17112018 - A-Court reduces jail terms for ex-Govs Dariye, Nyame

2 — SATURDAY Vanguard, NOVEMBER 17, 2018

SATURDAY Vanguard, NOVEMBER 17, 20184 — 3


SATURDAY Vanguard, NOVEMBER 17, 2018 — 5 

REVEALED: How APC gov insulted Oshiomhole 

before Buhari 

By Charles Kumolu, 

Deputy Features 

Editor 

DESPITE last Satur 

day’s statement by the 

National Chairman of the All 

Progressives Congress, 

APC, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole 

that his encounter 

with the Department of State 

Security Services, DSS, was 

not an arrest as being speculated, 

Saturday Vanguard 

learned that the forces 

against him were unfazed in 

the resolve to achieve preconceived 

objectives. 

Already, exclusive reports 

by some influential online 

platforms had indicated that 

the DSS in its report to the 

Presidency, recommended 

the prosecution of Oshiomhole 

over its alleged findings. 

Saturday Vanguard could 

not confirm the veracity of the 

existence of the report from 

the DSS and Economic and 

Financial Crimes Commission, 

EFCC, but top party 

sources said there was nothing 

like that. 

They, however, said the 

protest against the Chairman 

at the office of Independent 

Corrupt Practices Commission, 

ICPC, and the said DSS 

report were part of the efforts 

of those opposed to Oshiomhole 

at achieving their aim. 

One of the sources said the 

ultimate objective was to coopt 

President Muhamadu 

Buhari in the anti-Oshiomhole 

camp. 

He said it would be difficult 

to get the President’s 

support for the move, adding 

that those against Oshiomhole 

had since lost the 

President’s support for failing 

to accept the solutions he 

(Buhari) proffered as the 

leader of the APC. 

In fact, he told Saturday 

Vanguard that there was a 

day the President asked one 

of the aggrieved governors, 

who was visiting him at the 

time, to speak to Oshiomhole 

on the phone in his presence 

so they could resolve the matter 

Ḣe added that instead of 

having the peace talk President 

Buhari suggested, the 

governor started insulting 

Oshiomhole on the phone, 

using unprintable words. 

This scene which happened 

in the presence of the 

President, was said to have 

lasted more than 30 minutes. 

The scenario was said to 

have convinced the President 

that the aggrieved governor 

and others were being driven 

by self-interest. 

The source, who was even 

privy to the conversation 

Oshiomhole had with the 

DSS, said top party members 

and political office holders, 

have resolved to defend the 

chairman. 

He noted that this support 

played out when Oshiomhole 

honoured the DSS invitation, 

adding that the party 

chieftains and public office 

holders immediately mobilised 

in solidarity, threatening 

to defend the national chairman 

at all costs. 

Sources privy to the event 

told Saturday Vanguard that 

the party members, who were 

taken unaware immediately 

mobilised to Oshiomhole’s 

Abuja residence when they 

got wind of the matter. 

Prominent among those, 

who immediately responded 

to the situation was a top presidency 

official in charge of the 

administrative workings of 

the government, a serving 

governor, and minister 

among others. 

The scandalized officials 

were said to have threatened 

that should the interrogation 

continue, they would not 

mind if their defence of Oshiomhole’s 

integrity led to the 

implosion of APC. 

However, Saturday Vanguard 

further learned that 

contrary to insinuations that 

President Buhari had prior 

knowledge of the operation, 

the President and Vice President 

Yemi Osinbajo were 

called when it had ended. 

The duo were said to have 

been rattled that such treatment 

was meted to the party’s 

National Chairman. 

The incident, one of the 

sources said, was hatched by 

some top political office holders, 

who seem to have influence 

over some officials of the 

institution that was used. 

The aim was to intimidate 

Oshiomhole into signing a 

resignation letter which 

would be presented to the 

public. 

To achieve this, he was presented 

with a series of allegations 

of financial impropriety 

allegedly made against 

him. 

•Govs, top presidency official, Minister, mobilise in defence of 

party chairman 

Money from Lagos State 

governor 

The allegations included 

the collection of money from 

Lagos State governor, Mr. Akinwumi 

Ambode; senators; 

Kano State aspirants; Zamfara 

State aspirants and Imo 

State APC members among 

others. 

These accusations, which 

the source described as cheap, 

were brought before Oshiomhole, 

who was said to have 

punctured them with superior 

and logical responses. 

Saturday Vanguard 

learned that Oshiomhole, 

who saw the claims as laughable 

and pedestrian, told 

them that it was illogical to 

suggest that he collected 

money from Ambode when 

the outcome of the primaries 

in Lagos was not even being 

challenged by the governor. 

On the allegation of collecting 

money from senatorial 

aspirants, it was learned that 

the APC chairman considered 

it a cheap one since he 

did not succumb to the pressure 

of being financially induced 

by those seeking higher 

offices. 

APC primaries in Kano 

In fact, the source said the 

allegation implied that those 

behind the matter could go 

to any length in their bid to 

oust the National Chairman. 

The source, who said 

Oshiomhole’s response to 

the questions exposed the 

intelligence level of those, 

who made the allegations, 

said questioning him over 

APC primaries in Kano was 

needless. 

His reason was that Oshiomhole 

gave the party a new 

lease of life in Kano with the 

return of a former governor 

of the state, Ibrahim Shekarau 

to APC after Senator 

Rabiu Kwankwaso’s defection. 

Explaining further, the 

source said: “What happened 

was the handiwork 

of a few people, who used 

the influence they think they 

have to intimidate the chairman. 

They wanted him to 

resign his position as the 

National Chairman to pave 

the way for their selfish interest. 

They invited Comrade 

and he honoured the 

invitation as a law-abiding 

citizen. He was taken aback 

when they started asking 

him questions about issues 

that didn’t exist. 

“ Even the President was 

not aware of it as some people 

claimed. The President 

and the Vice President were 

informed about the incident 

on phone and they were 

very angry because it is obvious 

that some people who 

are not comfortable with 

comrade’s resolve to ensure 

that candidates were not imposed 

on the party are ready 

to make the party implode. 

They asked him questions 

regarding Kano State, Imo 

State, and Zamfara State 

among others. The funny 

aspect is that they said he 

collected money from Lagos 

State governor, Akinwumi 

Ambode. That was just a petty 

lie because the outcome of 

the Lagos primary was not a 

subject of controversy and 

Ambode did not even kick 

against the emergence of the 

winner. In addition to that, 

they said he collected money 

from senators. That is absolute 

nonsense because 

Comrade is a former governor, 

who has attained the 

peak in public office. How 

could he have collected money 

from a senator, who collects 

about N13 million 

monthly? The allegations 

against him lacked substance. 

Governors, ministers 

“The morning after the incident 

some governors, ministers 

and other top functionaries 

visited his house and 

were threatening to defend 

comrade, adding that they 

didn’t care if the party experienced 

an implosion. That 

scene is better imagined. Of 

course, their reaction was expected 

because the incident 

was on the heels of threats 

by an aggrieved governor 

that comrade would be forced 

out of office. The call by the 

opposition that the Interpol 

should arrest comrade was 

unnecessary because he 

committed no crime to have 

warranted such. It even 

showed that the main opposition 

party in this country 

does not engage in constructive 

criticisms. If the incident 

had happened to the 

National Chairman of the 

PDP, Uche Secondus they 

would have described it as 

an abuse of power. Since 

Comrade is the victim, it 

does not amount to an abuse 

of power anymore. That is 

the kind of destructive politics 

people play in Nigeria. 

It should be on record that 

nobody would be allowed to 

bend the rules of the APC. 

Even Comrade and President 

Buhari do not have that 

power to subvert the will of 

the people. Oshiomhole’s 

position on the matter is simple. 

He stands for the rule of 

law not imposition of candidates. 

That is the reason he 

refused to succumb to all attempts 

at making him allow 

illegality in states where arrangements 

have been concluded 

to impose candidates 

on the people.” 

2019: US is looking forward to a free, fair and 

credible election in Nigeria, says Consulate General 

From left: Speaker, Enugu State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Edward Ubosi; 

President, state’s Customary Court of Appeal, Hon. Justice George Nnamani; Governor 

Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State; Catholic Bishop of Enugu Doicese, Most 

Rev. Dr. Callistus Onaga; state’s Chief Judge, Hon. Justice Priscilla Emehelu and 

Hon. Justice Centus Nweze of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, during the Mass 

marking the opening of the 2018/2019 Legal Year of Enugu State Judiciary, held at 

Holy Ghost Cathedral, Ogui, Enugu, yesterday. 

By Benjamin Njoku 

THE United States 

Consulate General 

Lagos, F. John Bray, has 

said that they are looking 

forward to a free, fair, credible, 

and non-violent election 

in Nigeria, in 2019. 

The Consulate General 

made these remarks, 

while speaking at the Nigerian 

première of Spike 

Lee’s film, “BlacKkKlansman” 

which held yesterday 

at the FilmHouse Cinema, 

Twin Waters on Victoria 

Island, Lagos. 

Bray, noted that the 

United States has come a 

long way in its fight 

against racism. “This 

movie is making a statement 

about that because 

it makes you reflect and 

look at the problem.” 

The Consul General also 

used the opportunity to 

advocate similar reflection 

by Nigerians as they prepare 

for the forthcoming 

general elections. “We are 

looking forward to a free, 

fair, credible, and non-violent 

election in the coming 

year,” he said. 

The movie stars: John 

David Washington, son of 

Academy Award winner, 

Denzel Washington, and 

Adam Driver. It chronicles 

the true story of an African- 

American police detective 

named Ron Stallworth, 

who, in 1978, launched an 

investigation into the local 

chapter of the Ku Klux 

Klan (KKK) in Colorado 

Springs. 

Guests at the première, 

which was hosted in collaboration 

with the Africa 

International Film 

Festival,AFRIFF, included 

leaders in business, civil 

society, media and government 

as well as Nollywood 

celebrities. 

As part of the ongoing 

Africa International Film 

From left: Russell Brooks, Public Affairs Officer, U.S 

Consulate Lagos;British Deputy High Commissioner, 

Laure Beaufils;Chioma Ude, AFRIFF founder;and the 

United States Consulate General Lagos, F. John Bray 

at the Nigerian première of Spike Lee’s film, “BlacKkKlansman” 

yesterday. 

Festival, the U.S. Mission 

on Thursday co-hosted the 

screening of “Balancing 

the Scales,” a documentary 

film about women lawyers 

in the United States. 

The screening was hosted 

at the Genesis Cinema, 

Lekki. 

At the event attended by 

over 110 mid-career and 

senior-level female lawyers, 

U.S. Embassy Counselor 

for Public Affairs, Aruna 

Amirthanayagam, delivered 

remarks underscoring 

the importance of having 

women in leadership 

positions in the private and 

public sectors of the economy.

6 — SATURDAY Vanguard, NOVEMBER 17, 2018 

Money Laundering: A-Court reduces jail 

terms for ex-Govs Dariye, Nyame 

*Orders Nyame to pay additional N525m fine 

*Says Govs have legal duty to account for ‘security votes’ 

By Ikechukwu 

Nnochiri 

IN two separate judge 

ments yesterday, the 

Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja, 

reviewed and reduced the 

14-year prison sentence that 

was handed to two convicted 

former governors, Mr. Joshua 

Dariye of Plateau State and 

Reverend Jolly Nyame of Taraba 

State. 

While the appellate court 

reduced ex-Governor Dariye’s 

jail term to 10 years, it pruned 

Nyame’s prison sentence 

down to 12 years but added 

fine to the penalty. 

It held that the maximum 

sentence that trial Justice Adebukola 

Banjoko of the High 

Court of the Capital Territory 

at Gudu, imposed on Nyame 

and Dariye on May 30 and 

June 12, respectively, were excessive. 

The appellate court noted 

that though the law imbued 

the trial Judge with discretionary 

powers to pass sentence, 

it held that sections 310, 311 

and 416 of the Administration 

of Criminal Justice Act, ACJA, 

2015, provided guidelines for 

sentencing, adding that such 

discretion must be exercised 

judicially and judiciously. 

The appellate court further 

quashed counts 12 and 23 of 

the charge that formed part of 

allegations upon which 

Dariye’s conviction was based. 

It held that the two counts 

were legally defective, though 

it upheld all the other decisions 

of the trial court, including the 

order for restitution and forfeiture 

of assets that were traced 

to the convicted former governor. 

Nevertheless, in the case of 

Nyame, the appellate court 

ordered him to pay fine in the 

aggregate sum of 

N525million, stressing that 

the law under which he was 

tried and convicted, had a 

mandatory provision for both 

imprisonment and fine. 

The court observed that the 

trial court imposed only 14 

years prison sentence on 

Nyame without adding a fine, 

contrary to mandatory provisions 

of section 311(c) of the 

ACJA. 

“The trial court had no discretion 

to chose one and leave 

the other”, held Justice Emmanuel 

Agim who read the 

lead verdict in Nyame’s case. 

The two unanimous judgements 

of the appellate court 

were delivered by different 

three-man panel of Justices 

that were led by Justice Abdul 

Aboki. 

Meanwhile, in a landmark 

President Muhammadu Buhari flanked by the Minister of Communications, 

Barr. Adebayo Shittu and the Secretary General, Jama’atu Nasril Islam 

(JNI), Dr. Khalid Aliyu (5l) who led a delegation of the Islamic Group to 

visit the President at the State House, Abuja. Photo by Abayomi Adeshida. 

pronouncement, the appellate 

court, held that governors, being 

public officers that are bound 

by the principle of accountability, 

have a legal duty to give 

account of funds that are allocated 

to their states as ‘Security 

Votes’. 

“Any public officer by whatever 

description, if you are given 

public fund for the purpose 

of security of the state, you have 

a legal duty to account for how 

the money was used. 

“If you fail to give account, 

then you must return it back to 

the state coffers. If you fail to 

do so, it then amounts to stealing 

and dishonest breach of 

public trust”, Justice Agim held. 

He noted that Nyame had 

before the trial court, admitted 

that various sums of money, 

ranging from N20m to N30m, 

which he expended whenever 

he visited Abuja, was part of 

funds that accrued to him as 

Security Vote. 

“It is unfortunate that we have 

a penchant for appropriating 

public fund as our personal 

fund in this country. 

“The trial court was right to 

have convicted him”, Justice 

Agim held, just as he decried 

what he termed as devastating 

impact of official corruption in 

Nigeria, saying it has become 

worst than terrorism and genocide. 

The court said it decided to 

review both Dariye and 

Nyame’s sentences, so as to 

bring it in conformity with sections 

315 of the Penal Code Act 

and 416 of the ACJA. 

It will be recalled that Justice 

Banjoko had on May 30, found 

Nyame guilty on 27 out of the 

41-count money laundering 

charge the Economic and Financial 

Crimes Commission, 

EFCC, preferred against him. 

Specifically, the court sentenced 

him to 14 years for criminal 

breach of trust, 2 years for 

misappropriation, 7 years for 

gratification and 5 years for obtaining 

valuable public properties 

without consideration. 

However, the appellate court 

on Friday, reduced the sentence 

which is running concurrently, 

to 12 years, 5 years, 

4 years and one-year and 

nine months, respectively, 

with fines ranging from 

N100m to N5m. 

EFCC had alleged that 

Nyame who held sway as 

Governor of Taraba State from 

May 29, 1999, to May 29, 

2007, looted public funds to 

the tune of N1.64billion. 

The prosecution, in the 

charge dated May 13, 2007, 

told the court that the former 

governor perpetuated the 

fraud between January 

2005 and May 2007, 

through various bogus contracts. 

Nyame had pleaded not 

guilty to the charge which 

he insisted was not only incompetent, 

but brought 

against him in bad faith. 

On his part, Dariye who 

was governor of Plateau 

State from 1999 to 2007 and 

the current Senator representing 

Plateau Central, 

was convicted for diverting 

public funds to the tune of 

N1.126billion. 

He was found guilty on 

15 out of the 23-count criminal 

charge the EFCC entered 

against him. 

The trial court said it was 

satisfied that the ex-governor, 

being a public officer 

that had full dominion and 

control of ecological funds 

the Federal Government 

released to Plateau State in 

2001, converted and diverted 

same for his personal 

use. 

It held that the ex-governor 

criminally misappropriated 

funds and acted in violent 

breach of public trust 

and his oath of office. 

Dissatisfied with their imprisonment, 

the two exgovernors 

approached the 

appellate court, begging it 

to set-aside their conviction. 

Aside accusing the trial 

Judge of importing extraneous 

facts they said 

were not in evidence and 

totally irrelevant to charges 

against them, the duo contended 

that EFCC failed to 

establish essential elements 

of the criminal allegations it 

levelled against them. 

Besides, the convicts 

urged the appellate court to 

determine if the lower court 

was right to categorize them 

as public officers. 

While dismissing their 

contentions, the appellate 

court panel held that under 

sections 176(2) and 318(1) 

of the 1999 constitution, as 

amended, the Appellants 

were not only public officers, 

but Chief Executive Officers 

of their states. 

It noted that section 124 of 

the Constitution, aside prescribing 

that they should be 

entitled to salaries and other 

emoluments, equally 

okayed them to receive gratuity 

and pension. 

The court added that the 

duo were expressly barred 

from engaging in any other 

form of work while in office 

as governors. 

“It is beyond argument 

that the governor of a state 

is in the service of that state 

and therefore a public servant”, 

the court held. 

The appellate court said it 

was satisfied that the trial 

high court Judge carried out 

intensive and extensive evaluation 

of proof of evidence 

that were adduced against 

the former governors by 

EFCC, before it found them 

guilty. 

It held that the issue of territorial 

jurisdiction that the 

convicted ex-governors 

raised in their appeal, 

amounted to abuse of court 

process since the issue was 

earlier thrashed by the Supreme 

Court which gave 

the trial court the nod to try 

them. 

Meanwhile, shortly after the 

judgement, both Dariye and 

Nyame, through their respective 

lawyers, vowed to take 

their case before the Supreme 

Court. 

NIM lauds Obasanjo for endorsing 

Third Force Movement for Nigeria 

By Dapo Akinrefon 

THE Nigeria Intervention Movement, NIM, yes 

terday, commended former President Olusegun 

Obasanjo, for urging Nigerians to join forces to bring about 

a Coalition for Nigeria that will rescue the country from the 

impunity of the two dominant parties in Nigeria; PDP and 

APC. It will be recalled that Obasanjo earlier yesterday 

charged Nigerians to henceforth seek their political and 

economic salvation in the direction of a political third force 

outside the two dominant parties in Nigeria; PDP and APC, 

whom he said have both grossly disappointed the people 

of Nigeria. 

In a statement by Deputy Director General, Media, Communications, 

Publicity, Mallam Naseer Kura, the NIM said: 

“NIM affirms that Obasanjo’s historic clarion call to the 

Nation at its formative stage has profoundly validated the 

initiative of NIM’s Conveners to facilitate an all inclusive, 

non partisan pan Nigerian political third force to rescue 

the country from the impunity and lack lustre performance 

of traditional political elites in the PDP and APC among 

others. “While endorsing and applauding Obasanjo’s statement 

on the way forward for Nigeria in the march towards 

the 2019, NIM wishes to clearly state its resolve to embrace 

the strategic counsel contained in the Elder-statesman 

treaties on how the emergent Movement can rally 

and work with other Movements in building a major Coalition 

for Nigeria to save Nigerians from an inept political 

leadership, 

Displacement: Ijaw 

community condemns 

neglect by successive govts 

THE Diebiri Progressive Initiative (DPI), has 

condemned the inability of successive governments in 

Delta state to resettle the people of Diebiri community in the 

Warri South West council area sacked from their ancestral 

home during a communal clash between Ogbe-Ijoh and 

Aladja communities 23 years ago. 

The group in a communiqué signed by Comrade Peter 

Egberibo, Comrade Esegha Werinina and Comrade Quinton 

Tekedor, Chairman, Secretary and PRO respectively, in 

Warri, threatened to resort to self help if Governor Ifeanyi 

Okowa fails to address the issue. 

The communiqué reads in part: “We have resolved that, 

DiebiriI Kingdom, in Warri South West Local Government 

Area was sacked from her ancestral land some 23 years ago 

because of a communal clash between Ogbe-Ijoh and Aladja. 

“We may be forced to resort to self help since the state 

government has not deemed it fit to attend to this broad day 

evil perpetrated against the people..” 

Okorocha’s claim of Nwosu’s 

substitution not true — Uzodimma 

THE statement credited to Imo state governor, Rochas 

Okorocha, that INEC used a fake court order to 

substitute the name of Uche Nwosu with that of Sen 

Hope Uzodimma as the APC governorship candidate 

for Imo state has been dismissed as untrue. 

Reacting to the statement which was published in a 

national daily November 16, the Director of Media and 

Special Duties of the Hope Uzodimma Campaign Organisation, 

Declan M. Emelumba, said in Owerri yesterday 

that Nwosu’s name was never submitted to INEC 

by APC so there couldn’t have been any substitution. 

The statement said the APC candidate has an acknowledgement 

slip from INEC dated October 25th acknowledging 

his governorship nomination form submitted by 

the APC and challenged Governor Okorocha to produce 

Nwosu ‘ s acknowledgement slip from INEC to 

substantiate his claim. 

2019: NIPR advocates jail terms 

for Hate Campaigners, partners 

PRNigeria on National PR Awards 

T 

HE Nigeria Institute of Public Relations NIPR has 

frowned at the growing incidences of hate speeches in 

electioneering campaigns and advocated long jail sentences 

for perpetrators as a way of halting the country from drifting into 

chaos. While it urged professional public relations practitioners 

to weigh in and tone down the toxic political conversations in 

the country, the NIPR also agreed in principle to partner with 

the international award-winning Image Merchants Promotions 

Limited IMPR, publishers of PRNigeria and Economic Confidential 

Magazine for instituting annual national public relations 

awards to promote excellence in all spheres of life in Nigeria. 

Speaking when he hosted the founder of PRNigeria, Yushau 

Shuaib and management of Image Merchants Promotions 

Limited over multiple international PR awards they won, the 

President and Chairman of Council of NIPR, Mallam Mukhtar 

Zubairu Sirajo said the institute is concerned with building 

relationships where they do not exist and mending them where 

there are cracks.

FRSC, speed limiter vendors launch 

ember months safety campaign 

By Joseph Erunke 

TO ensure safety of 

road users during the 

ember months, the 

Federal Road Safety 

Corps and the Speed 

Limiter Vendors 

Association, yesterday, colaunched 

ember safety 

campaign in Abuja. 

The collaboration was 

aimed at educating 

motorists on the danger of 

speed on the road as well 

as enlightening 

commercial drivers on the 

need to install speed limit 

devices in their vehicles. 

Speaking at the event 

which held at Area 1 

Roundabout, Chairman of 

Association of Speed 

Limiter Vendors of 

Nigeria,ASLON, Mr 

Oyegoke Adekunle Alani, 

regretted that despite the 

series of awareness 

campaign that had been 

carried out in the media 

by the FRSC, commercial 

drivers were yet to 

embrace the speed limit 

devices. 

According to him,the 

low patronage of the 

speed limiter by drivers 

was mostly responsible for 

the continued high 

accidents on the nation’s 

roads. 

He also said the device 

which hitherto sold at 

expensive rate had been 

reduced to N25,000 but 

regretted that the 

patronage was still very 

low. 

Mr Alani,who said his 

association was basically 

formed to regulate 

activities of vendors who 

are authorised to sell 

speed limiters,said it was 

“working hand in hand 

with the Federal Road 

Safety Corps to make sure 

that there’s is smooth 

implementation of the 

speed limiting device.” 

He appealed to 

motorists to install speed 

limiter in their vehicles, 

saying it was one of the 

most effective ways of 

reducing accidents on the 

nation’s roads. 

N inetyyear-old 

community leader 

and devout Christian, 

Mrs Bessie Omezi has 

attributed her sound 

health to the mercy of 

God saying, “this is 

purely the hand of God.” 

Mrs Omezi, in an 

interview on her 90th 

birthday said she was 

brought up with the fear 

of God and grew up in a 

Christian home but had 

tough moments when her 

parents and siblings 

died one after the other. 

According to her, “I did 

not find things easy, I was 

“Presently, there’s a little 

reduction in the rate of 

road accidents in the 

country because a lot of 

people especially 

commercial drivers are not 

complying with the 

installation of speed 

limiting device in their 

vehicles,so it is just a little 

reduction but we hope that 

by the time everybody 

complies with the law on 

installation of speed 

limiting device,there 

would be little or no road 

road accidents. 

“Presently,we are 

ensuring that there are 

standard in the installation 

of speed limiters in 

vehicles and we are also 

ensuring that every 

vehicle driver has enough 

knowledge to know 

things about the speed 

limiter and what to do 

about speed limiter. 

“Initially,it was because 

of the cost but that has 

drastically reduced. 

That’s one of the things I 

did when I came in as 

Chairman of the 

association. It has 

dropped to N25,000 and 

the cost of recallibration 

which is renewal of 

certificate is between 

N3,000 and N5,000,”he 

said. 

Deputy Corps Mashal, 

Operations, FRSC, DCP 

Ojeme Ewhrudjakpor, 

while speaking at the 

event, implored motorists 

to embark on regular 

check and maintenance of 

the their vehicles. 

From left:Mr Onome Asagbra,Publicity Secretary,Advertisers' Association of 

Nigeria[ADVAN];Mr Wasiu Abiola,1st Vice President, ADVAN;Paul Mkpuma 

SS2 student and Ali Oladipupo,SS3 student of Lanre Awolokun High School; 

Mrs Ediri Ose-Ediale,Executive Secretary, ADVAN and Austen Osokpor, 

Chairman, ADVAN Award Planning Committee;during the presentation of 

Laptop to students of Lanre Awolokun High school, Gbagada as part of ADVAN 

CSR 25th year anniversary in Lagos. PHOTO:AKEEM SALAU 

APGA Primaries: House of Assembly 

aspirant drags INEC, winner to court 

By Vincent Ujumadu 

AHouse of Assembly 

aspirant for Njikoka state 

constituency II, in Anambra 

State, Mr. Emeka Onwubuya, 

has dragged the Independent 

National Electoral 

Commission, INEC, and the 

person declared winner of the 

primary, Mr. Peter Ibida, to the 

Federal High Court sitting in 

Awka, urging the court to stop 

All Progressives Grand 

Alliance (APGA) from 

recognizing Ibida as the 

candidate of the party for the 

constituency. 

In his suit, Onwubuya 

claimed that he defeated Ibida 

during the party primaries 

conducted in the area and 

wondered why the party 

jettisoned the result of the 

primaries and forwarded the 

name of the loser to INEC. 

The suit, which is before 

Justice Bature Gafai, is 

expected to determine: 

whether by the combined 

provisions of section 

87(1)(2)(3)(4)(5) and (7)of the 

We can do nothing without God — 90-yearold 

community leader, Mrs Omezi 

like a sheep without 

shepherd because when 

they were alive they were 

very supportive and 

when they died I felt my 

world was collapsing. 

“I thank God for 

keeping me alive till 

today, I’m still very 

strong, I walk around 

and still do one or two 

things for myself. Most 

importantly, I’m a 

fulfilled woman. 

“Today, I am 

celebrating my 90th 

birthday, this is purely 

the hand work of God. It 

is good to serve God 

because there is nothing 

you can do without Him.” 

Mrs Bessie Omezi 

Electoral Act 2010 as amended 

and Article (46)(9) of APGA 

electoral guidelines for conduct 

of primary election for the 2019 

general election, APGA could 

declare the second defendant 

(Peter Ibida),his fellow 

candidate for Njikoka state 

constituency II, when Ibida did 

not poll the highest number of 

votes cast at the primary election 

held on October 4, 2018?. 

He also prayed the court to 

rule that he (Onwubuya) is the 

authentic and duly nominated 

candidate of APGA for Njikoka 

state constituency II, having 

complied with all the 

requirements of the party and 

having polled the highest 

number of votes cast by the 

statutory delegates at the 

primary election of APGA held 

on October 4,2018. 

Among his prayers were: *An 

order restraining APGA either 

itself, officers, privies, staff or 

through any person from 

submitting the name of Ibida 

as its candidate for Njikoka state 

constituency II for the 2019 

general election; 

*An injunction restraining 

APGA from recognizing, 

accepting and dealing with 

Ibida as the authentic 

candidate or allowing Ibida to 

participate in the House of 

Assembly election slated for 

March 2,in 2019. 

SATURDAY Vanguard, NOVEMBER 17, 2018 —7 

2019: Buhari, Oshiomhole meet 

behind closed-doors 

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari yesterday met behind 

closed doors with the National Chairman of the 

All Progressives Congress, Adams Oshiomhole at the 

Presidential Villa, Abuja. 

Speaking to State House correspondents after the meeting, 

Oshiomhole said that the APC was fully ready to 

flag off the campaigns soon and that party’s campaign 

for the 2019 presidential election will focus on character 

and integrity of the key candidates. 

He said, “We are fully ready, we have done with our 

primaries and filled our nominations. As you know, 

INEC still has a window between now and January 1, 

to deal with issues of substitution. As of campaigns, we 

are ready. “We are going to announce the date and 

programme for our campaigns, and speak to the issues. 

My idea of kick off will be the day we will do our first 

presidential rally where Mr. President as our candidate 

and other candidates, party leaders will assemble 

in a venue that will be agreeable to all of us. 

ADVAN celebrates 25th 

anniversary with “The Power 

of Story Telling” 

THE Advertisers Association of Nigeria 

(ADVAN) has announced a week-long activities to 

mark its 25th anniversary, culminating in the ADVAN 

marketing excellence awards slated for November 18. 

The ADVAN anniversary week with the theme:”The 

Power of Story Telling” will give the leading marketing 

associations in Nigeria and its members the opportunity 

to emphasise on the strategic importance of story telling 

in nation building as well as driving economic growth 

, a role they have played so well over the last 25 years. 

In a statement in Lagos, the President of the 

association, Mrs. Folake Ani-Mumuney said marketing 

communications contribution to the growth of 

commercial activity in Nigeria was commendable and 

should be celebrated. 

According to her, with a total advertising budget in 

excess of N88 billion in 2017, as reported by Media 

Monitoring Services, the growing impact of the 

Nigerian organized private sector, both listed and nonlisted 

on the stock exchange cannot be ignored. 

“Successes recorded by these businesses cannot be 

complete without marketing communication, which is 

a key function driving visibility and market penetration” 

she noted. 

Dangote unveils new products 

in Lagos 

By Naomi Uzor 

Dangote Group has unveiled new products: 

BlocMaster Cement, Stew mix and Curry powder. 

Speaking at the Dangote Special Day at the just concluded 

Lagos International Trade Fair, Chief Executive Officer of 

Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, said the new products 

resulted from years of intensive research to meet the everchanging 

needs of consumers. 

Aliko who was represented by the sales manager, Dangote 

Cement, Mr Josiah Moemeke said that Dangote Cement, 

which controls about 65 per cent of Nigeria’s cement market, 

would keep evolving products that would promote the cement 

industry and the economy. 

“Dangote Blocmaster is strong and affordable, has been 

tested and approved to mould more blocks and aid durable 

building projects,” he said. 

Dangote urged Nigerians to adopt the new cement for all 

their construction projects. 

Access Bank reiterates 

support for creativity 

In line with Access Bank‘s commitment to 

promoting the best of Africa using vehicles like art, music, 

sports and fashion, the bank has once again partnered with 

Art X in Lagos to bring the third edition of West Africa’s first 

international Art Fair to life. Access Bank has been a proud 

partner of Art X Lagos since its debut in 2016. 

While speaking at the opening ceremony, Dr. Herbert 

Wigwe, GMD/CEO, Access Bank Plc, expressed delight at 

the ability of the bank to contribute to the initiative, which 

works to make Nigeria a noteworthy destination for art 

collectors far and wide, thereby championing art and creativity 

born in Africa. 

Art X Lagos prides itself as an event designed to showcase 

the best and most innovative contemporary art from the African 

continent and diaspora. In three years, it has succeeded in 

this goal, welcoming over 15,000 visitors, including art and 

culture lovers, curators from the world over and the most 

avid of art collectors. Art X Lagos is a cornerstone of both 

Lagos and the international art calendar, and with Access 

Bank, it strives to not only showcase artists, but enable them 

to reach their goals.


Lalong visits district five months after bloody 

attacks, PDP jabs him, APC defends him 

By Marie-Therese 

Nanlong, Jos 

THE Plateau State 

Chapter of the Peoples 

Democratic Party, PDP has 

taken a swipe at the State 

Governor, Simon Lalong for 

visiting Gashish district, Barkin 

Ladi local government 

area of the State five months 

after coordinated attacks in 

the district and others left not 

less than 300 people dead, 

many injured and thousands 

of people displaced 

from their ancestral homes. 

Lalong visited Garshish on 

Tuesday and inspected the 

site donated for the proposed 

Mobile Police unit and assured 

the people he would 

ensure displaced persons are 

returned to their homes and 

the lands returned to them. 

The PDP Publicity Secretary, 

John Akans faulted the 

Governor’s visit saying “it is 

most disgraceful and unfortunate 

that five months after 

the gruesome massacre of 

hundreds of people and the 

destruction of their homes, 

as well as forceful occupation 

of their villages and towns 

under the watch of the APC 

government, it is only now 

that our dear governor would 

be visiting one of the many 

scenes of this dastardly 

crime.” 

He asked, “how could he 

have stood on the graves of 

these people and hoped that 

he could still have their support? 

Have their killers been 

arrested? Or was he taking 

condolence messages to the 

dead and deserted homes? 

“Lalong would not even 

condemn the acts of sustained 

and bloody terror 

against his people; he would 

not even stay at home and 

mourn with his people in 

their critical moments; he relished 

instead in gallivanting 

and playing the Executive 

Personal Assistant in the Presidential 

Villa in Abuja - and 

he expects anyone to take 

him seriously? 

“Where is his sense of constitutional 

responsibility and 

commitment to Plateau which 

he swore to uphold in May 

2015? Is everything simply 

fair to Lalong because he 

wants to return to Government 

House in 2019? Is he 

really totally devoid of any 

form of compassion, and thus 

turning a preventable tragedy 

into a political opportunity?” 

In a reaction, Lalong’s Senior 

Special Assistant on 

Media and Publicity, Mark 

Longyen said the criticism 

was unfortunate and mischievous 

as the Governor 

ought to be commended for 

the steps he is taking to return 

the State to the path of 

enduring peace. 

Longyen in a statement issued 

in Jos yesterday said, 

“Our attention has been 

drawn to a statement by the 

People’s Democratic Party, 

PDP, condemning the Governor’s 

visit to Gashish District 

and environs. The opposition 

party’s criticism to 

say the least is very unfortunate, 

uncharitable, mischievous, 

nauseating and 

smacks of pure political shenanigans 

aimed solely at 

scoring cheap political points. 

Tribune House Sod turning in Lagos 

“It is sad and sickening 

and, indeed, the height of 

insensitivity and political chicanery 

that the opposition 

will give political coloration 

to a visit that was aimed at 

staving off the spate of attacks 

and ameliorating the sufferings 

of the IDPs by returning 

them to their ancestral 

homes. 

From left: Immesiate past chairman, ANN Plc, Reverend Mrs. Omotola 

Oyediran, chairman, ANN Plc, Dr. Tokunbo Awolowo Dosumu, Ooni of Ife, 

Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Deputy Governor of Ogun State, Mrs. Yetunde 

Onanuga and Akarigno of Remo, Oba Babatunde Ajayi, during the 

Tribune House Sod turning ceremony held at Isheri, Ogun State. 

