS 

transactions in 2016 showed that 

in January, activities by individuals 

and corporates through this 

form of electronic payment system 

was N46.65 billion, whereas 

January 2015 was N31.8 billion. 

All the months recorded significant 

increases over 2015. 

In February 2016, the value of 

transactions was N46.14 billion 

(N30.97 billion 2015); March 2016 

was N51.96 billion (N33.54 billion 

2015); April 2016 it was N53.28 

billion (N34.63 billion in 2015). In 

May 2016, the value was N55.29 

billion (N35.93 billion). 

The N55.29 billion recorded in 

June 2016 was also much higher 

than the N34.01 billion recorded 

in 2015. NIBSS data also showed 

an upward swing to N59.4 billion, 

in July. It was N35.84 billion in 

July 2015. Transactions in August 

last year totalled N64.11 billion, 

as against the N35.84 billion in 

CURRENCY BUYING SELLING 

US DOLLAR 

POUNDS 

EURO 

FRANC 

YEN 

CFA 

WAUA 

RENMINBI 

RIYAL 

SDR 

$142. 45 0.65 

$2,221.00 -16.00 

$20. 99 0. 10 

$56. 81 0. 35 

$53. 55 0.29 

304 304.5 305 

373. 4944 374. 1087 374. 723 

315. 7952 316. 3146 316. 834 

295. 0883 295. 5737 296. 059 

2.5708 2.5751 2. 5793 

0.4693 0.4793 0.4893 

408. 0064 408. 6774 409. 3485 

43. 6584 43. 7307 43. 803 

81. 0451 81. 1784 81. 3117 

408. 6672 409. 3394 410. 0115 

CBN Exchange rate as at 05/ 01/2017 

•L-r: Head, Marketing and Activation, RB West Africa, Mrs. Omotola Bamigbaiye-Elatuyi; 

Lagos State Commissioner for Environment, Dr. Babatunde Adejare and Marketing Director, 

RB West Africa, Leferink Aliza, during a courtesy visit by RB Team to the office of the commissioner 

in Lagos. 

August 2015; N66.44 billion as at 

September 2016, compared with 

the N39.61 billion recorded in the 

comparable month in 2015; and 

N71.81 billion in October 2016, up 

from the N41.25 billion it was as 

at October 2015. The Central 

Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had introduced 

the cash-less policy with 

a view to significantly reduce the 

volume of cash-based transactions, 

and PoS was one of the tools 

to achieve this objective. The 

policy was introduced for a number 

of key reasons, including to 

drive development and 

modernisation of the payment system 

in line with Nigeria’s vision 

OPS demands effective resumption date for export expansion grants 

By Franklin Alli 

THE Organised Private Sector (OPS) has re 

quested the federal government to announce 

the takeoff time for payment of Export Expansion 

Grants, EEG, scheme it promised to revive in the 2017 

budget. 

In the budget, government voted N20 billion for the 

revival of the scheme. The OPS bodies (Manufacturers 

Association of Nigeria, MAN; Nigeria Association 

of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and 

Agriculture, NACCIMA, and Nigerian Association 

of Small and Medium Enterprises, 

NASME) made the demand in separate 

statements on their outlook for 2017. 

Frank Udemba Jacobs, MAN President, 

said: “Government should, within the 

shortest possible time, fulfill its promise of 

resuscitating the EEG scheme and ensure 

the payment of the outstanding Negotiable 

Duty Credit Certificate (NDCC) value.” 

Likewise, Bassey Edem, NACCIMA 

President, corroborated this position, saying: 

“ As, the voice of Nigerian businesses, 

we are especially pleased to hear that the 

President has instructed the revival of the 

Export Expansion Grant, a very vital incentive 

that aids in the stimulation of export 

oriented activities that will lead to significant 

growth of the non-oil export sector. 

We look forward to further pronouncements 

on the effective date of this revival.” 

In the same vein, Executive Secretary, 

NASME, Eke Ubiji, said: “Religious 

implementation and execution of the export 

grants will help the government’s plan 

to diversify the economy and increase in 

the export of Nigeria products. “ 

Addressing the joint session of the National 

Assembly last month on the 2017 

budget, President Mohammadu Buhari 

had stated: “Given the emphasis placed 

on industrialization and supporting 

SMEs, a sum of N50 billion has been set 

aside as Federal Government’s contribution 

for the expansion of existing, as well 

as the development of new, Export Processing 

and Special Economic Zones. 

“These will be developed in partnership 

The scheme was 

included in the 

budget in order to 

manage the impact 

on government 

revenue and 

promote 

transparency 

with the private sector as we continue our 

efforts to promote and protect Nigerian 

businesses. Furthermore, as the benefits 

of agriculture and mining are starting to 

become visible, I have instructed that the 

Export Expansion Grant be revived in the 

form of tax credits to companies. This will 

further enhance the development of some 

agriculture and mining sector thereby 

bringing in more investments and creating 

more jobs. The sum of N20 billion has 

2020 goal of being amongst the top 

20 economies by the year 2020. 

This is because an efficient and 

modern payment system is positively 

correlated with economic 

development, and is a key enabler 

for economic growth. The policy 

was also expected to reduce the 

cost of banking services (including 

cost of credit) and drive financial 

inclusion by providing 

more efficient transaction options 

and greater reach; improve the 

effectiveness of monetary policy 

in managing inflation and driving 

economic growth, as well as 

to curb some of the negative consequences 

associated with the 

high usage of physical cash in 

the economy. 

As part of efforts to encourage 

Nigerians to widely make use of 

electronic payment systems, the 

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) 

had introduced an awareness 

campaign for electronic payment 

users. The scheme known as 

“Electronic Payment Incentive 

Scheme (EPIS)” was carried out 

by the CBN and the NIBSS. The 

scheme’s primary focus was to 

reward users of electronic payments 

platforms in Nigeria and 

to further encourage greater usage 

of PoS and other e-payment 

channels. 

The scheme also permitted 

merchants to provide cash back 

services to cardholders following 

a purchase. This served as an 

incentive for merchants to earn 

a fee for providing a value-added 

service cash-out services to customers 

following a purchase of 

goods/services from their stores. 

The chief executive officer of 

NIBSS, Ade Shonubi, had said 

the reward scheme was introduced 

to encourage people to use 

their cards at places other than 

the ATMs. 

been voted for the revival of this 

programme.” 

The EEG was suspended in 2014 following 

allegations of widespread abuse by exporters, 

a development which led to the accumulation 

of significant liability on the 

Negotiable Duty Credit Certificate 

(NDCCs). 

But Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, 

Okechukwu Enelamah, had said 

that government intends to resume the 

scheme because of its determination to expand 

the volume and value of Nigeria’s 

exports, diversifying export products and 

improving global competiveness of Nigerian 

exporters. 

He said the scheme was included in the 

budget to manage the impact on government 

revenue and promote transparency. 

The minister said that approved liability on 

the scheme for unused certificates which 

are either in the custody of exporters or awaiting 

issuance in the Federal Ministry of Finance, 

will be settled after an audit to verify 

the actual amount due. 

According to him, following EEG suspension, 

government had set up an inter-ministerial 

committee to access the scheme holistically 

and make recommendations for its 

continued operation or otherwise, as well 

as the operational framework if it would be 

continued. “The committee came up with 

far reaching recommendations and also 

made a presentation at the Economic Management 

Team (EMT) meeting of October 

17, 2016, presided over by the Vice President 

of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Prof. 

Yemi Osinbanjo, in which its recommendations 

were approved,” he said. 

C 

M 

Y 

K


By Theodore Opara 

EFFECTIVE TRANSPORT SYSTEMS: 

A catalyst for 

Nigeria’s 

socio-economic 

development 

Ben Obumselu in his review of Dr. Usoh Kingsley’s 

book on Effective Transportation System: A catalyst for 

Nigeria’s Socio-Economic Development,writes that 

Nigerian roads are among the most deadly in the world, 

contributting far more to the national death rate that any 

other single cause. According to him, the death toll on 

our roads is the result of a monumental performance 

deficit at every level. He submitted that transport is a 

single simple system and that it is optimally efficient 

and user-friendly only when its different modes are 

seamlessly interconnected. Enjoy the review. 

EFFECTIVE Transport 

Systems is divided, after 

the introductory chapter, into 

eight chapters. One chapter is 

given to aviation. Four chapters 

deal with different aspects of 

transportation by land: in the 

urban environment, on the 

highways, by rail, and using 

pipelines. Four other chapters 

examine navigation under different 

headings: inland waterways, 

coastal shipping, transportation 

on the high seas, and 

the operation of seaports and terminals. 

What does Dr Usoh have to 

say about road transport? Comprising 

ninety per cent of the 

entire transport system of the 

nation, embracing in its scope 

a vast range of vehicular assets 

starting from okadas, keke 

napeps, molues, and bolekajas 

and rising up to luxury buses, 

SUVs and Rolls Royces; penetrating 

in its’ coverage of every 

village and every slum, and 

open to every use, road transport 

characterizes and defines 

the nation. 

Remote 

markets 

It conveys and delays us in 

our daily rounds, from our 

homes to every destination, to 

our place of work, to the church 

and the shopping mall; and it 

carries agricultural goods from 

the farm to remote markets and 

bulk containers from seaports to 

every part of the nation. In all 

these activities, it defines our 

lives and dramatizes our hopes 

and anxieties. 

Dr Usoh has 23 carefully itemized 

discussions of the situation 

on our roads, most of these discussions 

being criticisms of road 

design, road construction and 

maintenance.The commissions 

and omissions of regulatory institutions, 

the activities’ of 

transport companies and the attitudes 

of road users. In this 

review, we can only glance at 

two or three of these issues. 

Nigeria’s 200, 000 kilometers 

of roads are probably our biggest 

national asset. Their replacement 

value in 2001 was 

calculated to be between N3.5 

These highways 

were not 

designed, were 

not constructed, 

and were not 

maintained to 

carry the traffic 

which has to use 

them 

trillion and N4.3 trillion which 

today should be about five 

times those figures. Of the 200, 

000 kilometers, only 35, 000 kilometers 

are federal roads. In 

effect, the Federal Government 

is not a major road provider. 

Taking an alfocation of more 

than 50% as its share of the federal 

revenue, the Federal Gov- 

THE Mercedes W 113 SL 

model series hit the market 

in 1963. Due to the design 

of its removable hard top, the 

roadster quickly earned the 

moniker “Pagoda.” Today, 

more than 50 years later, the 

German two-seater is one of 

the most popular vintage cars 

on the market. 

The global fan community is 

huge, and models in top condition 

sometimes sell for twenty 

times what the car cost new 

originally. 

Legends have always been 

immortalized on postage 

stamps! For this reason, 69 PIT 

•Quality roads have remained a dream to Nigerians 

ernment builds only 17% of the 

roads which, as Dr Usoh goes 

on to argue, are planned unprofessionally, 

constructed 

without due regard to engineering 

specifications, and 

maintained very negligently. 

For evidence, we only have to 

look.at the Lagos -lbadan expressway 

which has given motorists 

nightmares for many 

years, at the Enugu - Onitsha 

expressway virtually abandoned 

since 2010, and the unmotorable 

roads in Adamawa 

State. These highways were 

not designed, were not constructed, 

and were not maintained 

to carry the traffic which 

has to use them. Under the 

heavy pounding of articulated 

trailers, petrol tankers and the 

behemoths of the highway, and 

subverted by floods and gulley 

erosion, they were torn up, pulverized 

and rendered dysfunctional 

soon after their commissioning. 

Poor funding is often blamed 

for the poor state of the roads. 

Dr Usoh points out, however, 

that when funds were lying idle 

after the OPEC revolution in 

1974, the specifications were 

not raised nor was a systematic 

upgrading of the national 

road network undertaken. 

Agreement has now apparently 

been reached that private 

sector funds must be brought 

into the system to make up the 

deficits which are evident everywhere. 

But nothing can excuse 

the absurdity of what happened 

in the last fifty years 

when roads were built with engineering 

designs and material 

specifications which ensured 

that they collapsed soon after 

completion. 

Pejorative 

adjectives 

Germany immortalises Mercedes Pagoda SL 

STOP commissioned a limited 

edition of an exclusive collectors’ 

stamp featuring the “Pagoda” 

SL from the German Postal 

Service. 

The self-adhesive stamp has 

a postage value of 70 cent for a 

standard letter, and shows a 

thrilling action shot of a signalred 

“Pagoda” 280 SL. 

As homage to the birth year 

of the classic, only precisely 

1,963 collectors folded cards 

each holding two “Pagoda” 

postage stamps between the 

covers will be issued. 

The rare postage stamps are 

available exclusively online at 

www.69pitstop.com. Each collectors’ 

card with two postage 

About the officials who have 

presided over this state of affairs, 

Dr Usoh writes with understandable 

anger and eloquent 

scorn. No pejorative adjectives 

are too insolent’ or too 

gross to haul at them; they are 

reckless, ignorant, and corrupt. 

Across the entire spectrum of 

the transport system: 

In the building and maintenance 

of highways, in the history 

of the Railways Corporation, 

and the Nigerian Airways, 

in the management of the Nigerian 

National Shipping Line, 

the Unity Line and in the operation 

of the Nigerian Ports 

Authority, what we have witnessed 

and suffered in the last 

fifty years, Dr Usoh says, is a 

shabby display of professional 

ineptitude and deceitfulness. 

A second issue to which Dr 

Usoh directs critical attention is 

the intolerable bloodshed on 

our’ roads. Nigerian roads are 

apparently among the most 

deadly in the world and it has 

been said that they contribute 

far more to the national death 

rate than any other single 

cause. How does this come 

about? This is one of the major 

themes which Dr Usoh discusses 

in great detail providing 

eight pages of diagrams 

and statistics in the main body 

of his text and 52 pages of additional 

statistical information 

in the appendices. 

We maim and kill so many of 

our countrymen on the roads: 

1. Because a very large number 

of our public transport vehicles 

are not roadworthy; they 

had indeed died and been buried 

in Europe before resurrecting 

as tokunbos in Nigeria. 

To be continued 

stamps sells for 10 euro including 

shipping.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 6, 2017 —21 

Kia releases first images of all-new Picanto 

KIA Motors has released 

images of the all-new 

Picanto, the third-generation 

of one of Kia’s global bestselling 

cars. The new Picanto 

will go on sale at the end of 

the third quarter of the year. 

Created by Kia’s design 

centres in Namyang, Korea 

and Frankfurt, Germany, the 

new Picanto brings youthful 

and energetic character to the 

A-segment. The new model – 

revealed in Kia’s sportsinspired 

‘GT-Line’ 

specification – conveys a more 

assertive stance through 

bolder body lines and subtly 

sculpted surfaces. A 15 mmlonger 

wheelbase (2,385 mm 

to 2,400 mm) also pushes the 

wheels further out into each 

corner for a more confident 

appearance. The Picanto’s 

colour palette is more vibrant 

than ever, with a choice of 11 

bright paint options designed 

to make the car stand out. 

Inside, Picanto’s suite of 

high-tech comfort, 

convenience and safety 

features is underscored by a 

modern and refined new cabin 

design. At the heart of the 

cabin is a new ‘floating’ 

touchscreen infotainment 

system, making the latest incar 

technology available to 

occupants. The Picanto offers 

greater potential for customer 

personalisation, with buyers 

able to choose from a range 

of colours for trim and 

upholstery. 

Buyers of the all-new 

Picanto will enjoy smarter 

packaging efficiency than 

ever before, with more cabin 

and cargo space than rivals in 

the segment. In spite of its 

extended wheelbase, the 

Picanto retains its 

characteristically compact 

dimensions. With a shorter 

front overhang and longer 

rear overhang, the all-new 

model is the same length 

(3,595 mm) as the car it 

replaces. Kia will reveal the 

all-new Picanto in public for 

the first time at the 2017 

Geneva International Motor 

Show in March. 

FRSC boss commends personnel, motorists on Yuletide patrol 

THE Corps Marshal of the 

Federal Road Safety Corps, 

Dr. Boboye Oyeyemi, has 

commended the FRSC work 

force for their level of 

commitment and motorists for 

complying with traffic rules and 

regulations in the 9 days’ 

nationwide patrol exercise along 

designated routes of the nation’s 

highways. 

According to Bisi Kazeem, 

Head, Media Relations and 

Strategy, FRSC in a press 

release, this is coming on the 

heels of the Corps’ assessment 

of traffic situation and conduct of 

road users during the nationwide 

exercise which commenced on 

19th December 2016, along 20 

designated corridors of the 

highways, which has witnessed 

minimal level of road traffic 

crashes. Kazeem disclosed that 

as at 27th, December, 2016, a 

total number of 289 road traffic 

crashes has been recorded 

involving 2185 number of people 

with 1000 people injured, 998 

people rescued alive and 187 

people killed. In the same vein, 

9619 offenders were arrested for 

10970 offences with 1426 

offenders arraigned in mobile 

courts, 1292 convicted, 5 

imprisoned and 129 of them 

discharged. 

FRSC Corps Marshal, 

Oyeyemi opined that the massive 

deployment of personnel has 

produced positive outcomes from 

the Lagos-Ibadan corridor to 9th 

Motor Sport kicks off in Nigeria with Eleko Motor race 

THE 2016 Eleko Motor 

Race may have come and 

gone but the memories will remain 

with the spectators and participants 

for a long time to come. 

Prior to this edition of the event, 

one may have wondered about 

the level of interest in motorsport 

around these parts. Well, going 

•From left: Mrs. Elizabeth Itegbe, GM, Western Associates, receiving award for Luxury Car of the Year 

won by Mercedes Benz S-Class from Miss Nanou Bingan, reigning Miss Diamond Beauty Queen (West), 

while Mr. Frank Kintun, President, NAJA watches, during the Nigeria Auto Journalists Awards, held at 

Eko Hotel, Lagos. 

Mile in Enugu, Onitsha head 

bridge and Sagamu construction 

areas, Ondo round about, Ore, 

Asaba among other corridors. 

Deriving from this 

development, Oyeyemi urges the 

Corps’ personnel to remain 

steadfast in their commitment 

during the new year exercise 

while motorists are enjoined to 

ensure sustained compliance with 

traffic rules and regulations, 

proper planning and 

management of trips through 

maintenance of their vehicles 

by the number of participants 

and spectators at the scenic Eleko 

Beach proves that this is growing 

phenomenon in Nigeria. 

Activities started with a drivers 

briefing on Friday 16th December 

at Basilico Restaurant V.I. 

This involved drivers and navigators, 

volunteers, race control 

team, timekeepers and the race 

director. This pre-race meeting 

focused on the Vehicle inspection 

and accreditation. There was 

also a session on the 26-kilometer 

route with an in-depth training 

on how to navigate the course 

using the route book. 

Saturday, December 17, morning 

started bright and early with 

a beautiful breeze blowing across 

the sands and through the beach 

house that served as race control. 

Alongside the drivers and their 

beastly machines were gathering 

spectators comprising of 

motorsports enthusiasts, fans 

from the inner city of Lagos as 

well as citizens of the Eleko Community. 

On hand to welcome 

spectators to this year’s edition 

was the grand patron of the Eleko 

Motor Race and a respected 

during the last phase of the patrol 

exercise. 

To further achieve safe road use 

during the period, the Corps has 

scaled up its strategies for 

effective patrolling of the 

highways as motorists and other 

categories of road users are 

warned to desist from all road 

vices such as overloading, speed 

limit violation, non-use of seat 

belt, route violation (driving 

against traffic), making/receiving 

calls while driving and night 

trips. 

leader in the community Alhaji 

Saheed Balogun. 3 different races 

held at this edition of the Eleko 

motor race: the main race 

event which was for the competing 

4X4 vehicles and two side 

events: The Tricycle race, and 

motorbike race. Both of these 

were specially organized for the 

youths of Eleko. 

The motor race featured a total 

of six racing special stages, 

26km in all. The race route 

was specially selected to really 

test the skills of each team 

comprising of a driver and 

navigator along the rugged 

terrain. The special stages 

were timed to reflect each 

team’s performance along the 

route. 

Back at the beach house, the 

over 200 spectators were entertained 

by the show the indigenes 

were putting up with 

the tricycle, motorbike race, 

while the DJs rocked party 

music endlessly. The entertainment 

climaxed during the 

finals of the motorbike race 

where riders displayed their 

ability to control and manoeuvre 

their bikes in different laps.


Stories by Laju Iren 

FACEBOOK Founder, 

Mark Zuckerberg visited 

Nigeria last year. Twice. That 

alone proves that 2016 was a 

great year for tech in Nigeria. 

However, it hasn’t been the 

same story all over the world. 

Just in case you're in doubt, 

here are some of the worst 

technologies of 2016. 

Yahoo 

Think your email account is 

safe? Think again. With other 

500 million accounts hacked, 

Yahoo revealed the biggest 

data breach ever in during its 

sell out to Verizon for $4.8 

billion in September. The 

compromised information was 

a treasure chest for criminals, 

including real names and 

email addresses, as well as 

dates of birth and telephone 

numbers. Furthermore the 

breach had occurred two years 

earlier, but had been kept a 

secret. 

Pokemon Go 

Pokemon is such a great 

game. So great in fact, that 

people felt it was worth dying 

for in 2016. Earlier this year, 

two men fell off a cliff while 

playing Pokémon Go. 

Obsessive Pokémon Go 

players also caused several 

car accidents—110,000 of them 

in 10 days in the U.S. alone, 

according to one report. 

WTH the LG FH2 

nicknamed 

“Waka Waka” Audio System, 

now being launched into the 

Nigerian market, consumers 

can party all day anytime, 

Wakawaka 

Apple airpods 

Band 2 

Worst technologies of 

2016 

Another four U.S teenagers 

were accused of committing a 

anywhere. This newest 

innovation permits users to 

wheel the product freely in 

and out of any party just as a 

regularly mini-travel suitcase. 

