Sex scandal: US envoy to present video evidence

•P.35•P.21 

Controversy trails concession of Enugu coal blocks 

By Sebastine Obasi 

& Gabriel Ewepu 

CONTROVERSY has 

trailed the alleged 

concession or sale of 

some coal blocks at 

Enugu Coal Mines in 

Enugu. 

This came at a time 

power generation has 

not exceeded 3,500 

megawatts, MW, for a 

country with a 

population of not fewer 

than 150 million. 

Before now, Enugu 

State had claimed that 

the Bureau of Public 

Enterprises, BPE, 

concessioned and sold 

coal blocks in the state for 

renewable energy. 

However, BPE alleged 

that the sale was stopped 

N81bn debt: AMCON to wind up Dantata's 

MRS Oil 

•P.25 

by the Ministry of Solid 

Minerals Development, 

which denied the 

allegation, as it insisted 

that it only gave 

professional advice. 

According to the 

Continues on page 22 

...towards a better life for the people 

VOL. 25: NO. 63069 

** 

TUESDAY, JULY 12, 2016 

ONLINE | www.vanguardngr.com 

N200 

Sex scandal: US envoy to 

present video evidence 

•Says Buhari's anti-corruption war not selective 

•Let the envoy tender his video evidence, say Mrakpor, Nkem-Abonta 

By Kenneth 

Ehigiator, News 

Editor, & Johnbosco 

Agbakwuru, with 

agency reports 

A 

B U J A — 

Ambassador of 

the United States to 

Nigeria, James Entwistle, 

is to present video 

evidence against the three 

members of the House of 

Representatives on 

Thursday when Ossai 

Ossai Committee 

assigned to probe the 

alleged sex misconduct 

Continues on Page 5 

FG to 

demarcate 

Ebonyi/ 

Benue 

boundary to 

avert further 

killings 

•P. 15 

Mr & Mrs 

•P. 

VISIT: Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki (left) and Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa'ad Abubakar III, during Saraki's 

visit to Sokoto to commiserate with the immediate family of late Alhaji Umaru Ali Shinkafi, yesterday. 

Okorocha reads riot act to striking judicial workers •P. 15 

Alleged N50m fraud 

tears C-River traders 

apart 

—See inside 

COLUMNIST: 

As it was in 

1953... 

•P.17 

Bayelsa elders accuse 

Buhari of frustrating 

dialogue with NDA 

•P. 13

2 — VANGUARD, TUESDAY, JULY 12, 2016

VANGUARD, TUESDAY, JULY 12, 2016 — 3

4—Vanguard, TUESDAY, JULY 12, 2016 

No crack in Buhari's security apparatus 

—PRESIDENCY 

By Livinus 

Nwabughiogu 

ABUJA—THE Presidency 

has denied insinuations of 

any friction among security 

chiefs to President Muhamadu 

Buhari. 

According to the Presidency, 

there is absolute understanding 

among the security chiefs in their 

collective responsibility to protect 

the country and defeat 

insurgency in the land. 

A top Presidency source who 

spoke on condition of anonymity, 

By Kingsley Omonobi 

ABUJA—FOLLOWING the 

appointment of AIG Ibrahim 

Idris as the 19th indigenous 

Inspector General of Police and 

subsequent retirement of 21 

Assistant Inspectors General of 

Police which created uproar and 

misgivings in some quarters, 

chairman of Police Service 

Commission, Dr. Mike Okiro, 

has said government’s action did 

not contravene either the Police 

Act or the constitution of the 

country. 

Okiro, a retired Inspector 

General of Police, made the 

clarifications yesterday at the 

decoration of newly promoted 

Deputy Inspectors General of 

Police and members of the police 

management team. 

His explanation came as the 

Minister of Interior, Lt. General 

Abdurahman Dambazau, retd, 

advised the officers to focus on 

the key areas of President 

Muhammadu Buhari’s 

administration, which include 

ensuring the security of the 

nation and its citizenry, fighting 

corruption in all ramification and 

revitalizing the economy. 

Expatiating on the retirement 

of the AIG’s and the furore it 

generated, Okiro said: “If you 

all recall, when Alhaji 

Muhammadu Gambo was 

appointed IGP, he was a DIG 

and so there were no retirements. 

‘’When Aliyu Attah was 

appointed, he was an AIG, so 

all the DIGs above him were 

retired. Tafa Balogun came in as 

AIG, all the senior officers were 

retired. Hafiz Ringim came in as 

AIG, all the DIG’s were retired. 

‘’MD Abubakar came in as AIG, 

all the DIGs were retired. 

Ehindero, I and Ogbonna Onovo 

were DIGs, so there was no 

retirements. IGP Solomon Arase 

was a DIG before taking over, so 

there was no retirement. 

‘’Now that Ibrahim Idris has 

taken over, he should be allowed 

to work. The complaints and 

comments are all a distraction. 

We have serious security 

challenges on our hands, such 

as that of the North East, the 

Niger Delta, kidnapping etc. 

‘’These distractions should 

said the successes so far 

recorded in the fight against 

organized crimes and 

insurgency in the country were 

an eloquent testimony of no 

crack in the wall of relationship 

of the nation’s security 

apparatus. 

Assuring total loyalty to the 

President and coherence in 

especially top hierarchy of the 

security structures in the 

country, the source, however, 

pleaded for encouragement to 

enable the operatives fully 

achieve the set goal. 

“All they need is encouragement 

and praises so that they will be 

encouraged to do more for the 

overall protection of our country, 

Nigeria. 

‘’The talk about division and 

fight among security chiefs is 

uncalled for at this time that 

Nigeria has decimated 

insurgency and organised crimes. 

“As it is today, the NSA always 

holds regular meetings with all 

the security chiefs or their 

representatives in attendance. 

There is no discord in the nation’s 

intelligence community and there 

Retirement of AIGs not against law —OKIRO 

•DIGs chosen from six geo-polical zones to ensure balance —IGP 

stop to allow the acting IGP 

concentrate on fighting these 

challenges.” 

Speaking in a similar vein, 

Dambazau urged the DIGs to 

put in their best to help the IGP 

succeed, noting that no matter 

how brilliant or smart a leader 

was, he would still depend on 

certain imput and support from 

his subordinates, since he could 

not be everywhere or remember 

everything. 

Acting IGP 

On his part, acting IGP, Ibrahim 

Idris, in his address, told the 

DIGs: “You were chosen from the 

six geo-political zones of the 

country to ensure balance and 

conform to the federal character 

principle of fair representation in 

will never be. Anyone alleging 

that is only concocting something 

imaginary. 

“Anybody who is trying to create 

problem where there is non is 

attempting to create disaffection 

in the cohesive security 

apparatus of the President, as 

there is no friction among them.’’ 

The source appealed to 

Nigerians and the international 

community to disregard any false 

information. 

“The loyalty and cohesion of the 

security apparatus will continue 

to work to protect and defend the 

institutions that make up 

Nigeria,” the source assured. 

key positions and appointments 

in the country and its institutions. 

“A police devoid of integrity and 

perceived to be corrupt cannot 

earn the trust and confidence of 

the citizens and, therefore, will be 

unable to deliver creditably on its 

mandate. This is why I believe 

that the police should never play 

second fiddle in the fight against 

corruption under the leadership 

of President Muhammadu 

Buhari." 

ECONOMY: Reps in stormy session today 

over salary delay 

By Johnbosco 

Agbarakwu 

ABUJA—THE House of 

Representatives is set for a 

stormy session today over 

delayed payment of their 

salaries, allowances and the 

implementation of constituency 

projects inputed by them into the 

2016 federal budget. 

Multiple sources disclosed 

yesterday that the angst of the 

members which had for long 

been mollified by the leadership 

of the House, could burst today 

in the face of serious challenges 

of funding being faced by the 

members. 

Vanguard gathered that the 

members have not been paid 

their June salaries and 

allowances for the second 

quarter. 

The situation for the members 

was worsened after some 

travelled for the Lesser Hajj in 

Saudi Arabia and were stranded 

on account of the fact that their 

salaries and allowances were not 

paid. 

Members, however, praised the 

doggedness of the speaker, 

Yakubu Dogara, for staving off a 

mutiny, with some saying 

yesterday that it was the maturity 

of the speaker that had saved a 

faceoff with the Presidency. 

The source further stated that 

even if the House would seat, 

only a few members will attend 

the plenary due to the nonpayment 

of the afore mentioned 

money, adding that shunning 

plenary would be a subtle way of 

declaring a strike to protest the 

difficult financial situation 

members had found themselves 

in. 

A member that spoke on the 

condition of anonymity, stated that 

V I S I T : 

President 

Muhammadu 

Bulgari (right) 

welcoming 

f o r m e r 

President, 

A f r i c a n 

Development 

Bank, ADB, 

Donald P. 

Kaberuka 

during an 

audience at the 

Presidential 

Villa, Abuja, 

yesterday. 

Photo: Abayomi 

Adeshida. 

today’s executive session would 

“be explosive”. 

He said members were 

expected to be disgruntled over 

the inability of the leadership to 

pull it’s weight to get their salaries 

and quarterly allowances paid 

either by the end of June or the 

first week of July. 

He complained bitterly about 

the negative effects of the cash 

crunch that had hit members, 

saying, “many of us find it 

difficult to pay our bills. 

“Apart from being 

representatives of our 

constituents who make series of 

demands on us, we also have 

families and relatives who count 

on us to forge ahead in life.” 

A member of the House of 

Representatives currently earns 

N960,000, against the over N1 

million earned by his 

predecessors, in the 7th 

Assembly. 

ALLEGED 

N50BN DEBT: 

Court 

defreezes 

NICON, 

Global Fleet 

accounts 

By Innocent Anaba 

LAGOS—A Federal Hgh 

Court sitting in Lagos, 

yesterday, set aside the exparte 

order restraining NICON 

Investment Limited, Global 

Fleet Oil and Gas Limited and 

Mr. Jimoh Ibrahim from 

dealing with any assets or 

funds belonging to NICON 

Investment, Global Fleet Oil 

and other assets. 

Trial judge, Justice 

Abdulazeez Anka, set aside 

the ex-parte order, following 

an application by lawyer to 

Asset Management 

Corporation of Nigeria, 

AMCON, Mr Yusuf Ali, SAN, 

that parties had decided to 

explore amicable settlement of 

the dispute. 

A sister court, presided over 

by Justice Saliu Saidu, had on 

June 14, 2016, granted 

AMCON an interim injunction 

against NICON Investment 

Limited, Global Fleet Oil & Gas 

Limited and Mr. Jimoh 

Ibrahim. 

But, NICON Insurance 

Limited, Nigeria Re-Insurance 

Hotels Limited, Abuja 

International Hotels Limited 

and NICON Hotels Limited 

had in an application by their 

lawyers, Chief Niyi Akintola, 

SAN and Chief Bolaji 

Ayorinde, SAN, prayed the 

court to discharge the ex-parte 

order on the grounds that 

AMCON deliberately failed to 

make full disclosure of all 

material facts before the court. 

At the resumed hearing of 

the applications, yesterday, 

AMCON lawyer, Mr Ali told 

the court that since the 

provision of the Federal High 

Court rules encourages 

amicable settlement of dispute, 

parties had decided to meet 

and report back to court the 

within two weeks. 

“In the spirit of good faith to 

show that we are doing this to 

promote equity and justice, we 

agreed to that the ex-parte 

order should be suspended so 

that parties can explore the 

issue of settlement. We have 

an agreement that each of the 

parties will nominate one chartered 

accountant each that will carry out 

forensic audit of the account. Since 

Union Bank is the principal bank that 

gave out the loan, the accountants 

will meet at Union Bank's 

headquarters and they are to report 

back within two weeks,” Ali said. 

Confirming the agreement, Chief 

Akintola and Chief Ayorinde, urged 

the court to set aside the ex-parte 

order so as to give parties unfetter 

access to meet and report back to the 

court.

Vanguard, TUESDAY, JULY 12, 2016—5 

POCKET CARTOON 

She said: “That is his 

claim, he should provide 

the evidence. The people 

(the three lawmakers) are 

alive to present their own 

explanations or 

evidence.” 

INAUGURATION: Sitting from left: Chairman, House of Representatives' 

Committee on Police Affairs, Haliru Jika; Acting Inspector General of Police, 

Ibrahim Idris; Minister of Interior, Lt.-Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau (retd) 

and Chairman, Police Service Commission, Sir Mike Okiro, with the newly 

promoted Force Management Team in Abuja, yesterday. PHOTO: NAN 

US envoy to present video evidence 

Continues from page 1 

involving the trio begins 

open public hearing. 

The three accused 

members include 

Mohammed Garba Gololo 

(APC, Bauchi); Samuel 

Ikon (PDP, Akwa Ibom) 

and Mark Gbillah (APC, 

Benue). 

Entwistle had in a 

petition to Dogara, 

alleged that the actions of 

the three lawmakers at the 

International Visitor 

Leadership Programme in 

Cleveland, Ohio, USA, 

from April 7 to 13, 2016, 

brought disrepute to the 

parliament. The 

Ambassador had alleged 

that the Reps solicited for 

sex from prostitutes and 

grabbing hotel 

housekeeper in a bid to 

rape. 

Vanguard reliably 

gathered that the 

committee had been 

unable to sit because some 

of the members had gone 

pilgrimage to Mecca 

during the Ramadan. 

It was also gathered that 

the committee decided not 

to extend the invitation to 

the hotel management as 

the ambassador, who 

released the information 

through a letter to the 

speaker, Yakubu Dogara, 

is expected to have all the 

documentary evidence 

against the three accused 

members. 

Apart from the US 

Ambassador that is 

expected at the hearing, 

the committee also 

extended invitation to the 

Minister of Foreign 

Affairs, Geoffrey Onyema, 

Committee for the 

Defence of Human 

Rights, the three accused 

lawmakers as well as the 

other seven members that 

attended the leadership 

programme. 

Speaking to Vanguard 

on phone, Chairman of 

the committee, Ossai, said 

the committee decided not 

to invite the management 

of the hotel where the 

alleged sex misconduct 

took place because it 

believed the Ambassador 

would come with all the 

necessary video evidence 

on the act. 

IT'S UP TO YOU 

BY AYO ADIO - 08104802192 

NEVER lose your right to be wrong about 

anything. The moment you want to be right about 

everything, it won’t take too long for you to run into a pit 

on your next right turn. 

TAKE HEART 

BY ELLA RANDLE- O8084919482 

How a person masters his fate is more important than 

what his fate is— Karl Wilhelm 

LIFE didn’t come with a guidebook! We write our 

own story, unfold our own myth as we go along, take 

our cards and play the best hand we have been given! 

The more guidelines and wisdom we have, the better 

we can navigate through the field of material reality to 

manifest the life of our dreams. And this comes through 

experiences. 

We are always attracting into our lives what we need for 

our growth. The game of life requires stealth, wisdom 

and staying power. Ultimately, it is our habits that define 

our destiny. 

SAYINGS OF OUR PEOPLE 

YOU cannot be on a palm tree and look for coconut 

fruits. 

He added: “When I am 

given a job, I do it 

diligently. I don’t 

compromise anything. 

My reputation and the 

reputation of the House is 

at stake.” 

Recall that the Speaker, 

Dogara, while 

inaugurating the Ossailed 

Ethics Committee 

alongside the Foreign 

Affairs after the House 

resolution at plenary on 

Tuesday, June 21, 

mandated it to investigate 

the culpability of the three 

members involved in the 

alleged sex misconduct. 

He described the 

assignment as a very 

serious one, since many 

people had already made 

their conclusion that the 

three accused lawmakers 

were culpable. 

He, however, stated that 

“the standard in the US is 

that an accused is 

assumed innocent until 

proven guilty and that is 

the same standard in 

Nigeria. Any one who has 

evidence can now see the 

committee.” 

Let the US 

Ambassador tender 

the video 

evidence—Nkem- 

Abonta, Mrakpor 

Also commenting, the 

member representing 

Ukwa Federal 

Constituency of Abia 

State, Uzoma Nkem- 

Abonta asked the 

Ambassador to tender any 

video evidence he had 

before the committee. 

He said: “Let him bring 

the video tape so that the 

whole world will see it. I 

think that if that is true, 

that he had the video 

evidence, our legislators 

did not behave well.” 

Also commenting, 

Onyemaechi Joan 

Mrakpor, PDP, Delta, said 

she would not like to 

preempt the committee or 

any evidence the 

Ambassador claims he 

has until everything was 

made public. 

Buhari's anti-graft 

war not selective 

In 

another 

development, 

Ambassador Entwistle, 

has said the ongoing anticorruption 

war of 

President Muhammadu 

Buhari was not selective, 

saying the President had 

done what he should do. 

Entwistle, who stated 

this in an an interview 

with select journalists in 

Abuja, weekend, said: "I 

don’t agree (that the war 

is selective). I have a lot 

of respect for President 

Buhari on the corruption 

issue. He made it clear 

during the campaigns that 

he was going to make that 

his focus. 

"He has done exactly 

what he said he would do. 

It’s clear that he has 

unleashed the 

investigative agencies, 

and told them to follow 

evidence and information 

wherever it goes. 

"I have followed all the 

things you have just 

mentioned; that there are 

prosecutions that are 

politically-motivated and 

so on. 

"I have been following 

this, looking for either 

investigations or arrests 

that are solely politicallymotivated, 

or only 

political. I haven’t found 

any. I think there are 

cases where there might 

be a political angle to it, 

but there are also some real 

evidence to support the 

real case. 

"That’s something we 

follow very closely, just as 

you do. Narrow are the 

paths of investigations, 

making arrests, but I hope 

Nigerians will follow very 

closely in the next few 

years as these cases go to 

court. 

"How they are handled 

in court, how the courts do 

their job, how the 

government reacts when 

inevitably they would lose 

a case in court, what’s the 

reaction to that. All these 

are things that have to be 

observed and handled 

very carefully. 

"But, the premise of your 

question is absolutely 

correct. In any country, it 

is easy for corruption 

cases to begin to spin out 

of control. I don’t see that 

happening here. I hope 

all Nigerians will follow 

that very closely, and if 

you see it, say it." 

On whether 

Obama will 

visit Nigeria 

Asked if President 

Barack Obama will ever 

visit Nigeria before the 

expiration of his tenure, 

Entwistle said: "Nobody 

would be happier to see 

President Obama come to 

Nigeria than me. But, let 

me remind you that 

President Obama is in 

office for six more months, 

which is a long time. 

"So, we’ll see what 

happens. Keep in mind 

that there are other ways 

to do finer relationships 

than just a visit by a 

president. 

"When President Buhari 

went to Washington a year 

ago this month, he met for 

a long time with President 

Obama in the Oval Office. 

So, we have a very good, 

high level relationship, 

even when President 

Obama has not been to 

Nigeria. But, as I said, he 

will be in office for six 

more months. We will see 

what happens. 

On his most 

memorable 

experience in 

Nigeria 

On his most memorable 

experience in Nigeria, he 

said: "I will have to go 

back to the elections. I 

found that to be a positive, 

almost euphoric 

experience. That’s 

something I will always 

carry in my heart forever. 

I will never forget it. 

"On election day, I 

stayed in Abuja, but we 

had our own teams all 

over the country. I went to 

a polling station in FCT 

and talked to an old 

woman. She’s been there 

all morning till that 

afternoon, and she said to 

me: 'This is elections day. 

If I have to stand here all 

day in order to vote, then 

I will stand all day.' 

"I said to myself whao! 

Sometimes it is easy to 

take the right to vote for 

granted. We forget what 

people have gone 

through all over the world 

to get their right to vote, 

and how precious it is. 

Listening to the elderly 

woman reminded me how 

precious the right to vote 

is, and what people go 

through to get it. 

"I was there in Alabama 

when Martin Luther King 

made his now famous 

speech. I remember 

African-Americans 

protesting, because they 

wanted to vote, even 

though theoretically they 

have had the right for a 

hundred years. They 

wanted to have the right 

to vote. I remember the 

people being attacked by 

the police in Alabama with 

water and dogs. 

"That underlines to me 

how precious a thing the 

right to vote is. I think 

about what people have 

gone through. I saw the 

emphasis Nigerians put 

on, the patience that they 

stood in line, and the way 

the system worked after 

that. 

"The votes were counted 

and tabulated; the 

incumbent president 

conceded defeat and 

stepped down. I thought 

the whole process was 

incredibly inspirational. 

That’s the high point of 

my time here." 

Buhari has done a 

good job 

On whether the 

President had met the 

expectations of Nigerians 

since he assumed office a 

year ago, the ambassador 

said: "I see a parallel 

between President Buhari 

and President Obama. 

President Obama had not 

been in office for a long 

time before people began 

to have the same kind of 

impatience. 

"I think in the US, a lot 

of people forgot how 

difficult the situation 

President Obama 

inherited was at the time. 

I think the same thing is 

happening with President 

Buhari to a certain 

degree. 

"It’s completely 

understandable for people 

to have high 

expectations. They are 

impatient, because they 

want to see change. But, 

President Buhari 

inherited a pretty difficult 

set of circumstances, and 

some of the things he’s 

identified what needed to 

be done — end 

corruption, reform the 

petroleum sector, end the 

conflict in the North East 

region — are things that 

even if he works as hard 

as he can, they are going 

to take some time to yield 

the kind of results people 

expect. 

"I understand why 

people are impatient. I 

remember a week after 

inauguration, looking at 

the newspapers, there was 

already an editorial that 

said: 'Well, Mr. President, 

it’s been a week, we 

haven’t seen much yet.'"


08023019505 

08034073107 

4 estate 

agents bolt 

with 

woman’s 

N2.6m 

A 

71-year-old man, 

Bamidele Doherty, 

and three estate agents, 

who allegedly collected 

N2.6 million on the 

pretext of securing a twobedroom 

apartment for a 

woman, are facing trial at 

an Igbosere Magistrate’s 

Court in Lagos. 

The woman (names 

withheld) had paid the 

agents to live in 

highbrow area of Ikoyi. 

The three other accused 

being tried alongside 

Bamidele Doherty are 

Jubrin Yusuf, 47; Mathew 

Adeniyi, 39; and Kehinde 

Adeleye, 35. They are 

being tried for a fourcount 

charge bordering 

on conspiracy, fraud and 

stealing. 

However, Prosecutor 

Cyriacus Osuji insisted 

that the accused, with 

others still at large, 

committed the offences on 

June 5 at Parkview Estate, 

Ikoyi. 

He said the men 

collected N2.6 million 

from the accommodation 

seeker to rent out a twobedroom 

apartment at 19, 

Aghodogba St., Parkview 

Estate, Ikoyi, to her. 

His words: “The 

accused conspired and 

introduced Doherty to the 

complainant as the 

landlord of the apartment. 

The complainant then 

transferred the N2.6 

million online and the 

accused disappeared 

with the money until they 

were apprehended by the 

police.” 

Ruling on the bail 

application of the 

accused, the magistrate, 

Mrs A. Y. Omeyele, 

granted them bail in the 

sum of N250,000 each 

with two sureties each in 

like sum. 

She said the sureties 

must produce evidence of 

tax payment and be 

gainfully employed. 

The case was adjourned 

to August 2 for mention. 

By Suzan Edeh 

BAUCHI—A young man, 

who claimed to have gone 

to a cemetery to exhume the 

corpse of his son, was last week 

arrested by police detectives in 

Bauchi with the head of a male 

child wrapped in a cloth. 

The 25-year-old man, 

Maikudi Mohammed, 

according to the Bauchi State 

Police Public Relations Officer, 

DSP Haruna Mohammed, was 

arrested in Misau Local 

Government Area of the state. 

The state police image-maker 

noted that preliminary 

investigation revealed that the 

suspect, who hails from 

Galambi village in Bauchi Local 

Government, conspired with 

his accomplice, one Damina 

Mohammed, aged 26. 

The suspects, according to 

DSP Mohammed, went to a 

graveyard in Galambi village to 

exhume the head of a male 

child corpse to sell to a 

customer, now at large. 

The PPRO said that the 

suspect confessed that the 

child was his son, who died and 

was buried but that he later 

went back to the graveyard at 

night with his accomplice to 

exhume it. 

The police spokesman added 

that the case was under 

investigation after which the 

suspects would be charged to 

court for prosecution. 

4 die in road accident 

In another development, four 

people reportedly lost their 

lives Sunday evening in a 

motor accident at Miya Berkete 

village in Toro Area of Bauchi 

State. 

It was learned that the 

accident occurred when an 

Opel Vectra, with number 

plates FH 277 ABC, conveying 

five passengers from Jos to 

Bauchi, brushed a motorcyclist, 

Jibrin Haruna. 

Consequently, the driver lost 

control of the vehicle and had 

a head-on collision with a Golf 

3, number plates BSA 306 SC, 

which was coming from Bauchi 

with five passengers. 

A police patrol team attached 

to Toro Division visited the 

scene and rushed casualties to 

General Hospital, Toro. 

A police source said four 

female passengers were 

certified death on arrival by a 

FOREX PROTEST: Members of Association of 

Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents, ANLCA, Nigeria 

Customs Service PTML Area Command Office, Mile 2 

chapter, protesting the exchange rate increase from N197 to 

N282. PHOTOS: Akeem Salau. (Story in Page 10). 

Man caught with human head in Bauchi 

•It is my dead son's head—SUSPECT 

•It's a syndicate at work; we're investigating—POLICE 

medical doctor, while nine 

other occupants, including 

three female youth corps 

members, two drivers, a 

By Emem Idio 

Y ENAGOA—THREE 

Bible-wielding robbery 

suspects, who said they were 

returning from a vigil, but 

could not explain how they 

got in their possession two 

goats, properties of a 

restaurant owner, have 

been arrested in Amarata, a 

suburb of Yenagoa, Bayelsa 

State. 

motorcyclist and his 

passenger, were referred to 

ATBU Teaching Hospital, 

Bauchi. 

An eyewitness told 

Vanguard that the suspected 

thieves were caught while 

trying to escape with the 

stolen animals at an odd 

hour after they had 

successfully whisked out the 

two goats away from the 

animals’ barn. 

According to the 

eyewitness, when the 

suspects were accosted by a 

resident, one of the suspects, 

Meanwhile, the corpses have 

been released to relatives for 

burial after post-mortem 

examinations. 

3 goat thieves arrested in Yenagoa 

Robbers flee with car, victim's baby 

By Egufe Yafugborhi 

WARRI—A woman was 

left in pains, Sunday, 

as hoodlums made away with 

the car she was driving with 

her baby inside, along 

robbery-prone Soko Estate 

Road, Effurun, Uvwie Local 

Government Area, Delta 

State. 

Residents in Soko Estate 

By Esther Onyegbula 

Ayet-to-be identified child 

abductor, who confessed 

to being part of a 27-woman 

syndicate from Benin 

Republic, narrowly escaped 

being lynched yesterday 

when she was caught at Aka 

Road, Okokomaiko area of 

Lagos. 

The lady, it was gathered, 

was usually seen around the 

area behaving like a lunatic, 

but became ‘sane’ when she 

was apprehended yesterday 

morning trying to abduct a 

child. 

Obviously scared for her life 

Road, a link between Jakpa 

Road and Airport Road in 

Effurun, live in daily fear of 

armed gangs, who attack and 

rob victims at random with 

impunity at several bad spots 

on the road. 

An eyewitness, simply 

identified as Mrs. Juliet, said 

the robbers in the Sunday 

incident were swift in 

dispossessing the 

holding a Bible in hand, 

claimed they were Christians 

returning from a church 

service, but they could not 

explain how they came about 

the goats in their possession. 

The resident raised the alarm 

and alerted a local vigilante 

group, who later arrested and 

handed them over to the police. 

The owner of the goats has 

since collected her livestock 

from police custody. 

unidentified victim of her 

vehicle and zooming off with 

her baby in a matter of seconds. 

The worried residents of Soko 

Estate Road and adjoining 

streets, therefore, implored 

Delta State government to 

intensify security in the area 

and urgently address the poor 

state of the road to ensure 

security of lives and properties 

in the area. 

I'm part of a 27-woman gang from 

Benin Republic—CHILD ABDUCTOR 

The suspect... we have 

ready buyers of children 

when she was caught in the act, 

the yet-to-be identified lady 

reportedly began to divulge 

information of her activities. 

According to the suspect, “we 

were 27 women that came as a 

syndicate from Benin Republic. 

Each woman was given five 

phones to contact their buyers 

once the targets, mainly little 

children, were found. We then 

discard the phone after 

transactions to avoid been 

traced. The abduction is for 

outright sale, not for a 

ransom.” 

Kidnap history 

Vanguard gathered that the

Father of ex-speaker pro-tempore, 

Tsegba, kidnapped in Benue 

By Peter Duru 

M AKURDI—THE 

paramount ruler of 

Gboko North, Chief Tsegba Gbor, 

and father of the former Speaker 

pro tempore of the House of 

Representatives, Mr. Terngu 

Tsegba, has been kidnapped by 

unknown gunmen in Gboko 

Local Area of Benue State. 

Vanguard learned that the 

octogenarian was abducted, 

weekend, from his palace at 

Adekaa, Gboko-East by the 

armed men, who stormed his 

domain at about 8p.m. in two 

unmarked cars and whisked him 

away. 

According to a source, “they 

came in two unregistered cars 

around 8p.m. and pretended 

that they were visitors seeking 

the counsel of the Ortar, who was 

at the time resting in his 

bedroom. 

“When he came out to see the 

visitors, they pointed a gun at 

him and then bundled him into 

their waiting vehicle, and left. 

“Unfortunately, they took him 

away leaving his phone behind 

and without allowing him access 

to his drugs, which he takes daily 

because he is not well.” 

Confirming the development, 

eldest son of the royal father, and 

former Speaker, Mr. Terngu 

Tsegba, said the kidnappers 

were yet to establish contact with 

the family. 

He said: “No one has reached 

us since he was taken away on 

Saturday and we are getting 

By Luka Binniyat 

KADUNA—THE leadership 

tussle over the stool of the 

General Superintendent of the 

Assemblies of God Church in 

Nigeria, between Professor Paul 

Emeka and Dr. Chidi, exploded 

missing child count in 

Okokomaiko and its environs, 

in the last two months, is about 

seven. 

Few days ago, in the same 

Okokomaiko, another female 

child abductor was 

apprehended after she 

successfully kidnapped a child 

and attempted to kidnap the 

second child before she was 

noticed. 

Unfortunately, she could not 

produce the first child before 

she was whisked away by the 

police. 

Resident blasts police 

Lamenting, a resident in the 

area, Omowummi Ireti, said: 

“In the last one year, the trend 

of women kidnapping children 

has been on the increase. 

“Fortunately, some of the 

TAKEN: Chief Tsegba Gbor, kidnapped 

very worried because he is an 

old man. The matter has been 

reported to police who are 

EXPRESSWAY: Ile-Ife to Ibadan Expressroad at Ipetumodu town, close to the 

roundabout. PHOTO: Dare Fasube. 

into violence in one of its 

branches in Saminaka, Lere 

Local Government Area, 

Kaduna State, about 140 

kilometres east of Kaduna 

metropolis. 

The fight left 20 members with 

injuries and two homes of 

women involved have been 

caught in recent times and 

they are always rescued from 

the mob and whisked away by 

the police. But the sad thing 

is that nothing is ever heard 

of the outcome again. 

“If the Nigerian Police is a 

serious outfit, one of such 

‘arrests’ is enough lead to get 

to the root of this syndicate and 

crack it.” 

When Vanguard visited the 

Okoko Division Police Station, 

the suspect was a shadow of 

herself as she has been beaten 

to stupor. She was vomiting 

and acting funny. 

Contacted, the Lagos State 

Police Command Public 

Relations Officer, SP Dolapo 

Badmos, said that the case 

had been transferred to state 

CID, Panti. 

currently investigating the 

matter.” 

Tsegba, who expressed 

resident pastors burnt. 

A source from the 

Assemblies of God Church 

(Jerusalem), Saminaka, told 

Vanguard in Kaduna that the 

fight started from 8a.m. and 

lasted till 2p.m. Sunday, 

which was later confirmed by 

Kaduna State Police 

Command. 

It could be recalled that on 

September 15, 2015, Governor 

Nasir el-Rufai had ordered the 

closure of the church 

including the Theological 

Seminary of Northern 

Nigeria, Saminaka, Shalom 

Comprehensive College, 

AGC Evangelist Hospital, 

Saminaka, saying it was to 

avoid a possible breakdown of 

law and order, as the two 

factions squabbled. 

According to the source, a 

minority faction of the church 

sneaked into the premises on 

Saturday evening and slept 

overnight. 

The source said: “We came 

to worship around 8a.m. Not 

knowing that the other faction 

concern over the security 

situation in the state, said: 

“Though we are not 

suspecting anyone at the 

moment, my fear is that 

perhaps some of the 

beneficiaries of the amnesty 

programme of the 

government may be on the 

loose and perpetrating these 

vices. 

“I am disturbed because 

cases of kidnapping have 

suddenly become rampant in 

Benue and every discerning 

mind should be worried at 

this development. 

“Government must take 

steps to address these issues 

before it gets out of hand.” 

had prepared for war. We 

came into the premises and 

secured the gates. 

“As soon as we had settled 

for the Church proceedings, 

about 20 members of the other 

faction appeared. They were 

armed with knives, daggers, 

clubs, iron rods and other 

weapons. 

“To our surprise, Police, 

Army, Civil Defense 

personnel arrived the 

premises of the church almost 

the same time members of the 

other faction emerged. 

“The Divisional Police 

Officer of Saminaka, who has 

just been posted here, 

seemed in charge of the 

security men around. He told 

us to come out of the church 

and leave the premises. We 

said we would only do so if 

the armed faction, which was 

then hauling stones at us, 

also left. 

“In no time, they attacked 

us, injuring many of us. Since 

we were not armed, we had 

to find ways to escape. 


08023019505 

08034073107 

6 

undergraduates 

die in Ekiti 

road accident 

By Rotimi 

Ojomoyela 

ADO-EKITI—AN auto 

crash, which 

occurred late last night at 

about 7:30p.m. in front of 

Ekiti State University, 

Ado-Ekiti, has claimed 

the lives six persons 

reportedly students of the 

institutions. 

While eyewitness 

accounts said six people 

died, the Police Public 

Relations Officer, Ekiti, 

Mr. Alberto Adeyemi, who 

confirmed the development, 

said his men had 

recorded five casualties. 

The eyewitness said that 

the crash was caused by 

some heavily drunk boys, 

suspected to be internet 

fraudsters, popularly 

called Yahoo-yahoo boys, 

who rammed into a minicommercial 

bus 

conveying students from 

the campus with their car. 

The witness said: “The 

yahoo-yahoo boys must 

have been heavily drunk. 

They drove carelessly and 

collided with the 

commercial bus. Six 

people died on the spot, 

while one of them is in a 

critical condition. 

“Officers of Federal 

Road Safety Corps, FRSC, 

have taken the corpses to 

the morgue.” 

20 injured, houses razed as Assemblies of God factions clash in Kaduna 

•Muslim neighbours were laughing at us—MEMBER 

“The most frightening thing 

was that the stones they were 

throwing were also falling into 

Hausa Muslims homes. If these 

people had reacted, I don’t 

know what Saminaka would 

have been today. 

“The Muslims came out and 

were laughing at us. It is such 

a disgrace. To our surprise, the 

police and the rest did nothing 

to stop them. After inflicting 

injuries on us, they went to the 

homes of our two resident 

pastors and set them ablaze.” 

When contacted, Police Public 

Relations Officer for Kaduna 

State Police Command, ASP 

Aliyu Usman, in a text message 

to Vanguard yesterday, said: “I 

have confirmed the story. The 

case between the two factions 

is already in court, while the 

DPO attached to Saminaka 

Division has controlled the 

situation and also made arrests 

of the hoodlums. 

“The area is calm and 

proactive measures are been 

placed to prevent further 

escalation of the crisis.”


IFC invests 

$74m in OIS 

Indorama to 

boost 

fertilizer 

export 

By Michael Eboh 

T 

H E 

INTERNATIONAL 

Finance Corporation, IFC, 

a member of the World 

Bank Group, yesterday, 

granted a $73.5 million 

loan facility to OIS 

Indorama Port Limited for 

the development of a multipurpose 

port terminal at 

Onne in Port Harcourt, 

Rivers State to boost 

Nigeria’s fertilizer export. 

IFC, in a statement in 

Abuja, explained that 

though the total cost of the 

project is $150 million, it is 

providing a $73.5 million 

debt package, comprising 

$52.5 million of its own 

funds and a $21 million 

parallel loan mobilized from 

a commercial bank, while 

Rand Merchant Bank is 

providing an additional 

$31.5 million loan. 

It further stated that 

Indorama Port’s material 

handling systems is in the 

process of being 

commissioned with 

loading of the first vessel 

expected in mid-July 2016. 

According to the IFC, the 

project will serve as a 

platform for direct exports 

of fertilizer to foreign 

markets, adding that the 

project will generate 

critical foreign exchange 

and help the country 

diversify from dependence 

on crude oil exports. 

The company explained 

that Indorama Port is 

located at Onne port, about 

16 kilometers south-east of 

the Eleme Fertilizer plant 

and includes a 295-meter 

multipurpose jetty, storage 

facilities suitable for 

fertilizer consisting of a 

45,000 metric ton 

warehouse for urea with an 

automated material 

handling system. 

Chibok girls: Buhari'll never make bogus 

promises —Presidency 

...urges BBOG to have confidence in govt 

By Levinus 

Nwabughiogu 

A BUJA—FOLLOWING 

recent claims by 

BringBackOurGirls that 

President Muhammadu Buhari 

had “broken all promises” made 

to the group about rescuing the 

missing Chibok girls, the 

Presidency yesterday assured 

the group that the government 

was not relenting in its effort to 

rescue the missing girls. 

The Presidency also stated 

that the government had not 

been “lackadaisical” in the 

rescue mission. 

While declaring that 

President Buhari would not 

make bogus promises to BBOG 

in particular and Nigerians in 

general, the Presidency urged 

the BBOG to have confidence 

in the government. 

Mallam Garba Shehu, the 

Senior Special Assistant to the 

President on Media and 

Publicity, made the appeal in a 

statement yesterday. 

Shehu said there had been 

military onslaught in the 

Sambisa forest which led to the 

rescue of many captives. 

He also said government was 

open for a renewed cooperation 

with the group and the 

international community. 

The statement read in part: 

“The Presidency will like to 

appeal to the officials and 

members of the Bring Back Our 

Girls, BBOG, campaign group 

not to waver in their support for 

the government in the war 

Crisis in South Sudan extremely disturbing —Buhari 

...assures AU of fulfilling Nigeria’s financial obligations 

By Levinus 

Nwabughiogu & 

Victoria Ojeme 

A BUJA—PRESIDENT 

Muhammadu Buhari 

has described the current 

situation in South Sudan as 

extremely disturbing, urging 

against terrorism and in the 

ongoing effort to free all Nigerian 

citizens taken captive by the Boko 

Haram terrorist group. 

“The past year of this 

administration has seen the 

Nigerian military step up 

bombardment of the Sambisa 

Forest, a stronghold of the Boko 

Haram terrorist group, leading to 

the capture of hundreds of 

insurgents. 

“Also, records from the Army 

show the rescue of no fewer than 

15,000 captives, mostly women 

and children from the terrorists 

from February to date. In addition, 

dozens of communities that were 

previously under the control of the 

terrorists have been liberated, 

allowing thousands of previously 

displaced citizens to return home 

and resume their normal lives. 

“Thousands of these women 

and children freed from captivity 

have also been reunited with their 

The Archbishop of Enugu, Rt.Rev. Emmanuel Chukwuma, Bishop of Enugu 

North Diocese, Rev. Sosthenes Eze and his wife ,Faith, at the closing 

ceremony of the 2016 synod of the Anglican Diocese of Enugu North, 

hosted by Nsude Archdeaconry, last weekend. 

the leadership of African Union to 

work towards stabilizing the 

country and others on the “brink.” 

He also said that Nigeria would 

fulfill its financial obligation to the 

AU, particularly on programmes 

and operations aimed at ensuring 

durable peace, stability and 

security. 

The President’s declaration 

Fani-Kayode waiting for EFCC to verify his bail 

documents —Aide 

...says he's confident, high in spirit to join his 5 month old son, 

family members 

By Henry Umoru 

A BUJA—FORMER 

spokesperson to ex- 

President Goodluck Jonathan’s 

Presidential Campaign 

Organisation, Chief Femi Fani- 

Kayode, said yesterday, that he 

has met all the conditions for his 

bail. 

In a statement issued in Abuja 

by his Media Adviser, Jude 

Ndukwe, Chief Fani-Kayode, 

who remains confident, strong 

and high in spirit, said he was 

only waiting for the Economic 

and Financial Crimes 

Commission, EFCC, to verify 

the documents and release him 

to join his family. 

The statement read: “Kindly 

be notified that Chief Femi Fani- 

Kayode has met all the 

conditions for his bail and the 

relevant documents have been 

duly filed and submitted at the 

Federal High Court in Lagos. 

“We are now waiting for the 

EFCC to verify the documents, 

after which he would be released. 

Despite the fact that he has been 

locked up for the last 62 days, he 

remains confident, strong, healthy 

and in very high spirits. 

“He misses his family very 

badly, especially his five month 

old son, Aragon, and he looks 

forward to joining his family, 

friends and loved ones.” 

came as Foreign Affairs Minister, 

Geoffrey Onyeama, said Nigeria 

might not field candidates for 

positions in African Union when 

the body meets next week at its 

27th Ordinary session to elect new 

members. 

President Buhari spoke while 

receiving the AU envoy on the 

Peace Fund, Dr. Donald 

Kaberuka, at the State House, 

Abuja, yesterday. 

The President said supporting 

peace operations under the 

auspices of the AU in several 

countries affected by conflict 

remained a foreign policy priority 

of his administration. 

The President also assured the 

AU envoy that Nigeria would also 

play a central role in seeking the 

EU and the UN to strengthen their 

support for crisis-prone African 

countries.” 

What is happening in South 

Sudan is extremely disturbing and 

it is a very dicey situation. The 

AU leadership has a crucial role 

in stabilizing the country and other 

African countries on the brink. 

”What we can do urgently to 

families. 

“This huge number of rescued 

women and children may not be 

prominent names, and their 

disappearance may not have 

generated any massive media 

attention and campaign. 

“However, their liberation is 

just as important as that of every 

other missing woman and child, 

and a testament to the devotion 

of our military personnel who 

daily risk life and limb in the effort 

to bring back every 

Nigerian citizen kidnapped 

by Boko Haram terrorists. 

“Along with these 

ongoing efforts to rid our 

country of terrorists and 

terrorism, the Nigerian 

government is focused on 

the welfare and 

rehabilitation of rescued 

Nigerians, many of whom 

were found in a state of 

severe malnutrition and 

illness. 