From left: Director, ANN Plc, Bayo Fadoju, Mr. Femi Akinsanya, Commissioner 

for Information for ogun state, Dayo Adeneye, GMD, Odua Investment, 

Mr. Adewale Raji and Director, ANN Plc? Mrs. Ayotola Adedeji during 

the Lagos Tribune House Sod turning ceremony held at Isheri , Ogun State. 

Looters’ List: Court throws out contempt 

suit against Lai Mohammed 

By Onozure Dania 

AFederal High Court, 

sitting in Lagos, yesterday 

dismissed a contempt 

application filed by a 

former Minister of State for 

Finance, Mrs. Esther 

Nenadi Usman, seeking to 

commit the Minister of Information, 

Alhaji Lai Mohammed 

to prison for the 

inclusion of her name in 

the ‘looters’ list’ he released 

to the public. Justice 

Rilwan Aikawa described 

the application as 

a distraction which could 

interfere with the speedy 

determination of the matter. 

Usman, who is standing 

trial over alleged money 

laundering, preferred 

against her and a former 

Minister of Aviation, Femi 

Fani-Kayode, had argued 

in the contempt application 

that the inclusion of 

her name on the list released 

by the information 

minister during the pendecy 

of the case against 

her was contemptuous. 

She therefore urged the 

court to commit the Information 

Minister to prison 

for contempt of court for his 

alleged contemptuous action. 

She also submitted that 

Mohammed’s action undermines 

the integrity of 

the court aimed at poisoning 

the mind of the 

public against her. 

But the EFCC lawyer, 

Rotimi Oyedepo, urged 

the court to decline Usman’s 

application, insisting 

that the applicant was never 

referred to as a looter by 

the information minister, 

adding that what was published 

by some newspapers 

only bordered on allegations 

and cannot be said to 

be prejudicial to the applicant’s 

case in court. 

He said: “The minister of 

information is not a party to 

the criminal proceedings 

against the applicant." 

There is no evidence to 

show that the alleged contemnor 

works with the various 

media houses that 

published the alleged offensive 

publication. Besides, 

there were no allegations 

against the media 

houses that published the 

alleged offensive publication. 

FG approves N60bn for rice 

subsidy 

•As National Food Security Council 

faults USDA report on import 

By Johnbosco Agbakwuru, Abuja 

IN a bid to boost agriculture in the country, the federal 

government has approved N60 billion subsidy to support 

rice industry in the country. 

Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbe, disclosed 

this while briefing State House correspondents after a 

meeting of the National Food Security Council presided 

over by President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday, in 

Abuja, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. 

Ogbe who was flanked by the Kebbi State Governor, 

Atiku Bagudu explained that the purpose of the subsidy 

was to help bring down price of the commodity in the 

country. 

According to him, “There is a subsidy programme coming 

up. Government has approved some money N60 billion 

to support the rice industry to bring down prices. But 

we are going to handle it differently. 

“We don’t want to get into petroleum subsidy problem. 

So, a committee is looking at it with the Ministry of Finance. 

“We think that it is better for us to loan money to the 

millers, farmers and distributors at a very low interest 

rate, so that the capital doesn’t disappear, so they have 

cheaper credit to do their business that should impact on 

the price of rice in the market. 

“When we are ready we will let you know.” 

The minister spoke of plan to ban fertilizer NPK 151515 

which has been in use in the country for many years, 

saying that the ban became imperative because it adds 

no value to crops. 

He said, “We call for the ban of fertilizer NPK 151515 

which has been used in the country for many years but 

recent research revealed it’s not useful for any crop or 

any soil. 

“Soils differ and so do crops, to believe there is one 

uniform fertilizer you can spread for every crop is a fallacy. 

And it’s because we have done soil test and change 

the formulations of fertilizers, local blenders that some of 

the yields we are getting now are rising from two tonnes 

per hectares to five and six. So the president is looking 

into that and how we can deal with it.” 

In his remarks, Governor Bagudu said the council’s 

attention was drawn to the report by the United States 

Department of Agriculture (USDA) which suggested that 

Nigeria remains a heavy importer of rice despite government’s 

claim to the contrary. 

2019: Onuesoke calls for removal 

of INEC chairman 

By Ephraim Oseji 

PEOPLE’s Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain, Chief 

Sunny Onuesoke has demanded for the immediate 

removal of Independent Electoral Commission 

(INEC) Chairman Professor Mahmoud Yakubu, adding 

that the 2019 general elections’ results would be compromised 

with Yakubu in the saddle as chairman of the 

commission. 

Onuesoke made the call while addressing members of 

Transition Monitoring Committee (TMG), Delta State 

chapter, who paid him a courtesy visit in his office in 

Warri, Delta State yesterday. 

He said his fear was that the current the 1NEC chairman 

might not discharge his functions impartially since 

he hailed from the same region as the President, adding 

that only recently Nigerians saw the scandal of underage 

voters during the Local Government elections 

held in the North West state of Kano. 

“Beside, what happened in the recent Osun State governorship 

election adds credence to the argument that 

Yakubu may not conduct a free and fair election in 2019 

election,” he noted. 

He argued that for the fact that Yakubu Mahmood is a 

cousin to Buhari, he should not have been appointed in 

the first place, stressing that it is save to say that he is 

there as INEC boss to protect Buhari’s interest. 

The former Delta State governorship candidate maintained 

that he had no confidence in INEC, adding that 

no amount of the commission’s preparations would convince 

him about its capability to conduct free and fair 

elections next year. 

Pa Ossai passes on 

•Late Pa Ossai 

THE death has occurred 

on November 4, 2018, of 

late Chief Joseph Onyemelife 

Ossai Enebeli of Umu-Ngulu 

Quarters of Ike Onicha-Ukwuani, 

Delta State. He was 

aged 89 years. He was a foremost 

community leader, a senior 

member of the traditional 

council of chiefs in Ike-Onicha. 

Funeral rites and interment 

will take place on December 

7, 2018 in his compound 

in Onicha-Ukwuani. 

He is survived by many children 

and grandchildren.


10—SATURDAY Vanguard, NOVEMBER 17, 2018 

Life @ 80 in Nigeria is d 

Dubs Buhari’s regime a comprehensive f 

•Says only those benefitting selfishly want him to return in 2 

•Atiku Abubakar is a knock out for Buhari 

By Chioma Gabriel, Editor Special Features 

Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife, a former governor of Anambr 

turn 80 next week. In this encounter, he looks at life at 80 

country and suggests that as the 2019 election approaches, 

should pray as INEC could not be trusted to conduct a free and fair 

•Ezeife 

How do you feel being 80? 

Life at 80 should be relaxed and pleasant. 

But in today’s Nigeria, life at 80 is 

disappointing. I feel particularly 

disappointed. I do not contribute to the 

happiness of the youth. I can help, but I am 

not in a position to help. Merit does not 

count in today’s Nigeria. Where you come 

from, not what you know, is what counts. 

What’s the secret of your looking young 

and feeling strong at 80? 

Thank you for the compliment. Indeed, I 

did not know that I am looking young and 

feeling strong at 80. I thank God for what 

you have observed about me. I hope God 

keeps it that way. 

Honestly, I do not know anything I should 

have done differently. 

A lot of people are dying young due to 

stress and lifestyle preferences. What’s 

the secret of your longevity? 

When people die, it is presumptuous to 

say that they died young, or blame their 

death on life style. I thank God to have 

seen my 80th birthday. I thank God! I am 

not aware of any secrets I have. Perhaps I 

have been taken good care of, given good 

food, good advice etc. 

You used to be active politically but you 

have slowed down even before now. Why? 

In my view, your observation is not correct. 

I can say that when I turned 70 and 

withdrew from party politics that must have 

given the impression of slowing down. I 

played a role in the Southsouth,/Southeast 

emergence in Nigeria. From there, we got, 

to Southern Nigeria People’s Assembly. 

Right now, we have South/Middle Belt 

Forum. Nigerian Elders Forum has held, 

so far, two meetings. We are working still 

very hard but less in the open. 

You preached the politics of 

progressivism and even wrote a book. Can 

you rehash it for those not familiar with it 

and the difference it could make in the 

polity. 

Progressivism is the ideology of 

progressives. It is an ideology which 

insists on things being made as good as they 

can be. Most Nigerian politicians have no 

political ideology at all. It is anything goes. 

With progressivism, it is a return to values 

counting, 

it is a 

return 

t o 

integrity, 

away 

f r o m 

corruption. 

Africa 

needs the 

progressive 

ideology to 

replace 

anything goes 

politics of 

today, which has 

reduced the first 

sons and daughters 

of God to the foot-mat 

of the world. 

Almost everybody is talking about 

restructuring. What form of restructuring 

would you proffer for Nigeria? 

Most of us seem to misunderstand the 

import of restructuring. In 1954, our 

founding fathers agreed on a political 

structure for Nigeria, namely, a federal 

structure, with regions as the federating 

units. The success of that structure is attested 

by the statement by the world bank that 

parts of Nigeria were growing faster than 

the rest of the world. A different 

statement is making waves 

today. Theresa May declared 

that Nigeria is leading the 

world in poverty. Those who 

know are calling for 

restructuring which is going 

back to that agreed structure 

which made parts of Nigeria 

grow faster than the rest of the 

world, because they were 

growing at their own paces. 

What is the difference? There 

was a coup in 1966. And the 

Coup led to the Nigerian- 

Biafran War. The Nigerian 

military wanted to win the war 

fast and decided to isolate the 

Igbo from the rest of the 

eastern Nigeria so that 

Ojukwu’s interest would stop 

with the Igbo. That led to a 

structural change - the 

creation of states - twelve 

states in the place of four 

regions. Instead of returning 

to regions after the war, the 

military created 36 states and 

774 local government areas - 

mostly, without any 

consideration for fairness. 

So, in the context of Nigerian 

political history, the word restructuring, 

which is now very 

current, should be quite 

simple, straight forward and 

without complications, yet 

some people seem to have 

difficulties with it. In 

substance, it really, simply, 

calls for our going back to the 

‘’agreed Nigeria’’, that is, 

going back to the structure or 

political arrangements of 

Nigeria, as agreed by our 

founding fathers - our heroes 

past! That ‘’agreed Nigeria’’ 

was a federal structure, with 

There was fiscal 

federalism as the 

resources for running 

the Federal 

Government came, 

basically, from the 

federating units; each 

region controlled its 

resources and grew at 

its own pace 

regions as federating units. Initially there 

were three regions: Eastern, Western and 

Northern regions. Midwestern region was 

created later, making four regions: three in 

the South, one in the North. Each region 

had its own constitution and operated fairly 

autonomously. The Federal Government 

handled issues universally agreed to be 

federal responsibilities - issues like: external 

relations, currency, weights and measures 

etc. 

There was fiscal federalism as the 

resources for running the Federal 

Government came, basically, from the 

federating units. Each region controlled its 

resources and grew at its own pace. The 

people owned their regions in the sense that 

people in the regions were, particularly, 

concerned about how their regions were 

run. That was mainly because the money 

spent in the regions was basically internally 

generated - contributed by the people of the 

regions, through taxation, other payments 

etc. That is different from the present 

situation, wherein revenues ‘’come’’ from 

the Federation Account. With that former 

structure there was peace and satisfactory 

progress. The agreed structure was 

rubbished by the Nigerian military, at the 

beginning of the Nigeria/Biafra 

conflict. 

To win, easily, the Nigeria/ 

Biafra war (then predicted 

to be only a ‘’police 

action’’), the strategy 

was adopted to 

isolate the Igbo 

from the rest of 

eastern 

Nigeria. 

Twelve 

states were 

t h u s 

created: 

six in the 

North,

SATURDAY Vanguard, NOVEMBER 17, 2018—11 

isappointing – Ezeife 

ailure 

019 

a State will 

and the 

Nigerians 

election. 

•Ezeife 

six in the South. The running of Nigeria 

was also made more fully adapted to 

military central command system. This 

central command has given Nigeria a 

unitary, as opposed to, federal, structure of 

government. After the war, the military 

continued to run the government in Nigeria 

- making it progressively more unitary and 

more dictatorial. It was thus easy for the 

military to, basically dictatorially, create 

not only new states, but also new local 

government areas (LGAs), without 

considering the fairness of their creation or 

distribution. Today, we have are 36 states 

plus Abuja, sometimes treated as if it were 

a state, 19 states in the North, 17 in the 

South. The imbalance in the distribution of 

local government areas (LGAs) is, by far, 

more pronounced. For example, Kano and 

Jigawa (which was created out of Kano) 

have between them almost as many local 

government areas as the whole of the 

Southeast geo-political zone; Kano has 44 

LGAs, Lagos 20, Bayelsa 8, etc. Both the 

states and the LGAs get allocations of 

revenue from the Federation Account. The 

unfairness of these military creations should 

be problematic, but that is not the main 

reason for the clamour for restructuring. 

The main problem is that as the country is 

currently structured and run, the country is 

growing backwards - indeed, taking giant 

steps backward. The Nigerian people at 

federal, state and LGA levels do not police 

the expenditure of revenues allocated from 

the Federation Account, and this and other 

factors, have led to monumental corruption 

which has eaten deep into, and permeated, 

every fabric of the society, leading to the 

comprehensive and woeful failure of 

Nigeria. We note that the very well 

composed 2014 National Conference 

approved the creation of additional 18 

states. Those who doubted the wisdom of 

so many new states, should think of the new 

suggestion of twelve regions and 52 states 

for the Middle Belt. The problem is that the 

extent of dehumanisation and suffering to 

which some Nigerians are subjected cannot 

be imagined by many Nigerians. 

Today people, especially the people from 

the North, see restructuring as simply 

resources control whose effect is simply to 

deny oil money to Northern states. The truth 

is that resources control will result in 

developing adequate internally, generated 

revenue for the states and that the federal 

government will develop a project for 

growing internally generated revenue for 

the each states. And such projects must 

mature before any cut off of revenue from 

the states. 

It’s almost four years of Buhari’s regime 

The running of 

Nigeria was also 

made more fully 

adapted to military 

central command 

system; this central 

command has given 

Nigeria a unitary, as 

opposed to, federal, 

structure of 

government 

and Nigeria is preparing for another 

election. Buhari wants a come-back. How 

do you rate his chances? 

Nigeria is in the hands of God. If God 

wants Buhari to come back, no man can 

stop him. But as seen by man, Buhari’s 

government has been a comprehensive 

failure. This judgement is reached by all. 

Only those who selfishly want to gain from 

Buhari’s return are praying and working 

for such return. 

The PDP has produced Atiku Abubakar 

as its presidential standard-bearer. Do you 

think he is a formidable challenge for 

Buhari in 2019 elections? 

Atiku Abubakar is a knock out for Buhari. 

Many people do not see any contest at all. 

All that Nigerians need to do is to pray God 

to plant justice and fairness in the hearts of 

INEC Officials - that is all that is needed. 

Do you trust this INEC to produce a free 

and fair election? 

I do not trust INEC in the circumstances 

of today’s Nigeria to produce a free and 

fair election. That is why Nigerians should 

go on their knees. God loves Nigeria and a 

new government of a New Nigeria is on the 

way. 

What is the problem with the Igbo? 

The Igbo are a people of destiny. Their 

affairs are in the hands of the Almighty God. 

It will appear that God has turned a positive 

face to the Igbo and that means good things 

are on the way. Igbo moving up means no 

more Talakawa and no more Almagiri as 

we drag all Nigerians up. 

The Igbo will take their progress and 

development to the all Nigerians. Contrary 

to what some people think, the Igbo are 

more united than most peoples of Nigeria. 

Out of central power, the Igbo answer calls 

any time they are called. 

Why are the Igbo their own greatest 

enemies? 

Igbos are their greatest friends not their 

greatest enemies. 

Do you perceive the Igbo playing the 

topmost fiddle in the scheme of things in 

Nigeria? 

Yes, I can see the Igbo playing the topmost 

role in the scheme of things in Nigeria, and 

that will no longer take a long time to 

happen. And when they do, the rest of 

Nigeria shall move up with them as they 

pull all Nigerians with their egalitarianism 

What do the Igbo want? 

What the Igbo want is what is best for 

Nigeria. What is the best for Nigeria is 

restructuring. That is what Igbo want. 

Why were some Igbo leaders opposed 

to Peter Obi vice-presidency? 

Igbo leaders are not opposed to Peter Obi 

as Vice President. There was a an issue of 

consultation which was not so serious. 

There has been no doubt about the 

suitability of Peter Obi. The surprise is that 

every Nigerian prefers Peter. 

What future do you perceive for Igbo 

in Nigeria? 

The Igbo are in the hands of God. Their 

future is as ordained of God. The Igbo will 

continue in Nigeria until their suffering 

reaches the point of ‘’eji ndu eme gini’’. By 

God’s grace, that point will never be 

reached. 

What’s your advice for IPOB and other 

pro-Biafra groups? 

IPOB and other Biafra groups should 

concentrate on the true interests of the Igbo 

and on how to achieve them. I have 

difficulties understanding the language of 

‘no elections’’. 

The youths in Nigeria are distressed and 

restless. What do you think will calm them 

down? 

Good government and positive economic 

development will calm the youths in 

Nigeria. Unemployment, hunger, 

insecurity, and restlessness are the 

problems. 

Nigeria must exploit what she has to get 

what she needs. In this line, we should 

exploit our oil crude reserve to grow our 

economy. I have proposed this several times. 

I hope the in-coming government 

understands this.


How Buhari is 

making things 

easy for Atiku 

– Former Housing Minister 

•Corrupt govt officials now shielded from EFCC 

•Akpabio’s defection a blessing to Akwa Ibom State 

•Gov Udom now free, acts faster and better 

By Soni Daniel, 

Northern Region Editor 

Former Lands and Housing 

Minister under President 

Goodluck Jonathan and twoterm 

federal lawmaker, Chief 

Nduese Essien, who has 

remained in the Peoples Democratic Party 

since its inception in 1998, is optimistic 

that the failure of President Muhammadu 

Buhari to substantially meet the 

expectations of most Nigerians who voted 

for him in 2015, will make the election of 

former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, 

and presidential candidate of the PDP, 

easy in next year’s elections. 

Essien, who was the chairman of the 

House of Representatives Committee on 

Anti-Corruption between 2003 and 2007, 

also describes as daydreamers those who 

claim that the APC will win in Akwa Ibom 

State in 2019 due to the defection of the 

former governor, Godswill Akpabio, to 

the APC. 

Excerpts: 

It is only a few months away from 

2019 election, there are fears that Akwa 

Ibom State, which has always voted PDP, 

is likely to go the way of the opposition 

given the defection of the former 

governor to the APC. 

I think whoever is thinking that APC can 

take over Akwa Ibom State is daydreaming 

because Akwa Ibom State has 

been a PDP state from the beginning and 

the people have benefitted from the PDP 

government. 

First, during the period of Obong Victor 

Attah as governor, that period was used 

to lay the foundation for the state and 

Obong Attah being an architect is very 

familiar with laying of foundation. So he 

took up the struggle to ensure that the 

state derives adequate 

revenue from its oil 

production. 

It was from that huge 

revenue that Godswill 

Akpabio used to do a lot to 

what is now called 

‘ u n c o m m o n 

transformation’. This 

brought the state to 

limelight during his tenure. 

That was what also 

emboldened him to try to 

bring a successor who 

would try to keep the pace 

and he succeeded in 

bringing a successor which 

most governors could not do 

at the time and he aptly 

described the emergence of 

his successor as the will of 

God. So I think people are 

misconstruing the strength 

of APC based on Akpabio’s 

defection from the PDP to 

the APC. Let me say 

categorically that the 

defection of Godswill 

Akpabio from the PDP to the 

APC has turned out to be a 

blessing to the state. First, 

with his defection, the bond 

that existed between him and 

his successor was broken 

and his successor has since 

then become freer to take 

decisions without looking back, and 

without being hindered by his 

benefactor. So in fact people have 

now come to realise that since 

August when Akpabio defected 

that the governor has 

performed even at a faster 

pace; he is taking quick 

decisions nowadays and a 

lot more is being done 

in the state. 

Akpabio’s exit from 

the PDP has equally 

created problems 

within the APC in the 

state. The APC in the 

state was operating 

on a fragile 

platform because 

of the dissensions 

within its ranks; so 

his going into the 

APC has even 

made it worse for 

the party. His 

entry into the APC 

has created more 

problems than 

solutions. The first 

statement he made 

was very damaging. 

While referring to the 

war waged by Hitler, 

he said, in 2019 

‘Warsaw will see war 

and war will see 

Warsaw’. In other words, 

Akpabio is taking the 2019 

election in Akwa Ibom as a war 

and that the state must be won 

by the APC at all costs. He also 

contradicted himself by saying that 

Governor Udom’s emergence as governor 

was one of the mistakes he made in his 

life, when he has always said that it was 

God’s will; which means that he is now 

saying that God made 

a mistake to give him 

Udom as the governor 

of the state. He also 

castigated himself by 

claiming that for 16 

years, the PDP did 

nothing for Akwa 

Ibom State. But within 

that period, he was 

governor for eight 

Akpabio’s exit from 

the PDP has equally 

created problems 

within the APC in the 

state. The APC in the 

state was operating 

on a fragile platform 

because of the 

dissensions within 

its ranks; so his 

going into the APC 

has even made it 

worse for the party 

years, which also 

means that he didn’t 

do anything for the 

state. You can see the 

serious contradictions 

and dangerous 

propaganda that the 

former governor is 

creating to damage 

himself all in a bid to 

be making political 

statements in support 

of APC, his new party. 

He has been making 

so many careless 

statements, even 

saying that the federal 

government has done 

the road from Calabar 

to Itu to Ikot Ekpene 

when in reality the 

contractor for that 

project has not yet 

been mobilised to start 

work up till now. So that is why I am 

categorical in saying the PDP in Akwa 

Ibom has even become stronger since the 

exit of Akpabio to the APC. 

Can you say that the PDP remains 

stronger even with the claim by some 

that the governor has not lived up to the 

expectations of the people? Some even 

say that there is nothing on the ground 

to celebrate the governor. 

Well, that is a result of the propaganda, 

which the APC has embarked upon. They 

say that the governor has not lived up to 

expectations but first you need to look at 

the circumstances relating to his 

emergence and what was on the ground 

as at the time he came on board. When 

Udom came into office, he had the initial 

difficulties of sorting himself out with his 

opponents during the election because 

there was a protracted court tussle that 

delayed him from taking off smoothly. 

Again, the huge debts arising from the 

so-called ‘uncommon transformation’ 

from the previous administration held 

him back from taking on many key 

projects immediately until some of the 

debts were paid or sorted out. 

So he had to contend with the rising 

expectations of the people spearheaded 

in the days of uncommon transformation 

with bloated oil revenue. Akpabio had 

given the people of Akwa Ibom state the 

erroneous impression that there was so 

much money in the state and that he had 

done everything. But it was not so. There 

•Chief 

Nduese 

Essien 

is so much to be done and the people’s 

expectations are very high. 

But in all of this, Udom still had to 

manage the bad situation, not willing to 

expose, hurt or ridicule his benefactor, 

Akpabio. So, this was not an easy task but 

despite all this he was able to get through. 

It was because of his financial training 

and expertise and the fact that he comes 

from a strict and puritanical Christian 

background that he was able to weather 

the storm. 

They accuse the governor of not doing 

anything but he has been able to pay 

salaries and pensions regularly since 

coming into office. He has been able to 

clear the backlog of pension and gratuity 

from 2012 till December 2015. 

When they say he has not paid pension 

and gratuity, they are referring to the ones 

from 2016 that he has not been able to 

pay because he had to clear the backlog 

first. There has also been massive 

infrastructural development particularly 

in areas of road construction, in the health 

sector and educational facilities. He has 

also made industrial development a key 

aspect of his administration. As soon as 

he came in, he was able to bring in many 

investors to the state because of his 

international connections. Some left as a 

result of the economic recession that 

struck Nigeria, while others are working 

steadily in the state and producing a 

number of products boosting the economy 

of the state and Nigeria as we speak. One 

of them is the Metering Company that 

produces meters, which is the first in 

Continues on page 13


Corrupt govt officials now shielded from EFCC 

Continues from page 12 

Nigeria. He has also brought a company 

that is into flour milling, syringe 

production, pencil and toothpick and is 

working also on a Coconut oil production 

plant and many others. But as you know 

in politics, the propagandists will never 

agree that he has done anything for the 

state but the imprints are all over the state. 

The propagandists are the ones trying to 

paint the governor as not doing anything 

in the state. 

But the irony of the political situation 

in the state is that Nsima Ekere of the 

APC who is challenging the governor 

also hails from the same Senatorial 

district as Governor Udom. Will that not 

sharply split your votes especially as 

Nsima has reportedly used NDDC 

money to do some big projects in the 

state? 

It is true that the challenger of the 

governor comes from the same senatorial 

districts with him. But you must note the 

fact that it was not easy for us to get our 

turn to produce the governor in 2015 

because even Akpabio was not 

considering giving the ticket to Eket 

Senatorial district even though it was due 

for that. So it was a number of us that set 

up Eket Senatorial District Assembly and 

made a strong case for it before Akpabio 

accepted and that was how we got our 

turn to produce the governor. Having 

done so, the people of the senatorial 

districts realised that governors usually 

perform better in their second term as is 

the case with any other office holder. 

So since the people have realised this, 

they do not want to miss the advantage of 

having the same person to do a second 

tenure and bring relevant benefits to them 

and that is why people of the senatorial 

districts are not looking at any alternative 

to the present governor in 2019 because 

the other senatorial districts had 

produced governors for eight years each. 

Nsima Ekere has been a deputy governor 

in the state and he is a nice man. But we 

believe strongly that if he stays back at 

the NDDC and completes his tenure that 

would be a better service to the state and 

its people than running away to Uyo to 

come and struggle for the governor of the 

state and leaving the slot for a new person 

to come and learn the ropes. 

Akpabio was the poster boy of Akwa 

Ibom PDP, elders and those who matter 

in the state. So, were you surprised when 

he left the PDP? 

Yes, he was our poster boy and we very 

proud of him. All of us were encouraging 

him but when he defected we were 

surprised because it was very rare for a 

political leader, in his case, the Senate 

Minority Leader, to leave his party for 

another just like that. And you know how 

the opposition thereafter referred to his 

own defection as ‘uncommon defection’. 

But we are also happy that following his 

defection to the APC, what is happening 

in the APC is also of uncommon interest 

to the PDP. 

But the argument of some people have 

is that even though you 

say that ‘Akwa Ibom is 

PDP and PDP is Akwa 

Ibom’, many top 

politicians in the state 

have been moving to the 

APC since the exit of 

Akpabio to that party. 

Why is that so if the state 

is not leaning towards 

APC? 

The truth is that some 

of the prominent people 

in Akwa Ibom who are 

now in APC ran away 

from the PDP because of 

the ‘uncommon defector’ 

and now the uncommon 

defector has gone to join 

them and has created an 

uncommon problem in 

the APC. Don’t forget that 

the APC in the state was 

already in a serious crisis 

situation because of the 

disagreement amongst 

its leaders. But upon his 

entry, Akpabio came with 

his own problems and 

tried to silence all others 

in the party, a situation 

that is now forcing many 

of the key leaders to find 

exit route and leave the 

party for the uncommon 

defector. 

•Chief 

Nduese 

Essien 

Suddenly there is 

a new wave of 

criminality 

following the 

declaration that 

the election is 

going to be a 

‘Warsaw saw war 

and war saw 

Warsaw’ 

Are you saying that even some people 

in the APC are working for the PDP now? 

The point I am making is that many of 

them are trying to come back to the PDP. 

Is it true that one of his family 

members is even opposed to what he is 

doing? 

Yes, one of his nephews is strongly 

opposed to what he has done and even his 

political mentor and godfather Chief 

Afangide, is stoutly opposed to his 

surreptitious defection from the PDP, 

which he helped to establish. Chief 

Afangideh’s argument is that it was 

Akpabio, who brought Governor Udom 

to them to adopt as governor and that it 

would be unfair and uncommon for them 

in Annang land to abandon an in-law. 

They have told Akpabio that they will not 

abandon Udom because he marries an 

Annang daughter, 

There is fear that given 

the rivalry that is 

brewing between the 

APC and the PDP, the 

state may slide into 

violence during the next 

election if care is not 

taken by the two sides. 

We pray for peace to 

prevail and not violence. 

Udom is a man of peace 

and he will not allow any 

form of violence to rock 

the state. We know as a 

fact that the state 

witnessed turbulence 

since 2007 as a result of 

unprecedented 

kidnapping and 

assassinations. In fact, the 

crime wave became 

outrageous to the extent 

that the expatriates who 

were working in the oil 

companies in Akwa Ibom 

State left the state; 

government officials sent 

their families outside 

while many others 

relocated because they 

could not stand the wave 

of violence unleashed on 

the state. However, we are 

happy that since 

Governor Udom came on 

board, the crime rate has drastically 

reduced and many people are now able 

to sleep with two eyes closed. Peace has 

since returned and that is why investors 

find it easy to return to do business in the 

state. 

But suddenly there is a new wave of 

criminality following the declaration that 

the election is going to be a ‘Warsaw saw 

war and war saw Warsaw’. That shows 

you that the same people who perpetrated 

the criminal tendencies of the past are 

now back to work. Akwa Ibom is afraid 

that because they claim they have federal 

might that they will bring all the security 

forces as was done in Ekiti and Osun but 

they forget that this election is going to 

involve many more states. It is not going 

to be a one-state election like we had in 

Osun and Ekiti states, where security 

forces were deplored in large numbers. 

And they also forget too that these 

security personnel are Nigerians who are 

suffering and frustrated by the poor 

governance during this period. You can 

send your soldier to the war but the way 

he feels may determine the seriousness 

he puts in it. You know what happened 

with Boko Haram and soldiers, who 

refused to fight during President 

Jonathan’s time because they were 

unhappy. The same situation will likely 

play out in 2019 because most Nigerians 

are frustrated because of the poor 

governance of unleashed on them by the 

present administration. Nigerians want 

this government to be voted out. 

How would you then assess the 

performance of the federal government 

in Akwa Ibom State since Buhari came 

in? 

I would concede that Buhari’s 

government has appointed more 

prominent Akwa Ibom indigenes into 

federal positions than any other 

government we have seen in recent 

history. But in terms of infrastructural 

development, Akwa Ibom is completely 

forgotten. 

What of the Calabar-Itu Highway 

which the government has just awarded 

contract worth more than N55 billion for 

dualisation? 

Nothing is happening on that road. The 

Calabar-Itu Road was awarded for N55 

billion since last year but the contractor 

has not been mobilised up till now. But 

you can be sure that the project is billed 

to fail given the ridiculous amount 

approved for the job and the number of 

bridges and the swampy nature of the 

road. That may be why the contractor has 

not even bothered to mobilise to the site 

since last year. So you can see that in 

terms of developing the state, there is 

nothing you can point to as a mark of the 

Buhari government imprint in Akwa Ibom 

State. But we have to accept the failure 

because the uncommon transformer had 

already given the impression that there 

was nothing for the federal government 

to do in the state while he held sway. 

What would you say about the fight by 

the present government against 

corruption? 

The fight against corruption I would say 

started from the Obasanjo administration 

when he created the ICPC and the EFCC. 

Obasanjo’s effort in fighting corruption 

was very prominent particularly with 

Nuhu Ribadu as chairman of the EFCC, 

although it was selective fight but at least 

the people selected were from the same 

administration, he was not looking much 

at the past. 

But the present administration’s fight 

against corruption is to pick people from 

the previous administration and when 

you defect to the ruling party you become 

a saint. The attitude of the present 

government therefore encourages more 

people within the system to commit more 

corrupt practices knowing that they would 

not be punished. That is why you now 

have top government officials cutting 

mere grass with N200 million and nothing 

happens. The current one is the feeding 

of a man and his wife who are in prison 

with N3.5 million monthly; so you can 

see even some ministers say they would 

prefer to go to prison so they can eat well. 

Obasanjo dealt with cases in his 

government. But it is different now. People 

in government now get away with corrupt 

practices. And they know that eyes are not 

on them so there is even impunity on there 

side. These things are being noted by the 

people, so the Buhari administration is 

making things easy for Atiku to win. The 

anti corrupt fight now is not a serious one. 

They are simply actively committing more 

corrupt practices in the country. But the 

Atiku government will address all these 

shortcomings with effect from next year. 

It appears that you are very certain 

that Atiku is going to win the election. 

What makes you so sure? 

As for winning the presidency that has 

gone out of the hands of the APC 

completely; the same situation that led 

to the exit of President Goodluck 

Jonathan has reoccurred now even at a 

worse dimension to the extent that most 

Nigerians do not want the current 

administration to continue. They want to 

have a change and Atiku we all know has 

a lot of influence, resources, connections 

and the goodwill of the people on his side 

and he is going to win the election with 

ease. What the people have suffered under 

the Buhari administration is enough to 

make the people to forget whatever was 

credited to Atiku in the past since 

Nigerians believe he has what it takes to 

make the country better for all. 

But Atiku has a corruption tag bandied 

on him even by his principal? 

The corruption tag has never been 

proved; he has not even been charged with 

any offence many years after leaving 

office as Vice president. So, where is the 

corruption? Nigerians are not even 

interested in such allegation anymore. 

But what do you think the PDP under 

Atiku will be able to do differently from 

what is being done by the present 

administration? 

I believe strongly that the PDP having 

been in government for 16 years and 

having noted the mistakes they made, has 

now taken almost four years to re-assess 

itself, to do a rethink on what went well 

and what went wrong while it was in 

power and why it failed. I believe the party 

has become more sober than it was in 16 

years. That perhaps explains to you why 

Atiku has taken time out with his 

campaign planners to re-assess the entire 

situation. He went to a quiet place 

without any interruption and distractions 

to re-examine himself and his party and 

what needs to be done in the years ahead 

once he takes over the mantle of 

leadership of Nigeria next year. He has 

re-positioned the party and has drawn up 

good programmes for the country to 

make the required impact on all the 

sectors of the economy and move the 

people out of poverty and strife. As a 

founding member of the PDP I can say 

with confidence that we have learnt from 

the grievous mistakes of the past and the 

type that has now wrecked the APC 

government. So I believe PDP will be in 

the better position to offer good 

governance for the development of this 

country more than it did in the previous 

tenure. Possibly too, when APC steps down 

now, in the next four or eight years they 

would have re-organised themselves in 

readiness to do better which would be 

better for Nigeria.


SOUTH SOUTH GUBER RACE: 

A peep into contenders’ 

political machinery 

•Emmanuel 

By Emma Amaize, Editor, (South-South), 

Sam Oyadongha (Yenagoa), Festus Ahon 

(Asaba), Egufe Yafugborhi, Emmanuel Unah, 

Ike Uchechukwu (Calabar), Davies 

Iheamnachor (Port Harcourt), Emem Idio 

(Yenagoa), Harry-Okon Emmanuel, Chioma 

Onuegbu (Uyo), Perez Brisibe (Ughelli), 

Ochuko Akuopha (Oleh) & Alemma- 

Ozioruva Aliu (Benin City) 

THE stroke of political activities in 

the South-South has unexpectedly 

built up about three months to 

the general elections, particularly 

with four of the People 

Democratic Party, PDP, Governors seeking reelection 

breathing new life into their 

campaign structures, while their top 

challengers from the rival All Progressives 

Congress, APC, have mounted muscular 

opposition to their come back scheme. 