The LG FH2 Audio which 

comes with an In-built battery 

pack possesses an extended 

play time of 15 hours without 

AC Power, guaranteeing 

longer hours of musical 

ecstasy, while catching your 

groovy moments with family 

and friends. 

Another striking feature is 

its Multi-Point Bluetooth 

which allows users connect 

up to 3 devices at the same 

time, without necessarily 

obstructing the flow 

of its functionality. 

This means that 

family and friends 

can bond properly 

when they 

simultaneously 

connect to share 

their favourite 

musical tracks on 

the go, without 

taking turns to 

connect to the 

sound system 

individually. LG 

FH2 automatically 

comes on and 

livens up the 

atmosphere once 

music is sent to it 

via the Bluetooth 

string of robberies by using 

Pokémon Go to lure victims to 

connectivity system creating 

an aural of excitement at once. 

Music can also be played 

using the USB port that comes 

with it. 

Commenting on the product, 

General Manager, 

Convergence Audio/Video 

Division, LG Electronics, Mr. 

Hyunseung Shin said: “Life is 

about more than having the 

latest technology. It is about the 

experiences this technology 

creates. 

Musical 

excitement 

The LG FH2 sound system 

going by its innovative features 

would enable users embrace 

life, preparing them for the 

greatest musical excitement 

ever. With the LG FH2 users 

can now experience high 

quality sound combined with 

portability.” 

LG has also introduced a 

seven-step approach, which 

simply means users can now 

sing in any key of their choice, 

no matter the level of singing 

ability. 

With a push on the button 

users can change any song into 

a Karaoke version making it 

possible to sing along with 

friends while dancing to 

beautiful musical vibes. 

This helps to create uniformity 

a Pokéstop. Arlington 

National Cemetery, the 9/11 

LG Waka Waka dances into Nigerian market 

Samsung 

in lyrical melody among 

peers who are out there to 

have great time with the 

blaring musical sound from 

the FH2. 

Interestingly, the LG FH2 

comes with an inbuilt FM 

radio with a well positioned 

antenna capable of picking 

up any frequency even in 

difficult terrain. Users now 

have the luxury of listening 

to their favourite radio station 

on the FH2 system. It comes 

fully packed with a 

microphone jack, which 

means it can also be used as 

a public address system with 

utmost clarity. 

For fun seekers who love 

to have out of home get 

together from time to time 

with their loved ones, they 

need not worry about the 

stress of setting up a sound 

system, as the LG FH2 is 

portably packaged without a 

power cord and yet produces 

unbelievable sound effects 

that will blow your mind 

away. Now taking a party 

sound system is as easy as 

rolling a suitcase. 

As a matter of fact anytime 

you plan on having your party 

on the beach or among a 

circle of friends, the party 

would simply be incomplete 

without LG FH2 sound 

system. 

Memorial, and the 

National Holocaust 

Museum are forced 

to politely ask 

Pokémon Go players not 

to hunt for critters on 

their premises. 

Apple AirPods 

At about N80, 000 a 

pair, Apple Airpods cost 

six times the minimum 

wage in Nigeria. But 

with big money comes 

big problems. One report 

pointed to possible 

syncing problems with 

the AirPods, as music 

streams to both buds 

simultaneously. Apple 

finally worked out the 

kinks and put the 

earphones on sale Dec. 

13, several months after 

they were supposed to 

be released. 

Several 

Wearables 

Intel recalled the 

Basis Peak wearable 

after reports of burns 

and blisters due to the 

watch overheating. 

Microsoft Band 2, which 

was the company's first 

attempt at a fitness 

tracker was ambitious 

but terribly bulky, and 

the sequel didn't improve 

enough on the original. Stuck 

somewhere between a Fitbit 

and an Apple Watch, 

the Band 2 offered some 

improvements, but it 

suffered from an awkward 

band, an inconsistent heartrate 

monitor and short battery 

life. 

It was also a bad year for 

Pebble, a pioneer in the 

wearables category that was 

never able to break through 

with the masses. This former 

Kickstarter darling raised 

nearly $13 million for the 

Pebble Time 2 and Pebble 

Core, but those watches are 

now cancelled. That's because 

Fitbit has swooped in, 

purchasing Pebble to the tune 

of $40 million. But Fitbit is 

acquiring the company only 

for its software. Worse, 

existing Pebble owners will no 

longer get software updates, 

replacement chargers or 

warranty service. 

Samsung Galaxy 

Note 7 

In its 47 years of existence, 

Samsung has made some of 

the most incredible tech 

products in history, but there 

is no looking past the tragedy 

of the Galaxy Note 7. 

After about 35 reports of 

phones overheating and 

bursting into flames, Samsung 

told anyone with a Galaxy 

Note 7 to “power it down 

immediately” and return it. 

When some replacements also 

ignited, Samsung decided to 

stop manufacturing the phone 

altogether and recalled 2.5 

million of the devices.


Aviation in 2016: 

Relative safety despite 

harsh operating 

environment 

Stories by Lawani 

Mikairu 

NIGERIA’s 

aviation 

industry in 2016 

witnessed relative safety as 

there was no air crash and no 

major safety incident despite 

the harsh economic 

environment the airline 

operators were forced to operate 

in. The current economic 

recession in the country with 

resultant scarcity of foreign 

exchange impacted negatively 

on the aviation sector as it relies 

heavily on the dollar. 

Regular 

maintenance 

The sector saw the grounding 

of some domestic airlines as 

they could not source the scarce 

foreign exchange to carry out 

their regular maintenance of 

aircraft and prompt payment on 

leased aircraft. Some of the 

major issues that impacted 

negatively on operations of the 

airlines were poor state of 

infrastructure at the airports. 

The last days of December 

witnessed massive cancellation 

of flights and delays due to the 

harmattan haze which made 

visibility at most of the airports 

to be less than the minima of 

800 metres. The landing aids at 

the airports were almost not 

functioning. 

Debt overhang to service 

providers and workers, as well 

as the scarcity and exorbitant 

cost of insurance premium, 

aviation fuel, and foreign 

exchange were some of the 

issues the operators had to 

contend with. These 

issues led to the 

scaling down of 

operations or total 

shutdown of 

three of the 

l e a d i n g 

domestic airlines. Airlines like 

Dana Air and Aero Contractors 

announced the suspension of 

their Lagos/Accra flights due to 

In spite of the 

challenges in the 

sector, there was 

relative safety as 

the airlines were 

able to maintain 

high safety 

standards, no air 

crash was recorded 

resisted the airline decision to 

down size and other reasons 

bordering on aircraft 

maintenance, debt to creditors, 

and unpaid staff salaries. 

Arik Air suspended operations 

twice due to its inability to pay 

insurance premium and owing 

workers several months of 

salaries and allowances. First 

Nation, which operates just two 

aircraft was asked to shut down 

due to maintenance issues with 

its aircraft. 

The international airlines and 

Nigerian travellers on 

international routes were not 

spared by the harsh 

environment. A new Central 

Bank of Nigeria (CBN) policy 

restriction on forex repatriation 

Delayed luggage: Passengers elated as 

Med-View Airline delivers last batch 

PASSENGERS whose baggage were left 

behind in Gatwick Airport, London by 

Medview Airline during the Christmas 

break were elated as the airline kept its 

promise and finally delivered the last batch 

of leftover baggage to Lagos and the affected 

passengers trooped the Lagos Airport to 

collect them. 

The promise to deliver all the baggage 

latest Monday was made by the 

management of the airline when it had 

interactive session with the affected 

passengers last week Thursday. 

According to Chief Obuke Oyibotha, Med- 

View Airline media consultant, the airline 

has advised passengers who are yet to 

collect their baggage to do so by visiting D 

wing arrival of the Murtala Muhammed 

International Airport, Ikeja. 

The delivery of the leftover baggage had 

been hampered by the intermittent closure 

of the long runway at Gatwick Airport and 

the Christmas holidays, forcing the airline 

to enter into agreement with British Airways 

which delivered the baggage. 

the scarcity and exorbitant cost 

of aviation fuel. This was 

followed later with Aero 

Contractors closing down 

operations for three months due 

to issues with workers who 

On December 23, 2016, the Airline 

operated a special flight to London to airlift 

the baggage but returned without them 

because there were no adequate staff to 

screen them. 

The baggage arrived in three batches on 

Saturday, December 31, 2016, Sunday, 

January 1, and Monday, January 2, 2017. 

Oyibotha also said prior to the delivery, 

the airline had on Friday night sent SMS 

to all the affected telling them that the tags 

numbers of the baggage so arrived were 

on its website. 

The CEO of Medview Airline, Alhaji 

Muneer Bankole said the airline and 

passengers ordeal over the leftover 

baggage was over.While regretting the 

inconveniences, he thanked the affected 

passengers for their understanding, saying 

the situation was outside the control of the 

airline. 

“But as a responsible airline, it is our 

obligation to deliver the baggage to all the 

passengers who flew with us”, Bankole 

said. 

led to about $575 million earned 

from ticket sales by the foreign 

airlines to be trapped for almost 

nine months and the 

hampering of their operations. 

Most of the airlines had 

threatened to pull out due to the 

forex restriction policy and the 

threat was carried out by Iberia 

and United Airlines. 

This forex scarcity forced 

airfares on international routes 

to go up by 100 per cent and 

Nigerian travellers were made 

to bear this burden. The 

aviation agencies were not 

spared. Federal Airports 

Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), 

Nigerian Airspace 

Management Agency (NAMA) 

and the Nigerian Civil Aviation 

IATA, ICTS settle dispute 

THE International Air 

Transport Association 

(IATA) and ICTS Europe 

Systems Limited (ICTS) have 

settled their dispute 

concerning use by ICTS of 

Senator Hadi 

Sirika, Minister 

of state, Aviation 

IATA’s Timatic database and 

the Travel Information Manual 

(TIM). 

According to the public 

statement issued jointly by 

IATA and ICTS Europe 

Systems Limited, the 

publication of travel 

documentation requirements 

for the benefit of the global air 

travel industry is one of the 

many products and services 

provided by IATA. 

The information, which 

includes passport, visa and 

health requirements for 

international travel, is 

collected and verified by IATA 

through government sources 

and an extensive network of 

additional sources. 

The information is 

maintained in the Timatic 

database and distributed 

through the Timatic suite of 

solutions, as well as published 

in the TIM. 

ICTS have created their own 

product, TravelDoc, which also 

offers information about 

passport and visa 

requirements to the air travel 

industry. 

The information is collected 

and verified by ICTS through 

government sources and an 

extensive network of 

additional sources. 

Authority (NCAA), recorded 

very low revenues. 

This is because the airlines, 

especially the domestic airlines, 

were in financial distress and 

found it hard to remit the five 

per cent mandatory payments 

from ticket sales to these 

agencies. These airlines also 

had difficulty paying 

navigational, landing and 

parking charges at the airports 

which they operated into. 

However, it was not all gloom 

for the sector. The federal 

government heeded the call of 

airline operators. The 

government started the 

implementation of the waivers 

for Customs duties on imported 

aircraft parts, which brought a 

lot of relief financially for 

operators. The Federal 

Government also mandated the 

CBN to grant a special sectoral 

allocation of foreign exchange 

to airline operators in the 

Secondary Market Intervention 

Sales, which ensured that 

airlines had access to forex to 

import parts and carry out 

routine aircraft maintenances 

abroad. 

Local airlines like Dana Air, 

Medview and Air Peace also 

expanded their routes locally 

and regionally, a development 

that eased movement and trade 

and brought smiles to numerous 

air travellers within and outside 

the country. Med-View 

expanded it operation to 

international routes. Its Lagos 

- London Gatwick route has 

been a huge success, with its 

flight always fully booked. 

The information is 

maintained in the TravelDoc 

database and published 

through the TravelDoc 

product. 

IATA complained to ICTS in 

February 2014 about 

unauthorized use of some of 

IATA’s data and intellectual 

property in ICTS’s TravelDoc 

product. 

Following extensive 

discussions, the parties 

acknowledged their respect for 

intellectual property rights in 

general and IATA’s specific 

right to protect and defend its 

intellectual property rights in 

Timatic and TIM. 

In full and final settlement 

of this dispute, ICTS has 

agreed to make a payment to 

IATA for any historic usage of 

TIM/Timatic database content 

and to implement additional 

procedures and controls in 

order to ensure that future 

sourcing of travel document 

requirements is derived 

independently from IATA’s 

TIM/Timatic database. 

ICTS Europe Systems 

Limited will continue to be an 

IATA Strategic Partner, 

including in the area of Fast 

Travel.


By Ayo Onikoyi 

GRANDFATHER of all 

comedians in Nigeria 

has shown that his ‘January 

1st Concert’ is not all about 

making money and making 

people laugh but also about 

giving back to the society. At 

the last concert which held at 

Eko Convention Centre, 

Victoria Island, Lagos on 

January 1, 2017 the comedian 

and his wife gave an upcoming 

comedian a car gift after the 

lucky humour merchant 

emerged victorious from a 

spontaneous comedy 

competition. 

Titled ‘Alibaba’s 

Spontaneity’; the contest had 

about 10 fast-rising 

comedians show off their 

talent and freestyle prowess 

live on stage by quipping with 

random topics provided by the 

audience. 

After a few rounds, three 

comedians made it to the final 

stage and the audience was left 

to decide who the winner is by 

making some noise after each 

comedian stepped forward. 

One of the last comedians 

who quickly became fan’s 

favourite that night; Laff 

Doctor emerged the winner. 

Presented by Alibaba’s wife; 

Mary Akpobome, Laff Doctor 

went home with a brand new 

car and some words of 

encouragement. It was also 

Alibaba gives upcoming comedian brand new car 

revealed that the comedian will 

get a monthly salary payment 

for the whole year and an 

opportunity to work closely 

with Alibaba. 

The first runner up however, 

got a totally different package 

Collage of Laff 

Doctor, his car 

– Mary Akpobome announced 

she and her husband would 

sponsor his education through 

university under the boy’s 

wish. 

Several other talented 

comedians like AY, Bash, Seyi 

Sound Sultan, Lepacious Bose 

pray for Julius Agwu’s return 

By Rotimi Agbana 

FORMER plus size comedienne, Lepacious 

Bose, and Sound Sultan, have offered 

passionate health recovery prayers for their 

Skales, Jaywon, May D thrill at 

EUC Homes party 

By Juliet Ebirim 

LAST Saturday, one of the top property companies in Lagos, 

EUC Homes owned by Uchenna Ben Odunzeh touched the 

lives of many, when it held its end of the year party and 

empowerment programme. 

The event began with scintillating performances from artistes. 

The first hundred people who came to the event which held at 

Orchild Hotel, Chevron participated in a raffle draw and fifty 

people won assorted prizes. Staff of the company were 

rewarded for their loyalty too. Outstanding employees were 

given plots of land in Ibeju- Lekki, brand new cars, bags 

of rice and groundnut oil. Other members of staff also got 

food stuff. 

The event which was anchored by talented comedian, 

KC Brown had Skales, Jaywon and May D in attendance 

and they thrilled guests to beautiful songs which got 

everyone in the hall on their feet dancing. DJ Mega was 

also on ground to make the event a memorable one as 

he reeled out good music. 

I’m not intimidated by A’List 

artistes — D’Tac 

By Rotimi Agbana 

NIGERIAN/International 

record 

label, T-Records, has signed a multimillion 

naira management deal with 17-year old 

music producer, songwriter and singer, Daniel 

Tunde Adeosun, aka D’Tac, and unveiled him 

as the first artiste to be signed on the label. D’Tac, 

who was selected by the management of T- 

Records as the first artiste to be signed on the 

record label after a rigorous music talent hunt, 

began his musical journey at a tender age of 11, 

•Jaywon 

but has grown into a multi-talented artiste who 

is ready to take over the Nigerian music industry 

with a unique combination of Afro-pop, RnB, 

Reggae and Highlife style of music. 

Asked if he is not intimated by the new breeds 

making waves in the industry at the moment, 

D’Tac noted that every musician has got his/her 

own space in the sky to make an impact. 

“I am not in the industry to be like somebody 

else, I just want to be as genuine as I can,’’ he 

said. 

Law, Omo Baba, Nedu, Teju 

Babyface, Gbenga Adeyinka, Woli 

Arole, Grand Komanda, MC 

Abbey and Yibokoko were among 

the performers who thrilled the 

audience in an exhilarating 

fashion. 

friend and colleague in the 

entertainment business, Julius 

Agwu, who is currently receiving 

treatment abroad after a relapse of 

the brain tumour surgery he 

underwent in 2015. Sometime ago, 

his manager came out to clear the 

air that the hilarious comedian is 

gradually recovering, but 

since then, nothing has been 

heard about his current 

health status. Probably after 

getting news of his present 

health condition, Sound Sultan took 

to his Instagram page to offer quick 

recovery prayers for the rib-cracker. 

“Still put you in our prayers bro 

inviting others too. Speedy 

overall recovery to our 

very funny brother 

Julius Agwu”, he 

wrote. 

Shortly after, standup 

comedienne, 

Lepacious Bose 

•Agoha 

•Julius Agwu 

followed suit. “We won’t stop praying, we 

won’t give up on you until you come back 

home, strong, healthy and vibrant. I 

refuse to post pictures of you on a hospital 

bed, I refuse to post obituary pictures of 

you my brother, and I chose to post 

pictures of you alive and vibrant, yes, 

because that is how I choose to see you. 

There is still a balm in Gilead Julius Agwu 

and his name is Jesus, his healing oil is 

upon you”, she prayed. 

Agoha’s new year 

gift to fans 

INSPIRATIONAL singer, John 

Agoha has started the new year on 

a good note as he has dropped a new 

single titled, ‘Eledumare.’ 

Though, the single which is currently 

enjoying massive airplay is yet to be 

released online, but the power dresser 

says he is working on it. Agoha who got 

engaged to his U.S- based heartthrob 

has promised to give fans good music 

this year.



Ogun govt wages war against 

fake monarchs 

l 

•Amosun 

By Daud Olatunji 

OGUN State arguably has 

the largest number of 

traditional rulers in the country 

. To buttress the status, the 

Commissioner for Local 

Government and Chieftaincy 

Affairs, Chief Jide Ojuko 

released the officially 

recognised number of 

traditional rulers in the state, 

saying, they are 249 in 

number. 

The commissioner who took 

his time to explain how the 

State got to the level said; “In 

the past, the process of 

selection of Obas, I want to say, 

has been abused and the 

interest of this government is 

to ensure that responsible, 

people of good character, 

people of high pedigree, 

people of recognized means of 

living are made Obas of our 

various communities." 

He further said; “Because, 

we have discovered that many 

of them were made Obas, only 

to start selling land, to start 

disturbing the peace of their 

environments. We have 

discovered that it is the Oba in 

some communities who caused 

the problem that is happening 

in those communities. 

“And this is because many of 

them before they were made 

Obas, they don’t have means of 

livelihood. Many of them, I am 

sorry to say, would have been 

linked to thuggery, to quite a 

number of bad things before they 

were made Obas, but, these are 

the things we are trying to 

correct. 

“We inherited about 249 

traditional rulers in the state and 

they are of three categories. We 

have the paramount rulers, they 

are four in number. 

Traditional 

rulers of the state 

That is the Awujale of 

Ijebuland ,the Alake of Egbaland 

,the Akarigbo of Remoland and 

the Olu of Ilaro as the fourth 

paramount ruler. Of course we 

have first class Obas, we have 

part two Obas and we have the 

part three chiefs, those are the 

ones we call coronet Obas . 

These are the three categories. 

“At the lower helm, of the 

system,there are the Baale’s that 

we have all over the towns and 

villages. So, these are the 

categories of the traditional 

rulers of the state”, the 

commissioner said . 

While speaking on what the 

current administration led by 

Governor Ibikunle Amosun has 

done for over five years, Chief 

•Ojuko 

Ojuko said “since we came on 

board, I want to put it on record, 

that, we have only put in place 

only one new traditional ruler. 

Only one, since this 

administration was in place. All 

the ones you see us doing or 

installing all over the place are 

sort of replacement of the past 

ones. 

It is the view 

of this 

government 

that we don’t 

want to link 

Obaship with 

politics 

“We inherited quite a number 

of Obas that have gone before 

we came . The communities 

were becoming restless as to the 

fact that they want their Obas 

in place and that is why you see 

us installing one today, another 

one tomorrow. And in any case, 

as I am talking to you we have 

not finished replacing them. 

“Unfortunately or 

interestingly as we are 

replacing, they are dying. So, 

it is possible that you see us 

continuing to install. But, the 

policy of this government is that 

we don’t just install Obas, 

without due process and 

without ensuring that there are 

reasons, cogent reasons why the 

selected candidates will be 

installed as the Oba of any 

territory,” he said. 

On preferential 

treatment 

On the allegation that, the 

government gives preferential 

treatment to politicians 

especially those in the same 

political parties, Chief Ojuko 

explained that “ It is the view 

of this government that we don’t 

link Obaship with politics. We 

have discovered that in the past, 

selection and whatever have 

been linked with political 

situation in the environment 

and the various communities. 

“We will continue to ensure 

that whenever we are going to 

install any Oba, we will go into 

their records and ensure that 

anybody that we are putting 

FRIDAY, JANUARY 6, , 2017 

forward will be people of 

impeccable character.” 

Stranded LCDA officials 

Meanwhile, the State 

government has refuted the 

allegation that the newly 

created Chairmen and their 

executives of the Local 

Government Development 

Areas were stranded following 

the failure to get offices. 

The rumour has spread that 

the chairmen were just 

squatting with the already 

existing council chairmen. 