“While their intentions 

are honourable, perhaps the 

BBOG leadership have not 

considered the collateral 

damage which must 

inevitably follow its riveting 

and dispiriting claim that 

the President has “broken 

all promises” allegedly 

made to the group on this 

issue. Or that he has been 

“lackadaisical” in rescuing 

the Chibok girls. The 

Federal Government’s 

focus has always been to 

free the Chibok girls alive 

and unharmed. 

stabilize South-Sudan is very 

important as African leaders meet 

in Kigali, Rwanda this month 

and later in September at the 

UN,” the President said.I 

n his remarks, Kaberuka said 

funding AU-led peace support 

operations, which had remained 

a challenge for membercountries, 

was further 

compounded early this year with 

the EU cut in its allocation to the 

AU Mission in Somalia by 20 per 

cent. 

Kaberuka said the AU summit 

in Kigali was expected to agree 

on a roadmap of alternative 

financing for AU-led peace 

support operations, including a 

proposal for African nations to 

fund 25 per cent of the Fund’s 

budget while UN contributes the 

balance.Meanwhile, Foreign 

Affairs Minister, Geoffrey 

Onyeama, has said Nigeria 

might not field candidates for 

positions in African Union when 

the body meets next week at its 

27th Ordinary session to elect 

new members that would lead it 

for the next two years.


Our education system not 

tailored to train leaders, but 

workers —DOGARA 

•Bags Zik leadership award 

By Johnbosco 

Agbakwuru 

ABUJA—SPEAKER of 

the House of 

Representatives, Yakubu 

Dogara, has lamented that 

the nation’s educational 

system, as designed by the 

colonial masters, was not 

made to train leaders but 

workers. 

According to him, those 

trained were to serve as 

workers to enrich the 

colonial masters. 

Dogara, who stated this 

when he received the Zik 

Leadership award for 

Public Service last 

weekend, said the only 

option to ensure that the 

country groomed its 

leaders was by redesigning 

the educational curriculum. 

He said: “The only way 

we can grow in this nation 

is for our own ivory towers 

to begin to establish centres 

and institutes of leadership 

that will ingrain the culture 

of leadership in our young 

people.” 

Health Ministry plans EMU to 

oversee flow of funds 

By Victoria Ojeme 

A BUJA—THE 

MINISTRY of 

Health has concluded 

plans to set up Efficiency 

Management Unit, EMU, 

to oversee the flow of funds 

in the Ministry. 

It will be recalled that 

recent reports in some 

dailies indicated that some 

agencies and departments 

were fingered by the Global 

Fund on alleged diversion 

of funds meant for the fight 

against HIV/AIDS and 

malaria. 

The magnitude of the 

alleged corruption and the 

threat by the Global Fund 

to withdraw its funding 

and support to Nigeria 

compelled President 

Muhammadu Buhari to 

order the Economic and 

Financial Crimes 

Commission, EFCC, to 

probe the alleged 

misappropriation of Global 

Fund grants which 

Nigeria received between 

2010 and 2014 

Speaking during a 

meeting with the World 

Health Organisation, 

WHO, Regional Director 

for Africa, Dr Matshidiso 

Moeti, who is in Nigeria 

for a three-day official visit, 

He lamented that lack of 

credible leadership had 

been the bane of Nigeria’s 

development, adding that 

with patriotic leadership, 

Nigeria would over come its 

challenges. 

Dogara in a statement 

issued by his Special 

Adviser on Media and 

Public Affairs, Turaki 

Hassan, noted that 

Nigeria’s founding fathers 

wanted to be seen as 

people who were not just 

leaders, but leaders of a 

country that had the 

needed population and 

resources. 

He said: ‘’They fought for 

the unity of this country. We 

may never be like them but 

we can strive to ensure that 

the ideals for which they 

fought and gave everything 

are replicated and 

sustained. 

“What has been the 

problem with Nigeria is lack 

of leadership. If we have 

credible leadership that 

speaks about the 

challenges we face as a 

Minister of Health, Prof. 

Isaac Adewole, solicited the 

support of the world health 

body for the success of the 

unit. 

“At the ministry level, we 

want to set up an efficiency 

management unit where we 

can use our funds properly. 

We need your technical 

support. Your support in this 

L AGOS—THE 

Distinguished Public 

Lecture of the Department 

of Industrial Relations and 

Personnel Management, 

Faculty of Business 

Administration, University 

of Lagos, holds today by 

10.am. 

The lecture, which is titled 

“Nigeria for All Nigerians: 

Resetting Nigeria’s 

Development Default 

Mode,” will be delivered by 

an international expert on 

Strategy and Development, 

Dr. Christopher Imoisili, 

former Director-General, 

Nigeria Employers’ 

Consultative Association, 

NECA, and Senior 

nation, there is no way that 

in spite of our challenges, 

we won’t make progress.” 

He said so many nations 

in the world that had the 

diversity of Nigeria used it 

positively, wondering why 

such countries were making 

progress and Nigeria was 

not. 

Dogara argued that the 

leadership that the nation 

needed was such that 

would lead it to always 

overcome its fears and not 

yield to them, stressing that 

what would be at the centre 

of that leadership would be 

justice. 

He said: “Justice is 

needed in building a civil 

society, and we must 

understand the workings of 

justice which is necessary in 

democracy. And then we 

have equality. 

“If we establish both 

principles, there is no way 

Nigeria will not have 

progress. I don’t believe 

that the variety within 

Nigeria is a mistake, just as 

Nigeria is not a mistake." 

respect will be highly 

appreciated,” the minister 

said. 

The minister also solicited 

the support of the WHO in 

the form of resources and 

technical support to enable 

the Federal Government 

succeed in its plan to 

revitalize over 10,000 

Primary Healthcare Centres 

across the country. 

UNILAG IRPM Dept holds 

Distinguished Public 

Lecture today 

Enterprise Specialist, 

International Labour 

Organisation, ILO. 

A respected business 

leader, Felix Ohiwerei, 

OFR, former Chairman, 

Nigeria Breweries, will be 

the Chairman of the 

occasion. 

According to the Acting 

Head of the Department of 

Industrial Relations and 

Personnel Management, 

Dr. Chris Obisi, the Public 

lecture is aimed at 

proposing a new strategy in 

addressing the crisis of 

Nigeria’s development. 

The event will take place at 

the Multipurpose Hall of 

University of Lagos, Akoka.

10 — Vanguard, TUESDAY JULY 12 , 2016 

LASIEC boss 

reads riot act 

to electoral 

commissioners 

By Olasunkanmi Akoni 

L AGOS—THE 

Chairman of Lagos 

State Independent Electoral 

Commission, LASIEC, 

Justice Ayotunde Philips, 

(retd), yesterday, warned the 

state electoral commissioners 

against any act of indiscipline, 

saying anyone found wanting 

would be punished 

accordingly. 

She urged the 

commissioners to ensure free, 

fair and transparent conduct 

of the polls in the forthcoming 

local government elections. 

It would be recalled that 

Lagos State Governor, Mr. 

Akinwunmi Ambode, 

recently, swore in the new 

Chairman and four new 

Electoral Commissioners of 

the commission. 

The new Chairman of the 

Commission and immediate 

past Chief Judge of the state, 

disclosed this yesterday, 

during a meeting with the 

commissioners and 

Permanent Secretary of the 

Commission in Lagos, on 

assumption of duty. 

Philips, who said the 

commission would soon 

embark on the tour of the 57 

Local Governments, Local 

Council Development Areas 

of the state, explained that it 

was to enable members of the 

commission familiarize 

themselves with the terrain in 

various parts of the state 

ahead of the conduct of the 

next elections into councils. 

According to her, the tour 

would also afford the 

commission the opportunity to 

assess the state of offices 

allocated to Electoral Officers 

of the commission in the 

various councils. 

Phillips however, assured 

residents that the commission 

would conduct free, fair and 

credible elections across the 

councils of the state. 

“I urge you to be honest 

and be transparent in your 

operations so as to enable the 

commission achieve its 

mission of conducting 

credible and acceptable 

elections. The commission 

will not tolerate laziness and 

other forms of misconduct 

from staff, but I urge you to 

support and cooperate with 

the commission in the drive 

to conduct free, fair and 

credible elections into the local 

government and local council 

development areas of the 

state,” she stated. 

Permanent Secretary of the 

Commission, Mr. Olumide 

Lawal, on his part, pledged 

the support and cooperation 

of staff to the commission. 

Afenifere raps Osinbajo’s stance on restructuring 

By Dapo Akinrefon 

PAN-YORUBA socio-political 

organisation, Afenifere, 

yesterday faulted the statement 

credited to the Vice-president, 

Professor Yemi Osinbajo, that the 

call for the restructuring of Nigeria 

would not make any difference. 

Afenifere, which argued that the 

Vice-president missed the debate 

on restructuring, contended that 

the issue went beyond more 

allocation from the Federal 

Government to the states. 

It would be recalled that Prof 

Osinbajo had kicked against the 

calls for the restructuring of 

Nigeria, saying it would not make 

any difference. 

In a statement by its National 

Publicity Secretary, Mr Yinka 

Odumakin, Afenifere said: “While 

we understand that the learned 

Professor ,who is from the zone 

that has been loudest on this call 

may have come under pressure 

to lend his voice to the upholders 

of the status quo that has brought 

Nigeria to this sorry pass,we 

would like to respectfully 

admonish him to be sure footed 

on the subject before he speaks 

next time. He misses the entire 

debate by engaging in the 

reductionist argument 

narrowing the whole issue to 

taking more money from the 

Federal Government to the states. 

Yes,fiscal federalism is part of the 

argument but the issue goes 

beyond the monthly Federal 

Allocation Committee. 

“The central plank of 

restructuring is for Nigeria to go 

back to the true practice of 

Federalism wherein mineral 

resources that abound in all states 

would be freed from the exclusive 

list so that states would move into 

prosperity and not be reporting at 

Prof Osinbajo’s office for bailout 

from a centre that only corners 

Clearing agents protest ‘sudden’ govt 

policy on rates 

By Oboh Agbonkhese 

L AGOS—AGGRIEVED 

clearing and forwarding 

agents on the platform of 

Association of Nigeria Licensed 

Customs Agents, ANLCA, 

yesterday, laid siege to Nigeria 

Customs Service PTML Area 

Command Office at Mile 2, 

protesting alleged “sudden” 

change in exchange rate making 

it impossible for them to serve their 

customers and still make profit. 

They claimed the new rate being 

implemented retroactively, had 

grounded their businesses. 

Displaying placards with various 

inscriptions, the agents besieged 

the PTML premises, chanting 

solidarity songs, threatening to 

that their next port of call would 

be Tin Can Ports. 

According to Mr. Charles 

Opara, PRO of ANLCA PTML 

chapter: “Increment of customs 

duty without notice to agents of 

FORUM: From left; DG, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), 

Dr. Dikko Umaru Radda; Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Hajiya Aisha Abubakar; 

Director, Enterprise Development Centre, Pan Atlantic University, Mr. Peter Bamkole and Head, 

Enterprise Marketing, Etisalat Nigeria, Bidemi Ladipo at the Market Access Forum organised by the 

Enterprise Development Centre, Pan Atlantic University in partnership with Etisalat Nigeria in Abuja. 

what belongs to the states. They 

would also have enough to 

contribute to sustain the occupiers 

of Abuja and the functions that 

are allocated to them. 

“Beyond resources, the country 

is reeling under crime today and 

the single police we currently 

maintain has proved incapable of 

dealing with the situation. When 

you listen to commissioners of 

police lamenting at the scenes of 

crime these days you will think 

they are part of passers-by 

terrified by the horror of crime. It 

is clear we need multi-level 

policing to combat crime and have 

effective policing. 

From the federal, down to states 

and focal governments, we are 

bogged down with overbloated 

bureaucracies that consume as 

much as 90% of available 

resources and with little or nothing 

left for development. We must 

address how long we want to 

travel with this culture of waste 

and to see if we can deliver better 

governance with a manageable 

architecture. 

“The question of diversification 

is a point that advocates of 

restructuring have canvassed as 

it makes no sense for a country 

as vast in resources like Nigeria 

to depend on a mono-product 

economy. It is part of 

restructuring we are talking 

about and not an alternative to it.'' 

CDWR slams Ambode on street trading ban 

By Ehi Eweka 

THE Campaign for 

Democratic and Workers’ 

Rights, CDWR, yesterday 

condemned the decision by 

Governor Akinwumi Ambode of 

Lagos State to ban and criminalize 

street trading and its patronage. 

The group called Nigeria Labour 

Congress, NLC, Trade Union 

the new development is unfair. We 

came to work on Friday last week 

and discovered that it was now 

N282 to the dollar. Meanwhile, 

some of us have started processing 

our jobs based on the old value of 

N197. How do they want us to 

survive?” 

He said it was on Friday the Cost 

Insurance and Freight, CIF, 

system through which the Federal 

Government synergizes with 

Customs to regulate their jobs, was 

calibrated to read N282 to the dollar, 

with retroactive effect. 

Mr. Osaretin Amadasun, a 

freight forwarder, said: “I am 

pained. A sensitive government 

will not act like this. They said the 

naira was not devalued. Why then 

is the rate now N282 from N197?'\ 

Attempts to speak with Officer in 

Charge of Valuation and the D. C. 

Terminal, whose names were 

given as Mr. Aina Moyo and 

Mr. Kayode Omisemire, 

respectively, were rebuffed by 

security men, who threatened 

to go violent with this reporter. 

Congress of Nigeria, TUC, and 

traders associations and promasses 

organsiations to mobilize 

workers, youths, traders, students 

to resist this new wave of 

disguised attacks on the means of 

livelihood of millions of poor 

struggling Nigerians. 

In a statement, Chinedu Bosah, 

CDWR’s Publicity Secretary, 

called on the street traders/ 

hawkers to organize themselves 

into associations that could efend 

their interest as well as resist 

obnoxious policies without 

destroying properties 

According to group, this 

decision to ban street trading, also 

negated the rights to life and 

dignity of the workers, poor 

traders, unemployed youths etc. 

and their dependents that lived 

on the streets of Lagos and 

survived either through streettrading 

or patronage. 

The statement said: “This 

reactionary law places a fine of 

N90, 000, or six months 

imprisonment on anybody caught 

in the act of street-trading or 

patronizing street traders. 

''This anti-poor decision by the 

Ambode-led APC government 

was hinged on the moribund, 

reactionary law of the rubberstamp 

Lagos state house of 

Assembly that is ever willing to 

do the bidding of the executive 

without giving a thought to the 

consequences of their actions.'' 

NIPR tasks FG on policy marketing 

By Princewill Ekwujuru 

L AGOS—NIGERIAN 

Institute of Public 

Relations, NIPR, has tasked the 

Federal Government to 

emphasise policy marketing if the 

country is to harness its human 

and natural resources for 

development. 

NIPR president Dr. Rotimi 

Oladele, who spoke during the 

Brand Campaign Magazine’s 5th 

anniversary lecture in Lagos, said 

successive Nigerian governments 

did not put in place the right 

policies. 

Speaking on the theme 

“Leadership, Policy Marketing 

and Repositioning of the Nigerian 

Nation, Oladele who is also the 

Managing Director of Megavons 

(West Africa) Limited, said 

Nigeria was a fertile ground for 

‘unbaked’ policy, ‘disorganised’ 

policy, ‘rotten’ policy, and so on, 

such that people could not lay 

hands on “what it is that is a 

Nigerian policy on virtually any 

issue. The issue of policy 

marketing is totally neglected as 

far as policy is concerned.” 

Oladele said development 

was anchored on the rectangle 

of policy, law, regulation and 

infrastructure. “Once these are 

put in place, you do not need 

to preach to anybody to know 

what to do and when to do 

what is right.''

Vanguard, TUESDAY, JULY 12, 2016 — 11 

UNPAID SALARIES: Doctors give 21-day ultimatum 

to 13 states ...Back SERAP's suit against debtor states 

By Daud Olatunji 

A BEOKUTA—THE 

National Association of 

Government General Medical and 

Dental Practitioners, NAGGMDP, 

has issued a 21-day ultimatum 

to 13 state governments over the 

backlog of unpaid salaries to 

members, threatening to cripple 

health care services if the affected 

governments failed to met its 

demand. 

Speaking through its National 

President, Dr Nurud-Din 

Akindele, at a briefing in 

Abeokuta, Ogun State, the doctors 

said the affected states owing 

between two and eight months 

salaries included Abia, Anambra, 

Bayelsa, Ebonyi, Ekiti, Enugu, 

Kogi, Ondo, Nasarawa, Osun, 

Oyo and Plateau states. 

The association also threw its 

weight behind the action of 

Soccio-Economic Rights and 

Accountability Project, SERAP, 

which dragged governors owing 

workers’ salaries before the 

International Court of Justice, 

ICC, at the Hague. 

Akindele, flanked by the 

Publicity Secretary and Acting 

General Secretary of the 

association, Dr Isiaka Adekunle 

and Dr Olufemi Oroge, 

respectively, also appealed to 

President Muhammadu Buhari, 

to compel the states to pay their 

workers, saying it was callous for 

any state to owe its workers. 

He decried the poor state of 

health sector in the country, saying 

“we openly declare our support 

for SERAP and will partner with 

them in their bid to make all states 

owing salaries to face the ICC just 

as we will be willing to supply 

intrinsic information. It is criminal, 

callous and wicked for any state 

Commissioners join Ondo gov race 

By Dayo Johnson 

AKURE—THE race for the 

governorship election in 

Ondo State has heightened as 

more members of the State 

Executive Council, SEC, of 

Governor Segun Mimiko have 

thrown their hat into the fray. 

Already, the commissioner for 

Environment, Hon Sola Ebiseni, 

tendered his resignation letter. 

Also to tender their letters of 

resignation to contest for the 

coveted position according to 

dependable government sources 

are the present Attorney General 

and Justice Commissioner 

Eyitayo Jegede, SAN, and the 

Local government and 

Chieftaincy Affairs Commissioner 

Bamiduro Dada. 

The three cabinet members 

have signified their intentions to 

succeed the incumbent Governor 

Mimiko whose eight year tenure 

expires in February 2017. 

Governorship election in the 

state has been scheduled for 

VISIT: 2nd from left: Minister for Power, works and Housing Mr. Babatunde Fashola and 

Mrs. Funke Osibodu, MD/CEO, Benin Electricity Distribution Company Plc, BEDC, Edo 

State during ministers' visit during the 7th monthly power sector and stakeholders meeting 

at Benin Transmission station in Edo State. Photo by Barnabas Uzosike. 

to owe its workforce.” 

The president contended that the 

healthcare delivery system which 

began from the primary health 

care to secondary and tertiary 

health system had been abused, 

saying that the country could be 

in “a mess” due to neglect of the 

first two tiers. 

According to him: “All states in 

Nigeria are guilty of very poor 

budgetary allocation to health 

sector. Even the little amount in 

the budgets for health is not 

always released to the extent that 

the performance of some of them 

is between 2% and 5% annually. 

Instead of building over 100 new 

primary health facilities to 

augment existing ones, we 

believe that strengthening 

existing primary health care 

centres have greater value for 

health care delivery that white 

elephant projects. 

''Making existing primary 

health care systems better will 

allow the pyramid of health care 

delivery which is primary, 

secondary then tertiary stand 

upright with better service 

delivery. 

“Any true effort to improve the 

Nigerian health sector must take 

cognizance of the tripod that 

stands successful health care 

delivery as a pyramid- primary 

down, secondary middle and 

tertiary apex for improved and 

successful health care delivery. 

The danger of not paying doctors 

is that the impoverished 

prevailing situation due to owed 

debt of salaries will increase the 

health problems of the citizens. 

Ekiti varsity staff down tools, demand 

subventions, six-month salary arrears 

By Rotimi Ojomoyela 

A DO-EKITI— 

ACADEMIC and 

November 26 this year by INEC. 

Ebiseni had spent six years as 

a commissioner under Dr Mimiko 

while Jegede started with the 

incumbent from 2009 till date. 

The former Commissioner in his 

resignation letter dated July 11, 

expressed appreciation to the 

governor for the opportunities 

given him to serve “our state in 

various other capacities.'' 

Ebiseni noted that the 

opportunities included his 

appointment as “Chairman of the 

state Law Commission, twice as 

Commissioner in your cabinet, 

recommending me as a delegate 

of the South West to the 2014 

National Conference and for 

being your preferred 

representative in several critical 

political engagements. 

“To the Glory of God, there is 

no doubt that these positions have 

positively impacted the lives of 

our people and offered me the 

unique opportunity to etch my 

name and service indelible in 

the sand of time.'' 

sundry activities were yesterday 

paralysed at the Ekiti State 

University, EKSU, Ado-Ekiti, 

workers led by their union leaders 

protested over non-payment of 

six-month subventions, salary 

arrears as well as cooperative 

deductions among others. 

The aggrieved workers 

prevented vehicular and human 

movement in and out of the 

institution as they barricaded the 

gate, forcing vehicle owners to 

park outside. 

According to them, the 

management had only been able 

to pay 20% of the staff’s salary 

arrears since March this year. 

The unions, who participated in 

the protest include National 

Association of Technologists, NAT, 

Non-Academic Staff Union of 

Educational and Associated 

Institutions, NASU, Senior Staff 

Association of Nigerian 

Universities, SSANU, and 

Academic Staff Union of 

Universities, ASUU, among 

others. 

They maintained that the 

management had failed to live up 

to its responsibilities due to the 

failure of the state government to 

pay subventions since January. 

Speaking, Chairman of 

SSANU, Mr. Kolapo Olatunde, 

said: “the state government 

released the universities’ 

subvention last in December last 

year, which means since January, 

we have not been getting the 

subventions. 

''The government has 

erroneously believed that the 

management takes care of the full 

salary payment without the 

subvention but the reality is that 

we have only been receiving 20% 

of our salaries since January till 

date and the deductions were not 

remitted into the accounts of the 

cooperative societies on campus.'' 

By Iloaze Blessed-Odidi 

AS Maryland Convent 

Private School, MCPS, 

celebrates its 50th anniversary, it 

has reiterated its commitment to 

nurturing children with high 

standard of education, yesterday. 

At a briefing in Lagos, Head 

teacher of MCPS, Rev. Gladys 

Osagie, while unveiling the 

Jubilee Anniversary 

Celebration, pointed out that 

times and culture had changed 

over the years, but the school 

did not change from its mission. 

Climate change 

to cause 

250,000 deaths 

annually by 

2030 — WHO 

...As experts move 

to reduce risks 

THE World Health 

Organisation, WHO, 

has predicted that by 2030, 

climate change will cause an 

additional 250 000 deaths 

each year from malaria, 

diarrhoeal disease, heat stress 

and under-nutrition in 

Nigeria and other countries 

across the globe. 

In a statement on the 

proposed key actions for the 

implementation of the Paris 

Agreement to reduce health 

risks linked to climate change, 

WHO, explained that already, 

climate change was causing 

tens of thousands of deaths 

every year. 

The world health body 

noted that the heaviest 

burden of these diseases 

would fall on children, 

women, older people and the 

poor, further widening 

existing health inequalities 

between and within 

populations. 

According to WHO, “the 

deaths arise from more 

frequent epidemics of 

diseases like cholera, the 

vastly expanded 

geographical distribution of 

diseases like dengue, and 

from extreme weather events, 

like heat waves and floods. At 

the same time, nearly 7 million 

people each year die from 

diseases caused by air 

pollution, such as lung cancer 

and stroke.” 

Meanwhile, participants 

attending the Second Global 

Conference on Health and 

Climate, hosted by the 

Government of France, 

COP21 presidency, have 

proposed key actions for the 

implementation of the Paris 

agreement to reduce health 

risks linked to climate change. 

Maryland Convent Private School 

celebrates 50th anniversary, 

By Chioma Obinna 

Osagie said: ‘’For these past 

years our school has been a 

faith-based, and we have 

shunned religious 

discrimination, we open our 

door to whoever wants to come 

in, so far the parents are willing 

to follow our tradition. 

''We are celebrating 50th years 

in formation of children; MCPS 

has never wavered from the 

original Mission of its founder. 

We are happy and thankful to 

God that this school has 

produced eminent personalities 

in our society and beyond.”

12—Vanguard, TUESDAY, JULY 12 2016 

Oshiomhole released N10m to remove me 

—EDO APC PUBLICITY SECRETARY 

•Says ‘No one should blame the governor or the party chairman' 

By Gabriel 

Enogholase 

BENIN—THE last may not 

have be heard about the 

crisis rocking All Progressives 

Congress, APC, in Edo State as 

Governor Adams Oshiomhole 

was alleged to have released 

N10 million for the 

impeachment of the state 

Publicity Secretary of the party, 

Mr Godwin Erhahon. 

The money which was alleged 

to have been made available to 

the state Chairman of the party, 

Mr. Anselm Ojezua last 

Thursday, was to enable him 

mobilize at least two thirds of 

member of his executive to sign 

the impeachment notice of the 

state Publicity Secretary. 

It was also gathered that at a 

meeting which was held on 

Sunday night where a relative 

of the governor, Mr. Philip 

Shaibu, was adopted as 

running mate to Godwin 

Obaseki, the governor was said 

to have asked the chairman 

why Erhahon’s suspension had 

not been announced. 

Ojezua was said to have told 

the governor that he was 

finding it difficult to gather 

signatures as majority of 

members were in support of 

the Publicity Secretary and this 

was said to have infuriated the 

governor, who allegedly 

rebuked him for weak 

leadership. 

However, when contacted, 

Edo State Commissioner for 

Information and Orientation, 

Prince Kassim Afegbua on the 

allegation said: “We have too 

many challenges confronting 

us as a utility driven 

government. We are busy in 

our laboratory of fashioning out 

time tested solutions to 

address the developmental 

challenges. In the light of this, 

why and how can we get 

bugged down by Godwin 

Erhahon. 

“Please accord us some 

respect as a responsible 

government that does not shy 

away from constructive 

engagement.” 

When contacted, Erhahon 

said he was already aware 

since last Thursday, few hours 

after the money was allegedly 

released for him to be removed 

from office but advised that no 

one should blame the governor 

or the party chairman. 

“Rather, well-wishers should 

beg Peoples Democratic Party, 

PDP governorship candidate 

Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu to 

revoke his spell by which he 

afflicted APC leadership in Edo 

State with madness. If not 

madness, what else would make 

Ayade's wife vows action 

against child slavery, others 

By Ike Uchechukwu 

CALABAR—WIFE of Cross 

River State governor, Dr 

Linda Ayade, has restated her 

avowed commitment to combat 

the menace of child slavery, 

forced marriage as well as early 

motherhood, describing them 

as the bane to the development 

of the girl-child. 

Briefing newsmen, yesterday, 

as part of activities to mark this 

year’s world population day 

with the theme Investing in 

Teenage Girls” in, Calabar, she 

said: “Many young girls today 

face a bleak future because their 

them plot evil against me because 

I am fighting for justice and fair 

play? What would have made a 

state chairman to agree to an 

arrangement where his ethnic 

group, Esan, loses out completely 

in the power play even as the 

second largest ethnic group in 

Edo State? " 

He said the the aphorism by an 

ancient author that: “there is 

pleasure in madness which none 

but madmen know “was being 

proved right.” 

communities drive them into 

forced marriages and early 

motherhood which sometimes 

result into debilitating conditions 

such Vesico-Vaginal Fistula, VVF. 

I will continue to campaign 

against the societal menace of 

forced and early marriages, by 

providing sensitisation, training 

and capacity building for young 

girls. 

“The practice of trafficking in 

person and child slavery has been 

a problem across the world. 

Though we often preferred to 

think that this happens only in 

distant lands." 

Oba of Benin 

palace lifts 

ban on burial 

rites 

By Simon 

Ebegbulem 

BENIN 

CITY—THE 

palace of the Oba of 

Benin, Edo State has lifted 

the temporary ban on burial 

rites in Benin Kingdom. 

The palace had on May 25, 

2016 announced the 

suspension of burial rites in 

Benin City, following the 

mourning of Oba Erediauwa, 

who joined his ancestors. 

Since the commencement of 

the mourning which was 

announced by the Iyase of 

Benin Kingdom, Chief Sam 

Igbe, no burial rite has held 

in the kingdom. 

However, announcing the lifting 

of the ban yesterday, Chief Igbe said, 

“I want to inform you that His Royal 

Highness, Crown Prince is aware of 

the plight of our people who have 

had to endure the delay in their 

obligation to bury their departed 

loved ones. 

“He is with them in their anxieties 

and has graciously granted 

permission until further notice for 

them to carry out the necessary 

burial ceremonies.”


Bayelsa elders accuse Buhari of frustrating 

dialogue with NDA 

By Emem Idio 

YENAGOA—BAYELSA State 

elders and traditional rulers 

across the eight local government 

areas of the state, under the aegis 

of Bayelsa Elders for Progress, 

Peace and Good Governance, 

BEPPGG, have accused some 

aides of President Muhammadu 

Buhari from the region of 

frustrating the proposed dialogue 

between the Federal Government 

and the new militant groups led 

by Niger Delta Avengers. 

The elders who commended the 

decision of President to lead the 

proposed dialogue, frowned at 

what they described as “Show of 

deceit, fraud and discordant tunes 

among the Presidential aides from 

the region who have created 

mistrust between the militant 

youths and the present 

administration.” 

In an open letter to Buhari, 

Coordinator of the group, Chief 

Ayibatonye Goodnews and 

Secretary, Chief Lucky Ebifaghe, 

said: “The recent activities of key 

aides from the region including 

the Minister of State for 

Petroleum, Ibe Kachichukwu and 

the Coordinator of the Presidential 

Amnesty Programme, Brig. Gen. 

Paul Boroh (retd), is frustrating the 

peace efforts of the present 

administration. 

“How can they claim to have 

met stakeholders and the militant 

attacks continues? They met 

some fake militants and 

stakeholders and wasted scarce 

resources of the Federal 

Government on jamboree. The 

amnesty boss, who claimed to 

have relocated to the creeks of 

the region, was only sighted in 

Tompolo’s community holding 

clandestine meetings without 

solution to the continued 

bombing of the oil and gas 

facilities. 

“President Buhari should 

investigate the money expended 

on the jamboree without result. 

We insist that the Presidential 

Amnesty Office should be 

probed following the alleged 

failed sharing of resources to 

fake Avengers. Their lack of 

knowledge on key issues of the 

region and the wrong signals 

sent the militants along the 

creeks are frustrating the 

needed peace process. 

“Many of the purported 

stakeholders have made money 

from the self-created jamboree 

in the region. Genuine Niger 

Delta stakeholders should be 

consulted for sustained peace.” 

A'Ibom pensioners protest non-payment 

of gratuity 

By Chioma Onuegbu 

UYO—HUNDREDS 

of 

Local Government 

Pensioners in Akwa Ibom State , 

yesterday, protested against nonpayment 

of their five years 

gratuities and five months 

pension by the state 

government. 

The protesters, who marched 

through Wellington Bassey Road 

to Government House, said they 

had suffered untold hardships as 

a result of non-release of their 

gratuities since they retired from 

their respective local 

governments’ service. 

The state chairman of Nigeria 

Union of Pensioners, Mr. 

Effanga Ettah, urged the Akwa 

Ibom State governor, Mr. Udom 

Emmanuel to approve the 

payment of pensioners’ gratuity 

since 2012. 

Ettah lamented that some 

pensioners in the 31 local 

government areas of the state 

have not received their gratuity, 

adding that many of the 

pensioners had died without 

getting their gratuities. 

He noted that pensioners in 

the local governments had also 

not received their monthly 

pensions since March this year. 

“Local Government Pensioners 

stay months before their monthly 

pension is paid. This is due to 

the poor 

funding of the 

L o c a l 

Delta govt flags off 

Health Insurance 

Scheme 

By Festus Ahon 

ASABA—DELTA State 

Contributory Health 

Insurance Scheme, 

yesterday, flagged off a one 

day special training 

programme for 75 primary 

healthcare coordinators 

and medical record officers 

drawn from the 25 local 

government areas in the 

state. 

The training which took 

place in Asaba, was to train 

officials that would carry 

out the pilot registration 

exercise of the Health 

Insurance Scheme in the 25 

local government areas of 

the state. 

The ICT-based training, 

is being undertaken by 25 

experts from the National 

Health Insurance Scheme, 

NHIS, Abuja under the 

supervision of the State 

Coordinator of the NHIS, 

Dr Chigozie Egonu and 

NHIS Deputy General 

Manager, ICT, Dr Kenneth 

Okoroafor. 

Declaring the training 

opened, Governor Ifeanyi 

Okowa, said that the state 

government was paying 

premium to human capital 

development. 

Okowa who was 

Government Pension Board. The 

arrears amounting to millions of 

naira is still pending. 

“The union believes that in 

your good gesture, you will 

approve payment for the arrears 

and money for dead pensioner’s 

next of kin,” Ettah said. 

The pensioners’ union leader 

explained that even the monthly 

meeting of Joints Account 

Committee had failed to allocate 

funds for payment of 

pensioner’s entitlement. 

A pensioner, Mrs.Udo, 

lamented that the governor 

ignored them where they 

gathered and drove out of 

Government House. 

She said that the attitude of the 

governor was unbecoming, 

noting that they (the pensioners) 

would not leave the Government 

represented by the 

Secretary to the State 

Government, Mr 

Festus Agas, said that 

the scheme was 

designed to take care of 

the health needs of the 

people, particularly the 

vulnerable ones. 

He said that it was 

the importance the state 

government placed on 

the health needs of the 

people that facilitated 

the speedy 

presentation of the bill 

that mid-wifed the Act 

and subsequent 

establishment of the 

Delta State 


Commission within the 

first few months of his 

administration. 

Earlier, Chairman of 

the Delta State 


Commission, Dr Isaac 

Akpoveta, said: “The 

scheme is a concept 

that protects the 

individual from 

financial disaster. 

Anyone can fall ill 

when he least expected 

at a time he might not 

have the means of 

paying his medical 

bills." 

‘Let's resort 

to God for 

solution to 

our woes' 

By Godwin Oghre 

J ESSE—JEHOVAH’S 

Witnesses, have called 

on Nigerians and humanity 

in general to resort to God 

and not human 

governments, for solutions 

to the myriad of socioeconomic 

challenges facing 

the country and the world 

at large. 

The witnesses who gave 

the advice in Jesse, Ethiope 

West Local Government 

Area, Delta State, through 

one of their speakers, Elder 

Chadwick Akpurhie, at the 

funeral service of late Mrs. 

Mary Omene, their 

member and mother of 

former chairman of the 

council, Dr Wilson Omene, 

said: “Every government 

sound good and promising 

but problems overwhelm 

them and solutions are elusive 

because humans rulership is 

fundamentally defective. 

“The world system is like a large 

mansion built on defective 

foundation. This mansion should 

not have been there because the 

original arrangement was God’s 

rule over mankind hence we are 

not endowed with rulership 

abilities which Adam and Eve 

disobediently arrogated to 

themselves through 

independence from God." 

‘You're 

doomed 

without 

education' 

By Tom Moses 

ABAK—WIFE of the 

Akwa-Ibom State 

governor, Mrs. Martha 

Emmanuel, has described 

education as the bedrock of 

national development, 

saying any society or nation 

without a solid foundation 

on education was doomed. 

Akwa-Ibom State First 

Lady who made the remark, 

yesterday, while 

inaugurating an ultramodern 

Assembly Hall 

facility of the Tower of Ivory 

Schools, Ediene-Abak, Abak 

Local Government Area of 

the state, urged parents to 

endeavour to send their 

children and wards to school 

for the advancement of the 

society and mankind. 

“Any society, state or 

nation without a solid 

educational foundation, is 

doomed. Education is the 

foundation of everything. 

Education facilitates 

science, technology and 

every advancement you can 

think of. In fact, you are 

doomed without 

education,” she said .


FG moves to 

end girl-child 

marriage 

By Chris Ochayi 

ABUJA—THE Federal 

Government has 

developed a technical 

working group to develop 

policies and legislation 

that will end girl-child 

marriage in the country, 

Minister of Women Affairs 

and Social Development, 

Senator Aisha Alhassan, 

has said. 

Senator Alhassan 

disclosed this in Abuja, 

just as the Chairman of 

the National Population 

Commission, NPC, Chief 

Eze Duruiheoma, 

charged state 

governments yet to 

domesticate the Child 

Rights Act to urgently do 

so for the welfare of 

Nigerian children. 

They spoke at a media 

briefing to commemorate 

the 2016 world population 

day, on the theme 

Investing in Teenage 

Girls, organised by NPC. 

They agreed that early 

child marriage was an act 

of violence against the 

girl-child. 

In his address, 

Chairman of NPC, 

Duruiheoma regretted 

that the conditions which 

majority of the teenage 

girls lived and the 

challenges they had to 

surmount on a daily basis 

cut a pathetic picture. 

In her remarks, the 

Minister of Women Affairs 

and Social Development, 

Senator Alhassan, who 

was represented by Mrs, 

Georgete Azogu, the 

Director, Child 

Development in the 

ministry, said: “Today’s 

adolescence is tomorrow’s 

adult. As we all 

commemorate 2016 World 

Population Day, I urge 

stakeholders at all level to 

take appropriate 

measures to ensure the 

adolescent girls meet 

their full potentials. 

“The Ministry of Women 

Affairs and Social 

Development and other 

stakeholders are 

planning to begin a 

national campaign to end 

child marriage in Nigeria. 

“We have developed a 

technical working group 

that comprises all 

stakeholders: we have got 

the directors and state 

directors of Child 

Development to be part of 

it. 

“We have a consultant 

going round to engage 

the states and all the 

stakeholders, including 

NGOs and faith-based 

organisations.” 

SKYE VISIT NSE: From left— Executive Director, Market Operations and Technology, Nigeria Stock Exchange, NSE, 

Mr. Adeolu Bajomo; Chairman, Mr. Muhammad Ahmad, and Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Tokunbo 

Abiru, both of Skye Bank Plc, during the visit of the reconstituted board of the bank to NSE. PHOTO: Kehinde Gbadamosi. 

Court adjourns Saraki, 

Ekweremadu’s trial to Sept 28 

By Ikechukwu 

Nnochiri 

ABUJA—JUSTICE Yusuf 

Halilu of Abuja High 

Court, Apo, yesterday, fixed 

September 28 for the Federal 

Government to open its case 

against the Senate President, 

Dr. Bukola Saraki and his 

deputy, Ike Ekweremadu. 

Both senators are facing trial 

over alleged involvement in 

the forgery of Senate Standing 

Rules, 2015. Also charged 

before the court over the 

alleged forgery were the 

former Clerk of the National 

Assembly, Alhaji Salisu 

Abubakar Maikasuwa and his 

deputy, Mr. Benedict Efeturi. 

The defendants were alleged 

to have masterminded the 

usage of the said bogus 

Standing Rules for the June 9, 

2015 election, through which 

both Saraki and Ekweremadu 

took over leadership of the 

Senate. 

The government, in the twocount 

charge, maintained that 

the defendants, by their 

conduct, committed an offence 

punishable under Section 97 

(1) and 364 of the Penal Code 

Act. 

Trial Justice Halilu had, on 

June 27, released the 

defendants on bail, even as he 

okayed full-blown hearing 

into the matter. 

However, the case could not 

proceed as scheduled 

yesterday, owing to the fact 

that the court had commenced 

its annual vacation. 

Consequently, trial of the 

defendants was differed till 

September 28. 

Meanwhile, the Federal 

Government FG has engaged 

a private prosecutor to conduct 

the trial on its behalf. The case 

which was hitherto handled by 

the Director of Public 

Prosecutions, Mr. Mohammed 

Diri, has now been assigned 

to the former Attorney-General 

and Commissioner for Justice 

of Kano State, Aliyu Umar 

(SAN). 

Bail conditions 

Diri had on the day the defendants 

were arraigned, told 

the court that he would not oppose 

Saraki’s bail request. 

He, however, urged the court 

to deny the trio of 

Ekweremadu, Maikasuwa and 

Efeturi bail on the premise 

that they attempted to evade 

service of the charge on them. 

By Ikechukwu 

Nnochiri 

ABUJA—THE Chief Justice 

of Nigeria, CJN, Justice 

Mahmud Mohammed, 

yesterday, warned that the 

only way for the judiciary to 

continue to uphold its 

independence and credibility 

before Nigerians was for 

judges and magistrates to 

show red card to corruption 

and acts of professional and 

ethical misconduct within the 

nation’s courts. 

The CJN, who stated this 

while flagging off the 2016 

orientation course for newly 

appointed magistrates, further 

stressed the need for members 

of the Bench to be proficient 

in the use of Information and 

Communication Technology, 

ICT. 

He maintained that e- 

proficiency would soon 

become a pre-requisite for the 

promotion of judges across the 

federation. 

Justice Mohammed said: “In 

furtherance of this, the 

judiciary recently adopted the 

Diri said his decision not to 

challenge Saraki’s bail 

application was to ensure that 

legislative business in the 

Senate was not hampered in 

any way. 

In a bench ruling, Justice 

Halilu allowed the defendants 

to go home after they 

produced “two reasonable 

sureties” each. 

The court, however, stressed 

that the sureties must be 

owners of landed properties 

in highbrow areas of Asokoro, 

Maitama, Wuse II or Garki in 

Abuja. 

How to uphold judiciary's 

independence—CJN 

use of new technology 

through the introduction of 

the Nigerian Case 

Management System, 

NCMS. 

“This is an innovative case 

management system that is 

being piloted at the Supreme 

Court for eventual roll-out to 

the strata of courts in the 

earliest possible time. 

“As such, you will be wise 

not to be left behind like a 

fossil, while the rest of the 

judiciary makes evolutionary 

leap into an automated 

judiciary.” 

Besides, the CJN said there 

was need to provide proper 

orientation and continuous 

capacity building avenues for 

new and serving magistrates, 

saying they were not only “the 

face of justice” at the 

grassroots, but heard cases 

upon which the safety and 

cohesion of communities 

depended. 

He said: “I must remind us 

all that the 21st century 

judicial officer is faced with a 

bigger caseload than in 

previous decades.” 

2 senior 

prisons 

officers 

retired 

By Omeiza Ajayi 

ABUJA—THE Civil 

Defence, Fire, 

Immigration and Prisons 

Services Board, CDFIPB, 

has approved the 

retirement of a Deputy 

Controller-General and 

an Assistant Controller- 

General of Prisons from 

the service. 

They are Aminu Suley, 

and Ali Bala Salami, 

respectively. 

Spokesman of the 

Nigerian Prisons 

Service, DCP Francis 

Enobore, who disclosed 

this in a statement 

yesterday in Abuja, said 

the board arrived at the 

decision during an 

emergency meeting on 

June 27. 