Current Chairman of the South-South 

Governors Forum and Bayelsa state governor, 

Hon Seriake Dickson will conclude his second 

tenure in 2020, while his 

APC counterpart in 

Edo state, Mr. Godwin 

Obaseki, will be four 

years in office same year, 

but they are not left out 

in the machinations, as 

Dickson is preparing 

grounds to be a political 

godfather, while Obaseki 

is already plotting for his 

second term in 2020. 

Saturday Vanguard, as 

usual, in this report takes 

a look at the plots and 

counter plots of Senator 

Ifeanyi Okowa (Delta), 

Nyesom Wike (Rivers), 

Udom Emmanuel (Akwa 

Ibom) and Prof Ben 

Ayade (Cross River) and 

their major rivals. Who 

are they relying on to 

deliver them in the 

respective jurisdictions in 

their states and and how 

do they intend to achieve 

it? 

AKWA IBOM: 

Gov 

Emmanuel 

recalls 

prominent 

Senator Akpabio 

gave himself a tall 

order during his 

defection rally to 

deliver not just the 

state, but also the 

entire South-South 

geo-political region 

to the APC and also 

deliver 15 Senators 

to APC, maintaining 

that the geo-political 

zone must play 

national politics and 

not be at the fringe 

as opposition 

•Okowa 

strategists 

In Akwa Ibom state where Governor 

Emmanuel is up against his former boss, 

Senator Godswill Akpabio and APC 

governorship candidate/ managing director, 

Niger Delta Development Commission, 

NDDC, Obong Nsima Ekere, for Hilltop 

Mansion, the seat of power in the state, he has 

been unswerving in re-oiling his machinery 

and strategically re-uniting with G-22, 

comprising prominent bigwigs that previously 

dumped the party because of Akpabio. 

Almost all upset members of G-22, including 

former deputy governor under Akpabio, Engr 

Patrick Ekpotu, the man Akpabio fondly calls 

“Man of Goodwill” and Senator Helen 

Esuene, who maintained a distant after they 

were denied opportunity to participate in the 

gubernatorial primaries. 

To be sure, both Governor Emmanuel and 

Obong Ekere hail from Eket Senatorial 

district and they have rich political antecedents 

and business acumen. Apparently to ensure 

fair play and inclusiveness, the state had 

adopted zoning arrangement in choosing who 

governs it at a particular period. 

The statewide computation 

is that Eket Senatorial district 

should produce the governor of 

the state for eight years since 

the other two zones to wit: 

Uyo and Ikot Ekpene had 

already produced governors 

for two terms of eight years 

each from 1999 to 2015 

through Obong Victor Attah 

and Senator Godswill 

Akpabio, who completed 

their tenures respectively. 

Various groups sprouting up 

on daily pledging to work for 

the re-election of the governor 

to enable him consolidate on 

his first term achievements. 

The likes of Senators Okon, 

Bob, Air Commodore Nkanga, 

Air Marshall Eduok, Senator 

Akpan, Hon Luke, and Paul 

Ekpo among others are holding 

forte for the party in Uyo and 

are expected to work 

assiduously to deliver the votes 

and return the governor back 

to the plum job. 

At Ikot Ekpene, Dr. 

Ekpeyong, Moses Ekpo, 

Emmanuel Enoidem, among 

others would lead the foot 

soldiers in the political “war”. 

Similarly, Eket has political 

juggernauts in the persons of 

Ndueso Essien, Helen Esuene, 

Ben Udobia, Patrick Ekpotu, 

•Wike 

Chief Jerry Okpo, Etim Okpoyo, Hon. 

Okpolum Ette, who are also battle ready. 

In actuality, PDP has an intimidating 

structure in the state. Shepherding the pack is 

the national chairman of Pan Niger Delta 

Forum, PANDEF, Air Commodore Idongesit 

Nkanga (retd), Air Marshal Nsikak Eduok 

(retd), Senator Effiong Bob, Senator Anietie 

Okon, Paul Ekpo, Dr. Chris Ekpeyong, for 

deputy governor, Senator Albert Bassey, 

Onofiok Luke, Speaker of the State Assembly, 

Barrister Emmanuel Enoidem, PDP National 

Legal Adviser, Ben Udobia, Hon. Ephriam 

Inyan-Eyen, Hon. Essien Ndueso, among 

others. 

APC’s Emmanuel 

must- go- assembly grows 

Senator Akpabio gave himself a tall order 

during his defection rally to deliver not just 

the state, but also the entire South-South geopolitical 

region to the APC and also deliver 

15 Senators to APC, maintaining that the geopolitical 

zone must play national politics and 

not be at the fringe as opposition. 

However, it is Ekere’s political audacity that 

has understandably excited the state polity 

ahead of the 2019 governorship election. 

Ekere has vowed to do a single term of four 

years if he wins in 2019. 

Besides the immediate Senate Minority 

Leader, Senator Akpabio, the APC boasts in 

its rank the Senior Special Assistant to the 

President on National Assembly Matters, 

Senator Ita Enang, Managing Director, 

Oil and Gas Free Zone Authority, Umana 

Okon Umana, Atuekong Don Etiebet, former 

Minister of State for Federal Capital Territory, 

Senator John Akpanudoedehe, Senator 

Alloysius Etuk, Engineer Ita Awak, Director, 

Air Worthiness, Nigeria Civil Aviation 

Authority (NCAA), Hon Eseme Eyiboh, Group 

Captain Sam Ewang (retd), Hon. Valerie 

Ebe, former deputy governor, among others. 

The likes of Senator Enang, Umana, 

Akpanudoedehe, among others are expected 

to deliver the Uyo Senatorial District for the 

APC, while Hon Eyiboh, Engineer Awak, 

Barrister Abia, Engineer Ukpong, et tal, have 

the onerous tasks to deliver the party in their 

respective constituencies. 

DELTA: Okowa depends 

on PDP big and strong 

machinery 

In Delta State where the PDP has been 

holding sway for about 20 years, Governor 

Okowa is banking on the party’s strong 

machinery spread across the three senatorial 

districts of the state to secure his reelection in 

2019. 

Former governor, Chief James Ibori, 

political adviser to the party’s national 

chairman, Senator Ighoyota Amori, former 

Minister of Information, Prof Sam Oyovbaire, 

Chief Strategist to the State Government, 

Chief Paulinus Akpeki, business mogul, 

Olorogun Kenneth Gbagi, Speaker of Delta 

State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Sheriff 

Oborevwori, Chief John Oguma, Hon 

Evelyn Oboro, Dr. Steve Oborevwori, Chief 

Fred Majemite, Dr. Steve Oru, Chief Ejaife 

Odebala, Chief Mike Adiotomre, Mrs Faith 

Majemite, Chief Bernard Edewor are the 

linchpins of the governor in the Central 

senatorial district. 

Also influential in the district is the state 

chairman of the party, Chief Kingsley Esiso, 

ex -deputy governor of the state, Prof. Amos 

Utuama and former NDDC managing 

director, Senator Emmanuel Aguariawvodo. 

Delta South has the former Secretary to the 

State Government, SSG, Comrade 

Ovuozorie Macaulay, Senator James 

Manager, Hon Nicholas Mutu, Hon Leo 

Ogor, Chief Solomon Funkekeme, Capt Pius 

Sinebe (rtd) Mr.Raymos Guanah, Dr Joseph 

Otumara, Chief Thomas Eriyotomi, Hon. 

Daniel Reyeneju, Chief Bernard Okumagba 

as the field marshals. 

Okowa’s main men in Delta North include 

Senator Peter Nwaoboshi, aka Oracle, 

Senator Patrick Osakwe, deputy speaker, Hon 

Friday Osanebi, former Deputy governor, 

Chief Benjamin Elue, Hon Ossai Ossai, Hon 

Victor Nwaokolo, Hon Joan Mrakpor, Chief 

Edwin Uzor, Chief Nkem Okwofu and Chief 

Godswill Obielum amongst others. 

Ogboru counts on his cultlike 

followers to outwit 

Okowa 

Chief Ogboru, who is from Ethiope East of 

Delta Central, is banking on his cult-like 

follower-ship in the state to oust Governor 

Okowa of the PDP. 

In Okowa’s domain, he is hinging his plan 

to swing the pendulum on Chief Hyacinth 

Enuha, former governorship aspirants, Dr. 

Cairo Ojougboh, former Speaker Victor Ochei 

Dr Iyke Odikpo. But with Ochei’s fury over 

the manner Ogboru was foisted as the party’s 

candidate, it is not clear yet whether the party 

will get his support. As it stands, Prof Pat Utomi, 

another former governor aspirant is not the 

mood to project Ogboru in his district. 

In Delta South, former Governor Emmanuel 

Uduaghan, Dr Alex Ideh, Olotgbosere of Warri 

Kingdom, Chief Ayiri Emami, Joel 

Onowakpo-Thomas, Okiemute Essien 

amongst others are the gladiators expected to 

turn things around. 

In his stronghold, Central district, Ogboru’s 

chief battleaxe is Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, 

Chief Solomon Edojah, Sir Richard Odibo, 

Chief Halims Agoda and Samuel Adjogbe. 

Nobody knows for now whether Olorogun 

O’tega Emerhor, the dethroned leader of the 

party, will work for Ogboru governorship. But 

former labour leader, Chief Frank Kokori has 

always stood by Ogboru. Immediate past 

Speaker of the state House Assembly, Rt. Hon 

Monday Igbuya is another new Ogboru 

backer. 

RIVERS: Wike yet to 

unveil campaign, but 

structures activated 

At the time of this report, Governor Wike 

had not unveiled a formal campaign team, 

but feelers in the party indicated that key 

structures for the campaign drive were already 

in place and people working underground. 

A Government House source told 

Saturday Vanguard: “A formal campaign 

team will sure be inaugurated soon. Let no 


A peep into contenders’ 

political machinery 


one be deluded that there is any challenge 

with appointing one. The mantle of leading 

the team may again fall on the Chief of Staff 

to the Governor, Emeka Woke. 

He was the Campaign Director of Wike 

during the 2015 elections, and was credited to 

have delivered efficiently at the time.” 

On the strength of the overall Rivers PDP 

campaign machinery, a party chieftain said: 

“Remember, Wike as incumbent governor has 

several political appointees under his cabinet 

and agencies of his government. Recently, PDP 

also swept all 23 local governments in the 

council polls held across the state. 

“Occupants of the various appointive and 

elective political seats who are card carrying 

PDP members under the Wike administration 

are campaign team leaders in themselves 

mobilizing teeming party members loyal to 

them. 

“Again, the governor recently appointed 

liaison officers in all wards across the local 

government areas, each beneficiary carefully 

picked on the merit of capacity for grassroots 

mobilisation of support for the governor. 

These were deliberate parts of the machinery. 

“The governor also holds dear to his 

campaign machinery, critical support 

movements, including the Grassroots 

Development Initiative and the One Million 

Youths for Rivers New Rivers State whose Port 

Harcourt head office the governor personally 

inaugurated back in September,” the source 

revealed. 

Lloyd leads Cole’s 

‘operation takeover Rivers’ 

On the other hand, Wike’s main challenger, 

APC, wasted no time in appointing a 

governorship campaign team, not long after 

emergence of business mogul, Tonye Cole, as 

governorship candidate 

under Rivers APC faction 

loyal to Transport Minister 

and South- South APC 

Leader, Rotimi Amaechi. 

The task of piloting the 

machinery to deliver Cole, 

a relatively strange face in 

murky Rivers politics has 

been anchored on former 

Leader of the Rivers State 

House of Assembly, Dr. 

Chidi Lloyd. 

Lloyd, long standing 

confidant of Amaechi, 

who has also become 

varsity lecturer aside deep 

involvement in politics, is 

reputed as a grassroots 

mobilser, sound with 

words and very conversant 

with the ups and downs of 

Rivers politics. 

Upon resumption of 

office as the Campaign 

Director of APC, Rivers 

State and Tonye Cole, 

Llyod commenced 

ongoing ward-to-ward 

sensitization where Cole 

is introduced and heard by 

the Rivers electorate at 

each stop. Chidi Lloyd is 

respected, trusted by 

Amaechi to deliver Cole. 

Lloyd has further 

strengthened his team 

with the inauguration of 

10-man team in each ward 

in the state to drive the Cole 

•Seriake Dickson 

campaigns. 

Again, the 

governor recently 

appointed liaison 

officers in all 

wards across the 

local government 

areas, each 

beneficiary 

carefully picked 

on the merit of 

capacity for 

grassroots 

mobilisation of 

support for the 

governor 

•Timipre Sylva 

Ayade dismantles Senator Liyel 

Imoke structure in C’River 

The Cross River State governor, Senator Ben 

Ayade did not have a political structure or 

machinery of his own prior to the 2015 

elections, but relied solely on Senator Liyel 

Imoke’s structure to coast to victory in both 

the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, 

gubernatorial primaries in 2014 and the 

subsequent general elections in 2015. 

Imoke, who over the years even before 

ascending to power as governor of the state in 

2007 had laid a solid political structure which 

superseded that of his predecessor, Mr Donald 

Duke, was able to foist anybody on the 

party and in the state in 2015 and when he 

eventually settled for Senator Ben Ayade, it 

was a foregone conclusion that he (Ayade) was 

the next governor and sure he became. 

However, soon after he assumed power, 

Ayade was rumoured to have split the 

Imoke structure and started to take steps 

to become a man of his own by building his 

own structure that will be loyal to him at 

anytime and this structure constitutes mostly 

young people. He appointed over 5,000 of 

them into offices and gave them the leverage 

to stand on their own and represent his interest 

within their political zones and units. 

Antagonism 

This, he did to the chagrin of many old 

political forces in the state, who were aligned 

to Duke and Imoke, prompting them to feel 

alienated. Unexpectedly many of them, 

particularly those that contested the 

governorship position with him defected to 

APC, while others decided to concentrate on 

their businesses and adopt the wait and see 

approach. 

People like Larry Odey, 

former Speaker of the 

Assembly, Barrister Fidel 

Egoro, former Deputy State 

Chairman of the PDP, Dr 

Julius Okputu, former 

Commissioner for Works, 

Mr Johnson Ebokpo, former 

Secretary to State 

Government, Mrs Margaret 

Ebokpo, former Special 

Adviser on Nongovernmental 

Organisations and several 

others left to join the APC. 

But, Mr Efiok Cobham., 

former Deputy Governor, 

Patrick Ugbe, CEO of Hit FM, 

Mr Michael Ania, former 

SSG and Dr Peter Ojie are still 

watching. 

Conscious of the fact that 

these young men employed 

and empowered by him have 

leaders whom they are loyal 

to, he has decided to gravitate 

himself to some of them. 

Once in a while, he assigns 

them some duties to make 

them see him as their friend. 

Pacification 

Recently, he appointed 

Efiok Cobham Chairman of 

the Reconciliation 

Committee to appease those 

aggrieved with the outcome 

of the primary of the party 

where many of them allegedly 

•Gov Obaseki 


did not see the materials. 

People like Mrs Blessing Egbara, Hon 

Bassey Ewa, Mr Don Enamhe, Mrs Agbo 

Ayim and several others were aggrieved and 

some like Bassey Ewa a member of the House 

of Representatives representing Yakkur/Abi 

and some of his supporters have moved to 

the APC, while others like Egbara and Ayim 

are still in the party. 

Aware that ostensibly those who moved did 

so to support his arch rival, Senator John 

Owan Enoh, who moved to the APC some 

months back and is the flag bearer of the party, 

Ayade has increased the tempo of his 

campaign and contacts with those who matter 

at all levels of the political structure. 

He has appointed 50 persons per each 

polling unit to campaign within their unit and 

has also made more appointments, which he 

considers strategic to his re-election. All 

those who resigned to contest the primaries of 

the PDP have been reabsorbed. He already 

has a Director General to man his Campaign 

Organisation in the person of Godwin Etta, 

the Commissioner for Education and those to 

work with him were being put together. 

Senator John Owan 

strong challenge 

With all these measures, it remains to be 

seen how he will sail through the troubled 

waters or re-election with majority of the 

political structure that stood with him in 2015 

now in the APC. 

People like Senator Victor Ndoma Egba, 

Victor Abang, Gabe Ugor, Jude Ngaji, Larry 

Odey, Johnson Ebokpo, Kieran Mfam, Ekpo 

Okon, Bassey Ewa, Jedy Agba, Saviour 

Nyong, Bassey Akiba and many others now 

working with the opposition 

BAYELSA: Dickson plots 

to become godfather 

Governor Seriake Dickson is running the 

last lap of his second tenure, which expires on 

Valentine Day, February 14 2020, the first by 

any elected governor in the history of the state 

since the advent of democracy in 1999. 

Having survived what perhaps could best 

be tagged one of the most violent polls, 

Dickson has left no one in doubt of his 

determination to consolidate the ruling party 

as the dominant party in the state and whittle 

down the influence of the APC. 

Line of attack 

One of his strategies, which have startled 

the opposition, was recent defection of some 

of prominent and influential APC members 

and thousands of their supporters back to the 

umbrella party. 

These include Chief Timi Alaibe, former 

Managing Director of Niger Delta 

Development Commission, NDDC, two-time 

Commissioner for Information and top ally 

of former Governor Timipre Sylva, Chief 

Nathan Egba and other top political figures 

of the APC. 

Also, a political force in the densely 

populated Southern Ijaw Local Government, 

Chief Rufus Abadi, and former Secretary to 

the State Government under the Sylva 

administration Chief Gideon Ekeowei, led 

thousands of APC members in the state to the 

PDP in a colourful ceremony in Yenagoa. 

Governor Dickson had while receiving the 

returnees said that Alaibe and the other top 

APC Chieftains were the politicians, who gave 

him tough fight in the hotly contested 

gubernatorial election of 2015, noting that 

with the defection of the large number of APC 

chieftains to the ruling PDP in the state, the 

APC had become a ghost party, incapable of 

winning elections in Bayelsa. 

Installing loyalists 

in tactical positions 

Dickson is very concerned about how to 

remain relevant in the political configuration 

of the state and his preoccupation for now is 

to place trusted loyalists in strategic 

positions. 

As played out in the last PDP primaries, 

where the governor successfully grabbed 

over 70 percent of the House of Assembly, 

House of Representatives and Senate tickets 

for his allies, Dickson as it were, has a firm 

grip of the party structure in the state and is 

gradually building his own political structure 

that will outlive his administration. 

Though this has not gone than well with 

some forces within the PDP, the governor 

through leadership of the party immediately 

held a re-conciliatory meeting with 

aggrieved members and ensured all 

appointees, who retired their appointments 

to contest the party primaries but lost, returned 

to their duty posts, while civil servants were 

also granted the leeway to return to work. 

This approach, according to a source, is to 

consolidate the governor’s control over the 

party and find a worthy successor that will 

continue his legacies come 2020. 

Sylva geared up to stop 

PDP dominion 

Former Governor Chief Timipre Sylva 

remains the undisputed leader of APC in 

Bayelsa state and it is likely that he will emerge 

the standard bearer of the party for the 

gubernatorial election. 

Like Dickson, the APC party structure is 

under the controlled of Sylva. In fact, Sylva 

has a more domineering control of the APC 

than Dickson in the PDP. Sylva picked all the 

party candidates in the last party primaries 

for the various positions - state House of 

Assembly, federal House of Representatives 

and Senate. 

Sylva has successfully hand-picked all the 

party flag bearers who in his estimation are 

popular with formidable followers as 

consensus candidates of the party. The former 

governor, by his calculation, expects to secure 

some seats in the state and national assemblies 

to use them as leverage during the 2020 

governorship polls. 

But it is left to be seen whether the 

opposition APC, which of late has been hit by 

mass exodus of some of their leading light 

and influential members with their teeming 

supporters can dislodge the dominant ruling 

PDP in the state, led by the incumbent governor, 

Hon Seriake Dickson, who has vowed to 

ensure that the APC never wins in the 

predominantly riverine state. 

EDO: Forces positioning 

for 2020 

Although there will not be governorship 

election in Edo state in 2019, there are already 

forces positioning themselves to contest the 

position in 2020. 

The room for interest in 2020 is becoming 

stronger because of the purported strained 

relationship between Governor Obaseki and 

his godfather, the national chairman of the 

party, Comrade Adams Oshimohle. 

Permutations are that if the differences 

between the two are not resolved, there is a 

possibility of the Lagos State scenario of 

Governor Akinwumi Ambode, who fell out 

with his leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and 

political leaders playing out in the state. 

Many APC stalwarts are already positioning 

themselves to contest against Obaseki, 

especially in the event that he fails to meet the 

expectations of the party in the state. Many 

party members, we gathered, have been 

complaining about his style of administration. 

Obaseki tries to be strict and professional 

which we gathered Oshiomhole appreciates 

but he is accused of distancing many of the 

foot soldiers who ensured his victory. That’s 

the only problem Oshiomhole frowns at. 

Ogiemwonyi, Odubu 

lurking in the shadows 

A former Minister of State for Works and 

retired Group Executive Director, Nigerian 

National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr 

Chris Ogiemwonyi has quietly returned to the 

country from the US and Saturday Vanguard 

reliably gathered that he has started his 

consultations and strategizing to contest 

against Obaseki in 2020. He was among those 

who lost out to Obaseki in 2016 but remained 

in the party. 

It was reliably gathered that he is already 

activating the structure he used pre-2016 to 

commence his renewed ambition. 

Some foot-soldiers of the APC are also 

already considering the option of backing the 

erstwhile deputy governor to Oshiomhole for 

eight years, Dr Pius Odubu, who has been quiet 

since the current administration came on 

board. Odubu is a grassroots politician and a 

founding member of the APC, his structure 

cuts across the senatorial districts in the state. 

He is a Benin man but had his infancy in Edo 

Central and has many followers in Edo North. 

His popularity transcends the political 

parties.

16—SATURDAY Vanguard, NOVEMBER 17, , 2018 

2019: Between ease 

of doing business and 

ease of doing fraud 

By Garba Shehu 

Election campaign begins 

tomorrow, November 18, ninety 

days to the vote, and something 

of great interest to citizens and 

international observers alike is what kind 

of contest to expect. There is no gainsaying 

that this is an immensely important 

election. Apart from the fact of the stark 

choice of either going forward or 

backwards; choice between light and 

darkness, a large percentage of the 

country’s traditional and political elite is 

up in arms against the sitting Buhari 

administration, which they accuse of 

disrupting their lifestyle, itself 

characterised by licentiousness especially 

when it comes to dealing with the 

commonwealth. This opposition, it must 

be said, has liquidity of the type that 

government itself does not have. The US 

Dollar rain by a major opposition party 

at their convention in Port Harcourt is a 

dire warning in this direction. This 

contrasts sharply with the high level of 

discipline put in place through the 

Treasury Single Account, TSA being 

implemented by the Buhari government. 

It is a matter for great concern that the 

leading opposition parties have resolved 

to undertake a campaign clearly aimed 

at aggravating differences between 

Nigerians on the basis of especially 

religion, region and tribe. 

A document in circulation, from the 

resolutions of a retreat in a foreign country 

by one of the parties makes no pretences 

about their plan to cause tension between 

various communities. They have 

dramatically begun actions to destroy the 

integrity of the election process. 

Even before the gates open for the race to 

begin, this country is already witness to a 

unique type of campaign based on 

unverified allegation or distortion 

propagated in the two chambers of the 

National Assembly which 

are strangely led by 

opposition candidates in a 

minority party in the coming 

election. They have lately 

launched scathing attacks 

on government concerning 

payment for fuel subsidy and 

the emergency feeding 

program of the displaced 

communities in the 

Northeast. 

There are vivid reports of 

unscrupulous opposition 

politicians who have 

finished the lives of our 

youths by handing guns to 

them, turning them into ragtag 

guerrillas confronting 

our security agencies in 

Abuja and states in the north 

central zone. 

For the All Progressives 

Congress, 

APC 

administration at the center, 

initial moves towards 2019 

have been about the effort to 

publicise 

the 

administration’s 

achievements while at the 

same time dispelling 

negative propaganda by the 

opposition. 

While it is clear that the 

opposition is unprepared for 

a contest based on policies 

programs, and past records 

The Boko Haram 

had a state 

within the 

Nigerian State 

with a defined 

territory, a flag, a 

system of 

administration 

complete with 

taxation and a 

court system 

of work, they are bent on distracting the 

attention of voters by appealing to sectional 

feelings and throwing voters into 

confusion. Churches and Mosques and 

other places of worship are being recruited 

for election propaganda. 

For us in the APC, the task before us as we 

embark on the campaign is to make plain 

and clear how the country progressed over 

the last three years and I dare say that there 

is so much to talk about. We are proud of 

our achievements. But we must first of all 

make the voter to illustrate where we are 

coming from because without doing that, it 

is hard for many to appreciate the enormous 

strides the nation has made under the present 

dispensation. 

For instance, the Minister of Power, 

Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji 

Fashola, at a press conference early 

this week announced that this 

administration has achieved the 

remarkable feat of doubting the 

available electric power in the county, 

from less than 4,000 megawatts to now 

8,000 mw. This wattage is the 

available power that is generated and 

transmitted. Distribution, which is 

now in private hands, has improved 

but at 5,000 mw, it still has a lot of 

catching up to do. 

If we had continued with the pace, 

corruption and ineptitude that 

characterized the war against Boko 

Haram by 2015, it would have taken 

us decades to eliminate the terrorists’ 

hold on Nigerian territory and have 

them confined to a little corner in the 

country, by the banks of the Lake Chad. 

Agriculture was abandoned in that 

region and only a few could grow their 

own food in years. The Boko Haram had 

a state within the Nigerian State with a 

defined territory, a flag, a system of 

administration complete with taxation and 

a court system. There was a time that in the 

northeast, two million people were 

displaced. Now, the 

communities are returning as 

government, with local and 

international support put back 

damaged infrastructure. 

The Buhari administration 

has shown the ability to take 

hard decisions, in the nation’s 

interest as has been seen in 

dealing with the economy. 

This administration is doing 

something that no 

government had done since 

independence in 1960, which 

is moving the economy in a 

completely new direction. 

Government has done so 

much, especially in 

agriculture, solid minerals 

and manufacturing, 

preparing the country for the 

greatness that we all desire. It 

would amount to a major 

reversal, if not selfimmolation 

for the voters to 

take steps that return us to the 

discredited past. 

Take another example, the 

reform of the trade and 

investment sector by which the 

administration has been 

streamlining systems, 

ensuring transparency and 

fewer rules. That’s what the 

ease of doing business is all 

about, measures that have 

brought a lot of international 

•Buhari 

compliment to Nigeria and for which there 

is a Presidential Enabling Business Council. 

As a result of this work, Nigeria moved 24 

places on the World Bank ease of doing 

business rankings, and earned a place on 

the list of 10 most improved economies in 

2017. A prospective investor denied visa to 

come by a corrupt consular office in a 

Nigerian mission can today hop into a plane 

and obtain his/her visa on arrival. New 

businesses which took years upon years to 

register now have a maximum of a 48-hour 

waiting period to be certified. 

In the words of President Muhammadu 

Buhari, “Nigeria is taking steps towards 

creating a more business friendly 

environment for foreign investors and 

visiting business people. Our Visa on Arrival 

policy as one of the components of our ease 

of doing business in Nigeria policy is working. 

“Corruption has been identified as an 

impediment to sound business practices. The 

fight against corruption, the ongoing exercise 

to rid the country of the remnants of the 

insurgency, the continuing importance we 

attach to transparency in Governance. These 

are just some of the major policy initiatives, all 

of which need to be analysed and reported on 

to the global audience by the media both at 

home and internationally.” 

For decades, demand for fertilizer had never 

been sufficiently met until this administration 

came. The foreign exchange part of it, USD 

200 million is eliminated; subsidies that run 

up to N60 billion annually have been stopped 

and on top of that, prices per bag have crashed 

from N14,000, to government approved price 

of N5,500. From farmers to pundits and 

experts in the agric sectors, (SECTOR) no one 

ever imagined that Nigeria could stop rice 

imports and achieve near self-sufficiency in 

three years, but here we are: 90-95 percent of 

rice imports have ceased. 

The President is carrying out difficult 

reforms for the future growth of the country, 

such as the implementation of the ease of doing 

business, the Treasury Single Account, TSA, 

the whistleblower process, and hundreds of 

others, including the massive investment in 

rail, roads, power and airports. If such reforms 

had happened in 16 years of the PDP, this 

country would not have been lowly ranked 

among nations. 

In the middle of the process of changing the 

country from its unwanted standing to a more 

desirable one, that’s not the time to change a 

president. 

In Nigeria as in many other democracies, 

campaign and elections are addictions. They 

come with attitudes and responses, those that 

wanted and those that are unwanted. There 

are worrying excesses that attend our 

campaigns, and these are already on display. 

These, if not managed using voluntary 

agreement or a code of conduct on rules of 

behaviour for the political parties and their 

supporters, can turn things in the wrong 

direction. 

When they enter into those agreements 

voluntarily, parties are more likely to feel 

bound by commitments into which they have 

freely entered. 

For a conducive atmosphere to prevail in 

making wise and informed choices, parties 

have a duty to sit around the table to decide. 

More than all the others, the governing APC 

has a national call to lead this coalition before 

the revisionists stampede the unsuspecting 

citizens into substituting the ease of doing 

business with the ease of doing fraud. 

Garba Shehu 

Senior Special Adviser to the President, 

MEDIA AND PUBLICITY, ABUJA.


By BENJAMIN NJOKU 

he stands straight on her feet, shoulder distancing apart in her all-black ensemble. 

SSoon, she stretches her arms forward and backward, causing one arm to slightly cross 

the wrist of the other. Then, she starts performing the kicks and the legs get busier. Nodding 

intermittently like a lizard, and causing the onlooker to behold the sexy part of her feet. 

This is top Nollywood actress, Genevieve Nnaji, demonstrating few months back on the 

streets of New York the famous Shaku Shaku, an infectious dance step that has become a 

global obsession. 

Genevieve, however, is not the only celebrity in Nigeria, who’s currently caught by the Shaku Shaku bug. While 

several others, including ex-beauty queen, Oluchi, Wizkid, DJ Cuppy, Davido, Rita Dominic, Tiwa Savage are all 

infected by the ‘dance disease,’ the internet also is suffused with thousands of videos of people demonstrating “Shaku 

Shaku” dance with great enthusiasm. 

‘Shaku Shaku’, which reportedly originated from the slum of Agege, Lagos, in the late 2017, has since become the 

most favourite dance in Africa at the moment. The dance, which comes in different forms is infectious as it’s energetic, 

leaving the dancer energetic as if bewitched and the onlooker mesmerized. 

To some people, ‘Shaku Shaku’ dance is a peculiar kind of a street dance trend, which spreads the Nigerian music 

culture beyond these shores and infecting other freestyles like a virus. But whatever it is, ‘Shaku Shaku’ is dominating 

the Africa music space and beyond. Almost everyone, both young and old worldwide are currently infected with 

‘Shaku Shaku’ fever. 

Before the advent of ‘Shaku Shaku’, other notable dance steps have come and gone. But it’s obvious that ‘Shaku 

Shaku’ has a freestyle that can stand the taste of time. Today, several radio and television stations in the country are 

currently devoting airtime to ‘Shaku Shaku’ more than any other known dance for their urban audiences. It’s a 

reminiscent of the days of the protest lyrics of Fela, the music-oriented sound of Makossa, Gwara Gwara or Galala, 

Alanta, Yahooze, Suo, Azonto, Skelewu and Shoki. 

‘Shaku Shaku’ is in vogue. Everywhere you go, people are embracing the dance. It’s sweeping the globe. At 

nightclubs, parties, wedding ceremonies and at almost every dance-allowed event, ‘Shaku Shaku’ is the dance step to 

watch out. 

Nollywood actress, Ijeoma Imoh, who loves to dance ‘Shaku Shaku’ believes that the dance is enjoying global 

appeal, not because it’s in vogue but also, because the hand movements seem less stressful and sexy when dancing to 

the beat. “Nice dance steps if you have to make use of your legs and hands. The leg movements is not that easy to learn 

except you are a fast learner or a football player. You can always make different styles with your hands and still look 

sexy,” the actress stressed. 

But for veteran singer, Righteousman, like other dance steps, ‘Shaku Shaku’ won’t reign forever. He noted that the 

unique thing about the dance is that whoever originated the dance did not allow it be a brand of music style. “Trust 

me, almost everyone young and old is infected with Shaku Shaku fever. But it won’t be too long for another dance step 

to emerge and take over from Shaku Shaku. But the unique thing about Shaku Shaku dance is that whoever brought 

the dance did not allow it to be a brand of music style. Most artistes made mistakes in the past when they allowed a 

particular dance style to be their brands. It means that the artiste and the music begin to fade slowly out of the scene 

when a new style begins to reign because the music is tagged to the name of the dance style. Nigeria has talents.. so 

much more on the way but then Shaku Shaku is still leading.” Righteousman spoke with excitment. 

Agreeing with Righteousman’s position, 

* Continues on Page 18


By BENJAMIN NJOKU 

08111813022 

‘Shaku Shaku’ is not created 

as a brand of music style 

—Righteousman 

*Continued from page 17 

another veteran singer, Tunde Obe, said Shaku Shaku would definitely not be in 

vogue forever. “Something brand new is around the corner.. That’s the nature of dance 

steps.. But I like watching people dance Shaku Shaku, especially those that can do it 

very well” he added. 

Leading figure in the UK’s exploding Afrowave scene, Afro B, once said that “the 

Shaku Shaku dance isn’t made just for anyone in particular, it’s made for anyone that 

wants to enjoy a piece of African culture and I just want my music to make people feel 

good and included.” Premiering the new dance video for “Shaku Shaku” months back, 

the Afrowave hitmaker said “I want listeners to get in their element whilst listening to 

this and feel my authentic African vibe. 

“I didn’t want it to be the exact same vibe as ‘Drogba. They’re two very different 

sounding tracks. I also wanted to showcase this biggest dance of this year, the Shaku 

Shaku.” 

Like Makossa, “Shaku Shaku, is a heady and leggy dance, cocktail of exotic sounds 

performed with electric passion and charisma. The dance is undoubtedly the biggest 

dance style of 2018. Street or not, it bangs and fans loving it more as life goes on. This 

street dance is sweeping the world. And notable world figures are embracing Shaku 

Shaku. International footballer, Alex Iwobi, reportedly demonstrated a Shaku Shaku 

move during one of their Chelsea vs Arsenal games. Also, a video of Nigerian woman 

went viral online after she danced Shaku Shaku while she was being called to bar in 

Ontario, Canada. She shared the video on IG with the caption “Their Fadaaa!! Guess 

who took Shaku-Shaku to be called to the Ontario Bar in Canada!! Yours truly ??? I 

didn’t have the liver to try it back in 2007 when I was being called to the Nigerian Bar 

though!! ??”. 

That’s how far Shaku Shaku, which many claim was propagated by Agege boys like Mr. Real, Slimcase, Obadice and Dammy Krane, is influencing the global 

music scene. Though reports had it that it was the street rapper, Olamide who popularized Shaku Shaku with his infectious song, Wo!, along with a dance 

challenge, before other artistes started to tap into the viral dance, tailoring their music towards the Shaku Shaku vibe. 

Oladips’ Lalakukulala, Lil Kesh’s ‘Rora’, Idowest’s Shepeteri all ensured that their fans had enough package for the Shaku Shaku season. Olamide further 

fueled the trend with the release of his new single, ‘Science Student’ and since then, Shaku Shaku has continued to dominate the music scene in Nigeria. 

Singer Reminisce once confirmed his suspicion about Olamide’s direction with the new song, in an Instagram post. His post announcing the release of 

Olamide’s song carried the caption, “tempo ti change.” Music heavyweights like Davido and Wizkid have also followed the trend and it’s predicted that Shaku 

Shaku will remain in vogue for a long time. 