But, in his remarks, the 

commissioner said the local 

councils are functioning well 

but assured that the LCDAs 

would soon begin to function. 

The Commissioner explained 

that out of the 37 LCDAs, 30 of 

them have been given offices 

through the help of the 

government and the people of 

the LCDAs. 

He also attributed the current 

economic recession in the 

country to the delay of the 

LCDAs activities and assured 

that the government would 

make sure they start functioning 

soon. 

He said: “The government is 

putting in place a prototype for 

the newly created 37 Local 

Council Development Areas in 

the state. Only seven local 

council development areas do 

not have offices at the moment. 

Soon, they will get offices. The 

local government and the local 

council development areas in 

the state will start functioning 

in their various capacities 

soon.” 

On controversies trailing 

vigilance service in the state, 

the Commissioner affirmed that 

Vigilante Service of Ogun state 

(VSO) is the only recognized 

vigilance body in the state. 

“Ogun State Government is in 

charge of Ogun State. Whatever 

the government feels will make 

Ogun State prosperous will be 

implemented by the 

government. The issue of 

security is very sensitive. The 

government must trust the 

persons that it will entrust 

security to. Approval has been 

given to Vigilante service of 

Ogun State. In Ogun state, 

what we recognize is VSO and 

not Vigilante Group of Nigeria 

(VGN).” 

On the Fulani herdsmen 

menace, Ojuko stated that the 

issue is beyond the control of 

Ogun State Government, 

stressing that it was a national 

issue.


OMU-EKITI: A Community replete 

with strange tales and mysteries 

•Four-eyed fish swims in community river 

•Spirits’ wash clothes at the river’s bank 

•Only public water system stopped functioning 38 years ago 

L-R: Pro-Chancellor/Governing Council Chairman, Kola Daisi University, 

Ibadan (KDUI), Prof. Adeniyi Oshuntogun; Chairman, Board of Trustees, 

Prof. Oladipo Akinkugbe; Oyo State Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi; and 

the founder of KDUI, Chief Kola Daisi, during the inauguration of the governing 

council of the university, along Oyo Road, Ibadan...on Wednesday. 

Photo: Governor's Office 

Lagos residents protest unlawful demolition by govt 

Scene of the fire outbreak in Ondo 

THE TEAM 

EDITOR: 

Adeleke Adeseri 08054682557 (sms only) 

CORRESPONDENTS: 

Dapo Akinrefon Lagos 

Ola Ajayi 

Ibadan 

Gbenga Olarinoye Osogbo 

Dayo Johnson Akure 

Olasunkanmi Akoni Lagos 

Daud Olatunji Abeokuta 

Rotimi Ojomoyela Ekiti 

Monsuru Olowoepejo 

By Rotimi Ojomoyela 

OMU-EKITI in Oye Local 

Government Area of Ekiti State, 

about 45 minutes drive from Ado-Ekiti, 

the Ekiti State Capital, once a sprawling 

community during the pre-colonial South- 

West region of the country, but now a 

sleepy town, a centre of strange and 

mysterious happenings. 

Oba Ogundeyi Joseph Adeyeye, JP, a 

doctorate degree graduate in Public 

Administration, who earns the title: 

“Ododo Asofindero (great one who brings 

peace with the law) and Owajomu of Omu 

kingdom, in a chat with Vanguard, recalled 

that the town gained its name, ‘Omu’ from 

a myth which holds that from time 

immemorial, the town was peopled with 

so many local merchants who journeyed 

in and out of it from far and near. Their 

vibrant commercial activity was so huge 

that the founding fathers decided to name 

the town ‘Omu’ (meaning a place with 

many people moving here and there in 

Ekiti dialect) to reflect that incident. 

How Omuo-Ekiti was sacked by 

Alaafin: The Owajumu, however, 

recalled a tragic encounter which turned 

the fortunes of the town into poverty and 

desolation. 

“There was a time in the far distant 

history when Omu was a very big 

kingdom, peopled by many successful 

traders and farmers. But we had an 

encounter with the then Alaafin of Oyo, 

who wanted to lord his supremacy over 

the Omu kingdom. 

Expansion 

of kingdom 

Omu kingdom was so big then that we 

had about sixteen roads leading into the 

kingdom and each of these roads had its 

own gate. This was around the year 1416, 

and the Alaafin then wanted to expand 

his kingdom and was coming into the 

interiors of Yorubaland. 

“He sent messages to us then that we 

should close one of our gates. But the 

Owajumu then declined and told him that 

he also was a powerful king and cannot 

take orders from the Alaafin. 

"That angered the then Alaafin who 

waged war against our town, but after 

warring against us two times and lost, he 

changed his tactics and extended a hand 

of friendship to our king, saying that now 

that I have found out that you are equally 

powerful like me, let us rather become 

friends, “ he said. 

But how did the Alaafin eventually sack 

Omu kingdom, Owajumu said it was 

through some deception by a beautiful 

woman: “One of the ways to seal such 

friendship as proposed by the Alaafin 

then was to marry off one’s daughter to 

the man you wanted as friend. 

So, the Alaafin sent one of his beautiful 

daughters to our Owajumu then, whose 

name was Adetutu. She was with the then 

Owajumu for so many years and gave 

birth to two pretty children for him. But 

while she was with him, she was clever 

enough to extract the secret of the Omu / 

hunters/warriors from the Owajumu. And 

once she got that, she ran away secretly 

to leak the secret to her father, the then 

Alaafin and before our Owajumu knew 

what was happening, the Alaafin was again 

at Omu with his warriors who already have 

the winning secret. 

“ The secret itself was that the Omu 

warriors’ charms could be rendered 

impotent with raw eggs. At that time, our 

warriors were so powerful with charms that 

all they do was to speak incantations and 

their enemies would drop dead. They 

didn’t have guns but only huge sticks. So, 

once the Alaafin's warriors invaded Omu, 

they carried baskets of eggs and threw the 

eggs at our warriors and rendered their 

charms ineffective. They eventually 

conquered the town and made it almost 

desolate. 

“ Once defeated, Omu people sought 

refuge in many neighbouring towns such 

as Erinmope, a border town between Ekiti 

and Kwara, Ikoro where there is Ile-olomu, 

the head of the house there happened to 

be the head of the warriors in Omu at that 

time, when the Alaafin ravaged the great 

Omu, they headed back to Ife where we 

all came from, but they had a stop-over at 

Ikoro where they have since settled. Our 

people also got to Aran-orin in Kwara State, 

on their way to Ife to seek refuge and there, 

some of them settled with Aran people and 

today, their place is identified as Omu- 

Yes, indeed, we 

have a mysterious 

fish here which has 

four eyes. The fish is 

in Iwereji river in 

this town. We have 

been trying to find 

the root of that 

strange development 

but no one has been 

able to get that 

Aran, some settled not far from us here and 

they are now Omu-oke and so on.” 

A fish with four eyes: Incredible but 

true. In the outskirts of Omu community, 

inside a tiny stream is a fish with four eyes! 

But no camera can capture its image, its 

picture would simply not appear. 

Oba Adeyeye, has this to say on the fish: 

“ Yes, indeed, we have a mysterious fish 

here which has four eyes. The fish is in 

Iwereji river in this town. We have been 

trying to find the root of that strange 

development but no one has been able to 

get that. But if you take photographs of 

the fish, it won’t show in your device. That 

is quite strange. 

"The only myth we have established 

around it is that in our reigning days as a 

great kingdom, we had very powerful 

warriors who decided to enter into some 

strange things when Omu was betrayed 

and was defeated by the Alaafin warriors. 

We heard of many of these warriors who 

Continues on page 28


ONDO STATE 

12 communities synergise with govt to eradicate 

female circumcision in Osun 


OSOGBO – Moves to 

eradicate Female Genital 

Mutilation, FGM, in Osun State 

received a boost during the 

week as 16 communities across 

four Local Governments Areas 

in the state declared their 

intentions to end the practice 

altogether in their domains. 

This was as the Governor, Mr 

Rauf Aregbesola, disclosed that 

the state must do everything 

possible to come out of its 

unfavourable highest ranking 

on the FGM ladder in Nigeria. 

Aregbesola revealed this at 

the Female Genital Mutilation 

Abandonment Declaration 

Ceremony organised by the 

Shericare Foundation, SCARF, 

an initiative of the wife of the 

governor, Mrs Sherifat 

Aregbesola. 

The communities that 

declared war against FGM 

include Eko Ende, Eko Ajala, 

Iba, Asa, Iwo Oke, Ajagunlase, 

Alapata, Owode, Araromi in 

Ifelodun, Olaoluwa, Ede North 

and Orolu Logal Government 

Areas of the state. The governor 

described FGM as a cultural 

practice of removing part of the 

female genitals either as a 

customary rite of initiation into 

womanhood or as a check 

against promiscuity which he 

said is harmful. 

Djibouti (93 per cent), Egypt 

(91 per cent) and Sierra Leone 

•Aregbesola 

Lagos. FGM is deeply rooted 

in culture but flies in the face of 

common sense, decency, basic 

health and human rights." 

Continuing, he explained: 

“The crux of this advocacy is to 

expunge it from our belief 

system. I am glad that we have 

the cooperation of our 

traditional rulers, religious 

leaders, community leaders and 

aficionados of arts and culture. 

“The core changes must 

include that: one, it is no longer 

necessary as a cultural 

requirement, two, that it is 

indeed harmful and cruel 

physically and psychologically. 

The victims, we must note, are 

our daughters, sisters, aunties, 

cousins, nieces, wives and 

mothers. 

“I do not see any other 

category closer and dearer to 

us than these and therefore do 

not deserve to be subjected to 

this hurtful practice any 

longer.” 

In her welcome address, the 

wife of Osun Governor and 

President Sheri Care 

Foundation, Alhaja Sherifat 

Aregbesola, reaffirmed the 

Foundation’s commitment to 

achieving zero tolerance on 

Female Genital Mutilation/ 

Circumcision in the state. 

She said the Foundation has 

engaged in many activities 

aimed at boosting awareness to 

end the harmful practice of 

Female Genital Mutilation and 

Circumcision in every nook and 

cranny of the state. 

Alhaja Aregbesola disclosed 

that the Foundation has also 

committed itself to intensive 

advocacy to eradicate the 

traditional practice of FGM in 

the state through regular 

interface with a number of 

communities, public 

sensitisations, jingles 

sponsorships on radio, 

television stations as well as 

printing and circulation of the 

state law which makes it illegal 

for anyone to circumcise any 

OMU-EKITI: A Community of strange tales and mysteries 

Continued from page 27 

went into the river, thick bushes, 

trees among others which today 

are characterized with many 

strange incidents. For instance, 

there is a river in this town, 

located far into the forest where 

in the mid-day, you see people’s 

clothes spread all over the bank 

of the river. 

No human is living at least 

more than a kilometre away from 

the place and you wonder who 

were those washing their clothes 

and spreading them there. But 

by the time the clothes were dry, 

they would just disappear. It was 

this river, one of our former 

monarchs, Oba Adewa, was said 

to have entered when he was 

defeated by the Alaafin warriors.” 

Festivals and rites 

Omu-Ekiti day, an annual 

event mainly set aside to 

remember the exploits of their 

forebears and founding fathers 

whose pre-occupation was 

hunting, was usually celebrated 

with a plethora of cultural 

activities including hunters’ 

masquerades dance and music 

performance, women’s eulogy of 

the king, appeasement of the 

deities, prayers for the 

community and merry making 

among others. 

As hunters’ town 

(90 per cent) are still practising 

FGM. 

He said: ‘’From this same 

report, we learnt that as of 

2013, 27.2 million women had 

undergone FGM in Egypt, 23.8 

million in Ethiopia, and 20 

million in Nigeria. In 

Indonesia, the prevalence rate 

for children under 11 years is 

49 per cent, translating to 13.4 

million. 

“In Nigeria, six states top the 

list of places where the practice 

is prevalent. These are Osun, 

Ekiti, Oyo, Ebonyi, Imo and 

•Iyawo Ode Alayehun 

As part of the elaborate cultural 

festival witnessed by Vanguard 

in the town, the hunters, led by 

Chief Fagbemi Amos Sunday, the 

Olori Awo (head of Ogboni 

confraternity) 

of 

Omuland, featured very 

prominently in the celebration 

with such activities as Ireja, 

hunter’s masquarade visiting the 

market place), ijade Iyawo Ode 

(ritual dance and music by 

hunters’ masquerade name 

Alayehun), and merry-making 

among others. 

During the prayers, each of the 

hunters brings out a kolanut and 

uses it to offer prayers for 

themselves, their families and 

the community. 

Afterwards, we would start 

merry-making and settling down 

for refreshment. During this time 

also, the hunters’ masquerade, 

otherwise called the wife of the 

hunters “Iyawo Ode” whose 

local name is Alayehun, would 

emerge from his grove (Iyewu). 

He would sing Ijala (hunters’ 

praise song or panegyrics) to 

entertain others and dance and 

sing round the town while his 

colleagues, the hunters, follow 

him. The one who ‘act’ the 

Unplayed does not go hunting 

as he is mainly an entertainer 

gifted in that aspect. 

Activities of the Hunters: 

Speaking about the activities of 

the hunters, the Olori Awo said: 

“The time we have this festival 

usually coincides with our 

market days. We hold market 

days every five days when 

farmers from all homes would 

bring their farm produce to sell. 

On this day, the Alayehun comes 

out two times, the first time which 

is early in the morning, he goes 

into the market to perform a ritual 

we call “oloreja” meaning that 

the masquerade visits the market 

while market women and men 

hand out a small portion of their 

wares to him for prayers of a 

bountiful harvest in the future. 

Bountiful 

harvest 

“When the evening comes like 

this, the same masquerade 

comes out for the final time, and 

this time his coming out is 

entirely for merry-making and 

full of entertainment. He would 

sing many folk songs of the 

hunters, what we call Ijala in 

Yoruba. All these songs are to 

praise the exploits of hunters and 

also massage our ego to do more. 

“ We have smaller huts which 

are under this town. They include 

aba Kutonu, jakuta, Owajumu 

and aba Omooju. The hunters 

here are over 100. We hunters are 

very important to our society. 

Whenever there are starnge 

female child or any woman in 

the state. 

According to her, “the 

journey to today’s event started 

early 2015 when a team of the 

United Nations Fund for 

Population Activities (UNFPA) 

officials visited our state as the 

meeting afforded us the 

opportunity to appreciate the 

necessity of collective efforts to 

wage an intensive and 

comprehensive awareness 

campaign on the dangers that 

continued practice of female 

circumcision portends for our 

female children, our women 

and our people in general." 

She added: “It is true that the 

practice of female circumcision 

was rooted in traditional and 

religious beliefs, but scientific 

findings have revealed that 

such beliefs are injurious to 

life.” 

Aregbesola attributed the 

public declaration of 

abandonment of FGM by 

twelve communities in the state 

as the culmination of efforts 

being made by the Foundation 

to abolish the menace. 

She therefore appealed to the 

residents in the state to always 

abstain from the acts, saying 

female circumcision does not 

bear any positive fruit but 

rather a basket of dangers and 

sometimes death to the women. 

Earlier, the Guest Speaker and 

the Head of Lagos Liaison 

Office, United Nations 

Population Fund (UNFPA), Dr. 

Omolaso Omosehin, 

commended Governor 

Aregbesola for his continued 

support towards eradication. 

happenings, or we suspect any 

crisis or chaos or if there is an 

attack on farmlands, the hunters 

are always called on by the town 

to bring peace. We understand 

the forest and whenever there is 

any evil thing to be dealt with, 

we are usually called on.” 

Also, the Asipa Ode (hunters’ 

supervisor), Chief Joseph 

Osuntoyinbo, who like many of 

his colleagues has been baptised 

in Christianity, but still practices 

his traditional religion in the 

trade, said:” As the Asia Ode of 

this town, I rally round all the 

hunters in the town whenever 

the need arises for us to rescue 

the town from any emergency. 

“ We know what a hunter is 

worth during a ritual of gathering 

all the bones of animals that have 

been killed. A hunter who knows 

that he has killed a certain animal 

indicates it by carrying the 

calabash of palm wine placed 

beside the bones of such game. 

“ 

Pa Amos Babalola is the 

Secretary of the hunters’ union 

in Omu-Ekiti, he also has this to 

say to government about hunters: 

“We want to urge the government 

to plan towards compensating 

the hunters in all the towns. This 

is because it is we hunters who 

secure the towns as we know all 

the nooks and cranny of every 

town we belong."



Why Nigerians 

still visit Dubai 

— Obinwa 

By Jimoh Babatunde 

AT a travel exhibition 

held in Lagos recently, 

one stand that was the cynosure 

of all eyes was that of the Dubai 

tourism. 

The stand had Emirates Airlines, 

Emirates Holidays, IMG 

Worlds of Adventure, North 

Tours, Red Apple Middle East 

Tourism, Time Hotels, Hilton Hotels, 

All in One Tourism, Alpha 

Tours and Arabian Falcon 

Holidays displaying. 

The pull for Nigerians to the 

stand was not surprising to the 

officials of the Dubai’s Department 

of Tourism and Commerce 

Marketing (Dubai Tourism) 

as Dubai, the commercial capital 

of the United Arab Emirates 

(UAE), is one of the favourite destinations 

for Nigerian travellers. 

It is a top leisure destination 

for both leisure and business 

vacations for many Nigerians. 

This is attested to by the volume 

of flights from Nigeria that terminates 

in the city either directly 

or indirectly. 

Speaking on the need for the 

Dubai Tourism to participate at 

the yearly travel show, the Regional 

Director Africa for Dubai 

Tourism, Stella Obinwa, said: 

“Dubai continues to establish itself 

as a destination of choice for 

travellers from the African continent, 

holding particular appeal 

amongst those looking for wholesome 

family fun, incredible shopping 

deals and year-long entertainment. 

She said the decline in travelling 

due to the economic recession 

has not 

affected Dubai compared to 

other destinations, 

because Dubai is closer to 

Nigeria and has more to offer 

Nigerians. 

By Peter Egwuatu 

IN a bid to drive capacity 

building in Nigeria’s 

hospitality and tourism sector, 

Mona Institute of Hospitality and 

Management has been unveiled. 

The Institute’s Director of 

Operations and Secretary to the 

Council, John Daniel Enemona, 

at the official launch of the 

Institute in Lagos, said: “The 

Institute is positioned to become 

an apex body at the national and 

international level to provide 

professional and academic 

training, research and 

consultancy for holistic 

“We offer theme parks and 

some opening in few months 

and Dubai keep reinvesting itself 

that is why people keep coming 

back over and over again.” 

Stella Obinwa continued: “We 

are very excited to provide our 

African visitors a glimpse 

of Dubai’s thrilling additions to 

the family entertainment portfolio. 

With the recent opening of 

IMG Worlds of Adventure and 

Dubai keeps 

reinvesting 

itself, that is 

why people 

keep coming 

back over and 

over again 

tination. 

“We are also bolstering our 

commitment to further 

enhance Dubai’s shopping experiences 

which include the upcoming 

Dubai Shopping Festival 

from December 26 to January 

31.” 

Speaking on the 

Dubai shopping festival which 

was first launched in 

1996. Dubai Shopping Festival 

has grown to become one of the 

largest shopping, fashion and 

entertainment extravaganzas in 

the world, with exciting activities 

such as musical concerts, 

sports shows and fashion dis- 

•Shoppers at the annual Dubai shopping festival . Inset:Stella Obinwa. 

the 

soon-to-belaunched 

Dubai Parks and Resorts, 

we are proud to 

see Dubai’s steady success towards 

becoming the world’s 

number one family holiday desplays. 

And what we have discovered 

is that Africans come to Dubai, 

but not many are aware that in 

certain month of the year that 

there is what we 

call Dubai shopping festival, 

where all the retailers are mandated 

by the government to run 

discount programmes and each 

one of them runs a program that 

is up to 70% on regularly priced 

items. 

So, we want Africans to experience 

the shopping festivals for 

Mona Institute set to boost capacity in tourism sector 

development of all sectors of the 

industry.” 

According to him, “The Institute 

is equipped to establish superior 

standards of service and tourism 

and hospitality industries since 

tourism is a high employment 

and high revenue earning sector, 

with immense growth potential.” 

Enemona explained that 

programmes offered by the 

Institute invariably have an edge 

over its competitors as the Institute 

is geared towards training the 

leaders and managers of 

tomorrow. It has an eye on gifted. 

He said: “The Institute has an 

eye on gifted young men and 

MandK Unveils Nigeria’s First Family 

Entertainment Centre 

NIGERIANS have 

been promised the 

best of fun-filled experiences 

in a safe and thrilling environment 

for kids, teenagers 

and adults comparable to 

what is obtainable in Sega Republic 

(Dubai), Namco Funscape 

(UK) and Dave & 

Busters (US). 

This promise was given in 

Lagos by the founders of 

MandK Activity Centre Limited, 

a company primed to 

churn out a portfolio of leisure 

women who communicate well 

and relate with others 

professionally. The Institute’s 

training enables them to respond 

quickly and efficiently in both 

national and international 

settings.” 

He also added that in a bid to 

drive excellence in their training 

and certification process, the 

Institute recently partnered with 

American Hospitality Academy, 

AHA to facilitate conduct, 

management and delivery of 

AHA diploma and certificate 

courses to students and 

professionals in Africa. 

brands that is set to institutionalize 

a new culture of unapologetic 

fun for individuals, 

families and friends. 

Speaking at a presentation 

recently, one of the founders, 

Kemi Osinibi, disclosed that 

MACL is poised to become 

the preferred provider of interactive 

Family Entertainment 

in Nigeria and West Africa 

by developing and operating 

world-class leisure and 

entertainment centers under 

the MAXTIVITY brand. 