The action of the board 

followed the 

appointment of Ja’afaru 

Ahmed as Controller- 

General of Nigerian 

Prisons Service. 

The decision of the 

board was conveyed in a 

letter by the Secretary of 

the Board, Alhaji A. A. 

Ibrahim, dated June 28, 

and indicated that since 

the officers were senior 

to the new Controller- 

General of Prisons, they 

had to give way in 

consonance with military 

and paramilitary 

convention. 

It said: “While wishing 

them good luck in their 

future endeavours, 

CDFIPB commended the 

officers for their 

contributions to the 

development of the 

Nigerian Prisons 

Service.”


FG to demarcate Ebonyi/Benue boundary to 

avert further killings 

By Peter Okutu 

ABAKALIKI—THE Federal 

Government through the 

National Boundary Commission, 

NBC at weekend, said it was 

putting modalities in place to 

ensure proper and lasting 

demarcation of disputed lands 

affecting the boundary 

communities along Ebonyi and 

Benue states. 

It also expressed worries over 

the wanton destruction of lives 

and properties along the border 

communities since the outbreak 

of violence within the affected 

areas. 

The Director-General of the 

Commission, Dr. Mohammed 

Ahmed stated this during a Joint 

Enlightenment Campaign of 

communities along the Benue/ 

Ebonyi interstate boundary in 

Ohaukwu and Ebonyi local 

government areas of the state. 

The DG who thanked 

representatives of both Ebonyi/ 

Benue state governments for 

accepting to tow the path of peace 

towards the resolution of the 

boundary disputes existing 

between them observed that the 

lingering disputes were 

consequent upon the inordinate 

ambition of some members of the 

affected communities to amass 

VISIT: Abia State governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu (3rd left), flanked from right by Chief Ibe Nwadighioha, 

State Secretary of PDP; Hon. P.C.Onyegbu, State Deputy Chairman PDP; Chief Johnson Onuigbo, 

State Chairman PDP; Sir Ude Chukwu Dep. Governor, and Mr. Bonnie Iwuoha, Commissioner for 

Information, durin a courtesy visit by the State EXCO of PDP on the Governor in Umuahia. Photo: 

Ibeabuchi Abarikwu 

Okorocha reads riot act to striking judicial workers 

By Chidi Nkwopara 

OWERRI—IMO 

State 

government has warned 

striking members of the Judiciary 

Staff Union of Nigeria, JUSUN, 

that it would implement “no work, 

no pay” policy, if the workers 

failed to return to work. 

Governor Rochas Okorocha read 

the riot act yesterday when the 

Imo State Council of the Nigerian 

Union of Journalists, NUJ, played 

host to him at the Press Centre, 

Owerri. 

“The judiciary workers in the 

state have been on strike for 

several weeks now. I want to warn 

them immediately that this 

administration will now adopt the 

policy of no work, no pay for as 

long as they fail to return to work. 

I will use their salaries for the 

development of the state”, 

Okorocha said. 

Addressing the protests 

engineered by the demolition of 

people’s homes and business 

outfits in and around Owerri 

municipality, Okorocha vowed to 

continue with what his 

administration was doing. 

“I am looking ahead for the 

state. I am not deterred by the 

protests or what people say or 

write in the papers about this 

administration. People can say 

what they like, while I will 

continue to do what I think best 

for the state,” the governor 

warned. 

Answering a question on the 

lands without recourse to 

instituted laws and authorities. 

According to him, after the 

necessary stages of the joint 

enlightenment campaigns by the 

affected states and setting up of 

peace committees by the LGAs, 

the affected lands would be 

demarcated by the Commission 

for a permanent resolution of 

crisis in the areas. 

He further appealed to 

politicians, government 

appointees, clerics, traditional 

rulers, youths and indigenes of 

both states to live in peace even 

as he emphasized the sacredness 

of human life. 

In their separate remarks, the 

Deputy Governor of Ebonyi state, 

Dr. Eric Igwe represented by the 

State Attorney General and 

Commissioner for Justice, Rt. 

Hon. Augustine Nwankwegu 

and his counter part from Benue 

state represented by the Special 

Adviser, SA on Lands, Prof 

Jonathan Uever expressed 

optimism in the peace process led 

by the NBC and urged the 

affected communities to maintain 

peace and order for the interest 

of all. 

They expressed hope that the 

demarcation of the affected 

boundary line would foster and 

restore bilateral relations, trade 

and marriages and goodwill that 

had once existed between both 

states. 

proposed relocation of the Owerri 

Main Market, Governor 

Okorocha said he would not go 

back on the plan. 

“That market will be relocated 

to Egbeada. I know Vanguard 

will not like this proposal but it is 

a programme that must be 

accomplished,” Okorocha said. 

NPC wants laws for teenage girls' protection 

By Enyim Enyim 

ONITSHA—THE National 

Population Commission, 

yesterday, urged the federal and 

state governments to promulgate 

policies and legislation that 

would protect the teenage girl 

from physical violence and abuse. 

In a text of the press conference 

by the chairman of the 

commission, Chief Eze 

Duruiheoma in commemoration 

of the 2016 World Population Day 

presented by the Federal 

Commissioner representing 

Anambra state in National 

Population Commission, Prof 

Chika Moore, the commission 

also called on governments at all 

levels to as a matter of urgency 

implement the child rights act 

Umahi set to empower 2,400 youths, signs 3 

bills into law in Ebonyi 

By Peter Okutu 

A BAKALIKI— 

GOVERNOR David 

Umahi of Ebonyi State, weekend 

said his administration will next 

month deploy over N600m to 

empower at least 2,400 women 

and youths in the state. 

Umahi, who stated this while 

assenting to three bills recently 

passed into law by Ebonyi State 

House of Assembly added that 

he would soon send a letter to 

the lawmakers requesting for 

approval of part of the money. 

He explained that the plan was 

part of his administration’s effort 

to ensure that women and youths 

were made to engage in 

productive activities to fend for 

their families and contribute to 

the development of the state. 

“The administration wants to 

deploy N600 million in the 

month of August towards 

ensuring that at least 2,400 of 

our youths and women have 

something doing in this state. So 

the request will be coming to 

you,” the governor told the 

Assembly members who were 

present as he signed the bills. 

Umahi commended the 

lawmakers for the speedy 

passage of the bills which he said 

would enhance development of 

the state. 

with sanctions against violators. 

He regretted that the teenage 

girls were faced with physical 

violence such as rape, 

kidnapping, child trafficking and 

torture. 

“ Investing in the teenage girls 

through appropriate policies and 

legislations that will guarantee 

their living standard is therefore 

absolutely necessary. 

“ The promulgation of the child 

rights act is a good step in the 

right direction of protecting the 

Nigerian children including 

teenage girls from deep seated 

practices that stifle their growth 

into responsible adults. 

Duruihuoma observed that no 

nation can lay claim to 

development until its teenagers 

have equal rights and 

opportunities to lead a healthy life 

and are free from culturally 

induced attitudes and negative 

practices that limit their capacities 

to make meaningful contributions 

to national development. 

Murder of 

Enugu lawyer, 

CLO demands 

justice 

By Bartholomew 

Madukwe 

CIVIL LIBERTIES 

Organisation, CLO, 

has called on the Inspector 

General of Police, the 

Nigerian Bar Association 

(NBA), similar human 

rights groups and the 

Presidency to ensure that 

proper investigation is 

carried out in the gruesome 

murder of an Enugu 

lawyer, Ejimofor 

Ozongwu. 

It would be recalled that 

Ozongwu was murdered 

on December 23, 2015, at 

his Okwojo, Ngwo, 

community- Udi local 

government area of Enugu 

State. 

In a statement signed by 

its Executive Director, 

Comrade Ibuchukwu 

Ezike, CLO noted that 

since the incident occurred, 

principal suspects still walk 

the streets of Enugu as free 

men. 

According to CLO, “there 

is every reason to suspect 

that the Police Command 

may be collaborating with 

these key suspects in the 

gruesome, wicked and 

heartless murder of 

Barrister Ozongwu to cover 

the truth and suppress 

justice in the matter”. 

Anambra 

agency to 

monitor waste 

disposal in 

factories 

By Vincent 

Ujumadu 

A WKA—THE 

Anambra State 

Waste Management 

Agency, ASWAMA, has 

said it would soon 

commence monitoring of 

waste management and 

evacuation in 

manufacturing companies 

in the state to ensure that 

they met national and 

international standards of 

chemical waste disposal 

mechanism. 

The chief executive officer 

of the agency, Mr. Phil 

Chinwuba said yesterday in 

Awka that ASWAMA had 

already engaged 

consultants under the 

Private, Public Partnership, 

PPP, arrangement to assist 

in ensuring that such 

wastes were well disposed 

of in such a way that the 

health of the people were 

not jeopardized in any way 

and ensure that clean 

environment was 

maintained.

16—VANGUARD, TUESDAY, JULY 12, 2016 

Oyegun finally embraces Obaseki 

By Omeiza Ajayi 

THE national chairman of 

the APC, Chief John 

Odigie-Oyegun has finally and 

formally embraced, Mr. 

Godwin Obaseki, the party’s 

candidate in the governorship 

primaries setting the stage for 

a united front to ensure the 

party retains the state. 

The national chairman had 

been alleged to be in discord 

with the state executive over 

alleged differences ahead of 

the primaries. Odigie-Oyegun 

was reported to be against 

Obaseki, who was the favourite 

of the local chapter and the 

outgoing governor, Comrade 

Adams Oshiomhole. 

In his congratulatory 

message to Obaseki three 

weeks after the primaries, 

Odigie-Oyegun called on all to 

close ranks behind the 

candidate so as to ensure the 

party retains the state. 

Odigie-Oyegun also 

congratulated the Katsina State 

Governor, Aminu Bello Masariled 

seven-member Election 

Committee for successfully 

conducting what he described 

By Simon Ebegbulem 

APC candidate Godwin 

Obaseki has described the 

nomination of Mr. Philip 

Shuaibu as his running mate by 

the APC state caucus as one of 

the best things to have happened 

to the youths of the state. 

Obaseki spoke as he yesterday 

received the backing of people 

with disability in the state. 

Reacting to the nomination of 

Shuaibu as his running mate by 

the party leaders, Obaseki 

expressed joy that Shuaibu will 

bring his wealth of experience to 

bear in the task to take the state 

to the next level. 

•Oyegun 

as a very transparent, free, fair 

and credible governorship 

primaries. 

He also thanked the Hon. 

Opeyemi Bamidele-led threemember 

Edo State 

governorship Election Appeal 

Committee for successfully 

carrying out its assignment and 

submitting a report. 

The APC National Chairman 

called on Party stakeholders to 

close ranks and support the 

candidature of Obaseki. 

Why we trust Ize-Iyamu 

— OGHIADOMHE, BRIAMOH 

By Gabriel Enogholase 

TWO leading chieftains from 

Edo North, Senator Yisa 

Braimoh, and Chief Mike 

Oghiadomhe, have testified to 

the competence of Pastor Ize- 

Iyamu, saying the PDP candidate 

is best equipped among the 

candidates to govern the state. 

The two men who spoke 

separately in high praise of the 

candidate. 

Senator Braimoh, who said that 

he had known Pastor Ize- Iyamu 

for over two decades, described 

him as a man who was not only 

very competent, industrious and 

hardworking, but known for 

open-mindedness and interest in 

developing Edo State. 

He stated that the PDP 

candidate was not interested in 

building mansions or palaces but 

was concerned with distributing 

democracy dividends to the 

people. 

While Senator Braimoh accused 

Governor Adams Oshiomhole of 

diverting the resources of the 

state for the development of his 

village; Iyanmo, saying that the 

governor has pushed up his 

village at the expense of the 

other places in the five local 

government areas that voted for 

•Obaseki 

By Simon Ebegbulem 

AMEMBER of the Edo State 

House of Assembly, Mr. 

Crosby Eribo yesterday 

described as untrue and 

laughable claims by Pastor Ize- 

Iyamu that they made Comrade 

Adams Oshiomhole governor of 

the state. 

LP candidate 

in trouble 

By Gabriel Enogholase 

CHAIRMAN of the Labour 

Party, Primary Election 

Committee, Mr. Samuel 

Omokaro has disowned Mr. 

Cyril Odibo as the party flag 

bearer insisting that the process 

that led to his emergence was 

faulty and unacceptable. 

Odibo had emerged the 

party’s candidate after polling 

98 votes to beat his opponent, 

Pastor Amos Areloegbe, who 

garnered 17 votes. 

Omokaro, a former chairman 

of the party who spoke with 

journalists in Benin yesterday 

said, “I have tried to build 

Labour Party to be independent 

and remove it from a party of 

supporting party A or B, but 

some people believed in selling 

it to the highest bidder because 

of greed. 

“I was a part of those 

(Committee) that screened 

governorship aspirants. The 

acclaimed winner did not 

present himself for screening. 

As a matter of fact, I just knew 

him for the first time during the 

primary. 

He alleged that an acting 

National Secretary of the party 

who he identified as Julius 

Amuri in connivance with some 

Abuja official manipulated the 

exercise, saying that as far as 

he is concerned, Pastor Amos 

Areloegbe was the only 

aspirant for the election 

because he obtained the N7.5 

million nomination form and 

presented himself for 

screening. 

“If they knew they would not 

give the ticket to Areloegbe, I 

did not see any reason why 

they will make him pass 

through the rigorous process. 

In the end, the boy was stabbed 

in the back. I don’t want to be 

a party to such thing,” 

Omokare said. 

SHUAIBU’S NOMINATION: One of the best things to happen to Edo youths — OBASEKI 

According to him, “after 

consultation with the party 

caucus and leadership, I have 

accepted Philip Shuaibu as my 

running mate. He comes with a 

lot of political experience, having 

served as Majority Leader of the 

state House of Assembly and a 

member of the Committee on 

Works of the House of 

Representatives. He belongs to 

this generation of politicians who 

will be joining me in this effort to 

take Edo to another height. 

“I am happy with the decision 

of the party and Shuaibu being 

somebody that I have worked 

with all these years, understands 

the politics and most importantly 

He said, “As the Party 

prepares for the September 10, 

2016, governorship election in 

Edo State, I call on all aspirants, 

party leaders, stakeholders and 

teeming members of our great 

Party to close ranks and unite 

as a strong political fighting 

force behind the candidature of 

Mr. Godwin Obaseki for a 

landslide victory at the 

forthcoming Edo State 

governorship election. 

The request by the aspirants 

him overwhelming in 2007 and 

2012 elections. 

On his part, Chief Mike 

Oghiadomhe, who said that he 

had the opportunity to work 

closely with Pastor Ize-Iyamu 

when he was the deputy 

governor of Edo State said, “This 

gentleman, Ize-Iyamu is 

somebody that I have worked 

with. We worked together in the 

great old days, and I can tell you 

that he is a man who is very 

hardworking, a pain staking man 

and a man who is not only 

competent but has a nose for 

details.” 

He said that the PDP 

as a young man, our youths have 

where to run to. I am glad I will 

have somebody like him around 

to help provide the services 

was that the Edo State APC 

governorship election 

primaries should be 

transparent, free, fair and 

credible. This, the Party 

achieved creditably during the 

primaries. Going forward, we 

should avoid triumphalist 

actions and avoid creating new 

stresses within the party. We 

should all seek to reunify the 

Party to face the September 10, 

2016, governorship election.” 

•Ize-Iyamu 

governorship candidate was a 

man very committed to the 

development of the state and 

would make sure that water flows 

once again in Edo North, youths 

are employed, and industries 

built for the senatorial zone. 

needed by our people. 

Meanwhile, Pedro Ken 

Ogbebor (aka New York), 

declared yesterday that people 

Ize-Iyamu’s claim that he made Oshiomhole 

gov laughable — Eribo 

Noting that Ize-Iyamu was not 

in a position to make 

Oshiomhole governor, he said: 

“He (Oshiomhole) was the 

beautiful bride then that every 

political party wanted to 

associate with including the then 

ruling PDP. I was a three-term 

local government chairman. 

Every Edo indigene celebrated 

with disability in the state are 

backing Obaseki due to how he 

had assisted in uplifting their 

lives. 

the fact that Oshiomhole agreed 

to run for the governorship and 

as expected everybody wanted 

to associate with him. 

“So it is funny when we hear 

him always run his mouth that 

he made Oshiomhole governor. 

Ize-Iyamu left APC after he lost 

common local government 

congress in Orhiomwon. "

As it was in 1953••• 

WALE Adebanwi, a 

Professor of African 

American and African Studies at 

the University of California-Davis 

recently stopped by at Jazz Hole 

on Awolowo Road in Ikoyi,Lagos 

to read from his latest book: 

NATION AS GRAND 

NARRATIVE:The Nigerian Press 

and the Politics of Meaning, to a 

select audience of some of the 

richest minds around town. 

The evening beautifully moderated 

by the author of What a 

country, Mr Kunle 

Ajibade(reviewed as Not a country 

by Adebanwi years back) attracted 

Prof Niyi Osundare, Prof Adigun 

Agbaje,Bashorun J.K Randle, Mr 

Jimi Agbaje, Erelu Bisi Fayemi,Mr 

Laolu Akande,Mr Tayo 

Koleosho,Mrs. Nike Nedum(Née 

Ransome-Kuti),Akin Ajayi,Fafaa 

Dan Princewill ,Mr Tunde Fagbenle 

and a host of others. 

Adebanwi was clear about his 

mission in the book when he 

states: ”As the following chapters 

illustrate,despite the constant 

divisive narratives that present, 

defend and contests diverse and 

sometimes contradictory interests 

of Nigeria’s many ethno-regional, 

ethnic nationalist, or ethnoreligious 

groups, there is constant 

gesturing toward a nation of 

aspiration, a Nigerian grand 

nation, that it is assumed, 

surpasses or subsumes the many 

nations forced to live together 

within the Nigerian federation”. 

That aspiration unfortunately has 

remained aspiration as the event 

he chose to open the book 

illustrates. 

Political 

independence 

It was in 1953 when Anthony 

Enahoro,one of the leading lights 

of anti-colonial struggle and a 

prominent member of the Obafemi 

Awolowo-led Action Group, AG, 

moved the motion that Nigeria 

should become independent in 

1956 at the Federal parliament. 

That motion should have been 

unanimously supported by members 

of parliament if an “impossible 

country” was not in the 

making. 

Enahoro had said in the preamble 

to his motion on the floor of 

the Federal House of Representatives 

that any proposal short of 

full political independence for 

Nigeria “has ceased to be a 

progressive view because 

Nigerian nationalism has moved 

forward from that position”. 

Adebanwi correctly posits that “in 

a response that showed the fault 

lines of Nigerian nationalism in 

the late colonial era-and since 

then-Sir Ahmadu Bello of the 

•Chief Anthony Enahoro 

Northern People’s Congress, 

NPC, introduced a dilatory motion 

substituting the phrasing “as soon 

as practicable for the year “1956” 

proposed by Enahoro. 

In an undisguised reference to 

the superficiality of the “Nigerian 

nationalism” which Enahoro and 

his Southern compatriots were 

lionizing,Bello added “sixty years 

ago,there was no Nigeria but 

merely a collection of communities 

very different in outlook and 

mode of life”.The North 

threatened to leave Nigeria over 

the quest for independence by the 

South. In anticipation that the NPC 

which had more numbers in the 

House was going to win the 

To all intents and 

purposes ,the sharp 

divisions of 1953 still 

define us till today as 

our clash of 

civilizations define 

our positions on 

critical issues 

vote,the NCNC and AG members 

in the House of Representatives 

walked out of the House. The 

meeting of the House was 

adjourned and members of NPC 

met very unfriendly crowd in 

Lagos. 

They were called all sorts of 

•Sir Ahmadu Bello 

names before they left for the 

North. A retaliatory move by 

Northern leaders in Lagos after the 

adjournment on March 31, 1953 

self- government motion, came 

during the tour of the Northern 

Region by the AG led by Chief S.L. 

Akintola; it was viewed by Northerners 

as an invasion of another 

man’s territory. It was while 

Akintola and his group were in 

Kano that a riot broke out. Several 

people lost their lives while many 

were wounded. After the crisis, the 

NPC members issued an “eightpoint-programme”, 

to the colonial 

government to the effects that until 

their demands were met, they 

would not return to the House in 

Lagos. 

It may be necessary here to 

reproduce this programme so we 

can properly situate when “Nigeria 

unity is not negotiable” mantra 

became a sing-song. The North 

asked for the following: (1) That 

each region shall have complete 

Legislative and Executive 

Autonomy with respect to all 

matters except the following: 

External Affairs, Defence, Customs 

and West African Research 

Institutions; 

(2) That there should be no Central 

Legislative body and no 

Central Executive or Policy making 

body for the whole of Nigeria; 

(3) That there shall be Central 

Agency for all regions which will 

be responsible for matters 

mentioned in Paragraph (1) and 

other matters delegated to it by a 

Region; 

(4) That the Central Agency shall 

be a neutral place preferably 

Lagos; 

(5) That the composition and responsibility 

of the Central Agency 

shall be defined by the Orderin-Council 

establishing the 

constitutional arrangements. The 


agency shall be a non-political 

body. 

(6) That the services of railway, 

air, posts and telegraphs, electricity 

and coal mining, shall be 

organised on an inter-regional 

basis and shall be administered by 

public corporations. These corporations 

shall be independent and 

covered by the statutes under 

which they are created by the 

board of experts with a minority 

representation of the regional 

governments; 

(7) All the revenues shall be 

levied and collected by the 

regional government except 

Customs revenue 

at the 

port of 

discharge by 

the Central 

Agency and 

paid to its 

treasury; 

(8) The administration 

of 

the Customs 

shall be so 

organised so 

as to assure 

that goods 

consigned to 

the region are 

separately 

cleared and 

charged to 

duty. Each 

region shall 

have a 

separate 

public service. 

There can 

be no other explanation as to why 

those who made those proposals 

in 1953 became the very people 

flogging those making demands 

for a restructuring that do not go 

far like they did at the National 

Theatre in Lagos in 1991 when the 

late Alao-Aka Bashorun led us to 

the foyer to demand a National 

Conference than the oil that was 

discovered four years after. 

Beautiful 

demands 

The very people who put these 

beautiful demands together in 

1953 now pretend as if they don’t 

know what we are talking about 

today because of the gains of 

iniquity, of a dysfunctional unitarist 

arrangement we misnamed a federation. 

To all intents and purposes, the 

sharp divisions of 1953 still define 

us till today as our clash of 

civilizations define our positions 

on critical issues. 

Adebanwi captures vividly this 

clash of civilizations as it lived 

through the pages of Nigerian 

newspapers in the 1950s.For 

instance he quoted the Nigerian 

Tribune,the voice of western region 

of February 1950 as editorialising 

that British colonialism,which 

forced together the different ethnic 

groups in Nigeria, had “failed to 

fulfill the mission for which it set 

out” the “UNITY of the North,East 

and West they (had) promised us. 

They have achieved, to our horror, 

DISUNITY”. About a year later, a 

Northern newspaper, Nigerian 

Citizen editorialised that the new 

telephone line linking Kaduna,the 

capital of the Northern region, 

with Lagos, Enugu,the major cities 

of the two Southern regions, signified 

“the gaining of momentum 

towards bringing the people of 

Nigeria closer together”, thus 

urging Nigerians to “sink prejudices 

as much as possible for wider 

patriotism” and dismissed 

“Southern polemics” expressed 

by The Tribune editorial as “extremism” 

of the South and its 

newspapers.The West African Pilot 

responded to this by dismissing 

Citizen as “a very patient 

imperialist pet and added that “the 

alliance of imperialism and 

feudalism will henceforth be 

fought by the holy crusaders of the 

nationalist army as they enter the 

first phase of psychological 

warfare”. 

The main thrust of discussions 

at Adebanwi’s reading was that 

aspiration to nationhood will remain 

a mirage if the lack of consensus 

that characterised the 

relationship of Nigeria’s ethnic 

groups in 1953 continues to define 

our union. 

As it was in 1953,we have hardly 

agreed on anything except 

corruption among the elites.To 

count ourselves accurately has 

been impossible.We find it difficult 

to hold free elections.If we fixed 

voting age to be 18 some 

civilization will line up six year 

olds.We cannot standardise admission 

criteria into our schools 

leading to the recent 

cancellation of post-UME in our 

universities .We retire some 

people on tenure policy and 

cancel same policy for another 

set of Nigerians. 

Different 

directions 

The Holy Book asks if two can 

walk together without 

agreement.Nigeria is answering 

that question by tying the 

legs of many racers and making 

them to run in different 

directions.The result is pitiful 

falls all over the place and the 

very reason why Nigeria lies 

prostrate at the intensive care 

unit of failed nations. 

Redressing 1953 requires revisiting 

the eight-point agenda 

of the North of 1953 and remove 

the biles therein to create a Nigeria 

where all constituent units 

are free to move and develop at 

their pace and according to their 

civilizations. Let each section 

concentrates on its area of comparative 

advantage and assign 

its priorities. 

A model that seeks to use the 

instrumentality of the Federal 

Government of Nigeria to turn 

the whole country into a grazing 

land, for instance, negates 

federalism and can only breed 

conflicts and perpetual feud. 

Nigerians since 1953 after 

their representatives dispersed 

in Lagos with riots breaking out 

in Kano afterwards have not sat 

anywhere to agree on the terms 

of their unity concretely and 

spell it out. So the “unity” that 

is not “ negotiable” today was 

not negotiated anywhere . 

The closer to such negotiation 

was the gathering of thoughts 

as symbolised by the 2014 National 

Conference around which 

some consensus have been 

built; today it’s possible, imperfections 

notwithstanding.And 

those dismissing the document 

should wake up and smell the 

coffee as the game in town has expired. 

C 

M 

Y 

K

18 — Vanguard, TUESDAY, JULY 12, 2016 

SINCE Sunday Oliseh resigned as 

the coach of the Super Eagles, the 

team has been without a 

substantive manager. Following his 

exit, Samson Siasia was drafted to 

handle the team in an acting 

capacity for the remaining Nations 

Cup qualifying matches, which 

ended with Nigeria missing out in 

the competition holding in Gabon 

next year. 

The team is currently being 

handled by Salisu Yusuf as a 

caretaker coach. What this 

translates to is that the senior 

national team is in need of a 

substantive head coach. The good 

news is that the Nigeria Football 

Federation (NFF) according to its 

President, Amaju Pinnick, is 

working hard to secure one. A 

Technical and Development 

Committee, was set up. The 

committee last Friday released a 

shortlist of three candidates for 

possible consideration after 

New Super Eagles coach: 

Delay is dangerous 

inviting applications from 

interested coaches. 

However, the process is now 

mired in some controversies that 

need to be resolved before the 

identity of the coach will be made 

public. One of these is the alleged 

disagreement within the NFF 

leadership over the choice of the 

coach to be appointed. Another is 

on whether the coach should be a 

foreign or local one. 

It is understood that the NFF 

leadership and the Sports Ministry 

are sharply divided on the issue. 

While Pinnick is said to be strongly 

enamoured with the idea of 

contracting a “world class” foreign 

coach, the Sports Minister is 

strongly opposed to it, arguing that 

Nigeria has qualified coaches to 

handle the team and successfully 

lead it to global achievements. 

The Minister is also worried 

about the cost implication of hiring 

a foreigner for the job, saying the 

reality of Nigeria’s current 

economic challenges does not 

encourage the hiring of a foreigner 

whose expected huge Dollardenominated 

salary would be too 

much for a cash-strapped NFF to 

pay. As if to counter this, NFF has 

reportedly secured a sponsorship 

deal to enable it pay for the hiring 

of the foreign coach. 

While this drama continues, our 

concern is that the qualifying 

matches for the 2018 World Cup 

would start soon with the Super 

Eagles still without a substantive 

Head Coach to supervise the 

earnest preparation of the team. 

The present situation is more 

worrisome considering the fact that 

Nigeria is drawn in the same World 

Cup qualifying group as Algeria, 

Cameroun and Zambia, which 

boast intimidating profiles, thus 

making the job of picking the sole 

qualifying slot all the more 

difficult. 

A quick decision needs to be 

made. Delay is dangerous. We 

prefer a local coach, and call on the 

sponsors to offer the same financial 

support if an indigenous coach is 

selected for the Super Eagles. 

Ugwuanyi’s era of economic renaissance 

By Nwobodo Chidiebere 

“The real tragedy of the poor is the poverty of 

their aspirations”- Adam Smith 

THE sudden fall of oil price has exposed 

Nigeria’s economic foundation as a 

mono-economy and heterogeneous one with 

so many financial faulty lines. The 

unsustainability of the current ‘feeding bottle 

federalism’ as propagated by the Deputy Senate 

President, Ike Ekweremadu, is being brought 

to the fore again at this auspicious time. Gone 

are the days when state governors run their 

states like medieval emperors with 

inexhaustible funds and resources. The current 

financial crisis bedevilling the nation has 

reached alarming levels, with 70% of state 

governments unable to pay salaries, let alone 

fund developmental capital projects. 

With over N800 billion Federal Government 

bailout money received by state governors at 

the dawn of this administration, many states 

are almost at the sorry state of bankruptcy and 

financial insolvency. But like the proverbial 

necessity that fuels invention and creativity, the 

on-going meltdown-cum-paucity of funds, has 

revealed the financial proficiency of some state 

governors in making their states financially 

self-sufficient by looking inwards to reawaken 

the economic giants embodied in the potentials 

of the states. 

In every economic crowd, there is always a 

silver lining of financial prosperity. One 

governors who has decided not to join his 

colleagues in lamenting over the acute paucity 

of funds in the system, is Gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi 

of Enugu State. After his emergence as 

governor, he made up his mind to marshal out 

an implementable economic blueprint on how 

to revive and resuscitate the economic 

potentials of the Coal City State. 

The CBN rated Enugu as one 

of the few states with a strong 

IGR and financial backbone 

to withstand the turbulent 

economic storm 

As a true believer and faith-driven Christian, 

Gov. Ugwuanyi vowed not only to key into 

multiplying power of the parable of two loaves 

of bread and three fishes as epitomized by Jesus 

Christ in the holy book, but to transform every 

stone of economic stagnation and mountain of 

poverty in the state into an ocean of financial 

prosperity. 

He ignited the economic revolution in the 

state via prudent management of the slim 

resources at his disposal. He told anyone who 

cared to listen that Enugu State has to be reinvented, 

and that all hands must be on deck 

not only to diversify the economy of the state 

but to chart a new course of economic 

renaissance. And presently it is no longer 

business as usual where every Dick or Harry 

looks up to Abuja for monthly allocation to be 

shared at the end of each month. The clear 

message-cum-vision of his government is: if 

we must spend it, we have to create it. 

OPINION 

One of the masterstrokes of Gov. Ugwuanyi’s 

government, which is propelling the Eastern 

hub on the path of economic renaissance, is his 

blockage of all revenue leakages in the state. 

The hitherto cabal behind the nightmare and 

economic sabotage called ghost workers, are 

being unmasked and decimated. He has 

succeeded in improving efficiency by weeding 

out wastage in the day-to-day running of 

government bureaucracy of the state. Even 

politicians, who depended on government 

hand-outs to survive, can now testify that the 

present government in the state is out to discard 

liabilities and encourage assets as epitomized 

in diligence and creativity to boost the 

productivity of Enugu people and create longlasting 

wealth for the masses. 

In moment of financial crisis like this, wealth 

does not necessarily grow wind and fly away, 

but like the indisputable law of conversion of 

energy—which states that energy cannot be 

created or destroyed but can be transformed 

from one medium to other. Gov. Ugwuanyi is 

borrowing a leaf from this: that wealth can be 

created by transforming human and mineral 

resources of Enugu State into prosperity, not 

only to arrest revenue shortfall arising from 

dwindling oil prices, but to ensure the economy 

of the state is human resource-driven. 

After obviously x-raying the economic 

potentials of the state, the governor has exercised 

the political will to boost the Internally 

Generated Revenue,IGR, of the state by 

overhauling the state’s tax payment systems. 

Instead of imposing more tax burden on the 

already impoverished people of the state, 

government has chosen to expand the tax net 

to accommodate more tax payers. 

Enhancement of agricultural activities in the 

state, which is being given a new life via 

reconstruction of rural roads to provide access 

to fertile farmlands, is equally robbing off on 

the IGR of the state. 

There is no doubt that Enugu State is speeding 

on the dual carriage highway of economic 

rejuvenation. The governor’s efforts in this 

regard has placed the state amongst the few 

states considered as possessing the potentials 

to survive the prevailing economic recession. 

That he has been paying workers salary 

uninterruptedly since coming to office, in the 

face of the economic crunch, is indeed 

commendable. Imagine how unstable Enugu, 

a civil service state, would have been if the 

governor had defaulted on his constitutional 

responsibility to pay workers. The rate of crime 

may possibly have skyrocketed in the state. 

The governor’s expressed desire and ability 

to create enabling business environment in the 

state, within one year in office and current efforts 

at reviving moribund industries, may have 

earned him a vote of confidence going by the 

recent statistical pronouncements of two 

revered economic institutions: the Central 

Bank of Nigeria and the World Bank. 

According to 2015 statistics which emanated 

from the apex bank, the CBN rated Enugu as 

one of the few states with a strong IGR and 

financial backbone to withstand the turbulent 

economic storm, trailing only Lagos, Rivers 

and Delta. 

The World Bank also described the state as 

the most viable in terms of Ease of Doing 

Business in Nigeria. 

*Mr. Chidiebere, a national affairs 

commentator , wrote from Abuja.


Nigeria’s economy’ll 

contract this 

year—IMF 

NIGERIA’s economy will 

probably contract this 

year as energy shortages and 

the delayed budget weigh on 

output, according to the International 

Monetary Fund. 

“I think there is a high likelihood 

that the year 2016 as a 

whole will be a contractionary 

year,” Gene Leon, the fund’s 

resident representative in Nigeria, 

said in an interview in 

Abuja. While the economy 

should look better in second half 

of the year, growth will probably 

not “be sufficiently fast, sufficiently 

rapid to be able to negate 

the outcome of” the first 

and second quarters, he said. 

Nigeria’s economy shrunk by 

0.4 per cent in the three months 

through March, the first contraction 

in more than a decade, 

as oil output and prices 

slumped and the approval of 

spending plans for 2016 were 

delayed. 

Shortages of 

power, fuel 

While conditions that impeded 

growth in the first half of the 

year, including shortages of 

power, fuel, and foreign exchange, 

as well as the higher 

price of dollars on the parallel 

market, may have been reduced, 

they still weigh on the 

economy, Leon said. 

The IMF cut its 2016 growth 

forecast for Nigeria to 2.3 per 

cent in its April Regional Economic 

Outlook from 3.2 per cent 

projected in February. The 

World Bank lowered its forecast 

to 0.8 per cent last month, 

CURRENCY BUYING SELLING 

US DOLLAR 

POUNDS 

EURO 

FRANC 

YEN 

CFA 

WAUA 

RENMINBI 

RIYAL 

KRONA 

SDR 

$144.85 2. 10 

$3,159.00 10.00 

$ 20.13 0.56 

$46.54 -0.22 

$45.17 -0.24 

281 281.5 282 

364.8223 375.4715 366.1206 

310. 8422 311. 3953 311.9484 

286. 4424 286. 9521 287.4618 

2.7969 2.8018 2.8068 

0.4555 0.4655 0.4755 

390.7838 391. 4792 392. 1745 

42.0084 42.0836 42.1588 

74.8834 75.0167 75.1499 

41.7614 41.8357 41.91 

391. 2925 391 9888 392. 685 

CBN Exchange rate as at 11/07/2016 

The IMF cut 

its 2016 growth 

forecast for 

Nigeria to 2.3 

per cent in its 

April Regional 

Economic Outlook 

from 3.2 

per cent projected 

in February 

weakness from oil-output 

disruptions and low prices. 

Last year’s expansion of 2.7 percent 

was the slowest in two decades, 

according to IMF data. 

“Most people would agree 

that if you should fix one thing 

in this country, it should be 

power,” Leon said. “There is 

need to start changing the 

power equation from 2016, 

from today, not tomorrow or later.” 

Nigeria generated an average 

of 2,464 megawatts of 

electricity on June 6, according 

to information from the 

power ministry. This is less 

than half of the installed capacity 

of 5,000 megawatts for 

a nation whose population of 

180 million people is the highest 

on the continent. It compares 

to power generating capacity 

of more than 40,000 

megawatts in South Africa, 

which has a population a third 

of the size. 

While inflation will probably 

Insurance firms need to recapitalise —Adeosun 

By Favour Nnabugwu 

NINE years after the last 

recapitalisation exercise 

in the nation’s insurance 

industry, the Minister of Finance, 

Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, yesterday said 

that the sector was due for another 

round of recapitalisation following 

the need to reposition 

it. Adeosun said 

this at the opening ceremony 

of the National 

Insurance Conference 

organised by the sector’s 

Insurance Industry 

Consultative Council 

(IICC) with the 

theme ‘Expanding 

National Resources 

and Infrastructure in 

Challenging Times’ 

held in Abuja. 

The minister who 

was yet to put a figure 

to the recapitalisation 

required according to 

classes of insurance, 

told insurance operators 

that there was no 

alternative to recapitalisation 

of the sector 

The minister said 

there was need for recapitalisation 

of most 

insurance companies. 

From left: Mr. Bex Nwawudu, Deputy Managing Director, Union Dicon Salt Plc; 

Mr. Chuka Mordi, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Union Dicon Salt 

Plc; Ms. Tinuade Awe, General Counsel and Head, Regulation, the Nigerian Stock 

Exchange (NSE) and Colonel Henry Mgbemena (Rtd), Executive Director, Union 

Dicon Salt Plc at the Facts Behind the Restructuring at the exchange 

She said “the first top three 

banks in the country have over 

N30 billion capital base each 

while the top three insurance 

companies’ capital base is 

between N20 and 25 million 

each.” 

It would be recalled that In- 

The principal 

objective of the 

reform is to have 

emergence of 

bigger and stronger 

players with 

enhanced capacity, 

restoration of 

confidence of the 

public, enhance 

the international 

competitiveness of 

local operators 

surance companies in Nigeria in 

2007 increased their capital base 

of Life, non-life and composite 

firms from the initial base of 

continue its upward trend 

through the end of this year, it 

is unlikely to exceed 20 percent, 

Leon said. Price growth 

accelerated to 15.6 percent, the 

highest rate in more than six 

years, in May and probably 

quickened to 16.2 percent last 

month, according to the median 

of seven economist estimates 

compiled by Bloomberg. 

The central bank’s Monetary 

Policy Committee “may be open 

to tolerating a little more inflation 

if growth emerges as the 

priority, as opposed to choking 

inflation and squeezing the little 

life out of growth,” Leon 

said. “But the central bank, in 

conjunction with the MPC, 

need to be clear to participants 

in markets what exactly their 

priority is.” 

The Central Bank of Nigeria 

left its benchmark rate unchanged 

at 12 percent in May 

and will announce its next decision 

on July 26. 

N150m, N200m and N350m to 

N2billion, N3billion, and 

N5billion, respectively. Four reinsurance 

firms were asked to recapitalise 

from N350million to 

N10billio during the exercise. 

Continuing, the Minister said 

that the principal objective of the 

reform is to have emergence of 

bigger and stronger players in the 

industry with enhanced capacity. 

The Nigeria insurers in time past 

had operated on marginal scale 

and that accounted for why the 

market had not benefited much, 

especially from oil and energy 

business. 

She said “The principal objective 

of the reform is to have emergence 

of bigger and stronger players 

with enhanced capacity, 

restoration of confidence of the 

public, enhance the international 

competitiveness of local operators. 

Adeosun argued that the industry 

was under-performing, compared 

to its pension and banking 

counterparts. She identified low 

awareness as one of the factors 

responsible for the under-performance 

of the sector, pointing out that 

out of 57 insurance companies 

in the country, less than 23 advertised 

their products. 

She said, “There is need to immediately 

address the issues responsible 

for the under-performance 

“because a 0. 33 per cent increase 

in insurance penetration 

can result to a growth of 0.5 per 

cent in GDP.. Adeosun noted that 

the increment was capable of creating 

over 70,000 jobs annually.” 

She stated that one of the inhibiting 

factors to insurance was low 

awareness which caused underperformance 

of the sector, pointing 

out that out of 57 insurance 

companies in the country, less 

than 23 advertised their products. 

According to her, “The companies 

put in less than 20 adverts on television, 

less than 10 adverts on 

radio and less than 10 adverts on 

social media. 

“Other factors include poor 

distribution channels and 

unethical practices among 

operators. I am working 

vigorously with the National 

Insurance Commission 

(NAICOM) to ensure that 

premium discounting is 

eliminated among practitioners,” 

she stated. 

Earlier, the Commissioner for 

Insurance, Alhaji Mohammed 

Kari, commended the IICC 

pledging NAICOM’s commitment 

to making the industry the 

next growth area for economic 

development 

C 

M 

Y 

K

Vanguard, TUESDAY, JULY 12, 2016 

, 

20— 

Vanguard Investor’s Forum and 

Vanguard Annual Review of Banks will 

then capture in more details the state of 

affairs in the industry as well as cover 

all banks in the system 

, 

INVESTOR'S 

Forecast returns on investment in top 10 quoted banks 

•Their strength and weaknesses 

•Sector stock index sinks into negative 

By Emeka Anaeto, 

Economy Editor 

I 

NVESTMENT analysts have 

been upbeat in analyzing the 

banking industry lately due to 

the challenging environment the 

industry have been grappling 

with since last year which has 

now been witnessing new 

dynamics, most recently being 

the foreign exchange content of 

their businesses. 

This report is largely drawn 

from the analysis by Renaissance 

Capital, one of the world’s 

leading investment banking 

group with considerable focus on 

African economy and a leading 

operator in Nigerian capital 

market. We have also taken 

information and analysis from 

other investment houses and the 

financial institutions such as 

Exotix Frontier Research, the 

world’s leading investment firm 

for frontier and illiquid markets 

which also publishes regular 

investment research on 86 of the 

most traded stocks in the Morgan 

Stanley’s MSCI Frontier Index. 

Some banks, among top 10, 

which are not featured in this 

report are either outside the 

universe coverage of the 

investment houses due to their 

disclosure gaps or they are not 

quoted on the Nigerian Stock 

Exchange. 

Rencap has admitted that the 

key factors in its analytics of the 

banking industry and the banks 

published in January this year 

have changed, apparently due 

to changes in the market 

situation, mainly foreign 

exchange and treasury markets. 