Falz, Adekunle Gold, 

others to headline 

AIM festival 2018 

reparations for this year’s edition of Africa 

PInternational Music,AIM, Festival has 

gathered momentum with the mega musical 

concert attracting the attention of some 

leading African musical artistes across the 

continent and The Diaspora. 

According to the organizers of the event, 

which made its first entry last year, the 

event this year has gained a box office 

status and promises to be exciting and 

colourful with A – listed artistes on the 

bill. 

Headlining the roll call of artistes 

at the event, which is a three day 

non – stop musical performances of 

•Falz 

all genres, with a touch of African 

authentic and originality, slated to 

hold between December 7 and 9 at 

the La Campagne Tropicana Beach 

Resort in Ikegun Village, Ibeju Lekki, Lagos, is juju music 

maestro,who has graciously agreed to performance at the 

resort’s world stage named after him. 

AIM Festival is conceived by the founder of Motherland 

Beckons, Otunba Wanle Akinboboye, as a vehicle to 

expose the creativity of budding African musical acts and 

the creative industry, to serve as a veritable platform for 

the exportation of the best of African’s creative geniuses to 

the world by bringing together various talents to interact 

and produce the best of their innate creative ferment under 

an atmosphere that is of international standard and mood 

reflecting their cultural background. 

Other listed artistes from Nigeria include 

Adekunle Gold, Falz, Pasuma, Dede Mabiaku, 

Atunda Entertainment leading acts - Anu the lady 

ekwe,Olo omidan bata, Ara (Thunder) - Paul play 

Dairo, Kola Ogunkoya (Gbedu master), Afe 

Ayodele, Wole Oni, Kemit, Yemi juju and Fire. 

Artistes from the remaining 54 African countries 

will be featured. Beside the musical performances, 

the platform, which is an opened one for other 

entertainers will be a celebrated tourism affair as 

it is expected to feature a wide selection of leisure 

experiences ranging from food, fashion, comedy 

and DJ to beach picnic, kayaking, carnival, 

keggite gyration, beach soccer, camping, sport 

fishing, horseback riding as well as bonding 

exercises. 

•Ara 

NFC woos stakeholders ahead 

of ZUMA filmfest 2018 

rganizers of Nigeria’s foremost platform for the celebration of motion 

Opicture industry, ZUMA Film Festival, ZUFF, which was relaunched 

last year has called on Nollywood practitioners to join forces with them in 

order to build a virile film industry that is globally competitive. 

The Managing Director/Chief Executive of Nigeria Film Corporation, Dr. 

Chidia Maduekwe made the call during the week, in Lagos, while 

unveiling the programmes and jingle for the festival which is billed to 

hold in Abuja, between December 1 through 7. 

According to the NFC boss, they intend to use this year’s film 

festivalto make Nigerian motion picture practitioners and 

stakeholders to fully participate in the process of developing a film 

industry that is globally competitive. “We are therefore retaining 

ane expanding ZUFF’s strategic partnerships and collabortaions 

with key and relevant agencies of government and private 

individuals and organization. We intend to intensely mobilize the 

entire Nigerian motion picture sector to be part of this great 

festival, a signpost of Nigeria’s global reflection.” 

“Our effort is to sustainably expand the potentials of ZUFF, as 

Nigeria’s foremost film festival and position it within the domestic, 

regional, continental and global audiovisual markets.” 

With the theme, “Archiving for Creativity”, NFC boss further 

highlighgted that the festival will reignite the consciousness in film 

makers and other stakeholders on the important role of film-audio 

visual archiving of creative works and its posterity values. “It’s a 

paradigm shift to protect and preserve several thousands of films that have 

been produced in Nigeria, the past decades. Several pieces collections of 

audio-visual and film materials are being lost due to non-preservation. In 

some ways, ZUFF 2018 sets to redefine the need and potentials of audio 

visual archiving in Nigeria. NFC through ZUFF 2018, seeks to bring 

to the front burnerthe need to preserve Nigeria’s memory for 

future generations of Nigeria, with no end point,”NFC boss 

stressed. 

He noted that, as the world is being driven by digital 

technology, film making in Nigeria and indeed around the 

world equally should move with these inventions and 

innovations. 

Announcing renowned film scholar and critic, Dr. Hyginus 

Ekwuazi as Head of Jury of ZUMA Film Festival for the 

second time, NFC boss said the opening ceremony/ZUMA 

light up Night among other activities will hold at Jabi Lake 

Mall, in Abuja. The prestigious award night/closing ceremony 

is scheduled to hold at main hall of the International Conference 

Centre on December 7. It will also feature NFC annual film lecture 

to be delivered erudite scholar and dipomat par excellence, Professor 

Ibrahim Gambari among other razzmatazz. The event, which has the 

Chairman NFC Board, Alhaji Abubakar Gambo in attendance and 

some stakeholders also witnessed the unveiling of NFC’s Cinema 

viewing centre. 

Speaking in the same vein, Gambo said, as a Board they are 

conscious of the quest to add value to the several programmes and 

projects being undertaken by NFC management to address critical 

issues within the film industry.


By Adetutu Adesoji 

08157255559 (sms only) 

adetutu.adesoji@gmail.com 

Don’t lose a good 

side nigga over your 

boyfriend, Juliet 

Ibrahim advises 

A 

•Dabota 

•Adesua 

Etomi 

lluring actress turn 

relationship expert, Juliet 

Ibrahim has once again taken to 

social media to dish out relationship tips 

to whoever cares to read. Although her 

latest piece may come across as 

controversial, the Ghanian beauty is 

unapologetic about it. Juliet 

advised ladies to avoid losing a 

good side nigga (a love 

interest other than one’s 

romantic partner) over a 

boyfriend, as she 

further questioned the 

need for a side nigga. 

“Don’t lose a good 

side nigga over your 

boyfriend. If your 

boyfriend was a good 

dude you wouldn’t need 

a 

side nigga,” she wrote. 

•Cuppy and Asa 

I regret 

getting 

married 

— Dabota 

Lawson 

Adesua Etomi 

stuns for 

fashion 

magazine 

ctress, Adesua Etomi looked alluring 

Aon the pages of the 2 nd edition of 

the fashion weekend magazine by 

Gtbbank. In celebration of the just 

concluded GTBank Fashion 

Weekend that took place in Lagos, 

the talented role interpreter and 

wife of pop star, Banky W sat for 

an exclusive interview heandlined 

‘More Than TV’s Golden Girl’ 

with the fashion magazine. The 

light-skinned actress took to 

instagram to share pictures from 

the magazine feature as she 

relived her experience during 

the magazine shoot. 

•Juliet 

Ibrahim 

Dj Cuppy, Asa Asika’s 

romance over? 

Lately, breakup rumours have been trailing the 

publicly celebrated romance between billionaire 

daughter and Disc Jockey, DJ Cuppy and 

Davido’s manager, Asa Asika. However, if the 

sudden halt in the social media display of affection 

by the duo is something to go by, their 

relationship might really be over. 

Recall that few months ago Cuppy took to social 

media to celebrate Asa on his birthday with a 

video that saw them kissing. Meanwhile, DJ 

Cuppy celebrated her 26 th birthday recently and 

nothing was heard from Asa who neither posted 

the budding singer’s picture nor a birthday wish 

on his social media pages. This development has 

got tongues wagging as many wonder if the two 

have ceased to be an item or they just chose to 

keep their love affair away from prying eyes. 

Beauty entrepreneur and former beauty queen, Dabota Lawson 

has said that her greatest regret in life was getting married to 

billionaire, Sunny Aku. Dabota and her estranged husband got 

married in 2014 and in 2017 the marriage which produced a daughter 

collapsed due to irreconcilable differences. 

The mother of one took to her Instagram page on Monday to bare 

her mind on past events in her life which included her crashed 

marriage. According to her, she detests the fact that she got married to 

the businessman who is way older than she is. Although she didn’t 

give reasons for her regret, she noted that keeping her pregnancy and 

birthing her child with Sunny is the only right thing she has done in 

the 25 years of her life. 

•Toke 

Makinwa 

•Annie 

Idibia 

•Davido 

Toke Makinwa’s 

unusual birthday 

wish to 

2face’s wife 

t was actress and 2face’s wife, Annie Idibia’s 

Ibirthday few days ago and family and friends took 

to different social media platforms to wish the mother 

of two well. However, Annie got a rather unusual and 

funny birthday wish from OAP, Toke 

Makinwa which has caused eyes to 

roll on social media. 

Toke who is popularly single 

wrote in her Instagram message 

to Annie that if she doesn’t find 

a husband in a year she will 

like to share the latter’s 

husband with her, singer, 2face. 

“Happy birthday most 

beautiful, such a stunner, my 

fellow comrade #Scorpiogang. 

It’s so beautiful to watch you 

blossom and become so much 

more my love, my senior wife 

#forreal as you know say I don 

give am one more year, if I no 

find husband , I’m coming to 

share yours after all God 

shared his only son with us all, 

don’t be stingy, share, love you 

Annie boo @annieidibia1 

#Chapter34,” she posted. 

P 

•Simi 

Simi sold 

out concert 

in London 

Sonorous songstress, 

Simi has joined 

artistes like Tiwa 

Savage, Davido 

and Wizkid to sell 

out concerts 

overseas. The 

X3M sweetheart 

sold out 800-seater 02 

Islington Academy in 

London on Sunday as 

she thrilled her UK fans 

to her hit songs. Simi Live 

in London concert which is 

the singer’s debut headline 

concert abroad saw exciting 

performances from Adekunle 

Gold, Falz, Mr Eazi as well as 

a surprise appearance by 

Wizkid. 

Davido’s expensive 

birthday wish 

op sensation, Davido is known to live an 

expensive life and it will be out of place to 

think that the ‘Assurance’ crooner won’t harbour 

wishes befitting his status. Counting down to his 

26 th birthday on the 21 th of November, the 

singer has revealed what he wants as birthday 

present from his family and friends. 

He posted a picture of a Patek Philipe watch 

which is said to cost over 30million naira on his 

Insta-story and urged his family and friends to 

put money together to purchase the multimillion 

naira watch for him. Considering the DMW 

henchman’s wealthy background it is safe to say 

his multimillion naira wish might just come true.


Juliet Ebirim 

08137897935 

juliet.ebirim@gmail.com 

Excitement, as Lagos 

Fringe Festival holds 

Between Dabota 

Lawson and her 

ex-husband 

Following her recent revelation 

about her former marriage to 

billionaire Sunny Aku, an 

anonymous source has made shocking 

disclosures about ex-beauty queen 

Dabota Lawson. 

“Dabota never loved Sunny Aku, she 

wanted the fame, money and the 

attendant attention that follow such 

marriage. She used the man and when 

she was satisfied, she walked out on 

him,” a source revealed. 

Recall that the talk-of-the-town 

wedding between Dabota and Prince 

Sunny Aku who was thirty-five years 

older than her, held in Lagos at the 

Oriental hotel in 2014 with a few 

dignitaries including the then governor 

of Anambra State, Mr Peter Obi, present. 

The wedding held after seven months 

after they met. A year and a half later, 

rumour mills went agog that the former 

beauty queen has dumped her marriage. 

She denied this and posted a video of 

herself and her husband. But the 

marriage later crumbled. 

The Rivers State born beauty on 

Monday, posted on Instagram that she 

regretted marrying the chairman/CEO, 

Novena Majesty Furniture Industries 

Limited, Prince Sunny Aku. The single 

mother confessed that the marriage was 

a mistake. 

“...I mostly regret ever getting married 

in 2014 ( please keep all that lessons and 

whatever you think I got from it talk ) I 

hate the fact that I did !PERIOD! The 

only thing I did right that keeps me 

going was making the decisions to go 

through with my pregnancy and have my 

child. My daughter is the only thing I’ve 

done right in the world over 25 years of 

my life. That’s how I feel.” she said. 

LuxuryByFeyi, a highend 

couture fashion 

brand based in London, 

England presented their 

Spring/Summer 2019 

collection titled the “Black 

Swan” meaning something 

rare, during the recent 

concluded London Fashion 

Week held recently at the 

Aston Martin London 

showroom in Mayfair. A 

universal collection 

consisting of black colour 

•Dabota 

Lawson and 

Ex-husband 

Meet Mr. . Nigeria Int’l 

Global - Adeayo Olubukola 

Popoola 

The Mr and Miss Nigeria International 

pageant has come and gone, but the 

impact if left behind will never be 

forgotten, especially with the victory of 

Adeayo Olubukola Popoola as the winner 

of the Mr Nigeria International Global. 

Adeayo Olubukola Popoola who hails 

from Abeokuta North Local Government 

Area Of Ogun state, has created a life 

time record as the first male from Ogun 

state to have attained this height. With 

this feat, he will be representing Nigeria 

globally and will also become the face 

of many brands both locally and 

internationally. 

Mr. and Miss Nigeria International is 

Africa’s biggest mixed pageant which has 

produced a world class queen; Ms. 

International World Classic 2017 in 

Florida USA and top five winners in the 

same pageant in 2018. Recently, the 

pageant director and CEO Ambassador. 

Brendan Nsikak was appointed the first 

black to be groomer and choreographer 

for the world pageant; Ms.International 

World. 

dresses. LuxuryByFeyi’s 

presentation closed the show 

with an Afro-beat sound track 

finale, chromatic luminance 

and branded light projection. 

Speaking with People n 

Places, Feyisola Adeyemi, the 

CEO /Creative Director said 

“As a surrealist fashion 

designer, the idea behind the 

collection was to capture the 

natural beauty of animals and 

translate it into an elegant 

and surreal artistic feminine 

Pomp, glamour at GTB 

Fashion Weekend 

It was another exciting weekend 

of fashion and fun as 

celebrities, fashion enthusiasts 

and style influencers stormed the 

GTB Fashion Weekend which 

held on the 10th and 11th of 

November at the GTCentre, 

Victoria Island, Lagos. 

The two-day fashion event saw 

designers from LaQuan Smith, 

Lanre Da Silva, Ji Won Choi, 

Taibo Bacar, IDMA-NOF, Gert 

Johan Coetzee showcase their 

new collection and had in 

attendance, Burak Cakmak, the 

dean of fashion at a school of 

Feyisola Adeyemi’s ‘Black Swan’ 

silhouette. The gowns express a 

universal themes that resonate 

with many ethnic groups and I 

was proud to present it in 

London during the London 

Fashion Week. LuxuryByFeyi is 

not just a fashion brand, but a 

voice to the younger female 

generation, particularly from 

the African decent (not to limit 

themselves) that black female 

designers can also be heard 

globally in the luxury fashion 

industry.” 

The film, music and theatre world have come together 

for Africa’s largest performance festival – Lagos 

Fringe Festival 2018. The 3-day event commenced 

yesterday 16th November and will end on Sunday, 18th 

o9f November 2018. 

The organizers of the festival led by Kenneth Uphopho 

unveiled a line-up of several captivating and fascinating 

plays expected to showcase. Showcasing at the various 

strands of venues of the festival including 

Terrakulture, Main Lagos Fringe Stage, 

Kongi’s Harvest Gallery, Freedom Park, 

British Council, The Ramp, British Council, 

Main stage & Amphitheatre, these plays 

will serve to entertain attendees and give 

them memorable theatre experiences. 

Speaking about the event, Festival 

Producer, Brenda Uphopho said “The 

Lagos Fringe will be showcasing the 

best and brightest of talents 

Lagos has to offer, a weeklong 

adventure of everything 

art and culture. We also 

made sure that we added a 

lot of exciting activities for 

kids so the whole family 

can partake of the 

festivities.” 

Lagos Fringe was 

inspired by the desire to 

provide a platform for 

network, showcase, 

empowerment and 

engagement for arts 

makers, to develop the 

connection to audiences 

and international guests/ 

promoters. 

•Mr. Nigeria 

design in New York. The 

event featured fashion and 

entrepreneurial 

masterclasses facilitated by 

internationally renowned 

fashion experts such as Jay 

Manuel, Gucci’s Dapper Dan 

and shoe designer Nicholas 

Kirkwood. 

Now in its third year, the 

GTB Fashion Weekend has 

become the premier event 

which places African fashion 

on the global stage and helps 

small businesses in the local fashion 

industry thrive. With an 

overall vision of 

‘Promoting Enterprise’, 

the weekend provided 

more than 130 small 

businesses with free stalls 

to showcase and sell the 

finest ensemble of 

apparels and fashion 

accessories. The pop-up 

stands gave budding 

indigenous designers a 

chance to display their 

works and interact with 

some of Africa’s most 

passionate fashionistas.


ROTIMI AGBANA 

07054964685 

Email: rotimiagbana@gmail.com 

UNPAID RENT SCANDAL: 

CDQ finally speaks 

on eviction rumour 

When a leaked video of Nigerian rapper, CDQ, 

moving out of his Lekki apartment surfaced 

online, news went viral that he had been 

evicted from the luxury apartment over unpaid rent, but 

the ‘Indomie’ hit maker has finally come out to clear the 

air on the scandal. 

In a chat, CDQ who is fully geared up to release his 

sophomore album, ‘Ibile Mugabe’, featuring Davido, 

Wizkid, Kizz Daniel, Tiwa Savage, Mr. Eazi, others, told 

Showtime that the news was false because people 

peddling the rumour didn’t get their facts right. 

“People peddling the rumour did not get their facts right. 

As a matter of fact, the video that went viral, saying I was 

evicted from my Lekki apartment is a video of a new place I 

was setting up. There is nothing like I moved out or I was 

evicted from my Lekki apartment. You know how Nigeria is, 

we all want 24-hours power supply and everything because 

where I was staying before, as I was recording my album the 

producer was complaining that the light wasn’t regular and 

my generator wasn’t powering some of the equipment in the 

studio. So, I thought that I needed a place that has constant 

power supply and every other equipment I need”, he said. 

Speaking further, he explained why he titled the 

forthcoming album after Zimbabwe’s former president, 

Robert Mugabe. 

“Ibile means roots, and as we all know that anything that 

has to do with Robert Mugabe is stubbornness. So, it’s just 

about a boy that comes from the root, it has to do with an 

indigenous thing, a stubborn mind to be successful.” 

Burna Boy off the 

hook on Mr. 2Kay 

robbery attack? 

The dust may have 

settled over the 

violent robbery on 

singer, Mr 2Kay allegedly 

masterminded by afro-fusion 

singer, Burna Boy last year 

after the intervention of the 

Lagos State Police 

Command. 

However, a close friend of 

Burna Boy who spoke to 

Showtime on the condition 

of anonymity affirmed 

Burna Boy’s innocence in 

the matter. 

“There is no case in this 

matter because Burna Boy 

wasn’t even responsible for 

the robbery attack on Mr. 

2Kay. He is totally innocent 

of the whole allegation 

leveled against him and that 

is why immediately he 

returned from abroad in 

•Emex 

December 2017 he 

proceeded to 

honour the 

pending police •Burna Boy 

invitation. Since 

then, have you 

heard anything 

about the matter 

again? This is 

because he was 

discovered to 

be innocent in the matter and that is why the 

case just died a natural death”, the friend said. 

When Showtime further inquired to know 

why Burna Boy was even a suspect at all, the friend suggested 

that fanatic fans of Burna Boy may have masterminded the 

attack. 

“You know when a group of people who are a big fan of 

yours just take it upon themselves to fight for you without 

your knowledge there is nothing you can do about it. Now, 

don’t get me wrong, I didn’t say Burna Boy was aware of the 

attack or is a member of any secret cult but that was what 

happened, so he is totally innocent,” he added. 

Budding singer, Emmanuel 

Thompson, better known as 

Emex EOT, has admitted that 

the music-making craft is highly 

competitive in Nigeria. 

After successfully 

conquering the Indian music 

scene, Emex, who relocated 

to Nigeria two years ago to 

further promote his music 

•CDQ 

How entertainers 

can restore good 

governance 

— Sexy Steel 

Popular Nigerian singer, actor, model 

and fashion designer, Abuede Chile 

Abbey, a.k.a Sexy Steel strongly believes 

that if entertainers can support one another, 

good governance will be restored in Nigeria. 

“Nigerian entertainers have a large role 

to play in Nigerian politics. As artistes, our 

fan base is very strong, if we support one 

another, trust me, we’re going to take over”, 

he told Showtime. 

Speaking further, the ‘Sisi’ crooner was 

full of praises for 2Baba who has 

continuously advocated better governance 

through his music. 

“To be honest with you, 2Baba’s continuous 

advocacy for better governance is a beautiful 

initiative because it is high time we stopped 

waiting for our leaders to do things for us; 

we can actually start individually for others 

to follow. Especially, we celebrities, with our 

fan base, we have a lot of people that we’re 

mentoring. We’re role models to so many 

people. So, if we start the advocacy, it’s not 

a bad idea. It’s just like what Davido did 

Nigerian music industry too competitive- Emex 

career, said there was nothing he 

could do better than music. 

“Music is everything I have 

and the only thing I believe in. I 

can never give up music for 

anything.” 

The singer, however, stressed 

that it was not easy to penetrate 

the Nigerian music scene, 

adding that the country was full 

•Terry G 

recently; trust me, he singlehandedly 

shook the whole of Osun 

State. That’s the power of one 

person and I think we should do 

more of that”, he said. 

He added that though he 

dislikes politics because it is a 

dirty game, he is ready to pull his 

full weight behind any credible 

entertainer who indicates interest 

in vying for a political position. 

“Personally I don’t like politics; 

because I believe it is a dirty 

game and I’ve tried as much as 

possible to be a very straight 

forward person, that’s the reason 

I haven’t been talking about 

politics. For now, I’m not even 

thinking of going into politics. But 

if there is any other person that I 

know that wants to go into it, I 

could support but personally it’s 

a no for me for now.” 

If youths empower 

themselves, they don’t 

need government 

jobs- Terry G 

Popular singer, Terry G, has advised Nigerian youths 

who depend on the government for jobs to 

empower themselves. 

In a chat with Showtime, he advised that come 

2019, Nigerian youths should no longer wait for 

the government to provide jobs for them but 

empower themselves by learning a trade or 

acquiring a vocational skill. 

“My advice to the youth is that it’s all in their 

hands, if they have handwork it’s better for 

them. If they don’t, they should look for 

one to learn; they can’t keep relying on 

the government because the government 

also needs the support of the youths. If 

they are diligent at whatever they do, they will reap the benefits, 

instead of waiting on the government”, he said. 

Speaking further, he stressed the importance for everyone to get 

their permanent voters card to enable them vote in credible 

candidates during the 2019 general elections. 

“Getting your PVC has to do with our future. Trust me, apart 

from we creating awareness about everybody getting their PVCs, it 

is in our hands, so, you won’t have anything to say if you don’t 

have your PVC. Even I talking to you I’ve not gotten my PVC, so 

I’m one of the guilty ones who haven’t gotten their PVC. I wish us 

the best”, he concluded. 

of musical talents. But, according 

to him, his infusion of Indian 

sound would make him a soughtafter 

musician. 

The 25-year-old University of 

Lagos graduate explained, “I 

have lived in India for years; so, 

I am influenced by Indian 

fashion, culture and lifestyle. My 

debut single, ‘Priyanka,’ is a 

•Sexy Steel 

name of one of their biggest 

actresses. Though there are 

many Nigerian artistes in 

India, the Indians have their 

own way of listening to music 

and they are not familiar with 

Nigerian sound.” 

While he has released two 

singles – ‘Priyanka’ and 

‘Kontrol’ recently, Emex said 

there are plans to release more 

songs next year.


By AYO ONIKOYI 08052201215 

onikoyi68@gmail.com 

•I Go Dye 

Leading video entertainment 

company, MultiChoice 

Nigeria on Wednesday, 14th 

November unveiled a special 

campaign offer to treat customers 

on its DStv and GOtv platforms to a 

memorable festive season. 

The campaign tagged 

#FestiveTogether will see family 

and friends get together to 

celebrate the upcoming festive 

season with specially curated 

content on DStv and GOtv while 

also enjoying discounts on the 

Explora and HD decoders. 

All new and existing customers 

can now purchase the Explora, dish 

kit with one-month Compact 

subscription for only N29,900, 

which was previously N52,100 

while the HD decoder, dish kit with 

one-month Compact subscription 

will go for only N9,900 from a 

previous price of N11,900. On GOtv, 

customers can get GOtv Max 

package for only N3,200 and enjoy 

quality TV programming. 

According to Chief Customer 

Officer, MultiChoice Nigeria, 

Martin Mabutho, ‘’ The festive 

season is a great time for family and 

friends to come together, and we 

are making those moments extra 

special with world class content on 

Corruption fight: 

10,000 fans join 

I Go Dye tour 

Multichoice unveils 

special packa 

kages for 

the festi 

estive e season 

On Sunday, November 4, 2018 all roads 

led to Discovery Park, Uyo, Akwa Ibom 

State, venue of the first of his kind 

event as a mammoth crowd came out to 

support I Go Dye in the fight against 

corruption. The event tagged ‘Make A 

Difference Against Corruption Today 

(MADACT) was organized by Youth 

Alive Foundation in 

conjunction with 

UKAID. The event 

which was put together 

to sensitize youths 

against bribery and 

our platforms”. He said the 

upcoming festive season will be 

marked by exciting TV contents that 

the whole family can enjoy. 

“Our customers will enjoy their 

yearly festive traditions even more as 

they create new memories with a 

line-up of amazing content such as 

our special Nigerian Festivals popup 

channel which features some of 

the biggest music concerts and 

shows on the continent including 

The Experience, Calabar Carnival, 

Akwa Ibom Christmas Concert and 

One Lagos Fiesta. We also have the 

much-loved special kiddies’ 

channel, Animania which will be a 

perfect companion for DStv kids this 

season. Football lovers will still enjoy 

the matches of the best football 

leagues in the world; Premier 

League, UEFA Champions League, 

La Liga and Serie A LIVE and in 

glorious HD on SuperSport 

channels”, he said. 

Other exciting content for 

customers to look forward to this 

festive season include: popular local 

content shows on Africa Magic such 

as Ajoche, Forbidden and My 

Siblings & I; international 

telenovelas on Telemundo and Star 

Life as well as other general 

entertainment programming. 

•L-R: Chidozie Bede-Nwokoye, Senior Marketing Manager, GOtv; Akinola Salu, 

Executive Head, Sales; Busola Tejumola, Executive Head, Content; Chief Customer 

Officer, Martin Mabutho; Jennifer Ukoh, Public Relations Manager; and Tope 

Oshunkeye, Senior Marketing Manager, DStv all of MULTICHOICE NIGERIA 

corruption was a huge 

success as over 10,000 

youths came to support 

the fight against 

corruption and bribery in 

Nigeria. 

I Go Dye, who has 

always used his platform 

to advocate for youthful 

leadership and good 

governance, used the 

opportunity to implore 

youths to participate in 

the forthcoming election 

and urged them to use 

their PVCs, vote for 

betterment of Nigeria. 

He said they should not 

allow themselves to be 

used for political 

thuggery, ballot 

snatching, vote buying, 

and above all, to vote for 

a candidate that will 

improve the living 

standard of Nigerians. 

The visionary 

comedian, who is also 

United Nations Global Goals 

Ambassador told the crowd 

that the youths have the 

greater responsibility to save 

the nation, to make it better 

for the next generation. 

In his words: “Our greatgrandparents 

sacrificed for 

independence while our 

fathers sacrificed for 

democracy that ended 

military rule, it is now our 

turn to make our votes count. 

Stop political recycling, stop 

those who looted the 

treasury of this country for 

their personal use, we must 

speak against corruption and 

bribery, it is the only way we 

can save this nation. 

The MADACT tour with I 

Go Dye held again in Lagos 

on November 10, and will 

make a stop in Portharcourt 

on November 17 before 

getting to other parts of 

Nigeria. 

Asa, Cobhams Asuquo 

rekindle old flame of love 

When Nigerian super star singer, Asa 

and music producer, Cobhams 

Asuquo,were spotted at the Landmark Event 

Centre on Thursday, November 8, 2018, the rumour 

mill was set rolling that the old flame may set to 

burn again. 

The Fire on the mountain singer, and the multi 

•Asa & 

Cobhams 

Revolution Plus Nigeria Limited, a real estate 

company based in Lagos, with offices in Abuja 

and Port Harcourt, at the just concluded 2018 Lagos 

International Trade Fair, unveiled popular Yoruba 

actor and film producer, Odunlade Adekola, aka 

“da iboro ru” as its new brand ambassador. 

The event attracted mammoth crowd of fans 

surging to catch a glimpse of the thespian at the 

real estate company stand. Odunlade himself lived 

up to expectations as he thrilled everyone to his 

theatrical skills and funny jokes. 

On why he accepted the offer, Odunlade who 

spoke glowingly of the real estate firm said the 

company is genuine and that he has been tracking 

their activities before now. 

“Everything you need to know about housing, 

Revolution Plus is there for you. Revolution Plus 

is not like other estate companies around,” he said. 

Advising his fans and Nigerians, he said: ‘’Cut 

your clothe according to your clothe. Revolution 

Plus payment plans are very flexible and pocket 

friendly. Shunned mundane things and lifestyle, 

invest in properties.” 

Speaking earlier, the Managing Director of 

Revolution Plus, Bamidele Onalaja said: “Our 

brand ambassador is going to give away massive 

gifts this year to our customers. Even after the Trade 

talented producer had been an 

item before their romance hit the 

rocks a few years ago. There 

were never any confirmed 

reasons for the split and eager 

fans were disappointed when 

the couple called it quits. 

However, spotting them 

together again brought 

back old memories and 

questions on whether 

they are singing a new 

song or the same old 

song. 

As it turned out, it 

happened they got stuck 

together for a totally 

different reason than 

imagined. It was not love 

but pure business. They 

were at the Victoria 

Island event centre to 

perform at the MTN ‘s 

Partners Summit. 

However, watching 

them perform wiped away 

any questions that we 

had.Together, they created 

magic and MTN’s fusion 

of both music maestros 

ensured that current and 

prospective partners were 

treated to a world of good 

music, good food and 

great company. 

Revolution Plus unveils Odunlade 

Adekola as brand ambassador 

•Odunlade 

Adekola 

Fair the discount is on. Just come to our 

offices in Lekki, Ikeja, Abuja and Port 

Harcourt and take advantage of our 

products immediately.”


Edited By AYO ONIKOYI 08052201215 

onikoyi68@gmail.com 

Even most powerful 

men are victims in 

marriage 

— Adebayo Salami 

*Says his new series ‘Alagbara’ 

exposes power tussle in marriage 

Adebayo Salami popularly known as Oga Bello is currently in 

the news for his recent production, Alagbara. The 26-episode 

series which he did exclusively for StarTimes Nigeria is 

scheduled to start airing on Sunday, November 18. The Yoruba 

production features top Yoruba acts including Oga Bello, Femi 

Adebayo, Dayo Amusa, Tayo Sobola, Toyin Alausa, Funsho Adeolu, 

Ronke Oshodi Oke, Bukky Arugba among others. In this interview, the 

veteran actor and producer sheds more light on the series and other 

issues. Excerpts... 

By JULIET EBIRIM and 

EKAETTE BASSEY 

Tell us about your recent 

production - Alagbara? 

Alagbara in Yoruba means 

a powerful person. It can 

also be interpreted to be 

those in power. But it is 

used in a different context 

here, as question – Who is 

more powerful: Man or 

woman? It is a reality and a 

reflection of what we see 

around us on a daily basis. 

The story is about the 

display of power in 

marriages, in relationships 

and how people, especially 

men, are controlled despite 

their strong personalities. 

Alagbara is a powerful 

message for everyone to 

enable us handle some 

marital issues and personal 

challenges in our 

relationships. 

What actually inspired 

the story line on marriage? 

Naturally, I always base 

my stories on social satire – 

happenings in the society, 

marital and family issues... 

It was my desire to promote 

the Nigerian culture that 

inspired me to write the 

storyline. A lot has been 

happening and our culture 

has lost its place, so I just 

had to come up with this 

educating series that cuts 

across everyone in this 

society. Marital issues and 

family affairs are common in 

the society. There are series 

of issues regarding marital 

life, that if I decide to do a 

story on around them, I will 

get one thousand episodes. 

What makes this 

particular series unique? 

The series is one of a kind, 

it is a clear picture of what 

is prevalent in our world 

today. A lot of marriages are 

undergoing problems even 

the strong men are falling 

victims. This series 

Alagbara is a beautifully, 

crafted indigenous series 

which sheds light into the 

lives of different men from 

all walks of life and how 

they are controlled, 

manipulated and influenced 

by the women in their lives. 

It also gives ideas on how to 

handle these issues when 

they occur. 

Your son Femi Adebayo 

also featured in this series. 

Why do you cast him in 

If we go by the 

ways our 

forefathers treated 

their wives and 

how there was coopearation 

in the 

homein those 

days, all these 

won’t be 

happening. Don’t 

emulate the 

western world 

most of your 

movies? 

If I have 

someone in my 

house that can 

interpret the role 

I want, I would 

rather pick him 

or her first. 

Have you ever 

experienced 

any awkward 

moment 

while 

working 

with your 

son? 

Oh yes, if he 

doesn’t meet up 

with the role 

interpretation, we 

fight. If he doesn’t 

maintain a high level of 

discipline in the 

production, we fight. 

Prior to this 

production, we don’t get to 

see you feature in TV 

series? 

Well, I guess it’s due to 

my busy schedule and time 

factor. But in all honesty, if I 

get a good script I will go 

for it. 

As an African man, 

what’s your opinion on 

feminism in marriage? 

I must confess to you that 

we have lost our culture. We 

are emulating the western 

world too much and that is 

the root cause of marital 

issues. If we go by the ways 

our forefathers treated their 

wives and how there was 

co-opearation in the homein 

•Adebayo Salami 

those days, all these won’t 

be happening. Don’t 

emulate the western world. 

What’s that one thing 

you’re unhappy with in the 

entertainment industry? 

A lot of things... but the 

common issue we all 

grapple with is piracy. 

Despite your busy 

schedule, how have you 

been able to maintain a 

healthy and youthful look? 

It is peace of mind. Give 

yourself peace of mind and 

you will see the magic. I 

give all the glory to God. 

What should we be 

expecting from you after 

this movie? 

I am working on a series 

titled “ Khaki Boys”. It will 

hopefully be in collaboration 

with StarTimes. For now, 

that is the project I will pick 

up after the production of 

Alagbara. 

In most professions, 

people retire, are we 

looking forward to seeing 

you retiring someday? 

Can you show me one 

actor or actress that has 

retired? Just mention one... 

You just have to move with 

the tide. 

C 

M 

Y


OSHI 

sings 20 

•Amosun will work with me to e 

•Recalls day Anenih made him s 

By Simon Ebegbulem, Abuja 

National Chairman of the All Progressiv 

states why he feels President Muham 

He comments on the recent party pr 

Governors Ibikunle Amosun and Ro 

the conduct of the party primaries. I 

heard from the APC lords. Oshiomhole gets emot 

battled politically, recalling what Anenih told him w 

told President Buhari about it. He was guest of Aris 

•ADAMS 

OSHIOMHOLE 

Some foreign commentators are predicting doom for your 

party and President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019, how 

optimistic are you of victory? 

In all honesty, it is strange that it is foreigners who are crying 

more than the bereaved. I also heard Nigerians saying pension 

benefits that have not been paid for twenty years under the PDP, 

they are being paid now by this government. I have heard the 

Head of Service say for the 16 years of PDP, they were promotions 

that were delayed but that through the intervention of this 

government we began to settle these huge arrears and promotions. 