She noted that the concept 

is set to revolutionize the family 

entertainment industry in 

Nigeria by creating memorable 

experiences for all visitors. 

Osinibi disclosed that 

with her partner, Mope 

Abudu, that they carried out 

comprehensive market 

survey and detailed research 

over the last 

3 years, through 

which they 

gained insightful 

knowledge 

into the operating 

dynamics 

and key success 

factors of 

family entertainment 

centers. The 

themselves and then become 

regulars, so we are willing 

in Dubai tourism to pay for 200 

Nigerians to come for the 

2016 Dubai shopping festival. 

Tagged the “Dubai Shopping 

Festival Give away” 

promotion, Dubai Tourism plans 

to reward Nigerians who are 

keen travellers with thrilling 

shopping experiences in Dubai. 

Over the past 

decade, Dubai has developed 

into a leading shopping destination 

offering visitors a wealth 

of unique experiences and opportunities. 

The package includes flights, 

tickets to some 

of Dubai Shopping Festival’s 

many events, hotel accommodation 

and visa application – all 

paid for by Dubai Tourism. 

The festival is not all about just 

shopping, there is shopping, 

there is musical experience, there 

is gastronomy experience, there 

is much more. Even if you don’t 

want to shop there is so much 

more to do as we have planned 

programmes for holistic experience 

of Dubai. 

survey, according to her, 

shows that Leisure, family 

bonding, social interaction, 

relaxation and fun were cited 

by the responders as some of 

the factors that would encourage 

them to visit a family entertainment 

center. 

While noting that MAXTIV- 

ITY was developed with all 

the feedback received in the 

survey, Mope Abudu said 

they then engaged extensively 

with international family 

entertainment operators, 

equipment manufacturers 

and designers to design products/concepts 

sustainable for 

Africa. 

•Kemi Osinibi and Mope Abudu 

C 

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VANGUARD, FRIDAY, JANUARY 6, 2017 — 31 

Send Opinions & Letters to: 

opinions1234@yahoo.com 

Conversations with African 

liberation fighters 

WHEN I boarded the 

protocol bus at Algiers 

Airport on November 28, 2016, a 

lady politely greeted me in faulty 

Yoruba. Given my dressing, she 

guessed correctly that I am Nigerian. 

She then added “Iyawo Naija la wa” 

meaning, I am married to a 

Nigerian. Her name is Boshigo Ntsi 

Rosinah Matlou, a South African 

who at 15 in 1966, arrived in Nigeria 

with four of her younger ones, the 

youngest being seven. 

The children, refugees from the 

insane Apartheid regime in South 

Africa, had arrived Kwame 

Nkrumah’s Ghana from Tanzania 

certain of being given refuge. Their 

father, Jonas Matlou was the African 

National Congress, ANC, 

Representative in Ghana. 

Unfortunately, Nkrumah was 

overthrown in a CIA-organised coup 

and part of the coup plotters 

mandate was to expel all African 

liberation fighters taking refuge in 

Ghana. 

The new Government which 

expelled Matlou, gave him a 

concession, that his young family 

could stay. But the children were not 

allowed to go to school. A white 

South African informed their 

mother that a social crusader, Tai 

Solarin ran a school in Nigeria 

called May Flower School, Ikenne 

and that he would readily accept and 

educate the children. That was how 

five of the six Matlou children made 

their way to Nigeria. After May 

Flower and Sixth Form in Ijebu Ode 

Grammar School, she went to Cape 

Coast University, Ghana and 

returned to Nigeria in 1980 where 

she worked for a dozen years before 

making her way to Botswana, and 

finally to a liberated South Africa. 

While in Nigeria, she worked for the 

Liberation Movement including 

receiving young South Africans who 

had led the 1976 Soweto Uprising. 

She cannot forget the late Tsietsi 

Mashinini leader of the Uprising 

who made his way to Nigeria. 

The senior Matlou had opened the 

ANC Office in Botswana in 1961 

before moving to Tanzania and then 

Algeria where he helped to bring in 

South African youths for military 

training. He went on to Cuba and 

sent for his family to join him in 

Ghana. They did, only for him to be 

expelled. He went back to Tanzania, 

then Europe, back to Botswana in 

1985 and was killed in a car crash in 

1991. He never saw a free South 

Africa. The Algerian Government in 

organising an international 

conference on ‘Algeria’s contribution 

to the decolonisation of Africa’ 

remembered Jonas Matlou, and 

invited his daughter to the 

A white South 

African informed 

their mother that a 

social crusader, Tai 

Solarin ran a school 

in Nigeria called 

May Flower School, 

Ikenne and that he 

would readily 

accept and educate 

the children 

conference. 

His face was unmistakable. Theo- 

Ben Gurirab the outstanding 

liberation fighter from Namibia. In 

liberated Namibia, he went on to 

become its Foreign Minister, Prime 

Minister, and, internationally, 

President of the United Nations 

General Assembly. He said he was a 

primary school child in the village 

when he heard over the Apartheid 

South African Broadcasting 

Corporation that the French was 

carrying out massacre of Algerians 

who dared challenge their takeover 

of Algeria. It was a stark warning to 

Namibians not to resist like the 

Algerians, otherwise, they would be 

massacred. Namibia was the first 

country genocide was carried out in 

the 21st Century so they knew the 

language of massacre. Gurirab said 

when the Algerian revolution 

triumphed: “That gave me courage 

and I joined the movement and later 

became a leader of SWAPO. The first 

weapons we used, were given to my 

leader, Sam Nujoma by the 

Algerians as a hand luggage and he 

had to go on a round trip to get them 

to Tanzania. It was Nujoma who 

briefed us about the bravery of the 

Algerians and he linked it with the 

resistance of our forebears.” 

The liberation war took an ironic 

twist for Masala Mziwandile. Fifty 

three years ago, he was one of the 

enthusiastic youths trained in 

Algeria. He returned to Tanzania 

and was in 1964, infiltrated into 

South Africa. His brief was to anchor 

the attacks of Umkhonto We Sizwe 

(MK) the military wing of the ANC 

in the Soweto area. He told me: “We 

started underground operations in 

Soweto. Unfortunately, the comrade 

housing me was arrested on an 

unrelated charge. When you are 

arrested, the police took you back to 

search your home. The kids came 

running, shouting ‘The white people 

are here!’ I could not break the 

burglary proof and they found me in 

the room. They didn’t know who I 

was, and that was the beginning of a 

gruesome interrogation. I had a 

DOOM –PASS; it was actually a 

pass, it had my photograph, but the 

details on the pass belonged to 

somebody else. Eventually, they 

cracked my identity. They took me 

to court in 1965 and I was sentenced 

to eleven years imprisonment which 

I spent on Robben Island. I was 

released in 1976 and settled in the 

Eastern Cape Province, mobilising 

for the ANC. In 1983, we founded 

the United Democratic Front which 

we operated until the ANC was 

unbanned in February, 1990. I was 

elected the Mayor of my home town, 

Alice, in the Eastern Cape and after 

a few months, I went to the 

Provincial Legislature” 

In the case of Ambassador Reddy 

Mampane alias Mazimba, it was 

initially the challenge of how to enter 

the Apartheid enclave after his 

military training: “ We could not go 

through Botswana because it was a 

British colony, Rhodesia 

(Zimbabawe) was under Ian Smith 

(White minority rule) and 

Mozambique was a Portuguese 

colony. So we joined the ZAPU 

(Zimbabwe African Peoples Union) 

forces to go fight in Rhodesia in order 

to infiltrate South Africa. But South 

Africa sent its military to fight on the 

side of Ian Smith and we were pushed 

back to Tanzania. When Botswana 

became independent, we moved 

there but were detected by the police 

who deported us to Zambia. In the 

case of Swaziland, you could come 

from South Africa, but not go back. 

In 1972, I was part of a group of 

ten who were to be infiltrated into 

South Africa by sea. We had trained 

in Baku, USSR, and from Moscow 

we were taken to Somalia where the 

ANC had a boat to take us to South 

Africa. When we approached Kenya, 

the crew sabotaged the engine and 

radar and the boat was drifting in 

the sea. The Somalis discerned 

something was wrong, and had us 

towed into the port. The group was 

broken up and I returned to the party 

school in Moscow. 

I was appointed the ANC 

Representative in Tanzania in 1974, 

and after the 1976 Soweto Uprising, 

Tanzania gave us land and we built 

the Solomon Mahlagu Freedom 

College which we handed to 

Tanzania when we returned to South 

Africa.” 

Reddy was Head of ANC Security 

during the Negotiations that led to 

independence. Later he was South 

African ambassador to Angola, 

Zambia, Sudan and Swaziland. 

Learning from the liberators, was 

itself liberating. 

Imo and rough treatment of pensioners 

By Clement Udegbe 

The way you see people is the way you 

treat them, and the way you treat them is 

what they become- Johann Wolfang Von 

Goethe. 

IFsomeone told Imo pensioners 

sometime in 2009, that one day, they 

would be pushed to the wall, and then 

made to forfeit part of their entitlements, 

they would say it was unthinkable. But that 

is exactly what they have been confronted 

with as we rolled on with the Change 

Agenda in the state. Yes, they wanted 

Change, but they have got chains as 

lamented by one of them last October. 

Since 1999, when this Nigerian new 

democratic experience started Imo, 

pensioners were paid their entitlements 

monthly without any hick ups, till May 

2015, when government began to owe 

them, pension arrears started to build up, 

and by December 2016, most pensioners 

were owed 19 months arrears because 

some money was paid in August 2016. 

Some were owed for more than 20 months. 

By mid last year, government started 

their dribbling, which we call mago-mago 

treatment of these retirees. 

First, without any consultations, or 

discussions with the pensioners concerned, 

they reduced the length of time of claim 

of each pensioner, and announced that 

those owed for 19 months would be paid 

only for 11 months, while those owed for 

20 months and above would be paid for 

12 months. Government accepted to pay 

full entitlements to only those who retired 

at salary grade levels 1-7, the junior 

cadres. 

Second, after gauging the body language 

of these helpless, senior citizens, the state 

government considered it appropriate to 

hit the elders below the belt, by taking 

away a substantial proportion of their 

entitlements disingenuously. They came 

out with a letter of set off addressed to the 

Accountant General of the state, a sample 

verbiage of which is reproduced here for 

understanding: 

Those owed for 19 

months would be paid 

only for 11 months, 

while those owed for 20 

months and above 

would be paid for 12 

months. Government 

accepted to pay full 

entitlements to only 

those who retired at 

salary grade levels 1-7, 

the junior cadres 

“I,… a pensioner, having retired on a 

salary grade level…from… with monthly 

pension of N85, 204.80; Being owed 

arrears of pension for 11 months which 

amounts to N937,252.80 do hereby accept, 

to collect 40% of the said arrears which 

amounts to N374,901.12 which represents 

the total accumulated arrears due to me 

up to December 2016, as full and final 

settlement of all other claims of which Iam 

entitled to make against the State 

Government in respect of the said 

accumulated Pension Arrears. I voluntarily 

accept this payment due to economic 

situation in the country presently. I do 

hereby release and discharge the Imo 

State Government and his agents from all 

past, present, and future liability and from 

all actions and demands in respect of the 

said accumulated Pension Arrears.” 

The pensioner would sign, thumbprint, 

and have his Traditional Ruler to sign as 

his witness, to the set off letter containing 

his bank details, and stating the name of 

his SDC Ward Coordinator, an APC 

creation. 

After owing them for 19 months, and 

more for some, many would have died in 

their thousands and now, those of them 

who refused to die, must forfeit a good 

portion of their claims or entitlements as 

a punishment. Government came up with 

this letter of set off and foisted it on the 

hapless, helpless retirees, without any form 

of consultation, negotiation, or 

discussion. A pensioner from Isu Njaba 

Local Government Area, lamented that 

whenever Chief Okorocha talked with 

them, they looked like school children 

before his eyes. 

They reduced his own from 19 months 

to 11 months, thereby taking away over 

42 % of his total period, and now with this 

set off of another 60 % of value, something 

must be wrong with how this government 

saw and treated them. According to him, 

a pensioner from the same area who 

indicated the outstanding sum he is owed 

after the set off, did not find his name on 

the list of those to be paid, because of the 

obvious implications. 

The very unfortunate aspect of the 

situation is that some of those pushed to 

the wall, tired, old persons, with no means 

of living, elders on the brinks, signed the 

letter to collect the money. After all, it is 

better to get part of the money, and use it 

for drugs than to die waiting. 

But many will collect this money, use it 

up as quickly as it has come, relapse into 

uncertainty and eventually die much more 

miserably. Pension is a constitutional right 

of the retired worker, it is neither a 

privilege, nor a capital accumulation 

venture or plan, it is to guaranty certainty 

of steady and regular income for the 

pensioner. 

Yet Imo government is using APC 

community Secretaries to stampede these 

elders into signing the letter, some of those 

who signed have their cheques ready for 

collection. What a way to send people to 

early graves, and they are happy going 

there, what wickedness! 

The Federal Government we understand 

released over N60 Billion to Imo State 

some time last year for the payment of 

pension arrears, but Imo government in 

its wisdom, has converted the good gesture 

of the Federal government to another 

game entirely. Why lure these elders into 

this deadly set off trap, when government 

can pay the much they will, and owe the 

rest, after all government is a continuum, 

and Government House Owerri, will 

remain after Chief Okorocha vacates it in 

2019. 

One way to manage the situation is 

through the strong intervention of the 

church. The church will continue to stand 

up for the right thing even in this situation. 

Fortunately, Imo is a majorly Christian 

state, and the Catholic Church has 

tremendous controlling position and 

influence. The church led by the Catholic 

Church, should not afford to look the other 

way, while these pensioners are dragged 

into a very precarious situation with this 

letter of set off. I remember the role played 

by the Catholic Church in the rejection of 

Chief Ohakim, which paved the way for 

Chief Okorocha to come in as Governor. 

The church as a whole, is expected to 

rise forthrightly and keep the pressure on 

the Imo Government to review this ugly 

policy without further ado. A society that 

treats her elders shabbily will regret it. 

Mr.Udegbe, a lawyer wrote from 

ceeaai@yahoo.com, Lagos. 

C 

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32 —Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 6, 2017 

YOUR LUCK TODAY 

By Joshua Adeyemo Phone 08056180139 

VIRGO: Forget about tough challenges you went 

through yesterday and concentrate on the best way to 

move forward today. Here is a day when unexpected from 

your partner can positively lift up part of you. 

LIBRA: Those of you willing to embrace hard work 

and practical approach will have genuine cause to smile 

for unexpected financial success. Don’t discourage your 

colleagues with new ideas at work. 

SCORPIO: New ideas that cross your mind very suddenly 

today should be taken very seriously as such can 

lead to tangible success either now or in the near future. 

Family issues and matters-of-the-heart are favoured. 

SAGITTARIUS: Your creativity quotient will be enhanced. 

And you are part of those that can come by new 

and powerful ideas suddenly today the way your working 

pattern will be lifted. Try to be as family minded as 

possible. 

By Richard Eromosele 

D simply ECISION 

means 

to decide,to act on 

something.Now 

relating this to 

business, it’s 

simply the ability to 

take some hard 

decisions with 

L E I S U R E 

THOUGHT FOR TODAY 

Can you take a 

business decision? 

regard to your 

business.For 

example,supposing 

your brother in-law 

is the one causing 

TERROR MUDA in “Never say goodbye” 

disaffection in your 

business,how do 

you handle such a 

situation?One sure 

way of resolving 

such a dilemma is 

not to hire who you 

c a n n o t 

fire.Brothers,sisters,inlaws 

etc must be 

under the same 

rules as others.For 

the sake of 

harmony,let there 

be one rule for all. 

By Kola Fayemi 

CAPRICORN: Tomorrow will bring you good result in 

many ways but if you are more co-operative today, you 

will have genuine cause to smile. This is the wrong time 

to reject good ideas from your spouse and/or business 

partners. 

AQUARIUS: Good ideas to enhance your working 

method and considerably enhance your finances will 

come your way very suddenly; you are therefore advised 

to go around with pen and paper. Be more family minded. 

PISCES: Uranus in your Star at 120 degree angle to 

Mercury in Cancer will play positive role over your mind 

and if you take your personal ideas more seriously today, 

unexpected success will be yours. Be more loving. 

ARIES: Your friends may come up with good ideas 

about your social life the way both your career/business 

and finances will be benefited. Good suggestions from 

younger persons within your home and other base of 

operation should be taken more seriously today. 

TAURUS: Both your personal ideas and suggestions 

from your tried and trusted friends should be taken more 

seriously today, more especially if such will have direct 

effect on your finances. Be more ambitious. 

KAPTAIN AFRIKA in “Pretty Lunatic’ By Andy Akman 

GEMINI: Although you are power house of ideas, there 

is nothing wrong in your becoming more receptive to 

others with good ideas meant to enhance both your business 

and money-making-ability. Be more loving. 

CANCER: Mercury in your Star Sign at positive angle 

to Uranus in Pisces will bring you new ideas very suddenly. 

Such ideas should be noted in black and white so 

that you don’t forget what can bring great breakthrough. 

LEO: It is good to be as confident and ambitious as you 

are now but, it is equally important you give in to spirit 

of co-operation as others can come up with good ideas 

meant for your success very suddenly. 

ASTROLOGICAL COUNSELLING 

Send your date e and place of birth th to the Astr 

trological 

Counselling, P.M.B 100 

007, 7, Apapa, Lagos 

ASTROLOGICAL COUNSELING 

BASIC CHARACTERISTICS OF PISCES 

RULER = COMPASSIONATE/SPIRITUAL NEPTUNE. 

QUALITY = MUTABLE. 

ELEMENT = WATER. 

SYMBOL = TWO OPPOSING FISHES. 

GROUP = FEMININE. 

ZODIACAL NUMBER = 12TH. 

Mutable aspect of Pisces indicates that people born under 

it are changeable, by this I mean they change their 

minds often times. Being a water sign, natives of this Star 

have very strong intuition and can flow into anybody heart 

and/or mind. 

Neptune as the ruler of Pisces brings compassion and 

ARTISTIC talent into Pisces born peoples’ creativity quotient. 

Neptune rules psychic related thing and many of 

things that cannot be placed above board; Neptune makes 

most natives of this star sign secretive, hard to understand 

and dreaming. 

Two opposing fishes as joint symbol of Pisces often-times 

responsible for occasional confusion suffer by all natives 

of Pisces one time or the other. It is truly important for 

them to learn how to control both their emotion and mind. 

Because it is easy for Pisces people to become pessimistic 

unnecessarily. The reasons are while one of the fishes 

may head for optimism and day dreaming, the other inclination 

may be of fear, despondency and timidity. Thus, 

confusion can creep in and that will be to the detriment of 

their confidence. 

Cultivation of practical nature and adoption of realistic 

method in all you do will be of great importance. It is 

equally important for Pisces born people like you to take 

psychic related things more seriously because they can 

make use of psychic and/or spiritual related things. 

VIRGINIA 

HOME & ABROAD 

dadadekola@yahoo.com 

By Lawrence Akapa



Wike, Ayade pledge support to Nigerian Army, 

commend gallantry 

By Ike Uchechukwu 

GOVERNOR 

Nyesom 

Wike of Rivers State, 

yesterday pledged his 

government's support to the 6 

Division of the Nigerian Army 

towards strengthening the 

security architecture of the state 

and its environs, even as Cross 

River State governor, Professor 

Ben Ayade, commended the Army 

for reclaiming all areas previously 

captured by Boko Haram 

insurgents in the North East. 

Governor Wike also advised 

officers and soldiers of the 

Nigerian Army 6 Division against 

the politicisation of crime, noting 

that security was vital to the 

actualisation of all developmental 

programmes. 

Speaking during a courtesy visit 

by the General Officer 

Commanding the 6 Division of the 

Nigerian Army, Major- General 

Kasimu Abdulkareem, at 

Government House, Port 

Harcourt, Wike said enhanced 

security would lead to the 

development of other sectors. 

He said: “Let me assure you that 

as a government, we will continue 

to support the 6 Division of the 

Nigerian Army with the needed 

logistics to carry out its duties. 

Security leads to the 

improvement of the other sectors.“ 

He commended the new 

General Officer Commanding the 

6 Division for the quick successes 

in Ogba/Egbema/ Ndoni Local 

Government Area, ONELGA, 

where cultists were uprooted. 

The governor urged the military 

to step up its operations in 

ONELGA to dislodge the 

remnants of cultists who refused 

to accept the state's Amnesty 

Programme by laying down 

their arms. 

He lauded the Federal 

Government for establishing the 

6 Division of the Nigerian Army 

to help fight crime in the South- 

South, pointing out that his 

administration would continue 

to work for the unity of the 

country. 

In his remarks, General Officer 

Commanding, 6 Division of the 

Nigerian Army, Major-General 

Abdulkareem, informed that the 

new division was created on 

November 7, 2016 out of the 82 

Division to promote regional 

Bayelsa monarch appoints former Milad to lead Council 

of Chiefs 

A 

former Military 

Administrator of Ebonyi 

and Delta States, Navy Captain 

Walter Aye Feghabo-Amain 

(retd), has emerged the new 

Alternate-Chairman of Nembe 

Chiefs Council, in Nembe Local 

Government Area of Bayelsa 

State. 

Chief Feghabo-Amain, whose 

nomination was announced by 

the monarch of Nembe 

Kingdom, King Edmund 

Dakoru, Mingi XII, Amanayabo 

of Nembe, at the end of year 

meeting of the Chiefs Council 

at Mingi’s Palace in Nembe, 

will be assisted by a 14-member 

Executive Council. 