Valuation and ratings 

summary 

The analysts said they have 

reviewed their forecasts, target 

prices (TPs) and ratings across 

the sector and maintain BUY 

ratings on GTBank, Zenith and 

Access. They upgraded UBA to 

BUY and maintained HOLD 

ratings on Stanbic IBTC and 

Fidelity but upgrade First Bank 

and FCMB to HOLD, from Sell. 

They maintained SELL ratings 

on Diamond and Skye. They 

added that GTBank and UBA are 

top picks, on fundamentals and 

upside potential, respectively. 

GTBank – BUY, TP N29.0: In 

maintaining a BUY rating on 

GTBank while increasing the TP 

by 33% to NGN29.0 the analysts, 

in a depreciation environment, 

see the bank’s over USD600 

million-plus net long forex 

position as a significant source 

of strength, which should help 

to provide ample asset quality 

Mr. Godwin Emefiele, 

CBN Gov 

and capital buffers. There is also 

the impressive growth in its US 

Dollar-based mobile banking 

solution and the Management 

sees this as a low-cost significant 

revenue earner going forward, 

which should help to offset the 

losses from the phasing out of 

commission on turnover (CoT). 

According to Exotix Frontier 

Research GTB remains their top 

pick with a BUY recommendation 

at TP of N33.3 due to the bank’s 

ability to sustain capital adequacy 

above the regulatory minimum 

and sustain a market leading 

probability-weighted return-onequity 

(ROE) of 23.0% 

Investment 

analysts 

Zenith – BUY, TP N20.9: The 

investment analysts see room for 

trading income improvements in 

second half of 2016, as well as 

margin improvements, as the 

yield environment takes an 

upward bias. The bank’s capital 

position is relatively strong, and 

while there could be some 

downward pressure, analysts at 

Rencap thinks it generates 

sufficient internal earnings to be 

able to keep its ratios healthy. 

Exotix was very bullish on 

Zenith with a BUY 

recommendation at TP of N27. 

According to them the bank will 

be able to sustain regulatory 

capital ratios under all scenarios. 

We ranked its average 

probability-weighted ROE of 

18.1%. 

UBA – BUY, TP N9.4: The 

optimism is on the impressive 

growth in contribution from 

Africa, particularly as the group’s 

financials benefit in Naira terms 

from translation effects from 

Africa owing to Naira 

depreciation. 

Exotix was also more bullish on 

Oscar Onyema, CEO NSE 

UBA with a BUY 

recommendation at TP of N11.6. 

They also believe the bank will 

be able to sustain regulatory 

capital ratios under all scenarios 

Some banks, 

among top 10, 

which are not 

featured in this 

report are either 

outside the 

universe coverage 

of the investment 

houses due to their 

disclosure gaps or 

they are not quoted 

on the Nigerian 

Stock Exchange 

and the average probabilityweighted 

ROE was put at 

17.3%. 

Access – BUY, TP N9.1: The 

analysts raised their TP by 30% 

to NGN9.1 and maintain their 

BUY rating. The bank’s 

management estimated its net 

forex long position up to at 

least USD200 million, which 

should provide some capital 

and asset quality buffers. 

Overall, the management 

reiterated its confidence in 

delivering at least 22% returnon-equity 

(RoE) at end of 2016 

and thinks the weaker 

exchange rate should be 

earnings-positive for its 

outstanding USD1.0 billion 

forex swap positions. 

Exotix upgraded Access to 

Hold with a TP of N6.4 as the 

bank makes progress in 

replacing its derivative gains by 

improving its margins and 

operational efficiency. 

First Bank – HOLD, TP N4.6: 

Analysts at Rencap 

acknowledged the challenges 

with FBN’s high forex nonperforming 

loans (NPLs), weak 

coverage and capital ratios. The 

analysts think cost improvements 

are in progress. 

While asset quality and capital 

challenges could take more time 

to fix, the bank’s sizeable net 

long forex position should 

provide ample buffers. The 

management reiterated 

confidence in the bank’s ability 

to service its eurobond 

obligations, following questions 

around the yields at which these 

instruments are trading. 

Net long forex 

position 

The analysts said on the back 

of the above, particularly the net 

long forex position, on which they 

previously had little clarity, they 

upgraded the stock to HOLD, 

from Sell, with a revised TP of 

NGN4.6, flagging that while a 

capital raise may be off the 

agenda in 2016, until 

management delivers on its key 

targets, this could happen in 

2017, should market conditions 

improve. 

Exotix also gave a HOLD 

recommendation on First Bank 

but with a more optimistic TP of 

N6.4. 

Stanbic IBTC – HOLD, TP 

N17.2: Analysts were concerned 

that the challenges with the 

Financial Reporting Council 

(FRC) make it difficult to 

formulate a constructive view on 

the earnings outlook for the bank. 

However, the fundamentals 

appear intact, although they 

expressed concerns over asset 

quality also. They expect the 

bank’s trading income to receive 

a boost over time from the 

liberalisation of forex markets. 

Furthermore, while a resolution 

of the issues with the FRC is 

awaited analysts expect the 

technical treatment of the 

accruals to be such that they are 

written back, ultimately boosting 

earnings in previous years, as a 

restatement could need to 

happen. The bank’s 

management thinks that assets 

under management 

management (AuM) and pre-tax 

profit growth in the wealth 

business should be 10% in 2016 

as a base case. 

Though Exotix expressed 

reservations with the non-release 

of the 2015 financial results and 

2016 first quarter results which 

they said reduced visibility of 

their forecast, the analysts was 

rather bullish on Stanbic IBTC’s 

stock with a TP of N26.9. 

FCMB – HOLD, TP N2.1: The 

analysts increased TP on FCMB 

to NGN2.1, but maintain their 

HOLD rating. With Naira 

depreciation, they see some 

improvements in state 

government revenue, and this 

should be positive for FCMB, 

given that a sizeable portion of 

its NPLs are a result of delayed 

payments to government 

employees. However, analyst are 

concerned about the reduction in 

oil production and what this could 

mean for state government 

revenue. There was also 

indication that NPLs trended 

upwards in the second quarter 

of 2016. Analyst estimated the 

bank’s net long forex position at 

USD125 million and see this as 

providing material asset quality 

and capital buffers in the weaker 

currency environment. 

Exotix upgraded FCMB 

recommendation to a HOLD but 

with a subdued TP of N1.6 

Continues on page 21 

Bank’s Year-To-Date (YTD) capital gain/ loss 

Banks’ Stocks Yr Opening Price Current Price YTD% 

GTB 18.18 24.00 32.01 

Zenith 14.05 15.87 12.95 

UBA 3.38 4.57 35.21 

Access 4.85 5.40 11.34 

FBN 5.13 3.75 -26.9 

Stanbic 16.53 15.77 -4.6 

FCMB 1.69 1.38 -18.34 

Fidelity 1.50 1.14 -24.0 

Diamond 2.30 1.85 -19.50 

Wema 1.00 0.80 -20.0 

Source: Nigerian Stock Exchange


S FORUM 

, 

Similarly, analysts at Cowry Asset 

Management Limited said ‘’this week, we 

expect a mix of bargain hunting and profit 

taking activities amid divestments in favour 

of fixed income instruments 

, 

How the new exchange rate will affect GSK/Suntory deal 

By Nkiruka Nnorom 

STAKEHOLDERS in the 

capital market have 

argued that the new official 

exchange rate (N280/USD) might 

not have additional value 

accretion to the proposed sale of 

GlaxoSmithKline Consumer 

Nigeria Plc, GSK, drink business 

to Suntory Beverage & Foods 

Limited, a subsidiary of Japanese 

firm, Suntory Group Limited. 

GSK’s drinks business was 

valued at USD79.2 million 

(N15.78 billion) using N200 - the 

official exchange rate at the 

commencement of the deal. 

In a reaction to the deal, Mr. 

Johnson Chukwu, CEO, Cowry 

Asset Management Limited, a 

Lagos-based investment banking 

firm, said: “I believe that the sale 

transaction for GSK Nigeria Plc’s 

drink business must have been 

denominated in dollar as the 

vending entity - GSK Nigeria and 

the acquirer’s principal trading 

currencies are Naira and Yen. For 

instance, while GSK Nigeria 

estimated to receive a Naira value 

Forecast returns on investment in banks 


Fidelity – HOLD, TP N1.4: 

Relative to other tier 2 banks, 

analysts think asset quality trends 

at Fidelity have been the most 

impressive. The bank made a 

conservative decision to charge 

the required N1.1 billion general 

provision on its Oando Plc 

exposure to its profit & loss 

statement in the fourth quarter of 

2015, and they could potentially 

see some write-backs in the 

second half of 2016 following a 

pay-down and restructuring of the 

loan. 

But, analysts expressed 

concerns for Fidelity’s exposure 

to Aiteo (a major upstream oil 

company), should the CBN force 

a classification of its USD172 

million portion, the NPL ratio 

could spike to as high as 13% 

(using N300/USD1.0). 

However, the bank has a net 

long forex position of USD120 

million, which should help to ease 

the pain from such an event. Exotix 

also upgraded its Fidelity Bank 

recommendation to a HOLD but 

with aTP of N1.3 

Diamond – SELL, TP N2.5: 

Analysts expressed material 

concerns on the earnings outlook 

at Diamond Bank. In a 

depreciation environment, they 

expect its capital ratios to come 

under significant pressure, partly 

owing to its relatively low forex 

long positions. 

Furthermore, 45-50% of the 

bank’s 2015 NPLs were in forex 

and provisions are mostly held in 

Naira, which is clearly negative 

for coverage ratios. Forex liquidity 

challenges are prevalent with its 

of N15.78 billion from a purchase 

consideration of USD79.2million 

based on a conversion rate of 

N200/$ ruling at the time of 

commencement of discussions, 

the acquirer - Suntory Foods of 

Japan made a provision of 

7billion Yen (including an 

allowance for exchange rate 

fluctuation) for the acquisition. 

“In effect, if the transaction is 

denominated in dollar, the 

conversion rate and the Naira 

value that GSK Nigeria Plc will 

receive would be based on the 

ruling rate on the date the 

transaction is concluded and 

values exchanged.” 

Speaking in the same vein, 

Amb. Olufemi Timothy, National 

President, Renaissance 

Shareholders’ Association of 

Nigeria, RSAN, noted that the 

value would remain unchanged 

for GSK if both parties has signed 

the agreement as at the time 

conversion was done. “But if 

actually there was no agreement 

on that conversion rate as at that 

time, and the date of transaction 

is going to be current, then it has 

letter-of-credit positions (a sectorwide 

risk), partly because the 

bank has used its internal 

liquidity to settle obligations on 

behalf of clients who have not 

been able to source forex from the 

CBN. Analysts see significant 

challenges here and, therefore, 

maintained cautious view on the 

stock. 

Wema Bank 

– SELL, TP 50k 

Analysts focus on Wema Bank 

was principally on its relative 

small balance sheet size and weak 

profitability ratios. According to 

Exotix ‘‘we maintain our SELL 

recommendation on Wema 

Bank (TP 50 kobo) due to its poor 

profitability profile and ability to 

absorb NPL shocks’’. 

Year-To-Date Performance 

The year-to-date, YTD, 

performance of the banks is not 

looking healthy as the attached 

table will show, thus presenting 

a bleak prospect for investors. 

The NSE Banking index closed 

at a negative of -2.6% last week 

as investors dumped banking 

stocks out of fear of a banking wide 

crisis following CBN’s 

intervention in Skye Bank Plc, 

one of the systemically important 

banks. 

Stanbic IBTC, First Bank, 

Zenith Bank and Unity Bank did 

post gains of 10%, 3.8%, 2% and 

1.8% respectively. However this 

was overshadowed by the losses 

posted by Diamond Bank, Skye 

Bank, FCMB, Union Bank and 

Fidelity, with 9.4%, 8.9%, 9.4%, 

4.9% and 4.8% respectively. 

to be the current rate. So, the 

whole thing will have to be 

adjusted.” 

Mr. Abayomi Obabolujo, 

President, Association of Avid 

Shareholders, AAS, who argued 

that technically, the current 

exchange rate float might translate 

to more money to GSK, insisted 

that what is of utmost importance 

is the use to which the company 

would put the funds generated 

from the sale. 

They stated that the drink 

business being sold is the 

mainstay of GSK’s business, and 

might affect the revenue stream 

negatively if the fund is not well 

channelled. 

“The transaction being 

concluded at a time when the 

Naira is being devalued is a plus 

to GSK because they will be 

realizing so much, which is to the 

benefit of the organisation. But it 

should be quickly noted that they 

are selling an integral part of their 

business, which is the cash cow. 

What they will now be left with in 

a market where others could 

Understandably these are mostly 

Tier 2 banks where investor 

concerns are mostly focussed on. 

The fear could still extend to Tier 

1 banks leading to major sell-offs. 

However, some analysts believe 

an improvement would come 

with first half (second quarter 

results) expected to begin to 

trickle in any time from end of this 

month. Vanguard Investor’s 

Forum and Vanguard Annual 

Review of Banks will then capture 

in more details the state of affairs 

in the industry as well as cover 

all banks in the system. 

compete with them after the sale 

will be paracetamol, and other 

over-the-counter drugs. 

“Where they have competitive 

advantage is in the food business 

they are selling. So, people 

should not look at it from one side 

that they are making so much 

money, but what is going out from 

the company in the long run might 

be far more than what they are 

making today,” he said. 

Cash cow of its 

business 

“Another thing is how well the 

company will utilise the money it 

will realize from the transaction; 

what exactly do they want to do 

with the money and what do they 

want to achieve. Until we see this, 

we will not say they have taken 

wise decision because nobody 

sells the cash cow of its business, 

which is what they have done”, 

Obabolujo added. 

Last week, GSK concluded the 

final stage of its divestment plan 

having secured shareholders 

approval at an Extra-ordinary 

General Meeting, EGM, in 

Lagos. 

GSK had in January, 2016 

announced that its Board of 

Directors had accepted a nonbinding 

offer from Suntory 

Beverage & Food Nigeria limited 

to sell its flagship drink business, 

consisting of Lucozade and 

Ribena, to the company. The sale 

included the company’s business 

of manufacturing, bottling, 

marketing, distributing and 

selling of the Ribena and 

Lucozade brands in Nigeria and 

all assets attached to or deployed 

in connection with the business. 

In his explanation at the EGM, 

Mr. Edmund Onuzo, Chairman, 

GSK, said that the proceeds of the 

transaction would be used in 

payment of taxes, defray cost of 

transaction, payment of debts 

(inter-company/trading 

arrangements) and directed to 

investments aimed at growing the 

retained business. 

Stock Market Outlook 

(July 12 – 19) 

AFTER the three-day Eid Al-Fitr break, bearish sentiment 

persisted as the Benchmark Index (All-Share Index) 

dipped by 51bps to close the first week in H2 in negative. Also, 

Market breadth widened as the number of stocks that lost 

outweighed the gainers. Consequently, the Nigerian Stock 

Exchange year-to-date (YTD)figure closed at 0.7%. 

The Afrinvest weekly sentiments indicator weakened to 0.6 point 

(from 1.0 point) as investor sentiment remained bearish during 

the week. The ripple effect from news flow surrounding Skye Bank 

may drive some Tier-2 Banks further lower as investors continue 

to weigh the impact of credit risk on peers. 

According to stock market analysts at Afrinvest, ‘’overall 

performance of the market may stay soft during the week but we 

see the likelihood of bargain hunting by midweek’’. 

Similarly, analysts at Cowry Asset Management Limited said 

‘’this week, we expect a mix of bargain hunting and profit taking 

activities amid divestments in favour of fixed income instruments’’. 

ACCESS BANK PLC Q1:2016 Result - Financial Highlights (NGN Billion) 

Source: Afrinvest/company result


Controversy trails concession, sale 

of Enugu coal blocks 

•As electricity generation plummets to 3,634MW 


Technical Assistant to the 

Minister of State, Ministry of 

Solid Minerals Development, 

Mr. Frank Odom, BPE only was 

given professional advice by the 

Ministry over mining assets at 

Enugu mine. 

He said, “Since mining assets 

are not like any other assets our 

Ministry only gave the BPE 

professional advise considering 

the evaluation of moveable and 

immovable assets including the 

coal reserve. 

“There was nothing like 

stopping the BPE, rather it was 

cautioned based on expert 

advice. We as a Ministry cannot 

stop BPE from going on with their 

mandate since government has 

given them the go-ahead”. 

However, a source at BPE who 

chose to be anonymous because 

he was not authorised to speak 

told Vanguard that there was no 

sale of coal blocks as alleged by 

the government of Enugu 

State.“It is not true that BPE sold 

coal blocks in Enugu State”, he 

said. 

This was corroborated by the 

Head, Public Communication, 

BPE, Mr. Yunana Malo, who 

stated that the process of 

concession and sale of the coal 

blocks was in progress. 

He said, “At no time did the 

Bureau ever say that it was 

stopped by the Ministry to 

concession the coal blocks. 

“The Ministry rightly said it 

does not possess the powers to 

truncate the Bureau’s 

transactions on the coal blocks. 

However, the Bureau works with 

the Ministry as it is a key 

stakeholder. 

“The Bureau gets its approvals 

and guidance regarding all its 

transactions from the National 

Council on Privatisation (NCP). 

“The transaction on the 

concession of the various coal 

blocks in Enugu State is in 

progress and at the due diligence 

stage. This stage involves visit 

to the sites, which is currently 

being delayed because visits 

cannot be made to the coal sites 

during the raining season.” 

Phone calls made to the 

Enugu State Commissioner for 

Information were not answered, 

neither did he respond to the text 

messages sent to him. 

Power generation has not 

exceeded 3,500MW in the last 

four months as many Nigerians 

complain of irregular power 

supply. For some years now, the 

federal government has signed 

some agreements with 

companies who wanted to invest 

in the Nation’s coal industry, so 

as to shore up power generation. 

However, none of such 

agreements has come to fruition. 

It will be recalled that the 

Federal Government stated that 

Coal mine. 

its intention was to generate 30 

per cent of electricity needed in 

the country from coal. 

Consequently, various 

memorandums 

of 

understanding, MoUs were 

There was no sale 

of coal blocks as 

alleged by the 

government of 

Enugu State.“It is 

not true that BPE 

sold coal blocks in 

Enugu State 

signed by investors. One of such 

MoUs on coal to power was 

signed for the development of 

Ezinmo Coal Block in Enugu 

and a 1000 megawatts coal power 

generating plant. The MoU was 


AS Nigeria grapples with 

irregular power supply a 

recent report by 

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), 

an international audit and 

consulting firm has highlighted 

that in order for the country to 

scale up its generation output, an 

increase in generation, 

transmission and distribution 

capacity needs to be achieved. 

According to the report, titled 

‘Powering Nigeria for the 

Future’, Nigeria needs to 

implement strategies across the 

supply chain if it is to achieve 

the target of a yearly per capita 

power consumption of 982 kWh 

signed between the Ministry of 

Mines and Steel Development 

and HTG-Pacific Energy 

Consortium for the development 

of the Ezinmo Coal Bricks. 

He stated that: “I welcome the 

growing synergy between the 

ministries of Mines and Steel 

Development and Power which 

is made manifest in their 

collaborative efforts to attract 

investors to coal fired oil 

generation opportunities. We 

expect the co-operations to 

continue until we get the desired 

destination in terms of our power 

needs.” Ezinmo is a large coal 

block which ranged from Enugu 

State to Benue State. The Coal 

to Power plant was to be cited in 

the same location with the mine, 

specifically, Nsukka, thereby 

saving the cost of transportation. 

As a follow up, a Ministerial 

Committee headed by the 

Director General of Mining 

Cadastre office (MCO) was set 

Nigeria needs power ramp up strategy— PwC 

by 2025. The report explained 

that “Based on ongoing projects, 

the per capita power 

consumption in Nigeria will only 

reach 433 kWh per year in 2025. 

Given the requirements of the 

economy and the population, 

there is a critical need to drive 

higher power availability, and we 

believe a stretch target of 982 

kWh per year (6.5 times the 

current level) by 2025 is 

realistic.” The report identified 

three ‘substantial leaps’ that need 

to be implemented over the next 

10 years should this goal be 

attained. 

•Leap 1: Accelerating growth 

in power generation capacity and 

improving utilisation 

up to collate and evaluate the 

report on coal to power initiatives 

with a view to establishing the 

status of the project. 

The committee was also to 

identify assets of the Nigerian 

Coal Corporation other than coal 

that had been privatised and 

identify uses of Nigerian coal in 

addition to power generation. 

The committee, which 

submitted its report to the 

minister on August 6, 2013, 

proffered in its 

recommendations, privatisation 

of all outstanding coal blocks, 

resolution of all distracting issues 

that could hinder the transition 

from a public organisation to a 

private enterprise, establishment 

of two coal fired power plants in 

the first phases to be powered by 

the Ogboyega, Okaba and Ezimo 

coals respectively as well as the 

resuscitation of the Oji River Coal 

fired plant among others. 

*Leap 2: Expanding the power 

transmission network and 

driving better efficiencies 

*Leap 3: Establishing and 

scaling up efficient power 

distribution capabilities 

According to the report signed 

by PwC’s growth markets centre 

leader, David Wijeratne, and 

partner for power and utilities 

leader, west market area for 

Africa at PwC Nigeria, Pedro 

Omontuemhen, in addition to 

assigning roles and ownership, 

successful execution of these 

levers will require careful 

planning and sequencing, with 

key dependencies identified. It 

added: “For example, 

revamping the existing 

Subsidy remains 

economy’s 

biggest problem 

— Expert 

By Grace Udofia 

AN oil and gas expert has 

identified subsidy 

payment as the most 

disturbing scheme for any 

striving economy to grow 

with. 

Speaking to Vanguard 

in an exclusive chat, Belema 

Paulson Cookey, of the 

Department of petroleum 

and Gas Engineering, 

University of port-Harcourt, 

stated that “the questions we 

ought to ask is, will the 

benefits outweigh the cost? 

Or Will the cost outweigh 

the benefit, if it is removed 

or in place? 

He explained that subsidy 

removal is seen as an 

opportunity to accelerate 

infrastructural and 

industrial development, a 

sound economic strategic 

policy with higher economic 

priority. 

According to him, “The 

fact that you sell crude oil 

and import petroleum 

products does not mean that 

the cost of refined product 

is different from what you 

earn from crude oil and what 

you get from refined 

products. 

“They are different, money 

earned from sales of crude 

was available for competing 

economic choices, using it 

for fuel subsidy deprives you 

from infrastructure that is an 

economic cost.” 

“Subsidies to fuel energy, 

transportation, housing, 

agriculture, and other 

industries have been 

instituted on the grounds 

that preservation or 

expansion of these 

industries, even at a cost to 

the general public, is in the 

public interest.” 

infrastructure and implementing 

efficient processes across the 

value chain can be a more 

immediate task for existing 

players, supported by new 

participants with key expertise, 

bringing near term benefits. 

“As these improvements take 

place, the longer and more 

complex process of policy 

formulation and attracting new 

investments for scaling up can 

be considered independently by 

the government, regulator and 

other agencies, in order to lay the 

platform for the next phase of 

enhancement of building and 

operationalising the new projects 

to power Nigeria for the future. 

C 

M 

Y 

K


By Michael Eboh 

Auditing and services company, 

Ernst & Young, has raised 

concerns over the soundness of 

Oando Plc, stating that the 

current financial position of the 

company may cast significant 

doubts on its ability to continue 

as a going concern. 

Ernst & Young, stated this in its 

Independent Auditors’ Report to 

the Members of Oando Plc, 

contained in the company’s 

‘Annual Reports, Consolidated 

and Separate Financial 

Statements’, for the year ended, 

December 21, 2015. 

The auditor said, “Without 

qualifying our opinion, we draw 

attention to Note 47 to the 

financial statements which 

indicate that the Group reported 

comprehensive loss for the year 

of N37.8 billion (2014: loss N116.5 

billion) and as at that date, its 

current liabilities exceeded 

current assets by N247.9 billion 

(2014:N329 billion). 

“The company also incurred 

comprehensive loss of N56.6 

billion for the year ended 31 

December 2015 (2014: loss N66.5 

billion) and as at that date, its 

current liabilities exceeded 

current assets by N32.8 billion 

(2014: N34.7 billion). 

“The note indicates that these 

conditions, along with other 

matters, indicate the existence of 

a material uncertainty which may 

cast significant doubt on the 

Group’s ability to continue as a 

going concern.” 

In its reaction , however, 

Oando said the ‘reservations 

about our going concern status’ 

as stated by Ernst Young is a 

standard industry practice and 

reporting tool, adding that its 

N38bn loss: Oando counters Ernst & Young 

concern over future 

•No misgivings about our continued existence, Oando assures 

stringent application was due to 

the reporting guidelines set by 

the Financial Reporting Council 

by auditors relating to firms that 

declare losses & impairments in 

a period of time. 

The company, in an email 

statement to Vanguard, stated 

that 2015 remained a turbulent 

year for all players in the global 

oil and gas industry, with Oando 

being no exception, adding that 

the company’s financial position 

has never posed a threat to the 

continued existence of the 

company. 

The statement said, “As we 

come to terms with this new 

reality of low oil prices and 

challenging macro and micro 

environment, the company is 

.Ovade-Ogharefe Gas Processing Plant 

fully focused on implementing 

corporate initiatives to optimise 

our balance sheet and assets, 

while also aggressively reducing 

our existing debt profile. 

“It is imperative to note the 

following in our positioning as a 

long term viable investment and 

our commitment to creating 

shareholder value: With a loss 

after tax decrease from N145.7 

billion to N49.7 billion, we 

significantly improved our loss 

position by the end of 2015. 

“A slow but steady recovery is 

evident in our first quarter profit 

of N4.1 billion, despite the macro 

& micro issues that plague the 

oil and gas industry; the first 

quarter of 2016 demonstrates 

our dedication to return to 

profitability by the end of 2016.” 

The company further stated 

that it successfully restructured 

its already existing debt through 

a N94.6 billion Medium Term 

Note with lower capital costs 

and a renewed 5 year tenor, 

while despite impairments and 

losses in the last two years, the 

company remains a viable 

business with the backing of 

local and international banks 

and partners 

The company added that it 

recently concluded a 

recapitalisation of its 

downstream business with a 

Helios-Vitol consortium, which 

it said would significantly 

impact our debt profile. 

In its financials for the 2015 

Gas supply: The indigenous companies’ challenge 

financial year, Oando had 

announced a 73.81 per cent 

increase in its revenue from 

N92.91 billion in 2014 to 

N161.49 billion. It however, 

recorded a loss before tax from 

continuing operations of 

N32.736 billion, down from 

N88.726 billion in 2014, while 

loss for the year from continuing 

operations dropped to N31.198 

billion from N93.64 billion 

recorded in 2014. 

Oando also posted N18.49 

billion loss for the year from 

discontinued operations, down 

from a loss of N52.019 billion; 

while its loss for the year stood 

at N49.69 billion compared with 

a loss of N145.655 billion in 

2014. 

The company’s revenue was 

depleted by cost of sales of 

N106.75 billion, rising sharply 

by 115.17 per cent from N49.61 

billion recorded in 2015, 

leading to gross profit of 

N54.737 billion, compared to 

N43.3 billion in 2014. The 

company also recorded 

administrative expenses of 

N74.078 billion, down from 

N161.223 billion in 2014, while 

it recorded operating profit of 

N15.69 billion as against 

operating loss of N51.919 billion 

in 2014. 

Oando, however, stated that 

the Group’s net loss for the year 

of N49.7 billion (Company: 

N56.6 billion) had been 

transferred to retained earnings. 


THOUGH natural gas 

production has steadily 

increased in recent years in line 

with domestic supply 

obligations and the broad road 

map of the Gas Master Plan 

(GMP), the recent militant 

attacks on oil and gas facilities 

has exposed the fragility of the 

country’s gas supplies 

especially to the power sector. 

In less than three weeks, 

Nigeria’s power sector lost over 

N36billion, primarily as a result 

of gas shortage caused by the 

recent bombing of pipelines 

supplying gas to electricity 

generation plants. 

Between May 27 and June 13, 

2016 for instance, the country’s 

power sector lost an average of 

N2bn daily as a result of different 

challenges, with gas accounting 

for over 85 per cent of the total 

constraints. 

The disruptions to gas supply 

have prompted the Federal 

Government to look towards 

developing alternative sources of 

gas supply for power generation 

in the country. A senior 

government official while 

speaking at a recent Nigerian 

Gas Association forum, stressed 

“the need to explore the gas 

reserves in the inland basins”. 

The inland basins in the country 

include the Anambra Basin, the 

lower, middle, and upper Benue 

trough, the south eastern sector 

of the Chad Basin, the Mid- 

Niger (Bida) Basin, and the 

Sokoto Basin. 

Nigeria has never been short 

In less than three 

weeks, Nigeria’s 

power sector lost 

over N36 billion, 

primarily as a 

result of gas 

shortage caused by 

the recent bombing 

of pipelines 

of big ideas and projects when it 

comes to gas. Nigerian Liquefied 

Natural Gas (NLNG) Trains 7 

and 8, Brass LNG, and Olokola 

LNG have been awaiting final 

investment decisions for years. 

Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline 

project was virtually dead on 

arrival, though there are talks of 

a revival of recent. The 680- 

kilometre gas transport project, 

West African Gas Pipeline, 

jointly-owned by Shell, Chevron 

and the Nigerian National 

Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) 

has failed to deliver the 

anticipated volume of gas due to 

a plethora of reasons ranging 

from policy, politics, 

infrastructure, funding to 

security. 

New gas supplies especially 

from International Oil 

Companies (IOCs) are under 

way. The Southern Swamp 

Associated Gas Solutions Project 

will add 100m scf per day to 

domestic supplies by 2017; the 

Forcados Yokri Integrated Project, 

will add another 80m scf per day 

of gas; the two-phase $3.5 billion 

Assa-North/Ohaji-South fields 

on OML 53 are scheduled for 

completion in 2018amongst 

others. 

While the country waits to 

unlock the long term projects, it 

is worthwhile to take a look at the 

small independents that have 

managed to keep their eye on 

gas development despite 

challenges. The Uquo gas 

project owned by Seven Energy 

and Frontier Oil readily comes 

to mind. The East Horizon Gas 

Company (EHGC), a subsidiary 

of Oando Plc, is a special purpose 

vehicle set up to develop, 

finance, construct and operate a 

gas transmission pipeline linking 

the Calabar Cluster of Industries 

to the Nigerian Gas Company 

(NGC) grid in Akwa Ibom state 

is another example. There is also 

the Seplat Petroleum 90m-scfper-day 

Oben gas plant on 

OML 4. 

Perhaps the most exciting of all 

the gas projects from the 

independents is the Pan Ocean’s 

Ovade-Ogharefe gas processing 

facility - the largest carbon 

emission reduction project in sub- 

Saharan Africa located in oil 

mining lease (OML) 98.The 

history breaking Carbon 

emission certification is bigger 

than what even the IOC’s have 

done. The project was designed 

to reduce greenhouse gas 

emission by more than two 

million tons of carbon dioxide 

annually. 

Pan Ocean Oil Corporation, 

operator of Pan Ocean/Nigerian 

National Petroleum Corporation 

joint venture, gas project was 

successfully registered under the 

United Nations Clean 

Development Mechanism, 

CDM of the Kyoto Protocol. It has 

about 99 percent gas recovery. 

Recovery means that the quantity 

of gas received from the flow 

station tallies with the quantity 

of gas processed, and this will 

also tally with the quantity used 

as fuel gas to run the engines 

plus gas generators and 

compressors, and the quantity of 

gas released for power 

generation. Pan Ocean qualified 

for the Carbon Credit Scheme of 

United Nations Framework 

Convention on Climate Change 

(UNFCCC) in February 2009. 

Seven Energy, is another 

shining example of indigenous 

leadership in Nigeria’s oil & gas 

sector. Seven Energy has been 

severally recognized for its 

commitment to sustainable power 

supply in Nigeria through 

efficient gas delivery. 

Commenting recently on an 

award for leadership in the gas 

sector, Seven Energy CEO, 

Phillip Ihenacho, Chief 

Executive Officer, Seven Energy 

said, “We are pleased that our 

effort in providing the much 

needed gas for sustainable 

power supply and for use by 

industries to drive economic 

growth is being recognised.


NERC, DISCOs seek more funding for power sector’s growth 

•As NERC partners SON to ban substandard electrical appliances 

By Ediri Ejoh 

THE Nigeria Electricity 

R e g u l a t o r y 

Commission, NERC, 

and the Distribution 

Companies of Nigeria, 

DISCOS, have called for more 

funding in the power sector 

to provide the necessary 

booster that will sustain 

power delivery. 

Speaking to Vanguard, 

Head, Corporate 

Communications Department, 

Eko Electricity Distribution 

Company, EKEDC, Mr 

Godwin Idemudia, stated that 

the national grid as currently 

practiced needs to be 

reviewed. 

He said, “The present state 

of the grid needs reenforcement. 

The sector 

needs a lot of funding to meet 

the demands of the nation. 

Once we are able to get the 

power problems fixed, every 

other aspect of national 

development would fall in 

place, as all hands must be on 

deck to achieve the desired 

growth in the sector. 

Explaining the shortfall in 

the sector, he said “Yes there 

is huge shortfall in 

development which has 

subsequently been blamed on 

debts owed by most MDAs. 

The non payment of electricity 

bills has greatly impacted on 

our ability to strengthen and 

fully improve our network. 

“If paid, the money would 

enable us to do a lot of things. 

More transformers and 

meters can be bought to ease 

the mounting request of our 

customers to meet their 

meters and electricity supply 

needs. 

US announces 

$20bn 

resolution with 

BP over 2010 

oil spill 

THE United States has 

announced a more than 

$20 billion settlement of 

federal and state claims 

against BP over the 

Macondo oil spill five years 

ago, Reuters reported. 

US Attorney General Loretta 

Lynch said that the 

agreement is “the largest 

settlement with a single 

entity in American history.” 

BP had announced in July 

that it would pay up to $18.7 

billion in penalties to the US 

government and five states 

to resolve nearly all claims 

from the April 2010 

Deepwater Horizon oil spill. 

At the time of this 

announcement, the 

settlement was still pending 

court approval. 

TRAINING: Pressmen, Supervisors, representing Natural Resource Governance Institute, 

NRGI and other coordinating partners at the just concluded training in Oil and Gas Reporting, 

organized by the Natural Resource Governance Institute, NRGI, in collaboration with the 

School of Media and Communication, Pan-Atlantic University, Wole Soyinka Institute for 

Investigative Journalism and Premium Times. 

“Some of the challenges we 

have right now is such that 

people are refusing to pay for 

electricity they have 

consumed; bypassing of our 

meters (energy theft); 

harassment of our staff 

carrying out their legitimate 

duties.” 

The present state 

of the grid needs 

re-enforcement. 

The sector needs 

a lot of funding to 

meet the demands 

of the nation 

By Prince Okafor 

INTERNATIONAL Energy 

Agency, IEA, has said that 

China now accounts for 30 

percent of Africa’s energy 

growth, with more than 200 

Greenfield power projects 

contracted to Chinese 

companies in the last five years, 

even as it has completed not less 

than three projects in Nigeria. 

IEA, in its July 2016 

publication, titled “Boosting 

the Power Sector in Sub-Saharan 

Africa: China’s Involvement” 

stated that project investments are 

estimated at about $13 billion 

between 2010 and 2015 from 

China, which were financed 

largely through public lending 

from China. 

According to the report, with 

over 635 million people living 

without electricity, access to 

electricity is still a great 

challenge to sub-Saharan Africa. 

The power sector needs to be 

well funded, technologies, and 

capacity building, and 

significant investment are also 

needed to support the 

development of the sector. 

The report also stated that 

“Others include inadequate 

power supply from the 

national grid to meet the 

yearnings and aspirations of 

our esteemed customers as we 

cannot give what we do not 

have; as well as vandalism of 

our equipment, which is 

hindering our operations a 

lot.” 

He added that structures 

and programmes are put in 

place to ensure that customers 

benefit from services to them. 

“We have been able to put in 

place an additional bilateral 

agreement with an existing 

power station to inject 100 

megawatts direct to our 

network without passing 

through the grid but at a 

premium rate to our willing 

customers. 

“Aside from that, we also 

have another 40mw signed 

with Paras engineering 

company for energy supply 

into our network. These are 

some of the measures of 

embedded generation our 

company is involved in to 

satisfy our customers,” he 

said. 

Corroborating the DISCO, 

acting Chairman/CEO, 

NERC, Dr. Anthony Akah, 

said all hands are on deck to 

ensure the sector’s growth. 

According to him, “All 

hands are on deck to ensure 

the workability and 

sustainability of the national 

grid system which of recent 

has experienced drastic 

shocks due to the dwindling 

electricity generation.” 

Nigeria’s TNP 

Bonny Light 

pipeline shut 

down 

—Industry 

source 

NIGERIA’S Trans Niger 

Pipeline, one of the two 

major pipelines that carries 

Bonny Light crude for 

export, was shut down on 

Monday, an industry source 

familiar with the matter said. 

Neither the cause of the 

shutdown nor any impact on 

production was known. 

Oil major Shell, which 

operates the Bonny Light 

export terminal through its 

local affiliate SPDC, could not 

immediately be reached for 

comment. 

The other major pipeline, 

the Nembe Creek Trunk Line 

(NCTL), that transports 

Bonny Light to port was 

operating normally, several 

industry sources said. Local 

firm Aiteo operates the NCTL. 

Shell lifted force majeure on 

Bonny Light exports last 

week. The force majeure had 

been announced after a leak 

was found on the NCTL on 

May 11. 

Nigeria’s oil production has 

recovered to around 1.9 

million barrels per day, its oil 

minister Emmanuel Ibe 

Kachikwu said on Friday. 

Attacks by the militant group, 

the Niger Delta Avengers, had 

pushed output to its lowest in 

over 20 years. 

China accounts for 30% growth in Africa’s power sector 

•Completes 3 projects in Nigeria 

Chinese contractors have built or 

are contracted to build 17 

Gigawatts of generation capacity 

in sub-Saharan Africa from 2010 

to 2020, equivalent to 10 percent 

of existing installed capacity in 

sub-Saharan Africa, or to 

Finland’s total installed 

capacity. 

In West Africa, most Chinesebuilt 

capacity is in gas-fired 

power plants, especially in 

Nigeria which has enormous 

natural gas resources. In Nigeria 

alone, Chinese companies have 

completed three projects 

totalling 1.5 GW, with some 

advanced technologies 

provided by Western original 

equipment manufacturers, 

OEMs, such as General Electric, 

GE. 

Executive Director 

International Energy Agency, 

Dr. Fatih Birol, said that, at 

present, various global 

initiatives promote increased 

prosperity and economic 

development in Africa by 

improving electricity security. 

“The Power Africa initiative by 

the United States, the Africa-EU 

Millennium Development Goals 

initiative, the Tokyo 

International Conference on 

African Development, TICAD, 

process by Japan, the 

Sustainable Energy for All 

initiative (SE4ALL) by the 

United Nations, and the India- 

Africa Forum Summit, IAFS, are 

good examples of efforts by the 

global community to support 

and promote economic growth 

in Africa. 

“The active role of Chinese 

companies in Africa’s power 

sector is notable, both in terms 

of magnitude and impact on 

new electricity capacity 

additions, mostly coming from 

renewable energy, including 

large hydroelectric plants,” he 

stated. 

Faith also said that “Enhancing 

energy access in Africa was also 

one of the G20 initiatives under 

the Turkish presidency in 2015, 

and it is currently being 

discussed as an important topic 

under China’s 2016 G20 

presidency. 

“Given Africa’s rich energy 

resources, the potential is huge. 

Greater global co-operation can 

deliver benefits for all, 

ultimately promoting increased 

energy access and economic 

growth. In the end, this can only 

succeed if addressed in a 

positive way by leaders of 

African countries. 

He explained that African 

energy, in particular access to 

clean energy, has been a key 

topic of analysis for the IEA for 

close to two decades now. Under 

its open doors policy, the 

Agency will continue to support 

expanded energy access and 

clean energy technology 

development in Africa. 

On his part, the Deputy 

Executive Director of the IEA, 

Paul Simons, said that African 

countries have relied heavily on 

the support of China for 

expansion of their electricity 

systems, to enable growth and 

improve living standards. 

“Greenfield power projects 

contracted to Chinese 

companies have become 

widespread in the region, with 

more than half of all projects 

based on renewable energy, 

mainly hydropower. 

“Training of local technicians 

is essential to maintain efficiency 

and performance of newly built 

plants,” he stated.

Vanguard, TUESDAY JULY 12, 2016—25 

AMCON to wind-up Dantata’s MRS Oil over N81bn debt 

By Babajide Komolafe 

ASSETS Management 

Corporation of Nigeria 

(AMCON) yesterday said it 

has commenced steps to windup 

MRS Oil Limited, owned by 

top businessman, Alhaji Sayyu 

Dantata. 

The company disclosed this in 

a statement issued and signed 

by the Head of Corporate Communications, 

Mr. Jude Nwauzor. 

The statement said, “The Asset 

Management Corporation of 

Nigeria (AMCON) has initiated 

steps to wind-up MRS Holdings 

Limited over the inability 

of MRS to pay a whooping 

N81billion owed AMCON. 

“AMCON commenced a 

winding-up proceeding against 

MRS Holding Limited owned 

by top businessman, Alhaji 

Sayyu Dantata, at a Federal 

High Court, Lagos after all entreaties 

made by the Corporation 

to Alhaji Dantata and his 

MRS to settle the outstanding 

debt failed. AMCON has in 

Suit No. FHC/L/CP/923/2016 

asked the Federal High Court, 

Lagos Division to allow it force 

the insolvent MRS, a major 

player in the downstream sector 

of the oil and gas industry 

in Nigeria into compulsory liquidation. 

“MRS entered into an 

CONFERENCE: From left: Forum Chairman Dr. Daniel Adeuyi, Innovation and Strategy 

Lead, Mrs Bamise Olanrewaju, Academic and Business Lead, Dr. Akintunde Babatunde, Awards 

Committee Chair, Dr. Tosin Somorin, General Co-Chairman, Engr. Sunday Makinde, and the 

Multimedia Director Miss Francisca Adaramola, at the just concluded Nigeria Energy Forum 

in Lagos. 

agreement with AMCON in 

February 2014 to restructure the 

debt, which then stood at over 

N74 billion. In the agreement 

executed by Alhaji Dantata and 

another Executive Director of 

the oil company, MRS agreed 

amongst other conditions that; 

in the event of default, all concessions 

granted under the 

terms of settlement shall be revoked 

and the facility called in 

at the discretion of AMCON. 

