26022019 - Polls: PDP rejects results; summons legal team

Don’t violate 

peace pact, 

US warns 

Kwara's Berlin Wall of politics 

has fallen — LAI MOHAMMED 13 4 

FG warns against plan to 

truncate electoral process 

I don’t depend 

on rumours for 

polls results 

—Buhari 

2 2 

VOL. 26: NO. 63753 TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2019 

Polls: PDP rejects results; 

summons legal team 

By Clifford Ndujihe 

& Dirisu Yakubu 

•Alleges irregularities; collusion between ruling party, INEC 

ABUJA — AS the 

results of the 

•Ignore PDP's antics, APC's Keyamo tells Nigerians 

presidential polls were 

being announced in 

•Buhari leads, wins in 11 of 18 states, Atiku 7 41 

Abuja, yesterday, main 

opposition Peoples 

Democratic Party, PDP, 

Some Senators-elect 

rejected the results, 

alleging irregularities. 

•Abia North – Orji Uzor Kalu, APC 

Indeed, the legal team 

of the PDP has 

•Abia Central – Theodore Orji, PDP 

summoned an emergency 

meeting today, according 

•Anambra South – Ifeanyi Uba, YPP 

to The Cable. 

•Anambra Central – Uche Ekwunife, PDP 

However, in a swift 

reaction, spokesman of 

•Imo West – Rochas Okorocha, APC 

the Buhari Campaign, Mr 

•Ekiti South – Dayo Adeyeye, APC 

Festus Keyamo, SAN, 

urged Nigerians to ignore 

•Ekiti North – Olubunmi Adetumbi, APC 

the antics of the PDP and 

alleged that the party is 

•Ekiti Central – Opeyemi Bamidele, APC 

plotting to stop the 

•Ondo North – Ajayi Boroffice, APC 

Independent National 

Electoral Commission 

•Ondo Central – Ayo Akinyelure, LP 

(INEC) from completing 

Osun Central – Ajibola Bashir, APC 

the process of the 

February 23, Presidential 

•Osun West – Lere Oyewuni, APC 

Continues on Page 5 

•Lagos West – Solomon Olamilekan, APC 

•Lagos East – Bayo Osinowo, APC 

•Edo North – Francis Alimikhena, APC 

Naira 

•A/Ibom N-West – Chris Ekpenyong, PDP 

depreciates 

•Kwara Central – Ibrahim Oloriegbe, APC 

to N361.54/ 

•Kwara South – Lola Ashiru, APC 

$ in I&E 

•Kaduna South – Uba Sani, APC 

41 

window 

•Sokoto North – Aliyu Wamakko, APC 

Mr & Mrs 

•Katsina North – Ahmed Babba-Kaita, APC 

•Katsina South – Bello Mandiya, APC 

•Nasarawa South – Tanko Al’Makura, APC 

•Adamawa Central – Aisha Dahiru, APC 

Refer cases of 

electoral violence 

to ICC, SERAP 

tells Buhari 

COLUMNISTS 

16 

TENIOLA 

POST-ELECTION 

SENTIMENT: 

Equity market 

on cautious 

upswing 

19 

18 MAILAFIA 31 ODUMAKIN 17 

What lnt’l observer 

groups say about 

presidential, 

NASS polls 

4 

See 

Inside

2—Vanguard, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2019 

BRIEFING: From left: Amb. Derek Mitchell, President, National Democratic Institute, 

NDI; Fatoumata Tambajang, Head of IRI/NDI Election Observation Mission and former 

Vice-President of The Gambia; and Dr Dan Twining, President of International Republican 

Institute (IRI), during a news conference by IRI/NDI Election Observation Mission on 

initial assessment of 2019 presidential and National Assembly elections, in Abuja, yesterday. 

Photo: NAN. 

Situation Room knocks INEC, says 

2019 polls a step back 

•Calls for independent inquiry into lapses, violence 

By Ikechukwu 

Nnochiri 

ABUJA—Nigeria Civil 

Society Situation Room 

has called for an independent 

inquiry into what it 

described as poor 

management of Presidential 

and National Assembly 

elections by Independent 

National Electoral 

Commission, INEC. 

The Situation Room, which 

is a coalition of over 70 CSOs 

working in support of credible 

and transparent elections in 

Nigeria, described last 

Saturday’s elections as a step 

back from the 2015 general 

election. 

The Situation Room in a 

statement by Executive 

Director, Policy & Legal 

Advocacy Center, PLAC, 

called for actions to be taken 

to identify what went wrong 

and what could be corrected. 

In a third interim statement 

it released, yesterday, the 

group said it was 

disappointed by “serious 

lapses observed with the 

conduct of Presidential and 

National Assembly 

elections,” despite initial 

postponement of the polls on 

grounds of logistics 

challenges. 

It said: “Situation Room 

notes that INEC has not 

managed the election 

efficiently and significant 

shortcomings have been 

recorded. 

‘’The election has been a 

step back from the 2015 

general election and actions 

should be taken to identify 

what has gone wrong and 

what can be corrected. 

“Additionally, the election 

was marred by violence, 

security lapses and instances 

of over-reach. Other 

challenges include 

compromised INEC officials 

as well as partisan security 

operatives. Conduct of major 

political parties was 

disappointing.” 

It noted that contrary to 

section 29(3) of the Electoral 

Act, which empowered INEC 

to request the deployment of 

Nigerian Armed Forces only 

for the purpose of securing 

the distribution and delivery 

of election materials and 

protection of election officials, 

reports were received of 

incidents involving the 

military in Rivers State. 

Noting that in another 

incident, military personnel 

obstructed the passage of 

electorate into their polling 

units, the Situation Room 

stated: “Situation Room 

observed significant 

challenges with the smart 

card readers. Received 

reports showed several 

instances, which necessitated 

INEC officials resorting to 

manual accreditation. 

"This was reported in Binji 

Local Government Area in 

Sokoto State and Owerri 

North Local Government 

Area of Imo State. States 

where card reader challenge 

was prevalent include Imo, 

Lagos, Ogun, Abia, 

Nasarawa, Kebbi, FCT and 

Kaduna. 

“Situation Room urges 

voters and stakeholders to 

exercise restraint to avoid 

further loss of human life and 

to seek legal redress were 

aggrieved. 

“That there should be an 

independent inquiry into the 

poor management of the 

electoral process by INEC 

with a view to determining the 

following: 

“The underlining causes for 

logistics lapses with a view of 

itemising operational 

deficiency that led to the initial 

postponement of elections on 

February 16 and logistical 

challenges with the 

rescheduled elections on 

February 23, 2019. 

“In addition to this, INEC 

is expected to inquire into 

the activities of its staff with 

respect to late arrivals to 

polling station; lack of 

understanding of processes 

by adhoc staff, and 

allegations of collusion 

between staff and politicians. 

“The failure of the smart 

card readers in identified 

polling units should be 

interrogated with a special 

audit of the results of polling 

units where five per cent card 

reader incidence failure was 

recorded. 

“The Situation Room calls 

on INEC and security 

agencies to ensure 

accountability for acts inimical 

to the integrity and credibility 

of the polls especially 

individuals complicit in the 

burning of INEC offices, 

election materials, snatching 

of ballot boxes and other 

electoral offences. 

Poll results: We gave Nigerians 

peaceful atmosphere to vote — Buhari 

By Johnbosco 

Agbakwuru 

A 

B U J A — — 

PRESIDENT 

Muhammadu Buhari, 

yesterday, said he hoped 

that Nigerians would 

appreciate the peaceful 

atmosphere provided by 

his administration for them 

to freely cast their votes, 

noting that he doesn’t 

depend on rumours on 

polls results. 

Buhari, who stated this 

while fielding questions 

from journalists shortly after 

he arrived Nnamdi 

Azikiwe International 

Airport, Abuja, from his 

Daura hometown, Katsina 

State, where he went to 

exercise his civic 

responsibility, also told 

members of his party and 

supporters, who have 

expressed confidence of 

victory in the election to 

wait for official declaration 

of the results by 


Electoral Commission, 

INEC, before making any 

conclusion. 

According to Buhari, who 

is the Presidential 

candidate of All 

Progressives Congress, 

APC, specifically said he 

did not believe in rumours. 

Asked to comment on 

what he had heard across 

the country on the outcome 

of the election, he said: “I 

don’t want to depend on 

rumours, but we will rather 

wait for INEC to announce 

the results.” 

On his message to 

Nigerians as they await the 

release of results, he said: 

“Well l hope that 

Nigerians will appreciate 

that it was this 

government, which made 

sure they were allowed to 

cast their votes for 

whichever party and 

candidate they wanted.” 

Nigeria’s elections generally peaceful— AU observers 

A BUJA—AFRICAN 

Union, AU, said, 

yesterday, that Presidential 


elections, which held last 

Saturday, were largely 

peaceful and orderly. 

According to AU, the 

elections were also in 

conformity with Nigeria’s 

legal framework, despite 

incidents of reported 

violence in some parts of 

the country. 

According to 

Hailemarian Daselegn, 

Head of African Union 

Election Observation 

Mission, at a press 

conference in Abuja, 

yesterday, “despite some 

reports of election-related 

violence and deaths as 

well as intimidation, the 

Don’t violate peace accord, 

US warns candidates 

By Charles 

Kumolu & Dayo 

Adesulu 

UNITED 

States 

Ambassador to 

Nigeria, Mr. Stuart 

Symington, has urged all 

candidates, who 

participated in last 

Saturday’s presidential 

election to honour the Abuja 

Peace Accord signed before 

the polls. 

Apparently responding to 

calls by Peoples Democratic 

Party, PDP, on Independent 


Commission, INEC, to 

declare its presidential 

candidate, Atiku Abubakar, 

winner of the election, 

Symington said no one 

should claim victory before 

final announcement of 

results. 

He also commended 

Nigerians for turning out in 

millions to vote, despite 

incidents of violence in 

some places. 

The US envoy, who said 

this in a statement, 

yesterday, condoled with the 

families of those who lost 

their lives during the 

exercise. 

The statement read: “I 

overall climate remained 

largely peaceful and 

conducive for the conduct 

of democratic elections. 

“The 2019 elections took 

place in generally peaceful 

environment. 

Nevertheless, certain parts 

of the country, particularly 

the North-East, South- 

South and Middle Belt 

regions face security 

challenges.” 

congratulate the tens of 

millions of Nigerians who 

stood patiently in long lines 

to vote this week and the 

hundreds of thousands who 

worked together with INEC 

to conduct the elections. 

"As noted by many 

observer groups in their 

preliminary reports, this 

election was predominantly 

peaceful, and it was proof 

of the Nigerian people’s 

resolute commitment to 

choose their leaders. 

" The peaceful 

achievement of millions was 

shadowed by the violence 

of a few. We extend our 

deepest sympathy to the 

families of those who lost 

their lives, and we urge all 

candidates to honor the 

Peace Accord they signed. 

"All should convince those 

who support them to refrain 

from using force or violence 

to interfere with INEC. No 

one should break the law by 

announcing results before 

INEC does, or break the 

peace by claiming victory 

before the results are final. 

"Everyone has a common 

interest in showing patience 

as INEC collates and 

announces the election 

results.” 

IGP orders arrest of thugs 

that attack police officers 

By Joseph 

Erunke 

A BUJA—ACTING 

Inspector General of 

Police, Mohammed 

Adamu, yesterday, ordered 

the arrest of political thugs, 

who attacked some police 

officers in Bayelsa State. 

Adamu, who decried the 

attack on a Deputy 

Commissioner of Police in 

Brass, Bayelsa State, said 

the party thugs must not 

only be immediately 

arrested but also face 

comprehensive 

investigation and diligent 

prosecution no matter their 

positions in the society. 

Force Public Relations 

Officer, ACP Frank Mba, in 

a statement, said: “The IGP, 

who described the incident 

as unwarranted and 

unprovoked, warns that 

under his watch, such 

brazen acts of impunity will 

not be condoned. 

“In a related incident, five 

male suspects have been 

arrested in Umuahia, Abia 

State over an attack on a 

Deputy Superintendent of 

Police, who was 

patriotically defending the 

sanctity of the electoral 

system at a collation centre 

in Umuahia. 

“These attacks have once 

again highlighted the risks 

and hazards inherent in 

policing our clime, and the 

need for stakeholders and 

government at all levels to 

continue to support the 

officers and men of the 

Force in the discharge of 

their responsibilities." 

Meanwhile, the 

statement said the IGP 

“commended all 

Nigerians, whom, by their 

words and actions, have 

clearly identified with the 

Force by denouncing these 

barbaric and uncivilised 

actions against police 

officers performing their 

legitimate duties." 

AU congratulated 



INEC, for being “open and 

cooperative with electoral 

observers,” and urged the 

commission to 

expeditiously and 

transparently collate and 

announce the results of the 

Presidential and National 

Assembly elections as 

provided by law.

Vanguard, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2019—3 

PDP, APC trade blames over attacks on voting centres 

By Gabriel 

Enogholase 

BENIN—EDO State 

chapter of Peoples 

Democratic Party, PDP, and 

All Progressives Congress, 

APC, yesterday, traded 

blames over an attack at 

Igbesanwan Primary 

School (Ward 3), Benin 

City, during the presidential/National 

Assembly 

elections by thugs. 

PDP’s state Publicity 

Secretary, Mr. Chris 

Nehikhare, while blaming 

APC youth leader for 

allegedly leading the 

thugs in the attack, said: 

“What is curious is what the 

APC youth leader and his 

thugs were doing there. 

“The APC youth leader is 

not a registered voter in 

Owina Primary School in 

Ward 3. It’s even more 

ridiculous that APC 

members were the only 

ones that were attacked. 

“The story is not only 

concocted, but laughable 

that thugs attacked a 

school, singled out APC 

members for attack.” 

However, Special Adviser 

to Governor Godwin 

Obaseki on Communication 

and Strategy, Mr. 

Crusoe Osagie, in his 

reaction said: “No amount 

of lies, violence, or political 

thuggery can compete with 

the social sanity that the 

Obaseki-led government 

has engendered. 

“When good people boast 

about progress, evil people 

threaten the degree of evil 

they can orchestrate. But 

good will continue to 

triumph over evil as 

evident in our recent 

political history. 

“Edo people are ready for 

a contest in which we will 

point to the quality of roads 

and other infrastructure 

under APC and PDP; 

“The number and quality 

of jobs that have been 

created, the quality of public 

schools under both parties, 

the quality of academic 

instructions in our schools 

and the elevation of a 

culture of pedagogy, hard 

work and merit, against the 

PDP era in which thugs, 

barely literate and dysfunctional 

people were chairmen 

of boards and parastatals.” 

LISTING: From left— Partner, Head of Investment Banking Nigeria, Constant Capital Partners 

Limited, Mr. Niyi Omojola; Managing Director/CEO, FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange, Mr. Bola Koko, 

and Managing Director/CEO, Sterling Bank Plc, Mr. Abubakar Suleiman, signing the Bond Listing Register 

at the listing ceremony for Sterling Investment Management SPV Plc Bond at Exchange Place, Lagos. 

PHOTO: Akeem Salau. 

INEC declares elections inconclusive 

in Kogi East 

THE elections for Kogi 

East senatorial district 

and Dekina/Bassa Federal 

Constituency have been 

declared inconclusive due 

to widespread violence, 



INEC, said yesterday. 

Professor Rotimi Ajayi, 

INEC Returning Officer for 

the senatorial election, who 

made the announcement at 

the collation centre in Idah, 

said election did not hold 

in 129 polling units across 

the district. 

Ajayi said some polling 

unit elections were 

cancelled, as he announced 

that APC polled 113,772 

votes; PDP, 69,131 and 

ADC, 30,696 votes. 

According to him, report 

from Bassa Local 

Government Area revealed 

that “a registration area 

with the name Mozum, 

which has 12 polling units 

refused to vote.” 

Ajayi said a new date for 

the re-run of the polls would 

be announced after 

necessary arrangements 

were made. 

On Saturday, the 

elections did not hold in 

four units in Anyigba, 

Dekina Local Government, 

as gun-wielding hoodlums 

invaded the polling units 

in Ajetachi, Etiaja, Abuja 

and CMML Primary 

School unit 005. 

In Ajetachi, a student of 

Kogi State University, 

Daniel Usman, who was on 

queue to vote, was gunned 

down by the hoodlums 

who invaded the polling 

unit in Toyota Sienna SUV. 

In Igalamela-Odolu 

By Marie Nanlong 

JOS—THE presidential 

election results in Tudun 

Wada/Kabong Ward as well 

as those of three polling 

units in Naraguta B Ward 

of Jos North Local 

Government Area of 

Plateau State have been 

cancelled. 

The cancellation has 

affected over 30,000 voters, 

who had been accredited 

for the exercise in the Ward 

which has over 92,000 

registered voters. 

The Collation Officer of 

the local government area, 

Dr. Augustine Azi, said the 

result was cancelled 

because he did not “sight 

and confirm the copies of 

the result on Form EC8A 

as the Collation Officer for 

Local Government Area 

with 65,129 registered 

voters and 16,543 

accredited, elections in four 

polling units were 

cancelled within Ofuloko, 

which has 1,145 

registered voters. 

The local government 

also witnessed violent 

activities in Odolu town as 

thugs, also in a Sienna 

bus, shot one Adebayo 

Adebunmi and 

the ward said he only filled 

in the result he was given.” 

Azi also explained that in 

Naraguta B Ward, results 

were rejected from units 

005, 009 and 087 due to 

“mutilation of the result 

sheets, overuse of tipex 

which made the result 

unreadable and the nonuse 

of smart card reader.” 

He alleged that the 

Presiding Officer 

absconded with the result 

sheets, but resurfaced 

with the excuse that he 

was pressurised by the 

people not to use the card 

readers, which were 

functional. 

However, observations 

were raised from 

politicians, journalists 

and other stakeholders 

who monitored the 

kidnapped Mr. Friday 

Sani, member 

representing Igalamela- 

Odolu constituency at the 

state House of Assembly. 

In Bassa Local 

Government Area, out of 

58,892 registered voters, 

19,587 were accredited to 

vote: elections in nine 

polling units with 6,068 

voters were cancelled, 

while elections did not take 

place in some of the units. 

... cancels results of ward, 3 units in Jos North 

election and Peoples 


agent who signed the 

result, Samuel Umaru, 

insisting that the people 

who came out to vote could 

not be denied their votes 

from being counted due to 

the incompetence of 

electoral officials. 

All Progressives 

Congress, APC, State 

Secretary, Bashir Sati, 

countered, saying there 

was nowhere verbal result 

would be accepted. 

On his part, state Resident 

Electoral 

Commissioner, REC, Haliru 

Paid, said the result stands 

cancelled as all issues 

raised should have been 

addressed before the result 

sheets were brought to the 

state Collation Centre. 

Electoral Officer in 

A-Ibom escapes attack 

By Chioma 

Onuegbu 

UYO—AN Electoral 

Officer sent to 

Udung Uko Local 

Government Area of Akwa 

Ibom State, Mr. Emeka 

Adizua, has said he 

narrowly escaped being 

attacked by political thugs. 

Adizua, who made this 

known yesterday at the 



INEC, state Collation 

Centre, Udo Udoma 

Avenue, Uyo, said the 

violence and snatching of 

ballot boxes by the thugs 

marred elections in the 

entire council. 

He added that all the 

INEC ad hoc staff 

deployed for the 

presidential and National 

Assembly elections last 

Saturday were attacked by 

the hoodlums. 

His words: “The thugs 

MR. Nicholas Mutu, 

incumbent House 

of Representatives 

member for Bomadi/ 

Patani federal 

constituency, Delta State, 

has been declared winner 

of the National Assembly 

election to represent the 

constituency for the sixth 

term. 

Mutu is the longest and 

highest serving lawmaker 

in the Green Chamber of 

the National Assembly. 

Dr. Edeoghon Obehi, 

Collation/Returning 

Officer for the Bomadi/ 

Patani House of 

Representatives polls, 

declaring the result at 

Bomadi, headquarters of 

the federal constituency, 

said Mutu of Peoples 


were led by one Okon. 

They took away card 

readers and held some ad 

hoc staff hostage. If not for 

the Area Commander, 

Oron, maybe I would have 

been dead by now. 

“The entire council was 

marred by violence and 

snatching of ballot boxes 

by the political thugs. That 

is why there is no result 

from the area.” 

Reacting, Resident 

Electoral Commissioner, 

REC, in the state, Mr. 

Mike Igini, described the 

situation as unfortunate. 

Igini, who warned 

politicians against 

creating chaotic situations 

that mar elections, said: 

“The consequence of that 

action is that there will be 

no result from that area. 

Intimidation is getting too 

much. Please, stop it. The 

era of ballot box snatching 

and writing of result is 

over.” 

Mutu sweeps Bomadi, 

Patani for 6th term 

THE Vice Chancellor of 

the Federal University 

of Technology, Akure, 

FUTA, Professor Joseph 

Fuwape has advised 

newly-admitted students 

of the institution to imbibe 

positive attitude to 

academic activities and 

strike the right balance in 

their social life. 

Professor Fuwape gave 

the advice at the 

commencement of the 

orientation for new 

students admitted for the 

2018/2019 academic 

session, urging them to 

attend lectures, practical 

classes, workshops and 

other allied academic 

activities regularly. 

He noted that the 

polled 75,836 votes to beat 

his rival, Mr. Collins 

Eselemor, of All 


APC, came second with 

5,944 votes. 

Mutu, speaking to 

journalists shortly after the 

declaration, thanked God 

for giving him another 

victory in succession since 

the emergence of 

democracy in 1999 and 

dedicated the victory to his 

resolute supporters. 

The lawmaker assured 

his constituents of his 

continued provision of the 

dividends of democracy 

to them, while calling on 

his fellow contenders to 

imbibe the spirit of 

sportsmanship as he 

would be magnanimous 

in victory. 

FUTA's VC counsels new 

students on academic culture 

peculiarities of the 

academic environment 

give rise to “academic 

culture,” which is 

characterised by 

discipline, orderliness, 

creativity, excellence 

integrity, diligence and 

rationality. 

He warned the students 

that they can only earn a 

degree at FUTA if found 

worthy in character and 

learning. 

Fuwape reiterated that 

FUTA has zero tolerance 

for indiscipline, cultism 

and examination 

misconduct, noting that 

the law of the institution 

will be applied to students 

who run afoul of its extant 

rules and regulations.


What int'l observer groups say about 

Presidential, NASS polls 

By Emmanuel 

Elebeke, Victoria 

Ojeme, Levinus 

Nwabughiogu & 

Eneh Ocheme 

Operational 

hiccups, a burden 

on voters 

—EU mission 

HEAD of European 

Union’s Observer 

Mission to Nigeria’s 


Assembly elections said, 

yesterday, that the elections 

had been hit by operational 

shortcomings that made it 

difficult for voters. 

“Serious operational 

shortcomings put undue 

burden on voters,” said Maria 

Arena, the EU’s chief 

observer and member of the 

European parliament. 

Election delay 

reduced voter 

turnout — US 

observer group 

In its report, US observers 

group said the week-long 

delay in holding Nigeria’s 

presidential election 

damaged public confidence 

in the process and probably 

reduced Saturday’s voter 

turnout. 

In its interim report made 

available in Abuja, John 

Tomaszewski of the joint US 

National Democratic Institute, 

NDI, and International 

Republican Institute observer 

delegation, said it was 

unclear when a winner will 

be declared but noted that the 

vote pitting incumbent, 

Muhammadu Buhari 

against ex-Vice President, 

Atiku Abubakar, is expected 

to be Nigeria’s tightest since 

the end of military rule in 

1999. 

Organisational 

difficulties 

prevalent 

—Commonwealth 

The Commonwealth 

Observer Group said 

organisational, logistical and 

technical difficulties in the 

elections contributed to the 

challenges that prevented 

most voters from exercising 

their franchise during the 

elections. 

Chairperson of the 

Commonwealth Observer 

Group and former President 

of the United Republic of 

Tanzania, Dr Jakaya Kikwete, 

in the interim statement of the 

group released, yesterday, 

said the difficulties were so 

apparent that so many voters 

were defranchised from 

exercising their civic rights. 

He said: “Notwithstanding 

further assurances provided 

by INEC, there were delays 

in the distribution of materials, 

resulting in late opening of 

polling units. 

"Although INEC 

subsequently authorised 

extended voting hours for 

those polling units that had 

opened late, this information 

was not communicated 

effectively and not followed by 

all polling staff. 

“Electoral reform is a 

continuous process building 

on what has worked 

successfully and addressing 

weaknesses. However, there 

have been considerable 

organisational, logistical and 

technical difficulties in these 

elections, which we know 

INEC and all stakeholders 

will wish to address." 

Despite 

challenges, 

elections largely 

peaceful, 

transparent 

— ECOWAS 


Mission of Economic 

Community of West African 

States, ECOWAS, in its 

interim report, said despite 

challenges of violence, delays 

and malfunctioning of Smart 

Card Readers in some parts 

of the country, Saturday’s 

National Assembly and 

Presidential elections were 

generally peaceful and 

transparent. 

Head of the ECOWAS 

Observer Mission, Ellen 

Sirleaf Johnson, said this 

Sunday night while making 

a preliminary declaration on 

the election, pending the 

collation and declaration of 

final results by Independent 



The mission observed that 

although the media played 

major role in informing the 

people, it, however, reported 

the use of media platforms 

to misinform the public and 

propagate hate speech. 

The mission also observed 

that although the campaigns 

were largely peaceful, some 

incidents led to violence and 

deaths, some during the 

elections. 

The former President of 

Liberia also commended the 

Nigerian electorate for their 

patience and determination 

to exercise their civic 

responsibility even as it 

called on the INEC and other 

stakeholders to approach the 

final phases of the process 

with fairness and 

transparency until the 

announcement of the final 

results. 

Not-Too-Young-to- 

Run Act enhanced 

youth 

participation— AU 

Head of African Union 


Mission, Mr Hailemariam 

Desalegn, said the Not-Too- 

Young-to-Run Act enhanced 

youth participation in 

Saturday elections. 

In the mission’s 

preliminary statement 

presented in Abuja, 

yesterday, Desalegn, former 

Prime Minister of Ethiopia, 

commended the Federal 

Government for the 

enactment of the Not-Too- 

Young-to-Run Act and 

lauded young candidates for 

participating in Saturday’s 


Assembly elections. 

He said the act enhanced 

the participation and political 

representation of young 

people in the elections. 

“Political parties and young 

people should leverage the 

opportunity created by the 

Not-Too-Young-to-Run Act to 

increase political participation 

and representation,” he said. 

FG warns against plan to 

truncate electoral process 

By Emmanuel 

Elebeke 

THE 

Federal 

Government has 

warned against ongoing 

plans by what it described 

as desperate opposition to 

truncate the electoral 

process and render the 

February 23 elections 

inconclusive, to trigger a 

constitutional crisis and 

push for an interim 

government. 

Minister of Information 

and Culture, Alhaji Lai 

Mohammed, issued the 

warning in a statement in 

Oro, Kwara State, 

yesterday. 

He said Peoples 

Democratic Party, PDP, has 

started laying the 

groundwork for a 

constitutional crisis by 

unleashing its talking 

heads, including Buba 

Galadima, Osita Chidoka 

and Femi Fani-Kayode, on 

the public space to claim 

victory from Saturday’s 

elections, even when 



INEC, had yet to announce 

the results. 

According to him, this 

amounts to a clear case of 

impunity. 

Mohammed said by 

usurping the role of INEC 

through the announcement 

of results, PDP had violated 

the Electoral Act and should 

face very serious 

consequences. 

He said: ‘’By announcing 

the results and saying they 

have won the February 23 

election, PDP is deliberately 

seeking to confuse the 

polity and lay the 

foundation for rejecting the 

outcome, if and when 

INEC eventually 

announces the result the 

party does not win. 

‘’This confirms what we 

said in a series of preelection 

press conferences 

that the PDP, realising it 

cannot win a free and fair 

election, will do everything 

possible to scuttle the polls, 

failing which it will proceed 

to the next stage, which is 

to discredit the entire 

electoral process, including 

the result, with the ultimate 

aim of precipitating a 

constitutional crisis and 

pushing for an interim 

government." 

The minister also recalled 

the alarm raised by the 

Federal Government over 

PDP’s decision to set up a 

parallel electoral body, 

under the tag of Parallel 

Voting Tabulation, PVT, 

system, which the 

opposition party described 

as a tool to determine 

whether or not it should 

accept the results of the 

elections. 

EFCC writes Malami on 

Diezani’s extradition 

By Soni Daniel, 

Northern Region 

Editor 

AS a Federal Capital 

Territory High Court 

begins trial of former 

Petroleum Minister, 

Diezani Alison Madueke, 

over economic and financial 

crimes bordering on 

conspiracy and acceptance 

of bribe, the agency has 

written the Attorney- 

General of the Federation 

to begin the process of 

repatriating her to face 

prosecution. 

Diezani has been 

residing in the United 

Kingdom since leaving 

office in 2015 and has 

remained quiet, despite 

mounting allegations of 

graft against her. 

But EFCC has dragged 

her before Justice Valentine 

Ashi of the FCT High 

Court, asking the court to 

try her for the offences of 

conspiracy and illegal act of 

accepting and giving 

gratifications. 

She was to be arraigned 

yesterday, but she was 

nowhere to be found either 

in the court or in Nigeria as 

at the time the case was 

called up before the judge. 

The same judge had on 

December 4, 2018, 

ordered EFCC and other 

security agencies to 

ensure Diezani was 

brought to the court 72 

hours after she returned to 

Nigeria to face the fraud 

charges. 

But unable to produce the 

former minister in court, the 

prosecution, led by Faruk 

Abdullahi, informed the 

court that EFCC had 

already written to the AGF, 

Abubakar Malami, seeking 

the extradition of Diezani. 

Abdullahi said: “The 

commission has written the 

AGF, with a view to kickstarting 

the extraditing 

process so as to enable her 

face her trial, as she is still 

in the United Kingdom.” 

Entitled “Letter of 

Request to Extradite Mrs. 

Diezani Alison-Madueke 

from the United 

Kingdom,” it was received 

by the office of the AGF on 

December 14, 2018. 

It read in part: “The 

commission recently filed 

charges against Mrs. 

Diezani Alison-Madueke 

in both the Federal High 

Court (Charge No. FHC/ 

ABJ/CR/208/2018) and the 

High Court of the Federal 

Capital Territory (Charge


POCKET CARTOON 

BACK TO BASE—President Muhammadu Buhari (left) with wife Aisha 

(right) and others, as he arrives Abuja, yesterday, after the Presidential and 

National Assembly elections. State House photo. 

Polls: PDP rejects results; summons 

legal team 

Continues from Page 1 

Elections. 

The meeting is expected 

to discuss the next line of 

action. 

The notice of meeting 

was sent by Kabir Turaki, 

former Minister of Special 

Duties 

who 

unsuccessfully sought the 

presidential ticket of the 

PDP for the election. 

The meeting, which will 

hold at the Legacy House, 

Abuja, is expected to start 

at 4pm. 

Turaki, a Senior 

Advocate of Nigeria, 

SAN, told invitees to 

“appear in person” as 

there will be “no 

representation please.” 

“The legal works are 

about to begin,” a senior 

PDP official said. 

The outcome of all the 

previous elections, apart 

from the 2015, were 

challenged in court, 

although Olu Falae 

withdrew his case against 

President Olusegun 

Obasanjo in 1999 after the 

intervention of prominent 

Nigerians. 

President Buhari 

challenged all the 

previous elections he lost 

— in 2003, 2007 and 2011. 

In 2015, President 

Goodluck Jonathan took 

the unprecedented step of 

conceding while the final 

result was yet to be 

announced. 

There’re irregularities 

— PDP 

Rejecting the results of 

the presidential polls at a 

press briefing in Abuja, 

the PDP said it discovered 

“irregularities” in the 

results being announced 

by the INEC. 

For instance, PDP cited 

the cancellation of 157, 

591 votes in the 

Presidential election in 

Nasarawa State by the 

INEC. 

National Chairman of 

the party, Prince Uche 

Secondus said the party 

was armed with original 

vote figures announced 

across the polling units 

nationwide. 

“With the INEC IT 

server hacked by agents 

of the APC to manipulate 

results, we can with 

certainty state that results 

from the following polling 

units have, for example, 

been tampered with, 

“Sarkin Dawaki ward in 

Doma, Doka ward in 

Doma Local Government 

Area of Nasarawa State; 

Agyaragin – Tofa ward 10, 

000 illegal votes added to 

already announced 

results in Wurno Local 

Government Area in 

Sokoto State. 

“Additionally, violent 

and destructive attacks 

have been meted out to 

officials during counting 

at Lafia and police 

barracks polling units. 

“I want to categorically 

state that our agents at the 

collation centres have all 

original results from every 

polling unit, in every 

ward, in every local 

government area in 

Nigeria, of which the 

international community 

is well aware, implying 

all results currently being 

announced by INEC are 

incorrect thus 

unacceptable to our party 

and people. 

“Secondly, officials of 

both President Buhari’s 

government and the All 

Progressives Congress 

working with INEC 

officers, have tried to alter 

the course of history and 

disenfranchise our people 

through the cancellation 

and manipulation of 

figures for results already 

announced at polling 

units, nationwide, in local 

government areas where 

our party, the PDP, had 

commanding votes. 

“The ruling party’s 

strategy has indeed been 

murderous, undignified, 

and disrespectful of the 

wishes of the electorate, 

our people and the 


who have been in 

solidarity with our nation 

as we attempt to 

strengthen our democracy 

and its institutions,” he 

said. 

Secondus also 

expressed worry that “in 

full view of the watching 

world, and despite efforts 

by our great party and its 

agents to adhere to every 

laid-down provision for 

the 2019 general 

elections, the APC in 

collusion with INEC have 

taken aggressive steps, 

mostly through 

inducements, 

manipulation and 

incarcerations, using the 

elements of state power 

including the Nigeria 

Police Force, the Nigerian 

Army in particular, 

alongside other 

organizations including 

the Department of State 

Services, DSS, and the 

Economic and Financial 

Crimes Commission, 

EFCC, to silence the 

voices of our long suffering 

people; this is 

disheartening, 

considering the terms of 

the peace accord, which 

called for impartiality and 

non-partisanship by 

members of our security 

organisations with 

constitutional roles to play 

during this civic exercise.” 

The PDP chair added 

that “as results trickled in 

on Sunday, February 24, 

2019, clearly putting the 

PDP in the lead, the ruling 

party and President 

Buhari dispatched highranking 

officials to 

coercively influence 

outcomes in different 

geopolitical zones in the 

country.” 

He alleged that 

“Minister of Interior, 

Abdulrahman Danbazzau 

was dispatched to the 

North-West of the country; 

Secretary of the 

Government of the 

Federation, Boss 

Mustapha was dispatched 

to the North East of the 

country; while the 

Attorney-General and 

Minister of Justice, 

Abubakar Malami was 

dispatched to the South- 

East and South-South 

regions,” ostensibly to 

compromise the process.’’ 

Ignore PDP — 

Keyamo 

The spokesperson of 

the All Progressive 

Congress (APC) 

Presidential Campaign 

Council, Festus Keyamo, 

on Monday, urged 

Nigerians not to be 

intimidated by the 

‘antics’ of the major 

opposition Peoples 

Democratic Party (PDP). 

It also urged 

Nigerians to disregard 

fake election results 

being circulated on 

social media. 

Mr Keyamo alleged 

that the PDP is plotting 

to stop the Independent 


Commission (INEC) 

from completing the 

process of the February 

23, Presidential 

Elections. 

Mr Keyamo through a 

statement he signed, 

also alleged that the aim 

of the PDP is to declare 

false results in the social 

media “in favour of its 

presidential candidate 

Atiku Abubakar as the 

winner”. 

“However, we urge 

our international 

friends, observers and 


By Bose Adelaja, Ebun Sessou, Yinka 

Latona, Sophia Ogu & 

Chiamaka Uba 

What is your impression about the conduct of Presidential, NASS polls? (2) 

I 

worked at Egbeda 

Idimu Lagos as a 

monitoring officer. It was 

peaceful. Ballot papers 

and all needed materials 

got to the polling units at 

appointed time but what 

happened in Okota which 

can't help democracy to 

grow was sad. It should be 

stopped. 

Princess Ifedoyin Tubosun 

Health Officer 

The election was free and 

fair, an indication of noninterference 

by the 

government or its agents. It 

relatively more peaceful than 

the last general election. There 

were, however, some polling 

units that experienced late 

arrival of voting materials. 

Democracy is the best way to 

choose a leader, but it requires 

a combination of patience, 

compassion, diligence, 

wisdom and hope to maintain. 

Mr. Habeeb A Adetunji 

Civil servant 

We cannot start talking 

about the conduct of 

elections when many people 

did not vote due to various 

reasons. Besides, major 

political parties were 

attacking themselves which 

later marred the elections in 

some areas. INEC should 

develop an electronic 

system where Nigerians 

can vote whereever they are. 

That is when we can start 

talking about the 

conduct. Mrs Gloria 

Okafor Businesswoman 

To God be the glory for 

the 

great 

things he has done. 

The elections can be 

compared with that of 

June 12, 1993 in terms 

of being free and fair 

except for violence in 

places like Rivers, Delta, 

Borno and some parts of 

Lagos but this can be 

improved upon in 

subsequent elections. 

Mr. Oyamakin Muritala 

Public servant 

The conduct of the 

election surpassed 

my expectations. I 

thought soldiers will be 

ruthless but they 

weren’t. Although the 

turnout was poor but 

every unit close to me 

was very peaceful and 

orderly. We can only 

hope to continue with 

good legacies. God bless 

Nigeria. 

Miss Patricia Okosodo, 

Analyst 

It was not a free and 

fair election. Nigerians 

should not deceive 

themselves that the election 

was free and fair. It 

was not in any way, an 

improvement on the 

record of 2015. Anyone, 

who says the exercise was 

credible, should check the 

definition of credibility in 

the dictionary. I am disappointed 

and not sure 

things will improve in Nigeria 

any time soon. 

Mr. Kenneth Okonkwo, 

Worker


Rivers APC ex-official, Fubara, was tied 

like crocodile, beheaded—Party agent 

By Egufe Yafugborhi 

RIVERS State party agent 

for All Progressives 

Congress, APC, in 


election, Samson Igerebara, 

yesterday, gave a graphic 

description of how militants 

killed, tied up, beheaded 

and paraded the community 

with the head of the party's 

Thugs ambush 

INEC staff in 

Ogun, shoot 

policeman 

dead 

By Evelyn Usman 

APolice Sergeant, Idoko 

Sunday, was Sunday 

night shot dead by some 

political thugs who 

attempted to snatch 

election results that were 

being conveyed to Ilaro, in 

Ogun State. 

Late Sergeant Sunday, 

attached to the Police 

Special Protection Unit, SPU 

was escorting officials of the 


Electoral Commission , 

INEC from Ipokia to Ilaro, 

when they were ambushed. 

The armed thugs opened 

fire on the vehicle conveying 

the team, in an apparent 

attempt to hijack the vehicle 

conveying election results. 

Though Sergeant Sunday 

and another Police escort, as 

gathered, attempted to 

prevent the move by 

engaging them in a gun 

battle, Sunday was shot in 

the chest and ribcage. 

Vanguard gathered that 

teams of Military and Police 

personnel who were 

alerted on the attack, 

repelled the hoodlums, 

forcing them to abandon 

their mission and escaped, 

when it became obvious that 

they had been overpowered. 

Some INEC ad hoc staff in 

the vehicle sustained 

varying degrees of injury in 

the ensuing stampede. 

When contacted, 

spokesman for the Ogun 

State Police Command, 

DSP Abimbola Oyeyemi, 

who confirmed the incident, 

said the command was still 

on the trail of the hoodlums. 

He added that the 

Commissioner of Police, CP 

Ahmed Illyasu had directed 

the Deputy Commissioner of 

Police in-charge of the State 

Criminal Intelligence and 

Investigations Department, 

SCIID to take over the 

investigation with a view to 

arresting perpetrators the 

thugs. 

ex-official, Ignatius Fubara, 

shortly before Saturday’s election. 

Igerebara also narated how 

Mowan Exeter, his elder brother 

and nephew, were killed. 

Speaking at the state Collation 

Centre in Port Harcourt, Igerebara 

said there was no way the number 

of recorded voters could have 

voted during the ensuing 

stampede. 

The Independent National 

Electoral Commission, INEC, had 

announced 72,330 votes for 

By Onozure Dania 

THE defence counsel to a female 

lawyer, Udeme Otike-Odibi, 

accused of killing her husband and 

cutting his manhood, yesterday, 

filed an application for an order of 

court rejecting Udeme’s 

confessional statements. 

Udeme through her counsel, 

Mr. Oluseye Banjoko, made the 

application before a Lagos High 

Court, sitting at Igbosere, to stop 

the court from conducting a trial 

within trial to determine the 

admissibility of two statements 

made by the defendant during 

police investigations. 

Udeme was arraigned on June 

13, 2018 on a two-count charge 

of murder and misconduct with 

regard to a corpse, by Lagos State 

Director of Public Prosecutions, 

DPP, Titilayo Shitta-Bey. 

The prosecutor, alleged that 

Udeme stabbed Symphorosa 

Otike-Odibi, also a lawyer, to 

death and mutilated his corpse by 

cutting off his genitals, on May 

3, 2018, at their Diamond Estate, 

Sangotedo, Lekki, Lagos home. 

Titi Shitta-Bey said the offences 

is punishable under sections 165 

(b) and 223 of the Criminal Law 

of Lagos State, 2015. 

However Udeme pleaded not 

guilty but was remanded in prison 

Peoples Democratic Party, 

PDP, and 72,766 votes for 

APC in the presidential polls 

held in Andoni Local 

Government Area, same day 

they were killed. 

According to him, “he was 

killed alongside his elder 

brother and nephew. 

Thereafter, Mowan’s corpse 

was dragged round the 

streets of Asarama. 

“At that point, everybody in 

the community ran away. 

custody. 

At the last adjourned date 

on January 23, the court fixed 

February 25(yesterday), to 

conduct a trial within trial to 

determine the admissibility 

of the defendant’s 

confessional statements. 

At the resumed hearing, of 

the matter yesterday, the 

defendant’s counsel urged 

the court not to conduct the 

trial within trial. 

Banjoko said the 

constitution made provisions 

that the statement of any 

person arrested must be 

made in the presence of a 

legal practitioner or must be 

videoed. 

He cited Section 93 of the 

Administration of Criminal 

Justice Law, ACJL, of Lagos 

State 2015, which made it 

mandatory that to achieve 

transparency in statements 

taken, the constitution must 

be followed. 

“Our application is for an 

order rejecting the alleged 

confessional statement, an 

order making the alleged 

confessional statement 

inadmissible and any other 

order of the court,” Banjoko 

stated. 

In her reply, the prosecutor 

From 8a.m. till 5p.m., you 

could hardly see even a fowl 

on the street. 

“It is unimaginable for 

anybody to say elections 

took place in that Azarama 

Ward 9. Again, in Ward 8, 

precisely, Ajaghaja, Rivers 

APC Ex-Official, Ignatius 

Fubara, was tied as you 

would tie a crocodile. 

“He was then taken to a 

slab where his head was 

chopped off. And those who 

Reject my confessional statement, female 

lawyer accused of killing husband tells court 

said the provision of the 

constitution stated that the 

substantive law to be 

adhered to in determining 

the admissibility of any 

evidence was the Evidence 

Act 2011. 

Shitta-Bey said the ACJL 

which was referred to by the 

defense counsel, “is a 

procedural law which 

cannot supersede the 

Evidence Act.” 

She referred the court to a 

Court of Appeal case which 

was decided in April 2018, 

Chijioke Emmanuel Vs 

Federal Republic of 

Nigeria. 

The prosecutor said the 

appeal court in that case 

stated that the provision of 

the Evidence Act should be 

followed to determine the 

admissibility of any piece of 

evidence. 

She said the court of 

appeal went further to state 

that Section 93 of ACJL is 

only relevant to the weight 

to be attached to the 

admissibility of any 

evidence after a trial within 

trial had been conducted. 

Shitta-Bey, however, said: 

“The court should be 

allowed to proceed with the 

chopped off his head 

demonstrated round the 

community with it. 

“It is clear that a sane person 

would not stay in such 

environment to conduct 

elections, yet the Collation 

Officer and the Electoral 

Officer turned in results. 

“For a human being to turn 

in results on the blood of 

innocent souls is the height of 

injustice and the authorities 

must look into it.” 

LAW, ORDER IN LAGOS: Security personnel on alert to prevent break down of law and order at Oshodi, Lagos, yesterday. 

PHOTO: Kehinde Gbadamosi. 

trial within trial to determine 

the admissibility of the 

defendant’s statements. 

However, the defendance 

could not go on with its reply 

on points of law. 

Adjournment 

Consequently Justice 

Adedayo Akintoye adjourned 

the case until March 21, for 

further hearing. 

On January 23, the ninth 

prosecution witness, ASP 

Olusegun Bamidele, told the 

court that Udeme allegedly 

confessed to killing her lawyer 

husband Symphorosa and 

cutting his manhood. 

Bamidele told the court that 

he was the head of a team that 

investigated the killing and 

that he personally recorded 

the defendant’s statement. 

He said it was at the police 

hospital, during an interactive 

session, that Udeme wrote a 

detailed confessional 

statement. 

He said the defendant spoke 

freely after identifying herself 

as a lawyer. 

But when Shitta-Bey sought to 

tender the two statements which 

Udeme allegedly made to the 

police, her counsel opposed the 

admissibility of the statements.


Fear of attack over election 

ruins Lagos traders' day 

•All rumours; no attack anywhere—Police 

By Esther Onyegbula 

HOODLUMS, yesterday, 

threatened to burn down 

shops owned by Igbo traders in 

Oshodi and Odunade-Orile 

markets in Lagos, over 

accusation that they did not vote 

for the ruling All Progressives 

Congress, APC, party during 

last Saturday’s elections. 

Between 7a.m. and 8am, some 

of the hoodlums reportedly 

stormed Brown Street, Oshodi, 

Akpasa and Market Street in the 

densely-populated Ajegunle, 

and Odunade Market in Orile, 

in an attempt to carry out their 

threats. 

This forced traders to lock up 

and return to their respective 

abodes. 

A trader at Oshodi, Jeffery 

Uwakwe, said: “When I came to 

the market this morning 

(yesterday), the entire place was 

in disarray, as thugs were 

everywhere brandishing 

dangerous weapons, 

threatening and attacking 

traders. 

“Because of the chaos 

everywhere we couldn’t open 

our stores for the better part of 

the day.” 

Before reports of the attack, 

text messages had been sent to 

relatives and friends of an 

imminent attack on Igbo traders. 

...Police’s assurance 

However, when Vanguard 

visited the affected markets, 

calm had been restored, with a 

heavy presence of Military and 

Police patrols. 

Meanwhile, Lagos State Police 

Command said there were no 

attacks at any market in Lagos 

by hoodlums. 

The command, in a statement 

by its Public Relations Officer, 

CSP Chike Oti, said: “The 

Command wishes to debunk, in 

its entirety, the rumour on social 

media that a group of boys, 

popularly called Area Boys, are 

attacking Igbo traders at 

Oshodi, preventing them from 

opening their shops. 

“Although the Command 

received distress calls from 

concerned Nigerians, whose 

apprehensions were 

understandably heightened by 

disturbing rumours emanating 

from some social media 

platforms, the Command swiftly 

and massively deployed its 

AN Ebute-Meta Chief 

Magistrate’s Court, Lagos, 

yesterday, ordered an 11-yearold 

boy, who allegedly threw a 

one-year-old in a well, be 

remanded in a Special 

Correction Centre for boys in 

Oregun, pending legal advice 

from the Director of Public 

Prosecutions, DPP. 

personnel drawn from various 

units to Oshodi and environs to 

assuage the feelings of residents 

and further assure Lagosians of 

its readiness to decisively deal 

with any person or group of 

persons who attempts to breach 

the public peace.” 

Also, Chairman of Lagos State 

Task Force, CSP Olayinka 

Egbeyemi, corroborated the 

command’s position, advising 

By Evelyn Usman 

NO fewer than 28 suspected 

thugs have been arrested 

over the death of a voter and 

disruption of voting process at 

Ago, Okota area of Lagos, 

during last Saturday’s 


Assembly elections. 

Also, the Divisional Police 

Officer, CSP Oyin Adamu, and 

Divisional Crime Officer, SP 

Oladimeji Olatunji, have been 

queried over what was 

described as operational error 

which was attributed to the 

escalation of the attack on 

polling booths in the area. 

Vanguard gathered that 25 

hoodlums alleged to be 

responsible for the death of one 

Peter, a barber who had gone to 

vote, were arrested in their 

hideout at Canal Estate, Okota, 

by Army personnel. 

An additional three suspects, 

11-yr-old allegedly throws toddler in well 

The Police charged the boy with 

murder. 