People talk about the huge amount of money PDP spent on power. 

The more they spent, the more darkness Nigeria found itself in. 

For me there are people who find joy in quoting foreign sources. 

I like to talk about Nigerian people and they are our primary 

constituency. They are the ones that hired Mr President. I am not 

accountable to Financial Times and everybody is aware that 

some of these papers don’t have the reputation they claim to 

have, after all these are the same institutions that wrote lavishly 

about Nigeria banking system but few weeks later some of these 

banks were empty. 

I think we have done couple of things that will form the basis of 

our campaign. This is the only government that gives bail out 

money to state governments to enable them meet their most 

basic responsibility without bothering whether they are APC, 

PDP or APGA. I don’t know any government before now that was 

just fair and just regardless of political party affiliation. These 

are things we should be talking about. We had governments that 

spent billions doing ground breaking ceremony for the second 

River Niger bridge, but this government as we speak is not doing 

ground breaking, it is actually constructing the second Niger 

bridge. These are things we want to talk about. Secondly, there 

are couple of things the Federal government is doing in Lagos, 

Ibadan and other parts of the country. It is not the views of foreign 

commentators. These people are not superior to the Nigerian 

journalist. These are things we must discuss, if the opposition 

does not want to do that we will do that. In any case we have 

moved the government from that one that service the elites to 

one that looks at the forgotten majority of Nigerians, the voiceless. 

I think very soon we will begin to talk what this government has 

done and who has benefited and how the previous government 

converted private debts to public liabilities and privatized public 

funds to private pockets. We must consciously begin to discuss 

issues, policy issues, security issues and all of that. 

The Apapa gridlock has persisted, it seems the APC is yet to 

find solution to it three years after? 

I think you should just play back your own stories about the 

Apapa crisis, the whole issues around the ports, you will find that 

for sixteen years of PDP they grappled with that problem, and 

what they could not fix it in sixteen years. They are not going to 

disappear overnight. But the good thing is that right now there 

are conversations and beyond conversations there are policy 

issues with regard to what the private sector do. I am aware there 

are agreements that have been signed to encourage the private 

sector come into the matter. I think that right now something is 

being done. 

What will APC do differently after 2019 

We are already doing a lot of things differently. For the first 

time, a government is focusing on the poorest of the poor. The 

government is putting in place social policies that seem to locate 

the poorest of the poor. And these things are happening across 

the country. How much did the PDP government spend on power?

MHOLE 

19 new songs 

sure APC wins •We’ll make peace with Okorocha 

hed tears •What Buhari will do differently 

es Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, in this interview 

madu Buhari will be re-elected in 2019 presidential election. 

imaries in Ogun and Imo states, expressing optimism that both 

chas Okorocha will work for the party despite their grievances over 

t’s a new song, a sharp contrast to the altercations Nigerians have 

ional about the passing of Chief Tony Anenih, the PDP leader he 

hen he became APC national chairman. He was so touched that he 

e Television. Excerpts: 

We have not spent a fraction of that and the 

challenge we are dealing with today is to 

revisit the crass abuse of the privatization 

process, the DISCOS that were handed over 

to incompetent hands based on patronage. 

And because of the long term agreement that 

government entered into with these operators 

we have had to face the huge challenges 

whereby even where you are able to generate 

more power, the DISCOS seem not to have 

the capacity to carry out distribution so that 

Nigerians can feel the impact of any 

improvement recorded. And I will expect that 

going forward we have to revisit some of the 

things done and manage them. A lot is being 

done with regards to the Railway system. You 

will remember that before now the Kaduna- 

Abuja rail way was in the drawing board but 

today it is a reality. In different parts of the 

country huge progress is being made in the 

area of infrastructure. What you can really 

accuse the government on is that we don’t seem 

to be communicating effectively all of the 

things that are going on around the country. 

And there are quite a bit that are going on. But 

the people that live in those areas know what 

is happening in their respective areas. 

And to answer your question, I believe that 

President Buhari will certainly be re-elected 

on the basis of his personal integrity and the 

fact that those who are contesting against him, 

there are couple of things they can’t say about 

themselves that this President will not only 

say but other people will say for him. 

Nigerians are wiser now, it is cheap for people 

to make promises but again it is also easy for 

people who have been in power before to 

pretend that they don’t know what is going on. 

Buhari is number one and I believe he will 

win because Nigerians know the difference, 

they know what brought us to where we are, 

they know what explains the paradox between 

a rich nation whose people are getting poorer 

and poorer. And they know that one disease 

that explains it is the character of those who 

have been in government. 

Your party is yet to fix the problem in the 

power sector, what do you think is the 

problem? 

The truth of the matter is that I was in 

government when the DISCOS were being 

privatized and I remember my colleague and 

brother, Dr Uduaghan of Delta state, we 

addressed a press conference and we accused 

the then Federal Government of unfairness in 

handing over the Edo,Delta, Ondo Disco to a 

company that had no knowledge whatsoever 

in electricity business, it was to a banker and a 

Pharmacist, it is a family business. They have 

neither the competence nor the financial 

wherewithal in terms of resources. And it is 

scandalous that they have had to take money 

from public treasury from the CBN through 

what they call special window to form what 

obviously ought to be a private enterprise. I 

used to be a member of the National Council 

on Privatization when I was President of the 

NLC, and I know what the conditions are, what 

the law provides for - that you must show 

evidence that you have the technical knowhow, 

you must also show evidence that you 

have the financial wherewithal. The whole idea 

was to inject fresh capital into the sector. What 

the previous PDP government did was to hand 

over these Discos to people who did not have 

the resources, they went into their banks, did 

insider trading, took depositors funds when 

they did not have fresh capital to inject. Rather 

than attract foreign direct investment into our 

electricity sector to complement the limited 

resources we have, we found the system 

seeking to take depositors funds to buy the 

Discos and then falling back on CBN to create 

special window. And if you look at the amount 

of money they have collected, tax payers 

money, given to them at concessionary rate, 

even with all those additional support that 

they have forgotten which for me is wrong 

because we cannot run private investment with 

public funds. That was not privatization but 

that was what the government did. I am going 

to probably see the Minister. When a fabric is 

too weak, there is no amount of patching that 

will save it. I think we have to go back to the 

basics. These Discos don’t have the know-how, 

they don’t have the wherewithal to do what 

Nigerians need to be bailed out of darkness 

and it is a major question that we have to 

address. 

Insecurity 

The truth is that new forms of insecurity are 

manifesting around the world, that will be a 

more holistic appraisal of the security situation 

around the world. But I need to remind you 

that I was a member of the National Council 

of state as governor of Edo state and the then 

President called us for a meeting and paraded 

the service chiefs who admitted that 28 or 

more Local Government Areas were being 

controlled by Boko Haram. And on account 

of the level of insecurity the military chiefs 

submitted that they were not in a position to 

guarantee the conduct of a general election. 

And based on that elections were postponed. 

But today Boko Haram have been severely 

weakened, the much talked about mystery at 

the Sambisa Forest has been demystified and 

the Nigeria Armed Forces have made a bold 

statement. And you will recall that under the 

previous government, a lot of our young men 

were sentenced to death for running away from 

battle and of course the money voted for them 

was stolen by the Generals that were supposed 

to provide leadership. But today, those stories 

are history. As we speak there is no Local 

Government in Nigeria that is under the 

control of militants as it was before. Of course, 

you still have pockets of strikes here and there 

but for all of us who are familiar with 

insurgency you know that it is not something 

you wipe out overnight. Even in Europe, 

America with all its powers, couple of times 

they suffer some embarrassment when 

terrorists attack. So there can be no question 

that under President Buhari’s leadership 

commendable progress has been made. 

Now the forms of crime that you are talking 

about, unfortunately you did not list them, but 

I gaze you are talking about the level of 

kidnapping. Now kidnapping resurfaced 

under the PDP, and I was governor of Edo state. 

I found myself helpless at a point, some 

Generals were kidnapped in Edo state and 

the kidnappers were even threatening that they 

might kidnap me if I made noise. Yes, we still 

have a share of kidnapping but nothing of the 

scale that we witnessed under the previous 

government. 

Herdsmen 

crisis 

If you play back again, when governor 

Suswan was governor of Benue state, there 

were several incidents of herdsmen attack, it 

should not be portrayed as if it is a new trend, 

it has been there. But that is not to suggest that 

we should live with it. I believe that there are 

initiatives being put in place, I believe there 

are renewed engagements to convince 

We have not spent 

a fraction of that 

and the challenge 

we are dealing with 

today is to revisit 

the crass abuse of 

the privatization 

process, the 

DISCOS that were 

handed over to 

incompetent hands 

based on patronage 


Nigerians that the choice we had is not how to 

restrain Nigerians from free movement, the 

choice we had is to convince every Nigerian 

that this is our country, we are not going to 

issue Resident Permit for people to choose 

where to live. But it is possible to convince 

everyone and put in place a government at all 

levels to play their part and sensitize Nigerians 

on the need to live together. 

New Minimum 

wage 

My views are clear that payment of wages is 

not an act of kindness for an employer to pay 

the employees’ wages at the end of the month. 

There are provisions in our labour act that 

say that you cannot delay the payment of 

salaries in excess of 30 days interval, which 

means salaries ought not to accumulate 

beyond 30 days. And Government decides the 

size of its employment. When it makes the 

decision to employ it has the obligation to 

pay. Even the Holy Bible says that the laborer 

is entitled to his wages. I think again, this is 

where President Buhari stands out clearly. He 

has publicly asked public sector employers; 

how do you sleep when you have not paid 

your employers for one year. But he did not 

stop at lamenting it, he went on to provide the 

much talked about bailout fund and said please 

use this money to pay your workers and pay 

pension arrears. And even the deductions from 

states that were done under the PDP. In the 

name of settling our foreign debts, they went 

into state treasury and they over deducted. 

That was done under the PDP. But under 

President Muhammadu Buhari’s 

government, even in spite of the huge financial 

challenges that he faces, decided that in order 

to assist the states to meet up with their social 

obligations, to begin to pay what is now 

referred as Paris Club refund. 

As for my views on the minimum wage, I 

tried to deal with it as a governor. I told my 

colleagues then that wage is not a burden in 

the society. In economics, when people work 

and get paid, purchasing powers is enhanced 

and because purchasing power is enhanced 

producers will respond to that by seeking to 

produce more goods and services. And in the 

process they will recruit more hands. But when 

you don’t pay wages you create a vicious cycle, 

no payment of wages leading to low 

purchasing power. None payment of rents, 

compounding the problem of those who have 

invested in real estate. Depressing the 

commercial life of the state and of the country. 

And I tried to settle this question by increasing 

minimum wage in Edo state to N25,000 from 

N18,000. I remember some people calling to 

ask how I would pay. I am on record of having 

paid it and as we speak my successor in office 

is paying it. I do not agree with those who say 

Nigeria cannot afford a more realistic 

minimum wage. My being in government or 

now chairman of a party cannot change what 

I believe in. 

Amosun, Okorocha 

crisis 

The truth is that in Ogun state, we will win. 

The PDP also has its share of crisis in Ogun 

state. As we speak we don’t know who is the 

actual governorship candidate in Ogun state 

because the National Secretariat parades 

another candidate while the other group 

parades a candidate and running candidate. 

So while they are sorting out those issues, we 

will be sorting out our own issues. Governor 

Amosun is my friend, people as human beings 

are entitled to feel disappointed if things don’t 

work out the way they want. Like any leader, 

after sometime he will recognize the greater 

interest of the party, I know he is a loyal party 

man. I cannot see him voting with his feet. I 

think he recognizes that as a statesman who 

has contributed to the growth and 

development of Ogun state he will want to 

ensure that his party continues to govern the 

state and play the role of a statesman. I have 

no fear at all. I believe we will be comparing 

APC strength, relating it to PDP strength. We 

are going to take into account the serious 

internal divisions in PDP also in Ogun state. 

All of those will play out and APC will remain 

the stronger party. And given governor 

Amosun’s contribution in terms of governance, 

those will be compared with the PDP 

administration when they were in power for 

the first sixteen years. Nigerians will ask what 

they are going to bring on board after sixteen 

years without any meaningful development. 

Whatever we have as internal issues in APC 

they do not in any way undermine the facts 

that Amosun has something to show for his 

governorship of that state which I am so proud 

as chairman of the party and I am sure that he 

will overcome his anger and I will work with 

him to see how we can reconcile all our various 

interests in Ogun. 

As for my dear friend Governor Rochas, he 

talked about nepotism, you know, as the head 

of the family I will not want to behave like 

some people who will want to bring a family 

matter to the market. As the elder I will keep 

the family matter within the family house. That 

is what my level of responsibility imposes on 

me. I will not join issues with him. But the 

truth is while I was in government there was 

no other Oshiomhole in government. As a 

journalist you can go and find out how many 

Oshiomholes were in government when I was 

governor. Governor Okorocha is a great guy, 

he is one of those who left APGA to join APC 



ADAMS OSHIOMHOLE’S 

2019 NEW SONG 


I am sure Governor Okorocha, when he over 

comes his disappointment with regards to who 

and he contributed his quota to the formation he would have preferred on a good day to 

of APC. But we also have to agree that a tree succeed him and he recognizes as a democrat 

cannot make a forest and we have to that sometimes it can produce shocking 

encourage those who think otherwise that this outcome, he will come to terms. And I think it 

is a fact. What we are doing in Imo is to try to shows that our democracy is evolving because 

reconcile individuals with the great people of 

we are not running traditional 

Imo state. You know 

rulership where we know that 

sometimes some analysts who 

the first born will be the next 

are not in the real business of 

king and everything should 

politics limit our 

be done to make sure he does 

conversations to the big 

not die before his father. But 

names. But you know the 

in a democracy, we can plan 

beauty of democracy is that it 

who succeeds us, we can 

is not about big names, it is 

project but if the people think 

about big numbers. Now the 

otherwise the outcome might 

big numbers in Imo are with 

just turn out to be a bit 

us. And I think Governor 

Rochas appreciates that fact. 

As for whether people will 

decamp or not I am not so sure, 

but again even if they do they 

will make no history. After all 

in the recent past, we have seen 

sitting governors decamp for 

one reason or the other. Some 

because they want to be 

President. Haven decamped 

they found there were too many 

Presidential aspirants, they 

have since reconciled 

themselves with the realities. 

They decamped from APC 

believing that they were going 

to be the presidential 

candidate of the PDP, they got 

there and found over crowded house. I think 

some of them have quietly taken governorship 

tickets, some have taken senatorial tickets and 

they are living with the new realities and that 

is how it is. So people can have expectation 

but the beauty of democracy is that it is the 

mass of the Nigerian people that will prevail, 

it is a game of numbers. In Imo state we have 

the numbers to defeat any other aspirant and 

They decamped 

from APC believing 

that they were going 

to be the 

presidential 

candidate of the 

PDP, they got there 

and found over 

crowded house 

embarrassing. My pride is 

that our party has proved that 

, contrary to what Nigerians 

have always believed in 

Nigeria politics it is not 

whatever a big man wants he 

gets. We have tried to return 

our party to members of the 

party. The members of the 

party can do no wrong, if 

majority prefers someone 

and on election day it is those 

majority that will vote. By 

February, March next year, 

the vote of a governor will be 

one, the vote of the 

unemployed person will be 

one. The vote of the guy in 

Ariaria market will be one. 

We are all equal shareholders in the Nigerian 

project. I believe we will make peace with 

Rochas. He is a great guy, we all worked 

together when I was governor. You cannot 

destroy a house just because the person you 

thought would occupy your bed room when 

you vacate it, the other members of the family 

chose another person to occupy it. I think over 

time you recognize that it is a family house, 

tenants will come and go but the family house 

remains. 

Uzodinma 

As we speak, Hope Uzodinma is a sitting 

senator. He comes from one of the largest 

senatorial zones. He comes from the same 

senatorial zone as my dear friend and brother 

Rochas Okorocha. As a senator he already 

commands the trust of probably more than 1/ 

3 of the state which Orlu senatorial zone 

represents. He is one of the credible voices in 

the senate. I am sure the good people of Imo 

State know him well, he is not a stranger in 

politics. He is familiar with the political 

contour of Imo state. I believe comparing him 

with any other governorship candidate in any 

other political party in Imo state, obviously 

our candidate is the most outstanding and I 

am sure the good people of Imo State will 

vote for him. 

Anenih’s death 

I acknowledge that Chief Tony Anenih was 

a strong political leader whose influence went 

beyond Edo state. He came from the minority 

in Edo state, but he was able to stamp his 

authority, dominate his party and influenced 

the direction of his party as long as he did. So 

for PDP family, I believe it was a huge loss. On 

my part, we in Edo recognized him as a father, 

even by mere reason of his age, he was old 

enough to be my father and I never hesitated 

to admit to that. But I always told him when 

you have many children, they may not all 

agree with the way Daddy runs the house. And 

politically I was not able to agree with his 

own political values and some of the tactics 

he resorted to. But I have respect for him. But 

the good news is that, as if he knew this was 

going to happen, about a year ago, I attended 

an event in Uromi at the Catholic Church, 

and that was shortly after he returned from 

his medical trip abroad. On that occasion, he 

said he told my wife just yesterday, that he had 

forgiven all those who offended him in his 

political life particularly Adams, even if he 

did not ask for it. This was in the Catholic 

Church. We are both Catholics. And when it 

was my turn to also make a speech, I also said 

he was a father and that as his son I have also 

forgiven him. But the good news is that these 

issues were never personal. We did not quarrel 

over family land, we did not quarrel over 

family issues, we disagreed over what is the 

best way to govern Edo state and what is the 

most appropriate political culture that we 

would want to bequeath to our children. How 

do we move away from rigging elections and 

impositions? How do we allow the people to 

lead because my own slogan is “let the people 

lead”, against the background that we have a 

democracy which god fatherism was the order 

of the day. 

So we had differences which were not 

personal, but I have always respected him as 

an elder in line with our culture. And the good 

news which was why his death pained me and 

I am not pretending over it, because I had 

planned to pay him a visit and to do so publicly 

before he died, I was going to formally inform 

him about my election. Because it would 

surprise you to know that the very first person 

to call me after my election as chairman of 

APC, was Chief Tony Anenih, now of Blessed 

Memory. I saw his missed calls and I called 

him back, he said ‘yes, I called to congratulate 

you, to wish you well. He said “Adams, I believe 

you will bring about some positive changes in 

the way APC is managed.’ People may have 

forgotten now that APC had its own crisis even 

before I became the National Chairman. He 

said ‘I have called my people in Edo, I have 

told them they should please accord you the 

respect you deserve as National chairman. 

They should not see you now as a Local player 

and they should never again make statements 

that are designed to injure your reputation.’ 

He wished me well and said “I ask you to pay 

attention to your personal security because 

you are going to have enemies both within 

and outside.” I almost shed tears, first because 

this is coming from a man old enough to be 

my father. Someone that politically I had 

engaged and through my effort and the 

collaboration with Edo people under God 

guidance, I was able to defeat his party and 

perpetually kicked PDP out of power in Edo 

state. I went to the President and said Sir, today 

I have mix feelings, here is Chief Anenih calling 

me to say nice things about me and I actually 

observed that since then, my very good friend 

Dan Orbih has abstained from what he use to 

do when I was there. Which shows that Chief 

Anenih really spoke to Orbih as he told me. 

So it is a huge loss to all those who know him, 

not because we necessarily agreed with his 

brand of politics but he was truly a father. And 

I want to say that whatever people choose to 

do, they should master it well. Late Anenih 

mastered his game, he commandeered 

control, he dominated the PDP political 

machine on the strength of his political 

experience. When I was President of NLC, 

President Obasanjo called him his leader, I 

was humbled. As an Edo man we will all pay 

him appropriate tribute when he will be laid 

to rest and I commiserate with the family and 

the political class.







SATURD 

TURDAY 

Vanguard, NOVEMBER 17, 2018—33 

bunmsof@yahoo.co.uk 

Why suicide needn’t be an option 

SUICIDE has a nasty ring to 

it. It is also chilling. For a 

human being to sit down, think his 

life over and decide that it is not 

worth living, takes a lot of courage. 

Yet, it takes a lot more courage and 

guts to stay and find out if at the 

end of the tunnel, he might not find 

a light. The bewildering fact is that 

suicide bids are on the increase; 

and actual successes boggle the 

mind. In the past, cases of a suicide 

were shrouded in absolute secrecy. 

Instead entirely different reasons 

were given as to the cause of death 

while speculations ran riot. 

Today, cases of suicide are too 

common to shock anyone 

speechless. Bread-winners who’d 

been financially amputated one 

way or the other had succumbed 

to their self-made hang-man’s 

noose; a few wives who couldn’t 

face the humiliation of their 

husbands’ betrayal had laid down 

and surrendered to premature 

death without a thought for the kids 

and relations they would leave 

behind. And, because of some 

lousy end-of-year results, some 

fickle-minded students who saw it 

as the end of the world had put 

paid to their young lives. If you 

want to see more examples of 

suicides, read the papers. If you 

want to see how serous we now 

think it is, have a look at some 

newspapers’ coverage of a few of 

the events. 

It is all right if you feel you have 

reached the end of your tether, if 

you fee like stopping the world and 

wanting out. Let’s face it, after the 

dastardly act has been committed, 

you are oblivious to the world. But, 

have you ever thought of the people 

you would be sending to their slow 

deaths by your action? “To live life 

to the end is not a childish task,” 

says Boris Pasternak in Dr. Zhingo. 

At one stage in life, we all must 

have contemplated suicide, just as 

we must have contemplated 

strangling villains who constantly 

make life miserable for us, but that 

doesn’t mean we set out to do those 

things. 

Ten years ago, Florence, an 

extremely successfully private 

doctor who was thankfully 

surviving after the trauma of her 

divorce, came home to find her 

undergraduate son stone dead. A 

hurriedly written suicide note: said 

it was because he failed his endof-year 

exams again, and was 

asked to leave the “university. He 

was too embarrassed to face his 

mother and see the beaten look on 

her face. 

His mother had a nervous 

breakdown. According to her: “The 

depression that followed his 

funeral was suicidal. I was 

helplessly bewildered and life 

seemed no longer worth living. I 

didn’t even have the comfort 

of a husband and father. I 

couldn’t sleep even with antidepressants 

and I seldom ate. 

I knew hard work was good 

medicine and I drove myself 

dangerously hard the first few 

terrible years....” 

Today, despite the fact that 

her other two children have 

done very well, she has 

changed out of character; 

drinking like the devil and 

weeping even when not 

provoked. 

A 24-year-old nurse whose 

undergraduate fiance 

committed suicide told me 

she went through hell for over 

two years before she could 

even begin to live again. 

“He had no right to kill me 

the way he did,” she said, 

exhibiting a bit of the anger 

she must have felt. “It was him 

At one stage in 

life, we all must 

have contemplated 

suicide, just as we 

must have 

contemplated 

strangling villains 

who constantly 

make life 

miserable for us, 

but that doesn’t 

mean we set out to 

do those things 

who wanted out, why must I 

suffer because of it.” 

In the spate of a few days, 

there were newspaper reports 

recently of a man who 

committed suicide because he 

lost his job and his wife; and, 

Don’t let anger ruin your health 

Seconds out, round, one.... Every 

couple knows that moment when 

passion gives way to rage. When the one 

you were madly in love with is suddenly 

the one driving you mad. So, how do you 

deal with those feelings? Do you revel in 

a row or shrink from a skirmish? 

Counsellors say that couple shouldn’t 

back away from arguments because 

bottling up emotions only lead to trouble. 

But some ways of reacting are simply 

unhelpful. Recognise yourself in any of 

them? 

The Sulker: When you are mad, you 

wander around with a long face, banging 

saucepans, sighing heavily. You have to 

be coaxed into revealing what’s on your 

mind and always manage to make your 

partner feel he or she is in the wrong. You 

cannot see the funny side of things and 

refuse to be jollied out of your sulk. Below 

the belt line, “nothing’s the matter.” 

The Nagger: You just go on and on. A 

row is the perfect excuse fort bringing up 

every petty grievance you have ever felt. 

You’ve got the memory of an elephant and 

are quite capable of remembering ill or 

imagined slights from years ago. You can 

start a row just as you are about to meet 

friends for a night out, turning sugarsweet 

once they arrive, and picking up 

the threads as soon as they leave. You can 

keep a row simmering for days. Below the 

belt line. “And another thing....” 

The Quitter: When things get too hot to 

handle, you simply walk out. You might 

lock yourself in the bathroom or go out 

for a drink, and then, you have to be 

wooed back. Or, you wait until your 

partner is so worried about you that he or 

of another undergraduate 

who killed himself 

because of poor exam 

results. There were even 

reports of kids under-10 

found dangling from the 

end of a rope! 

Maybe, it is about time we 

encouraged positive 

thinking in this part of the 

world. There is need for 

free access to counsellors 

when depression hits. 

Today, bipolar disease is 

what used to be called 

manic depression. The 

disease literally drives you 

insane. One of the very 

early symptoms is acute 

depression. Unfortunately, 

bipolar syndrome is more 

common amongst the 

youths than ever before— 

and it doesn’t matter if the 

parents are rich or poor. 

Once bipolar hits, victims 

reasoning becomes 

disjointed. That’s why 

today’s parents are 

particularly warned to look 

out for depression of any 

sorts in their children and 

seek prompt professional 

help for such kids—before 

things get out of hand. 

she apologised when you return. In any 

case, you win even if you were in the wrong. 

Below the belt line: “We’ll talk when you 

calm down.” 

The Martyr: You pretended to suffer in 

silence, but when you’re annoyed, you 

create an atmosphere that can be cut with 

a knife. You may pretend to give in, but 

you can’t lose with good grace and you 

make your partner suffer. 

...You develop headaches at bed time or 

mope around the house like a bear with a 

sore head. In the end, you partner can’t 

stand the tension and makes the peace. 

The Prophet: Whenever anything goes 

wrong you are the first to rejoice in disaster. 

You refuse to accept any blame, and you 

take delight in discovering other people’s 

mistakes. Your holier-than-thou attitude is 

guaranteed to drive your partner around 

the bend while you can carry on assumption 

an air calm. Below the belt lines! “I told 

you so.” 

The doormat: You hate rows so much that 

you agree black was white to keep peace. 

You are so insecure you think that love can’t 

survive a few ups and downs. You can’t 

understand why the passivity drives your 

partner mad, though. Below the belt line: 

“Whatever.” 

The Cry Baby: You never stand up for 

yourself—you simply dissolve into tears. 

You have learned that you don’t have to be 

tough to get your own way. So, when things 

look too heavy to handle, you just turn on 

the water works. One day though, you will 

try the trick too often and your partner will 

have become waterproof. Below the belt line! 

“Boo-hoo.”


Age of an aircraft does 

not determine its safety 

—Aviation experts 

•Plead with Aviation minister 

to assist local airlines 

•Hadi 

Sirika, 

Aviation 

Minister 

By Lawani Mikairu 

viation experts have reacted to the recent 

Aonline reports in Nigeria that Nigeria’s 

commercial airlines have the “oldest aircraft 

fleet in Africa, with the age of an aircraft in 

one of the airlines, Dana Air , being 28.1 years, 

the age many planes are either due for 

retirement or decommissioning. Or may have 

been retired at least some years earlier”. 

The report further said : “ In sharp contrast, 

major African airlines, such as Ethiopian 

Airline, South African Airways, etc have fleet 

with average age of between 11.4 and 5.8 

years”. The writers of the reports said they got 

data from planespotters.net. But investigations 

show that these data are not current and were 

collated and written two years ago. 

According to the experts, it is not the age of 

an aircraft that determine its safety, but the 

maintenance routine and schedules. They 

contended that American airlines operate 

planes that are as old as 30-40 years , yet the 

country’s Civil Aviation Authority, CAA, has 

not raised any objections or concern to their 

safety status. 

To buttress this standpoint, the less than Nine 

months old Boeing 737 MAX 8 Flight 610 

operated by Lion Air, crashed shortly after 

taking off from the Indonesian capital of 

Jakarta on October 29. Investigators believe 

the MAX 8 plane may have experienced 

problems with several sensors. It plunged 

into the Java Sea killing all 189 people 

aboard. 

The experts are even alarmed that the 

Minister of State , Aviation, Hadi Sirika, who 

should protect domestic airlines was quoted 

as saying during the recent 5 th Aviation 

Stakeholders Forum in Abuja that, “All this 

sudden growth to over 20 planes, we have seen 

it before. We have seen it in Chanchangi, We 

had seen it in Kano and of recent in Arik Air 

and yet they are inefficient. We have given them 

international routes but they don’t have 

capacity to operate them”. 

There is worry that these reports and the 

ministers outburst may be “a calculated 

attempt to run Nigerian airlines down”. There 

is a general concern that the Minister should 

meet the airlines and find out the challenges 

that they have and help them so that they 

don’t go the way of the other airlines. 

Reacting to the age of Nigeria airlines 

aircraft report, an aviation expert and a current 

major stakeholder, who pleaded anonymity 

because he does not want to “start media war”, 

said : “ They say Nigerian airlines are weak, 

that they are inefficient and now they are 

talking about the age of the aircraft. South 

West Airlines have over 150 of the type of planes 

we are using in Nigeria. That is the most 

successful airline in the world. Some of those 

aircraft South West Airlines is using cannot fly 

in Nigeria because we have age restriction in 

Nigeria, which is 22 years”. 

“ America in their fleet have planes of 40 

years old. Britain does not have age limit. What 

is the age of British Airways B747 that fly daily 

into Nigeria? For example, Dana Air’s MD83, 

are 28 years and very old. Most American 

airlines use older aircraft. Some of them use 

MD83 aircraft that are in their 30s”. 

“It is not about the age of aircraft; it is about 

the maintenance. The aircraft that is 30 years 

has changed engine many times. Everything 

inside the aircraft must be airworthy but they 

try to deceive the flying public to create fear in 

them in order to ignite the clamour for national 

carrier”. 

In his reaction, a retired aeronautic 

engineer, Mr James Ibitoye, who has worked 

with reputable airlines said : “The two aircraft 

involved in the last two recent crashes in the 

world in the past one month were not more 

than three months old. The Air France Flight 

447, scheduled international passenger flight 

from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to Paris, France, 

which crashed on 1 June 2009 was almost 

brand new. The Airbus A330, operated by Air 

France, stalled and did not recover, eventually 

crashed into the Atlantic Ocean at 02:14 UTC, 

killing all 228 passengers and crew on board 

the aircraft. Please find out how old that aircraft 

By Lawani Mikairu 

Skyway Aviation Handling Company, 

SAHCO, Plc has called on the federal 

government to intervene on the low rates 

currently charged in Nigeria by aviation 

ground handlers for their services. This 

is just as the company has renewed its 

ground handling contract with Arik Air. 

Speaking on the ground handling 

charges during a media facility tour of 

SAHCO, the Managing Director, Mr 

Basil Agboarumi lamented that despite 

the inflation in the country over the years, 

the ground handling rates remained the 

same. 

He, however, said that discussions were 

ongoing to address the situation, but called 

on the government to intervene in the 

situation to bring sanity to the system. 

“We are underpaid for the services that 

we render as a ground handling company. 

was before it crashed”. 

“This talk about the age of Nigerian 

aircraft is not in our collective interest. Those 

who don’t know that an aircraft is as good as 

its last maintenance would think that because 

the aircraft are old they are not safe to fly. So 

what we may have achieved is to frighten air 

travellers and you don’t have another option 

for them. The last air crash in Nigeria was in 

2013. It was five years ago that Nigeria 

recorded the last air accident. Instead of 

frightening people with age of the aircraft in 

the Nigerian fleet, it will be better if we x-ray 

the maintenance status of Nigerian aircraft 

and how efficiently they are regulated. These 

are the two factors that determine the safety of 

an aircraft; not the age”. 

“ Do you recall the Kenya Airways flight 

For a very long time, handling business in 

Nigeria has been static despite the 

inflation in the country over the years. 

“We have huge facilities that we need to 

service and maintain regularly and we still 

have other running costs that we have to 

handle. The ground handling companies 

need to survive. Our charges are not 

commensurate with our services. 

Speaking about the capacity of the 

company’s warehouses, he said the import 

warehouse could accommodate about 

three million tonnage of cargo monthly, 

and it is equipped with six freezers and 

refrigerators . He also said SAHCO has 

consistently recorded 4.43 per cent annual 

revenue growth since 2009 when the 

company was privatized. 

Meanwhile, SAHCO) has renewed its 

ground handling contract with Arik Air. 

Mr. Basil Agboarumi, the Managing 

Director/CEO, SAHCO, during the 

renewal of ground handling service 

agreement with Arik Air at the Murtala 

Muhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos 

that crashed in Cameroon on take off some 

years ago? That aircraft was barely one week 

old. Now, you are wrong to say that Nigeria 

parades the oldest aircraft on the African 

continent. If you search well enough you will 

find out that some airlines in Africa still operate 

aircraft that are 35 and above in the continent”. 

He added that “those who wrote about old 

aircraft mentioned that Ethiopia Airline 

ordered for five new aircraft but they did not 

mention that Air Peace also ordered for 10 

brand new aircraft from Boeing. 

“Government said it gave Ethiopia Airlines 

five routes in Nigeria because it promised to 

employ 20 Nigerian pilots, what has 

government done for Air Peace that employed 

3000 Nigerians, including over 140 pilots and 

not only that; the airline has trained over 30 

pilots.” 

Our charges are not commensurate with our services 

— SAHCO 

NASENI solicits NCAA support to build madein-Nigeria 

helicopter 

he National Agency for Science and En 

Tgineering Infrastructure, NASENI is 

seeking the support of Nigeria Civil Aviation 

Authority, NCAA, in its plan to achieve a 

made-in-Nigeria helicopters. 

Speaking about the planned helicopter 

during a courtesy visit to the NCAA headquarters 

in Lagos, the Executive Vice- 

Chairman/CEO of NASENI, Prof. 

Muhammed Sanni Haruna said orders 

have been placed for a Dynali H3 easy 

flyer sport ultralight helicopter for the 

purpose of reverse engineering. 

According to him, Dynali Helicopter 

Manufacturer is willing to partner 

NASENI, adding that the Dynali Helicopter 

was selected because its technology is 

easier to copy, learn, domesticate and 

modify. 

Haruna said : “They are willing to build 

the capacity of our staff for maintenance, 

repair, assembly and manufacturing of 

helicopters in Nigeria. Research and Development 

is not one or two – day affair 

but we have facilities for reverse engineering”. 

“In fact we have a centre which we call 

rapid prototyping centre. Any machine 

that you want to reproduce, we have facilities, 

advance manufacturing equipment 

for that matter on how to give us 

something fast but then aviation is a high 

safety and security industry that certain 

things, we must wait for certification from 

here (NCAA) before we proceed.” 

“We are confident that through your support 

and that of other stakeholders, the 

made-in Nigeria Helicopter project will 

be a success”, he added. 

promised to deliver quality and improved 

ground handling services to all its clientele 

across the nation’s airports especially as 

it acquires more state-of-the-art 

equipment for operations. 

Dana Air celebrates 

10 years of operation 

in Nigeria 

Dana Air on Saturday cel 

ebrated its 10th anniversary 

in Nigeria’s aviation industry 

in spite of the turbulence the 

airline had gone through in the 

past years. The airline has the 

enviable record of being the first 

airline to have survived air mishap 

in Nigeria and emerged 

stronger with more passenger patronage. 