“Alhaji Dantata and one of 

his directors also signed a default 

indemnity, which stated 

that if MRS Holdings Limited 

Banking stocks lead N14bn NSE losses 

By Nkiruka Nnorom 

ACTIVITIES resumed Mon 

day at the Nigerian Stock 

Exchange, NSE, on a negative 

note as investors continue to 

dump banking stocks on account 

of recent alert on the health of 

Nigerian banks, resulting in N14 

billion loss to investors. 

The Central Bank of Nigeria, 

CBN, had penultimate week, 

reconstituted the Board and management 

of Skye Bank Plc over 

liquidity issues and as a measure 

to prevent the bank from total 

collapse. According to CBN, 

the action was to salvage the 

entire banking sector from the 

contagion effect of a resultant failure. 

Additionally, the CBN last 

week said the liquidity test conducted 

on Nigerian banks 

indicated that two or three more 

banks may be distressed, though 

their situation might not be as bad 

as Skye Bank without 

mentioning which banks were 

involved. Besides, the apex bank 

said it has its eyes on all banks. 

Following the revelation, 

investors had engaged in 

massive sell-off of banking 

shares. 

Consequently, the sell pressure 

on Skye Bank Plc, Diamond 

Bank Plc ans Stanbic IBTC Holdings 

Plc pulled the NSE’s market 

capitalisation, which represents 

investors’ wealth down to 

N9.896 trillion from N9.910 trillion 

on Friday, representing marginal 

decline of 0.1 per cent. In 

the same vein, the All Share 

Index, ASI, dropped 0.1 per cent 

to settle at 28,813.51 points 

compared to its opening figure 

of 28,854.98 points. 

Sectorial analysis showed 

mixed sentiment across sectors 

with consumer goods sectors and 

The liquidity test 

conducted on 

Nigerian banks 

indicated that 

two or three 

more banks may 

be distressed, 

though their 

situation might 

not be as bad as 

Skye Bank 

ASeM sector closing flat at 709.08 

basis points and 1,213.68 basis 

points respectively. The industrial 

goods sector declined the 

most, returning negative 2.2 per 

cent to settle at 1,968.77 points, 

following huge losses on the 

shares of Lafarge Africa. The oil 

and gas sector depressed by 7.45 

per cent decline on Oando Plc re- 

failed to pay any sum (of principal, 

interest or otherwise) due 

or to become due as agreed, 

MRS Holdings Limited shall 

pay additional interest at a default 

rate determined by AM- 

CON on the unpaid sum from 

the date when such payment 

was due up to the default payment. 

“It will be recalled that only 

about 400 obligors of AMCON 

account for more than N4.5 trillion, 

which is approximately 80 

per cent of the total outstanding 

loan balance of the Corporation’s 

over twelve thousand 

turned -1.21 per cent to investors, 

the insurance sector closed 

with negative 1.19 per cent returns. 

The NSE 30 index recorded 

marginal price decrease of 

0.07 per cent to settle at 1,275.68 

points from 1,276.36 points. 

However, huge buy interest on 

two blue chips banking stocks, 

Guaranty Trust Bank Plc and 

Zenith International Bank Plc, 

resulted in 1.75 per cent increase 

in banking industry index. 

Gainers 

and losers 

accounts with obligors that 

have become recalcitrant over 

time despite obvious efforts of 

the Corporation. 

“To deal with the situation 

however, AMCON recently increased 

the tempo of its recovery 

activities using firmer negotiation 

strategies as well as 

utilizing the special enforcement 

powers vested by the 

AMCON Act to compel some 

of its recalcitrant debtors especially 

those that are politically 

exposed and business heavyweights 

to repay their debts.” 

There were two losers to every 

gainer that emerged during the 

day on the price movement table 

as 30 stocks recorded price 

depreciation as against 16 that 

featured in the gainers’ chart. 

Transcorp Plc led the losers, 

sheding 9.38 per cent or N0.15 

to close at N1.45 from N1.60 per 

share. 

Skye Bank Plc came second 

with 9.20 per cent or N0.08 depreciation 

to close at N0.79, followed 

by Diamond Bank Plc with 

7.96 per cent decline to close at 

N1.85. Oando nose-dived by 

7.45 per cent or N0.60 to close at 

N7.45; Lafarge Africa trailed behind 

with 5.03 per cent or N3.20 

decrease to close at N60.45, while 

Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc recorded 

five per cent negative return 

to close at N15.77 per share. 

Others were Tripple G, which 

went down by 4.97 per cent or 

N0.08 to close at N1.53; Champion 

Breweries was down 4.96 per 

cent to close at N3.83; Honeywell 

FlourMills Plc fell by 4.93 per 

cent to close at N1.35, while 

Mansard Insurance Plc depreciated 

by 4.85 per cent to close at 

N2.16 per share. 

On the other hand, Guaranty 

Trust Bank led the gainers with 

4.35 per cent increase to close at 

N24.00, followed by N.E.M Insurance 

Plc with 3.96 per cent 

increase to close at N1.05. Cutix 

Plc, manufacturers of a widerange 

of electrical wires and cables, 

closed as the third most active 

stock with 3.03 per cent increase 

to close at N1.70. 

Zenith Bank shares appreciated 

by 2.72 per cent to close at 

N15.87; Custodian and Allied Plc 

went up by 2.56 per cent to close 

at N4.00; United Bank for Africa, 

UBA Plc, added2.47 per cent to 

close at N4.57, NASCON Allied 

Industries Plc went up by 2.42 per 

cent to close at N8.04. 

Others were Livestock Feeds 

Plc, 1.96 per cent to close at N1.04; 

Okomu Oil Palm Plc, 1.55 per cent 

to close at N31.50 and Eterna Plc 

that appreciated by 1.50 per cent 

to close at N2.70 per share. 

Volume, value traded 

Market turnover closed positive 

as volume and value traded 

moved up by 17.2 per cent and 

50.5 per cent respectively. Investors 

exchanged 275.4 million 

shares valued at N12.2 billion in 

5,865 deals, as against 235 million 

units valued at N8.1 billion 

exchanged on Friday in 4,145 

Union Dicon, 

restructures, 

set to diversify income 

stream 

By Peter Egwuatu 

UNION Dicon Salt Plc has 

concluded plans to diversify 

its income stream as it ventured into 

pre-processed and processed 

consumer products. 

Speaking at the Fact Behind its 

Restructuring on the Lagos floor of 

the Nigerian Stock Exchange, 

yesterday, the Managing Director, 

Union Dicon Salt, Mr. Chuka 

Mordi said “Union Dicon is looking 

beyond salt, we have an opportunity 

to diversify the business 

(operations, & products) for increased 

competitiveness. UDS has 

the capacity to actively participate 

in the over USD 140billion food and 

consumer market in West Africa, that 

is forecast to rise to over USD 212 

billion by 2020.” 

He explained that the management 

of Union Dicon has initiated 

a 48-month, USD100million strategy 

aimed at transforming UDS Plc 

into an integrated Fast Moving 

Consumer Goods, FMCG & Agri - 

Business with an initial focus on 

food and agriculture. 

According to him “Our models for 

this plan are: Farming: Build 

production capacity in key food 

areas; Processing: Become a national 

manufacturer and distributor of 

FMCG in foods; Logistics : Build 

an Integrated supply chain and be 

a professor of agricultural products 

and food ingredients; and 

execution is being driven by a clear 

time table of investments (organic 

growth), partnerships, and acquisitions.” 

Mordi stated that in order to 

achieve the company’s new plans 

for the business, the key objective 

is to diversify into new business 

lines, and the distribution of all 

these products regionally. 

According to him “This structure 

was modelled in line with what we 

visualise as the optimal strategy for 

a revitalised, more vibrant, and 

highly profitable UDS.” 

Commenting on its new corporate 

structure, he said “CBO has 

begun engaging potential hires to 

fill top line management roles. Engagement 

will initially involve the 

appointments into 4 key roles by 

third quarter, Q3 2016, and the 

appointment of the entire top line 

management team by Q1 2017. At 

the moment, CBO Team has provided 

interim management and 

oversight.” 

While commenting on the company’s 

growth plans through a, 

acquisitions, he said “ UDS Plc sees 

strategic acquisitions of farm resources 

as a means to expand along 

the value chain; 25% – 40% of value 

in agric consumer goods (food) is 

created during processing. 

However, owning Primary Food 

Resources (farms, plantations) is 

crucial to supporting operational 

security, product quality, and margins; 

Owning Primary Food Resources, 

and processing capacity is 

a major component of attaining our 

vision of transforming UDS into an 

integrated consumer goods business 

. 

C 

M 

Y 

K


SOS in IDPs camps 

Dear Sir, 

HEARTLESS people 

are stealing food 

items from the weak and 

vulnerable Internally 

Displaces Persons, IDPs, 

living in camps in Borno, 

Yobe and Adamawa states. 


Buhari should deal with 

individuals and 

organisations that are 

culpable of this inhumanity. 

Considering the fact that 

there are international aids 

agencies contributing to the 

funding of the supplies, it 

is a smear in the face of our 

nation and takes the level 

of corruption in the country 

to a new shameful height. 

Despite President 

Buhari’s genuine concern 

and efforts to cater for the 

IDPs, the conditions of IDPs 

in various camps and 

camp-likes in the 

northeastern states of 

Borno, Yobe and Adamawa 

are not acceptable. These 

camps suffer from 

shortages of food- due to 

the alleged stealing of food 

items by camp officials; 

unwanted pregnancies due 

to some persons taking 

advantage of helpless 

women. Added to this is the 

unhealthy conditions and 

inadequate health services. 

A national daily of June 

25, 2016 reported that ‘The 

Borno State government 

has introduced self cooking 

system for families in the 

camps after a committee it 

set up to tackle series of 

complaints bordering on 

corruption in the 

centralized feeding system 

failed to find a solution’. 

The report also indicated 

that ‘the Chairman of the 

State Emergency 

Management Agency, 

SEMA, Engineer Ahmed 

Alhaji Satomi said the World 

Food Programme, (WFP), 

has even threatened that it 

will not contribute to the 

feeding of IDPs in the state 

until the central cooking 

system was discontinued 

and the self-cooking system 

where families will be 

cooking for themselves is 

introduced’. 

The introduction of selfcooking 

is a good idea, but 

safety issues are of great 

concern because of the 

nature of the IDPs camps. 

Though, UNHCR Nigeria, 

Region Refugees Response 

Plan (RRRP January- 

December 2016) 

encourages self-reliance. 

The government should 

also experiment a 

decentralised system of 

cooking for the IDPs, where 

contractors will be given the 

job of cooking for a certain 

number of persons.. For 

instance, if there are 5,000 

IDPs in a camp, 10 0r 20 

contractors can be engaged 

to cook for 500 or 250 

people. However, the 

contractors should not be 

just ‘contractors’(politicians 

or family and friends of 

those in authority) but wellestablished 

canteen or the 

popular Nigerian 

‘mamaput’ operators. 

In each of these states of 

Borno, Yobe and Adamawa 

with large IDPs, there are 

known women who run 

successful local food 

cafeterias. These women 

can be organised and 

employed to serve as 

handlers of the cooking for 

certain number of IDPs in a 

camp. Furthermore, 

Kaduna and Osun states 

run successful school 

feeding programmes. Their 

Dear Sir, 

models can be copied. 

The individuals from both 

federal and states 

government agencies 

currently handling the 

funding, supply and 

cooking of foods for the 

IDPs should be replacedthis 

measure will give 

IDPs the assurance that 

something new is being 

put in place. There is a 

need for refined systems, 

which separate those 

handling fund, those 

handling the food, cooking 

as well as those monitoring 

the feeding system. 

The corruption in the 

IDPs camps has brought to 

the fore the need for the 

consolidation and 

hastening of the activities 

of various committees and 

agencies for quick 

rehabilitation and return of 

IDPs to their homes. 

Zayyad I. Muhammad, 

Jimeta, Adamawa State, 

zaymohd@yahoo.com, 

08036070980 

Ramadan: What is the real 

message for us? 

THE period of Ramadan is exceptional for a Muslim. 

It is used for spiritual rejuvenation, atonements 

and commitments to good deeds. It is a period set aside 

to burn cholesterol of sin and forge a way forward on how 

to be a better person in the society. At the end, the 

sanctimonious period helps in keeping the mind focused 

on the spiritual . 

We must go back to the deep recess of our minds to 

evaluate that insecurity, hate, intolerance that have 

characterised relationship between Christians and 

Muslims in Nigeria. If our religion beliefs preaches peace, 

then where is the searing hate component coming from? 

We owe ourselves a social duty to remember that each 

time we hate based on religious dissimilarity, we invariably 

allow hate to preach vile against the very good our 

religious underpinning stand for. It is indeed interesting 

to note that Christianity and Islam do not preach hate. 

Those who peddle hate are therefore the real unbelievers. 

I recall in the late 1980s and early 1990s how we 

celebrated Christian and Muslim religious festivities. I 

recall that as kids growing up, Sallah and Christmas 

fiestas were periods we adorned our best clothes. Families 

exchange foods and visits. After eating the best meals of 

the day, we embark on compulsory visitations to residences 

of our friends, community neighbours for N50k, one Naira 

handouts. 

Time seems to have eroded all the sweet tradition of 

brotherliness.Time has built religious walls and we are 

all caged in it. Bigotry is now the new religion. 

The religious wall in the country today is partly caused 

by politicians, bigoted preachers, social anomie, and 

psychological disaster of allowing all the causative factors 

affect us. orientation. 

The Eid Al Fitr celebration must not be significant only 

to Muslims. None Muslims must observe it as a testament 

to our religious diversity. Favourable perception must be 

accorded people from other religious backgrounds if we 

must reverse the concrete walls forming jungle of hate, 

violence in our society. 

Israel Ebije, ebijeo5@gmail.com or @israelebije.com 

Petrol stations short changes 

motorists and end users when 

purchasing fuel 

PETROL stations seem not statisfied 

with the recent hike in the price of 

petrol to N145, as almost all the filling 

stations have now manipulated their 

dispenser! You purchase N20 litres of 

fuel, what they will dispense to 

motorist is just 15 litres because they 

have manipulated their pumps and 

now defrauding motorists with 

incorrect measurement. 

Even the government own NNPC 

filling stations and other marketers 

are into this shamful act, the PPPRA, 

DPR and other regulatory agencies 

should come to the aid of motorists 

and end uses of petrol product and 

sanction these fraudulent petrol 

stations. 

Lekan writes from Lagos state 

Electricity supply in Nigeria and 

NEPA 

PRESIDENT Buhari’s government 

should please revoke the licences of 

all electricity power distribution 

companies, Nigerians are generaly 

disappointed at the privatization of 

electricity power company’’ NEPA’’. 

Nigerians no longer enjoy services 

paid for and these distribution 

companies are doing what they like, 

charging high rates, keeping us in 

total darkness when we are children 

of light. 

Mr. President should please revoke 

their licences because they are 

imcompetent power distribution 

companies. Why can't Nigeria and 

Nigerians celebrate ten years of 

uninterrupted power supply, is it not 

a shame? We want NEPA back. 

Anonymous 08054040349 

Fuel price hike and Lai 

Mohammed’s comments 

The minister of information; Lai 

Mohammed has been very unradical 

since he was made the mouthpiece of 

the Buhari’s APC governmenmt. Now 

that power has been bestowed on 

them after him and his likes out of 

cowardly intuition gave room to 

opportunist to take power in 1999, its 

unfortunate that, they are just being 

progressives which does not remove 

us from the wrong foundation Nigeria 

is being built. 

Solo Aloba 07052624455 

Kokori’s comment on Tompolo 

and EFCC 

As a veteran unionist and activist it 

is in congruency with Comrade 

Kokori’s disposition and constitutional 

rights to express his views on any 

topical issue in Nigeria. But, the 

Tompolo matter is before a Judicial 

authority . He should therefore 

exercise verbal prudence and restraint 

because it is subjudice and ultravires. 

Chief Bobson Gbinije, Mandate 

Against 

Poverty, 

Warri.+2347068621168 

Nigeria is second most corrupt 

nation and underdeveloped 

WHAT a shame that our so-called 

leaders that arein office and those 

elected do not have Nigerians at 

heart, that is why they behave like 

theives carting away our resources. 

Nigeria is rated as second most 

corrupt nation in the world just 

because of these selfish leaders that 

keep on praying that Nigeria and 

Nigerians should remain 

underdeveloped. 

They travel abroad yet because of 

their wicked intentions they will not 

use our scarce resources to effect 

changes in our great nation Nigeria. 

These are the people that bible refer 

to as gaining the whole world and 

loose their soul. Thank for Mr fix it 

right, President Buhari the right ruler 

that is fit for Nigerians and those 

selfish corrupt leaders. 

Happiness Aduku+2348054040349 

Kidnapped school girls 

THE story of the kidnapping of 

young girls in the North who are of 

Christian faith from the Southern part 

of Nigeria is becoming a serious 

national disgrace. The whole saga 

appears like a conspiracy, because 

they all involve personalities of no 

mean stature. 

Talk about Miss Charity 

Uzoechina,Miss Ese Oruru,or Miss 

Patience Paul. They are all alleged to 

have been taken to one Emir’s palace 

or the other. I’m not a lawyer but let 

our layers tell me the right any one 

has to kidnap, force into marriage and 

force against one’s religion. Nigerians 

should rise up against this stench. 

Period! 

Engr.E. Ozabor. Benin 

City+2348037209988 

Employment and nonfunctional 

industries 

I AM surprised that this government 

is yet to know how to re-venture into 

dying industries. Let take a look at 

the groundnut pyramid, what is 

wrong if the federal government starts 

the planting of groundnut in the 

whole nation? 

How does the federal government 

want to generate employment ,when 

we have dead industries? The federal 

government should start diversification 

of our economy now. 

Happiness Aduku 2348136582917 

SAYINGS OF OUR ELDERS 

A bad habit that lasts more than a year may turn into a 

custom — Igbo proverb 

Send us your Sayings of Our Elders. They must be African sayings 

or proverbs. Biblical or English proverbs are unacceptable. Address 

your sayings to: editor@vanguardngr.com

Gov Wike takes 

war to 

kidnappers, 

cultists’ hideouts 

PAGE 28 

Daniel Udeh: 

Unemployed UNIJOS 

graduate who fixes 

Yenagoa potholes 

PAGE 29 

VOL. 1: No. 98 TUESDAY, JULY 12, 2016 

Alleged N50m fraud tears C-River traders apart 

•Aggrieved CATU members bring leaders before Obong of Calabar 

•Allegations are unjustifiable —Bank of Agriculture 

•My hands are clean—Mr. Celestine Offorma, CATU chairman 

By Ike Uchechukwu 

CALABAR—THE crisis 

rocking the Capital Traders 

Umbrella Association, CATU, 

Watt Market, Calabar, Cross 

River State, over a purported diversion 

of N50 million small-scale 

loans obtained from the Federal 

Government through the Bank of 

Agriculture, BOA, in 2012, has 

taken a new dimension, as aggrieved 

members have dragged 

their leaders before the Obong of 

Calabar. 

Twenty-five aggrieved members 

in a petition addressed to the 

royal father, entitled, “A case of 

fraud, threat to life, abuse of office 

and administrative high 

handedness perpetuated by Mr. 

Offorma and his cohorts,” alleged 

that the executive, headed by the 

acting chairman, Mr. Celestine 

Offorma , Jackson Okon Akpan, 

Godwin Mendie and Donatus 

Okoro and others were engaged 

in sharp practices. 

Mr. Offorma, who spoke to 

Niger Delta Voice, denied the allegations 

against him and other 

executive members, saying they 

were tissues of lies. A BOA official 

also said the petitioners concocted 

the charges against their 

leader, as there was no fraud. 

Fetish 

substance 

Both the petitioners and accused 

persons have appeared 

before the Obong of Calabar Arbitration 

Panel, but on Monday, 

July 4, unknown persons allegedly 

poured suspected fetish substance 

at the shops of some CATU 

executive members. 

Offorma, who confirmed the 

development, said: “We refused 

to attend last week because of the 

act that was allegedly carried out 

by some Efik women, who came 

to the shops of the four accused 

Celestine Offorma 

members to pour substance and 

leaf on Monday (July 4). We have 

reported the incident to the panel, 

and we will be attending the 

panel this coming week.” 

Our grouse 

—Petitioners 

The angry traders claimed that 

in the year 2012, the Federal Government 

released the sum of N50 

million as small and medium scale 

loans for disbursement to members 

through CATU to enhance 

their businesses. “The money has 

not been accounted for till date. 

In view of this, more than 3,000 

traders have been compelled to 

pay the sum of N5,000 each as 

a bribe before obtaining the loan 

for onward remittance to the Agric 

bank, through CATU executives,” 

they said. 

They stated that contrary to 

the association’s standing rules, 

which forbid any member from 

arresting the other in case of dispute, 

but to use the market’s disciplinary 

committee, Offorma 

contravened it by using police 

to arrest and detain one Mr. 

Kalu, a night watchman for allegedly 

stealing his money to the tune 

of N1,800, 000. 

Besides, the traders said 

Offorma had perfected plans to 

tinker with the constitution of the 

Bank of Agriculture 

association to actualize his plan 

of perpetuating himself in office 

even after his team has served 

for 12 years running without conducting 

election. Consequently, 

they urged the monarch to use 

his good office to dispense justice. 

Following the petition, the 

Enlarged Obong of Calabar Arbitration 

Panel wrote Oforma 

summoning him to appear before 

the panel in the Palace of the 

Obong of Calabar. 

CATU only acted as guarantor 

—Eyo 

CATU’s solicitor, Emmanuel B. 

Eyo , in a rejoinder, said criminal 

issues, which the panel could 

not arbitrate upon, especially 

fraud and threat to life, were 

raised in the petition. 

“Our instruction is that the petitioners 

should do the needful 

by forwarding these issues to the 

police for proper investigation 

and prosecution. Information 

reaching us is that out of the 25 

petitioners, only seven are members 

of the client’s association 

.Also our clients challenged the’ 

locus standi’ of the remaining 

petitioners to bring up a petition 

against them,” he said. 

“On the issue of loan, it is our 

instruction to state that that loan 

was granted to bonafide members 

of the association and that it 

was a sensitive issue which the 

Arbitration panel cannot act upon 

because all documents of the said 

loans were with the banks. And 

that CATU only acted as guarantors 

to the beneficiaries, a role it, 

Branch Manager, 

BOI, Mr. Takim 

Takim and Head of 

loans, Mr. Ovai 

Dickson said that to 

the best of their 

knowledge, the accused 

never saw a 

dime of the sum total 

of the loan... 

(CATU) has duly discharged, 

maintaining that the accused were 

never in possession of any loan 

documents since all 

documentations were done in the 

banks,” he added. 

Speaking with Niger Delta 

Voice, Offorma said: “As a matter 

of fact, we have submitted necessary 

documents to the panel to 

aid them adjudicate and we are 

ready to work with them to settle 

this matter amicably. We are a 

peace- loving organization of 

highly placed intellectuals even 

though we are businessmen/ 

women, we are law-abiding citizens 

and we respect and honour 

the traditional stool in the land, 

and we are not in any way opposing 

the Obong of Calabar.” 

Allegations are baseless – BOA 

officials 

Findings by Niger Delta Voice 

at the state office of the Bank of 

Agriculture showed that the allegation 

of embezzling N50 million 

against Offorma and his executive 

was untrue, as neither he nor 

any of his executive members 

handled or disbursed any fund 

or loan to the beneficiaries, as 

claimed by the petitioners. 

Branch Manager, BOI, Mr. 

Takim Takim and Head of loans, 

Mr. Ovai Dickson said that to the 

best of their knowledge, the accused 

never saw a dime of the 

loan, but only acted as first guarantor. 

According to them, the bank 

directed beneficiaries to open account 

with it and having duly 

satisfied all loan requirements, it 

paid approved sums into each 

beneficiary’s account. 

Loan N19m, 

not N50m 

In a document sighted by Niger 

Delta Voice, the amount approved 

and disbursed to about 141 traders 

(CATU members) stood at 

N19.6million as against the N50 

million claimed by the petitioners. 

The bank manager insisted 

that the allegations were figment 

of their imaginations and unfounded. 

“The accusations and allegations 

are simply baseless and 

unfounded, there is no such thing 

because at that time, their initial 

proposal was N200 million, but 

at the end, what they got was 

about 19 million, which was paid 

into their individual accounts and 

not CATU. CATU is only involved 

when the loans are not repaid 

after the stipulated time by helping 

us appeal to them,” they submitted.

28 — Niger Delta Voice, TUESDAY, JULY 12, 2016 

Gov Wike takes 

war to kidnappers, 

cultists’ hideouts 

•Govt demolishes dens, seizes lands 

•200 suspects, including kidnap kingpin in custody 

By Jimitota Onoyume 

PORT 

HARCOURT— 

GOVERNOR of Rivers 

State, Nyesom Wike, drove fear 

into kidnappers, cultists and other 

gangsters in the state recently 

when he personally led security 

chiefs to demolish their identified 

hideouts in Port Harcourt and 

Obio Akpor local government 

areas. Within one week, he 

supervised the demolition of 

several properties belonging to 

the criminals and confiscated their 

landed property, vowing to erect 

public facilities on them. He stood 

by as bulldozers leveled the 

structures. 

The state Commissioner of 

Police, Mr Folunso Adebanjo and 

men from other security agencies 

were with him. 

Security 

agencies 

Governor Wike said the exercise 

would continue until the entire 

state was clean of cells operated 

by the miscreants. 

We will build public facilities on 

demolished hideouts 

At Eagle Highland where two 

hideaways were located, he 

said government would build 

police station on one and health 

centre on the other. 

The governor commended 

security operatives in the state for 

their doggedness battle to rid the 

state of hoodlums, adding that 

communities and other 

stakeholders should volunteer 

timely information to security 

operatives to enable them 

succeed. 

His words, “The Rivers State 

Government has taken over the 

criminal hideout of these arrested 

cultists. After the ongoing 

THE TEAM 

Emma Amaize, Editor 

Jimitota Onoyume 

Samuel Oyadongha 

Simon Ebegbulem 

Gabriel Enogholase 

Festus Ahon 

Egufe Yafugborhi 

Emmanuel Una 

Akpokona Omafuaire 

Godwin Oghre 

Tom Moses 

Chioma Onuegbu 

Ike Uche 

Davies Iheamnachor 

Emem Idio 

Brisibe Perez 

Theresa Ugbobu 

Ochuko Akuopha 

Barnabas Uzosike 

Nath Onajoke 

Chijioke Nwankpa 

RIVERS… 

TREASURE BASE 

OF THE NATION 

demolition of their hideouts, we 

will build a police station and 

mini barracks in this location. We 

have also taken over the home of 

the kingpin that we have also 

demolished.” “This is to let 

members of the public know that 

this administration is serious. 

We will not allow anyone to cause 

insecurity in this state. We will 

chase criminals to their hideout 

and reduce crime”. 

Wike offers amnesty to 

kidnappers 

Meantime, Governor Wike has 

said his government was ready 

to grant amnesty to kidnappers 

that show remorse and quit 

crime. 

200 kidnap suspects in our 

custody - Army, Police 

At a camp operated by one of 

the hoodlums Munachim 

Ihunwo in Obio Akpor local 

government area, Lieutenant 

Col SA.C.Unaogu, said the 

kidnap kingpin had about 200 

boys under his command in the 

place, adding that security 

Gov Wike receives brief from a police officer at the scene 

operatives had to move in 

dislodging them from the place. 

Unaogu, who was among top 

security operatives that 

accompanied the governor on the 

demolition exercise, said security 

operatives would continue to do 

their best to rid the state of the 

unwanted elements. 

He said security agents 

arrested the kidnap kingpin, 

Ihunwo and his boys. The state 

Police Commissioner, Mr 

Adebanjo, said the Police also 

arrested some kidnap suspects. 

New Rivers kidnap law 

Cultism, kidnapping have been 

a twin security challenge in 

the state. Shortly after 

assuming office, May 29, 2015, 

the governor identified the 

menace and set in motion plans 

to tackle it. Precisely on August 

7, he signed into law an 

amendment on the Rivers state 

Anti-kidnapping law passed by 

Gov Wike stepping into one of the dens before the demolition 

the Rivers state House of 

Assembly. 

Under the new Rivers State 

Kidnap (Prohibition) 

Amendment Law, 2015, 

kidnappers are to forfeit 

proceeds of their kidnapping, 

whether in the form of assets and 

A’Ibom renovates ramshackle schools 

By Chioma Onuegbu 

UYO—THE Akwa Ibom 

State Government is giving 

a facelift to dilapidated community 

secondary schools in the 

state. 

At West Itam Secondary 

School, one of the affected institutions 

in Itu local government 

area, Niger Delta Voice observed 

that the classroom blocks were 

undergoing renovation, while 

additional blocks as well as the 

internal roads were under construction. 

Commissioner for Education, 

Mr. Aniekan Akpan, explained 

that state government was arranging 

to convert the school, 

alongside other selected secondary 

schools in the 10 federal constituencies 

in the state, into model 

secondary schools with boarding 

and recreational facilities. 

Ultimate plan 

His words: ‘’More structures are 

coming up. The ones you see 

there are mostly renovations. We 

are expecting that by September, 

which is the next school session, 

we should be able to convert that 

school into a model school that 

will come with all facilities, including 

boarding facilities.” 

“That is why you see all the 

structures being renovated and 

new ones being constructed. By 

then, all those structures should 

have been completed, including 

the internal roads,” he added. 

He asserted: ‘’Within the period, 

we will have hostels for males 

and females. Already we have the 

sports facility, which has been 

completed and commissioned in 

the school. And apart from West 

More structures are 

coming up. The ones 

you see there are 

mostly renovations. 

We are expecting that 

by September, which 

is the next school 

session, we should be 

able to convert that 

school into a model 

school 

Itam Secondary School, if you go 

to Four-Towns community Secondary 

School, along Abak road, also 

if you go to Salvation Army School 

in Etinan and Ikot Mbong in 

Onna local government areas, 

you will see a lot of intervention 

AKWA IBOM… 

LAND OF PROMISE 

otherwise, to the state 

government. 

While signing the amendment 

into law at the Government 

House, Port Harcourt, Governor 

Wike expressed hope that it 

would discourage kidnapping 

and related crimes. 

One of the classroom blocks being renovated and a sports 

pavilion (inset) 

going on.” 

300 projects on rescue list 

“The Schools’ intervention 

ranges from reconstruction of 

classroom blocks, water projects, 

assembly halls; internal roads, 

sports facilities and hostels are 

being constructed simultaneously. 

The intention of this government 

is that we should have 

such schools across the 10 federal 

constituencies and it means 

that the governor came prepared 

for governance,” he said. 

Akpan noted that state government 

through SUBEB had already 

released about 300 projects 

for intervention in both primary 

and secondary schools, adding 

that they were hoping that with 

improvement in the funds that 

come into the state, government 

would carry out more interventions. 

Communities excited 

Village head of Ekit Itam11, one 

of the communities hosting the 

school, Eteidung Aloysius 

Ebong, appreciated the present 

administration for considering the 

school among those selected for 

intervention.

Indian businessmen hit the 

bull’s eye in Calabar 

CROSS-RIVER… 

THE PEOPLE’S PARADISE 


•As excited residents throng SPAR shop despite economic downturn 

By Emmanuel Unah 

CALABAR—IT was a 

reproduction of the famous 

Calabar street party scenes 

known as Carnival Calabar , last 

Wednesday, in Cross River 

State, when an Indian shop, 

SPAR, opened its first outlet 

in the city, as what seemed like 

the whole town poured into the 

shop located at the Cultural 

Centre ground for shopping, 

leaving the local markets virtually 

empty. 

The crowd, comprising people 

of all ages and sexes, waited at 

the gates and surged into the 

shop as soon as school children 

brought in from a highbrow private 

school, Access Nursery and 

Primary School, to perform the 

opening ceremony, cut the tapes 

at midday. 

To say that the flood of customers 

caught the Indian shop owners 

unawares is an understatement, 

as they had to order the 

gates shut after about thirty minutes 

for the staff and officials to 

attend to those inside the mall 

before letting another set of shoppers 

inside. This went on until 

the closing time of 8.00 pm and 

it has been so ever after. 

On sale at the shop are electronics, 

foodstuff, beverages, toiletries, 

meat, chicken and spirits 

of all types, most of the stuff imported. 

John Goldsmith, the Indian 

supervising the shop told Niger 

Delta Voice that the company has 

shops in 140 countries of the 

world and attends to over one 

million people daily, but they 

have never seen anything near 

the kind of crowd they are witnessing 

in Calabar in any of the 

locations. 

“We have shops in Lagos and 

other cities in Nigeria and people 

do come in trickles to buy, but 

often, many people come in and 

take a look and say, okay, you 

have this, you have that. But they 

do not buy but one can see passion 

on the faces of people in 

Calabar as many of them are 

rushing our items”. 

He said the SPAR outlet in 

Calabar is the biggest in Nigeria 

and with what he has observed 

at the opening day, the company 

did not make a mistake in opening 

the shop in the city. 

“We started work on this shop 

before the economic down turn 

in Nigeria but hard times are not 

forever, and with what I have 

seen here, Calabar is a big hit 

for us,” he said excitedly. 

Our reporter observed that the 

queues for paying of bills 

stretched several metres in all the 

10 pay points and people waited 

patiently to settle their bills before 

going away with what they 

purchased. 

One of the customers, Ruth, 

said she had to fill her trolley with 

goods because she felt they 

BAYELSA… 

GLORY OF ALL LANDS 

Shoppers overfill the shop (right), and wine section of the supermarket (below) 

goods, you will know that the 

prices at SPAR are far lower than 

what you get in any shop in the 

city, not even the Watt Market, 

Daniel Udeh: Unemployed UNIJOS 

graduate who fixes Yenagoa potholes 

By Emem Idio 

YENAGOA—A first time 

encounter with Daniel 

Odey Udeh, popularly known 

as “Man of God” diligently 

breaking stones and patching up 

potholes on major streets of 

Yenagoa metropolis, Bayelsa 

State, one would mistake him for 

an employee of the state Ministry 

of Works or Federal Roads 

Maintenance Agency, FERMA. 

Ironically, his worn-down appearance 

makes look like someone, 

who ekes out a living from 

handouts from motorists, but in 

truth, Udeh is a Civil Engineering 

graduate of the University of 

Jos, UNIJOS. 

It was out of sheer curiosity that 

Niger Delta Voice decided to visit 

Man of God, who has become 

very popular among motorists, 

particularly the Keke NAPEP 

operators in the state capital. It 

was a no holds bared 

According to Udeh, an indigene 

of Benue state, who is in 

his late 30s, when there is no 

menial construction job for him 

to do, he fills potholes, instead 

of idling away. His dedication to 

the task is what attracts people 

to him and they were prompted 

to nickname him ‘Man of God.’ 

He told our reporter: “My 

name is Daniel Odey Udeh, I am 

from Benue state, I am a graduate 

of Civil Engineering from the 

University of Jos, I am not married 

yet. I specialised in construction, 

but I do not have a paid job, 

so I do menial construction jobs. 

However, you see the menial 

jobs do not come regularly, so 

when there is no job, I come out 

to do this instead of idling away 

or begging.” 

Free will and 

kindness 

Udeh added: “Some drivers 

appreciate my effort and they 

usually give me money, I do not 

force them, they give me out of 

their free will and kindness. Most 

times, I go home with N1, 000, 

N2, 000 or more. 

I also use part of the money to 

buy stones and gravel. I also pay 

the keke driver that helps me 

would not be there the next day 

or prices may change. 

She said: “If you live in Calabar 

or even remotely familiar with 

events here and the cost of 

carry the stones to where I want 

to work, for instance, I bought 

theses stones for N1, 400, which 

I am using to work.” 

Motorists notify me about bad 

spots 

“Nobody harasses me, not even 

the police or other security personnel, 

they do not disturb me, 

and instead of harassing me, 

people appreciate me and give 

me money. You see the hammer 

that I am working with, a good 

Nigerian bought it for me. 

“Most bad spots are recommended 

to me by people, particularly 

motorists. I was at another 

location in (Okaka area) 

yesterday, and today, someone 

directed me to come here, (Imgbi 

Road), that there are bad spots 

need attention, that is why I am 

here. 

and to make matters better, the 

environment is clean and cool.” 

At the gate, security men had a 

hectic time controlling the crowd, 

…receiving a tip from a motorist 

(inset) 

Some people abuse me 

“However, some people abuse 

me, others say I am damaging 

the road and causing traffic 

gridlock, I am not bothered because 

it is not everybody that will 

appreciate your good deeds,” he 

said. 

On the opinion of some persons 

that he either is a beggar or 

mentally deranged, Udeh said: 

“I am not a mad man or beggar; 

I am ‘Man of God.’ I do what 

as they surged forward to enter, 

but the space could not take all 

the customers at the same time. 

Man of God filling 

pot-holes along 

Imgbi road, Yenagoa 

metropolis 

I do because of God, not man. 

But if God wants to use someone 

to bless me with a job or 

anything that will improve my 

life, I will appreciate it.”


PANORAMA 

Gov Okowa dialogues with stakeholders on peace in Delta 

From right; Delta State Governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa; his Deputy, Barr. 

Kingsley Otuaro and Hon. Johnson Erijo, during a stakeholders’ meeting on 

'Creating a Peaceful atmosphere for the development of Delta State and Niger 

Delta Region,' at Governor’s Office Annex, Warri. 

Commissioner for Science and Tech, Hon. Joyce Overa (right) and Senator 

Emmanuel Aguariawodo 

From left, Commissioner for Information, Mr. Patrick Ukah; Commissioner 

for Power and Energy, Barr. Newworld Safugha and Chief Tom Amioku. 

Traditional rulers at the meeting 

‘Hotel de Jordan' (NTA popular drama slot) 

loses another cast member 

DAVID Oteri, who played 

a popular role as “Pastor 

Rev. Eghwrudjakpor” in the 

NTA Benin’s drama series 

“Hotel de Jordan” is dead. 

He passed away at a private 

hospital in Benin City, Edo 

State at the age of 63 years, on 

July 1, 2016. 

A graduate of Theatre Arts 

from the University of Ife, now 

Obafemi Awolowo University, 

Ile-Ife, David played a 

prominent role as an Ostrich in 

“LANGBODO” play written by 

Late Prof. Ola Rotimi during 

FESTAC 77. The play was 

Nigeria’s entry in the Drama 

competition held in Lagos. 

A profound and restless 

artiste, late David also featured 

in numerous stage productions 

in Benin City. An unpredictable 

personality, David, in one 

moment, would crack jokes and 

before one would appraise him 

of his relaxed instance, he 

would suddenly cast himself 

into an unfriendly characteristic 

pose, leaving one in surprise. 

There was a period he 

disappeared from the creative 

circle in Benin City. This was 

followed with a wild rumour that 

he was sighted on the streets 

in Port Harcourt (Rivers State) 

as a lunatic. 

When urged to “return to 

Benin City as he still had lots 

of friends and fans”, he resurfaced 

and explained that he 

just “wanted to get out of Benin 

environ and have a taste of life 

in Port Harcourt which was 

even worse off than what I was 

running away from in Benin 

City”. 

Return to 

Benin City 

That was David Oteri, an actor 

one couldn’t really define in one 

given moment. When he was 

broke, he would say ….. “a lot 

of people have money and they 

wouldn’t want to share it. What 

do they want to do with their 

wealth?” 

I would ignore his 

observation: “money is not 

vegetable you slice and put in 

the pot of soup …..” 

he would add. “But 

their wealth is not 

yours. Why must you 

be angry with anyone 

who wouldn’t want to 

share with you as if it 

is a contribution and 

they are denying you 

your turn”, I would 

say with anger. 

David would let out 

a chuckling laugh, 

very disarming, “but David Oteri 

you are different from them” he 

would say to me. With built up 

anger I would reply ….. “please 

don’t make it a habit to come to 

me often”. 

He won’t get angry; “Usman, 

but you would always be 

different”, letting out a 

prolonged disarming laugh. 

David was a specific 

charactered actor. When he roles 

out his lines in a play, he 

registered a compelling wish in 

one, wishing such a one would 

be like David. 

His role as Pastor Rev. 

Eghwudjakpor in “Hotel de 

Jordan”, unveils the deceitful 

attitudes witnessed amongst 

the untidy real ones in some 

Pentecostal churches of today. 

Late David has joined other late 

cast members of the slot – casino 

manager (Ray O Slater) 

Osiobafo (Emmanuel Oni), 

Kokori (David Ariyo) and 

others. 

Family sources say David’s 

corpse would be taken to his 

hometown Evwreni in Ughelli 

North Local Government Area 

of Delta State, Thursday, July 

14, after a brief stop at the Oba 

Akenzua Cultural Complex, 

Benin City and would be 

interred. A creative them like 

“Hotel de Jordan” can be killed, 

as presently being done by NTA 

Benin Production Centre, but 

certainly not its characters like 

David Oteri.


Someone owns the oil 

By Sunny Ikhioya 

THE situation of Nigeria 

today requires a thorough 

analysis. It is important for people 

to be better educated on the 

history of how we got to where 

we are today, how we found 

ourselves in this miserable 

situation. Unfortunately, the 

subject of history has been 

removed from our present 

educational system and so 

history is now how each person 

or group sees it. 

That is the story of Nigeria 

today. If you are in power, the 

version of history you give is 

assumed to be the correct one. If 

you have the power of 

propaganda or of the media, your 

line of thinking takes preeminence, 

but can we move 

forward with the distortion of 

history being now peddled? 

If we do not know the true 

situation of our history, how can 

we chart a course for a successful 

future? It is said that if a 

foundation is faulty, nothing good 

will come out of the structure, no 

matter how beautiful we make of 

it. The road to our future is to state 

the truth and face it squarely, no 

other path will work. As it is now, 

we are still in a dream world. 

I saw a headline in one of our 

national dailies, “Nobody owns 

the oil”, attributed to Balarabe 

Musa, a former governor of 

Kaduna State in the era of Alhaji 

Shehu Shagari as President of this 

country. It got me thinking: Can 

an enlightened man like Alhaji 

Balarabe Musa be so misguided? 

Especially at this point in our 

national politics that people are 

becoming very sensitive to the 

activities of the Niger Delta zone. 

Is it proper to hear such a 

statement from a so-called voice 

from the North? It is also 

instructive to note here of a 

similar claim trending on the 

Internet: A House of Reps 

member from Jigawa State 

boasted in front of television 

cameras that the oil in the Niger 

Delta belongs to Jigawa State. A 

very comic situation indeed. But 

from what Balarabe has said, it is 

clear that our Northern brothers 

are beginning to take themselves 

seriously on this line of thinking. 

It is really ridiculous for them 

to behave as if the Niger Delta is 

a captured colony of the North. 