King Daukoru, in his speech 

at the occasion, commended the 

Federal and Bayelsa State 

Governments and several 

companies for the progress in 

different aspects of life in 

Nembe Kingdom. He 

expressed the appreciation of 

the people over the construction 

of a road to Nembe and internal 

roads within the community by 

the state government. He 

stated that as a result 

movement of goods and 

services had become a lot 

easier, for the people. 

The royal father further 

commended security agencies 

in the state and the people of 

Nembe, for the level of peace 

achieved in the Kingdom. The 

Edo First Lady charges wealthy Nigerians to 

assist less privileged perons 

By Esther Omoye 

WIFE of Edo State 

Governor, Mrs Betsy 

Obaseki, has called on wealthy 

and privileged Nigerians to 

show love and help the less 

privileged in the society, even 

as she hosted about 1,000 

Internally Displaced Persons, 

IDPs, at the International 

Christian Centre, a camp in 

Uhogua in the outskirts of Benin, 

to an end of year feast. 

The event, organized by Mrs 

security. 

Meantime, Governor Ayade, 

who spoke during the launch of 

2017 Armed Forces 

Remembrance Emblem, said the 

re-capturing of the territories by 

the Nigerian Army had restored 

confidence in the lives of 

residents in the areas and 

Nigerians in general 

Represented by his deputy, 

Prof. Ivara Esu, the governor 

maintained that his 

administration would continue 

to pay glowing tributes to the 

nation’s past heroes and serving 

officers and men of the Armed 

Forces. 

His words: “The Nigerian 

Mingi, therefore, challenged 

the people of Nembe to 

capitalise on the situation by 

engaging in lawful commercial 

activities to boost the economy 

of the state and the kingdom. 

Other members of the new 

Nembe Chiefs Council 

executive include, Chief A. 

Ekigha-Iweka Vice Chairman, 

Obaseki alongside the wife of 

the deputy governor, Mrs. 

Maryan Shaibu, added spark to 

their lives of the IDPs as they 

rejoiced with the two women, 

dancing and singing. 

It was at the IDP camp that 

Governor Obaseki and his 

Deputy, Comrade Philip 

Shaibu, garbed in Santa Claus 

outfits, thrilled the IDPs and 

showered the inmates with gifts. 

Speaking, Mrs Betsy Obaseki 

explained that there was no 

better way to show love this 

Armed Forces recently 

demonstrated gallantry and 

capacity by reclaiming all areas 

previously captured by Boko 

Haram insurgents in the North 

Eastern part of the country. 

Many of these fallen soldiers 

lost their lives in the process of 

peace keeping while some were 

mortally injured and became 

physically incapacitated. Some 

families of these fallen heroes 

are now going through difficult 

times without their bread 

winners. Such a situation calls 

for sober reflection and concern 

on the part of every one of us as 

they laid down their lives so that 

you and I may have peace.” 

VISIT: Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State (right), and the General Officer 

Commanding 6 Division, Nigerian Army, Major-General Kasimu Adulkarim, during a 

courtesy call on the governor at Government House, Uyo. 

Chief Emmanuel Warinboye 

Ikurite Secretary, Chief 

Inatimi-Yemanain Treasurer, 

Chief Beinmote Egi-Dani 

Financial Secretary and Chief 

Nathan Egba Ologo Publicity 

Secretary, Chief (Engr.) 

William Olali Inbiyaibugo 

Legal Liaison Officer and 

Chief Biterefie Iyalla Peresuo 

as Auditor. 

season to the people who had 

been displaced from their 

homes, than to organize such a 

party meant to comfort them in 

the spirit of the season. 

The first lady’s spirit of 

kindness also came into play 

with her visit to three 

government-owned hospitals 

on Christmas day. 

Three hospitals included the 

University of Benin Teaching 

Hospital, the Benin Central 

Hospital and the Stella 

Obasanjo Women and Children 

Hospital. 

Firm bemoans 

inability of 

security 

agencies to 

recover N45m 

stolen barge 

By Jimitota Onoyume 

PORT 

HARCOURT— 

MANAGEMENT of 

Waterhouse Trading and 

Logistics Limited, in Port 

Harcourt, Rivers State, has 

decried the inability of security 

operatives to recover its barge 

valued at N45 million stolen 

by unknown gunmen over 

three months ago. 

Manager of the barge 

named Mides 2, Mr Alaba 

Eboyomi, told newsmen that 

it was anchored at Abuloma 

jetty before gunmen whisked 

it away on October 3, 2016. 


company alerted the Police 

and other security agencies of 

the development, stressing 

that efforts to trace it had been 

fruitless. 

“The barge, Mides 2, valued 

at N45 million was removed 

by thieves at Auloma jetty 

where it was anchored. We 

have tried tracing it to no avail. 

We have also reported the 

matter at the Oginigba- Trans 

Amadi Divisional Police 

headquarters,” he added. 

Activist 

decries oil 

firms' 

casualisation 

of workers 

NIGER Delta youth 

activist, Mr. 

Oweilaemi Pereotubo, has 

decried the violation of the 

rights of the people by 

multi-national oil 

companies operating in the 

Niger Delta region who 

engage 99 percent casual 

workers and only one 

percent of indigenes of oil 

bearing communities as 

permanent staff. 

Pereotubo, while decrying 

the present employment 

ratio between permanent 

staff and casual staff in the 

International Oil 

Companies, IOCs, 

operating in the Niger 

Delta, said the latter 

overwhelm the workers list 

describing the situation as 

a breach of modern practice 

for employment. 

The activist, who spoke in 

Warri, said it was alarming 

that the indigenization 

policy of the Federal 

Republic of Nigeria had 

been hijacked by three 

major ethnic groups in 

connivance with the IOCs 

to shortchange the oil 

bearing communities.



10m children 

to benefit from 

FG's schools 

feeding 

programme 

By Vincent Ujumadu 

AWKA—NO 

fewer 

t h a n 

10 million primary 

school pupils across the 

country are to benefit from 

the newly- introduced 

school feeding programme 

initiated by the Federal 

Government tagged 

"Buhari food for the 

children." 

Minister of Labour and 

Employment, Senator 

Chris Ngige, said in an 

interview in Awka that 

while five million pupils 

from Primary 1 -3 would 

be catered for by the 

Federal Government 

under the programme, the 

states were expected to 

feed another five million 

from Primary 4 -6 through 

a counterpart funding 

programme. 

Ngige said the 

programme had begun in 

eight states, including 

Anambra, adding that it 

was important that 

Nigerians should know 

that ‘it is Buhari food for 

the children’ which, he 

stated, was part of 

measures to cushion 

hardship faced by parents. 

According to him, 

Kaduna and Osun states 

were already embarking 

on the programme before 

it was introduced 

nationally and urged other 

states to key into the 

programme in view of its 

benefits to the Nigerian 

children. 

He said: “To whom much 

is given, much is also 

expected. For the Federal 

Government to use 

Anambra as one of the 

states to begin the school 

feeding programme shows 

that President Buhari 

considers Anambra a very 

important state. We 

therefore call on the 

Anambra State 

government to fulfill its 

part of the agreement 

without delay.” 

Okorocha is owing us 77 months 

—Imo pensioners 

•Those protesting are not pensioners —Imo govt 

By Chinonso Alozie 

O WERRI—PENSIONERS 

in Imo State, yesterday, 

protested the continued refusal 

by Governor Rochas Okorocha 

to pay them their pensions 

which ranged between 22 and 

77 months in arrears. 

Scores of pensioners, led by 

their state chairman, Chief 

Gideon Ezeji, blocked Okigwe 

road as well as the entrance to 

Government House, Owerri. 

They urged President 

Muhammadu Buhari to call 

Okorocha to order, saying: ”He 

behaves disrespectfully and 

treats senior citizens in the state 

with deplorably.” 

According to Ezeji,”Okorocha 

derives joy in seeing elders in 

this state coming out from time 

to time to the streets to ask for 

their pension. What did 

Okorocha do with the bailout 

fund that President Buhari gave 

to him? We are protesting for the 

third time." 

The latest development, which 

they described as ”wicked of 

Okorocha’s government is the 

plan to pay 40 percent of the 

accumulated arrears and 

gratuities and forfeit of 60 

percent. We say no to this latest 

government plan to deny us the 

payment of 60 percent of arrears 

up to December. 

”As at December 2016, the state 

is owing Imo pensioners 

between 22 months and 77 

months arrears. Our gratuities 

have remained unpaid since 

1998 till date. 

“Also, the government has 

refused to harmonize our 

pensions since 2000 to date. All 

the efforts by the union 

overseeing the welfare of 

pensioners have not yielded any 

fruit.” 

Those protesting are not 

pensioners —Imo govt 

But reactiing to the allegation, 

the Imo State government said 

the issue of pensions in the state 

had been resolved, saying the 

people who protested at the 

Government House, Owerri, 

yesterday, were not pensioners. 

A statement by the Chief 

Press Secretary to Governor 

Rochas Okorocha, Sam 

Onwuemeodo read: “No 

pensioner in the state was part 

of that protest. Those involved 

in the exercise were between the 

ages of 40-45. And we challenge 

those involved to prove us 

wrong by publishing their 

names, their autonomous 

communities, local government 

areas, years of retirement, where 

they retired from and their 

identification numbers. 

“The truth of the matter as it 

concerns the issue of pensions 

in the state is that more than 99 

percent of the pensioners in the 

state have been paid arrears of 

their pensions upto December 

2016. The remaining one 

percent are pensioners who 

were omitted in the first 

payment exercise and they are 

at the moment receiving their 

cheques. 

“The government had long 

before now complained that the 

monthly pension bill of N1.4 

billion had become too 

cumbersome for the state 

government to bear with 27 local 

governments, whereas another 

state with 44 local governments 

pay far less than that amount as 

pension. 

“Hence, the arrangement that 

pensioners from grade level one 

to six should get one hundred 

percent of whatever was the 

arrears of their respective 

pensions, while those on grade 

level seven to 17 would have 40 

percent of their total arrears 

paid. The idea was to solve the 

lingering issue of pension 

arrears in the state once and for 

all. 

“It is, therefore, surprising to 

see few people claiming to be 

pensioners at the Government 

House on a protest over an 

exercise that has been 

successfully completed.” 

Ebonyi ex-lawmakers, LG chairmen to earn monthly stipends 

By Peter Okutu 

A 

B A K A L I K I — 

GOVERNOR David 

Umahi of Ebonyi State said 

plans are underway to pay 

monthly stipends to exlawmakers 

and local 

government chiefs of the state. 

He announced this at his 

Uburu country home when the 

people of Izzi clan, comprising 

Abakaliki, Izzi and Ebonyi 

Local Government Areas paid 

VISIT: Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State(2nd left); Senator Sylvanus Ngele (left); 

Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Francis Nwifuru, and state Chairman of the 

Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Ogbonnaya Nwaebonyi, when Izzi political stakeholders 

visited the governor in Uburu. 

him Christmas and new year 

homage. 

Umahi, who said he would 

approach the state House of 

Assembly to make a law to 

that effect, said the reason 

was to accommodate them in 

his administration. 

A statement, yesterday, by 

his Chief Press Secretary, 

Emma Anya, quoted him as 

saying: “My aim is to carry 

everybody along especially 

the political class and that’s 

why I will be approaching the 

House of Assembly to ask 

them for approval. 

"Former local government 

chairmen will also be 

included. I believe this is 

how we can get them to help 

in developing and creating 

wealth in our state.” 

The governor, who also 

stated that the Director- 

General of Divine Mandate 

Campaign Organization, 

Fidelis Nwankwo, would be 

re-appointed in 2019 said 

he was planning to source 

funds to conduct local 

government election this 

year. 

He appealed to the 

Speaker of the state House 

of Assembly, Francis 

Nwifuru, to enact a law that 

would enable the Caretaker 

Chairmen of local 

government areas to contest 

the election. 

Obiano 

upgrades 

Agric college 

to polytechnic 

By Vincent Ujumadu 

AWKA— GOVERNOR 

Willie Obiano of Anambra 

State has upgraded the state 

College of Agriculture, 

Mgbakwu in Awka North 

Local Government Area, to 

Polytechnic. 

The governor’s media aide, 

Mr. James Eze, said it was part 

of the state government’s 

efforts to improve the state’s 

manpower capacity to meet the 

growing dynamics of the time. 

He explained that 

technicalities involved in the 

transformation of the College 

of Agriculture to a polytechnic 

had been concluded. 

Already, courses to be offered 

by the new polytechnic at the 

Ordinary and Higher National 

Diploma levels had been 

announced. 

The upgrading of the college 

brings to two the number of 

polytechnics in the state. 

There is the Federal 

Polytechnic, Oko, which was 

established by the former Vice 

President, Dr. Alex Ekwueme, 

and was later taken over by the 

Federal Government. 

FRSC urges 

motorists to 

obey traffic 

instructions 

By Chinedu Adonu 

E NUGU—FEDERAL 

R o a d 

Safety Commission 

(FRSC), yesterday, urged 

motorists to be patient and 

obey traffic instructions as they 

drive through roads this 

season. 

The Zonal Commanding 

Officer of the commission, Mr 

Samuel Obayemi,stated this 

after conducting aerial 

(helicopter) surveillance in 

major roads within the South- 

East. 

Obayemi, who is in-charge 

of Abia, Ebonyi, Enugu and 

Imo states, said although traffic 

was light in major road 

corridors in the zone, visibility 

had remained poor due to the 

harmattan haze. 

He also urged motorists to 

obey traffic officers and men 

as well as sister security 

agencies on the road in order 

to have hitch-free and secured 

journey. 

“In the aerial surveillance to 

major road corridors in the 

South-East, we observed that 

traffic was light while FRSC 

regular and special marshals 

as well as sister security 

agencies are all positioned in 

critical spots on the road 

corridors."



Kebbi awards 

N935m for 

erosion control, 

road 

rehabilitation 

KEBBI Government 

has awarded N935 

million contract for erosion 

control and road 

rehabilitation in Bunza and 

Danko/Wasagu Local 

Government areas of the 

state. 

The Commissioner for 

Works and Transport, Alhaji 

Abubakar Bunu, made the 

disclosure yesterday in 

Birnin Kebbi, while signing 

contract agreement for the 

projects. 

The contract was awarded 

to Great Northern 

International Company, 

GNIC. 

According to Bunu, 

government has awarded 

the two kilometres project 

at the cost of N464,385,000 

to GNIC. 

Another project is the 

rehabilitation of Ribah- 

Maga Road in Danko/ 

Wasagu Local Government 

Area, at N471,176,000 to 

same firm. 

Kano Rail 

project 

awaiting FG's 

approval 

— GANDUJE 

By AbdulSalam 

Muhammad 

K ANO—GOVERNOR 

Abdullahi Ganduje of 

Kano State has said that the 

Kano Light Rail Train 

project is awaiting the 

approval of the Federal 

Government for the take off 

as the state government 

had signed a multi-million 

naira project with a China 

railway company group, 

CR18G-CRECG, last 

month. 

Briefing newsmen on the 

outcome of his three-week 

sojourn in China and 

Saudi Arabia during the 

state council meeting 

yesterday, Governor 

Ganduje described the trip 

as successful. 

Ganduje said: “As you are 

aware, I led a delegation 

that met with the Chinese 

company at its 

headquarters and 

discussed the projects 

extensively. I’m glad the 

outcome was very 

successful.” 

The governor revealed 

that CR18G-CRECG took 

the delegates to inspect 

some of it rail works in some 

parts of the country, 

especially a project at 

Tianjin City. 

Boko Haram Link Saga: Army lied, my 

vice not in custody—Kaga LG Chair 

THE Chairman of Kaga 

Local Government in 

Borno State, Alhaji Lawal 

Wasaram, yesterday, denied 

the claim by the Nigerian 

Army that it had arrested the 

Vice Chairman of the council, 

Malam Mustapha Bukar, for 

alleged link with the Boko 

Haram sect. 

Wasaram, who made the 

denial in a statement in 

Maiduguri yesterday, said the 

allegation was not only untrue 

but a total misinterpretation of 

facts. 

According to him, “the 

attention of my council has 

been drawn to an allegation 

made by the Theatre 

Commander, Maj.-Gen. 

Lucky Irabor, during a live 

briefing on Operation Rescue 

Final, Wednesday. 

“The military claimed that 

they had arrested my Vice 

Chairman, Malam Mustapha 

Bukar, and that he is in their 

custody for connection with 

Boko Haram. 

“I, therefore, stress that the 

report was untrue and total 

misinterpretation of facts. 

Neither my Vice Chairman 

nor councillors are being 

investigated or detained over 

any criminal offence. 

“We, therefore, advise that 

the military issue a statement 

to disclaim and exonerate him 

By Aliyu Dangida 

DUTSE—THE Jigawa 

State and local 

governments’ contributory 

pension scheme has declared 

that it has saved about N17.6 

billion since the establishment 

of the board in 2001. 

The scheme has equally 

paid over N6.4 billion as 

monthly pension and terminal 

benefit from January to 

December 2016 to different 

categories of workers, who 

•Our error; it's Bama LG vice chair—ARMY 

from this serious allegation 

before it becomes a potential 

threat to his life and integrity. 

“We also regret that this 

allegation was already aired 

live on NTA, Channels and 

By Boluwaji Obahopo 

L OKOJA—POLITICAL 

office holders in Kogi State 

have been advised to make 

themselves accessible to their 

constituents as accessibility is 

one of the rudiments of 

participatory democracy. 

A one-time Special Assistant 

on the board of the Niger Delta 

Development Commission, 

NDDC, Niyi Olayemi, gave 

the advice in Lokoja. 

Olayemi, who was also a 

former House of 

Representatives aspirant for 

Kabba-Bunu/ Ijumu federal 

constituency, singled out the 

state All Local Government of 

Nigeria, ALGON, Chairman, 

Taofiq Isa, as one of the few 

political office holders in the 

state, who readily make himself 

accessible to his constituents 

and urged other politicians to 

have retired and the families 

of dead workers. 

The Executive Secretary of 

the scheme, Mr. Suleiman 

Kiyawa, spoke in Dutse, while 

speaking on the achievements 

of the scheme in 2016. 

He said: “Out of the amount, 

N2.7 billion was paid as 

monthly pension from January 

to December 2016 to the 

beneficiaries.” 

He said in January 2016, 

about 6,766 pensioners 

received their monthly pension 

many online media.” 

Reacting, Maj.-Gen. Lucky 

Irabor, the Theatre 

Commander of Operation 

Lafiya Dole, told newsmen 

that the claim was a mistake. 

Make yourselves accessible to 

constituents, Kogi politicians told 

follow the ALGON 

Chairman’s footpath of 

quality leadership. 

Olayemi said in just few 

months in the saddle of 

leadership as caretaker 

chairman of Ijumu Local 

Government area of the state, 

Taofiq has surpassed the 

record of many politicians who 

SENATOR Tijjani Yahaya- 

Kaura, representing 

Zamfara North in the National 

Assembly, has lauded the 

Zamfara State government for 

initiating dialogue with 

bandits and cattle rustlers in 

the state. 

Yahaya-Kaura, who spoke to 

newsmen in Kaura-Namoda 

yesterday, said embracing 

Jigawa pension scheme account hits N17.6bn 

and the number of pensioners 

increased to 7,333 in 

December. 

“We do not have any 

outstanding pension or 

terminal death benefit 

payment as at now; we cleared 

all our files,” he assured. 

He added that N3.7 billion 

was paid as terminal benefit 

to 2,504 civil servants and the 

deceased in three categories: 

state, local governments and 

local government education 

authority. 

EMPOWERMENT: 

From left— Wife of the 

pastor of The Apostolic 

Church, Ijesha, Mrs Mary 

Akwa; Rullion Capacity 

Building participant, 

Happiness John, and 

Coordinator, Rullion 

Capacity Builders, Ms 

Oluwatoyin Egedi, at 

Rullion's skills acquisition 

training in Lagos. 

He said: “We have sorted this 

out since yesterday. The Vice 

Chairman of Bama Local 

Government Area is the one in 

our custody and currently being 

investigated.” 

in the past have in same capacity 

served the people at the 

grassroots. 

He noted that the ALGON boss 

has also keyed into the ‘New 

Direction’ of the state government 

in terms of policies and decision, 

urged his colleagues to reach out 

to their constituency in like 

manner. 

Lawmaker lauds Zamfara govt 

on dialogue with cattle rustlers 

dialogue with the bandits and 

cattle rustlers would help in 

addressing the issue of incessant 

killings of innocent persons. 

He said: “Insecurity is not 

peculiar to Zamfara or Nigeria 

alone. It is a global issue which 

is due to injustice, poverty and 

illiteracy among others. 

“It started in Zamfara as 

farmers and herdsmen conflict, 

but, unfortunately, some bandits, 

cattle rustlers, kidnappers and 

robbers took advantage of the 

situation to kill innocent people. 

“We thank God that the state 

government has initiated 

dialogue with them to ensure a 

lasting peace in the state.” 

According to him, the people 

of the state have started to 

experience peace, as a result of 

the government’s move. 

“We also laud the Federal 

Government and security 

operatives for their diligence in 

ensuring peace and stability in 

the state and the country at 

large,” he added.


with AKINWUNMI IBRAHIM 

FRIDAY EVENTS 

akinwunmiibrahim30@gmail.com / 08139074278 

IT was a gathering of thehigh and mighty of society in 

Agulu, Anambra State, last Saturday as the beautiful and third 

daughter of the late NAFDAC boss, Prof. Dora Akunyili, 

Somto married her handsome heartthrob, Chinonso Asuzu, at 

the Madonna Catholic Church in Agulu, Anambra State. 

•From left: Groom's parents, Mr. Maxwell Asuzu and his wife, Beatrice; Groom, Chinonso 

Asuzu; Bride, Somto Akunyili; Representing bride's mother, Dr. Ijeoma Akunyili and bride's 

father, Dr. Chike Akunyili. 

