08112018 - Oshiomhole's tango with DSS worsens APC crisis

Buhari, 

Buhari to take ASUU: Honour agreements 

decision on 

Uduaghan, 

reached with lecturers now, 

minimum wage 

others mourn 

Senate tells FG 

to probe SIP, soon – Lai 

SURE-P 8 Mohammed 8 

•Govt hasn’t invited us for 

Sunny Odogwu 

negotiation – ASUU president 9 

500,000 jobs created through Anchor Borrowers Programme —CBN 

Rowdy session, 

13 

as Senate sets 

up 7-man c’ttee 

20 

VOL. 26: NO. 63676 THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2018 

Oshiomhole's tango with 

DSS worsens APC crisis 

•APC chairman quizzed, adamant in encounter with DSS 

•Buhari unaware; orders investigation into development 

•Party, DSS deny Oshiomhole’s travails; APC govs split 

SEE STORY 

PAGE 5 

Innoson Vs 

GTB: Call 

EFCC to 

order, 

Anambra 

monarchs 

tell Buhari 

34 

EKWEREMADU: 

S-East govs 

reject police 

report 15 

Court shuts 

down 5 

banks in 

Imo over 

Ohakim’s 

pay 34 

Herdsmen 

kidnap 4 

Catholic 

priests in 

Delta 6 

WHEN ROYALS MEET... 

AWARD: 

From left, MD, Seplat 

Petroleum, Mr. Austin Avuru, 

Chairman Seplat, Dr. ABC 

Orjiako, Executive Secretary, 

Nigerian Content Development 

and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), 

Engr. Simbi Wabote, and Minister 

of State for Petroleum Resources, 

Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu after 

Wabote received a Global Award 

of Excellence for contributions to 

Local Content Development in 

Nigeria and across the Africa’s Oil 

and Gas Industry, on Tuesday at 

the ongoing African Oil Week 

(AOW) in Cape Town, South 

Africa. 

COLUMNISTS ADAMU 17 AMAECHI 40 GAMBO DORI 17 

Oba of Benin, 

OmoN'oba N'Edo, Uku 

Akpolopolo, His Royal 

Majesty, Ewuare II, 

discussing with Prince 

of Wales, Charles, 

during a meeting of the 

Prince with Traditional 

Rulers as part of the 

three-day visit by the 

British Royal Family to 

Nigeria at the residence 

of the British High 

Commissioner to 

Nigeria in Maitama, 

Abuja. Photo: Abayomi 

Adeshida. 

SEE MORE PICTURES 

ON PAGE 39. 

Naira up to 

N363.58/$ 

in I&E 

window 

Mr & Mrs 

41

2—VANGUARD, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2018

VANGUARD, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2018—3


vanguardnews @vanguardnews @vanguardnews 

Vanguard, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2018—5 

POCKET CARTOON 

BOOK PRESENTATION—From left: The Author and celebrant, retired General Martin-Luther Agwai; 

Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III; Chairman of the occasion, Alhaji Bashir Tofa; Prof. Pat 

Utomi and Provost, Centre for Strategic Research and Studies, National Defence College, Abuja, Amb. 

Chijioke Wigwe, during a symposium and book presentation to mark the 70th birthday of retired 

General Martin-Luther Agwai, in Abuja, yesterday. Photo: NAN. 

Oshiomhole's tango with DSS 

worsens APC crisis 

By Emmanuel 

Aziken, Political 

Editor, Omeiza 

Ajayi & Dirisu 

Yakubu 

ABUJA— The 

Department of 

State Services, 

DSS, has reportedly been 

dragged into the crisis in 

the All Progressives 

Congress, APC, leading 

to a stand-off between 

chairman of the party, 

Adams Oshiomhole, and 

the security agency. 

The development has 

also worsened the crisis of 

confidence among APC 

governors. 

The governors, 

Vanguard gathered 

yesterday, were miffed 

with the action of two 

southern governors who 

lost out in the recent 

primaries. 

Some governors, it was 

gathered, instigated 

Oshiomhole’s 

interrogation by the DSS 

for hours last Sunday. A 

key aim of the 

interrogation, Vanguard 

learned, was for 

Oshiomhole to resign. 

The national chairman, 

however, stood his 

ground, saying he will 

only resign before the 

President. 

President Muhammadu 

Buhari, who did not get 

to know about the 

interrogation until 

Oshiomhole visited him 

after leaving his 

interrogators, has 

reportedly ordered an 

investigation. 

Meanwhile, the Peoples 

Democratic Party, PDP, 

stepped into the fray, last 

night, as it accused 

President Buhari of 

shielding Oshiomhole 

who the opposition party 

claimed carried baggage 

from his days as governor 

of Edo State. 

The DSS, Vanguard 

gathered, had on Sunday 

interrogated Oshiomhole 

for some hours concerning 

the recent primaries of the 

party. 

How 

Oshiomhole 

called DSS bluff 

Oshiomhole was said to 

have reportedly rebuffed 

several efforts to deepen 

the interrogation as he 

vowed that he would 

rather sleep in the DSS 

office than answer more of 

their questions. 

There were indications 

that issues flowing from 

his past may have been 

brought up in what one 

source yesterday 

described as a well 

planned civilian coup that 

was orchestrated to ease 

him out of office. 

A source privy to the 

development said the 

former Edo governor 

stood his ground and 

used “streetwise sense of 

a former activist” to rebuff 

the claims of inducement 

and other weighty 

allegations made against 

him. 

Oshiomhole, it was 

learned, refused 

entreaties to sign the 

resignation paper that 

was put to him asserting 

that he would not do so 

since he still had the 

confidence of the 

president. 

“He was held for hours, 

but he stubbornly refused 

to cave in,” the source 

said. 

Following the 

interrogation, the party 

chairman went to the 

president, who it was 

learned, expressed his 

ignorance of the 

interrogation of the 

national chairman. 

A source said, yesterday, 

that investigation over the 

issue had been ordered. 

I’m not aware — 

DSS spokesman 

DSS spokesman, Mr. 

Peter Afunanya, 

yesterday, claimed 

ignorance of the 

interrogation of Comrade 

Oshiomhole when 

contacted yesterday. 

“I am not aware of what 

you are saying,” Mr. 

Afunanya said yesterday. 

Vanguard, however, 

learned that the 

questioning of 

Oshiomhole took place on 

Sunday shortly after he 

returned from Edo State 

for a domestic 

engagement. 

Oshiomhole’s 

ordeal divides 

APC govs 

The interrogation of 

Oshiomhole, Vanguard 

gathered, has worsened 

the crisis in the party with 

governors aligned to the 

national chairman 

rebuking their two 

southern colleagues who 

reportedly orchestrated 

what one source said was 

a ‘well orchestrated 

Continues on Page 41 

By Ebun Sessou, Yinka Latona, 

Tade Oluwapelumi, Miriam Elibe & 

Chisom Nwangwu 

Is the pledge of reducing fuel price to N90 realistic? (2) 

It is not enough to 

promise, the 

candidate of the party 

must come forward to 

convince the electorate 

that the promise would 

become a reality. 

Looking at the pledge, 

I don't want to believe it 

would be difficult to 

achieve. But politicians 

are sometimes difficult 

people. 

Mr. Michael Orodare 

Multimedia strategist. 

The promise of 

reducing the price of fuel 

to N90 can be 

achieved.The price of 

fuel was between N80 

and N90 because of the 

subsidy that the 

government was paying 

at the time. 

If the price was less 

when we were paying 

subsidy, it is possible for 

it to be reduced now 

Miss Ejiro Ayadju 

Accountant 

It is impossible given 

that our economy is in 

a terrible state. How will 

they finance the fuel 

price reduction regime? 

It is a political statement 

that should not be seen 

as a serious statement. 

They should just 

concentrate on their 

political campaign and 

stop making promises. 

Miss Ogbede Tosin 

Worker 

Iconsider it as one of 

t h e 

lies they tell whenever 

an election is 

approaching. The only 

way to get cheaper fuel 

is to get the refineries 

working. They should be 

thinking of how to fix the 

refineries instead of 

telling lies.We are tired 

of empty promises. We 

want to know the plans 

they have for the 

refineries.Mr. Nelson 

Ekunjimi, Analyst 

It is an empty 

promise. They ruled 

us for 16 years and kept 

on increasing the fuel 

price. There is nothing 

to show for the past 16 

yeàrs they ruled. The 

truth must be told that 

they have failed 

Nigerians and I don’t 

expect Nigerians to 

believe that the price of 

fuel would be reduced. 

Prince Jumah Afegbua, 

Businessman 

This is Nigeria, every 

politician tries to 

entice the electorate with 

various empty promises. 

We heard more than this 

in the build up to the 

2015 election. But 

Nigeria is in a very bad 

situation despite the 

promises that were made. 

Nigerians are wiser now. 

They should focus on 

their political 

ambition.Mr. Odokunrin 

Olarewaju 

Student

6—Vanguard, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2018 

Customs 

officers kill 

passer-by in 

Ogun 

By Daud Olatunji 

ABEOKUTA—THERE was 

pandemonium, yesterday, in 

Ebute community on Oja- Odan 

road, Yewa North local 

government area of Ogun state, 

as operatives of Nigeria Customs 

Service reportedly shot dead a 25- 

year-old man, identified as 

Kehinde. 

The deceased, a farmer, said to 

be the son of a retired military 

officer was allegedly shot dead 

on his way to farm by men of the 

Nigerian Customs Service in 

search of smugglers in the area. 

An eye-witness told Vanguard 

that the customs officers stormed 

the area to arrest some smugglers, 

who had fled before their arrival, 

yesterday morning. 

He said, “They accused the 

deceased, who was holding a 

cutlass and on his way to the 

farm, of being a smuggler and 

reportedly shot him to death.” 

The customs officers reportedly 

fled the scene leaving the corpse 

behind; they returned minutes 

later with 15 patrol vehicles to 

carry the corpse but were stopped 

by some army officers believed 

to have been contacted by the 

deceased’s father. 

The body was later taken to Ilaro 

general hospital morgue while 

the residents of the community 

demanded justice. 

When contacted, the state 

Public Relations Officer of NCS, 

Abdulah Maiwada, confirmed 

the incident, saying the 

operatives were in the area to trail 

a military truck being smuggled 

into the country through the area. 

Maiwada said “Officers of 

Nigeria Customs Service Ogun 

Command on routine patrol 

based on credible intelligence at 

about 0830hours trailed a military 

truck-head smuggled into 

Nigeria and kept at Ebute 

Community. 

“ In an attempt to secure the 

said vehicle, some unscrupulous 

members of the community 

mobilized themselves by blocking 

the access road and started 

pelting our personnel with 

stones, bottles, cutlasses, sticks 

and other dangerous items. 

“Considering the implication of 

such truck to national security, 

our officers resisted and called for 

reinforcement to cordon the area 

for the safe evacuation of the 

truck. 

“Unfortunately, during the 

encounter, one of the hoodlums 

was shot in pelvic girdle and 

consequently died. 

“Meanwhile, normalcy has 

since returned with intervention 

of Police and Military personnel. 

The truck has been secured at 

Customs House Abeokuta for 

further investigation. 

“Finally, we wish to commend 

the patriotic role of our sister 

Some of suspected killers of Dr. Maiwada Galadima, the traditional ruler of Adara Kingdom, Kaduna State, paraded by 

Department of State Services, yesterday. 

Herdsmen kidnap 4 Catholic priests in Delta 

By Jimitota Onoyume 

& Peter Duru 

THE kidnappers of the four 

Reverend Fathers at 

Uronigbe, a border community 

between Delta and Edo states 

on the Abraka-Agbor Road 

have established contact with 

the church and the immediate 

families of those kidnapped. 

The four priests were 

kidnapped on Tuesday by 

suspected herdsmen on their 

way to Ekpoma in Edo State. 

The clergymen were 

reportedly in four vehicles, but 

the kidnappers forced two of the 

vehicles to a halt, ordering the 

occupants to alight. 

Vanguard gathered that one 

of those whisked away by the 

kidnappers is Reverend Father 

Emmanuel Obadjere in charge 

of St. Williams Catholic Church 

in Orerokpe, the administrative 

headquarters of Okpe Local 

Government Area of Delta 

State. 

A source said: “Father 

Obadjere was travelling with 

his clergy friends to Ekpoma for 

their school’s old students 

meeting. They were in four 

vehicles. 

“The kidnappers, who looked 

like herdsmen, could not track 

the first two cars in front. But 

stopped the other two vehicles 

from where they took the 

occupants away and 

abandoning the vehicles the 

Priests were driving in. 

“So it was the priests in the 

other vehicles that alerted other 

Priests in Warri Diocese of the 

development. 

It was gathered that two of the 

Priests are from Benin 

archdiocese, one from Abuja 

and the other from Warri 

Diocese” 

Confirming the incident 

yesterday, Delta State Police 

Commissioner, Mr. Mustafa 

Mohammad, said the 

kidnappers have established 

contact with the church and the 

immediate families of those 

kidnapped. 

“The kidnappers have started 

calling, but you know, we do 

not encourage paying a 

ransom. We will definitely 

ensure that they are released. 

One suspect has been arrested 

within the area of the incident,” 

the CP said.” 

Meanwhile, Governor 

Samuel Ortom of Benue State 

has condemned the kidnap of 

the Priests, asking Nigerians 

to rise in condemnation of the 

persistent attacks on innocent 

people, particularly the current 

spate of violence against the 

By Esther Onyegbula 

THE reportedly drunk 

policeman caught on 

camera around Akowonjo, 

Dopemu area of Lagos State, 

was dismissed by the Police 

authorities yesterday. 

However, the 42-year-old 

Police officer, Kadima Useni, 

with force number 176219, has 

said he does not take alcoholic 

drinks, but only seized the said 

bottle from some Police officers’ 

children. 

A video footage of Useni, who 

was attached to Mobile Force 

Squadron 22 Base, Ikeja, 

holding an alcoholic drink bottle 

had gone viral on social media. 

A Police source said: “The 

Inspector-General, Ibrahim 

Idris, directed the state 

Commissioner of Police, 

Imohimi Edgal, to fish out the 

erring policeman for 

appropriate disciplinary 

action.” 

The source said when the 

erring policeman was 

eventually fished out, he denied 

drinking. 

clergy. 

The Governor in a 

statement by his Chief Press 

Secretary, CPS, Terver 

Akase, said “till date the 

people of Benue State are 

still mourning the killing of 

two Catholic Priests and 17 

worshippers by herdsmen in 

Mbalom, Gwer East Local 

Government Area of the 

State, earlier this year. 

“I urge security agencies to act 

swiftly to ensure the release of 

the kidnapped priests in Delta 

State. 

“I call on other Nigerians to 

rise in condemnation of the 

persistent attacks on innocent 

people, particularly the current 

spate of violence against the 

clergy.” 

I don’t drink, says Police officer 

dismissed over alcohol viral video 

By Dayo Johnson 

AKURE—TWO infants, 

Bamidele Rasheed and 

Marvellous James, have 

reportedly been swept away by 

flood in Akure, the Ondo State 

capital. 

Vanguard gathered that the 

victims were swept away 

during a downpour which 

lasted for about an hour in the 

The source reported that 

Useni, who was looking 

very sober and remorseful, 

said he does not drink. 

The source quoted Useni 

as saying “I don’t drink 

alcohol. I only 

collected a 

bottle from 

the children 

of police 

officers, who 

were carrying 

it. Later, I 

returned 

it. It 

Kadima Useni 

didn’t occur to me that I was 

been videoed, while I held 

Akure metropolis. 

Eyewitness account said 

that incident happened 

separately in Oke-Aro area 

of the metropolis same 

day. 

Seven years old Bamidele 

was said to have left his 

parents house to visit a 

friend before the rain 

started but reportedly fell 

into a stream behind the “B 

the bottle.” 

Confirming the incident, the 

spokesperson of Lagos State 

Police Command, CSP Chike 

Oti, said when the officer was 

arrested and during 

interrogation, he affirmed that 

he was the one in the video. 

He said: “He was, therefore, 

tried in an orderly room trial and 

summarily dismissed to serve as 

a deterrent to others.” 

Oti added that Edgal also 

directed the officer in charge of 

the Command Provost Section 

to identify and shut all beer 

parlours within the Police 

community in the state 

to prevent reoccurrence. 

He added that “in 

the same vein, the 

CP warns against 

members of the 

public offering 

policemen 

alcoholic drinks 

while on duty. He 

said henceforth, 

any policeman found 

drunk on duty will be visited 

with similar punishment.” 

2 infants swept away by flood in Ondo 

Division” police station on his 

way home, just as Marvellous 

was reported to have gone to 

empty refuse into the stream 

before being swept away. 

Vanguard learnt that the 

mother of Marvellous, who 

collapsed on hearing of what 

happened to her daughter, 

said she never asked her to 

dispose of the refuse in the 

stream.


Man slumps, dies at Lagos airport 

By Lawani Mikairu 

A 

passenger with Etihad 

Airways, Mr. Ademola 

Adekele, slumped, yesterday, 

and died at the Murtala 

Muhammed International 

Airport, MMIA, Lagos. 

The dead passenger was to 

board flight EY674 (AUH) billed 

for departure at 09:55a.m. But it 

was gathered that the 

passenger, who arrived the 

airport early, suddenly slumped, 

gasping for breath. 

According to an eyewitness, 

A 

pan-Isoko social media 

advocacy group, Umeh Need 

Road Forum, UNR, has donated 

relief materials to about 2,540 

internally-displaced persons in 

Isoko South and Isoko North Local 

Government areas of Delta State. 

Some of the relief materials 

distributed include fumigation 

chemicals, baby diapers, sanitary 

pads, note books for the children, 

drugs, tooth brushes and paste, 

among other. 

Mr. Edafe Ekoko led members 

of the advocacy group on behalf 

of the committee chairman to 

immediately he slumped, an 

unnamed Air Peace passenger 

tried to revive him by pumping 

his chest, “but he did not respond 

to the first aid treatment,” before 

the arrival of the Port Health 

officials, who immediately 

applied oxygen on him. 

“But it was discovered that 

none of his vital signals were 

responding to treatment. At about 

07:55a.m., Federal Airports 

Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, 

ambulance arrived to move the 

remains of the diseased to Lagos 

State University Teaching 

Ogun Police nab fake traditional ruler, 

7 others for robbery, kidnapping 

By Daud Olatunji 

ABEOKUTA—MEN of Ogun 

State Police Command have 

arrested a fake traditional ruler, 

Dele Obey, alongside seven 

other members of a trans-border 

car snatching and kidnapping 

syndicate. 

The fake traditional ruler, who 

confessed to being a Beninese, 

arrested alongside his 

accomplice, Bayo Quaheeb, were 

said to be working for one Papa, 

an alleged receiver of stolen cars 

in the Republic of Benin. 

Parading the suspects yesterday 

in Abeokuta, the state 

Commissioner of Police, Ahmed 

Iliyasu, said the syndicate 

operated in Ogun, Oyo, Lagos, 

Abuja and the Republic of 

Benin. 

He said eleven exotic cars, 

mainly Toyota Corolla, and arms 

were recovered from the 

suspects. 

Narrating how the suspects 

were nabbed, the commissioner 

of police said the fake traditional 

ruler used a fake customized 

number plate with inscription ‘ 

IDPs get relief materials in Isoko 

present the relief materials to the 

victims of more than 700 

households. 

He explained that the relief 

materials were part of the social 

responsibility of the group to 

ameliorate the sufferings of IDPs 

across Isoko nation. 

Speaking, one of the chairmen 

of the internally displaced persons, 

Vincent Oguafor, said government 

and non-governmental 

organisations have been giving 

them assistance, adding, “so we 

thank them so much for their kind 

gesture.” 

Hospital, LASUTH, for proper 

medical checks and 

examination, which also 

proved negative. 

“The passenger was with 

international passport 

number A08086990 and was 

billed to check in at the D- 

Wing Departure Hall of the 

airport.” 

Mrs. Yakubu Henrietta, 

General Manager, Corporate 

Communications, FAAN, 

confirmed the death, but said 

he was yet to be checked in at 

the time of the incident. 

... as fake herbalist allegedly swindles 

woman of N14,500 for charm 

A25-year-old fake herbalist, 

Afirosi Akinsola, 

yesterday, appeared in an Ota 

Magistrates’ Court in Ogun for 

allegedly swindling one 

Blessing Oladele of N14.500 

for the preparation of a 

“protection” charm for her. 

Akinsola who lives at No. 8 

Damola St., Atan, Ota, is 

Jagunmolu’ holding a horse tail 

with traditional ruler attire to beat 

the security at the checkpoint before 

he and his other members were 

arrested. 

Iliyasu also explained that the 

arrest of one of the principal 

suspects, Olawale Olalekan, and 

his accomplice, Danladi Isah, led 

to the arrest of other members of 

the gang. 

The CP said Olawale was 

arrested for snatching a 

motorcycle and selling it to a 

buyer at Ilara, Imeko-Afon Local 

Government Area of the state. 

Iliyasu said during 

interrogation, Olawale confessed 

that he was a homosexual and 

had slept with two yahoo boys 

(internet fraudsters) and was 

paid N50,000 per night. 

After the alleged confession, he 

said the suspect started vomiting 

blood, and was rushed to the 

hospital for medical attention, 

and later released on 

compassionate ground. 

The CP, however, expressed 

shock when Olawale was rearrested 

during a police 

facing two counts of obtaining 

money under false pretence 

and threat to life. 

The prosecutor, Sgt. Chudu 

Gbesi told the court that the 

accused committed the offences 

on Oct. 25 at about 10 a. m. at 

Olounda, Atan, Ota. 

Gbesi said that the accused 

collected N14.500 from the 

operation to foil an 

impending robbery attack on 

financial institutions in 

Abeokuta metropolis. 

His arrest led to the 

apprehension of other 

members of the gang. 

Other members of the gang 

include two siblings, Tobi 

Adeosun and the only female 

member of the gang, Yetunde 

Adeosun, Oluwatosin 

Abayomi, and Abel Womiloju. 

Two alleged receivers of 

stolen cars in Nigeria, 

according to the police boss 

were Endurance Odiawa and 

Kingsley Opara. 

The CP explained that one 

of the alleged receivers of 

stolen vehicles by the gang, 

Endurance Odiawa, was 

arrested in Abuja. 

He added that the two 

Beninese who were sent by 

Papa to come to Ogun State to 

receive another “proceed of 

crime to his base in the Republic 

of Benin” were promptly 

arrested at Sango Ota. 

He said efforts were on to 

arrest the kingpin in the 

Republic of Benin. 

complainant, with a promise 

to prepare a charm for her 

for protection. 

He said that when the 

complainant asked the 

accused to return her money 

when he failed to deliver the 

charm, he threatened her. 

He said that the offences 

contravened Sections 86 and 

419 of the Criminal Code 

Vol. 1, Laws of Ogun State, 

2006. 

The accused, however, 

pleaded not guilty to the 

charge. 

The Senior Magistrate, Mr 

G. E. Akan, granted the 

accused bail in the sum of 

N5, 000 with two sureties in 

like sum. 

Akan ordered that the 

sureties must reside within 

the court’s jurisdiction and 

be gainfully employed, with 

evidence of tax payment to 

Ogun State government. 

The case was adjourned 

until Nov. 21 for further 

hearing. 

... with Emma'nKen (08163121378) 

It's throwback Thursday! Say who these 

heavyweights are and win a prize! 

Entertainment moguls 

Renowned dramatist, prof, poet, 

mental health care advocate 

... and raise your hand if you used 

lucozade paper to make it coloured TV



NEWS HOTLINES 

018773962, 

08052867058 

Malfunctioning microphones 

stall Reps plenary 

By Emman 

Ovuakporie 

ABUJA—THE House of 

Representatives 

plenary was, yesterday, 

stalled due to 

malfunctioning 

microphones in the 

chamber. 

Since resumption last 

Tuesday, the microphones 

in the front rows had 

developed faults that made 

lawmakers swap positions 

A 

B 

U J A — 

FOLLOWING 

the recent earth tremors 

experienced in Abuja, the 

House of Representatives 

has mandated its 

Committee on 

Environment to interface 

with the Ministry of 

Environment and other 

relevant agencies to 

ascertain the level of 

monitoring and 

compliance with world 

global standards in 

blasting, mining and 

borehole drilling in the 

country. 

Alerting Federal 

Government of possible 

earthquakes in four states 

of the federation, the 

House agreed that mining 

activities and borehole 

drilling had been 

during debate. 

The front row seats, 

which accommodates 

principal officers, finally 

broke down during 

plenary, with the Presiding 

Officer, Yakubu Dogara, 

adjourning plenary to 

today. 

“It would take three 

weeks for the microphones 

the House ordered to 

arrive and we have to 

manage till then,’’ he 

explained. 

… as Reps put MDAs on 

alert over earth tremors 

By Levinus 

Nwabughiogu 

By Michael Eboh 

& Jemimah Paul 

NATIONAL Human 

Right Commission, 

NHRC, yesterday, said it 

would monitor the trial of 

suspects in the rape and 

eventual death of 13-year 

old Ochanya Ogbanje in 

Benue State. 

Ochanya died of 

Vesicovaginal Fistula, 

VVF, as a result of a fiveyear 

rape ordeal by father 

and son, Mr. Andrew 

Ogbuja and Victor 

Ogbuja, respectively, 

since she was eight years 

old. 

Speaking in Abuja at a 

forum organised by 

National Council for 

Women Society, NCWS, 

and El- Meela Heritage 

Support Foundation, EL- 

MHSF, Executive 

Secretary of NHRC, Mr. 

Anthony Ojukwu, said the 

commission will provide 

the necessary support to 

ensure the suspects are 

brought to book. 

Also speaking, President 

identified by experts to be 

the latent cause of the 

seismic movement 

e x p e r i e n c e d 

underground. 

The mandate was 

courtesy of a motion, 

entitled The Need to 

Forestall Impending 

Earthquake in Nigeria 

brought under matter of 

urgent public importance 

by Johnson Oghuma from 

Edo State. 

Another lawmaker, 

Awanje Abiante, from 

Rivers State, called for a 

holistic approach , saying 

“if people don’t drill 

borehole, how will they 

survive when government 

has failed to provide 

water?” 

The committee was 

given six weeks within 

which to conclude its 

assignment and report 

back to the House. 

We'll monitor Ochanya 

Ogbanje's rape case—NHRC 

and Founder of EL-MHSF, 

Jamila Eneika, tasked 

Attorney General of the 

Federation and Minister of 

Justice to see to the quick 

and speedy enforcement 

of justice for Ochanya. 

On her part, President 

of NCWS, Benue State 

chapter, Mrs. Grace 

Okochi, expressed 

sadness over the inhuman 

treatment meted out on the 

deceased. 

By Johnbosco 

Agbakwuru 

A BUJA—FEDERAL 

Government said, 

yesterday, that President 

Muhammadu Buhari will 

soon review the report of 

the Minimum Wage 

Tripartite Committee 

submitted to him on 

Tuesday, and make his 

decision known to the 

committee. 

Minister of Information 

and Culture, Alhaji Lai 

Mohammed, disclosed this 

EKITI EXECUTIVE COUNCIL: From left— Attorney-General /Commissioner for Justice, 

Mr. Wale Fapohunda; Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Dapo Kolawole; Secretary to the State Government, 

Mr. Abiodun Oyebanji; Chief of Staff, Abiodun Omoleye, and Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Yinka Oyebode, 

taking their oath of office as members of Ekiti State Executive Council at the inaugural meeting of the 

council in Ado-Ekiti, yesterday. 

Rowdy session, as Senate sets up 

7-man c’ttee to probe SIP, SURE-P 

By Henry Umoru 

ABUJA—THE Senate 

has begun a probe into 

use of funds from Social 

Intervention Programme, 

SIP, of the present 

administration and Subsidy 

Re-investment and 

Empowerment 

Programme, SURE-P, of 

former President, Dr. 

Goodluck Jonathan’s 

government. 

To facilitate the probe 

Senate, yesterday, set up a 

seven-member ad hoc 

committee to investigate 

and report at plenary in two 

weeks. 

The committee has 

Senator Ibrahim 

Gobir(APC, Sokoto East) as 

Chairman. 

Members are Senators 

Shehu Sani(PRP, Kaduna 

Central), Enyinnaya 

Abaribe(PDP, Abia South), 

Danjuma Goje(APC, 

Gombe Central), Matthew 

Urhoghide(PDP, Edo 

South), Gbenga 

Ashafa(APC, Lagos East) 

and Dino Melaye(PDP, 

Kogi West). 

The Senate’s resolutions 

were sequel to a motion by 

Senate Minority Leader, 

Senator Biodun 

Olujimi(PDP, Ekiti South), 

on alleged deployment of 

funds under the social 

after Federal Executive 

Council, FEC, meeting 

presided over by President 

Buhari at the Presidential 

Villa, Abuja. 

The Ama Pepple-led 

Tripartite Committee had, 

in the report submitted to 

the President, 

recommended N30,000 as 

the new minimum wage to 

match the demand of 

organised labour. 

President Buhari, while 

receiving the report, 

promised to send an 

executive bill to the 

intervention programme to 

buy Permanent Voters’ 

Cards, PVCs, to promote 


Buhari’s 

election. 

presidential 

Olujimi’s allegations 

For more than 15 minutes, 

the Senate became rowdy 

over the disbursement of 

the SIP funds by the 

Federal Government, after 

Senator Olujimi drew the 

attention of the Senate to 

the alleged wrongful 

payment. 

Olujimi, who came under 

Order 42 and prayed the 

Senate to urgently 

investigate, saying rather 

than pay the N10,000 to 

poor Nigerians, 

disbursement of the money 

had political undertone, as 

it was being paid to 

supporters of President 

Muhammadu Buhari. 

She added that the 

present government was 

using the money to buy 

voters’ card ahead of 2019 

presidential elections. 

Olujimi displayed copies 

of signed forms used by an 

alleged beneficiary of the 

intervention fund, claiming 

that beneficiaries were 

made to attach their PVCs 

before they could benefit 

from the fund. 

She said it is unfortunate 

Buhari to take decision on minimum wage soon—Minister 

National Assembly on the 

recommendation as soon 

as possible, for 

consideration and approval 

but was silent on whether 

he endorsed the N30,000 

new wage. 

Meanwhile, the 

President has blamed the 

daily casualty figure on the 

nation’s roads on past 

administrations. 

Buhari, who stated this 

when he received a group 

from the South-East, One 

on One Nigeria, Tuesday 

night, said the waste of 

that the social intervention 

fund created for the benefit 

of every Nigerian is being 

manipulated to buy PVC 

for Buhari’s re-election bid. 

Olujimi described the 

action as the biggest form 

of corruption on the part of 

the government. 

Shouting match 

At this point, Senate 

Leader, Senator Ahmad 

Lawan, who stood up to 

disabuse the minds of his 

colleagues of the allegation, 

was shouted down with 

“point of order.” 

Attempts by the Senate 

President, Dr. Bukola 

Saraki, to control the 

situation failed 

momentarily as he 

repeatedly told his 

colleagues that the entire 

drama was unnecessary, 

asking that the Senate 

Leader to be allowed to 

speak. 

When Saraki gave 

Senator Dino Melaye(PDP 

Kogi) the floor, he raised a 

point of order, citing Order 

43 that the Senate Leader 

cannot speak when the 

motion raised by Olujimi is 

yet to be seconded. 

The Senate was then 

divided along party lines 

and Senator Lawan had to 

request for protection and 

to be allowed to make his 

human lives would have 

been avoided if previous 

administrations had 

utilised the resources 

available then. 

He said: “The extent of 

mismanagement we met 

was mind-boggling.” 

The group, led by Chief 

Chido Obidiegwu, said it 

had keenly observed the 

strides of the Buhari 

administration nationwide, 

particularly in the South- 

East, adding that it was 

now payback time, by reelecting 

him. 

points, and was obliged by 

the Senate President. 

Subsequently, Lawan, 

who described the 

allegation as completely 

unfounded, said: “I 

listened attentively to the 

motion by Senator Olujimi 

and want to say that the 

social intervention 

programme of this 

administration is 

transparent.” 

This was again followed 

by shouts of “point of 

order.” 

At this point, Chairman, 

Senate Committee on Gas, 

Senator Albert Akpan 

(Akwa Ibom North-East) 

raised Orders 49 and 55(2) 

where he re-iterated 

Melaye’s position that 

Saraki should first allow 

Olujimi’s motion to be 

seconded. 

Senate Leader 

finally speaks 

However, Saraki ruled 

that Lawan should be 

allowed to conclude his 

contribution. 

Lawan urged the Senate 

President to be above board 

and blind to the debate, 

noting that it was on record 

that the social intervention 

programme had been the 

most successful in the 

country, warning that “the 

investigation should not be 

turned into a political 

weapon.” 

The Senate adopted the 

prayer that the probe 

should be apolitical. 

There was, however, an 

additional prayer by the 

Chairman, Senate 

Committee on Tertiary 

Institutions and 

TETFUND, Senator Jibrin 

Barau(APC, Kano North), 

that Sure-P under former 

President, Dr. Goodluck 

Jonathan, should also be 

investigated. 

The prayer was seconded 

by Senator Ibrahim 

Gobir(APC, Sokoto East) 

and it was also carried.

VANGUARD, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2018—9 

EXHIBITION: 

Minister of State for 

Petroleum Resources, 

Dr. Ibe Kachikwu and 

Group 

Chief 

Executive, Oando 

Plc, Adewale Tinubu 

at Oando’s exhibition 

booth at the ongoing 

25th Africa Oil Week, 

in Cape Town, South 

Africa. 

ASUU strike: Honour agreements reached 

with lecturers now, Senate tells FG 

•FG hasn’t invited us for negotiation —ASUU President 

•As strike takes toll on final year, post-graduate students 

By Henry Umoru, 

Dayo Adesulu & 

Alemma-Ozioruva 

Aliu 

ABUJA—THE Senate, 

yesterday, asked the 

Federal Government to 

urgently honour the 

agreements reached with 

the Academic Staff Union 

of Universities, ASUU, with 

a view to calling off the 

strike in the overall interest 

of the nation’s education 

sector and students in 

universities. 

The intervention of the 

Senate came on a day 

President of ASUU, 

Professor Biodun 

Ogunyemi, said the union 

was yet to be invited to the 

negotiation table to resolve 

issues that led to the 

indefinite strike. 

Resolutions of the Senate 

were sequel to a motion by 

the Chairman, Senate 

Committee on Tertiary 

Institutions and 

TETFUND, Senator Jibrin 

Barau, APC, Kano North. 

Presenting the motion, 

Senator Barau said: “ASUU 

embarked on strike to press 

demands for increment in 

the funding of public 

universities and the 

payment of accumulated 

allowances. 

“These issues have been 

the determinants of the 

relationship between the 

union and the government 

during 

past 

administrations. 

“In the true spirit of its 

good intention towards 

ASUU, the Federal 

Government in the past two 

days, promised to release 

N20 billion to the union.” 

In his contribution, 

Senator Shehu Sani, PRP, 

Kaduna Central, said: 

“ASUU strike is a national 

problem. Since 1992, 

Nigerians have been faced 

with strike after strike 

which has led to shut down 

of universities. 

“Issues raised by ASUU 

are genuine. The Federal 

Government needs to fund 

public universities. The 

issues raised by ASUU are 

in the best interest of 

education in Nigeria and is 

also in the best interest of 

young people. 

“Our universities need 

adequate funding." 

In his remarks, the 

Senate President, Dr. 

Bukola Saraki, who urged 

the federal government to 

honour all the agreements 

reached with ASUU, said: 

“It is important that the 

Federal Government 

honour the existing 

agreement that has been 

reached as soon as possible 

so that this strike can be 

called off. 

‘’ASUU should also bear 

in mind the interest of all 

Nigerians and ensure that 

they find an amicable 

solution to this.” 

FG hasn’t invited 

us for negotiation 

—ASUU President 

Meanwhile, President of 

Academic Staff Union of 

Universities, Professor 

Biodun Ogunyemi, 

yesterday vowed to 

continue the indefinite 

strike, adding that the 

Federal Government was 

yet to invite the union to the 

negotiation table to resolve 

issues. 

‘’We have not received 

any invitation from the 

Federal Government, if 

they do, we will go,’’ he 

said. 

Ogunyemi, in a 

telephone conversation 

with Vanguard, disclosed 

that the issue was beyond 

the N1.I trillion the Federal 

Government owed the 

union. 

He said: ‘’The issue on 

ground is beyond the N1.1 

trillion, there are some 

burning issues the federal 

government has to 

address.’’ 

On whether the 

government has the N1.1 

trillion to pay the union, 

Ogunyemi said: ‘’The 

Federal Government 

usually say they don’t have 

money and it is not new to 

us.’ 

‘’The issue of not having 

money is about priority. 

What have they done to 

look into suggestions by the 

public. Nigerians should 

begin to suggest to our 

ruling class on their role in 

national development." 

UNIBEN, AAU, shut 

As the strike continued 

yesterday, academic 

activities at the University 

of Benin, UNIBEN and 

Ambrose Alli University, 

AAU, Ekpoma, Edo State, 

were paralysed, taking a 

toll on the final year and 

postgraduate students who 

hoped to graduate this 

year. 

These two category of 

students are worst hit as the 

regular students in the two 

universities are on 

vacation. 

A final year Theatre Arts 

students in Ekenwan 

Campus of UNIBEN, 

Gracious Alenkhe, said she 

was disturbed by the strike 

as she was at the verge of 

defending her project 

already fixed for later this 

month, lamenting that the 

strike might also delay her 

mobilisation for the 

compulsory National Youth 

Service Corps, NYSC. 

It was the same scenario 

in AAU as the local chapter 

chairman of ASUU, Dr 

Monday Igbafen, said 

there was full compliance 

with the ASUU NEC 

decision. 

“We have the most vibrant 

chapter of ASUU in AAU, 

we are having 100 per cent 

compliance here, no doubt 

about that. We believe 

government should do the 

right thing and until they 

do that, we will remain on 

strike,’’ he said. 

APC putting finishing touches to El-Rufai 

Committee’s report on restructuring —BSO 

ENUGU—THE Buhari 

Support Organisation, 

BSO, South East Zone, has 

said that the All 

Progressives Congress, 

APC, was putting finishing 

touches to the Malam 

Nasir El-Rufai Committee’s 

report on restructuring. 

This was contained in a 

statement signed by its 

Zonal Co-ordinator, Chief 

Stanley Ohajuruka and 

Acting Secretary, Mr 

Godwin Onwusi, in Enugu 

yesterday. 

According to the 

statement, BSO candidly 

want to reassure Nigerians 

that APC and, by extension 


Buhari is not against 

restructuring. 