Chief Magistrate Adeola 

Adedayo, who gave the order, 

adjourned the case until March 

6, for the DPP advice. 

Earlier, Inspector Chinalu 

Uwadione, the prosecutor, had 

told the court that the defendant 

committed the offence on 

parents to monitor activities of 

their wards, as anyone caught 

fomenting trouble in the state 

would be dealt with. 

He said: “The agency and 

other security outfits are on 

ground, using patrol vans and 

power bikes to patrol every 

nooks and crannies of the 

entire Oshodi area to forestall 

any possibility of breakdown 

of law and order.” 

… as Police nab 28 

thugs over Okota crisis 

•DPO, DCO queried 

By Jane Echewodo 

Atrader, Kingsley Kalu was 

yesterday arraigned before 

an Ikeja Magistrates’ Court for 

allegedly conniving with two 

others to rob a restaurant in 

Lagos. 

Kalu, who resides at 6, 

Thompson Street, Ikoyi, Lagos 

was arraigned on two counts 

charge of conspiracy and 

stealing. 

The police prosecutor, Michael 

Unah, said the suspect in 

company of two others had gone 

to the Delta Port Restaurant, 

Lekki Phase 1, Lagos on 

November 9, 2018, alongside two 

said to have stormed the 

polling booth at Avenue Bus 

Stop, were also arrested by 

the military personnel. 

Vanguard also gathered 

that the DPO and DCO were 

requested to explain why 

they failed to protect officials 

of the Independent National 


INEC, and election materials 

and their inability to prevent 

the situation from spreading 

to other polling booths. 

The officers were said to 

have also attempted to divert 

the attention of the Assistant 

Inspector-General of Police 

in-charge of Zone 2, David 

Folawiyo, and the 

Commissioner of Police, 

Lagos State Command, 

Zubairu Muazu, who visited 

the area to assess the level 

of damage, by taking them 

to other polling booths where 

voting was peaceful. 

Trader docked over N1.8m gold, phones theft 

others now at large, ordering 

everyone to lie down, 

dispossessing them of cash 

and other valuables. 

He said they were arrested 

while attempting to escape 

from the scene, adding that 

the offence contravened 

sections 280 and 411 of the 

Criminal Law of Lagos State, 

2015. 

But the defendant denied 

the charges and presiding 

magistrate, Mr. Fashola, 

admitted the defendant to bail 

in the sum of N250,000 with 

two sureties in like sum, as the 

case was adjourned till April 

1 for mention. 

February 13, at 4p.m., at 6, 

Afolabi close, Ojo. 

He alleged that the 

defendant had thrown a oneyear-old 

baby boy into a well, 

while carrying him around. 

The offence, Uwadione noted, 

contravened the provisions of 

Section 224 of the Criminal Law 

of Lagos State, 2015. 

... with Emma'nKen (08163121378) 

Mr. Kereku will either swallow something 

or something will swallow him 

Ask Gordons what happened 

when madam said ‘tie me up’ 

Is it every graduate that's educated?

8 — Vanguard, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2019 

Obaship crisis: 95-yr-old ex-regent 

denies document creating new 

royal dynasty 

By Rotimi Ojomoyela 

ADO EKITI—A twotime 

regent of Orin- 

Ekiti, Ido-Osi Local 

Government Area of Ekiti 

State, Princess 

Ajayi Oladeji has denied 

signing any document 

creating a new royal family 

under the name Ajibewa. 

In the comment of the 

regent regarded as a 

dramatic twist to the 

Obaship crisis rocking the 

agrarian town, She 

maintained that the town 

had operated two ruling 

houses: Olubunmo and 

Famokiti ruling houses for 

ages. 

Princess Oladeji insisted 

that the claim that she 

signed a document creating 

a third royal dynasty was 

not only spurious but a 

calculated attempt to 

defraud the community. 

The people of the 

community, led by its 

kingmakers had protested 

recently over governor 

Kayode Fayemi’s intention 

to pick an Oba-elect in 

Ajibewa ruling house. 

The governor, according 

to his deputy, Chief Bisi 

Egbeyemi based his action 

on the white paper on 

Morgan Chieftaincy Report 

of 1995 under the old Ondo 

State and Ekiti State official 

gazette of 3rd June, 1999, 

which recognized Ajibewa 

as the third ruling house in 

the town. 

Speaking during a town 

hall meeting organised by 

the community yesterday to 

clear air on the document, 

Mrs Oladeji said it was 

criminal to have linked him 

to such document by 

Ajibewa’s family, saying 

doing so would be 

tantamount to sacrilege and 

mutilation of the town’s rich 

history. 

“I was a regent in this town 

two times spanning 25 

years. I was here between 

1968 and 1974 and also 

between 1980 and 1995. I 

know the history very well 

Firm refutes fire outbreak 

at its factory 

L management 

AGOS—THE 

of 

Tasty Time Nigeria Ltd has 

refuted reports of fire 

outbreak at its Lagos 

factory. 

Some sections of the 

media had reported that a 

team of policemen and 

firefighters had Friday last 

week put out an inferno at 

the company’s Ipaja factory. 

Reacting to the report, 

the Managing Director of 

Tasty Time, Mr Isaac 

Kole, in a statement said 

that there was no fire 

outbreak at its factory in 

Lagos 

Kole noted that the only 

fire incident to his 

knowledge on Friday last 

week was at a building on 

same street with its factory 

located at Ipaja, Ayobo 

area. 

He stated that the affected 

building does not belong to 

vanguardnews @vanguardnews @vanguardnews 

and I would not have signed 

any document establishing 

a third dynasty that never 

existed. I know that doing 

such would mean I want to 

create crisis for my people. 

Ajibewa was never a royal 

family. I can’t even read let 

alone sign any document as 

a regent.” 

She pleaded with 

government 

to 

discountenance the 

document and pick a new 

king from Famokiti dynasty 

to replace the late Oba 

Oluwole Olubunmo. 

A 

kingmaker 

and Onikare of Orin Ekiti, 

Chief Bamidele Fasuyi, 

said the statement made by 

the former regent, 

had corrected the rumour 

being peddled around that 

the town had three ruling 

houses. 

But the patriarch of 

Ajibewa’s family, Prince 

Samuel Ajibewa, while 

reacting to the development, 

said: ”The old woman the 

Olubunmo and Famokiti 

families brought is over 95 

years and is having partial 

stroke and has become so 

old that she has forgotten 

that she signed the 

document. 

“To say that Orin Ekiti 

didn’t have a stamp as at 20 

years ago is a fallacy, and a 

slap on the faces of many 

intellectuals produced by 

the town bearing in mind 

that then monarch, Oba 

Oluwole Olubunmo was a 

respectable accountant. All 

that the Olubunmo and 

Famokiti are doing now 

amounts to medicine after 

death as they ought to have 

challenged the gazette that 

directs that a new monarch 

must come from Ajibewa 

family in a law court within 

10 years of its production in 

1995. 

“Having failed to do that 

after 20 years now, their cries 

now amount to medicine 

after death. They should 

stop wasting Orin-Ekiti 

community’s money which 

we have all contributed. We 

urge them to go to court and 

his company and neither 

does the company use it for 

any of its production 

activities. 

“The management of 

Tasty Time Nigeria Ltd 

wishes to express its 

displeasure at an 

erroneous report about a 

fire outbreak near our 

factory in Lagos. 

“We wish to state that 

there was no fire outbreak 

at our factory in Lagos. The 

fire incident referred to in 

some media reports, took 

place at a building located 

on same street at Ipaja 

Ayobo with our factory. 

The building does not 

belong to Tasty Time 

neither do we use it for any 

production activity,” Kole 

said. 

He urged the public to 

ignore the erroneous report 

and assured its numerous 

customers that production 

of all it products at its factory 

is going on uninterrupted. 

NEWS HOTLINES 

018773962, 

08052867058 

I'll consolidate, work for better Nigeria, 

said. 

says Senator Tinubu She said it was time to 

Lrepresenting AGOS—SENATOR 

Lagos 

Central Senatorial District, 

Mrs Oluremi Tinubu 

yesterday expressed her 

readiness to consolidate 

and prioritise youth 

empowerment and social 

security, to further move 

Lagos Central and Nigeria 

forward. 

Tinubu, in a statement in 

Lagos, commended the 

residents of Lagos Central 

Senatorial District for reelecting 

her to represent 

the district in the National 

Assembly, for the next four 

years. 

The Independent 


Commission, INEC, 

yesterday declared Tinubu 

the winner of the Lagos 

Central Senatorial District. 

Tinubu of the All 


APC, polled 131, 725 

votes, to defeat her closest 

rival, Mr Adesunbo Onitiri 

of Peoples Democratic 

Party, PDP, who got 89, 107 

votes. 

The senator promised 

renewed dedication to 

youth empowerment and 

social security for the 

realisation of a better 

Nigeria. 

“In an overwhelming 

show of patriotism and 

loyalty to Nigeria, the 

people have, through their 

votes, exercised their 

power to elect leaders and 

determine the course of our 

nation for the next four 

years. Nigerians have let it 

be known that we are 

willing to put in the work 

necessary to get Nigeria 

moving forward. 

“The good people of 

Lagos Central Senatorial 

District have once again 

elected me to represent 

them at the upper 

legislative chamber. I am 

humbled by the support 

and confidence reposed in 

the perspective I bring to 

the Nigerian Senate. 

“I am honoured to 

represent Lagos Central for 

another four years. Thus, I 

want to extend my 

gratitude to my family, 

members of the 

Appreciation 2019 

Campaign Team and 

volunteers, who have 

served, knocking on 

doors, going from 

market to market, shaking 

hands and mobilising the 

electorate, to exercise their 

civic rights,” the senator 

address the critical issues 

of infrastructure 

development, accessibility 

and affordability of 

education, increased 

employment, among 

others. 

According to her, ''the 

victory of APC in the 

elections is a victory for our 

democracy and the 

protection of our 

commonwealth. 

“I urge the electorate to 

come out en masse again 

on March 9 for the 

gubernatorial and state 

houses of assembly 

elections. It is time to get to 

work, consolidating on the 

foundations we have put in 

place,” she said. 

She also commended 

INEC and security 

agencies for ensuring 

peaceful, free and fair 


Assembly elections 

Election: INEC declares Ojo House 

of Reps poll inconclusive 

By Monsur 

Olowoopejo 

LAGOS—38 hours of 

collating results of 


Assembly elections from 

wards in Ojo Federal 

Constituency, Lagos State, 



INEC, yesterday declared 

the House of 

Representatives election 

inconclusive. 

Though the returning 

officer, Professor Yomi 

Akinyeye from department 

of History and Strategic 

studies, University of 

Lagos, at the collation 

center at Etegbin in Ojo, 

cited reasons for the action, 

but was received with 

disapproval by the political 

parties. 

According to him, “It has 

become difficult, in the light 

of the electoral act, to 

declare the result of the 

poll. We will take the 

collated results to INEC for 

proper decisions on what 

should be done regarding 

this election.” 

The polling units where 

the irregularities allegedly 

occurred as listed by the 

returning officer were: 

Okokomaiko at ward 02, 

Ijanikin; ward04, Ilogbo; 

ward06 and Ojo; ward 01. 

According to him, the 

election in these four 

polling units were already 

cancelled due to the 

irregularities which 

included manual voting, 

number of votes cast 

exceeding number of 

accredited voters and other 

sundry issues. 

He said: “The appropriate 

vote involve was also 

indicated as required by 

INEC regulation. The 

candidate of the Peoples 

Democratic Party, PDP 

(Adekunle Obasa) scored a 

total votes of 28, 691 and 

was closely followed by the 

All Progressives Congress, 

APC candidate (Yinka 

By Simon Adewale 

THE 

People’s 


candidate contesting for 

Amuwo Odofin Federal 

House of Representative, 

Mr Emma Oghene Egoh 

has stormed the 



INEC, office at Festac 

demanding for the released 

of the results of the vote cast 

in Amuwo Odofin Federal 

Constituency for the House 

of Representatives. 

Mr. Oghene Egoh, who is 

the PDP member 

representing Amuwo 

Odofin in the Federal House 

of Assembly said that he is 

worried because at as 8pm 

on Friday, when they got 

the results from all the wards 

it showed that the PDP is 

leading with a great 

margins of over 600 polling 

units, that the only areas that 

A party agent, 

reading Vanguard 

Newspaper, during 

collation of Lagos 

State Presidential 

and National 

Assembly Election, 

at Independent 


Commission 

(INEC), Lagos 

state, Collation 

Centre, in Yaba, 

Lagos yesterday. 

Photo: Bunmi 

Azeez. 

Durosinmi) with 25, 545. 

“If you do the calculation, 

you will realise that the 

different between both 

candidates is slim when you 

consider the number of 

accredited voters from the 

polling units were elections 

were cancelled. The 

number of accredited voters 

is far above the number of 

votes that separate both 

candidates. So it will be 

difficult for one to announce 

a clear winner at this 

juncture. All I can do is to 

report back to the umpire 

for further directives” 

Egoh storms INEC office, 

demands release of results 

was in questions is just two 

wards in the riverine areas. 

He stressed that that the 

PDP won in 9 wards out of 

11 wards, that the only 2 

wards that results had not 

been released is at the 

riverine areas; that he is 

very worried why it has 

taken so long for the results 

to be declared by 



INEC, Returning Officers, 

that any forward delayed 

could led to manipulation 

of the final results. 

Egoh added that he is 

worried why the Returning 

Officers were delaying the 

results when the results is 

ready since 8pm on 

Saturday and it is 5pm on 

Sunday and yet the 

Returning Officer of INEC 

is taken too late to declared 

the final collation results in 

the favour of the PDP 

member in Amuwo Odofin.

Vanguard, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2018 — 9 

Ajimobi accepts defeat, says no 

sacrifice too much as leader 

By Adeola Badru 

I GOVERNOR 

B A D A N — 

Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo 

State, yesterday accepted 

defeat in his bid to return 

to the Senate during 

Saturday Presidential and 


elections, yesterday said 

there was no sacrifice too 

much to make as a leader, 

The governor 

congratulated the senatorelect 

for Oyo South 

senatorial district on the 

platform of Peoples 

Democratic Party, PDP, Dr. 

Kola Balogun who won. 

Ajimobi, in a statement 

yesterday by his Special 

Adviser on Communication 

and Strategy, Mr. Bolaji 

Tunji, described his defeat 

as painful, but noted; “If I 

lose the ticket and the party 

was able to gain, then it is 

nothing to feel sad about. 

APC has done well but we 

can always do better. If out 

of three senatorial seats, we 

won two and out of 14 

federal constituency seats, 

we picked nine, then we 

should congratulate 

ourselves.” 

He equally expressed 

appreciation to the people 

of the state for their 

peaceful conduct and their 

large turnout in last 

Saturday’s election. 

The governor said the 

people of the state had 

shown their love for the 

APC by voting massively for 

President Muhammadu 

Buhari and the party’s 

candidates in the elections, 

starting that from results 

released so far nationwide, 

the APC was coasting 

home to victory. 

The governor equally 

congratulated Oyo State 

APC candidates in the 

elections, adding: “We 

appreciate our people for 

coming out last Saturday 

which led to APC winning 

two out of the three 

senatorial and nine out of 

the 14 Federal constituency 

seats in the state. The 

victory has shown the 

unassailable leadership of 

the APC in Oyo State. It has 

also shown that our people 

are appreciative of the 

developmental strides of 

the APC in the state and the 

country at large. We have 

taken Oyo State to an 

unprecedented level in 

terms of massive 

infrastructural renewal. 

''Most importantly, we 

have ensured peace in the 

state. The results of Oyo 

South senatorial districts 

have been released by 

INEC (Independent 


Commission) indicating 

that I lost to the PDP 

(Peoples Democratic Party) 

candidate. I hereby accept 

the result as announced. 

Although there were a 

number of grievous 

infractions and established 

electoral malpractices, I 

have decided to let go in 

the interest of peace. I 

therefore congratulate the 

declared winner, Hon Kola 

Balogun and our other 

Senators-elect, Abdulfatai 

Buhari and Teslim Folarin.” 

The governor enjoined all 

APC members to gird their 

loins for the March 9 

governorship election as 

the battle was not over yet, 

noting that the loss of the 

senatorial seat would not 

deter his firm resolve and 

that of the APC to work for 

victory in the governorship 

election. 

“To the teeming members 

of our party and supporters 

who came out in their 

thousands to show their 

preference for the APC, I 

thank and urge you to keep 

the faith especially as we 

look forward to the 

governorship and the 

House of Assembly 

elections. 

“With the impressive 

results we currently 

have, we should proudly 

go forth with greater 

sense of confidence and 

unity of purpose.'' 

ONDO SOUTH: Protests 

greet INEC declaration that 

election was inconclusive 

By Dayo Johnson 

A KURE—PROTESTS 

yesterday greeted 

the Independent National 


INEC, declaration of the 

result of the Ondo South 

Senatorial district election 

in Ondo State as 

inconclusive. 

The People’s Democratic 

Party, PDP, candidate, 

Nicholas Tofowomo led in 

the six council areas with 

79,029 votes as against 51, 

993 polled by the 

incumbent and the 

candidate of the All 


APC, Yele Omogunwa. 

Giving reason for the 

commission’s decision, the 

INEC returning officer for 

the district, Professor 

Kayode Onifade, said 

elections were cancelled in 

42 polling units due to 

some irregularities. 

According to Onifade “a 

winner could not be 

declared when the total 

number of registered voters 

in the cancelled polling 

units which is 28,047 were 

above the margin between 

the PDP and the APC. The 

margin stood at 27,036 

votes. 

Addressing newsmen in 

Akure, PDP through its 


Committee in Ondo State, 

Chief Eyitayo Jegede 

called on INEC to declare 

its candidate, Nicolas 

Tofowomo winner in the last 

Saturday election in the 

interest of democracy. 

Jegede wondered why 

the election was declared 

inconclusive when the 

three House of 

Representatives seats and 

presidential results in the 

district had been 

concluded and results 

declared. 

According to him, “Since 

the election from the Local 

Governments were ready 

the role of INEC is to sum 

up the figures and declare 

the winner of the election. 

INEC must do what is 

right. The local 

governments results are 

known to the people. We 

want to appeal to INEC to 

release the result of the 

election.” 

Similarly, Tofowomo 

asked Nigerians to look at 

the Margin: 27,036 votes 

and determine whether the 

election should be declared 

inconclusive when what 

the law required was 

simple majority. 

According to him; “We 

demand to know how the 

House of Representatives 

elections which were held 

same day and 

simultaneously within the 

three federal constituencies 

that formed Ondo South 

were not declared 

inconclusive? We demand 

to know the total numbers 

of PVC collected in these 

42 units where they 

claimed 28,047 votes were 

cancelled? 

“We are aware of the 

plans by the APC in 

collusion with INEC to 

undermine the electoral 

process. Presently, we 

have been reliably 

informed of how INEC 

officials are trying to 

distort the current 

figures already declared 

at the various six Local 

Governments of Ondo 

South in desperation to 

reduce the wide margins.'' 

Why APC lost to PDP in 

Ondo — BOROFFICE 

Chairman, INEC/Presidential Returning Officer, Mahmood Yakubu with Technical Adviser to the Chairman 

Muhammed Kuma at the National Coalition Centre in Abuja yesterday. Photo by Gbemiga Olamikan 

Election: REC, Chief collation officer disagree over results 

By Ola Ajayi 

I BADAN—THERE 

was a disagreement 

between the Chief 

Collation Officer, Prof 

Abdulkareem Sulaiman 

Age, the Vice Chancellor of 

the University of Ilorin and 

the Oyo State Resident 

Electoral Commissioner 

over results from two local 

government areas of Oyo 

State. 

The commotion happened 

during the collation of the 

results of the presidential 

election that was conducted 

on Saturday. 

All Electoral Officers and 

the collation officers started 

the collation without any 

hitch until it got to the 

middle of the exercise. 

The results that caused the 

hullabaloo were from 

Ogbomoso North and 

Ogbomoso South which fall 

within the domain of a 

former governor of the state. 

When the collation officer 

for Ogbomoso North 

presented, the figures did 

not correspond and he was 

asked to go back and sort 

them out. 

Hardly had he gone than 

another collation officer 

from Ogbomoso south 

came. 

His presentation was 

alleged to be fraught with 

over voting. 

After his presentation of 

the results, the collation 

officer, Olutokunbo 

Oyesola was asked by the 

Chief Collation Officer to 

explain why there was 

such a wide margin of 

25,000 who were 

accredited but did not vote. 

According to the collation 

officer, the number of 

accredited voters was 

58,170 but the total of votes 

cast was 31,064. 

When the Electoral Officer 

could not give a convincing 

explanation, he was asked 

to go and sort it out and 

represent. 

When he eventually 

came back, he still could 

not reconcile some figures. 

By this time, the Chief 

Collation Officer had 

made up his mind to make 

a formal report of what 

actually transpired. 

After Ibadan South East 

results which was 

withheld for several 

hours had been 

presented, it was then 

the Resident Electoral 

Commissioner for the 

state, Mutiu Agboke, 

told the officials from 

Ogbomoso South to come 

and represent his results. 

The invitation of the 

collation officer by the REC 

met a stiff resistance of the 

Chief Collation officer who 

insisted that he had made 

his reports already and that 

it would be unnecessary to 

present again. 

The REC said, “The 

professor will please listen 

to the man again. It is a 

common thing during 

collation. In fact, that’s why 

we have an officer who will 

correct perceived mistakes. 

It is usually allowed during 

collation.” 

However, replying, the 

Chief Collation officer 

did not mince words as 

he said emphatically that 

he would not grant the 

man audience again. 

By Dayo Johnson 

A KURE—SENATOR 

representing Ondo 

North Senatorial District, 

Ajayi Boroffice yesterday 

blamed the division in the 

state’s structure of the All 


APC, for its defeat by the 


PDP, in February 23 

elections. 

Boroffice, a member of 

APC, spoke in Akure with 

newsmen on the outcome 

of the Presidential and 

National Assemble 

elections in the area. 

PDP won 11 out of the 18 

local governments in the 

state 

Ajayi said:”APC lost 

Saturday election in Ondo 

State toPDP because APC 

has dysfunctional party 

structure in the state which 

is not effective. Then, we 

have a bipolar party which 

is one side AA and another 

is authentic APC. It is like 

the house divided against 

itself and that really 

affected the party in the 

election. I have mixed 

feelings in the sense that 

we lost to PDP and it is 

unfortunate. 

“However, the good side 

is that, I won the election 

and three members of 


in my district and our 

presidential candidate also 

won. But the fact that we 

lost two senatorial seats to 

PDP is bad.” 

The lawmaker also said 

that his victory in the poll 

was caused by peopleoriented 

projects he 

executed in the senatorial 

district, saying “I won 

because people are 

behind me and if you go 

there, you will see 

projects I did and brought 

there. People know that I 

am committed to their 

welfare and they decided 

to give their votes to me 

despite all odds. INEC 

did very well and I also 

give credit to security 

agencies for not allowing 

any intimidation, because 

there was no any foul play 

in the election.”


How soldiers carted off Okrika 

results sheets—Electoral Officer 

THE 

Independent 


Commission, INEC, 

Electoral Officer for Okrika 

Local Government Area of 

Rivers State, Mr. Leo Okon, 

has said soldiers invaded 

INEC office in Okrika and 

snatched the results of last 

Saturday presidential and 


elections for the council. 

Speaking at Rivers East 

Senatorial District Collation 

Centre yesterday, the 

Okrika council Electoral 

Officer said the invading 

soldiers were led by a 

Captain. 

He regretted that prior to 

By Gabriel 

Enogholase 

B ENIN—ACADEMIC 

Staff Union of 

Universities, ASUU, Benin 

Zone, has condemned 

what it described as the 

“purported suspension” 

of Chairman of Ambrose 

Alli University, AAU, 

Ekpoma, ASUU branch, 

Dr. Monday Igbafen, over 

allegations of sexual 

harassment and sex for 

marks. 

Rising from a meeting, 

the lecturers called on the 

governing council of the 

university to uphold 

justice and fairness by 

taking a proper look at the 

issue. 

They alleged that the 

institution’s Vice 

Chancellor, Professor 

Ignatius Onimawo, was 

poised to emasculate the 

union through series of 

queries being given some 

of its leaders at the 

university. 

The lecturers recalled that 

the university’s ASUU 

property was destroyed by 

snatching the entire results, 

the soldiers frightened the 

collation officials through 

shootings and violence. 


Collation Officers moved to 

the INEC office because of 

widespread violence on 

election day. 

He stated that earlier on 

election day, some security 

personnel snatched 

election materials for some 

wards, which he listed. 

However, he said elections 

held in all the other wards. 

Leo Okon said: “I am here 

to present a report on the 


Assembly elections for 

“sponsored thugs” who 

invaded the congress 

meeting held on January 

28 and accused Professor 

Onimawo of not 

responding to a letter they 

Okrika Local Government 

Area. We actually deployed 

men and materials for the 

elections. 

“It will interest you to 

know that materials for 

wards 6, 7, 8, 9 were going 

to the super RAC centre; 

but I was informed that the 

materials were diverted to 

an unknown destination. 

“Election at every other 

ward went on successfully. 

Elections were held. At the 

end of polls, there were 

heavy gunshots. 

“Poll officials could not 

collate form EC 8a at the 

polling units. They opted 

to come to INEC office at 

addressed to him on the 

issue. 

ASUU also noted that 

Dr. Igbafen was never 

summoned to the Senior 

Staff Disciplinary 

Okrika for solace and to 

continue filling form EC 8a. 

“At the collation for ward 

level, a military team of 

soldiers led by one Captain 

came and ordered the 

suspension of collation. He 

ordered his men to take 

away every other material, 

including the results being 

collated by the collation 

officials. 

“The materials were 

carted away with nothing 

left for me to present as 

evidence for this election. 

As I speak with you, I have 

no record or results to 

present for collation at this 

collation centre.” 

MOU: From left—Account Executive/Campaign Manager, West Africa, Goal.Com, Adesanya Abby; 

Chief Strategy Officer, Pace Sports and Entertainment Marketing, Olamide Adeyemo; Senior Sales 

Executive, West Africa, Goal.Com, Thelma Edinbus, and Media Officer, Higher Institutions Football League, 

HiFL, Olufemi Olatunji, at the Pace Sports & Entertainment Marketing and Goal.com's memorandum of 

understanding, MoU, signing for HiFL 2019 season in Lagos. 

ASUU condemns AAU over member's suspension 

How APC delivered 2,123 votes 

to Buhari in Gbaramatu— Johnny 

CHIEF Michael Johnny, 

chieftain of All 


APC, Warri South-West 

Local Government Area, 

Delta State, yesterday, 

explained how the party 

polled 2,123 votes for 


Buhari in the justconcluded 

presidential and 


elections in Gbaramatu 

Kingdom. 

By Ike Uche 

C ALABAR— 

MINISTER of Niger 

Delta Affairs, Usani Usani, 

has denied insinuation in 

certain section of the media 

that he was working for the 

Johnny, also Coordinator 

of Canvassers for Buhari in 

Delta South Senatorial 

District, commended the 

people of Gbaramatu Ward 

4 for identifying with APC, 

adding that Buhari will not 

forget their efforts and 

commitment to the next 

level. 

The former Chairman of 

Egbema Gbaramatu 

Communities 

Development Foundation 

governorship candidate of 


PDP, Governor Ben Ayade. 

Usani said the 

misconception about his 

relationship with the 

governor of the state can 

only be interpreted as 

Committee of Ambrose Alli 

University “before being 

summarily pronounced 

guilty” over a case that was 

previously investigated and 

closed in 2012. 

said the announced results 

were a clear sign of the 

people’s resolve to embrace 

change. 

He commended the 

people of Gbaramatu 

Kingdom for maintaining 

peace before, during and 

after the elections in the 

kingdom, noting that the 

development and human 

empowerment of every 

Gbaramatu indigene was 

paramount. 

Your're timid, Usani tells those saying he's working for Ayade 

timidity by those he called 

“green pastures politicians 

in the state” who jump from 

one pot of bread to 

another. 

He said: “As Minister of 

Niger Delta Affairs of which 

Cross River State is a part, 

Why I’m constructing roads 

all over Delta—Okowa 

By Festus Ahon 

A 

S A B A — 

GOVERNOR 

Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta 

State, yesterday, said he 

is constructing roads to 

encourage investors to 

the state, adding that his 

administration was 

determined to make all 

parts of the state 

convenient for investors. 

Okowa, while 

commissioning Emede 

Ring Road, Emede, 

Isoko South Local 

Government Area of the 

state, which was 

constructed by his 

administration, said his 

interest in road 

construction was borne 

out of his desire to open 

up the state for investors. 

His words: “Investors 

are very vital to the socioeconomic 

development 

of our people; they will 

create job opportunities 

and contribute to the 

development of our state. 

That is why we are 

constructing roads in all 

parts of the state, to make 

our communities 

accessible. 

“I thank Isoko people 

and the people of Emede 

in particular for giving us 

peace. With peace, we 

are able to carry out 

development 

programmes; we are 

happy that contractors 

... as Urhobo youths 

endorse him for 2nd term 

I must maintain good 

relationship with the 

governors for the 

development of the region. 

“If the development we 

want must be carried out, 

do they expect me to 

come to Cross River to 

that are working in Isoko 

are not disturbed and we 

shall continue to construct 

roads. 

“Isoko is like a second 

home to me and we will 

not get tired of coming to 

Isoko land. 

“I am happy that the 

people are happy and this 

joy will continue for the 

next four years and 

beyond, because we know 

it will transform to votes 

for all the candidates of 


PDP, in the elections so 

that, collectively, we shall 

contribute to the 

development of our 

communities, our state 

and our country.” 

He explained that 

concrete was used for the 

construction of the road 

rather than asphalt due to 

the terrain. 

Okowa had earlier 

commissioned blocks of 

stores at Apportion Market 

constructed by the Isoko 

North Local Government 

Area at Osorio, stressing 

his administration’s 

commitment to the 

completion of the Osorio 

Modern Market. 

Earlier, President- 

General of Emede 

Progress Union, 

Okporokpo Ejumejowo, 

thanked Okowa for the 

road, saying it was testament 

of Okowa’s commitment 

to his promises. 

By Jimitota 

Onoyume 

W ARRI—URHOBO 

youths have called 

for the re-election of 

Governor Ifeanyi Okowa 

of Delta State, saying he 

has impacted positively 

Urhobo communities in 

his first term. 

A communique at the 

end of a meeting of 

Urhobo Progress Union, 

UPU, Youth Wing, in 

Warri, by the National 

President, Mr. Nicholas 

Omoko, and General 

Secretary, Joseph Adjari, 

said the decision of the 

youths was in line with 

the collective stand of 

Urhobo leaders, adding 

that the governor should 

be supported for reelection 

and he will work 

for an Urhobo to succeed 

him in 2023. 

He said: “As the 

National President of the 

Urhobo Progress Union, 

UPU, Youth Wing 

Worldwide, I hereby 

declare the Urhobofriendly 

governor, Senator 

Okowa of Peoples 

Democratic Party, PDP, as 

the candidate so endorsed 

by the entire Urhobo 

Progress Union Youth 

Wing Worldwide and urge 

all Urhobo youths to vote 

en mass for him. 

“Governor Okowa 

projects and 

empowerment 

programmes have made 

positive impact on the 

Urhobo nation in the past 

four years.” 

look for land and build 

certain facilities and I won’t 

relate with the governor?” 

“I must relate with 

governors in the region, 

including Ben Ayade, 

irrespective of political 

parties or affiliations.”


Oduah, Ubah, Ekwunife 

win Senate in Anambra 

•As Ngige rejects Anambra 

presidential results 

By Vincent Ujumadu 

& Nwabueze 

Okonkwo 

A WKA—THE 

Independent 


Commission, INEC, has 

declared the former 

Minister of Aviation, 

Senator Stella Adaeze 

Oduah of the Peoples 

Democratic Party, PDP 

winner of the Anambra 

North Senatorial District. 

INEC also declared Mr. 

Ifeanyi Ubah, the chairman 

of Capital Oil and Gas of 

the Young Progressives 

Party, YPP, and Senator 

Uche Ekwunife of the 


PDP, winners of the 

Anambra South and 

A n a m b r a 

Central Senatorial districts 

respectively. 

Declaring the results 

yesterday in Onitsha, the 

Returning Officer, Prof. 

Hughes Maduka, said 

Senator Stella Oduah 

polled 113,989 votes to 

defeat 20 other candidates, 

including Dr. Chinedu 

Emeka of the All 

Progressive Grand 

Alliance, APGA, who came 

second with 59,937 votes 

while Mr. Nelson 

Onubogu of the All 


APC, emerged third with 

11,995 votes. 

Reacting to her victory, 

Senator Oduah said her reelection 

for second tenure 

was "a proof of God’s love 

for me and my people and 

I promised to sustain the 

quality representation." 

The result of Ifeanyi 

Ubah’s victory was 

announced by Mr. M.N. 

Umenweke, the returning 

officer at Uruagu Nnewi 

North Council 

Headquarters. 

Umenweke disclosed that 

Ubah polled 87,081 votes 

to beat his three other 

rivals, Chris Uba of the PDP 

(62,462) and his brother, 

Andy of the APC (13,245) 

and Nicholas Ukachukwu 

of APGA (51,269). 

Ubah’s election victory 

had ended years of 

domination of the Anambra 

South Senatorial District by 

the Uba brothers from Uga 

in Aguata area of the state. 

Senator Ugochukwu 

Uba, the eldest of the Uba 

brothers held the Anambra 

South Senatorial seat 

between 2003 and 2007, 

while his younger brother 

and incumbent Senator 

Andy Uba held the position 

from 2011 to date. 

Senator Ekwunife who 

was at the national 

assembly for APGA 

between 2010 and 2014 

defeated the incumbent 

Senator Victor Umeh of 

APGA and Sylvester 

Okonkwo of the APC. 

But the Victor Umeh 

Campaign Organisation 

said INEC has not 

declared Anambra Central 

Senatorial District result as 

being claimed as it is still 

collating the results. 

Ekwunife had reportedly 

polled 18,412 votes 

ahead of Umeh’s 14,403, 

while Okonkwo trailed 

them at the rear with 

1,144 votes. 

PDP also won the House 

of Representatives seat for 

Anaocha/Njikoka/ 

Dunukofia Federal 

Constituency as its 

candidate Mr. Valentine 

Ayika scored 16,084. The 

incumbent, Mr.Ferdinand 

Dozie Nwankwo of APGA 

came second with 14,582 

and Mr. Elijah Onyeagba 

of the APC scored 2,574 to 

come third in the contest. 

Ngige rejects 

Anambra 

presidential results 

In a related 

development, the 

minister of labour and 

employment, Senator 

Chris Ngige has raised 

objection to the results, 

particularly that of Njikoka 

local government area. 

The minister who is the 

APC agent for the election 

said the results announced 

by the collation officer, Prof 

Edmund Egbo did not 

tally with what was 

collated in the polling units 

and wards of the local 

government. 

“With due respect, we 

cannot accept this result 

because it does not tally 

with what was collated in 

the field. This is a clear case 

of over voting and my 

party will not accept it. 

“We know that we are 

working to beat time 

especially because of the 

number of presidential 

candidates involved, but 

the right thing would have 

been to start by 

announcing the results 

from the field, before that 

of the entire local 

government,” Ngige said. 

But the collation officer 

insisted that there was no 

case of over voting but a 

slight increase in the 

number of the total votes 

scored by the candidates. 

Tension in Imo as Okorocha emerges winner 

•I was forced to announce him winner —Returning Officer 

By Chinonso 

Alozie 

OWERRI—IMO State 

Governor, Rochas 

Okorocha and Senatorial 



APC, has been declared 

Senator-elect of Imo West 

senatorial zone. 

Okorocha was declared 

winner yesterday by the 

returning officer, Francis 

Ibeawuchi at the collation 

centre in Orlu Local 

Government Area of Imo 

State. 

According to Ibeawuchi, 

Okorocha garnered 97,762 to 

thrash his closest rival of the 


PDP, Jones Onyereri who got 

68,117 as well as candidate 

of the All Progressive Grand 

Alliance, APGA, with 30, 923 

who came third. 

However, Onyereri of the 

PDP has raised the alarm that 

the returning officer, 

Ibeawuchi was forced to 

declare Okorocha 

winner. 

He said: “I am here to 

alert the whole world that 

the collation centre for the 

Imo West Senatorial 

district has been 

invaded.The governor 

and his security agents led 

by the assistant 

Commissioner of Police, 

Onu stormed the collation 

centre." 

I was forced to 

declare him winner 

—Returning Officer 

Confirming the 

allegation, the Returning 

Officer for the Imo West 

senatorial district election, 

Innocent Ibeawuchi, 

yesterday said that 

Governor Rochas 

Okorocha gave him one 

hour to announce him 

winner of the Imo West 

senatorial election. 

Ibeawuchi disclosed this 

to newsmen in Owerri, 

adding that he is still afraid 

for his life as well as his 

family members. 

Narrating his ordeal in the 

hands of Okorocha, he said: 

“A group was discussing 

how they will rig the 

election while I was 

gathering information. 

“As I was on my way into 

my office, three persons 

accosted me and asked me 

to hand over the materials 

to them. They even called 

their boss but I told them 

that I can’t. 

“Apart from that, most of 

the card readers were not 

working. They even 

tampered with sensitive 

materials. There are seven 

or eight local government 

areas that we had massive 

rigging and compromise. 

“It is for this reason, that 

I told them that I want to 

cancel the results. If you 

remove these areas, there 

will be a rerun. 

“The thugs are working 

for the APC. They pounced 

on me and started beating 

me. One boy told me that 

he will kill me if I refuse to 

write the results they 

wanted. 

“Okorocha came into the 

collation centre and told me 

that the news was 

everywhere and that I 

should announce the 

results. Okorocha told me 

that he gave me one hour 

to write the results. I told 

him that it was not true that 

we have not announced 

the final result. 

“I wanted to cancel the 

results because of massive 

rigging and compromises. 

“You know that any 

desperado will not rest until 

he gets you. My family is 

in God’s hands. I am afraid 

now.” 

Atiku wins Enugu, Buhari fails to secure 25% 

By Dennis Agbo 

E 

N U G U — 

PRESIDENTIAL 


Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji 

Atiku Abubakar has polled a 

total of 355,553 votes to beat 

the All Progressives 

Congress, APC, candidate, 

Enugu gov’s wife donates crèche to TUC 

for nursing mothers 

THE wife of the Enugu 

State Governor, Mrs. 

Monica Ugwuanyi 

yesterday, donated a crèche 

to the Trade Union 

Congress of Nigeria, TUC, 

for use by nursing mothers 

who work at the state 

secretariat, Enugu. 

Inaugurating the crèche, 

Mrs. Ugwuanyi, stated that 

the gesture was borne out 

of her passion for the 

wellbeing of the people and 

proper upbringing of 

children. 

VISIT From left—Consul General, Embassy of Switzerland to Nigeria, Chad, Niger, Libya 

and ECOWAS, Yues Nicolet; Deputy President, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, 

LCCI, Mr. Knut Ulvmoen; Ambassador, Embassy of Switzerland to Nigeria, Chad, Niger, 

Libya and ECOWAS, Georg Steiner; President, LCCI, Mr. Babatunde Ruwase; and Director 

General, LCCI, Mr. Muda Yusuf, during a courtesy visit by the Embassy of Switzerland to 

Nigeria, Chad, Niger, Libya and ECOWAS to LCCI 

The Enugu governor’s 

wife, said the facility was in 

keeping with the policy 

thrust of the present 

administration in the state to 

provide a conducive 

working environment for the 

workers of the state, 

including the nursing 

mothers. 


Buhari who secured 

54,423 votes in Enugu 

State. 

Announcing the results 

at the state collation office, 

the state Presidential 

collation officer and Vice 

Chancellor of Nnamdi 

Azikiwe University, Prof 

Joseph Ahaneku stated that 

out of 1.9 million registered 

voters in the state, only 

452,765 were accredited for 

the election. 

He also noted that the 

total number of votes cast 

in the state was 451,063; 

Angry voters set INEC office ablaze in Imo 

By Chinonso 

Alozie 

O 

W E R R I — 

FOLLOWING the 

delay in announcing 

election results from Imo 

North Senatorial zone as 

well as the federal 

constituencies, voters 

yesterday protested to the 

Imo State office of the 



INEC. 

The hundreds of voters 

who blocked the road to 

INEC office along 

Portharcourt road also 

said that the results of 

Ehime Mbano local 

government area 

brought to Owerri should 

be returned to the collation 

center of the Okigwe 

South federal 

constituency. 

In another development, 

Vanguard also gathered 

that suspected angry 

youths have burnt down 

INEC office in Isiala 

Mbano local government 

area, Sunday night due to 

alleged irregularities, ballot 

box snatching as well as 

intimidation of voters in the 

area. 

Some voters said that 

before the incident, election 

materials had been moved 

out. 

At the time of filing this 

report, among the three 

senatorial zones, only Imo 

North senatorial district has 

not officially announced 

with valid votes as 421,014 

while rejected votes were 

30,049. 

The result was 

announced with the state 

Resident Electoral 

Commissioner, Emeka 

Ononamadu sitting beside 

the collation officer. 

any results apart from the 

presidential results. 

The situation has been 

causing unease in the zone 

as some people alleged 

that it was an attempt to 

shortchange some 

candidates. 

One of the protesters at 

the INEC office who gave 

his name as Kelechi Amadi, 

said: “We are not happy. 

How can they bring Ehime 

Mbano result of Okigwe 

South to Owerri?. Why did 

they not declare the result 

at the collation centre of the 

Federal constituency which 

is Ihette Uboama.?"


RIVERS: Fubara’s head 

chopped off 

—APC chieftain 

...says corpse of Mowan, another 

victim dragged round town 

•Incident not related to elections 

—Austin Okpara 

•As Atiku wins 11 LGAs so far, Buhari 

gets 2 

By Egufe 

Yafugborhi 

PORT HARCOURT - 

RIVERS State party 

agent of the All Progressives 

Congress, APC, in 

Saturday’s Presidential 

election, Samson Igerebara, 

has queried why officials of 



INEC, could declare results 

in Asarama and Ajaghaja, 

where four persons were 

killed on election day. 

Igerebara, appeared 

yesterday at the State 

Collation Center in Port 

Harcourt after INEC 

announced 72,330 votes for 

the People’s Democratic 

Party, PDP, far above APC’s 

72,766 votes in the 

presidential polls as held in 

Andoni Local Government 

Area, same day the quartet 

were killed. 

The APC agent, a former 

Works Commission in 

Rivers, said “The brazen 

action that took place on 

February 23, is unthinkable. 

Mowan Exeter, his elder 

brother and nephew where 

all holding APC last minute 

meeting on the very day of 

election when militants 

stormed his house. 

“He was killed, his elder 

and nephew killed. Mowan 

corpse was dragged round 

the entire streets of 

Asarama. At that point, 

everybody in the 

community ran away. From 

8a.m., till 5p.m., you could 

hardly see any fowl on the 

street. 

“It is unimaginable for 

anybody to say elections 

took place in that Azarama 

Ward 9. Again, in Ward 8, 

precisely, Ajaghaja, Rivers 

APC Ex-Official, Ignatius 

Fubara was tied as you 

would tie a crocodile. 

“He was then taken to a 

slab and killed. Those who 

killed him carried his head 

and demonstrated round 

the community. It is clear 

that sane person would stay 

in that kind of environment 

to conduct elections, yet 

the Collation Officer and 

the Electoral Officer turned 

in results.” 

It’s sheer 

misinformation 

—Okpara, Fmr Reps 

Dep Speaker 

Responding to 

Igerebara’s concerns, 

former Deputy Speaker, 

House of Reps and Rivers 

PDP Presidential party 

agent, Austin Okpara 

raised points of 

misinformation. 

He said, “Mowan Etete 

being killed was very 

unfortunate because he 

was a PDP member and a 

pastor for that matter. 

However, it is important to 

state that that the town has 

had crisis. A chief was 

killed and has not been 

buried for about a year. 

“What happened to 

Mowan was a reprisal 

attack. Penultimate 

Saturday, Mowan ran 

even without election 

because the people were 

after him. The tragedy that 

befell him has nothing to 

do with the elections. 

“Mowan doesn’t go to 

Andoni. He stays in Port 

Harcourt. Because he 

went for the elections, the 

other party saw it as an 

opportunity to get back at 

him and him family. It has 

nothing whatsoever to do 

with election.” 

Meanwhile in the 

results for the presidential 

elections so far announced 

for Rivers at press time, 

PDP’s Atiku Abukabar 

leads with wide margins 

in 11 local government 

areas, while incumbent 

President Mohammadu 

Buhari, has two in narrow 

margins ahead of Atiku. 

Chief State Collation 

Officer, Prof. Eneffiong 

Essien, also announced 

that there won’t be results 

for Bonny LGA and volatile 

Akuku Toru LGA where 

crisis led to the killing of 

an Army Lieutenant 

among others casualties. 

Delta PDP kicked against killing in Sapele polling unit 

By Simon 

Adewale 

THE Sapele Chapter of 

the People’s 

Democratic Party, PDP, in 

Delta State has called on 

the Nigerian Police and 

other security agencies to 

arrest and bring to book, 

killers of late Michael 

Chibueke and Jeffrey 

Otevane. 

The culprits are alleged to 

be supporters of Delta State 

House of Assembly 

candidate of one of the 

parties for Sapele 

Constituency. 

PROTEST: PDP protesters on the road leading to INEC's office were prevented by soldiers 

PDP protests Bayelsa polls, demand 

rerun in Nembe, Southern Ijaw 

...says PVCs were not used in the purported elections 

•Hold Dickson responsible for violence —APC 

By Samuel 

Oyadongha 

Y ENAGOA— 

THOUSANDS of 

supporters of Peoples 

Democratic Party, PDP, led by 

the state Chairman of the 

party, Moses Cleopas 

yesterday, protested to the 



INEC, demanding the 

cancellation of alleged fake 

results from Southern Ijaw 

and Nembe Local 

Government Areas of the 

state in last Saturday 

elections. 

This is as leader of All 


APC, in the state, Chief 

Timipre Sylva, accused the 

PDP and Governor Seriake 

Dickson of using the state 

police command and the 

state security outfit 

‘Operation Doo Akpo’ to 

cause violence during the 

exercise. 

The protesters who 

marched from the Peace 

Park in Yenagoa were 

stopped from getting to the 

INEC complex located on 

Swali Road by heavily armed 

soldiers backed by armoured 

personnel carriers stationed 

some distance away from the 

popular Swali roundabout 

linking the commission 

complex. 

The soldiers who were 

deployed in the area in the 

early hours of yesterday, had 

earlier condoned off the road 

barred vehicles and 

commuters from using the 

While addressing 

newsmen at the party 

Secretariat on Ajogodo 

Road, Chairman of Sapele 

chapter of PDP, Dr David 

Oghenekevwe, also noted 

that the Police statement on 

a news platform that the 

killers were unknown 

route. 

Many of the protesters 

were clad in black t-shirts 

signifying what they 

described as the high 

handedness of the 

military and loss of lives 

during the polls. 

Cleopas who led the 

party faithful, called on 

INEC to reject the 

contentious results and 

conduct rerun elections in 

the seven wards in Nembe 

Bassambiri and Wards 12, 

14 15 and 16 in Southern 

Ijaw Constituency 4. 

He said, “In Nembe 

Bassambiri, elections 

didn’t hold because 

materials were carted 

away to Dairus Hotel with 

the aid of military 

personnel and suddenly, 

it was all over the place 

that election results from 

the seven wards are being 

collated by INEC. 

“This is unacceptable to 

us because they are all 

concocted results. In 

Southern Ijaw 

Constituency 4, wards 14, 

15, 16 and even in 12, 

materials and results were 

carted away to Ogboinbiri 

where the results were 

collated and have been 

brought to INEC office for 

collation. 

“Our party cannot watch 

that happen and that is 

why we are embarking on 

this peaceful protest as a 

party that believes in the 

rule of law.” 

Also speaking, Speaker 

gunmen was a blantant 

lie. 

“The true position is that 

the Police have neither 

made any arrest nor 

carried out any 

investigation; those who 

committed this heinous 

crime are well known and 

of the Bayelsa State House 

of Assembly, Mr. Konbowei 

Benson, described what 

happened in Bayelsa as a 

clear rape of democracy. 

He said that it was a 

glaring case of terrorism for 

voters to be scared away by 

gun wielding thugs and 

soldiers. 

He also accused the 

military of conniving with 

the APC thugs to cart away 

election materials and 

falsified results in Southern 

Ijaw. 

Also in his remarks, 

Secretary to the State 

Government, Kemela 

Okara stressed the need for 

INEC in the state to strictly 

adhere to its guidelines in 

the conduct of elections. 

Okara urged the electoral 

umpire to properly address 

the issues raised by the 

PDP and other political 

parties to avoid a 

breakdown of law and 

order. 

