06032019 - POLLS: More security men for Bayelsa, Rivers, Delta, A-Ibom

The election of 

ideal leaders and 

ATTACKS: I’ve 

no personal 

problem with 

You were 

destined by God 

to win second 

term, Sultan, 

PDP flays INEC over 

alleged violation of 

electoral guidelines 

our electoral 

Buhari 

40 

11 

Ooni, others 

process (2) 

— OBASANJO tell Buhari 

9 

Nigerians 

CBN imposes forex restriction on textile imports, moves to revamp industry 

19 

41 

Blame PDP, not Buhari, for 

your hunger, Amaechi tells 

41 

VOL. 26: NO. 63758 WEDNESDAY, MARCH 6, 2019 

POLLS: More security men for 

Bayelsa, Rivers, Delta, A-Ibom 

•As Buhari meets security chiefs in Aso Rock 

•IGP warns against disruption of polls 

•We're ready for them— Delta, A-Ibom, Rivers 

Access Bank Plc... 

By Johnbosco 

Agbakwuru 

ABUJA —Barely 

three days to the 

Governorship 

and State Assembly 

elections, President 

Muhammadu Buhari, 

yesterday, met behind 

closed-doors with the 

service chiefs and heads 

of other security agencies 

at the Presidential Villa, 

Abuja, with a directive that 

more security agents be 

deployed to Bayelsa, 

Rivers, Delta and Akwa 

Ibom states. 

Recall that several 

persons were killed in four 

Continues on Page 5 

Naira 

appreciates 

to N360.77/ 

$ in I&E 

window 41 

Mr & Mrs 

From left: Mr Roosevelt Ogbonna, Group Deputy Managing Director, Access Bank Plc; Mr Herbert Wigwe, GMD/CEO; Mrs 

Ajoritsedere Josephine Awosika, Acting Chairman, and Mr Sunday Ekwochi, Company Secretary, during the court ordered 

meeting of Access Bank Plc in Lagos, yesterday. PHOTO: AKEEM SALAU. 

How currency 

dealers exposed 

Atiku’s men in 

money laundering 

spree —EFCC 

COLUMNISTS 

DEAR BUNMI 

9 

Atiku, PDP file 

motion for leave 

8 

to inspect 

election materials 

45 

PRINCEWILL 

17 

Woeful outing, 

as WAEC records 

26% pass in 

WASSC exams 10 

ROTIMI FASAN 32 

SEE 

INSIDE

2 — VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 6, 2019

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 6, 2019—3

4 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 6, 2019

vanguardnews 

@vanguardnews 

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 6, 2019—5 

NEWS HOTLINES 

POCKET CARTOON 

018773962, 

@vanguardnews 08052867058 

TRADITIONAL RULERS MEET BUHARI— From right: President Muhammadu 

Buhari with the Sultan of Sokoto, H.E. Muhammad Sa'ad Abubakar; Ooni of 

Ife, Imperial Majesty Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi Ojaja II; Alfred Diete-Spiff, 

Amayanabo of Twon-Brass and other members as he receives members of 

the Traditional Rulers Council who came to congratulate him in the State 

House, Abuja, yesterday. 

POLLS: More security men for Bayelsa, Rivers, 

Delta, A- Ibom 

Continues from Page 1 

South-South states during 

the February 23 

presidential and National 

Assembly polls. 

Briefing State House 

correspondents after the 

meeting at the press 

gallery, Acting Inspector- 

General of Police, 

Mohammed Adamu, said 

the security agencies were 

ready to ensure adequate 

security before, during, and 

after the elections. 

He also said the security 

agencies resolved to deal provide 

ruthlessly with anyone that 

would attempt to disrupt a 

peaceful and credible 

election, adding that more 

security personnel had 

been deployed to Bayelsa 

State and other states in the 

Niger Delta. 

The IGP advised the 

public to go out and vote 

for candidates of their 

choice, assuring that 

security had been 

enhanced. 

He said: "We are all aware 

of the fact that we just 

concluded the presidential 

and National Assembly 

elections and we want to 

congratulate Nigerians for 

the peaceful conduct of the 

elections and we are 

prepared now for the 

governorship and the 

House of Assembly 

elections in the country. 

"We will like every 

Nigerian to come out and 

cast his or her vote. The 

security arrangement we 

provided during the 

presidential elections is 

being enhanced so as to 

enabling 

environment for everybody 

to come out and cast his or 

her vote for their preferred 

candidates. 

“We will again advise 

those that will want to 

disrupt the process to 

rethink because during the 

presidential election, we 

had some few challenges 

here and there. 

‘’We will not allow those 

challenges to repeat 

themselves. We are taking 

more security measures to 

address those pockets of 

challenges we noticed. 

“So, thuggery, again, is 

not allowed, ballot 

snatching is not allowed, 

disruption of the election 

process is not allowed. We, 

the security personnel, 

have resolved to deal 

ruthlessly with anybody 

that attempts to disrupt the 

process of this election. 

"For that reason, we 

expect that in every state, 

the conduct of the election 

should be respected. We 

expect that electoral 

materials must not be 

tampered with, we expect 

that the INEC 

(Independent National 

Electoral Commission) 

officials would do their work 

without fear or favour 

without being 

compromised. 

"At the same time, the 

security personnel are to 

perform their duties without 

allowing themselves to be 

compromised. 

"So, we have heightened 

the security arrangement to 

make sure that the election 

goes without any hitch.” 

On whether Police made 

any arrest of people that 

allegedly disrupted the 

election during the 

February 23 elections, the 

IGP said some arrests had 

been made. 

"We have made a number 

of arrests all over the 

country but probably, we 

shall come out with the 

number of arrests we have 

made in terms of those that 

disrupted the process of the 

election in some areas 

within the country. We have 

a lot of arrests. 

"Investigation is ongoing. 

There is an investigative 

team that has been set up, 

headed by the 

Commissioner of Police in 

charge of legal 

(department), they are 

compiling the case files, 

they are investigating 

them. At the end of the 

investigation, the police, 

liaising with INEC, will 

prosecute them." 

On efforts put in place to 

stop killings as well as 

disruption of the elections, 

especially in Bayelsa State, 

the IGP said security 

agencies had increased 

their personnel in the state. 

He said: "In Bayelsa and 

other states within that 

zone, we have taken notice 

of the fact that people there 

are prone to violence; we 

have increased the number 

of security personnel 

posted there. 

"Also, we have increased 

intelligence outfit that has 

been posted there to help 

us identify those people 

that are trying to cause 

problem so that we can take 

them out of the 

environment before they 

cause the problem. 

Therefore, there is increase 

in security personnel." 

While responding to the 

allegation of militarisation 

of the electoral process by 

the security agencies, the 

IGP said: “Well, as I said 

before, the lives of 

Nigerians are secured in 

terms of provision of 

adequate security to come 

out and vote. 

"If you judge what you 

have said with the report 

of the international 

observers and local 

observers, you will see that 

both the local and 

international observers 

have adjudged the process 

to be peaceful. 

"So the pocket of 

challenges you get here 

and there did not affect the 

peaceful conduct of the 

elections. The process was 

peaceful and credible." 