The group stated: “APC 

is putting finishing touches 

to the Malam Nasir El- 

Rufai Committee’s report 

on restructuring. 

“What we disagree with 

is the undefined 

agreement of Ohaneze 

Ndigbo leadership with 

former Vice President Atiku 

Abubakar’s vague promise 

on restructuring within six 

months in office,” it said. 

The statement, however, 

cautioned Ndigbo to avoid 

boarding ‘One Chance 

Bus’, because of our hunger 

to restructure the current 

over centralised centre. 

“For restructuring cannot 

be done with Fiat- 

Executive-Order, without 

the amendment of relevant 

sections of the 1999 

Constitution, which falls 

into the rigid cadre,” it said. 

The statement also stated 

categorically that the 2023 

is the turn of the South East 

Geopolitical Zone to 

produce President. 

Steer clear of VAT, it’s states’ 

affair, El-Rufai tells FG 


ABUJA—THE governor 

of Kaduna State, 

Mallam Nasir El- Rufai, 

yesterday asked the 


keep off from Value Added 

Tax, VAT, saying it was 

business of states. 

According to him, VAT is 

purely a state affair and not 

that of the federal 

government. 

He also frowned on the 

lack of true federalism in 

Nigeria which he described 

as a federation in name but 

unitary in reality. 

Speaking yesterday at the 

4th National Internally 

Generated Revenue, IGR, 

Peer Learning event 

organized by the Nigeria 

Governors Forum, NGF, in 

Abuja, Governor El-Rufai, 

who noted that there was 

urgent need to make the 

necessary corrections to 

make Nigeria a true 

federation, urged the 

experts to come up with 

recommendations that 

would guide political 

leaders in making the 

necessary adjustments. 

El- Rufai, who affirmed 

that the All Progressives 

Congress, APC, Committee 

on True Federalism which 

he headed had already 

made recommendations to 

make Nigeria a true 

federation. 

“It’s up to you to make 

recommendations that will 

make the political system to 

understand and make the 

necessary changes,’’ the 

governor said. 

According to him, the 

ruling party has already 

accepted 

the 

recommendations. 

INEC: Senate vires N35.5bn 

from power, education votes 


ABUJA—THE Senate 

yesterday reversed its 

earlier decision that N242 

billion be removed from 

Service Wide votes for the 

Independent National 

Electoral Commission, 

INEC, and security 

agencies, and vired N35.5 

billion from power and 

education votes for 

purposes of conducting the 

2019 elections. 

Of the N35.5 billion, 

N25.5 billion was vired from 

the N714.668 billion 

allocations to the Ministry 

of Power, Works and 

Housing, while N10 billion 

was taken from the 

Education Ministry’s 

N651.226 billion in the 2019 

budget to make up the 

N242 billion budget for the 

election. 

Adopting a new report 

submitted by the 

Committee on 

Appropriations by its 

Chairman, Senator 

Danjuma Goje and 18 

others, the Upper 

The governor, who also 

spoke on the need for state 

personal income taxes to be 

different from national 

taxes, blamed the present 

condition of taxes on 

Nigeria’s colonial history. 

Responding to a question 

on the matter, El- Rufai said: 

“I agree with you 

completely that in a 

federation there should be 

taxes that are national, 

while others are subnational. 

“But if you look at our 

history, you will see that we 

come from civilian-military 

regimes and many of these 

personal income taxes acts 

were done by the military. 

“For instance, I do not 

agree that national 

minimum wage should be 

under the federation, I think 

minimum wage should be 

done by each state 

according to the level of 

income. 

“If you look at the 1963 

constitution, minimum 

wage was not in the 

exclusive list, it was added 

during the military rule. 

Also in his presentation at 

the event, Kwara State 

governor, Abdulfatah 

Ahmed, who disclosed that 

his state’s IGR increased to 

N2.2 billion monthly from 

N600 million in 2015, 

recalled that the state had 

witnessed serious 

economic challenges in 

2014 because of shortfall in 

IGR and consequently, had 

problems paying salaries. 

He said: “In that same 

year, a study of the 

infrastructure needs of 

Kwara State identified a 

N255 billion gap." 

Chamber said only 

N121.2 billion would now 

be taken from the Service 

Wide Votes, while the balance 

of N121 billion will 

be taken from 30 Ministries, 

Departments and 

Agencies, MDAs. 

In his presentation, 

Senator Goje said the 

earlier virement of N242bn 

for the elections budget 

entirely from service wide 

votes ( Special Intervention 

Programme ) should be 

rescinded and approved 

new recommended 

sources. 

Other affected MDAs are 

Federal Ministry of Water 

Resources, N12.954bn 

vired from its N155.149bn 

2018 budget; Federal 

Ministry of Agriculture, 

N11billion vired from its 

N203bn 2018 budget . 

Others include Ministry 

of Budget and National 

Planning, N8.845bn; 

Ministry of Defence, 

N2.636bn; Foreign Affairs, 

N1.737bn; and Federal 

Ministry of Health, 

N8.059bn.

10 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2018 


NEWS HOTLINES 

018773962, 

08052867058 

PRINCE CHARLES IN LAGOS: Lagos Deputy Governor, Dr Idiat Adebule exchanging 

pleasantries with Prince of Wales, Charles Philip Arthur George at the 

Presidential Wings of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja Lagos 

on the Prince's arrival to Lagos State yesterday. With them are Special Adviser to 

Governor Ambode on Overseas Affairs and Investments, Prof. Ademola Abbas (2nd 

left) and the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, Mr Imohimi Edgal. 

ILLEGAL GRAZING: LASG 

seizes 30 cattle, 10 

rams, warns herdsmen 

By Monsur 

Olowoopejo 

L AGOS—THE 

L a g o s 

State Government, 

yesterday, seized no 

fewer than 30 cows and 

10 rams found straying 

and grazing illegally on 

the road within Lekki 

axis, saying it has zero 

tolerance for such action 

in the state. 

The state government 

further warned 

herdsmen to desist from 

grazing their cattle on 

the roads saying such 

action threatens safety 

of road users. 

Permanent Secretary, 

Ministry of Agriculture, 

Olayiwola Onasanya, 

disclosed the number of 

cattle and rams 

impounded in an 

interview with 

Vanguard at his office, 

in Alausa Ikeja. 

Onasanya said: “If the 

owners come, they will 

pay fines to the 

government. We ensure 

that they don’t return to 

such act. We have a 

taskforce on ground to 

ensure that such 

doesn’t occur in the 

state. We are concerned 

about the safety of the 

residents in the state. 

As a government, we 

have not relaxed any of 

our laws and that is why 

we have urged residents 

to alert us whenever they 

see any infringement. 

We assure them that 

within 48 hours, such 

would be cleared.” 

By Lawani Mikairu 

L M AGOS—THE 

u r i t a l a 

Muhammed International 

Airport, Lagos and the 

staff housing quarters 

around the airport was, 

yesterday, thrown into 

darkness that lasted for an 

hour. 

Passengers, who were 

processing their 

departure flight and 

those arriving the 

country, had to endure 

the darkness as they 

Prince Charles with Dare Art Alade (left); Jude Abaga, popularly known 

as Mister Incredible, MI (right); Oluwatosin Oluwole Ajibade also known 

as Mr. Eazi (4th right) and other Nigerian music stars at British Council arts 

reception in Lagos during his visit. 

Nigeria’s debt for infrastructure is 

good debt — FASHOLA 

S OUTH-AFRICA— 

MINISTER of Power, 

Works and Housing, Mr. 

Babatunde Fashola, said 

yesterday, that the debt for 

infrastructure in Nigeria 

was good debt as far as he 

is concerned. 

Fashola said the Federal 

Government should not be 

judged like a private 

company when it comes to 

borrowing. 

He said this at the Africa 

Investment Forum in 

Sandton South Africa. 

His words: “The only 

thing I want to say about 

debt is that if it is debt for 

infrastructure, as far as I am 

concerned, it is good debt. 

“I think we must see 

government is different 

from companies, and the 

profit of a government and 

a nation is the prosperity of 

its people, not how much 

money it has in a bank.” 

The former governor of 

Lagos state said as a 

governor in Africa’s largest 

city, he had to take loans to 

set up six power plants in 

the state, but tied the 

repayment of the debt to the 

state’s monthly allocation 

from the federal 

government. 

He said he gave the 

investors the assurance 

that if he defaulted, they 

could take the money 

from the monthly income 

of the state. 

Fashola said: “On this 

side, I think my outlook is 

different; if you can’t find 

the money, just like I 

challenged people two 

days ago, they want roads, 

they want bridges and they 

How female lawyer killed husband, 

brother in-law tells Court 

By Onozure Dania 

Lin-law AGOS—BROTHER 

to Udeme 

Otike-Odibi, a female 

lawyer, who allegedly 

murdered her husband, 

Symphorosa Otike- 

Odibi, Chijioke 

Akukuma, yesterday, 

told a Lagos High Court 

sitting in Igbosere, that 

he aborted his trip when 

he got a call from his wife 

Dr. Awunli Akukuma, that 

her brother has been killed 

by his wife. 

Akukuma said: “On May 

3, 2018, I was at the Airport, 

when I was called by my 

wife that her elder brother 

Symphorosa has been 

killed by his wife.” 

Akukuma said that prior 

waited until electricity 

was eventually restored. 

Reacting to the power 

outage, the General 

Manager, Public Affairs, 

FAAN, Mrs Herrietta 

Yakubu said the Federal 

Airport Authority of 

Nigeria, FAAN has 

contacted the South West 

Regional Manager in 

charge of the airport and 

has confirmed to her that 

power has been restored to 

the airport. 

However, a major 

aviation stakeholder, 

who immediately reacted 

to the power outage said: 

don’t want to borrow and 

they don’t want you to raise 

taxes. So how do you 

deliver? 

“I think the important 

thing is to raise debt, invest 

it in infrastructure because 

it will deliver prosperity, it 

will build efficiency in the 

nation, it would turn into 

to that, he had on May 2, 

exchanged messages on 

WhatsApp with the 

defendant, who had come 

to his house a week earlier 

to complain to him about 

the challenges she and the 

deceased were having in 

their marriage. 

He said that the night 

before May 3, he chatted 

with Udeme on WhatsApp, 

at about 11p.m, on his way 

back from the office, telling 

her that they had been on 

his mind and that he sent 

her chat because it was too 

late to call her and that he 

will be travelling the next 

day that he will call her 

when he gets back. 

Udeme, 48, is facing a 

two-count charge of murder 

and misconduct with 

Power outage disrupts operations at Lagos 

Airport 

“FAAN is expected to have 

independent power line 

from Ikeja and Ayobo 

transmission lines as 

planned for Muritala 

Muhammed Airport, 

MMA, in 2007; what has 

happened to that proposal? 

This is a shame on all of us 

including the NCAA. 

“Again, how did the 

NCAA certify the MMA 

if the power problem, 

that could affect the 

airport safety facilities, 

has not been resolved? 

We have a long way to go 

with the NCAA safety 

oversight functions.” 

growth and it would yield 

income over time.” 

The minister said 

Nigeria’s power problems 

have changed over the 

past three years, yet the 

government must keep up. 

Fashola explained that 

when he came in as a 

minister, the problem was 

how to generate power; he 

said today, the problem is 

how to distribute power. 

regard to a corpse. 

She was arraigned on 

June 13, by the Lagos State 

Government and she had 

pleaded not guilty to the 

offences and was 

remanded at Kirikiri prison. 

The prosecutor had 

during arraignment told the 

court that Udeme 

committed the alleged 

offences on May 3, at 

Diamond Estate, 

Sangotedo, Lekki, Lagos. 

At the resumed hearing 

of the matter yesterday, 

Akukuma, who is the sixth 

prosecution, witness said 

that when Udeme came to 

his house a week earlier, 

she had told him that 

Symphorosa was not being 

supportive to her, adding 

that when she wanted to do 

a business, he wasn’t 

supportive. 

Akukuma, an engineer 

was led in evidence by the 

Director of Public 

Prosecution DPP, Titilayo 

Shitta-Bey. 

He said that he has 

known Udeme since she 

got married to his brother 

in-law and the deceased for 

over 25 years. 

He said: “I got off the 

flight and called a retired 

Assistant Police 

Commissioner, I told him 

that my brother in-law had 

been killed that he should 

call the appropriate 

authorities that I was on my 

way from the airport, I gave 

him the address.” 

Justice Akintoye 

adjourned till 

November 20, for 

continuation of hearing.





NEWS HOTLINES 

018773962, 

08052867058 

COMMISSIONING: From left: Apekhade Idogho, Chief Marketing Officer, Renmoney; Iyayi 

Oludapo, Head, Sales; Leo Stan Ekeh, Founder, Zinox Computers; Stephen Jennings, Founder, 

Renmoney; Oluwatobi Boshoro, CEO and Kieran Donnelly, Executive Chairman, at the commissioning 

of the new Renmoney corporate headquarters in Ikoyi, Lagos, yesterday. Photo: Lamidi Bamidele. 

Buhari, Uduaghan, Oborevwori, Anioma Media 

Professionals mourn Sunny Odogwu 

By Festus Ahon 

P RESIDENT 

Muhammadu 

Buhari has commiserated 

with the family of the late 

industrialist, Chief Sunny 

Odogwu, who died last 

Monday. 

He also extended his 

condolences to the people 

of Asaba and the 

government of Delta State 

over the demise of their 

illustrious son and 

respected elder statesman. 

The President, in a 

statement by his Special 

Adviser on Media and 

Publicity, Chief Femi 

Adesina in Abuja, said he 

‘’joined them in honouring 

the memory of the versatile 

businessman who 

remarkably contributed to 

the socio-economic 

development of his 

immediate community, 

state, and the nation, 

drawing from his extensive 

experience as an 

accomplished industrialist, 

entrepreneur, publisher, 

and philanthropist.” 

The President affirmed 

that through his vast 

business network, range of 

skills and perspectives, the 

late Odogwu demonstrated 

deep understanding and 

commitment in 

empowering indigenous 

businesses, encouraging 

entrepreneurship and 

creating thousands of 

employment opportunities 

for Nigerians. 

Also, a former governor of 

Delta State, Dr. Emmanuel 

Uduaghan and Speaker of 

Delta State House of 

Assembly, Mr. Sheriff 

Oborevwori, described 

Odogwu’s demise as 

painful. 

Uduaghan said: “I 

received with a heavy heart, 

the news of the passage of 

a renowned businessman, 

philanthropist and 

industrialist, Chief Sunny 

Odogwu. Odogwu, like 

many other great 

businessmen who hail from 

Delta State, brought pride 

to the people of the state.” 

Oborevwori said the late 

Chief Odogwu who was 

also honoured in his 

lifetime with the Zik 

Leadership Award in 

Business in 1997, 

contributed to the socioeconomic 

development of 

Asaba. 

Anioma media 

group mourns 

Similary, Anioma Media 

Professionals, AMP, offered 

its condolences to the family 

of the late Odogwu. 

The group, in a statement, 

said the spokesman of the 

family, Mr. Ken Odogwu 

said the late elder statesman 

died in Lagos. 

It added that Ken, who 

is the eldest son of the late 

industrialist, said a meeting 

of the family had been 

summoned to deliberate on 

plans for the funeral 

ceremonies. 

The National Leader of 

AMP, Ogbuefi Hugo 

Odiogor said: “Chief Sony 

Odogwu was an 

entrepreneur par 

excellence. He was a man 

who identified with the 

interest and struggles of 

Anioma people, 

nevertheless, he lived an 

accomplished life.” 

NNPC earns $470m from oil, gas export 

in one month 

THE 

Nigerian 

National Petroleum 

Corporation, NNPC, 

yesterday, stated that it 

recorded crude oil and gas 

export sale of $470 million 

in August 2018, indicating 

an upsurge of about $78 

million in relation to July 

oil and gas export figures 

of $391.91 million. 

In a statement on its 

Monthly Financial and 

Operations report for 

August 2018 released in 

Abuja, Group General 

Manager, Group Public 

Affairs of the NNPC, Mr. 

Ndu Ughamadu, indicated 

that crude oil export sales 

contributed $337.62 million 

which represents 71.83 per 

cent of the dollar 

transactions compared with 

$283.43 million 

contribution in the previous 

month. 

Ughamadu noted that 

export gas sales during the 

period amounted to $132.38 

million, adding that the 

August 2017 to August 2018 

crude oil and gas 

transactions involved crude 

oil and gas export worth 

$5.26billion. 

He further explained that 

based on the above sales 

figures, a total export receipt 

of $450.24 million was 

recorded in August 2018 as 

receipt against $382.65million 

in July 2018. 

Contribution from crude 

oil during the period, he 

stated, amounted to 

$336.43 million, while gas 

and miscellaneous receipt 

stood at $101.33 million and 

$12.48 million respectively. 

2019: HOSTCOM drums 

support for Okowa 

By Jimitota 

Onoyume 

W ARRI—HOST 

Communities of 

Nigeria Producing Oil 

Gas, HOSTCOM, has 

urged Deltans to vote for 

Delta State governor, Sen. 

Ifeanyi Okowa, as a result 

of what it described as 

laudable achievements in 

the state. 

Chairman, Ukwuani 

chapter of the body, Chief 

Andrew Obigbor, who 

said this, also 

commended the governor 

for appointing Dr. Samuel 

Ossai as Executive 

Director of Social Services 

on the Board of the Delta 

State Oil Producing Areas 

Development 

C o m m i s s i o n , 

DESOPADEC. 

His words: “The recent 

appointment of Dr. 

Samuel Ossai as 

Executive Director of 

Social Services 

representing Ndokwa 

nation on the 

DESOPADEC Board 

remains very important 

and beneficial to the 

people.’’ 

Gov Emmanuel to opponents: 

Don’t unleash war on A-Ibom 


AKWA Ibom State 

governor, Mr. Udom 

Emmanuel, has told his 

opponents that power 

belongs to God, noting that 

he has worked hard to be 

re-elected. 

Speaking yesterday in 

Abuja during an interactive 

session with Akwa Ibom 

State indigenes, he 

stressed that there was no 

need to unleash war in the 

state before, during and 

after the elections. 

The governor, who noted 

that his visit to indigenes 

of the state in the 19 

northern states was the first 

time a sitting governor 

would hold such an 

interactive session with 

people in Abuja, said he 

would remain committed to 

serving his people. 

He said he has already 

told God to use him to 

develop the state in all 

ramifications, adding that 

what was obvious was that 

there is no place in the state 

without signs of 

development. 

Governor Emmanuel 

who noted that with an 

airport of international 

standard and a deep sea 

port, the state would 

become a business hub, 

said the state would 

commission one of the best 

plywood processing plants 

in the country in December. 

Okowa to launch UNICEF 

malnutrition programme today 

By Festus Ahon 

ASABA—WIFE 

of 

Delta State 

Governor, Dame Edith 

Okowa would launch the 

United Nations 

International Children’s 

Emergency Fund, 

UNICEF, aimed at 

reducing incidences of 

malnutrition and stunted 

growth among adolescent 

girls today. 

Chairman of Delta State 

Primary Healthcare 

Development Agency, Dr. 

Isioma Okobah, who 

disclosed this while 

chatting with newsmen, 

said discovery has shown 

that a lot of teenage girls 

suffer malnutrition. “This 

group of girls has actually 

been neglected.” 

Saying girls between the 

ages of 10 and 19 years old 

are the target audience. 

Okobah said; “It has been 

found that these age 

groups, are actually 

menstruating, losing blood 

during the process. If they 

are not replacing that with 

good nutrition, it could lead 

to what we call iorn 

deficiency anemia." 

Reyenieju urged to contest 

under any party 

By Urowayino 

Jeremiah 

A 

multi-ethnic 

group, Warri 

Progressive Initiative, has 

called on the lawmaker 

representing Warri Federal 

Constituency in the House 

of Representatives, Mr. 

Daniel Reyenieju, to 

contest the 2019 election 

on the platform of any 

political party. 

A statement by the 

chairman of the group Mr. 

Samson Amorighoye, said: 

“We have assumed the 

responsibilities associated 

with a rescue mission by 

urging you to seek this 

political option that should 

facilitate your re-election to 

the Green Chambers. 

“Your re-election will 

consolidate the gains your 

impressive legislative 

representation has 

produced. They include 

the sponsorship of more 

than 15 motions and bills." 

2019: Delta NUJ to organise 

debate for gov candidates 

By Festus Ahon & 

Ochuko Akuopha 

A SABA—NIGERIA 

Union of Journalists, 

NUJ, Delta State Council, 

has concluded plans to 

organise live debates for 

governorship candidates 

participating in the 2019 

general election in the 

state. 

This came as the state 

council of the NUJ entered 

into a partnership with 

Quest Television and 

Radio, Otor-Ogor, Ughelli, 

Ughelli North Local 

Government Area and 

Bridge FM Asaba, for a 

programme. 

The state council, in a 

statement by its Chairman, 

Comrade Michael 

Ikeogwu and Secretary, 

Comrade Churchill 

Oyowe, said the decision to 

organise the debate was in 

“exercise of its 

constitutional role as 

watchdog of the society.’’


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

WORKSHOP: From left; Abiola Salami, Motivational Speaker; Omobolanle Victor-Laniyan, Head, Sustainability, 

Access Bank; Bekeme Masade, Chief Executive, CSR-in-Action; Tony Eleme, Media/Programme Officer, Youth 

Empowerment Foundation (YEF); Laura Williams, Chief Responsibility Officer, Widows and Development Support 

Services and Adejuwon Saheed, Chief Operating Officer, BuzzDigital at the 8th CSO Professionalism and 

Effectiveness Therapy Workshops hosted by CSR-in-Action in partnership with Access Bank in Lagos. 

OMISORE’S SUSPENSION: Fasoranti’s group 

can’t speak for Yoruba — EKITI AFENIFERE 

By Rotimi Ojomoyela 

A DO-EKITI—THE 

pan-Yoruba sociocultural 

organization, 

Afenifere, in Ekiti State, 

yesterday, condemned 

the suspension of former 

Deputy Governor of Osun 

State, Senator Iyiola 

Omisore by the Reuben 

Fasoranti-led faction of 

the group. 

A national leader of the 

group in Ekiti, Senator 

Ayo Fasanmi said it was 

laughable for the 

Fasoranti faction to slam 

suspension on Omisore 

for working for the All 


APC, in the last 

governorship election in 

Osun State. 

He maintained that the 

Fasoranti group lacks the 

moral rectitude to speak 

for the Yoruba race having 

allegedly derailed from 

the progressive ideology 

of the late sage, Chief 

Obafemi Awolowo. 

The 93-year-old Awosit 

described Omisore’s 

purported suspension as 

“the most embarrassing 

action taken by anyone or 

group since the death of the 

late sage.” 

He said the Yoruba race 

had benefited from the 

Buhari-led government in 

terms of key appointments, 

influence and execution of 

key projects. 

In a statement by the state 

Publicity Secretary, Chief 

Biodun Akin-Fasae, 

Senator Fasanmi said the 

Fasoranti-led group had 

“crossed the red line” with 

its action. 

He said: “The Fasoranti/ 

Adebanjo group must 

henceforth stop talking on 

behalf of the Yoruba race 

because they have 

I won’t abandon Fayose’s 

projects — FAYEMI 


A DO-EKITI— 

GOVERNOR 

Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti 

State, yesterday, assured 

Ekiti people that his 

administration would not 

abandon projects 

inherited from previous 

administrations in the 

State. 

Speaking in Afao Ekiti 

during his tour of The 

Gifted Academy built by 

the Ayo Fayose-led 

government, Dr Fayemi 

stated that though he 

may not agree with his 

derailed. I am warning 

them that they should not 

put the Yoruba race on sale. 

“The Yoruba race is 

comfortable with the 

progressives as being 

represented by the All 


APC, where the Yoruba is 

having the chunk of 

appointments. 

“This has never 

happened even when Chief 

Olusegun Obasanjo was 

predecessor on the 

rationale behind the 

establishment of some 

projects, abandoning 

those projects would 

amount to wasting the 

resources of Ekiti State. 

The governor who reechoed 

his administration’s 

perception of governance in 

“the continuum frame” 

recalled that he completed 

virtually all projects left 

behind by the Segun Oniled 

government in 2010 

because they were 

executed with public funds. 

His words: “When I 

came as governor, I 

completed to the best of 

my ability virtually all 

the projects left behind 

by the Oni 

administration. It was 

my government that 

completed some of the 

roads started by Oni. It 

was my government that 

completed Ipoti-Odo 

Owa- Ila Orangun road, 

Otun-Osun-Iloro road, 

Isan – Ilemeso road, we 

completed the House of 

Assembly complex. It has 

always been our 

intention to see 

governance in a 

continuum frame. 

“We don’t make discreet 

compartmentalization of 

President. I wonder what 

Fasoranti and his group 

wanted by their anti- 

Buhari posture except 

they want to tell us they 

are now against Chief 

Awolowo’s legacies which 

all Yoruba are still proud 

to associate with. 

“Anyway, many of those 

working for PDP within 

Afenifere never stood for 

any election all through 

their political life.” 

governance but where we 

are today, it is inevitable, 

we have to take a 

comprehensive look at all 

projects whether we have 

the resources to work on 

them is another matter. 

“The important thing is 

these have been funded 

by Ekiti money not by a 

particular governor who 

embarked on the project. 

I may disagree with many 

of the things put in place 

by my predecessor but I 

don’t think it is in my 

place to abandon them 

because I am abandoning 

the resources of the state.” 

Okebukola admonishes 

scholars to engage in 

productive academic research 

By Adeola Badru 

IBADAN— FORMER 

Executive Secretary of 

the National University 

Commission, NUC, 

Professor Peter Okebukola, 

yesterday, urged scholars to 

engage more on quality and 

productive academic 

research, with the aim of 

ensuring that the Nigerian 

university system 

contributes its quota to 

national development. 

Okebukola said this while 

presenting a paper titled: 

‘The Academic as public 

intellectual: 70 years of 

traversing Gown and 

Town’, to commemorate the 

third edition of the 

University of Ibadan 

Research and Development 

Fair, held at the 

International Conference 

Centre of the institution. 

He said: “In another 20 

years, if the state of 

laboratories in Nigerian 

universities is much 

improved, incentive system 

for good quality research 

established and the 

Onitiri wants toll on 

Lekki-Epe Expressway 

cancelled 

National Research Fund 

in place with generous 

grants to scholars for research, 

the Nigerian university 

system will be on 

a steady march to contributing 

to national and global 

development more 

than ever imagined today. 

“It now remains for us to 

move out, at the close of 

this opening ceremony to 

inspect and savour the rich 

outputs from scholars 

showcased in the parking 

lot of this Conference 

Centre. I congratulate all 

the scholars on their efforts 

and also congratulate great 

UI at 70. Before UI is 100, 

we would appear to be on 

course to win a couple of 

Nobel Prizes. So help us 

God.” 

Earlier in his welcome 

address, the Vice- 

Chancellor of the 

institution, Professor Idowu 

Olayinka called for more 

collaboration between the 

academia, universities and 

private organisations to aid 

limitless achievement in 

developing the country. 

We stand with Olujimi as our leader in Ekiti, 

says PDP group 


A group, DO-EKITI—A 

under the 

aegis of the Peoples 


in Ekiti State, Integrity 

Women in Politics, 

yesterday, restated its 

support for the adoption 

of Senate Minority 

Leader, Senator Biodun 

Olujimi as the party’s 

leader in the state. 

Citing Section 30 of the 

PDP’s constitution 

allowed leadership 

change in the PDP, the 

By Henry Ojelu 

LAGOS—THE Lagos 

Central Senatorial 

candidate of the Peoples 


Chief Adesunbo Onitiri, 

has called for an immediate 

cancellation of tolls 

collection on Lekki - Epe 

Express Road in the 

overall interest of motorists 

and commuters plying the 

road. 

In a statement, Chief 

Onitiri, said the 

cancellation of tolls on the 

road was overdue and 

further collection would 

amount to exploitation of 

the masses of the state, 

particularly residents along 

the Lekki-Aja axis who ply 

the road every day. 

He said: “By now, the 

Lagos State Government 

group commended the 

leadership of the party 

for the adoption, saying 

it would serve as a 

morale booster for 

women’s participation 

in politics. 

In a statement by the 

group’s spokesperson, 

Mrs Titi Oluwatuyi 

applauded the former 

governor for respecting 

and standing by the 

decision of the 

stakeholders, describing 

this as a party 

supremacy in action. 

Oluwatuyi said: “We 

commend former 

governor Fayose for 

standing by the party’s 

and its contractor-partner 

should have collected in 

full, money used to build 

the tollgate, renovate and 

expand the Expressway, 

bearing in mind that the 

Jakande administration 

initially constructed the 

road during the 2nd 

republic. 

“The present high and 

multiple taxation and levies 

on Lagosians are very 

inhuman and do not reflect 

the economic situation of 

our present times. 

“Honestly, the taxation 

has negative effect on 

industrialization of the 

state, as many companies 

and industries now relocate 

to neighboring states 

where they could operate 

or produce with lower costs. 

“Taxation should be 

reasonable to attract more 

companies and industries 

into Lagos State.'' 

decision and he did this 

because he realized 

that the decision was 

in line with the party’s 

guidelines and constitution 

contrary to some 

disgruntled and faceless 

elements who are bent on 

fanning the ember of 

discord within the party. 

“We charge the new 

leader, Senator Olujimi, 

to as a matter of 

urgency, constitute a 

reconciliation committee 

that will further foster 

unity among party 

members with a view to 

presenting a formidable 

party that can guarantee 

victory for us in 2019.”


Attack on Ekweremadu: S-East govs 

reject police report 

•Ekweremadu vows to release video footages of attack 

•Reps to probe assassination attempt, Police's late response 

By Henry Umoru, 

Levinus 

Nwabughiogu & 

Dennis Agbo 

E NUGU—SOUTH 

East governors have 

rejected the police report 

which claimed that the 

Tuesday assassination 

attempt on the Deputy 

Senate President, Ike 

Ekweremadu was a 

burglary case. 

The governors have rather 

asked the police to do a 

thorough investigation and 

bring the culprits to book. 


governors, who spoke in a 

press conference through 

the Director General of the 

South East Governors 

Forum, Prof. Simon 

Ortuanya, the Police were 

hasty in their preliminary 

report, “otherwise, the so 

called burglars would not 

have insisted on the Deputy 

Senate President’s son 

taking them to his father’s 

bedroom.” 

In condemning the failed 

assassination attempt, the 

governors noted that the 

incident had cast shadows 

on the state of security of 

lives and property in 

Nigeria. 

They stated that their 

interjection on the matter 

was because “apart from 

Ekweremadu being a 

worthy son of Igbo land, 

the deputy senate 

president has 

distinguished himself as a 

true Nigerian and a global 

citizen, having held the 

position of Speaker of 

ECOWAS Parliament for 

more than four years.” 

Ekweremadu vows 

to release video 

footages of attack 

During the plenary 

yesterday, Senator Ike 

Ekweremadu, vowed to 

release video footages of 

how his house was invaded 

by alleged assassins on 

Tuesday if the Police failed 

to withdraw their claim that 

what happened in his 

house was a mere case of 

burglary. 

While speaking, 

Ekweremadu said that a 

Commissioner of Police for 

the FCT and Deputy 

Inspector General of Police 

in charge of operations 

visited his house on 

Tuesday afternoon to 

sympathise with him. 

“I took them round and 

they were very sympathetic 

of what happened,” he 

said. 

“I was so shocked when I 

woke up this morning to 

hear the Police saying that 

what happened in my 

house was a mere case of 

burglary. I am at a loss 

because as we speak, they 

have not taken any 

statement from my son who 

was hospitialised, they have 

not gone to the hospital to 

find out what exactly 

happened to my son. They 

have not invited security 

personnel attached to me 

who reported yesterday; 

some are still reporting this 

morning. 

“They looked at the 

CCTV tapes operated by 

the DSS and a staff of my 

house; apparently, they 

were not able to figure it 

out, so it was easy for them 

to quickly dismiss what 

really happened.” 

Expressing surprise 

about the incident, 

Ekweremadu said he is in 

possession of the full video 

clip and some pictures. 

Senators condemn 

act, attitude of the 

Police 

Also yesterday, the 

Senate asked the Police 

under the leadership of the 

Inspector- General of Police, 

IGP, Ibrahim Idris, to as a 

matter of urgency, carry out 

a thorough investigation 

into the alleged 

assassination attempt on 

the Deputy Senate 

President's life. 

This was sequel to a 

motion by Senator 

Enyinnaya Abaribe, PDP, 

Abia South who faulted the 

preliminary report of the 

police on the incident. 

Reps to probe 

assassination 

attempt, Police's late 

response 

In a related 

development, the House of 

Representatives at 

Wednesday plenary 

resolved to set up an 

Adhoc Committee to 

investigate the attack on 

the Deputy President of the 

Senate and members of his 

family on Tuesday. 

The House also said it 

would unravel the 

circumstance regarding 

the late response by the 

Nigerian Police to the 

attack. 

The resolution followed a 

motion titled “Armed Attack 

on the Deputy President of 

the Senate, Senator Ike 

Ekweremadu and 

members of his family”, 

moved by Representative 

Toby Okechukwu from 

Enugu State. 

INAUGURATION: From left—Executive Director, Micro Enterprise, 

Bank of Industry, Toyin Adeniyi; Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo; 

during the inauguration of TraderMoni at Bariga Market, Lagos. 

Photo: Lamidi Bamidele 

We no longer trust govs on promise to 

rebuild palace of Nnamdi Kanu's father 

—Pro-Biafra groups 

By Chimaobi 

Nwaiwu 

N NEWI—SOME 

Biafra agitating 

groups under the aegis of 

Coalition of Pro-Biafra 

Agitators, yesterday 

declared that they have lost 

faith in the South East 

Governors and have 

therefore, withdrawn their 

earlier support for them. 

The group also declared 

that it has completely lost 

faith in Nigerian politics 

and will no longer allow it’s 

people to involve 

themselves in any political 

affairs or functions in 

Nigeria because the 

country is projected to 

continually enslave the 

people of South East 

eternally. 

The coalition of pro-Biafra 

groups includes, Biafra 

Independence 

Organisation, Igbo 

Revolutionary Movement, 

Eastern Peoples Renewal, 

Biafra Clergy Network and 

Biafra Security Network. 

The group in a statement 

made available to 

Vanguard in Nnewi after its 

consultative meeting at 

Nsukka, Enugu State, 

expressed disappointment 

with South East governors 

for not commencing work 

on rehabilitation of the 

palace of the father of Mazi 

Nnamdi Kanu and non 

condemnation of the 

third phase of Operation 

Python Dance the Nigerian 

Army will soon commence 

in South East. 

Part of the statement read: 

“We have resolved that 

Governors Dave Umahi of 

Ebonyi state, Okezie 

Ikpeazu of Abia state and 

Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of 

Enugu state respectively 

will not be returned as 

governors in Igbo land . 

“The three first term 

governors and their 

counterparts, Chief Rochas 

Okorocha of Imo State and 

Chief Willie Obiano of 

Anambra State are colossal 

failures, and incompetent to 

be Igbo political leaders.” 

Imo Assembly appeals 

judgment on suspension of 

lawmakers 

By Chidi 

Nkwopara 

OWERRI—Imo State 

House of Assembly 

said it has appealed the 

judgment of the State High 

Court, which quashed the 

suspension of the five 

lawmakers that opposed 

the impeachment of the 

Deputy Governor, Prince 

Eze Madumere. 

Conversely, Imo people 

have continued to 

commend the judiciary for 

“curtaling the excesses of 

both the executive and 

legislative arms of Imo State 

Government”. 

The position of the 

legislature was made 

public via a press 

conference addressed by 

the Speaker, Chief Acho 

Ihim. 

“The Imo State House of 

Assembly has filed and 

served a notice of appeal 

against the judgment of 

(an) Owerri High Court on 

suspension of five of its 

members”, Ihim said. 

According to the Speaker, 

the House equally filed a 

“stay of execution of the 

same judgment of Monday, 

November 5, 2018, 

nullifying the suspension 

order of the five members”. 

Ihim opined that the 

House was not satisfied 

with the court’s verdict and 

pointed out that “in 

keeping with the 

Assembly’s disposition to 

the rule of law, the House 

has no better choice than 

to appeal the said 

judgment”. 

He enjoined the 

lawmakers to “remain calm 

in the wake of the court 

judgment, as appropriate 

steps have been taken on 

that”. 

Vanguard recalls that this 

is the second case the 

legislature lost since the 

impeachment saga erupted 

in the state. 

UNIZIK to partner China in 

traditional medicine production 

By Vincent 

Ujumadu 

A WKA—NNAMDI 

Azikiwe University, 

Awka and Hunam 

University of Chinese 

Medicine, China, are to 

collaborate in the 

processing and production 

of traditional medicine. 

Chief physician of 

Hunam University, 

Professor Junwen Wang, 

who led the Chinese team, 

explained that under the 

programme, Chinese 

traditional medicine that 

had lasted 2000 years, 

would be introduced to 

Nigeria through Confucius 

Institutes. 

Wang, who is also the 

Dean and Director of 

International Education in 

the university, said UNIZIK 

would be the first institution 

in Nigeria to benefit from 

the partnership. 

“This is our first station. 

Next, we will move to Lagos 

where they also have 

Confucius Institute,” he 

said. 

The Vice Chancellor of 

UNIZIK, Prof. Joseph 

Ahaneku said the whole 

idea was for both 

universities to have a 

symbiotic relationship 

through which they would 

move into research and 

medical processing 

expected to impact in the 

lives of Nigerians. 

The vice chancellor 

lamented that Nigeria still 

had a lot of herbs that were 

still unprocessed and 

unharnessed, adding that 

with the collaboration, 

UNIZIK would begin 

processing of herbs through 

its department of 

pharmacognosy and 

traditional medicine in the 

Faculty of Pharmaceutical 

Sciences. 

He said: “We want to 

move into research and 

medical processing of 

things that will impact on 

our people. In doing that, 

the University will go into 

what other institutions in 

Nigeria and Africa have in 

terms of natural products." 

Don’t substitute Uzodinma’s 

name, Imo APC elders warn 

A 

group, lmo APC 

E l d e r s 

Council, IAE, has 

cautioned the judiciary 

against being used by 

politicians to scuttle the 

electoral process in Imo 

State. 

A statement by the 

chairman of the group, Dr. 

Edmund Onyebuchi 

warned against any attempt 

at substituting Sen Hope 

Uzodinma as the 

governorship candidate of 

the All Progressives 

Congress, APC, in the 

state. 

“Imo people will mobilise 

against any group or 

institution which helps 

anyone to subvert the will 

of APC in the state,’’ he 

stated. 