Responding, the state 

Resident Electoral 

Commissioner of INEC, 

Pastor Monday Udoh, 

commiserated with the 

PDP over the murder of 

their members during the 

election, describing it as 

unfortunate. 

Represented by the 

Commission’s 

Administrative Secretary in 

the state, Mr. Lebari Ndom, 

he assured the protesters 

that the Commission would 

look into the issues raised 

with a view to addressing 

have been so mentioned,” 

he said. 

The party said, the 

deceased persons Michael 

Chibueke and Jeffrey 

Otevane were PDP 

members who had come to 

Ward 9, unit 15 to cast their 

votes when they met their 

untimely death. 

them within the ambits of 

its guidelines. 

Hold dickson 

responsible for the 

violence —APC 

Meantime, Timipre 

Sylva, who is also the state 

agent of APC in Bayelsa 

told journalists that the PDP 

used violence perpetrated 

by hired thugs to 

undermined the will of 

electorate in places like 

Toro-Orua, Governor 

Dickson’s village and most 

of the places in Sagbama, 

Yenagoa and Kolokuma/ 

Opokuma Local 

Government Areas. 

He said: “Thugs arrested 

in Southern Ijaw accepted 

working for the council 

chairman, who is Dickson 

appointee and not APC, 

our party is a peaceful party, 

we cannot cause violence 

to win election, we rather 

persuade the electorate and 

sale our manifesto to them. 

“Look at places like Toro- 

Orua, Governor Dickson 

village, there was no 

election, if fact, our agent 

in Sagbama LGA was 

chased out of the collation 

centre by PDP thugs, in 

Agudama and Ogbolo in 

Yenagoa materials were 

hijacked and results written 

in people’s houses.” 

Also, the state chapter of 

the APC in a statement 

pointed out that its 

leadership had nothing 

whatsoever to do with 

violence during last 

Saturday’s elections. 

The APC through its state 

Publicity Secretary, Doife 

Buokoribo, said “Governor 

Dickson and his party, the 

PDP should be held 

responsible. 

“Dickson was raising a 

false alarm about violence 

during the presidential and 


elections in the state.” 

The party said Dickson’s 

goal in shouting “violence” 

was to mask his own terror 

and lawlessness towards 

the polls.


Saraki didn't congratulate APC candidates — Aide 

By Henry Umoru 

ABUJA— SPECIAL 

Adviser on Media and 

Publicity to Senate 

President, Dr. Bukola 

Saraki, Yusuph Olaniyonu, 

has denied a message 

circulating on WhatsApp 

claiming that Peoples 

Democratic Party, PDP, and 

Senate President, Dr 

Bukola Saraki, have 

congratulated All 


APC, and its candidates 

over their victory in 

Saturday Presidential and 


elections. 

In a statement, 

yesterday, Olaniyonu, who 

dissociated the Saraki 

camp from the message, 

said the position of Saraki 

camp would be 

communicated to the 

public later today. 

Olaniyonu said: “The 

public should disregard 

Kwara Berlin Wall of politics has 

fallen, says Lai Mohammed 

David Mark’s daughter wins Reps seat 

under APGA 

By Chris Ochayi 

ABUJA— THERE was 

wide jubilation in 

Otukpo as Lady Blessing 

Onuh, daughter of former 

Senate President, David 

Mark, won Otukpo/ 

Ohimini House of 

Representatives seat. 

Onuh, who won on the 

platform of All Progressive 

Grand Alliance, APGA, 

defeated her uncle, Egli 

Johnson Ahubi, current 

deputy speaker in Benue 

State House of Assembly. 

Ahubi, who contested on 

the platform of Peoples 

Democratic Party, PDP, lost 

to Onuh with a wide 

margin. 

Meanwhile, Ahubi, who is 

Mark’s cousin, has 

conceded defeat and 

congratulated Onuh. 

It will be recalled that 

any fictitious statements 

being issued and shared on 

WhatsApp by PDP in 

Kwara. Our position on the 

election will be 

communicated later today. 

In the interim, APC should 

stop issuing statements 

congratulating itself and 

ascribing it to our camp.” 

VISIT: From left, Director, Industrial and Commercial Development Corporation, ICDC, Ms 

Cheryl Majiwa; Executive Director, Corporate Services, Mr. Jonathan Tobin; Executive Director, 

Micro Enterprises, Mrs Toyin Adeniji; Managing Director, Mr Olukayode Pitan, all of Bank of 

Industry, BoI; Chairman, Mr Bernard Mung'ata; Director, Mr. Joseph Kiplagat, and Corporation 

Secretary, Mrs Grace Magunga, all of ICDC, during ICDC executives' study visit to BoI head 

office, in Lagos, yesterday. 

By Demola 

Akinyemi 

ILORIN—MINISTER of 

Information and Culture, 

Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has 

described the landslide 

victory of All Progressives 

Congress, APC, in the 

weekend elections in Kwara 

State as the fall of Berlin Wall 

of Kwara politics. 

He attributed the victory to 

Almighty God and the 

people of Kwara State, who 

he said truly wanted 

freedom from the political 

rulership of Saraki dynasty 

and ensured that it 

happened. 

The minister spoke, 

yesterday, in Ilorin at a 

briefing attended by all the 

newly elected members of 

National Assembly, party 

leaders and supporters to 

celebrate the party’s victory. 

He, however, urged the 

electorate to sustain the 

victory and consolidate on it 

by voting massively for the 

party’s governorship 

candidate, Abdulrahzaq 

Abdulrahman, and that of 

the state Assembly in the next 

elections. 

According to him,”permit 

me to use this opportunity to 

give gratitude to God, 

without whom this victory 

would not have been 

possible, and to most 

immensely thank the good 

people of Kwara State. 

“No single individual can 

claim credit for this victory. It 

belongs to the people of 

Kwara State. All of us, the 

party leadership, were 

fortunate to have been in the 

right place at the right time 

to lead the process. 

“But the ultimate credit 

goes to the people who 

resoundly said no to PDP last 

Saturday. 

"When we won the byelection 

for Ekiti/Irepodun/ 

Isin/Oke-Ero federal 

constituency on November 

17, 2018, I said it was the 

beginning of the crumbling 

of the Berlin Wall of Kwara 

politics. 

“Today, the Berlin Wall of 

Kwara politics has fallen. The 

chain has been broken. The 

good people of Kwara have 

ensured that.” 

The minister, however, 

urged Abdulrahzaq, who he 

described as incoming 

governor, to declare 

February 23 of every year as 

the Day of Liberation for 

Kwara State immediately he 

was sworn in May 29, 2019. 

Describing the outcome of 

the election as 10-0 against 

PDP in the state, he said: ”As 

you must be aware by now, 

the official results of last 

Saturday’s National 

Assembly elections in Kwara 

State have been announced. 

It is a clean sweep for our 

party, All Progressives 

Congress, APC. 

"All three seats in the 

Senate and all six in the 


were won by our party. The 

match between our party and 

PDP ended 10-0 (1 

President, 3-0 Senatorial, 6- 

0 House of Reps). 

Kwara is free 

“With the outcome of last 

Saturday’s elections, I can 

now conveniently say that 

Kwara is free! Free from a 

choking and pauperizing 

political hegemony of a selfimposed 

dynasty. 

“Never again will 

Kwarans be treated like 

slaves in their own land. 

Enough is Enough. O To 

Ge. 

"Fired on by perhaps the 

most impactful, three-word 

political slogan ever in the 

history of party politics in this 

land, O to ge Kwarans have 

confirmed the saying that the 

power of the people is much 

stronger than the people in 

power. Thank you, Kwarans. 

“Not a single shot was fired 

throughout Kwara. No one 

snatched ballot box. It was 

an atmosphere of 

conviviality. It was a sharp 

departure from what used to 

be in the state. 

"It confirms what we have 

been saying, that when 

there is adequate security, 

there will be a level playing 

ground for all the parties, 

and for all Kwarans.” 

He, however, commended 

the security agencies for their 

hard work, dedication to duty 

and professionalism. 

The minister particularly 

commended all members 

and supporters of his party 

across the state, as well as 

all the leaders of the party 

at all levels. 

Onuh dumped PDP for 

APGA barely two weeks 

after the controversial loss 

of the party’s ticket for 

Otukpo/Ohimini Federal 

Constituency. 

Her victory has 

contradicted remarks by 

some PDP chieftains in the 

constituents that she was 

not known before now as a 

member of the party and that 

she was only riding on her 

father’s influence. 

Shehu Sani calls for 

cancellation of NASS 

polls in Kaduna 

By Ben Agande 

K ADUNA—SENATOR 

representing Kaduna 

Central senatorial district, 

Senator Shehu Sani, has 

called for the cancellation 

of National Assembly 

elections in the state, 

saying they were 

characterised by 

irregularities. 

Sani who contested on the 

platform of Peoples 

Redemption Party, PRP, 

said the elections did not 

represent the will of the 

people. 

Briefing newsmen, 

yesterday, on the outcome 

of the polls in Kaduna, Sani 

accused the ruling party, All 


APC, of vote-buying. 

He claimed there were 

cases of card readers 

malfunctioning and over 

voting, saying: “As a gentle 

and also as one with a 

background as an activist, 

it is supposed to be a 

situation where if you are 

not favoured by the 

electorate and it was free 

and fair, you are supposed 

to be a good sportsman. 

But you cannot be a 

sportsman in an arena of 

fraud particularly in 

Kaduna State. 

“There are issues that 

had happened that require 

the attention of 



INEC, to ensure that the 

aspirations and hopes of 

Nigerians were not dashed 

by the conduct of some of 

its officials and also by the 

conduct of members and 

elements of government in 

the ruling party. 

“The positive side is that 

we must appreciate the 

level of security in the state, 

the violent and thuggry that 

were expected never 

happened. This must have 

been as a result of the input 

of the Commissioner of 

Police and other security 

agencies to do the best they 

could, at least in the city 

centre. 

"But we are particularly 

concerned about some 

fundamental issues that 

seriously undermined the 

integrity and credibility of 

the National Assembly 

elections. 

“First of all, our agents 

have formally reported to us 

that in many areas, the card 

reader malfunctioned and 

PVCs were not of any 

value. Second, there were 

cases of over voting in many 

polling units across the 

state. 

"The number of votes that 

were recorded were higher 

than the people accredited 

to vote. Third, there was no 

serious scrutiny on the side 

of the election officials to 

ensure that those who 

came with PVCs were the 

actual owners. 

“In Giwa Local 

Government Area, we had 

cases where some of the 

officials that conducted the 

election were not the ones 

trained by INEC. Those 

who were trained were 

replaced by people whom 

the ruling party, through 

the local government 

chairman nominated. 

"In Birnin-Gwari, we 

have cases of harassment 

of voters and active thumb 

printing of ballot papers in 

collaboration with security 

agencies to increase the 

votes of the ruling party." 

We've delivered — Ali Sheriff 

By Ndahi 

Marama 

M AIDUGURI— 

Former Peoples 


National Chairman, Ali 

Sheriff, who is now a 

chieftain of All Progressives 

Congress, APC, yesterday, 

said Borno State had 

fulfilled its promise of 

delivering most of the votes 

cast during the Saturday 

general elections to 


Buhari. 

Sheriff, a former governor 

of Borno State, spoke to 

journalists at the venue of 

presidential collation 

centre in Maiduguri, 

insisting he had no doubt 

President Buhari was 

coasting to victory. 

He said he led a separate 

campaign, aside the state 

campaign council of APC, 

to ensure that the President 

got a second term. 

Sheriff said the state had 

not only delivered 

maximum votes for the 

president but also won all 

the senatorial and House of 

Representatives seats for 

the party. 

He said: “So far, the 

results that we have got 

from the field are 

encouraging, and we are 

100 percent sure that all our 

candidates, especially our 

three senators and House 

of Representatives will soon 

be declared winners. 

"And if these are in favour 

of APC, it means the 

president will get 

substantial votes from 

Borno State and we believe 

our result will be more than 

that of 2015." 

He said he had no iota of 

doubt on President Buhari’s 

victory as he envisaged the 

same favourable results 

from other parts of the 

country.


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

WHEN THE OTOBOS HOSTED IGBOEGWUS FOR CHILDREN’S BETROTHAL 

The family of Engineer Guy Otobo recently hosted the family of Mr George Igboegwu preparatory to the forthcoming 

marriage between their children, Majiri Otobo and George Igboegwu, Jnr. The event took place at the Victoria 

Island, Lagos residence of Engineer Guy Otobo with friends and relatives of both families in attendance. 

Mr George Igboegwu and his wife-to-be, Majiri. 

Ms Majiri Otobo (bride) flanked by her parents, Engr. Guy Otobo and Barr. (Mrs) Tina Otobo. 

Some family members and friends of The Otobo Family: (From front left) Engr. Stanley 

Eyimina, Barr. (Mrs) Tina Otobo, Engr. (Chief) Guy Otobo, Amb. B. Akporode Clark, Chief 

Adolor Okotie-Eboh and Mrs Angela Okotie-Eboh, Mr and Mrs Ayo Imuokhuede, Mrs 

Carol Majoroh, Mrs Julie Okoigun, Mrs Gillian Laniyo, Mrs Shema Biyere. 

From left; Arch. Charles Majoroh, Engr. Guy Otobo (bride’s 

father), Barr. Jeta Otuonoyo and Arch. Fred Dudu. 

5th time in the Senate: I’ll not abuse your 

confidence — EKWEREMADU 

By Henry Umoru 

ASenate BUJA—DEPUTY 

President, 

Senator Ike Ekweremadu, 

of the Peoples Democratic 

Party, PDP, who has been 

declared winner of the 

Enugu West Senatorial 

seat to represent his constituents 

for the fifth time 

in the Senate, has promised 

he would not abuse 

their confidence. 

In a statement by his 

Special Adviser, Media, 

Uche Anichukwu, Ekweremadu 

while reacting to 

his victory, expressed gratitude 

to his constituecy, noting 

that it was a record of 

its own in the eastern part 

of the country. 

The Deputy Senate President 

said: “I am not taking 

this election for granted 

especially given the unprecedented 

nature of my 

election. This is the first 

time within this part of Nigeria 

that someone would 

be elected consecutively for 

five times into the Senate 

of the Federal Republic of 

Nigeria. It has never happened 

and I am not taking 

it for granted. I indeed feel 

very humbled and I give 

all the glory and thanks to 

the Almighty God who has 

made it possible. 

“I must also thank my 

friends and associates, the 

great people of Enugu 

West - very industrious 

people, highly civilized 

people, highly accomplished 

people, very educated 

people, who in spite 

of the fact that I am just a 

little boy from Mpu have 

given me this unprecedented 

opportunity. 

“Recall also that about a 

year ago, we went through 

a lot of storm for the major 

part of 2018. So, nobody 

believed that a day like this 

would come when I would 

stand for an election and 

be declared winner. So, 

only God can make that 

possible. 

“I believe that what is 

expected of us this time is 

to give back to the society 

that has given us this opportunity 

and those that 

have given us this confidence 

to ensure that this 

confidence is not misplaced. 

So, a lot is lying on 

our shoulders. I would like 

to say clearly that we will 

not disappoint Nigerians.” 

PRESIDENTIAL POLL RESULTS: No candidate 

scored 55% of the vote — YIAGA 

By Gabriel Ewepu 

ABUJA—AS presi 

dential election results 

are being collated, 

an election observer, YIA- 

GA AFRICA, yesterday 

declared that no presidential 

candidate received 

55 per cent of votes 

according to its Parallel 

Vote Tabulation, PVT. 

At a briefing in Abuja 

on ‘Voter Turnout and 

Results’ by the group, the 

Chair, Watching The 

Vote, WTV, Dr Huassaini 

Abdu and Executive Director, 

YIAGA AFRICA, 

Samson Itodo, said “YIA- 

GA AFRICA undertook 

the Watching The Vote 

project to provide Nigerian 

citizens, presidential 

candidates, political parties, 

civil society and 

INEC with independent 

information about whether 

the official results for 

the February 23, 2019 

presidential election truly 

reflect the ballots cast 

at polling units.” 

According to the group 

on February 23, 2019, 

YIAGA AFRICA deployed 

3,906 observers 

throughout the country 

including 3,030 Parallel 

Vote Tabulation (PVT) 

observers in pairs to a random, 

representative statistical 

sample of 1,515 

polling units where they 

remained throughout the 

day. “With this methodology, 

YIAGA AFRICA is 

able independently verify 

the accuracy of the official 


results announced by 

INEC.” 

“YIAGA AFRICA assures 

the Nigerian people 

and stakeholders that, 

it has received and processed 

its data from the 

sampled polling units. 

YIAGA AFRICA’s preliminary 

estimates indicate 

that turnout for the February 

23 Presidential 

Elections will be between 

36% and 40% based on 

official turnout figures collected 

from the PVT’s representative 

statistical sample 

of polling units across 

the 774 LGAs in the country. 

If INEC’s official turnout 

falls within WTV’s estimated 

range then it accurately 

reflects the ballots 

cast at polling units.’’


DONATION: Wife of 

Enugu 

State 

Governor, Mrs. 

Monica Ugwuanyi 

(middle) with the 

State 

Deputy 

Governor, Mrs. 

Cecilia Ezeilo (left), 

and others, during the 

inauguration of Trade 

Union Congress, 

TUC, of Nigeria 

Workers Creche for 

nursing mothers, 

donated by the 

governor’s wife, at the 

state Secretariat, 

Enugu, yesterday 

Ohanaeze raises alarm on situations 

in Lagos, Imo 

By Dennis Agbo & 

Ayodele 

Oluwafemi 

E 

N U G U — 

PRESIDENT 

General of Ohanaeze 

Ndigbo, Chief Nnia Nwodo 

has raised the alarm over 

threat to lives of Ndigbo 

residing in Lagos. 

He also expressed worry 

over alleged hostage 

taking of electoral officers 

in Imo State by Governor 

Rochas Okorocha, noting 

that the Resident Electoral 

Commissioner in the state 

reported that his life was in 

danger. 

Nwodo however 

acknowledged the concern 

of apex Yoruba 

organisation, Afenifere, for 

condemning the 

disenfranchisement of Igbo 

voters in parts of Lagos 

State. 

Nwodo in a statement in 

Enugu raised some 

concerns saying, “Fortyeight 

hours after our 

elections, we still have no 

results. There is hardly any 

voter in Nigeria who does 

not know the results of 

elections in his polling 

booth. The INEC server is 

down, yanked off by INEC. 

Conflicting results 

dominate the social 

media. 

“The two major national 

parties claim contradictory 

victories. Returning officers 

in Rivers and Imo claim to 

be under siege, being 

executed by a minister and 

a governor respectively. 

Ndigbo in Lagos are being 

threatened for exercising 

their civic rights to vote. 

This morning, they were 

stopped from opening their 

stalls at Oshodi market. 

“The Acting Inspector 

General of Police refused to 

pick my calls to him. The 

Oba of Lagos remains 

quiet. The governor of 

Lagos State made no 

broadcast. The safety of 

more than four million Igbo 

people living in Lagos 

seems to be of no concern 

to him. The Jagaban 

threatens Igbo people to 

relocate if they do not vote 

for his party. 

“Thanks to Afenifere for 

its salutary and comforting 

voice. The Commander- in- 

Chief, maintains an 

ominous silence. The 

“MASSOB blames this 

politically and tribally 

sponsored attack on 

Ndigbo in Lagos on Bola 

Tinubu and his APC 

political thugs. MASSOB 

reminds Ndigbo in Lagos 

•As Ndigbo Lagos condemns electoral 

violence targeted at Igbo people 


wonders what a country 

this is. 

"Professor Yakubu 

Mahmood be warned. 

Remember 1966. 

Remember 1983. Our 

democracy was upturned 

on those two occasions for 

the action or inaction of our 

electoral commission. 

“I appeal to Igbos to 

remain calm and lawabiding 

while remaining 

resolute on our resolve to 

seize the moment of this 

election to change the 

character of our 

governance. May the 

Almighty God save our 

country from sliding into 

another crisis.” 

Ndigbo Lagos 

condemns attacks on 

Igbo people 

Meanwhile, a sociocultural 

group based in 

Lagos, Ndigbo Lagos, 

yesterday, condemned the 

violent attacks on various 

Igbo high density voting 

polling units in parts of 

Lagos State, describing the 

situation as “unwarranted, 

unprovoked and politically 

motivated.” 

to be vigilant and defend 

themselves with every 

material resources available 

to them,” MASSOB stated. 

Edeson also noted that 

the order by the leader of 

Odua Peoples Congress, 

Orji retains seat at Senate 

By Anayo Okoli 

U MUAHIA— 

FORMER governor 

of Abia State and Senator 

representing Abia Central 

Senatorial District, Chief 

Theodore Orji of PDP won 

his election to return to the 

Red Chambers, polling a 

total of 55, 461 to beat his 

closest challenger, Senator 

Nkechi Nwaogu of the APC 

who got 29,860 votes. 

Announcing the result, 

the returning officer, Prof. 

Yusuf Ndukaku Omeh also 

announced that the former 

ICAN President and 

candidate of All 

Progressive Grand 

Alliance, APGA, Chidi 

Ajaegbu polled 19,534 

votes to come a distant third. 

Also, the member 

representing Ikwuano/ 

Umuahia Federal 

Constituency, Chief 

Johnson Onuigbo was 

declared the winner of the 

seat to return to the House 

The group, in a statement, 

by its President-General, 

General Obi Abel Umahi, 

(retd);and Deputy Director 

of Communication and 

Strategy, Mr. Charles 

Nwodo, jnr, called on law 

enforcement agencies and 

INEC to fish out the 

perpetrators of election 

violence, while urging 

INEC to repeat elections in 

affected areas. 

The statement read in 

part: “We, Ndigbo Lagos, 

want to remind all and 

sundry that Igbos are full 

blooded citizens of Federal 

Republic of Nigeria and 

therefore are entitled to all 

rights and privileges 

conferred upon all citizens 

of this country by the 

constitution, irrespective of 

their place of domicile 

within Nigeria. 

“We call upon Ndigbo in 

Lagos to remain calm, law 

abiding and go about their 

lawful businesses without 

let or hindrance, but with 

due respect and courtesies 

to the government and 

traditional institutions in 

their host communities 

across Lagos State.” 

It’s bad people with same predicament attacked us —MASSOB 

By Dennis Agbo 

E NUGU—THE 

movement for 

Actualisation of Sovereign 

State of Biafra, MASSOB, 

has described as 

unfortunate the Yoruba 

attack on Ndigbo in Lagos. 

MASSOB was reacting to 

the attack on Ndigbo at 

polling units last Saturday. 

The group spokesman, 

Samuel Edeson in a 

statement in Enugu 

yesterday, blamed the 

attack on the All 

Progressives Congress 

national leader, Bola 

Tinubu. 

“It is very unfortunate 

that the people we taught 

that share the same political 

predicament with Ndigbo 

in Nigeria have turned 

against our people in 

Lagos. 

OPC, in Oshodi area that 

all the shops owned by 

Ndigbo must remain closed 

was a clear attempt to 

intimidate Igbo traders in 

Oshodi and other areas of 

Lagos State. 

of representatives. 

He polled 30,669 votes to 

defeat Mr. Ikechukwu 

Apugo, the APC candidate 

who got 23,279 votes. 

In the Arochukw/ Ohafia 

Federal Constituency, Rep. 

Nko Nkole of the People s 

Democratic Party, PDP, was 

declared winner of the seat, 

polling 7,072 to defeat Chief 

Iroh Orji of the APC who 

polled a total of 5,496 

votes. 

CSOs tasks INEC on timely 

release of presidential 

election result 

By Anayo Okoli 

U MUAHIA—A 

coalition of about 

20 South-East based 

Human Rights and 

D e m o c r a c y 

Organisations, 

SBCHROs, has 

expressed concern over 

the delay by the INEC in 

releasing and declaring 

the winner of last 


election, saying that the 

commission has put 

Nigerians in a state of 

anxiety. 

The group has 

therefore admonished 

INEC not to set the 

country on fire by its 

action as according to the 

group, “the 2019 

Presidential Poll in 

Nigeria has suffered 

litany of ungodly delays 

and other satanic 

influences”. 

In a statement jointly 

signed by the leaders of 

the various groups that 

make up the coalition, it 

noted that “the delays by 


Electoral Commission in 

tabulating and announcing 

the results of the Poll in 

record time are getting 

Nigerians sicker and 

pushing them to maximum 

limits of their patience. 

“INEC must therefore 

avoid setting the country on 

fire with intractable or 

calamitous consequences 

in which neither the APC 

led Federal Government 

nor the opposition PDP nor 

INEC and its officials will 

be spared if ignited. 

“The Commission must 

also ensure that all the 

results in its possession 

particularly those of the 

Presidential Poll are in 

tandem with every result 

generated from the 

country’s 176,000 polling 

booths; duly signed and 

held in duplicate by agents 

of the participating political 

parties." 

Atiku leads in Ebonyi —PDP 

...debunks allegation of irregularities 

By Peter Okutu 

A BAKALIKI—THE 

state chairman of the 

Peoples Democratic 

Party, PDP, Onyekachi 

Nwebonyi, yesterday 

debunked allegation of 

electoral irregularities in 

Afikpo North and South 

local government areas 

as alleged by the 

opposition All 


APC on Sunday night. 

In a chat with 

Vanguard, the chairman 

who stated that with the 

victory of the party in 

eight local government 

areas out of 13 so far 

announced by the 



INEC, the state was 

already “Atikulated” and 

the opposition were 

merely crying foul 

because they had failed 

woefully in the general 

elections. 

The gubernatorial 

candidate of the APC, 

Senator Sunny Ogbuoji 

and the Minister of Science 

and Technology, Dr. 

Ogbonnaya Onu equally 

failed to deliver their wards 

and local government areas 

to the Presidential 



APC, Muhammadu Buhari 

as they lost to Atiku 

Abubakar, Presidential 


Democratic party, PDP. 

Onu's local government, 

‘Ohaozara LGA’ was said to 

have a total of 84,079 

registered voters to which 

37,256 are accredited but 

APC scored 2,058 votes 

while PDP scored a total of 

33,651 votes. 

The state Presidential 

collation Officer, Prof. Frank 

Chukwuma Eze made this 

known while announcing 

the results of the election 

collected so far at the INEC 

headquarters in Abakaliki.


LISTING: From left— Kayode Akinkugbe, MD/CEO, FBNQuest Merchant Bank; Kola Ashiru-Balogun, 

MD, Mixta Real Estate Nigeria Plc; Bola Onadele-Koko, MD/CEO, FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange 

and Taiwo Okeowo, Deputy Managing Director, FBNQuest Merchant Bank, at the Listing and Quotation 

ceremony for the Mixta Real Estate Nigeria Plc Bond and Commercial Paper held in Lagos. 

Refer cases of electoral violence to 

ICC, SERAP tells Buhari 

LAGOS—THE Socio- 

Economic Rights and 

Accountability Project, 

SERAP, has asked President 


to refer all cases of electoral 

violence to the International 

Criminal Court, 

ICC. 

In a letter by its Deputy 

Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, 

SERAP said all allegations 

of electoral violence, 

intimidation, and 

killings between 1999 to 

2019 should be handed 

over to the ICC for onward 

investigation and prosecution. 

According to SERAP, giving 

these cases the attention 

they deserve will send 

a very strong message that 

electoral violence, intimidation, 

and killings will not 

be tolerated. 

The letter read in part: 

“The violence, intimidation, 

and killings in some 

states around the just concluded 

general elections 

suggest that the electoral 

law and criminal law have 

over the years not been adequately 

enforced, and 

deterrence, through criminal 

sanctions, is failing. 

Electoral violence – a species 

of political violence – 

is not only a criminal act 

but crimes under international 

law, given its widespread 

and systematic nature 

over many years. 

Undermining 

democratic process 

"Apart from undermining 

the integrity of elections 

and the democratic 

process, the repeated failure 

of successive governments 

to punish electoral 

violence has created a 

culture of impunity 

among politicians who 

persistently recruit and 

arm thugs to intimidate 

and kill political opponents, 

and citizens who 

are simply exercising their 

rights to participate in 

their own government.” 

“The election-related violence, 

intimidation and 

killings since 1999 also 

amount to a crime against 

deliberation and dialogue; 

against participation and 

peaceful means of settling 

disputes, and a blatant violation 

of the rights to life; 

bodily integrity; liberty; 

freedom of opinion, expression 

and association; to vote 

and freely choose elected 

representatives; property; 

and to not live in fear. Persistent 

violence, intimidation, 

and other human 

rights violations around 

elections undermine the 

free expression of the will 

of voters and diminish the 

opportunity of citizens to 

hold their representatives to 

account through the 

electoral process for their 

exercise of power and 

spending of Nigeria’s 

Okowa's wife's lifeline for quintuplets 

By Elizabeth 

Uwandu 

ASABA—THE wife of 

the Governor of Delta 

State and Founder, 05 

Initiative, Dame Edith 

Okowa has relieved the 

burden of caring for a set of 

quintuplet all girls 

delivered by a 29-year-old 

woman who died after 

giving birth three weeks 

ago. 

The governor’s wife, who 

was accompanied on the 

visit by the Director General 

of the O5 Initiative, Mrs 

Oghenekevwe Agas, 

promised to take care of the 

children and ensure that 

they grow up into 

responsible members of the 

society. 

Dame Okowa, who 

commonwealth.” 

“Successive governments 

have failed abysmally 

to take positive measures 

to ensure ballot box security 

and prevent violence, intimidation 

and other 

serious violations of human 

rights for many years, invariably 

undermining the 

authority, independence, 

and efficacy of the Independent 


Commission (INEC) a 

body created to ensure free 

and fair elections as well as 

obstructing and distorting 

citizens’ right to freely exercise 

their right to vote and 

citizenship. 

Reports of violence 

“SERAP is concerned 

about reports of violence, 

intimidation, and killings in 

many states of the country 

including Bayelsa, Borno, 

Rivers, Lagos, and Oyo 

states. At least 30 people 

have been reportedly 

thanked God for the birth 

of the children, pleaded 

with their father, Uchenna 

Onyejekwe to be patient 

and avoid rushing home 

with the babies, saying "the 

economic situation of the 

country may necessitate 

certain actions, but there is 

always a solution for those 

who put their trust in 

God." 

Dame Okowa who paid 

the bills of some of patients 

who were discharged but 

could not go home due to 

lack of finance also commiserated 

with Onyejekwe 

for the loss of his wife and 

prayed that God will grant 

the family the fortitude to 

bear the loss, while 

commending four nursing 

mothers who voluntarily 

killed and several injured 

during the just concluded 

presidential and legislative 

polls. Like previous 

elections since the return 

of democracy in 1999, the 

2019 general elections of 

February 23, 2019, have 

witnessed violence, intimidation, 

and killings in 

several states. 

“SERAP, therefore, urges 

you to move swiftly to 

implement these proposed 

recommendations 

as a way of demonstrating 

your government’s 

commitment to end the 

culture and legacy of 

election-related violence, 

intimidation and killings 

in the country, ensure 

prosecution of suspected 

perpetrators and justice 

for victims as well as ensure 

the safety and security 

of Nigerian voters, 

observers and other people 

in subsequent elections.” 

donated breast milk for the 

care of the babies. 

The children were showered 

with gifts which include 

cartons of diapers, 

baby wipes and Pre NAN 

baby formula. The O5 

Initiative will also pay the 

bills when they will be 

discharged. 

The wife of the Governor 

thanked the doctors, nurses 

and the hospital 

management for their show 

of love on the children. 

The Chief Medical 

Director, Dr Victor 

Osiatuma and Prof. Angela 

Okolo who is the consultant 

Paediatrician in charge of 

the Neo Natal ward thanked 

the Governor’s wife for her 

quick response and kind 

gesture. 

GE puts debt cuts in forefront with $21 

bn asset sale 

GENERAL Electric Co. is taking a big step 

toward its goal of deleveraging its $121 billion 

debt load by selling part of its fast-growing life 

sciences division. 

The industrial giant agreed to sell its biopharma 

business to Danaher Corp. for total consideration 

of $21.4 billion to help pay down debt, according 

to a statement Monday. The transaction is 

expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year. 

Chief Executive Officer Larry Culp, who took the 

reins at GE in September after successfully 

turning around Danaher, has prioritized the three 

"Cs" of customers, competition and cash flow in 

turning around GE. He's already slashed the 

company's quarterly dividend and announced 

several smaller asset sales to ultimately bring net 

industrial leverage down to 2.5 times a measure 

of earnings in an effort to regain a single-A credit 

rating. 

GE's bondholders applauded the news. The risk 

premium on one of its most-actively traded notes, 

the 4.418 percent due 2035. 

Oil slumps 3 percent after Trump again 

criticizes OPEC 

OIL futures tumbled 3 percent on Monday after 

U.S. President Donald Trump called for OPEC 

to "relax and take it easy" on boosting crude 

prices, which he said were climbing too high. 

Brent crude oil futures were down $2.03 at $65.09 

a barrel by 11:20 a.m. EST (1620 GMT). West 

Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell $1.73 

to $55.53 a barrel. 

"Oil prices getting too high. OPEC, please relax 

and take it easy. World cannot take a price hike - 

fragile!" Trump tweeted, his latest in a series of 

tweets or comments made regarding oil prices 

since April 2018. 

Zimbabwe to manage volatility of new 

RTGS currency- Finance minister 

ZIMBABWE'S central bank will buy or sell 

dollars to manage volatility in the RTGS 

currency it launched last week, Finance Minister 

Mthuli Ncube said on Monday, adding that the 

government would not borrow irresponsibly. 

Ncube spoke as the central bank drip-fed dollars 

to a handful of commercial banks to allocate to 

large businesses, part of currency reforms 

authorities hope will ease a cash crunch that has 

starved the economy of many basic goods. 

He told Reuters that investors should not worry 

about the Zimbabwean government ramping up 

issuance of Treasury bills. "That tap is closed for 

now," he said. 

Economists and business executives worry that if 

the government does not curtail its borrowing, 

this will fuel money supply and black market for 

dollars, making the new forex interbank market 

redundant. 

Zimbabwe ditched a discredited 1:1 dollar peg 

for its dollar-surrogate bond notes and electronic 

dollars last week, merging them into a lower-value 

transitional currency called the RTGS dollar. 

Buffett holds out hope for mammoth 

deal as cash pile grows 

PRESIDENT Donald Trump said on Sunday he would 

delay an increase in U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods 

thanks to "productive" trade talks and that he and 

Chinese President Xi Jinping would meet to seal a 

deal if progress continued. 

The announcement was the clearest sign yet that China 

and the United States are closing in on a deal to end a 

months-long trade war that has slowed global growth 

and disrupted markets. 

Trump had planned to raise tariffs to 25 percent from 

10 percent on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports 

into the United States if an agreement between the 

world's two largest economies were not reached by 

Friday. 

After a week of talks that extended into the weekend, 

Trump said those tariffs would not go up for now. In a 

tweet, he said progress had been made in divisive areas 

including intellectual property protection, technology 

transfers, agriculture, services and currency.

Tinubu’s bullion vans and anti-corruption campaign 

APART from court jesters, 

palace comedians and 

lick-spittle fake intellectuals 

mouthing anti-corruption 

nonsense, serious-minded 

Nigerians know that what we 

have witnessed in the county 

in almost four years is mere 

anti-corruption propaganda 

nicknamed anti-corruption 

war. 

When General Muhammadu 

Buhari appeared in Chatham 

House London in February 

2015, he harped so strongly on 

fighting corruption if elected 

President. “In the face of 

dwindling revenues, a good 

place to start the repositioning 

of Nigeria’s economy is to 

swiftly tackle two ills that have 

ballooned under the present 

administration: waste and 

corruption,” he said. 

“And in doing this, I will, if 

elected, lead the way with the 

force of personal example,” he 

added with all the conviction 

he could muster. The 

“personal example” was 

reinforced when he declared 

elsewhere that he was going 

to make his assets declaration 

public. We are yet to have that 

document three months to the 

end of his four-year tenure. 

Wonder of 

the world 

Apart from that, the APC on 

which platform General 

Buhari ran for the 2015 

elections certainly has its own 

share of those the public 

suspect to be corrupt. I recall 

him telling me and another 

person in 2011 that “people 

will question my integrity “ if 

he had anything to do with 

one of such men. 

So, some of us were waiting 

for the eighth wonder of the 

world to see him fight 

corruption riding on the backs 

of these APC members. 

On assumption of office, the 

President was free with the 

rhetoric against corruption at 

all fora locally and 

internationally, de-branding 

the country here and there. 

The EFCC moved swiftly 

against many opposition 

politicians accused of 

corruption with many unwary 

applauding that the Augean 

stable was about to be 

cleansed. 

What was a seeming move 

against corrupt practices soon 

became a propaganda war. 

The EFCC started brandishing 

questionable figures of “loot 

recovery” with Lai 

Mohammed publishing 

“looters list” now and then. 

It didn’t take long for many 

of the “looters” to get the 

message. They started moving 

into the ruling party, having 

realised that once they joined 

the President’s party and hold 

the broom, it is a season of 

“Passover”. It took the 

Chairman of the APC, 

Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, 

to officially proclaim thus: 

“once you join our party, your 

sins are forgiven “. 

Corruption 

scandals 

This was the reason why it 

took several months to ease 

out Babachir Lawal who 

allegedly awarded a 

government contract worth 

several millions of Naira to his 

own firm to cut grass. Then 

came the Maina saga, the 

Yussuf fellow at NHIS, the 

Ganduje bribery saga and 

several other corruption 

scandals swept by the “broom” 

under the carpet. 

But perhaps the greatest 

expose of the farce of the anticorruption 

propaganda of the 

administration was the image 

that went viral of two bullion 

vans driving into the 

residence of the National 

Leader of the APC and cochairman 

of the APC 


Council, Senator Bola Ahmed 

Tinubu. 

The former Lagos State 

Governor’s defense of the 

incident was a clear 

demonstration that the whole 

anti-corruption war is a mere 

political joke. When asked to 

explain this, he said: “Bullion 

vans? Are those ballot paper? 

Excuse me, is it my money or 

government money? I don’t 

work for government, I am not 

There was no law 

that makes 

transfer of money, 

which Uyi did, a 

crime; the money 

he transferred is 

not in anyway 

alleged to be 

government 

money 

in [any] agency of 

government. Let anybody 

come out to say I have taken 

any contract from the 

government of President 

Muhammadu Buhari in the 

last five years. 

“They should prove it. I am 

on my own, and I am 

committed to my party. So, 

Vanguard, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2019 —17 

even if I have money to spend the governor of Lagos State for 

in my premises, what is your eight years and has been a 

headache? I don’t represent political godfather in the state 

any agency of government and for another 12 years. 

I have money to spend; if I Now compare his bullion 

have money, if I like, I give it vans defense to the case of 

to the people free of charge. the arrest by the Economic 

As long it’s not to buy votes. and Financial Crimes 

“So, who are those watching Commission, EFCC, of Uyi 

my house and looking at Giwa Osagie, the lawyer of 

bullion vans? They must be former Vice President Atiku 

mischief makers; they report Abubakar and the presidential 

falsehood, their lies are candidate of the PDP for 

numerous, and it’s because alleged money laundering on 

they are jobless”. Tinubu was the eve of the botched 

February 16 presidential polls. 

Osagie was arrested 

following the arrest of Alhaji 

Abdullahi Usman, a BDC 

owner based in Lagos, who 

was caught ferrying $2 milion 

by air from Abuja to Lagos. 

When the money was 

intercepted by EFCC, Usman, 

who owns Hasbunallahu 

BDC LTD, confessed that Uyi 

paid naira into his account. He 

converted it to $2 million notes 

and ferried to Lagos, and on 

arrival took same to Keystone 

Bank. 

There was no law that makes 

transfer of money, which Uyi 

did, a crime. Unlike Tinubu he 

is not even a politician and has 

not been said to be in 

government or a government 

contractor. The money he 

transferred is not in anyway 

alleged to be government 

money. 

Tinubu can boast of his right 

to have bullion vans moving 

into his house with cash while 

Uyi was incarcerated for 

legally transferring money 

through a bank with his crime 

being that he is a lawyer to 

Atiku. Buhari’s Animal Farm! 

••All eyes on Nigeria 

NIGERIANS and the 

world wait with bated 

breath the results of the 

rescheduled Nigerian 

presidential and national 

assembly polls as this column 

went to bed. The Chairman of 

INEC later announced that as 

against the 6pm Sunday billed 

for commencement of collation 

of results, it would start on 

Monday at 11am. 

We can only pray that God 

guides the leadership of 

INEC, including Amina 

Zakari, to do the right things 

in these crucial hours and the 

future of Nigeria.In this 

moment of anxiety, I can only 

say the prayer of the Catholic 

Bishops for Nigeria in 

distress: “All powerful and 

merciful father, you are the 

God of justice love and peace. 

"You rule over all the Nations 

of Earth. Power and Might are 

in your hands and no one can 

withstand you. We present our 

country Nigeria before you. 

We praise and thank for you 

are the source of all we have 

and are. We are sorry for all 

the sins we have committed 

and for the good deeds we 

have failed to do. 

"In your loving forgiveness, 

keep us save from the 

punishment we deserve. Lord 

we are weighed down not only 

by uncertainties, but also by 

moral, economic and political 

problems. Listen to the cries 

of your people who 

confidently turn to you. God 

of infinite goodness, our 

strength in diversity, Our 

health in weakness, our 

comfort in sorrow, Be merciful 

to us your people. Spare this 

nation Nigeria from chaos, 

anarchy and doom. Bless us 

with your kingdom of justice, 

love and peace. We ask this 

through Christ our Lord, 

Amen”. 

FEEDBACK 

Re: Nigeria:What is 

really wrong ? 

Dear Yinka, 

GOOD morning. Awfully 

sorry to have to bother 

you, but you nearly killed me 

with laughter going through 

your rather apt commentary on 

our collective (pardon the 

cliche, but we collectively put 

these characters that 

superintend over us there) 

ineptitude-cumincompetence. 

Very sad really. However, 

would it be too much to ask for 

a soft copy or a link? I belong 

to some non-political groups; 

I would like to share with 

them. 

Regards, 

I am, 

Uwem Ekpoudom 

C 

M 

Y 

K


FROM all indications, our ambition 

of meeting and even surpassing the 

success of the 2015 general elections 

that brought President Muhammadu 

Buhari and the All Progressives 

Congress, APC, to power was dashed 

last weekend. 

The Presidential and National 

Assembly elections were generally 

peaceful in the usually volatile North 

(including areas where the Boko 

Haram terrorists, Fulani herdsmen 

militias and bandits had held sway) 

in spite of the many pre-election 

incidents, especially around Kano. But 

in several parts of the South, the story 

was markedly different. 

There was much bloodshed, 

particularly in Rivers and Bayelsa 

States where many voters and 

electoral officials were killed by 

security officials. 

In Lagos, though the election was 

peaceful in most parts of the 

metropolis, several incidents of 

thuggery, ballot-snatching, 

Our scarred presidential poll 

harassment and intimidation of 

voters, vandalisation, burning of 

electoral materials and gunfire were 

reported in the Surulere, Aguda, 

Isolo, Okota and other areas in a 

manner that raised ethnic tensions. 

After the elections there were 

several rumours and fears that the 

results were being tampered with, 

thus stoking much anxiety in the 

polity, especially as the release of the 

results were delayed beyond the 

period witnessed in 2015. 

It is very disheartening that in spite 

of the elaborate preparations by the 

Independent National Electoral 

Commission, INEC, and other 

statutory bodies involved in delivering 

the general elections, we were still 

thrown back to the dark past when 

elections were do-or-die affairs. 

Despite President Buhari’s 

controversial threat that ballotsnatchers 

would be made to “pay with 

their lives” by security agencies, 

hoodlums still operated at will in 

Lagos and Rivers States. 

This general election is an 

opportunity for Nigeria as a nation 

to demonstrate her best virtues 

before the world as we did in 2015 to 

great applause. It is the prime 

platform for the leadership of 

President Muhammadu Buhari to 

demonstrate the integrity with he has 

been branded. There were absolutely 

no reasons for us to look back to 

2015 with nostalgia when there was 

a seamless change of leadership 

without fuss or bloodshed after a 

very peaceful election. 

We call on political leaders from 

across the divides to mobilise their 

members and ensure we manage the 

outcomes of these polls to avoid the 

breakdown of law and order. After 

all, elections are merely the means 

to an end: good governance. We 

cannot emphasise enough the 

importance of peace and national 

cohesion irrespective of who wins or 

loses. 

The eyes of the whole world are on 

us. If we mis-manage these elections 

the consequences can be farreaching, 

as the world regards 

illegitimate regimes as international 

outcasts. We have been there before, 

and we don’t want to go back there 

again. 

Let the people’s will prevail at all 

levels. 

IN the wake of the case involving 

the suspended Chief Justice of 

the federation, Justice Walter 

Samuel Nkanu Onnoghen, (68) 

GCON, it seems we are much 

concerned about the Constitutional 

protection for the judicial officers in 

the country. 

Although the protection is more 

glaring in the 1999 constitution but 

the process started in 1976. The 

reason may not be farfetched. The 

two Constitutions that we have 

operated since 1966, the 1979 and 

1999 constitutions were produced by 

judges. As it is now, the judicial 

officers in this country are like the 

untouchables except they are tried 

by the National Judicial Council, no 

matter the offence they commit. 

Of the six members of the subcommittee 

on the judicial system of 

the Constitution drafting committee 

of 1976 only three were lawyers. And 

they are Chief Osuolale Abimbola 

Richard Akinjide (87) who later 

became the Attorney General of the 

Federation, Alhaji S.M. Liberty who 

was then the attorney General of 

Bornu state and Mr. Paul Richard 

Vekaa Belabo (78) who was then 

legal adviser to the New Nigerian 

Development Company in Kaduna. 

The chairman of the sub-committee 

Alhaji Nuhu Bamali who was a 

former foreign Minister, Dr. Ibrahim 

Tahir (the last Imam) (1938-2009), 

the Talba Bauchi who later became 

Nigeria’s Minister of Internal Affairs 

and Professor Obaro Ikime (82) who 

was then Professor of History and 

Head of the Institute of African 

Studies, University of Ibadan were 

not lawyers. 

Their recommendations were that 

(1) establishment of a Federal 

Judicial Service Commission which 

shall be responsible for service 

matters of the Federal Judiciary in 

accordance with the provision of this 

Constitution and any law which the 

National Assembly may enact. (2) 

the Federal Judicial Service 

Commission shall be composed of 

15 members as follows-(a) 

Chairman who shall not hold any 

other Judicial appointment but shall 

be a member of the legal profession 

of repute; the Chief Justice of Nigeria, 

the Grand Mufti and the Federal 

Attorney-General; (e) a senior 

advocate (who shall not be eligible 

for appointment to the Bench during 

his tenure as member of the 

Commission and for three years 

thereafter) to be nominated by the 

Nigeria Bar Association; (f) two law 

Teachers one of which must be versed 

in Sharia; (g) the Chairman, Federal 

Public Service Commission; (h) the 

Chairman, Judicial Committee of 

the Federal House of 

Representatives; (i) the Chairman, 

Judicial Committee of the Senate (j) 

three lay-men of the public standing 

including traditional rulers; (3) The 

tenure of the none official members 

OPINION 

Why the constitution shields 

judicial officers 

of the Commission shall conform 

with those provisions governing 

tenure in similar Federal institutions 

(4) No non-official member shall be 

eligible for tenure for more than 2 

terms (5) The Commission shall also 

have responsibility for appointment 

of the Chief Registrar and other 

personnel of the Supreme Court and 

The two Constitutions 

that we have operated 

since 1966, the 1979 

and 1999 constitutions 

were produced by 

judges 

all other Federal Courts (6) The 

Commission shall be responsible for 

the discipline of Federal Judges other 

than the Chief Justice of the Supreme 

Court (7) In handling disciplinary 

matters the Commission shall 

appoint a committee of 3 to 

investigate allegations against a 

Judge, and on the basis of finding of 

such a committee make a 

recommendation to the President. 

However, the recommendation of 

the Nuhu Bamali’s sub-committee 

was amended. In the 1979 

constitution, what was agreed was 

that the Federal Judicial Service 

Commission shall comprise the 

following members, namely---(a) the 

Chief Justice of Nigeria, who shall 

be Chairman; (b) the President of the 

Federal Court of Appeal; (c) the 

Attorney-General of the Federation; 

(d) 2 persons, each of whom has been 

qualified to practise as a legal 

practitioner in Nigeria for a period 

of not less than 15years, from a list 

of not less than 4 persons so qualified 

recommended by the Nigerian Bar 

Association; and (e) 2 other persons, 

not being legal practitioners, who in 

the opinion of the President are of 

unquestionable integrity. The 

Commission shall have power--- (a) 

to advise the President in 

nominating persons for 

appointment, subject to the approval 

of the Senate, as respects 

appointments to the office of --- (i) a 

Justice of the Supreme Court (but 

not including the office of Chief 

Justice of Nigeria), and (ii) the 

Federal Court of Appeal; (b) to 

recommend to the President persons 

for appointment to the office of -(i) a 

Justice of the Federal Court of Appeal 

(ii) the Chief Judge of the Federal 

High Court (iii) Judges of the Federal 

High Court, and (iv) Chairman and 

members of the Code of Conduct 

Tribunal established under the Fifth 

Schedule to this Constitution; (c) to 

recommend to the President the 

removal from office of the judicial 

officers specified in sub-paragraphs 

(a) and (b) of this paragraph and to 

exercise disciplinary control over 

such judicial officials; and to appoint, 

dismiss and exercise disciplinary 

control over the Chief Registrars and 

Deputy Chief Registrars of the 

Supreme Court, the Federal Court 

of Appeal and the Federal High 

Court. 