He noted that there was 

a good working 

relationship between the 

police and other sister 

security agencies, pointing 

out the police were saddled 

with the responsibility of 

internal security of the 

country. 

Answering a question on 

which security agency was 

superior to the other, the 

IGP said: “Well, there is no 

superiority in terms of 

security agencies. We only 

talk of the role but when it 

comes to internal security, 

it is the police that is the 

lead agency, other security 

agencies support the 

police.” 

Service Chiefs at the 

meeting were Chief of 

Defence Staff, General 

Gabriel Olonishakin, Chief 

of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Yusuf 

Buratai, Chief of Naval 

Staff, Ibok-Ete Ekwe-Ibas, 

and Chief of Air Staff, Air 

Marshal Sadiq Abubakar. 

Also present at the 

meeting were National 

Security Adviser, Major 

Gen. Babagana Monguno, 

Director General of 

National Intelligence 

Agency, the Director 

General, Department of 

State Services and Acting 

Inspector General of Police, 

IGP Mohammed Adamu. 

The Minister of Interior, 

Lt. Gen. Abdulrahman 

Danbazzau and the 

Minister of Defence, 

Brigadier Gen. Mansur 

Dan-Ali were also in 

attendance. 

We're ready for them — 

Delta, A-Ibom, Rivers 

Reacting to the planned 

deployment yesterday, 

Peoples Democratic Party, 

PDP, in Delta State, alleged 

plots by the All 

Progressives Congress, 

APC, to deploy armed exmilitants 

fully dressed as 

Continues on Page 41 

Presidential poll: Should Atiku challenge outcome in court? (3) 

By Bose Adelaja, Ebun Sessou, Yinka 

Latona, Sophia Ogu, 

Chiamaka Uba & Dickson Omobola 

In my opinion, the 

election was free and 

fair. Atiku should 

accept defeat, there must 

always be a winner or 

loser in an election. 

Atiku should not waste 

his money at the election 

petition tribunal but 

rather, strategise for 

another opportunity. 

Miss Gbemisola Ayoola, 

Accountant 

Atiku should proceed 

and challenge the 

result of presidential 

election at the election 

petition tribunal if he is 

not satisfied with the 

result. 

Moreover, there is room 

for the candidates to 

challenge any election 

result at the court of law 

if they feel their mandate 

was not given to them. 

Mr. John Olusegun 

Engineer 

If Atiku believes that 

the presidential 

election’s result did not 

reflect the true nature of 

the election, he has 

the legal right to 

challenge such result. 

The big question on the 

other hand is: will the 

judiciary deliver a fair 

judgement without any 

form of bias? 

Mr. Edem Chuks 

Interior Decorator 

A 

tiku should accept 

defeat, retire and 

allow the elected 

government do its job. 

Beyond the pockets of 

violence, the people have 

spoken. I enjoin the 

former Vice President to 

leave the stage for the 

next generation. We 

need young, vibrant and 

innovative leaders at this 

point in our history. 

Miss Adeola Awogbemi 

Researcher 

I 

don’t think he 

s h o u l d 

challenge the outcome 

in court. I think he 

should ask himself if there 

is enough evidence to establish 

that there was foul 

play during the presidential 

election. He should 

also do an introspection 

to know if the PDP also 

rigged. If no, challenging 

the outcome will be a 

waste of time and resources. 

Mr. Abubakar Ibrahim, 

Student 

It is necessary for the 

betterment of our 

young democracy. If he 

allows the sham called 

elections that we saw 

some weeks ago, to stand 

unchallenged, same thing 

will happen in future and 

the candidate will be advised 

not to go to court. 

Going to the court is the 

best thing he can do for 

the country bearing in 

mind the millions of Nigerians 

that gave him 

their mandate. They voted 

for him only to be 

rigged out via systemic 

manipulations. 

Mr. Fidelis David, Student

6—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MACRH 6, 2019 

Ekong's family, 

friends seek 

justice over 

11-day detention 

By Chioma Onegbu 

FAMILY and friends of 

Captain Iniobong Ekong 

(retd), Senior Special 

Assistant, SSA to Governor 

Udom Emmanuel of Akwa 

Ibom State on Security Matters 

,have sought the intervention 

of the National Commission on 

Human Rights, NHRC and the 

International community over 

his illegal arrest and detention. 

They have also called on 

authorities concerned to 

address the matter and effect 

the immediate and 

unconditional release of 

Ekong, as well as that of 

Iniobong Edem, a serving 

councillor in Nsit Ubium Local 

Government Area of Akwa 

Ibom State, who was last seen 

with him , same date. 

Addressing newsmen, 

yesterday in Uyo, Ekong's 

elder brother, Mr. Abasekong 

Ekong, lamented that the last 

time they heard from him was 

the call he made on February 

22, 2019, informing that he had 

been invited by the GOC 6 

Division, Major General Jamil 

Sarham, to Port Harcourt, 

Rivers State. 

He said: "Captain Ekong was 

purportedly invited by the 

GOC 6 Division, Major 

General Sarham to Port 

Harcourt based on a petition 

allegedly written by Senator 

Godswill Akpabio against him. 

He has been missing since the 

evening of February 22, and 

the last contact we had with him 

was a phone call made to his 

office by 5p.m, on that day. 

"We are yet to receive a formal 

arrest warrant concerning this 

matter. This gentleman has a 

wife and children, aged parents 

and siblings, friends and 

business associates who are 

distressed about his 

whereabouts since February, 

22; that is 11 clear days since 

he was last seen. 

"It should be noted that 

Captain Ekong is the SSA to 

Akwa Ibom State governor on 

Security Matters and has 

served the state faithfully in 

this capacity with intense 

passion for truth and 

upholding justice in all his 

actions and duty within the 

ambits of the law and 

principles of equity and love 

for the progress and 

development of Akwa Ibom 

State. This he has done for over 

11 years in and out of office." 

On his part, Ekong's friend 

Mr. Oluwafemi Makinde, said 

they were insisting on his 

release because he was being 

detained illegally by the Army 

in a democratic government. 

He said: “We are seeking 

justice, which is the principle 

of fundamental human rights. 

It could be you, me or anybody 

tomorrow.” 

How I was abducted, gang-raped 

for 4 days—16-yr-old girl 

By Jane Echewodo 

EMOTIONS ran high at an 

Ikeja Magistrates’ court 

yesterday, following an account by 

a 16-year-old girl of how she was 

abducted and gang raped by some 

men for four days, in an 

undisclosed area of Lagos. 

In her statement before the court 

the victim said: “I was sent to 

mammy market to buy pepper by 

my aunty. On my way, I saw two 

guys that l did not know from 

anywhere. 

“They called me but I did not 

answer. They came and met 

me, held my hands and put me in 

a tricycle. Immediately my body 

changed and I started feeling 

somehow. 

“Before I could realise what 

happened, I found myself in a room 

but I did not know the place. 

“ But all I remembered when I 

woke up was that I was down on 

the bed and blood was all over my 

body. I looked around and saw two 

guys. Later, two other guys came 

in and anytime I got up to go, they 

would not allow me. 

“Instead they put something like 

white powder in my mouth and I 

fell asleep again. At times they put 

tablet inside coke for me to drink. 

“So I was very weak and I could 

not do anything. They were all 

having sex with me for the four days 

I spent with them. 