This was on the heels of 

indications revealing that a 

governorship aspirant in 

Imo State, Mr. Uche Nwosu 

was seeking a court order 

to stop the Independent 

Electoral Commission, 

INEC, from publishing the 

name of Uzodinma as the 

party’s candidate.


Why we're using local capacity to 

impact society —Danbatta, NCC boss 

By Emmanuel 

Elebeke 

A Executive 

BUJA—THE 

Vice 

Chairman of Nigerian 

Communications 

Commission, Prof. Umar 

Danbatta has said the 

commission is committed to 

utilizing the capacity in the 

academia through research 

activities and innovation to 

impact on businesses and 

society. 

This he said would lead 

to the development of new 

products and services for 

the entire industry. 

Danbatta stated this on 

Wednesday in Abuja while 

inaugurating the Inter- 

Agency Committee for the 

Evaluation of 2018 

Research proposals from the 

academia. 

He said the Commission 

is committed to this 

objective because finding 

local solutions to the 

challenges of the industry 

is a policy so dear to the 

administration of President 

Muhammadu Buhari. 

He explained that the 

inauguration of the 

Senator lauds Buhari on revitalisation of 

Ajaokuta-Itakpe-Warri rail line 

By Olasunkanmi 

Akoni 

W ARRI—SENATOR 

representing Lagos 

East Senatorial District and 

Chairman of the Senate 

Committee on Land 

Transport, Gbenga Ashafa 

has commended President 

Muhammadu Buhari's 

administration commitment 

on revitalization of rail lines 

in country. 

This came as the Federal 

Government resuscitated 

the moribund Ajaokuta- 

Itakpe-Warri rail line after 

its abandonment by 

successive administrations. 

Ashafa made the remark, 

during an oversight visit by 

the Senate Committee on 

Land Transport to the 

Itakpe-Warri rail line on 

Tuesday, which is currently 

undergoing a test run. 

Delta, Edo communities benefit from Pan Ocean 

free healthcare services 

By Alemma Aliu 

BENIN CITY—OVER 

1000 indigenes of eight 

communities in Edo and 

Delta states have benefited 

from the free health care 

services of Pan Ocean 

Corporation (Nigeria) 

Limited operator of the 

Nigeria National 

Petroleum Corporation 

NNPC/Pan Ocean Joint 

Venture, JV. 

The company carried out 

the free medicare as part of 

its Corporate Social 

Responsibility, CSR, 

initiative in collaboration 

with a Non Governmental 

committee was vital to the 

telecommunications 

industry and also very 

valuable to the academic 

community by way of 

adding value to research 

output. 

‘‘Our objective has been to 

deliberately utilize the 

capacity resident in the 

academia and to redirect it 

towards getting involved 

in research activities that 

can impact on businesses 

and society leading to the 

development of new 

products and services for 

the entire industry. 

‘‘We are also of the strong 

opinion that for an 

industry that has recorded 

globally appreciable growth 

over the years and a major 

contributor to the country's 

GDP, the sector has capacity 

to contribute to the 

expansion of knowledge in 

the academia and 

consequently benefit from 

such contributions." 

QUIZ COMPETITION: From left— Permanent Secreatary, Mininstry of 

Education, Mrs Adebunmi Adekanye, Master Marcus Jeremiah, Deputy 

Governor of Lagos State, Dr. Idiat Adebule, Miss Amike Precious, winners 

of 2018 Lagos State Current Affairs Quiz competition, Organised by the state 

Minisrty of Education in Lagos. Photo: Kehinde Gbadamosi. 

Key stakeholders who 

were present at the function 

included: Members of the 

committee, Senators 

Osinakachukwu Ideozu, 

Olanrewaju Tejuoso and 

Yahaya Gamau Lawal. The 

Federal Ministry of 

Transportation represented 

by the Government 

Inspector of Railways, Engr. 

A.B Yusuf, Managing 

Director of Nigerian 

Railway Corporation ably 

represented by Engr. B 

Kehinde (Deputy Director 

Rail Mobilzation and 

Rehabilitation, Fed 

Ministry of Transportation) 

as well as representatives 

of Julius Berger Nigeria 

and China Civil 

Engineering Construction 

Corporation Ltd CCECC. 

According to Ashafa: " I am 

excited by the fact that after many 

years of lack of commitment by 

successive administrations, and 

failure by these administrations 

to revive this all important rail 

route, the government of 

President Buhari has finally been 

able to do the needful." 

Commissioner restates commitment to create 

200,000 jobs in Edo 

BENIN—EDO State 

Commissioner for 

Wealth Creation, 

Cooperatives and 

Employment, Barrister 

Emmanuel Usoh, has stated 

that the state government 

has been on course in 

delivering on its promises to 

the people. 

On the electioneering 

Organisation, NGO, 

CancelCancer Africa in four 

communities in Edo State 

comprising Agbonmwonba 

in Ikpoba-Okha Local 

Government Area, as well as 

Iguemokhua, Abe and Ona- 

Ageka communities in 

Orhionmwon Local 

Government Area. 

The four Delta State 

communities that benefited 

were Ovade, Otefe, 

Mosugar and Ugbakele all 

in Ethiope West Local 

Government Area. 

During the free medical 

outreach, which is an 

NNPC/Pan Ocean JV 

promises of his principal, 

Governor Godwin Obaseki 

in 2016 to create 200,000 

jobs within the first four 

years tenure of his 

administration, Barrister 

Usoh insisted that the 

promise is being kept 

gradually. 

He revealed that his 

ministry is collating data on 

Health Awareness 

programme, there were 

maternal checks and 

counseling, breast 

examination and screening, 

malaria test, cervical and prostate 

examination, dental checks, 

children deworming, HIV testing 

and counseling as well as blood 

pressure and sugar level testing. 

The free health care services, 

which was worth millions of 

naira, featured administration of 

drugs to the beneficiaries all for 

free. 

Over 30 medical personnel 

comprising doctors, nurses and 

pharmacists were deployed for 

the philanthropic gesture from 

Pan Ocean Oil Corporation 

(Nigeria) Limited. 

the number of jobs the state 

government has created 

within the first two years of 

the administration and the 

list of beneficiaries of such 

job opportunities, the jobs 

and their addresses so that 

people can verify them. 

"We want the people to 

know that we are not 

playing politics with our 

promise to create the 200,000 jobs. 

It is achievable," he enthused. 

Assessing the maiden edition 

of the Alaghodaro Summit 

organised by the government 

last year, Usoh disclosed that it 

was an eye opener for investment 

opportunities while it created a 

forum of foreign investments 

adding that a MoU was signed 

and funds have been released by 

the Chinese Government for the 

construction of the Benin River 

Port. 

Going further, he stated that 

"investors also have put down 

their money to construct the 

Industrial Park. In the agro-allied 

sector, the agropreneurship 

programme in conjunction with 

the Ministry of Agriculture and 

other agencies of government are 

ongoing. 

Debt for infrastructure is good 

debt — Fashola 

M 

inister of Power, Works, and Housing, Babatunde Fash 

ola, says debt for infrastructure in Nigeria is good 

debt. 

Speaking at the Africa Investment Forum in Sandton South 

Africa, yesterday, Fashola said the Nigerian government 

should not be judged like a private company when it comes 

to borrowing. 

"The only thing I want to say about debt is that if it is debt 

for infrastructure, as far as I am concerned, it is good debt," 

Fashola said. 

"I think we must see government different from companies, 

and the profit of a government and a nation is the 

prosperity of its people, not how much money it has in a 

bank." 

The former governor of Lagos state said as a governor in 

Africa's largest city, he had to take loans to set up six power 

plants in the state, but tied the repayment of the debt to 

the state's monthly allocation from the federal government. 

He said he gave the investors the assurance that if 

he defaulted, they could take the money from the monthly 

income of the state. 

2019 election: Senate e cuts 2018 

budgets of 30 agencies 

The Senate yesterday approved that half of the N242 

billion budgeted for the 2019 election be removed 

from the 2018 budget of 30 federal agencies. 

Presenting a motion, Chairman of Senate Committee on 

Appropriation, Danjuma Goje, said the election could not 

be funded entirely from the service wide votes as earlier 

approved. 

The motion, co-sponsored by 18 other senators proposed 

that N121 billion be removed from the 30 agencies while 

the other N121 billion be sourced from service wide votes. 

"Recall the approval of the Virement/Supplementary 

budget for INEC and Security Agencies for the conduct of 

the 2019 General elections in the sum of two hundred and 

forty-two billion, two hundred and forty-five million, fifty 

thousand, one hundred naira (N242, 245,050,100 only, 

which is to be funded from the Service Wide Votes on the 

16th October, 2018-Senate Resolution (S/RS/027/04/ 

8). 

"The Senate is aware that because of some obvious and 

imminent issues of national socioeconomic importance, 

the virement/supplementary request cannot be implemented 

as earlier approved," Goje said. 

MTN's $10bn feud threatens SA 

financial system — SARB 

MTN Group's tussle with Nigerian authorities over $10 

billion in repatriated funds and back taxes could 

increase risk in South Africa's financial system depending 

on the outcome, the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) 

said. 

Johannesburg-based MTN, Africa's biggest wireless 

carrier by subscribers, is facing mounting pressure to 

return $8.1 billion to Nigeria after the Central Bank of 

Nigeria (CBN) argued that the company had repatriated 

funds illegally. Separately, the Attorney General's office 

alleges the company owes $2 billion in back taxes. 

"The immediate, or at least near-term, repatriation of the 

funds to the Nigerian authorities could affect MTN Group's 

ability to continue meeting its debt obligations, including 

those in the South African banking sector, which, given 

the interconnected nature of the financial system, could 

increase systemic risk," SARB said in its Financial Stability 

Review released yesterday in Pretoria. The claims amount 

to almost all of MTN's market value of about $12 billion, it 

added. 

Trump tariffs are 'tax on 

Americans' — Fmr Adviser 

Gary Cohn, Donald Trump's former chief economic ad 

viser, has warned that the trade war between Beijing 

and Washington will impose unwanted taxes on Americans. 

Cohn told BBC that he agreed with the US President's move 

to lower the US corporate tax rate, but said American 

tariffs on Chinese goods were akin to a consumption tax. 

The US and China have been engaged in a tit-for-tat trade 

battle for months. Both countries have imposed several 

rounds of tariffs on each other's goods - and Mr Trump has 

warned that even more tariffs could be on the way. 

However, Cohn warned that the trade battle war between 

the two giants will simply hurt the back pocket of many 

American consumers - which will in turn hurt the US economy. 

"We are not a manufacturing economy. So if US citizens 

can buy products cheaply, they have more money to 

spend on goods, and once they spend on goods they can 

take the additional money they have and they can save it 

- and we do need a higher savings rate in the US," he said.

Matters miscellaneous (2) 

IWAS wondering last week, 

from the potpourri of the many 

PDP cabinets, made up usually of 

internationally-sourced economic 

‘experts’ –ministers, advisers and 

all- whether we actually got any 

economic benefit in all the 16 

years of that party in office. I was 

wondering whether, because of the 

Okonjo Iwealas, the Obi 

Ezekwesilis, the Charles Soludos 

“and all the other gray-mattered 

economic boffins” we had 

celebrated as touchstone, Nigeria 

was able to make it to the Seventh 

Heaven, or at the very least keep 

out of the woods that all capitalist 

economies would otherwise have 

been lost in if they did not have 

men of such highfalutin economic 

savvy to tend them. And I 

wondered too why, in spite of the 

unprecedented, mind-numbing 

earnings from oil, in the 16 years 

of PDP, we still had to go into an 

over draught and, ironically, had 

to be helped out of a recession by a 

man of moral character, rather 

than by men with so called 

‘economic brains’. 

Our Ivy leagued economic 

experts fed from the doctrinaire 

fountain of micro and macro 

economics, so called economic 

gurus trained in the complex 

voodoo terrains of fiscal and 

monetary policies, rather than 

keep us away from the woods, had 

taken us deeper into denser forests. 

Readers must be heard 

AT some intervals, it is necessary to 

pause to hear the readers’ comments 

to pieces that have appeared on this page. 

In my view, readers’ comments must be 

heard so long as they are expressed within 

the ambits of civilised discourse. Today is 

one of those moments. Please read on: 

Re: Resolving the Pastoralists Dilemma. 

Thanks Mr. Gambo for the wonderful piece 

on the more than ever current problem. 

Unfortunately, the Nigerian urban elite 

careless about the developments that are 

present in the country’s rural life. The ever 

persisting clash between the two groups of 

our rural population (farmers and cattle 

breeders) has been a long conflict that 

predate colonialism. The colonial 

administration was clever enough to bring 

temporary solutions to the problem through 

the creation of government forest reserves, 

cattle routes, grazing grounds, cattle water 

ways. The traditional leaders also played 

important roles in resolving problems and 

small conflicts before they degenerate into 

crisis. 

Unfortunately, with the advent of military 

regimes, all organised approach to 

problems and local conflicts were ignored. 

The traditional institutions lost their ability 

to provide solutions. Nobody listens the 

village head. The grazing field, government 

forest reserves all disappeared. 

Decrees wouldn’t have been the best way 

to approach these issues as these cattlebreeders 

are partially migrants. The farmers 

too whose population is in the increase 

needed more arable lands. The climate 

change too carries additional problem. 

Of all the Nigerian or say WestAfrican 

ethnic population, the nomads would be the 

ones who benefited the least from western 

education and investment in urban 

development. Even the poorly implemented 

agricultural policies of the Nigerian 

Government still favours only the settled 

population be it in the cities, towns or 

villages. 

Nigeria lacks long-term approach to 

problems and issues. It leaves issues 

unattended until they develop into serious 

crisis. Even then the government of the day 

C 

M 

YK 

For 16 years it had always been 

one economic talk-shop after 

another, midwifing policies and 

counter policies that did nothing 

but erase the middleclass to 

entrench the gulf between a 

continuously constricting club of 

the ‘haves’ and a burgeoning class 

of the ‘have-nots’. We had been held 

spellbound for 16 years by the 

riveting sleight of hand of 

Houdinis from the World Bank 

who have perfected the art of 

‘movement’ always without 

‘motion’ and dynamism without 

activity. In the days of the Iwealas, 

the Soludos and the Ezekwesilis, 

the province of economic savvyness 

had arrogated to itself such 

divine station we would almost 

have had to remove our shoes 

whenever we approached its 

hallowed ambience –like Moses 

did, to God before receiving the Ten 

Commandments. 

And did not even Jesus warn that 

“there shall arise many false 

Christs and false prophets”? –and 

that ‘if it were possible’, they could 

even ‘deceive the very elect’? Or 

were we not deceived by false 

economic prophesies of a certain 

‘golden future time’? We were 

guaranteed the ‘healing hands’ of 

Economic Teams that claimed to 

urn the candle at both ends. And 

we were told not to worry –that 

soon the two raging fires from both 

ends of the economic candle, 

simply deploy troops to disperse the 

crowd while that particular problem 

remains. The fire brigade approach is an 

uncivil way, crude and short lived. 

Unfortunately, that’s what our military 

dominated elite love doing. 

Whenever a serious government in Nigeria 

sets up inquiries, the reports, 

recommendations and advice never see 

daylight. This is caused by the fact our elite 

and intellectuals are lazy to read and make 

research. 

It is a pity that the Fulani elite who have 

many times been at the helm of affairs since 

independence yet their nomadic 

compatriots are at the receiving end. After 

independence, the nomads were paying 

I think the worst that happened 

to this economy was the free fall 

of the Naira under this 

administration 

cattle tax (jangali), head tax and market tax. 

Yet, they were denied basic civic services. It 

was the Hausa politicians of Kano who 

brought about an end to the exploitation of 

nomads by abolishing all these taxes. 

When Prof.Jibrin Aminu as Minister of 

Education introduced nomadic education, 

he had plans for modern settled ways of 

rearing cattle and animal breeding. All the 

schools had enough plots to teach the Fulani 

nomads new techniques and ways of settled 

breeding. Immediately Prof Amin left the 

Ministry of Education, the Fulani nomadic 

leaders (Ardos) and city dwellers sold the 

plots to developers. Currently, President 

Buhari has appointed an urbanised nonnomad 

as the chairman of Nomadic 

Education. Most of the headmasters are non- 

Fulanis not to mention their not being 

nomads. This is not how to find lasting 

solutions to the lingering ethnic and 

communal clashes between the herders and 

the farmers. 

Dr.Saidu Samaila 

Re: Are we ready for the white 

revolution? Your write up on the above 

subject made quite an interesting reading 

especially on the need to integrate herders 

would meet at our long hoped-for 

Eldorado. We did not heed the 

Shakespearean warning that 

“when two raging fires meet, 

together they do consume the thing 

that feeds their fury”. But who 

would not have believed in the 

efficacy of their Economic Teams, 

especially with such assuring 

doctrinaire banners all around 

them, from the cautionary: 

‘Geniuses At Work, Do Not 

Disturb!’ to the promissory: ‘For 

Your Tomorrow, We Give Our 

Today!’, and even to the warning: 

Although there 

cannot be 

‘development’ 

without ‘growth’, 

there can be 

‘growth’ without 

visible 

‘development’ 

‘No Admittance to Insanity Beyond 

This Gate!’ And so for 16 solid years 

we all patiently and respectfully 

kept our insanities away from the 

hallowed ambience of these 

experts, in the hope that we did not 

disturb ‘geniuses’ who were busy 

figuring out how to give their 

‘today’ for the sake of our 

‘tomorrow’. Until soon we found 

out, rather belatedly, that these 

were the ‘false Christs and false 

prophets’! 

And now look where they have 

brought us -into the doldrums of 

Magnus Kpakol’s economic 

‘ditch’! Yes, the ditch beyond which 

a fallen person fears no more fall; 

because it is already the ground 

below ground zero. By the turn of 

PDP’s 16 years of divine quackery, 

we had gone off the race tracks, 

away from the open fields and had 

slipped tragically into the 

Vanguard, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2018 —17 

17 

bottommost gorge. And now that 

the true Messiah is cometh 

battling to reverse our ‘rot’ to 

‘growth’ and guiding our once 

aimless ‘movements’ in the 

direction of ‘development’, our 

stiff-necked and rebellious 

Pharisees and Sadducees would 

not give him credit. Now they 

argue over when to measure 

‘growth’ and when to reckon with 

‘decay’. They say that ‘growth’ 

begins not with every effort the 

fallen man in the ditch makes to 

come out of it, but only when he 

returns fully on the track to 

continue the race. But truth is, 

‘growth’ is location-blind. It does 

not matter if a crop shoots up from 

the bottom of a valley or that it 

does so from the plain of a hill. 

Growth is growth, long as it is 

recorded in the opposite direction 

of rot. Every effort the man in the 

ditch makes to come out of it, is 

‘growth’, notwithstanding he has 

not resumed his place on the race 

track. The proof of growth is not 

necessarily in visible development. 

It is in the fact that there is a 

movement in the opposite 

direction of rot. And so although 

there cannot be ‘development’ 

without ‘growth’, there can be 

‘growth’ without visible 

‘development’. 

We got out of a recession even 

though we still face basic 

challenges. Meaning that 

although the absence of economic 

crunch can be proof that a nation 

is not in recession, yet the proof 

that a nation has exited a recession 

is not necessarily the absence of 

economic crunch. But it could 

have been worse! And so if you do 

not appreciate the fact that we are 

out of a recession, at least you 

recognise the fact that we have 

managed to keep away from 

depression. Because we have 

sinned enough economically by 

now to have been in a depression. 

into a modern 

non-migratory 

system with 

value chain for 

maximum and 

better yield. 

Government 

must provide 

enabling 

environment for 

Indigenous investors to thrive as against the 

current setting of too much attention on 

“foreign direct investment”. 

I think the worst that happened to this 

economy was the free fall of the Naira under 

this administration. 

That has gone a long way to affect 

everything under the sun, which has 

monetary value. 

Government should have adopted a 

selective stiff tariffs method on luxury items 

as a protectionist measure rather than 

outright devaluation which has left millions 

poorer and a few currency speculators richer. 

Government must adopt known economic 

policies that work and not this speculative 

philosopher King presumptive approach 

which tend to render us all impotent in all 

ramifications. 

Izuagbe Ibrahim 

Sir, I read your column and am highly 

thrilled by the prospects of profitable dairy 

farming. I have very few years to retirement 

and have started rearing cows and other 

ruminants as a retirement plan. I’m highly 

impressed by the strides made by MD 

Abubakar with regards to backward 

integration and collaboration with local 

Fulani herders in a symbiotic relationship. 

Abubakar Musa Omar 

Re: When the skies fell on Skye bank 

I am one of your ardent readers. I hereby 

commend your thoroughness in this write 

up. The Skye bank problem is an insider 

abuse case and can be found in almost all 

our banks. However, the heavy nonperforming 

loans were not approved by 

spirits and obtained by spirits. Thus, if the 

CBN cannot compromise their 

responsibilities, let all the defaulters be tried 

to recover all the monies. 

M A Babakatun 

But here we are, not even in a 

recession. Yet, the tragedy of our 

situation is not that we had fallen 

off the economic race tracks, or 

that we had slipped into a ditch. 

The tragedy of our situation is that 

every effort we make to come out 

of the ditch is countered 

desperately by subversives whose 

misgovernance was what had 

brought us here in the first place. 

Buhari’s economy is growing at 

great odds with monumental 

factors –both natural and maninduced- 

that diminish or threaten 

to diminish its impact on human 

development. Our economy has 

suffered extreme ‘wear and tear’ 

for 16 unbroken years. It was 

virtually brought to a standstill 

from sheer thieving by 

conscienceless 

and 

unconscionable politicians with 

appetite for wealth accumulation 

that is practically unassuageable. 

And now that a painstaking – 

even if sluggish- Buhari is gradually 

unfastening and replacing worn 

and torn parts, a gang up of these 

looters and their beneficiaries is 

still arming up to reverse every 

little growth back in the direction 

of rot. They are all over the 

perimeters of the ditch, clubs and 

cudgels at hand, ready always to 

frustrate every effort at lifting the 

economy out from the deep. A 

battalion of them just met in 

Dubai. This is about the only 

country you will ever know on the 

face of the earth, where organised 

efforts to harm the State is made 

the hallmark of partisan political 

opposition. When Labour 

announced that it would no longer 

shut the economy by going on 

strike, they said that it amounted 

to a betrayal of the ‘people’ –who 

wanted the strike to score partisan 

points. 

To be concluded 

It is unfortunate that in Nigeria there are 

those who are untouchables. Remember the 

cases of Erustus Akingbola of 

Intercontinental bank and Cecilia Ibru of 

Oceanic bank. The cases are now history. 

Faruk Garko 

Re: Time for hard measures to end 

killings. Your piece today is another added 

voice towards ending the persistent crises 

and killings prominent in Northern Nigeria. 

Your proffered solutions will bring about 

lasting peace if implemented. 

But regrettably, one thing that marred 

your write up is that you looked at this issue 

from a myopic and sentimental standpoint. 

You were in a hurry to paint Jos case to look 

gruesome in the eyes of everyone, even by 

not sparing close to 500 words. I strongly 

condemn hoodlums blocking highways and 

killing innocent people, but Dura, Riyom 

are not only the case in point. Why you used 

only about 10 words on Kawo and Maraban 

Jos, who always block roads anytime there 

is crises. Why you did not mention Bauchi 

Road axis of Jos who are always fond of 

that. Why you did not mention the Fulani 

who terrorise Plateau villages and who are 

always on the offensive, and the President 

and Governors are not doing anything 

about it. What about Zamfara where 

innocent people are being killed day and 

night. 

Finally, as long as there is no justice and 

tolerance, there will never be peaceful coexistence, 

and my advice to you is that you 

should always give a balance and objective 

reportage. 

I believe in the beauty of our diversity in 

Nigeria, and God will not have allowed 

diversity if it were not good for us. I have a 

lot of friends who are Muslims and we have 

been together since childhood days. 

Sylvanus Joshua


THERE is a need for politicians 

holding high positions of public 

trust to think through their policies 

and programmes before making 

them public. Otherwise, the good 

intentions behind such policies 

could turn around and breed 

nightmares which will be difficult, 

if not impossible, to handle. 

We view with absolute horror, 

the offer by Governor Abdulaziz 

Yari of security-embattled Zamfara 

State of one million naira for every 

piece of AK-47 assault rifle 

“returned” to the state 

government. Agency reports 

carried by most traditional and 

social media platforms last week 

Friday quoted the retiring 

Governor as declaring: “In 2015, 

with just 250 soldiers, the crime 

rate was low but with 1,600 

soldiers of different categories, we 

cannot contain crime in the state”. 

Indeed, Zamfara has faced 

atrocious security challenges in 

Gov. Yari’s dangerous offer 

recent years. Heavily-armed 

bandits and cattle rustlers, many 

of them foreign nationals, have 

made life hell for residents of the 

state: invading communities, 

killing, displacing people and 

carting away their cattle and 

valuables. The waves of attacks 

have defied every effort launched 

by the Federal Government, 

including several police and 

military actions. 

Following the deployment of the 

Air Force, the displaced bandits 

merely split into smaller units and 

started kidnapping travellers on 

the highways for ransom. Some 

victims are killed even after ransom 

is paid for them. The situation 

became so bad in June this year 

that Yari announced he was 

“resigning” as the Chief Security 

Officer of Zamfara. 

The offer of one million naira for 

every AK-47 turned in is a timebomb. 

It could reduce Zamfara to 

an open bazaar for AK-47 assault 

rifles. The reason is that these guns 

are relatively cheap and almost 

readily available for those who 

know where to look. 

According to Niall McCarty in an 

article in the March 2017 edition 

of Forbes, some 200 types of AK-47 

are now produced in more than 30 

countries. There are over 200 

million AK-47 rifles in the world, 

making it one for every 35 persons. 

They cost anything from $148 

(N54,020) in Pakistan to $1,292 

(N471,580) in Nigeria. 

The implication of Gov. Yari’s offer 

is obvious: buy and present one 

rifle and double your purchase 

price! Even some of the military 

and police officers sent to tackle 

the bandits could turn into 

gunrunners. We doubt that the 

Zamfara State House of Assembly 

authorised this swap policy. It is 

even in doubt that the proposal was 

discussed at the State Executive 

Council or its obvious flaws would 

have been pointed out. 

We call on Gov. Yari to drop this 

offer and divert the money to the 

payment of workers’ salaries, 

building infrastructure and 

strengthening civilian-policemilitary 

cooperation to eliminate 

banditry and crime. 

There is no other easy way out. 

By Turaki Hassan 

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari a few 

days ago, in his usual characteristics of 

self righteousness, and buck passing blamed 

tardiness in the passage of budgets by the 

National Assembly for the delay in the 

completion of projects across the country by 

his government. 

He spoke when he received a delegation of 

Eminent and Respected citizens of Niger State 

led by Lt. Gen. Garba Duba (Rtd) at the 

Presidential Villa, Abuja. 

To be precise, the president said, “If the 

National Assembly takes seven months to pass 

a budget, then we should be commended for 

the much that we have achieved, and can still 

achieve. I personally feel very disappointed. I 

spoke with the leaders of the National 

Assembly on the issue that seven months is a 

long time to work on a budget.” 

Even though buck passing and blame game 

is not new to Buhari as it is now his stock in 

trade; in the past few days and weeks, there is 

no day that passes without the President 

blaming others in a desperate move to 

exonerate himself from any blame or failure 

of the Executive under his leadership to execute 

projects across the country. 

In fact, very recently, Buhari blamed all his 

predecessors for failing to build infrastructure. 

And I wonder why? It was the general 

consensus that the former employees didn't 

perform as expected and that was why 

Nigerians hired him for a job he has sought for 

four conservative time but here he is blaming 

the same people he replaced. If you are the 

boss of " Nigeria limited", what will you do 

this employee?. 

Some weeks ago, he even blamed the media 

for failing to showcase his achievements. “ I’m 

very disappointed with the Nigerian press. They 

didn’t give this government the credit of the 

`go back to land programme,” he said on 26 

October. Time and space would not permit 

OPINION 

Executive ding-dong over budget passage 

me to list all his “blamings”. 

However, it is disingenuous for President 

Buhari to blame the National Assembly for 

his government's inability to implement 

budget and execute projects that affect the lives 

of Nigerians in the last three years. 

To set the record straight, this is a President 

who, from inception of his government didn't 

show any sign that he was well prepared and 

ready for the job he sought for four times in 16 

years and for which we voted for him. 

For instance, it took him six months, yes six 

months not six weeks to form his cabinet. It 

also took him two years to appoint board 

chairmen for most government agencies. This 

was his greatest undoing and was principally 

responsible for plunging Nigeria into recession 

because activities in Ministries, Departments 

and Agencies of government were brought to 

a halt for the period since civil servants could 

not take decisions due to absence of political 

heads in a country where public sector spending 

What Nigerians didn’t know and 

the President won’t say is that the 

Executive through the various 

ministries continued to propose 

additional projects to be included 

in the 2018 budget even as at April 

and May 

drives the economy. At a point, he even said he 

was happy working with civil servants because 

ministers or politicians were noise makers 

because “they are only there to make a lot of 

noises”, he told a French television station in 

September 2015. 

Now, after three years, with election in three 

months, the President is at it again, exonerating 

himself from apparent failure of his 

government thereby throwing the blame right 

at the doorstep of the legislature. But facts don’t 

lie and they could be stubborn and here are 

the facts: 

Late budget presentation 

Since his assuming office, the president has 

been unable to present budget on time. His 

first budget was the 2016 budget which was 

submitted on December 22, 2015, exactly nine 

days to the end of the fiscal year. 

The minimum the National Assembly 

requires to pass budget is three months. But he 

presented it just nine days to 2016. 

Again, the 2017 budget was presented on 

December 14,2016, just 17 days to the end of 

2016. 

The earliest he presented budget was on 

November 7, 2017 which was the 2018 

appropriations bill. It was less than two months 

to the end of the year. However, his ministers 

refused to appear before National Assembly 

committees to defend the budget for five months 

thereby delaying the passage. 

It was after the leadership of the National 

Assembly sought the President's intervention 

on March 16, 2018 that the ministers 

reluctantly appeared before the committees, 

an exercise that takes at least one month to 

complete. See link here 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/ 

www.thecable.ng/buhari-directs-mdas-toimmediately-defend-2018-budget-proposals/ 

amp 

In fact , some of them who felt they were 

super ministers sent in their permanent 

secretaries. 

What Nigerians didn’t know and the President 

won’t say is that the Executive through the 

various ministries continued to propose 

additional projects to be included in the 2018 

budget even as at April and May which further 

delayed the passage of the 2018 budget. These 

were communicated officially and if anyone 

is in doubt the letters are there with the dates 

they were written and received. But here's 

Buhari blaming the National Assembly. 

Violation of Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007 

Since the inception of the Buhari 

administration, it has been in constant 

violation of the Fiscal Responsibility Act which 

stipulates that budgets should be presented in 

early September. The wisdom or import of the 

FRA is that the National Assembly will have at 

least three full months to work on the budget 

bill. 

In fact, the Executive admitted its failure 

and inability to abide by the law on August 

24,2018 when former minister of Budget and 

National Planning, now minister of finance, 

Zainab Ahmed disclosed that the Federal 

government will present the 2019 budget in 

September in a bid to restore the budget circle 

from January to December but here we are in 

November without the budget estimates before 

the lawmakers. See link https:// 

www.dailytrust.com.ng/fg-to-submit-2019- 

budget-in-september-267246.html 

Buhari's failure/refusal to assent to budget 

submission Bill 

In a bid to address the issue of late budget 

presentation and passage, the National 

Assembly passed a constitutional amendment 

bill that require the President to submit the 

Appropriation Bill not later than 90 days to 

the end of the financial year but unfortunately, 

very unfortunately, the president has vetoed 

the bill. 

Veto of National Assembly Budget Office Bill 

In an effort to improve institutional capacity 

of the Parliament to process and pass budget 

expeditiously, the National Assembly Budget 

and Research Office , NABRO, establishment 

Bill was passed into law. It was loosely 

modelled after the American Congregational 

Budget Office, CBO. Again, President Buhari 

has also vetoed the Bill. 

Continues Online @www.vanguardngr.com 

Mr. Hassan, a public affairs 

commentator, wrote from Abuja.

Why we are worried over African Free 

Trade Agreement — Dangote, MAN, LCCI 

By Peter Egwuatu 

DANGOTE 

Group, 

Manufacturers Association of 

Nigeria, MAN, and Lagos 

Chamber of Commerce and 

Industry, LCCI have supported the 

Federal Government’s delay in 

signing the African Continental 

Free Trade Area, AfCFTA 

agreement, stressing that adequate 

measure should be put in place to 

prevent dumping of goods into 

Nigeria and Africa countries in 

general. 

Speaking at the just concluded 

two days Africa Trade forum 2018, 

tagged, “AfCFTA Ratification and 

Implementation: A game Changer 

for Africa Economies” held in 

Lagos, Dangote said: “What is the 

rationale behind formation of 

regional economic blocs, if trade 

barriers still exist among African 

States?”. 

He bemoaned the frustrations 

and difficulties his Group often go 

through in exporting products to 

neighbouring African countries. 

He said: “There is need to consult 

widely and we are supporting the 

government in this regard. It is not 

that I am opposing AfCFTA, but 

there are many barriers especially 

in our tariff system among the 

regions of Africa. We don’t want a 

situation where Africa will become 

a dumping ground. There were 

some trade agreement in the past . 

Why is it not working? We as a 

company, Dangote will benefit from 

AfCFTA. We need 80 percent of raw 

materials to be very productive; 

importation of raw materials is not 

the best for us if we must implement 

AfCFTA. We don’t want foreign 

goods to come and dominate our 

market. Just to take cement to 

Ghana we have to sign 38 

documents. For example in Benin 

Republic that is 24 kilometres from 

us taking our products there is 

difficult. So all these and many 

other things need to be addressed. 

CURRENCY BUYING SELLING 

US DOLLAR 

POUNDS 

EURO 

FRANC 

YEN 

CFA 

WAUA 

RENMINBI 

RIYAL 

SDR 

DANISH 

RAND 

$114.15 0.90 

2,385.00 6.00 

$13.04 0.08 

$72.98 0.85 

$62.73 0.52 

305.65 306.15 306.65 

399.5151 400.1687 400.8222 

348.6855 349.2559 349.8263 

304.311 304.8088 305.3067 

2.7013 2.7057 2.7101 

0.5107 0.5207 0.5307 

422.9462 423.6381 424.33 

44.1867 44.2594 44.3322 

81.4828 81.6161 81.7494 

423.6309 424.3239 426.0169 

46.7362 46.8126 46.8891 

21.4793 21.5144 21.5495 

CBN Exchange rate as at 07/11/2018 

What we need is backward 

integration that will make us 

produce competitively.” 

Corroborating Dangote’s views, 

Director-General, MAN, Mr. 

Segun Ajayi-Kadir, noted that 

MAN has consistently maintained 

that it is not against intra-African 

trade, especially one that boosts the 

market reach of Nigerian 

businesses, including 

manufacturers. We don’t want a 

situation where Nigeria will be a 

dumping ground. However, when 

the agreement was being signed, 

we cautioned against signing an 

agreement without fully engaging 

the relevant stakeholders and 

adequately comprehending its 

implications for the Nigerian 

economy in general and the 

manufacturing sector in particular. 

We counselled that a country 

specific study should be carried out 

to ascertain its implications for the 

Nigeria economy, particularly the 

productive sector. 

“It is gratifying to note that the 

Federal Government embarked on 

the needed nationwide 

consultation and is doing the 

needful in reconstituting the 

presidential committee dealing 

with the matter and the private 

sector is called to join the process. 

At the end of the day, Nigeria will 

take an informed decision as to 

what type of AfCFTA it should sign 

Vanguard, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2018 — 19 

and when to sign.” 

Commenting also, the President, 

LCCI, Mr. Babatunde Paul Ruwase 

said: “What is important in my view 

is to ensure that appropriate 

safeguards are in place to protect 

the vulnerable sectors of the 

economy. He noted that there was 

nothing wrong with free trade, but 

there was need for more 

consultation. Nigeria must be part 

of the AFCTA for numerous reasons 

which include the fact that it is a 

platform for our Small Scale 

Enterprises, SMEs to be integrated 

into the regional economy and a 

means of acceleration of women’s 

trade and economic empowerment. 

From left, Tax Partner, Ernst & Young, EY, Temitope Samagbeyi; General Manager, Pentagon 

Plastic Industries Limited , Barakale Shyam; Senior Manager, Tax Services, EY, Akeem 

Ogunseni and Financial Controller, Pentagon Plastic Industries Limited, Shekhar Tushar at 

the ‘Optimal Payroll Management & Audit Readiness’ Training organized by EY Nigeria in 

Lagos. 

Oil price slide enters 5th week, now $71.68 p/b 

By Ediri Ejoh 

THERE was tension in oil 

producing and exporting 

nations, including Nigeria, 

yesterday as the price of crude 

oil slipped further to $71.68 per 

barrel, about 0.45 or 

0.62 per cent down 

from $72.13 recorded 

the previous day in 

the international 

market. This 

development puts the 

price trend on the fifth 

consecutive week of 

decline. 

Oil price had 

peaked at $85 per 

barrel in October, 

2018. 

The recent decline 

has been attributed to 

rising output and the 

waiver on United 

States sanction on 

Iran. 

Yesterday price of 

Brent and West Texas 

Intermediate, WTI 

stood at $71.68 and 

$61.49 respectively, 

while the price of the 

Organisation of Petroleum 

Exporting Countries, OPEC 

basket of 15 crudes stood at 

$70.88 per barrel. 

While market observers 

speculate that price would 

continue to drop, mainly as a 

result of speculation, OPEC 

stated that the volatile market 

was set for stability. 

In its latest report sent to 

Vanguard, OPEC stated: “The 

Joint Ministerial Monitoring 

Committee (JMMC) reviewed 

the monthly report prepared 

by its Joint Technical 

Committee (JTC), including 

Paga makes 2018 CB Insights Fintech 250 list of 

fastest-growing Fintech Startups 

PAGA, a Nigerian based 

Fintech company, 

yesterday, made the second 

annual Fintech 250 list, a 

prestigious group of 

emerging private companies 

working on groundbreaking 

financial technology. 

Speaking on the 

development, the Founder & 

CEO of Paga, Mr Tayo Oviosu 

the overall conformity levels of 

the countries participating in 

the ‘Declaration of 

Cooperation’, during the month 

of September 2018, as well as 

the short-term prospects of the 

global oil market. 