•From left: Igwe of Umunya, HRH Kris Onyekwuluje, his wife, 

Mrs. Onyekwuluje and Sen. Uche Ekwunife.“ 

•From left: Igwe of Mbaukwu, HRH Peter Anugwu; First lady of Anambra 

State, Chief (Mrs) Ebelechukwu Obiano; Groom, Chinonso Asuzu, Bride, 

Somto Akunyili and Former Minister of Women Affairs, Chief (Mrs) 

Josephine Anenih. 

•From left: Hon. Becky Udorji-Paragon; Former APGA Chairman, Chief (Sir) 

Victor Umeh; Bride's father, Dr. Chike Akunyili; Wife of APGA Chairman, Lady 

Prisca and Group Chairman, SIGMUND Oilfields Ltd, Chief Chris Uba. 

From left—Groom’s parents Mr. Joseph and Mrs Blandine Fanou; couple, 

Mr. and Mrs Juste Temisan Marion; bride’s parents Captain Edward Boye and 

Mrs Bukola Boye, att the couple’s engagement reception in Lagos, yesterday. 

From left—Theresa Chiejina, Nnenne Ukairo, Ify Mgbemene and Florence 

Anyakwo, all Ladies of Knights of St. Mulumba, Lekki Sub-Council, Lagos, 

during the Christmas/End-of-the-year party in Lagos. 

Public Relations Consultant, Aramide Noibi; community leader and politician, 

Yomi Olubamido; Ataiyese of Odolewu, Chief Adesanya Adenuga, and the 

elder statesman, Senator Anthony Adefuye, the Baba Laje of Odolewu, at the 

annual Lewu Day at Odelewu, Ogun State. 

Legal Adviser, Izon-Ebi Oil and Gas Producing Communities Association, 

IOGPCA, Mr. Evans Ovia (left), administrating oath of office on the newly 

inaugurated IOGPCA executive committee members, led by James 

Edoukumor, in Warri, Delta State.


Ghana ratifies WTO 

trade facilitation 

agreement 

•Nigeria yet to respond 

Stories by Godwin Oritse 

with agency report 

GHANA has submitted its 

instrument of acceptance 

or approval of the Trade 

Facilitation Agreement (TFA) of 

the World Trade Organisation to 

the secretariat of the United 

Nations agency ahead of Nigeria 

and other African countries. 

The Trade Facilitation Agreement 

contains provisions for expediting 

the movement, release and 

clearance of goods, including goods 

in transit. It also sets out measures 

for effective cooperation between 

customs and other appropriate 

authorities on trade facilitation and 

customs compliance issues. 

The agreement also contains 

provisions for technical assistance 

and capacity building in this area 

and is expected to enter into force 

the moment two-thirds of the WTO 

membership has formally accepted 

it. 

In addition to Ghana, other WTO 

members that have also accepted 

the TFA includes Hong Kong, 

China, Singapore, the United 

States, Mauritius, Malaysia, Japan, 

Australia, Botswana, Trinidad and 

Tobago, the Republic of Korea, 

Nicaragua, Niger, Belize, 

Switzerland, Chinese Taipei, 

China, Liechtenstein, Lao PDR, 

New Zealand, Togo, Thailand, the 

European Union (on behalf of its 

28 member states). 

Global 

merchandise 

Others are Republic of 

Macedonia, Pakistan, Panama, 

Guyana, Côte d’Ivoire, Grenada, 

Saint Lucia, Kenya, Myanmar, 

Norway, Vietnam, Brunei, Ukraine, 

Zambia, Lesotho, Georgia, 

Seychelles, Jamaica, Mali, 

Cambodia, Paraguay, Turkey, 

Brazil, Macao China, the United 

Arab Emirates, Samoa, India, the 

Russian Federation, Montenegro, 

Albania, Kazakhstan. Sri Lanka, St. 

Kitts and Nevis, Madagascar, the 

Republic of Moldova, El Salvador, 

Honduras, Mexico, Peru, Saudi 

Arabia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, the 

Philippines, Iceland, Chile, 

Swaziland, Dominica, Mongolia, 

Gabon, the Kyrgyz Republic, and 

Canada have also accepted the 

TFA.. 

According to a 2015 study carried 

out by WTO economists, full 

implementation of the TFA would 

reduce members’ trade costs by an 

average of 14.3 per cent, with 

developing countries having the 

most to gain. The TFA also has the 

ability to reduce the time to import 

goods by over a day and a half while 

also reducing time to export by 

almost two days, representing a 

reduction of 47 per cent and 91 per 

cent respectively over the current 

average. The TFA also has the 

potential to increase global 

merchandise exports by up to $1 

trillion. 

The TFA broke new ground for 

developing countries and LDCs in 

the way it will be implemented. For 

the first time in WTO history, the 

requirement to implement the 

agreement was directly linked to the 

capacity of the country to do so. In 

addition, the agreement states that 

assistance and support should be 

provided to help them achieve that 

capacity. A Trade Facilitation 

Agreement Facility (TFAF) was also 

created at the request of developing 

and least-developed country 

members to help ensure that they 

receive the assistance needed to 

reap the full benefits of the TFA and 

to support the ultimate goal of full 

implementation of the new 

agreement by all members. 

To date, 104 WTO Members have 

ratified the Trade Facilitation 

Agreement (deposited an 

instrument of acceptance). Only six 

ratifications are now needed for the 

Agreement to enter into force. 

Reacting to the development, a 

seasoned logistics expert, Mr. Lucky 

Amiwero said that it was 

Terminal operators blame smuggling 

on high tariffs 

THE Seaport Terminal 

Operators Association of 

Nigeria (STOAN) has 

blamed the huge volume of 

vehicles smuggled into the 

country on high import tariffs on 

imported vehicles. STOAN’s 

spokesperson, Mr. Bolaji Akinola 

who disclosed this in a statement, 

said the rate of smuggling in 

Nigeria, especially of vehicles 

was alarming. 

He also said the introduction 

of the new Vehicle Identification 

Number (VIN) scheme 

announced earlier by the Federal 

Government, will not be effective 

in checking smuggling if 

tariffs remained unchanged. 

Prohibitive 

import duty 

“This is essentially due to the 

high and prohibitive import duty 

on vehicles which is more than 

twice what obtains in other 

countries in the sub-region. 

“While the VIN scheme sounds 

like a good idea, it may not do 

much to check smuggling. 

“The main antidote to 

smuggling is the reduction on 

Customs duty on vehicles to bring 

it to the level obtainable in other 

West African countries. 

“The duty should not be more 

than 10 per cent. Why exactly are 

people landing their vehicles in 

the ports of neighbouring countries 

and thus smuggling into 

Nigeria? It is to avoid the high 

Customs duties at the port,” 

Akinola insisted. 

Akinola said it is difficult to 

check smuggling through the 

land borders because of the 

preponderance of illegal entry 

roués into the country. 

Immigrations area controller, Eastern Marine Command, Comptroller U. K. Bello, 

presenting gift to one of the officers of immigration service at the ceremony in 

honour of the new comptroller of immigration of Rivers State, Comptroller A. B. 

Yarima in Port Harcourt. 

unfortunate that Ghana has gone 

ahead of Nigeria in this regard. He 

explained that Ghana will do 

anything to gain any form of 

economic benefit, adding that 

Nigeria needs to take a cue from 

that country. 

He said: “There are more than 

1,600 illegal entry routes into 

Nigeria. The borders are porous. 

It will be difficult for any agency 

of government to effectively patrol 

and check the influx of goods and 

persons through those porous 

entry points. There is a need to 

mount barriers and build strong 

high walls or electric fences at 

most of those entry points. Most 

importantly, government must 

deploy technology to secure our 

borders.” 

He argued that the high rate of 

import duty on vehicles has made 

The high cost of 

doing business at 

the port, which 

many allude to, is 

not because of 

high charges by 

operators but due 

to high Customs 

tariff and multiple 

checks by 

government 

agencies 

the prices of vehicles rise beyond 

the reach of many Nigerians as 

“the prices of vehicles have 

doubled over the past 18 

months.” 

“This is due to the high Customs 

Ogun State govt, wood exporters 

flag off tree planting campaign 

THE Ogun State government 

in collaboration with the 

Tropical Wood Exporters Association 

of Nigeria, (TWEAN) has flagged 

duty, which is 35 per cent plus an 

additional surcharge of 35 per 

cent bringing the total 

government tariff to 70 per cent. 

This is too high and when you 

place it side by side the high rate 

of foreign exchange, you see why 

Nigerians are paying more to 

acquire cars. The ban on 

importation through land borders 

is not enough to check smuggling 

and bring down the prices. Only 

a reduction on Customs duty will 

achieve that.” 

The STOAN spokesman also 

said that there are too many 

government agencies operating 

at the ports. This, he said, is 

contributing to the high cost of 

doing business at the ports.. 

“The high cost of doing 

business at the port, which many 

allude to, is not because of high 

charges by operators but due to 

high Customs tariff and multiple 

checks by government agencies. 

“Reduce Customs duty, reduce 

the huge crowd of government 

agencies operating at the ports 

and automate the Customs 

clearing process, which is too 

manual and regressive. 

Someone described the Customs 

clearing process as archaic and 

way too expensive. There are 

multiple checks within and 

outside the ports, which must be 

tackled by government. Former 

Finance Minister Mrs Ngozi 

Okonjo-Iweala ejected the 

agencies a few years ago but they 

are all back in their multitude,” 

he said. 

Akinola added that Nigerian 

ports have ample capacity to 

handle both import and export 

and to support the federal 

government’s revenue 

diversification drive. 

off a tree planting campaign with a 

view to tackling the massive 

deforestation of the nation’s forests. 

Speaking at the tree planting 

ceremony, Ogun State Governor, 

Senator Ibikunle Amosu said that 

Nigerians should see tree planting 

as a solution to the problem of global 

warming and its impact on the 

environment. 

Amosu also said the campaign 

will further create awareness on the 

need for people to imbibe the culture 

of reforestation and to desist from 

habits that are detrimental to a safe 

environment. 

According to the governor, who 

was represented by Kolawole Lawal 

, Commissioner for Forestry, Ogun 

state is the only state in Nigeria 

with a dedicated Ministry of 

Forestry, adding that the 

government has been working 

round the clock to see that tree 

planting is not only seen as an option 

to conserve the forest resources but 

as the right strategic choice towards 

restoration, beautification, healthy, 

and industrial friendly environment. 

He said: “We are committed to 

raising trees of both exotic and 

indigenous species that will support 

the natural symbiotic relationship 

between man and mother earth”. 

Similarly, Minister of 

Environment, Hajia Aminat 

Mohammed noted that the 

government has expressed concern 

over the rate of deforestation a 

development she claims has led to 

the loss of between 350,000 to 

400,000 hectares of land mass per 

annum. 

Mohammed disclosed that 

Nigeria current forest cover is five 

percent which according to her is at 

variance with recommended 25 

percent of the Food and Agricultural 

Organization of the United Nations 

(FAO). The Minister further 

disclosed that the International 

Union for Conservation of Nature 

in its 2013 report said that Nigeria 

has a total of 309 of threatened species 

of flora, fauna and wildlife. 

According to the minister, it was 

this staggering statistics that 

moved the government to control 

the wanton destruction of the forests.

VANGUARD, FRIDAY, JANUARY 6, 2017– 41 

Choi Soon-sil, the woman at the center of the South Korean political scandal and 

long-time friend of President Park Geun-hye, appears for her first trial at the Seoul 

Central District Court in Seoul, South Korea. Photo: Reuters 

US: Tension as Trump fights with 

intelligence community 

P Donald RESIDENT-elect 

Trump’s feud 

with the intelligence 

community is taking on 

surreal overtones just over 

two weeks before his 

inauguration, raising the 

potential of unusual 

tension with the nation’s 

top spies when he moves 

into the White House. 

Unless he changes 

course, Trump will take 

office having invested more 

credibility in the views of 

Russian President 

Vladimir Putin and 

WikiLeaks fugitive Julian 

Assange than in leading 

US intelligence agencies. 

His dismissal of 

assessments by US 

analysts that Russia 

meddled in November’s 

election has already soured 

his ties with America’s 

leading espionage 

agencies. But his move 

Wednesday to invoke 

Assange, who has spilled 

some of the nation’s most 

closely held secrets, to raise 

questions about Russia’s 

influence in American 

politics could poison his 

relations with rank-and-file 

intelligence operatives 

along with some leading 

Republicans on Capitol 

Hill. 

Trump defended himself 

Thursday, tweeting: “The 

dishonest media likes 

saying that I am in 

Agreement with Julian 

Assange - wrong. I simply 

state what he states, it is for 

the people....to make up 

their own minds as to the 

truth. The media lies to 

make it look like I am 

against “Intelligence” 

when in fact I am a big fan. 

But the clash is ultimately 

a battle of wits between 

Trump, who never likes to 

admit he is wrong, and 

intelligence agencies that 

insist they have the 

evidence to back up their 

conclusions about the 

Kremlin’s alleged election 

operation. The confrontation, 

and the political 

divisions it has opened, 

took the center stage on 

Thursday when Sen. 

John McCain presided 

over a Senate Armed 

Services Committee 

hearing on foreign cyber 

hacking which included 

testimony from the Director 

of National Intelligence 

James Clapper. 

US adds Bin Laden’s son to terror list 

HAMZA bin Laden, a 

son of Osama bin 

Laden, has been officially 

designated a global terrorist 

by the United States. 

Hamza, who is now in his 

late 20s, was named an 

official member of al-Qaeda 

in 2015 and is seen as a 

possible successor to his 

father. 

Since then, he has called 

for attacks against western 

capitals. 

The US State Department 

said it was notifying the 

international community 

that “Hamza bin Laden is 

actively engaged in 

terrorism”. The official 

sanction blocks him from any 

business dealings with US 

companies or holding 

property on US soil. 

Hamza is the son of the 

former al-Qaeda leader and 

Khairiah Sabar, one of 

Osama’s wives who was 

captured during the 2011 

raid on his father’s 

Abbotabad compound in 

Pakistan. 

Hamza was not in the 

compound with his parents 

during the raid, in which 

Osama Bin Laden was 

killed. Ayman al-Zawahiri, 

an eye surgeon who helped 

Trial of South Korea’s suspended President, 

associate begins 

THE trial of Choi Soonsil, 

the woman at the 

centre of an influencepeddling 

scandal involving 

South Korea’s president, 

has got under way. 

Ms Choi, a close friend 

of President Park Geunhye, 

is charged with abuse 

of power and attempted 

fraud. 

Separately, the Constitutional 

Court began 

considering President 

Park’s impeachment over 

the scandal. 

That trial, where the court 

must ratify or overturn a 

found the Egyptian Islamic 

Jihad militant group, took 

over leadership of al- 

Qaeda after his death. 

In August, Professor 

Fawaz Gerges, an expert 

on Middle East 

politics, told BBC Radio 4 

that Hamza was “the new 

face of al-Qaeda - he is 

charismatic, he is very 

popular with the rank and 

file. 

“He was his father’s 

favourite son - everyone, 

even for the last ten years, 

has been talking about 

Hamza succeeding his 

father.” 

parliamentary impeachment 

vote, began despite 

Ms Park’s absence. 

VENEZUELA: Opposition wants military 

to oust President Maduro 

VENEZUELA’S opposition, 

still smarting from 

its failure to remove 

President Nicolas Maduro 

last year, installed a new 

congress head on Thursday 

who demanded across-theboard 

elections and sought 

military help to end 

“dictatorship”. In a renewal 

of Venezuela’s bitter politics 

after the holiday lull, the 

ruling Socialist Party 

retorted that the National 

Assembly was in contempt 

of the law. 

The opposition coalition 

won control of the Assembly 

at the end of 2015 thanks to 

voter ire at Venezuela’s 

unrelenting economic crisis. 

Zimbabwe sells 35 elephants to China 

to raise cash 

ZIMBABWE’S wildlife 

agency said Thursday 

it has sold 35 elephants to 

China to ease 

overpopulation and raise 

funds for conservation, 

amid criticism from animal 

welfare activists that such 

sales are unethical. 

This once-prosperous 

country’s economy has 

fallen apart, and 

Zimbabwe’s government 

has said it needs to sell 

wildlife to support its people 

and conservation efforts. 

The government also has 

sought to sell its ivory 

stockpile for millions of 

dollars. 

The Zimbabwe Parks and 

Wildlife Management 

Authority did not say how 

much China paid for the 35 

elephants but said it was 

“turning to friendly 

countries to extract value 

out of our wildlife.” 

This is the first time 

Zimbabwe has confirmed 

the Dec. 23 sale since 

activists announced a plane 

was carrying the animals to 

China. The wildlife agency 

didn’t say whether the 

elephants were adults, 

which has been a concern 

for some conservation 

groups. 

“Why is it done 

clandestinely and then 

announced two weeks 

later? Because we know 

that at times calves have 

been taken away from their 

mothers, conditions have 

been atrocious and the 

money, no one really knows 

how it is used,” said Johnny 

Rodrigues, whose 

Zimbabwe Conservation 

Taskforce has been vocal 

about elephant sales to 

China. 

More than 800 girls circumcised in 

Tanzania despite crackdown 

MORE than 800 girls 

were subjected to 

female genital mutilation 

(FGM) in northern 

Tanzania last month, a local 

government official said, 

despite a police crackdown 

to stop the practice that 

affects millions of girls in 

the east African country. 

Twelve women 

suspected to have carried 

out the ritual, which 

involves the partial or total 

removal of the external 

genitalia, have been 

arrested as the police 

investigate the case, Tarime 

District Commissioner 

Glorious Luoga said. 

“The police operation is 

still going on. We will not 

relent until all the 

perpetrators have been 

arrested and charged,” 

Luoga told the Thomson 

Reuters Foundation. 

FGM affects an estimated 

140 million girls and 

women across a swathe of 

Africa and parts of the 

Middle East and Asia, and 

is seen as a gateway to 

marriage and a way of 

preserving purity. 

Up to 7.9 million girls 

and women in Tanzania 

are thought to have 

undergone FGM, with the 

illegal procedure often 

carried out in secret 

initiation, or rite of 

passage, ceremonies. 

The ancient ritual 

causes numerous health 

problems that can be 

fatal. 

I‘m alive says Gambia’s President- elect 

By Victoria Ojeme 

THE President- elect of 

Gambia, Adama Barrow 

is alive contrary to rumours 

of his assassination on 

social media. 

CBN Television, Banjul 

had earlier reported that he 

was murdered by unknown 

assailants who 

overpowered his security 

guards leaving two dead. 

Mr Barrow has remained 

in Gambia to ensure he is 

sworn in as president on 

January 19, 2017 after he 

defeated outgoing leader 

Yahya Jammeh, in the 

December 1 election. 

Mr Jammeh, who 

initially conceded to his 

opponent, later recanted 

and has since vowed to stay 

on in office. 


Buhari is currently leading 

a West African, ECOWAS, 

mediation asking Jammeh 

to step down. 

Marcel de Souza, the 

ECOWAS Commission 

President, said last week 

that the body had put 

standby forces on alert. 

Egypt arrests four in connection with church 

bombing, death toll rises 

EGYPTIAN police have 

arrested four people in 

connection with the 

bombing that killed dozens 

of Christians at Cairo’s 

Coptic Christian cathedral 

last month, the Interior 

Ministry said on 

Wednesday. 

At least 25 people, mostly 

women and children, were 

initially killed when a bomb 

exploded in a chapel 

adjoining St Mark’s 

Cathedral, the seat of the 

Coptic papacy. The Health 

Ministry said on 

Wednesday the death toll 

had climbed to 28. 

President Abdel Fattah 

al-Sisi said after the attack 

that the bomber was a man 

wearing a suicide vest and 

that security forces were 

seeking two more people 

believed to be involved. 

More Boko Haram fighters defect 

in Niger—Govt 

AROUND 20 more 

members of the jihadist 

group Boko Haram have 

surrendered in Niger, the 

government says. 

“About 50 Boko Haram 

fighters have now given 

themselves up” since 

December 27, Niger’s 

interior minister, Bazoum 

Mohamed, said in an 

•Barrow 

Ugandan lawmakers petition ICC 

over alleged genocide by army, police 

Agroup of Ugandan 

lawmakers have sent 

a petition to the 

International Criminal 

Court (ICC) to ask for an 

investigation into possible 

atrocities by security forces 

when they clashed with a 

tribal militia late last 

year.According to an 

official toll, 62 people were 

killed in November when 

a combined force of 

soldiers and police officers 

clashed with a tribal 

leader’s guards in the 

Rwenzori region near 

Uganda’s western border. 

interview broadcast late 

Wednesday on the state TV 

channel Tele Sahel. 

The combatants surrendered 

at Diffa, in 

southeastern Niger, a Boko 

Haram stronghold close to 

the border with Nigeria, 

where 31 fighters turned 

themselves in at the end of 

last month.


•Ojugboh 

Many PDP 

govs're 

secretly 

behind Sheriff 

— DR. OJOUGBOH 

DR. Cairo Ojougboh is the Deputy 

National Chairman of the Senator 

Modu Sheriff-led faction of the 

Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. Until 

the crisis that enveloped the party, he 

was the National Vice-Chairman, 

South-South of the party and before 

then, a member of the House of 

Representatives. Dr. Ojougboh, a one 

time close confidant of Chief Tony 

Anenih, in this interview with 

newsmen in Lagos, gives his 

perspectives on the crisis in the party 

and how it can be resolved. Excerpts: 

Abuja. Almost all the 

governors were there and let 

me tell you what is going on 

in the PDP – if Sheriff and the 

NWC didn’t get the backing 

of majority of the stakeholders, 

we would have said look, we 

are not wanted, we will go. But 

every member, every 

stakeholder in the PDP, is 

waiting for Sheriff to win in 

the Court of Appeal. 