Or how do you view such a 

situation? It is important to note 

also that this kind of argument is 

put up by leaders of the North. 

The other day, the President of 

our country implied in a statement 

that because they fought in the 

civil war to subdue the rebel 

Biafrans, they must equally own 

the resources of the South. They 

forgot to tell the whole world that 

had the South-South ethnic 

groups not co-operated with the 

federal troops, there was no way 

the battle could have been won. 

They forgot to tell the whole world 

that the mistake Odumegwu 

Ojukwu made was not carrying 

the South-South ethnic groups 

along in his plans. They forgot to 

note that if David Ejoor had cooperated 

with Ojukwu, the 

Balarabe and his 

cohorts must not 

peddle the lie that 

other regions' 

resources were 

used to develop 

the Niger Delta; 

that is a big lie 

outcome of the war would have 

been different in the Mid-West 

region. They forgot to note that if 

the Biafrans had not forcefully 

captured South-South territories, 

they would have gotten their cooperation. 

But no, they are all gloating, 

claiming that they fought the war 

for the South. How will the Hausa 

man get to Bonny land without 

the guide of the local indigenes? 

That is our way, we do not give 

credit to those to whom it is due. 

Those making noise today 

forgot that Ken Saro Wiwa, who 

was brutally murdered by a 

Northern head of state, was at the 

thick of the civil war action, 

including the Ijaw hero Isaac 

Boro. 

Those who were not in the thick 

of real action are now claiming 

what did not happen. That is what 

you get when you do not include 

history in your curricula. The 

almighty God has blessed us with 

diverse gifts: some are tall while 

others are short, some are strong 

while some are weak, some lands 

are very fertile while others are 

not so fertile and require extra 

efforts to make them fertile. Some 

regions are cold while others 

have hot climate. 

Such are the gifts of God to each 

individual or group; it is left for 

you to tap into the gift or resources 

that the Lord has given you, to 

advance yourself or use it in any 

way that will benefit you. That is 

how it has been. 

The discovery of oil did not start 

in Nigeria. In every other place 

that oil has been discovered, the 

owners of the land owned the 

resources and they are accorded 

such rights. If God did not make 

natural resources available to 

you, He endows you in other 

areas. 

That is why Israel has done well 

in agriculture despite their desert 

lands. When the federation was 

three and later four regions, every 

region was in charge of its 

resources and that was how 

groundnut and other resources 

were used to develop Kano and 

other cities of the North. The 

same way proceeds from cocoa 

and other resources of the West 

were used to develop Ibadan and 

other cities in the West, including 

the famous Cocoa House 

building. 

The East used their palm oil 

proceeds and other resources 

including coal, to develop Enugu 

and other cities of the Eastern 

Region. No money was taken 

from one region to develop 

another. Balarabe and his cohorts 

must not peddle the lie that other 

regions' resources were used to 

develop the Niger Delta; that is a 

big lie. 

It is also left for the Niger Delta 

nations to use the money the way 

they deem fit and not for others 

to tell them how to do so. A lot of 

us have travelled to Dubai and 

other Arab countries, and all you 

see working and doing menial 

jobs are foreigners. 

The oil in the Niger Delta region 

belong to the communities, the 

people who own the land. 

Whatever is found naturally in 

your land is your property and 

no amount of propaganda, coercion 

or intimidation can change 

that. 

Until the communities are 

factored in as co-owners of the oil 

businesses in their land, the 

distortion, acrimony and 

insurgency will continue. Only 

the truth and adherence to the 

truth can set this country free. 

*Mr. 

Ikhioya, 

www.southsouthecho.com 

Twitter: @Sunny Ikhioya 

Adetiba, why the bile? 

By Sola Fasure 

MUYIWA Adetiba’s piece of July 

2, titled ‘Their year of innocence’ 

left a sour taste in the mouth. 

Mr. Adetiba regaled us with the 

nostalgia of his primary school days, which 

I understand to be St John Primary School, 

Iloro, in Ilesa. He built it up to his secondary 

education at another mission school, Igbobi 

College, in Lagos. He told tales of pranks, 

as if children have since stopped being 

children. His thoughts are incoherent and 

his facts are tangled and sexed up. He 

romanticised with the shoeless schoolboy 

who received post-colonial education in 

mission schools in Ilesa and Lagos in the 

1960s and early 1970s. He wants things 

to return to that state. 

Mr. Adetiba can be indulged in his 

nostalgia, but he needs not smear Osun 

State Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, 

and accuse him of what he did not do. For 

he wrote, ‘To deny the young ones their 

childhood innocence by prescribing a 

dress code that differentiates between 

Muslims and Christians at their critical 

adolescent age is to deny them those 

memories that I and those of my generation 

hold dear’. 

How wrong could he have been? For 

the umpteenth time, Governor Aregbesola 

did not at any time prescribe different 

codes of dressing for Christians and 

Muslims. The agitation by Muslims to 

wear Hijab had been on long before now, 

long before Aregbesola became governor. 

Permit me a recap of the Hijab saga in 

Osun. When the government embarked 

on reclassification of schools and some 

public secondary school pupils were 

transferred to other public schools, the 

Hijab issue which had been on before 

Aregbesola became governor came up 

again, this time in Iwo. This is because 

the government transferred pupils from St 

Mary Catholic High School, St Anthony 

Catholic High School, United Methodist 

High School and Baptist Grammar School 

to Baptist High School, all in Iwo. To be 

sure, all these schools, though with 

Christian mission names, are public 

schools. Now, a few Muslim girls, I think 

14 of them, had been wearing the scarf 

from the St. Mary Catholic School and 

United Methodist High School, 

Yes, the Muslims had 

wrongly thought that the 

coming of Aregbesola 

would bring them relief, 

but what the accusers of 

Aregbesola refused to 

acknowledge – or even 

see – is that the Muslims 

actually went to court 

because they could not 

have their way with the 

governor 

aforementioned but were stopped by 

Baptist High School who would not allow 

Hijab in the school. Muslims Students 

Society, MSS, then took the State 

Government of Osun to court, asking the 

court to compel the government to allow 

Muslim girls to wear Hijab in government 

owned schools. 

The government immediately intervened 

by inviting the Christians and the Muslims 

to a meeting in order to find amicable 

solution to the matter. The two sides asked 

the government to step aside because the 

resolution of the meeting would not be 

acceptable to the side that does not feel 

satisfied. This was when they agreed that 

the Christians who were not originally in 

the suit be permitted to join so that the two 

sides can ‘fight’ it out. 

When the matter came up for hearing, 

the court gave an interim order that status 

quo ante be maintained, that is, where Hijab 

is in use, it should be continued but should 

not be extended to where it is not permitted. 

However, the court finally gave its 

judgement that it is the constitutional right 

of Muslim girls to wear Hijab. This is what 

opened the Pandora box which made the 

ignorant and the bigoted to falsely accuse 

Governor Aregbesola of favouring Muslim 

girls to adorn Hijab. Mr. Adetiba therefore 

was not factually correct when he accused 

Aregbesola of prescribing different dress 

codes for public schools. 

Yes, the Muslims had wrongly thought 

that the coming of Aregbesola would bring 

them relief, but what the accusers of 

Aregbesola refused to acknowledge – or 

even see – is that the Muslims actually 

went to court because they could not have 

their way with the governor. If the governor 

had favoured them as alleged, why would 

they go to court? 

Mr. Adetiba made two other mistakes, 

quite egregious ones, in his article. The 

first is the inability to distinguish epochs. 

The events and circumstances that shape 

a generation are unique to it. My 

generation is different from my father’s, 

just as his differed from his own father. 

Then, of course, mine differed remarkably 

from my children. In my childhood, the 

house where I grew up had no fence and 

I cannot remember if the entrance door was 

ever locked. I knew everybody living one 

kilometre radius of our home and could 

walk into any house and ask for drinking 

water. I climbed trees, walked long distance 

to school and was well caned by my 

teachers. 

Yet, my own children never went to 

school by themselves and can hardly step 

out of the house without someone following 

them. But as kids, they have handled 

dexterously gadgets I never saw until I 

became an adult. This is the stuff memories 

are made of. 

Secondly, Mr. Adetiba also failed to make 

a distinction between the missionary 

schools he went to and schools that have 

been publicly owned more than 40 years 

ago. I went to Otapete Methodist Primary 

School between 1972 and 1978. I came from 

a Christian home, so I took the Christian 

orientation of the education I received for 

granted. We sang and prayed every day 

the Christian way. By the time I was in 

Primary 2, I already owned and was 

reading the bible. It was the same when I 

went to Methodist High School in the 

same town. I have fond memories too. Yet, 

we all came from different backgrounds – 

Christian, Muslim and traditional Africa, 

whereas these schools are public schools 

bearing Christian mission names. 

However, in 1975, the Federal 

Government took over the schools and 

adequately compensated the owners. The 

government now owns the schools and run 

them on behalf of the public. The former 

owners cannot therefore dictate how they 

should be run or what to wear in them. It’s 

like eating your cake and still want to have 

it. The Christian Association of Nigeria, 

CAN, should stop living in denial. Public 

schools cannot, sensu stricto, have 

Christian face again. 

Mr. Adetiba and his ilk have continued 

to falsely portray public schools as ‘mission 

schools’ and wrongly demanded that they 

be left in their pristine missionary form and 

orientation. His article was a needless 

diatribe against Ogbeni Aregbesola, which 

ended in portraying him as an impetuous, 

small-minded and mean-spirited person 

who shoots first before aiming. 

Mr. Adetiba, as a seasoned journalist 

should know that facts are sacred; he 

should have exercised tact, wisdom and 

get the facts right and stick to it, instead of 

joining the media lynch-squad arrayed 

against the governor. 

*Mr. Fasure, a national affairs 

commentator, wrote from Osogbo, 

Osun State.

32 —Vanguard, TUESDAY, JULY 12, 2016 

YOUR LUCK TODAY 

By Joshua Adeyemo Phone 08056180139 

CANCER; Professional advice may be needed over 

your finances but if you are sure of what you are 

doing you can go ahead. Be more family minded. 

LEO; Some of you who are travelling purposely for 

love are in for a rewarding day. All of you will need 

to take your social life more seriously. 

VIRGO; Unusual co-operation may come your way 

today but if you are carried away by this the whole 

thing may change soonest. Respect your spouse. 

LIBRA; Tomorrow will prove more rewarding 

financially but you will have good opportunity to do 

things rightly within your working arena. Be loving. 

By Richard Eromosele 

A 

lady recently 

said to me - This 

weather is just not 

friendly. The sun is 

too much. Let the sun 

subside before I do it. 

And I looked at her 

and said, supposing 

it starts raining now 

what will you do? The 

L E I S U R E 

THOUGHT FOR TODAY 

The Weather 

truth is that the 

weather has never 

been friendly. Of 

course, it is not the 

business of the 

weather to be 

friendly to you. But 

your duty is to do everything 

within your 

power to be able to 

use the weather as it 

is. Tell me, have you 

ever seen a perfect 

weather? Whether 

rain or sun, people 

have always complained. 

Yet, some 

people are making 

fortune from it, rain 

or sunshine. You too 

must do the same. 

For he that must succeed 

does not need 

to look at the 

weather. 

SCORPIO; Although tomorrow may be your best 

day good opportunity to enhance your financial 

prospects will come your way even today. Try to be 

more practical however. 

SAGITTARIUS; This is your day when both your 

personal efforts and element of good luck will bring 

you much desired result. The more self assertive you 

are today the better for you. 

CAPRICORN; Tomorrow is your day; although 

there will be some challenges within your base of 

operation today, eventual success will be yours. Be 

more family minded. 

AQUARIUS; Even if friends have failed to live up 

to expectation in the recent days you will need to 

leave the past behind you and forge ahead. Lovers 

are fairly favoured. 

TERROR MUDA in “Never say goodbye” 

By Kola Fayemi 

PISCES; Business challenges of yesterday 

notwithstanding pleasant surprises are possible. The 

more financially ambitious you are today the better 

for your cause. 

ARIES; Better opportunities indicated for those of 

you willing to be as self assertive as possible, and it 

could turn out to be a happy day to be remembered 

by real lovers. 

KAPTAIN AFRIKA in “Pretty Lunatic’ By Andy Akman 

TAURUS; Although you will need to keep your 

secrets for the next few days that is not to say you 

should not pursue your financial interest. Take care 

of your health. 

GEMINI; Don’t wait till tomorrow before you make 

an important move because good luck and success 

are closer to you today than you image. Be hopeful. 

ASTROLOGICAL COUNSELLING 

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

trological 

Counselling, P.M.B 100 

007, 7, Apapa, Lagos 

Tell me who am I? 

Dear Joshua, 

Please keep my birth data secret, but I want you 

to analyse my horoscope bluntly so that I can know 

who am I; talking about my personality. Who am I ? 

Toyin, Kaduna. 

Dear Toyin, 

What you will find here under will prove useful if 

you take them seriously and utilise them. 

ANALYSIS OF YOUR HOROSCOPE DATA/ 

PLANETARY PLACEMENT 

Aries that hosted the most important heavenly body 

(the Sun) together with indicator of mental focus 

lens-Mercury, is known for special leadership 

quality and higher degree of positive 

aggressiveness. Yes you were endowed with 

leadership talents which can manifest either in the 

business world or POLITICS and probably both. 

It is true that Aries can be very aggressive, but 

with many planets placed in more mild Star signs, 

with less than 50% of push-full influence, loving 

Venus as most influential planet when you were 

born, certainly aggression of Aries is greatly water 

down to the minimum . That is not to say you the 

timid type but yours is a balanced personality. You 

are gentle, honest and straight forward person. 

Preponderance of fixed and earth in your chart are 

pointers to the fact that you are the careful type who 

will not change his mind just for the fun of it. Then 

as peace loving Venus was the most influential 

planet when you were born, peace and harmony will 

always come first whenever you want to take any 

(important and/or) decisive action. 

Placement of mighty Sun (indicator of basic-self 

hood) the Moon (indicator of sub-conscious self/ 

emotion) and the Stellium (that is more than two 

planets in one Star sign} in Aries, Pisces and Taurus 

respectively meant that basic characteristics of the 

three Star signs stated in this paragraph are highly 

pronounced in your inner-self. 

VIRGINIA 

HOME & ABROAD 

dadadekola@yahoo.com 

By Lawrence Akapa


Labour counsels FG on end to N-Delta crisis 

By Victor Ahiuma- 

Young 

L AGOS—ORGANISED 

Labour has called on the 

Federal Government to explore 

better and creative ways to 

address the Niger Delta crisis, 

warning that the multifaceted 

crises in region and oil sector were 

grinding the nation and its 

economy to a halt. 

Speaking through the General 

Secretary of National Union of 

Textile, Garment and Tailoring 

Workers of Nigeria, NUTGTWN, 

Mr. Issa Aremu, labour insisted 

that the persistent crises facing the 

oil and gas industry manifesting 

in low output, serial sabotage, 

attacks by militants, job losses and 

workers’ strikes would not abate 

unless the Muhammadu Buhari 

administration initiate strong 

industrial policies as contained in 

the 2014 Nigeria Industrial 

Revolution Plan to advance social, 

economic and environmental 

sustainability in the sector. 

Aremu, who is the Chairman of 

IndustriALL Global Union, Africa 

Region, in a statement urged the 

Federal Government in the spirit 

of social dialogue to intensify 

negotiation with Petroleum and 

Natural Gas Senior Staff 

Association of Nigeria, 

Okowa's aides rent office, donate equipment to PDP 

in Delta 

By Festus Ahon 

ASABA—AIDES to Governor 

Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta 

State, have donated N500,000 

cash and office equipment 

worth thousands of naira to the 

Aniocha North Local 

Government Area chapter of 

the Peoples Democratic Party, 

PDP. 

Speaking on behalf of the 

group under the aegis of 

‘Forum of Governors' Aides’ in 

Aniocha North council, the 

state Commissioner for Lands, 

Survey and Urban 

Development, Chief Dan 

Okenyi, said the action was 

borne out of the need to assist the 

party in the council to acquire a 

benefiting secretariat for the use 

of the party and to meet other 

administrative needs. 

Flanked by the Special Assistant 

to the Governor on Media 

(Electronic), Amaechi Udemba, 

Senior Special Assistant (Special 

Duties) Ifeanyi Egwunyenga, 

Senior Special Assistant , Kingsley 

Azuh, Senior Special Assistant on 

Conflict Management , Mr Uche 

Nwehi, Special Assistant on 

Community Development, Ike 

Uwagwu, Special Assistant on 

Protocol, Samuel Ifejoku and Mr 

Kainebe Siunoje, Okenyi said that 

the forum will continue to play its 

role in assisting the party to 

achieve success in the area. 

Appealing to party members, 

particularly the women and the 

youths to key into the state 

government’s job creation 

programme and micro credit 

PENGASSAN, with a view to 

resolving the issues which led 

to the ongoing industrial action 

by the union. 

According to Aremu, it was 

time Nigeria put an end to 

endless crises in petroleum 

sector just as other OPEC 

member countries have done 

SHOW OF FORCE: From left: Cross River State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Ozi Obeh, 

Cross River State governor, Mr. Ben Ayade, Commander, 13 Brigade, Maj. Gen. A.B Biu, 

and Commander, NNS Victory, Commodore Marcus Bobai, and other security stakeholders, 

during operation Show of Force in Calabar, yesterday. 

scheme to better their lives, he 

said the gesture was a way of 

giving back to the people. 

He said that the group will 

Groups release impact-assessment report 

on change in N-Delta 

By Gladys Ezeagu 

THE FOUNDATION for 

Partnership Initiatives in the 

Niger Delta, PIND and its 

United States based strategic 

partner, Niger Delta Partnership 

Initiative, NDPI, have released 

an independent impactassessment 

report detailing the 

progress made by both 

organisations towards achieving 

sustainable and systemic change 

in the Niger Delta region. 

The report shows that since 

their inception in 2010, PIND and 

NDPI, have brought significant 

international attention and 

resources to support sustainable 

development initiatives in the 

region. 

As result of PIND and NDPI’s 

work, the Niger Delta is now 

receiving investment from multilateral 

and bi-lateral donors and 

international non-governmental 

organisations as well as other 

private sector institutions, 

according to the report prepared 

by the Initiative for Global 

Development, IGD, a 

Washington, DC-based nonprofit 

organisation. 

PIND and NDPI’s work has 

enabled and strengthened 

relationships between local 

individuals and hundreds of 

organisations, resulting in more 

through sustainable industrial 

policy and effective 

implementation of labour 

standards in the sector that 

include promotion of collective 

bargaining, income adequacy 

for the workers, job security, 

promotion of dialogue between 

industry and trade unions and 

continue to assist the PDP in the 

council to thrive. 

Responding, chairman of the 

party in the area, Prince Victor 

than $92 million of new 

investment in the region in both 

monetary and in-kind resources 

since 2010, according to the 

report. 

“Although socio-economic 

challenges in the region persist, 

this report emphasizes that 

PIND and NDPI have created 

positive change for the people 

of the Niger Delta. 

“We are proud that this 

assessment validates the 

progress we have made to date 

and provides us with 

recommendations to generate 

even greater impact going 

forward,” said PIND Chairman, 

Clay Neff. 

The greatest impact of PIND 

and NDPI’s work is in the areas 

of economic development, 

peace building, and cultivating 

an enabling environment 

through advocacy and capacity 

building for economic growth 

and peace to take hold. 

Auchi monarch donates N5m to 

Muslim women 

AUCHI—HIS 

Royal 

Highness, the Otaru of 

Auchi, Alhaji Aliru Momoh, 

Ikelebe III in line with his 

promise during the last Auchi 

Day celebrations, has released 

N5 million to the Asalatu Women 

Islamic Prayer Group in Auchi 

to assist them in their economic 

activities. 

He made the promise during 

the Auchi Day celebrations held 

on January 8, 2016, where he 

praised the women for their 

steadfastness in praying for the 

peace and progress of Auchi 

Kingdom, adding that from his 

observation, he had no doubt 

that almighty Allah was listening 

enforcement of labour laws that 

restrict precarious work. 

He said that Buhari 

administration’s commitment to 

diversification must not lead to 

the abandonment of the 

extractive oil sector such as 

irregular joint venture funding 

and cash call payments. 

Egbune, assured that the party 

structure was intact and will 

work with all stakeholders for its 

good. 

to their prayers, a reason he 

acknowledged was largely 

responsible for the relative peace 

and progress in the domain. 

He urged them to intensify 

their prayers, adding that the 

community will assist them by 

organising them into Economic 

Empowerment Groups, EEGs 

for community and government 

assistance. 

The Chairman of Auchi 

Empowerment Committee, Alhaji Sule 

Yesufu, the Daudu of Aibotse Village, 

noted that his committee worked very 

hard in organising the women into 

viable EEGs, adding that cheques had 

been released to the first set of 

beneficiaries comprising 1000 women 

and the subsequent batches. 

Shun cultism, 

kidnapping, 

Ateke urges 

youths 

By Jimitota Onoyume 

PORT HARCOURT—EXmilitant 

leader, Chief Ateke 

Tom has appealed to youths of 

the region to shun cultism and 

kidnapping. 

Ateke who spoke in his home 

town, Okrika, Rivers State, 

when he played host to a 

group, Partners for Peace, P4P, 

said he will continue to work 

for enduring peace in the Niger 

Delta region. 

He said his foundation will 

partner Partners4Peace 

foundation to promote peace in 

the state. 

Ateke said some mischievous 

persons had tried to link him 

with violence, promising that 

he will never indulge in such 

act. 

The ex militant leader also 

advised the Federal 

Government to identify key 

stakeholders in the region to 

assist its drive for peace in the 

region. 

State Coordinator P4P, Mr 

Livingstone Membere, said 

that the visit was part of efforts 

by the group to partner other 

stakeholders to achieve lasting 

peace in the region. 

Club offers 

lifeline to 

Delta 

ophanage 

By Godwin Oghre 

SAPELE—THE Sapelebased 

Christian/social 

club, Dominion Fathers’ Club, 

DFC, has donated relief 

materials which include bags 

of rice, cartons of indomie 

noodles, beverages, milk, 

biscuits, detergent, baby food, 

among others, as well as cash 

to Madam Monica Buwa 

Orphanage Centre in Sapele, 

Sapele Local Government Area 

of Delta State. 

President of the group, 

Deacon Emeka Otakpor, who 

presented the items to the 

centre, said: “This Club was 

formed to elevate the social and 

economic status of members, 

and to extend its kind and cash 

gesture to the less privilege 

people, particularly the 

orphanages, destitute, inmates 

and those hospitalized for one 

ailment or the other but could 

not afford the cost of treatment.” 

Matron of the centre, Mrs. Monica 

Buwa, who received the items, 

commended the group, thanked God 

for His providence and the 

benevolence of the donor club. The 

children in the centre later joined her 

in praying for the members of the club, 

and their families, for God’s guidance 

and protection.


640 farmers 

in Enugu 

benefit from 

FADAMA rice 

financing 

By Francis Igata 

ENUGU—ABOUT 640 

rice farmers in 

Enugu State have 

benefited from FADAMA 

3,additional financing for 

Enugu State aimed at 

scaling up the production 

of staple food items in the 

country. 

The Federal 

Government had in 2013 

through its Agricultural 

transformation 

agenda,moved to stop the 

importation of staple food 

items like ;rice, sorghum, 

tomatoes among others 

which is responsible for 

capital flight and 

depletion of the foreign 

reserve. 

Coordinator,Enugu State 

FADAMA,Ike Ogboke, 

revealed that it convened a 

disbursement meeting with 

rice farmers to inform them 

of the fifty percent support 

on inputs and eight percent 

support on cost of assets 

available to them through 

their appointed service 

providers. 

Ogboke said,”Federal 

Government had in 2013 

as part of its agricultural 

transformation 

agenda,moved to scale up 

production of staple food 

items and stop their 

importation. The 

disbursement meeting with 

farmers was to inform them 

that we will support them 

with fifty percent of the 

inputs and eight percent of 

cost of assets which 

includes;water pumps 

,trans-planters,barrows and 

irrigation equipments 

among others." 

Tax suit: How Gov Ikpeazu smiled home from Owerri 

By Chidi Nkwopara 

OWERRI—THE legal suit 

instituted by Sir Friday 

Nwanozie Nwosu, a lawyer, 

against the Abia State Governor, 

Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, pre-dated the 

last governorship election in the 

state. 

Apparently not amused by the 

outcome of the primary 

organized by the leadership of 

the Peoples Democratic Party, 

PDP, Nwosu headed to the 

Federal High Court in Umuahia, 

vide suit number FHC/UM/64/ 

2015. It was not clear at press 

time, what happened midway in 

the suit and the matter was 

transferred to Abuja and 

registered as suit number FHC/ 

ABJ/CS/184/2015. 

Again, the matter probably ran 

into a stormy legal weather and 

was finally transferred to the 

Federal High Court, Owerri, and 

registered as FHC/OW/CS/191/ 

2015. 

Joined in the suit were the PDP, 

the Independent National 

Electoral Commission, INEC, Dr. 

Ikpeazu and Uchechukwu 

Sampson Ogah. 

Backed by his counsel, Mr. 

Francis Unyimadu, the plaintiff 

instituted the action against the 

defendants vide an originating 

summons challenging the 

nomination of Ikpeazu for the 

position of governor of Abia State, 

in the 2015 general election. 

The plaintiff raised eight 

questions for determination by the 

court, as well as sought 14 reliefs. 

Part of it read: 

“We urge your lordship to 

resolve this issue in favour of the 

plaintiff and accordingly declare 

him as the candidate of the first 

defendant (PDP), for the Abia 

State governorship election in 

2015, consequent upon the 

disqualification of the third 

defendant (Okezie)” 

The plaintiff further stated that 

the second Defendant (INEC) 

had a duty to critically examine 

all documents submitted to it by 

a candidate to ensure 

compliance with the extant laws 

governing elections and advice 

the political party concerned 

accordingly. 

“The second Defendant, 

should be compelled to remove 

the name of the third Defendant 

as a candidate of the first 

Defendant in the 2015 general 

elections”, Nwosu told the court. 

The plaintiff also “sought to 

know whether the fourth 

Defendant (Ogah) and/or any 

other gubernatorial aspirant of 

the first Defendant (PDP), who 

rejected out rightly or 

complained against the validity 

of the first Defendant’s 

gubernatorial primary election in 

Abia State, held on December 8, 

2014, at Umuahia and/or who 

refused to sign or endorse the 

result of the said primary election 

and who called for a fresh 

primary election by the first 

Defendant, have not lost the 

right to be gubernatorial 

candidate of the first Defendant 

in the Abia State Gubernatorial 

Election of 2015, by virtue of the 

said primary election held on 

December 8, 2014, in the event 

of the disqualification of the third 

Defendant(Okezie) 

Nwosu amassed a lot of 

documents and exhibited all of 

them in the suit, even as he 

urged the court to hold that the 

PEOPLE SPEAK 

tax receipts and the Tax Clearance 

Certificate, TCC, presented to 

INEC, were forged. 

Apart from other prayers, the 

plaintiff equally prayed the court 

to hold that having forged his tax 

papers, Ikpeazu was not qualified 

to stand for the governorship 

election. 

The defence lawyers, including 

Dr. Livy Uzoukwu, SAN, Jude T. 

U. Nnodum, SAN, Chief Theo 

Nkire and O. J. Nnadi, SAN, 

raised a number of preliminary 

objections along the line, 

including the jurisdiction of the 

court and urged it to decline to 

hear the suit on the originating 

summons. 

The defendants sought to know 

whether the originating summons 

is incompetent, thereby robbing 

the court of jurisdiction to consider 

it and “whether all the necessary 

parties were present in the suit, if 

not, whether the suit can proceed 

to hearing.” 

They also wanted the court to 

decide whether the subject matter 

of this suit falls within the 

jurisdiction of the court and 

whether, having regard to the 

controversial facts of this suit, 

originating summons is the 

appropriate means of activating 

this court’s jurisdiction. 

The presiding Judge, Hon. 

Justice Ambrose Lewis Allagoa, 

deferred ruling on all the 

objections, promising to deliver 

ruling on all the issues, on the 

judgment day. 

Delivering the two and a half 

hour judgment, Hon. Justice 

Allagoa dismissed all the 

preliminary objections raised by 

the defence, but however said 

that the plaintiff did not lead any 

NGO set to expose abandoned projects in Imo 

By Chinonso Alozie 

OWERRI—A 

Non- 

Governmental 

Organization, Citizen Centre for 

Integrated Developments and 

Social Rights, CCIDESOR, said 

that it has concluded 

arrangements to unveil a 

document containing the number 

of abandoned projects in Imo 

State, between 2010-2014. 

The Director of CCIDESSOR, 

Mr. Emeke Ononamadu, stated 

this, yesterday, in Owerri, that 

the public presentation of the 

document will take place this 

week. 

According to him, "we are 

conducting this summit to attract 

attention to good public projects 

abandoned which we hope if they 

are completed will improve the 

lives of Imo citizens." 

evidence to show that the tax 

documents he relied on, were 

forged. 

“The third defendant (Governor 

Ikpeazu), was not the maker of the 

document. It was rather made by 

the Abia State Board of Internal 

Revenue, a corporate body 

established for assessing and 

collecting taxes for the state”, 

Justice Allagoa said. 

While agreeing with the 

submissions of counsel to the 

Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and 

INEC, Dr. Livy Uzoukwu (SAN) 

and Jude T.U. Nnodum (SAN) 

respectively, Justice Allagoa said 

that a top official of the Board of 

Internal Revenue had given oral 

evidence to the effect that the 

documents were not forged. 

“There is no evidence from the 

Abia State Internal Revenue 

Service, relied on by the plaintiff, 

showing that those taxes were not 

paid as shown in the documents 

or any other act of impropriety. 

The plaintiff rather, rested on his 

ipse dixit in declaring the 

documents a forgery and, 

audaciously, has asked the court 

to approve his stance”, the court 

said. 

Justice Allagoa also aligned his 

thought with that of Nnodum 

when he held that “by alleging 

that the third defendant (Ikpeazu) 

presented forged or false 

documents to the second 

defendant (PDP), the plaintiff has 

undertaken the burden of proving 

the allegation beyond reasonable 

doubt.” 

The court also agreed that what 

the plaintiff has done in this case 

“is to amass documents and bring 

them to court with his own 

interpretation of their contents”, 

adding that the plaintiff has by his 

own showing, disclosed that 

Ikpeazu was a Pay as You Earn tax 

payer in the employment of Abia 

State Government. 

“I hold that the Tax Clearance 

Certificate and receipts were not 

forged. Having so held, all the 

other reliefs sought by the plaintiff 

are hereby dismissed. The position 

of the Governor of Abia State, 

remains as it is,” Justice Allagoa 

said. 

By Bartholomew Madukwe 

(08051019450) 

nwamad@yahoo.com 

When President Buhari 

gave Avengers 

two weeks to embrace dialogue, 

withdrawing the 

military from the region, 

they took advantage of 

the absence of the military 

to intensify action 

on vandalism. -Mrs. Lizzy 

Popson, Self Employed 

On FG’s non-negotiation with Avengers 

Instead of fighting to 

get the region developed 

and find out the 

individuals who have ruined 

the region, they are 

busy bombing oil pipelines. 

Well, I think the 

FG is correct that these 

militants are just fighting 

for their pockets. -Mr. 

Obim Nwosu, Worker 

Please, note that Niger 

Delta is not a name of a 

tribe, but region. Heroes 

don’t blow up their neighborhood. 

Only terrorists do. 

PMB is ready to address issues 

of NDA and has fulfilled 

the commencement of 

the cleaning of Ogoni land. 

-Miss Blessing Ubah, Student 

The so-called Avengers 

did not grow up to witness 

what happened in the 

80's, they only heard about 

it. President Buhari does 

not fear anybody. He does 

not care if he loses his blood 

on any cause he pursues, 

until he sees the end of it. - 

Miss Regina Osakwe, 

Banker 

The Avengers are only 

fighting for their pockets 

at the expense of the impoverished 

people of Niger 

Delta. Tompolo had his way 

in the past government 

and used the opportunity 

to mop up all the resources 

meant for everybody, and 

living like a king. -Mr. Martin 

Dickson, Worker 

Despite the huge alloca 

tion going to the region, 

it remains worse off. I 

wonder whose pockets the 

huge allocations always 

land. The government will 

not listen to them because 

vandalism already perpetrated 

by them is much and 

weighty. -Mrs. Tope Bolaji, 

Nurse


11 dead as herdsmen go on rampage in Niger 

By Wole Mosadomi 

MINNA—NO 

fewer 

than 11 persons have 

been confirmed death following 

a violent clash between suspected 

Fulani Herdsmen and Gbagyi 

communities in Niger State. 

The incident it was gathered 

happened during the Eid-El- Fitri 

celebration. 

It was gathered four persons 

were killed in Lamba, Paikoro 

local government, while another 

seven were hacked down during 

another fiasco between the same 

ethnic people in Barakuta in Boss 

local government area of the state. 

In Barakuta, besides the loss of 

lives, while several persons were 

injured, property worth millions 

of Naira including houses, 

vehicles and motorcycles were 

razed and many others injured. 

The immediate causes of the 

fracas in the two communities 

were not yet ascertained as at 

going to press. 

However, governor Abubakar 

Sani Bello has vowed to bring 

mastermind and accomplices of 

the two clashes to book. 

He spoke when he visited the 

Bosso Primary School, Bosso 

where the displaced women and 

children from Bara-Kuta were 

being temporarily sheltered. 

Shocked by the wanton 

destruction of lives and properties 

including farm lands, the 

governor said: “Nobody has the 

power or right to take the life of 

others. These senseless and 

unwarranted killings cannot and 

will not be condoned. You cannot 

RECEPTION: From left; Archbishop Felix Alaba Job, Archbishop Emeritus of Ibadan; Mrs. 

Funmilayo Garrick, Treasurer of the Old Boys Association; Cardinal Anthony Okogie, 

Celebrant and His Eminence; Dr. John Abebe, President, Old Boys Association; Ms. Omolara 

Thomas, Exco Member, Old Boys Association and Ms. Augusta Oluyemi, Ex-Student; during 

the grand reception to celebrate 80th birthday of His Eminence in Lagos by St. Gregory's 

College, Lagos and the Old Boys Association..on Saturday. Photo by Akinwunmi Ibrahim. 

just take machete and kill 

somebody because of 

disagreement. There are laws and 

nobody can claim to be above the 

law. Whatever maybe the 

grievances, people cannot take 

laws into their hands. I have 

instructed the chairmen of the 

affected councils, Commissioner 

of Police and my Special Adviser, 

Security to fish out the 

masterminds of the two clashes 

as well as their accomplices. I 

have also directed for 

comprehensive investigations into 

the incidences with a view to 

prosecuting and bringing to book 

the culprits. We are determined 

to bring an end to this barbaric 

US releases $13m for Boko Haram victims in North East 

By Victoria Ojeme 

A BUJA—UNITED 

Nations Humanitarian 

agency, has released $13 

million from the Central 

Emergency Response Fund, 

CERF, to provide life-saving 

ASUU laments exit of 50 lecturers 

at Kogi varsity 

By Boluwaji Obahopo 

LOKOJA—THE Academic 

Staff Union of Universities, 

ASUU, Kogi State University, 

Anyigba, KSU, has lamented that 

no fewer than 50 lecturers have 

left the institution to the prolonged 

delay in salaries payment and 

other problems affecting the 

staffers of the institution. 

At a briefing in Lokoja, 

yesterday, Chairman of ASUU, 

KSU branch, Dr. Daniel Aina, 

warned that if nothing was done 

urgently, more qualified staff 

would join the exodus. 

Aina said the sad situation 

prompted the union’s industrial 

action in May, stressing that the 

strike would continue until all 

their demands were met. 

According to him, “The 

resolution of congress is that the 

action will be sustained till the last 

kobo owed is paid and that the 

action will be invoked anytime 

delay in salary payment goes 

beyond the 7th day of the 

succeeding month.” 

He however denounced 

insinuation from government 

quarters that the union requested 

for tax exemption, said what ASSU 

requested for was tax rebate due 

to heavy and multiple taxation, 

“We are responsible citizens.'' 

Sometimes ago, we were over 

taxed. Through series of protracted 

dialogues, consultations and 

negotiations, the government 

conceded to the exemption and 

granted the affected staff, a seven 

month tax holiday with effect from 

October 2015 to April 2016 via S/ 

KGS/ADM/307/IV/876. Till date, 

this exemption has not been 

consummated. 

“The other issue is the rebate 

which we are asking for. In our 

negotiation with government, we 

pointed out that KSU staff pay 

as high as 400% of what their 

counterparts pay within the 

state as well as neighbouring 

state universities.'' 

act. The Police and other security 

agencies should ensure that we 

get to the root of these sad events, 

prosecute and punish those found 

culpable”. 

The governor directed that 

while State Emergency 

Management Agency to ensure 

the comfort of the displaced 

persons, the police should 

provide adequate protection for 

the displaced persons at the camp. 

“I sympathise with you people 

over the unfortunate incident here 

at Lamba, now that peace as 

returned, I implore you all to go 

after your duties and business 

without fear. Government is on 

top of the situation and we shall 

assistance to 250,000 persons 

in North-east of Nigeria that 

have just become accessible. 

This brought the total CERF 

support to more than $70 

million. 

$27 million was allocated in 

March 2015 to assist more than 

1.6 million Internally 

Displaced Persons, IDPs, 

refugees, returnees, and host 

communities in Cameroon, 

Chad, Niger and Nigeria. 

An additional $31 million 

was provided in early 2016 to 

help 700,000 people in the 

Lake Chad Basin. 

The destruction of crops and 

looting of livestock have left 

many unable to support their 

families. 

It has been gathered that 

more than 50,000 persons are 

in need of seeds and tools for 

the upcoming planting season 

and CERF funding will help 

them to rebuild their 

livelihoods by providing food, 

including the all important 

child nutritional supplements. 

In a statement yesterday, 

Stephen O’Brien, on behalf of 

the UN agency, the 

international community must 

take advantage of the better 

access to vulnerable people to 

reach them with essential 

ensure the security of our people 

and their properties, including 

their farms and animals,” the 

governor assured the people of 

Lamba. 

Meanwhile, the Chairman of 

Paikoro Local Government, Mr. 

John Maikarfi told the governor 

that he had set up a 9-man 

committee to investigate the 

cause of the fracas at Lamba 

village. 

The state police Command 

spokesman., DSP Bala Elkana 

also told journalists that police 

and military had been drafted to 

the communities for joint patrol, 

adding that those arrested were 

being investigated. 

services and build on the 

CERF allocation to scale up 

the response. 

“The humanitarian crisis in 

North-East Nigeria is massive 

and alarming: 15 million 

people are affected by the 

violence instigated by Boko 

Haram including seven 

million people who need 

urgent humanitarian 

assistance,” said Munir 

Safieldin, the acting 

Humanitarian Coordinator. 

“Unless we scale up now, 7 

to 8 children will die of severe 

acute malnutrition every hour; 

184 children will die every 

day. We need resources now 

to scale up our current 

response”. 

The Humanitarian Response 

Plan for Nigeria was revised 

upwards by $51 million in 

June and is now calling for $279 

million. To date, it is only 22 per 

cent funded. 

CERF is a pooled fund that 

supports rapid humanitarian 

response. 

Donors preposition funds with 

CERF so that money is available 

immediately to kick-start relief 

operations in new emergencies 

and to provide live-saving 

assistance in crises that are 

underfunded. 

CAN: 

Motailatu 

expresses 

support for 

Ayokunle 

THE process that led 

to the emergence of 

Rev Dr Supo Ayokunle as 

president-elect of the 

Christian Association of 

Nigeria (CAN) is flawless 

and incontestable, the 

Motailatu Church 

Cherubim and Seraphim 

Worldwide (MCCSW) has 

stated. 

The church, which Elder 

Prof. Joseph Otubu 

belongs to, said it has no 

objection or complaint 

with the process that led 

to the defeat of its General 

Evangelist at the poll. 

Its Prelate and Supreme 

Head, Baba Aladura Elder 

Dr Israel Akinadewo, said 

the church was willing to 

work with Ayokunle to 

reposition CAN for 

greater impact. 

The church said those 

allegedly working 

towards scuttling the 

inauguration of the new 

executives for the 

umbrella Christian body 

should have a rethink. 

In a statement by its 

General Secretary, 

Special Apostle Samuel 

Adekoya, MCCSW said: “ 

In view of the recent 

matter emanating from 

the outcome of the 

Christian Association of 

Nigeria Presidential 

election, the Prelate and 

Supreme Head of 

Motailatu Church 

Cherubim and Seraphim 

Worldwide (MCCSW), 

Baba Aladura, Elder (Dr) 

Israel Akinadewo, 

restates the support and 

total acceptance of the 

process, which produced Rev 

Supo Ayokunle and Elder 

(Professor) Joseph Otubu, as 

the President-elect and Vice 

President-elect 

respectively.” 

The church added: “This 

acceptance, and as expected 

of good Christians, was 

exemplified by our General 

Evangelist, Prof Otubu, by 

embracing the winner, Rev. 

Ayokunle, immediately after 

the election. 

“For the avoidance of 

any doubt, the larger 

Aladura Churches are 

grateful to God for making 

it possible for the very first 

time in the history of 

CAN, for one of them to 

have emerged as the Vice 

President of the apex 

Christian body. 

“Our church is committed 

to the unity of the Body of 

Christ in Nigeria, and we 

will absolutely work with the 

new president in 

repositioning CAN.”


LKA FABRICS: From left— Group Chairman, LKA Group, Mr. Lekan 

Abdul; MD/CEO, LKA Fabrics Ltd, Mrs. Ayokunmi Abdul; General Manager, 

Sterling Bank, Mrs. Mojisola Asieru-Sweet, and Chief Operating Officer, 

LKA Group, Mr. Yinka Adewole, at the opening of LKA Fabrics store branch 

on Admiralty Wa, Lekki, Lagos. PHOTO: Akinwunmi Ibrahim. 

UNION BANK: From left— Executive Director, Public Sector, Ibrahim 

Kwargana; Head of Change Management, Chienye Ogwo; Director Corporate 

Banking, Emeka Okonkwo, and Head, Branch Network Transformation, 

Edward Ogunmekan, all of Union Bank, at the launch of the newly-upgraded 

branches in Abuja. 

VISIT: From left— General Manager, Human Resources, Dufil Prima 

Foods Plc, Chief Kola Hassan; 2016 Lagos State one-day Governor, Master 

Olaseinde Oluwafemi, and Group Public Relations and Event Manager, Dufil 

Prima, Mr. Tope Ashiwaju, during the courtesy visit of ‘Governor’ Oluwafemi 

to the company. PHOTO: Akeem Salau. 