“The JMMC noted that 

countries participating in the 

‘Declaration of Cooperation’ 

achieved a conformity level of 

111% in September 2018, which 

shows significant progress 

towards the goal set at the 4th 

OPEC and non-OPEC 

Ministerial Meeting of 23 June 

2018. 

stated: “We are proud to be on 

the Fintech 250 list two years 

in a row. Paga was founded on 

the belief that everyone 

deserves the ability to easily 

access and use money, and it 

is very exciting what we have 

been able to achieve in six 

years of commercial operations. 

“Nigeria is our first market 

and we are nearing 10 million 

CBN extends 

uniform bank 

account number 

to OFIs 

By Elizabeth Adegbesan 

THE Central Bank of Nigeria 

(CBN) has extended the 

Nigerian Uniform Bank Account 

Number (NUBAN) scheme 

meant for banks to Other 

Financial Institutions (OFIs). 

The apex bank disclosed this 

in a circular to banks and OFIs, 

introducing the Exposure Draft 

for Revised Standards on 

NUBAN scheme for banks and 

OFIs in Nigeria. 

The circular signed by 

Director, Payments System 

Management Department, 

CBN, Sam Okojere stated: 

“In exercise of the powers 

conferred on the Central Bank 

of Nigeria (CBN) under the 

Banks and Other Financial 

Institutions Act (BOFIA) and 

CBN Act 2007 to make 

regulations and to promote 

sound financial system in 

Nigeria, facilitate the 

development of an efficient and 

effective payments system in 

Nigeria, the CBN hereby issues 

this Standards for the efficient 

operations of Electronic Funds 

Transfer and cheque clearing 

operations by Banks and Other 

Financial Institutions (OFIs)”. 

The guidelines on NUBAN 

scheme was first issued by CBN 

in August 2010, to achieve 

uniform customer bank account 

numbering structure among all 

Deposit Money Banks 

(DMBs)in Nigeria. 

The CBN further stated: “ In 

view of the success of the 

NUBAN Scheme across DMBs 

and the increasing role of the 

OFIs in the Electronic Payments 

System, it is imperative that the 

scope of the Scheme be 

expanded to include the OFIs”. 

“The Committee expressed 

overall satisfaction with the 

collective performance of 

Member Countries in the 

month of September. 

The Committee also 

reviewed recent market 

fundamentals, which showed 

a very comfortable supply level 

relative to demand. The 

committee however expressed 

concerns about rising 

inventories in recent weeks 

and also noted looming macro 

economic uncertainties which 

may require changing course”. 

unique users and have built 

the largest distribution 

network for financial services 

with over 17,500 agents. 

“Innovation and 

collaboration are at the core of 

our company, and we are 

looking to take our solutions 

beyond Nigeria, to other 

markets where they are 

needed.”

20 — VANGUARD, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2018 

Audu Ogbe, Min. of Agric. & Rural 

Development 

Aminu Masari, Gov. of Kaduna State 

Abubakar Bagudu, Gov. Kebbi State 

Godwin Emefiele, Gov. CBN 

500,000 jobs created through Anchor Borrowers 

Programme -- CBN 

By Babajide Komolafe & Elizabeth 

Adegbesan 

THE Central Bank of Nigeria 

(CBN) said that its Anchor Borrowers 

Programme has added two million 

metric tons to rice supply in the 

country while also creating 500,000 

jobs. 

Meanwhile the apex bank has dismissed 

reports that the country imports 

up to 400,000 metric tons of rice, stressing 

that figures obtained from the two 

leading rice exporting countries to 

Nigeria show otherwise. 

According to the Director of Corporate 

Communication Department, 

CBN, Mr. Isaac Okoroafor, “The volume 

of rice importation into Nigeria 

(in metric tonnes) has declined drastically 

in 2018, judging by figures obtained 

from various official sources. 

Indeed, figures obtained from India 

and Thailand, which are dominant rice 

exporters to Nigeria indicate that as 

at September, the latter had so far exported 

about 5,161 metric tonnes of rice 

to Nigeria, while the former sold only 

a paltry 426 tonnes as at July 2018. 

Okoroafor attributed the reduction in 

rice importation to concerted effort of 

the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and 

Rural Development and the interventions 

of CBN. 

He also confirmed that the apex 

bank had not allocated any foreign 

exchange for the importation of rice 

this year. 

He averred that the figures being 

bandied in certain quarters were based 

on unrealistic assumptions such as 

satellite mapping of farms, expected 

demand by politicians for election campaigns 

as well as expected losses from 

flooding, all of which led to unauthentic 

conclusions that the country had imported 

or could import 400,000 more 

metric tonnes. 

He further noted that the combined 

figure of 5, 587 tonnes of rice imports 

from India and Thailand may have 

been rice imported on not-valid-forforex 

basis. 

The Half year 2018 economic report 

of the apex bank showed that the country 

has made significant progress in 

its quest to achieve self sufficiency in 

rice production. According to the report, 

the Anchor Borrowers Programme, 

which was introduced in 

2015, has added 2 million metric 

tons to rice supply across the country. 

The ABP was introduced to curb 

the nation’s food import bill, by 

boosting domestic production of food 

crops especially rice and wheat 

which formed part of four items that 

consumed a N1 trillion in foreign 

exchange. 

According to the half year 2018 report 

of the CBN, the apex bank has 

so far disbursed N91.90 billion, to 

412,037 small-holder farmers since 

CBN injects N80bn into agric schemes 

VANGUARD analysis re 

vealed that the CBN injected 

N80 billion into three agricultural 

initiatives in the first half of 

the year (H1’18). The initiatives 

are Anchor Borrowers Programme 

(ABP), Paddy Aggregation 

Scheme (PAS) and the Commercial 

Agriculture Credit Scheme 

(CACS). 

In addition to N36.37 billion 

disbursed through the Anchor 

Borrowers Programme, the apex 

bank also disbursed N4.25 billion 

through the Paddy Aggregation 

Scheme (PAS) and N39.34 billion 

was disbursed through the Commercial 

Agriculture Credit 

Scheme (CACS). 

The report stated; “Paddy Aggregation 

Scheme (PAS) 

In the first half of 2018, the sum 

of N4.25 billion was released to 

three (3) banks for disbursement 

to three (3) projects under the 

Paddy Aggregation Scheme 

(PAS). This brought the total disbursement 

under the Scheme to 

N30.38 billion at end-June 2018. 

Also, in the review period, the 

sum of N13.37 billion was repaid 

under the Scheme. 

“In the review period, the sum 

of N39.34 billion was disbursed to 

16 projects, under the Commercial 

Agriculture Credit Scheme 

(CACS) compared with N50.59 

billion released to 11 banks for 34 

projects in the half year 2017. The 

cumulative amount disbursed 

under the CACS since inception 

in 2009 to end-June 2018 was 

N560.91 billion to finance 557 

projects. 

“In the first half of 2018, the 

sum of N17.01 billion was repaid 

by fourteen (14) participating 

banks in respect of 51 projects, 

compared with N28.83 billion for 

191 projects in the corresponding 

period of 2017. This brought 

the cumulative repayment from 

inception to N273.62 billion at 

end-June 2018.” 

The report also showed that 

the banks granted 10,420 loans 

worth N1.75 billion to farmers in 

the first half of the year under 

the Agricultural Credit Guarantee 

Scheme (ACGS). 

The reports stated: “In the first 

half of 2018, a total of 10,420 

loans valued at N1.75 billion 

were guaranteed under the 

ACGS, compared with 21,073 

loan valued at N3.07 billion in 

the corresponding period of 

2017. This indicated 50.6 and 

43.0 per cent decline in volume 

and value guaranteed, respectively. 

An analysis of the loans 

guaranteed by purpose showed 

that: food crops accounted for 

7,104 (68.2 percent); livestock, 

1,051 (10.1 percent); mixed 

crops, 383 (3.7 percent); cash 

crops, 1,230 (11.8 percent); fisheries, 

445 (4.3 percent); and 

the inception of the programme. 

The report stated: “The implementation 

of the Anchor Borrowers’ 

Programme continued in the review 

period with the disbursement 

of N36.37 billion to 155,732 farmers, 

compared with N12.57 billion 

to 27 farmers in the first half of 

2017. This brought the cumulative 

disbursements, since inception, to 

N91.90 billion, with 412,037 smallholder 

farmers as beneficiaries. 

The Programme was being implemented 

in 36 states and the Federal 

Capital Territory through thirteen 

(13) state government anchors 

and one hundred and twenty-seven 

(127) private-led anchors. 

“In the review period, the sum of 

N1.57 billion was repaid, bringing the 

cumulative repayment since inception 

to N12.19 billion. The commodities 

being financed under the Scheme included: 

rice, maize, wheat, soya 

beans, cotton, cassava, groundnut, 

fish and poultry. The Scheme has created 

over 500,000 jobs and added 2.0 

million metric tons to domestic rice 

supply. 

‘others’, 207 (2.0 percent). An analysis 

by category of borrower 

showed that: individuals accounted 

for N1.71 billion, (97.3 

percent); informal groups, 

N26.02 million (1.5 percent); 

cooperatives, N11.61 million 

(0.7 percent); and companies, 

N9.75 million (0.6 percent), compared 

with N2.98 billion (98.5 

percent) for individuals; informal 

groups, N7.88 million (0.3 

percent); cooperatives, N22.50 

million (0.7 percent); and companies, 

N13.90 million (0.5 percent) 

in the corresponding period 

of 2017. The cumulative 

number of loans guaranteed 

from inception of the Scheme in 

1978 to end-June 2018 was 1.11 

million, valued at N111.62 billion. 

“The sum of N3.05 billion, 

guaranteed to 17,977 projects, 

was fully repaid in the review 

period, compared with N1.84 

billion for 11,354 projects, in the 

corresponding period of 2017. 

The cumulative repayment from 

inception to end-June 2018 was 

N84.52 billion for 876,873 loans. 

“During the review period, 

there were no default claims settled, 

same as in the corresponding 

period of 2017. Consequently, 

the cumulative number of settled 

claims remained at 17,216, 

valued at N648.63 million at 

end-June 2018.”

garments, agrocommodities, 

arts/ 

crafts and leather 

works with over 3000 

SMEs from various 

By Naomi Uzor 

The 

Nigerian- 

American Chamber 

of Commerce (NACC) in 

collaboration with 

Facebook and Digivate 

360 have trained over 50 

SMEs on growing their 

businesses leveraging 

digital media. 

The training which held 

recently in Lagos at the 

Facebook NG Hub, drew 

participants from various 

sectors of the SME value 

chain. 

NACC, Facebook empower er 50 Nigerian SMEs 

Communications 

Executive, NACC, Ebuka 

Ugochukwu, said it 

became very important 

that the Chamber included 

SMEs in its business 

model. 

He said: "We have come to 

understand that SMEs are 

the backbone of any 

economy. We do expect 

that as these businesses 

grow, they will be able to 

contribute more to the 

economy and leverage 

the connections and 

opportunities that we 

provide them to scale up". 

Ebuka noted that when 

Zuckerberg visited the 

country in 2016, one of 

his objectives was to try 

to see how Facebook 

could empower SMEs in 

the country. That 

objective resonated with 

our commitment to 

empower businesses with 

digital skills to grow, 

manage their brand and 

increase revenue amongst 

others. 

"As a Chamber which 

stands as a pillar of the 

relationship between the 

United States of America 

and Nigeria, serving as an 

important catalyst in 

bringing together people 


and ideals to bolster 

bilateral commercial 

relations between Nigeria 

and the United States, we 

organize other trainings 

and events, one of which 

is a monthly breakfast 

meeting, where 

participants are exposed 

to networking and 

creating new business 

connections for the 

growth of their enterprise. 

It is very important that 

people know how we are 

changing the business 

landscape so they can 

reach out to us on how we 

can help them scale up," 

Ebuka stated. 

He emphasized that the 

training was on-going. 

"We're just done with the 

first phase and we are full 

of optimism for the 

advanced stages of the 

training which will 

commence soon," he 

added. 

Getting business 

loans from banks 

(Concluding) 

SMEDAN AN seeks collaboration with 

Chinese SMEs 

By Yinka Kolawole 

Small and Medium 

Enterprises 

Development 

Agency of Nigeria 

(SMEDAN) has 

commenced moves 

towards a possible 

collaboration and 

synergy with 

Guangdong SMEs in 

China, aimed at 

technology transfer to 

small enterprises in 

Nigeria. 

Chairman, Governing 

Board, SMEDAN, Femi 

Pedro, said this at the 

just concluded 15th 

edition of the China 

International Small 

and Medium 

Enterprises Fair 

(CISMEF) 2018, which 

was attended by 21 

Nigerian Small and 

Medium Enterprises 

(SMEs). 

Pedro said the 

collaborative initiative 

is being planned 

through the Africa- 

Guangdong Business 

Association (AGBA) 

window for the 

promotion of SMEs in 

the country. 

In a statement, 

SMEDAN's spokesman, 

Ibrahim Mohammed, 

said about 25 Made-in- 

Nigeria products were 

on display at the 

Nigerian pavilion at the 

Fair spanning foods, 

countries in 

attendance. 

The statement added 

that the Director 

General of SMEDAN, 

Dr. Dikko Umaru 

Radda, further 

requested for areas of 

collaboration, 

particularly cluster 

development, capacity 

building and trade 

partnership beyond 

the Fair. 

He said the 

participation of 

Nigerian SMEs at the 

Fair would have a great 

impact on the 

economy of the nation, 

adding the SMEs that 

attended were able to 

identify new markets 

and modern 

technology to improve 

their production 

The SMEs 

that 

attended 

were able to 

identify new 

markets and 

modern 

technology 

to improve 

their 

production 

Radda added that 

SMEs were also able to 

discover new 

investments and 

b u s i n e s s 

opportunities. 

According to him, 

Nigeria's showing at 

this year's edition of 

CISMEF has left an 

indelible mark about 

various business 

opportunities that 

abound in the country 

especially, "in our 

naturally endowed 

agro-commodities, 

especially ginger, Shea 

butter, coconut oil, 

black seed and 

turmeric which were 

rated very highly. 

Identification of niche 

markets to focus on e.g. 

agro-commodities and 

solid minerals." 

Meanwhile, 9 SMEs 

from Nigeria were said 

to have been 

successfully matched 

with Chinese 

companies who are 

interested in their 

respective products at 

a Cross-Matchmaking 

forum aimed at offering 

opportunities to 

connect Chinese SMEs 

with overseas 

customers, and 

increase their presence 

in the global market. 

In the last few weeks we have published 

some information on some selected banks' 

SME credit facilities. We highlighted some 

key offers including special offers and major 

distinguishing offers between a bank and 

others. The banks we examined include 

Wema Bank, Stanbic IBTC, Diamond Bank etc. 

In this last part we summerise with general 

perspectives of the banks' regarding SME 

financing. 

In the beginning of this series we had noted 

that most, if not all banks, restrict their loan 

facilities to existing businesses with some 

measure of standard book keeping practices 

as well as structured to a significant level. 

We also noted that the banks will look for 

cashflow, in other words, the rate of 

turnover in the business, and many other 

key parameters for qualifying a business for 

a loan. In a different series in the near future 

we shall be looking at all these parameters 

in details. 

It is important to note here that most banks, 

especially those in our focus in this column, 

know very well that many small and medium 

enterprises want to grow and expand. 

They also know that dealing with the ever 

more complex processes and circumstances 

of the Nigerian business environment is key 

to business growth. And finally they are 

aware that there is a huge gap in the knowhow, 

or financial literacy on the part of the 

small business owners for navigating these 

complex processes and circumstances. 

Therefore it takes a bank that is passionate 

about helping small businesses grow on all 

fronts, to give loans to SMEs. 

For such banks it is beyond financial 

support, they will go the extra mile in 

providing SME financing package for 

working capital and other forms of credit 

facilities. 

We shall be back with discussions on these 

packages with another set of three banks 

starting in December.


081522060944 

Electoral Act provisions on donation to candidates 

unrealistic — ADEDIPE, SAN 

By Abdulwahab 

Abdulah 

As the activities towards the 

2019 general elections gather 

momentum, a Senior 

Advocate of 

Nigeria, Chief Ifedayo 

Adedipe, provides 

answers to some legal 

questions, arguing that 

certain provisions of the 

Electoral Acts are not realistic. 

He said payment for 

nomination and expression 

forms is not out of place. 

Excerpts: 

The opposition Peoples 

Democratic Party, PDP 

recently argued that 

buying of nomination and 

expression form for President 

Muhammadu Buhari by a 

group for N45 million violated 

Section 91(9) of the Electoral 

Act, which pegs maximum 

donation to any political office 

seeker at N1m. What is your 

position on this? 

Under the old Electoral Act 

2010, I call it the old one because 

the process of amendment it is 

still not completed. It is 

expressly provided that an 

individual or other entity shall 

not donate more than N1m to 

any candidate – the emphasis 

is candidate. At that moment, 

you have only aspirants; the 

President was an aspirant. The 

section only applies when the 

candidate emerges and election 

process begins. I think he 

(Buhari) was an aspirant at that 

moment. So, I do not think there 

is anything in the Electoral Act 

that says an aspirant should not 

receive money; although, I 

suspect that the essence of the 

law is to delimit the amount of 

money that could be made 

available to politicians. But in 

reality, that is dishonest. 

There is absolutely no way 

a candidate, when one has 

emerged, will spend a paltry 

sum of N1m to get even a seat 

at the House of Assembly. We 

need to get it right. It’s not real. 

From getting the endorsement 

of party members to obtaining 

forms to canvassing for votes, 

N1 million is a drop in the ocean. 

It is when we live in denial like 

this that we make corruption a 

way of life. So, money will be 

passed under the table without 

accounting. 

When you say I should give a 

candidate only N1m, I’d say 

very well, I will give only N1m 

but behind I probably will add 

N99 million for which there will 

be no account. So, the Act is not 

realistic but in specific terms at 

the moment, the President is not 

a candidate; so, obtaining forms 

for him by his admirers may not 

be out of place. 

Mr. Femi Falana, SAN, 

sometimes ago canvassed that 

it was an illegality for political 

parties to sell nomination 

forms, based on various 

•Ifedayo Adedipe, SAN 

pronouncements of the courts. 

Do you agree with this? 

I am not aware. My 

understanding of political 

parties is that they are voluntary 

associations of like minds and 

people wanting to canvass for 

votes and if they are elected, 

they come into office. The 

question is: how will they raise 

money for their operations if you 

say they cannot sell their 

nomination forms? For instance, 

the rank of Senior Advocate of 

Nigeria, at the very beginning 

of the revered rank, the forms 

were free; at the moment they 

are being sold because you will 

need money to process the 

entries. I do not think it will be 

right to say political parties 

should not sell nomination 

forms. We do know that even 

though parties claim to have 

financial members, it is doubtful 

whether they actually collect 

subscriptions from members as 

they are expected to do in a 

proper political arrangement. 

Political parties will register 

their members and the financial 

members of the party will, may 

be monthly or quarterly, 

contribute money into the 

coffers of the party, so that they 

will all be, in the language of 

Babangida, equal joiners and 

equal members. If we 

contribute equally to the coffers 

of the political party, then we 

will have equal say but when 

we have an individual 

contributing N10m and another 

just given a card to be a 

member, it is dishonest to expect 

that they will have equal rights. 

And that is why godfathers 

dictate what happens in the 

parties. But I think the political 

parties are at liberty to source 

their funds without 

contravening the laws. But I also 

think that part of the reforms 

we need in the political systems 

is in actually monitoring 

financial members of the 

parties. Let everybody, who 

believes in a political party, be 

a financial member. It may be 

that somebody gives him 

money but his name will be 

there as a member contributing 

money. What they currently 

have does not follow that 

pattern. Two, the contribution 

should be realistic. When you 

say somebody is a member of a 

political party and he should 

bring N100, which can’t even 

buy a recharge card. So, these 

are some of the things we need 

to factor in. I believe the political 

parties have a right to sell their 

nomination forms. If you say they 

shouldn’t sell their forms, how 

will they print it? 

I agree that some of the 

amounts are outrageous but 

again it may be that they want 

to use it to prune down the 

serious contenders from the 

jesters. You know, some people 

for the sheer fun of it, some 

people may say they want to be 

President, they want to be 

governor. In a political party you 

may have as many as 50 

aspirants. 

The party will have to manage 

them without being seen as 

taking sides. But I expect parties 

to make the prices of their forms 

reasonable. 

When you say I 

should give a 

candidate only 

N1m, I’d say 

very well, I will 

give only N1m 

but behind I 

probably will 

add N99m for 

which there will 

be no account 

INEC says it has power to 

prosecute electoral offenders, 

including vote buyers, but 

lacks the power to make arrest. 

Without the power to arrest, 

isn’t the prosecutorial power 

useless? 

Vote-buying did not start in 

Ekiti; it began in an 

embarrassing fashion in Edo 

and INEC did not behave well 

in Edo State for the following 

reasons: for inexplicable 

reasons, INEC postponed 

election in Edo for two, three 

weeks, when it came to Ondo, 

INEC refused to do so, probably 

because they were under some 

bizzare influence, I refuse to 

believe that they were being 

altruistic. 

The case in Ondo was one 

that would have given them the 

opportunity to say because of the 

embarrassing intervention of 

the Federal High Court that 

created crisis in Ondo for the 

candidates, they should be 

given more opportunity, so that 

you have a level-playing ground 

for all the candidates. But INEC 

refused, whereas they did it in 

Edo. So, is INEC biased? It is 

up to them. We began to hear 

about vote-buying in Edo, when 

it came to Ondo, it was the same 

song. Now, the one in Ekiti was 

probably the proverbial straw 

that broke the camel’s back, we 

had figure, N5,000, N10,000. I 

think, it should worry us 

because if people cannot choose 

freely who should represent or 

lead them, then we have been 

enslaved by those who have 

money. 

At the end of the day, 

whether that fellow is good or 

bad, he will be there for the next 

four years. At the level of the 

Federal Government, a policy 

should evolve because the role 

of the security agencies in the 

elections leaves much to be 

desired. I have been involved 

in election petition cases where 

the while of the security 

agencies came and took sides. 

It shouldn’t be so. Elsewhere on 

election days, work places are 

not closed down. People vote 

and go back to their work, it is 

a routine thing but here we 

make a mess of eating an egg. 

The militaristic language from 

our politicians should worry us 

all. It is another type of 

corruption, still democracy is the 

best. We need to nurture this 

democracy, plead with our 

politicians that in the name of 

God and for the future of our 

country think more of the 

country and less of you. I don’t 

care too much who the 

President becomes if he has 

modern ideas because when 

you look at the countries of the 

world, African countries are at 

the lowest level. When you look 

at the countries in Africa, 

Nigeria is a joke, in spite of our 

population. We must be modern, 

we must reform ourselves and 

one of the best ways to do this 

is to put in our best hands in 

everything we do. If we don’t 

do so, we will have nobody but 

ourselves to blame. 

ver 90 political parties 

are seeking to participate in 

next year’s election; don’t you 

think the conditions for 

registering a political party 

should be stricter? 

I believe that we do not need 

more than five political parties. 

First, it will make it easier for 

INEC to conduct elections and 

monitor the process. Secondly, 

the nuisance tendencies in 

election will be removed. Why 

should we have all the wife and 

husband political parties? Some 

we don’t even know their 

names. We don’t need it. Politics 

should not be the only job in 

town. At the end of the day, how 

do we grow our economy? 

Our population is increasing, 

we don’t have jobs, and these 

are the issues we should be 

addressing. We have more 

challenging issues ahead of us 

a country. We are approaching 

200 million, we don’t have 

infrastructures, no good roads, 

no airport that is of world-class 

standard, then we will always 

have kidnappers, we will always 

have armed robbers, 419 

amongst us. So, we need to 

grow our economy and what I 

will counsel this government or 

the one coming after them is to 

look for the best hands in each 

department across the country; 

you will find them. We are in an 

emergency, our population is 

ballooning, and oil alone is not 

enough. In fairness, this 

government is making efforts at 

diversifying the economy, we 

should encourage it. 

Why is there a need for a 

large number of lawyers in 

election matters? 

First of all, electoral litigations 

are fairly deadline-inspired 

processes, meaning that you 

have to finish certain things 

within certain period; you have 

to file certain papers within 

certain period. What you can do 

as a litigant is to hire a law firm, 

which may have 10 to 15 

lawyers. When you hire a 

particular lawyer he comes in 

with his own people; it does not 

mean that you are hiring all 

those people or that you consult 

30 lawyers and you pay all of 

them. 

C 

M 

Y 

K

GAS FLARING REGULATIONS: Why 

penalties should be paid to communities 

— Lawyers, stakeholders 

VANGUARD, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2018 — 23 

political will to tackle the 

problem of gas flaring. This 

he said will begin with 

beginning with the 

passage into law of the 

Petroleum Industry Bill. 

“The PIB was conceived 

and negotiated for over an 

18-year period. It’s very 

instructive that successive 

governments have not 

given the right priority to 

the innovations that this 

change in law in the 

petroleum industry will 

bring to Nigeria. The 

benefits far outweigh 

what is going on today. 

And let’s be honest about 

it: corruption is at the 

root of it.'' 

By Abdulwahab 

Abdulah 

OVER the years, issue 

of gas flaring has been 

a thorn in smooth 

operations of oil and gas 

companies and host 

communities. As the host 

communities complain 

unabatedly over the effect 

of gas flared in their areas, 

the oil companies always 

find fault either in the 

legislation guiding their 

operations or adducing 

their problems to harsh 

economic conditions they 

operate. 

However, with much 

pressure, the government 

and stakeholders recently 

came up with legislations 

aimed at making the 

business of gas production 

a seamless one with little or 

no damage to all 

stakeholders including the 

host communities. Lawyers 

and experts in oil and gas 

industry converged to 

evaluate the impact of the 

legislation on human 

rights of the people and the 

stakeholders. 

A South-south monarch 

and lawyer, Serene Dokubo 

Spiff said that the situation 

in the oil producing 

communities, where gas is 

flared “is so bad that white 

cattle egrets have turned 

grey from blackened sooth, 

and there is no difference 

between night and day. 

“The activity of gas flaring, 

which the oil majors 

unconvincingly tell us is an 

inevitable complement of 

crude oil extraction 

process, inflicts on host 

communities, 

unimaginable pain and 

panic with cataclysmic 

consequences. This 

avoidable, ignoble activity, 

wreaks havoc on the entire 

ecosystem of the region. To 

experience it in actuality 

first hand is to hobnob with 

death itself,” he said. 

Speaking on the subtheme: 

Gas flaring: Oil 

Producing Communities, 

Spiff said flaring has 

resulted in increased death 

rate, polluted water bodies, 

destroyed personal 

property, acidic rain water, 

toxic air, polluted and 

unproductive farmlands, 

eroded mangrove forests, 

non-existent fish habitat, 

reduced crop yield, among 

others. 

“Gas flaring hampers 

sustainable development 

in host communities 

environmentally, 

economically and 

socially,” he said. 

To him, the polluters 

should pay penalties to the 

host communities who are 

affected, not to the 

government. 

“Regulation 13 of the Flare 

Gas (Prevention of Waste 

and Pollution) Regulation 

2018, places a $2 per 

28.317 standard cubic 

meters of gas flared within 

an OML area. 

“However, this payment 

goes to the government, 

rather than to the host 

communities who bear the 

direct impact of flared gas. 

It is contended that the 

penalty be paid to the 

people who inhale the 

toxic air. Fair is fair!,” he 

said. 

On the way out, he said it 

must be ensured that the 

2018 regulations are 

adhered to, adding that the 

private sector has to play its 

part to aid the smooth 

implementation of the 

regulations. 

Lawyers’ views’ 

Discussing the 

Regulations from a 

lawyer’s perspective, an 

energy law expert, Mrs. 

Yemisi Awonuga, said the 

2018 Regulations have 

created a whole new 

framework for the 

governance of gas flaring, 

geared toward gas 

utilisation and 

commercialisation, in 

accordance with 2017 

National Gas Policy. 

According to Awonuga, 

said with new and higher 

penalties and the robust 

recording and reporting 

requirements, the Federal 

Government is clearly 

moving away from the 

previous regime that 

incentivized gas flaring 

and toward a system that 

increases gas utilisation 

while maximising its 

interest in generating 

revenue. 

“The provisions of the 2018 

Regulations, if properly 

implemented, will reverse 

the classic irony! ‘A Gas 

province without usable 

gas!,” she said. 

Network in Oil and Gas 

Lawyers chairman, Mr. 

George Etomi said 

nothing tangible could be 

achieved except there is 

AJ, NOPRIN request UN Gen Sec to visit Nigeria 

over rights violations 


TWO civil society 

groups, Access to 

Justice,AJ and the 

Network on Police 

Reforms in Nigeria, 

NOPRIN, have 

requested the Secretary- 

General of the United 

Nations, Mr. António 

Guterres to visit Nigeria 

as well as intervene in 

the alleged human 

rights violation in the 

country. 

The groups in a joint 

letters addressed to the 

UN, stated the visit of 

the Secretary General 

become imperative 

owing to deteriorating 

human rights situation 

and wave of killings of 

Shiites members by 

soldiers of the Nigerian 

Army. 

According to them, “if 

the UN and the 

international community 

fail to act on these 

matters, Nigeria’s 

already grave human 

rights and security 

situation may worsen 

calamitously, putting 

planned elections early 

next year in some 

jeopardy.” 

•From left; Chinekwe Duru, Senior Vice President, AFC; Lere Fashola, CEO, 

Legal Blitz; Felicia Kemi Segun receiving the Award for Managing Partner of the 

Year; Cynthia Lareine, Executive Director, International Lawyers for Africa (ILFA); 

Moray Mclaren, Partner for Lexington Consultants and Fabian Ajegun, SAN. 

The letter informed 

the world body that 

Nigeria’s military forces, 

have, “over the last four 

years, committed 

widespread and 

massive atrocities 

against civilian 

populations and 

members of minority 

religious and political 

organizations and that 

these atrocities are 

continuing and 

intensifying occasioning 

much bloodshed and 

deaths of many people 

each time they occur.” 

The letter recounted 

the latest clashes 

between the Army and 

members of the Islamic 

Movement of Nigeria, 

IMN, on October 27 and 

29 respectively, in the 

FCT Abuja, citing 

Amnesty International’s 

assessment, that “.. the 

horrific use of excessive 

force by soldiers and 

police led to the killing 

of at least 45 supporters 

of the Islamic 

Movement in Nigeria 

(IMN) over two days...” 

It further talked about 

past atrocities committed 

by Nigeria’s military 

forces against members 

of the Shiites between 

2014-2018 and said the 

military has killed over 

one thousand members 

of IMN within this 

period. 

It deplored the 

Nigerian government’s 

consistent failure to hold 

military officials 

accountable for the 

atrocities they allegedly 

commit, as well as its 

national 

and 

international 

responsibility to 

investigate civilian 

deaths caused by military 

forces, saying this failure 

“has emboldened the 

military, amplified the 

culture of impunity 

within it, and ostensibly 

encouraged the military 

to expand and deepen its 

violent crackdown 

against members of the 

IMN.” 

To this end, the groups 

requested the UN to 

among other things place 

the situation of Nigeria’s 

military Forces’ killings of 

Shiite members before the 

Security Council of the 

United Nations and 

demand that the 

government of Nigeria 

takes urgent and specific 

steps to end the impunity 

of its security forces, 

particularly “to demand 

that its military forces 

refrain from using deadly, 

and 

disproportionate force 

against peaceful 

protesters.” 

They also requested for 

“a resolution of the 

Security Council urging 

the International 

Criminal Court to 

expedite its investigation 

of allegations of war crimes 

and genocide against 

Nigerian military forces, in 

order to bring those 

responsible to justice and 

accountability as well as 

refer the deteriorating 

human rights situation in 

Nigeria to other 

mechanisms within the 

United Nations. 

Giving past instances of 

the atrocities committed 

against the Shiites, the 

letter recalled the Judicial 

Panel of Inquiry Report into 

the 2015 clashes between 

the Army and the Shiites 

over the barricading of the 

road being used by the 

Chief of Army Staff. The 

letter informs the UNSG 

that the Judicial Panel of 

Inquiry had recommended 

prosecutions of persons 

who were implicated in the 

deaths of both a Soldier 

and over 348 Shiites killed 

in the clashes. 

EDITORIAL 

Innocent Anaba 

( Head) 

Wahab Abdulah, 

Ikechukwu 

Nnochiri 

C 

M 

Y 

K


Intrigues, threats that led to N30,000 

minimum wage 

By Victor Ahiuma-Young 

IT is no longer news that 

Nigerian workers are the least 

paid across the globe including 

war-torn countries.The 

subsisting N18,000 minimum 

wage in the country is less than 

$38 as compared to the 

following countries: Algeria - 

$175 (N83,000); Belgium - 

$1,738 (N810,000);Cameroon 

- 36, 270CFA or $75 (N38,000); 

Chad - $120 (N60,000); Denmark 

- $1,820 (N900,000); 

Libya - $430 (N190,000); Japan 

- $1000 (N450,000); Cote 

D’ivoire -CFA $72 (36,607); New 

Zealand -$3,187 (N1.4m); 

Luxemburg - $2,500 (N1.1m); 

Spain - $760. (N300,000); 

Switzerland - $5,620 - (N2.5m) 

and USA - $11 per hour. 

Similarly, it is generally 

believed that Nigerian politicians 

earn the highest salaries 

anywhere in the world. For 

instance, report has it that in 

Luxemburg where minimum 

wage is $2,500, lawmakers are 

paid $7,400. In Libya where 

minimum wage is $430, lawmakers 

earn $3000. In Nigeria 

where minimum wage is $38 

(N18,000), lawmakers earn 

$65,000 (N29m). 

The struggle by organized 

labour in Nigeria for a new 

national minimum wage following 

the expiration of the N18, 

000 subsisting minimum wage 

in 2015, thickened in 2016, culminating 

in the Federal Government 

announcement of a 30- 

man tripartite national 

minimum wage committee, to 

fashion out a new national 

minimum wage for the country. 

Following the announcement 

of the committee, President 

Muhammadu Buhari, on November 

26, 2017, while inaugurating 

the committee said: “The subject 

of a National Minimum Wage for 

the Federation is within the 

Exclusive Legislative List of the 

1999 Constitution of the Federal 

Republic of Nigeria (as amended). 

Accordingly, we should aim to go 

above the basic Social Protection 

Floor for all Nigerian workers based 

on the ability of each tier of Government 

to pay.I say this because 

minimum wage is the minimum 

amount of compensation an 

employee must receive for putting 

in his or her labour and as such 

should be anchored on Social 

Justice and Equity. Government’s 

decision after considering your 

final recommendation will be sent 

as an Executive Bill to the National 

Assembly for it to undergo appropriate 

legislative scrutiny before 

passage into law''. 

Labour’s demand 

Even before the committee was 

announced and inaugurated, 

Labour had made its demand 

known as early as 2016. While the 

Nigerian workers during a protest in Lagos. 

Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC and 

Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, 

TUC, initially demanded N56.500, 

the United Labour Congress of Nigeria, 

ULC, demanded N96, 000. 

Later, NLC and TUC upped their 

demand to N65,500 in view of 

the nation's economic reality. 

However, as negotiation continued, 

the three Labour centres, 

working as Organised Labour, 

harmonised their demand to N65, 

500. As the negotiations progressed, 

the private sector, it was 

gathered made presentation of 

about N42, 000, after sampling the 

opinion of members and their 

ability to pay. It was however 

gathered that the private 

employers brought down their 

figure to N25 ,000 for reasons 

best known to them. 

According to sources, the committee 

received memoranda 

from Delta, Abia, Adamawa, Imo, 

Akwa Ibom, Bauchi, Ekiti (which 

said it was consulting), Enugu, 

Gombe, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, 

Kogi, Lagos, Nasarawa, Ondo, 

Oyo, Plateau, Taraba, FCT, and 

Borno.Aside from memoranda, 

oral submissions were taken as 

well public hearings from the six 

geo-political zones of the country. 

Governors’ 

offers 

From the memoranda received, 

Kano offered to pay N30, 

600 while other states agreed to 

pay as follows: Adamawa, 

N23,000; Taraba, N20,000; 

Imo, not specific; Plateau, 

N25,000, N30,0000, & 

N57,0000; AkwaIbom, not specific, 

Bauchi, N25 200; Abia, 

N42,000; Ekiti, still consulting; 

Gombe, N28,000; Jigawa, 

N32,000; Kogi, not specific; 

Katsina, not specific; Ondo, 

N22,000; Lagos, will be bound 

by Southern State Governors 

Forum; Oyo, not specific; 

Nasarawa, N24,750, N31, 

348.30; Enugu, will implement 

Minimum 

wage is the 

minimum 

amount of 

compensation 

an employee 

must 

receive for 

putting in his 

or her labour 

anything agreed; Delta, cannot 

accommodate an increase for 

now on present Federal 

Government allocation; Borno, 

N27,000. 

Delay 

tactics 

Though the Committee was 

inaugurated on November 26, 

2017, it did not begin sitting until 

March 2018. 

When the committee commenced 

work, it planned to 

terminate its assignment by 

August. Unfortunately, this was 

not to be. While other social 

partners, presented their 

figures, the Federal Government 

did not announce a figure 11 

months after the committee was 

inaugurated.The government 

was accused of frustrating the 

committee by shifting the goal 

post through the Minister of 

Labour and Employment, Dr 

Chris Ngige. 

Things came to a boiling point 

at the end of August after Ngige 

allegedly announced a sine-die 

(till further notice) suspension of 

meetings of the committee. 

Labour decided that its 

endurance capacity had been 

stretched to the limit and 

decided to bark through a 14 day 

ultimatum to the Federal Government 

to reconvene the 

meeting of the tripartite committee 

and announce its 

figure.When the ultimatum expired, 

typical of the government, 

Labour demands were not met. 

Labour leaders decided to make 

good the threat to embark on a 

nationwide strike. 

Unity of 

purpose 

The unity of organized labour 

on the issue of minimum wage 

completely took government by 

surprise unlike what happened 

in May 2017 when the government 

jerked up the pump price 

of fuel from N65 to N145 per litre. 

Leaders of NLC, TUC and ULC, 

decided to put their differences 

aside and resolved to teach government 

a bitter lesson. When 

the strike kicked-off, critical sectors 

of the economy as well as 

public sector institutions,among 

others, were completely crippled 

on the first day of the industrial 

action. On the second day of the 

strike, the government announced 

a reconvening date for the tripartite 

committee. 

During the reconvened meeting 

of October 4 and 5, the Federal 

Government presented N24,000 

as its figure which was rejected 

by Labour and OPS. 

Yet again, it was the Minister of 

Labour and Employment who 

stirred in hornet's nest when he told 

the media that the committee had 

not reached any agreement and 

that the committee’s work was ongoing. 