“In the night they held my hand 

and we walked for a while before 

returning me back to the room,” she 

added. 

The suspects 

Three of the suspects, among 

them, two students— Toilofari 

Victor, 22; Emmanuel Abdul, 24, 

and a stylist, Leonard Justice, 22— 

were slammed a three count charge 

of conspiracy, defilement and 

abduction of a minor before 

Magistrate Mrs Bola 

Osunsanmi. 

According to the prosecutor, 

lnspector D. Raphael, the defendants 

committed the offence on 

January 30, 2019 at about 

10a.m. at Army Cantonment, 

Maryland, Ikeja, Lagos. 

He alleged that the 

defendants unlawfully 

defiled the victim by 

By Evelyn Usman 

& Daud Olatunji 

Abizzare incident occurred 

Monday, in Maraisa Lane 

community, Igan Road, in the 

Ago-Iwoye area of Ogun 

State, as a 29-year-old man 

allegedly beheaded his 99- 

year-old aunt, Ebunola 

Oroboto, over accusation that 

she was responsible for his 

inability to win lotto, popularly 

called baba Ijebu. 

Vanguard gathered that the 

suspect, Owolabi Adewale, 

had been accusing the 

deceased of bewitching him 

and being the cause of his 

impoverished state. 

Activities at the peaceful 

community was truncated at 

noon, penultimate day, after 

the suspect according to one 

of the residents, stormed his 

family house ranting. 

The resident who gave his 

name simply as Musibau, 

said: “Immediately we sighted 

him, we knew all was not well. 

penetrating her vagina one 

after the other. 

The prosecutor said the 

offences committed by the 

defendants contravened 

sections 411, 269 and 137 of 

the criminal laws of Lagos 

Man blames inability to win lotto 

on 99-yr-old aunt, beheads her 

By Ochuko Akuopha 

THE Police in Delta State 

have arrested two 

herdsmen in connection with 

the killing of two farmers at 

Ndemili community, Ndokwa 

West Local Government Area 

of Delta State. 

Recall that the farmers were 

PROTEST: Members of Peoples Democratic 

Party, PDP, protesting at the Independent National 

Electoral Commission, INEC, office in Abuja. 

PHOTOS: Gbemiga Olamikan. 

He said mama, who was his 

father’s elder sister, had done 

it again. He said she had 

made him lose his chances 

of winning N450,000 in baba 

Ijebu lotto. Mama was 

outside then. 

“Before we knew it, he ran 

inside the house, brought 

out a cutlass and said he 

would kill mama today. 

Mama quickly stood up and 

ran inside the compound. He 

ran after her and beheaded 

her.” 

Musibau said all doors 

were locked to prevent the 

suspect from escaping, until 

policemen from Ago Iwoye 

division led by the Divisional 

Police Officer, CSP Ade 

Adedoyin, arrived. 

Confirming the incident, 

spokesman for the Ogun 

State Police Command, DSP 

Abimbola Oyeyemi, said: 

“The DPO quickly led his 

detectives to the scene where 

the suspect was promptly 

arrested and the cutlass 

killed and some others 

inflicted with gunshot 

injuries when herdsmen 

invaded the community three 

weeks ago. 

A dependable source said 

the suspects were arrested 

around Abavo community by 

the police and members of a 

vigilante team following 

State 2015. 

Magistrate Osunsanmi did 

not take their plea, but ordered 

their remand in prison pending 

advice from the Directorate of 

Public Prosecutions, DPP, and 

adjourned till April 8. 

which he used was also 

recovered. 

“During interrogation, the 

suspect admitted killing the old 

woman with a matchet claiming 

that he had an inclination that 

she was responsible for most of 

his spiritual problems. 

“He stated further that he is 

a regular player of Baba Ijebu 

lotto and that whenever he was 

sure of wining, the deceased 

who was his father’s elder sister 

would use her supernatural 

powers to change the wining 

number. 

“The body of the deceased 

has been deposited at the Ijebu- 

Ode General Hospital mortuary 

for post mortem examination. 

Meanwhile, the 

Commissioner of Police, CP 

Ahmed Iliyasu, has directed the 

Deputy Commissioner of 

Police, State Criminal 

Investigation and Intelligence 

Department, SCIID DCP Wale 

Abass, to take over the case and 

see to diligent prosecution of the 

suspect.” 

Police nab 2 herdsmen over killing of farmers in Delta 

intelligence reports. 

Contacted , Acting Police 

Public Relations Officer of the 

state command, Mr. Chuks 

Orisewez confirmed the arrest 

and said the suspects had been 

taken to the State Criminal 

Investigation Department of the 

command, for further 

investigation.


2 children found 5 years after 

kidnap, suspect nabbed 


& Esther Onyegbula 

A 

woman, Christiana 

Onuchukwu, has been 

arrested in Fadeyi area of Lagos 

State, for allegedly being in the 

custody of two children who were 

declared missing five years ago. 

Frustrated blind mother of one 

of the children, relocated to the 

northern part of the country, after 

a futile search for her six-yearold 

son, said to have been 

abducted in Ebute-Metta area of 

the state. 

Onuchukwu’s arrest was 

effected after one of the children, 

identified simply as Ikimot, 12, 

reported at the Denton Police 

Station that her guardian was 

not her mother, neither was she 

related to her in any way. 

The 12-year-old girl disclosed 

that she was abducted from her 

parents home when she was 

seven years and brought to the 

suspect’s place. She added that 

she never had contact with her 

parents since she was taken 

away from them, begging the 

Police to help reunite her with her 

parents. 

Vanguard gathered that the 

DPO in charge of Denton Police 

Station, CSP Saheed Quadri, led 

a team of detectives to the 

suspect’s residence at 1 Ogati 

Street, Fadeyi, Lagos, where she 

was subsequently apprehended. 

During preliminary 

investigation, another 11 year-old 

boy alleged to have also been 

abducted, was found in her 

custody. 

When contacted, the Lagos State 

Police Public Relations Officer, 

CSP Chike Oti, explained that, 

“When the suspect and 12-yearold 

girl were debriefed, the 

latter stated that she was seven 

years old when she started living 

with the former and that her 

present age is 12. 

“She mentioned another little 

boy called Okashetu Musa as 

another victim of the suspect. 

Thus, the DPO dispatched a team 

of detectives to rescue the boy who 

was abducted when he was six but 

now eleven years old. 

“In his own account, the boy who 

could still speak Hausa said he 

once lived in the Ebute Meta area 

of the state with his mother. 

“The leader of the Hausa 

By Esther Onyegbula 

OPERATIVES of the Lagos 

State Police Command have 

arrested a suspected member of 

an armed robbery gang that 

specialised in terrorising residents 

of Amukoko, Ijora and Ajegunle 

areas of Lagos. 

The suspect identified as Ahmed 

Lukmon, as learned, was on a 

revenge mission in the area. His 

attempt to escape on sighting the 

policemen who were on a routine 

community in Ebute Meta was 

invited to the station to help link 

the child to his parents. 

“The leader, after consultation 

with his subjects, claimed that the 

mother of the boy, a blind woman, 

had relocated to Kastina State 

having lost hope on the 

possibility of finding her child. 