The Chairman of the Constitution 

Drafting Committee itself was Chief 

Frederick Rotimi Alade Williams 

(1920-2005), president of the 

Nigerian Bar Association (1959- 

1968). The chairman of the 

Constituent Assembly of 1977-1979 

that produced the 1979 constitution 

was Justice Elgbert Udo Udoma 

(1917-1998). The Chairman of the 

Legal Drafting Team of the 

Constituent Assembly of 1977-1979 

was Justice John Hezekiah 

Omololu Thomas (1925-2018). 

The 1979 constitution was 

promulgated as Decree Number 25 

of 1978. The addendum stated 

‘Whereas the Constituent Assembly 

established by the Constituent 

Assembly Decree 1977 and as 

empowered by that Decree has 

deliberated upon the draft 

Constitution drawn up by the 

Constitution Drafting Committee 

and presented the result of its 

deliberations to the Supreme 

Military Council AND the Supreme 

Military Council has approved the 

same subject to such changes as it 

has deemed necessary in the public 

interest and for purposes of fostering 

the promotion of the welfare of the 

people of Nigeria: AND WHEREAS 

it is necessary for the Constitution to 

be vested with the force of law: NOW 

THEREFORE, THE FEDERAL 

MILITARY GOVERNMENT 

hereby decrees as follows:- 1.—(1) 

There shall be for Nigeria a 

Constitution which shall be as set out 

in the Schedule to this Decree. 

Continues Online

Vanguard, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26 , 2019 — 19 

POST-ELECTION SENTIMENT 

Equity market on cautious upswing 

•Nigerian Breweries, Zenith Bank, Dangote Cement drive gains 

By Peter Egwuatu 

Just ahead definite 

outcome and conclusion of the 

flagship polls, the presidential election 

in Nigeria, investors in the Nigerian 

Stock Exchange, NSE, appear 

confident that all is well and have 

consequently returned bullish in the 

first trading day after the weekend 

polls. 

But market operators were cautious 

in attributing the gains to any positive 

outcome in the general election, 

preferring to wait till tomorrow’s 

trading to see a clear picture of the 

electoral exercise. 

The equity market experienced mild 

bargain hunting in bellwether stocks 

but at close of trading yesterday the 

market recorded upsurge in bench 

mark index, NSE All Share Index by 

0.57 percent to close at 32,700.12 

points. 

Analysts have projected that the 

market would be moderated as 

investors await the outcome of the 

election results this week. 

Heavy gains in bellwethers such 

as Nigerian Breweries (+4 percent), 

Zenith Bank (+1 percent) and 

Dangote Cement (+1 percent) 

significantly impacted the market to 

close on a positive note. 

Consequently, the Year to Date, YtD 

gain inched to 4.0 percent while 

market capitalisation, another stock 

market gauge, improved slightly by 

N69 billion to settle at N12.2trillion. 

Activity level was, however, mixed 

as volume traded decreased by 0.4 

percent to 219.7million units while 

value traded increased by 147.7 

percent to N5.5billion. 

Nigerian Breweries (42.7 million 

units), Diamond Bank (30.8million 

units) and Access Bank (20.7million 

units) led the top trades by volume 

while Nigerian Breweries 

(N3.6billion), Guaranty Trust Bank 

(N733.9million) and Zenith Bank 

CURRENCY BUYING SELLING 

US DOLLAR 

POUNDS 

EURO 

FRANC 

YEN 

CFA 

WAUA 

RENMINBI 

RIYAL 

SDR 

DANISH 

RAND 

$97.25 0.80 

2,269.00 00.00 

$13.22 -0.15 

$65.82 -1.30 

$56.21 -1.05 

305.8 306.3 306.8 

397.3871 398.0369 398.6866 

346.6855 347.2523 347.8192 

305.4335 305.9329 306.4323 

2.7622 2.7667 2.7712 

0.5102 0.5202 0.5302 

425.16 425.8551 426.5503 

45.4976 45.5724 45.6473 

81.5358 81.6691 81.8024 

424.2669 424.9606 425.6543 

46.4593 46.535 46.6113 

21.848 21.8837 21.9195 

CBN Exchange rate as at 25/02/2019 

From Left: Chief Operating Officer, MTN Nigeria, Mazen Mroue; Wing Commander Amasema; 

Chairman, MTN Nigeria, Pascal Dozie; Chief Marketing Officer MTN Nigeria, Rahul De and 

Deputy Director, Supply Defence Headquarters, Col Martins Waboke at the launch of the 4th 

edition of MTN Season of Surprises at Ikoyi, Lagos. 

(N337.0million) led in value of stocks 

traded. 

Meanwhile, across sectors, 

performance was bullish as all indices 

trended northward. 

The Consumer Goods index led 

gainers, up 1.3 percent on the back of 

buying interests in Nigerian Breweries 

(+4.0 percent) and Dangote Flour 

(+10.0 percent ). The Insurance and 

Banking indices trailed appreciating 

by 1.1percent and 0.8 percent due to 

gains in NEM Insurance (+3.4 

percent ), Sovereign Trust Insurance 

(+8.7 percent ), Zenith Bank (+1.0 

percent ) and UBA (+2.5percent ). 

In the same vein, the Oil & Gas 

index advanced by 0.1 percent as 

Mobil Oil (+1.1 percent ) and Oando 

(+1.5 percent) closed in the green. 

Lastly, the Industrial Goods index 

closed flat with a bullish bias as 

investors took advantage of bargain 

opportunities in Dangote 

Cement (+0.1 percent) 

towards the end of trading 

session. 

Investor sentiments 

measured by the market 

breadth strengthened as 25 

stocks advanced against 

eight decliners. The top 

gainers chart showed that 

Dangote Flour led the 

cream of gainers rising by 

(+10.0 percent) to close at N 11.05, 

followed by ABC Transport (+9.6 

percent ) to close at N0.57. Veritas 

Kapital garnered (+9.5 percent to 

close at N0.23, followed by Niger 

Insurance (9.09 ) percent to close at 

N0.24 and Royal Exchange up by 

9.09 percent to close at N 0.36. 

On the other hand, Union 

Diagnostic led the losers chart 

dropping by (-6.5 percent) to close at 

N0.29, followed by Total Nigeria (-2.6 

percent). CUTIX declined by (-1.6 

percent) to close at N1.87, followed 

by Flour Mills ( -0.99) to close at 

N20.00 and Access Bank plummeted 

by (-0.78 percent ) to close at N6.35. 

Commenting, analysts at Afrinvest 

Research said: “We observed cautious 

trading in today’s (Monday) trading 

session as investors await the results 

of the 2019 Presidential elections. We 

expect market direction this week to 

be largely determined by the outcome 

of the election. 

The Chairman, Association of 

Stockbroking Houses of Nigeria, 

ASHON, Chief Patrick Ezeagu said: 

“Investors are being cautious as the 

election is not yet concluded. Once 

the election is concluded the market 

will start reacting accordingly. 

In his comment, Managing 

Director, APT Securities & Funds 

Limited, Mallam Kasimu Kurfi said: 

“The market maintained the statusquo 

by closing northward but the 

actual reaction will follow after the final 

results are pronounced.” 

Also commenting, Managing 

Director, Sofunix Investment & 

Communications Limited, Mr Sola 

Oni said: “Investors react to material 

information. There is no final 

announcement as of now on who wins 

the Presidential election. Until the 

result is announced and the general 

reaction is weighed, it will be 

speculative to forecast investor 

reaction. 

“However, under this situation, 

investors would rather adopt wait and 

see attitude. Those who are keen or 

buying stocks would go ahead and 

the ones on sales mood can always 

sell. 

“It may be controversial at the 

moment to link upswing or 

downswing of the market to investors’ 

reaction to political mood. Official 

announcement of the new president 

could be regarded as price –sensitive. 

But such announcement is being 

awaited. 

“The market was bullish today 

(Monday) but that cannot be totally 

ascribed to the election of which the 


Commission, INEC is still releasing 

the results.” 

Court upholds order restraining NAICOM from 

suspending Guinea Insurance 

By Rosemary Onuoha 

A 

Federal High 

Court sitting in Abuja 

has upheld an earlier order 

restraining the National 

Insurance Commission 

(NAICOM) from 

suspending Guinea 

Insurance Plc over 

underwriting of new 

insurance businesses. 

The Court upheld the order against 

NAICOM in a suit that was filed by 

Guinea Insurance with suit No: FHC/ 

ABJ/CS/151/2019. At the resumed 

hearing last week, Ebere Okonkwo, 

counsel to Guinea Insurance, informed 

the court that NAICOM did not appear 

in Court despite being served the motion 

on notice and a copy of the Court’s order 

dated February 8, 2019 restraining the 

Commission from taking any step 

whatsoever against Guinea Insurance 

concerning the “compliance with 

directives contained in the letter dated 

January 28, 2019”pending the hearing 

and determination of the motion on 

notice” 

The Court ordered parties to maintain 

status quo ante and consequently 

adjourned the suit to February 26, 2019 

for further hearing of the motion on notice. 

Why savings 

culture is 

waning in 

Nigeria 

– CashBox CEO 

By Rotimi Agbana 

Many Nigerians carry 

high personal debts 

and can hardly come up 

with adequate sums in times 

of emergency without 

selling personal items or 

borrow money. 

Chief Executive Officer of 

CashBox, Sydney 

Aigbogun, who made this 

assertion attributed the 

situation to the waning 

savings culture in the 

country caused by a 

difficult financial system, 

impulse purchases, 

influence 

of 

advertisements, cultural 

beliefs and poor 

infrastructural facilities. 

Aigbogun, who stated this 

during the launch of 

CashBox, an online saving 

platform designed to 

incentivize the saving of 

small sums, said that the 

combination of those 

anomalies has induced 

unhealthy savings habit, 

which only technology can 

help reverse. 

Aigbogun stated: “The 

launch of CashBox in 

Nigeria has brought 

respite, giving many 

Nigerians the hope of 

earning high interest on 

their savings. 

“Cashbox offers interest 

rates between seven percent 

and 15 percent per annum 

on saving plans on our 

platform, which is higher 

than what customers 

receive from traditional 

bank accounts. 

“CashBox is responding 

to one of the most critical 

financial challenges facing 

Nigerians today- how to 

help Nigerians save. Savers 

can access this platform 

effortlessly and free of 

charge through a one-time 

online sign up. 

Withdrawals on the platform 

are restricted to the first 

day of every month to 

further encourage a 

disciplined saving habit. 

Savers can earn interests 

and rewards for simply 

saving money and using 

the referral option” he 

added. 

He said that CashBox is 

able to pay higher interest 

rates because most of its 

operations 

are 

technologically driven and 

does not accrue the high 

cost of maintenance which 

is associated with running 

a bank such as maintaining 

branches, staff, amongst 

others.


President Muhammadu Buhari, 

Minister of Petroleum Resources 

Oil price rises as uncertainty over Nigeria elections, 

Venezuela tension mounts 

By Sebastine Obasi 

AS Nigeria’s stock market turn 

positive with significant capital 

gains ahead of official conclusion of 

the general elections, oil prices, yesterday 

shot up, apparently over uncertainty 

over the outcome of the election’s 

as well as the political tension 

in Venezuela. Also the pressure on oil 

price appears to be coming from a 

positive sentiment over United States– 

China talks. 

International Brent crude oil futures 

were at $67.28 a barrel, up 16 cents, 

or 0.24 percent, from their last close, 

while U.S. West Texas Intermediate 

(WTI) crude futures were at $57.39 per 

barrel, up 13 cents, or 0.23 percent, 

from their last price. 

"Risk appetite across global markets 

should improve as President Trump 

extends the deadline of trade talks 

with China," Harry Tchilinguirian, global 

oil strategist at BNP Paribas in 

London, said. 

"Supply risk is ever present with 

Venezuelan tensions brewing a notch 

higher, the National Oil Corporation 

in Libya refusing to start production 

at the El Sharara field," he added, 

while also citing uncertainty over elections 

in top African oil exporter, Nigeria. 

U.S. sanctions on Iranian and 

Venezuelan crude plus involuntary 

curbs in Nigeria and Libya are lending 

support to efforts to balance the 

market and support prices, efforts led 

by member of the Organization of the 

Petroleum Exporting Countries 

(OPEC) and non-OPEC producers 

such as Russia. Further brightening 

the global economic picture, U.S. President 

Donald Trump on Sunday signalled 

a potentially bruising trade war 

with China could be averted. 

Trump tweeted he would postpone 

a March 01, 2019 deadline for higher 

tariffs on Chinese goods and looked 

forward to a meeting with Chinese 

President Xi Jinping when a Sino- 

American deal was sealed. 

Goldman Sachs analysts said that 

"the near-term outlook for oil is modestly 

bullish over the next two to three 

months", but added that the outlook 

for later in 2019 was weaker due to a 

surge in U.S. exports and an "an increasingly 

uncertain economic, policy 

and geopolitical backdrop". 

Meanwhile, Trump resumed his 

attacks on the Organisation of Petroleum 

Exporting Countries, OPEC, 

Ibe Kachikwu, Ministe of State, 

Petroleum Resources 

saying the world is too fragile to handle 

a price hike and urging the cartel 

to “relax and take it easy.” Trump’s war 

of words with the OPEC punctuated big 

price swings in 2018, as he pressured 

the group to keep the taps open to help 

consumers. The president’s intervention 

follows a price rally of about 25 

percent this year due to production 

cuts from OPEC and its allies, diminishing 

fears about the economic impact 

of the US-China trade war and Washington’s 

imposition of sanctions on 

Venezuelan oil shipments. 

“We might see a less aggressive 

stance on supply cuts from the Saudis, 

this might stop them from cutting deeper,” 

said Giovanni Staunovo, an analyst 

at UBS Group AG in Zurich. 

“But I still think Saudi Arabia has the 

incentive to see higher oil prices, and 

deliver the cuts agreed in December, 

when OPEC and its partners agreed 

to remove 1.2 million barrels a day’’, 

he added. 

They are slowly plowing their way 

across thousands of miles of ocean 

toward America’s Gulf of Mexico coastline. 

As they do, twelve empty supertankers 

are also revealing a few truths 

about today’s global oil market. 

In normal times, the vessels would 

be filled with heavy, high sulfur Middle 

Eastern oil for delivery to refineries 

in Houston or New Orleans. Not 

now though. 

They are sailing cargo-less, a practice 

that vessel owners normally try to 

avoid because ships earn money by 

making deliveries. 

The 12 vessels are making voyages 

of as much as 21,000 mi direct from 

Asia, all the way around South Africa, 

holding nothing but seawater for stability 

because Middle East producers 

are restricting supplies. Still, America’s 

booming volumes of light crude must 

still be exported, and there aren’t 

enough supertankers in the Atlantic 

Ocean for the job. So, they’re coming 

empty. 

“What’s driving this is a U.S. oil market 

that’s looking relatively bearish 

with domestic production estimates 

trending higher, and persistent crude 

oil builds we have seen for the last few 

Maikanti Baru, Group MD, NNPC 

NOPEC risk 

The risk to OPEC comes in the form 

of the so-called ‘No Oil Producing and 

Exporting Cartels Act’, or NOPEC, an 

act resurrected by US lawmakers that 

proposes making the organization subject 

to the Sherman antitrust law, used 

more than a century ago to break up 

the oil empire of John Rockefeller. 

Congressional support for the bill intensified 

last year as oil prices neared 

We might see a 

less aggressive 

stance on supply 

cuts from the 

Saudis, this might 

stop them from 

cutting deeper 

*Mohammed Bakindo, OPEC 

Secretary General, 

a four-year high, and Trump publicly 

blamed OPEC for high pump prices 

in the US In the past, the White House 

has opposed the NOPEC legislation – 

both George W Bush and Barack 

Obama threatened to use their veto. 

OPEC’s concern now is that Trump 

may break with his predecessors, and 

angering him by not going “easy,” as 

he requested in his tweet, raises the 

stakes. Trump, before becoming president, 

didn’t just support the NOPEC 

bill, he was a cheerleader for it. “We 

can start by suing OPEC for violating 

antitrust laws,” he wrote in his 2011 

book “Time to Get Tough: Making 

America #1 Again.” 

Whether by coincidence or design, 

Trump’s latest tweet comes on the eve 

of International Petroleum Week, 

which opens in London on Tuesday. 

The annual event gathers the who’s 

who of the oil market and industry for 

several days of conferences, deal-making 

and cocktail parties. 

Empty supertankers reveal truths about today's oil 

market 

weeks,” said Warren Patterson, head 

of commodities strategy at ING Bank 

in Amsterdam. “At the same time, 

OPEC cuts are supporting international 

grades like Brent, creating an export 

incentive.” 

The U.S. both exports and imports 

large amounts of crude because the 

variety it pumps -- especially newer 

supplies from shale formations -- is very 

different from the type that’s found in 

the Middle East. OPEC members are 

likely cutting heavier grades while 

American exports are predominantly 

lighter, Patterson said. 

Gasoline Glut 

By industry standards, American oil 

is considered light and low in sulfur, 

making it great for churning out gasoline, 

with the result that a glut of the 

automotive fuel is starting to build up. 

By contrast, Middle East crude often 

needs more processing -- not a problem 

for Gulf of Mexico plants that were 

designed specifically for that task -- but 

it can have a smaller gasoline yield. 

“There is still going to be a lot of 

growth from U.S. tight oil this year,” 

said James Davis, director of shortterm 

global oil service at Facts Global 

Energy. “This will continue to push 

U.S. exports up.” Shippers are counting 

on the U.S. exports to help the 

tanker market withstand supply restrictions 

by OPEC and allies including 

Russia. Industry analysts, who actually 

raised their estimates for what 

they think the ships will earn this year 

after the OPEC+ pact was announced 

in December, are citing rising American 

shipments as a contributing factor. 

There are usually three or four empty 

supertankers -- very large crude carriers 

in industry jargon -- that would 

sale empty to the U.S. at any one time, 

according to shipbrokers. The shift has 

produced knock-on effects around the 

shipping market. Daily earnings for 

the VLCCs, which can haul 2 MMbbl 

of oil, on the benchmark Middle Eastto-China 

route doubled to $29,337 in 

the past week, according to Baltic Exchange 

data. 

“Following a fixing frenzy from the 

U.S. Gulf Coast late last week, most 

available tonnage in the Atlantic basin 

has been soaked up,” said Espen 

Fjermestad, an analyst at Fearnley 

Securities in Oslo. “With ships ballasting 

West, rates have shifted up also in 

the East."


$12bn Dangote Refiner 

efinery enhances Nigeria’s ranking 

• As report tips China, Nigeria as emerging major refiners 

By Udeme Akpan 

THE planned $12 billion 

Dangote refinery has 

enhanced the ranking of 

Nigeria as one of the major 

contributors to global refining 

between 2019 and 2023. 

The nation is tipped to be one 

of the major contributors 

following the expected coming 

on stream of the 650,000 barrels 

per day refinery in 2020. 

GlobalData, a data and 

analytics organisation that 

made the forecast in its recent 

report is said to have disclosed 

that China and Nigeria would 

soon emerge as the major 

contributors to the global 

growth of refining industry 

capacity in planned and 

announced projects between 

2019 and 2023. 

In its latest report, the 

organisation is said to have 

stated: “Global Planned 

Refining Industry Outlook to 

2023 – Capacity and Capital 

Expenditure Forecasts with 

Details of All Planned 

Refineries’ revealed that the 

total global planned and 

announced refining capacity in 

2023 will be 17,882 bopd.” 

It stated: “Between 2019 and 

2023, 158 new refineries 

worldwide are scheduled to 

start operations. Total newbuild 

capital expenditure 

(capex) of around US$520bn is 

expected to be spent globally 

on planned and announced 

refineries.” 

The report disclosed that 

China is the global leader in 

planned refining during the 

forecast period, with 3,121 

bopd from 10 planned and 

announced refineries, adding 

that the nation has planned and 

announced a new capex of 

US$53.2bn to be spent on the 

upcoming refineries over the 

next four years. 

It also disclosed that Nigeria 

remains the second largest 

country in terms of capacity 

additions, stressing that by 

2023, Nigeria would add about 

2,225 bopd of refining capacity. 

The report which stated that 

Iraq would emerge as the third 

largest nation with 1,190 bopd 

refining capacity additions 

from planned refineries added 

that between 2019 and 2023, it 

plans to invest about US$41 

billion in new plants. 

Installation 

Meanwhile, Dangote Oil 

Refining Company, DORC, 

Limited has begun installing 

equipment having received the 

regenerator for the Residual 

Fluid Catalytic, FCC cracker, 

one of the major components 

of its refinery. 

The company had set 2020 

deadline for operations despite 

suggestions that the oil refinery 

being built in Lekki, Lagos 

Nigeria would not meet up 

with the deadline. 

“The refinery equipment are 

coming in semi-finished shape 

and we will finish them up here 

at the site. The remaining are 

being manufactured in various 

countries, including China, 

India, America, South Korea, 

Singapore and Malaysia,” 

Rama Putta, Head of Quality 

Assurance/Quality 

Compliance and Construction, 

at the company said. 

According the company, the 

refinery is being designed to 

accommodate multiple grades 

of domestic and foreign crude 

and process these into highquality 

gasoline, diesel, 

kerosene, and aviation fuels 

that meet Euro V emissions 

specifications, plus 

polypropylene. 

Dangote expects the refinery 

to stimulate economic 

development in Nigeria, 

according to Devakumar 

Edwin, Executive Director, 

Dangote Group, who said the 

refinery was designed to 

process a variety of light and 

medium grades of crude and 

produce extremely clean fuels 

that meet Euro V specification. 

FG support 

Recently, the CBN Governor, 

Godwin Emefiele who visited 

the plant had reiterated his 

support for the Dangote 

THE average price 

of Organisation of 

Petroleum Exporting 

Countries, OPEC’s 

basket of 14 crudes in the 

past one week averaged 

$66.17 compared with 

$63.07 recorded the 

previous week. 

According to OPEC’s 

calculation, the highest 

price of crude was 

recorded on February 22, 

2019, which averaged 

$66.56 per barrel, while 

the lowest price for the 

period under review 

averaged $65.79 

refinery, a Nigerian wholly 

owned private enterprise. 

The CBN governor had 

signified intention to support 

Dangote in his refinery project 

since the final investment 

decision; FID, was taken by the 

Dangote Group. 

He had said that CBN will 

provide funding in terms of 

foreign exchange and naira to 

import equipment. 

Foreign inves 

estments inflow in oil industr 

try dips to 

$134m in one year 

By Michael Eboh 

FOREIGN investment 

inflow into the Nigeria oil 

and gas industry declined 

sharply by 59.7 per cent to 

$133.51 million in 2018, 

compared to $331.36 million 

recorded in 2017, according to 

data obtained from the National 

Bureau of Statistics, NBS. 

Using current exchange rate of 

N306.75 to a dollar, $133.51 

million foreign capital inflow into 

the petroleum industry translated 

to an investment of N40.95 

billion. 

Analysis of the NBS, National 

Capital Importation Report for 

the Fourth Quarter of 2018, 

Source: NNPC 

showed that in the first quarter 

of 2018, the petroleum industry 

recorded the highest foreign 

capital inflow, with $85.62 

million. 

Further analysis revealed that 

foreign investment inflow 

depreciated by 70.97 per cent to 

$24.85 million in the second 

quarter of 2018, dropping further 

by 68.9 per cent to $7.73 million 

in the third quarter of 2018, 

while in the fourth quarter, 

$15.31 million foreign 

investment flowed into the 

sector, representing an 

improvement of 98.06 per cent 

compared to the third quarter 

figure. 

In 2017, the report showed that 

foreign investment inflow of 

$101.08 million, $190.39 million, 

$16.07 million and $23.83 million 

were recorded in the first, 

second, third and fourth quarters 

respectively. 

The report further stated that 

foreign inflow into the petroleum 

industry accounted for 0.79 per 

cent of total capital inflow into 

the general economy, compared 

to 2.71 per cent in 2017. 

Furthermore, the NBS report 

disclosed that the total value of 

capital importation into Nigeria 

stood at $16.812 billion in 2018 

compared to $12.229 billion 

capital imported in 2017. 

According to the report, this 

NSE commends 

NNPC for 

championing 

cause of women 

engineers 

THE Nigerian Society of 

Engineers, NSE, has 

commended the Nigerian 

National Petroleum Corporation, 

NNPC for its exemplary role in 

the advocacy of science and 

engineering-based education 

for the girl- child through 

support for the activities of the 

Association of Professional 

Women Engineers of Nigeria, 

APWEN. 

Mr. Adekunle Mokuolu, 

President, Nigerian Society of 

Engineers, stated this in Abuja 

while receiving NNPC’s 

Management led by the 

corporation’s Group Managing 

Director, Engr. Maikanti Baru, 

to the Headquarters of the 

society. 

A release by NNPC Group 

General Manager, Group 

Public Affairs Division, Mr. Ndu 

Ughamadu, said the NSE 

President disclosed that by 

identifying with APWEN in its 

quest to engender a sound 

foundation for female 

engineering professionals in the 

country, the corporation was 

taking a step that would 

invariably illuminate the 

nation’s engineering and 

technological landscape a few 

years from now. 

represented a 37.49 per cent 

growth year-on-year. 

It said: “The largest amount of 

capital importation by type was 

received through Portfolio 

investment, at $11.802 billion, 

which accounted for 70.20 per 

cent of total capital importation, 

followed by Other Investment, at 

$3.815 billion which accounted 

for 22.69 per cent of total capital, 

and then Foreign Direct 

Investment at $1.195 billion, 

which accounted for 7.11 per cent 

of total capital imported in 2018. 

“By sector, capital importation 

by shares, which is closely 

related to equity investment (FDI 

and Portfolio Investment) 

dominated 2018 reaching 

$10.425 billion of the total capital 

importation in 2018. 

“The United Kingdom 

emerged as the top source of 

capital investment in Nigeria in 

2018 with $6.008 billion. This 

accounted for 35.74 per cent of 

the total capital inflow in 2018.” 

In its analysis of capital inflow 

into the general economy in the 

last quarter of 2018, the NBS 

said: “The total value of capital 

importation into Nigeria stood at 

$2.140 billion in the fourth 

quarter of 2018. This represents 

a decrease of 25.05 per cent 

compared to third quarter 2018 

and 60.24 per cent decrease 

compared to the fourth quarter 

of 2017.” 

C 

M 

Y 

K

22— Vanguard, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2019 

MoU: From Left: Group Executive, Treasury and Financial Institutions, First Banking of 

Nigeria, Mr. Ini Ebong; Founder and CEO, Azuri Technologies Limited, Simon Bransfield-Garth; 

Group Executive, Retail Banking Group, Lagos and West, (Representing Deputy Managing 

Director), First Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Tunde Owolabi; General Manager West Africa, Azuri 

Technologies Limited, Vera Nwanze at the press briefing on the partnership between Azuri 

Technologies limited and First Bank of Nigeria held in Lagos 

Nigeria loses 42,160.87MW in 2018 

Stories by Ediri Ejoh 

THERE are indications 

that Nigeria power 

sector may have lost over 

42,160.87 Megawatts,MW, in 

2018. 

According to the Federal 

Ministry of Power, Works and 

Housing, the nation's 

installed power generation 

capacity as at 2018 was 

estimated at 13,000MW, 

while available generation is 

said to be 7,500MW. But 

despite this figures, the 

country still recorded a 

downturn in generation 

during the year, amounting 

to an average of 3,867.13MW 

and totalling 46.405.56MW 

during the year, 2018. 

A document obtained by 

Vanguard, showed that the 

THIRTY 

engineering 

graduates have been 

inducted to the fifth batch of the 

Shell Nigeria internship 

programme, a four-year old 

scheme designed to help young 

graduate engineers upscale their 

skills in readiness for employment 

in the energy sector. 

The internship programme, run 

in collaboration with the 

Petroleum Technology Association 

of Nigeria (PETAN), places the 

interns with various Nigerian oil 

and gas service companies to gain 

industry experience for one year. 

SPDC Nigerian Content 

Manager, Mr. Olanrewaju 

Olawuyi, described the 

programme as a critical 

intervention in bridging the 

manpower gap in the industry and 

enhancing local capacity. 

Olawuyi who spoke in Port 

Harcourt at the recent induction of 

the new interns and the graduation 

of 30 interns of the fourth batch of 

the programme, said: “Out of the 

140 graduates so far trained 

through the programme, 65 

percent are now gainfully 

employed in the oil and gas 

industry.” He added: “I am excited 

at the successful fit of the 

candidates; I encourage the 

incoming interns to make the best 

use of this unique opportunity.” 

President, PETAN, Mr. Bank 

Anthony Okoroafor said, “The 

objectives of the programme are to 

give young graduates the 

opportunity to have one-year onthe-job 

training in their respective 

country generated a total of 

46,405.56MW while over 

42,160.87MW was lost as 

stranded power in the year 

2018. 

According to the report, in 

January 2018, power 

generation averaged 

3,733.01MW, while 

3,956.03MW was lost. 

4,001.33MW was said to 

have been generated, while 

3,583.13MW was lost in 

February. As for March, 

4,097.62MW was generated, 

while 3,208.77 was lost. 


while 3,432.89MW was lost 

in April, just as 3,848.04MW 

was generated, while 

4,072.05MW was lost in 

May. 

Also, in June about 

3,653.54MW was generated 

Shell inducts 30 graduates for 

industr 

try internship 

disciplines thereby enhancing 

their employability. The success of 

the Shell/PETAN internship 

scheme has gone beyond the 

shores of Nigeria.” 

One of the beneficiaries, Miss. 

Ugonna Queen Ochuba, said: 

“The Shell/PETAN internship 

was my first on-the-job training 

opportunity. The internship did 

not just give me the opportunity 

to be hands-on but also helped to 

boost my skills and experience in 

my discipline.” 

The Nigerian Content 

Development and Monitoring 

Board (NCDMB) Manager 

Capacity Building, Mrs. Angela 

Okoro, commended the Shell/ 

PETAN collaboration. She said, 

“This is one of the capacity 

development initiatives that the 

Board is replicating.” 

General Manager, Business 

and Government Relations of 

Shell Nigeria, Mr. Bashir Bello, 

said: “Every year, the Internship 

supports fresh graduate talent 

through exposure to rich technical 

on-the-job work experience to 

equip them with practical industry 

experience, which will then 

position them favorably for 

employment opportunities after 

the programme.” 

Shell/PETAN internship 

programme was conceived as part 

of the collaboration roadmap to 

support efforts at closing identified 

gaps in the availability of 

competent manpower in critical 

disciplines like Geology and 

Engineering, in the oil and gas 

industry 

and the loss figure remained 

3,601.48MW); 3,681.17 was 

generated but loss figure was 

3,601.48MW. In July; 


while 4,265.63 was lost. For 

August; 3,570.67MW 

generated, while 4,165.86MW 

was lost. In September; 

3,810.74MW generated, while 

3,880.63MW was lost.? 

However, November 

generation saw an improved 

figure of 4,093.76MW and a loss 

of lost 3,144.37, while 

December recorded a 

generation of 4,162.47MW and 

loss of 1,045.10MW. 

Meanwhile, these losses and 

challenges in the power sector 

are often attributed to gas 

constraint and transmission 

challenges 

unavailability). 

(power 

IN a significant move toward 

joining the Extractive Industry 

Transparency Initiative (EITI), 

Equatorial Guinea has received 

the official backing of the EITI 

International Secretariat. 

In a statement obtained by 

Vanguard, EITI stated that the 

endorsement follows a decade of 

efforts by Equatorial Guinea to join 

the initiative, which seeks to 

address key governance issues of 

transparency and accountability in 

the extractive sectors; Support of 

the country and its efforts to join the 

EITI was extended in a meeting 

between the Delegation of the EITI 

National Commission of 

Equatorial Guinea and the EITI 

International Secretariat held on 

February 15. 

It stated that Equatorial Guinea 

made a decisive step toward 

joining the Extractive Industry 

Transparency Initiative (EITI) in 

Oslo, Norway on Friday February 

15 2019, receiving the 

endorsement of the EITI 

International Secretariat and 

establishing positive bilateral 

relations between the two parties. 

EITI added that having initially 

applied for membership in the 

organization in 2008, Equatorial 

Guinea has since instituted several 

reforms to take part in the global 

initiative. 

“Membership of the EITI would 

represent a milestone for the 

country, and a critical step forward 

in its path toward greater 

transparency and improved 

governance and management of its 

Enyo redefines fuel retailing in 

Nigeria • Plans acquisition of stations 

By Sebastine Obasi 

ENYO retail and supply 

Limited, an indigenous oil 

and gas, appears to be 

redefining petroleum products 

marketing by pioneering a 

technology driven fuel retailing 

revolution in Nigeria’s 

downstream oil and gas sector. 

The company has announced its 

rapid expansion plans across the 

country as it acquires new retail 

stations to provide Nigerians 

with trusted fuel and other 

quality petroleum products and 

services. 

Designed to underline the 

company’s belief that new 

technologies and digital services 

play positive roles in 

transforming the society and 

enhancing individual quality of 

life, Enyo is integrating firstclass 

customer service 

experience for fuel and 

renewable energy products 

retailing in Nigeria. 

Speaking at a media chat, the 

Chief Executive Officer (CEO), 

Mr. Abayomi Awobokun, said, 

“Technology driven innovation is 

already driving profoundly 

positive changes in almost all 

facets of our lives. We aim to set 

the pace for the innovation in the 

fuels retailing space. We believe 

customers can benefit from the 

additional value created as a 

result of our efforts. We will 

contribute in no small way to the 

technology driven growth of the 

downstream industry in Nigeria. 

“Our customers can be rest 

assured that whichever Enyo 

station they visit, they will get 

quality fuel products at the right 

quantity and at the right price. 

We are pleased that our 

customers already refer to our 

stations using the term, their litre 

is always a litre.” We intend to 

build on this by continuing to 

Equatorial Guinea moves to join EITI 

extractive resources sector.” said 

H.E. Gabriel Mbaga Obiang 

Lima, the Minister of Mines and 

Hydrocarbons. 

It continues to be my firm 

believe that our membership in 

Vanguard 

Electricity Watc 

atch 

invest in training and 

equipment for all our 

business locations.” 

Awobokun also stated that 

Enyo’s acquisitions of new 

retail stations is part of its 

expansion plans, to 

provide Nigerians with 

trusted fuel and other 

quality petroleum products 

and services. “We are 

entering into a contractual 

agreement with key dealers 

across the country to fast 

track rapid acquisition of 

stations. We believe that 

having stations at strategic 

locations will help us drive 

our commitment to the 

provision of quality fuel 

and petroleum products.” 

he added. 

Recently, the company 

launched its Fuelled by 

Trust - ‘1 litre is 1 litre’ 

initiative - which is targeted 

at ensuring consumers are 

provided with their 

products value worth. 

Leveraging on the words 

‘trust’ and ‘fuel’, Enyo 

Retail and Supply is 

reinforcing its commitment 

as a truly customer focused 

brand. Its continuous 

delivery of authentic and 

innovative products/ 

services is fuelled by 

positive customer and 

stakeholder experiences. 

ENYO Retail and Supply 

Ltd, which was founded in 

2017, currently has over 55 

stations and currently 

distributes over 1 percent of 

the national fuel 

consumption in Nigeria. 

The company operates in 

over 13 states of the 

country and serves over 

50,000 customers daily. 

the EITI will lead to a more 

attractive investment 

climate and an increase in 

foreign direct investment in 

the energy and non-energy 

sectors. 

Source: NCC Daily Operational Report 

/

Shell invites bid for new Bonga FPSO 

By Ediri Ejoh 

SHELL 

Nigeria 

Exploration and 

Production Company, 

SNEPCo, has announced the 

release of Invitation to Tender, 

ITT, to contractors for the 

development of the Bonga 

South-West Aparo, BSWA oil 

field. 

The project's initial phase 

includes a new Floating, 

Production, Storage and 

Offloading, FPSO vessel, more 

than 20 deep-water wells and 

related subsea infrastructure. 

The field lies across Oil 

Mining Leases 118, 132 and 

140, about 15km south-west of 

the existing Bonga Main 

FPSO. The ITT is for 

engineering, procurement and 

construction contracts for the 

150,000 barrels per day project 

in the Gulf of Guinea. 

"This is a new vista for deep 

offshore oil and gas exploration 

in Nigeria based on a revised 

commercial framework 

embraced by government and 

the project investors," 

SNEPCo's Managing Director, 

Bayo Ojulari, said on 14 

February, a day after the 

execution of the Heads of 

Terms by the Nigeria National 

Petroleum Corporation, 

NNPC, SNEPCo and its Unit 

partners, revising the terms of 

the OML 118 Production 

Sharing Contract. Ojulari said: 

"SNEPCo has concluded OML 

118 negotiations with the 

NNPC. We now have a clear 

commercial framework, 

supported by the government 

and project investors, toward 

a potential Bonga South-West 

Aparo Final Investment 

Decision, FID." Ojulari 

described the conclusion of the 

commercial framework as a key 

milestone for the project and 

the development of Nigeria's 

deep-water oil and gas 

industry. 

"The new framework marks 

the start of the second 

generation of deep-offshore 

exploration and development, 

Ebedei community gets gas 

processing plant 

By Jimitota Onoyume 

THE Nigerian National 

Petroleum Commision, 

NNPC, has commissioned 

Egbama gas processing plant 

in Ukwuani Local Government 

Area of Delta state. 

Speaking during the 

commissioning, the NNPC 

Group Managing Director, 

Maikanti Baru said the plant 

signpost the nation's 

engineering prowess and local 

content capacity. 

He further commended the 

promoter of the project, Mr 

Charles Osezua, Chairman, 

Owel-Linkso Group for the 

initiative, noting that this was 

not his first voyage into gas 

distribution project in the 

country. 

"This is not your first start up. 

You had done it before with 

Gaslink that started gas 

distribution in Ikeja, Lagos, 

which has spread to Apapa and 

beyond," he noted. 

Baru also urged gas 

operators that are close to the 

Egbaoma gas plant to come 

together to supply gas to the 

plant to maximize its capacity 

to commercialise flared gas, 

stressing that the move will be 

one of the key steps towards 

ending gas flare in the country. 

He said: "I also wish to use this 

medium to assure Deltans and 

Nigerians that the journey to 

effective monetisation of our 

vast gas resources for 

sustainable economic growth 

and complete end to gas flaring 

is underway and the future is 

very bright." 

Also speaking, Chairman of 

Owel-Linkso, Mr. Charles 

Osezua thanked Ebedei 

community for its friendliness 

and peaceful disposition 

towards the project which took 

off in the area five years ago. 

He said about $50 million had 

so far been invested in the 

project, adding that the plant 

produces 30 million standard 

cubic feet of wet gas daily . 

"The gas plant offtakes wet 

gas from the Platform Petroleum 

/Newcross JV flow station to 

produce liquefied petroleum 

gas, LPG, propane, lean gas 

and natural gas liquids, NGL. 

The plant contributes to the 

supply of LPG and propane to 

the domestic market. The lean 

gas and NGL are supplied to 

the industrial sectors," he said. 

He added that Egbaoma 

which is entirely an indigenous 

gas processing plant has 

produced about 35,000 metric 

tones of gas for the nation's 

domestic market since it took 

off. 

He said about five hundred 

homes currently utilize the LPG 

from the plant, adding that they 

have also stimulated interest 

among Nigerians to buy 

propane for use. 

not just for SNEPCo but for all 

players in Nigeria's deep water. 

This is a model that we see 

being replicated in the industry 

to further unleash Nigeria's 

potential in deep-water 

exploration." 

On the estimated project cost, 

SNEPCo's General Manager 

for BSWA, Adam Bradley said: 

"The release of ITT will allow 

us, government and investing 

parties to understand the actual 

costs for the initial phases which 

we expect will be very 

competitive." 


NPA hands over terminal B 

to Ocean & Cargo Services 

By Jimitota Onoyume 

THE MANAGING Director 

of Nigerian Ports 

Authority, NPA, Hadiza Bala 

Usman has urged host 

communities of the Warri Port 

to support revival of business 

at the Port, by cooperating with 

operators at the port. 

Speaking at the Port in Warri, 

Delta State, during the formal 

handing over ceremony of the 

Old Warri terminal B to Ocean 

and Cargo Terminal Services 

Limited, Usman who was 

represented by the Executive 

Director, Marine and 

Operations, Mr Seconte 

Davies said the Federal 

Government will continue to 

Aramco, Total invest in fuels, retail network in 

Saudi Arabia 

SAUDI Aramco and Total 

have signed a Joint 

Venture, JV agreement to 

develop a network of fuel and 

retail services in Saudi Arabia. 

The JV plans to invest around 

USD 1 billion over the next six 

years in the Saudi fuel retail 

market and start providing 

motorists with premium fuels 

and retail services in Saudi 

Arabia. Mr. Momar Nguer, 

President, Marketing and 

Services and Executive 

Committee Member at Total 

said: "Total is proud to be the 

first international oil major to 

invest in Saudi Arabia's fuel 

retail network. This joint venture 

agreement is in line with our 

global strategy to expand in fastgrowing 

markets worldwide. 

"This new agreement is also 

reaffirming our long-term 

partnership with Saudi Aramco. 

Following our joint investments 

in SATORP refining and 

petrochemical complex, we are 

pleased to bring to the Saudi 

market our expertise and 

customer-minded approach in 

retail and contribute to local 

employment development." 

Mr. Abdulaziz Al-Judaimi, 

Saudi Aramco Senior Vice- 

President of Downstream said: 

"I am excited about this major 

milestone, which will help 

transform the fuel retail market 

in the Kingdom. We look 

forward to working together 

with our long-term partner, 

Total, and draw on their 

extensive experience in the fuel 

retail market. "We aim to 

*VISIT: 

President of the 

Nigerian Society 

of Engineers 

(NSE), Engr. 

Adekunle 

Mokuolu (right), 

explaining a point 

to the Group 

Managing 

Director of NNPC, 

Dr. Maikanti Baru, 

when the GMD 

visited him 

recently. 

enhance the quality of services, 

as well as create thousands of 

jobs and additional investment 

opportunities in the Kingdom. 

This project will also help 

optimize the total value of our 

hydrocarbon resources." 

The two companies have also 

provide the enabling 

environment for the place to 

record economic boost in its 

operations. 

Also speaking, Manager of 

NPA, Warri, Mr Simon Okeke 

commended the Federal 

Government for dredging the 

Excravos bar - Warri Port, 

adding that he will give all 

needed assistance to investors 

for the terminal to work. 

He said with investors 

already on ground to operate 

the terminal, economic 

activities will take off soon in 

the place. 

Group Managing Director, 

Sifa Group, Mr Adekunle 

Oyinloye assured that they will 

keep to every promise made, 

adding that Ocean and Cargo 

Terminal Services will deliver 

efficiently in the running of the 

port to the admiration of all. 

He said Ocean and Cargo 

Terminal Services are 

indigenous companies that are 

major players in the maritime 

industry, adding that some of 

the companies have been in 

business for about three 

decades. 

He said: "We will be calling 

this enviable pedigree to make 

a difference in terms of efficient 

customer, massive investment 

in human capital and 

equipment, strict adherence to 

concession agreement and 

partnership with regulatory 

agencies." 

He also said they will relate 

cordially with host 

communities, adding that they 

were also in business to create 

a robust economy for the host 

communities and the nation. 

signed an agreement with the 

owners of Tas'helat Marketing 

Company, TMC and Sahel 

Transport Company, STC to 

acquire TMC and STC, thereby 

jointly acquiring their existing 

network of 270 service stations 

and their fuel tanker fleet. 

...as Total Nigeria announces 

winners of the Startupper of the year 

THREE winners of the 2018-2019, Startupper of the Year by 

Total Challenge in Nigeria, have emerged. 

Selected by a jury of local experts, they were presented with 

their awards at a ceremony held on February 13 at the Oriental 

Hotel, Lagos. 

The three winners are: Ogunbanjo Olumide, AgroData 

Vanguard’s Electricity 

watch 

Network, Obaoye Justus, Carido Automobiles Service Technology 

and Ijir Aondosoo, My Waste My Energy. 

AgroData Network promotes organic farming via communitybased 

beekeeping providing farmers with free beehives. The 

company deploys natural techniques to keep the bees within 

the ecosystem. 

Carido is an on-demand automobile service technology which 

aggregates automobile maintenance demands through mobile 

devices and thereafter facilitates their fulfillment through select 

offline services performed by competent and vetted mechanics. 

My Waste, My Energy converts rice husk waste to energy 

source and provides a sustainable form of domestic energy, 

reduces environmental degradation and deaths associated with 

respiratory diseases as Nigeria records 93000 deaths annually 

due to smoke from firewood. 

These young entrepreneurs will receive financial support of 

up to N6million to develop their project. They will also receive 

personalized support and coaching from Passion Incubator and 

a communications campaign to publicize their project. 

The winner of the Top Female Entrepreneur award, a new 

addition to the 2018-2019 Challenge to support women in 

business, is Omotosho Oghenekevwe, whose Isabiwork app 

which helps customers easily locate the nearest artisan or service 

provider in their location thereby bridging the digital divide 

between artisans and their potential customers. 

The jury also awarded the Young Entrepreneur prize to 

Emmanuel Ezenwere, the developer of Arone Aerial Services. 

Arone is bridging the gap between rural and urban health care 

services in sub-Saharan Africa by transporting medical supplies 

from medical storage and distribution centres to primary 

healthcare centres using autonomous delivery drones.

24— Vanguard, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2019 

Preview 

By Kingsley Adegboye 

Going by the improvement 

in the nation’s micro 

environment and the positive 

projections for 2019, the real 

estate sector is expected to ride 

on the back of these and other 

strides it ought to make, and 

put in a better performance in 

the year 2019. 

Though the sector had been 

generally sluggish in 2018 

because of the lull in the 

nation’s economy, real estate 

experts are of the opinion that 

the sector will experience 

better performance this year 

because of signs of 

improvement in the economy 

and the expected political and 

economic stability in the 

country after the general 

elections in Nigeria in 

February. 

They say because more 

stable investment is real 

estate, politicians and those 

with money looking for viable 

business ventures to invest 

in, will channel their money 

into real estate sector 

thereby causing boom in the 

sector. 

The Managing Director 

and Chief Executive Officer 

of Propertygate Development 

& Investment Plc, a real 

estate development firm, Mr. 

Adetokunbo Ajayi, said 

improvement in the nation’s 

micro environment being 

witnessed now is a pointer to 

the positive future outlook for 

real estate sector of the 

nation for 2019. 

Mr. Ajayi noted, however, 

that because Nigeria will be 

going into general elections 

in February, activities in real 

estate sector will be quite 

slow because of uncertainty 

in the country but the sector 

is expected to experience 

boom with economic and 

political stability returning 

after the elections. 

According to him, because 

investment in real estate is 

more stable compared to any 

other business venture, 

politicians and people with 

money will like to invest in 

the sector, adding that 

because of the lull 

experienced in the sector in 

the immediate past year, the 

sector will offer people 

opportunity to invest in it. 

“Also, because of the 

uncertainty in the capital 

market, most shareholders 

will prefer to withdraw their 

investment in shares to 

invest in real estate which is 

more stable than any other 

investment. With these 

positive indicators, the sector 

will perform better in 2019.” 

In addition, we expect the 

Nigerian housing market 

with its vast potentials, 

anchored on rising 

population, growing 

urbanisation and expanding 

Expect better performance in real 

estate sector in 2019 — Experts 

economy, to present 

continuous opportunities to 

players in the sector. 

For James Garuba, 

Principal Partner, Garuba & 

Associate, a firm of estate 

surveyors and valuers, the 

sector will experience boom 

with the return of economic 

and political stability in the 

country after the general 

elections, adding: “After the 

elections, it is expected that 

political and economic 

activities will return in full 

force. 

“Our politicians will begin 

to look for where to invest in, 

and real estate sector being 

a very viable business 

venture, will be first choice 

for them. With politicians as 

sure market for the sector, 

real estate will be a big bang 

in the year 2019,” Garuba 

noted. 

The Propertygate boss, 

however, stressed that the 

real estate sector is not out 

of the woods yet; as such 

enormous traction is 

required, if the negative 

results being recorded in the 

sector are to be reversed, 

adding that while some 

sectors did comparatively 

better in 2018, real estate 

sector took a hammer. 