Labour insisted that agreement 

was reached and that the committee 

had completed its work and 

threatened to return to the the 

trenches on November 6, if 

government refused to accept the 

report of the committee. 

The Organised Private Sector, 

OPS, threw its weight behind 

Labour that agreement was 

reached by the committee and 

indeed, that the committee had 

completed its work. 

The government after realizing 

that it was unable to break the 

ranks of Labour, attempted to 

break the ranks of OPS to no avail. 

It was obvious that the 

government was shocked over 

OPS bond of unity with the labour 

movement on the issue of a new 

minimum wage and knew that a 

nationwide strike was not what the 

country needed at this time. 

Fear, 

gloom 

As Organised Labour mobilized 

for the planned industrial action, 

fear, apprehension and gloom 

loomed the air. The government 

once again, tried its old tricks and 

rushed to the court and secured a 

restraining order from an Abuja 

Division of the National Industrial 

Court, NIC. 

Labour remained defiant contending 

that it was not aware of an 

restraining order and that the 

planned strike would go on as 

planned unless government met 

its demand. 

Sensing an imminent industrial 

unrest which consequences 

would be better imagined than 

experienced, the Labour Minister 

summoned a meeting with 

Labour and OPS. As expected, 

Labour shunned the meeting insisting 

that the meeting was of no 

consequence. 

Labour leaders said the only 

meeting important to it was that 

of the tripartite committee where 

its recommendation would be 

signed and presented to President 

Buhari. 

Incidentally, the government 

equally fixed the meeting of the 

committee for the next day being 

November 5, a day before the 

planned strike was to begin. 

Less than an hour to the commencement 

of the strike to compel 

government to accept N30,000 

new minimum wage, the nation 

that had been on the edge over 

labour threat to shut down the 

country, heaved a sigh of relief 

when labour suspended its planned 

strike after a prolonged meeting 

by the tripartite national minimum 

wage committee. 

Vanguard gathered that during 

the meeting that lasted for over 8 

hours, besides other arguments, the 

fear of strike was very strident. 

It was gathered that neither the 

OPS nor the government wanted to 

experience another nationwide 

strike by a united and determined 

Labour with total support nationwide. 

The consequences of the September 

27 and 28, were still fresh 

and nobody wanted to travel 

through a similar road that might 

even be more perilous. 

So, the N30,000 new minimum 

wage sailed through with superior 

arguments prevailing despite opposition 

from government. 

The road to the N30, 000 new 

minimum wage, was rough and 

tough, investigations revealed that 

solidarity and unity of organized 

labour played a very defining role 

in making the figure a reality, not 

downplaying the understanding of 

members of the organized private 

sector, OPS. 

Like they say, the battle has 

ended, but the war is not yet over.


17th WIMBIZ Annual Conference: 

Osinbajo, US Consul-General 

seek greater investment in 

girls, increased representation 

for women 

By Josephine Agbonkhese 

Nigeria cannot achieve its 

dreams of a prosperous 

and inclusive society without 

reinventing its approach to 

how it is treating the 

overwhelming majority of the 

women and girls that live in 

its country. 

This was the submission of 

the United States Consul 

General, John Bray, who spoke 

at the 17 th Women in 

Management, Business and 

Public Service, WIMBIZ, 

annual 2-day conference held 

last week in Lagos with the 

theme ‘Unstoppable You: 

Reinvent and Reinvigorate’. 

This was even as the wife 

of the Vice President, Mrs 

Dolapo Osinbajo, argued that 

there was need for women in 

the country to push for better 

representation in 

organisations. 

According to Bray who 

was keynote speaker at the 

event which had over 1,800 

women from various walks of 

life in attendance, increased 

investment in the education 

of the girl-child and greater 

political participation by 

women in Nigeria, was 

urgently needed in the 

country. 

“Nigeria is reportedly 

home to the largest number 

of out-of-school children in 

the world, many of whom are 

girls. If Nigeria properly 

invested in the education of 

women and girls, how many 

more Amina Mohammeds 

will represent this country on 

the world stage? If more 

women and girls are given 

equal opportunities, how 

many more Chimamanda 

Ngozi Adichies will be able 

to tell stories that enthral the 

world? 

“Women leaders must 

continue working to promote 

gender equality in Nigeria. 

It is up to you to change the 

tenor of the national 

discourse and prod Nigeria 

to place education and health, 

and the status of women and 

girls higher on its national 

agenda,” Bray emphasised as 

he reiterated that removing 

barriers to women’s full 

economic participation was 

key to an inclusive and 

prosperous Nigeria. 

Osinbajo, on her part, 

urged women to be 

becomes unstoppable.” 

Speaking on the theme of 

the conference which 

featured seven plenary 

sessions, a debate on new 

technology and several deep 

dive sessions on ‘Being Mrs 

Incredible’, ‘The Art of 

Happiness’, ‘Leading with 

Emotional Intelligence’, 

among others, Chairperson, 

WIMBIZ, Mrs Olubunmi 

Aboderin-Talabi, said it was 

thoughtfully crafted with the 

goal of inspiring, encouraging 

and empowering womenfolk. 

Stressing that WIMBIZ’s 

activities was having huge 

impacts in the lives of the 

105,555 women who had 

From Left: Chairman, Board of Trustees, WIMBIZ, Ms. Funmi Roberts; United States 

Consul- General, John Bray; and Chairperson, Executive Council, WIMBIZ, Ms. Olubunmi 

Aboderin-Talabi, at the 17th WIMBIZ Annual Conference in Lagos last Friday. 

unstoppable as the success of 

others around them, as well as 

the growth of the country, 

depended on their own 

success. 

She said: “The argument 

that women can achieve 

success in their workplace 

has been won, the push for 

better representation and 

leadership on boards of 

organisations is ongoing. To 

be unstoppable is to make a 

mark. Do the best you can 

with what you have from 

season to season, stage to 

stage. If you are unstoppable 

and your neighbour, friends 

are unstoppable from all 

unstoppable then our nation 

Women 

leaders 

must 

continue 

working to 

promote 

gender 

equality in 

Nigeria. It 

is up to you 

to change 

the tenor of 

the national 

discourse... 

benefitted from it since it was 

founded 17 years ago, she 

said: “Former WIMBIZ 

Executive Council 

Chairperson, Aisha Ahmad, 

became confirmed and 

resumed as a Deputy 

Governor of the Central Bank 

of Nigeria. WIMBIZ 

Executive Council member, 

Audrey Joe-Ezigbo, became 

the first ever female 

president of the Nigerian 

Gas Association.” 

Drawing from her own 

experiences, a Founding 

member and an executive of 

WIMBIZ, Mrs Ibukun 

Awosika, Chairman, First 

Bank Nigeria Plc., asserted 

that every woman was 

unstoppable as long as she 

was focused on her goals. 

Awosika said: “You need to 

focus on your goals and be 

willing to discipline yourself 

in every way required to 

achieve those goals. My 

advice will be: just stay with 

it, keep yourself, do not try to 

do it alone because you 

cannot, build a network to 

support your ability, and be 

honest with yourself. Bear in 

mind that there are many 

different ways your goals will 

happen. Just find a way 

around it.” 

On how women could draw 

a line between hard work and 

stress in the quest to be 

successful, Hansatu Adegbite, 

Executive Director, WIMBIZ, 

said: “Stress and pressure are 

inevitable in the life of 

everyone. But the most 

important thing is to learn how 

to manage stress, plan 

effectively, leverage on a 

support system so that you are 

not running everything alone, 

know when it is enough and 

take a step back, as well as a 

breather. I will like to say that 

it is very important to find time 

to rest and refresh yourself, 

and at the same time keep 

achieving that which you have 

set out to achieve. 

Adegbite also urged women 

to leverage on things like 

technology to more effortlessly 

joggle work with family life. 

To guard against 

depression in their pursuits, 

mental health expert, Mrs 

Maymunah Kadiri, on her 

part, warned that every 

woman must strive to know 

who she is. 

“Know your stressors, have 

a healthy support system 

because a good support 

system can help lift you up 

when you are down and will 

always be your cheer leader 

when you are up there. More 

importantly, know your 

numbers, just as when one of 

the panelists today advised. 

Your blood pressure, your body 

mass index, sugar level, etc. 

are very important for you to 

know. Health is wealth and if 

you are not healthy, you 

cannot achieve whatever level 

of wealth you have mapped 

out to achieve,” Kadiri said. 

Other speakers and 

personalities at the event were 

the wife of Ogun State 

Governor, Mrs Folorunsho 

Amosun; wife of former 

governor of Lagos State, Mrs 

Abimbola Fashola; Betty 

Irabor, Founder/Publisher, 

Genevieve Magazine; Bunmi 

George, Founder, Shredder 

Gang; Nkem Begho, 

Managing Director, Future 

Soft, among others. 

C 

M 

Y 

K


We are not after disconnection, bill 

distributions alone, says Ikeja DISCO 

as they give free medicals in Lagos 

...mother of sickle celled twin gets succour after 8 years 

Mrs Anjorin Labake with her sickle celled son, Kehinde 

Anjorin (right)at the event in Lagos. 

By Ebun Sessou 

Having twins is definitely a 

double dose of joy, fun, 

blessing and delight. But for 

Mrs Anjorin Labake, 35 years 

old, it has been tough and 

challenging. 

Aside the hardest moments 

encountered from pregnancy 

all the way through the time 

she gave birth to her twins, the 

status of one of her twin 

children who was said to be a 

Sickle Cell patient has caused 

her more pain than joy. 

Anjorin lost her husband as 

well as her job in the process 

of taking care of her son’s 

health and seeking solution to 

her son’s ailment. 

Today, she was among 800 

women customers of the Ikeja 

Electric who benefited from 

the free medical outreach last 

week as part of efforts to 

combat health challenges in 

the country. 

Speaking with WO, 

Anjorin, a widow and a mother 

of three said she lost her 

husband eight years ago, 

leaving the three children in 

her care. Amongst the three 

children was Kehinde, her 

Sickle Cell son. 

According to Anjorin, 

taking care of Kehinde has 

been challenging. Due to her 

enormous efforts at ensuing 

Kehinde survives as well as 

having the best of life, Anjorin 

has continuously paid visits to 

different hospitals and health 

care centres. 

She was still ruminating on 

her next movement on her 

son’s health when news of the 

Ikeja Electric’s Corporate 

Social Responsibility, CSR 

programme got to her. 

The event, themed, “Health 

is Wealth”, organised to take 

care of the less privileged was 

a-4-day free medical check up 

and treatment which was the 

second edition. It took place 

in four different locations 

including Oshodi, Ikorodu, 

Akowonjo and Abule Egba, 

between Monday 15 and 

Thursday 18 October, 2018. 

Lamenting her ordeal, 

Anjorin said, “ I am passing 

through financial challenges 

because of the boy. 

“I lost my job because I had 

to take care of my son. I have 

spent all my money on him. 

My husband died 8 years ago. 

It has been challenging. They 

are twins. Kehinde is SS and 

Taiwo is AA. The sickness 

affected the education of 

Kehinde and that is why he is 

lagging behind in his 

education. He is in primary 3 

while Taiwo is in JSS 1. We 

spend all our time in the 

hospital. 

“Government at all levels 

are not helping the less 

privileged when it comes to 

health challenges and it is 

pathetic. There is no free test 

or drugs for sickle cell patients. 

“At LUTH which is a federal 

medical institution, the drugs 

are expensive as well as the 

Mrs Anjorin Labake receiving free drugs from Ikeja 

DISCO. 

treatment. Asked if the family 

members assist her in anyway, 

she said, “My family members 

are doing their best but the 

country itself is tensed. 

Everybody is faced with one 

challenge or the other. I am 

very happy to be at the 

programme”, she said. 

Speaking with Anjorin on 

the medical check up and 

treatment, she told WW, that, 

she was invited by her brother 

who is also one of the 

customers of Ikeja Electric to 

attend the programme. 

“My brother told me about 

the free medical check up. So, 

I came with my son who is a 

sickle cell patient, he has been 

going through pains so I 

This is not the 

first time. We 

started this 

project last 

year and we 

have attended 

to more than 

200 customers 

in each 

location 

decided to bring him. 

On how she gets drugs for 

her son, she said, “Before, now, 

getting drugs has been 

difficult because they are 

expensive”. 

Being enthusiastic, Kehinde 

said, he would like to become 

a medical doctor so as to take 

care of patients. 

“I will like to be a doctor 

when I grow up so that I can 

address issues that pertain to 

health”, he said. 

Another beneficiary of the 

free medical check up was, 

Miss Mary Joseph, a 36 years 

old woman. She said, “I 

received a message through 

the CDA forum that there was 

going to be free medical check 

up in Ikorodu for all Ikeja 

Electric customers, so I 

decided to come for general 

medical check up since it was 

free”, she stated. 

Speaking with the Ikeja 

Electric on the programme, 

the Brand and Event 

Supervisor, Ikeja Electric, 

Mrs. Akintola Adebimpe said, 

IE as one of the leading 

DISCOs in Nigeria is saddled 

with the responsibility of not 

only disconnection or 

collection of bills but to tell all 

IE customers that we care for 

their health. 

According to her, “The CSR 

is more than what people 

think, our CSR is called P- 

CSR, Personal Corporate 

Social Responsibilities, and 

the reason for the programme 

was to give back to the society. 

“We are not after 

disconnection or collection of 

bills alone. Ikeja Electric does 

not stop at restoring 

electricity. It is to tell the 

society that we care about their 

health. 

“This is not the first time. We 

started this project last year 

and we have attended to more 

than 200 customers in each 

location. Aside this, we have 

visited different places 

including rehabilitation 

centres, orphanage homes. We 

have given out mosquito nets, 

just to give back to the society”, 

she noted. 

Speaking on the level of 

patients the doctors attended 

to, she said, “Patients with 

hypertension, diabetic, high 

blood sugar, malaria as well as 

communicable diseases 

among others were attended 

to. 

“Ikeja Electric is not only on 

medical. We have our four 

pillars of CSR including 

medical outreach, 

environment, youth 

empowerment, education, 

children upbringing. We are 

hoping that the programme 

will get better every year. It is 

a continuous plan and we hope 

by next year, we will be able to 

attend to 500 people per 

location”, she said 

Corroborating, Network 

Operation Manager, Ikorodu 

Business Unit, Mr. Bello 

Ismaila, said, “This 

programme started last year. 

And the feedback we got 

spurred us to continue the 

project. The reaction from 

customers have been 

wonderful”, he said. 

On how they reached out to 

customers, he said, “There 

was announcement and on the 

social media. We sent SMS to 

our customers to inform them 

about the programme. We 

have pasted memo in all our 

business units in Ikorodu. We 

also use the CDA group 

whatsapp as well as the 

CDC. 

“The target was to have 

about 200 customers undergo 

medical check up at the 

different locations that the 

CSR was carried out. 

“The drugs were purchased 

from the United States, the 

medical experts were the US 

mission volunteers. We 

partnered with the US medical 

mission group”, he added. 

Also, Mr. Kayode Adeoti, 

Managing Director, XT- 

Monitor limited, the service 

provider and partners with 

Ikeja Electric on this project, 

said, “The project is a CSR 

demonstrated by Ikeja 

Electric to show customers 

that the company is concerned 

about the welfare of the 

customers. It is not all about 

providing electricity. 

“As a follow up to what 

happened last year, we have 

demonstrated an opportunity 

that Ikeja cares about the 

customers. “Last year, the 

theme was ‘we care about 

you’. This year, the theme was 

‘health is wealth’. 

On the partnership, he said, 

“ We work as service 

providers, we work on the field 

with customers and on a daily 

basis, we have interface with 

customers with the range of 

1000 to 2000 on a daily basis. 

In the course of our 

investigations, we discovered 

that there is apathy between 

the customers and the 

electricity company, so, we felt 

that it will be important and 

of great influence if Ikeja 

Electric can prove to 

customers that it likes, 

respects and values and care 

about their health. 

“So, we invited some 

partners from the United 

States. They are volunteer 

doctors on the wing of the US 

medical group. 

“People with Hypertension, 

diabetes, malaria among 

others were attended to. Some 

of the doctors are Nigerians 

who have been working and 

living abroad for over 30 years. 

This medical outreach is 

extended to the hinterlands, 

customers get medications 

where it is necessary and 

those without health 

challenges get their vitamins. 

“The medications are free. 

The US medical mission 

partners with different 

pharmaceutical companies 

thereby making all the 

medications absolutely free.


Access to Education: 

Simba Group donates 24 

bicycles to school girls 

…restates commitment to women 

empowerment 

By Josephine 

Agbonkhese 

Perturbed by the difficulty 

faced by girls in rural 

communities to access 

distant schools—a 

phenomenon largely 

accountable for the over 

5.5million out-of-school 

girls in the country, Simba 

Group recently donated 24 

bicycles to school girls in 

Abuja. 

Making the donation at 

an event organized in 

commemoration of this 

year’s Day of the Girl-Child 

by the National Centre for 

Women Development in 

collaboration with the 

Office of the Wife of the 

President of the Federal 

Republic of Nigeria and the 


Agriculture and Rural 

Development, Business 

Head, Simba Group, Mr 

Manish Rohtagi, said 

increased access to 

education for girls was key 

to women empowerment. 

He said: “The key path 

to the empowerment of 

women is access to 

education for girls. And 

when it comes to access, 

being able to reach the 

school is fundamental. Our 

programme is based on the 

very strong belief that a 

bicycle can help alleviate 

the challenges girls face to 

go to and from school based 

on examples in Kenya, 

Founder, Her Network 

Woman of the Year, 

HNWOTY, Nkem 

Onwudiwe has said that 

the second edition of the 

award would hold on 

December 2 in Lagos. 

With the theme, “Her 

Year of Greatness”, she 

said, the idea behind the 

tag for this year is to 

showcase the path of 

greatness that the women 

have been engaged for 

the one year. 

According to her, the 

official nominees for the 

award have been 

selected after intense 

research on all of them by 

the organisation. 

According to her, “An 

important factor to 

consider this year is the 

growing number of 

superlative women in 

various sectors making 

impact in their 

organizations and 

communities and doing 

so with bold expositions. 

“The path has already 

been paved by us and we 

just have to be 

courageous enough to 

walk in it so we chose to 

use this tag as a call to 

action for women to step 

into their greatness, 

apologetically”. 

India and other places. 

“This is why Simba 

Group is focused on 

enhancing access to 

education through our ‘The 

Greatest Gift’ programme, 

which provides bicycles to 

girls so that they can more 

easily get to and from 

school.” 

Rohtagi who also spoke 

about the group’s 

commitment to the 

empowerment of Nigerian 

women, said the company 

had in the past involved in 

various initiatives in the 

area of women and girls’ 

empowerment, including 

enhancing access to 

education, creating 

employment opportunities 

and training. 

“We have, for example, 

been commended for our 

Queen Rider’s Programme; 

an initiative aimed at 

enhancing access to Mini 

Entrepreneurship for 

women, through the 

ownership and/or 

operation of Keke 

(tricycles), under our 

flagship brand, TVS King. 

Speaking further, 

Rohtagi stressed the 

importance of both the 

public and private sectors 

playing their parts in 

increasing access to 

education for girls by 

providing bicycles for every 

girl-child, particularly in 

areas where the distance 

between home and school 

is great. 

HNWOTY holds awards Dec 2 

...to reward women of excellence 

“It is our efforts to 

reward enterprising 

women across the 

country for an excellent 

performance and for 

influencing female world 

positively. 

“Every year, 

HNWOTY celebrates 

outstanding women of 

impact changing the 

narrative through 

exceptional work in their 

fields. 

“Network has chosen 

the ‘Majestic’ dress code 

for the ceremony this 

year which represents 

the grandiose and regal 

woman. 

“The nominees, 

selected from a large pool 

of phenomenal women 

represent various sectors 

and industries like 

Technology, Healthcare, 

Education and more. 

“The Social Media 

Category which is the 

only global category is 

open for voting by the 

general public till the 

2nd of December, 2018. 

“Recipients of the 2018 

Woman of the Year Award 

will be deliberated upon 

by a Council of Judges 

and celebrated at the 

Awards Ceremony and 

Networking Gala.” 

Aftermath of Flood: Firm 

unveils plan to assist 

women, children 

By Gabriel Ewepu 

ABUJA-AS 

flood 

waters recede 

across the country, a 

firm called Safewater 

Energy 

and 

Environmental 

Restoration Limited, 

SWEERGLOBAL, at 

the weekend, unveiled 

plans to assist women 

and children affected by 

the disaster. 

The Chief Executive 

O f f i c e r , 

SWEERGLOBAL, Dr 

Thaddaeus Thompson, 

gave the hint while 

expressing concern over 

plight of displaced 

persons who survived 

the ravaging flood, 

particularly for their 

health, said the 

company has put in 

place things that would 

add value to their health. 

Thompson said the 

move was to secure the 

health of women and 

children by reaching 

them with medications 

and medical personnel, 

and also to see how they 

could be assisted to 

access grants that 

would help families 

restart their economic 

lives after the flood. 

He said: “We in 

Safewater Energy and 

Environmental 

Restoration, 

SWEERGLOBAL, were 

worried when the flood 

adversely affected 

people in Nigeria. We 

were troubled and 

begin to plan on what 

we can do in our little 

way to add value to the 

lives of these Nigerians 

who have suffered 

hardship for some 

months now. 

“We are also coming 

out to assist with our 

‘widow’s mite’ to 

ameliorate their plight, 

particularly the women, 

children an aged. We 

will soon send out 

a p p r o p r i a t e 

medications and 

qualified medical 

personnel to reach them. 

We are going to select 

the camps after our 

survey. 

“We also want to 

disclose that we will also 

come up with little 

financial grants to help 

women and their 

families to start 

businesses that would 

help them restart their 

lives in order not to 

depend on government 

that is already stressed 

by the demands from the 

camps, which it has also 

done well.” 

He also commended 

i n d i v i d u a l s , 

development partners 

and humanitarian 

organizations for the 

interventions they 

made to rescue the 

situation since the flood 

started. 

“We also commend 

well spirited 

i n d i v i d u a l s , 

humanitarian 

organizations and 

development partners 

who have wonderfully 

intervened with various 

relief materials supplied 

at the various Food 

Displaced Persons 

Camps, FDPs, across 

the country. 

“It is also important 

the interventions 

continue after the flood 

because this post-flood 

period is more 

challenging as the 

people are going to face 

the realities of hunger, 

health, rebuilding of 

their houses, payment 

of loans, clean up and 

other challenges 

inherent. 

“We should also work 

together to ensure there 

is soft landing for this 

people because they 

cannot be left alone to 

grapple with post-flood 

challenges that could be 

another round of 

depression, fears, and 

frustration”, he said. 

Therefore he advised 

that, “There should be 

planning for another 

intervention by the 

Federal, state and local 

governments including 

donor agencies, 

development partners, 

c o r p o r a t e 

organizations, and well 

meaning individuals at 

this point the people 

will soon leave the FDPs 

for their homes, and most 

of them lack funds to put 

such houses and shops 

in order, start business 

or put their 

environments in order, 

therefore it is imperative 

to move now to give 

them a sense of 

belonging”, he stated. 

Official nominees for the HNWOTY awards 

More Protein, More 

Problems: Why You 

Should Prioritise 

Vegetable Protein over 

Animal Protein 

When you hear the word protein, what types 

of food do you think of immediately? Meat, 

milk, chicken, eggs, fish? They are probably the 

same foods you associate with building muscle 

and perhaps weight loss on high-protein diets. 

Am I right to assume that? I bet I am! 

There are so many myths associated with the 

best sources of protein and how much you need. It 

is incredibly difficult to convince die-hard meat 

lovers that they don’t need as much protein as 

they think they do, and that vegetables are 

potentially better sources of this ‘highly-prized’ 

macronutrient. 

The World Health Organisation (WHO) 

recommends that adults get around 10percent of 

their energy needs from protein. On average, this 

equates to approximately 35g for women and 44g 

for men per day. This is much less than the 

average 100g of protein, or even up to 200g for 

those on high-protein weight loss diets. There is 

not enough scientific evidence to back claims that 

high (animal) protein diets lead to kidney failure 

or osteoporosis, but there is sufficient evidence to 

show that high consumption of animal protein 

increases the risk of various cancers, heart 

diseases and obesity. 

The trouble with animal sources of protein is 

not just that they are usually high in saturated 

fat, it is also that (if not organic) they are full of 

antibiotics, pesticides and hormones - all bad 

news for your health. The antibiotics in animal 

products is a significant contributor to the 

increase in antibiotic resistance in humans. The 

hormones in animal feed contribute significantly 

to hormone-related diseases like breast cancer, 

fibroids, ovarian cancer, prostate and testicular 

cancers. 

You don’t need to avoid animal protein 

altogether but bear in mind that the best 

sources of protein are not necessarily those that 

are highest in protein. You need to assess the 

overall package of the food before you decide 

what is best. 

A piece of lamb, for example, provides 

25percent of total calories as protein and 

75percent as fat, most of which is saturated fat. 

50 percent of the calories in soya beans come 

from protein, so it is actually a better source of 

protein than lamb, but its real benefit is that the 

rest of the calories come from complex 

carbohydrates. It also contains no saturated fat, 

and it is a good source of fibre, vitamin C, folate, 

calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, 

potassium, and vitamin b2. 

Quinoa is another excellent source of protein 

as it also contains calcium, essential fatty acids, 

B vitamins and vitamin E. Beans, lentils, millet, 

fonio (acha), green leafy vegetables, nuts 

(peanuts, almonds, cashews) and seeds are 

other great sources of protein and a variety of 

other vitamins and minerals that make them 

more desirable protein packages. 

The take-home message here is that you 

should not prioritise animal protein over 

vegetable protein. Vegetable protein is in no 

way, shape or form inferior to animal protein, 

and you are far more likely to get a lot more 

nutrients from them than from animal protein. 

Dare I add that they are also much cheaper? 

•Athletes need moderately higher quantities 

of protein than the WHO recommended 

amounts to aid muscle repair and maintain 

performance.

28—VANGUARD, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2018 

japhdave@yahoo.com 

08066625505 

By Elizabeth Uwandu 

LIPFEST explores the pains of silence 

to injustice, insecurity,ineqaulity 

Onwusoro debuts with message of hope for Nigeria 

By Japhet Alakam 

IGERIA is blessed 

Nwith all the human and 

natural resources that if well 

managed will be among the 

best in the world. But, one unfortunate 

thing is that instead 

of utilising the resources, she 

is rated as a poverty capital. 

The major reason being failure 

of leadership as Late Chinua 

Achebe wrote in his book, The 

trouble with Nigeria. The leaders 

have failed to manage the 

abundant human and natural 

endownments and the masses 

are paying dearly for it. 

The big question on the lips 

of many is, what is the way out, 

how will the country regain its 

lost glory as the giant of Africa, 

this is the picture Emeka 

Onwusoro painted in his book 

titled,Smile my Beloved Country. 

In the 26 chapter, 215 page 

book published by Paresia Publishers 

Ltd, Emeka after a critical 

survey of events in the 

country came out with a verdict 

that there is hope for better 

days if only they will do the 

right thing hence the title 

Smile my Beloved Country. 

Divided into four parts, 

Smile my Beloved Country, is 

EMOTIONS of pains of 

helplessness and involuntary 

silence over 

marginalization of rulers to the 

ruled, gender inequality, deprivation 

and violation of human 

rights and the voice of 

revolution and change filled 

the air as international and local 

poets demonstrated the 

power of words at the 2018 

Lagos international poetry festival, 

LIPFEST which ended 

weekend. 

LIPFEST, in its fourth edition 

tagged “Awake” which opened 

at Freedom Park, Lagos Island 

took a discourse through poetry, 

spoken word and music 

performances, riveting conversations, 

workshops and 

masterclasses on the peculiarity 

of vigilance and its importance 

to Nigeria and the world 

at large. With Efe Paul, director 

and co-founder as host, 

with his team,and chiefly 

sponsored by Nigerian Breweries 

among others, it featured 

scintillating performances from 

some of Nigeria’s finest poets 

and their foreign counterparts 

from German; United Kingdom 

and South Africa during the 

opening ceremony held at freedom 

park and the concert held 

at Muson Centre was witnessed 

by veterans like John Pepper 

Clark, Prof. Niyi Osundare and 

guest appearance of MI, Nigerian 

rapper. 

Nigerian poet, Logan February 

opened the concert with “I 

want to be a butterfly” that portrays 

the beauty of innocence 

and the malady of living, here 

today, gone tomorrow. Then 

followed performances of 

Soddiq Dzukogi from Kenya 

based America’s rendition of 

pains of insecurity, wars and 

segregation. While Obii Ifejika 

Zayara’s poem raises questions 

about the silence on 

cases of kidnaps, rape and 

molestation of the girl child; 

Chika Jones Obiamaka wonders 

at the inability to bring 

rapists and molesters to book. 

Yomi Sode , Nigerian British 

writer and performer bemoaned 

the perceived neglect 

of signs of depressed persons 

by his acquaintances that often 

led to high rise of mental 

a book with big dreams when 

it comes to Nigeria meant to 

inspire hope as well as paint 

a different picture about how 

Nigeria should be as it also 

notes many of the issues politics 

in present Nigeria has. 

It is about Ayo Musa 

Okeke, a Nigerian American 

, who got a scholarship from 

the government for his undergraduate 

program in America 

and unlike others, he used 

the opportunity to make a 

name of himself in the agricultural 

sector. 

After twelve years of being 

away, Ayo finally decides to 

go home, and on reaching 

home, he saw the rot in the 

country, crime, lack of infrastructures 

and amenities and 

how the political class has 

spoiled the country. 

When Ayo arrived, he was 

welcomed by series of events 

that paint the dangers in Nigeria, 

that leave him with a 

bad taste for the country 

where everyone he has encountered 

is either corrupt or 

too scared to voice what’s 

right and ask for justice. 

Poised with the mission to 

change the system, a path 

that leads him into the bed 

of Nigerian politics and puts 

health victims; Ntakeko 

Masinga , the lady in red did 

a solemn performance that remembered 

lost loved ones 

which pricked the senses of the 

audience that life is about 

chance and fate. 

However, the audience also 

got more inspirations and 

laughter through performances 

of Graciano Enwerem’s “Be my 

headmistress and Omalicha 

extolling the virtues of woman. 

Dike Chukwumerije’s gimmick 

and dramatic performance 

themed, “This Country provokes 

the believer in me subtly 

laments the insensitivity of the 

rulers who ought to be servants 

but have become lords 

and dictators. 

his life in danger, but, at each 

time, he was always lucky to 

escape with other people getting 

hurt instead of him. 

The situation propelled him 

to look for ways to deal with 

it, so he begins to fight corruption 

and the average Nigerian 

mentality. 

How did he do that, the book 

narrates how Ayo went back to 

the US with a mission by challenging 

and provoking people 

to think and hope for a better 

society, the only way he can, 

which was welcomed by the 

think tanks in America and 

eventually makes him a presidential 

candidate and puts 

him up against a political opponent 

that is corrupt and 

dirty to his core. But, through 

Nebo Mashile, the artist in 

resident, LIPFEST 2018; 

Daisy Odey ; Nick Makoha 

preached about love, the 

power of unity and respect of 

human rights; Wana 

Udobang’s We are the revolution 

and Tobi Balogun’s call 

for action against negligence 

and nepotism push the realization 

that individual and 

collectively chance is possible. 

Danez Smith , a black . 

queer . poz writer and performer 

from St. Paul , US 

rendition blew the audience 

away with series of performance 

of the pains and rejection 

of racism; and the 

uniqueness of the black race. 

A critical review of Ekanpou’s Spiked Beyond Spikes 

By Damian U. Opata 

HERE comes a time in 

“Tthe life of a man when 

major decisions are made. 

When there is a seamless plot 

to beggar you into retirement 

from planet earth, taking major 

decisions becomes righteously 

unavoidable. President 

*Femi Leye performing during the festival. Photo-Pulse 

Waibode has a grand plot to 

beggar the southern 

Oporozans into retirement 

from this earth … The lives 

of the Tobus have been reduced 

to the status of a fly 

subject to man’s whimsical 

annihilation. Because our 

lives are no longer safe in 

this country, we hereby declare 

unequivocally that we 

are no longer part of this country 

called Oporoza. We have 

decided to eke out a living under 

the roof of our own country 

called South Oporoza. 

Henceforth, we shall have no 

dealing with the northern axis 

of Oporoza. South Oporoza 

has become an independent 

*Dike Chukwumereije perfoming 

good planning and awareness, 

Ayo contested and won, 

bringing an end to the old 

order. 

Apart from the political angle, 

the author also highlights 

Ayo’s love for his wife. According 

to the book, Ayo 

hasn’t been to Nigeria in the 

twelve years since he left, but 

he’s in love with a woman he 

once admired, who he 

watched from afar but didn’t 

contact and immediately asks 

her to marry him. The woman 

obliged because they are 

just right for each other. 

This story is a good one, and 

the coming is timely, especially 

its coming at this period in 

the country’s political period 

when much is expected from 

the people to change the system. 

It is that type of message 

that needs to go round so that 

the old order in this country 

will be changed for good. 

Written in very simple English 

for easy reading and understanding, 

the story line is 

good and it has a strong message 

anyone can learn from, as 

it reminds people to do what’s 

right, even in the face of adversity. 

It is an already made 

script begging for adaptation 

into a movie. 

Other poets that performed included 

Julian Huen from Germany; 

Malick Jabir; Rez tha poet 

etc. 

Speaking of the festival, Paul 

said this year’s theme, “Awake” 

was to arouse the disconnecting 

voices of power structure and the 

issues of justice, fair play and 

unity. This year’s festival drew 

35 guests from 12 countries. 

Speaking on the importance of 

art and particularly poetry to 

nation building, Mr Jordi Borrut 

Bel , MD, Nigerian Breweries 

PLC, said”In line with our philosophy 

of Winning with Nigeria, 

we recognize that the arts 

play an important role in the 

strengthening of the cultural 

values of our society. Our sponsorship 

of this festival therefore 

remains a significant part of a 

broad spectrum of initiatives 

which cover diverse areas such 

as health, water, education, talent 

development and youth empowerment 

across the country. 

“With the Lagos International 

Poetry Festival, we project the 

role of poetry as a tool for the 

reengineering of society towards 

the objective of achieving 

progress for our nation. Poetry 

does not only interpret society, 

or serve as its mirror, it also helps 

us imagine better ways of being 

and living. Poetry has always had 

the capacity to delight the reader 

or the listener, while at once 

heightening their sense of consciousness 

about the world they 

live in.” 

country” (pp. 160 – 163). 

In response the Federal 

Government of Oporoza declared 

total war on South 

Oporoza. As the reader is 

told: 

A radio message wired to 

Alabeni indicated that the 

government of President 

Waibode had ordered deployment 

of amoured personnel 

carriers, artillery, warships 

and military attack helicopters. 

The infantry soldiers of 

North Oporoza had begun 

bombardment of the 

SOPMAM soldiers who had 

kept watch over the border 

between South Oporoza and 

North Oporoza. The infantry 

soldiers were advancing ferociously 

with heavy artillery 

and armoured personnel carriers. 

A fierce battle had broken 

out between the infantry 

soldiers of North Oporoza and 

soldiers of Southern Oporoza 

Manumission Movement. 

The Amphibious Battalion of 

North Oporoza had similarly 

engaged the Special Marine 

Squad of SOPMAM. The attack 

was fiercely launched 

against the forces of 

SOPMAM by the Amphibious 

Battalion on twenty warships. 

Not too long after the radio 

message of heavy bombardment 

of SOPMAM soldiers 

both on land an in water had 

come, military helicopters 

flew low over Akpare and began 

to wretch and vomit 

bombs in endless stream. 

Akpare and its neighbouring 

villages were being strafed by 

the Air Force of North 

Oporoza (p. 168). 

Read full story at 

www.vanguardngr.com


Send Opinions & Letters to: 

opinions1234@yahoo.com 

Still on security for 2019 

General elections 

By Zayyan Gwandu 

IT is gladdening to note the 

commitment of the Federal 

Government towards the 

provision of adequate security 

for the success of the 2019 

General elections. 

The Minister of Defence, 

Mansur Dan-Ali recently 

revealed that the National 

Security Council is ready to 

curb every challenge during 

the forthcoming General 

elections. Dan-Ali who made 

the revelation shortly after 


Buhari presided over the 

National Security Council 

meeting at the Presidential 

Villa, said it recommended the 

deployment of security 

agencies to the states, to 

enable the Independent 

National Electoral 

Commission, INEC, conduct 

the elections peacefully. 

The Minister was hopeful 

that the deployment of security 

personnel would further douse 

the tension created by the 

outcome of the political 

parties’ primaries and “some 

desperate persons” to 

sabotage the electoral process. 

It is also heart warming that 

the federal legislators have 

equally approved 

expenditures for security 

agencies towards the success 

of the election. The Senate 

recently approved the security 

budget of N53.2 billion for the 

2019 general elections. The 

approval of the budget 

followed a presentation of the 

report of the National 

Assembly Joint Committee on 

Appropriation at plenary. On 

the other hand the lower 

chamber of the National 

Assembly, House of 

Representatives also approved 

N831.3bn virement for INEC, 

security agencies. 

Some of the beneficiaries of 

the funds included INEC, 

ONSA, DSS, NSCDC, NIS 

and NPF based on the 

approved request by President 

Buhari for passage. 

With these encouraging 

development from the 

executive and legislative arms 

of government, should there 

be any fear for concern on the 

preparation for the 2019 

general elections? 

Some politicians, especially 

from the opposition have 

raised concern and expressed 

doubt on INEC’s ability to 

conduct credible polls in 2019. 

Leading the critics, the main 

opposition party, Peoples 


accused the Federal 

Government of being unable 

to conduct credible polls 

across the country next year. 

How fairly security 

agencies ensure 

their neutrality and 

conduct themselves 

in most 

professional 

manner will create 

confidence in the 

system and save the 

country from the 

looming storm 

ahead 

The PDP Chairman, Prince 

Uche Secondus, says the party 

does not have confidence in 

the activities of the INEC. 

Speaking when he received 

a delegation of the European 

Union Election Exploration 

Mission to Nigeria led by 

Nicolay Paus, who visited him 

in Abuja, Secondus said that 

intelligence available to the 

party allegedly showed that 

the ruling All Progressives 

Congress, APC, had 

concluded arrangements with 

INEC to manipulate the 

electoral process. 

Secondus said that what 

happened during the 

governorship election in Osun 

State in September merely 

underscored the party’s fears 

that INEC was not ready to be 

neutral in 2019. 