“Meanwhile, the children have 

been reunited with their parents 

By Onozure Dania 

A37-year-old businessman, 

Kelechukwu Williams 

Chukwuanugo, who allegedly 

murdered his lover Lizzy Njideka 

Nnewi, by strangling her with her 

wrapper, yesterday told a Lagos 

High Court, sitting in Igbosere that 

he had no intention of killing the 

deceased whom he claimed to be 

in love with. 

Chukwuanugo, who opened his 

defense sobbed while giving 

evidence, in a count charge of 

murder preferred against him by 

Lagos State. 

The defendant was first 

arraigned on January 20, 2016 

and was remanded in prison 

custody. 

The Lagos State prosecutor, 

Yusuf Sule, had called five 

witnesses and had closed its case. 

At the resumed hearing of the 

matter yesterday, Chukwuanugo 

who was led in evidence by his 

counsel, Mr. C. J. Jiakponna, 

narrated how he met the 

deceased, Lizzy Nzewi, a 

divorcee with four children, in 

Ghana sometime in 2012 and 

how they became lovers. 

He narrated how his late 

girlfriend helped him to obtain 

an International passport, a 

driver’s licence which bore same 

name with hers, in order to make 

it look like they were a couple. 

Narrating how life was snuffed 

out of her, he said: “On the fateful 

day, the deceased went out and 

stayed till midnight. She did not 

answer any of my calls on her 

mobile phone. When she arrived, 

she was drunk and was loudly 

playing loud music in her car. 

“I took her inside the house 

and told her to take her bath 

because she smelled so bad. 

patrol along Oluboade Street 

Amukoko area of Ajegunle, failed 

as he was caught up with. 

When searched, a locally made 

double barrel pistol with one live 

cartridge and two expended 

cartridges were found in his 

possession. Also recovered from 

him were some quantities of weed 

suspected to be India hemp. 

According to Lukmon, “I live at 

Ijora. I was on my way for a revenge 

mission when the police arrested 

me. 

while the suspect was today, 

(yesterday) charged to Ebute 

Meta Magistrate’s Court 5 

with conspiracy, abduction 

and child stealing. 

“The CP has directed the 

Divisional Police Officer to 

intensify efforts in ensuring 

that all the persons connected 

with the crime are arrested 

and prosecuted.” 

I loved her, had no intention of killing 

her—Murder suspect tells court 

“When she went inside the 

bathroom, I dialed her phone 

to check if it was actually on 

silence as she claimed, but it 

rang out. She came out to 

answer the call but found out 

I was the one calling. 

“After some time, the phone 

rang again and a man’s 

picture showed with the name 

Ifeanyi, I picked it and the 

man said ‘baby are you home?’ 

“She came out, snatched the 

phone frm me and we started 

fighting and struggling for the 

phone. 

“She held my manhood so 

hard, I tried to free myself then 

held her neck. 

“The wine on the table 

which I was drinking poured 

on the floor, we slipped and 

fell down. I saw that I was 

bleeding so I entered the 

bathroom to cleanup. 

“When I came out, she was 

still lying on the floor 

motionless. I shifted her and 

saw that she was already 

foaming from the mouth. 

“I didn’t know what to do, I 

took the key to the car, an 

ATM card and ran away.” 

The defendant said when he 

was arrested, he was taken to 

the hospital for treatment. 

However, his counsel made 

an application to the court to 

allow him summon the 

hospital to come and give 

evidence in court. 

He also asked the court to 

allow him apply to the Police to 

produce in court the 

defendant’s international 

passport, drivers’ licence and 

the ATM card seized from him. 

Consequently, Justice 

Akintoye, adjourned the case till 

May 10 for continuation of trial. 

I was on revenge mission— Robbery suspect 

“The day before I was arrested 

I was beaten by some young 

men who live around 

Amukoko. I was going to 

attack them before the long 

arm of the law caught up with 

me.” 

It was gathered that the 

suspect has been transferred 

from Amukoko Police Division 

to the Special Anti-Robbery 

Squad, SARS, at Police 

Command headquarters in 

Ikeja, for further investigation. 

... with Emma'nKen (08163121378) 

Mr. Bernard, go and read 

‘Comparative Advantage’ 

Flavour over to you: In 9 months 

time, we will come visiting... 

One of the lazy youths authored this

C 

M 

Y 

K 

8—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 6, 2019 

vanguardnews @vanguardnews @vanguardnews 

NEWS HOTLINES 

018773962, 

08052867058 

BIRTHDAY: 

General 

Overseer of 

The 

Redeemed 

Christian 

Church of 

God, RCCG, 

Pastor Enoch 

Adeboye 

(middle) 

cutting the 

cake to mark 

his 77th 

birthday. He 

is being 

assisted by 

his wife, 

Pastor (Mrs.) 

Foluke 

Adeboye 

(right) and 

their 

children. 

Atiku, PDP file motion for leave to 

inspect election materials 

•Court okays hearing on suit seeking to void Buhari’s 

election, disqualify Atiku 

By Ikechukwu 

Nnochiri 

A BUJA—PEOPLES 

Democratic Party, PDP, 

and its presidential candidate, 

Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, have 

asked the Presidential election 

tribunal sitting in Abuja to 

compel Independent National 

Electoral Commission, INEC, 

to surrender all the materials 

used for the February 23 

presidential election for 

inspection. 

The tribunal will conduct its 

proceedings at the Court of 

Appeal Headquarters in 

Abuja. 

Atiku and PDP in the motion 

ex-parte applied for leave of 

the tribunal to allow them to 

inspect the voters register, the 

smart card reader machines, 

ballot papers and other vital 

documents used in the 

conduct of the presidential 

election. 

They also want the tribunal 

to compel the electoral body 

to allow their agents to scan 

and make photocopies of vital 

documents used in the 

conduct of the election, for the 

purpose of establishing 

alleged irregularities. 

The applicants, through their 

lawyer, Chief Chris Uche, 

SAN, told the tribunal that the 

reliefs sought against INEC 

was for the purpose of filing 

and maintaining an election 

petition they intended to lodge 

against the outcome of the 

2019 presidential election. 

The motion ex-parte was 

supported with a 12- 

paragraphed affidavit 

deposed to by one Col. Austin 

Akobundu (retd), Director of 

Contact and Mobilisation of 

Atiku Abubakar Presidential 

Campaign Council. 

No date has yet been fixed 

for hearing of the motion, 

which has INEC, President 

Muhammadu Buhari and All 

Progressives Congress, APC, 

as 1st to 3rd respondents. 

Atiku, who came second 

behind President Buhari of the 

APC, had earlier vowed to 

challenge the outcome of the 

presidential election in court, 

alleging that it was fraught with 

manifest irregularities. 

On suit seeking to 

void Buhari’s 

election, disqualify 

Atiku 

Meanwhile, the Abuja 

Division of the Federal High 

Court, yesterday, okayed 

hearing on a suit seeking to 

invalidate the election victory 

of President Muhammadu 

Buhari over allegation that he 

violated section 91(2) of the 

Electoral Act, 2010, as 

amended. 

Justice Ahmed Mohammed 

ordered substituted service of 

the suit on Buhari, through the 

All Progressives Congress, 

APC. 