Look, first of all, a lot of 

people are intimidated. They 

think that one of these 

governors can kill them 

because if you listen to that 

tape, you can see the extent 

of intimidation. 

We do hope that that 

recording is not correct. If it is 

correct, then the party is going 

to take very serious 

consideration of the tape and 

then do what is needful of the 

party. Nobody is above the 

law, and that is why the party 

is supreme. 

And I want to say this for the 

umpteenth time; there is 

nobody, most people in this 

country, 90 per cent of the 

populace, of members of the 

PDP in this country, are with 

Sheriff. They know that what 

Makarfi had done is illegal. 

In fact, any right thinking 

Nigerian knows that that 

Caretaker Committee is illegal 

and that politics has changed. 

If you begin to parade names 

and carry them, we don’t 

bother you. What we parade 

is the masses that we have 

returned the power to. 

By Emmanuel Aziken, 

Political Editor 

HOW is your party? 

Our party is very 

strong. The NWC set up a 

committee on mobilization 

and strategy, and the went 

round the entire country, and 

when they submitted that 

report, they said the party is 

very strong at the grassroots; 

that the party is well 

represented in every ward in 

the 774 local governments in 

this country and that the 

people are desirous of PDP 

putting its house in order so 

that they can strategise and 

get ready for election as 

quickly as possible. That is 

the state of the party. 

How did your National 

Working Committee come 

about? 

The National Working 

Committee is still in place 

because its tenure will expire 

sometime in 2017. 

What will you say about 

the impression that 

Sheriff is a mole in PDP 

and that he is just there 

to cause confusion and 

ensure that the APC 

comes back in 2019? 

I’ve answered this question 

over 50 times in the course of 

the last one month. The 

answer is very simple – 

Sheriff was sitting in his 

house when Governor Fayose 

and Governor Wike went to 

invite him to become the 

chairman of the party. 

Governor Fayose and 

Governor Wike gave him three 

months to be in office. At the 

end of three months, they 

went to Sheriff, they said, 

Chairman, you have 

repositioned the party; look at 

the number of ‘Agbada’ in the 

PDP Wadata Plaza, you are 

the only person who can lead 

this party to the Promise 

Land; we, therefore, want you 

to continue. 

Convention 

committe 

Governors Wike and Fayose, 

they set up a convention 

committee, and they made 

Governor Udom Emmanuel of 

Akwa Ibom the chairman of 

the zoning committee. The 

zoning committee in its 

wisdom went to Sheriff and 

said, ‘sir, we are going to zone 

the chairmanship of the party 

to you, so we are zoning it to 

North East and to Borno 

especially. 

The North East met, they 

said look, Sheriff, we have 

endorsed you to continue as 

chairman of the party at the 

zonal congress. 

So, do you mean the whole 

of the North East, all the 

governors, the whole of the 

PDP people, all of them, are 

working for APC? That is the 

question. There were six 

governors in the zoning 

committee of the PDP. The six 

governors endorsed Sheriff 

and endorsed the zoning 

project. So you mean it is the 

APC? 

Sheriff was 

sitting in his 

house when 

Governor 

Fayose and 

Governor Wike 

went to invite 

him to become 

the chairman of 

the party 

It is not President 

Muhammadu Buhari and 

APC that sourced and zoned 

the PDP chairmanship to 

Sheriff. The coming of Sheriff 

is a blessing to multi-party 

democracy not just the PDP 

but also to Nigeria,because 

today we now know that 

people can ask questions and 

we are very happy with the 

teeming grassroots. 

You can see the people with 

the illegal Caretaker 

Committee; they are people 

who like money, who will want 

to go and collect money from 

the people. But if you love 

PDP, you love multi-party 

democracy, you love one man, 

one vote, you are with Sheriff. 

How do you feel that 

most state executives of 

the party pledge 

allegiance to Ahmed 

Markafi and not to your 

executive? 

Have you ever heard any 

state governor come out to say 

he is not with Ali Modu 

Sheriff? 

Yes. Some of them have 

said so… 

Nobody! 

Which governor can you 

now point at that is with you? 

I will not because of the 

political nature of this 

argument. I don’t want to call 

anybody but go and meet any 

governor, ask him to go and 

condemn Sheriff. Sheriff’s 

daughter wedded a few days 

ago; did you see what 

happened in Borno? And let 

me tell you, all political 

majors in the whole of the 

North East and the country 

were there. There was a 

dinner organised for the 

reception, last Sunday, in 

Dividends of 

democracy 

Before now, no member in 

this country can stand up and 

speak, but today we have 

given freedom to everybody. 

So, you can see all of them, 

from state to state, all of them 

are talking now and then, they 

are now associating with the 

PDP. 

Without it, if you look at the 

social media, you see 

everybody supporting PDP. Go 

and check and see for yourself 

and why are they supporting 

PDP because they know there 

is hope for tomorrow. The 

National Working Committee 

and Sheriff is the hope of 

tomorrow. The governors, who 

wants them? A lot of them, it 

is unfortunate the way they 

have behaved, but that is what 

we keep telling them. 

When we elect you as a 

party and make you a 

governor, go back to your 

state, face the demand of 

governance. Give the 

dividends of democracy to 

your people so that next time, 

the party can win election and 

let the party run itself, and that 

is our position. 

The fortunes of PDP 

keep dwindling especially 

with the recent loss of 

Ondo State. Do you think 

Continues on page 43

VANGUARD, FRIDAY, JANUARY 6, 2017 —43 

By Boluwaji Obahopo 

OPPOSITION 

to 

perceived moves to 

nominate former deputy 

governorship candidate of the 

All Progressive Congress, 

APC, in the 2015 

governorship election in Kogi 

State, Mr. Abiodun Faleke as 

a minister is brewing another 

round of crisis in the state 

chapter of the APC. 

Some Kogi APC leaders are 

against moves to appoint 

Faleke and have commenced 

counter-moves to stop it. 

Why Faleke must not be 

appointed minister – APC 

elders 

It will be recalled that two 

party leaders alleged to be 

loyalists of the state governor, 

Mr. Yahaya Bello, recently 

called on President Buhari not 

to nominate or appoint Faleke 

as a minister, noting that his 

choice would breed crisis in 

APC. 

The duo of Suleiman 

Ejibunu and Chief Richard 

Asaje in a statement said 

James Faleke is being 

considered to be appointed a 

minister. 

The statement reads: “If 

Faleke and his godfather, 

Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu 

deserve anything, it is not the 

ministerial slot of Kogi State 

to avoid a crisis in Kogi 

chapter of APC. Such move 

may lead to the exit of every 

prominent, loyal and 

committed member of the 

party. 

Ministerial slot 

of Kogi State 

“We are also unequivocally 

resolute to stop Tinubu’s 

expansion into Kogi State or 

any state in the North 

Central. we are determined to 

push out all his men from 

Kogi. It is a task that must be 

done through all legal and 

political means. They have 

failed and they will continue 

to fail. 

‘’The same Asiwaju imposed 

him on APC in Kogi as the 

deputy governorship 

candidate to the late Prince 

Abubakar Audu. 

This generated a lot of 

discomfort for the founding 

members of APC, who built 

the party. Faleke took the 

party to court up to Supreme 

Court and lost while some 

leaders have been begging 

him to support APC in the 

state. 

“Giving him such an 

appointment will amount to 

providing him fuel to 

destabilise APC in the state. 

‘’They urged the President to 

find another means of 

compensating Faleke instead 

of making him a minister. 

Antagonism against me 

uncalled for — Faleke 

Dismissing the antagonism 

said to be led by two elders of 

the party, who are loyalists of 

•Buhari 

MINISTERIAL NOMINATION: 

Faleke, Kogi APC leaders 

return to trenches 

the state governor, Faleke said 

the development is uncalled 

for. 

Faleke, who noted that the 

nomination of a minister could 

only be done at the behest of 

My purported 

nomination as a 

minister is even 

unknown to me. 

But it is a fact that 

the choice of a 

minister from any 

state can be done 

by the President 


Buhari, wondered why those 

leading the criticism would be 

bothering themselves over 

what had not taken place. 

In a telephone conversation 

with Vanguard, yesterday, 

Faleke said: “My purported 

nomination as a minister is 

even unknown to me. But it 

is a fact that the choice of a 

minister from any state can be 

done by the President. I will 

ignore the duo who spoke 

against my purported 

Many PDP govs're secretly behind Sheriff — OJOUGBOH 

Continues from page 42 

your party will bounce 

back? 

Of course, some lessons 

were learned in Ondo and 

Edo states especially in Ondo. 

In Ondo, it was clear that the 

masses, the people sent a 

message to the PDP in Ondo 

that never again will any 

governor adopt a candidate 

and not allow for a free 

contest. 

Number two lesson, never 

again will somebody come 

from another party and then 

you give him the entire 

structure of PDP; it should not 

happen again because as 

soon as Mimiko returned to 

the party, every member of the 

PDP left and they left with 

Oke. 

Oke secured 125,000 votes 

in the last election, PDP 

secured 155,000 votes, APC 

scored 250,000. The votes 

given to Oke are all PDP 

votes. If Oke didn’t leave and 

•Tinubu 

•Faleke 

nomination. 

“One of them has been 

known to be unstable in the 

politics of the state and 

worked for the PDP in the 

Mimiko was able to manage 

his coming back into PDP as 

a sportsman, we won’t be 

where we are. So, that is the 

lesson learned there. And 

again, things have to get 

worse for it to get better. 

Does Sheriff have 

presidential ambition? 

I am not in his mind; he has 

never discussed that with me, 

and it is his right to have 

presidential ambition if he so 

wishes. 

Constitutional 

amendment 

But that is why we are also 

putting in the constitutional 

amendment that no chairman 

of the party can adopt 

anybody. So if has, he’s 

already checkmated. So he 

cannot adopt himself, and the 

NWC will not adopt him; no 

party organs will adopt him. 

That is the essence of these 

amendments in the 

governorship election. Such a 

person should not be taken 

seriously when he comments 

on APC issues in the state. 

“Without my contribution, 

APC would not have won in 

Kogi in the last election. The 

western senatorial district 

won the election for APC. 

My Principal in the election, 

late Abubakar Audu contested 

three times before then and 

lost. It was my contribution 

that changed the tide. 

“In the history of the state, 

it was the first time that Kogi 

West will be won by the 

opposition. We won six out 

of the seven local government 

areas in the senatorial district. 

We only lost by 300 votes in 

Mopa which is the Local 

government of the former 

acting governor, Clarence 

Olafemi.” 

National 

leader 

On an alleged statement 

against Tinubu by party 

leaders in Kogi, Faleke said: 

“Tinubu is a national leader, 

who also has followers in the 

North. He has nothing to 

benefit in Kogi for them to 

view him as trying to infiltrate 

the state. 

“He supported Fayemi in 

Ekiti, Aregbesola in Osun, 

Amosun in Ogun, even in Edo 

he supported Obaseki. So, if 

he supported me in Kogi what 

is wrong about that? From the 

manner, the issue ended in 

Kogi it was the state that lost, 

not Tinubu. 

When the time is right and 

God says these are the people, 

who will bring good 

governance to Kogi, it will 

happen. But for those leaders 

making noise now in the state, 

they are better ignored.” 

constitution. So that is not a 

problem at all. 

So do you think the PDP 

has the potential to 

upstage the APC in 2019 

and maybe if you could 

also assess the present 

administration under 

Buhari? 

APC, as I have always said, 

is not a party yet. There is only 

one party in Nigeria, and that 

is PDP because if you were to 

put APC in a basket, you can 

very easily pick out CPC, pick 

out ACN, pick out the APGA 

faction and pick out the PDP 

in the basket. 

But PDP still remains one; 

that is what you have to see. 

So luckily, until APC can 

become homogenous, until 

they are able to become a 

party, it is not expected that 

they will give serious 

challenge to the PDP. The 

mistakes that made PDP lose 

the election are being 

corrected one by one.


Rabiul Thanni 8, 1438 A.H. 

Halal economy: Lessons from South Africa 

•As Islamic Economy Summit holds April in Nairobi 

By Haroon Ishola-Balogun 

THE Islamic Economy 

has seen tremendous 

increase in recent years 

transcending its traditional 

geographic boundaries. From the 

east through the evolving 

Malaysian economy to South 

Africa and from there, spreading 

to the Gambia, Kenya among 

others particularly the East Africa. 

In South Africa, the halal economy 

has grown to over $45 billion rand 

with the potential to triple in the 

next decade. 

Its entrance into East Africa 

could revolutionize the region’s 

finance and banking sector, 

Tourism, and Hotel sector and Fast 

moving consumer goods. Nigeria 

is a big potential market if Muslims 

in the country braze up to the 

challenge especially now that the 

economy is beckoning on private 

investors in all areas for investment. 

Before we go further, what is Halal 

economy? The Islamic term refers 

to products that are permissible for 

Muslims to consume. 

An economy or investment meant 

for the Muslims who have to obey 

the injunctions of Allah on what 

they eat, drink or use in their daily 

lives. It is a means where Muslim 

consumers are exposed to the 

market of certified products in order 

to assert their personal, Muslim 

identity. This vital aspect is missing 

in Nigeria economy and that is 

what all Muslims especially the 

high net-worth individual Muslims 

must strive to achieve. 

Muslim 

community 

Nigeria, as one of the largest 

Muslim populations in West 

Africa, with the Pew Research 

Center estimating that it is 

between 48.5% (2010) and 50.4% 

(2009). The CIA estimates 50% 

while the BBC estimates slightly 

over 50% (2007); can make a 

fortune double what South Africa 

halal market is making in its 

economy. I know our non- 

Muslims brothers will begin to cry 

wolf of Islamizing the country 

when there is none. We will not 

succumb to their antics, of 

course, we have never been. So, 

the time is now. 

What Sub-Saharan Africa 

regional spend on halal food was 

about $114billion in 2013 based 

on Thomson Reuters data. 

Emphasis has been mainly on 

halal meats and meat products, 

but over the past few years, the 

trend has been shifting to the 

introduction of halal franchises, 

prepared meals, canned, frozen 

and instant foods. 

A great example for East Africa 

is South Africa which in spite of 

its small Muslim community has 

emerged as one of the five 

largest producers of halal 

products worldwide largely due 

to its access to the rest of the 

continent and the presence of 

highly advanced halal 

certification programmes. About 

60% of all products in SA’s 

retailers are certified halal worth 

approximately ZAR1billion 

($71.7m), according to 

MATRADE (Malaysia External 

Trade Development 

Corporation). 

East Africa member states 

must explore opportunities to 

grow its Halal Food sector, given 

its growing Muslim population 

and its shared cultural values 

where Halal food is not only 

consumed by the Muslim 

community but most people in 

the region. 

Another sector the summit will 

cover in detail is Halal Tourism 

and how the region’s struggling 

tourism sector can get a slice of 

Halal tourism, one of the fastest 

growing areas of global tourism 

estimated at $219 billion. 

Tourism stakeholders will 

Another sector the 

summit will cover 

in detail is Halal 

Tourism and how 

the region’s 

struggling tourism 

sector can get a 

slice of Halal 

tourism, one of the 

fastest growing 

areas of global 

tourism estimated 

at $219 billion 

discuss what infrastructure our 

region requires to tap into this 

market. 

This is what the organisers 

GBS Africa in partnership with 

Anjarwalla & Khanna and IsFin 

– Emerging Markets Advisors 

are delighted to bring to Kenya 

tagged East Africa Islamic 

Summit. 

Islamic Economy Summit 

holds in Kenya: To explore, 

how East Africa can tap into the 

Islamic Economy, with an 

estimated global value of $2.3 

trillion, Kenya will host the 2nd 

edition of the East Africa Islamic 

Economy Summit (EAIES 2017) 

on the 10th & 11th April 2017 

(www.EAIFS.com). 

Another platform endorsed by 

East Africa’s Private and public 

sector leadership with speakers 

drawn from Governments, 

international experts on Islamic 

Finance and Economy, Banking 

sector leaders, regulatory 

authorities etc. 

The summit comes at a time 

when East Africa’s traditional 

Investor and FDI sources are 

faced with changing political 

dynamics, uncertain global 

markets and divergent 

monetary policies hence making 

it the right moment for the 

region to diversify its investor 

portfolio. 

Discussion points will focus on 

Islamic Finance and banking 

looking at its development 

within the East Africa; East 

Africa’s Halal Economy – a 

lucrative but invisible market – 

Opportunities for EAC; Takaful 

& Retakaful sector opportunities 

for East Africa. 

‘’East Africa like the rest of 

Africa face a severe 

infrastructure deficit, with 

governments’ budgets under 

pressure due to low commodity 

prices and changing geo politics 

from the region’s traditional 

development and investment 

partners in Europe and America, 

Sharia compliant bonds or 

Sukuk must be an alternative to 

finance East Africa’s projects but 

their issuance are hindered by 

technical and legal hurdles, 

limited knowledge by end users 

and policy makers, making this 

summit an important platform to 

hear from experts in Islamic 

Finance instruments ‘’ Agnes 

Gitau - GBS Africa speaking 

about the conference 

Barka Jumah 

Lend help to the weak 

Every day and year of life act like a practiced 

drunk, pretending sobriety. Time and years 

swiftly depart, bequeathing heart-sores on the 

faithless lot. We mind joy that’s driven by faith. 

Ruminate on spiritual fulfillment here and 

eternal joyous living in the hereafter. I wish 

these blessings for you and your family 

always. “Certainly, the help of Allah is 

near.”(Q2:214) Allah shall help our nation with 

unending blessings and each of us shall prosper 

through 2017 and beyond. 

—Adewale Adeeyo, OON 

Muslim journalists mentor 

undergraduates for media career 

THE Muslim Media 

Practitioners of Nigeria 

(MMPN) has counseled 

members of the Muslim 

Students Society of Nigeria, 

MSSN who are aspiring to 

become journalists to be fully 

ready for the challenges ahead 

especially in the reportage of 

Islam. 

A delegation of MMPN, 

Lagos chapter made this charge 

when the body paid a courtesy 

visit on delegates and officials 

at the just concluded 102nd 

Islamic Vacation Course (IVC) 

organised by the MSSN at 

Human Capital Development 

Center (HCDC), Noforija, 

Epe, Lagos recently. 

MSSN information 

department 

The delegation include Alh. 

Haroon Balogun of Vanguard, 

Alh. Sekinat Lawal, National 

Mirror and Alh. Tajudeen 

Adebanjo, The Nation. 

When they visited the 

information department, they 

were received by top officials 

of the department. 

Addressing the officials, 

Balogun identified the need 

for qualified and conscious 

Muslims to populate the 

media. He expressed concern 

over several misconceptions 

about Islam which as affected 

the image of the religion and 

Muslims generally. 

He stated that Islam is not 

enjoying enough publicity 

merely because of the skewed 

decisions of some media 

owners, adding that more 

Muslim journalists could 

change the situation. 

Adebanjo however tasked the 

officials to explore all avenues 

at acquiring the required skills 

that will distinguish them as 

qualified and exemplary 

Muslims professionals among 

their counterparts. 

In her own goodwill 

message, Lawal charged the 

officials to harness their 

intellectual resources and take 

full potentials of the online 

media. 

“The mainstream media may 

fade out in the next 10 or 15 

years so, we’ll now be in for the 

online media,” she added. 

She urged female journalists 

not to sacrifice Islamic etiquette 

for crass opportunity and 

ensure they spend quality time 

with their spouse and children. 

Head of MSSN Lagos 

information department, Idris 

Qasim, commended the 

Muslim journalists for training 

the undergraduates. 

From Left: Mustapha Kilani, Asst PRO, Muslim Students Society of Nigeria, MSSN, 

Lagos State Area Unit; Abdul-Rasheed Abubakar, Author, Hijab and The Nigerian Press; 

Haroon Ishola Balogun, Vanguard Newspapers and Secretary, Muslim Media Practitioners 

of Nigeria, MMPN, Lagos Chapter; Idris Qasim, Head PRO,MSSN, Lagos Area Unit 

and Tajudeen Adebanjo, The Nation Newspapers, Public Relations Officer, MMPN, 

Lagos chapter during a visit by MMPN to the Islamic Vacation Course, IVC organised 

by MSSN, Lagos held at Noforija, Epe, Lagos State. 

C 

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VANGUARD, FRIDAY, JANUARY 6, 2017—45 

Rabiul Thanni 8, 1438 A.H. 

Islam dignifies, respects, honours women 

more than any religion—Amirah Al-Mu’minaat 

AGAINST the backdrop of 

oppressive and restrictive 

practices against women, the 

National Amirah of Al-Mu’minaat 

Organisation, Hajia Nimatullah 

Abdullateef has said Islam 

elevates the position of women, 

dignifies and honours her more 

than any other known religion, 

adding that Muslim women 

enjoyed a number of rights that 

were not hitherto enjoyed by 

Western women. 

Hajia Abdullateef stated this at 

the just concluded 22nd national 

convention of the organisation 

themed “Global connectivity: The 

role of women” held in Ijebu-Ode, 

Ogun state recently. No fewer 

than 1374 believing women, 336 

children and 100 guests 

participated in the programme. 

Hajia Abdullateef explained 

that the oppressive practices were 

not from Islam but part of local 

customs and traditions of various 

societies. 

“In the world today, western 

ideology has made people 

erroneously believe that Muslim 

women are being oppressed by 

their religion, forced to cover 

themselves completely, denied 

education and other basic rights. 