“The capital-intensive 

nature of real estate 

development means the 

sector will naturally struggle 

under a hostile lending 

climate. Interest rate was 

very high in 2018 with 

Also because of the 

uncertainty in the 

capital market, 

most shareholders 

will prefer to 

withdraw their 

investment in 

shares to invest in 

real estate which is 

more stable than 

any other 

investment; with 

these positive 

indicators, the 

sector will perform 

better in 2019 

average lending rate hitting 

30 per cent per annum at 

some point, a situation last 

seen in 1999. The year 2018 

witnessed extremely limited 

mortgage financing for 

buyers, crippling potential 

demand, a situation that is 

yet to record significant 

improvement. 

“The age-long red tape in 

land administration and 

planning permits and other 

structural challenges are still 

undermining the sector, 

affecting development takeoffs 

and delivery, and 

business performance. 

Quarter 1 2018 report from 

National Bureau of Statistics 

reported a declining 

performance, with real GDP 

growth for the sector 

standing at -9.40 per cent, 

and contribution to GDP for 

the quarter at 5.63 per cent, 

a drop compared to 6.34 per 

cent recorded for the same 

period in the 1st quarter of 

2017.” 

Ajayi stated that going 

forward, it is important to 

recognise that the vast 

potentials in housing will 

remain difficult to unlock 

until functional mortgage 

finance system is put in 

place, insisting that 

stakeholders daily talk about 

huge shortage in housing 

products, while attention is 

sometimes misplaced on 

affordability, when the key to 

unlocking the sub-sector is 

mortgage. According to him: 

“The solution requires great 

innovation, as the financial 

system, as currently 

configured, cannot provide 

functional mortgage. 

Furthermore, the need for 

collaboration among 

operators in the sector 

cannot be more urgent than 

now. 

“There should be a 

deliberate engagement with 

the governments and other 

critical stakeholders on a 

continuous and sustainable 

basis to address age-long 

challenges in the areas of 

critical 

primary 

infrastructure, finance, red 

tape, processes and reviews 

Residential Estate 

of planning permits and 

rules, perfection of title, land 

administration and the built 

environment generally. 

"At the macro-economic 

level, operators should be 

vigilant as there remain 

concerns that political 

activities will have a drag on 

the economy and more 

pronounced in 2019, judging 

by historical antecedents. 

“As a company, we are 

aware that the operating 

environment, including our 

sub-sector remains fluid and 

dynamic. A continuous 

understanding of the 

fundamentals shaping the 

industry, anchored on 

knowledge and experience is 

crucial to business continuity. 

We must show leadership in 

innovative solutions, sound 

management and strong 

corporate values. We will 

remain focused and 

committed to our vision and 

strategic goals." 

In his contribution, Mr. 

Peter Folikwe, a Non- 

Executive Director of the 

company said: “The real 

estate industry is capitalintensive. 

This is impacting 

on the earnings of the 

companies in the sector. 

Propertygate has a focused 

board and management. 

That is why its massive 

investment in the 

Propertygate Center in the 

high brow Business District 

of Lekki promises a huge 

return on investment, ROI, 

in the nearest future.”


Why FG is prioritising maintenance of 

public infrastructure — Fashola 

•As QSRBN fears effect of emerging technology on profession 

By Chris Ochayi 

The Federal Government 

last week, declared that it 

will give priority to the 

maintenance of public 

infrastructure so that the 

nation can derive maximum 

value from them. 

The Minister of Works, Power 

and Housing, Mr. Babatunde 

Fashola, who made the 

declaration during the 2019 

Annual Assembly of 

Registered Quantity Surveyors 

and induction of newly 

registered quantity surveyors 

and practising firms in Abuja, 

said the quest would stimulate 

economic growth and create 

jobs. 

Fashola, who reiterated the 

commitment of the present 

administration towards 

provision of infrastructure, 

added: “There is so much that 

government wants to provide 

for the nation in the area of 

infrastructure with limited 

funds. 

“With the emphasis placed 

on investment in infrastructure 

under the Economic Recovery 

& Growth Plan of the Federal 

Government under President 

Muhammadu Buhari, 

Registered Quantity Surveyors 

are a highly relevant group of 

professionals with their unique 

training as cost experts in the 

construction industry. 

“More so, given the fact that 

there is so much that 

government wants to provide 

To ease traffic flow in Apapa 

area of Lagos, the Federal 

Ministry of Power, Works and 

Housing last week reopened 

Leventis bridge to traffic after 

one year of closure for repairs. 

The News Agency of Nigeria, 

NAN, recalls that the bridge was 

closed for emergency repairs in 

August 2016 after a portion of 

the bridge deck damaged by fire 

caved in. 

Some of the reinforcement 

rods on top of the bridge’s 

centre had become exposed as 

the asphalt covering them had 

been eroded. 

It was re-opened to light traffic 

after the emergency repairs and 

later shut in 2017. 

The permanent repairs began 

in 2018 after Julius Berger, the 

contractor of the project, 

imported some materials to aid 

the repairs. 

The 40-year-old bridge links 

Nigeria’s premier port to both 

the Lagos Mainland and Island. 

While performing the tapecutting 

ceremony to open the 

bridge, the Director, Highways, 

South-West, Mr Funsho Adebiyi 

said that the opening would 

ease gridlock on the Apapa axis. 

“It is my pleasure to open this 

bridge in the name of God the 

Father, Son and Holy Spirit. 

Today, we are having a new 

bridge as well as a new access 

*Road infrastructure 

for the nation in the area of 

infrastructure with limited 

funds, competent quantity 

surveyors are, therefore, 

needed to ensure that projects 

are executed at minimal costs. 

Alongside accelerated 

delivery of new infrastructure, 

the Federal Ministry of Power, 

Works and Housing has 

identified the maintenance of 

infrastructure as of equal 

priority. 

“It is our belief that improved 

maintenance of our public 

buildings, roads and other 

infrastructure will enable 

government derive maximum 

value from these facilities, 

deliver improved public 

quality services, stimulate 

economic growth, create jobs 

and generally improve the 

quality of life of its citizens. 

“It is for this reason that the 

Ministry developed the 

National Public Buildings 

Maintenance Policy which 

received the approval of the 

Federal Executive Council, 

FEC, about a month ago. 

While this policy is focused on 

public buildings by the 

Federal Government, it is 

easily adaptable to other 

infrastructure at all levels of 

government that are also faced 

with public assets 

maintenance deficiencies. 

“The Quantity Surveyors 

Registration Board of Nigeria, 

QSRBN, is one of the relevant 

stakeholders to which an 

invitation was extended for 

the review of the draft Policy 

before it was presented for 

FEC approval. The 

challenges associated with 

the provision, renewal and 

replacement of critical public 

infrastructure assets in 

Nigeria require the 

involvement of construction 

industry professionals, 

especially registered quantity 

surveyors. 

“The high cost of 

construction projects requires 

the skills and knowledge of 

quantity surveyors in 

addressing resource 

optimisation and value 

maximisation. I heartily 

Gridlock: One year after, FG reopens Leventis 

Bridge in Apapa 

road. So, hopefully gridlock will 

end here,” he said. 

He said that government was 

going to take drastic action 

against all forms of abuses that 

would cause damage to bridges 

in Lagos. 

The Federal Controller of 

Works in Lagos, Mr Adedamola 

Kuti said the bridge was 

damaged in 2016 due to 

“activities of some miscreants 

living under the bridge. 

“When the contractor came on 

board and removed the slab, 

that is the deck that got 

damaged, we discovered that 

the beams carrying the weight 

of the slab itself had been 

affected by the fire. 

“So, there was no way we 

could go ahead with the 

replacement of the slab, other 

than for us to start from the 

beams. So we had to produce 

new distress beams, and then, of 

course, the slabs. 

“And we have also done the 

surfacing of the other adjoining 

slab close to the damaged one,” 

he said. 

He thanked residents for their 

patience during the period of 

closure of the bridge and 

pledged Federal Government’s 

commitment to continue 

maintenance of all the roads 

and bridges in Lagos. 

He listed bridges that had 

been repaired to include the 

Marine Beach Bridge, Coconut 

Bridge and Ijora 7Up Bridge. 

He added that work was 

The permanent 

repairs began in 

2018 after Julius 

Berger, the 

contractor of the 

project, imported 

some materials to 

aid the repairs 

ongoing on the Alaka Bridge in 

Surulere and the Third 

Mainland Bridge. 

He further explained that 

repair works were ongoing on 

Lagos-Ota-Abeokuta, Lagos- 

Ibadan, Ikorodu-Sagamu 

expressways and some other 

federal roads in the metropolis. 

Kuti said that materials for 

total rehabilitation of the Third 

Mainland Bridge had been 

imported and that permanent 

repair works would soon begin 

on some damaged expansion 

joints alongside the ongoing 

rehabilitation of the bridge. 

“We have completed the 

Adeniji Adele bound, we are 

working on the Mainland 

bound. So the repair works on 

the Third Mainland will start 

very soon because our 

materials are on the way,” he 

said. 

Speaking on the newly 

installed beams on the bridge, 

Mr Thomas Balzuweit, Julius 

Berger’s Regional Manager, 

said that experts were used to 

get “a comprehensive design 

study to get high quality 

materials.” 

Balzuweit added that various 

quality control checks were 

done before installing the 

beams to ensure structural 

integrity of the bridge to cater 

for the huge vehicular traffic 

on the axis. 

Alhaji Wasiu Olowuntoye, 

President, Container Truck 

Owners Association, who led a 

delegation of truck drivers to 

witness the opening said that 

the hardship to truck owners 

would be minimised. 

“We are happy today 

because our members have 

suffered so much, they spend 

several days and sometimes 

weeks trying to go in or out of 

the ports but with this bridge 

opened, there will be good 

traffic flow,” he said. 

congratulate the new inductees 

but with a note of caution that 

the status you are attaining 

today bestows on you a 

responsibility for probity and 

professionalism as you are 

expected to maintain high 

standards devoid of 

compromise and fraudulent 

activities as you practise the 

profession,” Fashola advised. 

In his opening address, the 

President, QSRBN, Murtala 

Aliyu, warned that evolution of 

technology might affect the 

practise of the profession in the 

nearest future, adding that: 

“Technology and know-how 

are extending the frontiers 

further. Automation and 

Robotics are playing significant 

roles and have had different 

effects on various skills, both 

positive and negative. 

“All skills that involve 

processes can be automated 

and are therefore threatened. 

These will definitely affect our 

present jobs and future 

employment possibilities. The 

emerging situation will affect 

our training patterns and 

course curriculum and contents 

which will in turn affect how we 

channel resources to manage 

these changes in our schools, 

offices and industries. The 

world and the industry are 

changing fast. 

“Professions in this country 

are still enslaved by laws and 

regulations. Over-regulation 

narrows the space and 

unfortunately, our perspectives. 

At every point in time, one 

profession is hounding another 

trying to create a larger space 

for itself within a small cubicle. 

Instead of collaboration, we 

waste a lot of energy in 

displacing one another or at 

least trying to do so. The crisis 

of relevance among professions 

is increasing while the nature 

of the market and human needs 

are changing at uncomfortable 

rates. 

“Professions, especially those 

in the built environment either 

open up, modernise, adapt to 

changes and prepare for the 

future or gradually slide into 

irrelevance or something else 

will replace us. We need to 

keep tracking the industry, the 

market and human demand to 

remain in business. Let us think 

please.” 

The former Minister of Power 

and Steel added: “Every 

profession evolves from one 

trade/skill or another, giving 

birth to branches or other sister 

professions. Our profession 

also evolved from being an 

appendage to Architects and 

Engineers to a leader in the 

industry. 

“Quantity Surveyors have 

proven to be fair and balanced 

in their relation with other 

professionals. In Nigeria, the 

Quantity Surveying profession 

has had brilliant minds that 

have affected professional 

practices and the industry 

positively and monumentally. 

“How long we continue to be 

the pacesetters will depend on 

how much we realise these 

challenges and how fast we act. 

“Are we preparing to sustain 

the lead or are we faltering 

under some minor 

encroachments, intimidation, 

and dislocation? 

"Numbers matter, but what 

matters most is the ability of a 

people to keep thinking and 

acting positively.”


Anchor Insurance: NAICOM confirms Ikuomola as 

Executive Director 

THE 

National 

Insurance 

Commission, NAICOM, 

has approved the 

appointment of Mr. 

Ikuomola Adebisi Adeleke 

as the Executive Director, 

Technical of Anchor 

Insurance Company 

Limited just as it has also 

ratified the appointments 

of Mr. Fasanmi Anthony 

Olajide and Ms. 

Olubukola Koyenikan as 

the General Manager, 

Marketing and Head, 

Enterprise Risk 

M a n a g e m e n t 

respectively of the fast 

rising risk-bearing 

company. 

A letter from the 

Commission which 

conveyed the approvals 

and signed by L.M . 

Akah, Director 

(Governance, 

Enforcement and 

Compliance), stated in 

part that the Commission 

was pleased to convey the 

approval for the 

appointments of the 

officers after carefully 

reviewing the company’s 

application and the 

supporting documents. 

Mr. Adebisi Ikuomola 

who was the Group Head, 

Technical of the company 

before his appointment as 

Executive Director in 

September, 2018 by the 

Board of Directors subject 

to NAICOM’s approval, 

started his insurance 

career in 1989. 

He joined Anchor 

Insurance Company 

Limited in April, 2011 

after working with 

different insurance 

companies and brokerage 

organizations in different 

technical capacities. 

He holds an HND in 

Business Administration 

from Akwa Ibom State 

Polytechnic and an MBA 

in Marketing from 

Ladoke Akintola 

University of Technology. 

He is an Associate, 

Chartered Insurance 

Institute of Nigeria. 

In the same vein, 

NAICOM has also, via 

the same letter, approved 

the appointments of Mr. 

Fasanmi Olajide and 

Ms. Olubukola 

Koyenikan as General 

Manager, Marketing and 

Head, Enterprise Risk 

M a n a g e m e n t 

respectively. 

Mr. Fasanmi Olajide is 

a rounded insurance 

practitioner with long 

experience in insurance 

underwriting and broking 

concerns. He joined the 

company in May, 2018 

from Staco Insurance Plc 

where he was Assistant 

General Manager, 

Brokers/Branch 

Operations. 

He holds a B.Sc and an 

MBA from Abubakar 

Tafawa Balewa University 

and the Lagos State 

University, Ojo, 

respectively. He is an 

Associate Member, 

Nigerian Institute of 

Management, Nigerian 

Council of Registered 

Insurance Brokers and 

Chartered Insurance 

Institute of Nigeria. 

Ms. Koyenikan 

Olubukola who joined 

the company in August, 

2018 holds a B.Sc 

degree in Economics 

from the Lagos State 

University and an 

Advanced Diploma in 

Accounting and 

Business. She is a 

member, Association of 

Certified Chartered 

Accountants (ACCA) 

and an affiliate of the 

Certified Institute of 

Risk Management (IRM 

–UK). 

She joined the 

insurance industry in 

2014 as an Internal 

Auditor and Compliance 

Officer at Standard 

Alliance Insurance Plc. 

Uber: Oyinade now Marketing Manager, W/Africa 

UBER has appointed 

Mrs. Osobajo 

Oyinade, as its Marketing 

Manager for the West 

Africa sub-region. 

Prior to her 

appointment, Oyinade 

was the Marketing 

Manager, Nigeria at 

Philip Morris 

International. 

In her new role, she is 

expected to oversee and 

coordinate the company’s 

marketing activities in 

West Africa by providing 

qualitative marketing 

strategies that would 

galvanize the brand 

growth of the company. 

Oyinade started her 

working career at SO&U 

as an Account Executive 

in 2006 and was 

promoted to the position 

of a Senior Brand 

Executive, Strategy & 

Business in 2008. 

She later moved to DDB 

Lagos, as Brand Manager, 

Strategy & Business 

in 2009, and from DDB 

Lagos, Oyinade joined 

Guinness Nigeria; a subsidiary 

of Diageo Company 

where she worked 

across functions. 

In November 2017, she 

was appointed Marketing 

Manager, overseeing 

Nigeria marketing 

operations at Philip Moris 

International, she was on 

the job until her recent 

appointment as Marketing 

Manager, West Africa, for 

Uber. 

Oyinade is an highly 

prolific marketing 

professional with over 10 

years broad experience 

and specialties in strategic 

marketing management, 

portfolio/innovation 

strategies, brand equity 

MTN: Akideinde appointed Head, OTT 

MTN Group has 

appointedMr. 

Oyebowale Akideinde has 

been appointed by the MTN 

Group as the new Head of 

Over the Top (OTT) Music 

Services. 

Akideinde has been given 

the responsibility of piloting 

MTN’s newly acquired 

music streaming platform, 

Simfy Africa. 

According to a statement 

released by the telecoms 

giant, Akideinde’s 

appointment will be effective 

as from February. MTN said 

that this new appointment 

would enhance the mobile 

operator’s digital music 

streaming services to its 

*Olajide 

subscribers throughout 

Africa and the Middle East. 

Prior to joining MTN, 

Oyebowale was at 

Boomplay Music where he 

worked as the Regional 

Director for West Africa. 

MTN stated that his career 

ran over 17 years mainly in 

financial, e-business, 

consumer goods, media and 

digital sectors. 

He had also previously 

worked in the IT sector, 

strategy, project 

management, marketing 

and in the product and 

business development 

fields. 

The statement issued by 

MTN declared that 

*Olajide 

Oyebowale has an MSc in 

Business Information 

Systems from the University 

of Hertfordshire, a General 

Music Studies Specialist 

certificate that he received 

from Berklee College of 

Music and a BSc in 

Computer Science from the 

University of Lagos. 

Akideinde has also 

received many accolades and 

industry related awards 

throughout his career. 

The President and CEO of 

the MTN Group, Rob Shuter 

said that MTN is delighted 

about Akideinde’s 

appointment as he brought 

so much passion and 

knowledge of the media 

*Ikuomola 

management/analysis, 

data analytics, consumer 

behaviour analysis, media 

content strategy, communication 

channel strategy 

and digital media/ 

marketing. 

She studied Microbiology 

at Lagos State University 

for her first degree 

and has a Master’s 

degree, MSc, Media & 

Communications from 

School of Media and 

Communication, Pan Atlantic 

University. 

Oyinade also holds a 

certificate in Digital Media/Internet 

Marketing 

in addition to her numerous 

skills that cut across 

Integrated Marketing, 

Digital Marketing and 

Strategy amongst others. 

*Olajide 

industry. Shuter added 

that Akideinde’s 

experience put him in an 

excellent position to 

support MTN’s delivery of 

OTT digital services to its 

subscribers. 

OAL names new Managing 

Partners 

OLISA Agbakoba Legal, 

OAL, has announced 

that Bisi Akodu has been 

appointed Managing 

Partner. Bisi succeeds 

Priscilla Ogwemoh, who 

stepped down as Managing 

Partner after serving with 

distinction in that capacity for 

over 20 years. 

The firm also elevated 

Associate Partners, 

Babatunde Ogungbamila, 

Victor Akazue Nwakasi and 

Adebola Sobowale as 

Substantive Partners with 

effect from February 1, 2019. 

They joined the firm in 2013, 

2005 and 2008 respectively, 

and have been instrumental 

to the firm’s success over the 

years. 

Bisi Akodu, Managing 

Partner, OAL 

With over 40 years’ 

experience in Corporate 

Commercial practice, Bisi is 

well versed in mergers and 

acquisitions, share and asset 

sales, leveraged buyouts, 

joint ventures and private 

equity transactions. She 

serves as a Member of 

Financial System Strategy 

Vision 20-20, a Central Bank 

of Nigeria initiative to 

establish an International 

Financial Centre in Nigeria, 

a Fellow and Council 

member of the Business 

Recovery and Insolvency 

Practitioners Association of 

Nigeria, BRIPAN. 

Bisi has acted as legal 

counsel for numerous 

companies and corporations, 

including Westinghouse 

Corp., Philip Morris Nigeria 

Limited, Cadbury Nigeria 

Limited, Dornier GmbH, 

Thomas Wyatt Limited. 

She did extensive 

transactional work for various 

banks during the Nigerian 

Banking consolidations of 

2005 and has worked on 

collateral risk assessment 

audits for Nigerian banks. 

As an advocate of 

change, she has written on 

new financing models and is 

currently engaging the 

Securities and Exchange 

Commission, SEC on establishing 

a crowd funding 

framework in Nigeria. She 

provides commercial and 

solution-oriented advice to a 

wide range of banking clients 

on innovative solutions to 

their insolvency and 

bankruptcy concerns. 

Babatunde Ogungbamila 

– Partner; Head, Dispute 

Resolution 

Tunde has over 18 years 

post-call experience in dispute 

resolution. His passion 

for legal practice is evident 

in his meticulous handling 

ofcases and complex legal 

issues and he often enjoins 

others to imbibe a methodical 

approach towards proffering 

solutions for complex issues. 

Tunde’s ultimate drive is 

the enrichment of his 

knowledge, and he has 

published several papers in 

*Bisi Akodu 

international journals including 

the Oil, Gas and 

Energy Law Journal, 

OGEL that published his 

master’s thesis which 

focused on options in 

increasing the bankability of 

project financing transit 

pipelines in the face of the 

risk of obsolescing bargain. 

Tunde is registered with the 

Securities and Exchange 

Commission as a capital 

market consultant. He is a 

member of the Nigerian Bar 

Association, NBA Section 

on Business Law, Business 

Recovery and Insolvency 

Practitioners Association of 

Nigeria and Insolvency 

International. 

Victor Akazue –Partner; 

Head, Corporate 

Commercial 

Victor is well versed in 

Corporate and Commercial 

law advisory, Administrative 

law, Alternative Dispute 

Resolution, ADR, and 

Regulatory Reforms. An 

extensively trained 

Arbitrator, Victor has 

contributed to the 

development of ADR and its 

practice in Nigeria and 

Africa. 

Victor combines unique 

skills from his experience 

as a Commercial litigator, 

Trainer, Mediator and 

Negotiator in handling 

complex legal issues and 

is a Euromoney trained 

professional on the subject 

of Troubled Assets 

Resolution and Recovery 

handling Receiverships on 

diverse Assets for financial 

services sector clients. An 

avid scholar and law 

reformist, Victor advises 

private and public sector 

clients both locally and 

internationally in relation to 

regulatory and compliance 

issues on Nigerian 

Business environment and 

has worked on complex 

assignments and trainings 

for multinationals and the 

Nigerian Federal Judiciary. 

He has special interest in 

Law and Development, 

Regulatory Impact 

Advisory and has 

published several articles 

and books on the subject. 

He has initiated, led and 

coordinated development 

law assignments for 

diverse clients and target 

groups. He is the author 

of Administrative 

Legislation: Rule-Making 

in a Developing Economy, 

Troubled Assets 

Resolution.

Vanguard, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2019 — 27

28 — Niger-Delta Voice, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, , 2019 

VOL. 1: NO. 186 TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2019 

10,000 ex-agitators cry out, officials, 

ex-militant leaders swindling us since 2009 

...beg Buhari, EFCC, PAP Chairman to investigate suspected scam 

•Quote me, there’s no racket in Amnesty Office 

— Ganagana, Media Assistant, PAP 

BAYELSA… 

THE JERUSALEM OF IJAW 

NATION 

•Otutufegha Waibode’s 2010 Niger Delta Amnesty Programme 

Demobilization certificate 

By Emma Amaize 

YENAGOA- ABOUT 10,000 

Niger-Delta ex-militants 

under the auspices of Non- 

Violence Ex-Agitators in the 

Presidential Amnesty Programme, 

NVAPAP, who claim they were 

trained and inducted into the 

Presidential Amnesty Programme, 

PAP, have raised the alarm that 

since 2009, some unidentified 

government officials and exmilitant 

leaders have been 

siphoning their N65, 000 monthly 

stipends. 

The ex-agitators in a statement 

by their Chairman, Otutufugha 

Mark, alleged that secretaries to 

the various ex-militant camps use 

the names of genuine 

beneficiaries to open accounts 

with the banks, but pay the money 

to surrogates who in return, 

transfer between N55, 000 to N60, 

000 to the secretaries’ accounts. 

They accused the President 

Buhari administration, successive 

PAP Coordinators, government 

officials and self-styled PAP 

“generals” of shortchanging them, 

calling President Buhari, Vice- 

President, Senate President, 

Speaker of the House of 

Representatives, Economic and 

Financial Crimes Commission, 

Chairman, PAP and Special 

Adviser to the President on Niger- 

Delta, Prof. Charles Dokubo, to 

probe the supposed rip-off. 

Dokubo paying stipends to exagitators 

– Ganagana 

Contacted, Mr. Murphy 

Ganagana, Special Assistant 

(Media) to the Chairman, PAP, and 

Special Adviser to the President 

on Niger-Delta, Prof. Charles 

Dokubo, told NDV that since Prof. 

Dokubo took over PAP barely a 

year ago, he has been paying 

stipends of ex-agitators. 

He explained that Prof. Dokubo 

could not have sat over the 

diversion of stipends of exagitators, 

who registered in 2009 

when he was only appointed last 

year. 

Ganagana punctured the claim 

that ex-agitators captured in the 

PAP were not being paid their 

stipends, asking: “Where have 

these people been since 2009 

under the different Coordinators 

of PAP, why is it that it is now that 

they are raising the matter?” 

He said it was ridiculous that 

the group also accused President 

Muhammadu Buhari of 

shortchanging them, adding: “You 

can quote me, everybody knows 

that President Buhari is not a 

•Waibode’s Level 2 Security 

Guarding Instructor Certificate by 

SIA Training Training Consultants 

corrupt person, he has nothing to 

do with payment of stipends to exagitators 

and since Prof. Dokubo 

was appointed, even as I speak to 

you, payments are ongoing.” 

How they shortchange us 

Mark, who dismissed the claim 

that they were not bona fide 

beneficiaries, said: “We have made 

several phone calls and written a 

lot of letters, even visited the 

Amnesty office in Abuja several 

times, but they have refused to pay 

us. 

“Each time we call the Amnesty 

office, they will say Tompolo and 

the other generals have signed 

agreement not to pay some of the 

boys, which to us is a big lie. 

“These stories are being 

formulated by the Amnesty office 

and secretaries to the generals, 

who are representing the various 

camps in the Amnesty office 

currently and others outside the 

office. 

EDO 

HEARTBEAT OF THE NATION 

By Alemma-Ozioruva 

Aliu 

EGBA: THE lawmaker 

representing Ikpobha- 

Okha/Egor Federal Constituency 

in the House of Representatives, 

Hon. Ehiozuwa Agbonnayima, has 

inaugurated a state-of-the-art skills 

acquisition centre at Egba 

community in Ikpoba-Okha Local 

Government Area. 

Also, at Sapele, Sapele Local 

Government Area, Delta State, 

Chief Felix Anirah Foundation has 

donated learning materials and 

•Yinzuo’s PAP identity card 

“If truly there is any agreement 

signed by the generals with the 

Amnesty office, they should 

publish it. 

“Most of the secretaries to these 

various camps are working with 

the banks, they will use the names 

of genuine beneficiaries to open 

accounts, but the money will be 

paid to a neutral person, who has 

no idea of the Amnesty program, 

in return, the person will now 

transfer N60,000 or N55,000 to the 

secretaries’ accounts. 

“We know that most of these 

secretaries’ assets and property are 

worth millions of Naira, which is 

not possible to acquire with their 

normal stipends even for next 15 

years. We know most of the people 

these secretaries are using to 

operate those illegal accounts. 

Buhari, Senate, EFCC should 

probe allegation 

“We are calling on President 

Muhammadu Buhari, Vice- 

*Demobilization certificate of Gbenana Yinzuo, one of the aggrievede 

ex-agitators 

President, Senate President, 

Speaker of the House 

Representatives and Economic and 

Financial Crimes Commission, 

EFCC, to immediately call on 

Charles Dokubo to go to each state 

for verification, if not, we will use 

our PVCs and do everything 

possible to vote the present 

administration out the way we 

voted the previous administration 

out, thinking that this 

administration will be better,” the 

group asserted. 

The group stated that on the 25th 

of August 2018, an official of PAP 

in response to a petition from the 

Niger-Delta Ex-Agitators Forum, 

NDEF, affirmed that “Otutufegha 

Waibode Mike is a genuine 

beneficiary,” yet it refused to pay 

him and other members of the 

forum their stipends. 

The ex-agitators, who threatened 

to vote against Buhari in last 

Saturday’s polls if the matter was 

not addressed, said: “We have 

decided to vote against President 

Buhari for failing to fight 

corruption in the Amnesty office. 

We want to assume that he is 

benefiting from the corrupt system 

of the programme and that is why 

he failed to probe the Amnesty 

scandals.” 

We’ve not been paid stipends 

since PAP inducted us 

They said: “We are shortchanged 

ex-agitators, we embraced the first 

phase of the Federal Government 

Niger-Delta Amnesty programme 

in 2009. We are about 10,000 that 

were shortchanged. We attended 

the first training at Obubra where 

we were finally inducted to the 

Amnesty programme. 

“We opened all our bank 

accounts at Obubra. Since then till 

date, we have not been paid our 

monthly stipends. We have gone 

through all the processes, which 

include disarmament and 

documentation at Obubra…” 

The ex-agitators asserted, “We 

urged President Buhari to use the 

avenue of the postponement / 

pushing forward of the 


Agbonnayima, Anirah donate to Edo community, Delta pupils 

undisclosed funds to 54 primary 

school pupils and 46 secondary 

school students in Sapele. 

I want to stop irregular 

migration, create job – Lawmaker 

Handing over the skills centre, 

Agbonnayima said he built it to 

stop the scourge of irregular 

migration, human trafficking and 

create jobs. 

Agbonnayima, who, a fortnight 

ago, inaugurated an Information 

and Communication Technology 

Centre at the Western Boys High 

School, said: “It is a thing of shame 

that graduates are produced yearly 

without jobs. The solution to the 

scourge of unemployment is not 

rocket science, but to create 

opportunities for young ones to 

learn skills and become selfemployed.” 

Scholarship to be extended to all 

Urhobo-speaking area 

Speaking at the Sapele event, 

the donor, Chief Felix Anirah, 

promised that the Foundation 

would give scholarship to any 

bright student that secure 

admission to any of the federal 

universities in the country. 

He assured that by next year, the 

foundation will extend its 

scholarship scheme to the entire 

Urhobo- speaking area of the state, 

just as he promised that widows 

and women will also be 

incorporated as beneficiaries. 

The recipients were drawn 

mostly from the less privileged and 

bright students, as a way of 

encouraging scholarship among 

the category. 

CIE, coordinator eulogise 

Anirah 

Chief Inspector of Education, 

Sapele Local Government Area, 

Mrs. Patience Ishegbe, thanked 

Chief Anirah for his vision and 

generous donations, while 

calling on other persons in 

Sapele to emulate him. 

In an address at the occasion, 

coordinator of the Foundation, 

Mr. Uba, noted that it started 

touching lives of less privileged 

students since 2017 with 35 

beneficiaries, but the last time, 

over 100 pupils and students 

benefited.

Niger-Delta Voice, , TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, , 2019 — 29 

PODIUM 

POWER ROTATION TREATY: 

Okowa’ll complete 

8 years, handover 

to Urhobo in 2023 

— Olorogun Kenneth Gbagi 

•Governor Ifeanyi Okowa •HRM, Ovie R.L. Ogbon, Ogoni-Oghoro I, 

the Ohworode of Olomu Kingdom 

OGINIBU- 

FORMER 

Minister of State for 

Education and one of the 

leading Urhobo political 

leaders in Delta State, 

Olorogun Kenneth Gbagi, has 

said that no reasonable Deltan 

will seek to terminate the eightyear 

tenure of Delta North 

Senatorial District (Anioma), 

which Governor Ifeanyi Okowa 

is expected to complete in 2023. 

Gbagi, in an interview with 

NDV, predicted that Okowa will 

not only win the forthcoming 

governorship election, but 

complete his second tenure and 

handover to an Urhobo son as 

governor in 2023. 

His words: “ I want to repeat 

it for the umpteenth time, we 

have an agreement, we have a 

rotation plan, the rotation plan 

has worked from 1999 till date, 

and nobody in his right sense 

will truncate the plan because 

people are waiting, knowing 

that after Okowa’s election, the 

circle would have gone one full 

round. 

“After his second tenure, we 

will now be observing the 

second round of power rotation, 

which will take off again with 

Delta Central (Urhobo), which 

had their first shot through their 

son, ex-governor James Ibori.” 

Urhobo monarchs acted 

sensibly endorsing Okowa 

Gbagi, who commented on the 

latest endorsement of Okowa by 

Urhobo monarchs at the palace 

of the Ohworode of Olomu 

Kingdom, HRM Ogbon Ogoni- 

Oghoro, said: “Let me first of 

all use this medium to thank the 

Urhobo monarchs for their 

sense of responsibility and in 

another form, say that they 

have worked in line with my 

claim that some few Urhobos 

still have character. Their 

THE TEAM 

Emma Amaize - Editor 

Samuel Oyadongha - Yenagoa 

Jimitota Onoyume- Warri 

Festus Ahon- Asaba 

Egufe Yafugborhi- Port Harcourt 

Emmanuel Una- Calabar 

Akpokona Omafuaire- Warri 

Godwin Oghre- Sapele 

Harri-Okon Emmanuel- Uyo 

Chioma Onuegbu-Uyo 

Ike Uchechukwu- Calabar 

Davies Iheamnachor- Port Harcourt 

Emem Idio- Yenagoa 

Brisibe Perez- Ughelli 

Theresa Ugbobu- Agbor 

Ochuko Akuopha- Oleh 

Chancel Bomadi Sunday - Bomadi 

Alemma-Ozioruva Aliu- Benin City 

Nath Onajoke, Asaba 

Chijioke Nwankpa, Port- Harcourt 

conduct with Governor Okowa 

for me, is what I can describe 

as garnishing what has been 

done. 

“It is taken for granted that no 

other senatorial zone other than 

Delta Central (Urhobo) will 

produce the governor of the 

state in 2023. So going ahead to 

sign that accord, for me, they 

have signed it in their right and 

belief that the man, Okowa, is a 

gentleman and he knows that 

he can do no less in supporting 

an Urhobo candidate in line 

with the understanding, 

agreement and rotation policy 

of the Delta people. 

“I see a lot of sense in what 

they have done. An accord in 

their understanding may be 

necessary, but the man we are 

dealing with is somebody that 

can be trusted. I think he is the 

most trusted in the state today 

given what he has been able to 

do in communities in the state. 

I have my trust in him that he 

will not renege,” he said. 

Our monarchs not biased 

He disagreed with the 

suggestion that Urhobo 

monarchs were prejudiced in 

endorsing Okowa, saying: “No, 

the royal fathers are upshots of 

their sons and daughters, who 

are politicians and we have said 

it as politicians… unless you are 

saying that they should throw 

away their own politicians. 

“Politicians in the South-West 

sit down with their royal fathers 

and say this is where we are 

headed; politicians in the North 

also sit down with their royal 

fathers to tell them where they 

are headed. In fact, the 

naysayers should commend the 

strength and character 

embedded in the conduct of 

their royal fathers. They cannot 

be biased; they live 

amongst the people 

and know what the 

people said. 

“Is it not their 

children that are the 

politicians, so we have 

said that we have an 

agreement on power 

rotation and when 

people know that I 

speak the truth, which 

is why I proclaimed it 

when some persons 

were trying to obfuscate 

an understanding I 

know that we reached. 

“When I told you that 

Urhobo was part of the 

agreement for power 

rotation in the state, I 

was not telling a lie, it 

is the truth, we are part 

*Olorogun Kenneth Gbagi 

of it, and your paper 

(Vanguard) published it when 

I granted the interview. Let 

anybody who say that we, 

Urhobo, are not part of it prove 

it. I am part of the Urhobo 

leaders that took that decision. 

“Yes, I know that some people 

do not like those who say the 

truth, but is that what should 

make me to stop saying the 

truth? And it is because of not 

saying the truth that Urhobo, 

which is the fourth or fifth 

largest ethnic nationality in 

Nigeria, has taken a back seat 

in anything being done in the 

country. 

Take whatever Omene says 

with a pinch of salt 

The industrialist and 

criminologist is evidently not 

happy with the factional 

leadership of Urhobo Progress 

Union, UPU, led by Chief Joe 

Omene, which directed Urhobo 

people to vote for President 

Muhammadu Buhari, All 

Progressives Congress, APC, 

governorship candidate in the 

state, Chief Great Ogboru and 

Senator Ovie Omo-Agege in 

the concluded presidential/ 

senatorial elections and 

forthcoming governorship polls. 

He asserted: “Two things - 

Omene, as you know is from my 

maternal extraction of the state, 

DELTA... THE BIG 

HEART OF THE NATION 

By Chancel Sunday 

BOMADI – OVER 20 stores, 

including building 

materials and provisions, have 

been razed down by inferno in 

Bomadi town, headquarters of 

Bomadi Local Government Area, 

Delta State. 

The incident occurred about 6.00 

pm along the Bomadi- 

Gbaregolor-Akugbene-Ezebiri 

coastal road at Bomadi town, last 

Jesse area, we all used to stay 

together and play draft together 

in those days in Sapele. What 

happened in Omene’s regime 

before his tenure expired 

between him and PDP 

government in the last election 

and what led to the 

disintegration of the then UPU 

is a notorious fact. 

“I proscribed that body and till 

today, all the monarchs of 

Urhobo collectively swore 

against that administration. 

“ 

After his second 

tenure, we will now 

be observing the 

second round of 

power rotation, which 

will take off again 

with Delta Central 

(Urhobo), which had 

their first shot through 

their son, ex- 

Governor James Ibori 

Some of them are still paying 

the price of their deceit and 

what they did against the 

Urhobo nation. So if you ask me, 

I will strongly say that whatever 

Omene has got to say should be 

taken with a pinch of salt, it does 

not really matter,” he added. 

Taiga spoke as father of UPU 

His words: “And in any case, 

looking at the issue of the 

known President-General of 

UPU, Olorogun Moses Taiga, 

he has only spoken as a father 

of UPU today. Both the past 

President-General that was 

removed with so much stigma 

from office and Taiga are non- 

Fire guts over 20 shops in Bomadi 

week. 

According to an eyewitness, the 

fire started from a kerosene stove, 

which exploded on the fateful 

evening, while two kids in a 

neighboring shop were cooking 

Indomie noodle. 

She said: “Two children were 

cooking Indomie noodle in a 

neighbouring shop when the 

kerosene stove exploded. The 

children escaped unhurt, but the fire 

swiftly spread to neighbouring 

shops, razing down over 20 stores.” 

NDV gathered that though no life 

was lost, property worth millions 

of naira were destroyed in the 

inferno. 

political, we are the political 

leaders that have come out in the 

state as Urhobos and declared 

that we have an agreement and 

the agreement makes it 

unequivocal that Governor 

Okowa should do his second 

term. 

“We cannot be seen as mischief 

makers, as people breaching an 

agreement and majority of 

Urhobos are keeping to that 

agreement, that is not to say that 

we do not have few people with 

discordant views, but among the 

larger Urhobo people, the 

agreement stands and by the 

grace of God, Okowa will finish 

his tenure and Urhobo will 

produce their own candidate for 

the second round of the affairs of 

the state,” he said. 

Kokori knows there’s no APC 

in Delta 

Answering questions on the 

insinuation that he is not the 

mouthpiece of Anioma nation 

and remark by APC chieftain, 

Chief Frank Kokori, that power 

rotation mouthed by PDP was 

unknown to APC, Gbagi said: 

“Much as I will like not to 

comment on Kokori as such, he 

knows for a fact that there is no 

APC in Delta State, in any case, 

the entire APC as it is today 

addressed is an offshoot of PDP. 

But I say it and that is the truth, 

APC is not standing in Delta 

State. If it is standing at all, it is 

not even with one leg, but half 

leg. 

“As I speak, the party is not 

contesting and not campaigning 

in Delta State. I come from a local 

government, Ughelli South, I 

know what we have done in 

Ughelli South, and I know what 

Okowa has done in Ughelli 

South and each local government 

in Delta Central. I know that in 

Ughelli South alone, we have got 

up to 80 appointments, and so 

are you now going to tell me that 

I cannot tell at my age what it 

was yesterday and what it is 

today? 

I insist that we have an 

agreement 

“My point is that we should 

grow up. Kokori himself will tell 

you that we have an agreement, 

anything that had stood the test 

of time for four years, eight years, 

16 years is more than an 

agreement in law and as a 

lawyer, I am saying we have an 

agreement that has worked. 

“I have said it often times, 

people should stop deceiving 

themselves, nobody should 

belittle the matter by saying I am 

the mouthpiece of Anioma 

people, no, that is not the issue, 

I am a Nigerian,” he said.

30---Vanguard, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2019 

Crash in fleet insurance rates to hamper 

premium growth 

By Rosemary Onuoha 

THERE are fears that motor 

insurance premium 

income in the Insurance sector 

for 2018 may not exceed the 

2017 figure as many companies 

have crashed rates for fleet 

motor insurance. 

Although the industry’s 2018 

financial performance is still 

being awaited, some stakeholders 

are of the opinion that the 

abuse of fleet motor insurance 

premium rates occasioned by 

cut-throat competition could 

hamper growth in premium 

income. 

Fleet motor insurance covers 

multiple vehicles with a single 

policy and can be registered in 

the name of a company. Generally, 

the minimum amount is 

two, while maximum can be 

over a thousand. 

Third party motor insurance 

premium rate is fixed at 

N5,000, while 10 per cent of 

vehicle value is charged for 

comprehensive insurance. 

But some insurance 

companies are flouting the law 

to grant huge discounts on fleet 

motor insurance. 

A Managing Director of an 

insurance company told Vanguard 

Insurance how he gave 

a client a business proposal for 

fleet cover with total premium 

rate of N50 million. Unfortunately, 

another firm sent a proposal 

to cover the same fleet at 

N15 million. Sadly, the other 

firm got the business. 

Analysis of figures released 

by the Nigerian Insurers 

Association, NIA, show that 

motor insurance premium fell 

by 2.8 per cent to N39.3 billion 

in 2017 against N40.4 billion 

recorded in 2016. 

A breakdown of the figures 

shows that Nem Insurance 

posted the highest motor insurance 

premium income of N4.4 

billion while it paid claims of 

N1.9 billion. Axa Mansard 

recorded premium income of 

N3.08 billion while it paid 

claims of N2.2 billion. 

Leadway Assurance made 


billion and paid claims of N1.9 

billion, Mutual Benefits posted 


billion with claims paid at N755 

million, while Custodian and 

Allied Insurance posted 


billion each and paid claims of 

N1.2 billion each. 

Speaking to Vanguard Insurance 

on the development, Executive 

Director of Leadway 

Assurance Company Limited, 

Ms. Adetola Adegbayi, said 

that fleet side premium of motor 

insurance has crashed; hence 

total premium income on that 

class of business could be 

affected. 

Adegbayi said: “The crash in 

the premium rate of fleet motor 

insurance is worrisome as this 

could affect overall premium 

income in the 2018 financial 

year.” 

Also speaking, Managing 

Director of Boof Insurance 

Brokers, Mr. Olumide Fatogun, 

said that insurers crashed the 

premium rate for fleet motor 

insurance in the hope that the 

loss will not crystallise. 

Fatogun said: “The crash in 

rates is for purposes of 

marketing and desire to 

outsmart one another.” 

Also speaking to Vanguard 

*From left: Klaus Augenthaler, 1990 World Cup winner and 

FC Bayern Legend; Ibitunde Balogun, Head of Research, Strategy 

and Projects at Allianz Nigeria; Lars Weichert, FC Bayern 

Brand Manager during a courtesy visit to Allianz Nigeria Lagos 

office. 

Insurance on the development, 

Deputy Commissioner for 

Insurance, Technical, Mr. 

Sunday Thomas, said that it is 

sad that insurers are inventing 

diverse means to grant 

discounts to clients. 

Thomas said: “It is so sad to 

hear that operators, in their 

ingenious ways, are beginning 

to grant discounts to premium 

rates, even on the minimum 

rates. It beats my imagination 

because I don’t know why 

anyone will want to cut himself. 

Insurance can serve as security in an 

election year – Sterling Assurance boss 

Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Sterling 

Assurance Nigeria Limited, Mr. Fatai Lawal in this interview urges 

citizens to secure their lives and property with insurance in an 

election year. 

By Cynthia Alo 

IN an election period such 

as now in Nigeria, what 

are the challenges facing 

businesses? 

At a time like this, 

businesses are faced with the 

instability of the political and 

economic system. However, it 

is important to look into the 

issues that concern the growth 

of our national life. 

No doubt, Nigeria and 

Nigerians both at home and 

abroad must as a matter of 

responsibility prepare for the 

inherent perils that 

accompany a period of 

political elections with the 

prevalent multi-party system 

and the attendant hiccups. 

Political instability has been 

a major challenge to most 

economies on the African 

continent coupled with 

insincerity on the part of 

leaders to the governed. 

These and some other factors 

have led to uncertainty in the 

economy and difficulty in 

business decisions remains 

shaky. 

However, business 

decisions can be easy and 

reasonably accurate when the 

economy is stable. Owners of 

businesses can predict the 

outcome of certain decisions 

during stable, calm and 

friendly economic 

environment and as such, it 

is said that rapid developments 

occur when there are 

no wars and policies of government 

remained responsive. 

It is therefore expected 

that government does everything 

in her power to create 

an enabling environment for 

businesses to thrive. 

How should the industry 

take advantage of challenges 

of this period? 

It is imperative that certain 

risk management 

mechanisms will have to be 

put in place by individuals, 

corporate 

bodies 

and 

governments 

now that 

we are 

preparing 

for 

the election period. The time 

is now. The most scientific 

social device to prepare 

against risk in an election 

year is insurance. It is therefore 

right to know that insurance 

as a social means of 

managing risk has so many 

roles to play in a nation at a 

time like this. Therefore, insurance 

guarantees peace of 

mind to the insured and enhance 

the nation’s Gross Domestic 

Product, GDP. 

What is your advice to the 

government? 

The role of insurance in any 

given economy cannot be 

overemphasized as the 

economies of most advanced 

countries in the world today 

“However, we need the 

cooperation of the operators if 

a higher premium income is to 

be realised. NAICOM is not a 

law enforcement agency; it is a 

regulatory body. 

“Third party motor premium 

is fixed at N5,000 and the 

market was recording over N40 

billion in premium income. If 

operators now decide to charge 

N1,000 in the guise of giving 

discounts, what will the market 

record as premium income?” 

Thomas asked. 

are strongly supported by insurance. 

Therefore, government 

should avail itself of insurance 

in every decisionmaking 

especially in the 

election year which is a period 

of mixed feelings of panic and 

hope. This state of mixed 

feelings can be seen as 

uncertainty as the outcome of 

any business plan or 

decision becomes 

unclear. Nonetheless, 

with the tools 

of insurance, uncertainty 

in the 

economy can be 

sensibly controlled. 

Can insurance return 

the insured back to the 

position before the loss? 

Insurance is an 

arrangement by which a 

company or the state 

undertakes to provide a 

guarantee of compensation for 

specified loss, damage, 

illness, or death in return for 

payment of a specified 

premium. Insurance promises 

to place an insured to the 

position he or she was before 

a loss as in the case of 

indemnity policies while benefit 

policies promise to pay out 

a lump sum to beneficiaries 

in case of death or agreed 

loss. In essence, to every risk 

associated to life or business, 

insurance would provide some 

Leadway calls 

for increased 

support for 

security 

maintenance 

LEADWAY 

Assurance 

Company Limited has 

canvassed for increased 

stakeholder support to 

government’s efforts in public 

security. 

Executive Director, General 

Insurance, Leadway Assurance, 

Ms. Adetola Adegbayi, made 

this call when the company 

presented a Nissan Patrol van to 

the Iponri Police Division of the 

Nigeria Police Force, as part of 

its partnership with the Lagos 

State Security Trust Fund, 

LSSTF. 

Making the donation at the 

Leadway Assurance Corporate 

office in Iponri Lagos, Adegbayi 

said that for a megacity like Lagos 

State with an estimated 

population of nearly 20 million 

people, public security would 

normally pose a big challenge 

and thus, concern for well-meaning 

residents. 

Responding, Executive 

Secretary/Chief Executive 

Officer of LSSTF, Dr. 

Abdurrazaq Balogun, said: “As 

the commercial nerve centre of 

Nigeria, and indeed West Africa, 

Lagos has its peculiar security 

challenges. The expenditure 

required to surmount these 

challenges is beyond what the 

state government alone can 

shoulder. This is why the LSSTF 

continues to reach out to 

individuals and corporate 

citizens in the state to assist. In 

this regard, Leadway has been 

a very consistent strategic 

partner to us and we thank them 

and other organisations for their 

support.” 

forms of security to control the 

outcome of the uncertainty 

and when the tools of insurance 

are employed during an 

election year, they will mitigate 

any loss that may happen. 

What kind of insurance will 

you recommend in an election 

year? 