The suit marked FHC/ABJ/ 

CS/191/2019, was lodged 

before the court by the 

candidate of National Rescue 

Movement, NRM, in the 

February 23 presidential 

election, Usman Ibrahim 

Alhaji. 

Specifically, the Plaintiff, 

alleged that contrary to 

provisions of the Electoral 

Act, President Buhari 

expended more than one 

billion naira during his 

campaign for re-election. 

He asked the court to also 

invalidate the participation of 

the presidential candidate of 

PDP, Atiku Abubakar, alleging 

that he was equally in breach 

of clear provisions of the 

electoral law. 

Cited as defendants in the 

suit were Buhari, APC, Atiku, 

PDP and INEC. 

Meanwhile, before the 

matter was adjourned till 

March 26 for hearing, Justice 

Mohammed directed that all 

the relevant processes be 

served on Buhari and Atiku, 

through the legal 

departments of their 

respective political parties. 

EFCC releases Atiku’s son-in-law, 

arrests his lead counsel 

•Release Turaki now, PDP tells EFCC 

By Dirisu 

Yakubu, with 

agency report 

A BUJA—ECONOMIC 

and Financial Crimes 

Commission, EFCC, has 

released Babalele Abdullahi, 

son-in-law of Atiku Abubakar 

and Finance Director of some 

companies owned by the 

presidential candidate of 

Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. 

Abdullahi was arrested on 

Saturday and released after 

the anti-graft agency invited 

Tanimu Turaki, a Senior 

Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, 

leading the defence team of 

Atiku, to sign a bail document 

for him. 

But the commission 

detained Turaki, who is also 

Deputy Director-General of 

PDP Presidential Campaign 

Organisation. 

Tony Orilade, EFCC 

spokesman, confirmed 

Turaki’s arrest, yesterday, but 

did not give details, saying: 

“I heard of it yesterday; but let 

me get confirmation and the 

details." 

Paul Ibe, Abubakar’s 

spokesman, said Turaki is the 

lawyer coordinating the suit to 


presidential election. 

Noting that the suit had been 

finalised and was supposed to 

be filed in court yesterday, Ibe 

said: “He is the one 

coordinating the team of 

lawyers, so you should just use 

your tongue to count your teeth 

to understand why he has 

been arrested. 

“Why is President 

Muhammadu Buhari and the 

APC scared of a legal 

challenge? Why are they 

mobilising all sorts of people 

and group to beg His 

Excellency (Atiku) not to go to 

court?” 

Release Turaki now, 

PDP tells EFCC 

Meanwhile, PDP, yesterday 

called for the immediate and 

unconditional release of Turaki, 

who was allegedly arrested on 

Monday by operatives of 

EFCC. 

The party described Turaki’s 

arrest and detention as part of 

the “grand plot by the 

Buhari-led Presidency and 

APC to use state apparatus 

of power to intimidate PDP 

leaders and scuttle PDP’s 

determination to reclaim our 

February 23, 2019 

Presidential election victory 

in court.” 

In a statement released late 

Monday night by PDP 

spokesman, Kola 

Ologbondiyan, the party 

maintained that since its 

candidate, Atiku Abubakar, 

and the PDP expressed “our 

unwavering determination to 

reclaim our victory at the 

tribunal, being armed with 

overwhelming evidence, our 

leaders have been subjected 

to escalated harassments, 

constant threats, blackmails, 

cajoling and contrivances by 

the APC to drop our legal 

option. 

“The PDP, however, states 

in clear terms that the APC 

and the Presidency are 

fighting a lost battle as no 

amount of harassment and 

threats will ever make the 

party to buckle in its 

determination to take back the 

mandate, in line with the 

wishes and aspirations of 

Nigerians.” 

We didn’t ask Atiku not to go 

to court — APC Campaign 

Council 

By Clifford 

Ndujihe 

ALL 

Progressives 

Congress, APC, 

Presidential Campaign 

Council has denied seeking 

to stop Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, 


PDP, presidential candidate, 

from going to court to 


February 23 poll. 

It also distanced itself from 

a group, which calls itself 

‘Buhari Campaign 

Organisation, which claimed 

to have been mounting 

campaign on the social media 

on behalf of the APC and 

President Muhammadu 

Buhari, and declared its 

readiness to meet Atiku in 

court. 

Director of Strategic 

Communications, APC 


Council, Mr. Festus Keyamo, 

SAN, in a statement, 

yesterday, said the group 

should be ignored because 

Atiku Abubakar had the 

constitutional right to seek 

redress in court. 

Entitled: "We do not seek to 

stop Alhaji Atiku Abubakar 

from going to court,’’ the 

statement read in part: ‘’Our 

attention has been drawn to 

some news item and posts on 

social media reporting that 

we wrote a letter to some 

international bodies to prevail 

on Alhaji Atiku Abubakar not 

to proceed to court to 

challenge the result of the 

2019 presidential election. 

‘’Our investigation reveals 

that a letter to that effect was 

purportedly written by a 

By Emman 

Ovuakporie 

A BUJA—PRESIDENT 

Muhammadu Buhari’s 

close ally in the House of 

Representatives, 

Mohammed Datti, has 

joined the 9th House 

speakership race. 

Datti, a long time political 

associate of Buhari, is a 

ranking member who had 

been in the House since 

2007, and was Deputy 

Minority Whip in the House 

between 2011 and 2015. 

The Kaduna-born 

lawmaker, who was a 

member of Kaduna State 

House of Assembly from 

2003 to 2007, is believed to 

have the backing of some 

of his colleagues and some 

major party stakeholders 

outside the National 

Assembly to clinch the seat. 

Datti’s loyalty to the party 

•Disowns Buhari’s 

campaign group 

certain ‘Buhari Campaign 

Organisation’. This is the 

second time we will be 

informing the public that the 

said ‘Buhari Campaign 

Organisation’ does not act at 

the behest of the APC 


Council nor does it represent 

the Muhammadu Buhari 

Campaign Organisation in 

any way. 

"As a result, whatever it has 

released does not represent 

the position of the APC 


Council or President Buhari. 

‘’Our official position is that 

we believe that Alhaji Atiku 

Abubakar has a constitutional 

right to seek redress in court 

and we do not seek in any 

way to curtail that right. 

"In fact, it is the resort to court 

that is the only democratic 

way to ventilate his perceived 

grievance and any attempt to 

restrict or discourage the 

exercise of such right would 

be an invitation to anarchy. 

‘’In addition, we are very 

anxious to meet Alhaji Atiku 

Abubakar in court in order to 

show the world in a 

conclusive manner the free 

and fair nature of the 

comprehensive defeat of 

Atiku at the polls. 

"An election is not termed 

‘rigged’ only by the mere 

claim of it by the loser. We, 

therefore, totally disassociate 

ourselves from the letter 

purportedly written by one of, 

perhaps, many support 

groups of President 

Muhammadu Buhari. 

"They may have a right to 

their opinion, but it does not 

represent our official 

position.’’ 

Buhari’s friend joins 

House Speakership race 

and closeness to the 

president may work in his 

favour, even as he wields 

influence among his 

colleagues. 