Though, it is true that Muslim 

women, like women all over the 

world, have struggled against 

restrictive practices in education, 

work force participation, and 

family roles, however, many of 

these oppressive practices, do not 

come from Islam; rather, they are 

part of local customs and traditions 

of’ various societies. 

“The truth is that Islam has come 

AS commercial activities 

resume in the country, the 

Muslim Students’ Society of 

Nigeria has advised government at 

all levels to provide a conducive 

environment for businesses to grow. 

The Amir (President) of the 

MSSN, Lagos State Area Unit, 

Saheed Ashafa, said this after the 

completion of a 10-day vacation 

course organised for about 5000 

Muslim youths in Lagos State. 

During the training, the youths 

were drilled on entrepreneurship 

and development of employability 

traits. 

To make the training beneficial to 

both the trainee and the nation, 

Ashafa appealed to government to 

assist youths who are willing to own 

businesses. 

He suggested that government 

should consider making and 

implementing policies that would 

be favourable for small scale 

businesses. 

to elevate the position of women 

to that of dignity and nobility. 

Women were seen as objects of 

fun, pleasure and amusement 

during the jahiliyyah period, but 

when Islam came, it liberated the 

women from oppression and 

injustice, by teaching respect and 

honor of women. 

“Islam gives women a number 

of rights, some of which were not 

even enjoyed by Western women 

until the 19th century. For 

In fact, the Quran 

explicitly states 

that as regards 

worshiping Allah, 

the believing men 

and the the 

believing women 

are equal in the 

eyes of Allah 

example, until 1882, the property 

of women in England was given 

to their husbands when they 

married, but Muslim women 

always retained their own assets. 

Muslim women could specify 

conditions in their marriage 

contracts, such as the right to 

divorce. 

“Also, Muslim women are 

MSSN clamours for conducive 

business environment 

Ashafa also called the attention 

of government to the inadequate 

efforts paid to teaching of 

entrepreneurial courses in schools. 

He urged non-governmental and 

private organizations to assist the 

government in reducing 

unemployment in the nation. 

This, he said, could be achieved 

through self discovery and 

entrepreneurial-oriented trainings. 

While appreciating the delegates 

that attended the vacation course, 

Ashafa challenged them to ensure 

proper application of what they 

have learnt. 


beneficiaries must take responsibility 

of reviving the country’s economy. 

“Attending the training is 

appreciated but not enough. Our 

joy will be to see some of the 

beneficiaries of our training course 

unlock the economic challenge in 

the country within the shortest 

period,” he 

allowed in Islam to keep their own 

last name after marriage. 

Furthermore, the Quran; forbids 

female infanticide; instructs 

Muslims to educate daughters as 

well as sons; insists that women 

have the right to refuse a 

prospective husband; gives 

women rights if they are divorced 

by their husband; gives women 

the right to inherit property. In fact, 

the Quran explicitly states that as 

regards worshiping Allah, the 

believing men and the the 

believing women are equal in the 

eyes of God. 

“And these show the high level 

of dignity, respect and honor Islam 

accords to a Muslim woman and 

rebut the false claims of the West. 

At infant, if she is well brought 

up to become a good Muslim 

woman, could be the reason her 

parents would be admitted into 

paradise. At her youthful age, she 

completes half the religion of her 

husband when he marries her; 

and at her old age, she could also 

be her children are admitted into 

paradise. 

Let Islam rule your life 

— Bashirah Rabiu 

Delivering a lecture at the event, 

the Vice Principal, Hostel, 

Vanguard Academy, Alhaja 

Bashirah Rabiu urged ‘The 

believing women’ to allow Islam 

and the fear of Allah rule their 

lives. She lamented that the social, 

political and economic lives of 

people have been destroyed, 

adding that family has almost 

been destroyed through the 

internet, social media, including 

obscenity and corrupt television 

programmes. 

She stated that since the society 

have been destroyed; leaders 

corrupted and ‘Riba’ dominated 

the economy; Muslim parents 

needed to do more in their natural 

role of ‘guidance’ to their children 

for positive development. 

“Unfortunately, the society has 

drifted upside down that those 

who rule the world today prefer 

to have two leaders at home and 

in family. (husband and wife) As 

a result, Muslim women have 

abandoned their duties and 

responsibilities as guidance for 

others. Allah and His Prophet 

have given the guidelines 

through the Quran and Hadiths 

and that is the only sure path to 

follow.” 

She identified fear of God, 

supplication to God and good 

training as well as good 

monitoring of the psychological 

and physical development of 

children as important roles of 

mothers at homes. 

From left: Alhaja Mariam Saka; Alhaja Bushirah Ali, Asst. 

Director of Education, District II; Alhaja Nimat Abdul- 

Lateef, National Amirah, Al-Mu’minaat Organisation; 

Alhaja Bashirah Rabiu, V.Principal, Vanguard 

Academy, Ogun State; Alhaja Fumilayo Musinat 

Kareem, Principal, Ijebu-Ode Muslim College, Ogun State 

and Alhaja Qudrat Akindele, during the 22nd National 

Convention of Al-Mu'minaat Organisation held in 

Vanguard Academy, Ogun State. 

Cross section of women at the event. 

Quote from the Quran 

Indeed, the example of Jesus to 

Allah is like that of Adam. He created 

Him from dust; then He said to him, 

"Be," and he was. Q3 vrs 59 

Don't exploit people, fulfil your 

promises, Jamaat urges leaders 

POLITICAL leaders in 

the country have been 

urged to fulfil their promises and 

better the lots of Nigerians, rather 

than exploiting them through 

religious, ethnic and other 

primordial sentiments for selfish 

interests. 

This was contained in a 

communiqué issued by 

Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat at the 

end of its 100 years celebration 

held in Ilaro Ogun state, 

Southwest Nigeria. 

The group stated that religion 

should be separated from politics 

for its teachings to remain 

sacrosanct; adding that violence, 

aggression and persecution 

against people under the guise 

of striving in the cause of Allah 

has no place in Islam. 

The Jamaat observed that 

religion has been corrupted and 

regarded as one which supports 

aggression and violence owing to 

negative conducts of the 

followers, lamenting that 

Muslims nowadays give more 

attention to worldly pursuits at 

the expense of moral and spiritual 

development. 

Furthermore , the Islamic 

organisation noted that the 

Muslim countries in the world are 

the most unhappy, most unsettled 

except a handful of Gulf states 

because of lack peace and mutual 

love among them. It added that 

love of materialism among 

political leaders was creating tales 

of woes in Nigeria’s democratic 

system which is affecting the 

growth and development of the 

country. 

Against this developments, 

Ahmadiyya Islamic organisation 

recommended that if Nigerians 

can internalize the motto of 

Ahmadiyya “Love for All, Hatred 

for None” and apply it in their 

daily activities and interactions, 

they would be living a more 

abundant and rewarding life, 

devoid of the strife and tension 

currently affecting the society. 

The conference which was 

attended by former Nigerian 

President Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, 

Governor of State of Osun, Rauf 

Aregbesola, Representatives of 

Ogun and Niger states Governor, 

prominent traditional rulers within 

and outside Nigeria, recorded 61, 

221participants cut across states in 

Southwest Nigeria and outside the 

country. 

C 

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Reptiles, weed take over Abuja National 

Stadium 

•Sports ministry 

staff abandon 

offices 

By Patrick Omorodion 

THE zero budget 

Youth and Sports 

Minister, Barrister Solomon 

Dalung said his 

ministry ran in 2016 may 

have caused the Facilities 

Department which 

duty, it is to keep the environment 

and structures 

in the Abuja National 

Stadium and other 

Stadia in the country 

unable to perform its 

duties. 

As a result, the Abuja 

National Stadium, which 

hosted the 2003 All Africa 

Games and described 

as one of the best in the 

continent and the world, 

has become a ghost of 

itself with dangerous 

reptiles and weed taken 

over the whole premises. 

Consequently the ministry 

staff whose offices 

are inside the stadium 

have abandoned their 

offices for fear of being 

bitten by snakes and 

scorpions which crawl 

all over the premises 

and sneak into the offices. 

A concerned staff of 

one of the sports federations 

at the Package B of 

the Abuja Stadium who 

pleaded anonymity said 

because of snakes and 

scorpions, workers are 

afraid to make use of 

their offices or the Board 

rooms for meetings. 

“The whole premises 

have been overtaken by 

weed and as a result, 

snakes and scorpions 

crawl everywhere and 

even enters the various 

offices and boardrooms. 

Nobody wants to be bitten 

by a snake or scorpion 

so most of us just 

come and hang around 

a little and leave,”he 

said. 

Another staff who wondered 

what the allocation 

the ministry gets for 

the functioning of the 

various departments is 

used for said, “the last 

time the weeds were cut 

and the lawns maintained 

and the premises 

fumigated was during 

the tenure of Alhassan 

Yakmut as Director General 

of the National 

Sports Commission.” 

Meanwhile, the staff 

also complained that the 

sorry state of the stadium 

is caused by the decision 

of the minister to 

abandoned his office at 

the stadium and restricting 

himself only to the 

Youth wing of the Ministry 

situated at the 

Head of Service section 

of the Federal Secretariat 

at the city centre. 

“Since Dalung assumed 

office as minister, 

he has refused to use 

his office at the stadium 

or even the federal Secretariat. 

He seldom visits 

the stadium except to 

occasionally attend 

some functions which 

are usually held there. 

Worst still, he has refused 

to engaged the 

staff attached to his office 

from the sports departmen 

of the ministry. 

He instead relies only 

on the staff of the Youth 

department of the ministry,” 

the staff dis- 

Broadcast rights: Egyptian 

prosecutors to probe Hayatou 

ment to make, while 

C ONFEDERA 

TION of African 

Football President Issa 

Hayatou has been referred 

to Egyptian prosecutors 

for investigation 

over allegedly abusing 

his position. 

At issue is a deal 

awarding the broadcast 

rights to several African 

football tournaments to a 

media company, Lagardere 

Sports. 


Egyptian Competition 

Authority, Hayatou is 

suspected of not opening 

up the tender to free 

and fair competition as 

required by Egyptian 

law. Caf is based in Cairo 

so the authorities say 

it must follow their laws. 

African football’s governing 

body had no com- 

Hayatou could not be 

reached. 

The 70-year-old is currently 

in Abjua, Nigeria 

ahead of yesterday’s 

Caf annual awards. 

closed. 

Of the N83,416,015,167 

billion budgeted for the 

Youth and Sports Ministry, 

the youth department 

which houses both the 

National Youth Service 

Corps and the Citizenship 

and Leadership 

Training Centre (CLTC) 

took a lion share of 

N74,007, 622,305 billion 

(NYSC-N72,875, 

300,832bn and CLTC 

N1,132,321,473bn). 

The ministry’s headquarters 

is expected to 

get N7,762,617,332 billion 

being the total for its 

recurrent and capital expenditures. 

The NFF is 

expected to receive 

N1,149,250,310 billion 

while the National Institute 

for Sports (N.I.S.) 

will 

receive 

N496,525,218 million. 

Like in 2016, the sports 

federations comprising 

about 26 sports were surprisingly 

not mentioned 

for any fund. 

Costa explains spat 

with Pedro a Chelsea move broke 

DIEGO Costa says 

that he and Pedro 

“love each other” despite 

the Chelsea pair’s 

on-pitch dispute against 

Tottenham. 

Chelsea slipped to 

their first defeat since 

September 24 as Dele 

Alli scored twice at 

White Hart Lane on 

Wednesday, ending 

their 13-game Premier 

League winning run. 

During the game, Costa 

and Pedro engaged in 

a heated argument after 

down due to miscommunication 

between the 

pair. The argument lasted 

for around a minute, 

with both players blaming 

the other for a wasted 

opportunity on the 

Tottenham goal. 

After the game, Costa 

explained the situation. 

“Nothing happened,” 

he told IBTimesUK. 

“We have a great understanding 

with each 

other. When you have a 

trusted relationship and 

intimacy with a teammate 

it is normal for 

these things to happen. 

“It was just a moment 

during the game, and 

that’s it. It was nothing. 

I told him: “You have to 

get in there, why didn’t 

you go?” He said “I 

went” and I said he 

didn’t. That’s it. Pedro is 

my brother and we love 

each other.” 

...CAF dismisses allegation as false 

THE Confederation 

of African football 

yesterday dismissed 

media reports that its 

President, Issa Hayatou 

had been referred to 

Egyptian prosecutors for 

questioning for abusing 

his office. CAF labelled 

the claim as “false”. 

The said recommendation 

is supposed to be 

made by the Egyptian 

Competition Authority, 

which accuses CAF of 

Abuja stadium taken over by weed, reptiles. 

Costa 

violating the competition 

rules in Egypt regarding 

the procedure for the allocation 

of commercial 

rights for certain CAF 

competitions for the period 

2017- 2028. 

Reacting to the reports, 

CAF said, “It should be 

noted that in the letter 

sent to CAF by the Egyptian 

Competition Authority, 

there is no mention 

of any prosecution 

against the president of 

CAF, whether for acts of 

corruption or something 

else. 

“CAF recalls that its 

Executive Committee, 

after evaluating the different 

offers submitted, 

and in strict compliance 

with the existing contractual 

clauses, agreed 

to renew the contract 

with Lagardère Sports 

for the 2017-2028 cycle. 

This was done in June 

2015. 

FORMER Golden 

Eaglets star Victor 

Osimhen was unveiled 

by German Bundesliga 

side, VfL Wolfsburg yesterday 

at a Press Conference 

in the club’s training 

camp in La Manga. 

Osimhen, who has 

been training with the 

Club since his exploits at 

the 2015 FIFA U-17 World 

Cup, signed a contract 

on turning 18 with Wolfsburg 

on December 29, 

2016. 

“We have been closely 

monitoring the development 

of Victor over a 

long period of time and 

we have been able to 

achieve our commitment 

to big clubs from 

abroad. Victor is a very 

good match for our philosophy, 

in addition to 

the players who are 

Osimeh 

AS the countdown to 

the 2017 Access 

Bank Lagos City Marathon 

begins, the first Nigerian 

male marathoner 

to cross the finishing 

line at the 2016 edition, 

Philibus Sharubutu is 

hoping to replicate the 

same feat come February 

Mikel 

Continued from B/P 

Tianjin TEDA on 

Thursday after agreeing 

a deal to earn a whopping 

£140,000-a-week. 

Mikel, who hasn’t 

even made the bench at 

Stamford Bridge this 

season, looked set to 

join Valencia having 

turned his back on the 

Chinese Super League. 

According to English 

Club sources, the 29- 

year-old has had a 

change of heart after a 

three-year deal was put 

on the table. 

He will join the likes 

of former team-mate Oscar, 

who made a £60m 

switch to Shanghai SIPG 

this month, and Carlos 

Tevez who became the 

world’s highest paid 

player after completing 

Osimhen fits 

into our 

philosophy, 

says Wolfsburg 

boss 

trained in our own club, 

to bind foreign players 

to the VfL in the long 

term, “says Olaf Rebbe, 

Head of Sport at VfL. 

Head Coach, Valérien 

Ismaël has highlighted 

the strengths of his new 

player, who has already 

been twice as a guest 

player in Wolfsburg: 

“At the age of 18 Victor 

already has a large presence 

in the attack and 

for his size very fast. 

However, he has to increase 

his physical 

strength and get used to 

playing in Germany. We 

want to help him take 

this step. “ 

Osimhen said he was 

delighted to be at the 

club. 

“I want to thank the 

trainer and the sporting 

leadership that I can be 

here, get this chance 

and feel the faith in me. 

Wolfsburg is the right 

place to start my career. 

Now it is up to me to 

give something back. I 

have to work hard and 

learn, “ Osimhen said in 

his first interview as a 

green-and-white. 

Access Bank Lagos Marathon: 

Experience in Paris, Doha 

Marathon will make me excel 

— Sharubutu 11th. 

Sharubutu says the 

experience he has garnered 

from his international 

outings will come 

to bear in his performance 

at the 2nd edition 

of the Access Bank Lagos 

City Marathon. 

He said: “I am preparing 

well for the forthcoming 

Lagos Marathon. 

his China move. 

Mikel will leave Chelsea 

a fan favourite having 

won three Premier 

League titles, two FA 

Cups, one Champions 

League and one Europa 

League amongst others. 

A figure for the transfer 

is still unknown but 

the two sides are confident 

that a deal can be 

agreed once Mikel completes 

his medical. 

And Chelsea may use 

the funds made from the 

sales of Oscar and Mikel 

to land Napoli ace Faouzi 

Ghoulam. 

Antonio Conte is keen 

to bolster his defensive 

options at this crucial 

stage of the season. 

The Italian is also willing 

to let midfielder Ruben 

Loftus-Cheek leave 

on loan with Brighton 

keen on his services.


Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 6, 2017 

Mahrez wins 2016 Glo-CAF 

African Player Award 

ALGERIA forward 

Riyad Mahrez has 

been crowned the CAF 

African Footballer for 

2016 on the back of his 

contributions to Leicester 

City’s Premier League 

triumph last season. 

Reigning African Footballer 

of the Year Pierre- 

Emerick Aubameyang of 

Gabon and Borussia 

Osimhen 

fits into our 

philosophy 

—Wolfsburg 

46 

Dortmund and Liverpool’s 

Senegalese star, 

Sadio Mane claimed second 

and third positions 

respectively. 

The award held last 

night in Abuja, Nigeria, 

was in its 25th edition. 

The CAF African footballer 

of the year is the 

continent’s most prestigeous 

individual award. 

For this edition, those 

who picked the award 

winners, besides member-associations’ 

national 

team coaches or technical 

directors, included 

members of the CAF media, 

technical and devel- 

opment committees as 

well as panel of journalists 

and TV consultants. 

Mahrez victory has 

ended the absence of a 

player from North Africa 

on the list of winners for 

19 years since Morocco’s 

Mustapha Hadji won it. 

Mahrez’s fellow compatriots 

Rabah Madjer 

(1987) and Lakhdar Belloumi 

(1981), Badou Zaki 

(Morocco, 1986), Mohamed 

Timoumi (Morocco, 

1985), Mahmoud Al 

Khatib (Egypt, 1983), 

Tarek Dhiab (Tunisia, 

1977) and Ahmed Faras 

(Morocco, 1975) were 

Mahrez: African footballer of the year. 

other players from the Maghreb to be 

recognised when the awards were organised 

by France Football magazine. 

Costa explains spat 

with Pedro 

*Mikel in Chelsea colour 

Mikel now China bound, 

46 

Osimeh 

TODAY'S PUZZLE 

Tanzania 

name 

squad 

for 

Eagles 

to earn N54m-a-week 

JOHN OBI MIKEL 

looks set to be the 

latest big name to make 

the mega-money move to 

China. 

The Chelsea midfielder 

will reportedly complete 

his medical at 

Continues on Page 46 

Sudoku 

Dalung 

YESTERDAY'S ANSWERS 

Reptiles, weed take over 

Abuja National Stadium 

•Sports ministry staff abandon offices 

ACROSS 

1 Backbone (5) 

5 Column (6) 

8 Mammal (5) 

10 Motorist (6) 

11 Whip (4) 

14 Degree (6) 

15 Hide (7) 

18 Epoch (3) 

19 Yelp (3) 

21 Cheese (4) 

23 Leaf (5) 

24 Liability (4) 

27 Noise (3) 

29 Help (3) 

31 Unaffected (7) 

32 Bird (6) 

34 Eat (4) 

35 Bordered (6) 

38 Reek (5) 

39 Objective (6) 

40 Pretend (5) 

DOWN 

2 Equality (3) 

3 Beginner (6) 

4 Stretch (3) 

5 Heap (4) 

6 Gloss (6) 

7 Beat (6) 

9 Adorned (7) 

12 Hatchet (3) 

13 Leader (4) 

16 Formerly (4) 

17 Language (5) 

20 Style (7) 

22 Region (4) 

24 Leave (6) 

25 Poet (4) 

26 Wearisome (6) 

28 Mess (6) 

30 Fellow (3) 

33 Trial (4) 

36 Sprite (3) 

37 Ovum (3) 

ACROSS: 1, Savour. 5, Soiled. 9, Saver. 

10, Carpet. 11, Valued. 12, Rebel. 14, Reed. 

17, Den. 18, Code. 20, Ended. 22, Piled. 

23, Noticed. 24, Beast. 26, Tenet. 29, Robust. 

37, Alter. 38, Nudity. 39, Depend. 

QUICK CROSSWORD 

YESTERDAY'S SOLUTIONS 

46 

DOWN: 1, Secure. 2, Varied. 3, User. 4, Rated. 5, 

Seven. 6, Oral. 7, Laurel. 8, Dodged. 13, Besides. 

15, Inter. 16, Dense. 18, Cider. 19, Defer. 21, Dot. 

22, Pet. 24, Burden. 25. Agreed. 27, Nature. 28, 

Tested. 30, Madly. 31, Tired. 33, Beat. 34. Core. 

How to Play Sudoku 

Place a number (1-9) in each blank cell. (No line can 

have two of the same number). 

Each row (nine lines from left to right), column, (also 

nine lines from top to bottom) and 3 X 3 block within a 

bold block (nine blocks) contains number from 1 

through 9. This means that no number can appear twice 

in any block, column or row. 

No mathematics is involved – no adding, subtraction, division 

or multiplication, just plain logic and your imagination. 

Printed and Published by VANGUARD MEDIA LIMITED, Vanguard Avenue, Kirikiri Canal, P.M.B.1007, Apapa. Phone: Newsroom: 018773962. Deputy Editor: 01-4548355. Advert Dept Hotline: 

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Website: www.vanguardngr.com (ISSN 0794-652X) Editor: EZE ANABA. Phone: 01—4548355, All correspondence to P.M.B. 1007, Apapa Lagos.

06012017 - Army recovers another Chibok girl with child

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