But, President Buhari has 

restated his commitment to 

ensuring free, fair and credible 

elections in the country. In a 

speech delivered to mark the 

celebration of the 58th 

anniversary of Nigeria’s 

Independence, the President 

stressed his support for 

credible elections when he 

said: “I have committed myself 

many times to ensure that 

elections are fully 

participatory, free and fair and 

that the Independent National 

Electoral Commission will be 

exactly independent and 

properly staffed and 

resourced. The ballot box is 

how we make our choice for 

the governments that rule in 

our name.” 

Given the foregoing, as the 

clock ticks down on 2019 

elections, some pressing 

questions are bound to be 

asked by many concerned 

Nigerians: What can be done 

to ensure that the 2019 election 

is conducted peacefully? How 

do we ensure that political 

campaigns do not spiral out of 

control and cause clashes? 

And what can be done to ease 

the task of INEC in conducting 

free and credible elections? 

How can the security agencies 

stay out of the political fray by 

not acting in a manner that 

suggests their men are out to 

rig the election for the party 

in power? 

These are difficult questions 

that need to be answered as 

we gradually inch towards the 

2019 general election. 

Although the authorities 

including the Hon. Minister of 

Defence, Mansur Dan-Ali 

have issued some assurance 

about containing the situation, 

what is very important is to 

ensure that the rules and 

regulations governing the 

election are binding on every 

participant and that critical 

stakeholders play neutral and 

non-partisan roles by being 

fair in their conducts. The 

citizens, especially the 

electorate should also abide by 

the INEC’s guidelines and 

rules during the election 

proper. 

How fairly security agencies 

ensure their neutrality and 

conduct themselves in most 

professional manner will 

create confidence in the 

system and save the country 

from the looming storm ahead. 

*Mr. Gwandu, wrote from 


Information, Radio House, 

Abuja. 

By Sola Fasure & Kunle Owolabi 

SOUTH West is considered the 

most politically sophisticated 

region in the country. It is for good 

reason. Every individual has the right 

to belong to a political party of his or 

her choice. This right comes with the 

privilege of having and expressing 

political opinion and freedom of 

political association. 

Here ideology plays a vital role in 

deciding which political group one 

belongs to - whether one is a 

progressive or conservative, left or 

right of the political spectrum. The 

above characterised the political 

evolution of the defunct Western 

Region. 

And that was the reason the Action 

Group, AG, and later the Unity Party 

of Nigeria, UPN, both led by Chief 

Obafemi Awolowo, gained prominence 

in the region. All through to the 

termination of the Second Republic, the 

region was always controlled by the 

progressives, except for the brief and 

aberrational interludes of the Ladoke 

Akintola, the post 1983 farcical short 

reign of the National Party of Nigeria, 

NPN, and the 2003-2010 disastrous 

Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, 

stranglehold on the region. 

With the advent of democracy in 1999, 

ideology seemed to have been 

jettisoned in the country. This dearth 

of ideology is no doubt fast affecting 

every group or organisation with a tint 

of politics: Afenifere, Ohanaeze 

Ndigbo and Arewà Consultative 

Forum. Last week, Afenifere, the 

Yoruba socio-political organisation, 

took a somewhat bizarre political 

decision. 

In an emergency meeting it called, 

the pan-Yoruba organisation issued a 

communiqué to the effect that it took a 

decision to suspend the governorship 

candidate of the Social Democratic 

Party, SDP, in the September 22 Osun 

Afenifere's faux pas and the death of ideology 

State Governorship Election, Senator 

Iyiola Omisore. 

Omisore's offence, according to 

Afenifere, was that he formed an 

alliance with the All Progressive 

Congress, APC, during the re-run 

election, which paved the way for the 

APC to win the Osun Governorship 

Election. 

The punishment for this alignment 

with the progressive APC in the rerun 

thus earned Omisore a one-year 

suspension from the organisation's all 

activities, political or social! 

What a decision! What a punishment! 

But these two decisions should not be 

the only ones which should agitate the 

mind of every true Yoruba son and 

daughter. 

The decision by Afenifere ought to 

be probed deeply to find out why such 

Chief Obafemi Awolowo 

must be turning in his 

grave on how his 

associates have prostituted 

with the association that 

was the main identity of 

the Yoruba race 

stand should be taken in the first 

instance and what such decision 

portends for the Yoruba nation. 

This brings to mind a flurry of 

questions: What did Omisore do in the 

first place? Next is what did he do 

wrong? Is Afenifere saying that every 

Yoruba must belong to the 

organisation's political party or political 

party it leans towards? Are Afenifere 

leaders saying we don't have freedom 

to choose and belong to any political 

party of our choice? These and more 

should agitate the minds of Yoruba 

sons and daughters. Because this was 

what earned Senator Omisore the 

harsh punishment from Afenifere. 

Both APC and PDP approached 

Omisore before the re-run because of 

his popularity and central position. 

They negotiated with him because it 

was his area of influence where two 

polling units in the rerun election were 

located. He thus exercised his political 

freedom to choose which party to align 

with. That was Omisore's crime. 

We should make no pretence about 

this. Omisore was hammered by 

Afenifere for supporting PDP's 

Ademola Adeleke in the rerun election 

of September 27. This is rather 

baffling. The electoral contest pitted the 

well-educated APC's Gboyega Oyetola 

with PDP's Ademola Adeleke. Oyetola 

has two degrees from the University 

of Lagos. He is a successful financial 

magnate and staunt member and 

financial of the AD all through its 

metamorphosis to APC. He also had 

tucked under his belt an unblemished 

eight years public service as the Chief 

of Staff to Osun State Governor, 

Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola. 

Adeleke on the other hand has issues 

with his secondary school education. 

It took WAEC's intervention in the last 

minute, which claimed that he indeed 

sat for a single subject in 1981, \and 

this enable contest the election. 

Evaluating the two candidates 

amounts to comparing an apple with 

an orange. There is really no basis for 

comparism. But that Afenifere would 

put its weight behind such a candidate 

sealed the moral degeneracy in 

Yorubaland. 

With this cynical decision, Afenifere 

just told us that it prefers Adeleke to 

occupy that exalted governorship 

position! The same position occupied 

by Chief Obafemi Awolowo. What a 

political irony! The same position 

occupied by Chief Ajibola Ige, Chief 

Bisi Akande, Chief Olabisi Onabanj, 

Alhaji Lateef Jakande, Chief Adekunle 

Ajasin and Chief Adefarati. 

One is worried sick that the position 

occupied by these eminent 

personalities could be offered to 

anybody, just anybody with no 

intellectual and educational pedigree 

comparable with any of these titans. 

This should be the second downfall 

of man as demonstrated by Afenifere 

(the first was Adams in the Garden of 

Eden). We certainly must be 

approaching the end of the world. 

Sadly, Afenifere threw its weight 

behind President Goodluck Jonathan 

in the 2015 General election as 

opposed to Muhammadu Buhari, who 

joined forces with Asiwaju Bola Tinubu 

and other progressives to rescue 

Nigeria from the PDP regime. 

We know also that Chief Olu Falae, 

one of the leaders of Afenifere is also 

the founder of SDP, the party under 

which Omisore contested, after he left 

the PDP. If Omisore's decision did not 

go down well with him, it would have 

been understandable if he tackled him 

at the party. When has SDP's affair 

become a pan-Yoruba affair? 

But this is just tangentially about 

Omisore. It is in the main about the 

moral degeneracy of Yoruba 

leadership, not being able to stand for 

anything principled, moral, idealistic 

and ethical. Afenifere's alignment with 

PDP is therefore an unimaginable 

embarrassment to younger folks in 

Yoruba land and Chief Obafemi 

Awolowo must be turning in his grave 

on how his associates have prostituted 

with the association that was the main 

identity of the Yoruba race. 

* Messr. Fasure and Owolabi , wrote 

from Osogbo, Osun State.

30—Vanguard, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2018

Vanguard, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2018—31


YOUR LUCK TODAY 

By Joshua Adeyemo Phone 08056180139 

GEMINI; Better than yesterday. Happenings 

within your working arena will not give you cause 

to worry but situation may change tomorrow. Your 

finance are favoured. 

CANCER; Here is a day when things are meant to 

go according to your plans and record success. Yong 

at heart may be in for a romantic day. You just have 

to take the initiative. 

LEO; This is your day; although there will be some 

challenges within your base of operation, eventual 

success will be yours. Be more family minded. 

VIRGO; 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. 

LIBRA; Recent challenges notwithstanding pleasant 

surprises are possible. The more financially ambitious 

you are today the better for your cause. 

L E I S U R E 

TAKE HEART — ELLA RANDLE 

Happiness means loving yourself and being less concerned 

with the approval of others.” -Owen Campbell- 

Find someone with a golden heart and you’ll have someone to 

treasure and cherish lasting beyond eternity. 

Your happiness depends on you of course! 

But when a tender heart comes along, the awareness to 

recognice a beautiful spiritual experience is golden. A tender 

heart is a charm which equals everything. Look to the heart, let 

it guide you! -Ella Randle- 

TERROR MUDA in “Never say goodbye” 

SAYINGS OF 

OUR PEOPLE 

One 

cannot 

count on 

riches. 

~ Somalia 

By Kola Fayemi 

SCORPIO; 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. 

SAGITTARIUS; 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. 

CAPRICORN; 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. 

AQUARIUS; Tomorrow will prove more rewarding 

financially but you will have good opportunity 

to do things rightly within your working arena. Be 

loving. 

PISCES; Some of you who are travelling purposely 

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

need to take your social life more seriously. 

DUDU in “ROLLING HOT” By A.O. OLAIDE 

ARIES; 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; 

TAURUS; Unusual co operation may come your 

way today but if you are carried away by this the 

whole thing may change tomorrow. Respect your 

spouse. 

ASTROLOGICAL COUNSELLING 

our ASTROLOGICAL date and place of COUNSELLING 

birth to the Astr 

tr 

Send your dat 

trological 

Counselling, P.M.B 100 

007, Apapa, Lagos 

What’s my birthday ruler? 

Dear Joshua, 

According to the date I was born I should be a 

Libran by my star but most of the time when I read 

horoscopes written by both yourself and foreign 

Astrologers Scorpio always applicable to me, why? 

Kindly tell me how the planets lined up when I 

was born and the day of the week I was born but 

don’t publish my date of birth. 

Laja, Asaba. 

Dear Laja, 

You were born on a Sunday meaning that mighty 

Sun rules your birthday. You were wrong to have 

taken Libra as your Sun sign because the Sun was 

placed in early degree of Scorpio together with 

many other heavenly bodies. Then with the Moon 

in Libra when you were born will equally be influential 

in your characteristics build up but, you 

are mainly a Scorpio born person. 

You are both an intelligent and emotional person. 

And as there was no planet at home when you 

were born, too many ideas will always struggle 

for prominent place in your mind, thus decision 

making is difficult but most times, your intelligence 

comes to the rescue. 

Certainly, you appear to other as a gentle person 

who can be mistaken for soft fellow but your 

inner self is the personality with a steel like will 

power. 

You are the consistent type who may find it difficult 

to change once you have made up your mind 

as indicated by distribution of the planets as written 

out in paragraph two of this exercise. 

One major challenge you have been battling for 

a very long time is constant worries, some times, 

necessarily and the other time, uncalled for, as 

indicated by conjunction Mercury and Saturn 

formed when you were born. 

Placement of your natal Sun (basic self head) 

and Moon (your sub conscious self) in Scorpio and 

Libra respectively are indications of your being 

mainly Scorpio born person and partly in Libran. 

And that is to say basic characteristics of both 

Scorpio and Libra are highly pronounced in you. 

Then, you are spiritually gifted; if you don’t develop 

it is another thing. 

VIRGINIA 

HOME & ABROAD 

dadadekola@yahoo.com 

By Lawrence Akapa



NEWS HOTLINES 

018773962, 

08052867058 

COMMISSIONING: From left: Pastor Nonithi Odukoya, wife of General Overseer of Fountain 

of Life Ministry; Dame Abimbola Fashola, wife of Minister of Power, Works and Housing, cutting the 

tapes; Dr. Jide Idris, Commissioner for Health, Lagos State; Mrs. Adenike Ayeye, celebrant's wife and 

founder of Precious Jewels Development Initiative and Dr. Tunde Ayeye, GMD, IFS Group Comprise 

International Facilities Services Limited, celebrant, during the commissioning and handing over of the 

rehabilitated classroom blocks and library/resource centre to Afolabi Primary School, Oshodi, by Dr. 

Ayeye, to celebrate his 50th birthday. Photo: Bunmi Azeez. 

Reps C'ttee on N-Delta Amnesty faults 

construction work in Bayelsa 

By Emma Una 

C ALABAR— 

CHAIRMAN of 

the House of 

Representatives 

Committee on Niger 

Delta Amnesty, Mr. 

Essien Ayi, has 

e x p r e s s e d 

dissatisfaction with the 

slow pace of 

construction work at the 

Vocational Training 

Centre, VTC, Boro 

Town, Bayelsa State. 

Ayi, who represents 

Akpabuyo/Bakassi/ 

Calabar South Federal 

Constituency, expressed 

dissatisfaction when he 

led members of the 

House Committee on an 

oversight function to the 

centre located in Boro, 

Kaiama, in Bayelsa State 

The House Committee 

Chairman observed that 

the contractor handling 

the construction work 

NDDC better positioned now for service 

delivery —Ekere 

By Harris 

Emmanuel 

U YO—MANAGING 

Director of Niger 

Delta Development 

N-Delta militant leader, gang members 

regroup in Bayelsa, Delta 

By Emma Amaize, 

Regional Editor, 

South-South 

A 

S 

A B A — 

REMNANTS of 

a gang headed by Bayelsa 

State militant leader and 

kidnap kingpin, late 

Peregbakumo 

Oyawerikumo, alias 

Kareowei, who was killed, 

early this year by the Joint 

Task Force, JTF, in Niger 

Delta after he beheaded a 

security operative in the 

creeks, have reportedly 

regrouped in Bayesla and 

Delta states. 

was not on site despite 

being aware of the visit. 

His words: “We are on 

an oversight function to 

ascertain the value of the 

project, date of award, 

period for the execution 

of the project, and 

variation of contract sum 

if any, but the contractor 

is not here to provide the 

Commission, NDDC, 

Obong Nsima Ekere, has 

stated that the 

interventionist agency has 

been re-positioned to 

deliver on its mandate to 

the people of the Niger 

Delta region. 

Vanguard learned 

yesterday that the 

Commissioner of Police, 

Delta State, Mr. 

Muhammadu Mustafa, 

who has been keeping a 

tab on the gang had passed 

intelligence on the new 

group to sister agencies. 

A police source said the 

new squad operating 

under the aegis of 

Reformed Kareowei gang 

members is led by Ibori 

with Kareowei Junior. 

Commissioner Mustafa, 

who declined to give details 

of his findings on the gang, 

when contacted, only 

needed information 

“A project which started 

in 2013 is not yet 

completed after five 

years. It is not 

unacceptable to me.’’ 

Ayi said he and the 

committee members 

were only keen about the 

development of the area, 

and completion of the 

Ekere, who said this 

while appraising his two 

years on the saddle, noted 

that he initiated sweeping 

reforms and sunk more 

resources into peopleoriented 

programmes, 

adding that the region has 

become more secure for 

businesses to thrive. 

The NDDC boss who is 

the Akwa Ibom State 

governorship candidate of 

All Progressives Congress, 

confirmed that the 

Command received 

intelligence on the new 

gang, following an 

investigation. 

A source said two 

suspects arrested by the 

police in connection with a 

local arms factory might 

have given the police lead 

on the resurrected gang. 

The source said: “The 

police may have informed 

the JTF to carry out a 

cordon and raid operations 

in Burutu communities of 

Okpolunou and Torugbene 

for these criminal elements 

and their weapons.” 

project is one of such 

necessities which must 

be accomplished. 

He tasked the centre’s 

Facility Manager, Mrs. 

Esther Adaka-Boro, to 

forward a report through 

the Presidential Amnesty 

Office to the House 

Committee on Niger 

Delta within two weeks. 

APC, said: ‘’Two years ago 

we arrived at the NDDC 

with the commitment to 

change the narrative of the 

Niger Delta and improve 

the lives of the people. As I 

look back, despite all the 

challenges, I am glad to 

note that there is security 

and people are more 

confident to do business in 

the region. We initiated farreaching 

reforms and 

committed more resources 

into life-changing projects 

and programmes. 

‘’I look back at the 

opportunities we have 

created and how we have 

prepared our people to 

seize those opportunities in 

a sustainable way. I look 

back at how we have 

intervened in emergency 

projects that improved 

movement of man and 

goods and saved 

infrastructure under threat, 

how we intervened in 

education and empowered 

youths, women and 

physically challenged 

groups and I am 

encouraged to look forward 

to a brighter future for the 

Niger Delta." 

2019: PDP chieftain urges 

Urhobo to back Omo-Agege 

By Abdulazeez 

Akinroye 

A 

chieftain of 

Peoples Democratic 

Party, PDP, in Delta State, 

Mr. Peter Okorodudu, has 

called on the Urhobo 

nation to work towards 

the re-election of the 

incumbent senator 

representing Delta 

Central at the National 

Assembly and candidate 

of the All Progressives 

Congress, APC, in the 

senatorial district, Senator 

Ovie Omo-Agege, in the 

2019 general election. 

In a statement 

yesterday, Okorodudu 

said Omo-Agege was 

deserving of re-election, 

noting that the senator 

had given Delta Central 

the strong voice which he 

said had eluded the 

Urhobo nation at the 

National Assembly since 

1999. 

SEEPCO gives succor to Delta, 

Bayelsa flood victims 


STERLING 

Oil 

Exploration and 

Energy Limited, 

SEEPCO, has donated 

relief materials to no 

fewer than 25 

communities in Delta and 

Bayelsa States affected by 

the perennial flood as part 

of its corporate social 

responsibility. 

The flood team leader, 

Col I. Nuhu, alongside 

Mr Selebi Tarebi and 

Gen. Kurata, who visited 

the effected communities, 

said the relief materials 

were meant to cushion the 

effects of the flooding that 

destroyed their farmlands 

and sources of livelihood. 

Communities in Delta 

State where relief 

materials were distributed 

are Bomadi, Enekorogha, 

Kalafiogbene, 

O g r i a g b e n e , 

Ebeberegbene and 

A s a b a - A s e , 

while communities in 

Bayelsa State where relief 

materials were donated 

by SEEPCO were 

Sagbama, Toru-Otua, 

Apelebiri, Abodobiri, 

Adagbabiri, Angalabiri, 

Tamukunu, Asamabiri 

and Angiama. 

Gen. Kurata who spoke, 

said SEEPCO feels the 

pain and suffering 

occasioned by the flood, 

stressing that the 

company will continue to 

identify with the people 

in their challenges since 

they are allies to its 

operations. 

Ogbe-Ijoh communities 

inaugurate exco 

A 

new executive 

committee for 

Tuopolu Eweregbene 

federated communities in 

Ogbe- Ijoh Warri Kingdom 

of Warri South-West Local 

Government Area has been 

inaugurated. 

The new exco, 

inaugurated Tuesday, is 

headed by Comrade 

Michael Temisanren and is 

expected to pilot the affairs 

of the community for the 

next three years. 

Temisanren, in his 

acceptance speech, 

promised to run an all 

inclusive government, with 

accountability and integrity 

as its watchword, in a bid 

Describing Omo- 

Agege as a vibrant, dynamic 

and visionary senator 

who has the interest 

of the Urhobo nation 

at heart, he noted that 

the senator has made his 

impact felt in the National 

Assembly since he 

joined the red chamber. 

He said: "l am a member 

of the PDP and a true son 

of Urhobo land. When we 

want to talk about our 

representative at the 

Senate, we should shun 

party sentiments and elect 

someone who we know 

can give our people the 

kind of representation 

that they desire. 

“In this regard, l am 

saying without fear of 

contradiction that Omo- 

Agege fits the bill on 

account of the qualitative 

and effective 

representation he has 

been giving to Delta 

Central." 

to attract development to 

the community. 

He solicited the support 

of every son and daughter 

from the area to actualise 

rapid growth and 

prosperity in the 

community. 

Also speaking, chairman 

of the Reconciliation 

Committee, Deacon 

Clement Tekedor, said that 

it is a thing of joy to see 

peace eventually return to 

the hitherto rancorous 

community. 

He implored investors to 

seize the opportunity of the 

prevailing peace in the 

community to come and do 

business with the people.

34—VANGUARD, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2018 

UNN shut down as lecturers 

join nationwide strike 

N 

S 

By Chinenyeh 

Ozor 

U K K A — 

ACADEMIC 

activities at the University 

of Nigeria, Nsukka, UNN, 

have been paralyzed as 


Universities, ASSU, UNN 

branch joined the ongoing 

strike embarked on by the 

national body of the union 

last Monday to compel the 


implement the 

Memorandum of 

Understanding, MoU, with 

the union in 2012, 2013 and 

2017. 

Addressing journalists 

shortly after the congress of 

UNN branch of the union, 

the chairman, Dr. 

Ohanaeze, Udeogaranya mourn 

Ojukwu Jnr, Sunny Odogwu 

Ojukwu would neither 

Beans peeler invented by 

Nigerian shines at trade fair 

A 

beans peeling 

machine, LACHI 

Beans Peeler, invented by 

a Nigerian, Mr. Lanre 

Aluko, continued to receive 

accolades at the ongoing 

Lagos International Trade 

Fair, as visitors and 

exhibitors to the fair 

besieged the stand to see 

the wonders of the 

invention. 

The compact and portable 

machine saves time, effort, 

promotes eating fresh, 

making it possible to make 

healthful meals stress free. 

Showing how the device 

works, Managing Director 

of LACHI Nigeria Limited, 

Mr. Aluko said: ‘’Now, no 

one has reason or excuse 

not to eat safely. The stone 

Ifeanyichukwu Abada said 

the strike is total, indefinite 

and comprehensive till the 

Federal Government does 

the needful. 

Abada said ASUU would 

not continue signing MoU 

without implementation, 

explaining that the ones of 

2012, 2013 and 2017 have 

not been attended to and 

that was the reason for the 

strike. 

“We have written to the 

Vice Chancellor, UNN, 

Prof Benjamin Ozumba, 

informing management of 

the total strike as no lecturer 

would attend classes and 

academic board meetings 

both at the departments 

and faculties till ASUU sees 

the green light of her 

demand based on the 

memorandum of action 

MoA of 2017,” he said. 

give up his right nor the 

rights of his people and he 

represented the entire 

Ojukwu family and Nnewi, 

his hometown very well. 

"As an enlightened strong 

man, Akpunwa as we 

fondly called him learned 

so much from his father 

and was highly gifted by 

God. 

“We used to sit and share 

views on the issues in the 

country but his approach 

with in-depth analysis of 

historical events mostly 

learned from his father 

gave him a strong 

foundation in fighting for 

the cause of Ndigbo and 

Nigeria. 

“Ojukwu family, Nnewi 

town, Anambra and 

Nigeria indeed have lost a 

great giant and I pray that 

The Good Lord grants him 

peaceful rest at His bosom.” 

Ohanaeze in a statement 

by its spokesman, Chuks 

Ibegbu, said both Ojukwu 

and Odogwu were 

committed patriots and 

icons. 

“Their death have robbed 

Ndigbo of their immense 

role in Igbo and national 

affairs.” 

Age era of peeling beans 

manually is over.Even God 

recommends the 

consumption of beans in 

various forms including 

using it to make bread. To 

have the best texture, you 

need to peel the beans. 

‘’The revolutionary beans 

peeling machine is useful 

to peel soya beans to make 

tempeh, tofu and soymilk; 

to peel lentils for dahi, 

lentil soup; to peel 

chickpeas (garbanzo 

beans) to make hummus; to 

peel brown and black-eye 

beans to make moimoi, 

akara (bean cake), gbegiri 

(bean soup) and to peel 

locust beans forIru (dawa 

dawa).’’ 

Court shuts down 5 banks in Imo over Ohakim's 

entitlements 

By Chinonso 

Alozie 

OWERRI—A court 

order obtained by 

former Governor of Imo 

State, Ikedi Ohakim, 

yesterday, has shut down 

five banks in the state. The 

affected banks were said to 

have disobeyed an order 

from the court to pay 

Ohakim his entitlements 

from the Imo State 

government accounts. 

Recall that on February 

23, 2016, the former 

governor was said to have 

obtained an order from the 

court against Imo State 

Governor, Rochas 

Okorocha, to pay him his 

several entitlements but 

Okorocha had allegedly 

refused to do so. 

Angered by the 

development, the former 

governor approached the 

court for the second time to 

enforce the order of the 

court. The affected banks 

are located in Owerri, the 

state capital. 

The order as pasted on 

the walls of the affected 

banks read: “An order 

granting leave to issue writ 

of execution of the order of 

this honourable court made 

in this suit on February 23, 

2018, against, 2nd, 3rd, 6th 

and 7th garnishees 

respectively. 

“An order executing or 

enforcing the order of this 

honourable court made on 

February 23, 2018. The 

judgment was dated 

February 23, 2018.” 


judgment, Order absolute 

is made against the 5th 

garnishee to the tune of 

N112, 000,000,00.” 

“Order absolute to the 

tune of forty-four million, 

seven hundred and ninety 

thousand, eight hundred 

and thirty one Naira, thirty 

four kobo (N44,790,831.34) 

is made against the sixth 

garnishee, less the 

minimum amount required 

to maintain the account.. 

“Order absolute is made 

against the 7th garnishee 

to the tune of Eight million, 

eight hundred and twenty 

four thousand, two 

hundred and forty naira, 

seventy two kobo 

(N8,824,240,72) less the 

minimum amount required 

to maintain the 

account. The 4th 

garnishee is accordingly 

discharged. 

“In all, the degree 

absolute has been made on 

a cumulative total of 

N290,068,717.57, the total 

sum is to be paid over to 

this court vide the Chief 

Registrar, National 

Industrial Court of Nigeria 

within the next 14 days.” 

MEETING: A cross section of Anambra South traditional rulers, after their meeting on Innocent 

Chukwuma vs GT Bank at the Palace of Igwe Kenneth Orizu, in Nnewi, yesterday. 

Innoson vs GTB: Call EFCC to order, 

Anambra monarchs tell Buhari 

By Vincent 

Ujumadu 

AWKA—NO fewer than 

30 traditional rulers 

from Anambra South 

senatorial zone rose from a 

meeting at the palace of 

Igwe Kenneth Orizu of 

Nnewi yesterday, urging 


Buhari to prevail on the 

Economic and Financial 

Crimes Commission, 

EFCC, to follow laid down 

rules in handling the matter 

involving the chairman of 

Innoson Group, Chief 

Innocent Chukwuma and 

Guarantee Trust Bank. 

The monarchs said they 

decided to intervene in the 

matter because it was 

assuming a dangerous 

dimension, regretting that 

Chukwuma, who ought to 

be encouraged in his 

determination to help 

Nigeria's economy grow, 

was being distracted and 

humiliated by the EFCC for 

no justifiable reasons. 

The monarchs accused 

EFCC of violating legal 

procedures in the 

prosecution of the case 

against Chukwuma and 

his company. 

The statement read in 

part: “As leaders and elders 

of the land, knowing fully 

well, the roles and activities 

of EFCC, we have decided 

to call on you, Mr. 

President, to call EFCC to 

order on this matter so as 

not to allow this little crisis 

degenerate into a level that 

will be difficult and costly 

to resolve. 

“We wonder why EFCC 

would go to arrest a man 

who provides direct jobs to 

over 7,000 workers and 

indirect jobs to over 15, 000 

people, and a revered 

industrialist who made 

Nigeria proud by 

establishing the first 

vehicle manufacturing 

plant in West Africa. 

“It is on record that EFCC 

never extended any 

invitation to Chukwuma 

prior to the invasion of his 

house to bundle him out 

like a common criminal. 

This, to us, is an insult to 

the Igbo race and the nation 

in general. 

“Soon after his house was 

invaded, EFCC filed a 

criminal charge against 

Chukwuma and his 

company, Innoson Nigeria 

Ltd, in Lagos High Court 

irrespective of the fact that 

there was an existing case 

on the same subject matter 

and transactions as the one 

filed by the EFCC, which 

as of then and till now, is 

being prosecuted by the 

Attorney General of the 

Federation at the Federal 

High Court Ikoyi Lagos. 

“This amounts to gross 

abuse of court process by 

the EFCC. We therefore 

wonder whose bidding 

EFCC is doing by not 

following due process of the 

law. 

“In view of the foregoing, 

we, the Anambra South 

Senatorial Traditional 

Rulers Forum therefore 

resolve that: President 

Muhammadu Bugari calls 

on the chairman of EFCC, 

Ibrahim Magu to call his 

officers to order to follow 

laid down rules and 

regulation in handling its 

prosecution. 

"The President should tell 

EFCC to stop displaying 

elements of bias in the 

business dispute between 

Innoson Nigeria Ltd and 

GT Bank." 

IFAD-VCDP donates N50m relief items, inputs 

to farmers affected by flood 

By Chioma 

Gabriel 

APEX Igbo sociocultural 

organisation, 

Ohanaeze Ndigbo 

yesterday expressed 

sadness over the death of 

the son of late 

Chukwuemeka 

Odumegwu Ojukwu, Debe 

Ojukwu and a senior 

member of the Imeobi 

Ohanaeze, Chief Sunny 

Odogwu. 

This came as a former 

presidential aspirant of All 


APC, Chief Charles 

Udeogaranya lamented the 

death of Ojukwu’s son, 

saying his death was a 

great loss to Ndigbo. 

Udeogaranya said: “With 

a heavy heart, I mourn the 

passing of Dede 

Odumegwu-Ojukwu, a 

great leader of Ndigbo and 

Nigeria, the first son of 

Chief Chukwuemeka 

Odumegwu Ojukwu. He 

was a true son of his father 

and travails of Ndigbo were 

a great concern to him till 

the end. 

“Debe Odumegwu- 

By Nwabueze 

Okonkwo 

O NITSHA—THE 

International Fund 

for Agricultural 

Development, IFADassisted 

Value Chain 

Development Programme, 

VCDP has donated relief 

materials and farm inputs 

worth over N50 million to 

farmers affected by the 

recent flood disaster in 

Anambra State. 

The items presented to 

the farmers at Umueri 

General Hospital which 

serves as a holding center 

in the state included bags 

of rice and garri, cartons of 

noodles, vegetable oil and 

assorted brands of soap. 

Commissioner for Agriculture, 

Mechanisation, 

Processing and Export, 

Mr Afam Mbanefo who 

spoke at the occasion, said 

the gesture was to "help 

ameliorate their 

sufferings." 

According to Mbanefo, 

“These items are to ensure 

that you have food and 

inputs to go back home 

with."



NEWS HOTLINES 

018773962, 

08052867058 

Court rejects El-Zakzaky, wife's bail 

applications, fixes trial for Jan 22 

By Ben Agande, 

with agency report 

AKaduna High Court, 

yesterday, rejected the 

bail application filed by the 

leader of the Islamic 

Movement of Nigeria, 

IMN, Ibrahim El-Zakzaky 

and his wife, Zinat. 

El-Zakzaky is facing trial 

over allegations of culpable 

homicide, unlawful 

assembly and disruption of 

public peace, among other 

charges. 

The Shi’ites leader has 

been in the custody of the 

Department of State 

Services, DSS, since 

December 2015. 

There was heavy security 

presence around the court 

premises during the 

hearing. 

Yakubu Sabo, Kaduna 

Police Public Relations 

Officer, had earlier said a 

ban on all forms of 

processions in the state was 

still in force. 

The judge, Justice Gideon 

Kurada, while delivering 

his ruling, ordered that El- 

Zakzaky and his wife 

remain in the custody of 

DSS and adjourned the 

case to January 22, 2019 for 

trial. 

Counsel to the plaintiffs, 

Maxwell Kyom, had earlier 

applied for bail for his 

client, citing health 

grounds. 

Newsmen were not 

allowed into the court 

during the proceedings. 

Court unconvinced 

about health claims 

Meanwhile, the 

prosecution counsel told 

journalists after the 

proceedings that the court 

was not convinced that 

there were not enough 

medical facilities to take 

care of the defendants at 

the DSS facilities. 

He said: “He has not 

proved to the court that 

facilities he enjoys are not 

sufficient and his wife did 

not show any sufficient 

medical challenge per se 

from past file. 

“The court has ordered 

that he remains in custody 

throughout trial and that 

prosecutors produce its 

witnesses to testify in 

support of the charges 

made against them.” 

He added that the third 

and fourth defendants, 

Yakubu Yahaya and Sunusi 

Abdulqadir, were not in 

court, but a bench warrant 

was being processed to get 

them arrested. 

The ‘offences’ 

Earlier, the defendant’s 

counsel stated that “we are 

discussing with our client 

on what steps to take. We 

will soon take a decision on 

whether to appeal or not.” 

Kaduna State 

government had filed an 

eight-count charge against 

the IMN leader, his wife 

and the two other IMN 

leaders based in Katsina 

and Kano. 

The IMN leader, his wife, 

Yahaya and Abdulqadir 

were charged with alleged 

conspiracy and abbeting 

culpable homicide, among 

other related offences. 

... as Sultan says only dialogue, 

truth'll solve security challenges 

By Joseph Erunke 

ABUJA—SULTAN of 

Sokoto, Sa’ad 

Abubakar, yesterday, said 

for the insecurity bedeviling 

the country to be 

addressed, Nigerians must 

resort to dialogue and truth. 

Abubakar, who spoke as 

a special guest of honour 

at a symposium and book 

presentation to mark the 

70th birthday of the former 

Chief of Defence Staff, 

General Martin Luther 

Agwai, in Abuja, said: “Let 

us keep preaching 

dialogue and let us not shy 

away from telling ourselves 

the truth because as you all 

know, the truth shall set us 

free.” 

However, the royal father 

said in spite of what the 

country was passing 

through, there was hope. 

He added: “When you 

talk of peace keeping, 

General Agwai is 

somebody who played his 

role in peace keeping, 

peace enforcement and 

peace building in Liberia 

and Sierra Leone. 

“It is important that we 

know what we were, what 

we are now and what we 

want to be in future.” 

On his part, General 

Agwai said if Nigerians 

begin to imbibe the spirit of 

forgiveness, all the current 

challenges will be history. 

His words: “How I wish I 

have answers to Nigeria’s 

current problems. But I 

would say the most 

important thing is let us all 

agree that there is a 

challenge. If people do not 

agree that there is a 

challenge, that in itself is a 

challenge. 

“Then we will all put our 

heads together and say 

what is the way forward. 

And I think the answer to 

get to that is that all of us 

must come together, look 

ahead and try as much as 

possible to address it. 

“If we agree that the past 

has its own challenges, the 

way forward, our vision for 

a new Nigeria and how do 

we get that new Nigeria, 

with all of us bringing our 

ideas together, everything 

will be over.” 

Kogi organises Cassava City Day 

By Boluwaji 

Obahopo 

L OKOJA—KOGI 

Agricultural 

Development Project, 

ADP, said it has concluded 

plans for the maiden 

‘Cassava City Day,’ aimed 

at exploring the 

opportunities and 

prospects of cassava 

production. 

Managing Director of 

ADP, Mr. Oyisi Okatahi, 

said this in a statement in 

Lokoja yesterday, adding 

ALARA AWARDS: From left—Chief Executive Officer, Diamond Bank, Uzoma Dozie; Founder, BWL that the programme, 

Agency, Ronke Bamishedun; Founder, ALARA Concept, Reni Folawiyo; Founder, Tiffany Amber, Folake which had Exploring the 

Coker; Chief Executive Officer, Standard Chartered Bank, Bola Adesola, and Co-Founder, Nataal, Helen Treasures of Cassava 

Jennings, during ALARA Awards for Young African Creatives in Lagos. 

Crop as its theme, would 

be in collaboration with 

Kogi Ministry of 

Agriculture. 

According to him, the 

programme will expose 

participants to ways of 

Aspirants say APC has 

no gov candidate in Bauchi 

By Omeiza Ajayi 

A 

B U J A — 

STAKEHOLDERS of 

All Progressives Congress, 

APC, in Bauchi State, 

including two governorship 

aspirants, have alleged that 

the party does not have a 

governorship candidate 

yet, dismissing claims that 

a primary election was 

conducted in which a 

winner emerged. 

The two governorship 

aspirants, Captain Bala 

Jibril and a former Minister 

of Police Affairs, Dr. Ibrahim 

Lame, among others, told 

journalists in Abuja that 

there was no reason for the 

leadership of APC and 


Buhari to recognise 

Governor Mohammed 

Abubakar as the party’s 

governorship candidate. 

Calling on President 

Buhari not to succumb to 

pressure and accept the 

incumbent governor as the 

APC candidate, the 

stakeholders alleged that 

the governor was planning 

to take some Emirs and 

about 70 others to Abuja for 

his endorsement. 

According to them, “as it 

stands in Bauchi, 90 

percent of the indigenes 

will reject the re-election of 

the governor in 2019.” 

exploring the 

opportunities in cassava 

SCDC trains 3,000 on 

crisis mgt in Nasarawa 

By David Odama 

LAFIA—AHEAD of the 

2019 general election, 

Nasarawa State 

Command of Nigeria 

Security and Civil Defence 

Corps, NSCDC, has 

embarked on the training 

of over 3,000 personnel of 

the Nasarawa State Youth 

Empowerment Scheme, 

NAYES, on crisis 

management in the state. 

The exercise is to equip 

the personnel with skills 

on crisis management. 

The State Commandant, 

Muhammad Mahmoud- 

Fari, told journalists in 

Lafia, yesterday, that the 

personnel were being 

given the basic training to 

enhance their skills to cope 

with the challenges of the 

Firm targets adults 

with resized milk-malt 

CHI 

Limited, 

manufacturers of the 

Hollandia milk brand, has 

launched a 180ml-pack 

Hollandia ChocoMalt 

Drink, Nigeria’s first 

ready-to-drink chocolate, 

malt and milk drink, to 

provide an entry point for 

adults and upsize for kids, 

while building on the 

commercial success the 

brand is enjoying 

following its launch in 

2017. 

Retailing at N100, the 

new 180ml pack, 

according to the 

Managing Director, Chi 

Limited, Mr. Deepanjan 

Roy, will take away the 

hassles 

and 

inconvenience involved in 

preparing Choco-based 

beverage drink the 

farming, processing, 

storage and marketing. 

Okatahi said: “The 

programme, which will 

hold November 15 at the 

Confluence Stadium, will 

also educate participants 

on cassava project 

financing, packaging, 

technology, sales, 

marketing and its entire 

value chain.” 

He added that cultural 

music competition 

involving Igala, Ebira, 

Okun, Bassa, Nupe, 

Ogori-Magongo, Gwari, 

Kakanda, Oworo, Idoma 

and Eggan ethnic groups, 

will be part of the event. 