Some unfortunate 

circumstances that may befall 

citizens of any given state 

during any election year are 

the destruction of property as 

well as loss of lives and businesses, 

and so on. 

Good enough, destruction to 

property because of riot, strike 

or civil commotion used to be 

exempted in the standard 

wordings in most insurance 

policies but nowadays, with 

little additional premium such 

can be covered. However, 

some suggested insurance 

products to buy during an 

election year would include: 

fire & burglary insurance, 

house holder insurance, comprehensive 

motor insurance, 

business interruption insurance, 

life insurance covers 

such as endowment and investment 

policies; as well as 

annuity among others.


How to form a new govt 

without tears 

DESPITE the postponement, 

intimidation and outright 

manipulation, the Nigerian people 

showed great resilience last 

Saturday in coming out en masse to 

exercise their democratic franchise. 

This week, by the grace of God, we 

shall know who our president-elect 

is. A new president must hit the 

ground running. He would certainly 

face an in-tray of formidable to-do 

priorities. 

1)The transition team 

The new administration must begin 

with a transition team comprising 

sober-minded technocrats whose job 

is to put together a viable framework 

for the incoming administration; 

serving as a link between the 

outgoing and incoming. The 

transition team will process detailed 

briefings covering all ministries, 

departments and agencies of 

government. They will prepare a 

memo for the president-elect on the 

state of public finances and progress 

on implementation of ongoing 

projects. The team in turn will digest 

the directives from the presidentelect 

and integrate them into a 

revised blueprint for operational 

action. They will also need to prepare 

an Action Programme detailing (a) 

immediate priorities; (b) mediumterm 

policies; and (c) long-term 

policy programmes. They will also 

draw up the roadmap leading to the 

swearing-in in May and beyond. 

2)Formation of the Cabinet 

A government rises or falls by the 

quality of its cabinet. The presidentelect 

must avoid what happened to 

By Michael Bassey 

THE birth of Ibom Airline couldn’t have 

come at a better time. The launch of 

the airline last week is truly the icing on the 

cake for the people of Akwa Ibom state. If 

anyone was in doubt of the managerial 

acumen of the state governor, Udom 

Emmanuel, that launch is enough to shut 

the mouths of those who doubted the 

capability of the governor. Truth be told, 

how many state governors still have the time 

to concentrate on governance now, how 

much more of embarking on developmental 

projects. 

What we usually see during the 

electioneering period is that governance 

temporarily goes on recess. Intrigues, 

backstabbing, etc take centre stage at the 

expense of quality leadership. Sadly, the 

country has been on this rigmarole for so 

long that people have accepted this 

unwholesome trend as the norm. 

For people like me, news of a governor 

still actively involved in the business of 

governance in spite of stories here and there 

about plans to turn the State to another 

Warsaw, is quite heartwarming. It is truly a 

case of everybody giving what they have. 

While some politicians can only spew up 

the dregs in their hearts, some bring out the 

gems in their systems, hence the relevance 

of a scriptural verse that says out of the 

abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. 

Not only that, Ibom airline is born at a 

time when the only achievement some state 

governors could lay claim to is their ability 

to pay workers’ salaries. Never mind that 

such payments are often staggered and most 

irregular. Only recently, a state governor 

the Buhari administration in 2015, 

which needed six months to form a 

government, with disastrous 

consequences. Having a draft 

ministerial list from day one will 

send the right signals. A wise leader 

will seek a healthy balance between 

“technocrats” and “politicians”. The 

issue of a binary option between the 

two is a spurious heresy. We need 

both. But the most technical 

ministries must be headed by 

technocrats of international repute. 

A leader who has a deep burning 

desire to succeed must bring in 

people of high ability, regardless of 

repute, regardless of their political 

persuasion. Presidents Abraham 

Lincoln and John Fitzgerald 

Kennedy both had the guts to bring 

in their political enemies into the 

cabinet. This is political wisdom of 

the highest order. What you need are 

people who can deliver. What is 

needed is an inclusive 

administration, not the nepotistic 

contraption that we have at present. 

Our constitution requires that 

ministers come from all the 36 states 

of the federation. But it is only a 

convention that governors are 

consulted. We would be well advised 

to steer clear of governors that send 

buffoons to Abuja. 

3)Administrative Restructuring 

The new president must take a 

careful look at the structure of his 

administration. Lumping together 

the three powerful departments of 

Works, Power and Housing under one 

super-minister, has been a disastrous 

mistake. I also do not think it is right 

Ibom's changing skyline 

publicly stated that workers should stop 

expecting to be paid regularly because states 

were not created to pay salaries only. 

In the light of the fore going therefore, it is 

important to acknowledge the 

foresightedness of Emmanuel and also 

congratulate the people of Akwa Ibom for 

having such an astute administrator for a 

governor-one who does not see payment of 

workers’ salaries as an achievement, but a 

necessary obligation. 

It will be recalled that salaries and 

gratuities of workers in the state were paid 

There are assurances that the 

state government will also 

run the Ibom Air, as a 

profitable business 

in arrears by the present administration in 

the state despite the fact that these salaries 

were owed by previous administrations. No 

wonder, typical Akwa Ibom indigenes won’t 

hesitate to tell anyone who cares to listen 

where their hearts are, and who gets their 

votes in the forthcoming governorship 

election in the state, where Udom is seeking 

a re-election. To them, they couldn’t have 

had it better than what they have 

experienced in the last three and half years. 

The lines have indeed been falling on them 

in pleasant places. 

The industrial revolution going on in the 

state is unparalleled. Even Vice President 

Professor Yemi Osinbajo attested to this. He 

once described the syringe factory in the state 

to have shifted the Budget 

Department to the Ministry of 

Planning. Budget should go back to 

Finance. We need a re-invigorated 

Federal Ministry of Finance and the 

Economy empowered to work on all 

aspects of public finance and the 

budget while driving economic 

development. We must also work 

towards ensuring that budget 

appropriation is finalised in 

December and implementation 

begins unfailingly in January of the 

New Year. 

This is not to say I favour 

downgrading the Ministry of 

Planning. On the contrary, I would 

love to see that ministry expanded to 

resume the economic development 

planning that we were forced to 

abandon in the 1980s. We need to 

We must plan for 

a post-oil 

economy by 

diversifying the 

economic base 

and investing 

massively in 

human, education 

and skills 

recruit 300 first-rate PhD economists, 

architect-planners, engineers and 

statisticians in that ministry, with a 

mandate to engage in long-term 

economic and urban development 

planning as obtains in China, India, 

Singapore, Malaysia, Korea, 

Indonesia and other prosperous 

emerging economies. We must 

empower them to design a 5-year 

economic development plan 2020- 

2024. Henceforth, the annual budget 

must derive its framework from the 

Five Year Economic Development 

Plan. Integrated into the plan should 

be a comprehensive urban regional 

planning for our cities and towns to 

make them smart urban centres that 

meet the needs the expectations of 

our expanding populace. Most of 

our people will be urban dwellers in 

the coming decades. 

4)Presidential Strategy Team 

In the heart of the Presidency, a 

Strategy Adviser with a full 

operational team needs to be 

created, with responsibility to 

monitor and ensure implementation 

of the government’s core 

programmes. They will have a 

mandate to produce monthly and 

quarterly progress reports to ensure 

targets are being met. Where there 

are lapses they must report to the 

president to ensure that remedial 

action is taken. All cabinet members 

and heads of agencies and 

departments must have a 

performance contract. Those who do 

not meet their targets must be sent 

packing. 

5)Tackling the Security Challenge 

The biggest challenge facing us as a 

country today is insecurity. The 

whole situation is muddled up by the 

fact that people in government are 

implicated with Boko Haram and 

the militia herdsmen. Addressing 

this challenge requires going back 

to the drawing board. We must agree 

that the first duty of government is to 

secure the common peace. This 

requires that we confront the 

insurgency and all forms of criminal 

violence with renewed focus and 

determination. We can only do this 

effectively if we put in place a new 

security architecture while re-tooling 

the armed forces, the police and 

intelligence services. We must reinvent 

our country as a land of peace 

and of expanding opportunities for 

all citizens. 

6)Refocusing on Macroeconomic 

and Structural Reforms 

The success or failure of the 

incoming administration will 

largely depend on how it addresses 

the multifarious challenges of the 

economy. Today, our country has the 

dubious prize of being the world 

capital of poverty. Some estimated 

24 million of our people are 

unemployed while over 13 million 

children are out of school. Our 

commitment must be to revive the 

economy through the agency of a 

progressive servant developmental 

state. The private sector must be the 

driver of economic progress while 

the state, serving as a servant of the 

as a flagship project and one that would be 

of benefit to the entire country. That 

testimonial coming from the opposition is 

a big deal especially when viewed from the 

background that all that the ruling APC 

could dish out to the opposition People's 

Democratic Party since it came to power has 

been bashing upon bashing. 

Ibom Air is expected to employ 300 people 

directly while 3,000 people will be involved 

in its daily operations. At the launching of 

the aircraft at the Victor Attah International 

Airport in Uyo, Emmanuel said the airline 

is a monumental achievement in the state. 

He said the aircraft, C-FWNK, is only six 

years old with a sitting capacity of about 90 

persons and constitutes the newest and 

modern fleet of the Canadian airbus. 

Imagine the ease in doing business the 

airline brings to the state. This is an oil-rich 

state with many attendant businesses. But 

sometimes, getting flight for important 

meetings are hindered due to hiccups often 

experienced in existing airlines’ operations. 

In the words of Udom, “The launch of 

Ibom Air is a monumental achievement in 

Akwa Ibom state and indeed Africa. The 

journey to achieve Ibom airline started in 

2016 and today, it is a reality. 

“This is the only state across the country 

that runs and operates an international 

airport. We are the only state that runs a 

Category Two run way. 

“I want to reassure the former governor, 

Obong Victor Attah that very soon, the MRO 

will be a place that will maintain fleets of 

aircraft across the country.’’ 

people, has to be the mid-wife. We 

have to identify those public sector 

enterprises that are not working and 

we must decide if liberalisation or 

outright privatisation is the best way 

to go. 

We must take a fresh look at the 

power sector while tackling 

headlong the curse of poverty and 

unemployment. We must ensure food 

security while building a mass-based 

industrial revolution. Equally 

important is addressing the gross 

deficits in our public finances. We 

need to raise the requisite resources 

needed to finance our ambitious 

programmes while cutting down on 

waste and ensuring efficient 

allocation of scarce resources. We 

need the CBN to refocus on its core 

mandate while abolishing the 

iniquitous multiple exchange rate 

regime and the high interest rates 

which make it impossible to finance 

the real sector that is expected to 

serve as the engine and locomotive 

of growth. We must plan for a postoil 

economy by diversifying the 

economic base and investing 

massively in human, education and 

skills. We must address issues of 

welfare, not by throwing good money 

down the pork-barrel of misguided 

populism but by strategic 

interventions that ensure the best 

outcomes for the poor. 

7)Addressing the Challenge of 

Nation Building and Political Re- 

Engineering 

The Swiss historian Jacob Burkhart 

famously described the state as “a 

work of art”. By this he meant that a 

successful state is the handiwork of 

visionary statesmen who have set to 

work with passion and assiduity to 

build a flourishing nation. The last 

few years have, sadly, have seen a 

heightening of our fault lines. We 

cannot take our survival as a 

political community for granted. 

Our enemies want us to fail. We must 

disappoint them. We therefore have 

to launch a dialogue process on reengineering 

our federation to ensure 

that we have a free and prosperous 

democracy – a New Nigeria that is 

at peace with itself and with the 

world. 

Today, Akwa Ibom is not only running a 

state-owned airport, it is also running an 

airline. So far, it is the first and only state 

currently doing that in Nigeria. Besides, 

there are assurances that the state 

government will also run the Ibom Air, as a 

profitable business. It is important to stretch 

the angle of profitability because that is 

the bane of government's business in 

Nigeria. Many of them are run at a loss and 

become moribund overnight. But, it is 

expected that the governor based on his 

pedigree of managing successful business 

in the past will manage this well too. The 

governor has said the airline will operate 

routes that would give preference to Akwa 

Ibom people, and that the government 

would soon launch one of the best terminal 

buildings in the country. We can’t wait to 

have these promises fulfilled. 

For the past three and half years, the state 

government has focused on developing the 

state’s economy on land, air and water. So 

far, the state government has constructed 

over 160 kilometres of roads and built 12 

bridges across the state among other 

infrastructures. 

The roads include the 19.7km Uyo-Etinan 

Road, 39.4km Etinan-Ndon Eyo Road, 

7.3km Ebekpo-Ikot Ebidang Road, 3.5km 

Ikot Udom Road with 15m Span Bridge in 

Ibiono Ibom Local Government Area, 5km 

Ikot Usop-Ikot Edeghe-Ikot Ekpuk Road 

with 30m Span Bridge in Mkpat Enin Local 

Government Area and 5km Mkpok-Okat 

Road in ONNA Local Government Area 

among others. 

Continues Online 

* Mr. Bassey, a commentator on national 

issues, wrote from Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

32 — Vanguard, TUESDAY February 26, 2019 

YOUR LUCK TODAY 

By Joshua Adeyemo Phone 08056180139 

ARIES:AS the saying goes “time waits for nobody” it’s important 

you guard against unnecessary procrastination capable 

of putting you at tight corner soonest. Be loving. 

TAURUS:IT’S better you conclude what you’ve been doing for 

a while rather than starting something new you don’t know 

when to finish it. Be more family minded. 

GEMINI:IF careless remarks are made by you today, it would 

back-fire at resumption of work tomorrow morning. Those 

who are eager for romantic attention will have their dream 

coming true. Be more loving 

CANCER:IF you wait too long before an important (financial) 

decision is taken, you may find yourself keeping date with what 

you don’t bargain for. 

LEO: Placement of the Moon influences your associates to 

become more self-assertive. If you take good advice you’ll fare 

better. However, it’s important you don’t forget your tomorrow 

with others. 

L E I S U R E 

TAKE HEART — ELLA RANDLE 

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to 

make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” 

-Ralph Waldo Emerson- 

To be true to yourself requires you to be introspective, 

sincere, courageous, open-minded and fair. It does not 

mean that you are inconsiderate or disrespectful of others. 

It means that you will not let others define you or 

make decisions for you that you should make for yourself. 

Ella Randle 

TERROR MUDA in “Never say goodbye” 

SAYINGS OF 

OUR PEOPLE 

Coffee and 

love taste 

best when 

hot. ~ Ethiopian 

proverb 

By Kola Fayemi 

VIRGO: BETTER than yesterday and luckily for you, opportunity 

to rectify mistakes made yesterday may come today to the 

betterment of your finances. Don’t try to buy love with money. 

LIBRA: BETTER than yesterday as you will be at a more 

comfortable place today and suddenly discover that your hope 

is alive. Venus bring you money 

SCORPIO: ROMANTIC Venus at positive angle may bring 

matters-of-the heart related temptation through friends. But 

your best bet now is moderate ambition. 

SAGITTARIUS: The best bet for you is to consolidate on 

progress you made yesterday and look for best way to pacify 

your new friends. 

CAPRICORN: EVERYBODY needs other people’s co-operation 

just like you today but you will not be compelled by situation 

to dance to others’ tune; meaning that you can do things 

your own wa y and rightly expect success. 

DUDU in “ROLLING HOT” By A.O. OLAIDE 

AQUARIUS: THOSE of you willing to give others the needed 

co-operation will be in better position to consolidate on progress 

you have made recently. Don’t allow sex to distract you. 

PISCES: WATCHOUT for minor and avoidable but costly 

mistake within your working arena, especially if you are in 

charge of other people’s money. If you develop new romantic 

liaison today, it may not last. 

ASTROLOGICAL COUNSELLING 

ASTROLOGICAL COUNSELLING 

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

trological 

Counselling, P.M.B 100 

007, 7, Apapa, Lagos 

WHAT ABOUT ME? 

Dear Joshua, 

You have done many people’s horoscope; what about 

me? I want you to kindly analyse my star and tell me 

everything about my self. Please take note that I value 

my health and career than any other thing. 

Ndubuisi, Lagos. 

Dear Ndubuisi, 

What space can take will be given to you here-under. 

Star Signs that hosted both your natal sun and moon 

are members of very strong star signs-health wise. Scorpio, 

in particular, has unusual survival ability. That is 

to say, even when health related challenges come, your 

survival endowment will always see you through. 

Your major challenge is from your constant worries 

about too many things, especially on career related issues. 

Business miscalculation can be another source of 

health related challenge. You will agree with the fact 

that both constant worries and business miscalculation 

can affect one’s circulatory system. 

Other things to watch-out for include: Urine-genitalorgans, 

minor accident (fire), bones dislocations, a few 

other times, skin infections and, of-course, fever. Always 

take care of the stomach. Please take note that all these 

are mere warnings as there is nothing fatalistic about 

them; a good guard, though. 

Oil related Neptune was the closet heavenly body to the 

sun when you were born at positive angle to Pluto in 

Leo. Thus, having things to do with oil along your career/business 

lines is not by accident. 

Then preponderance of water element and fixed quality 

in the distribution of the planets when you were born 

are favorable to commercial involvement with anything 

liquid. 

VIRGINIA 

HOME & ABROAD 

dadadekola@yahoo.com 

By Lawrence Akapa

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law, plus distinctive qualities of 

public and private entities, family 

businesses, SMEs, public sector 

and not-for-profit entities. 

TEXEM understands that the 

growth of boards depends on 

composition, diversity and what 

skills board directors and 

members require to discharge 

their responsibilities. 

Corporate governance 

•Accountability – how and to 

whom? 

•Setting direction, developing 

the business model, strategic 

planning 

•Respective responsibilities of 

owners, other stakeholders, 

boards and management 

•Oversight of management 

•The relevance of corporate 

governance codes, and company 

law. 

Effective boards 

•Understanding and 

discharging the duties of boards 

•Leadership 

•Board composition 

•Board diversity 

•Effective chairing 

•Scheduling meetings, agendas 

and minutes 

• Participating in meetings 

•Prof. Andrew D Chambers. 

• Interfacing the board with the 

board’s committees 

• Serving boards – the role of 

the company secretary and others 

•Evaluating the performance of 

boards, board committees and 

directors. 

Effective directors 

•Understanding and 

discharging the responsibilities 

of directors 

•Dealing with the challenge’s 

executive directors experience 

•Dealing with the challenges 

non-executive directors 

experience 

• Meaning and purpose of 

director independence 

• Director time commitment 

• Director development 

Effective board committees 

• Effectively discharging the 

responsibilities of audit 

committees 

• The board’s responsibility for 

oversight of risk, and the role of 

board risk committees 

Similarly, Board 

Members must be 

individually 

oriented on their 

specific roles and 

how that role would 

help push the 

organisation 

forward 

•Succession planning and the 

duties of the nomination 

committees 

•Determining executive 

remuneration and non-executive 

director fees, and the role of 

remuneration committees 

•Other board committees. 

Learning approach 

While many of the principles of 

boards’ leadership and 

membership are similar 

throughout the world, aspects 

such as transparency, 

governance behaviour, and 

accountability strategies may 

differ from one board to another. 

The Master Class reflects that, 

while ensuring the core Board 

management principles are 

covered. 

The two-day master class will 

be highly interactive with several 

presentations by Professor 

Chambers, followed by group 

and plenary discussions on case 

studies based on real-life events. 

The two-day master class will 

equip attendees with specific 

skills and tools that will equip the 

board to make better decisions that 


drive long term success. 

Location: EKO HOTEL AND 

SUITES, VI, LAGOS. 

Price: £1,500.00 or N720, 000 

Telephone contact: 

+447983128450 or visit https:// 

texem.co.uk/programmes/ 

developing-efficient-andeffective-leaders-for-success-inan-era-of-slow-growth-and-lowperformance.html 

About the Faculty – Professor 

Andrew D Chambers 

Andrew is currently a member 

of the joint UK Institute of 

Directors/Institute of Internal 

Auditors’ panel developing new 

guidance for directors on internal 

audit. He was a member of the 

UK committee that in 2013 

published enhanced ‘Internal 

Audit Guidance for Financial 

Services’. 

He has run master classes in 

more than 48 countries across the 

world. He was Dean of the leading 

Cass Business School in the City 

of London where he is professor 

emeritus. Andrew has been a 

director of a large mutual insurer 

(The Medical Defence Union), a 

well-known charity (The Tavistock 

Institute), an FTSE250 financial 

institution (The Paragon Group of 

Companies), a bank (The National 

Mortgage Bank) and several 

smaller public sector, private and 

family businesses. 

He has authored some five 

hundred articles mainly on 

aspects of governance and 

auditing including about three 

dozen peer-reviewed research 

papers. 

Andrew was a judge for 

Hawkamah’s Bank Corporate 

Governance Awards in the 

MENASA region (2009-15), and 

(b) the ICSA-Hermes 

Transparency in Governance 

Awards (2011-15). He 

conducted the 2012 Board 

Evaluation for the Abu Dhabi 

Commercial Bank. 

He was twice mentioned in 

the UK House of Lords’ debates 

as “an authority on corporate 

governance” and recognised by 

The UK Times Newspaper as ‘a 

worldwide authority on 

corporate governance’. A past 

member of the FRC’s Auditing 

Practices Board, he was 

appointed in 2010 as the 

Specialist Advisor to the House 

of Lords’ Economic Affairs Select 

Committee’s Inquiry into 

Auditors: market concentration 

and their role that led to the 

recent audit market reforms. 

From 2004 he was a member and 

until 2017 chair of Accountancy 

Europe’s (FEE’s) Corporate 

Governance and Company Law 

expert group in Brussels, the 

pan-European association of 

three dozen professional 

accounting bodies. 

Andrew has authored some five 

hundred articles focussing on 

aspects of governance and 

auditing he is the Author of: 

•Chambers Corporate 

Governance Handbook (2017), 

7th ed. Bloomsbury. 

•The Operational Auditing 

Handbook - Auditing Business & 

I.T. Processes (2nd ed., Wiley, 

April 2010) 

•Tolley’s Internal Auditor’s 

Handbook and two dozen other 

books on these subjects plus 

translations. 

Andrew started his career as an 

auditor and IT consultant with 

Arthur Andersen & Co before 

moving on to run an internal 

audit function of a manufacturing 

company. He was the world’s first 

professor of internal auditing. 

Awarded the IIA (UK)’s 

Distinguished Service Award 

(2008) and then the global IIA’s 

Bradford Cadmus Memorial 

Award ‘to honour individuals 

making the greatest contribution 

to the advancement of the 

internal audit profession’ as ‘an 

outstanding advocate, author, 

practitioner and subject matter 

expert, whose leadership and 

commitment to internal auditing 

has advanced the profession on 

a global level’ (2014). 

ELECTION DUTY: 

NYSC tasks INEC 

on corps 

members’ Allowances 

By Luminous Jannamike 

A AL BUJA—NATION- 

Youth Service Corps, 

NYSC, yesterday urged the 


Commission, INEC, to settle all 

outstanding allowances and 

other entitlements of the corps 

members who participated in 

the conduct of last Saturday’s 

Presidential and National Assembly 

elections forthwith. 

A civil society organisation, 

Youngstar Development 

Initiative, had earlier alleged 

that adequate attention was still 

not given to the corps members 

in terms of the implementation 

of their logistics and welfare 

and the payment of their 

allowances. 

“This is not acceptable and 

falls short of standards of 

dignity of labour and dignity of 

the human person,” Evarista 

Daudu, spokesperson of the 

group said. 

A corps member, Yusuf 

(surname withheld) confirmed 

this situation to Vanguard 

yesterday in Abuja, saying they 

are yet to be paid any sum as 

allowances and entitlements for 

their work during the justconcluded 

polls. 

Against that background, the 

Management of NYSC, in a 

statement by the Director, Press 

and Public Relations, Mrs. Adenike 

Aderemi, on Monday 

urged INEC to avoid delay in the 

settlement of all outstanding 

corps member allowances ahead 

of next phase of the elections. 

She also called on the electoral 

body and the security 

agencies to continue to evolve 

strategies for the protection of 

all corps members throughout 

the election period and thereafter. 

The statement reads, “Management 

wishes to assure all 

corps members of our 

commitment to working with 

relevant stakeholders to 

promptly address all matters relating 

to their security and general 

welfare throughout and after 

this election season. 

“In this regard, Management 

calls on the Independent 

National Electoral Commission 

to, as a matter of urgency, settle 

all outstanding training allowances 

and other entitlements of 

the corps members who participated 

in the conduct of the Presidential 


elections, and to avoid delay in 

the settlement of their 

allowances for the next phase 

of the elections. 

“We also use this medium to 

appeal to INEC and security 

agencies to continue to evolve 

strategies for the protection of all 

corps members throughout this 

election period and thereafter.” 

Aderemi also conveyed, in 

her statement, the commendations 

of the Scheme’s Director- 

General, Maj. Gen. Suleiman 

Kazaure, to the corps members 

who served as INEC adhoc staff 

during the elections, saying; 

“Management joins the rest of 

the nation in saluting your 

courage, high level of discipline, 

patriotism and neutrality 

in the conduct of this historic 

national assignment.

34 —Vanguard, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2019 

Unplanned pregnancies on the rise 

among women in Lagos — REPORT 

By Chioma Obinna 

WHEN Mrs Juliet Adeniji 

had her fourth child six 

years ago she and her husband 

Kola decided to put a stop to 

childbearing. But in January 

last year when she missed her 

period for the first time in six 

years, she was shocked. 

Apparently, not expecting to be 

pregnant as she was following 

the natural method taught by their 

church counsellors, she did not 

that such a method was not as 

effective as modern 

contraceptives. 

“It caught me by surprise. I 

never expected I was going to 

be pregnant again. All through 

my four children which I had in 

eight years I never used any form 

of form of contraceptives whether 

long or short term to avoid 

unplanned pregnancy. I only 

believed in my calculation to 

know when I am free or not. My 

husband has quite understood,” 

Juliet told Good Health Weekly. 

According to Juliet, a private 

school teacher, her religion 

vehemently opposes family 

planning of any kind. Although, 

some women have used it 

successfully to monitor their 

monthly cycle, Juliet and some 

other unmarried women in Lagos 

have not been successful. 

Kehinde Adenekan is one of 

them. At 28, she is sexually 

active, but like hundreds of single 

women in Lagos, did not bother 

about family planning. 

“I never thought of family 

planning since I was not married 

even when some of my friends 

decide to take up injectables form 

of contraceptives. I refused 

because I was not married. Today, 

I have twins out of wedlock,” she 

told Good Health Weekly. 

Bolanle Olabode is currently 

faced with such a challenge. A 

stylist with six children is among 

fewer women in Lagos opposing 

family planning due to rumours 

and myths and misconceptions 

about the various methods of 

family planning. 

Bolanle, after her third child 

had agreed to adopt family 

planning but the story of her 

neighbour changed her decision. 

“My friend, Sola, a mother of 

four was experiencing heavy 

menstruation flow every month 

after she adopted the two years 

long-acting method. Although 

nurses said it is part of the side 

effects but I am still afraid,” she 

narrated. 

Unlike Bolanle and Kehinde, 

Juliet, Yinka case is different. 

Although she wanted to adopt 

family planning after giving birth 

to six children, she cannot afford 

to pay the little fee demanded by 

the healthcare centre for what 

they described as consumables. 

She said: “After five children, I 

* Women recieving education and information on contraception at a family planning centre 

don’t have a choice but to go for 

a long-term acting method but 

my inability to afford the 

consumables affected my 

chances.” 

Yinka, a petty trader was faced 

with challenges of the upkeep 

of her children and husband. 

“The first time I went to the 

health centre, I thought it was 

free but I was asked to pay some 

amount of money which I did not 

have that day. I was still 

planning for it when I became 

pregnant for my sixth child,” she 

said remorsefully.” 

While Kehinde was among the 

hundreds of women opposing 

family planning under the guise 

that they were not married, 

Juliet, Bolanle and Yinka are 

among the 20 percent of women 

in Lagos with unplanned 

pregnancies due to their inability 

to use any method of family 

planning, according to the 

recently released 5th round of 

the Performance Monitoring and 

Accountability 2020 (PMA2020) 

survey, a family planning 

indicator survey conducted in 

Lagos. 

Nigeria has one of the highest 

average fertility rates in Africa, 

yet the uptake of modern 

contraceptives is one of the 

lowest in Sub – Sahara Africa. 

According to the Co-Chair of Bill 

and Melinda Gates Foundation, 

Melinda Gates, the reason 

family planning is so important 

is that it particularly empowers 

women to understand their body 

and have voluntary access to 

contraceptive as well as time and 

space the birth of their children. 

It is no longer news that it has 

been established that for every 

dollar invested in family 

planning; there is a $6 return. 

Ignorance, myths and 

misconception, culture, poor 

funding and delay in the 

release of funds budgeted for 

family planning services in the 

various centres have remained 

a major factors fuelling the 

increase in the prevalence of 

unplanned pregnancies in 

Nigeria, particularly in Lagos 

State. 

An investigation by Good 

Health Weekly showed that 

although there is an increase in 

awareness and uptake for family 

planning among women in 

Lagos, family planning services 

are not completely free in the 

state. Many of these women are 

discouraged by the charges 

placed on registration, 

consumables and laboratory and 

pregnancy tests. 

Reviewing the result of the 5th 

round of Lagos PMA2018 

during a meeting organised by 

My child died 

in my arms a 

day after his 

doctor told 

him they 

could no 

longer help 

him because 

we could not 

afford an 

injection that 

cost N500, 

000 

Pathfinder International for 

members of the Media Advocacy 

Working Group, MAWG, in 

Lagos, Co-Principal Investigator 

for PMA 2020, Dr. Funmi 

Olaolorun attributed the increase 

in unplanned pregnancy 

among Lagos women on those 

not on any family planning 

method. 

Olaolorun who is also Senior 

Lecturer in the University of 

Medicine Ibadan said 1 in 5 

women in Lagos recorded 

unintended pregnancy in 2018. 

According to Olaolorun, 

although the state recorded an 

increase in uptake for all 

methods of Contraceptive 

Prevalence Rate (CPR), rising 

from 35.9 percent in all methods 

in 2017 to 40.3 percent in 2018, 

the number of unplanned 

pregnancies among Lagos 

women increased from 18.3 

percent in 2017 to 20.7 in 2018. 

The report showed that 14.5 

percent of unplanned 

pregnancy occurred among 

women who agreed to delay 

childbearing while 6.1 percent 

occurred among women who 

wanted no more children. 

A total demand among all 

women rose from 56.7 percent 

in 2017 to 58.0 percent in 2018, 

and demand for modern method 

rose from 45.8 percent in 2017 

to 49.8 percent for all, with a 

slight increase for married 

women from 41.1 percent in 2017 

to 44.0 percent in 2018. 

Continuing, Olaolorun said to 

stem the increasing unplanned 

pregnancies, there is a need for 

women to embrace Long-Acting 

and Permanent Methods, 

LAPMs, of Family Planning, 

instead of condoms and 

injectables in the State. 

She regretted that LAPMs are 

not on high demand by women 

in Lagos as it suffered a slight 

decrease from 4.2 in 2017 to only 

4.0 in 2018. LAPMs are longer 

acting methods such as 

intrauterine devices and 

implants, female and male 

sterilisation. 

Furthermore, the report also 

showed an increase in uptake of 

modern methods of CPR from 

20.6 percent to 22.7 per cent 

across all women, while married 

women uptake improved from 

23.3 per cent in 2017 to 25.3 per 

cent as at 2018. 

Scoring Nigeria very low in 

family planning services, she 

said with 4 percent increase in 

CPR of all methods and 3 percent 

increase in mCPR among 

married women in Lagos, one of 

the ways to boost uptake and 

dispel myths and 

misconceptions, was to 

encourage women to seek 

information about family 

planning because only 25.5 

percent of married women are 

reported using a modern method 

in 2018. 

“We can do better than that, 

many of them have unmet need, 

and the unmet need continues 

to be very high that means we 

expect them to be using family 

planning method but they are not 

using because they don't want to 

have a baby in the next two years 

but they are not using the 

method. So just getting people 

to understand that family 

planning is safe and family 

planning is available, obtaining 

the right information and using 

the method will reduce the 

proportion of women who report 

an unintended pregnancy. So 

women need information and 

they should be able to access the 

services which are readily 

available in the state.” 

Olaolorun said despite the fact 

that some local governments in 

the State now allocate some of 

their funds for consumables, 

where consumables are 

available; women are still 

charged for registration and 

laboratory investigations. 

To further boost the uptake of 

all methods, she said the 

government can pay for the 

poorest women who cannot 

afford it possibly through a 

voucher system with a view to 

improving the health of Nigerian 

women. 

“Government said the 

commodities are free but many 

times money is not set aside for 

the consumables. When women 

pay for registration, consumables 

like syringes, investigations such 

as the pregnancy test. So it is not 

completely free they are still 

paying out of pocket. 

“Implants do not migrate and 

the side effects of family planning 

methods are usually very few 

and I think it is overhyped that 

family planning can be negative 

because in the majority of cases 

it is beneficial to women, ” she 

said.


NSIA-LUTH Centre rekindles hope for cancer 

patients in Nigeria 

By Sola Ogundipe 

FOR decades, the 

scourge of cancer has 

swept through the 

Nigerian populace and a 

diagnosis of cancer means 

certain death. 

According to the World 

Health Organisation, 

WHO, more than two 

million Nigerians have 

some form of invasive 

cancer, and an estimated 

100,000 new cases are 

diagnosed annually, out of 

which at least 80,000 of 

those affected die. 

While 240 Nigerians die 

of various forms of cacers 

daily, 10 die every hour , 

the country's cancer death 

ratio of 4 in 5 is one of the 

worst in the world. 

The grim statistics only 

shows cancer is 

unarguably one of the top 

causes of deaths in the 

country, and the situation 

is steadily worsening. 

Thousands of cancer 

patients continue to face 

death every year, no 

thanks to inadequate and 

obsolete cancer diagnostic 

and treatment machines in 

the country. 

Next to equipment, high 

cost negates cancer 

treatment and survival. 

While most cancer patients 

are not "catastrophic" 

overall, cancer is one of the 

most expensive disorders 

to treat and manage. The 

total life time cost of 

handling cancer in Nigeria 

is colossal. 

Routine cancer therapy 

is no more affordable in 

Nigeria, than elsewhere 

and the poor cannot 

survive a cancer diagnosis. 

Even for the rich, only 

palliative care is available 

in most cases of late 

presentation. 

The reason is because 

treatment is either 

unavailable or where 

available, is extremely 

expensive. 

Cancer is an expensive 

and impoverishing disease 

essentially because 

everything about cancer 

management is expensive. 

From diagnosis to 

treatment,medical 

consultation, drugs, care 

and support, the cost of 

managing any type of 

cancer is huge. 

In the absence of a 

comprehensive cancer 

centre, and lack of 

adequate treatment 

facilities and qualified 

personnel, many 

Nigerians living with 

cancer and their families 

are usually compelled to 

seek recourse abroad at 

huge cost, often in India 

* Halcyon radiotherapy equipment installed at the NSIA-LUTH Cancer centre. 

which has over 120 cancer 

centres, mostly established 

through nongovernmental 

and private 

sector collaboration. 

Thousands of rich 

Nigerian cancer patients 

usually travel abroad for 

treatment at the end stage, 

but even for those with 

option of going abroad, 

they still die. The average 

Nigerian cancer patient is 

less likely to get regular 

screening tests, such as 

pap tests and 

colonoscopies, which catch 

the disease in its early, more 

curable stages. 

Such person is less likely 

to be in good health 

generally in the first place 

and thus unable to fight 

cancer if it occurs. 

With just a handful of 

serviceable radiotherapy 

machines, persons with 

oncology-related problems 

have had little or no option 

than to run from pillar to 

post seeking treatment. 

But a silver lining has 

appeared on the horizon, 

with the commissioning of 

the ultramodern Nigeria 

Sovereign Investment 

Authority-Lagos University 

Teaching Hospital, NSIA- 

LUTH Advanced Cancer 

Treatment facility. 

The initiative, recently 

commissioned by 

President Mohammadu 

Buhari, and executed 

under the auspices of the 

Federal Ministry of Health, 

is widely acknowledged to 

be Nigeria's most 

ambitious effort towards 

enhancing access to 

comprehensive, and 

affordable cancer treatment 

services for all Nigerians. 

The NSIA, an investment 

institution established by 

the Nigeria Sovereign 

Investment Authority 

(Establishment, etc.) Act 

2011, is mandated to 

manage funds in excess of 

budgeted hydrocarbon 

revenues on behalf of the 

Federation. 

Its mission is to play a 

leading role in driving 

sustained economic 

development for the benefit 

of all Nigerians through 

building a savings base for 

the Nigerian people, 

enhancing the 

development of Nigeria’s 

infrastructure and 

providing stabilisation 

support in times of 

economic stress. 

The primary goal of the 

NSIA-LUTH investment is 

to tackle the inadequacy 

of current healthcare 

infrastructure that has led 

to poor quality of care 

leading to unfavourable 

health outcomes for many 

Nigerians. 

Findings reveal that 

NSIA’s wholly owned 

healthcare subsidiary, 

NSIA Healthcare 

Development and 

Investment Company, 

With 

capacity to 

tackle 3,000 

cancer 

patients 

yearly, the 

NSIA-LUTH 

facility set to 

close the 

gap in the 

nation’s 

healthcare 

industry in 

cancer 

treatment 

NHDIC, was created to 

invest in healthcare 

infrastructure in Nigeria 

and to catalyse private 

sector investment in the 

health sector. The NHDIC 

works to collaborate with 

strategic partners to invest 

in critical health 

infrastructure projects and 

alongside that, build local 

capacity and expertise in 

the country. 

So the involvement of the 

NSIA with the LUTH, is a 

deliberate effort to ignite a 

new era of comprehensive 

cancer treatment in Nigeria 

within the framework of 

global standards and 

sustained private sector 

partnership investment in 

the health sector. 

Establishment of the 

NSIA-LUTH Cancer 

Treatment Center brings to 

the doorstep of Nigerians, 

qualitative, and worldclass 

cancer treatment . As 

a one-stop-shop facility that 

boasts the best in modern 

treatment for cancer, the 

center is a life-saver for 

many. 

Gone are the days of 

frustrating delays, shortage 

of qualified manpower 

and obsolete and 

nonfunctional machines. 

With capacity to tackle 

about 3,000 cancer patients 

every year when fully 

operational, the NSIA- 

LUTH facility already is 

potentially closing the 

huge gap in the nation’s 

healthcare industry in 

cancer treatment. 

The facility, 

conservatively valued at 

$11 million, is widely 

acknowleged to be the 

largest outpatient cancer 

treatment center in West 

Africa. 

Lavishly fitted with stateof-the-art 

equipment for a 

broad range of cancer 

treatments, the NSIA- 

LUTH facility has installed 

capacity to provide 

advanced radiation therapy, 

a key cancer treatment 

procedure that is currently 

lacking. 

Among the specialised st 

of services is the linear 

accelerator or LINAC - a 

high-end device most 

commonly used for external 

beam radiation treatments 

for patients with cancer. 

Also available is the 

internal beam radiation 

therapy deployed through 

radioactive material placed 

close to the cancerous cells. 

In addition are top-quality 

outpatient chemotherapy 

services including CT 

simulators that can 

determine the exact 

location, shape, and size of 

a cancerous tumour, 

brachytherapy, 

chemotherapy and other 

applicable outpatient 

therapies aimed at tackling 

the gap in the nation’s 

healthcare industry. 

In 2016, NSIA entered 

into a partnership with 

LUTH to co-sponsor the 

development of a world 

class cancer treatment 

centre with the NSIA 

serving as the principal 

financial investor while 

LUTH contributed its real 

estate. 

Project development and 

construction of the Centre 

began in March of 2018 

and was completed within 

nine months. The 

completed facility, is 

designed to provide 

modern cancer treatment to 

international standards as 

well as providing 

continuing medical 

education for healthcare 

professionals. 

Early diagnosis, 

comprehensive treatment 

and long-term 

management are further 

guaranteed. 

Equally noteworthy is the 

installation of the Halcyon 

linear accelerator, an 

innovative cancer 

treatment platform that 

simplifies treatment 

delivery while maintaining 

high-quality treatment 

plans at significantly 

increased speed. 

In the views of the NSIA 

CEO Mr. Uche Orji, 

“NSIA seeks to transform 

Nigeria's healthcare sector 

by facilitating private sector 

participation, and working 

closely with Federal 

Healthcare Institutions. We 

expect that these 

investments will expand 

the capabilities of Federal 

Healthcare Institutions by 

providing world class 

equipment, and the very 

best in private sector 

operations and 

management. 

“We have progressed our 

engagement with LUTH 

and have commenced 

discussions to potentially 

invest more in other areas 

of the oncology service such 

as inpatient care and 

surgery. We will also give 

serious consideration to 

collaborating with LUTH on 

other specialties in line 

with our healthcare strategy 

and we have already 

secured investor interests to 

collaborate with the NSIA 

in this expanded 

engagement", he stated. 

Noting that the idea is to 

replicate the NSIA-LUTH 

standard nationwide, the 

Minister of Health, Prof 

Isaac Adewole said the 

facility can cater for 100 

patients daily and provide 

training for over 80 

healthcare professionals, 

among many others. 

“The Federal Ministry of 

Health, entered into an 

agreement with the NSIA, 

to launch a comprehensive 

healthcare investment 

programme covering all six 

geo-political regions of the 

country that will also help 

stem the loss of over $1 

billion per year spent by 

Nigerians on medical 

tourism.” 

The Chief Medical 

Director of LUTH, Prof. 

Chris Bode asserted that: 

“No Nigerian cancer 

patient needs to travel 

abroad again to receive 

treatment easily obtainable 

at home. 

''We are aware that up to 40 

per cent of funds spent by 

Nigerians on medical 

tourism is attributable to 

patients seeking treatment 

for cancer. 

Despite having an 

increasing number of 

citizens suffering from 

cancer, we until now, had 

only two working 

radiotherapy machines in 

the country,” he noted.

36 —Vanguard, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2019 

Understanding Typhoid 

fever 

By Dr Chizoba Muoneke 

& Prof Olu Akinyanju 

TYPHOID fever is an 

infection. Infections in 

humans are caused by very 

small organisms which are 

too tiny to be seen by the 

naked eye, hence viewed 

with a microscope. 

Organisms may be: 

1. Bacteria e.g. typhoid 

fever, staphylococci which 

cause boils and abscesses; 

2. Viruses e.g. which cause 

the common cold/catarrh, 

influenza or HIV etc; or 

3. Protozoa which cause 

malaria. 

What is Typhoid fever? 

Typhoid fever, also called 

enteric fever, is a serious 

infection caused by the 

Salmonella typhi bacteria 

and occasionally also by the 

Salmonella paratyphi 

bacteria. Typhoid (enteric) 

fever only rarely occurs in 

developed countries and it 

more commonly occurs in 

developing countries 

where the hygienic status 

of the environment is much 

reduced. 

It is important to 

understand typhoid fever 

because, at present, it is 

very much over diagnosed 

and hence over treated in 

Nigeria. This is reflected by 

the fact that in our own clinic 

we cannot remember when 

we last diagnosed a patient 

with typhoid fever. Its rarity 

was corroborated by other 

medical practitioners we 

asked, including a 

consultant paediatrician at 

the Lagos University 

Teaching Hospital (LUTH) 

which is situated in 

Mushin where a large 

proportion of economically 

disadvantaged citizens 

live. The LUTH 

paediatrician informed us 

that in the past one year he 

could recall perhaps only 

one patient who really had 

typhoid fever. We shall later 

discuss the reasons for the 

overdiagnosis of typhoid 

in Nigeria. 

How is Typhoid fever 

Transmitted? 

Typhoid can be got by: 

A. Eating food, fruits or 

drinks that have been 

handled by an infected 

person. B. 

Contaminated sewage 

getting into the water used 

for drinking or washing 

food items. 

What are the symptoms of 

Typhoid fever? 

An infected person feels 

unwell and easily tired. He 

will probably have a 

headache, abdominal pain, 

fever (chills with high body 

temperature) skin rash, 

nausea and diarrhea. On 

examination the doctor 

finds that although the 

temperature rises higher, 

day by day (known as step 

ladder fever), the pulse rate 

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My new girlfriend is the latest beneficiary of my turbo 

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is relatively slow and the 

white blood cell count is 

relatively low for a 

temperature so high. 


diagnosis confirmed? 

Specimens of the blood, 

stool and urine are collected 

and sent to the medical 

laboratory for culture. The 

most rewarding specimen 

is the blood sent for culture 

and the diagnosis of 

typhoid is confirmed if the 

bacteria are found in the 

blood. 

In previous decades a 

rise in the Widal test titre 

one week apart was taken 

as confirmation of the 

infection in a patient. Thus 

if the Widal test titre was 

say, 1: 80 in first week but 

rose to say 1:160 or higher 

in the second or third week 

of illness it will be regarded 

as a confirmation. However, 

after it was discovered that 

the Widal test was negative 

in about 30 percent of 

patients who genuinely 

had typhoid fever and that 

a large number of 

infections including 

malaria could cross react 

and give a falsely high 

Widal titre, the test was 

abandoned for diagnosis as 

can be seen from the 

relevant portions of the 

following modern medical 

textbooks on this subject. 

The Oxford Handbook of 

Clinical Medicine, 8th 

Edition (2010; ISBN 978-0- 

19-923217-8) states on 

page 426, that “Widal test 

is unreliable”. 

The Current Medical 

Diagnosis & Treatment 

Book, 52nd Edition (2013; 

ISBN 978-0-07-178182-4) 

has Typhoid Fever on 

pages 1445-1446 and in the 

section on Laboratory 

Findings did not mention 

talk less of recommend the 

Widal test. 

Similarly, Davidson’s 

Principles & Practice of 

Medicine, 22nd Edition 

(2014; ISBN-13:978-0- 

7020-5047-3) has Typhoid 

Fever on pages 339-340 

and fails to mention or 

recommend the Widal test 

for diagnosis. 

Why is Typhoid fever overdiagnosed 

in Nigeria? 

Its frequent overdiagnosis 

has become 

embarrassing to genuine 

medical practitioners. This 

misadventure largely 

stems from the mistaken 

belief that the diagnosis is 

reliably made by the Widal 

will get her aroused, well lubricated, eager and energized 

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Do you still have adult toys for men like masturbators? 

I don’t read much about them again. I bought a few a 

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I am interested in adult books that can improve sex 

and relationship knowledge – Fredrick 

I can recommend three very good books that cover a 

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Book, Orgasm in 5 Minutes and Oral Sex She Will Never 

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Good day. There is a curved rabbit vibrator that my 

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You must be talking about the Grey G Spot Vibrator. I 

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capable of G Spot stimulation because their heads are 

beaded and rotate in two directions. So call and ask 

for the Classic Pink Rabbit of the Jack Rabbit – Uche 

I have learned so much reading your column. Keep 

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Thank you – Uche 

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zeevirtualmedialtd@gmail.com- Uche Edochie, MD, 

Zee Virtual Media. 

agglutination test alone. 

As stated earlier, the 

Widal test can be falsely 

negative or falsely positive 

and hence has been 

abandoned for diagnosis. 

Sadly this is unknown to 

many, so much so, that 

some laboratories, 

confidently but wrongly 

conclude that a patient has 

typhoid fever based on 

their Widal test result! 

Who is a Typhoid fever 

“Carrier”? 

A lot of people can suffer 

from typhoid and recover 

completely but few 

numbers of people (about 

3 – 5 percent) will continue 

to carry the bacteria even 

after recovery. These 

people are the “Carriers”. 

They shed the organism 

in their stool which can be 

transmitted to a healthy 

person. The “carriers” are 

also called “Typhoid 

Reservoirs” because of their 

continual spreading of the 

infection. 

How is Typhoid treated? 

Confirmed typhoid fever 

is treated orally or 

intravenously with 

appropriate antibiotics and 

supportive medication 

meant to reduce some 

severe symptoms such as 

headache etc. Treatment 

usually lasts 2 to 3 weeks. 

On a few occasions, 

surgery may be required if 

the intestine is ruptured by 

severe disease. 


prevented? 

A. Drink and use only safe 

water for food preparation 

B. Maintain good 

environmental sanitation 

C. Culture the stool of all 

food handlers to identify 

typhoid carriers 

D. Wash your hands well 

after using the toilet and 

before handling foods. 

E. Avoid eating raw and 

uncooked foods. 

F. Heat left- over foods 

adequately before eating. 

Can one be vaccinated 

Against Typhoid fever? 

Yes. Typhoid fever vaccine 

is available in Nigeria. It’s 

given to adults and children 

aged above 2 years.


Financing primary healthcare systems vital to 

improving peoples' lives — MELINDA GATES 

EVERY year, Bill and 

Melinda Gates write 

an annual letter to reflect 

on issues that have touch 

points with their work and 

this year they chose to focus 

on things that surprised 

them. As a build-up to the 

formal launch of the letter, 

titled: “Things We Didn’t 

See Coming”the Co-Chair 

of the Bill and Melinda 

Gates Foundation, 

Melinda Gates granted a 

teleconference to selected 

African journalists. 