Datti in the 8th House of 

Assembly, backed the 

position of the party in 2015 

during the speakership 

contest, and also rejected 

the chairmanship of the 

Committee on Solid 

Minerals immediately after 

Speaker Yakubu Dogara 

announced him to head the 

committee. 

The lawmaker had served 

in committees such as adhoc 

panel on constitution 

amendment, selection 

committee as well as 

member of several 

delegations of the House on 

different assignments. 

Further findings by 

Vanguard revealed that 

Datti is actually eyeing the 

position of deputy speaker.


You're destined by God to win second 

term, Sultan, Ooni, others tell Buhari 

By Johnbosco 

Agbakwuru 

ABUJA—THE Sultan of 

Sokoto, Alhaji 

Muhammad Sa’ad 

Abubakar; the Ooni of Ife, 

Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, 

and traditional rulers in the 

country, yesterday, described 

the victory of President 

Muhammadu Buhari in the 

February 23 presidential 

election as the will of God. 

The monarchs, operating 

under the umbrella of 

National Council of 

Traditional Rulers of Nigeria, 

NCTRN, stated this when 

they paid congratulatory visit 

to President Buhari at the 

Council Chamber, 

Presidential Villa, Abuja. 

While stating that only God 

gives power to whoever He 

wills, the monarchs said the 

president’s victory at the poll 

was for the progress and 

development of the country. 

Speaking at the occasion, 

Chairman of the council and 

Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji 

Muhammad Sa’ad 

Abubakar, who led the 

delegation, urged those that 

lost out in the 2019 

presidential election to accept 

the will of God and support 

Buhari to move the country 

forward. 

He said: “The National 

Council of Traditional Rulers 

of Nigeria is here to felicitate 

with you on your re-election 

as the President of the 

Federal Republic of Nigeria. 

‘’We join all Nigerians and 

the international community 

in praying and wishing you 

very big success in your 

tenure. 

“As traditional rulers, we are 

not only custodians of our 

people’s cultures, values and 

traditions but also the 

custodians of the religious 

beliefs and conscience of our 

people. 

‘’We are, therefore, fully 

aware that it is only God 

almighty who owns power 

and authority and who 

bestows this on whom He 

will, when He wills and how 

He wills. 

‘’Therefore your election as 

President for a second tenure 

should be seen as what God 

has destined and no one 

could have changed that. 

“This result is the will of the 

almighty God and, therefore, 

we call on all to give you 

maximum support for the 

achievement of peace, 

development and progress of 

our dear nation.” 

Also speaking, co- 

Chairman of the Council, the 

Ooni of Ife, Adeyeye Enitan 

Ogunwusi, said traditional 

rulers across the country had 

resolved to work very closely 

with government. 

He thanked President 

Buhari for his willingness to 

work with the traditional 

institution because of his belief 

in taking Nigeria to another 

level. 

Buhari thanks 

monarchs 

Responding, President 

Buhari, who thanked God for 

an opportunity to serve the 

nation for another four years, 

re-stated his believe in 

Nigeria’s multi-cultural 

population and the continued 

existence of the country as an 

indivisible entity and also 

solicited more understanding 

and support from the royal 

fathers. 

The President said: “I am 

very happy that you have 

come to congratulate me for 

victory to my second and 

final term of office. 

‘’I believe in this system, 

such a multi-racial, multinational 

and multi-cultural 

country like Nigeria, a 

country with more than 250, 

000 cultures.” 

Stressing that traditional 

rulers had a big role to play 

in securing the country, 

because of their unique role 

in the society, the President 

said: “I realise that really, 

you want the security of the 

country, which is very 

important to us and one of 

our three main areas of 

focus. 

“As traditional rulers, you 

know everybody in your 

constituencies and you know 

which family has hardened 

criminals and which family 

has respectable people, so 

there is no way any 

government at any level can 

survive creditably without 

your support. This is the 

honest fact whether people 

accept it or not." 

March 9 

polls: Armed 

Forces’ll 

remain 

apolitical 

— CDS 

By Kingsley 

Omonobi 

CHIEF of Defence Staff, 

CDS, General Abayomi 

Olonisakin, has reemphasized 

the apolitical 

and non-partisanship of the 

Armed Forces in the 

ongoing electoral process. 

This was contained in a 

goodwill message delivered 

to National Orientation 

Agency, NOA, at a 

workshop with the theme 

“National dialogue on the 

challenges of vote buying,” 

in Abuja, yesterday. 

The CDS, who was 

represented by Chief of 

Defence Civil-Military 

Affairs, Rear Admiral Peter 

Onaji, averred that the 

Armed Forces of Nigeria will 

remain professional in the 

defence of the territorial 

integrity of Nigeria and act 

in aid of civil authority when 

called upon to do so, as 

enshrined in 1999 

Constitution of the Federal 

Republic of Nigeria 

(Amended). 

The CDS added that the 

Armed Forces were 

committed to ensuring that 

the nation enjoyed a 

peaceful and stable security 

atmosphere to enable all 

citizens exercise their 

constitutional rights by 

performing their civic 

obligation during the 

ongoing elections. 

He also commended 

NOA for the laudable 

initiative. 

How currency dealers 

exposed Atiku’s men in 

money laundering spree 

—EFCC 

By Soni Daniel, 

Northern Region 

Editor 

ABUJA—THE arrest of 

key allies of the 

presidential candidate of 


PDP, Atiku Abubakar, was 

triggered by the recovery of 

huge foreign currency worth 

hundreds of millions of naira 

from dealers by operatives of 

Economic and Financial 

Crimes Commission, EFCC, 

in Abuja and Lagos, 

Vanguard learned last night. 

The arrest of Uyi Giwa 

Osagie, Babalele Abdullahi 

and other confidants of the 

former vice president 

followed covert operations 

conducted by operatives of 

EFCC in major towns in the 

country, ahead of the 


Assembly elections 

apparently to prevent votebuying 

and influence 

peddling by politicians, 

according to EFCC sources. 

But the first batch of $1.6 

million cash that put the 

Atiku’s men into trouble was 

reportedly taken from Abuja 

to a market on Lagos Island 

and dropped with a popular 

Bureau de Change, BDC, 

dealer from the northern part 

of the country. 

Vanguard learned that 

based on the discovery, EFCC 

operatives reportedly stormed 

the market, arrested two BDC 

dealers, Abdullahi Shehu and 

Lawal Abdullahi, and 

recovered the cash only to find 

that $141,000 had been taken 

out of it and exchanged at the 

•Set to press charges 

against suspects 

rate of N358/$, amounting to 

N50.5 million. 

However, it was learned that 

the balance of $1.49 million 

could not be changed due to 

naira scarcity in the market. 

An EFCC source said: 

“Further investigation 

conducted regarding the 

ownership and source of the 

money so far revealed that 

Hasbunallahu BDC who is 

also the owner of Clean and 

Integrity Services received 

three transfers amounted to 

$500,000 on February 1, 4 and 

14, 2019 from Guernsey Trust 

Company, which is an 

investment company 

managed by one Uyi Giwa 

on behalf of an unnamed 

person. 

Vanguard learned that 

EFCC had declined to 

release the full details of its 

investigation, but actively 

preparing to charge a dozen 

of suspects to court as soon 

as its men wrap up 

investigation into the huge 

money laundered by them. 