The 12,500-hectare 

Cassava Farm City is 

located at Osara in Adavi 

Local Government Area of 

Kogi, involving farmers, 

agro-chemicals and 

equipment dealers, 

extension agents and crop 

processors, among others. 

time. 


Commandant, “the aim of 

the training is to equip 

NAYES personnel on how 

to spread the gospel of 

peace across rural 

communities and prepare 

for the task ahead.” 

He added that the 

personnel being trained 

would also be educated on 

the requisite skills needed 

to quell crisis, especially 

communal and farmers/ 

herdsmen crisis. 

Fari said: “We have 

already exposed them to 

the rudiments of crisis 

management. We will 

commence rigorous 

physical drilling to make 

the personnel to endure the 

stress that comes with 

combating crisis.” 

traditional way, because it 

can be consumed 

immediately after 

opening. 

Mr. Roy added that the 

growing popularity of 

Hollandia ChocoMalt 

drink reflects how its 

ready-to-drink 

convenience and quality 

instant nutrition is driving 

consumer demand for 

packaging sizes tailored 

ever more precisely to their 

specific lifestyle needs in 

an increasingly dynamic 

market. 

“We are aware of 

consumer expectations 

from us and the new 

Hollandia Choco Malt 

Drink 180ml pack is a great 

example of how we are 

innovating to satisfy them,” 

he added.


Communities benefit from Dangote Employee-led 

sustainability initiatives 

*Dangote Staff during cleanup at Oniru block-makers village in Victoria Island, Lagos. 

*Dangote Industries Ltd. Susstainability Week, 2018 

*Medical equipment handed over to the Clinic in Obajana by Dangote Sustainability 

team 

By Peter Egwuatu 

DANGOTE Cement Plc (DCP) 

sustainability teams from Obajana, 

Ibese and Gboko cement plants have 

embarked on social investment programmes 

directed towards health care, 

education, and environmental sanitation 

in their host communities during the 

company’s sustainability week, 2018. 

The Sustainability Week, which spanned 

five days, was simultaneously held 

across Africa. 

In Lagos, where the Dangote Group 

is headquartered, Sustainability Champions 

– which now number 500 persons 

across the business - embarked on the 

cleanup of Oniru block-makers village 

in Victoria Island; environmental sanitation 

of Anjorin Market, Apapa by Apapa 

Greenville; and the Isolo community 

clean-up by the Isolo Depot Team of 

Dangote Cement. 

Offshore business units of the company 

initiated various activities: a beach 

clean-up and tree planting in Tema by 

DCP Ghana; hospital sanitation and 

clean-up in Bounsa by DCP Congo; educational 

outreach programmes in Douala 

by DCP Cameroon; and Dangote Cement 

Ethiopia Plc constructed additional 

block for Ula Gora School, Ethiopia. 

The Dangote Sustainability Vision is 

built on 7 Sustainability Pillars called 

“The Dangote Way”. The Dangote Sustainability 

Week, according to the DCP 

Group Managing Director, Engr. Joe 

Makoju; “is built on the premise that 

sustainability must be owned and practiced 

by employees at every level of the 

organisation, and powered by the highest 

levels of institutional governance.” 

Chief Sustainability & Governance 

Officer of Dangote Group, Dr. Ndidi 

Nnoli, said: “For us at Dangote, Sustainability 

means living in harmony with 

our communities and natural environment. 

We believe our people and our 

businesses have a lot to give but also 

much to learn from the rich heritage of 

cultures in Africa. As a company, we are 

committed to building sustainable local 

economies in the communities and markets 

where we operate.” 

The Chief Operating Officer of DCP, 

Mr. Arvind Pathak, remarked that, “the 

positive and life-transforming impact of 

Dangote Sustainability Champions 

across the African Continent during the 

recently held Sustainability Week surpassed 

all of our expectations and we 

are committed to doing more.” 

Across Nigeria, employees and sustainability 

champions of the Dangote 

Cement Plant came out dressed for work 

alongside community members to improve 

the quality of life for ordinary citizens. 

In Gboko, Benue State, staff initiated 

a road rehabilitation which had long 

*Dangote Cement Obajana Sustainability Week, 2018 

been in disrepair. At Obajana, Kogi 

State, the company rehabilitated and 

donated clinical equipment to the Obajana 

Community Clinic; while the sustainability 

term at Ibese engaged in the 

donation of cash and equipment to enterprising 

women in the agrarian host 

community of Ajibawo, 3km away from 

the Ibese Cement Plant. 

Employees and management also 

embarked on a tree planting programme 

in Obajana Community near the Universal 

Basic Education (UBE) secondary 

school; and a clinic rehabilitation 

programme, which involved an extensive 

internal and external clean-up, including 

the repair of leaking roofs and 

non-functional toilets. 

They revived all electrical fittings and 

wiring, replaced the non-functional generator 

set, painted the building, inside 

and out, and provided useful clinical 

equipment. Beyond renovating the community 

clinic, the company also fixed 

the road leading to the clinic. 

The Oba of Obajana, Dr. Idowu Isenibi, 

who graced the handover of the rehabilitated 

facility publicly appreciated 

the steps initiated by Dangote Employees 

and Management, which will benefit 

the community, and most especially 

its women and children, as a great leap 

forward in the stakeholder-oriented delivery 

of community services. 

Oba Isenibi in his address expressed 

appreciation to the company and urged 

Dangote Cement to undertake more 

such community-needs driven projects 

for the benefit of the community at large. 

The team spirit was boosted at the 

Ajibawo community in Ibese, Ogun 

State, when Ms Mariam Aliko Dangote 

visited the community in person during 

the Sustainability Week, in alignment 

with the United Nation Global Day of 

Action. 

In response to the 2018 Ibese Cement 

Plant Employees Sustainability Initiatives 

for the Week, fully supported by 

top management, Martinez and Padayachee, 

Ajibawo community expressed 

their satisfaction and appreciation to 

Dangote Industries Limited for donations 

during the 2018 Dangote-Ibese 

Sustainability Week. 

There were free medical health checks organised 

for the host community and provided 

by Novia Hospital, a supplier to Ibese 

Cement Plant; while locally-made cassava 

frying pots were donated to the agrarian 

women as part of a wider economic empowerment 

programme. Cash donations were 

also made to several enterprising women 

within the community to aid local farming 

activities. 

The Dangote Initiative to involve employees 

and communities in its sustainability journey 

marks the beginnings of an increasingly 

stakeholder-oriented approach to enable sustainable 

local economies in the future.


FELA’S DAUGHTER BLOWS HOT: 

*Attacks celebrities 

for refusing to speak 

against bad governance 

Motunrayo Anikulapo-Kuti, daughter of late afro-beat 

maestro, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, is not happy with 

Nigerian celebrities over their refusal to address 

socio-economic and political problems in the country, using 

their celebrity status. 

According to Motunrayo who is never afraid to eloquently 

bare her mind on sensitive issues of interest, she has no 

respect for celebrities guilty of this accusation because to 

her they are dummies who do not have the progress of the 

nation at heart. 

“Nigeria is lost. Why do Nigerians like too much fake 

life? Why are people with voices not addressing the 

problems we have in Nigeria? Why is everybody acting 

like all is well when clearly it isn’t? If you are a celebrity 

and you can’t speak up about the state and problems in 

our so called great country Nigeria, I don’t respect 

you. To whom voice is given voice is expected, morons. 

Politician will promise your village wheel barrow and 

bore holes and they will be happy. You’re here in Lagos 

claiming happiness is free. I don’t even know who is 

crazy again”, she fumed. 

“I have no respect for these motherfuckers’ men. 

You can kiss my big wide fat ass with your luxury 

houses and cars and life style cause to me you are 

brain dead. Celebrity mumu, government 

chicken slay mama, government chicken slay 

papa, Opkonu, dummy, jokers, uneducated 

slay papa”, she added. 

Minimum wage 

increasewill make 

no difference if… 

—Ali Baba 

eteran comedian, Ali 

VBaba, has shared his 

thoughts on the newincrease 

in minimum wage for 

Nigerian civil servants 

from N18,000 to N30,000, 

as advocated by the 

Nigerian Labour 

Congress. 


prolific humour 

merchant, if the 

current exchange rate 

doesn’t drop and fuel is 

still imported, then the 

increased minimum wage will 

make no difference. 

“Market forces will swallow up that 

salary increase in 3-months. The 

quality of life has to be much better. 

The exchange rate has to drop to say 

N100 to $1, and with fuel still being 

imported, no chance of that 

happening”, he wrote. 

However, just to make himself 

happy, he celebrated the increase 

from N18,000 to N30,000. 

“Hey let’s celebrate, minimum 

wage is now N30,000. Some 

governors who have not been able to 

pay 18k must now pay 30k. Oya let’s 

dance jare”, he wrote on his Instagram 

page. 

D Large drops new tune, ‘Badda’ 

aving released singles ‘Meet Up’, 

H‘Obuchukwu’, others, Indie afro-pop act, 

Solomon Onyebuchi Nwosu, better known as ‘D 

Large’, is back with a new song, ‘Badda’. 

His fusion of funky rap lines and hi-life with a touch 

of contemporary sound makes his brand of music 

unique, unlike any artiste of today. He is a wellrounded 

artiste with witty wordplay,melodic tones 

and captivating lyrics that puts the listener on a 

reflective musical journey. 

‘D Large’ hit the airwaves with hi-life tune ‘Badda’ 

with a crispy accompanying video shot by Don 

Kuluku which instantly became fans favourite on 

both radio and mainstream television. 

‘Badda’ is one infectious tune that will stand the 

test of time just like the singer himself is a breath of 

fresh air on the African music scene and he sets his 

eyes on becoming the new school prince of African 

sound. 

This exciting rapper cum singer is determined to 

compete neck to neck with established acts on both 

the Nigerian music landscape and Africa at large. 

•Ali Baba 

•Motunrayo Kuti 

•Davido 

Trouble looms as Chioma comes under attack 

for Davido’s loss to Tiwa at MTV EMA 

ince Davido lost to Tiwa Savage at the just concluded MTV Europe Music Awards, (MTV 

SEMAs), which recently held at Bilbao Exhibition Center, Bilbao, Spain, where the acclaimed 

African queen of pop music beat the ‘Assurance’ crooner alongside Fally Ipupa, Distruction Boyz, 

Shekinah, Nyashinski, to win the Best African Act award category, mixed reactions have 

continued trailing his big loss. 

Reacting to Davido’s loss, a fan simply identified as @mevlon_beauty, blamed Davido’s 

girlfriend, Chioma Rowland, for being the brain behind his misfortune at the MTV EMA. 

“Since Davido started rolling with Chioma, he stopped progressing”, the fan wrote on 

Instagram. 

However, others refused to share the same sentiment with her as they disagreed with 

her opinion on the matter. 

While some believe Chioma cannot be responsible for Davido’s loss, others believe 

it was just a streak of fate. 

@yetzy wrote; “Ha! You can’t always have what you want. That one does not stop 

him from progressing.” 

@queenb_beautypalace disagreed too; “People can be so mean, haba. For Davido 

to lose the award this time doesn’t make him a loser and it doesn’t mean he is not 

progressing, people with bad mouth.” 

@patienceleo123 believed the statement was out of pure envy for Chioma. 

“Because some people are angry with this Chioma that is why many people 

didn’t vote for Davido”, she wrote. 

Meanwhile, both Davido and Chioma have kept mum as they have since refused 

to react or make any comment since the matter went viral on social media. 

•D Large 

Yemi Alade, Flavour spark 

off romance rumour 

•Yemi And Flavour 

•Chioma 

ust like Wizkid and Tiwa Savage began 

Jsparking off dating rumours by sharing 

romantic gestures both on stage and on social 

media, Nigerian high-life musician, Flavour 

Na’bania and Yemi Alade have probably 

misled the public to belief that they are in a 

romantic relationship. 

While some critics believe that their romantic 

pictures Yemi Alade has been sharing on social 

media may be a promotional strategy for 

Flavour’s new song titled ‘Crazy Love’, 

featuring her, many believe it may be a stylish 

way of announcing that they are dating. 

Biggerson wrote, “Yemi, you are beautiful 

and flavour fits you die I swear, best couple in 

town.” One Sabina also agreed that though 

their romance isn’t as beautiful as that of Tiwa 

and Wizkid, they are a good match. 

“They both fit each other but no stew like 

Tiwa andWizkid”, she wrote. 

Marjibs advised them to get married 

quickly; “Abeg make una get married fast o”, 

and Nene was in support, “Abeg Yemi marry 

flavour already. If na me I go do the same. The 

guy is too handsome and I’m a great fan of his. 

Love you both.” 

Tosin Olaoye wasn’t left out, he wrote, “Good 

match if they can keep it that way and make it 

more mature”.Another fan wrote “Perfect 

match”. 

According to Emmy, this is another Tiwa 

and Wizkid in the making. “Another Stew in 

the making”, he wrote, and Shashystone 

concurred; “You guys make a 

good match. The stew still de 

boil”. 

Ben approved of the union; 

“They look good together”, while 

one Desmond agreed too; “You 

guys will make a great 

couple”, they both wrote.



NEWS HOTLINES 

018773962, 

08052867058 

Name National Construction Institute after 

Anenih, Senate urges FG 


A BUJA—THE 

S e n a t e , 

yesterday, called on the 


name the National 

Institute of Construction 

Technology and 

Management, Uromi, 

Edo State after the late 

Minister of Works, Chief 

Tony Anenih. 

The Senate has also 

urged the government to 

accord him all the official 

burial rites due to a 

national figure, who 

served the country 

deligently. 

The Upper Chamber 

also observed a minute 

silence in his honour, 

just as it also resolved to 

send a high powered 

delegation to pay a 

condolence visit to his 

family in Abuja and 

Uromi, and the 

government of Edo State. 

The resolutions of the 

Senate were sequel to a 

motion by Senator 

Clifford Ordia, PDP, Edo 

Central entitled, 

“Demise of Chief Dr. 

Tony Okhakon Anenih 

CFR: The Iyasele (The 

Prime Minister) of Esan 

People” 

Presenting the motion, 

Senator Ordia informed 

the Senate that Anenih, 

according to his family, 

died on October 28 at the 

age of 85years. 

The lawmaker said: 

“Anenih was not only a 

loving husband and 

consummate father of 

all, he was a bridge 

builder, a detribalized 

Nigerian with 

uncommon courage, 

vision and capacity to 

deliver on promises. 

“He was kind, truthful 

and above all very 

generous. He was never 

tired of giving either in 

cash or kind. 

Others, who 

contributed to the motion 

like the Deputy Senate 

President, Senator Ike 

Ekweremadu, Senators 

Biodun Olujimi, 

Matthew Urhoghide, 

Binta Masi-Garba, and 

Danjuma Goje described 

Anenih as a democrat. 

In his remarks, the 

Senate President, 

Bukola Saraki, described 

the deceased as a great 

man who served the 

country diligently, 

adding that he deserved 

to be honoured. 

Glo backs Okun people for Kabba Day 

TOTAL 

telecoms 

service provider, 

Globacom, threw its 

weight behind this year’s 

Kabba Day Festival, held 

to celebrate the cultural 

heritage of the Okun 

people of Kogi State. 

Globacom in a statement 

announcing its 

sponsorship of the festival 

said that the company is 

committed to “promoting 

the traditional values that 

have sustained the 

indigenous peoples of 

Nigeria.” 

The Kabba Day Festival 

2018, which was presided 

over by Oba Solomon 

Dele Owoniyi, the Obaro 

of Kabba, featured 

cultural activities by the 

various age grades and 

socio-cultural 

organisations in the area. 

In addition to these, 

Globacom bank-rolled the 

Kabba Day Beauty 

Pageant where young 

ladies from the area 

competed for the Miss 

Kabba Crown and cash 

prizes. 

The winner of the 

pageant, Miss Bukola 

Obamero, went home with 

the star cash prize of 

N100, 000 and the crown 

as Miss Kabba 2018. The 

first runner-up, Miss 

Rosemary Gbemisola 

Ajayi, and the second 

runner-up, Miss Bisola 

Feyisikemi Olorunfemi, 

were rewarded with 

N75,000 and N50,000 

cash respectively. 

Chukwumerije to deliver Western 

Delta University convocation lecture 

A WARD-WINNING 

author Mr. Uche 

Chukwumerije, will 

tomorrow deliver the 

second convocation lecture 

of Western Delta University, 

WDU, Oghara, Delta State. 

Chukwumerije’s novel, 

Urichindere, won the 

Association of Nigerian 

Authors, ANA, 2013 Prize 

for Prose Literature. 

The Vice-Chancellor of 

the Western Delta 

University (WDU), Prof. O. 

C. Okobiah, in a 

statement, said the multitalented 

Chukwumerije is 

also a “Spoken Word and 

Performance Poetry” artist. 

The statement by the 

Public Relations Officer, of 

the institution, Miss. 

Tetsoma Omawumi-Eyinla, 

said: “Chukwumerije’s 

creative mind which has 

opened up totally new 

areas in the arts and 

performance, is the real 

reason he merited the 

honour of mounting the 

WDU podium to deliver its 

second convocation 

Dickson buries mum Dec 8 

THE remains of Mrs 

Gold Coast Dickson, 

the mother of the Bayelsa 

State Governor, Seriake 

Dickson, will be laid to rret 

on December 8, 2018 in 

Toru- Angiama in Delta 

State. 

A statement signed by 

Governor Dickson on behalf 

of Nanaye Dickson family 

of Toru-Orua of Sagbama 

Local Government of 

Bayelsa State and the 

Enimieye Compound of 

Toru-Angiama of Delta 

State, there will be service 

of songs on Thursday, December 

6 at the Ecumenical 

Centre, Yenagoa, Bayelsa 

State by 5:00pm. This 

will be followed by service 

of songs/traditional wake 

keep at Dickson’s Compound, 

Toru Orua on Friday, 

December 7. 

On December 9, there will 

be outing and thanksgiving 

service at the Palace òf 

Melchizedek, Toru Orua, 

Sagbama Local 

Government Area, Bayelsa 

State. 

FAREWELL ASSEMBLY IN HONOUR OF LATE ALLISON AYIDA 

PHOTOS BY BUNMI AZEEZ 

From left: Mr. Seyin Ayida, Mrs. Alero Ayida-Otobo, Dr. Gubby Ayida- 

Akerele, Mr. Abi Ayida and Mr. Maje Ayida, all children, during the Kings 

College Old Boys Association, KCOBA, farewell assembly in honour of Late 

Allison Ayida CFR, Past President of KCOBA, at Kings College, Lagos Island, 

yesterday. Photo: Bunmi Azeez. 

From left: Otunba C.A Tugbobo, retired Federal Permanent Secretary, Brig- 

Gen Oluwole Rotimi (retd); Alhaji Femi Okunnu, former Federal 

Commissioner of Works and Mr. Hakeem Bello-Osagie, Chairman, Metis 

Capital Partner. 

From left: Mr. Nimi Amachree; Mr Rotimi 

Aladesanmi, Vice President, KCOBA and Prince 

Tola Sotinwa. 

Chief Philip Asiodu, his wife and Bashorun JK 

Randle. 

Cross section of students of Kings College Lagos, 

during farewell assembly.


PRINCE CHARLES' MEETING WITH TRADITIONAL RULERS 

The Prince of Wales, Charles Philip Arthur George met with traditional rulers as part of the three-day visit by the royal family 

to Nigeria at the residence of the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Maitama, Abuja. Photos by Abayomi Adeshida. 

TOP: Prince 

Charles and his 

wife, Camilla 

with the 

Front row (from left) Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa'ad Abubakar; Prince of Wales, Charles 

Asantehene 

Philip Arthur George; Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi II. Back row (from left); Obi of 

Osei Tutu II at 

Onitsha, Igwe Nnaemeka Achebe; Emir of Kano, Alhaji Sanusi Lamido Sanusi; Oba of Benin, 

his palace in 

Omo N'Oba N'Edo Uku Akpolokpolo Ewuare II and Etsu Nupe, Alhaji Yahya Abubakar. 

Ghana. 

Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi flanked by 

Prince Charles (left) and British High 

Commissioner to Nigeria, Paul Arkwright. 

Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa'ad Abubakar 

presenting a book to Prince Charles, while British 

envoy, Paul Arkwright watch. 

Oba Ewuare II of Benin presenting the book; An 

Anthology of Benin History to Prince Charles for 

himself and the Queen of England. 

SERVICE OF SONGS FOR LATE APOSTLE HAYFORD ALILE 

Service of songs in honour of Late Apostle Hayford Alile held at Harbour Point, Victoria Island, Lagos. Photos: Akeem Salau. 

From left: Mr Ikponmwosa Alile, Apostle (Mrs) Pat Alile (widow); Ogho Alile, Oghogho Jean, Osayi 

Alile, Efosa Alile-Martin, Esohe Alile-Motta, Osaro Alile and Nosa Adetiba, all of late Alile family. 

From left: Prof Ndi Okereke-Onyiuke, former CEO, Nigeria 

Stock Exchange, NSE; Mr Oscar Onyema, CEO, Nigeria Stock 

Exchange and Mr Abimbola Ogunbanjo, President, NSE. 

From left: Tinyan Alike, Isokan Ogbada-Ihama 

and Emozogie Guobadia, 

From left: Chief Joseph Sanusi, former CBN 

governor and his wife, Mrs Sanusi; Mrs Funke Jamodu 

and Chief Kola Jamodu, former DG,MAN. 

From left: Mr Bola Adeeko, Mr Patrick Ajayi and 

Mr Seyi Osunkeye.


SEVEN years after 

Nigeria’s fratricidal 

war, the bucolic Obohia community 

in Ahiazu-Mbaise local 

government area, Imo 

State, came alive, rediscovering 

its soul, literally, with education 

as the tonic. 

What used to be Eastern 

Nigeria had been devastated 

by a 30-month civil war. But 

the people were not broken. 

Out of the ruins sprang up 

community secondary 

schools. Secondary Technical 

School Obohia, SETESCO, 

was one of them. It remains a 

study in communal effort. 

Established in 1977, the 

school admitted students from 

all the nooks and crannies of 

old Imo State. The only thing 

the government provided was 

the approval for the school. 

There was no financial 

support. 

But the people were happy 

that they got government’s 

permission to build a school. 

Had the money come with the 

approval, they would have 

been happier for it. 

But the fact that it didn’t was 

not going to be an obstacle to 

the realisation of the vision. 

They gave the project their all 

– donated hectares of land, 

devoted time and were selfless 

with their financial resources 

despite their very meagre 

resources. Talk of the widow’s 

mite. 

Those who had no money 

offered their talents; 

bricklayers, carpenters, other 

artisans. There was no 

compulsion. It was 

Government abdicates, alumni 

association steps in 

voluntarism at its best. The 

women cooked food for their 

husbands. 

The land that was provided 

for the project was Ohia 

Mbara, a virgin land. The 

trees were big and needed to 

be uprooted. There were 

neither caterpillars nor 

bulldozers. The work was 

done manually. It was sheer 

labour. 

One of the few standing building at SETESCO. 

But the people were determined 

to have a school and 

no sacrifice was considered 

too much. And after about a 

year from the time the 

approval was granted, there 

Despite their 

handicaps, the 

pioneer teachers 

were remarkably 

dedicated 

and passionate, 

the 

success of their 

students being 

the ultimate 

motivation 

was indeed a school, 

originally named Obohia 

Technical Secondary School, 

OTSS. 

By the time the first set of 

students – boys and girls – 

arrived in September 1977, 

some buildings had sprung 

up, but there was still work to 

be done. 

Some bushes still needed to 

be cleared and there were trees 

yet to be uprooted. The task 

fell on the students, some of 

whom were in their 20s. 

Consequently, the most 

common punishment was the 

uprooting of trees. 

There was no boarding 

house, yet many of the students 

came from far-flung places. 

The school authorities had no 

choice but to improvise. The 

community, once again, rose 

to the occasion, providing a 

classroom block of the 

primary school, Group 

School Amaiyi Obohia, as an 

emergency hostel. 

The environment was 

harsh. The students would go 

to the local stream to fetch 

water for their domestic 

chores everyday. But the 

villagers helped in making 

sure they settled in well. The 

students were so integrated 

into the community that some 

of them even competed with 

the locals at the annual 

wrestling contests every Nkwo 

market day at the Nkwo 

Obohia market. 

But most of the older 

students had a hitch in their 

quest for secondary school 

education. Imo State 

government had an age cap 

of 14 years for fresh students, 

a policy Dr. Agom Eze, 

Commissioner for Education 

and Information, was 

prepared to follow through. 

The pioneer principal, Mr. 

Amadi, turned back some of 

the students who were in their 

20s until the policy was 

rescinded. The policy didn’t 

make sense in the first place 

considering that these were 

boys and girls whose 

education was disrupted by 

the civil war. In fact, some of 

them were actually recruited 

into the “Boys Company” of 

the Biafran Army. 

It was in this same school 

that I gained admission for 

my secondary education in 

1978. We were the second set 

of students to be admitted. 

SETESCO had little or no 

paraphernalia of a secondary 

school. There was neither a 

library nor science laboratory. 

The school had no generator 

and there was no public 

power supply. There was no 

borehole. Students had to go 

to the stream to fetch water. 

With the exception of the 

principal, none of the pioneer 

teachers had a Nigerian 

Certificate in Education 

(NCE), not to talk of university 

degree. In fact, half of them 

were drafted from primary 

schools with certificates from 

teachers training colleges. I 

still don’t know the criteria for 

the elevation, but what was 

evident was that they didn’t 

have the prerequisite 

qualifications for their new 

jobs. 

The other half were 

“auxiliary teachers,” mostly 

young men and women who 

had just left secondary school 

with good grades in their 

WAEC results. Many left few 

years later in pursuit of the 

Golden Fleece in various 

institutions of higher learning. 

Some of these dire situations 

changed for the better over the 

years, when the school had 

science laboratory and more 

qualified teachers came on 

board with some of those 

drafted from primary schools 

going back to their former 

stations. 

But one thing was glaring. 

Despite their handicaps, the 

pioneer teachers were 

remarkably dedicated and 

passionate, the success of their 

students being the ultimate 

motivation. 

Sacrifice of love 

Their sacrifice of love, commitment 

and insatiable 

appetite to impact knowledge 

rubbed off positively on the 

students. The quest for 

knowledge and excellence 

was extraordinary. There was 

competition in burning the 

axiomatic midnight candle. 

The distractions were few and 

negligible. 

The result was phenomenal. 

Despite the seemingly 

insurmountable obstacles, 

many of the students excelled 

in academics, passing their 

West African School 

Certificate Examination, 

WASCE, in good grades, and 

gained admission into the 

universities. Today, many 

SETESCO alumni are highflying 

professionals proving 

their mettle in plum jobs 

locally and internationally. 

Those that opted for business 

are also shining. 

But just like the story of our 

country Nigeria, sadly, 41 

years after, as it nears its 

golden jubilee, the school has 

become seedy. 

Though there are better 

qualified teachers today, the 

quality of education is at an 

all-time low. Most senior 

secondary school students 

can hardly read and write. 

There is no library. The science 

laboratory is no more. The 

buildings have become so 

dilapidated that you wonder 

how any kind of teaching and 

learning could go on in such 

a squalid environment. 

When we left SETESCO 35 

years ago, there was no GSM. 

Everyone simply disappeared 

into the thin air, each to his 

own world. 

Almost four decades later, 

the consensus is that if there 

will be any redemption for the 

school, it must come from the 

old students through a vibrant 

alumni association. But the 

problem was, where are they? 

How can they be located? 

Technology to the rescue 

Last month, technology 

came to the rescue. A simple 

WhatSapp Forum – 

SETESCO Old Students 

Association – did the magic. 

Suddenly the internet is on fire, 

literally. 

Old students of the school 

have signed on. Surprising 

almost a third live in the 

Diaspora – particularly 

Europe and America. The 

enthusiasm is electric. The 

bonding that has taken place 

in only one month is 

infectious. It is as if we never 

separated. 

A meeting tagged 

“Consequential 

Homecoming” has been fixed 

for December 31 at the school 

premises. Emergency tickets 

are being bought by those in 

the Diaspora who want to be 

physically present for the 

momentous reunion. 

And there is a threepronged 

agenda – to set up an 

alumni association, raise 

funds for the urgent task of 

rebuilding the school’s grossly 

dilapidated infrastructure, 

and mentoring the students. 

Even in the absence of 

government that has utterly 

failed in its social 

responsibilities by abdicating 

from its social contract with 

the people, after many years 

of neglect and decay, 

Secondary Technical School 

Obohia will rise and shine 

again as the old students rally 

for the redemption of the glory 

of their alma mater. 

And by the way, SETESCO’s 

Motto is: To Rise and Shine. 

Ikechukwu Amaechi is the 

MD/Editor-in-Chief, 

TheNiche on Sunday newspaper, 

Ikeja, Lagos.

Oshiomhole's tango 

with DSS worsens 

APC crisis 

Continues from page 5 

coup.’ 

The governors, it was 

gathered, fumed that their 

two colleagues want to 

melt the party because of 

their interests. 

The National Publicity 

Secretary of the party, 

Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu 

claimed ignorance of the 

interrogation. 

“We do not have any 

information on this 

rumour. More so, the 

Chairman is not around in 

the country to confirm or 

deny this. As soon as we 

have any relevant 

information, you’ll be 

updated,” he said. 

He said Comrade 

Oshiomhole travelled 

abroad on Monday on 

personal grounds, 

declining further details 

about the trip. 

The last time 

Oshiomhole was seen in 

public was on Friday at a 

press conference in Abuja 

during which he frontally 

rebuffed accusations of 

compromise levelled 

against him by Governors 

Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun 

State and Rochas 

Okorocha of Imo State. 

Following the session 

with journalists, the 

national party chairman 

proceeded to Edo State 

and returned to Abuja on 

Sunday for the 

interrogation with the 

DSS operatives. 

He was reported to have 

left the country on 

Monday, hours after the 

session with the DSS 

operatives. 

Buhari 

protecting 

Oshiomhole — 

PDP 

Meanwhile, the PDP 

yesterday accused the 

president of undermining 

the rule of law to protect 

Oshiomhole. 

The PDP in a statement 

NAIRA WATCH 

Naira up to N363.58/$ in I&E 

window 

By Elizabeth Adegbesan 

The Naira, yesterday, depreciated to N363.58 

per dollar in the Investors and Exporters 

(I&E) window due to a 64 percent decline in 

the volume of dollars traded. 

Data from FMDQ showed that the indicative 

exchange rate for the window rose to N363.58 per 

dollar yesterday from N363.54 per dollar on Tuesday, 

translating to four kobo depreciation of the naira. 

The volume of dollars (turnover) traded yesterday 

in the window dropped marginally by 64 percent to 

$82.20 million from $228.80 million on Tuesday. 

However, the naira yesterday was stable at N360.5 

per dollar in the parallel market. 


issued late yesterday said 

that it was not unaware of 

the interrogation of 

Oshiomhole and of the 

efforts of the president to 

save him. 

In the statement issued 

by its spokesman, Mr. 

Kola Ologbondinyan, the 

party said that 

information available to it 

suggested that 

Oshiomhole was 

questioned over his 

tenure as Edo State 

governor and on the 

recent controversial 

primaries of the party. 

“If the Presidency has 

nothing to hide, it should 

allow the DSS and EFCC 

a free hand to investigate 

Adams Oshiomhole, 

particularly now that all 

issues are laid bare before 

Nigerians.” 

APC reacts 

APC’s spokesman 

dismissed the PDP’s 

reaction to the 

development yesterday in 

a terse message to 

Vanguard. He said: 

“React to PDP? Is that 

what Nigerians are asking 

for? We have spent over 

three out of our four year 

mandate and we should 

be telling Nigerians what 

we have done, not 

reacting to the PDP which 

should be serving 

punishment for its 16 

years of misrule.” 

The APC has until 

November 17 to settle all 

decisions on the 

presidential and National 

Assembly tickets through 

the window of substitution 

of candidates which, 

however, can only be 

done through the 

voluntary withdrawal of 

candidates. 

A similar window of 

substitution only through 

withdrawal or death is 

also available till 

December 1 for the 

governorship and state 

houses of assembly 

positions. 

Vanguard, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2018 —41 

NEWS HOTLINES 

018773962, 

08052867058 

El-zakzaky —Security men barricade the court entrance during the court hearing of Sheik Ibrahim 

El-zakzaky's case at the Kaduna State high court, yesterday. Photo: Olu Ajayi. 

National Assembly vows to veto 

presidency on NOSDRA bill 

By Michael Eboh, 

Tochukwu Maxwell 

& Temitayo Gold 

AHouse BUJA—Chairman, 

Committee 

on Environment, Obinna 

Chidoka, yesterday, 

warned that the National 

Assembly would be 

compelled to veto 


Buhari, if he failed to 

give assent to the 

National Oil Spill 

Detection and Response 

Agency, NOSDRA, 

Amendment Bill 2018. 

Speaking at a 

stakeholders workshop 

on ‘Reducing 

Environmental 

Degradation in the Niger 

Delta through Improved 

Oil Spill Response’, 

Chidoka joined civil 

society organisations in 

calling on the president 

to sign the Bill into law. 

Chidoka noted that the 

amendment bill, which 

both arms of the 

National Assembly had 

passed, when signed 

into law, would 

strengthen NOSDRA. 

He said: “We need to 

hold the international oil 

companies accountable 

for every drop of oil they 

spill in the Niger Delta. 

And to actualise this, we 

need to strengthen 

NOSDRA, not only for it 

to respond to oil spills, 

but to have the capacity 

to prevent it. 

“This is one reason 

why we want the 

President to sign the bill 

into law. And I will say 

that if it needs to veto 

him (Buhari), we will do 

the needful in the life of 

this National Assembly.” 

Also speaking, 

National Coordinator, 

National Coalition on 

Gas flares and Oil spills 

in the Niger Delta, 

Edward Obi, noted that 

based on the need for 

accelerated assent to the 

bill, NACGOND 

organised the workshop 

to highlight the socioenvironmental 

benefits 

and opportunities of the 

bill. 

He said: “There is no 

better time or 

opportunity for the 

Presidency to show its 

commitment to a 

pollution-free Niger 

Delta than by assenting 

to the NOSDRA 

Amendment Bill 2018 

that has been passed by 

the National Assembly. 

“Assenting the bill, 

among other expected 

outcomes, will accelerate 

the clean-up and 

restoration of the Niger 

Delta environment. It 

will be a complementary 

effort to what the 

Hydrocarbon Pollution 

and Remediation Project 

is doing in Ogoni land. 

“The bill, as passed by 

the National Assembly, 

increases NOSDRA 

capacity to protect the 

environment and 

respond to oil spills and 

control the disposal of 

oily wastes in the Niger 

Delta. The bill increases 

funding to NOSDRA to 

respond to spills by third 

parties including 

individuals, servicing 

companies, vandals and 

oil thieves.” 

On his part, Senior 

Special Assistant to the 

Vice-President on Niger 

Delta, Edobor Iyamu, 

assured stakeholders at 

the workshop that the 

President would sign the 

bill after all the required 

processes had been 

concluded. 

“I don’t have any doubt 

in my mind about the 

signing of that bill into 

law by the President. But 

there is a process that 

must be followed before 

this can happen. 

However, this 

government is committed 

to having clean and 

healthy environments in 

the Niger Delta and this 

bill seeks to help achieve 

this,” he said. 

Buhari swears-in Chairman, members of 

CCB, 23 NPC Commissioners 

By Johnbosco 

Agbakwuru 

ABUJA — 

PRESIDENT 

Muhammadu Buhari on 

Wednesday sworn-in 

Chairman of Code of 

Conduct Bureau, CCB, 

Dr. Muhammed Isah 

from Jigawa State, North 

West, and six other 

members of the Bureau. 

Also sworn-in were 23 

Commissioners of the 

National Population 

Commission at the 

Council Chamber, 

Presidential Villa, Abuja, 

before the commencement 

of the weekly Federal 

Executive Council, FEC, 

meeting. 

President Buhari had, in 

exercise of his powers as 

provided in Section 154(1) 

of Nigeria’s 1999 

Constitution (as 

amended), forwarded the 

names of the chairman 

and members of the CCB 

to the Senate for 

confirmation and the 

inauguration followed 

their confirmation on the 

17th of October this year. 

Other members of the 

CCB that also took their 

oaths were Murtala 

Kankia from Katsina 

Statet; Emmanuel Attah, 

from Cross River State; 

Ken Madaki Alkali, from 

Nassarawa State, Saad 

Abubukar, Gombe State; 

Professor S. F. Ogundare, 

and Oyo State; and Ubolo 

Okpanachi from Kogi 

State. 

The 23 commissioners of 

the NPC sworn-in were 

also confirmed by the 

Senate last month. 

They were Nwanne 

Nwabusi, Abia State; 

Clifford Zirra, Adamawa 

State; Chidi Ezeoke, 

Anambra; Isa Buratai, 

Borno; Charles Ogwa, 

Cross River; Richard 

Odibo, Delta; Darlington 

Onuabuchi, Ebonyi; 

Olusegun Aiyejina, Edo; 

Ejike Eze, Enugu; 

Abubukar Danburam, 

Gombe; Uba Nnabue, Imo 

and Suleiman Lawal; 

Kano. 

Others were Jimoh Isah, 

Kogi; Sa’adu Alanamu, 

Kwara; Nasir Kwarra, 

Nasarawa; Aliyu Datti, 

Niger; Seyi Olusanya, 

Ogun; Olanadiran 

Iyantan, Ondo; Mudasiru 

Hussain, Osun; Cecillia 

Dapoet, Plateau; Ipalibo 

Harry, Rivers; and Sale 

Saany, Taraba.

C 

M 

Y 

K 

42 —Vanguard, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2018 

How public 

varsities increase 

fees in defiance 

of FG directives 

•ASUU, NUNS 

condemn action 

By Dayo Adesulu 


Universities, ASUU, has 

reiterated its decision to halt 

the increment of tuition fees in 

our public universities, adding 

that there are no justifiable 

reasons for it.It however 

lamented that institutions that 

are tempted to increase fees 

under any guise do so to 

survive lack of funding by 

government.ASUU-UNILAG 

Chairman, Dr Dele Ashiru who 

spoke with Vanguard said: 

''There can be no justifiable 

reasons for universities to hike 

fees in a country where since 

1999 till date government 

spent N1.3trillion of public 

money in bailing out failed 

banks.Only last month, the 

government of this country 

spent N800 billion to bail out 

Skye Bank in the new 

metamorphosis they call 

Polaris Bank, he said''. 

Just a few weeks ago, the 

Federal Government through 

the Ministry of Education 

denied hiking tuition to 

N350,000 in 

public universities . 