Vanguard’s Senior Health 

Correspondent, Chioma 

Obinna participated. 

Excerpt: 

The 2019 Annual Letter: 

There are five things in 

particular that surprised me 

last year about Africa 

especially, as they relate to 

women, girls and young 

people. The first point is 

that Africa is getting 

younger while the rest of 

the world grows older. This 

can be either a source of 

instability or it can be a 

huge asset. It all depends 

on young peoples' access to 

education and good health. 

The second thing about 

Africa I want to highlight is 

I'm amazed at how little 

data we have on the lives 

and experiences of women 

and girls in Africa. Missing 

data is just harmful 

because data really should 

guide all the decisions that 

we make, and it should 

inform policy. So, if we are 

going to make progress in 

meaningful ways for 

women and girls, we have 

got to collect and analyze 

data and then act on it. 

The third thing about 

Africa I will say is it is also 

surprising just how 

transformative access to 

toilets can be for women 

and girls. We know better 

toilets and sanitation helps 

keep girls in school, they 

expand women's economic 

participation and they 

protect them against 

violence. So, sanitation is 

crucial when we think 

about good health and 

education for everyone 

across the continent, 

particularly, women and 

girls. 

Another fourth surprise is 

mobile technology. We are 

seeing it everywhere at this 

point. It's growing across 

the continent. It's really 

creating new opportunities 

to fight inequity and lift 

women up. Finally, the 

fifth thing that I will say 

about Africa is the rise of 

nationalism in donor 

countries could have a 

direct impact on Africa's 

most vulnerable 

communities. Bill and I 

have been spending a lot 

of time talking to donor 

nations and Africa, 

* Bill and Melinda Gates 

everybody sees that Africa 

is stepping up its efforts to 

domestic health financing 

but the aide from donor 

countries is still essential. 

So, over the next 18 months 

the entire world really 

needs to recommit to global 

health as the critical health 

fund needs to get 

replenished like the Global 

Fund in the next 18 

months.why financing their 

health systems, particularly 

the primary healthcare 

system is vital to improving 

peoples' lives. So Bill and 

I are spending a lot of time 

on that issue with donor 

countries. 

Nigeria’s leaders and 

global family planning 

Well, I think for Nigeria 

it really hangs in the 

balance. I mean, there's 

this incredible generation 

coming up that has the 

chance to transform 

Nigeria, and that 

generation has already 

been born. So, we need to 

look at the fact that 70 per 

cent of the population is 

under the age of 30 and this 

wave of youth, their 

dynamism, their energy, 

their potential is one of 

Nigeria's greatest untapped 

natural resources. So, for 

me, it's all about how do we 

invest in the potential of 

those people? The reason 

family planning is so 

important is that it 

empowers people and it 

particularly empowers 

women. When she 

understands about her 

body and she can have 

access voluntarily to family 

planning, to contraceptive, 

she can time and space the 

birth of her children. 

Women who have access 

and are younger also will 

tell us that they stay in 

school longer. We know an 

educated girl transforms 

For every 

dollar you 

invest in 

family 

planning it's a 

$6 return and 

this is really a 

crucial area 

for Nigeria to 

literally tap 

into 

society and transforms 

families and so I think 

across Nigeria really 

redoubling the efforts to 

make sure girls and young 

women are informed about 

their bodies, there are 

contraceptives available in 

the public and private 

sector and that they have 

access to them is vital to 

moving forward. We know 

that for every dollar you 

invest in family planning 

it's a $6 return and so this 

is really a crucial area for 

Nigeria to literally tap into 

the potential of its people 

in the next decade. 

Localising financing of 

health systems 

We are working very 

closely with governments 

across Africa and 

particularly in Nigeria to 

explain to them why 

financing their health 

systems, particularly the 

primary healthcare system 

is vital to improving 

peoples' lives. We know 

that primary healthcare is 

where mothers and fathers 

go first with their children, 

but it needs to be financed 

properly because when a 

mother or father shows up 

there, if there is not an 

educated medical person, if 

the supplies aren't there, if 

the quality is not there then 

they have to turn to other 

places. 

So, Nigeria consistently 

moving money to the states 

and then the states moving 

money out to primary 

healthcare and collecting the 

data about how they're 

actually doing in primary 

healthcare is one of the most 

vital things and one of the 

things that Bill and I 

advocate the most when we 

are in Nigeria or even from 

afar talking about both the 

Federal and the state level. 

When you see other 

African nations making 

progress on maternal 

mortality or child mortality, 

it's because they have 

invested in that primary 

healthcare system. Quite 

frankly, Nigeria has a long 

way to go particularly in the 

Dorcas Foundation, Sahara Group, 

unveil campaign against cancer 

DORCAS 

Cancer 

Foundation and 

Sahara Group are joining 

forces to increase 

awareness on the cancer 

scourge in a bid to reinforce 

the role early detection 

plays in preventing 

avoidable morbidity and 

mortality from the disease 

which claimed the lives of 

9.6 million people in 2018. 

Statistics sourced from the 

World Cancer Day website 

indicate that at least a third 

of common cancers are 

preventable and up to 3.7 

million lives could be saved 

each year through 

implementing appropriate 

strategies for prevention, 

early detection and 

treatment. 

Tagged 'How Pink Is Your 

Love', the project will take 

north and they need to 

fund it consistently so the 

medical staff will actually 

show up there and do a 

quality job. 

Comprehensive sexual 

and reproductive health 

rights: What I would say 

is the largest generation of 

young people entering 

their reproductive years 

and so I have two 

teenagers, I know this is a 

real dynamic period of life. 

It's quite critical that 

people have the 

information they need to 

make smart and informed 

decisions particularly 

when it comes to their 

health. So, an unplanned 

pregnancy can change 

everything for a young girl 

or a couple if they aren't 

physically, emotionally or 

financially ready for a 

family. I believe it's really 

important to provide 

young people with ageappropriate 

accurate 

culturally relevant 

information about their 

reproductive health so 

that they can safeguard 

their health and plan for 

their futures. 

I have met so many 

young women across the 

continent of Africa and 

they talk about how 

crushing it is when they 

have a child too young. It 

changes the future of their 

lives and what they want 

and hopes for. We need 

to make sure that they can 

all survive and thrive. But 

it starts honestly, with 

good health when they are 

young and then coaching 

them and teaching them 

in culturally appropriate 

ways about their 

reproductive health when 

they are young teenagers. 

Developing countries 

and data: When I first got 

involved in this work in 

advantage of the euphoria 

surrounding the 2019 

Valentine's Day celebration 

to shore up awareness and 

early detection campaigns 

through youth 

engagement talks in 

schools, health walks, 

media interactions and 

donations to select cancer 

focused nongovernmental 

organisations. 

The campaign will be 

implemented across the 

energy conglomerate's 

locations across Africa, 

Europe, Middle East and 

Asia. Dr. Adedayo Joseph, 

Clinical Radiation 

Oncologist and Executive 

Director of The Dorcas 

Cancer Foundation will 

provide lead technical 

support for the campaign 

global health and 

development, quite 

honestly, I was shocked to 

learn how huge the gaps 

were in the gender data. 

Our Foundation is 

committed to better data 

across the board, but I was 

particularly excited about 

the workaround gender 

data because that data is 

what informs and guides 

the work. So, we don't have 

reliable information about 

how many girls are going 

to school, how many 

women are having the 

chance to earn an income, 

what their health and their 

safety looks like and even 

whether they're dying of 

preventable diseases and 

death. And, so, we need to 

invest and collect that data 

and we need good policies 

around it. Bill and I have 

put some money down in 

this. We announced an 

initiative back in 2016 

around gender data and we 

brought the partners 

together. Countries really 

need to invest in their own 

information systems, so 

they get that genderdisaggregated 

data. 

Most of the national 

information systems 

around the world don't 

collect data on issues that 

disproportionately affect 

women and girls, whether 

is data about partner 

violence, the distribution of 

money, household labour, 

demographic information 

and education. So, we 

have been highlighting 

that issue because we know 

data matters because what 

you measure is what you 

get done and quite frankly 

if we are going to invest on 

behalf of women and girls, 

governments need to know 

where and how to invest so 

that the taxpayer money is 

spent well. That's why we 

are so passionate about 

making sure data is 

collected but that it's 

disaggregated, and specific 

information is collected 

around women and girls. 

It is important. 

through her organization 

which is widely regarded 

for its leading role in 

stamping out cancer. 

This year, we are 

delighted to work with the 

reputable Dorcas Cancer 

Foundation to stem the tide 

of cancer, a deadly disease 

which can be tackled by 

awareness, early detection, 

accurate diagnosis, as well 

as prompt and proper 

treatment." explained 

control." The Dorcas 

Cancer Foundation has 

backed cancer research; 

published and distributed 

free of charge, a first of its 

kind childhood cancer 

handbook in West Africa, 

funded diagnosis, 

treatment and rehabilitation 

for several children among 

others.

38 — Vanguard, TUESDAY , FEBRUARY 26, 2019 

Policing Lagos: The task 

before CP Muazu Zubairu 

By Emma Nnadozie, 

Crime Editor 

Lagos, the acclaimed 

centre of excellence, 

could be said to be 

lucky with the calibre of 

Police officers posted to 

the state of aquatic 

splendour. In fact, the 

Nigerian Police Force 

seems to have a penchant 

for sending their 

very best to man affairs 

in the city. Examples 

abound in this regard 

including Abubakar Tsav 

who became an activist in 

retirement; the erudite 

Sunday Aghedo; Mike 

Okiro who also became 

IGP; Young Arebamen 

who held a key political 

position in Lagos State 

until his recent death; 

Israel Ajao who still 

heads the Neighbourhood 

Watch; Ade Ajakaiye; 

Bashiru Azeez; 

Emmanuel Adebayo who 

later became king in 

Ekiti state; Muhammed 

Abubakar, who also became 

IGP; Marvel Akpoyibo, 

who is now an 

Advocate and Solicitor; 

Umaru Manko; Kayode 

Aderanti; Fatai Owoseni 

and recently, Imohimi 

Edgal. 

These officers recorded 

enviable feats on the job. 

Some even ended up 

becoming Inspectors- 

General of Police while 

some became traditional 

rulers after retiring. At 

a stage, the stakes were 

so high to the extent that 

people generally believed 

that once you are 

posted to Lagos either as 

a Commissioner of Police 

or an Assistant Inspector-General 

of Police, it’s 

automatic to be elevated 

to the number one position 

in the force. 

Alas, that was how police 

postings to Lagos 

became somewhat a lucrative 

venture in the 

force. It also turned out 

to be what is used to 

gauge the performance 

of all police administrations 

in the country as it 

eventually wore the toga 

of numero uno in policing 

duties. 

Today, Imohimi Edgal 

no longer heads Lagos 

State Police Command. 

He has been succeeded 

by Zubairu Muazu who, 

according to authorities, 

‘’has all it takes to lead 

the command. His record 

is as enviable as it is 

encouraging and will, no 

doubt, go a long way in 

assisting him in policing 

the state successfully.” 

However, without belabouring 

the point, he 

needs the wisdom of Solomon 

in order to tackle 

security requirements of 

Lagos State. First, he 

should be able to decisively 

fight the hydra- 

headed issue of cleansing 

the fabled augean 

stable comprising Area 

Commanders and Divisional 

Police Officers in 

the 124 operational areas 

in the state. Indisputably, 

his success will 

largely depend on how 

easily he handles this 

task. A Commissioner of 

Police that keeps his divisions 

on their toes 24/ 

7, has the ability to 

checkmate, not just 

their excesses, but fight 

crime to a standstill. 

Majority of complaints 

against the police 

emanate from these 

divisions where these 

officers hold sway as 

lords of the manor. 

This is manifest as 

some of them hib-nob 

with men of questionable 

means and petty tyrants 

who terrorize the citizenry 

with impunity. Inevitably, 

street urchins 

otherwise known as Area 

Any singular 

act of 

sidelining the 

press, either as 

a result of 

beaurocracy, 

officialdom or 

hackneyed and 

jaundiced 

security 

reasons, 

definitely 

spells doom for 

any security 

helmsman in 

Lagos 

*Zubairu Muazu 

boys; cultists; land grabbers, 

hackers otherwise 

known as yahoo boys 

and other shady characters 

have infested the 

entire state like an epidemic. 

These, to a considerable 

extent, limit 

efforts of a serving Commissioner 

of Police. The 

innapropriate dalliance 

with corrupt policemen 

whose stock in trade is to 

be rich at all costs in Lagos, 

always come to the 

fore and go a long way 

to either run down a 

serving Commissioner of 

Police or serve as a wake 

up call to him. 

This is where much efforts 

should be put in 

galvanizing effective 

community policing and 

local vigilante outfits. 

Their responsibilities 

and contributions towards 

fighting crime is 

inestimable and it is only 

a well focused officer at 

the head that can champion 

this to his credit. A 

good understanding and 

affinity with different terrains 

and vicinities that 

make up the city is no 

less important so as to 

serve as a guide towards 

monitoring the activitites 

of officers at all levels. A 

situation where much 

trust is placed on information 

from officers at 

lower levels without 

commensurate 

intelligence network 

leads to misplacement of 

justice and in effect, 

breeds discontentment 

between the people and 

police. 

Essentially, the aforementioned 

limitations 

compel a healthy relationship 

between the 

Commissioner and the 

media which hopefully 

would keep him on his 

toes. An unrestrained 

robust relationship with 

the media is a sine-quanon 

towards lauching an 

effective and efficient war 

against crime and criminality 

in Lagos state, nay 

Nigeria. Any singular act 

of sidelining the press, 

either as a result of bureaucracy, 

officialdom or 

jaundiced security reasons, 

definitely spells 

doom for any security 

helmsman in Lagos. This 

is because Lagos serves 

as a citadel of media activities 

and the economic 

hub of the country and 

whenever the Lagos 

sneeze or coughs, the 

reverbrating effect and 

boomerang is seriously 

felt in all spheers, nationally 

and internationally. 

Policing Lagos 

should never end with 

sending sugar-conted sitreps 

to Abuja and expecting 

a pat on the back 

while the city boils. 

To a large extent, the 

success of serving Inspectors-General 

of Police 

in Nigeria is always 

measured by the success 

of State Police Commissioners 

in major cities in 

the country especially, 

Lagos state. This is why 

CP Zubairu Muazu, who 

was recently posted to 

Lagos should set the ball 

rolling and zero in recording 

an envaible success 

during his tenure. 

editor@yahoo.com 

Illegal suspension of 

Chief Justice of Nigeria 

and the Nigerian Na- 

tion 

The suspension of the Chief Justice 

of Nigeria, Justice Walter 

Onnoghen for allegedly failing to 

declare his assets is unacceptable. 

He who comes into equity must 

come with a clean hands, President 

Buhari’s war against corruption 

has become dangerously selective. 

It is shameful that the first 

outing by President Buhari after 

suspending the Chief Justice of 

Nigeria of corruption charges was 

presided by Godswill Akpabio 

who was indicted for allegedly 

looting billions of public funds 

while in the opposition camp but 

upon switching to the ruling party 

emerged an affectionate poster 

boy for Buhari’s presidential 

campaigns. Nigerians and all political 

parties should kick against 

APC and President Buhari ‘s action 

against the CJN, is calculated attempt 

to manipulated the forthcoming 

presidential elections 

Barr Anthony Obi 

0806009586 

Threats to impeach Gov 

Ambode 

Gov. Ambode should not submit 

himself to any threat from external 

power and the Lagos state assembly 

to made him irrelevant 

before May 29. This is a case of 

kettle calling pot black! It was alleged 

that the Gov. Ambode provided 

the members of the house 

of N500Million annual before the 

state budget is been pass into law 

and what were the N500million 

for? The Lagos Assembly members 

under the leadership of 

Mudashiru Obasa should give account 

what the N500million that 

they collected annual from Gov. 

Ambode is made for? 

Lawal 08080796385 

Lagos State Assembly 

threatens to impeach 

Gov Ambode 

The annual N500million that the 

Lagos Assembly members always 

collect from Gov Ambode was rejected 

for no course and the allegation 

from the members shows 

that they acting on a script because 

all the allegation against the 

governor is baseless. Lagosians 

should be bold enough to asked 

those assembly members what 

they do with constituency fund 

because there was no projects to 

show for it and yet clamouring for 

any term in office. The governor 

rising profile inspite that he was 

denied a second term in office was 

something that unruffled the 

members, that prompt the threat 

of impeachment. Instead that the 

House members to engage themselves 

with fundamental issues 

affecting Lagosian, they chose to 

SAYINGS OF OUR ELDERS 

Disappointments were not meant to destroy you. They were 

meant to strengthen you & give you fortitude to accomplish your 

God-given destiny. 

- Hausa proverb 

remain idle and refused to convene 

session of the House to consider 

the State ‘s appropriation bill, but 

running to hang the hapless governor 

who has tolerate the humiliation 

for peace to reign. Enough of 

this gangsterism in the state, 

Lagosians should vote wisely this 

2019. 

Micheal writes in from Ikeja, 

Lagos state 

Trial of Chief Justice of Nigeria 

and the Nigerian Na- 

tion 

The Federal Government should 

discontinue the prosecution of the 

Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice 

Walter Onnoghen, before the Code 

of Conduct Tribunal because the 

government failed to follow due 

process. The six count charges 

against Justice Onnoghen was a calculated 

effort by the executive arm 

of government to remove him from 

office because he a Southern. If really 

there was an allegation against 

hi due process should be apply to 

attain that goal not the contrary. 

Solo Aloba 07052624455 

President Buhari’s niece 

to head INEC collation 

centre for 2019 elections 

If Mrs Amina Zakari could denied 

that she is not blood related to 

President Buhari on BBC network 

is worrisome. This put a huge question 

mark on her honesty, probity 

and trustworthiness. If she can lie 

this casually about somethings as 

basic and as verifiable as her relationships 

is unworthy of the responsibility 

she’s been entrusted 

with at INEC. Mrs Amina Zakari 

should resign her position as head 

of INEC collation centre for the 

2019 presidential elections. 

Habeeb Sadiq Jos writes from 

Jos, 

2019 presidential elec- 

tions 

I congratulate the various political 

parties for electing their flag bearers 

for the 2019 presidential elections 

and having faith in our democratic 

journey. I called on all various 

campaign organisation to please 

address Nigerians on critical issues 

affecting the polity and not personalities 

or character assassination as 

witnessed in the countdown to 2015 

elections. Accusing an aspirant of 

corruption without providing concrete 

evidence will no longer holds 

with voters. The era where ones attacks 

the characters of a fellow contestant 

falsely just to generate sympathy 

for himself has gone because 

Nigerians are wiser now. Secondly, 

television stations and newspapers 

should be weary of the type of political 

adverts and giggles they accept 

from campaign offices, because 

what was witnessed in 2015 was ugly 

to put it mildly. 

Barr Ayo Olalere 

08058517680 

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

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your sayings to: wwwsimade@yahoo.co.uk


Why Nigerian actresses 

are labeled prostitutes 

— Tonto Dikeh 

By Tolulope Abereoje 

The acting profession in Africa has generally been 

seen as a profession for promiscuous 

individuals. The Nigerian movie industry, 

Nollywood, is not left out of this misconstrued 

belief. The female folks in the industry are 

however on the receiving end in this. From 

dressing seductively, to romantic gestures, to 

kissing, fondling and partying to the camera, 

actresses are always seen as prostitutes. 

Rumored link ups of actresses to politicians 

over time have also not helped matters. Little 

wonder a good number of upcoming and 

veteran actresses have confessed to have found 

it quite difficult convincing their parents of their 

passion for the craft and not the promiscuity the 

industry has been labeled with. 

The recent outburst of screen diva, Tonto Dike, 

after she allegedly caught an actress with her 

best friend’s husband on a trip in Dubai has 

added more icing to the cake. The actress who 

was pained took to her Instagram page to bear 

her grievances. 

“God please we are ready, please 

blow the trump. How can you leave 

your wife in Nigeria and bring her 

actress best friend on a trip to 

Dubai? Women I wish you all see 

the men we marry. I am livid. If 

anyone calls my phone, I will 

expose you! To the actress, you 

need to be burned alive. After 

all the famzing with his wife, 

you betray her in such a way. 

No wonder they say we are 

prostitutes,” she ranted. 

Ella Mensah 

Being perceived a 

sex symbol not a big 

deal — Ella Mensah 

Every attractive actress 

has a price she must pay 

for her looks. For screen 

diva, Ella Mensah, whose role 

interpreting craft has cut across 

Nollywood and Ghallywood, she is 

seen as a sex symbol. But 

surprisingly, the curvy actress says 

seeing her as a sex symbol is not a big 

deal. 

“I never knew I was perceived as a sex 

symbol, me being sexy is not a big deal! 

Nothing wrong with that! So if I’m 

perceived as a sex symbol, then that’s ok 

by me! I don’t have any problem with 

that”, she said. 

The light-skinned actress who is 

usually the cynosure of any movie she 

stars in told E-Daily what the most 

unforgettable part of her 2018 was. 

“My most unforgettable part of 2018 

was when I almost lost my life (God 

forbid) when I was attacked by 

armed robbers on my way to my 

house in Lagos from a movie set! 

It was scary, but I’m grateful to 

God for saving my life and 

blessing me afterwards.” 

Contrary to public belief, she 

claimed that she hasn’t achieved 

much from the acting profession. 

“No I’m not fulfilled as an 

actress, there is a lot I want to 

do and achieve. I have a lot of 

plans and so many things I’m 

planning to do. When those 

dreams become a reality, that’s 

when I will be fulfilled as an 

actress. Acting hasn’t done so 

many things for me! The 

industry is not good so acting 

is actually not paying my bills! 

But I will go into details 

another time.” 

Princess Peters 

Tonto Dike 

Princess Peters aims 

for the sky 

Edo State-born Nollywood star, Princess Peters, can be 

described as a jack-of-all-trade and master of all, has 

her sight set on conquering the entertainment world. Asked 

why she is into many things, said: “I am aiming for the 

sky, the best.” 

A product of College of Education, Benin, where she got 

NCE in Biology and Integrated Science in 2006, and Benson 

Idahosa University, for a degree in Mass Communication, 

Princess Peters’ passion has always been the showbiz, 

which came to fruition in 2010 when she played the lead 

role in Imose. 

Since then, she has featured in Home in Exile, Girls Are 

Not Smiling, About Tomorrow, Adesuwa, ATM, Destiny 

Gate, Ehize, Desperate Love, and Singles Clinikamong 

several others. The last four movies she starred in were 

self-produced. 

Princess, who says Lancelot OduwaImasuen is one movie 

director she has benefited immensely from, is also a gospel 

artiste. The multi-talented actress and producer, who is 

also a relationship therapist, was nominated as Most 

Promising Actress of the Year by Best of Nollywood Award 

in 2016. 

Philanthropist donates N10million for 

Baba Suwe’s medical treatment abroad 

Veteran comedian, Babatunde 

Omidina a.k.a. Baba Suwe, 

has recently been in the news 

after a broadcaster raised alarm 

that the actor is dying of an 

unknown illness. According to 

the broadcaster, the actor has 

been abandoned to his fate by 

colleagues who have kept 

Nobody can fix 

Nigeria — Seun Kuti 

Afro-beat music singer, Seun Kuti, has 

stated that no one person can solve the 

problems bedeviling Nigeria. The Grammy 

Awards nominee made the statement in a 

post on his twitter page. 

According to the singer, even President 

Muhammadu Buhari, who is the sitting 

and commander-in- 

armed forces does 

the capacity or what 

fix Nigeria, but 

person can fix this 

The president of 

cannot fix Nigeria. 

governor can fix the 

state. The people of 

Nigeria are the 

only people 

that can fix 

Nigeria”, he 

said. 

president 

chief of all 

not have 

it takes to 

“No one 

country. 

Nigeria 

N o 

Seun Kuti 

their distance in spite of knowing 

his present condition. 

No sooner the news went viral 

things began to happen. In less 

than 48 hours of the news 

breaking on social media the 

comedian’s house became a 

Tourist Centre of sorts as his 

colleagues trooped to his house to 

show empathy and equally give 

their ‘widow’s mite’. 

However, Yesterday Monday 25th 

Feb, 2019, actor, Yomi Fabiyi, who 

first broke the news of Baba 

Suwe’s ill health a few years ago 

and was also the first to announce 

that colleagues have been 

responding to the SOS sent out, 

again announced that a 

Philanthropist has donated the 

sum of N10million to enable the 

ailing actor travel abroad for 

urgent medical treatment. 

“Mayor Gbenga Adewusi visited 

Baba Suwe on his hospital bed 

and having been briefed of the 

current situation, he initiated an 

SOS to Rev. (Mrs.) Esther Ajayi 

through Biodun Paseda to see 

where the philanthropist can help 

Baba Suwe. Immediately she 

offered to support with 

N10million and his flight ticket to 

support whatever Baba Suwe had 

gathered in order to get thorough 

medical assistance quickly. She 

spoke to Baba Suwe and offered 

him prayers. Early this Monday 

morning, she fulfilled her 

promise”, he said. 

On Baba Suwe and his family’s 

behalf, he expressed profound 

gratitude to the clergy woman for 

her philanthropic deed. 

“On behalf of Baba Suwe, his 

family, fans and colleagues, we 

say a big thank to our mother, Rev. 

Esther Ajayi for her usual 

kindness, may you never fall. This 

will go a long way. We shall loose 

no time to facilitate the trip 

abroad at the instance of Medical 

experts in LUTH working 

tenaciously on getting Baba 

Suwe a huge recovery to enable 

him fly for that long haul with 

little or no risk”, he noted. 

Baba Suwe


Cast of "Black Panther" celebrate after Ruth E. Carter wins the Best Costume Design award at the 

2018 Oscars. REUTERS/Mike Blake 

After Putin’s warning, Russia lists 

nuclear targets in U.S. 

Russian state televi 

sion has listed U.S. 

military facilities that 

Moscow would target in 

the event of a nuclear 

strike, and said that a hypersonic 

missile Russia is 

developing would be able 

to hit them in less than 

five minutes. 

The targets included 

the Pentagon and the 

presidential retreat in 

Camp David, Maryland. 

The report, unusual 

even by the sometimes 

bellicose standards of 

Russian state TV, was 

broadcast on Sunday 

evening, days after President 

Vladimir Putin said 

Moscow was militarily 

ready for a “Cuban Missile”-style 

crisis if the 

United States wanted 

one. 

With tensions rising 

over Russian fears that 

the United States might 

deploy intermediaterange 

nuclear missiles in 

Europe as a Cold War-era 

arms-control treaty unravels, 

Putin has said 

Russia would be forced to 

respond by placing hypersonic 

nuclear missiles 

on submarines near U.S. 

waters. 

The United States says 

it has no immediate plans 

to deploy such missiles in 

Europe and has dismissed 

Putin’s warnings 

as disingenuous propaganda. 

It does not currently 

have groundbased 

intermediaterange 

nuclear missiles 

that it could place in Europe. 

However, its decision 

to quit the 1987 Intermediate-range 

Nuclear 

Forces (INF) Treaty 

over an alleged Russian 

violation, something 

Moscow denies, has 

freed it to start developing 

and deploying such 

missiles. 

Putin has said Russia 

does not want a new arms 

race, but has also dialled 

up his military rhetoric. 

Some analysts have 

seen his approach as a 

tactic to try to re-engage 

the United States in talks 

about the strategic balance 

between the two 

powers, something Moscow 

has long pushed for, 

with mixed results. 

In the Sunday evening 

broadcast, Dmitry Kiselyov, 

presenter of Russia’s 

main weekly TV news 

show ‘Vesti Nedeli’, 

showed a map of the 

United States and identified 

several targets he 

said Moscow would 

want to hit in the event 

of a nuclear war. 

The targets, which 

Kiselyov described as 

U.S. presidential or military 

command centres, 

also included Fort Ritchie, 

a military training 

centre in Maryland 

closed in 1998, McClellan, 

a U.S. Air Force 

base in California closed 

in 2001, and Jim Creek, 

a naval communications 

base in Washington 

state. 

Labour backs new Brexit referendum 

Labour has said it is 

prepared to back 

another EU referendum 

to prevent a “damaging 

Tory Brexit”. 

Jeremy Corbyn has told 

Labour MPs the party will 

move to back another 

vote if their own proposed 

Brexit deal is rejected on 

Wednesday. The BBC’s 

Vicky Young said it was a 

highly “significant” development 

as Mr Corbyn 

R Kelly pleads not guilty to 

sexual abuse charges 

R 

Kelly has pleaded 

not guilty to 10 

charges of aggravated 

criminal sexual abuse 

against four women, 

three of whom were minors 

at the time. 

His lawyer entered the 

plea for the R&B star, who 

appeared in the Chicago 

court dressed in an orange 

jumpsuit. 

The 52-year-old turned 

himself in to authorities 

on Friday after an arrest 

warrant was issued. 

He has faced decades 

of sexual abuse claims 

without being convicted, 

and has denied all previous 

allegations. His court 

appearance and plea 

comes weeks after the 

documentary series Surviving 

R Kelly aired. 

had previously been 

“lukewarm” about the 

idea of another vote. 

Theresa May is under 

growing pressure to delay 

the 29 March Brexit 

date. Labour are not yet 

making clear what their 

proposed referendum 

would be on. 

When asked to clarify 

this, a spokesman for the 

leader’s office said: 

“We’ve just said we’d 

back a public vote to prevent 

a damaging Tory 

Brexit.” 

A Labour briefing paper 

to MPs says that any referendum 

would need to 

have “a credible Leave 

option and Remain”. 

The prime minister, who 

will update MPs on the 

negotiations on Tuesday, 

has insisted the UK can 

still leave next month as 

planned. 

The UK voted to leave 

the EU in a referendum 

in June 2016, but the 

withdrawal deal Mrs 

May negotiated with the 

EU has to be agreed by 

MPs - and it suffered a 

huge defeat by them last 

month. 

Mrs May has ruled 

out a final “meaningful 

vote” on her Brexit deal 

this week, but she will 

give MPs the chance to 

have their say on how 

the next steps for Brexit. 

MPs will be able to table 

amendments to a 

government motion, putting 

forward their proposals 

on what they 

think should happen 

next. 

Mr Corbyn has told his 

MPs that Mrs May is 

“recklessly running 

down the clock” in an 

attempt to “force MPs to 

choose between her 

botched deal and a disastrous 

no deal”. 

“We cannot and will 

not accept,” he said. 

Former staffer sues Trump for 

allegedly kissing her 

A 

former Trump campaign staffer is suing President 

Donald Trump and his campaign, alleging 

that the then-Republican presidential candidate kissed 

her without her consent during the 2016 race. She’s 

also suing over equal pay — claiming that she was 

paid less for her work based on race and gender. 

Alva Johnson, a former Trump campaign staffer who 

lives in Alabama, alleges in a lawsuit filed Monday 

that Trump grabbed her hand and forcibly kissed her 

without her consent inside an RV in Florida in August 

2016. 

While Trump was meeting with volunteers and signing 

autographs inside the RV, “Ms. Johnson noticed 

that Defendant Trump was watching her and appeared 

to be trying to make eye contact with her,” the lawsuit 

alleges. After Trump was alerted by Secret Service that 

he was due for his next rally, she urged him “to go in 

there and ‘kick ass.’” Trump then allegedly grasped 

her hand and praised her efforts. 

“As Defendant Trump spoke, he tightened his grip 

on Ms. Johnson’s hand and leaned towards her. He 

moved close enough that she could feel his breath on 

her skin,” the lawsuit states. “Ms. Johnson suddenly 

realised that Defendant Trump was trying to kiss her 

on the mouth, and attempted to avoid this by turning 

her head to the right. Trump kissed her anyway, and 

the kiss landed on the corner of her mouth.” 

PEACE TALKS: Taliban co-founder meets 

top White House envoy 

The top US envoy seeking to broker peace in Af 

ghanistan has met one of the Taliban’s co-founders 

for the first time, as the latest round of talks get under 

way in Qatar. Special representative Zalmay Khalilzad 

said he held a working lunch with Mullah Abdul Ghani 

Baradar before “moving on to talks”. 

Mullah Baradar was recently released from a Pakistani 

prison. His presence in Qatar is thought to improve 

the chances of a deal. Last month’s US-Taliban 

talks in Qatar made progress in ending 17 years of 

conflict in Afghanistan, the US said. 

US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad said the January 

talks had been “more productive than they have been 

in the past” but added there were a number of issues 

still to work out. 

He said a “draft framework” of a peace deal had been 

agreed, based on commitments by the US to withdraw 

international forces from Afghanistan, and from the 

Taliban not to allow jihadist groups to operate in the 

country. 

The Taliban also said progress had been made in the 

negotiations. However, a spokesman added that talks 

about “unsolved matters” would continue. 

Britain must return Indian Ocean 

islands to Mauritius —World Court 

The World Court on Monday told Britain to give 

up control over the Chagos Islands in the Indian 

Ocean, and said it had wrongfully forced the population 

to leave in the 1970s to make way for a U.S. air 

base. 

Britain split the archipelago off from its colonial island 

territory of Mauritius in 1965, three years before 

granting independence to Mauritius - minus the islands. 

In the early 1970s, it evicted almost 2,000 residents 

to Mauritius and the Seychelles to make way for 

the base on the largest island, Diego Garcia, which it 

had leased to the United States. 

In a non-binding advisory opinion, the top United 

Nations court for inter-state disputes said Britain had 

acted unlawfully in the decolonisation process and 

should relinquish control over the islands, which it 

calls the British Indian Ocean Territory. 

Sisi defends death penalty at 

summit with Europe 

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi defended 

the death penalty at a summit between Arab and 

European states on Monday, saying the two regions 

had “two different cultures”. 

Rights groups strongly criticised Egypt this month 

for executing nine men accused over the 2015 killing 

of the country’s chief prosecutor, saying that they and 

others had been put to death after unfair trials amid a 

surge in executions. Egypt rejected allegations that 

confessions were extracted under torture. 

“When a human being is killed in a terrorist act, the 

families tell me that we want the right of our children 

and their blood,” Sisi told the closing press conference 

at the first joint summit between the EU and the Arab 

League. “This culture exists in the region and that right 

must be given through the law.” 

Sisi has previously defended criticism on rights by 

pointing to economic and welfare reforms aimed at 

raising living standards for Egypt’s population of more 

than 98 million.


Buhari leads, wins 11 in 18 

states, Atiku 7 

•PMB wins 4 states in South-West, Atiku wins Ondo, 

Oyo with 1,363 votes 

By Our Reporters 

ABUJA—WITH 

results from 18 

states of the 

country and Abuja, the 

Federal Capital 

Territory, President 

Muhammadu Buhari of 


Congress, APC, had an 

early lead over his 


Party, PDP, opponent, 

Alhaji Atiku Abubakar in 

last Saturday’s 

presidential election. 

According to 

authenticated results from 



INEC, Buhari led Atiku 

with about 1000,000 votes 

at press time in what 

could pan out as Nigeria’s 

keenest presidential race. 

So far, the 1993 


remains the toughest 

followed by the 2015 

exercise. While late Chief 

M.K.O Abiola beat Bashir 

Tofa with about two 

million votes in 1993, 

President Buhari edged 

out former President 

Goodluck Jonathan with 

about 2.5 million votes in 

2015. 

Of the states declared so 

far, Atiku won in 

Oyo,Ondo, FCT, 

Abia,Plateau, Adamawa 

and Enugu. That of Oyo, 

the only state Atiku won 

in the South-West was 

very spectacular because 

he narrowly beat Buhari 

with 1,363 votes. Atiku 

was also leading in Akwa 

Ibom, Delta, Anambra, 

and Benue. 

On the other hand, 

Buhari emerged the victor 

in 11 states, namely, Ekiti, 

Osun, Ogun, Lagos, 

Kwara, Nasarawa, Kogi, 

Yobe, Sokoto and Gombe. 

He was also leading in 

Borno, Katsina, Kebbi, 

and Kaduna at press time. 

Atiku leads in 

Anambra 

At press time, the PDP 


won all the 17 local 

councils announced in 

Anambra. PDP Vice 

Presidential Candidate, 

Mr. Peter Obi, is from 

Anambra State. 

The 17 councils 

announced at press time 

were Njikoka APC (967), 

PDP (28,364); Oyi APC- 

1272 

PDP-20,927; Anambra 

East APC-6755, PDP- 

13422; Orumba South 

APC-761, PDP-18867; 

Awka South APC-1435, 

PDP-40099; and Awka 

North APC- 1134, PDP- 

15725. 

The rest are Onitsha 

South APC-905, PDP- 

29795; Ihiala APC- 1382, 

PDP- 34307; Nnewi North 

APC-1324, PDP-34260; 

Ogbaru APC -1044, PDP- 

22084; Aguata APC- 1955, 

PDP- 32328; Idemili South 

APC- 2220, PDP- 17039; 

Onitsha North APC- 1220, 

PDP- 33597; Ayamelum 

APC- 1458 

PDP- 18642; Anaocha 

APC- 11055, PDP- 30655; 

Dunukofia APC- 1452, 

PDP-17230; and Anambra 

West APC- 2428, PDP- 

15384. 

How Atiku won 

in Plateau 

On the Plateau, the PDP 

won 11 of the 17 local 

councils leaving six for the 

APC. 

The PDP scored 548,665 

votes while the APC got 

468,555 votes, winning 

with a margin of 80,110 

votes. 

According to the results 

announced at the State 

Presidential Election 

Coalition Centre by the 

Returning Officer, 

Professor Richard 

Anande, in Mikang local 

council, APC got 10,869 

while PDP got 11,262. In 

Kanke, APC got 11,869 

and PDP got 22,875. In 

Pankshin, APC got 21,607 

and PDP got 30,509. Jos 

East gave APC 11,874 and 

PDP 8,853. 

In Langtang South, 

APC polled 11,224 while 

PDP scored 18,470. 

Qua’an Pan gave APC 

Naira depreciates to N361.54/$ in 

I&E window 

By Elizabeth Adegbesan 

The naira yesterday depreciated to N361.54 per 

dollar in the Investors and Exporters (I&E) 

window as a result of a 55 percent decline in the 

volume of dollars traded 

Data from FMDQ showed that the indicative 

exchange rate for the window rose to N361.54 per 

dollar from N361.48 per dollar last week Friday 

translating to five kobo depreciation of the naira. 

The volume of dollars traded on the window 

dropped by 55 percent to $73.88 million from $ 165.32 

million last week Friday. 

However, the naira, yesterday, was stable at N359 

per dollar in the parallel market. 

20,872 and PDP, 17,479. In 

Jos South APC got 25,574 

and PDP scored 106,526, 

in Bokkos, APC scored 

18,328 while PDP polled 

32,236. Riyom gave APC 

8,710 and PDP 21,892. 

In Langtang North, it 

was APC 16,665 while 

PDP got 34,105. In Bassa, 

APC got 27,632 while 

PDP got 34, 822. 

APC won in Shendam 

with 38,196 while the PDP 

got 24,162. Barkin Ladi 

gave APC 15,390 votes 

and PDP 42,136. In 

Mangu, APC polled 

42,947 while PDP polled 

48,923. In Jos North, APC 

got 93,800 and PDP, 

53,277. Wase gave 35,931 

to APC while PDP got 

22,807 and lastly, Kanam 

gave 51,017 votes to APC 

and 18, 331 votes to PDP. 

Buhari edges out 

Atiku in Ogun 

The presidential 

candidate of the APC won 

in Ogun State with 

281,762 votes. 

His closest rival, Atiku 

Abubakar of the PDP 

polled 194,655 votes. 

The results from the 20 

local government areas of 

the state were announced, 

yesterday afternoon by 

the returning officer, 

Joseph Fuwape, at the 

INEC headquarters in 

Abeokuta. 

He gave the total 

accredited voters as 

605,938, valid votes 

564,256, while rejected 

votes were 41,682 and 

total votes cast 605,938. 

Atiku leads in 

Delta, lose 

Ethiope East to 

Buhari 

In Delta, Atiku led in 

the results announced so 

far. 

The Returning Officer 

for Uvwie Local 

Government Area, Prof 

Sam Ike, said Atiku 

Abubakar polled 12, 712 

votes while President 

Buhari scored 7,591 votes. 

Announcing results from 

Oshimili South Local 

Council,Dr Comfort 

Onyeneno, said the PDP 


scored 38,670 while his 

APC counterpart polled 

2,635. 

In Aniocha South, 

according to the 

Returning Officer, Dr 

Emeka Ugbo, Abubakar 

scored 14,770 to beat 

Buhari who polled 3,239 

votes. 

In Udu Local Council, 

the Returning Officer, Dr 

Stella Omonigho, said 

Atiku scored 10,048 votes 

while Buhari got 9,166 

votes. 

In Ika South Local 

Council, Abubakar polled 

INEC—The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) chairman, 

Mahmood Yakubu, (2ndleft) displays vote result sheets in Abuja, yesterday, 

during the presidential elections announcement. Photo: AFP. 

20, 080 votes while 

Buhari, according to 

returning officer, Dr Louis 

Chiejihe, polled 6,378 

votes. 

In Ethiope East, the 

President Buhari sprang 

surprises, scoring 13,854 

votes to beat Atiku, who 

scored 8,294 votes as 

announced by the 

Returning Officer, Prof 

Endurance Ophori. 

Ethiope East is the local 

government of the APC 

governorship candidate, 

Chief Great Ogboru. 

Buhari wins Kogi 

President Buhari, after a 

tough contest, won Kogi 

State having polled 

overall votes of 285, 894 

compared to Atiku 

Abubakar’s 218,207 votes. 

The presidential results 

declared by the Kogi State 

Collation Officer, Prof 

Michael Adikwu of the 

University of Abuja, 

showed that Buhari won 

in 14 of the 21 LGAs of the 

state while Atiku won in 

seven. 

Atiku wins 

Enugu, Buhari 

fails to secure 25 

percent 

In Enugu, the PDP 

candidate polled 355,553 

votes to beat the APC 

candidate, who secured 

54,423 votes. 

Announcing the results 

at the state collation 

office, the state 

Presidential collation 

officer and Vice 

Chancellor of Nnamdi 

Azikiwe University, Prof 

Joseph Ahaneku stated 

that out of 1.9 registered 

voters in the state, only 

452,765 were accredited 

for the election. 

He also noted that the 

total number of votes cast 

in the state was 451,063; 

with valid votes as 

421,014 while rejected 

votes were 30,049. 

Atiku takes 11 of 

17 LGAs 

declared in 

Benue 

Atiku Abubakar of the 

PDP led in Benue from 

results of 17 of the 23 local 

councils released so far. 

According to the results 

announced INEC, 

Governor Samuel Ortom 

delivered Guma LGA to 

PDP with a tally of 21,641 

votes as against the 6,172 

votes polled by the APC. 

Former Governor 

Gabriel Suswam who is 

almost coasting home to 

victory in the Benue 

North East senatorial 

election, also delivered 

Logo LGA to Alhaji 

Abubakar with his party 

the PDP polling a total of 

28,227 while APC 

garnered 3,872. 

Former Governor 

George Akume also 

delivered Tarka his LGA 

to 

President 


with 12,197 votes while 

the PDP polled 4,875. 

However, Minister of 

Agriculture, Chief Audu 

Ogbe failed to deliver his 

LGA, Ogbadibo where 

PDP polled 8,889 votes to 

defeat APC which polled 

6,970 votes. 

Former Minister of 

Interior and likely winner 

of the senatorial seat of 

Benue south district, 

Comrade Abba Moro, 

delivered Okpokwu LGA 

to Atiku Abubakar who 

garnered 11,974 against 

5,956 polled by the APC, 

same as Gwer East LGA 

where PDP polled 18,192 

votes to defeat the APC 

which garnered 14,907 

votes. 

In Gwer West LGA, the 

PDP presidential 

candidate garnered 

14,660 as against the 

6,275 votes polled by the 

APC candidate while 

Agatu LGA returned 8,225 

for the PDP candidate as 

against the 4,170 polled 

by his APC rival. 

The PDP candidate also 

defeated his APC 

opponent in Apa local 

government area with 

8,073 votes as against the 

5,255 votes garnered by 

President Buhari same as 

Ado LGA where the PDP 

candidate polled 8,614 

while the APC candidate 

scored 5,373. 

In Ushongo LGA 

President Buhari polled 

18,364 votes to defeat 

Atiku who garnered 

15,479 votes while in 

Konshisha LGA where 

over 15,000 votes in 10 

polling units were 

cancelled by INEC as a 

result of alleged electoral 

material snatching, 

President Buhari polled 

27,165 votes as against 

the 8,726 polled by Atiku 

Abubakar. 

President Buhari 

narrowly took Ohimini 

LGA with 7,865 votes 

while Atiku Abubakar 

polled 6,775 votes. While 

In Obi LGA the PDP 


also narrowly took it with 

7,803 votes to defeat 

President Buhari who 

polled 7,336 votes. 

In Buruku LGA, where 

Mr. Orker Jev, who is at 

the verge of defeating 

Senator George Akume in 

the Benue North West 

senatorial district race, 

PDP polled 23,236 votes 

while APC garnered 

17,033 votes while in 

Ushongo LGA, PDP 

polled 15,479 while the 

APC garnered 18,764 

votes 

The results from 

Makurdi LGA indicated 

that the APC took it with 

a total of 39,584 votes 

while PDP polled 24,649 

votes. Oju LGA also gave 

it to APC with 14,064 

votes while PDP garnered 

10,451 votes. 

Meanwhile results from 

six LGAs including 

Vandeikya, Katsina/Ala, 

Gboko, Otukpo, Ukum 

and Kwande were still 

being awaited at the time 

of this report. 

Atiku wins FCT, 

lose Ogun, 

Lagos 

Atiku Abubakar also 

won the presidential 

election in the Federal 

Capital Territory (FCT). 

He 

polled 259,995 votes 

while President Buhari 

got152,224 votes. 

In Ogun, the figures 

declared by the collation 

officers showed that 

Buhari led in 18 of the 30 

local government areas of 

the state, while Atiku led 

in the remaining 12 . 

Buhari polled 281,762 

votes to Atiku’s 194,655 

votes 

In Lagos, President 

Buhari had the upper 

hand beating Atiku with 

a margin of 132,798 votes. 

The margin was lower 

than the 160,143 votes 

with which Buhari

42 — Vanguard, TUESDAY FEBRUARY 26, 2019 

Permutations 

begin on National 

Assembly 

positions 

By Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor 

With the results of the National 

Assembly results still distilling, 

permutations on the leadership of 

the ninth National Assembly were yesterday 

beginning to take shape. 

The development is in the wake of the defeat 

of the outgoing Senate President, Senator 

Bukola Saraki in the Kwara Central 

Senatorial election last weekend. 

Senator Saraki who became the first 

presiding officer of the Senate in the Fourth 

Republic to be defeated in his re-election bid 

had been generally assumed to be a shoo-in 

for the position in the Ninth Senate. 

His exit has now begun to fuel speculations 

on who could replace him. 

However, pundits were yesterday still betting 

on how the dominance of either party in the 

next Senate would shape the forthcoming 

leadership contest. With results yet to crystalize 

it was still undecided on which party would 

dominate, but that was not stopping the 

mentioning of names with Senator Ahmad 

Lawan, the present majority leader in pole 

position to go for it in the event of the All 

By Emmanuel Aziken 

The Delta State Presidential 

Campaign Council of the All 

Progressives Congress, APC 

has dismissed reports of a lack of 

commitment by the minister of state 

petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu to the reelection 

of President Muhammadu Buhari. 

The council in a statement made 

available to the press on Monday affirmed 

that Dr. Kachikwu was neither sitting on 

the fence nor supportive of any other 

political interest outside the APC. 

The statement issued by Hon. Temi 

Harriman, director-general and Dr Iyke 

Odikpo, deputy director-general 

respectively, also elaborated on the 

contributions of Dr. Kachikwu to the APC 

in the state. 

“Ordinarily, we wouldn't have 

responded to spurious claims as we are 

used to such coordinated media attacks 

designed to impugn the personality and 

achievements of the Honourable Minister, 

using obscure blogs and online platforms 

with a faceless element with no affiliation 

to the Party. 

Dismissing insinuations that he had 

betrayed his party through acquittances 

in the opposition, the statement said: 

“The Minister had always insisted that 

his political affiliation cannot threaten his 

friendship with Nigerians across the 

board. For the avoidance of doubt, the 

Minister is not -overtly or covertly - 

supporting the Presidential candidate of 

the PDP nor is he sitting on the fence. He 

is irreversibly commitment to the reelection 

of President Buhari and all APC 

candidates 

“It is important to state here that the Dr Ibe 

Kachikwu has no ulterior motives nor seeks 

Manager 

Progressives Congress, APC getting the 

majority in the Senate. 

His major contenders for the position in the 

APC, Senator George Akume and possibly 

Senator Godswill Akpabio were eased out in 

the Senate contests in their respective 

constituencies. 