The anti-graft agency is 

convinced that the suspects 

laundered the cash in order 

to unduly influence and 

compromise the 2019 

elections. 

“One of the officials said: 

“Investigation is still at its 

early stage and effort is being 

intensified to unknot all the 

ties and crack the matter 

expeditiously”. 

It was learnt that the agency 

would soon press charges 

against the key suspects who 

laundered the cash in 

violation of the country’s antimoney 

laundering laws. 

Judiciary workers drag Kogi 

gov, CJ to court over 

unremitted funds 

JUDICIARY Staff Union 

of Nigeria, JUSUN, Kogi 

State chapter, has dragged 

Governor Yahaya Bello; 

Chief Judge, Justice Nasir 

Ajanah, and seven others 

before National Industrial 

Court sitting in Lokoja. 

The News Agency of 

Nigeria reports that 

JUSUN instituted the case 

alleging constitutional 

breach and non-remittance 

of funds accruing to the 

state Judiciary, which led to 

eight months accumulated 

salary arrears of workers 

and the union’s subsequent 

strike. 

In the originating 

summons filed at the court 

by Moses Enwere, counsel 

to JUSUN, yesterday, in 

Lokoja, the union said it 

went to court as a last resort. 

It alleged that the state 

government did not make 

any concrete effort towards 

resolving the impasse that 

necessitated the strike, 

which it embarked on since 

December 2018. 

Other defendants in the 

matter include Attorney- 

General of the state, 

Commissioner for Finance, 

Accountant-General, 

Auditor-General, Grand 

Khadi, President of the 

Customary Court of Appeal 

and the state’s Judicial 

Service Commission, JSC. 

The originating summon 

was supported by a 21- 

paragraph affidavit 

deposed to by Emmanuel 

Waniko, JUSUN Chairman 

in the state. 

Mr Waniko had declared 

that the staff could no longer 

afford transport to work and 

were neither credit worthy 

to enable them fulfill their 

responsibilities. 

The court is yet to give a 

date for commencement of 

hearing in the matter.

10 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 6, 2019 

TINUBU MEETS NURTW MEMBERS: National Leader of APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu addressing 

Executives of Lagos NURTW against violence during Saturday's election at his residence yesterday. 

Why Buhari must address Xenophobic threats 

in Lagos before gov polls — OBSERVER GROUP 

By Victoria Ojeme & 

Emmanuel Elebeke 

ABUJA—AHEAD of 

Saturday's 

governorship and House of 

Assembly elections, an 

observer group, the 

Integrity Friends for Truth 

and Peace Initiative, TIFPI, 

yesterday, called on 


Buhari to address the 

ongoing Xenophobic 

threats in Lagos State 

warning that the threats 

could snowball into major 

crisis if not well managed. 

The group made the call 

during a presentation of its 

•Recommends 30-yr jail terms for electoral offenders 

preliminary report on the 

2019 elections in Abuja. 

The Executive Director/ 

Lead Observer of TIFPI, 

Livingstone Wechie, who 

issued the warning said the 

xenophobic threats in 

Lagos State were real and 

must be nipped in the bud. 

Wechie said: “What is 

playing out in Lagos State 

is highly regrettable, 

backward looking, it is 

barbaric and amazing that 

at the point in our 

development, people are 

still beating drums of war? 

“I will like to call on 

stakeholders and our 

partners across the world to 

take note because any attack 

on any part of the world is 

an attack on the whole 

world. So, those who are 

involved should be called to 

order. 

“It is unfortunate that some 

people are already calling 

for Xenophobia in Lagos 

State, that is Xenophobic, 

declaring an ultimatum to 

certain tribes in the 

country to vacate Lagos 

State is wrong. Lagos State 

is part of Nigeria, Lagos 

State is not owned by any 

individual or group of 

persons, it is part of us. 

CAN, DCLM host 1st ministers’ devt, networking summit in Lagos 

By Prince Okafor 

L Deeper AGOS—THE 

Christian 

Life Ministry, DCLM, in 

collaboration with 

Christian Association of 

Nigeria, CAN and 

Pentecostal Fellowship 

of Nigeria, PFN, is set 

to host the 1st 

Ministers’ development 

and networking summit 

in Lagos. 

I’ll implement N30,000 minimum wage, prioritise 

workers’ welfare — ADELABU 

I Progressives 

BADAN—ALL 

Congress, APC, 

governorship candidate in 

Oyo State, Chief Adebayo 

Adelabu, yesterday, 

promised to implement the 

The summit with the 

theme: Building the 

Builders, according to the 

organisers, will provide 

church ministers 

opportunity for personal 

development and 

ministerial empowerment 

through expository studies, 

practical training, 

information sharing and 

networking. 

The non-denominational 

forum is scheduled to take 

N30,000 minimum wage for 

the state’s civil servants if he 

becomes the governor. 

Adelabu, who made the 

promise while addressing a 

mammoth crowd of party 

faithful and supporters, also 

promised to prioritize 

workers welfare without 

neglecting other citizens, 

during a campaign rally in 

Ibadan, on Tuesday. 

He assured workers that 

his administration would pay 

the N30,000 minimum wage 

if it was eventually passed 

into law by the National 

Assembly and assented to by 


Buhari. 

Aside from implementing 

the minimum wage, 

Adelabu said that his 

place on Wednesday 27th 

March 2019 at the 

ultramodern headquarters 

building of Deeper Life 

Bible Church, Gbagada, 

Lagos. 

Speaking at a press 

conference in Lagos to 

herald the event, the 

Chairman, CAN, 

Alexander Bamgbola said 

that the expected 

participants are Pastors and 

Leaders of Churches and 

government would ensure 

prompt payment of workers’ 

salaries, as well as cater for 

pensioners and other 

segments of the state. 

Adelabu said: “I want to 

assure workers in Oyo State 

that if I am voted as 

governor, my government 

will implement the N30,000 

minimum wage without 

qualms if eventually passed 

by the National Assembly 

and assented to by Mr 

President. 

“Aside from paying the 

minimum wage, I will also 

ensure prompt payment of 

workers’ salaries because 

our workers deserve the best 

so that they too can give 

their best. But, I will not 

neglect other stakeholders 

who are also entitled to the 

dividends of democracy.'' 

“If we begin to evict 

certain people in our 

respective states where we 

come from, I don’t know 

how peace can reign. 

“It is condemnable and 

the Federal Government is, 

hereby, charged to make a 

pronouncement on the 

issue because it is already 

crippling in and may 

explode any time soon. The 

threats are real and they are 

highly condemnable. 

Also in his report, the 

group recommended a 30 

years jail term for 

perpetrators of electoral 

violence and their sponsors. 

Gospel Ministers. 

Bamgbola said: “We must 

appreciate the convener of 

the summit, Pastor W. F. 

Kumuyi, General 

Superintendent of Deeper 

Christian Life Ministry, 

whose all-round ministry 

has, for decades; been a 

huge blessing to countless 

number of Christians and 

Gospel Ministers across 

church denominations and 

countries. 

“The vision for the 

Ministers’ Development 

and Networking Summit 

came from him and I have 

no doubt that he heard from 

God, our Father.'' 