The Chief Operating Officer of 

Dana Air Mr Obi Mbanuzuo, 

while addressing newsmen in 

Lagos about the anniversary 

said, “despite all the challenges 

that airlines in Nigeria have to 

grapple with, Dana Air is proud 

to be celebrating 10 years of providing 

massive job opportunities, 

capacity development, training, 

broad corporate social responsibility 

and most of all, amazing 

flight service to Nigeria and Nigerians. 

‘When we commenced operations 

10 years ago, precisely on 

the 10th of November, 2008, our 

desire was to change the convention 

and exceed the flying aspiration 

of our guests with our 

world-class services and today, 

with the support and loyalty of 

our esteemed guests, we have 

been able to achieve 10 years of 

service to Nigerians.

Tales were only once told only by moonlight. 

The sun gave way to the moon and people 

gathered to wind down. They shared tales , 

fables , lullabies and all. Those tales were useful 

because they were not to be believed. Children 

were told scary fairy tales so they wouldn’t 

wander from home. No one actually wanted to 

deceive another. 

Now men gather children and fellow adults 

and with constipated faces tell them political 

fairy tales in broad daylight. Politicians and 

the clergy now concoct tales and tell them 

without songs. And force lumps of rough tales 

down throats as they would force medicine 

down the throat of sick children. The scary 

thing is no one really knows if these modern 

day tale bearers know their stories are 

imaginary. And if those who hear them know 

where to keep them. 

Now adults are told political fairy tales. 

They nod like frightened children. And hold 

on to them like scriptures. 

About a year ago many said Buhari had died 

in London. Fayose was certain he was in the 

mortuary. He said he had the pictures. Many 

of those who celebrated Buhari’s death went 

dumb when he returned. Fayose gave up the 

ownership of secret intelligence channels 

around the president that once made him the 

favorite of gossip magazines. He never talked 

about the mortuary pictures we once knew he 

had under his pillow. 

But Nnamdi Kanu, the owner of the late dog 

named Jack didn’t take Buhari’s recovery and 

return calmly. He looked closely at the 

recuperated man and shook his head. He 

declared that the returnee was an impostor of 

the Buhari that died in London. He said his 

men of the Biafra Secret Service had reliable 

intelligence that a certain Jibrin from Sudan 

had been co opted to fill in for the dead Buhari. 

Ordinarily, with a little song, that would 

have made a good African fairy tale. 

But without a song, and without the 

somnolence of moonlight, Nnamdi Kanu’s tale 

raised eyebrows. Many amongst his apostles 

who had longed to kiss the feet of the Director 

of Radio Biafra couldn’t help but doubt their 

god. But their unbelief sparked anger in the 

Jibrin of Sudan and the 

audacity of fake news 

supreme freedom fighter. He labeled 

those who couldn’t see Jibrin de Sudan 

in Buhari as morons. They knew if 

they persisted in their unbelief they 

would become rebels, saboteurs. So 

they started to believe. Some could only 

go half the way. So they deemed their 

supreme leader’s Jibrin theory a 

useful exaggeration. So Jibrin became, 

in their hearts, an apt metaphor of a 

The problem with 

fake news is that it 

is potentially a 

weapon of mass 

destruction 

SATURD 

TURDAY Vanguard, 

NOVEMBER 17, 2018—35 

disappointing president. So they too, 

these intellectuals, could say the 

healthy Buhari is Jibrin. 

Cynics hissed. They had always 

doubted the firmness of Nnamdi 

Kanu’s grasp of reality. After he 

expounded Jibrin, they included 

hallucinations in the long list that 

must be overcome during any royal 

rehabilitation for the supreme leader. 

After Jibrin instructed a python dance 

and the Biafra secret service 

smuggled Nnamdi Kanu into a hole 

outside the country we all thought 

the Idea of Jibrin had been buried. 

But Jibrin of Sudan has lived on. A 

certain pastor mounted the pulpit a 

few days ago and spoke about Jibrin. 

He said it took him a while but he has 

seen that the Buhari in Aso Rock isn’t 

the Buhari that went to London for 

medical treatment. The pastor spoke 

with priestly earnestness. He must 

have acquired the special spirit of 

discernment as the IPOB leader. 

The problem with fake news is that 

it is potentially a weapon of mass 

destruction. It is true that corruption 

can kill Nigeria. But perhaps 

corruption is a slow virus. The plague 

that took apart Rwanda in a few months in 

1994 was not corruption. It was hatred 

spawned by fake news. It was the fake news 

about the existence of weapon off mass 

destruction that brought Iraq to precipitate 

ruins. 

If a picture of Buhari surfaces and his nose 

appears a little flatter than the beak of a 

woodpecker murmurs about Jibrin will fill the 

air. Corruption is ruthless. But it is fake news 

that has the stubbornness and ruthlessness of a 

Californian wild fire. 

The elections are here. Tempers are volatile. 

Idle poorly educated young men are the 

combustible dry wood . They abound. Ethnicity 

and religion are the high velocity winds. They 

are here. Fake news is the fire. Its factories are 

sprouting everywhere. Firefighters could be 

useless. 

Nigeria is therefore particularly vulnerable. 

It has many pyromaniacs in positions of 

influence. 

Jibrin, fortunately, is not the sort of news 

that can set the country instantaneously ablaze. 

But the sheer stupidity of the story and its 

baffling tenacity must trouble the lovers of 

peace. If the most outlandish of political fairy 

tales can survive for so long and manage to 

intrigue minds that claim sophistication then 

the country is exceptionally vulnerable . 

Fayose may have dropped off the bus. But he 

and his colleagues set it on that ruinous path. 

If he hadn’t declared that he had mortuary 

pictures perhaps the demons wouldn’t have 

found tilled grounds on which to sow their 

‘Jibrinous’ hallucinations . What Jibrin does 

by its sheer ridiculousness is to prepare the 

ground for a future mass hypnosis. 

Fakes news , like weeds , must abound. But if 

allowed to flourish only in beer parlors and 

motor parks then the society may not be 

harmed. Real damage is risked when fake news 

takes residence in government houses and 

houses of God. And when it occupies radio and 

television stations. Ordinary people took part 

in the holocaust and roasted ordinary people. 

Deliberate insistent misinformation was all 

that was needed. 

Mrs. Florence Okah-Avae, host of the 

radio programme, Mending Minds 

with Flo, on Unilag Radio FM 103.1 and 

wife of my former Oga, Architect Justus 

Okah-Avae, invited me to her radio 

programme last Tuesday. The topic: The 

Proposed Cancellation of US Citizenship by 

Birth, its Social Implications for Nigerians. 

The US President, Donald Trump, has 

expressed his intention to cancel this 

constitutional provision under the 14 th 

Amendment, which guarantees automatic 

US citizenship to children born on American 

soil, be they children of American citizens, 

illegal immigrants or visitors to America with 

non-immigrant visas. 

What are the social implications for us? 

Personally, whatever America decides to do 

is not of interest to me. The question is why 

are Nigerians acquiring dual citizenship for 

themselves and/or their children? It is 

because they have lost faith in Nigeria. 

They have lost faith in the government. 

It is natural for parents to want the best 

for their children, but in looking for the best, 

many of us have manifested another trait: 

giving up without a fight. Nigerians are 

generally acclaimed to be resilient, which 

is good. But we are also a very docile and 

complacent people. When our standard of 

education started declining, instead of 

collectively confronting the people/reasons 

for the decline, those who could afford it 

started sending their children abroad, 

including Benin Republic and Ghana, to 

acquire “better” education.Our health sector 

collapsed and instead of fighting back, we 

embraced medical tourism in droves. In 

India, many big medical establishments 

have about three or four clocks on the walls 

of their receptions showing different time 

zones. One of the clocks shows Nigerian 

time! When our roads deteriorated, instead 

of holding government accountable, we 

resorted to buying SUVs. You could count 

the number of SUVs on Lagos roads in the 

80s. These days there are as many SUVs as 

there are saloon cars and bad roads are 

partly responsible for the upsurge. We erect 

high fences and street gates around us to 

combat insecurity instead of holding 

government accountable. Our electricity 

remains epileptic 58 years after 

independence. To rub salt on injury, we are 

billed by electricity Distribution Companies 

(DISCOs) for electricity we did not 

consume. How many Nigerians are in court 

Trump’s proposed modification ication of 

US birthright citizenship 

to fight for their rights? And if we get 

to the court, will the judges/ 

magistrates take us seriously? Are we 

going to get justice promptly or we 

are going to spend our meagre 

resources on prolonged court cases 

until we get frustrated and resign to 

fate. There is a ministry in charge of 

power, why are the ministers and 

officials of the ministry allowing 

Nigerians to be exploited? Why can’t 

Why can’t willing Nigerians 

have prepaid or functional 

meters so that they can be 

in charge of what they 

consume? 

willing Nigerians have prepaid or 

functional meters so that they can be 

in charge of what they consume? 

How do you bill a family of four living 

in a three-bedroom flat N70,000 

monthly in a country where 

minimum wage is N18,000 and 

governors have refused to pay a 

mere N30,000 minimum wage 

monthly?Before 1999, we 

complained that we could not 

confront the military that were in 

charge because they had guns. 

Bloody civilians like us have been in 

government now for 19 years, and 

not much has been achieved 

collectively. Why can’t we hold our 

government accountable? Why 

should we continue to return people 

who do not fulfil campaign 

promises to power? There is 

scarcely any local government 

functioning optimally in the 

country. Some have pot holes on 

the roads leading to the local 

government secretariat! Nigerians 

are almost 200m; if we all decide to 

leave this “shithole” country, who 

will accommodate us? It is time we 

discarded this docile garment for a 

no-retreat-no-surrender garment. 

Let us begin to hold all elected and 

appointed government officials 

accountable: from our councilors to 

the president. Our PVC is our 

power, let us use it. That is not to 

say I have any issues with dual 

citizenship. People hold dual 

citizenship all over the world. It is 

fine as long as it is voluntary. Too 

many Nigerians are being forced 

by the political and socioeconomic 

situation of the country to hold dual 

citizenship and it is not acceptable. 

We can and we should do 

something about it. We also need 

to ask for more from our religious 

organisations. It is not enough to 

set up universities and other 

educational institutions that 

majority of the members cannot 

afford. Many parishes and 

branches of churches have clinics, 

but these medical facilities cannot 

stem medical tourism. Now that these 

churches have built their mega headquarters, 

they should move on to build mega hospitals. 

Many of the big hospitals Nigerians 

patronise abroad are owned by churches. 

The same can be replicated here. The 

Catholic Church, for instance, has a very 

good eye hospital in Ogun State. The church 

can collaborate with eye specialists and 

people who can run world class hospitals to 

convert this hospital to a world class eye 

hospital that can meet the needs of 

Nigerians, who currently go abroad for eye 

treatment. 

Having completed its ultra-modern 

headquarters, the Deeper Life Church 

should build a world class Paediatric 

Hospital as its next mega project. The 

Redeemed Christian Church of God should 

give us a world class cancer centre. Bishop 

Oyedepo and his Winners should give us a 

world class orthopaedic hospital. The various 

Muslim organisations should replicate these 

kinds of hospitals to cover other areas of 

medicine. Religious organisations can and 

should reverse the medical tourism. What is 

wrong in the “Giant of Africa” becoming a 

medical tourist destination like India? We 

have the human and financial resources, 

which can give us the necessary material 

resources. 

Alhaji Aliko Dangote has helped Nigeria 

to be self-sufficient in cement production. 

He will soon replicate that in petroleum 

products. Where are the other rich 

Nigerians? Who is going to help us achieve 

24/7 uninterrupted power supply? Who is 

going to help us to be self-sufficient in food 

production? Who is going to lead the 

industrialization charge? Who is joining 

Innoson to manufacture motor vehicles? 

What about our transportation system. Let 

us deregulate our roads and rail sectors to 

allow private participation. We can fix this 

massive rot called Nigeria and make it 

attractive to us and outsiders. 

Whether or not we officially declare it, 

Nigeria is in a state of emergency. We all 

need to have the mentality of wrestlers in a 

cage fight (no retreat, no surrender) and 

solve our problems. Until Nigeria becomes 

great, no Nigerian, no matter his personal 

wealth and accomplishments, will earn the 

full respect of the rest of humankind. We 

are either all great as Nigerians, or we have 

a few shit-smeared great men from a 

“shithole” called Nigeria.

C 

M 

Y 

K 

36—SATURDAY 

Vanguard, , NOVEMBER 17, 2018 

The World Congress of Accountants 

holds once every four years. It is 

always held in different places. For 

example, this year’s congress just held 

in Australia. The next one is slated for 

India. Although the primary purpose 

is to appraise and update members 

with global trends in the financial 

world; many use the congress to 

network while experiencing the culture 

and hospitality of foreign lands. 

Nigerian accountants are known to 

attend the congress in large numbers 

often with a disposition towards the 

latter end. After all, it is good for those 

who can, to escape Nigeria once in a 

malaise 

while. 

My wife has attended every 

congress for the last 20 years at least. 

She loves to travel. And attending the 

congress of your professional body is 

as good a reason as any. As soon as 

one congress finishes, she and a small 

group of colleagues start saving up for 

the next. You’d be surprised at the 

many ingenious ways they had come 

up with over the years to make their 

financial exposure less burdensome. I 

had never gone with her and she had 

never pressured. As I age, I have found 

that many of the things that excited 

me as a young man have become a 

chore. Travelling is one of them. 

Rather than dispel them, my recent 

experience on this trip has reinforced 

my many prejudices unfortunately. I 

shall touch on a couple in a while. 

An old classmate and a good friend 

persuaded me to attend this congress. 

His wife had urged him to come. 

Australia, the venue, was an attraction 

for him. But rather than be footloose 

while his wife was expected to be 

caught up with activities at the 

congress, he wanted someone to hang 

out with. I was an obvious choice since 

our wives are not only professional 

colleagues but good friends. I declined 

the invitation at first, but eventually 

gave in. The venue was too tempting 

a bait. A chance to visit Australia was 

a chance in a life time. He found 

another classmate, an accountant who 

attends the congress regularly with his 

wife. A few more couples joined in to 

widen the circle. As the circle 

widened, so did the trip. Rather than 

spend so much money on a round trip 

When and how President 

Muhammadu Buhari 

sanctioned Governor Nasir El-Rufai’s 

bid for a Muslim-Muslim governorship 

ticket in Kaduna State will be an issue 

for those who project the president as 

a non-partisan leader. 

In defending his decision to do away 

with the religious balancing of the 

ticket that has been the norm since the 

creation of the present Kaduna State, 

Governor El-Rufai said he consulted 

the president as he does on very 

important issues. 

The decision to go the Muslim- 

Muslim path was obviously not an 

insignificant one. 

Even when the military toyed with 

diarchy prior to the advent of the Third 

Republic, the religious balance was 

maintained when Mrs. Pamela 

Sadauki was appointed deputy 

governor to the then Col. Tanko Ayuba. 

At the onset of the Third Republic, 

Alhaji Mohammed Dabo Lere was 

governor and had as deputy, Mr. 

James Magaji. The tradition continued 

till El-Rufai in 2015 who had Barnabas 

Bantex as his deputy. 

It, however, must not be portrayed 

that El-Rufai dropped his deputy. 

Bantex had on his part last July 

willingly opted out of a second term 

preferring to go to the Senate. 

It is worth to note that El-Rufai had 

in the past been praised by this 

columnist for some of his positive 

strides in government. The early 

presentation of budgets, the matching 

of portfolio to commissioner nominees 

and the adoption of merit in the 

Benign signs that point to a bigger 

they reasoned, it was agreed to touch 

a few more places. Singapore, Hong 

Kong and China were added to the 

trip. We wanted to experience the 

fastest train in the world. 

We decided to start early for what 

promised to be a trip of a life time. 

Six months early at least. One or two 

travel agents were contacted. Tickets 

We should not be surprised 

if Ghana, our next door 

neighbour lists out 

stringent entry 

requirements against us in 

the near future 

were bought, apartments were 

booked and deposits were made to 

some tourist centres. Then we came 

to one of the reasons I am reluctant 

to travel; procurement of visas. I will 

not want to be specific today for 

‘diplomatic reasons,’ but the 

requirements of one or two of these 

countries for visa were simply 

ridiculous. We collated and 

downloaded all manners of materials 

staying often till the wee hours of the 

morning. One requested evidence of 

being a landed property owner while 

another wanted at least a million 

naira sitting in a current account. It 

Issues from the Muslim-Muslim 

strategy in Kaduna 

allocation of offices were among some 

issues he had been commended for. 

Given these positive indicators it is 

then a wonder that Governor El-Rufai 

would say that many of the important 

decisions he takes flow from his 

consultations with the president. If it 

were really so, why then is the 

president not implementing such 

decisions? Why has the president as 

at the second half of November not 

presented the 2019 budget proposal? 

His mention of President Buhari for 

his adoption of the Muslim-Muslim 

ticket nonetheless, it has since 

emerged that the decision was 

framed by political considerations. 

In choosing a Muslim woman as his 

running mate, the governor may well 

have realized that a great proportion 

of Christian voters in the state would 

not vote for him in 2019. So whether 

he had chosen a Christian or not, the 

gain for him would have been of little 

consequence. 

So for a man who is also not 

idolized as a Muslim champion, his 

made you wonder if one needed to 

be a millionaire in order to visit a 

place as a tourist for one week at the 

most! One wanted evidence of 

employment from inception till date. 

I should mention at this point that 

with the exception of one or two who 

ran their own businesses, all the 

others in our group had retired; some 

from very senior positions. All were 

widely travelled. None therefore 

fitted the profile of a refugee or an 

emigrant. 

Unfortunately, we chose a travel 

agent who wasn’t familiar with the 

‘requirements’ of these far Eastern 

countries. So what we thought was 

ample time soon became desperate 

times as the goal posts kept shifting. 

Evidence of Polio vaccination turned 

out to be a must for one of the 

countries and you wonder why a sixty 

something year old has to take a polio 

injection. But we all did. For another 

country, we were requested to come 

to Abuja within 24 hours because a 

letter of invitation was wrongly 

addressed. You can imagine the 

logistics in terms of accommodation 

and movement for a dozen people so 

suddenly. And it still all came to 

nought. 

It is easy to ascribe our problems to 

naiveté and complacency. Perhaps 

things would have turned out 

differently if we had chosen a more 

‘knowledgeable’ travel agent. Or a 

more diligent one. But that would be 

missing the point. Especially since 

three of the members in our group 

had American passports and 

procurement of the visas was a breeze 

decision to flaunt the Muslim-Muslim 

ticket may well be a good way of 

winning recognition among critical 

Muslims. However, the influential 

Islamic leader and teacher, Sheik 

Gumi has been reported to have 

flayed the decision. 

The balance of the Christian- 

Muslim population has always been 

a knotty issue. The near balance of 

the adherents of the two faiths is seen 

in the distribution of people of the 

two religions in almost all towns of 

the state with the Muslims 

dominating in the North and the 

Christians in the South. 

While El-Rufai may have been 

prompted by political considerations, 

it is understood that some who have 

gone along with him are also hoping 

to use this development to give a 

Technical Knock Out to those who 

claim that Kaduna has a substantial 

proportion of Christians. If El-Rufai 

is able to prove the point by winning 

the election it would undoubtedly 

change the narrative as concerning 

the distribution of political powers in 

Kaduna. 

The economic decline and 

attendant security problems in 

our country need to be 

addressed urgently 

for them. Even China which is at ‘war’ 

with America did not pose a problem. 

While we were poring over mountains of 

requirements, they were merely required 

to fill out simple forms online and given 

visas within an hour. It is obvious 

therefore that our problem is in the green 

passport and the country it represents. 

It wasn’t always like this. My first trips 

to UK didn’t require a visa. I first went to 

the far East in the 70s, and I honest can’t 

remember any visa hassle. In fact, one or 

two might have been obtained at the 

airport. And visa forms, whenever 

required, were simple. Some were filled 

at the embassy. We could argue that the 

world has moved on since then. Terrorism 

has invaded the world. Immigration has 

become a real problem. Xenophobia is no 

longer an abstract word in the dictionary. 

It is real. Liberal democracies have been 

overturned to be replaced by right wing 

protectionism. But the people who have 

borne the brunt of these exclusiveness are 

from poor countries. The poorer the 

country, the more the desperation of its 

people to emigrate. The more desperate, 

the tighter the visa control against them. 

It is therefore a sign of how the world 

views a country if the visa requirements 

against it is getting tighter. If your people 

want to get out even for legitimate 

reasons, and the world is shutting them 

in, then it is time for soul searching 

because it is a sign of a much deeper 

problem. 

The green passport used to be a thing 

of pride. Not anymore. I know friends 

who have UK and US passports simply 

because they give that little extra in terms 

of freedom and self-respect round the 

world. The economic decline and 

attendant security problems in our 

country need to be addressed urgently. 

Otherwise, we should not be surprised if 

Ghana, our next door neighbour lists out 

stringent entry requirements against us 

in the near future. The perception that 

we are one huge refugee camp waiting 

to happen must be halted. 

If El-Rufai is able to prove the point by 

winning the election it would undoubtedly 

change the narrative as concerning the 

distribution of political powers in Kaduna 

Remarkably, there is an option for the 

voters as the Peoples Democratic Party, 

PDP has come up with Isa Ashiru as its 

candidate with Sunday K. Marshall as 

running mate. Ashiru remarkably, is 

backed by Senator Ahmed Makarfi, the 

former governor whose legacy of 

cohabitation and coexistence remains one 

of the best legacies of any governor since 

1999. 

For many of us with family connections 

to Kaduna, the ensuing political 

experiment must be very distressing as a 

state which had recently been prone to 

much violence is subjected to a twisted 

political profiling. 

Remarkably, the adoption of the 

Muslim-Muslim ticket is coming at a time 

that the president is espousing unity. Last 

Thursday the president launched the 

Nigeria Unity (Wrist) Band which was 

conceived to espouse the unity of the 

country. 

Nigerians are expected to wear the wrist 

band to remind themselves of the unity 

that they are supposed to have. However, 

the stratification of offices along ethnic 

and religious lines as has lately been 

witnessed in the country run counter to 

unity.

SATURDAY Vanguard, NOVEMBER 17 , 2018—37 

Succour 

for Local 

Government 

Workers 

By Julius Oweh 

The hope of every worker is that 

at the end of the month, he 

would get his salary for the work 

done. But in some rare and pain laden 

situation, workers are owed months and 

getting the salary was no longer 

guaranteed. The situation assumed a 

crisis dimension in the country that the 

federal government had to bend 

backwards to give bailout funds to state 

governments in an era where payment 

of salaries was regarded as one of the 

achievements of government. The case 

of Delta State was a rare exception as 

Governor Ifeanyi Okowa and his team 

had to invent means to make sure that 

salaries of civil servants were not owed. 

But the case of local council workers in 

Delta State was a different ball game as 

local councils administration, the third 

tier of administration had to owe 

councils workers for up to seven months. 

The problem was not that of the state 

government but the inability of the 

council chairmen to 

set their priorities 

right. 

But the story 

changed as the state 

governor had to 

release five billion 

naira to offset the 

arrears of salaries 

owed to the council 

workers. The money 

was the state 

government money 

and not part of 

federal allocation to 

the twenty- five local 

government 

councils. Smiles 

were etched on the 

faces of the council 

workers and as you 

read this piece, no 

council worker is 

owed in Delta State. 

Basking in the 

euphoria of that spirit 

of magnanimity of 

the state governor, 

Comrade Zico Osita 

Okwudi, the Delta 

State chairman of 

NULGE was lost of 

words for the kind 

gesture of the 

governor and said 

that the members of 

The story 

changed as the 

state governor 

had to release 

five billion 

naira to offset 

the arrears of 

salaries owed 

to the council 

workers 

the union were ready to demonstrate 

on the streets of Asaba to show their 

gratitude. 

Okwudi traced the genesis of the 

problem: ‘Owing of councils workers‘ 

salaries did not start with the Okowa 

administration. Workers were owed up 

to seven months and it was as a result 

of the recession and zero allocation to 

councils. Local councils that used to 

get sixty million naira a month started 

getting a maximum of twenty million 

naira and with a salary of about fifty 

million naira we started having 

problems at the councils. But due to 

the proactive nature of Governor 

Okowa, an internal mechanism was 

devised to make sure the money was 

judiciously used. The release of five 

billion naira in addition to what the 

councils have from their share of Paris 

Club refund was used for the payment 

of primary school teachers and council 

workers. No worker is being owed 

today‘. 

The labour leader not yet done, 

disclosed that 

because of this unique 

gesture of the 

governor to come to the 

aid of the council 

workers, his union 

shall embark on a 

‘thank you‘ 

demonstration and to 

pass the clear message 

for the people of Delta 

State to support the 

second bid of Governor 

Okowa. Okwudi 

explained further: 

‘One good turn 

deserves another. In 

the history of Nigeria, 

not just only in Delta 

State, we have never 

seen such a gesture. 

We want to express our 

happiness by 

engaging in ‘thank 

you‘ rally and has 

nothing to do with our 

political neutrality as 

civil servants. When 

we were owed 

salaries, we 

demonstrated on the 

streets of Asaba to tell 

the whole world. It is 

only natural and just to 

embark on another 

demonstration now 

•Comrade Zico Osita Okwudi 

that we have received our salaries. I 

am really blinded with euphoria of this 

uncommon style of leadership. We are 

not doing anything wrong; we want the 

world to know that we appreciate him. 

The essence of leadership is to meet the 

welfare of the people and this, the 

governor demonstrated by the release 

of five billion naira to local councils. 

Governor Okowa is leading a winning 

team and we should not change a 

winning team‘. 

The sentiments of the NULGE 

chairman were also shared by both the 

secretary and chairman of Delta State 

NUT. In a letter of appreciation sent to 

the governor, NUT was full of praises 

for the payment of council workers and 

primary school teachers. The letter 

which was signed by the secretary of 

NUT, Comrade Dan Basime reads thus 

:‘I am directed to refer to the above 

mentioned subject (payment of two 

months teachers’ salaries arrears) and 

to on behalf of the state chairman, 

Comrade Titus Okotie and indeed the 

state wing of NUT, express our profound 

gratitude to you for your show of 

magnanimity and favourable disposition 

to the plight of primary school teachers 

in the state through the payment of their 

two months‘ salary arrears of August and 

September, 2018. It should be stated 

here without equivocation that with this 

gesture, you have further demonstrated 

your love for the teachers and endeared 

yourself to them‘. 

Speaking on the payment of teachers 

and council workers, the state chairman 

of NUT described the governor as 

labour friendly. Comrade Titus Okotie 

said: ‘The release of five billion naira to 

pay council workers was essentially the 

state government money. It was a 

magnanimous decision and council 

workers and teachers are happy about 

it. The workers are wearing smiling 

faces as they can now meet the needs 

of their families. It is an understatement 

to say that Okowa is a labour friendly 

governor, he is the most 

labour friendly governor in 

the country‘. The NUT 

boss also appealed to the 

state governor to look into 

the plight of pensioners, 

adding that labour was not 

silent on the plight of 

pensioners. He said that in 

the fullness of time, 

Governor Okowa will do 

something in that direction 

from the various 

interactions with labour 

leaders across the state. 

Comrade Mike Okeme, 

the special adviser to the 

governor on Labour and 

Industrial Relations argued 

that his principal, the 

governor has demonstrated 

that the interest of every 

worker in the state was dear 

to him. Said Okeme on the 

release of five billion to 

councils: ‘It is a welcome 

development. The governor 

intervened when the 

payment of council workers 

became a burden to the 

council administration. The 

governor used the state 

share of Paris Club Refund 

to offset the salaries arrears 

running into months. And 

today the council workers 

are happy for that and it is 

part of the ‘prosperity 

agenda‘ of the Okowa 

administration‘. Okeme also 

said that the way the council 

salaries arrears problems 

were solved, the same shall 

apply to the plight of 

pensioners. He stated that the various 

pensioners unions have been in 

dialogue with the governor and 

putting strategies in place to ensure 

that the backlogs of pension arrears 

are cleared. 

For the months the councils workers 

were owed, most of them were not going 

to work, raising the spectre of 

irrelevance of the council 

administration. Comrade Zico Okwudi 

was quick to stress the relevance of 

council administration. Hear Okwudi 

defence of council administration and 

relevance: ‘The councils should not be 

scrapped. It is unreasonable to suggest 

that. It is the grassroots administration 

and closet to the people. There is no 

state without local government councils. 

This is where everything springs from. 

You cannot scrap the councils because 

of the non-performances of a few council 

chairmen. It is more of an individual 

thing. It is not really possible for some 

councils to survive without allocations 

from Abuja because of their rural nature. 

Those in urban areas can weather the 

economic storm. There was a local 

council chairman in Warri South LGA 

that was paying salaries with internally 

generated revenue. My advice to 

council chairmen is that they should 

strengthen their IGR mechanism so as 

to remain more relevant‘. 

Okeme maintained that nobody should 

say that local government councils are 

not relevant. Local councils, according 

to Okeme have their statutory functions 

and some of them are doing very well. 

He stated that the inability of the council 

workers to go to work during time of 

salary non-payment was because they 

did not have money to transport 

themselves to office. Today, the story is 

different, according to Okeme, because 

of the gesture of the labour friendly 

government of Okowa, adding that 

more goodies were on the way for all 

civil servants, including council 

workers.

38—SATURDAY Vanguard, NOVEMBER 17, , 2018 

Uzodinma on arrival in Owerri 

HOPE UZODINMA’S 

trumphant return to Imo 

By Declan Mbadiwe Emelumba 

The crowd was unprecedented. If it 

was a popularity contest, the 

governorship of Imo State would 

have been won and lost that 

day. For those who mocked 

him, saying his candidacy did 

not enjoy the support of the 

masses, the great Thomas of 

the Holy Book beat them at 

their own game. This was not 

a rented crowd. Who could 

have paid those big men who 

brought more than 1,000 

vehicles to welcome home 

their hero? Wednesday, 

November 14, 2018 was a day 

of all days. The APC candidate 

in Imo State, Senator Hope 

Uzodinma returned to the 

State from Abuja and the 

people came out in their 

thousands to celebrate him. 

The plane that brought him 

from Abuja touched down at 

Sam Mbakwe’s Cargo 

Airport at exactly 3pm. 

Ordinarily, it would have 

taken him 20 minutes to drive 

to his campaign office at 

Okigwe Road, Owerri. But 

Wednesday was different. 

Owerri had stood still for the 

man of the moment. It took 

two hours with two major flag- 

The carnival 

like 

atmosphere 

that seized 

Owerri 

became 

manifest as 

early as 6am 

as citizens 

abandoned 

their duties to 

await the 

arrival of 

Uzodinma 

stops at Nekede junction and Emmanuel 

college junction for Senator Hope 

Uzodinma to arrive the office to finally 

speak to the people. 

The carnival like atmosphere that seized 

Owerri became manifest as early 

as 6am as citizens abandoned 

their duties to await the arrival of 

Uzodinma. Those who could not 

make it to the airport lined the 

streets. Beholding the face of the 

man who subdued Governor 

Rochas Okorocha’s 

expansionist rule was enough 

food and water for the day. 

While some clutched placards 

with various inscriptions, 

others waved with their 

handkerchiefs. Yet others were 

restrained from lining the 

streets with their garments. 

Uzodinma is no Messiah. God 

only used him to liberate the 

people from modern day 

slavery inflicted on them by an 

over-ambitious emperor. 

Osita Okechukwu, an Enugu 

State indigene and Director 

General of Voice of Nigeria 

said the day signaled the 

liberation of Imo people from 

the hands of those who held 

them captives since 2011. “This 

is your day, rejoice and make 

merry for Senator Uzodinma is 

now is your midst”, he 

declared. 

That declaration was fitting enough for 

there had been wild speculations that 

anti-graft agencies had seized 

Uzodinma for imaginary crimes. Some 

government officials had even begun to 

refer to the APC candidate as a criminal 

when no court of competent jurisdiction had 

made such a pronouncement. So for Imo 

people, it was a day truth triumphed over 

wild propaganda and they had to be with 

Hope in flesh and blood. 

Indeed, the inscription in some of the 

placards they carried spoke volumes of their 

earlier frustrations and the glimmer of Hope 

offered by Hope Uzodinma’s candidacy. 

“Our Hope is back”, “Uche Nwosu run for 

cover”, “Owelle, your time is up”, “We are 

tired of China Roads”, Rochas say men no 

dey, but men dey” and “Judgment day is 

here” rented the air as the convoy of 

Uzodinma snaked its way through the 

streets of Owerri. 

What was instructive was the make-up of 

the mammoth crowd and the excitement 

that adorned their faces. The affluent and 

the poor were together. The old and the 

young exchanged messages of solidarity. 

Traders, artisans bonded with civil servants. 

Even students did not want to be left out in 

the historic gathering. Imo State Deputy 

Governor, Prince Eze Madumere led the 

cream of APC Chieftains to welcome the 

candidate. The Deputy Governor who was 

among those who contested the ticket spoke 

with his presence that the majority have 

accepted the candidacy of Senator Hope 

The unprecedented crowd that 

lined Owerri road to receive him 

Uzodinma. The presence of members of the 

National Assembly from the State gave a 

legislative seal to the ticket. 

But what was touching actually 

remained that in the midst of that 

dancing and drumming by the ecstatic 

crowd, Hope Uzodinma still saw 

through their pains and suffering. 

Although he represents so many things 

to Imo people, the APC candidate was 

also weighed down by the 

enormousness of the expectation and 

aspirations of a people who have been 

subjected to unimaginable 

dehumanization and neglect in the last 

seven and half years. 

That was why his speech was somber 

and measured. He acknowledged the 

ill-treatment and humiliations suffered 

by both religious and traditional 

institutions in the state and offered to 

make amends when he assumes office 

next year. Uzodinma who had been 

described by the cheering multitude as 

God sent told the crowd that they will 

have to vote APC all the way including 

ensuring that President Buhari returns 

in 2019 for their joy to be full. 

According to him, it is only when they 

go out to vote for him and other APC 

candidates in the 2019 elections that he 

would become the much needed instrument 

to reverse and recover all the years the 

locusts have eaten in Imo State. He assured 

them that once he is voted into power in 

2019, salaries of workers would be paid 

promptly and regularly while pensioners 

would have their pensions at the end of 

every month. He also pledged to revive 

the local government system and restore 

the respect of religious and traditional 

rulers in the state. 

Noting their specific request to see the 

back of impunity and familitocray in the 

State, Uzoinma told them that God has 

answered their prayers by using him as 

an instrument to liberate the people from 

the modern day Pharaoh . He vowed to 

ensure that the people make inputs into 

the governance of the state by running 

an inclusive government. He pledged 

to be open minded as well as receptive 

to positive ideas that would help 

reposition the state. 

Amidst shouts of “Hope our hope”, 

the people celebrated the home coming 

of a home boy who had always stood 

for the masses and down- trodden. 

According to Chief Jeff Onwuneme 

who travelled from Njaba LGA to Owerri 

just to see the face of the APC candidate, 

God has fulfilled the promise He made to 

His people that He would never abandon 

them in times of their need. 

Mbadiwe is Media adviser to Uzodinma


•Renounciation of Cultism at Badagry and surrendered weapons. 

Cultists on rampage, 

killings everywhere! 

•Police arrest 609 in one year 

By Emma Nnadozie, 

Crime Editor 

From the precincts of the highbrow Lekki, 

Ajah, VGC, Ikoyi and Victoria Island to the 

underbelly of the slums in Ajegunle, Agege, 

Mushin, Ojuelegba, Ikorodu, Okokomaiko, 

Anifowoshe- Ikeja and other areas of the city 

of excellence, they have continued to hold sway, 

unleashing terror on residents. Always clad 

in bizarre but pronounced tags, they operate 

as if they are laws unto themselves. Their 

bravado is such that they display their 

conquests openly with tattoos signifying the 

number of lives they have taken during 

different operations. 