LECTURE: From left— Recipient of 2016 United States Presidential 

Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, PECASE, and one of the 

105 scientists hosted by President Barack Obama, Professor Deji Akinwande; 

Vice Chancellor, Professor Adebiyi Daramola, and Director, Centre for 

Renewable Energy Technology, Professor Olurinde Lafe, both of Federal 

University of Technology, Akure, FUTA, shortly after Professor Akinwande 

of the University of Texas, Austin, USA, delivered a lecture on Carbon 

Nanotechnology: Past, Present and Future, in FUTA. 

US @ 240: From left— Coordinator, Ijaw Monitoring Group, Mr. Joseph 

Evah; DG, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, 

Mr. Peterside Dakuku, and Rev. G Aggrey, during the 240th independence 

anniversary celebration of the US at the residence of the American Ambassador 

to Nigeria in Lagos. 

GRADUATION: From left— Chairman, Pace Setter’s Group of 

Schools, Mr. Kenneth Imansuangbon; Director of Pace Setter School, Mrs 

Kate Imansuangbon, and wife Federal Capital Territory Minister, Mrs. Maryam 

Bello, during the graduation and prize-giving day of the schools in Abuja. 

PHOTO: Gbemiga Olamikan. 

REMEMBRANCE: From left— Gabriel Adewunmi, Teniola Sonoiki, 

Mr. Abidemi Sonaiki and Nifemi Sonoiki, family members of late Mrs Omolara 

Olaide Sonaiki, at the deceased one year memorial lecture and service at Vaults 

and Garden, Ikoyi, Lagos. 

IT PROFESSIONALS: From left— Vice President/Vice Chairman 

in Council, Computer Professionals Registration Council of Nigeria, CPN, 

Dr. Adesina Sodiya; President/ Chairman of Council also of CPN, Professor 

Vincent Asor; Acting Registrar and Secretary to the Council, CPN, Mr. Idowu 

Olusile, representing the Minister of Science and Technology; and Professor 

Muhammad Mamman, Director General, Nigerian Institute for 

Tripanosomiasis and Onchocerciacis Research, Kaduna, representing the 

Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, at the 2016 IT Professionals 

Assembly in Kaduna State.

C 

M 

Y 

K 


FAMILY PLANNING MEETING: From left: Co-Chair, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Melinda Gates; Executive Director, 

UNFPA, Professor Babatunde Osotimehin and Youth Representative, FP 2020 Reference Group, Margaret Bolaji, during the High 

Level media briefing held in Nairobi, Kenya, recently. 

‘We can provide family planning services 

for additional 120m women if...’ 

By Sola Ogundipe 

AMILY planning is 

“Fabout saving the lives of 

women and children. Family 

planning is one of the keys that 

unlocks the potentials of 

women and girls. If a girl or 

woman is able to voluntarily 

space the births of her children, 

it frees her and her family from 

the cycle of poverty.” 

These remarks by the Co- 

Chair of the Bill and Melinda 

Gates Foundation, BMGF, 

Melinda Gates, set the tone for 

a High Level media briefing 

recently, 

She spoke to journalists from 

Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, 

Central Africa Republic, Senegal, 

Kenya and Nigeria who 

gathered at the 7th Day Adventist 

Church, Kangemi, Nairobi, 

Kenya to meet with 

representatives of the Bill and 

Melinda Gates Foundation, 

UNFPA, and Government of 

Kenya officials. 

The forum was the midpoint 

assessment of the landmark 2012 

London Summit on Family 

Planning, FP2020, a global 

partnership that supports the 

rights of women to access family 

planning services voluntarily. 

Gates, who spearheaded the 

2012 London Summit along 

with UNFPA, UK government 

and USAID, adopted the goal 

of delivering contraceptives to 

an additional 120 million 

women and girls in 69 least 

developing countries by 2020, 

however said the world was 

not on track to meet the global 

objective. 

“I talk to women all over the 

world about family planning. 

They tell me that if they can 

space the births of their 

children, if they can feed them, 

clothe them, educate them, and 

get a job, that would do it for 

them.” 

“We are at the halfway point 

and we are not on track. We are 

yet to meet the FP 2020 goal of 

120 million women having 

voluntary access to 

contraceptives.” 

Gates stated that the world 

has achieved voluntary access 

to 24 million women, “but if we 

want to reach the goal that the 

UN member states put forward 

from 193 nations, that is, 

providing modern 

contraceptive access to all 

women by 2030, we need to get 

We are at the 

halfway point 

and we are not on 

track. We are yet 

to meet the FP 

2020 goal of 120 

million women 

having voluntary 

access to 

contraceptives 

back on track.” 

Further, Gates stated: “It 

means we must have the right 

political will and sustain it. It 

means giving services, talking 

to the people and making sure 

they understand their bodies 

and family planning. It also 

means looking at the data and 

using it.” 

In his contribution, Executive 

Director, UNFPA, Professor 

Babatunde Osotimehin said 

family planning has been 

around for a long time and had 

its up and downs. 

He recalled that in 2012, the 

context was that there were 

221 million women in the world 

HIV: NIMR investigates failure of first line ARV drugs 


IRKED by the plight of 

Nigerians living with HIV/ 

AIDS, the Nigerian Institute 

of Medical Research, NIMR, 

Yaba, Lagos, has commenced 

research into the failure of 

first line Antiretroviral, ARV, 

drugs in the country. 

The Institute has also 

updated its Human Virology 

Laboratory to carry out 

molecular studies and 

screening for the Human 

Papilloma Virus (HPV). 

Director-General, NIMR, 

Prof. Innocent Ujah, who 

disclosed this in Lagos, said 

the Institute has raised the 

bar in HIV treatment by 

recording a 0.78 percent 

prevalence in Prevention of 

Mother-to-Child 

Transmission of HIV, PMTCT, 

Professor Innocent Ujah 

at its treatment site. 

Speaking ahead of a special 

annivesary event to mark his 

6th year in office, taking place 

today, themed: ”Post MDGs: 

Maternal and Child Health in 

Nigeria”, Ujah said NIMR 

who were in need of family 

planning sevices but were not 

Preventing birth getting defect it. during 

pregnancy 

researchers 

have found that 

the first line 

ARV drugs 

were failing, 

hence the need 

to know why. 

Already the 

Institute has 

received grants 

from the Centre 

for Diseases 

Control and 

Prevention, 

CDC, and 

Atlanta to carry 

out the 

“So we felt it was totally 

unacceptable and we had to 

correct that. We promised 

ourselves to do this in six years. 

A lot has happened. We have 

increased the uptake of family 

planning services, but it is also 

to say that it has not been 

exactly on target.” 

Osotimehin said even though 

many countries have increased 

their commitment to family 

planning since the London 

conference, with more bilateral 

and multilateral funding, not 

much progress has been 

recorded. 

“There is still a lot to do for 

us to meet out target,” he 

remarked. “So this particular 

event of coming to Nairobi is 

to access where we are and 

recommit ourselves to what we 

did in 2012.” 

In her own remark, 

Programme Officer, Population 

and Reproductive Health 

Initiative (Nigeria), and Vice 

President, UNFPA Youth 

Advisory Group, Margaret 

Bolaji, said it was time to 

change the policies the 

sociocultural and 

implementation barriers around 

youths, such as adolescent 

pregnancy, forced child 

marriage marriages or barriers 

to youth leadership to 

participation. 

Bolaji who is the Youth 

Representative, FP 2020 

Reference Group, noted: “We 

must involve young people in 

every aspect of development 

and implementing solutions, 

remove policy barriers that 

prevent young people from 

accessing resources they need 

to plan their families. 

“We must also ensure providers 

are trained to educate young 

people and to provide services 

for them free of barriers and 

opinion,” she argued 

stakeholders by October, 2016 

in Abuja. We'll publish our 

findings which will be a 

contribution of Nigeria to the 

World Body of knowledge. 

“We have done well in HIV/ 

AIDS because the Institute has 

the largest number of HIV 

patients in Nigeria. We do not 

only manage patients, we also 

research and improve the 

quality of care of patients. 

“We have reduced the motherto-child 

transmission of HIV, 

(MTCT) prevalence to less than 

1 percent.” 

Describing the feat as 

remarkable, Ujah added said 

without intervention, over 20 to 

30 percent of babies born to 

women living with HIV will be 

HIV positive. 

investigation. 

“We have put our data 

together, analyse and drawn 

a molecular study of all those 

that are failing in first line 

drugs and we are going to 

disseminate this to Continues on Page 39


Education key to prevention of 

Sickle Cell Disorder 

By Gabriel Olawale 

THE high number of persons 

with Sickle Cell Disorder in 

the Ebute Metta area of Lagos 

is quite significant, however, 

efforts by the Federal Medical 

centre, Ebute Metta in 

minimising the treand is 

yielding fruit. 

Disclosing this in a chat, 

Medical Director of the Centre, 

Dr Yewande Jinadu, said 

collective progress in 

management of the disorder was 

necessary nationwide. 

Calling for greater awareness 

on the need for genotype 

screening and blood group 

testing, screening and 

counselling, Jinadu said 

advances in SCD management 

now makes patients with the 

disorder lives beyond 60 years. 

“In the past SCD patients were 

dying early, mostly before the age 

of five, but now, pre-mature death 

is being addressed. We now have 

patients growing much older and 

able to have their own children." 

Speaking recently during a 

community sensitisation 

programme and free genotype 

screening exercise organised by 

the hospital, Jinadu regretted that 

despite progress in treatment, too 

many people remain ignorant 

about the causes of the disorder. 

"SCD is inherited and 

everybody needs to know there 

genotype. It's a gene and it takes 

two people to produce it. A mother 

Dr. Yewande Jinadu 

and father each gives a gene to 

the child, if the mother is AS and 

the father is AS, what it means is 

that a child can take one S-gene 

each from the mother and father 

to be SS or A from the mother 

and S from the father to be AS. 

That is why we are encouraging 

AS or SS to look for AA, because 

even if the child has one S- 

gene the other partner will be 

give the A-gene." 

She hinted that the FMC has 

packages to alleviate the plight 

of people with the disorder, 

"Here, within 72 hours of birth, 

we give the parents the result 

of their child’s genotype. We 

also babysit a child for young 

parents whose children have 

SCD. 

"With government support, 

and donations from 

stakeholders, we are able to 

MY wife says that I am not romantic. When I want 

sex, I just go straight for the action. I don’t know 

what else I am supposed to do – Donald 

Being romantic is not so hard. It is about making sure 

your wife is in a good frame of mind and is happy 

with the relationship you have. It is also about 

anticipation. Women need to be notified in advance 

that sex might happen. 

They are not as spontaneous as men. There are many 

ways to do this. Keep telling her nice things, be nice 

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for any of this, fake it. Women need to be adored and 

men must play along to ensure intimacy. Game packs 

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If you are interested, then call and ask for Love at 

First Bite Game or Entice Game – Uche 

I enjoy your column but I have never heard you 

write about lingerie. Us women are interested in that 

too. I am looking for Crotchless underwear. Do you 

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Yes Vicky we do have lots of that. I rarely write about 

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even the Edible Crotchless Gummy Panties. And there 

are others too. Crotchless underwear are really good 

for vaginal health – Uche 

Shortly after I turned 56, I started struggling in 

bed. Sometimes I get erections and sometimes I 

don’t. A friend told me you can help – John 

It is okay. This is what happens to men as they get 

older. You can still have a functional sex life. It is just 

that you will now be needing help from supplements. 

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Uche 

— Dr. Yewande Jinadu 

provide 50 percent discount at 

any point in time while 10 

percent discount is given for 

surgical operations.” 

Jinadu however calls on 

government to conduct 

nationwide genotype screening 

in all primary schools. 

"Sensitising young children 

about the importance of blood 

group testing will help reduce 

the incidence and burden of 

sickle cell disease. 

"There is need to encourage 

prompt report, to facilitate quick 

treatment. It's cheaper, easier 

and less damaging if healthcare 

is given at the appropriate 

time.” 

DONATION: From left: Director, Corporate Relations, Mr Sesan 

Sobowale with the MD, Guinness Nigeria Plc, Mr Peter Ndegwa, 

(2nd right), presenting the N5 million cheque to Anambra State 

Governor, Willie Obiano. 

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Guinness Eye Hospital opens 

in Onitsha 

N continuation of its long 

Istanding involvement in 

provision and management of 

quality eye care centres in the 

country, Guinness Nigeria has 

opened a standard eye hospital 

in Onitsha, Anambra State. 

At the commissioning, 

Anambra State Governor, Willie 

Obiano, said the project is 

important because it ties into 

one of the key enablers of the 

government. 

“I would like to heartily 

commend Guinness Nigeria for 

their huge investment and 

commitment to providing world 

class eye care solutions across 

the country. As a testament, this 

facility and the equipment 

which Guinness Nigeria Plc has 

bequeathed to the Eye Hospital 

ranks among the very best in 

the world. Therefore, Anambra 

indigenes do not need to go 

abroad again to get treated for 

eye problems," the Governor 

said. 

Managing Director, Guinness 

Nigeria Plc, Peter Ndegwa, 

noted that the plan was to 

ensure that the facility remains 

the reference point in training 

of professionals and provision 

of excellent eye care in 

Nigeria's health sector. 

"As a company, our focus on 

eye care reflects our recognition 

of the far-reaching impact that 

good eyesight can have on the 

overall health and wellbeing of 

everyone. We are here to 

celebrate the notable 

accomplishments which the 

Guinness Eye Hospital, 

Onitsha, has delivered to many 

Nigerians. Our investment in 

the various eye hospitals is 

keeping in line with our 

commitment to make a positive 

impact on the communities in 

which we operate. By helping 

Nigerians to preserve their 

sight, we play a strong role in 

enhancing their ability to learn, 

earn and get the best out of life", 

he said. 

It would be recalled that the first 

Guinness Eye Hospital was built 

and commissioned in Kaduna in 

1962. Similar eye hospitals have 

been established in Onitsha and 

Lagos.


HEALTH NEWS 

High Court 

dismisses 

NAPPMED 

suit against 

PCN 

By Sola Ogundipe 

THE Federal High 

Court has dismissed 

the suit filed by the Nigeria 

Association of Patent and 

Proprietary Medicine 

Dealers, NAPPMED, 

against the Pharmacists 

Council of Nigeria, PCN. 

Delivering judgment in 

Akure, Ondo State in suit 

No: FHC/AK/CS/01/2004 

which NAPPMED sought 

to stop the PCN from 

regulating activities of its 

members, Justice F.A. 

Olubanjo dismissed the suit 

for lack of merit. 

The plaintiffs, 

NAPPMED and Otunba 

F.E. Olatunji, had dragged 

the Minister of Health, 

Professor Isaac Adewole, 

the PCN and the Attorney- 

General of the Federation 

before the court seeking to 

stop the publication of any 

guideline, rule or condition 

on the procedure for 

obtaining the Patent and 


Vendors License (PPMVL) 

Relying on a 1996 ruling 

by Justice Ibrahim Auta in 

suit No: FHC/L/CS/28/95, 

the plaintiffs had sought 

perpetual injunction 

restraining the defendants 

from further issuing or 

reverting the authority to 

issue the PPMVL in the 

absence of an amendment 

to the enabling laws. 

The Court observed that 

the Pharmacy Act on which 

latter suit was predicated 

had been repealed since 

1992 by the PCN Act and 

as such the decision of the 

Lagos Division of the 

Federal High Court on it 

had been overtaken by 

events. The court further 

held that the PCN Act of 

1992 empowers the 2nd 

Defendant (PCN) to 

regulate the affairs and 

functions of pharmacy and 

matters related to the 

Pharmacists profession. 

In his ruling, Justice 

Olubanjo affirmed that by 

section 36 of the Poisons 

and Pharmacy Act Cap 535 

Laws of the Federation of 

Nigeria 1990, the Minister 

of Health has the power to 

prescribe the 2nd 

Defendant (PCN) as the 

licensing authority for the 

issuance of PPMVL. 

“Thus the 2nd Defendant 

(PCN) is competent to issue 

and publish guidelines for 

obtaining the Patent and 


Vendors License”, the 

Judge ruled. 

Bedwetting is a developmental 

issue — Dr. Suleiman Babatunde 


IS bedwetting really a child’s 

fault? Are there often reasons 

why it happens? 

A Child Psychiatrist at Ladoke 

Akintola University Teaching 

Hospital, Ogbomosho, Oyo 

State, Dr. Suleiman Babatunde 

said although bedwetting can 

be a symptom of underlying 

disease, a large majority of 

children who wet the bed have 

Consistent sexual 

abuse and 

emotional trauma 

could cause 

bedwetting in 

young adults and 

teenagers. A child 

who was dry 

before can start 

bed wetting after 

an episode of 

sexual violence 

Urinary Tract Infections, UTIs, 

and diabetes in young children 

as causes of bed wetting. 

There are two types of bed 

wetting also known as Enuresis; 

Noctunal bedwetting, and 

Diurnal or Mixed Enuresis. 

While noctunal is bed wetting 

at night, Diurnal is a 

combination of the two. That 

means the child passes urine 

during waking and sleeping 

hours. 

It was gathered that as 

embarrassing as bed wetting 

could be, most often an 

underlying condition is 

identified in only about 1 

percent of children who 

routinely wet the bed. 

Babatunde said a child that is 

bedwetting before the age of 

percent of cases, there is 

usually a first degree family 

member who also had similar 

problem. It is a developmental 

thing because most of the times, 

some even stopped at age 

eight. 

“Another thing about 

bedwetting, usually at night 

also known as Noctunal 

Enuresis, it is more common in 

boys than girls. Apart from 

having a family member that 

BEDWETTING: Experts say when infections and diseases are ruled out, the 

problem could be traced to psychological trauma. INSET - Dr. Suleiman Babatunde 

no underlying disease that 

explains their bedwetting. 

He said rather, most of the 

causes could be traced to 

psychological and emotional 

trauma. 

Babatunde, in a chat with 

Good Health Weekly also 

identified sexual abuse, 

five, pose no a problem. “If a 

three- year- old child still bed 

wet, there is no problem. 

Usually we wait till about five 

years when they are expected 

to be dry at night. 

Bedwetting is common in all 

cultures, and is usually a 

developmental issue children 

are expected to outgrow, 

Babatunde stated. 

“But the primary factor for a 

child aged nine, 10 or 12, is 

family history. Most of the time, 

if a child is about eight to nine 

years and still bed wets, in 70 

had the condition sometimes it 

could be due to infections like 

urinary tract infection and 

diabetes. 

When infections and diseases 

are ruled out, the problem could 

be traced to psychological 

trauma. 

“For instance, it may be that 

the child has never become dry 

or was dry and suddenly starts 

bedwetting. This may occur in 

instances where a child is being 

harrassed in school or the 

parents are having problems. 

Anything that can upset a child 

NIMR investigates failure of first 

line ARV drugs 

Continued from Page 37 

Further disclosed that a 

renowned Professor of 

Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 

Prof. Oladapo Shittu from the 

Ahmadu Bello University 

Teaching Hospital, Zaria, would 

speak on the topic “Post 

MDGs: Maternal and Child 

Health in Nigeria” 

“We thought we should 

continue to remind ourselves 

about the poor indices of 

MNCH and the need to 

respond towards improving the 

appalling figures,” he added. 

He said NIMR is working 

towards establishing the 

prevalence of Human Papiloma 

Virus, HPV among healthy 

women in Nigeria. 

Already, DNA tests are being 

carried out to characterize the 

various subtypes of HPV. 

“We have tried to replicate our 

activities in the six geo-political 

zones of the country. We are 

using this to sensitize people, 

particularly, young girls aged 

nine to 13 years to go for 

screening early. 

“HPV is second to breast 

cancer as common causes of 

cancer and commonest causes 

of death in women. So if we can 

prevent young women through 

vaccines then we have been able 

to look at the public health of 

the people. “We want to see if 

the vaccine responds to the type 

of strains of HPV we have here.” 

could manifest as bedwetting in 

a child who was dry before.” 

He advised parents whose 

children urinate even after age 

eight to check the family history, 

test for infection and desist from 

blaming the child because it 

would only worsen the 

situation. 

“Again, mothers should 

restrict food intake around 

bedtime. Any time they are dry, 

praise them. Any time they are 

wet, don’t make them feel 

ashamed. Majority of the 

children will outgrow it in the 

teenage years. Studies have 

shown that about one percent 

might persist into adulthood and 

that is when we might come in 

with medical treatment. 

“Apart from the 

encouragement, there is also an 

alarm bell fitted on the 

underwear. Once there is a tiny 

drop of urine, the alarm will 

sound and the child will get up 

and know he has to go to 

urinate. It has been very 

effective. When all these 

psychological behavioural 

interventions have failed, you 

may need to use medication,” 

he counselled. 

Babatunde noted that medical 

treatment should be the last 

option. “There are some drugs 

that can be given to the child to 

suppress bed wetting. And this 

must be after you have ruled out 

UTIs. Once infection is treated 

the bed wetting will stop.” 

Noting that although bed 

wetting is rare above 7 years, it 

can also persist beyond 15 and 

21 year –olds. 

“Consistent sexual abuse and 

emotional trauma could cause 

bedwetting in young adults and 

teenagers. A child who was dry 

before can start bed wetting after 

an episode of sexual violence. 

This is because sexual abuse 

might be upsetting the child 

who could feel that things were 

not right with her and that will 

manifest as bed wetting.” 

What you should 

know about 

bedwetting 

BEDWETTING does not mean 

that the child who wets the bed 

can control it or is doing it on 

purpose. 

Children who wet are not lazy, 

willful, or disobedient. 

Bedwetting is most often a 

developmental issue. 

The cause is likely due to one 

or combination of the following: 

*Poor daytime toilet habits - 

Many children habitually 

ignore the urge to urinate and 

put off urinating as long as they 

possibly can. Parents are 

familiar with the leg crossing, 

face straining, squirming, 

squatting, and groin holding 

that children use to hold back 

urine. 

*The child cannot yet hold 

urine for the entire night. 

*The child produces a large 

amount of urine during the 

evening and night hours. 

C 

M 

Y 

K


Nestlé 

global to 

train 3,000 

youths in 

Africa 

...as CEO 

commissions 

training centre 

in Nigeria 

NO fewer than 3,000 

apprenticeships and 

traineeship opportunities 

are being provided by 

Nestle global under its 

Nestlé Global Youth 

Initiative, in Africa by 2018. 

Meanwhile, as part of 

activities to celebrate its 150 

years in business, Nestle 

CEO, Mr Paul Bulcke was 

in Nigeria to commission a 

training centre at its Head 

Office in Lagos. 

Speaking at the Nestlé's 

Creating Shared Value 

Forum, where business, 

civil society and 

government leaders from 

Africa and beyond focused 

on investing in sustainable 

development in Africa, 

recently in Abidjan, Cote 

d'Ivoire, the company's CEO 

Paul Bulcke, said they will 

provide readiness-for-work 

training for more than 

300,000 young people over 

the same period. 

The training will include 

career advice, CV 

workshops and interview 

guidance, and will take 

place at Nestlé sites, career 

fairs and in schools and 

colleges across the 

continent. 

"Nestlé will also build and 

strengthen strategic 

partnerships with 

organisations supporting 

youth development. 

In Nigeria, he said the 

newly commissioned 

training centre would not 

only serve the needs of 

Nestlé employees but serve 

as an avenue to empower 

many Nigerians through 

various capacity and skill 

building youth initiatives of 

Nestlé. 

Mr Paul Bulcke, Nestle 

CEO 

Guest of the week 

We are narrowing the poverty 

gap in Africa 

Dr. Susan Desmond-Hellmann 

DURING an Africa Media Interview, CEO of the Bill & 

Melinda Gates Foundation, Dr. Susan Desmond-Hellmann, an 

expert in health and medicine (oncology and biotechnology) and 

a leader with strong underpinning of working at a large 

institution, spoke to Sola Ogundipe about the Foundation's 

efforts to promote equity for all people around the world. She 

talks about strategies and priorities to eliminate poverty, polio 

and malaria while facilitating relationships with key partners. 

Excerpts: 

POLIO eliminationLet me 

just start by saying how 

incredibly pleased we are with 

the progress in polio. You know 

very well that we don't want to 

be premature in celebrating or 

declaring victory, so to speak, but 

polio progress and our 

colleagues in Nigeria and our 

colleagues at WHO, UNICEF, 

Rotary, deserve much credit for 

the hope we have now in polio. 

What's next? Well, let me tell 

you, disease eradication, and 

we've seen this with polio, is a 

very, very challenging thing to 

do. And so we're cautious and 

hopeful that a few things are in 

our sights. 

Malaria eradication 

In malaria what we've said is 

we would like to be in a position, 

you know, so many of us with 

SDGs have focused on 2030. 

We'd like to have the world in a 

position to consider malaria 

eradication by 2030. And that 

strategy is very much a regional 

one. So focusing on regions is 

very important. So malaria's very, 

very, very different than polio, 

but focusing on regional control 

to allow for the concept of 

elimination is important. 

Support for malaria vaccine 

The Foundation has been 

supporting a broad portfolio of 

work in malaria that has included 

support for the vaccine 

development for malaria. I'm not 

sure of the specific investment 

you're asking me about, so I can't 

tell you whether we support that 

specific investment, but I can tell 

you that the foundation has a 

— Dr. Susan Desmond-Hellmann, CEO of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation 

very large program in malaria 

that includes a variety of different 

investments that includes a 

vaccine, but increasingly we 

understand the need for more 

technical advances, more 

technical advances in mosquito 

control, in medications, given the 

emergence of resistance, for 

example, in vector control. We 

know that the Anopheles 

mosquito has increasingly 

become resistant. We also know 

that even with our best remedies, 

that the malaria parasite is 

resistant. So we have a portfolio 

of investments, and I can tell you 

for sure we've continued to have 

as a high priority malaria. 

Neglected Tropical Diseases 

The Neglected Tropical 

Diseases, what people call 

NTDs, are also quite positive 

right now. Now, I give an 

example in the letter of one of 

those neglected diseases that we 

think the African sleeping 

sickness is a great example of 

something that really we are on 

the brink of eliminating, and 

that's because of very smart 

partnerships, innovative 

partnerships between private 

companies, nongovernmental 

organizations and governments. 

African sleeping sickness is not 

a common illness, but it's a 

devastating infectious disease 

that impacts the poorest people. 

So that's a great example of how 

we fight disease, focusing on the 

poorest. 

Emerging health threats 

From a very big picture 

perspective, pandemics and the 

threat of pandemics has been 

extremely important for our 

foundation, and in fact Bill Gates 

has written extensively and 

spoken extensively about how 

while the world, especially on 

Ebola, we almost got a little 

fortunate. As sad and concerning 

as Ebola is and was, had Ebola 

been flu, we wouldn't have been 

in a position to be as effective as 

the world needs to be in 

combating these global threats 

together. So we have participated 

in the global dialogue about how 

to be better ready for any of these 

infectious threats. 

Specifically in Ebola our 

foundation has made significant 

investments in a number of 

things, particularly in the early 

and middle phases of the Ebola 

threat, making sure that we 

invested, together with other 

colleagues, in containing the 

spread of Ebola, specifically 

outside of the West African 

countries, working with 

innovators to come up with better 

and more effective diagnostics 

and therapeutics and vaccines. 

Primary healthcare 

Something that I think is 

extremely important, not only to 

those West African countries but 

globally, increasingly, we're 

investing in primary healthcare 

and in health systems, in 

collaboration with government, 

Despite the 

enormous disease 

burden of 

mosquito-borne 

viral infections 

they are 

responsible for 

hundreds of 

millions of cases 

across 

the world 

because in the end, these 

individuals need good 

healthcare, and in the absence of 

a strong healthcare system, we 

won't see or effectively combat 

these diseases. 

Vaccines and health innovation 

Making a new vaccine or 

having a new vaccine available 

is not enough by itself. As you 

probably know, we've invested in 

GAVI and we think GAVI is a 

very exciting, new way to think 

about public, private, NGO 

partnerships. So GAVI has made 

it possible to have lower cost 

vaccines and allows us to think 

about low-income countries and 

their access to vaccines. 

We've also, together with GAVI, 

but also many other partners and 

national governments, 

increasingly been focused on 

delivery and development. So 

we've invested, and I'll give you 

some examples we've invested 

in supply chain, and specifically 

cold chain, because we 

understand that the supply chain 

is essential to getting those inputs 

to where people need them and 

can benefit from them. 

We've also invested in aspects 

of delivery that are related to 

demand, why would people want 

to accept a vaccine or seek a 

vaccine for themselves or their -- 

their children. 

And finally, as I mentioned 

before, increasingly we're 

working in collaboration with 

governments to look at what are 

the elements of a healthy primary 

care system, what does a system 

need to do, as you said, to actually 

get these inputs, these very 

important interventions like a 

vaccine to the people who are the 

most remote who need them the 

most. 

Investing in 

innovation 

And so I would say over the last 

decade that's been a shift for our 

foundation, not just investing in 

innovation but to make sure those 

innovations get to the people who 

need them, through supply chain, 

social marketing, community 

collaborations, and better 

communication, and finally health 

system strengthening. 

Narrowing the poverty gap 

If you take a step back and you 

look at narrowing the poverty 

gap, what we have felt is 

extremely important is to look 

very broadly across the world at 

where we see those big gaps and 

where we see poverty hitting 

people the hardest. And so the -- 

the most important tactics that 

we've taken, so Bill and Melinda 

are Americans, and we're 

headquartered in Seattle. So the 

poverty gap and the gaps and 

inequities in the U.S., the 

decision for the foundation has 

been to invest in U.S. education, 

both K-12 and then college or 

postsecondary education. 

Outside the United States 

there's a number of different ways 

that the foundation feels we can 

make a contribution. First and 

foremost, we've made very 

important investments in health. 

So we don't think it's possible for 

someone to have the chance at a 

healthy and productive life if 

they're struggling with health 

issues or very high rates of 

maternal mortality, childhood 

mortality. 

To be continued next week 

C 

M 

Y 

K

VANGUARD, TUESDAY, JULY 12, 2016 — 41 

Theresa May (left) is applauded by Conservative MPs outside the Houses 

of Parliament in Westminster 

Theresa May to become UK 

Prime Minister on Wednesday 

THERESA May will 

on Wednesday 

become the prime minister 

tasked with leading 

Britain’s into Brexit talks 

after her only rival in the 

race to succeed David 

Cameron pulled out 

unexpectedly. 

May was left as the only 

contender standingafter the 

withdrawal from the 

leadership race of Andrea 

Leadsom, who faced 

criticism for suggesting she 

was more qualified to be 

premier because she had 

children. 

“I am honoured and 

humbled to have been 

chosen by the Conservative 

Party to become its leader,” 

said Theresa May in 

London after she was 

formally confirmed as the 

winner of the Conservative 

leadership contest on 

Monday afternoon. 

“During this campaign, 

my case has been based on 

three things. First, the need 

for strong, proven 

leadership to steer us 

through what will be 

difficult and uncertain 

economic and political 

times; the need to negotiate 

the best deal for Britain in 

leaving the EU; and to 

forge a new role for 

ourselves in the world.” 

David Cameron said he 

would resign as prime 

minister on Wednesday, 

paving the way for May to 

take over the job the same 

day. 

Cameron said he 

expected to chair his last 

cabinet meeting on Tuesday 

and then take questions in 

parliament for around 30 

minutes from 11:00 GMT 

on Wednesday. 

“After that I expect to go 

to [Buckingham Palace] 

and offer my resignation,” 

he told reporters outside 

his office in Downing Street. 

“So we will have a new 

prime minister in that 

building behind me by 

Wednesday evening.” 

US to send another 560 troops to Iraq 

THE United States will 

send an additional 560 

troops to Iraq to help secure 

a newly retaken airbase as 

a staging hub for the longawaited 

battle to recapture 

Mosul from the Islamic 

State of Iraq and the Levant 

(ISIL), defence Secretary 

Ashton Carter said Monday 

during an unannounced 

visit to the country. 

Most of the new troops 

will be devoted to the buildup 

of the Qayara airbase, 

about 64 km south of 

Mosul, and include 

engineers, logistics 

personnel and other forces, 

Carter said. They will help 

Iraqi security forces 

planning to encircle and 

eventually retake the key 

city. 

“These additional US 

forces will bring unique 

capabilities to the campaign 

and provide critical enabler 

support to Iraqi forces at a 

key moment in the fight,” 

Carter said, according to 

prepared remarks. 

He revealed President 

Barack Obama’s decision as 

he spoke to about 120 troops 

in a building at Baghdad’s 

airport. The increase brings 

the total US force in Iraq to 

4,647, and comes just three 

months after Obama’s last 

troop addition. 

Carter told reporters 

earlier in the day that US 

advisors were prepared to 

accompany Iraqi battalions 

if needed, as those units 

begin the siege of the key 

northern city, but it is not 

clear when exactly that will 

happen. 

Facebook sued by Israeli group 

over Palestinian attacks 

AN Israeli rights group is 

suing Facebook for $1bn 

on behalf of families of 

victims of Palestinian attacks. 

The Shurat Hadin group 

says Facebook violates the 

US Anti-Terrorism Act by 

allowing militant groups 

such as Hamas a platform for 

US transfers Guantanamo inmates 

to Serbia 

TWO inmates from the 

U.S. military prison at 

Guantanamo Bay were 

transferred to Serbia on 

Monday as the Obama 

administration pressed 

ahead with its long-held goal 

of shutting the widely 

condemned facility at the U.S. 

naval base in Cuba. 

The transfer of Yemeni 

national Mansur Ahmad 

Saad al-Dayfi and Tajik 

national Muhammadi 

Davlatov to Serbia reduced the 

number of detainees at 

Guantanamo to 76, with 27 of 

those approved for transfer 

once an appropriate country 

can be found, U.S. officials 

said. “The United States 

appreciates the generous 

assistance of Serbia as the 

United States continues its 

efforts to close the 

Guantanamo Bay detention 

facility,” Secretary of State 

John Kerry said in a 

statement, calling it a 

“significant humanitarian 

gesture.” 

spreading violence. 

Hamas called the lawsuit 

an Israeli attempt to 

blackmail Facebook. 

The victims cited in the 

case are all Americans, 

including Taylor Force, 28, 

who was stabbed to death 

while visiting Israel in 

March. The others are dual 

Israeli-US nationals who 

died in attacks in Tel Aviv, 

Jerusalem and the occupied 

West Bank between 2014 

and 2016. 

The suit, filed with the US 

District Court for the 

Southern District of New 

York, argues the platform 

“knowingly provided 

material support and 

resources to Hamas... 

facilitat(ing) this terrorist 

group’s ability to 

communicate, recruit 

members, plan and carry out 

attacks, and strike fear in its 

enemies”. 

South Sudan president declares 

unilateral ceasefire 

SOUTH 

Sudan’s 

President Salva Kiir has 

declared a “unilateral 

ceasefire and cessation of 

hostilities”, and ordered 

government troops to 

“disengage” from fighting 

rival forces loyal to Vice 

President Riek Machar, 

following days of violence 

that left hundreds dead. 

The order was announced 

on Monday by presidential 

spokesman Ateny Wek 

Ateny. 

“The president talked to 

Machar...they have talked 

about controlling their forces 

in an attempt to salvage 

what has remained of the 

peace agreement,” Ateny 

said in an interview with Al 

Jazeera, calling on Machar 

and his forces to follow the 

president’s order. 

The announcement was 

made as United Nations 

Secretary General Ban Ki- 

Moon called on the 

international body to impose 

an “immediate arms 

embargo” on the world’s 

youngest independent 

state. 

Ban said he is “appalled 

by the indiscriminate 

attacks” on civilians, and 

condemned the “failed 

leadership” in the country, 

warning that some of the 

violence committed “may 

constitute a war crime”. 

“Yet again, the leaders of 

South Sudan have failed 

their people. Rarely has a 

country squandered so 

much promise so quickly,” 

he said angrily from the UN 

headquarters in New York. 

Earlier on Monday, 

renewed clashes broke out 

in the capital, forcing 

thousands of civilians to flee 

and raising fears of a slide 

back into all-out conflict in 

the five-year-old country. 

At least 272 people have 

been killed in the recent 

violence, a health 

ministry source told the 

Reuters news agency 

early on Sunday. 

US pledges $410 million to fight AIDS in 

South Africa 

THE United States on 

Monday pledged $410 

million towards ending the 

AIDS epidemic in South 

Africa, the country hardest 

hit. 

South Africa has the 

world’s largest population 

of people living with HIV, 

at 6.8 million, and the funds 

will help expand its 

antiretroviral programme, 

which provides treatment to 

more than 3 million 

patients. 

The country experienced 

180,000 AIDS-related 

deaths in 2015, according 

to the United Nations 

Program on HIV/AIDS 

(UNAIDS). Its prevalence 

rate of HIV among adults, 

at 19 percent, is one of the 

highest in the world. 

The funds were donated 

through the U.S. 

President’s Emergency 

Plan for AIDS Relief 

(PEPFAR), which also 

supports projects in South 

Africa to encourage male 

circumcision and attempts 

to reduce new HIV 

infections in girls and young 

women. Delegates are 

expected to discuss the 

ambitious target, proposed 

by UNAIDS, of ending 

AIDS as a global health 

crisis by 2030 at the 

International AIDS 

Conference to be held in 

the South African coastal 

city of Durban next week. 

Health Minister Aaron 

Motsoaledi said while the 

government expected to 

take on a larger share of 

the financial burden of HIV 

treatment and prevention, 

it depended on support 

from the international 

community. 

President Salvar Kir of South Sudan(M) flanked by other state officials at a press 

briefing yesterday in Juba where he ordered the country’s army to cease hostilities in 

the ongoing war with rebels 

Ethiopia blocks Facebook and other social 

media for exams 

ETHIOPIA has blocked 

social media sites 

across the country after 

university entrance exams 

were posted online. 

The government said the 

ban was to prevent students 

being distracted from 

studying during the exam 

period and to prevent the 

spread of false rumours. 

The blocked sites include 

Facebook, Twitter, 

Instagram and Viber. 

They will be unavailable 

for several days while 

university entrance exams 

are taken, a government 

spokesman said. 

“It’s a temporary 

measure until Wednesday. 

Social media have proven 

to be a distraction for 

students,” said spokesman 

Getachew Reda. Ethiopia 

was among the first African 

countries to censor the 

internet and opposition 

blogs and human rights 

websites are frequently 

blocked. 

Social media sites have 

gone down in Ethiopia 

before but only for a matter 

of hours, with the 

government previously 

denying any involvement. 

SOUTH AFRICA: Twins charged 

with terrorism 

A 

SOUTH African court 

has charged identical 

twin brothers with terrorism 

for allegedly plotting to 

attack Jewish targets and a 

US diplomatic mission. 

Brandon-Lee and Tony- 

Lee Thulsie and two others 

were arrested in 

Johannesburg following 

police raids over the 

weekend. 

They are said to have 

been planning to join socalled 

Islamic State in Syria. 

In June, the US embassy 

in South Africa warned that 

US citizens in the country 

could be attacked by 

terrorist groups. 

Places where Americans 

congregate “such as 

upscale shopping areas 

and malls in Johannesburg 

and Cape Town” were 

thought to be possible 

targets, the statement said.

42 — VANGUARD, TUESDAY, JULY 12, 2016 

•Niger Delta militants 

Rage of militia groups: 

A-Ibom stakeholders seek 

holistic approach 

By Chioma Onuegbu, Uyo 

RECENTLY, the Niger 

Delta Avengers, NDA, 

through the social media claimed 

responsibility for blowing up the 

Nigeria Gas Company pipeline 

in Ikot Osutek community in 

Oruk Anam Local Government 

Area of Akwa Ibom State. But the 

state government had 

immediately refuted their claim, 

while linking the gas pipeline 

leakage to a technical problem. 

Stakeholders in the state have, 

however, expressed disapproval 

with the approach adopted by the 

Federal Government in handling 

the resurgence in militancy and 

agitations. 

Mean while many are of the 

opinion that failure of 

government to holistically 

address demands not only in the 

Niger Delta but in the different 

sections of the country had 

escalated the agitations. 

Security 

expert 

A security expert and human 

rights activist based in Uyo, Mr. 

Oliver Cromwell, emphasised 

that the use of force by 

government to control the militia 

groups cannot resolve the issues. 

He pointed out that since the 

Independent Peoples of Biafra, 

IPOB, began its agitation in the 

South East, more violent groups 

have emerged in other sections 

of the country. 

He argued that the hanging of 

Ken Saro Wiwa years back did 

not stop the agitations in the 

Niger Delta at that time. 

His words: “Instead it only 

opened doors to more agitations. 

So what I am saying is that 

government must have the 

political will to address all these 

agitations in the different parts 

of the country-the IPOB, the 

Avengers, the OPC, MASSOB, 

Fulani herdsmen and even Boko 

Haram. Different sections of the 

country are now parading their 

militia groups and agitating for 

one thing or another. The Boko 

Haram is seeking for Sharia, give 

it to them; the Avengers of the 

South-South are seeking for 

control of their resources, give it 

to them; IPOB is agitating for its 

Federation, you also give them 

what they want”. 

He was quick to point out that 

Nigeria is witnessing the myriad 

of agitations because it is a forced 

federation. The security expert 

said it is important for 

government to find out why 

ordinary cattle herdsmen should 

be carrying expensive guns like 

AK47 and going about attacking 

and killing innocent Nigerian 

citizens when there are no 

concrete reasons for their barbaric 

actions. “Over the year, the Fulani 

herdsmen have been carrying 

Ak47 to attack, rob and kill their 

victims. It is not just about the 

destruction of farmlands. Once 

they are broke they go out to rob 

in the guise of grazing and 

nothing is done about it. The 

cows they rear belong to people, 

so government is supposed to 

investigate if the owners of the 

cows were actually the ones that 

bought the AK47 for them 

because an ordinary person 

cannot afford one AK47, but some 

of the herdsmen carry up to three 

AK47s,” he asserted 

However, other stakeholders 

and groups in the state are of the 

opinion that the idea of the 

Federal Government asking each 

state to donate land for cattle 

grazing was not a far-reaching 

approach to checking the 

excesses of the herdsmen. 

Dr Bassey Umoh, National 

President South-South Solidarity 

Forum, who expressed 

disappointment over the 

development, said it was 

unfortunate that the statement by 

President Muhammadu Buhari 

on the activities of the herdsmen 

does not suggest a condemnation 

but exoneration of the violent 

group from their actions. “I heard 

the President on a foreign media 

making excuses for the atrocities 

by the herdsmen and saying that 

the attacks are coming because 

the graze lands were taken away. 

It is so unfortunate because the 

herdsmen now feel that the 

President is backing them; so 

they can go ahead, enter places, 

kill people and go away and 

nothing happens,” he said. 