In defiance, the 

University of Ilorin 

has gone ahead to 

hike its tuition fee 

by over 100 per 

cent.Just as in the 

days of UNILORIN/ 

ASUU feud when it 

undermined ASUU 

and went ahead to 

operate its own 

unionism, it has set 

the pace for other 

institutions. 

H o w e v e r , 

stakeholders 

rightly observe that 

other institutions would follow 

suit.At UNILORIN, it was 

reported that the tuition 

increment will take effect from 

2018/2019 academic session. 

The institution claimed that 

the increment is just marginal 

and necessitated by the 

current economic reality but 

still below those of other 

universities. 

Recall that in August 2018, 

Ladoke Akintola University of 

Technology increased its 

tuition from N100,000 to 

N300,000.Similarly, in April 

2018, Adekunle Ajasin 

University, Akungba, AAUA, 

Akoko, also increased tuition 

fee from N25, 000 to 

N200,000.It was stated that 

while fresh students in the 

faculties of Arts and Education 

were to pay N150,000, 

returning students were to pay 

N120,000. For faculties of 

Science, Agric, Social and 

Management Sciences, fresh 

students would pay N180, 000, 

returning students are to pay 

N150, 000. This was just as 

Faculty of Law fresh students 

are to pay N200,000 and 

returning students, N150, 000. 

The initiative was however 

Students 

in our 

universities 

face the 

threat of 

dropping 

out as 

tuition fees 

continue to 

increase 

resisted by 

parents and other 

stakeholders. 

In 2017, no 

fewer than 38 

universities 

across the 

c o u n t r y 

increased their 

tuition fees as a 

result of poor 

funding by federal 

and state 

governments. 

According to 

ASUU, studennts 

of University of 

Lagos, UNILAG, 

who were paying N14,500 

would now pay N63, 500 as 

tuition fees. Others that 

increased their fees include, 

Ahmadu Bello University 

(ABU), from N27,000 to 

N41,000; University of Nigeria 

(UNN), from N60,450 to 

N66,950; Obafemi Awolowo 

University, from N19,700 to 

N55,700, Nnamdi Azikiwe 

University (UNIZIK), from 

N20,100 to N65,920; Bayero 

University, Kano, from 

N26,000 to N40,000; 

•ASUU President, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi 

University of Abuja, from 

N39,300 to N42,300 and 

Usman Danfodiyo University, 

from N32,000 to 

N41,000.National Open 

University of Nigeria (NOUN), 

from N36,000 to N41,000; 

University of Benin (UNIBEN), 

from N12, 000 to N49,500; 

University of Ilorin, from N16, 

000 to N75,000 and Federal 

University of Technology, 

Akure (FUTA), from N13, 560 

to N83,940. The list also 

indicated that Federal 

University of Technology, 

Minna (FUTMINNA), 

increased tuition fees from 

N20,000 to N37,000; 

University of Calabar, from 

N30,500 to N42,750 and 

University of Uyo, from N71, 

000 to N84, 250.Federal 

College of Education 

(Technical), Akoka, from 

N16,000 to N40,000; Osun 

Winners of NNPC/Chevron art contest emerge 

Master 

Chijioke 

Franklin Nnadi and 

Osize Godson Iluebbey have 

emerged winners of the 

NNPC/CNL Joint Venture 

2018 national art 

competition for Nigerian 

secondary schools.While 

Nnadi from Government 

Technical College, Abakaliki, 

Enugu State came first in the 

senior category, Iluebbey 

from Uniben Demonstration 

Secondary School, Benin, 

Edo State emerged first in the 

junior category.They were 

both rewarded each with 

plaques and N100,000 

scholarships for their 

brilliant performances. 

This is just as the first and 

second runners up got 

N75,000 and N65,000 

s c h o l a r s h i p s 

respectively.The winners 

State University, from 

N95,000 to N135,500; 

Anambra State University, 

from N76,000 to N139, 000 

and Lagos State University, 

from N96,750 to N158,250. 

Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida 

University, Lapai, from 

N25,000 to N52,000; Imo 

State University, from 

N120,000 to N150,000; 

Plateau State University, from 

N50,000 to N100,000 and 

Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, 

from N57,000 to N75,000. 

The Polytechnic Ibadan , from 

N30,000 to N50,000; Abia 

Polytechnic, from N56,550 to 

N61,000; Auchi Polytechnic, 

from N14, 800 to N28,000 and 

Ondo State University of Science 

and Technology, Okitipupa, 

from N70,000 to 

N80,000.Enugu State 

University of Science and 

Technology, N104,900 to 

through their art works 

expressed their dreams and 

hope for our nation in their 

theme The Nigeria of my 

dream.Speaking at the 

presentation of the winners, 

the Group General Manager, 

NAPIMS, Mr Roland 

Ewubare said apart from the 

programme raising interest 

of the public in art 

appreciation, it also 

enhances access to education 

for all Nigerians.He said: “The 

NNPC/Chevron Joint 

Venture is focused on 

unlocking the potential of our 

youths and fostering 

creativity.” 

According to him, through 

the art competition, they 

have been able to promote 

patriotism in every child from 

an early stage.On his part, the 

N124,900; Kwara Polytechnic, 

Ilorin, from N28,000 to 

N44,000; Ladoke Akintola 

University of Technology 

(LAUTECH), from N65,000 to 

N72,500 and Tai Solarin 

University of Education, from 

N66,500 to N76,500.Afe 

Babalola University, from 

N675,000 to N1,075,000; 

Igbinedion University, from 

N540,000 to N820,000; 

Crawford University, from 

N400,000 to N600,000 and 

Redeemers University, from 

N545,000 to N605,000. 

Covenant University, from 

N774, 500 to N814, 500 and 

Benson Idahosa University, 

from N284, 300 to N1, 150,000. 

You will recall in October, the 

Ministry of Education through 

its permanent secretary, Mr 

Sonny Echono debunked the 

claims that the Federal 

Government was planning to 

increase tuition fees of Federal 

Universities to N350,000. 

However, the increment is 

progressing in a subtle way and 

without the Federal Ministry of 

Education restraining them. In 

his reaction, the President, 

National Union of Nigerian 

Students, NUNS, Amb 

Salahudeen Lukman said: "Poor 

funding of universities has 

resulted in universities pushing 

to increase their fees. Of recent, 

tuition fees at University of Ilorin 

has increased by 120% and 

LAUTECH by 160% just to 

mention a few. Authorities of 

Nigerian universities are now 

pushing hard to boost their IGR 

since the government has not 

provided good funding. 

Nigerian students risk dropping 

out as tuition fees continue to 

increase exponentially and our 

parent are owed salaries, 

accommodation is another great 

challenge student face on 

campus most especially in 

institutions in the South east and 

South south of the country''. 

Chairman /Managing 

Director, Chevron Nigeria, 

Mr Jeff Ewing said the art 

competition was an enduring 

investment in education that 

enables students to think 

outside the box, move 

beyond boundaries and seek 

different ways to proffer 

solutions.He said: ''We are 

encouraged by the strides that 

past winners of this 

competition are making in 

their respective endeavors. 

Many of them are currently 

studying art-related courses 

in various schools both within 

and outside the country. We 

believe that very soon and in 

no distant future, we will be 

invited to participate at major 

art exhibitions by 

participants from this 

competition''.


Omokhodion named 

AAU Pro-Chancellor 

and Chairman 

Governing Council 

From left: Prince Lashore, Principal and C.E.O; OIS, Derek Smith; Prince Abimbola 

Olashore, Chairman, Board of Governors and Prince Taiwo Olashore,Vice Chairman, Board 

of Governor during the unveiling of OIS 25th Anniversary logo in Lagos. 

We must tackle our challenges with 

skills, technology — YABATECH Rector 

…as Fashola delivers 32nd Convocation Lecture 


The Rector, Yaba College 

of Technology , Engineer 

Femi Omokungbe has said any 

technical institution must be 

able to tackle challenges using 

skills 

and 

technology.Omokungbe who 

stated this on Monday during 

a press conference to 

announced the institution’s 

32nd convocation slated for 

November 16 - 22nd, said 

technology is the global tool for 

development.According to 

him, the convocation lecture 

titled, Sustainability of 

Technological Advancement: 

A key to Industrial Growth will 

be delivered by the Minister of 

Power, Works and Housing, 

Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola 

(SAN). “It's our responsibility 

as a technology-based and 

OIS unveils 25th anniversary logo 

By Oghenefego Obaebor 


schedule of activities 

marking its 25 th anniversary, 

Olashore International School 

has unveiled its 25 th 

anniversary logo during a 

press briefing with journalists. 

The school was founded on 

February 18 th 1994 and has 

since then produced successful 

alumni. The logo is the school’s 

original logo that represents 

royalty and beneath is an 

inscription that describes OIS 

as a school that develops 

leaders.Speaking at the 

unveiling in Lagos, CEO/ 

Principal of the school, Derek 

Smith, said ''Developing leaders 

is one of the founder’s vision 

and has since been put into 

consideration in order to 

produce future leaders in 

character and in learning. In 

fulfilling the founder’s vision, 

developing leaders is what 

motivates all staff and students 

at Olashore International 

foremost institution to create 

the platform for an academic 

discourse to address the 

challenges arising from our 

national quest for 

development”, he said adding 

'' the trend today globally is 

toward 

achieving 

development without 

depleting natural 

resources''.The convocation 

ceremony scheduled for 

November 22, he noted will see 

the graduating Class of 2016/ 

17 totalling 7,170 graduands, 

awarded National and Higher 

National Diploma of the 

college. 

Asked about his plans for the 

building gutted by fire few 

years ago, Omokungbe 

disclosed that plans are in top 

gear to pull down the remnant 

of the female hostel.He 

School and this passion is 

rewarded when we see the 

success of students who have 

progressed to universities 

within Nigeria and abroad. We 

have seen our students 

graduate with First Class 

degrees from universities 

across the globe. For instance, 

in 2017, amongst our First 

Class graduates were Peace 

Eze (Class of 2012) at 

University of Louisiana; 

Oluwatunmike Olowe (Class of 

2013) at Redeemers 

University in Nigeria, amongst 

others. For this consistent top 

level academic performance 

by Olashore graduates, I was 

pleased to receive the 2018 

Africa Outstanding School 

CEO Award”. 

''One key focus for us as a 

school is that our students can 

go anywhere around the world 

and do well thus representing 

the school well. What we are 

doing is not just passing exams 

but all round success. After 25 

explained that there are 

procedures and processes 

involved in addressing such 

matters explaining that when 

a building is gutted by fire, you 

need to do an assessment of the 

structural integrity to actually 

know if that building can 

actually stand or probably, 

needs to be demolished.He 

said: ''We have carried out the 

structural integrity and we 

want to report that the building 

has failed that test and of 

course, what is important for 

us is to demolish it. We have 

brought in experts to do the soil 

analysis of that area and we 

have come up with a new 

design to have a hostel put in 

place. We are faced with the 

issue of accommodation and 

we are committed to solving 

it''. 

years, we are looking for people 

who have passed through the 

school and are outstanding in 

their chosen careers. For 

instance, amongst lots of our 

Alumni that are doing well are 

Mr Obinna Okwodu who bagged 

the award of the Most Promising 

Entrepreneur by Forbes; Mr 

Bode Olanipekun who is Nigeria’s 

Youngest SAN, amongst others. 

Our first Head Girl, went to the 

university in 1999 and 

graduated with good grades. 

Today she is the first Female 

Operations Manager at Nestle 

Nigeria Plc. We pride ourselves 

in all round success, beyond the 

classroom.The Speech and Prize 

Giving Day ceremony coming up 

next week will also provide an 

opportunity to see how well our 

students are doing and 

appreciate them. Our goal in the 

school is to ensure that our 

students make their 

international exams. We set 

international standards. 

The government of Edo 

State has appointed 

Chief Lawson A. 

Omokhodion, KSM, as 

the Pro-Chancellor and 

Chairman of the 

Governing Council of the 

37 years old Ambrose 

Alli University (AAU), 

Ekpoma, located in 

Esan West Local 

Government of the 

state. The 

reconstituted 

Governing Council is 

made up of 20 

members and are 

directly appointed by the state 

governor. Omokhodion will lead 

the 20-member Council for a 

mandatory 4-year period. 

While inaugurating the 

reconstituted Council at the 

Festival Hall of Government 

House, Benin City recently, the 

state governor, His Excellency, 

Godwin Nogheghase Obaseki, 

charged members of the Council 

to return AAU to the glorious 

days when at its creation it was 

heralded as a premier academic 

institution. He urged members 

of the AAU community to retool 

and project it as a citadel of 

academic excellence. The 

governor noted that he has 

appointed a non-political 

Council made up of credible, 

tested and experienced 

professionals and he is optimistic 

that the AAU will excel under 

this Council. 

Omokhodion thanked the 

governor for the appointment 

and promised that the Council 

will operate wholly within the law 

establishing the university and 

he will be diligent, fair and firm 

in the discharge of his duties. A 

Knight of the Roman Catholic 

Church,renowned Financial 

Journalist and Editor, he was an 

Adviser at the African 

Development Bank, ADB, and 

former Managing Director/CEO 

of Liberty Bank Plc. He brings to 

this engagement a huge 

repertoire of knowledge, 

experience and goodwill. 

Kids who spend hours before screen risk 

negative impact – Greensprings School 


Experts have warned on the 

dangers of parents allowing 

children to spend too much time 

on screen, adding that children 

who spend long hours watching 

television or using computers, 

tablets and smart phones are 

liable a long term negative 

impact. You will agree that 

screen time has become an 

inescapable reality of modern 

childhood, with children of every 

age spending long hours in front 

of screens, from televisions to 

computers, tablets and smart 

phones. Although spending time 

in front of screens can 

sometimes be positive as 

children are able to access 

various educational apps that 

help stimulate their brains. 

Nonetheless, screen time has a 

long term negative impact on 

children. 

Speaking in this regard, Head 

of School at Greensprings School, 

Ikoyi Campus, Dolapo Fatoki, 

lamented that busy working mums 

sometimes leverage on 

technology to get a break from 

their children, by keeping them 

occupied with games on their 

phones or tablets.Fatoki who 

spoke to Vanguard, urged 

parents that rather than keeping 

children busy with too much 

screen, parents should explore 

more creative ways to engage 

their children with physical 

activities. These, she noted, will 

help prevent them from having 

a sedentary lifestyle in future and 

ultimately lead to better 

health.She said: ''The period 

between birth and age three in 

medical terms is called the 

critical period, because the 

changes that happen in the brain 

during these tender years 

become the permanent 

foundation upon which all later 

brain function is built''. 

According to her, the human 

brain within this period develops 

very quickly and is particularly 

sensitive to the environment 

around it.Enumerating some 

consequences of screentime on 

children, Fatoki said research 

shows that children who 

consistently spend more than 

four hours daily watching TV are 

more likely to be overweight. She 

added: ‘’Kids who watch violent 

acts on TV are more likely to 

show aggressive behaviour and 

fear that the world is scary and 

that something bad will happen''


US President Donald Trump 

has hailed “tremendous 

success” in the mid-term elections 

after a night of mixed results for 

his Republican party. 

The Democrats won the House 

of Representatives, which will 

enable them to thwart the 

president’s agenda. 

But the Republicans 

consolidated their grip on the 

Senate, ensuring he can still 

make key appointments. 

Mr Trump said the outcome 

“defied history” as the ruling 

party does not usually gain seats 

in the mid-terms. 

At a feisty news conference on 

Wednesday, Mr Trump offered an 

olive branch to Democrats, 

proposing both parties work 

together on joint legislative 

priorities. 

But he said that if Democraticcontrolled 

congressional 

committees started serving legal 

writs against his administration, 

Republicans would do likewise 

and gridlock would ensue. 

In ill-tempered exchanges, Mr 

Trump called a CNN 

correspondent “a rude, terrible 

person” and told an NBC 

reporter: “I’m not a big fan of yours 

either.” 

He told a black reporter who 

asked whether his self-professed 

nationalism would embolden 

white nationalists that it was “such 

a racist question”. 

The president also mocked 

Republicans who did not 

“embrace” him on the campaign 

trail, and went on to lose their 

election races. 

“They did very poorly,” Mr 

Trump told reporters. “I’m not 

sure that I should be happy or 

sad but I feel just fine about it.” 

House Democratic leader Nancy 

Pelosi has promised her party will 

serve as a counterweight to the 

White House. 

Ms Pelosi - who is favourite to 

become speaker, a position she 

held from 2007-11 - told 

supporters: “Today is more than 

about Democrats and 

Republicans. It’s about restoring 

the Constitution’s checks and 

balances to the Trump 

administration.” 

Meanwhile the Florida Senate 

race is heading for a recount after 

•Supporters of Democratic Florida gubernatorial nominee and Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum react as 

they listen to him concede the race to U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis at Gillum’s midterm night rally in Tallahassee, 

Florida. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton. 

Mid-term elections: Democrats capture 

House of Reps as Republicans retain Senate 

•Trump hails ‘tremendous success’ 

•Attorney General Jeff Sessions resigns 

Republican Rick Scott got 50.21% 

and incumbent Bill Nelson 49.79% 

of the vote. A margin of less than 

half a percentage point 

automatically triggers a recount. 

The Democrats gained more 

than the 23 seats they needed for 

a majority in the 435-seat lower 

chamber. 

They could now launch 

investigations into Mr Trump’s 

administration and business 

affairs, from tax returns to potential 

conflicts of interest. 

The Democrats could also more 

effectively block his legislative 

plans, notably his signature 

promise to build a wall along the 

border with Mexico. 

In the Senate, Democrats were 

facing an uphill battle because 

they were defending 26 races, 

while just nine Republican seats 

were up for grabs. 

The Republicans are on course 

to increase their representation 

from 51 to 54 in the 100-seat 

Senate upper chamber. 

Mr Trump has threatened to 

retaliate for any Democratic 

investigations with his own 

Nigeria to benefit from Google AI lab in Ghana 

By Prince Osuagwu (Hitech 

Editor) reporting 

from Netherlands 

AMSTERDAM—Head Google 

AI, Ghana, Moustapha Cisse, 

yesterday revealed that there are 

ongoing plans to see that Artificial 

Intelligence, AI, helps in 

managing Nigerian and other 

African economies, particularly in 

the areas of flood, disaster 

management, technological inn 

ovations, and health among 

others. 

The Senegalese born Research 

Scientist, made the revelation at 

the Google Making AI event in 

Amsterdam, Netherlands. 

According to him, a lot of 

collaborations between Google 

and some higher institutions of 

learning, Research centres and 

some professors in Nigeria are 

ongoing and will help drive 

down the benefits of AI and other 

new technologies to the country. 

He said although Google is 

building an AI lab in Ghana, 

Nigeria was also in pole position 

to benefit because science and 

technology do not create barriers. 

He advised African countries to 

design a common collaborative 

template so that the continent 

doesn’t play catch up with the 

wave of technogical innovations 

sweeping across the globe. 

He said: “There are a lot of 

Google tech initiatives in Africa, 

from Nigeria to Ghana and the 

rest, partnerships and 

collaborations are needed to 

exploit potentials” 

Reacting to the development, 

National Coordinator, Office for 

ICT Innovation and 

Entrepreneurship, National 

Information Technology 

Development Agency, NITDA, Dr 

Amina Sambo- Magaji who also 

participated at the forum, said 

government was ready to absorb 

the outcome of the collaborations 

and use same for common good 

of Nigerians. 

She said: “The National 

Information Technology 

Development agency is 

developing technology hubs in 

collaboration with the NSIO, 

where over 80 digital job creation 

centres are annually deployed 

across the country. 

“NITDA has empowered its two 

subsidiaries, Office for the 

Nigerian Content (ONC) and 

Office for ICT Innovation and 

Entrepreneurship (OIIE) to 

ensure the enforcement of the 

local content policy and create an 

enabling environment for the 

Nigerian Technology 

Entrepreneurship ecosystem 

respectively.” 

Kidnapped children released in 

Cameroon, two teachers still held 

CAMEROON — 

KIDNAPPERS freed scores 

of school children and a driver in 

west Cameroon early on 

Wednesday, but kept hold of a 

principal and one teacher, officials 

said. 

Armed men, who seized the 

youngsters, on Monday, in the 

city of Bamenda - a commercial 

hub of Cameroon’s restive 

English-speaking region - 

released them about 18 km (11 

miles) away in the town of Bafut, 

the Army said. 

“Praise God 78 children and the 

driver have been released. The 

principal and one teacher are still 

with the kidnappers. Let us keep 

praying,” said Samuel Fonki, a 

minister of the Presbyterian 

Church in Cameroon, involved in 

negotiations to free them. 

probes in the Senate into alleged 

“leaks of classified information”. 

Jeff Sessions has resigned as 

Attorney General effective 

immediately after being asked to 

do so by President Donald Trump. 

Nigeria’s 

4,500MW of 

power shameful 

— AfDB President 

SANDTON—PRESIDENT of 

the African Development 

Bank, AfDB, Mr. Akinwumi 

Adesina, yesterday, said it is 

shameful for Nigeria to be 

delivering 4,500 megawatts of 

electricity, noting that the country 

should be delivering up to 40,000 

megawatts. 

Speaking on the sidelines of the 

Africa Investment Forum in 

Sandton, South Africa, the former 

Minister of Agriculture said: “My 

own perspective in everything 

that I do is that my philosophy of 

development is simple; if I am not 

ashamed of something I don’t 

change it. But if I am ashamed of 

something, I’d change it.” 

“I don’t think it’s acceptable that 

Nigeria is hovering in 4,500 

megawatts space. No. Nigeria 

ought to be in 40,000 megawatts 

space. That is what we should be 

talking about,” he told CNBC 

Africa. 

He said AfDB has invested over 

$200 million in driving power 

generation and transmission in 

Nigeria.


PLATEAU LG poll controversy: Youths 

prevent chairmen from settling down 

By Marie-Therese 

Nanlong 

THE controversies 

trailing the recently 

conducted local government 

election in Plateau 

State are yet to abate as 

many of the 13 council 

chairmen sworn in shortly 

after the October, 10, 2018 

election are yet to settle 

down. 

Pockets of protests have 

been going on in many local 

councils with aggrieved 

youths preventing 

the sworn in chairmen 

from occupying their offices. 

Many of the chairmen, 

whose hand-over ceremonies 

were low key, are unable 

to swear in their councillors 

and those who did 

either did so outside the 

council secretariats or amid 

tight security at the secretariats. 

At press time only 

five local councils have 

sworn in their councillors. 

The said election though 

peaceful, later became controversial 

as the Plateau 

State Independent Electoral 

Commission 

(PLASIEC) officials abandoned 

the different collation 

centres without announcing 

the results. 

PLASIEC Chairman, Fabian 

Ntung, later announced 

candidates of the All Progressives 

Congress, APC, 

as winners of the 13 local 

government areas where 

election was conducted 

and Governor Simon Lalong 

promptly swore them 

in. 

A PLASIEC Commissioner, 

Dr. Stephen Hirse who 

was in-charge of Budget 

and Planning, recently resigned 

his appointment 

with the Commission and 

unconfirmed reports said it 

had to do with the controversial 

local government 

election. 

The State Chapter of the 

Peoples Democratic Party, 

PDP, congratulated Dr. 

Hirse on his resignation, 

saying the act had distinguished 

him as a man of 

integrity. 

Not ready to forego his 

mandate, the Chairmanship 

candidate of the PDP, 

in Langtang North Local 

Government Area, Ubandoma 

Laven, has vowed 

to recover his mandate 

saying the hurried swearing 

in of the APC candidate, 

Nanloh Amos, was 

a scam. 

Laven, in a statement, 

said he won the said election 

but was robbed of his 

mandate and that he 

would fight within the ambit 

of the law to recover the 

mandate. “It is regrettable 

that Governor Simon Lalong 

who is a direct beneficiary 

of a free and fair 

democratic process in 

2015 decided to ignore 

the court injunction of the 

Federal High Court in Jos 

restraining him from 

swearing-in the loser.” 

However, the few councillors 

on the platform of the 

PDP who won their seats 

have refused to be sworn 

in when the chairmen 

swore-in their APC counterparts 

and the State Government 

is still appealing 

to aggrieved persons to 

approach the tribunal for 

redress and desist from 

any act that is capable of 

breaching peace. 

Meanwhile, the State 

Legal Adviser of the PDP, 

Barrister Binchen Jantur 

told Vanguard the his party 

is set to challenge what 

he termed a travesty saying 

allowing such to stand 

would not augur well for 

the political life of the state. 

His words: “We are challenging 

the election in the tribunal. 

Our team of lawyers are 

working assiduously and we 

have 15 to 20 lawyers, they 

are working to show the world 

that this type of election has 

not been conducted in any part 

of the world. They will be divided 

to represent the three 

senatorial zones. 

“In Langtang North where 

I come from, we have 18 wards 

and we won 14 Wards, we 

were at the local government 

for the collation of the chairmanship 

results but all 

PLASIEC officials started 

stepping out to answer a 

phone call. That was how they 

disappeared one after the other.” 

PRIMARIES: Why Ondo aspirants 

took Oshiomole, INEC to court 

By Dayo Johnson, 

Akure 

HOUSE 

of 

Representatives and 

House of Assembly aspirants 

on the platform of the All 

Progressives Congress, APC, 

in Ondo State, have dragged 

the National Chairman, Comrade 

Adams Oshiomole and 

the Independent National 

Electoral Commission, INEC, 

to court over the outcome of the 

party’s primaries in the state. 

The aspirants numbering 100 

were led by former Speaker 

of the State House of Assembly, 

Mr Kenneth Olawale. 

Their grouse: “There was no 

primary election in the state 

through which the candidates 

of the party could have 

emerged for next year’s general 

elections.” 

Through their counsel, Mr 

Wale Omotoso, the aspirants 

including Eni Omosule, 

Mukaila Ayorinde Ajakaye, 

Coker Malachi, Ayodeji 

Arowele, Dele Ologun, Olaposi 

Joe Babatunde and Agunloye 

Taiwo among others asked the 

court to declare that the ruling 

APC did not have candidate 

for the National and State Assembly 

elections in the state. 

They said that the ruling 

party violated the 2010 Electoral 

Act and the constitution of 

the country by presenting candidates 

for the forthcoming election 

without the conduct of party 

primaries which is one of the prerequisites 

for the emergence of 

candidates. The claimed that they 

were harassed, intimidated and 

chased out of the venues of the 

primaries with matchetes and 

guns by thugs of preferred candidates, 

which ensured that the 

exercises did not hold. 

Aside Oshiomole, the suit has 

as defendants the APC, the 

National Legal Adviser, Mr 

Babatunde Ogala, the state 

chairman of the party in Ondo 

State, Mr Ade Adetimehin and 

the INEC. 

The aggrieved aspirants asked 

for a “declaration that the subversion 

of the Electoral Guidelines 

of the APC as stipulated in 

its constitution by the party machinery 

in Ondo State in respect 

of the House of Representatives 

and House of Assembly primaries 

purportedly conducted on 

the October 5, 2018 in their failure 

to give the claimants opportunity 

of being voted for by the 

members of the party as enshrined 

in the constitution of the 

Federal Republic of Nigeria, 

1999 as amended is illegal, 

invalid, unconstitutional, null and 

void.”


Bad news for Rohr: Ighalo injured, 

doubtful for Bafana Bafana clash 

SUPER 

Eagles 

forward, Odion 

Ighalo, is doubtful for the 

Super Eagles’ 2019 Africa 

Cup of Nations qualifying 

fixture against the Bafana 

Bafana of South Africa after 

picking up an injury in 

Changchun Yatai’s 2-2 

home draw against Tianjin 

Quanjin in a Chinese 

Super League clash 

yesterday. 

Ighalo was replaced in 

the17th minute of the 

encounter by Lasse Vibe 

following the injury. 

The former Watford striker 

who was widely criticized 

for his poor showing at the 

2018 FIFA World Cup in 

South Africa has been one 

of the key performers for the 

Super Eagles in recent 

outings. 

Ighalo scored six goals in 

his last three games for the 

three-time African 

champions. 

He is also the second top 

scorer in the Chinese Super 

League with 21 goals five 

adrift of Shanghai SPIG’s 

Wu Lei who has hit the back 

of the net 26 times. 

Nigeria will face Bafana 

Bafana in a 2019 Africa Cup 

of Nations qualifying 

matchday-five fixture at the 

FNB 

Elche of Spain 

goalkeeper, Francis Uzoho 

has already been ruled out 

of the game through injury 

with Enyimba’s Theophilus 

Afelokhai already named as 

his replacement. 

S.Africa coach targets early penalty 

against Nigeria 

In apparent jest of the way 

Nigeria defeated Libya in 

Uyo last month, South Africa’s 

coach, Stuart Baxter said his 

team might also get a first 

minute penalty kick. 

Responding to a question on 

why he was confident in the 

impending fixture with Nigeria, 

Baxter, in a video clip on 

the official website of South African 

Football Association 

(SAFA) spoke about the possibility 

of early penalty kick award. 

“The referee can give us a 

NOC rolls out red carpet for 

Abuja investiture night 

THE Nigeria Olympic 

Committee, NOC, 

will roll out the red carpets 

today for its investiture 

ceremony on deserving 

Nigerians at the Sheraton 

Hotel and Towers, Abuja 

starting from 7 p.m. 

The second leg of the 

investiture which comes 

after the Lagos leg held at 

the Palace of Oba Elegushi 

two weeks ago will see six 

eminent 

honoured. 

Nigerians 

*Gbong Gwom, Jos 

*Ighalo 

His Excellency 

Mohammed Abdullahi 

Abubakar, the Executive 

Governor of Bauchi State, 

Her Excellency Zainab 

Bagudu(wife of Kebbi State 

Governor), former NFA 

Chairman, Alhaji Ibrahim 

Galadima, Gbong Gwom 

Jos, Major General Adamu 

Dyeri(rtd), Da Jacob Gyang 

Buba and Alhaji Bashari 

Mohammed Gumel will 

become the cynosure of all 

eyes when President of 

NOC, Engr Habu Gumel 

welcomes them into the 

Olympic family. 

‘’These eminent 

Nigerians together with 

those honoured earlier in 

Lagos will become the 

torchbearers for NOC and 

Nigerian sports in general. 

We’ve monitored their 

philanthropy and passion 

for sports and have therefore 

decided to bring them to the 

fore to move Nigerian sports 

to the next level”, Secretary 

General of NOC, Hon. 

Tunde Popoola said. 

penalty in the first 

minute…” said the coach 

who also banked on history 

to support his confident posture. 

He is the only coach to 

have handled South Africa 

to beat the Super Eagles. 

“Being confident means I 

trust the players I have 

worked with. I know they 

have the desire to qualify. 

They know that Nigeria are 

a top class team and will also 

be desirous to get results”, 

said Baxter. 

SUPER Eagles Captain and 

Tianjin TEDA midfielder, 

John Obi Mikel will miss the 

remainder of the Chinese Super 

League season due to injury. Ayo 

Olu Ibidapo of the Communication 

Department of the 

Nigeria Football Federation 

NFF confirmed the report. 

Mikel featured in 18 CSL 

matches this season and scored 

two goals providing two assists. 

Although,the Nigeria captain 

is yet to feature for the Super 

Eagles after they failed to advance 

from the the group stages 

of the 2018 FIFA World Cup 

in Russia, after suffering from a 

muscle injury in training. 

Mikel missed Tianjin Teda’s 

Tuesday’s training as a result of 

the injury. He will however miss 

Tianjin TEDA’s home game 

against Dalian Aerbin on 

Wednesday and Sunday’s final 

game of the season away at 

Guangzhou Evergrande. 

Ghana 2018: Dennerby names Super Falcons’ final squad 

Head Coach Thomas 

Dennerby has 

released a list of 21 

players who will fly 

Nigeria’s flag at the 11th 

Women Africa Cup of 

Nations finals in 

Ghana. The 

championship starts 

next week, with Cup 

holders Nigeria 

heading Group B of 

the competition, to 

contend with South 

Africa, Zambia and 

Kenya. 

The eight –time 

champions, presently 

at the world – 

renowned Sol Beni, 

Abidjan (academy of 

1998 African 

champions ASEC 

Mimosas FC) for an 

eight –day final 

camping, will depart for 

Ghana on Wednesday, 

14thNovember. 

Nigeria take on South 

Africa on November 18, 

before matches against 

Zambia and Kenya in 

Cape Coast. 

Hosts Ghana, Algeria, 

Mali and Cameroon will 

battle things out in Group 

A in Accra. 

The squad include 

reigning African Woman 

Mikel out for rest of Season 

*Mikel 

Pinnick: Rohr cannot choose 

venues for Eagles matches 

PRESIDENT Nigeria 

Football Federation 

(NFF), Amaju Pinnick has 

declared that Super Eagles 

head coach Gernot Rohr 

cannot continue to decide 

which stadium should host 

the team’s international home 

games. 

Pinnick was speaking on a 

radio programme “Sports 

Zone” on Lagos-based Radio 

station Lagos Talks yesterday 

where he was asked to 

respond to “some report” 

insinuating that the German 

head coach of the Super 

Footballer of the Year, 

Assisat Osuola, Anam 

Imo Rasheedat Ajibade, 

Francisca Ordega, 

Desire Oparanozie , 

Chinaza Uchendu and 

Chinwendu Ihezuo 

The three goalkeepers 

include Tochukwu 

Oluehi, Christy 

Ohiaeriaku and 

Chiamaka Nnadozie 

There are six midfielders 

led by Glory Ogbonna, 

Sarah Nnodim, Onome 

Ebi among others. 

Eagles is not comfortable with 

the choice of Asaba for 

Nigeria’s friendly against 

Uganda later this month. 

“Gernot Rohr is our 

employee, we have a good 

working relationship with him 

but he cannot determine where 

Nigeria will play. He doesn’t 

have that strength to do that. 

“He doesn’t understand the 

dynamics of this country, we 

have a very wonderful 

relationship with him and like 

I said, he cannot determine 

where we play,” emphasised 

Pinnick 

Zenith Bank Women B’ball: 

Amangbo promises more support 

as First Bank retain title 

GROUP 

Managing 

Director/Chief 

Executive Officer of Zenith 

Bank, Peter Amangbo, has 

Europa League matches continue on StarTimes 

Football fans will 

today watch live 

Europa League matches on 

StarTimes, with Chelsea 

confronting BATE Borisov, 

while Arsenal host Sporting 

Lisbon at the Emirates in 

London. 

In another match of high 

stages, Real Betis face a 

tough test against AC 

Milan, with a qualification 

ticket to the knock-out stage 

at stake. 

Chelsea Coach, 

Maurizio Sarri is expected 

to make number of changes 

to his side when Chelsea 

face BATE having faced 

Crystal Palace at Stamford 

Bridge on Sunday. 

Chelsea enjoyed 69 per 

*Baxter 

cent of the possession when 

these teams met in London, 

Ruben Loftus-Cheek hit the 

headlines with a well-taken 

assured the Nigeria Basketball 

Federation that the organisation 

will continue to support women 

basketball in the country. 

Speaking at the final of the 

14th edition of the women’s 

league sponsored by the bank, 

Amangbo said it was no longer 

a sponsorship but a partnership 

that would stay for many more 

years. Amangbo expressed 

his happiness on the level of 

the competition this year 

despite the fact that it was an 

abridged league as he extolled 

the virtues of the late owner of 

one of the finalists, Dolphins 

Basketball team, late Wale 

Aboderin, who died early this 

year. 

“I want to use this 

opportunity to remember a 

personal friend of mine and 

also the owner of Dolphins 

Women team, Aboderin,” he 

said. 

“We all missed him today 

and the whole of the basketball 

family but I am happy that the 

players and the family are 

living his dream. 

Thousands ready for 2018 Lagos Women Run 

THOUSANDS of runners 

from across Lagos 

stormed the car park of the 

Teslim Balogun Stadium, 

Surulere yesterday to collect 

their running kits ahead of 

Saturday’s 3rd edition of the 

Lagos Women Run. 

The collection of kits 

marked the beginning of a 

two-day Expo which extends 

till today, where runners will 

also be given tips on the 

technique of running a mini 

marathon and health talks on 

wellness by carefully selected 

hat-trick in a one-sided 

Europa League clash at 

Stamford Bridge that ended 

3-1 in favour of Chelsea. 

professionals. 

Also present at the venue 

of the Expo were staff of 

Forever Vision Eye Centre, 

who were engaged in the 

eye screening exercise for 

the runners ahead of 

Saturday 10 kilometre run. 

The eye screening 

according to the Consultant 

Opthalmic, on ground, Dr. 

G.F Yusuf, will continue till 

tomorrow so as to get to a 

large percentage of the 

runners screened. 

In a related development, 

former Nigerian hurdler, 

Glory Alozie, has thrown her 

weight behind the Lagos 

Women Run. She gave her 

support in a telephone 

message with the Run 

Coordinator, Tayo Popoola. 

Meanwhile, Olympic gold 

medalist, Enefiok Udo 

Obong, has been assigned 

to co-ordinate the over 150 

volunteers who will be 

working in all departments 

of the Lagos Women Run on 

Saturday, November 10, 

2018.


Vanguard, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2018 

TODAY’S PUZZLE 

Sudoku 

FRIDAY’S ANSWER 

TODAY’S CROSSWORD 

QUICK CROSSWORD 

THURSDAY’S SOLUTION 

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 

7 Conciliation (11) 

8 – Berlin, American 

composer and lyricist (5) 

9 Useless (6) 

10 Attitude (6) 

12 Road-surfacing 

material (6) 

13 Flightless bird (3) 

14 Evening meal (6) 

16 Decline (6) 

18 Gas used in balloons (6) 

20 Farm livestock (6) 

22 Verdi opera (2,9) 

DOWN 

1 Couple (4) 

2 Espionage (6) 

3 Female child (3) 

4 Unhearing (4) 

6 Hertfordshire city (2,6) 

11 Brandy (3-2-3) 

12 Renegade (8) 

15 Pedestal for a statute (6) 

17 A depth of six feet (6) 

19 Debatable (4) 

21 Green and white 

vegetable (4) 

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

08027767834; 01-4544821. Abuja office: 7, Dambata Close, Area 7, Garki, 09-2921024. Ikeja office: 73, Awolowo Way. V.I. Office: Murplus Plaza, 27, Sanusi Fafunwa Street. Asaba: 21, Anwai 

Road. Benin City: 4E, Arusa Street. Port Harcourt: 50, Ikwerre Road; Warri: 102, Efurun-Sapele Road. Advert: advertproduction@yahoo.com; E-mail: editor@vanguardngr.com, 

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

08112018 - Oshiomhole's tango with DSS worsens APC crisis

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?