Mastery of weapons 

Armed with dangerous weapons they 

display uncanny mastery of these weapons of 

death to the envy of even security agencies. 

These are the tools they freely use in harassing, 

intimidating, burning, looting, killing and 

decimating not only members of their cult 

groups but also helpless and hapless Nigerians 

in not just Lagos State but major cities in the 

country. The situation is so bad that each time 

they strike, they leave in their trail, blood and 

anguish. 

Killings galore 

In areas like Ajegunle, Ajah, Mushin, 

Ojuelegba, Ikorodu, Lekki, Epe, Okokomaiko, 

cult groups battle for supremacy. In July this 

year, four persons were reportedly killed and 

another four fatally wounded when members 

of the Eiye confraternity numbering about 50, 

invaded Okoya, Ogungbe, Moshalashi, 

Aroworade streets as well as Baale Adeyemo 

street and environs, wielding dangerous 

weapons and destroyed 

property of members of the 

communities at about 3am. 

In Ajegunle, three persons 

were killed and many injured 

in a clash between two cult 

groups late last week. 

Sources said members of the 

feuding cults went on 

rampage in the area, 

inflicting wounds on 

anybody they encountered. 

The three- day long violence 

started over the killing of a 

nephew to the Baale of 

Aiyetoro. In Ajegunle, one 

Endurance Augustine, was 

killed while several others 

were injured in a crisis 

between Eiye confraternity 

and a rival cult operating at 

Izeagwu and Kehinde 

Streets. Likewise, One 

Adewale Fakunle, was 

attacked and murdered 

between Boundary Market 

and Ojora Street. A source 

said he was returning from 

Tolu area where he had gone 

to visit a friend. Similarly, 

Later, 

somebody 

announced, 

‘’welcome to 

Aiye Cult, 

you have 

now 

blended’’ 

Nasiru Bashiru, Kenneth Dike and Power 

Michael who allegedly hacked a middle-aged 

man, identified as Walter to death at the 

entrance of a popular hotel at Iyano-Sashi 

area of the state, are at present in police net. 

The situation has taken a turn for the worse 

as cults break into homes they believe rival 

cult members live. Recently, at Ligali street 

Ojo, Lagos, there was pandemonium after a 

cult invaded a compound and stabbed a young 

man suspected to be a member of a rival cult 

to death. Sources said the boy came back 

home earlier, panting heavily, but did not tell 

anyone what the problem was. Residents of 

the area told Vanguard that most areas cult 

feuds take place are around police stations 

alleging also that on many occasions calls to 

police operatives to the scenes of cult battles 

were rebuffed. A source in the area said, 

“Sometimes, police pretend to be unaware of 

cult activities going on in the area. In some 

cases, they will not come to crime scenes until 

someone is killed, then, they will take the 

corpse and dispose it.” One instance, 

according to sources, was when Layeni police 

station in Ajegunle area was alerted over a 

cult battle that took the life of one person at 

Ligali Street and the police simply said they 

were not aware of any such battle. Meanwhile, 

members of the community said they had 

informed the police during the brawl. 

Method of initiation 

The latest method of conscription into 

different confraternities is by inviting 

unsuspecting targets to a party or picnic, 

without an inkling that it is an invitation to 

instant initiation. Before the invitation, an 

old member first acquaints himself with the 

target without revealing his sinister motive. 

Such invites, as gathered, are extended 

majorly to minors in order to prevent 

them from disclosing the 

information to their parents. 

Another method of initiation 

is by drugging their drinks. A 

minor, Mujideen, a JSS1 

student, disclosed that he was 

lured with eight bottles of beer 

to the initiation ground at Ajah 

by a man he referred to as Egbon 

in Orile. Another victim, Idris, 

15, who stated that he also 

operates a tricycle in Orile 

where he lives with his parents 

said “Egbon invited me to 

Savage bar at Orile where he 

bought a carton of Goldberg for 

me and some other youths, as I 

was drinking, he told me there 

could be a party later that night, 

that he would like me to attend. 

By the time I finished eight 

bottles of beer, I became tipsy 

and slept off. The next time I 

opened my eyes, I found myself 

on a beach with some boys. I 

was blindfolded and had my 

right thumb pierced with a 

broken bottle. Thereafter, I was 

asked to lick the blood. They 

also gave me a liquid concoction to drink. 

Later, somebody announced, ‘’welcome to 

Aiye Cult, you have now blended.’’ 

Another 28-year- old cultist said “I joined 

Aiye in 2011 while in the university. I was 

expelled from the school over cult-related 

activities. When I came back home, I 

regrouped with members of my confraternity 

in Ojo, Lagos and I have carried out five 

different killings. My first mission was at Oke- 

Afa area of Badagry. I do not know the name 

of the person, because I was invited to do the 

job. The second person was at Ijanikin and 

the victim was known as Badmos. 

He was a member of a rival cult group and 

I was assigned to kill him. The third person 

was at Kasidi area of Okokomaiko. I was 

also invited to kill him. The fourth was one 

Asumo living in my area at Ketu. He was a 

prominent member of a rival cult group and 

had once attempted to kill me. The last person 

was one Yusuf who was also a friend to Asumo. 

After they attacked me, Yusuf ran to Ibadan 

to hide. I trailed him to Ibadan and killed 

him. My cult also killed Walter, the head of 

Arobaga also known as Vikings operating in 

Alaba International market. He killed one 

Theophilus who was a member of our cult 

two months ago and that made us to declare 

war against them.” 

Ignoble role 

of politicians 

Ironically, investigations revealed that the 

menace of cultism and the attendant 

possession of dangerous weapons should be 

attributed to scheming by desperate 

politicians, not just for supremacy but, most 

importantly, to ride into victory especially 

during elections. Police sources intimated 

Vanguard that for every cult-related bloody 

clash investigations must trace the origin to 

one prominent politician or the other. 

According to sources, they arm these poor, 

hapless urchins into engaging in cultism and 

before they know it, they become hardened 

criminals. ‘’They capitalize on the yawning 

poverty and lack of jobs to recruit these idle 

youths into different cult groups and they spend 

heavily in arming them. In fact, any politician 

that is seen not to have the backing of one cult 

group or the other will be regarded as a 

weakling. They thrive more on boasting that 

they are well equipped and connected to 

unleash terror on any of their opponents who 

prove tough. Shockingly, efforts by police 

authorities to mop up their illegal arms seem 

to have failed because most of them are still 

equipping these cultists to unleash terror on 

not just their peers but innocent Nigerians. If 

you go to their respective homes and offices, 

you must see these dangerously clad cultists 

brandishing dangerous weapons to the 

admiration of their paymasters, the 

politicians. Worse still, police cannot claim 

not to see them moving around freely with 

armed youths’’. 

Police action 

On their part, security agencies have left no 

stone unturned in fighting back. However, 

the overwhelming rise and continuous 

vindictive activities of cult groups still pose a 

daunting task to the police. Lagos State, as 

the commercial headquarters of the country 

seems to harbour the worst cultists. Police 

authorities in the state have lived up to the 

billing to the extent that scores of hardened 

and notorious cultists have been arrested and 

thrown into prison while concerted efforts are 

being made to nip their nefarious activities in 

the bud. From statistics of major incidents 

recorded from police area commands in 

Lagos State between January and September 

2018, it was gathered that no fewer than 609 

cultists were arrested in the state while a paltry 

17 cases were reported. 

A significant rise in the arrest of cultists was 

recorded between 31 st December 2017 and 

1 st January, 2018 till date. In the same vein, a 

comparative chart within same period 

indicated that about 70% success was 

recorded. From records available, no fewer 

than 500 cultists renounced their membership 

in Ijede area of Ikorodu in Ocotober, 2017 

while 120 did same at Imota area of Ikorodu 

in November, 2017. Subsequently, 652 and 

139 followed suit at Igbogbo area of Ikorodu 

in February, 2018 and Badagry area in March, 

2018 respectively. 

CP Edgal 

to the rescue 

Recognising that cultism is a menace to the 

society, Lagos State police boss, Imohimi 

Edgal took the bull by the horns and embarked 

on far-reaching measures aimed at curtailing 

their excesses if not wiping them off entirely 

from the state. He kicked -off on assumption of 

duties by tackling the most dreaded and blood 

thirsty cultist group, Badoo, which unleashed 

terror on Ikorodu and other suburbs of Lagos. 

To this end, he took the community policing 

crusade to all nooks and crannies of the state 

through numerous town hall meetings with the 

people in the area commands. In this way, CP 

Edgal was able to convince the people to join 

hands with the police to stamp out cultism and 

thus the people had been forthcoming with 

information which crystallized into intelligence 

reports on the activities of cults. 

The success story is not only in getting 

information that has led to the arrest of numerous 

cult members but that the people comprising 

traditional rulers, opinion leaders, stakeholders 

and local government chairmen in places like 

Ikorodu, Ijede, Badagry etc went the extra length 

to convince their wards who are members of 

these nefarious groups to renounce cultism and 

surrender their weapons to the police. The 

Commissioner of police has so far received, 

documented and profiled over 1,800 youths who 

voluntarily renounced cultism. 

Most times during his numerous press briefings 

and releases, the police boss had always 

admonished politicians to play the game by 

the rules and refrain from using these youths 

as political thugs. He went further to establish 

a vibrant anti-cultism squad which so far has 

been a thorn in the flesh of cult groups in the 

state.


MURDER OF DSP IN IKOR 

ORODU: 

ODU: 

Former Lagos Speaker 

narrates ordeal 

*Calls for public inquiry into death 

By Olasunkanmi Akoni 

Recently brutalized former Speaker of 

Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. 

Hon. Jokotola Pelumii has called for 

the setting up of a high powered public inquiry 

to unravel the cause of the death of a senior 

police officer, attached to the anti-cultism unit 

of the state police command, allegedly killed 

by a group of cultists in Agbowa, Ikorodu area 

of Lagos State. 

On October 27, at about 4:30 p.m, a team of 

Anti Cultism Policemen attached to Area ‘N’ 

Ijede, of the Lagos State Command, were 

attacked while trying to effect arrest of some 

suspected cultists. 

In the process, a police officer, Deputy 

Superintendent of Police, DSP, Akingboju 

Akindele was killed. 

Subsequently, investigation into the case led 

to the arrest of 49 suspects including Pelumi. 

Following the death of Akindele, enraged 

policemen swooped on the rural community, 

manhandling many, and vandalized the 

former speaker’s property at will in the 

process. 

Lagos State Commissioner of Police, 

Imohimi Edgal declared that the former 

speaker, alongside others, attacked and killed 

Akindele while chasing some suspected 

cultists. 

According to Edgal, the suspects were traced 

to the former lawmaker’s house where they 

were reported to be hibernating after 

committing the dastardly act. 

He said investigation had narrowed down 

the arrested suspects to five who actively took 

part in the crime. 

The policeman’s rifle was also recovered at 

water front Ijede where it was burried. 

Last week, Pelumi and six other suspects were 

arraigned by the Police before an Ebute Meta 

Magistrates court over the alleged murder of 

Akindele. 

While Pelumi was arraigned for aiding the 

escape of some suspects in the crime, the six 

other persons were arraigned for the murder 

of the police officer. 

The police in the charge accused the former 

Speaker of receiving into his home, a prime 

suspect Adekunle Dabiri, who was alleged to 

have taken part in the killing of the senior 

police officer. 

The prosecution said the other accused 

persons conspired among themselves to 

murder DSP Akindele. 

Pelumi pleaded not guilty to the charge and 

was granted bail by Chief Magistrate A.O. 

Adedayo in the sum of N1million with two 

sureties. A lawmaker from his constituen 

perfected the bail conditions. 

The magistrate also directed that one of the 


Astaunch member of the Governor’s 

Advisory Council, GAC, the 

highest decision making organ of 

the All Progressives Congress, APC, Lagos 

Chapter, Senator Anthony Adefuye has 

revealed all intrigues and events that led 

to the scuttling of second term ticket of 

the incumbent Governor Akinwunmu 

Ambode of Lagos State. 

Adefuye said all efforts that were made 

by the Lagos East Leaders of the APC, of 

which he represents, in ensuring that 

Ambode clinched his second term ticket 

were thwarted by the governor himself. 

The APC stalwart gave the startling 

revelation, Thursday, at the East 

Senatorial Solidarity parley, held at 

Centre For Management Development, 

CMD, Shsngisha, Lagos. 

Addressing the attentive crowd, Adefuye 

seized the opportunity to clear the air on 

rumours still making the rounds that the 

leaders from Lagos East Senatorial where 

the incumbent governor hails from did 

not make any case to secure Ambode’s 

second term ticket. 

According to him: “We did our best to 

have a meeting with the governor before 

the issue went out of hand, but he (the 

Governor) did not give us the chance and 

attention whatsoever, to have access to 

hold meetings with him. 

“People accused me of removing 

Governor Akinwunmi Ambode. We saw 

this crack coming about four months 

earlier and we decided to meet with our 

sureties must be a member of the State House 

of Assembly. 

The magistrate however, ordered the 

remand of the other accused persons at the 

Ikoyi Prison, pending legal advice from the 

Office of the State Director of Public 

Prosecutions. 

The case was adjourned tiil November 26, 

2018 for mention. 

Pelumi narrates 

ordeal 

A visibly traumatized Pelumi, in a chat with 

Vanguard, at his Ikosi, Ketu, Lagos office on 

Tuesday, managed to utter some words: “It is 

only the setting up of a public inquiry that can 

help show the whole world what was 

responsible for thé death of a senior police 

officer who died at Agbowa recently, for which 

the police invaded the venue of a burial 

ceremony in the town and adjoining streets, 

unleashing terror on me and my family and 

vandalizing my property for no justifiable 

reason. 

“What happened last week (penultimate 

week) when police invaded Agbowa and 

unleashed chaos on me and many other 

residents, to avenge the death of a senior police 

officer, and vandalizing my property in the 

Lagos 2019: Sanwo-Olu tasks campaign groups on reconciliation of 

aggrieved members 


he All Progressives Congress, APC, Lagos 

TState chapter, Governorship Candidate, 

Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu has stressed the need 

for various campaign groups of the three 

senatorial districts to embark on 

reconciliatory moves of all aggrieved 

members to engender total victory for the 

party’s candidates in the 2019 general polls. 

Sanwo-Olu gave the task while addressing 

Executives of the West Senatorial District of 

the Buhari, Sanwo-Olu Independent 

Campaign Group, ICG, led by former Peoples 

Democratic Party, PDP, Lagos chapter, 

Moshood Salvador and other stakeholders, 

held at the campaign Secretariat, Maryland, 

Onigbogbo Local Council Development 

Area, LCDA of the state. 

On October 30th, Lagos as part of effort 

towards finding common ground among 

party members after the conduct of primaries, 

APC collapsed all support structures by 

harmonizing Buhari and Osinbajo Campaign 

Support Group, BOCSG, Ambode Mandate 

Support Group, AMSG, and Babajide Olusola 

Campaign Organization, BOSCO, into an 

Independent Campaign Group, ICG. 

The move was geared towards resolving 

disputes among various groups, such that may 

had seemingly divided the party after 

governorship primary election in the state and 

serve as an extra hand to the party in the state 

during forthcoming general elections. 

It was gathered that the collapse of the 

groups was aimed at forming a formidable 

independent campaign team that 

accommodates all party members with the 

party ideology as its focal point to ensure 

victories for incumbent President 

Muhammadu Buhari and Babajide Sanwo- 

Olu, the Gubernatorial candidate and other 

political offices’ seekers in the state. 

ICG is led by Mr. Tayo Ayinde, who was 

until recently serving at BOSCO, as Director 

General of the Group, with an APC chieftain, 

Cardinal James Odunbaku, as his deputy. 

Speaking on the occasion, Sanwo-Olu, 

sought for unity in the party, noting that the 

reconciliation of all aggrieved members 

would be necessary for a successful victory at 

the forthcoming general elections in the state. 

Sanwo noted that any victory recorded in 

2019 would not be for him alone but all 

members of the party, adding that that he had 

extended an olive branch to everyone who felt 

cheated or shortchanged, so that they would 

work as a team and build a formidable party 

that would be victorious at the polls. 

According to him: “We will campaign 

together, get victory for Lagos State and get 

victory for President Muhammadu Buhari 

and for all other contestants, that is our 

target and we will achieve that if we work 

as a family.” 

Speaking at the event, Salvador assured 

Lagos APC that he would strategize to 

give the party the desired victory at the 

polls. 

“The challenge before me is to make 

sure Sanwo-Olu wins in Lagos State with 

landslide victory and President Buhari is 

returned. It is an assignment given to me 

and I can assure you that it will be 

delivered. 

“APC has not been able to maximize its 

capacity. I will bring my experience to 

bear to ensure it performs maximally at 

the forthcoming elections. My target is 

to get two million votes for APC during 

the governorship election in Lagos. 

“I am appealing to all APC aggrieved 

members to shield their swords, 

remember that we are working for the 

victory of the party, the party is above any 

one individual, so we must put the party’s 

interest first,” he said. 

course of that needless invasion, was a travesty 

of justice. 

“What happened on that day was not 

something that should hapen in any decent 

society in this modern time. Such dastardly, 

occurence ought only occur in Banana 

Republics where Law and Order is an 

anathema.” 

“I was at my house in Agbowa that day with 

some family members, when news filtered in 

that there was chaos nearby where a senior 

pilice officer was said to have lost his life in 

unexplainable circumstances. And 

immediately I heard that, I changed my mind 

to stay at home and not attending the burial 

ceremony of a departed community member, 

but putting calls through to the Divisional 

Police Officer, DPO, instead. 

“I was therefore, caught unaware when a 

horde of heavily armed policemen scaled my 

fence, breaking down my doors to gain access, 

after which I was given the beating of my life 

with the butts their guns, which left deep cut 

on my left chin, that is very visible for all to 

see. 

“Immediately they gained access to me, they 

did not just manhandle me but also took away 

the sum of $10,000 U.S. Dollars, #34,000 

Naira, several expensive wrist watches, and 

jewelries, while several household electronics 

were destroyed. 

“It was after they had done so much damage 

that they wisked me, two of my cousins, who 

had been with me in the house with their 

family all days, and two others who were 

servers at the party in town to Panti Police 

Station, Yaba, Lagos and detained us from 

early Sunday morning till Tuesday, when we 

were arraigned in court.” 

Reacting to the police allegation that he 

allowed cultists to hide in his house after taking 

part in killing of the dead senior police officer, 

Pelumi declared: “To say that I habour cultists 

in my house is a blatant lie from the pit of hell. 

How can I, a senior member of the Bar, and a 

former number three citizen of Lagos State 

do such a thing. It is absolutely impossble for 

me to do that. 

“What I learnt is that the deceased police 

officer was runover by the police van that the 

police brought and not killed by anyone. And 

that is why I demand for the setting up of a 

public inquiry to unravel what happened.” 

Asked if he would press charges against the 

police, Pelumi decleared: “As a responsible 

citizen, I still strongly believe that the system 

will do the needful by ensuring that justice is 

done. And most commendably, the Lagos 

State is already seeing to that. 

“What is clear is that by the time an autopsy 

is carried out on the late senior police officer, 

the cause of his death would have been 

unravelled.” 

How Ambode nailed his second term ticket — GAC member reveals 

•Ambode 

Lagos Central Senatorial Leader, Alhaji 

Tajudeen Olusi and three of us went to see 

Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. 

“We asked Asiwaju Tinubu if there was 

any problem, and he said that there was a 

problem and he narrated it. We prostrated 

and asked him to call the governor and 

speak with him.We left the place and 

started calling the governor to give him 

the outcome of the meeting, but he did 

not pick our calls. 

“Asiwaju Tinubu said that he was not 

picking his calls too. I actually tried my 

best, but it continued like that. Asiwaju 

Tinubu promised to call us after speaking 

•Sanwo-Olu 

with him.” 

Howevrr, while narrating his personal 

experience during the period, Adefuye 

revealed further, “I spoke with the Vice 

President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo during 

Sallah that Asiwaju Tinubu would not 

return the governor. 

“And I told him, (Osinbajo) that he 

should see Asiwaju Tinubu, but the Vice 

President told me he would be going to 

Abeokuta that same day. I went to Epe on 

the second day and tried to see the 

governor and called him, but he did not 

pick his calls. 

“They said I would see him the following 

day, a Sunday, but they later said he would 

not see me that he was going to Lagos. 

“We also tried to see Asiwaju Tinubu, 

but they said he was not around and we 

called Hon. Sikiru Oshinowo to help us 

see Asiwaju Bola Tinubu so that we could 

see him. After that, we saw Asiwaju 

Tinubu, but the Governor did not get back 

to us despite all our efforts. 

“We saw Asiwaju at 10.pm and he told 

us a lot of things till 12 midnight. We then 

told Asiwaju Tinubu to call GAC meeting. 

We told him to invite the governor who 

was able to speak with us for the first time. 

It was a great opportunity that we lost,” 

he said. 

The Lagos East Senatorial District 

Leader then advised the people of the 

district not to put anybody that is not a 

member of the party in sensitive positions. 

According to him, “Politics is about 

what anyone can get for his people, as a 

good a leader. You may even be disgraced 

while fighting for the interest of majority.”


2019: INEC uncovers 1,224 dead 

persons in Adamawa register 

Y 

ola, The Independent National 

Electoral Commission (INEC) has 

detected 1,224 dead persons’ names in its 

Adamawa voters’ register for the 2019 

general elections. 

Mr Kassim Gaiodam, the state Resident 

Electoral Commissioner, disclosed this 

during the opening of a two-day workshop 

for North East Zonal lmplementers on 

election monitoring and support, holding in 

Yola on Thursday. 

Gaidam said that the statistic was 

uncovered during the recent display of voters’ 

register for claims and objections. 

The commissioner said that the exercise 

was successfully conducted across the state. 

He explained that during the exercise, the 

commission recorded 2,113 claims and out 

of the 1,588 objections, 1,224 were reported 

death. 

The commissioner noted that during the 

exercise, 38,658 Permanent Voter Cards were 

collected across the state. 

Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, the INEC 

Chairman, said that the election monitoring 

and support centre was one of the significant 

tools used by the commission in planning, 

monitoring and implementation of support 

provision to field officers for credible conduct 

of the elections. 

Yakubu, who was represented by his Special 

Assistant, Prof. Muhammed Kuna, said that 

the commission would use all resources at its 

disposal to ensure fair and free conduct of the 

2019 general elections. 

He explained that the workshop was to 

strengthen the commission’s capacities to 

monitor the mechanisms and activities put in 

place for smooth conduct of the 2019 general 

elections, among objectives. 

Also speaking, Mr Samson Fadare, the 

representative of European Centre for Electoral 

Support, said the EU was proud to support 

INEC’s laudable initiative that sought to ensure 

free, fair and smooth conduct of elections. 

“It will be recalled that European Centre for 

Electoral Support supported the conduct of the 

election monitoring support implementer 

workshops for the off-cycle governorship 

elections in Anambra, Ekiti and Osun in 2017 

and 2018, among others,” Fadare said. 

He noted that the workshop was the second 

of its kind designed for zonal implementers 

and would be organised across the six 

geopolitical zones to educate and familiarise 

the functionaries of the commission across the 

nation. 

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports 

that the workshop was organised by INEC and 

supported by European Union. 

Five out of the six INEC resident electoral 

commissioners from North East with their top 

management staff were participants, excluding 

Bauchi State. 

2019 Hajj: Kano pilgrims board begins 

collection of N1.2m deposit 

Kano, The Kano State Pilgrims 

Welfare Board, has begun the 

collection of N1.2 million from 

prospective pilgrims as initial 

deposit for the 2019 hajj fare. 

The Executive Secretary of the 

board, Alhaji Muhammad Abba- 

Danbatta, made this disclosure 

while briefing newsmen in Kano 

on Thursday. 

He said even though, the 

National Hajj Commission of 

Nigeria (NAHCON), had 

directed the state pilgrims 

welfare boards to collect N1.5 

million as initial deposit, but 

based on experience, the board 

decided to collect N1.2 million. 

According to him, it is expected 

that any intending pilgrim, who 

paid N1.2m will not find it 

difficult to offset the balance 

when the final fare is announced. 

“Based on experience, last 

year’s hajj fare was a little over 

N1.4m, so anybody, who pays 

N1.2m will find it easy to pay the 

balance after the final fare is 

announced,” he said. 

The Executive Secretary said as 

soon as intending pilgrims paid the 

initial deposit, the board would register 

them for the commencement of the other 

processes as the final collection of the 

hajj fares will close by the end of 

February 2019. 

“NAHCON has fixed the end of 

February 2019 as the last date for the 

collection of the hajj fares from the state 

pilgrims welfare boards. 

“So we expect intending pilgrims to 

start paying their deposit to enable the 

board to begin preparations early. 

On the 2018 hajj exercise, Abba- 

Danbatta described it as successful and 

lauded Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje for the 

support he had been giving to the board. 

He said nine out of 13 people, who 

could not complete payment of the fare 

in 2018 had since been refunded their 

money while the remaining four persons 

had indicated their intention to perform 

the hajj this year. 

The Executive Secretary said that 

during the 2018 hajj, three pilgrims from 

the state lost their lives in the holy land. 

On Umra (lesser hajj), the Executive 

Secretary said the board had concluded 

arrangements for the commencement its 

operation.


How w Indian corporat 

porates, partner 

tners s are 

adding value to Nigerian economy 

Stories by Moses Nosike 

Even 

though 

Indian Indigenes 

in Nigeria have not 

been seeking public 

notice or self 

gratification on their 

enormous contribution 

to the health of 

Nigerians, community 

empowerment, youth 

employment and 

e c o n o m y 

development of the 

country through their 

business operations 

and joint forces of their 

partners, such impacts 

they are making is 

speaking bold, very 

glaring in many states 

of the country. They 

have continued to Second left is the chairman, Sona Group of Industries and other Indians Indigenes 

sustain this feat. at their worship centre , Lekki Lagos. 

On a visit to Indian temple at 

Lekki, Lagos, where the till date. Every year the eye 

chairman, Sona Group of camp is held at General 

is most noble thing we can do for 

Industries, Arjan Mirchandani Hospital, Marina, Lagos where 

the host community. 

who spoke on India relation with around 300 Nigerians who are 

“In order to reach out to more 

Nigeria, said that he prefers unable to see and are not able 

number of people to benefit, 

doing business in Nigeria to afford the cost of cataract 

Geeta Ashram joined hands with 

despite the challenging factors. surgery are operated free of 

Rotary Club of Lagos Island and 

He said this during the Diwali cost. 

held free camp in Kano at ECWA 

Indian celebration, that even the Gulati said, “Similarly the free 

hospital Kano in September 2017 

big economies of the world were eye camps are also held yearly 

and October 2018 and 949 people 

at one point or the other faced in Kano at ECWA eye hospital 

benefitted through this 

economic challenges before they centre where thousands have 

programme. Another camp 

were able to fix it, saying, Nigeria benefited through the exercise. 

together with Rotary Club of 

would soon overcome its Organising these free eye camps 

Lagos Island was held at 

challenges and take its place in involves lot of funds which Geeta 

General Hospital, Marina, 

the commonwealth of nations. Ashram Foundation has been 

Lagos and 259 people regained 

According to Mirchandani, able to generate through 

their lost vision. With our 

Nigerians are more donations received from the 

partners, we have remained 

accommodating, good, dynamic Indian community and Indian 

focused and consistent in our 

and aggressive breed, and these corporates, because it believes 

effort in Nigeria to contribute to 

attributes endeared him to that providing sight to the needy 

healthy living and economic 

Nigerian citizens than their 

development.” 

Ghanaian and South African 

counterparts. Nigerian youths 

are intelligent and they need 

opportunities – they have the 

strength and focus to do so many 

things to sustain them. If given 

the opportunity, he could employ 

more Nigerians especially 

youths to reduce unemployment 

rate in the country. And to further 

strengthen this relationship, 

Mirchandani said that the 

company is not planning to leave 

Nigeria but would rather 

continue to add more value to the 

lives Nigerians and the 

country’s economy. 

Continuing he said, “Sona ECWA eye hospital camp, Kano where Geeta Ashram Foundation 

Breweries came to being in and its partners conduct ed free eye surgery. 

1994 and since then the 

company has impacted the lives 

of local farmers via sourcing of 

Sorghum from them and The Marketing Manager of us, the motivation has been that by 

employing more Nigerians to Promasidor Nigeria Limited, doing this, we are touching an 

narrow the unemployment in Mr. Abiodun Ayodeji has disclosed important area in our consumers’ 

the country. 

that the connection between lives and the reaction from 

Speaking on healthcare, he Cowbell brand and Mathematics consumers in terms of brand 

said, presently, Geeta Ashram competition has deepened over the acceptance has been positive,” he 

Foundation has joined forces 

years that the participating students, said. 

their parents and other stakeholders Ayodeji maintained that 

with its partners and is carrying connected with the initiative have Cowbellpedia has become an 

out a healthcare project worth become the company’s brand effective platform that has 

millions of dollars in Abuja to ambassadors. 

entrenched Cowbell brand in the 

help curb certain killer virus Ayodeji, who spoke with minds of consumers from 

threatening lives of Nigerians. journalists at the finals of this year’s generation to generation. 

In addition, President of Cowbellpedia Mathematics Meanwhile, as this years’ 

Rotary Club of Lagos Island, Secondary Schools TV Quiz show Cowbellpedia Mathematics 

in Lagos, explained that Promasidor competition came to a glorious end 

R.K. Gulati said that his group started the project 20 years ago to last weekend in Lagos, Akinfoluhan 

had collaborated with Geeta engage “our consumers in a Akinleye from The Ambassadors 

Ashram since two years ago to structured way and also, give back College, Ota, Ogun State and 

help the less-privileged with to the society that we operate in.” Chinedu Mgbemena, a student of 

eye problems. 

He added that the Cowbellpedia Graceland International School, 

“Geeta Ashram has been initiative was launched on Port Harcourt, Rivers State emerged 

running the free eye care education, which is a very important the champions in the junior and 

legacy where every parent wants his senior categories respectively. 

programme since 1999, 

children or ward to succeed. “For Akinfoluhan left Splendour 

conducted 10,000 eye surgery 

MTN, Google empower SMEs on 

digital marketing 

MTN Nigeria in collaboration with Google has empowered over 40 

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) with practical skills to 

implement effective digital marketing strategies in Port Harcourt, Rivers 

State. 

The SMEs who run businesses in various sectors were empowered to gain 

first-hand experience on how to use digital tools to maximize their businesses. 

The facilitators enlightened them on how they can effectively promote their 

businesses using various digital tools with a focus on owning business 

websites, running business ads, leveraging social media amongst others. 

Speaking on the experience, one of the entrepreneurs, Deekor Legborsi, 

CEO of Squirrel Technologies said: “This was a really rewarding experience. 

I speak for the other partners when I say that being a partner of MTN has 

not been a let-down as it has opened the airways to other business owners 

and prospective business opportunities.” 

MTN Nigeria said it continues to seek ways to contribute to the Nigerian 

economy by extending its partnership capabilities to brighten the lives of 

small business owners within the country. 

Reiterating MTN Business’ objectives with its partners, General Manager, 

Enterprise Marketing, Onyinye Ikenna-Emeka represented by Manager, 

Enterprise Business, Bridget Enuma said: “Since 2001, we have consistently 

been providing innovative and customized solutions for our partners to 

help their businesses thrive, while maximizing profitability. 

Cellulant makes prestigious Fintech list 

ellulant, a leading digital payments provider in Nigeria that reaches 40 

Cmillion people across 11 African countries, has been named among the 

top 50 emerging Fintech companies in the world in this year’s KPMG 

FinTech100 report. 

Cellulant is among the only three African companies representing Africa 

from Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa to be included in the list of leading 

global Fintech innovators that are transforming the financial services 

industry and have successfully raised venture capital. 

The 2018 KPMG Fintech100 report highlights truly innovative companies 

creating products and services at the nexus of technology and financial 

services. . The annual report now in its fifth edition has featured companies 

from 36 countries divided into two categories; The ‘Top 50’ - established 

Fintech firms around the globe, ranked based on innovation, capital raising 

activity, size and country. And the ‘Emerging 50’ firms. 

According to the Co-CEO, Cellulant, Bolaji Akinboro, “Our commitment 

is to continue scaling a payments infrastructure that can transform two 

thirds of Africans who do not have access to a bank account. We believe that 

building a connected payments infrastructure is the foundation of solving 

real challenges and accelerating Africa’s growth and development. 

“Cellulant was selected for operating a one-stop payments ecosystem in 

Africa; connecting businesses and governments to increasingly mobile 

consumers and for being the only African company to land the largest 

investment in the Fintech arena. Cellulant now operates in 11 countries, 

with roughly 12% of Africa’s mobile consumers now able to make payments 

using their services and products. 

In addition, Co-CEO, Cellulant, Ken Njoroge said that the technology is 

connecting a continent. In most of sub-Saharan Africa, nearly 90% of all 

payments and transactions remain cash based yet the rate of mobile 

penetration in Africa is currently at 43%- we are innovating around digital 

payments to change this status quo. Diversity has shown itself to be a powerful 

driver of innovation; we have seen an explosion of innovation over the past 

five years, across geographies and sectors. 

L-R:President/Chairman of Council of Chartered Institute of Personnel 

Management of Nigeria[CIPM], Mr. Udom Inoyo, National Officer of 

the Institute Mallam Bashiru Tukur; First Executive Secretary of the 

Institute, Chief Soboyede Adewale; and the author of the book Prof. Sola 

Falana during the book launching of the CIPM at 50th at International 

Conference Centre Abuja. 

How Cowbell brand reaches consumers via Cowbellpedia competition 

Nwankwo of Jesuit Memorial 

College and Favour Okarike of 

Graceland International School, 

both in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, 

respectively settling for the first and 

second runner-up places. 

Other junior category finalists who 

exited in the first round on the final 

day were Chidozie Uzochukwu of 

Nigerian Tulip International 

School, Abuja; Gabriel Akogun 

from Welkin International and 

Loluwa Abiodun of The 

Ambassadors College, both in Ota, 

Ogun State. 

Akinfoluhan dedicated his victory 

to his father and his Mathematics 

teacher, Kayode Adebayo, saying he 

felt very happy to wear the crown, 

especially being his first time of 

participating in the competition. 

“My father will be so happy,” he 

said. 

Chinedu, on his own part, beat his 

five other colleagues to becomes the 

2018 senior champion. 

Praise Isinkaye, a student of 

Federal Government Academy, 

Suleja, Niger State who 

participated in the competition for 

the second time, was the first runner 

up, while the second runner-up 

position went to Juliet Ekoko, the 

2016 junior category champion 

from The Ambassador College, Ota 

Ogun State. 

Other contestants who could not 

go beyond the first round of the final 

were Jessica Austine from Federal 

Government College, Owerri, Imo 

State; Enoch Adenekan of The 

Ambassadors College, Ota; and 

Nafisat Abdulwaheed from Reality 

High School, Ilesha, Osun State. 

Chinedu, also a second timer in 

the competition, expressed 

gratitude to God and his 

Mathematics teacher, Mr. 

Christopher Olasupo for guiding 

him through.


Orji Kalu and the revocation 

of bail: Matters arising 

By Richard Akinnola 

Hon. Justice Mohammed Idris of the Federal 

High (and a Court of 

Appeal Justice, having been elevated to the 

higher Bench), was obviously in a hurry to 

dispense with the case and move on. 