Continuing, he advised that the 

Federal Government should drop 

the proposed grazing bill, saying 

it was wrong to force people to 

Government 

should make sure 

that while granting 

amnesty to the 

fighters, it should 

not leave the victims 

to their fate 

give out their lands freely for 

individuals engaged in their 

private business. He added that 

it will only create room for more 

violence/agitations. 

“I personally will never agree 

for my people to give out their 

lands to herdsmen to graze on. I 

don’t know why the Federal 

Government is insisting that 

people must forego their own 

means of livelihood for certain 

persons doing their personal 

business and who are not 

contributing anything into 

government coffers or even to the 

communities they go to graze,” 

he submitted. 

He wondered why government 

in power will be seeking solution 

to stopping the bombings and 

attacks on oil installations/ 

•IPOB .... Agitators or militants? 

•Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, flanked by two of his 

fighters 

pipelines while keeping silent 

over the Fulani herdsmen whose 

inhuman activities/ incessant 

killings across Southern states is 

one of the most controversial 

issues in the country today. 

Umoh who condemned the 

destruction of oil installations by 

Niger Delta Avengers, however 

reasoned that the renewed 

violence in the region may not 

have been unconnected with the 

fact that the people are aggrieved 

over perceived plan by the 

current government to sideline, 

deprive, punish and disfavour 

them as revealed through its 

actions and earlier utterances 

despite their economic status in 

the country. 

Economic 

status 

He said: “I can remember that 

few weeks after winning the 

presidential election, Buhari in 

an interview said that the people 

of the Niger Delta should not 

expect to get the same attention 

from this administration like other 

areas that gave him major votes; 

that it is politics. The people 

now have the feeling that there 

was a political conspiracy against 

them because of their minority 

status, and probably that was 

why Dr Goodluck Jonathan was 

not given the opportunity to 

complete eight years like other 

democratically elected Nigerian 

Presidents before him. 

“Besides, there is also bitterness 

over selective arrests of 

prominent sons of the region 

based on allegations of 

corruption, with their accounts 

frozen; there is the issue of the 

Maritime University that was 

concluded and sited in Delta 

State but has been reversed; the 

budgetary allocation to the Niger 

Delta Affairs Ministry and the 

amnesty programme has been 

cut by almost 80 percent.” 

Umoh said these issues are 

definitely the reason behind the 

renewed agitations in the region, 

even as he does not agree with 

the method the agitators, 

especially the NDA, are using to 

express their grievances. 

However, Mr. Saviour Akpan, 

Executive Director of Community 

Policing Partners, COMPART, in 

Akwa Ibom categorically blamed 

the rising violence in the Niger 

Delta on the partial 

implementation of the amnesty 

programme. “I always say that 

the partial implementation of the 

amnesty programme in the 

Niger Delta is a time bomb that 

can explode anytime. And it is 

beginning to explode now. What 

I mean here is that the 

programme was implemented 

only in favour of the so-called 

freedom fighters. 

“Nothing was done about the 

victims of the action or inaction 

of the freedom fighters and their 

relatives. Government should 

make sure that while granting 

amnesty to the fighters, it should 

not leave the victims to their fate, 

otherwise some of the victims will 

one day want to join the other 

side to also benefit from that 

government gesture. So I am 

saying such programme should 

be holistic.”

C 

M 

Y 

Edited by EMEKA AGINAM 


Biafra’s secessionist right 

revisited 

Menyinnah 

A minority group cannot be 

marginalized in a union where 

there is a constitution that 

authorizes equality among 

every sector but if it happens , 

the majority gives way to 

constitutional referendum or 

the minority will use force as 

in the case of Biafra 1967 to 

1970. Stop marginalization , 

adopt the constitution 

Spiritual 

The Biafrans have built 

communities in 196 countries 

of the world. This was 

prompted by the last Civil war 

from 1967 through 1970. The 

Nnamani Ifeanyi 

Reverend Kukah, I suppose 

you know that democracy is a 

game of number. I am sure you 

know that North has the highest 

representation in both the 

upper chamber and the lower 

chamber which of course have 

given them an undue advantage 

over every other region in 

this Nigeria. Now how do you 

expect a Biafra-exit or NigerDexit 

bill for instance to be sponsored 

at the National Assembly? 

The bill will be dead on arrival 

because the majority (North) 

Kukah urges IPOB, MASSOB, 

NDA to go through N’Assembly 

Kukah 

Nobody needs grazing reserves now 

Idara 

The grazing reserve bill is 

vexatious. It’s not what Nigeria 

wants now. Any businessman 

who rears cattle should approach 

land owners to build a ranch. If 

he is given, fine, if not, he 

should seek elsewhere. To seize 

people’s land in the name of a 

grazing for private cattle owners 

is crazy. Those of us in the Niger 

Delta have already given up our 

land for oil exploration that has 

poluted our environment. To be 

forced to give up more land in 

Biafrans are ever-ready now 

for the second war if Nigeria 

fails to allow them to exist. 

Omobiafra 

Mohammed adamu, you 

are simply speaking from a 

selfish point of view. Your 

logic lacks merit. 

Support NDA 

Bianfrans are facing 

challenges but the 

challenges cannot make 

them give up. It is an 

ideology and course to 

accomplish. Biafra must come 

as Niger Delta must surely 

come to stay. 

and their Yoruba brothers would 

vote against it. 

PeaceForall1 

Our quest will not be 

achieved through the 

National Assembly because 

of its composition. 

As long as their 

pockets are full, 

nothing matters to 

them. How many 

of them have spoken against 

the unwarranted killings of innocent 

and unarmed Biafrans 

that are protesting asking for 

what is universal legitimate? 

Olushola Leonard 

Bamigboye 

All these militants are economic 

vandals hiding under the 

Niger Delta issues. So, asking 

them to go through the National 

Assembly to articulate their 

grievances and agitations is like 

asking armed robbers to take 

permission before they rob. 

the name of grazing 

reserve is to 

elevate wickedness. 

We have 

sacrificed too 

much for this 

country. 

Bigzy 

The grazing reserve 

pretext was 

the tool employed 

by the Fulanis to conquer and 

dominate the Hausas. Since their 

other tactic is not working fast 

•Biafrans rally in London 

•Fulani herdsman 

Benue2 

Bishop Hassan Kukah of 

Sokoto , thanks for your comments. 

However, you should 

know that the Islamic Hausa- 

Fulani Sharia states and their 

allies will not allow anything 

such as Niger-Delta independence 

to pass through the National 

Assembly. So let us not 

deceive ourselves. I don’t want 

to talk about the Biafra agitation 

because groups like IPOB 

needs to do a better job of 

educating Nigerians and the international 

community of how 

exactly the South East is being 

Marginalized. I know that the 

South East is being 

Marginalized but it must be 

more clearly defined. However 

the Injustice the people of the 

Niger-Delta have experienced 

in the hands of the Federal 

Republic of Nigeria since the 

1970's is a disgrace and a disaster 

of Biblical proportions. 

enough in Southern Zoo, they 

are trying to fast track it the way 

they know best. 

TRENDING ISSUES ON TWITTER 

Ekweremadu writes UN, US 

Congress, UK, EU, others; says 

Nigeria’s democracy in grave danger 

NaijaProgress 

You have spoken well. This is 

the direction Biafra should have 

taken rather than attacking 

other ethnics and disturbing 

public peace. 

Charles Frederick 

The Honorable Deputy Senate 

President is a lawmaker of 

repute. He is in the Senate to 

enact laws that will affect over 

170 million Nigerians, including 

himself. 

He has been arraigned in 

Abuja High Court with the 

Senate President, Bukola 

Saraki and others for alleged 

forgery of 2015 

Senate Standing Rules. 

If a competent judge 

of the High Court has 

deemed that they 

have a case to answer 

by not striking off the 

case, how would that constitute 

grave danger to our democracy? 

Has the Deputy Senate President 

forgotten that democracy 

flourishes where the rule of law 

reigns supreme and criminality 

adjudged no matter whose 

ox is gored? Why is he writing 

to the world leader? 

Debaye 

It is a good thing to officially 

alert the international community 

so that each and everyone 

of them will open their ears and 

eyes on the oppression and 

suppression that is happening 

in Nigeria, especially against 

the south-south and south-east. 

Mosesuanene 

Ekweremadu should be 

ashamed of himself. First this 

is case before the court. Does it 

mean he has no confidence in 

t h e Nigerian Judiciary? 

Secondly, 

as a 

member of 

the Senate, 

he ought to 

have a good 

understanding 

of 

Ekweremadu 

the constitution which he is paid 

to uphold but unfortunately he 

does not. 

BrianTuraki 

Pure desperation!No course 

for alarm Mr. Deputy Senate 

President, the international community 

can’t help you. A lawsuit 

has been filed against you, and 

the right thing is to prove your 

innocence at the competent court 

of law. 

There is nothing to fear about 

if you are confident that you did 

not participate in forging any 

document that brought you to the 

leadership of the 8th Assembly. 

Duncan Robinson 

@duncanrobinson 

If UK wants single market 

access, it must accept free 

movement, says #EUCO 

pres Donald Tusk. “There 

will be no single market a 

la carte.” 

Y! Online@YNaija 

Soldiers, Police invade 

Ikeja computer village over bomb 

threat 

Bayo onanuga 

@aonanuga1956 

Senseless Niger Delta 

Bombing:I have been engaged 

in a Twitter debate all day with 

Niger Delta Avengers, 

UNICEF@UNICEF 

Hand washing with soap is one 

of the cheapest and most effective 

ways to save childcare’s lives. 

Dr Joe Odumakin 

@DrJoeOdumakin 

There are many things we need 

our youths to be doing and 

violence isn't one of them 

UN Spokesperson 

@UN_Spokesperson 

Ban Ki-moon condemns #DhakaAttack; 

hopes that those behind this crime will 

be identified & brought to justice 

World Food Programme @WFP 

#Fact: Chinese child mortality rates 

due to malnutrition dropped from 22% to 

13% between 2000-2010

44—VANGUARD, TUESDAY, JULY 12, 2016 

GovAhmed 

Why I said 

PDP would 

rule for 60 

years 

— OGBULAFOR 

•How Jonathan led PDP to its present 

state 

•We should now begin to pack the 

damages caused by Sheriff 

•Buhari is yet to show the people reason 

why he was voted 

•Ogbulafor: What has happened in Abia state is something unbelievable 

PRINCE Vincent Ogbulafor was the All Peoples Party, 

APP candidate in the Abia State governorship election 

in 1999 and following his loss, he was part of the team 

that formed the bridge between the then opposition 

party and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP at 

the national level. He was first appointed a minister 

without portfolio in the Obasanjo first administration, 

and subsequently, national secretary of the PDP before 

he returned in 2008 as national chairman of the party. 

In this interview with Vanguard, he speaks on a broad 

range of contemporary issues. Excerpts: 

By Gbenga Oke 

WHAT is your assessment 

of the situation in your 

state Abia? 

What has happened in Abia 

state is something unbelievable 

and if not for the person of 

Governor Ikpeazu, there could 

have been war and bloodshed in 

Abia. I am happy that the 

governor was able to reach out 

to the people and douse the 

tension. 

That judgment was meant to 

create war in a state that was 

quiet, and it was also meant to 

destabilize the government of 

President Buhari who meant well 

for this country, and it is a 

judgment that could destabilize 

Abia State that is beginning to 

be stable, and people are happy. 

I am not happy with the 

judgment, and I feel strongly that 

the Chief Justice of the 

Federation should not keep silent 

and watch, they need to bring 

peace into Abia. 

Abia gov crisis: I think that 

when Abia filed an appeal, the 

INEC should have waited for 

three to four days before doing 

anything. Now, the court said 

status quo remains, so we will 

wait and see what happens. 

I also want to advise Uche 

Ogah not to be so ambitious. 

Somebody like me contested 

elections twice in my state as 

governor; I won but Orji Uzor 

Kalu was declared winner, I went 

to court and the traditional rulers, 

my bishop, all of them pleaded 

with me to withdraw my case to 

enable peace in Abia and I did. 

Onyema Ugochukwu 

contested elections with T.A Orji, 

Ugochukwu went to Court, 

traditional rulers and the church 

were on him to withdraw the case 

for the sake of peace, and he 

gladly withdrew. 

Stakeholders 

and elders 

Ogah and Ikpeazu contested, 

and Ikpeazu won, and everybody 

is prevailing on him to withdraw, 

if he refuses to listen to people 

that are prevailing on him to 

withdraw, when he becomes 

governor, who is he going to 

govern over if he doesn't listen 

to stakeholders and elders of the 

state. 

Also, Abia North has been over 

the governorship seat for eight 

years, Abia Central has been on 

the seat for eight years, why not 

consider Abia South? And that is 

why I said that judgment did not 

consider peace, equity and 

justice. 

Being a former chairman of 

the PDP, how do you see the 

unfolding events in your party? 

When I was PDP chairman, 

there was peace in PDP. We 

helped to grow PDP. Under my 

chairmanship, I brought four non- 

PDP states into the PDP. I brought 

Abia, Imo, Sokoto and Bauchi 

states. And 28 states were under 

me, 28 PDP governors under the 

PDP then and a good number of 

senators and National Assembly 

members. 

60 years rule: That is why I said 

PDP would be in office for 60 

years. Somebody who has 28 

states and majority of National 

Assembly members with 

members in virtually all 774 local 

governments in Nigeria, all I 

would do is to concentrate and 

manage them well. 

When I said power would 

remain in the North, Jonathan 

did not like it, and they made 

sure they unseated me, and I left. 

That is when I knew that the PDP 

was in for trouble, and that was 

when the diarrhoea started. 

Immediately I left, Jonathan 

had 5 PDP chairmen in one year! 

It is unheard of, and that's when 

the problem started, and it has 

continued to degenerate. When 

Tony Anenih, Chairman of the 

Board of Trustees resigned, 

when Muazu resigned, I 

commended their guts and I said 

these men want PDP to survive 

because they quietly exited. I 

advised then that the National 

Working Committee, NWC, of the 

party should resign because they 

had led PDP to failure, but they 

were more interested in the 

When I said power 

would remain in the 

North, Jonathan did 

not like it, and they 

made sure they 

unseated me, and I 

left. That is when I 

knew that the PDP 

was in for trouble, 

and that was when 

the diarrhoea 

started 

money they were sharing, they 

failed to heed my advice and that 

led PDP to where we are today. 

Those bad eggs connived to 

bring in Modu Sheriff (and) we 

all know who Modu Sheriff is in 

Nigeria. They presented him to 

INEC; I was not there that time. 

But how can they present such a 

person to the party, it was evident 

that they were helping to dig the 

grave of the PDP? Now they have 

buried the party, let them start 

covering the grave with sand. 

PDP will survive only if they 

rebrand. 

I appreciate the effort of some 

stakeholders, Jerry Gana, Senator 

Mantu, Bode George, Deputy 

Senate President, Ekweremadu, 

quite a number of them came 

together to ensure Sheriff is 

ejected from the party. 

Clearing the 

damages and debris 

It is now obvious that Sheriff is 

no more the chairman of the 

party, and we should now start 

to clear the damages and debris 

that was caused by Sheriff. 

We should all now come 

together and rebuild the party 

and form a formidable opposition. 

An opposition that will continue 

to challenge Mr. President, a 

party that will give meaningful 

opposition. 

At what point do you think the 

party slipped? 

The point is that President 

Continues on page 45

VANGUARD, TUESDAY, JULY 12, 2016—45 

How Jonathan caused PDP crisis — OGBULAFOR 


Jonathan scared a lot of people, 

and they left the party. I advised 

him as President not to touch the 

structure of Governors. He went 

and tampered with the structure; 

that is when they said 16 is 

greater than 19. 

So, some solid governors now 

left the party, people like 

Amaechi, Saraki, and Wammakko 

all left, and those are areas where 

you get good number of voters. 

When they left the party, what 

do you expect? The party indeed 

collapsed. 

The person who caused the 

failure of PDP is Jonathan. PDP 

had internal democracy, a zoning 

pattern which worked for them 

for 16 years, and we agreed in a 

meeting that power would stay 

in the North for 8years before it 

returns to the South for another 

eight years. 

You won't say Yar'Adua ruled for 

eight years, not even for four 

years because he was sick, the 

best thing Jonathan would have 

done was to bring a Northerner 

and make him President and 

agrees when he finishes, power 

will come to the South and if it's 

him again, then he will contest. 

Doing that, the North will be 

happy; that was my feeling, and 

that was why I said that power is 

still in the North because we 

agreed eight years each for the 

two zones. 

But in that situation then, North 

has not done four years, so that 

is where the power tussle began 

and that was the downfall of the 

PDP. When we refused to follow 

our guidelines, we derailed, and 

there was no more internal 

democracy. 

Internal 

democracy 

What eventually happened is 

that power went back to the North 

and to the same Katsina State 

where Late Yar'Adua came from. 

So what I said that power is in 

the North came to pass. 

What is your assessment of 


Buhari's administration in the 

last one year? 

When APC won, I was bold to 

visit the APC secretariat to 

congratulate John Oyegun, my 

friend. I was happy to go there 

and congratulate them. When 

they came into power, of course, 

they did not know they would 

win; their victory was a surprise 

and a good feat because so many 

things were going wrong. My 

assessment is positive, positive 

in the sense that President 

Buhari has recovered a lot of 

looted money. 

Having recovered those 

billions, while they continue to 

recover, let them plough the one 

they have recovered into the 

system so that people will breath 

fresh air according to them. 

My assessment is that they 

•Ogbulafor: Jonathan scared a lot of people, and they left the party 

should live up to expectation as 

people expected because a lot of 

people were happy when they 

came to power, but right now they 

are yet to make the people happy, 

and they are yet to show the 

people the reason they voted 

them. So, there is a sign of loss 

of confidence, but I believe 

Buhari's intention for the country 

is good. 

When he ruled as a military 

head of state, things were well, 

and that's when WAI made 

people queue at the Post Office, 

so people thought that is still 

him. People feel strongly he was 

going to reposition things. 

However, it is still too early 

because he has just done one 

year, by the time he will do two 

years, there will be a change of 

mind. 

Buhari's 

Ministers 

Also, I think his choice of 

Ministers matters especially with 

people like Ogbonnaya Onu, 

Audu Ogbeh, Chris Ngige, 

Kachikwu, Enelamah, Amaechi, 

these are fine gentlemen that I 

know will help him sustain that 

office. 

With the composition of the 

NNPC board, there are 

increasing dissensions over the 

appointments made by the 

president which some have 

flayed as the Northernisation of 

the polity? 

My view is in line with the 

general public; the appointments 

are not balanced at all. I think 

there is no federal character in 

the appointments at all. There 

was no federal character 

consideration in his 

appointments. 

But where I am worried is that 

I believe President Buhari cannot 

just wake up with those names, 

people must have nominated 

those people to him, and he 

cannot just name people without 

discussing with some of the 

cabinet members. So those 

people around him should also 

The point is that 

President Jonathan 

scared a lot of 

people, and they left 

the party, I advised 

him as President not 

to touch the 

structure of 

Governors, he went 

and tampered with 

the structure; that is 

when they said 16 is 

greater than 19 

advise him, no man is an island, 

if I am making a mistake as a 

governor, one of my 

commissioners should be able to 

say Oga, this thing is not right. 

But when they allow him to go 

into a ditch, it becomes a problem 

to pull him out. So he is now 

exposed to public criticisms 

which are not good for the 

system. I feel, and I agree with 

people that these appointments 

are one sided. 

What is your assessment of the 

administration’s anti-corruption 

war of President Buhari? 

That is an area of specialization 

for Buhari. He is doing 

fantastically well in that area, in 

fact, revelations, we have gotten 

so far shocked me because I 

never knew people looted this 

country that much. 

Looted funds: The money that 

should be used for weapons, they 

shared it and those who got those 

allocations, they pocketed it and 

never used it for politics. Because 

if they had used it for politics, I 

think Jonathan should have 

returned as President. So you 

start to wonder what happened. 

Retrieving all 

the looted money 

I think Buhari should continue 

in that spirit and drive; he should 

try to retrieve all the looted 

money, but he should plough it 

back to the system as he recovers. 

So I think it is an area he is very 

active. 

Do you agree with those who 

claim the anti-corruption drive 

is only against PDP members? 

Yes, I agree with that 

submission that the anticorruption 

war is not balanced. 

If you watch, you will realise 

that it is only PDP members that 

are being prosecuted. What of the 

people that are serving in the 

president’s cabinet who also 

served in a previous 

government? 

Do you feel President Buhari 

has handled the issue of 

BIAFRA agitation and that of 

Niger Delta Avengers properly? 

What I feel is that some of us 

who fought during BIAFRA 

knew it was a nightmare, and we 

would not like to get engaged in 

another war. 

These boys who are agitating 

for Biafra were not born when we 

fought the war, so they do not 

know what war is. Therefore 

getting Biafra will not be by force 

or war, it will be a round table 

negotiation. 

South East agitation: Also, I 

feel the President should grant 

the South East elders audience 

and listen to them after all what 

is happening in North East now 

is equivalent to what happened 

in Biafra then, people died, 

malnutrition was the order of the 

day, nobody helped Biafra. 

But you can see what is 

happening in Northeast, money, 

food and other items have been 

moved there. So what the 

President should do is to reach 

out and appease them so that it 

can douse the agitation for Biafra. 

I also feel they should not be 

ignored because if they allow 

these youths to keep demanding, 

and you keep killing, you create 

an unnecessary awareness that 

shouldn't have been. So it's good 

to nip it in the bud, calling them 

and sitting them down to have a 

round table discussion, he should 

dialogue with the agitators. 

Otherwise, they will continue. 

These boys never saw war, but 

some of us that saw and fought 

during the war knew what 

happened. You will see your 

brother being killed, people not 

feeding well and all that. I will 

advise the President to sit with 

them, and they should not be 

ignored. 

Clean-up 

of Ogoni 

On the Niger/Delta Avengers, 

I think the President has already 

been on it. He is doing 

something for them, and the 

cleanup of Ogoni is a significant 

step. What he is doing is for the 

whole Niger/Delta. Some of these 

people feel neglected, and that's 

why they are agitated. 

What do you make of the faceoff 

between the Senate and the 

presidency over Senate forgery 

case? 

I will use this opportunity to call 

on Mr. President to leave Senator 

Bukola Saraki alone and let him 

do his job. What is happening in 

the Senate does not give stability 

even to Mr. President himself. 

So, I will want to say that Mr. 

President should leave Saraki 

and Ekweremadu alone to let 

them do his work. Because if the 

Senate protests, the Senate can 

call for impeachment. 

So I would advise the President 

to tell his lieutenants to leave the 

Senate alone. The Senate is very 

well constituted and do you think 

they will let go? I doubt whether 

the Senate will let go, so the 

President should let go and let 

peace reign because if you pour 

sand on the floor, there is no way 

you will collect all.


‘We were simple as doves, wise as 

serpents’: Portugal toast Euro 2016 win 

PEPE revealed he 

had urged his 

team-mates to “win it for 

Cristiano Ronaldo” as 

Portugal claimed their 

first major trophy at 

France’s expense with 

their injured captain and 

talisman reduced to 

barking instructions from 

the technical area. 

Ronaldo hurt his left 

knee in a challenge by 

Dimitri Payet early on 

and, having initially 

attempted to play on with 

the leg heavily strapped, 

eventually hobbled off 

midway through the first 

period in tears. Yet the 

forward returned from the 

treatment room to speak 

to his team-mates in their 

huddles before extra-time 

and spent the latter stages 

bellowing instructions 

from the touchline 

alongside the manager, 

Fernando Santos, as 

Portugal claimed Euro 

2016 courtesy of Éder’s 

goal. 

“This was tough 

because we lost our main 

man and we’d pinned all 

our hopes on him,” said 

Pepe, who was 

outstanding marshalling 

a backline France simply 

could not penetrate. 

“Cristiano’s a player who 

can score a goal at any 

second but, when he said 

he couldn’t go on, I told 

my team-mates that we 

had to win it for him; that 

we were going to fight, to 

fight for him. At the break 

the manager set us up 

very well, strategically 

speaking, and 

implemented Plan B. It 

worked. 

“We put blood, sweat 

and tears on the pitch. I 

said on the eve of this 

game that we’d leave it 

all on the pitch for our 

people, for our nation, 

and that’s what we did. 

That’s what the 

Portuguese are about: 

humility, work, 

overcoming hardship. We 

represented our country 

as best we could. 

Regardless of those who 

doubted us, and the 

criticism we’ve had here 

in France for our 

performances, we had our 

goals set out for us and 

this was the goal. 

“The manager is a very 

intelligent man. He has 

been able to blend 

youngsters with the more 

experienced players. 

From day one he said the 

first goal is to qualify for 

the Euros and the second 

is to win it. We managed 

both things. This is not 

Portugal’s coach, Fernando Santos, rejoices with his players after the victory 

over France. 

Star man Ronaldo posted this picture of him hugging the Euro 2016 trophy 

on the return flight to his Instagram page 

down to chance. This 

comes from hard work. 

We listened and all 

pulled in the same 

direction and now we’ve 

written a brilliant page in 

the book of Portuguese 

football history. No one 

will ever forget this 

victory.” 

The match-winner, the 

substitute Éder, played 

267 minutes for Swansea 

City last season before 

being loaned to Lille – to 

whom he is now 

contracted permanently – 

without mustering a 

league goal en route. 

“Cristiano told me I would 

score the winning goal 

for the team,” he said. 

“He gave me this 

strength, this energy, and 

it was vital. It was a goal 

I’ve been working for 

from the first minute of the 

Euros.” 

“He told me he would 

score when I sent him 

on,” said Santos, whose 

side won only once in 90 

minutes all tournament. 

“The ugly duckling went 

and did just that. Now 

he’s a beautiful swan. As 

for Ronaldo, twice he 

tried to carry on but he 

couldn’t. Personally I 

think the referee should 

have shown a card [to 

Payet for his challenge], 

yet he didn’t even give a 

foul. Anyway the way 

Cristiano spoke to us and 

reached the lads, 

motivating them, in the 

changing room and in the 

dugout … he believed 

that tonight was going to 

be our night. On his 

behalf I’d like to thank all 

the players for believing. 

We were as simple as 

doves and wise as 

serpents. I thank them 

all.” 

Defeat was agonising 

for France, who struck the 

post through Andre- 

Pierre Gignac in the last 

minute of normal time 

only to be undone in the 

extra period. “We’ve 

missed a unique 

opportunity to win a 

Euros in our own 

country,” said the 

manager, Didier 

Deschamps. “There are 

no words. The 

disappointment is there, 

and it’s huge, and it will 

take time to digest it. But 

we won together, we 

suffer together and today 

we lost together. 

“We so wanted to rouse 

the French people and it 

would have been 

magnificent to bring the 

trophy home to them. But 

unfortunately that isn’t 

going to be the case. It’s 

a great disappointment 

for it to end now, with this 

final. I’m very proud of 

what these players have 

achieved and we must 

not throw everything that 

we’ve done away, but we 

lost a great chance to be 

European champions: not 

the only one, perhaps, but 

a great one.” 

Ancelotti promises to continue Bayern 

Munich’s attacking traditions 

CARLo Ancelotti has 

promised to 

continue Bayern 

Munich’s tradition of 

attacking football and 

expressed his delight at 

joining “one of the best 

clubs in the world” as he 

laid out his plan for 

continued success with 

the club. 

The Italian steps into 

the large boots left by Pep 

Guardiola, who won 

three straight Bundesliga 

titles during his time in 

charge, but he is 

confident of being able to 

continue the German 

champions’ recent record 

success story while 

adding more trophies to 

•Ancelotti 

his own roll of honour. 

“I’m very happy and 

proud to be here and I 

want to thank Bayern for 

this,” Ancelotti said at 

the Allianz Arena, 

addressing the media in 

German.'' 

‘Don’t abscond in Rio’ 

•Suma 

FORMER Sierra 

L e o n e 

international Sheriff 

Suma hopes the 

country’s Olympians will 

not be tempted to 

abscond when attending 

the Rio Games. 

There is a long history 

of sports men and women 

from Sierra Leone 

electing to run run away 

during international 

competitions. 

Thirteen years ago 

Suma was part of his 

country’s squad for the 

Under-17 World 

Championship in 

Finland when 13 

players went missing. 

Suma remained with 

the squad and was one 

of only seven players 

who returned to Sierra 

Leone after they were 

knocked out of the 

tournament. 

Two of the players who 

absconded, Alimamy 

Sesay and current 

Leone Stars captain 

Umaru Bangura, 

returned home a few 

weeks later. 

The others decided to 

seek asylum in Finland 

and other European 

countries. 

Allardyce to be interviewed for 

England job this week 

SAM Allardyce will 

be interviewed 

for the England job this 

week and offered the 

chance to convince the 

Football Association he is 

better suited for the role 

than Jürgen Klinsmann, 

the other leading 

candidate in a process 

the people in charge 

hope to finalise within 

the next two weeks. 

Allardyce, who is in 

Austria on a pre season 

tour with Sunderland, 

has been invited to meet 

with the FA after being 

identified as the best 

option of all the 

available Englishmen. 

Sunderland have been 

made aware and 

Allardyce has benefited 

from a ringing 

endorsement from Sir 

Alex Ferguson during 

•Allardyce 

the two-week 

consultation process 

when the FA canvassed 

opinion from within the 

sport. Ferguson, a close 

ally of Allardyce, has 

spoken to David Gill, 

the FA’s vice-chairman 

and former Manchester 

United chief executive 

who is helping to 

conduct the search.


Rio 2016: AFN 

ready to send 

athletes home 

By Ben Efe 

AFTER the conclusion of 

the Rio 2016 Olympic 

trials, Athletics Federation 

of Nigeria is prepared to 

send selected athletes to 

their respective homes, if 

the sports ministry fails to 

release funds for the final 

preparations for the Games 

starting in August. 

AFN president, Solomon 

Ogba disclosed in Sapele 

at the weekend that the 

federation was still 

expecting funds from the 

sports ministry, to complete 

Nigeria’s training ahead of 

the Games. 

“I think as a federation 

we have done everything 

Portugal 

continues from B/P 

their first ever international 

trophy on Monday as they 

arrived back in Lisbon 

following their dramatic 1- 

0 extra time victory over 

France. 

Cristiano Ronaldo’s side 

were narrow winners over 

the hosts, a superb longrange 

strike from substitute 

Eder in extra time proving 

to be the only goal over the 

course of 120 tensionfuelled 

minutes. 

It sparked wild 

celebrations for manager 

Infantino 


Pinnick met Infantino 

for talks in Paris on 

Sunday. 

“The Fifa president and 

secretary-general will 

arrive in the Federal 

Capital Territory, Abuja, 

on Sunday 24th July on 

a two-day working visit to 

Nigeria,” Pinnick said on 

the NFF website. 

The statement said the 

Fifa officials will meet 

Nigeria’s President 

Muhammadu Buhari and 

hold a meeting “with a 

legion of African FA 

there is to be done. What 

happens from here I 

cannot say for now. 

“Even at the moment, we 

are not sure of sending a 

team to the world junior 

championships,” said 

Ogba. AFN technical 

director, Navy Commodore 

Omatseye Nesiama drove 

the point home, stating that 

the athletes will be sent 

home if nothing was forth 

coming. 

“We have our team 

already and are supposed 

to go on the phase two 

preparations. But if we 

don’t have money to run 

our camp then we will send 

the athletes home.” 

Action returns in Federation Cup 

THE Round of 16 

matches of the men’s 

competition and the quarter 

–final matches of the 

women’s event of this year’s 

Federation Cup will take 

place Tuesday, 12th July and 

Wednesday, 13th July 2016. 

Sunshine Stars of Akure go 

up against Akwa United in 

Makurdi on Tuesday, 12th 

July as Crown FC of 

Ogbomosho and Enugu 

Rangers go for a tug in 

Kaduna on the same day. 

Rivers United and 

Shooting Stars of Ibadan are 

at each other’s jugular at the 

Ahmadu Bello Stadium, 

Kaduna on Wednesday, 

13th July, as Wikki Tourists 

of Bauchi battle Plateau 

United in Akure in other all – 

NPFL clashes. 

NPFL side FC IfeanyiUbah 

will take on Katsina United at 

the Kwara Sports Complex, 

Ilorin on Wednesday, 13th 

July while Nasarawa United 

will test might with Dynamite 

FC of Benin City at the 

Confluence Stadium, Lokoja 

on the same day. 

Fernando Santos and his 

team, the party continuing 

both before the squad flew 

back to Portugal and on 

arrival into Lisbon. Once 

landing back home, 

Ronaldo and the rest of the 

Portugal squad boarded an 

open top bus as the party 

showed no signs of 

stopping. 

For Ronaldo, lifting 

silverware with his country 

was the icing on the cake 

of his already glittering 

career and the Real 

Madrid star was more than 

keen to show off his latest 

success. 

The 31-year-old forward 

displayed the trophy to fans 

presidents, who are 

expected in Nigeria” at 

the same time. 

Nigeria is seen as one 

of the giants of African 

football even though the 

Super Eagles failed to 

qualify for the Africa Cup 

of Nations finals for the 

second time in 

succession. 

The NFF has been 

dogged by factional 

disputes over its 

leadership and Fifa has 

threatened Nigeria with 

suspension from 

international competition 

because of irregularities 

in the leadership voting 

process. 

•Regina George 

outside Portugal’s team 

hotel in Marcoussis on the 

outskirts of the French 

capital, clearly still 

delighted after an 

emotional evening. 

Once aboard the plane, 

Ronaldo posted a series of 

pictures to Instagram as 

both he and the squad 

continued their 

celebrations with the 

trophy. 

The squad’s aircraft was 

even flanked by fighter jets 

as they made the short 

journey back home, with 

Joao Moutinho posting a 

video to his Instagram 

page. 

On arrival into Lisbon, 

Portugal were welcomed 

by a stunning reception as 

they made their way off the 

plane before embarking 

on an open-top bus 

parade. 

Ronaldo 


over France 

The Real Madrid star 

finished second, behind 

Antoine Griezmann, in 

the race to be crowned 

the top scorer at Euro 

2016 and Ronaldo 

clearly isn’t interested in 

the runner-up gong. 

Valencia winger Nani 

took to social media 

following Portugal’s 1-0 

extra-time win over 

France in the final of the 

showpiece tournament 

to express his delight at 

Ronaldo giving him the 

award as a “gift”. 

Still, Ronaldo could 

well need the extra 

space in the trophy 

cabinet soon, with the 

31-year-old now oddson 

favourite to win the 

2016 Ballon d’Or. 

Edo FA appoints Omorodion 

Media Director 

V ANGUARD man, 

Patrick Omorodion 

has been appointed the 

Media Director of the 

forthcoming Edo @ 25 

Football Tournament by the 

Edo State Football 

Association. 

In a letter conveying the 

appointment to Mr. 

Omorodion, Chairman of 

the Edo Football 

association, Mr. Frank 

Ilaboya said that the 

appointment was based on 

“your commitment to sports 

in Edo state, your high 

sense of integrity and your 

reputation in sports 

journalism that spans over 

two decades”. 

“I hope you will bring to 

bear, your wealth of 

experience and your wide 

contacts in the industry to 

Sharapova’s Olympics dream over 

FIVE-time Grand 

Slam champion 

Maria Sharapova will 

miss next month’s Rio 

Olympics after the 

appeal ruling of her twoyear 

doping ban was 

postponed until 

September. 

The Court of 

Arbitration for Sport in 

Lausanne, Switzerland 

announced Monday that 

Sharapova and the 

International Tennis 

Federation agreed to 

defer the decision. The 

ruling was expected by 

next Monday, but a 

verdict is now expected 

by Sept. 19, the court 

said. 

“Due to the parties 

requiring additional 

time to complete and 

respond to their 

•Sharapova 

respective evidentiary 

submissions, and 

several scheduling 

conflicts, the parties 

have agreed not to 

expedite the appeal,” 

CAS said in the 

statement. 

Sharapova’s lawyer, 

John Haggerty, said the 

decision was by mutual 

agreement. 

“CAS is the court of 

final appeal and this 

extension will be 

helpful,” Haggerty said 

in a statement. 

Mata 


will all be shifted out by 

the Special One, the 

Daily Record report. 

Popular attacking 

midfielder Mata was 

sold to United by the 

then-Chelsea manager 

Mourinho in January 

2014, and the same fate 

is set to befall him just 

two-and-a-half years on. 

Mourinho is 

unconvinced by Mata’s 

stamina, pace and, 

crucially, his defensive 

ability, and the club’s 

recruitment of rightsided 

attacker Henrikh 

Mkhitaryan is ominous 

for Mata, who was 

mainly deployed on the 

right wing by Louis van 

Gaal over the past two 

seasons. 

Rojo was Van Gaal’s 

headline defensive 

signing in the 

Dutchman’s first summer 

at the club, costing €20m 

from Sporting Lisbon 

make this tournament a 

successful one,” the EDO 

FA bossed stressed. 

In accepting the 

appointment, Mr. 

Omorodion thanked Edo 

FA for deeming him fit to 

be Media Director of the 

competition being 

organised to mark the 

silver jubilee of the 

creation of the state known 

for its sports prowess. 

“I promise, as 

demanded of me, to pick a 

media team that will make 

the tournament a 

household name, not only 

to Edo people but 

Nigerians in general. I 

look forward to a good 

working relationship with 

you for the progress of 

football in Edo State,”he 

said. 

Omeruo says goodbye to 

Chelsea, joins Besiktas 

NIGERIA 

international 

Kenneth 

Omeruo will say his final 

goodbye to Premier 

League club Chelsea 

this week to join Turkish 

champions Besiktas after 

the London club turned 

down last-ditch offer 

from a Spanish La Liga 

club. 

Omeruo and his 

representatives are 

expected to jet out from 

London this week to 

finalise his personal 

terms with Besiktas after 

both clubs agreed the 

switch. 

“Kenneth’s transfer to 

Besiktas is virtually 

completed with only the 

Turkish club to agree his 

personal terms and this 

will be sorted out this 

week when the player is 

there to do his medical,” 

a source informed. 

plus the free loan of 

former United Player of 

the Year Nani on heavily 

subsidised wages. 

The Argentina 

international – acquired 

on the strength of his 

2014 World Cup 

performances – could 

not command a 

guaranteed starting 

place either at left or 

centre back, ultimately 

being reduced to 16 

league appearances last 

season. 

Schweinsteiger’s cutprice 

€9m transfer fee 

underlined Bayern 

Munich’s willingness to 

divorce themselves from 

the Germany 

international’s top-level 

salary and failing 

physique. After 

struggling to make 82 

Bundesliga starts in the 

four preceding seasons, 

the midfielder managed 

only 13 in the Premier 

League before 

succumbing to injury 

again in April.

Vanguard, TUESDAY, JULY 12, 2016 

Mammoth crowd welcomes 

Portugal 

PORTUGAL’S Euro 

2016 heroes 

continued celebrating 


VICTORY PARTY...The crowds were delighted to welcome home the players, craning to get a glimpse 

of Ronaldo and Co during the victory parade 

Infantino to meet President Buhari 

FIFA 

president 

Gianni Infantino 

will meet senior football 

association leaders from 

across Africa on a twoday 

working visit to 

Nigeria in July. 

The Nigeria Football 

Federation (NFF) said 

on Monday Infantino 

will arrive in Abjua on 24 

TOD 

ODAY'S PUZZLE 

July and will meet “a 

legion of African FA 

presidents”. 

Infantino, elected in 

February this year, will 

be accompanied by new 

Fifa secretary-general 

Fatma Samoura. 

NFF president Amaju 


YESTERDAY'S 

ANSWERS 

ACROSS 

1 Pace (4) 

4 Groove (3) 

6 Excursion (4) 

8 Obvious (6) 

9 Scare (6) 

10 Sprite (3) 

12 Slumber (5) 

14 Stub (5) 

15 Demise (5) 

18 Deflect (6) 

20 About (6) 

24 Go in (5) 

26 Composition (5) 

28 Ventured (5) 

30 Agent (3) 

32 Stage (6) 

33 Evoke (6) 

34 Remain (4) 

35 Chart (3) 

36 Want (4) 

DOWN 

2 Track (5) 

3 Lead (7) 

4 Ceremony (4) 

5 Quarrel (4) 

6 Screw (5) 

7 Brutal (7) 

11 Illuminated (3) 

12 Mournful (3) 

13 For each (3) 

16 Consumed (3) 

17 Headgear (5) 

19 Examine (7) 

21 Colour (3) 

22 Speech (7) 

23 Performed (3) 

25 Pinch (3) 

27 Dress (5) 

29 Chosen (5) 

30 Appear (4) 

31 Yap (4) 

Portugal’s players continued their Euro 2016 

celebrations on Monday morning before boarding 

a plane home to carry on partying 

Ronaldo gives Nani his 

Euro 2016 Silver Boot 

THE Valencia winger, 

Nani has posted on 

social media to thank his 

former Manchester 

Mourinho to put Mata, 

Schweinsteigar, Rojo for sale 

JOSE Mourinho will 

sell four big name 

Manchester United 

players this summer as 

he continues his 

rebuilding job of the 

club’s first-team squad. 

Juan Mata, Marcos 

Rojo, Daley Blind and 

Bastian Schweinsteiger 


‘Don’t 

abscond 

in Rio’ 

—p.46 

•Infantino •President Buhari •Mata 

QUICK CROSSWORD 

United teammate for the 

gift following Portugal’s 

Euro 2016 final triumph 


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. 

ACROSS: 1, Reign 5, Letter 8, Radio 10, Allege 

11, Aged 14, Notice 15, Persist 18, Den 19, Era 

21, Rest 23, Drape 24, Sect 27, Tip 29, Rat 31, 

Teasing 32, Soiled 34, Bear 35, Soaked 38, Avert 

39, Mostly 40, Berth. 

YESTERDAY'S SOLUTIONS 

DOWN: 2, Eel 3, Grease 4, Nag 5, Loan 6, 

Teeter 7, Recent 9, Dessert 12, God 13, Dine 

16, Ease 17, Trait 20, Appease 22, Span 24, 

System 25, Crib 26, Talent 28, Estate 30, Tea 

33, Dray 36, Orb 37, Eft. 

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

4544821. Abuja Advert Hotline: 09-2921024. E-mail: editor@vanguardngr.com, news@vanguardngr.com, letters@vanguardngr.com. Advert:advertproduction@yahoo.com 

Website: www.vanguardngr.com (ISSN 0794-652X) Editor: MIDENO BAYAGBON. Phone: 01-7742861, All correspondence to P.M.B. 1007, Apapa Lagos.

Sex scandal: US envoy to present video evidence

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