In the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP eyes 

were also fixing on fifth term senator, Senator 

James Manager (Delta South) and Senator- 

Elect Gabriel Suswam, (Benue) who would get 

a ranking advantage on the basis of his 

membership in the House of Representatives 

from 1999 to 2007. 

According to the tradition of the PDP, the 

Senate President in a PDP government comes 

from the section of the country where the 

incumbent president comes from. Should 

Kachikwu not 

supporting Atiku 

—Delta APC 

to undermine, usurp or dwarf the political 

fortune or interest of anyone. His contributions 

to the Delta APC is consistent with his 

character of achieving a result. Therefore, the 

futile attempt to impugn his person will only 

lead to a collision course that will undermine 

all the gains of the party so far.” 

Noting the efforts of the minister in 

improving the lot of the party in the state, 

the council deposed: 

“The unparalleled efforts of the 

Honourable Minister in repositioning the 

APC in the State, to make it a viable 

opposition to the ruling PDP cannot be 

overemphasized. “While Kachikwu is not 

someone who craves media attention or 

flaunt his achievement, it has become 

expedient to state some of his commitment 

to not only the campaign but the Party.” 

The statement affirmed that Dr. Kachikwu 

has since his appointment as minister been 

'We have delivered' – Ali Sheriff 

By Ndahi Marama, Maiduguri 

Former national chairman of 

the Peoples Democratic Party, 

PDP, Senator Modu Ali Sheriff 

yesterday took pride of his role in 

the trouncing of his former party 

by the ruling All Progressives 

Congress, APC in the presidential 

and National Assembly elections. 

Sheriff, now a chieftain of the 

APC said on Monday that Borno 

State has fulfilled its promise of 

delivering most of the votes cast 

during the Saturday General 

Election in favour of President 

Muhammadu Buhari. 

Mr. Sheriff, a former governor of 

Borno State spoke to journalists at 

the venue of the presidential 

collation center in Maiduguri. 

The former Senator said he led a 

separate campaign, aside the state 

campaign council of the APC to 

Lawan 

Atiku Abubakar win that would mean the 

North. However, in the event President 

Muhammadu Buhari wins and with the 

precedence set earlier, any of the influential 

members of the PDP could contest. That would 

leave a senator like Senator Ike Ekweremadu, 

the outgoing deputy president of the Senate an 

opportunity to vie for the office. 

In the House of Representatives, the outgoing 

majority leader, Femi Gbajabiamila (APC, 

Lagos) is believed to be best positioned 

according to the permutations of the party’s 

leaders. His bid could, however, be threatened 

by whatever intentions of the popular outgoing 

Speaker, Yakubu Dogara who has also won 

re-election. Dogara’s main challenge is that 

just like Ekweremadu, a victory for the PDP 

would inhibit them from contesting for the 

position of presiding officer. 

able through consultations and meetings 

been able to make the APC in Delta State 

“a more cohesive and stronger alternative, 

giving the ruling party a run for their money. 

The figures from exit polls in the recent 

elections is a clear testament to this fact.” 

Noting his efforts since the constitution of 

the State APC Presidential Campaign 

Council (PCC), the statement further 

deposed that he intervened to ensure 

“Training of APC party agents for the 

elections which included polling agents, 

ward collation agents, LGA collation agents.” 

The minister the Delta APC Presidential 

Campaign Council further deposed 

provided campaign materials and resource 

materials for both the presidential and 

National Assembly elections. 

“The efforts of the Minister led to the 

successful visit of the Vice President to the 

Senatorial Zones in the State to launch the 

TraderMoni in markets, and visit 

Traditional rulers. Also, the Presidential 

Rally at the Warri Township Stadium was 

very successful and further the narrative 

that the party is grounded in the State. 

“Despite his very tight work schedules, 

the Minister also participated in 

Presidential rallies in other parts of the 

country and Local Government Area rallies 

in the State in support of APC.” 

ensure that the President gets a 

second term. 

Mr. Sheriff said the state has not only 

delivered maximum votes for the 

president but also won all the senatorial 

and House of Representatives seat for 

the ruling APC. Among those who won 

the National Assembly elections is the 

outgoing governor of the state, 

Senator-Elect, Kashim Shettima who 

ironically Sheriff had been at odds 

with. 

A-Ibom PDP 

demands 

adequate 

security for 

INEC offices 

BY Chioma Onuegbu, Uyo 

With the immediate past governor 

of Akwa Ibom State, Senator 

Godswill Akpabio fighting for 

his political life, the state chapter of the 

People's Democratic Party, PDP, yesterday 

demanded adequate security for 


Commission offices across the state. 

The publicity secretary, Comrade Ini 

Ememobong who made the appeal 

yesterday particularly called for strict 

security in Ikot Ekpene senatorial district 

and the state office in Uyo 

Ememobong who made the call at a 

press conference in Uyo, said the call was 

upon intelligence on a plot to burn INEC 

offices in the state aimed at frustrating the 

results of the last Saturday National 

Assembly poll in the area. 

He said, "We are in receipt of impeccable 

intelligence indicating a plan to attack and 

burn INEC offices in ikot Ekpene Senatorial 

District and the headquarters in Uyo . 

"We are hereby appealing that the 

security operatives should provide 

adequate security for all the offices, officers 

and infrastructure of INEC to prevent 

agents from making their threat of 

destroying lives and property. 

"We also appeal to INEC to remain firm, 

resolute and unbending in the discharge 

of their duties. Illegitimate requests must 

never be acceded to." 

He also disclosed that collation of results 

had been done in nine out of 10 local 

government areas in Ikot Ekpene 

Senatorial District and three out of four of 

the House of Representatives seats 

declared by INEC as having been won 

by the PDP with a wide margin of more 

that 60,000 votes. 

He added that the only Local 

Government Area left is Essien Udim, 

which INEC is currently working on. 

He added that the party was not going 

to compromise the result of Ikot Ekpene 

senatorial district, no matter the level of 

appeal from the APC. 

"The Inspector General of Police and the 

entire security apparatus of government 

must engender public confidence about 

their neutrality and must show that no one 

is above the law. 

"All institutions of state must depart from 

partisan tendencies as it is a great threat 

to the sustainability and growth of our 

democracy", he said 

YIAGA set to verify official 

presidential election results 

By Ayodele Oluwafemi 

An election observer group, YIAGA Africa has 

assured Nigerians of its readiness to verify the 

accuracy of the official presidential election results 

announced by the Independent National Electoral 


The group, in a statement, yesterday, stated that it 

has received and processed data from the sampled 

polling units, across the 36 states including FCT. 

It would be recalled that YIAGA Africa announced 

the deployment of 3,906 election observers to polling 

units in all 774 local government areas across the 

country, to monitor and observe the election 

proceedings. 

The statement reads: " YIAGA Africa's preliminary 

estimates indicate that turnout for the February 

elections will be between 36% and 40% based on 

official turnout figures collected from the PVTs 

representatives statistical sample of polling units 

across the 774 LGAs in the country. If INEC's official 

turnout falls within WTV's estimated range then it 

accurately reflects the ballots cast at polling units.

Vanguard, TUESDAY FEBRUARY 26, 2019 — 43 

Mixed fortunes for governors’ Senate bids 


It was a mixed fortune for outgo 

ing governors bidding for the 

Senate in last weekend’s National 

Assembly election as two of the 

nine outgoing governors lost their bid 

and three outrightly being declared 

victors. The fate of two of the other outgoing 

governors was still unclear yesterday. 

Those who lost out yesterday were 

Senator Senator Abiola Ajimobi, the 

outgoing governor of Oyo State who 

failed to make a return to the Oyo 

South Senate seat and Governor 

Ibrahim Dankwambo of Gombe State 

who failed in his bid to represent the 

Gombe North Senate seat. 

Governor Ajimobi had prior to his 

election as governor served in the Senate 

between 2003 and 2007. 

Dankwambo on his part had prior to 

his election as governor been the accountant 

general of the federation, AGF. 

However, five governors were as at 

press time been declared as senatorselect. 

Those who won include Senator 

Ibikunle Amosun, Kashim Shetimma 

(Borno), Ibrahim Gaidam (Yobe). 

PDP, APC chieftains in war of words as Akpabio 

loses Senate seat 

By Harris Emmanuel & 

Chioma Onuegbu 

UYO—Chieftains of the Peoples 

Democratic Party, PDP and All 

Progressives Congress, APC 

were last night engaged in a war of words 

over the process that led to the PDP 

triumphing in the presidential and 

National Assembly elections conducted 

in the state. 

Presidential candidate of the PDP Atiku 

Abubabr won 28 of the 30 local 

government areas in the state, while 

President Muhammadu Buhari of the 

APC took two councils. 

The election in Udung Uko was 

cancelled due to alleged dviolence and 

irregularities arising from snatching of 

ballot boxes, result sheets and card 

readers 

Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mike 

Igini commended the various 

stakeholders for the peaceful conduct of 

the polls despite pockets of skirmishes in 

Dankwambo 

Akpabio 

the state. He however bemoaned the 

destruction of INEC materials and attacks 

on the staff of the Commission by thugs 

working for the politicians. 

‘’Those who are threatening our staff 

should stop it. The intimidation is getting 

Agbaje alleges manipulation of Lagos 

result, demands prosecution of thugs 

By Gabriel Olawale 

The Governorship Candidate of the 

People's Democratic Party (PDP) 

in Lagos, Mr. Jimi Agbaje, has 

alleged that manipulation of the results 

of last Saturday's elections. 

Agbaje, who addressed a Press 

Conference in his campaign office on 

Ikorodu Road, Lagos, expressed concern 

over the delay in the release of the result 

of the election. He spoke before the 

release of the results in Lagos. 

His words: "The problems started from 

the polling units. The guidelines were 

very clear, that after election and 

counting of votes, election results are 

supposed to be pasted on the wall at 

the polling unit. We have no reports that 

election results were pasted anywhere 

in Lagos State. That was the beginning 

of the problem. 

"At the collation centres, we had a lot of 

intimidation of our agents. The ruling 

party had a multiplicity of party agents 

representing it. We had a situation where 

officails of the Lagos State government 

showed up and were represented in their 

numbers against the lone voices of our 

agents. We had a situation where our 

collation agents were arrested, leaving us 

unrepresented at the collation stage. That 

again is not acceptable us. 

"We go back to the election day, where 

in a lot of cases, we had a situation where 

the card readers did not function, including 

my own voting unit. It created a situation 

where the electoral agents were unable 

to verify the identity of voters vis-a-vis the 

PVCs presented. 

"Now we are calling on security agents 

to bring to book those who caused the 

mayhem in Okota, Coker Aguda and 

several other places in Lagos State. And 

that is very important. If we are going to 

talk about democracy, then we have to 

practise the culture. It means that 

everybody will play his part. Voters will 

come and vote and we have assured them 

that their votes count. 

Ajimobi 

As at press time, the position of Governor 

Abdulaziz Yari and Rochas 

Okorocha was still unclear. The circumstances 

surrounding the declaration 

of Governor Rochas Okorocha as 

senator-elect for Imo West threw up 

controversy yesterday following allegations 

that the result was declared 

under duress. 

There are presently at least 14 former 

governors in the Senate. Two of them, 

Senators Bukola Saraki and Godswill 

Akpabio have been reported to have 

lost their re-election bids. 

too much. I am here to 

preside over the affairs of 

elections in this state. For 

the first time to ensure 

credibility of the elections, 

materials were deployed 

and there were destroyed 

and at a great loss to our 

country. The time to snatch 

ballot boxes and write 

results is over. If you can 

win, you will win’’, he said. 

The APC, however, 

rejected the results. 

Addressing the press 

after the collation of the 

results, Presidential Agent 

for APC, Bishop Samuel 

Akpan, alleged that the 

election was fraught with 

irregularities and 

completely short of democratic norms. 

State Party Agent, Umana Umana said, 

‘’the position of our party is well 

documented. The whole process of 

collation is not satisfactory to our party. 

Votes buying were experienced all over 

the state. We hope that the umpire will 

take note of the grievances in our petition. 

We are talking about the integrity of the 

process. We are saying that the umpire 

to be seen to be fair to all concerns. 

A chieftain of the PDP, Senator Anietie 

Okon, while fielding questions from 

reporters on the outcome of the 

presidential and National Assembly polls 

applauded INEC for the use of card 

readers which he stressed, made the 

elections smooth and transparent. 

‘’the deployment of digital technology 

has allowed to be verified and to be 

publicized as they happen’’, he said. 

On the forthcoming governorship and 

state house of assembly polls, he said the 

PDP would still win because it is in total 

control of the polity. ‘’We are winning. It 

is a sealed affair because we in charge 

and you know we have the support of 

the people. Akwa Ibom people are 

standing and walking tall and proud 

because of the achievements of the 

governor and PDP government’’, he said. 

Meanwhile, Senator Godswill Akpabio 

has lost bid to return to the Red Chamber 

as he was defeated by the former deputy 

governor, Dr. Chris Ekpeyong in Ikot 

Ekpene Senatorial District. 

YDP national 

chairman slams 

destruction of party 

signals in Bayelsa 

By Olayinka Ajayi 

The Young Democratic Party, 

YDP has flayed the 

destruction of its campaign 

materials in Opokuma, Bayelsa 

State by thugs the party claimed 

yesterday were aligned to the 

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). 

The national chairman of the party, 

Mrs. Georgina Dakpokpo in a 

statement made available to 

Vanguard affirmed that the 

destruction was part of the efforts to 

muzzle the party in the state. 

“Despite attempts to oppress and 

intimidate our Candidate, Engr Elvis 

Donkemezuo and supporters from 

time to time to no avail, it has become 

worrisome why the PDP is so scared 

of the growing popularity of the 

Young Democratic Party and our 

candidate in Kolokuma-Opokuma 

Constituency 2, so much that they 

have resorted to defacing our posters 

and banners around the constituency. 

“As if that’s not enough they 

outrightly dismantled the new ones 

he put up with a futuristic 

architectural design of the Opokuma 

junction motorbike/Bus Terminal that 

cost him over a million naira. We lay 

emphasis on this to show the quantum 

cost of the destructions on our party’s 

candidates and supporters. 

“We shall maintain our methods 

and not be deterred by the 

shenanigans of desperate politicians 

who only seek power as an end in 

itself and are desperate to do 

everything to get it.” 

She therefore called on the 

relevant authorities to investigate 

this matter and call the perpetrators 

to order and on the party’s 

supporters to remain calm. 

APC clinches 

Brass/Nembe 

reps seat in 

Bayelsa 

By Emem Idio 

YENAGOA- THE All 


APC, candidate Mr Isreal 

Sunny-Goli has been declared 

winner of the Brass-Nembe Federal 

House of Representatives seat in 

Bayelsa State. 

Sunny-Igoli, who is the current 

member representing Brass 

Constituency one in the Bayelsa 

State House of Assembly, polled 

41,150 votes to defeat his closest 

rival and the Peoples Democratic 

Party, PDP, candidate Mrs Marie 

Ebikake who polled 19,279 votes. 

Sunny-Goli was declared winner by 

the returning officer Professor 

Lawrence Ohale today at the early 

INEC Collation Centre in Brass, who 

stated the lawmaker satisfied all 

requirements and scored the highest 

number of votes in the election.

44 — Vanguard, TUESDAY FEBRUARY 26, 2019 

Don’t be taken in by PDP’s 

claims – Keyamo tells observers 


The All Progressives 

Congress, APC 

presidential campaign 

yesterday called on the 

international community not to 

be deceived by what it claimed 

were theatrics by the 

opposition Peoples Democratic 

Party, PDP to deceive it about 

the integrity of the presidential 

election. 

The campaign in a statement 

articulated by its spokesman, 

Mr. Festus Keyamo alleged 

that claims about irregularities 

in last weekend’s election was 

part of the scheme it claimed 

were prepared by the 

opposition to impugn the 

credibility of the election. 

The appeal to the 


follows earlier questions on the 

role of foreign observers in the 

conduct of the election by the 

APC campaign. 

Mr. Keyamo in the statement 

said: 

“It has become imperative to 

issue this statement against the 

backdrop of the dangerous 

extent to which the main 

Opposition Party (PDP) is 

taking the machinations to 

discredit and destabilize the 

process that would lead to a 

logical completion of the 

February 23, 2019, Presidential 

Elections by way of 

announcement of results in 

line with the established 

procedure in the Electoral Law. 

“Overall and from reports 

received in the Situation Room 

of the Election Planning and 

Monitoring Directorate of the 

All Progressives Congress from 

across our country, at this point 

it is safe to conclude that the 


Electoral Commission (INEC) 

has done a good job despite 

the challenges and the delays 

experienced in some cases. 

With over 84 million 

Permanent Voters Cards (71 m 

collected), mobilising the 

citizenry to exercise their 

democratic right to vote has 

been a massive undertaking 

but, thankfully, it was 

conducted largely peacefully 

and on schedule. We wish to 

acknowledge and thank all the 

regional, continental and 

global observer groups that 

have acknowledged the 

peaceful, transparent process 

in their various preliminary 

reports issued earlier today. 

“Against this backdrop, the 

plethora of unconstitutional 

acts by the main opposition 

(PDP) and its sympathizers like 

urging a premature declaration 

of its candidate as winner and 

filling the social media space 

with fake results transcend all 

boundaries of descent conduct. 

“However, we urge our 

international friends, observers 

and patriotic Nigerians not to 

be deceived. Very early in the 

build up to the Elections, the 

Peoples Democratic Party and 

its Presidential candidate 

embarked on a cynical plan 

•Keyamo 

to discredit INEC as a backup 

plan in the likely event of them 

losing the election. You would 

recall, in this respect, 

unsubstantiated and wild 

claims made by Candidate 

Atiku and his cohorts that were 

all designed to put a question 

mark around INEC and 

damage the faith of the 

electorate in the democratic 

process. 

“This is an assault on our 

democracy; it is an affront to 

millions of Nigerians who 

trooped out to exercise their 

civic duty by voting in the 

elections. The PDP is, in 

essence and most 

unfortunately, saying that if 

they don’t win fairly then they 

are willing to tear down the 

walls to get their way by hook 

or by crook. 

“In spite of this unjustifiable 

and provocative stance, we are 

confident that the results by 

INEC are free and fair. Our 

elections have progressed over 

the years and we ask that the 

PDP do not derail us to the dark 

past with its childish antics. 

The announcements by INEC 

which has gotten underway 

will be concluded in due 

course. Let us all be patient and 

let this credible process take its 

course.” 

Delta South Senate Seat: 

Central is opposition 

stronghold in Delta 

By Emma Amaize, 

Jimitota Onoyume, Festus 

Ahon, Chancel Sunday, 

Perez Brisibe 

Presidential candidate 

of the Peoples 


Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has 

taken the lead in the count in 

Delta State in results in 12 

local government areas so far 

released by the Independent 



Meanwhile, the Delta 

Central Senatorial district has 

retained its position as the 

centre for opposition in the 

state after Senator Ovie Omo- 

Agege retained his seat on the 

platform of the All 

Progressives Congress, APC. 

Meantime, Senator Peter 

Nwaoboshi of the PDP, has 

won the Delta North 

Senatorial seat . 

Oshiomhole, Edo deputy 

governor record highest votes 

for APC 

By Alemma-Aliu 

Benin City – The 

National Chairman of 


Congress (APC), Comrade 

Adams Oshiomhole and State 

Deputy Governor, Rt. Hon. 

Comrade Philip Shaibu 

delivered the highest votes for 

the APC in the last Saturday’s 

election in the state. 

Oshiomhole recorded 775 

votes in his Unit 1, Ward 10 

Uduaghan seeks cancellation of result 

By Emma Amaize 

ASABA - ALL Progressives 

Congress, APC, Delta 

South Senatorial candidate 

and former Governor of Delta 

State, Dr. Emmanuel 

Uduaghan, has called for the 

cancellation of the district’s 

senatorial polls held last 

Saturday, saying it was 

massively rigged. 

In a petition to the Resident 

Electoral Commissioner, Delta 

State, by his lawyer, E. Otaru, 

he said there was massive 

election malpractices 

“perpetrated through voter 

intimidation, where voters 

were compelled to vote against 

their conscience by thugs, who 

were openly brandishing 

various dangerous weapons.” 

Uduaghan's petition to the 

state Independent National 

Electoral Commission, INEC, 

Commissioner came as the 

Collation Officer was still 

collating the senatorial results at 

Oleh in Isoko area of the state. 

He provided videos of some 

persons being intimidated with 

woods by thugs allegedly at 

polling units 5, 6, 7, 8 in Ogbe 

•Uduaghan 

Ijoh Ward One, Warri South West 

LGA, parts of Bomadi, four wards 

in Warri South-West and part of 

Warri North. 

According to his lawyer, 

“Voting slips were hijacked 

and in some cases, destroyed, 

especially in polling units 

where it is perceived that the 

APC, head the upper level. 

“It is pertinent to point out 

that these malpractices were 

made possible by 

the collaboration of 

INEC officials with 

these thugs 

identified as the 


Party, PDP, 

supporters. 

“The areas where 

these malpractices 

were more brazen 

and massive 

include Burutu, 

Warri North, Warri 

South, Bomadi, 

Patani, Warri 

South-West , Isoko 

North and Isoko 

South Local 

Government Areas. 

“It is obvious that the outcome 

and/or the results from the 

above listed local government 

areas, if nothing is done about 

them will reflect not reflect the 

will of people and their wish to 

freely elect the candidate of 

their choice. 

“Based on the foregoing, we 

have our client’s instructions to call 

on you sir and appeal that the 

election in the aforementioned 

local government areas be 

cancelled,” his lawyer said. 

Senator Peter Nwaoboshi 

polled 186,423 votes, beating 

his closest rival Doris Uboh 

of the All Progressives 

Congress, APC who scored 

36,360 

The result of the Delta South 

Senatorial District was yet to 

be declared but Senator James 

Manager of the PDP was 

believed to be on the lead in 

all but one of the Local 

Government Areas in the 

Senatorial District, a 

development that prompted 

his APC rival, Dr. Emmanuel 

Uduaghan to fire a petition 

against the conduct of the 

election. 

For the House of 

Representatives, Hon 

Nicholas Mutu of the PDP 

won the Patani/Bomadi 

federal constituency seat to 

become the longest serving 

member of the House of 

Representatives. 

•Oshiomhole 

in his Iyamho country home 

as against PDP’s zero vote. 

On his part, the Deputy 

Governor, recorded 1,749 votes 

in his Unit 5, Ward 11 out of 

the 2,401 votes cast an 

indication that the Deputy 

Governor’s unit may have 

clinched the highest votes unit 

prize award promised by 

Governor Godwin Obaseki. 

Similarly, wife of the Deputy 

Governor, Mrs. Maryann 

Philip-Shaibu recorded 926 out 

of the 1,182 votes cast in her 

Unit 1, Ward 11. 

Her unit is in South Ibie 

Road, Jattu as against her 

husband’s Unit 5 in Agenebode 

Road, Jattu, Interestingly, the 

trio voted in Etsako West Local 

Government of the state but in 

different units. 

Available records reveal that 

Etsako West has the highest 

voting population in Edo State 

after the metropolitan Oredo 

Local Government. 

It would be recalled that 

Governor Godwin Obaseki in 

the course of his campaign 

tours of wards across the state 

promised a handsome cash 

reward to any unit that delivers 

the highest votes to the APC in 

the 2019 general elections.


Buhari leads, wins in 11 of 18 states, Atiku 7 


defeated Jonathan in 2015 

in the state. In 2015, 

Buhari polled 792,460 

votes, while Jonathan got 

632,327. 

In the latest results 

announced by the INEC 

in Yaba, Lagos, yesterday 

afternoon, Buhari polled 

580,814 votes to beat 

Atiku, who got 448,016 

votes. While Buhari won 

in 15 local government 

areas of Lagos, while 

Atiku won in five 

councils. 

How Buhari won 

in Nasarawa 

In Nasarawa, 

Azubuike Nwankwo, the 

Returning Officer for the 

state, said that Buhari 

polled 289, 903 votes to 

defeat Atiku Abubakar 

who scored 283,847 

votes. 

The result showed that 

Buhari won in eight out 

of the 13 local 

government areas of the 

state with Mr Abubakar 

winning in five. 

Mr Nwankwo said 

613,720 voters were 

accredited, while the 

total votes cast at 

presidential election in 

the state stood at 599,399. 

Buhari records 

landslide victory 

in Yobe 

In Yobe Buhari 

recorded a landslide 

victory over Atiku. He 

polled 497,914 votes as 

against to beat the 

Atiku’s 50,763 votes. 

Prof. Abubakar 

Gunduri, the state 

Collation officer, 

announced the result 

after collation from the 17 

local government areas 

in the state, yesterday. 

He said that the state 

had 1,365,913 registered 

voters, out of which, 

601,059 were accredited 

for the election. Mr 

Gunduri added that a 

total of 586,137 votes 

were cast. 

Atiku wins 

Adamawa 

presidential 

election 

Atiku Abubakar, won in 

his home state of 

Adamawa, where he 

polled 412, 266 votes to 

defeat President Buhari, 

his closest challenger 

who scored 377,488. 

Mr Buhari, however, 

won 11 of the state’s 21 

local government areas, 

while Mr Abubakar 

picked the remaining 10. 

The results show a 

difference of 34,778 votes 

between them. 

Atiku beats 

Buhari in Oyo, 

Ondo 

In Oyo, Abubakar won 

in 18 of the 33 local 

government areas 

polling 366,592 votes, 

while Buhari won in the 

remaining 15 local 

government areas scored 

365,229 votes. 

The results were 

released, yesterdy, by 

AbdulKareem Suleiman- 

Age, INEC chief 

collation officer for Oyo 

presidential election. 

Suleiman-Age is the 

vice-chancellor of the 

University of Ilorin. 

The results showed that 

Atiku won in Ibarapa 

east, Ibarapa north, 

Ogbomosho north, 

Ogbomosho south, Afijio, 

Saki east, Kajola, 

Iwajowa, Ibadan north 

west and Olorunsogo. 

Others are: Ona Ara, 

Surulere, Ibadan North, 

Ogo-Oluwa, Akinyele, 

Orire, Lagelu and 

Ibadan North east. 

Buhari emerged 

winner in Egbeda, 

Irepodun, Oluyole, 

Itesiwaju, Saki west, 

Atisbo, Iseyin, Orelope, 

Ibarapa central, Ido, Oyo 

east, Atiba, Oyo est, 

Ibadan south west and 

Ibadan South-East. 

Also, Atiku defeated 

Buhari in Ondo State. 

INEC returning officer, 

Prof Kayode Soremekun 

said Atiku polled 275 

,901 votes to defeat 

President Buhari who 

had 241 ,769 votes. 

Soremekun said that 

the PDP candidate won 

patriotic Nigerians not to 

be deceived. Very early in 

the build-up to the 

elections, the Peoples 

Democratic Party and its 


embarked on a cynical 

plan to discredit INEC as 

a backup plan in the likely 

event of them losing the 

election,” Mr Keyamo 

said 

“You would recall, in this 

respect, unsubstantiated 

and wild claims made by 

the PDP Candidate, Alhaji 

Atiku Abubakar and his 

cohorts that were all 

designed to put a 

question mark around 

INEC and damage the 

faith of the electorate in 

the democratic process,” 

he added. 

He congratulated the 

INEC domestic and 

foreign observers for the 

conduct of a peaceful free 

and fair election. 

He urged the missions 

not to be deceived by the 

PDP “as their motive is to 

discredit the work of the 

electoral commission”. 


APC is confident that the 

results released by INEC 

are free and fair. 

“Overall and from 

reports received in the 

Situation Room of the 

in 12 council areas while 

the PDP won in six 

councils. 

Councils won by the 

opposition PDP include 

lrele, Ondo East, Akure 

North, Akure South, 

ldanre, lfedore, ile- 

Oluji/ Oke- igbo, Ose, 

Okitipupa and Ese- Odo. 

The ruling APC won in 

Owo, Akoko South East, 

Akoko North West, Akoko 

North East, Akoko South 

West and Odigbo. 

Giving the analysis, the 

returning officer said 

1,812 ,567 were 

registered voters, 598586 

were accredited while 

total valid votes stood at 

555984 

The total number of 

total votes cast according 

to him was 586,827 while 

rejected votes were 

30,833. 

Buhari wins in 

Sokoto 

President Buhari won 

State the polls in Sokoto 

State. 

He got 490, 333 votes 

to beat Atiku, who scored 

361,604 votes. 

The Sokoto State 

Collation Officer for 

Presidential election, 

Prof. Muhammed 

Yahuza of the Bayero 

University Kano, who 

presided over the 

collation, announced the 

result. 

Polls: PDP rejects results; 

summons legal team 


Election Planning and 

Monitoring Directorate of 


Congress from across our 

country, at this point it is 

safe to conclude that the 


Electoral Commission 

(INEC) has done a good 

job despite the challenges 

and the delays 

experienced in some 

cases.” 

He warned the 

opposition party not to 

play on the sensibilities of 

Nigerians. 

“This is an assault on 

our democracy; it is an 

affront to millions of 

Nigerians who trooped 

out to exercise their civic 

duty by voting in the 

elections. The PDP is, in 

essence, and most, 

unfortunately, saying that 

if they don’t win fairly 

then, they are willing to 

tear down the walls to get 

their way by hook or by 

crook. 

“In spite of this 

unjustifiable and 

provocative stance, we are 

confident that the results 

by INEC are free and fair. 

Our elections have 

progressed over the years, 

and we ask that the PDP 

does not derail us to the 

dark past with its childish 

antics.”


Mourinho: Kepa left 

Sarri fragile at Chelsea 

Jose Mourinho believes 

Kepa Arrizabalaga's 

actions in the Carabao Cup 

final left Chelsea head 

coach Maurizio Sarri in a 

"very fragile" situation. 

Mourinho believes Kepa's 

actions have created a 

"complicated situation" at 

Stamford Bridge. 

When asked if he had any 

experience of a player 

refusing the leave the pitch 

during his managerial 

career, Mourinho 

told DAZN: "No, luckily I 

never had to live through 

anything like this. 

"I think on the one hand 

the goalkeeper wants to 

show his personality, his 

confidence, and wants to 

say 'I'm here, I want to go 

to penalties and save them, 

and I am here with the 

confidence that I will go and 

do it'. And this is what I like. 

"But then I don't really 

like that he [Kepa] leaves 

the manager, the coaches 

and everyone else in a 

very fragile situation, 

also including one 

of his own teammates 

who was 

ready to enter 

the pitch. 

"Eventually we 

saw how he 

[Caballero] was thrown into 

a mess that he wasn't really 

part of. It saddens me, because 

it's a really complicated 

situation." 

Terry: Sarri should have forced 

Kepa to come off 

Following the incredible scenes 

towards the end of the Carabao 

Cup final on Sunday, former 

captain John Terry weighed in with 

his thoughts. 

Club legend Terry had sympathy 

for coach Maurizio Sarri and 

believes Kepa should have been 

forced off. 

"It left Sarri in a tough situation. I 

was surprised he didn't force him 

(Kepa) to come off," Terry told Sky 

Benzema: I'm now Madrid leader 

Real Madrid striker Karim 

Benzema has spoken about his 

new lease of life at Real Madrid in 

the 2018-19 season and the way 

his role on the pitch and in the 

dressing room has changed since 

the departure of his former strike 

partner Cristiano Ronaldofor 

Juventus last summer. 

“Before, I played for Cristiano. I 

was always looking for him to help 

him to score more goals. I was 

Golden Shoe race 

Ronaldo falls 

behind Messi, 

Mbappé 

•Benzema 

Lionel Messi's hat trick against Sevilla has 

enabled him to stretch his lead at the top of 

the 2019 Golden Show rankings. The Barcelona 

forward is on 25 goals, and tops the table on 50 

points as each goal in LaLiga Santander is 

worth two points. 

In second place is Kylian Mbappé, who was 

also on target this weekend. He is on 22 goals 

and 44 points due to the double coefficient 

in Ligue 1. 

Both players have now opened up a lead 

over Cristiano Ronaldo, who failed to score 

in Juventus' home win over Bologna (Paulo 

Dybala hit the only goal of the game). As it 

stands, Cristiano is on 19 goals and 38 points 

although it must be pointed out that out of the 

top three, Cristiano and Messi have 13 games 

left to play while Mbappé has 12. 

playing second fiddle. Now I’m the 

one who has to take the 

responsibility to show that I want to 

score, that I want to lead my team. I 

can play my real football now. I feel 

a lot more important and I’m happy 

about that,” Benzema said in an 

interview with France Football, an 

advance of which was published 

yesterday. 

Benzema has scored 20 goals in 

40 games this season, his best return 

at this stage of a season since he 

arrived at the Bernabéu alongside 

Ronaldo in 2009. The striker has hit 

11 in LaLiga, four in the Champions 

League and Copa del Rey and one 

in the Spanish Super Cup. 

•Ronaldo 

Sports. 

"It will be 

interesting how it 

pans out in the 

next 24 hours for 

the club. 

"If I was in there, 

I'd be expecting the 

manager to come in 

and deal with it 

instantly," Terry stated. 

Kepa: I didn't 

disobey Sarri 

Kepa Arrizabalaga 

insists he did 

not refuse to be 

taken off in 

Chelsea's EFL 

Cup final defeat 

to Manchester 

City and 

s a y s t h e 

•Mourinho 

EFL Cup final 

•Terry 

•Kepa 

incident was 

simply a 

misunderstanding. 

"Well, first of all, I have to say it 

was misunderstood," Kepa 

explained. "In no moment was it my 

intention to disobey, or anything like 

that with the boss. 

"It was two or three minutes of 

confusion until the medics got to the 

bench, and they explained 

everything well. This was nothing to 

do with the problems I had this 

week, with [my hamstring], it wasn't 

that. And, well, it was 

misunderstood. Because he thought 

I couldn't continue, and - 

fundamentally - I was trying to say 

that, physically, I was fine. 

"I know if you see it from outside, 

I don't know how it went out, it is not 

the best image. I have spoken with 

the boss. I think it was 

misunderstood. I understand that on 

television, on social media, they're 

talking about this but I am here to 

explain it, to say that it wasn't my 

intention to go against the manager. 

We have spoken now, and I was only 

trying to say I'm fine. He thought I 

wasn't fine. It was in tense moments, 

with a lot happening. 

"I thought the bench felt I couldn't 

continue, because it was the second 

time I'd gone to ground. It was extra 

time. We'd run a lot, so [going to 

ground] was also a way of stopping 

the match. We'd had a few moments 

suffering, defending, so it was to 

stop the match and for the team to 

draw breath and not a moment 

where I was saying I couldn't 

continue. 

"It wasn't that I was refusing to be 

substituted, it was a way of trying to 

tell the bench that I was fine." 

Dean out of Tottenham, 

Chelsea clash 

Mike Dean has 

been removed 

as the fourth official for 

Tottenham's trip to 

Chelsea on 

Wednesday. 

The decision to 

remove Dean follows 

his confrontation with 

Mauricio Pochettino at 

the end of Tottenham's 

loss to Burnley on 

Saturday. 

Pochettino was 

involved in a furious 

confrontation with 

Dean in the centrecircle 

at full-time, 

while his assistant 

Jesus Perez could be 

seen angrily pointing 

his finger towards the 

official's face. 

All those involved 

refused to disclose 

what was said when 

asked to comment 

by Sky Sports. 

Dean was due to be 

fourth official for 

Tottenham's trip to 

Stamford Bridge on 

•Dean 

Sunday. 

However, the 

Professional Game 

Match Officials Board 

(PGMOL) have 

confirmed Dean will 

now be on the 

touchline for 

Manchester City's 

match against West 

Ham at the Etihad. 

Joshua vows to 

reconstruct Miller's face 

Anthony Joshua has vowed to "reconstruct" Jarrell 

'Big Baby' Miller's face as the war of words 

between the heavyweight rivals escalated. 

Joshua and 'Big Baby' came together at a London 

press conference on Monday that concluded with a 

tense face-off, though none of the physicality that 

erupted in New York last week. 

"The game-plan is to stop him in seven rounds," 

Miller said about his challenge for Joshua's IBF, WBA 

and WBO titles on June 1 at Madison Square Garden 

A menacing Joshua replied: "He talks about seven 

rounds? 

"Look at his face. I will reconstruct his face and his 

body. 

"I've got 10 years left. This is all I know. I don't know 

football, rugby, NFL, basketball. I know how to knock 

people out and beat them up. 

"Every ounce of spirit he has, I will strip him of it. 

"I will do the job. I am a good boxer, a heavy-handed 

boxer. I have beaten better opponents than any 

heavyweight out there. 

"I will be the surgeon to give him a makeover." 

Sancho keeps pace with Messi 

Unless you’ve been 

hiding in a bear cave 

of late, you’ll know that 

Borussia Dortmund and 

England winger Jadon 

Sancho is the real deal. 

He’s so good, in fact, that 

•Sancho 

Lionel Messi is the only 

player in Europe’s top 

five leagues to have 

produced more assists 

this season. 

Sancho’s latest effort 

came 24 hours after 

Messi’s hat-trick heroics 

in a La Liga match 

against Sevilla. The 18- 

year-old supplied the 

opening goal and 

smashed in a sensational 

first-time volley 

as Dortmund beat Bayer 

Leverkusen 3-2 to 

reestablish their threepoint 

lead over 

defending champions 

Bayern Munich at the 

head of the Bundesliga. 

"It means a lot to us 

today," Sancho 

told bundesliga.com after 

inspiring BVB to a first 

league win in four. "We’ve 

been working hard in 

training."

Emery banks 

on Iwobi as 

Gunners face 

Bournemouth 

Arsenal coach Unai 

Emery is hopeful of 

having Alex Iwobi in top 

shape for Wednesday’s 

EPL clash against 

Bournemouth. 

Iwobi limped out of 

Arsenal’s 2-0 win over 

Southampton on 

Saturday, but according to 

Emery the Super Eagles 

influential midfielder will 

be available. 

The Spaniard said this of 

Iwobi: “I hope it’s only 

one knock and not a more 

important injury. I hope 

he can play Wednesday.” 

He added on the versatile 

Swiss defender: 

“Lichtsteiner has back 

pain but I think he can also 

be okay for Wednesday.” 

And on a 21-year-old 

academy graduate, he 

said: “I hope also 

Maitland-Niles can be 

Mikel 

Osimhen reaches 

10 th goal mark 

Victor Osimhen reached 

the double-digit mark 

for goals in the league for 

the first time in his young 

career after finding the 

net, his tenth of the 

season, as Sporting 

Charleroi suffered a 3-1 

loss at the hands of 

St.Truiden in a Belgian 

First Division A tie at 

Stayen (Sint-Truiden). 

The home team 

established a two-goal 

lead after 31 minutes 

before the Nigeria 

international halved the 

deficit eight minutes 

before half-time. 

Osimhen fired past the 

goalkeeper after a fine 

cross from Ali Gholizadeh 

and came close to 

grabbing an equalizer 

when his effort was saved 

by Kenny Steppe on 42 

minutes. 

Ndidi aims to 

be Europe’s 

best tackler 

As Leicester take on Brighton 

today, midfielder Wilfred Ndidi 

is aiming to put up a good 

performance in his quest to be 

Europe’s best tackling midfielder. 

With 12 games remaining Ndidi is 

currently rated sixth in Europe with his 

Leicester teammate Ricardo Pereira in 

fourth place. 

Crystal Palace right-back Aaron Wan- 

Bissaka and Everton’s midfield 

destroyer Idrissa Gueye are currently 

tied for the lead on 96 completed 

tackles. 

Alaixys Romao, a defensive midfielder 

for French side Reims, is third on 90, 

and then it’s Ricardo, who has made 89 

successful tackles in his debut City 

season so far. 

Ndidi is in sixth, level with Wolves’ 

Joao Moutinho on 86. Last season 

Ndidi racked up 138 tackles to finish 

the English premiership best. 

Mikel is key for Boro, says QPR boss 

Queens Park Rangers 

coach Steve 

McClaren has praised 

John Obi Mikel’s 

contribution to 

Middlesbrough in the 

English Championship. 

According to the former 

England coach, Mikel has 

been an excellent signing 

for Boro. 

Mikel put up a 

commanding performance 

on his fifth Championship 

appearance as goals from 

Elsewhere, 

new signing 

I y a y i 

Atiemwen 

opened his 

goalscoring 

account for 

Dinamo Zagreb 

as they 

claimed a 3-0 

win against 

NK Osijek at 

S t a d i o n 

Maksimir. 

The former 

Nigeria U23 Osimhen 

international, 

who was 

making his 

f o u r t h 

appearance in all 

competitions for 

his new 

employer, 

extended Dinamo 

Zagreb’s lead to 

2– 0 in the 21st minute. 

Jonathan Howson and 

Ashley Fletcher sealed 

victory for the hosts at the 

Riverside Stadium. 

“I think Mikel has been an 

excellent signing,” 

McClaren told Teesside 

Live. 

“You always have that one 

player who gives you 

stability, control, never 

gives the ball away. 

“They’ve got one of the 

best, a Champions League 

winner. He dominates in 

SEagles 

uper 

keeper, Francis 

Uzoho has won 

an appeal over 

the decision of 

the Cyprus 

F o o t b a l l 

Association to 

suspend him. 

The youngster 

who joined 

Ahead of El Clasico: 

Real Madrid not afraid of Messi— Vinicius 

Vinicius Junior has 

boldly declared that 

Lionel Messi does not 

scare Real Madrid, with 

the Blancos preparing for 

back-to-back Clasico 

clashes with Barcelona 

and their talismanic 

skipper. 

The first of those fixtures 

is set to be staged on 

Wednesday, as Santiago 

Bernabeu plays host to the 

second leg of a Copa del 

Rey semi-final. 

That contest, which is 

currently locked at 1-1, 

will be followed on 

Saturday by another derby 

duel in the Spanish 

capital. 

Vinicius insists the 

Blancos, who edged out 

Levante in their most 

recent outing to remain 

nine points adrift of their 

arch-rivals in the Liga title 

race , are ready for the 

challenges to come. 

He told reporters: “We’re 

ready for El Clasico. 

“There’s two in one week 

and we know all football 

fans look forward to them. 

“I can’t wait to play in it, 

it’s a very important 

match. Every player 

would love to be involved 

in a Clasico!” 

“Messi is always there. 

He’s an incredible player 

but we aren’t scared of 

anybody. 

“We’re ready and have the 

best players in the world.” 

Ndidi 


there, he takes care of the 

ball. 

“Every team needs a 

Mikel. He’s certainly the 

kind of enforcer in there, 

defensively and he keeps 

the ball ticking. 

“I’ve been impressed with 

him. He’s given another 

edge to Middlesbrough.” 

Middlesbrough have lost 

just a game the former 

Chelsea midfielder has 

featured in, winning three 

and settling for a draw in 

his five league outings. 

Uzoho 

Balogun to miss Brighton 

clash against Leicester 

Brighton and Hove 

Albion manager Chris 

Hughton has confirmed 

that Leon Balogun will 

miss their visit to Leicester 

City today. 

The 30-year-old is yet to 

recover from a shoulder 

injury he suffered in 

training a fortnight ago 

and has not been listed in 

the Seagulls’ travelling 

squad to Leicester. 

Balogun was last in action 

on February 6 in his side’s 

3-1 FA Cup win over West 

Bromwich Albion and has 

missed two consecutive 

matches so far. 

“Leon Balogun is the only 

Kaizer Chief 

fans slam 

Akpeyi 

Kaizer Chiefs fans are 

unhappy with super 

Eagles goalkeeper, Daniel 

Akpeyi after his howler 

against 8th placed 

Polokwane City in the 

South Africa Premier 

Soccer League cost the 

team two valuable points. 

Kaizer Chiefs took the 

lead in the 15th minute 

through Daniel Cardoso’s 

well-executed penalty but 

were pegged back by the 

home side through Walter 

Tetenda Musona’s 35-yard 

shot which was fumbled 

by the Nigerian 

goalkeeper who failed to 

make a meaningful 

connection with the ball. 

Reacting to the game and 

Akpeyi’s howler, Kaizer 

Chiefs fans have called for 

the newly signed 

goalkeeper to be benched 

Nigerian international 

Taiwo Awoniyi 

continued his scoring form 

in Belgium as his goal 

was enough for Royal 

Excel Mouscron as they 

defeated bottom-placed 

Lokeren by a goal to nil at 

one not available,” 

Hughton said in his prematch 

conference. 

Balogun switched to the 

English top-flight on a free 

last summer and has 

featured sparingly for 

Brighton this season with 

eight league appearances 

so far - including five 

starts. 

Brighton, currently placed 

16th in the table with 

three points above the 

relegation zone, will aim 

to compound the Foxes’ 

misery as they chase their 

first league since 

December 29. 

Akpeyi 

since he has failed to 

contribute positively to the 

team. 

@karimthagod wrote, 

“@KaizerChiefs 

should’ve given Vries 

more time to grow into the 

goalkeeping position 

instead of spending 

money to bring in Akpeyi 

who has been leaking 

since his arrival.” 

Awoniyi scores 5th goal 

in six appearances for 

Royal Excel 

Uzoho wins appeal over suspension 

Anorthosis on loan in 

January from Spanish side 

Deportivo La Coruna was 

accused of playing with an 

invalid health certificate by 

Apollon Limassol on his 

debut for the Blue White 

against their side on 

February 2. 

The 20-year-old was 

subsequently suspended 

for a game and fined 1,000 

for appearing for Jurgen 

Streppel’s men with 

unauthorised paperwork 

while his club was imposed 

with a nine-point 

deduction. 

However, after an appeal, 

the youngster has been 

cleared of wrongdoing but 

the nine-point deduction 

from Anorthosis has been 

upheld. 

“The CMP Court of Appeal 

in the majority rejected the 

appeal of the Anorthosis 

Famagusta Association and 

upheld the decision of the 

Sports Judge Aristotle 

Vryonidis,” read a 

statement from the CFA. 

the weekend. 

Awoniyi who joined Royal 

Excel Mouscron from 

Liverpool after an 

unsuccessful six months 

spell with Gent in the first 

half of the season has 

proved to be the team’s 

messiah helping the club 

win all six matches played 

in 2019 and scoring five 

times so far. 

Royal Excel Mouscron 

took the lead through 

Awoniyi in the 52nd 

minute of the encounter to 

hand his club the 

maximum three points. 

Awoniyi who was carded 

in the 22nd minute of the 

game had a glorious 

chance to score his second 

goal in the 81st minute but 

his well-taken shot was 

deflected off the post. 

The former U-17 World 

Cup winner has scored 

five goals in six games for 

the 10th placed team since 

joining in January of 2019. 

Mourinho backs Hazard to succeed at Real Madrid 

Jose Mourinho has said 

he believes Eden 

Hazard has got what it 

takes to excel at Real 

Madrid as rumours 

continue to circulate 

around the forward’s 

Chelsea future. 

The Belgium international 

has been heavily linked 

with a move to the La Liga 

giants at the end of this 

season, and said earlier 

this month that a decision 

has already been made on 

his next move. 

Mourinho, who managed 

the 28-year-old at Chelsea 

following his spell as 

Madrid boss, believes they 

could be a good match. 

“Eden’s ambitions, playing 

at Chelsea his whole life or 

going out to a giant like 

Real Madrid,” Mourinho 

said to DAZN. 

“I can’t tell you, because I 

haven’t talked to him for 

quite a while. 

“Let’s talk about talent. 

Does he have the talent to 

play for Real Madrid? He 

does. 

“Does he have the 

personality to wear a super 

heavy shirt and play in front 

of a crowd like the 

Bernabeu? He has 

personality, yes.”

Vanguard, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2019 

TODAY’S PUZZLE 

Sudoku 

FRIDAY’S ANSWER 

TODAY’S CROSSWORD 

QUICK CROSSWORD 

THURSDAY’S SOLUTION 

How to Play Sudoku 

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

of the same number). 

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

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

blocks) contains number from 1 through 9. This means that no 

number can appear twice in any block, column or row. 

No mathematics is involved – no adding, subtraction, division or 

multiplication, just plain logic and your imagination. 

ACROSS 

1 Figure of speech (8) 

6 Zodiac sign (3) 

9 Performed in a play (5) 

10 Chivalrous, dashing (7) 

11 Refuse politely (7) 

13 Free from obstructions (5) 

14 Noon (6) 

15 Poland’s capital (6) 

19 Afterwards (5) 

21 Exterior (7) 

22 Female singing voice (7) 

23 Dire (5) 

24 Scarlet (3) 

25 Clamber (8) 

DOWN 

2 Lured (7) 

3 Assistance (3) 

4 Loftier (6) 

5 Unwilling (9) 

6 Go away (5) 

7 Aquatic mammal (5) 

8 Bicycle for two (6) 

12 Behind with payments 

(2,7) 

16 Proficient (7) 

17 Every seven days (6) 

18 Hue (6) 

19 Defeated contestant (5) 

20 Slightly warm (5) 

23 Provide with weapons (3) 

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26022019 - Polls: PDP rejects results; summons legal team

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