Section 396(7) of the Administration of 

Criminal Justice Act of 2015 has given judges 

the leeway to conclude criminal matters even 

after the elevation of such a judge. 

Section 396(7):”Notwithstanding the 

provision of any other law to the contrary, a 

judge of the High Court who has been 

elevated to the Court of Appeal shall have 

dispensation to continue to sit as a High court 

Judge, only for the purpose of concluding any 

part-heard criminal matter, pending before 

him at the time of his elevation and shall 

conclude within reasonable time, provided 

that this section shall not prevent him from 

assuming duty as a Justice of the Court of 

Appeal”. 

This provision obviously was meant to 

correct certain anomalies in criminal trials, 

whereby hitherto, when such elevation of 

judges occurred, it usually resulted in the 

cases being heard de novo (afresh from the 

beginning). This has caused lots of delays in 

criminal trials. 

On Monday, Justice Idris had revoked the 

bail of a former Governor of Abia State, Chief 

Orji Kalu, who is standing trial of alleged 

N7.6 billion fraud. 

Perhaps, it is necessary at this stage to give 

a brief background to the debacle. 

This case has dragged on for 11 years. That 

was before the enactment of the ACJA in 

2015, which to all intents and purposes, was 

meant to fast track criminal justice system 

and eliminate interlocutory appeals that 

hitherto were impediments to quick 

administration of Justice. 

Kalu is facing an amended 39- count 

charge, along with his former Director of 

Finance and Accounts, Jones Udeogu and a 

company, Slok Nigeria Limited. 

On May 11, 2018, the EFCC prosecutor, 

Rotimi Jacobs, SAN had closed the case of the 

prosecution after the conclusion of evidences 

by prosecution witnesses. 

Counsel to the defendants, Awa Kalu, SAN, 

on May 28, 2018 filed a no-case submission 

which was subsequently argued and dismissed 

by the judge, asking Kalu to open his defence. 

However, before the defendants could open 

their defence, their counsel, Goddy Uche, SAN 

had informed the court that the lead defence 

counsel, Awa Kalu, SAN, had written the court 

to the effect that the first defendant, Orji Kalu 

had a medical appointment in Germany 

where he was to undergo a major surgery. 

He subsequently pleaded with the court to 

adjourn the matter to September 10, by which 

time the defendant would be in a position to 

open his defence. 

Justice Idris then adjourned the case to 

September 10 to enable the defendants open 

their defence. But that was not to be, as Kalu 

wasn’t back from his medical trip. 

The matter was further put off till November 

5 when Kalu was still recuperating at a 

German hospital. His counsel, Awa Kalu, 

SAN informed the court that his client was 

still recuperating in Germany, adding that the 

EFCC prosecutor, Rotimi Jacobs, SAN was 

aware of the development. 

However, Jacobs expressed surprise that 

Kalu was absent, wondering whether Kalu 

obtained the court’s permission to travel. 

He accused Kalu for allegedly jumping bail. 

While the judge agreed with Awa Kalu that 

the case was adjourned sine die on September 

27 but that hearing notice was served on Kalu 

on November 2, at a time Kalu was in a 

German hospital. The judge then adjourned 

the matter for the last time, giving Kalu a one 

week grace to be in court. 

This was not to be as Kalu was still in the 

German hospital. But the judge wasn’t 

impressed, leading him to revoke Kalu’s bail 

and adjourned the matter to January 23, 2019 

to enable Kalu enough time to recuperate and 

be in court. 

•Orji Uzor Kalu in German Hospital 

That is the crux of the matter. The judge 

seemed to have contradicted himself. Having 

adjourned the matter to January 23 to enable 

the first defendant enough time to recuperate, 

with profound respect to the honourable judge, 

he ought not to have revoked the bail. Rather, 

he should have ruled that in view of the medical 

challenges of the first defendant, that he was 

adjourning the matter again and that if Kalu 

refused to show up on January 23, he would 

revoke the bail. That should have been a much 

fairer decision than revoking his bail, since 

there is enough evidence that the first 

defendant- Kalu was in a German hospital. 

This is also particularly against the 

background of the fact that his counsel formally 

informed the EFCC of his planned medical 

trip. 

This case has dragged on for 11 years and it 

is instructive to note that throughout this period, 

the first defendant had never absented himself 

from trial. To me, the Hon. Judge ought to 

have adverted his mind to this. 

Perhaps, if the defendant had had a history 

of absenting himself in court in the course of 

the trial, that might have worked negatively 

against him but that was not the case. 

As a matter of fact, after the Supreme court 

dismissed his interlocutory appeal on March 

19, 2016, Kalu had stated that it was a welcome 

decision that his trial was about to start, stating 

that it provided him an opportunity to prove 

his innocence. 

My concern now is that as the trial is winding 

down, the judge may have inadvertently put a 

spanner in the works with this order of bail 

revocation because l foresee a possible 

application that the judge should recuse 

himself. 

That may invariably prolong a matter that 

should have ended in the first quarter of next 

year. 

It needs be noted that only the living can 

stand trial. A former Governor of Kogi state, 

Abubakar Audu who died three years ago was 

facing a 186 count charge of alleged 

corruption. The 186 count charge died along 

with him and the society is the loser. 

A little tarry by the judge till January 23 

would have been more appropriate. But 

revoking his bail, while at the same time urging 

him to take his time to get fit till January 23, to 

me, sounds contradictory. It’s like taking with 

left hand, what you have with right hand. It’s 

unhelpful in the circumstance. If a defendant 

had made himself available for trial for11 

years without jumping bail, the circumstances 

of the revocation of the bail seem high-handed. 

As the maxim goes, justice must not only be 

done but must be seen to have been done. 

While the judge may be eager to be done 

with the case and go and take his seat at the 

Court of Appeal, I’m afraid the judge may have 

unwittingly played into the hands of the 

defendants where a possible application of 

recusing himself may be in the offing. 

Meanwhile, we keep our fingers crossed and 

watch as developments unfold. 

*Akinnola is the Editor-in-chief of 

CORRUPTION CASES DIGEST



Nigerian Breweries charges Eagles to beat South Africa 

Nigerian Breweries Plc 

has urged the Super 

Eagles to extract their pound 

of flesh from the Bafana 

Bafana of South Africa when 

the two sides meet today in 

a 2019 Africa Cup of Nations 

match day five game at the 

FNB stadium in 

Johannesburg, South Africa. 

It would be recalled that 

South Africa defeated Nigeria 

2-0 at the Godswill Akpabio 

stadium in Uyo, Akwa Ibom 

state in the opening group E 

game of the qualifiers in June 

2017, but Emmanuel Oriakhi, 

the Marketing Director of 

Nigerian Breweries Plc 

believes coach Gernot Rohr 

and his Eagles are motivated 

to avenge that loss and confirm 

their ticket to the biennial 

African football fiesta in 

Cameroun next year. 

“As an official partner of the 

Nigeria Football Federation, 

NB Plc is solidly behind the 

Super Eagles to deliver the 

goals and the points to seal 

the very important ticket that 

will guarantee Nigeria’s 

return to the Africa Cup of 

Nations after failing to qualify 

for the last two editions in 

2015 in Equatorial Guinea and 

2017 in Gabon,” Oriakhi 

stated. 

Why Joshua must fight in 

America – Peter Oboh 

Former British light 

heavyweight champion 

and World Boxing Association 

(WBA) Inter-Continental light 

heavyweight champion, Peter 

Oboh has said Anthony 

Joshua should damn whatever 

anybody is saying and go to 

America and fight. 

Speaking on insinuations 

that Joshua’s camp were 

fending off offers for the IBF, 

WBA and WBO champion to 

fight in America, Oboh who, 

throughout his career fought 

in foreign lands said, “I agree 

with Sugar Ray Leonard, who 

said that Joshua must have to 

fight in America to prove to 

the world that he is not a local 

champion 

“If Joshua does that, it will 

differentiate him from other 

European champions who 

Several weeks ago, the 

International Olympic 

Committee (IOC) formally awarded 

the 2022 Youth Olympic Games 

(YOG) to Senegal, making it the first 

ever African country to host the 

Olympics. The competition has 

been tagged ‘Dakar 2022’. Other 

bidders for the competition included 

Botswana, Nigeria and Tunisia. 

The IOC’s Evaluation 

Commission and the Executive 

Board determined that Dakar, 

Senegal, presented the best value 

proposition and the greatest 

opportunities at this moment in 

time. According to them, Dakar 2022 

presented a visionary, ambitious 

and technically sound YOG project 

that addresses the long-term aims 

of the country. Senegal has a large 

youth population and views the 

YOG as a catalyst for engaging 

young people and developing the 

country’s sport and youth policy. 

Zimbabwe’s most decorated 

athlete and current Minister for 

Sport, Kirsty Coventry, has been 

appointed as the Chair of the IOC 

Coordination Commission for 

Dakar 2022. The Games will hold 

in three cities: Dakar, Diamniadio 

and Saly. Senegal President Macky 

Sall disclosed that a 50,000-seat 

Olympic Stadium will be built for 

the competition likely to hold in 

May of that year. 

While awarding the hosting rights 

always dread America.” 

Oboh, who like Joshua 

fought under the British flag, 

said Joshua can begin that by 

fighting Deontay Wilder in the 

US. “He has nothing really to 

lose. Fighting in America 

would give him a different aura 

and put a stamp to his unified 

titles and put paid to all the 

talks about him being afraid 

to lose. I believe he can put 

them to shame.” 

He said Joshua was still a 

young man who could always 

bounce back, should the 

unexpected happen. “At 29, age 

is still on Joshua’s side, still 

enough time for him to fight 

back and reclaim his titles, 

even if he loses. If he wins, 

which I believe he will, his 

confidence will soar and he will 

become a champions that will 

to Senegal, IOC President Thomas 

Bach said: “Africa is united behind 

Senegal to host the Youth Olympic 

Games 2022. With a young 

population and a passion for sport, 

it is time for Africa, it is time for 

Senegal.” 

Back in the day, Nigeria used to be 

regarded as the Giant of Africa 

because of the calibre of athletes the 

country has produced over the years 

in sports like Football, Athletics and 

Table Tennis amongst others. 

However, in the past decade, other 

African countries have been given the 

nod ahead of Nigeria as it concerns 

hosting of global competitions 

because they have shown better 

commitment in terms of their sports 

policies, presence of facilities, and 

level of organization amongst other 

factors. In 2015, Durban was 

awarded the 2022 Commonwealth 

Games and would have been the first 

African city in history to host the 

event. However, South Africa 

eventually pulled out of the hosting 

deal due to financial constraints. 

In 2016 when the International 

Association of Athletics Federations 

(IAAF) decided to award one of the 

14-legs of the Diamond League to 

Africa, Rabat in Morocco was 

chosen. In 2017, Nairobi, Kenya, 

hosted the final edition of the IAAF 

World U-18 Championships, and the 

competition was a success. The only 

other African nation to have hosted 

command global respect and 

acceptance. He would have 

lifted himself to the level of 

other boxing legends like 

Mohammed Ali, Dick Tiger, 

the first Nigerian to become 

world champion in two 

different weight divisions. 

He had to box in both 

England and America for that 

to come to pass. 

•Oboh 

Is Nigeria still the giant of Africa? 

the World U-18 Championships 

was Morocco, in 2005. In the words 

of IAAF President Sebastian Coe, 

“We have just come from Nairobi 

where they hosted a spectacular 

Under-18 World Championships.” 

Following a successful hosting 

of the World U-18 Championships, 

the IAAF decided to name Kenya 

as hosts of the 2020 World U-20 

Championships. 

This makes them the first ever 

African country to host the World 

U-20 Athletics Championships. 

The fact that Nigeria is not being 

considered to host some of these 

global events only demonstrates 

the little faith the organisers have 

in our ability to successfully execute 

these championships. One doesn’t 

need to look too far to understand 

why. 

For instance, the last-minute 

planning and execution of the 

African Senior Athletics 

Championships in Asaba back in 

August remains fresh in our 

memories as Nigeria trended on 

social media for the wrong reasons, 

and all of these happened because 

the organisers didn’t take time to 

adequately plan for some of these 

things. 

To a large extent, the bad press 

came about as a result of the flight 

delays experienced by athletes from 

several countries, and it was 

something that could have been 

averted and properly managed 

with a little foresight. 

Considering that a renovation 

exercise was being carried out at 

the Asaba Airport, thus limiting the 

number of flights that could be 

accommodated due to the lack of 

adequate lighting system on the 

Arsenal, MTN organise 

coaching clinic in Lagos 

Ever wondered what it is 

like to play the way 

Arsenal F.C. does? Most 

football enthusiasts worldwide 

admire the trademark 

swashbuckling style deployed 

by successive teams from the 

North London-based club. 

This expansive style of play 

was further reinforced on 22 

October when the Gunners 

completed eleven passes 

before striker Pierre-Emerick 

Aubameyang tucked the ball 

into the back of the net during 

a 3-1 Premier League home 

win over Leicester City. The 

goal, which went viral on 

social media, sparked the 

usual conversations about 

Arsenal’s beautiful playing 

style. 

But how do you play the 

runway, the organisers could have 

considered other alternatives such 

as flying to Benin or Owerri and then 

connecting to Asaba from these 

states. Even after the teams arrived 

Asaba following the delays at the 

airport, getting their accreditation 

tags and allocation to hotel rooms 

became a herculean task. 

While addressing members of the 

press in Asaba, IAAF President Seb 

Coe disclosed that it is likely that an 

African country would host the IAAF 

World Championships in 2025. 

Ironically, while still smarting from 

the backlash that had resulted from 

poor organization of Asaba 2018, 

Athletics Federation of Nigeria 

(AFN) President Ibrahim Gusau 

signified Nigeria’s interest to host 

the 2025 World Championships. 

He said, “With the gains of what 

we have done here (Asaba 2018), we 

have all it takes to stage the global 

event in 2025 and perhaps any other 

Arsenal way? Interestingly, 

MTN Nigeria, Arsenal’s 

official telecommunications 

partner since 2015 has 

enabled the club to connect 

with its teeming Nigerian 

fans, as well as coaches, 

trainers and stakeholders. 

In a bid to further deepen 

its partnership, MTN and 

Arsenal decided to set up a 

coaching clinic to teach 

talented teens and coaches 

how to play the “Arsenal Way.” 

During the coaching clinic 

which held in Lagos from 

October 26th to October 28th, 

Head coach of Arsenal Soccer 

School Simon Mcmanus gave 

an in-depth insight into what 

makes the gunners thick and 

forms the basis of the club’s 

style of play. 

major sporting event on a large 

scale”. A country that could barely 

handle the hosting of a continental 

championship, is now bidding to 

host the World Championships. It’s 

quite amusing to say the least. I am 

no prophetess, but I already know 

that Nigeria will not be chosen as 

the first African host of the IAAF 

World Championships. 

Three months down the line, the 

organisers are yet to redeem their 

pledge of rewarding all individual 

medallists from the Asaba 

Championships. Gold medallists 

were promised $3,000 each; Silver 

medallists $2,000, and Bronze 

medallists $1,000. Nigerian athletes 

that represented the country in 

Asaba are yet to get their full 

allowances from the competition. 

If we cannot sort out these seemingly 

little things, why should we be taken 

seriously as a nation?


Musa: We 

won’t underrate 

South Africa 

Al-Nassr of Saudi Arabia striker, 

Ahmed Musa has promised that 

he and his colleagues in the 

Super Eagles will not underrate 

Bafana Bafana of South Africa in 

today’s Africa Cup of Nations 

qualifier. 

Speaking on arrival at 

Johannesburg Airport, ahead of the 

match billed for FNB Stadium at 2pm 

Nigeria time, Musa said the Eagles 

are determined to win the reverse 

fixture of the tie, having lost the first 

leg 2-0 in Uyo. 

The former Leicester City of 

England star added that the 

encounter would not be an easy one, 

but stressed that the Eagles are ready 

Dinnage steps in as Premier League CEO 

The English Premier League hired 

broadcasting executive Susanna 

Dinnage as chief executive on Tuesday, 

making her the most powerful female 

executive in global sports. 

Dinnage will leave her role as global 

president of Discovery’s Animal Planet 

brand early next year to succeed Richard 

Scudamore running the world’s 

richest soccer competition. 

Scudamore was CEO from 1999 to 

2014 when he was promoted to executive 

chairman. 

The new structure will see the league 

have a separate CEO and non-executive 

chairman again, but the latter position 

has yet to be filled “It represents 

the pinnacle of professional sport and 

the opportunity to lead such a dynamic 

and inspirational organisation is a 

great privilege,” Dinnage said. 

“With the support of clubs and the 

team, I look forward to extending the 

success of the league for many years to 

come.” The appointment of Dinnage 

highlights the league’s focus on broadcasting, 

as most of its revenue comes 

to fly high. 

Nigeria has not beaten South Africa in the 

last four encounters between both nations, 

though it was in The Rainbow Nation that 

the Eagles won their third and last Africa Cup 

of Nations title in February 2013. 

A 2015 AFCON qualifier between them in 

Cape Town in September 2014 ended 

scoreless, before Bafana Bafana got a 2-2 

draw in Uyo two months later to deny the 

Eagles a place at the finals in Equatorial 

Guinea. 

“We will not be playing for a draw. We won 

in Seychelles and against Libya in Tunisia 

and we are here to win as well. 

“They are a strong team and we will not 

under rate them, but we are here for the three 

points.” 

Maximise this chance, Shorunmu 

charges Ezenwa, Afelokhai, Akpeyi 

Former Nigeria goalkeeper 

Ike Shorunmu has charged 

Ikechwuku Ezenwa, 

Theophilus Afelokhai and 

Daniel Akpeyi to maximise 

their opportunity when called 

to be in goal for the Super 

Eagles’ game against South 

Africa. One of the trio is 

expected to start in goal today 

as the Super Eagles will be 

without their first-choice shotstopper. 

Shorunmu who represented 

the Super Eagles at the 2002 

Fifa World Cup has advised the 

trio to give their best for the 

team and also lauded the 

inclusion of two goalkeepers 

from the Nigeria Professional 

Football League in Gernot 

Rohr’s squad. “Their invitation 

to the national team is a good 

development for the NPFL,” 

Shorunmu told Goal. “I 

remember I said it sometimes 

ago that we will get to a time 

•Akpeyi 

when goalkeepers in the 

domestic league will compete 

for the no. 1 position in the 

Super Eagles.” 

“The decision for who will be 

in goal is left for the goalkeeping 

department to make because 

what we see might be different 

from what they see and what 

they want. I believe the three 

goalkeepers are ready to play 

when called upon but the 

from selling television rights. She started 

her career at MTV Networks and spent 

the last decade at Discovery. 

“We had a very strong field, but Susanna 

was the outstanding choice given her 

track record in managing complex businesses 

through transformation and digital 

disruption,” said Chelsea chairman 

Bruce Buck, who played a 

role in the appointment. 

“She is a leading figure in 

the broadcasting industry, a •Dinnage 

proven business executive 

and a great developer of 

people.” 

Scudamore has overseen 

the value of the Premier 

League’s broadcasting rights 

soaring 12-fold to more than 

8 billion pounds ($10 billion), 

with Comcast-owned 

British pay-TV operator Sky 

the league’s biggest TV partner. 

While running Discovery’s 

British operation last 

year, Dinnage threatened to 

remove their portfolio of 

AFCON 2019 qualifiers: Ghana coach Appiah 

counting on foreign-based stars to slay 

Ethiopia 

•Musa 

•Ezenwa 

Ghana coach Kwesi Appiah says his 

side cannot afford to drop points 

against Ethiopia on Sunday in 

their Group F 2019 Africa Cup of Nations 

qualifier. 

The Black Satellites were inactive last 

month because of the postponement 

of the double header against Sierra 

Leone. 

In September, they lost 1-0 to 

Kenya in Nairobi and are now third 

in the Group on three points, four 

below leaders Kenya 

Appiah has fortified his squad by 

recalling Andre and Jordan Ayew 

to boost his chances of returning 

ways. 

"It's important to get a win to 

make sure we qualify then 

everybody will relax," coach Kwesi 

Appiah told Nation Sport after the 

session. 

"All our players play abroad 

where they come fully prepared, 

knowing the situation, it's 

decision is left for the coaching crew to make. 

“The department is sensitive and there is 

no policy but my belief is that they should 

just continue with their impressive displays 

because the longer they stay in the team, the 

more experience they acquire. I remember 

when Enyeama came to the national team, I 

told him I’m leaving the team and you have 

a good quality as a goalkeeper, and thank 

God at the end of the day, we can see the 

number 1 in him.” 

channels from the Sky platform in a 

row over costs. “Pay television needs 

to be about more than just films and 

football,” Dinnage said. “The consumer 

can’t be expected to fund all 

of Sky’s investments and get less and 

less choice in return.” 

Dinnage will not have to negotiate 

a rights 

deal with Sky 

for a couple of 

years. 

Sky, which 

has aired the 

Premier 

League since 

its inception in 

1992, signed a 

new deal in 

February 

worth 3.579 

b i l l i o n 

Rohr: It’s AFCON ticket or nothing 

Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr has said that Nigeria have a ‘simple’ 

mission of securing the 2019 African Cup of Nations ticket in 

Johannesburg today. 

The Super Eagles’ last appearance at the biggest football tournament 

in Africa was in 2013, having missed out of the last two editions. 

And to return to the finals - with a game to spare the same way the 

pounds to 

show 128 

games per 

season from 

2019 to 2022. 

psychologically important to let 

them know we are going out for 

a win on Sunday. 

"Ghana has lot of players, it's 

important you don't rely on 

what you have only. You always 

make sure you have a backup, 

only four players here made 

the Kenya game." 

German tactician led them to the World Cup in Russia, 

the west Africans have to defeat South Africa at the 

FNB Stadium in today’s Group E Afcon qualifying 

penultimate tie. 

“Our mission in Johannesburg is simple: qualify 

for the Africa Cup of Nations. We are not thinking of 

anything else. We want the ticket in our pocket before 

the final matchday,” Rohr told NFF website. 

South Africa defeated Nigeria 2-0 in the first leg 

of the encounter but the visitors have since bounced 

back with three wins from as many games to lead 

Group E with nine points. 

Stuart Baxter’s men, on the other hand, followed 

the opening day victory with mixed results, taking 

five points from the next three games to sit second in 

the standings, a point adrift Eagles. 

However, another win over their visitors will stamp 

their place in Cameroon next year while the Super 

Eagles wait till the last day of the qualifiers. 

South Africa v Nigeria: 

Big match, big absentees 

•Injuries, suspensions mean 

opportunities for others – Rohr 

Technical Adviser Gernot Rohr rues the injuries 

and suspension that has robbed him of four of 

his regulars for Saturday’s crucial 2019 AFCON 

qualifier against the Bafana Bafana of South Africa, 

but is comforted that the situation has presented 

opportunities for some other performers to step onto 

the runway. 

First choice goalkeeper Francis Uzoho, wing back 

Abdullahi Shehu and forward Odion Ighalo – top 

goalscorer in the 2019 AFCON qualifying race with 

six goals – are not in South Africa as a result of injury, 

while lion–hearted midfielder Wilfred Ndidi is 

suspended after cards against Seychelles and Libya. 

“Yes, we have a number of injuries and one 

suspension. But we cannot continue to talk about 

that. We must look at the personnel with us now 

and see the situation as opportunity for them to step 

up and prove what they can do. 

“I am happy we have a young team determined to 

achieve. Everyone here is good enough to represent 

Nigeria and they will go in there and do the job.” 

Nigeria’s 23 –man squad for this game includes 

former U17 World Cup winners Kelechi Iheanacho, 

Isaac Success, Victor Osimhen and Samuel 

Chukwueze – who, amongst them, must step up for 

the main striker’s mantle in the forced absence of 

Ighalo. 

There are also France–based Samuel Kalu (good 

outings away to Seychelles and at home to Libya) 

and Henry Onyekuru who plays in Turkey, not to 

mention Musa, Nigeria’s highest goalscorer ever 

at the FIFA World Cup. 

Arsenal FC of England’s impresario Alex Iwobi 

knows how to find the net, as Zambia would testify, 

and Spain–based Moses Simon is a tricky customer 

on his day. 

While Rohr has to deal with the absence of four 

regulars, Bafana Bafana Coach Stuart Baxter is not 

better off, as Dean Furman, Bongani Zungu, Keegan 

Dolly, Sibusiso Vilakazi, Bradlet Grobler and 

Kamohelo Mokotjo are not available. 

While Percy Tau and Thulani Serero are real 

threats, Tokelo Rantie – who scored three of South 

Africa’s last five goals against Nigeria – is out of 

the picture having been sacked in Turkey and 

presently nursing a new career as a farmer.

Who mans 

the post for 

Nigeria? 

.Rufai lays the cards 

.Speaks on how Akpeyi can help 

By Jacob Ajom 

After the withdrawal of 

Super Eagles first choice 

goalkeeper, Francis Uzoho 

from coach Gernot Rohr’s 

roster for the 2019 AFCON 

Qualifier between South Africa 

and Nigeria, the battle for 

Eagles number one shirt was 

narrowed between Daniel 

Akpeyi and Ikechukwu 

Ezenwa. Just as Rohr was 

confirming the withdrawal of 

Uzoho from the squad, the 

German announced the 

invitation of Enyimba 

goalkeeper, Theophilus 

Afelokhai as his replacement. 

Rohr’s decision to invite 

Afelokhai was welcomed by 

numerous watchers of 

Nigerian football as the 

goalkeeper’s invitation has 

been long overdue. Afelokhai 

who is the first choice 

goalkeeper of Enyimba, put up 

some brilliant display as 

Enyimba reached the semifinal 

of this year’s CAF 

Confederation Cup and he did 

so while keeping Ikechukwu 

Ezenwa on the bench. Now in 

the Super Eagles camp, the 

question is who will man the 

post against the Bafana Bafana 

today? Will Rohr hand the 

number one shirt to Ezenwa, 

who has all along been seen 

as second to Uzoho in the 

pecking order? 

Feelers from Eagles camp 

have it that despite just 

receiving his first call-up under 

Gernot Rohr, Afelokhai could 

start in goal ahead of Ezenwa 

following his superb club form 

in the Confederation Cup run. 

Could the pendulum swing 

in favour of Akpeyi who plies 

his trade in South Africa. 

Would Nigeria enjoy any 

advantage over Bafana Bafana 

if Akpeyi stands between the 

sticks? 

With Akpeyi’s show of low 

confidence, it looks like a 

straight fight between Ezenwa 

and Afelokhai for who gets the 

nod against the Bafana Bafana. 

But veteran Super Eagles 

goalkeeper and one time 

captain of the national team, 

Peter Rufai has poured cold 

water on the seeming 

intriguing situation. “While I 

would not venture into 

pointing out who should keep 

between the three, 

I must advice the 

technical crew that 

whoever is selected 

should be based on 

current form. The 

onus rests on coach 

Rohr and his 

technical 

c r e w . 

Selection 

must not 

be based 

o n 

sentiments,” Rufai thundered. 

He said whether Akpeyi is 

selected or kept on the bench, 

Nigeria can still benefit a lot 

from the former Rangers 

goalkeeper. “Whatever 

information Akpeyi has, he can 

pass it on to his teammates. 

That will help the players and 

the team in general,” Rufai 

said, saying that with Akpeyi 

in the team, Nigeria stood a 

good chance of getting first 

hand information on the make 

up of the Bafana Bafana.”He 

is an asset.” The former 

Nigeria number one advised 

the Super Eagles to start the 

game with caution. “We stand 

a chance to win. The Eagles 

have the momentum as the 

coach and his players have 

understood each other better. 

“I would prefer they begin 

with caution because if we 

show hunger from the 

beginning, the tendency to go 

for goals would expose our 

rear and make our defence 

vulnerable. We must be 

defensive in the early stages 

of the match.” 

2019 AFCON: We need to stifle Eagles, says Baxter 

South Africa coach, Stuart 

Baxter, has disclosed his 

side’s game plan against Nigeria 

ahead of both teams’ 2019 

African Cup of Nations, AFCON, 

qualifying clash on Saturday. 

The Bafana Bafana will tackle 

the Super Eagles at the FNB 

Stadium in Johannesburg today. 

Baxter’s men head to the game 

after playing a 1-1 draw with 

Seychelles at home in their last 

game, while Gernot Rohr’s side 

defeated Libya 3-2. 

Baxter said South Africa will not 

give the three-time African 

champions any momentum. 

“I have an idea of what I need 

to do although there might be one 

or two changes and I also need to 

fine-tune a few areas ahead of 

Saturday’s(today’s) game,” 

Baxter was quoted on safa.net as 

saying at pre-match. 

“But I must say that I was very 

happy with the training today. 

“We need to stifle them and not 

give them any momentum. They 

(players) need to relax at the right 

time and be aggressive at the right 

time.” “I don’t believe the ongoing heat 

wave will be an issue to either side, after 

all, most of Nigeria’s players play 

overseas. 


Ghana, South Africa, Cameroon 

plot to topple Super Falcons 

The Africa Women Cup of 

Nations (AFCON) has 

become “Mission stop the 

Super Falcons” for the 

tournament’s seven other 

participants. 

Hosts Ghana, along with 

South Africa, Algeria, 

Cameroon, Equatorial 

Guinea, Mali and Zambia, are 

gearing up for the improbable 

task in the 2018 edition - 

kicking off today 17 

November - with all matches 

broadcast live on SuperSport. 

The Nigerians have been so 

Kenya Football Federation 

(FKF) has failed in its bid 

to be reinstated to the 2018 

Women’s Africa Cup of 

Nations after losing its appeal 

at the Court of Arbitration for 

Sport (CAS). 

Kenya had filed an appeal to 

CAS after they were excluded 

from Ghana 2018 following a 

successful appeal by 

Equatorial Guinea. 

On 18 October, Equatorial 

Guinea were banned for using 

an ineligible player in 

qualifying, with Kenya 

dominant in the tournament, 

winning 10 out of the 12 titles 

contested so far, with an 

unprecedented seventournament 

winning streak. 

It’s only Equatorial Guinea 

who have managed to 

temporarily break their 

stranglehold on the title, in 

2008 and 2012. And each time 

Nigeria have been dethroned, 

they immediately take it back 

in the next edition. They’ve 

done so since 2014 and 

haven’t let it go since. 

AWCON: CAS throws out Kenyan appeal 

The stage is set for 

semifinals of football event 

at the ongoing 2018 Nigeria 

Bankers Games at the 

YabaTech Sports Complex, 

Yaba on Sunday. 

In the semifinal pairings, 

First City Monument Bank 

(FCMB) will entertain United 

Bank of Africa (UBA) at 

1:30pm, while Fidelity Bank 

takes on Union Bank at 

3:00pm. 

To qualify for last four, 

Fidelity Bank defeated 

Keystone Bank by two nil with 

both goals scored in the first 

half of the game, while FCMB 

beats Sterling Bank by three 

nil with Ekanem Nsikak 

replacing them at Ghana 

2018. 

But a Confederation of 

African Football (Caf) tribunal 

overturned that punishment 

on 7 November, reinstating 

Equatorial Guinea. 

In a statement on Friday, the 

FKF confirmed that CAS had 

rejected their appeal which 

the FKF said they “fully 

understand and respect” but 

said their appeal against Caf 

is still open and they would 

continue to go through CAS. 

2018 Nigeria Bankers Games enter semifinals 

grabbing a hat trick. 

Union Bank also qualified 

for the semifinals, courtesy 

their 4-3 penalties win over 

Stanbic IBTC Bank. The 

match was evenly poised at 1 

goal apiece at the end of 

normal time went straight to 

penalties. 

In the last quarter final 

match, 5-time champions 

UBA took on 2017 runners-up 

First Bank. Both teams were 

rivals as they had meet in the 

previous two editions of the 

tournament with First Bank 

winning both encounters. The 

game ended one-all before 

UBA sail through on 4-2 

penalties. 

Gov Ugwuanyi receives Rangers today 

The coal city of Enugu is now 

in festive mood as governor 

Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi accords 

civic reception to players and 

officials of Rangers 

International Football Club 

who won this year’s Aiteo 

Cup after 35 years. 

Rangers defeated Kano 

Pillars 4-2 on penalty kicks 

after it ended 3-3 at regulation 

time. 

The Flying Antelopes trailed 

3-0 after 48 minutes before 

mounting an extraordinary 

comeback to achieve what 

has today one down in history 

as ‘Miracle of Asaba’. 

Rangers have won the cup 

six times, last being in 1983 

when they pegged DIC Bees 

of Kaduna 3-2 on penalties 

after a scoreless draw after 90 

minutes. 

Governor Ugwuanyi was 

physically present at Stephen 

Keshi Stadium Asaba when 

Rangers performed the Asaba 

miracle. 

He had prior to the game 

Curtain falls on Mutual Benefits 

national badminton championship 

Curtains will be drawn on 

the 2018 Mutual Benefits 

National Badminton 

championship 

which 

urged the players to win the 

cup and “leave the rest for 

me”. 

At today’s event scheduled 

for Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium 

at 10 a.m, the state Chief 

executive is expected to 

announce reward to the 

players and their officials. 

began early this week at the 

Mutual Benefits-Nigeria 

Police Badminton Hall inside 

the Nigeria Police College 

complex, Ikeja, Lagos. The 

event will be climaxed by 

male and female singles 

finals. 

In the men's final, 

Anuoluwapo Opeyori and 

Godwin Olufuwa both of 

Lagos state will be slugging 

it out for the top prize. 

To get to the final, Opeyori 

defeated Clement Krobakpor 

of Rivers state 2-0 in an 

exciting semi final duel that 

kept the spectators on the 

edges of their seats 

throughout the match.

C 

M 

Y 

K 

SATURDAY Vanguard, NOVEMBER 17, 2018 

ACROSS 

1)France “Les Bleus” Striker & Arsenal 

Forward, Alexandre – (9) 

5)Stranger (3) 

7)Container (3) 

8)Mongolian Capital City (4,5) 

10)L.G.A in Kogi State (5) 

11)Former Guinea “Seyli Nationale” 

Winger, Pascal – (9) 

15)Deputy Group Managing Director, 

First Bank of Nigeria (FBN), Mr. Gbenga 

Francis – (5) 

16)France “Ligue One” Club-Side (5) 

17)L.G.A in Rivers State (5,4) 

21)Former Minister of Science & 

Technology, Professor Turner – (5) 

22)Former United States Secretary of 

State, Mr. Rex – (9) 

24)State in Nigeria known as “The 

Eastern Heartland”? (3) 

25)Former Guinea Bissau Prime Minister, 

Mr. Baciro – (3) 

26)Swedish Capital City (9) 

CROSS WORD PUZZLE 

DOWN 

1)L.G.A in Taraba State (3) 

2)Former Secretary-General, United Nations (UN), Mr. 

Koffi – (5) 

3)Namibian Autonomous Community (5) 

4)President, International Criminal Court (ICC), Justice 

Chile – (4,5) 

5)L.G.A in Oyo State (9) 

6)Former Turkish Prime Minister, Mr. Mehmet – (9) 

9)Dregs (3) 

11)American Country (9) 

12)Super Falconets (U-20) 

Midfielder, Osarenoma – (9) 

13)Former Angolan President, Mr. Jose Eduardo – (3,6) 

14)Minister of Budget & Economic Planning, Mr. Udo 

– (5) 

18)Souvenir (5) 

19)Flashlight (5) 

20)Greek Alphabet (5) 

23)French Word for “Name”? (3) 

SOLUTION TO PUZZLE ON PAGE 45 

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

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

17112018 - A-Court reduces jail terms for ex-Govs Dariye, Nyame

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