WAEC releases WASSCE results, 

records 26 percent pass 

By Dayo Adesulu 

LAGOS—THE West 

African Examination 

Council, WAEC, yesterday, 

released the West African 

Senior School Certificate 

Examination, WASSCE, 

results for private 

candidates, 2019-First 

series with only 26 percent 

pass in English Language 

and Mathematics. 

Announcing the release 

of the result, Head of 

National Office, Mr. Olu 

Adenipekun said a total of 

3,102 candidates 

representing 26.06 per cent 

obtained credit and above 

in a minimum of five 

subjects including English 

Language and General 

Mathematics. 

Adenipekun said: “A total 

of 12,202 candidates 

registered for the 

examination, out of which 

11,892 candidate’s sat for 

the examination. 

“11,686 candidates, 

representing 98.27% have 

their results fully processed 

and released, while 206 

candidate’s representing 

1.73% have a few of their 

subjects still being 

processed due to errors 

traceable to the 

candidates in the course 

of registration or writing 

the examination. 

“The statistics of 

candidates’ performance 

in the examination shows 

that: 8,782 candidate’s 

representing 75.15% 


in two subjects. 7,332 


62.74% obtained credit 

and above in three 

subjects. 5,850 


50.06% obtained credit 

and above in four subjects. 

4,314 candidate’s 

representing 36.28% 


in five subjects.” 

POLLS: Tinubu meets NURTW, 

cautions against violence 

By Olasunkanmi 

Akoni & Monsur 

Olowoopejo 

Methodist prelate tasks Nigerians on peaceful 

co-existence 

By Sam Eyoboka 

LAGOS—PRELATE of 

Methodist Church 

Nigeria, Most Rev. Samuel 

Chukwiemeka Uche, 

yesterday called on 

Nigerian politicians not to 

overheat the polity in the 

interest of peace and unity 

for a stronger Nigeria. 

Speaking at its National 

Headquarters, Wesley 

House, Marina, Lagos 

while briefing newsmen on 

the state of the nation, the 

...As Fuji musician, Obesere, others join APC 

LAGOS—AHEAD of 

S a t u r d a y ' s 


Assembly elections, 

National Leader of the All 


APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, 

yesterday, met with 

members of the National 

Union of Road Transport 

Workers, NURTW, in Lagos 

State and cautioned them 

against instigating violence 

during the exercise. 

Vanguard gathered that 

the transport Union 

members met with the APC 

national leader at his 

residence in Bourdillon, 

Ikoyi, to congratulate him 

over the victory of his party 

at the just concluded 

Presidential election and 

discuss about upcoming 

elections in the state. 

The NURTW members 

were led by Chairman, 

Lagos State Branch, 

Tajudeen Agbede; the 

Treasurer, Musiliu 

Akinsanya (a.k.a MC 

Oluomo) and others. 

At the meeting, it was 

gathered that Tinubu, who 

was accompanied by 

Prelate said: “The 

presidential elections has 

come and gone but this 

should not make Nigeria 

crumble. Those who won 

should exhibit maturity and 

be magnanimous in victory. 

“While those, who lost 

should accept defeat, either 

temporarily or permanently 

with patience and 

equanimity. No sacrifice 

including conceding defeat 

will be too much. 

“Moreover, the winner of 

the current election has 

promised to run an inclusive 

government, which I 

Senator Ganiyu Solomon, 

urged the members to cast 

their votes for the APC 

governorship candidate, 

Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu 

and other candidates of the 

party. 

Meanwhile, popular Fuji 

maestro, Abass Akande, 

popularly called Obesere, 

yesterday, led other 

members of political parties 

including Peoples 

Democratic Party, PDP, to 

decamp to the All 


APC, ahead of the 

Saturday, March 9, 

Governorship and House 

of Assembly elections. 

Obsere defected from the 

PDP, while other 

decampees from political 

parties include a 

Senatorial candidate of 

Democratic Party of Nigeria, 

DPN, Lagos West; Mr. 

Kayode Olabode; the 

Action Democratic Party, 

House of Representatives 

candidate, in Apapa 

Constituency, Mary 

Dominance, Lolo Linda 

Famoroti, State 

Coordinator of non- 

Indigenes in PDP, Lagos 

State, Mrs. Adeniyi Abiola, 

Lagos State, Coordinator of 

Articulated Agenda in 

Lagos, among others. 

understand to mean that 

even the opposition may be 

considered in forming the 

cabinet of the incoming 

government. 

“However, if anyone feels 

cheated, he or she can 

choose lawful means of 

realising his or her alleged 

stolen mandate without 

calling for war.” 

He also urged Federal 

Government and 

Independent National 

Electoral Commission, 

INEC, to ensure credible 

elections as witnessed in 

developed countries.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 6, 2019 — 11 

ATTACKS: I’ve no personal problem with 

•As Alake urges ex-President 

Buhari — OBASANJO 

By Johnbosco 

Agbakwuru & Daud 

Olatunji 

A F BEOKUTA— 

O R M E R 

President Olusegun 

Obasanjo, yesterday, said 

his criticism against 


Buhari was not personal, 

but, in the interest of the 

country. 

Obasanjo said this during 

his 82nd birthday 

anniversary celebration 

held at the Olusegun 

Obasanjo Presidential 

Library, in Abeokuta, Ogun 

State. 

The former President said 

this while responding to the 

remarks by Alake of 

Egbaland, Oba Adedotun 

G b a d e b o , 

who advised him to stop 

attacking Buhari as he 

clocks 82. 

Obasanjo said: 

“Governance is not a family 

affair and democracy 

involves criticism and 

considering all sides to an 

issue. 

“There is nothing 

personal between President 

Buhari and I. In a 

democracy, you can criticise 

a policy, a government or a 

leader because democracy 

is not a family affair. 

“If my brother is 

occupying the leadership 

role and he is not doing what 

I believe he should do, he 

must be criticised and that 

is what democracy is all 

about. 

“I believe that Africa has 

no alternative to democracy, 

good governance, 

development and growth of 

our economy. 

“We have none and if that 

is not happening in any 

country, those who keep 

quiet about it, are 

accomplices to the crime. 

“Democracy is all about 

criticism and seeing the 

other side. So, if I say 

anybody in government in 

Nigeria or any government 

for that matter is not doing 

well, let that government 

prove that it is doingwell. 

It’s nothing personal. 

“So, Kabiyesi (referring to 

Alake of Egbaland) your 

boss, Buhari; there is 

nothing personal between 

Buhari and I. Just as he is 

your boss, I am his boss, 

with all due respect. 

“Now, the point is that I 

have been in that position 

longer than any Nigerian 

will ever be. That is true. 

“If any Nigerian comes in 

and have two terms, he will 

not have almost four years 

to stop attacking Buhari 

•I hold Obasanjo in highest esteem— Buhari 

From left : Senior 

Pastor, Deeper Life 

Bible Church, Pastor 

Bayo Oyeyemi; 

Chairman, Christian 

Association of 

Nigeria (CAN), 

Lagos State, Apostle 

Alex Bamgbola; Gen 

Superintendent, 

Deeper Life, Pastor 

William Kumuyi and 

C h a i r m a n , 

Pentecostal 

Fellowship of Nigeria 

(PFN), Lagos State 

branch, Bishop Sola 

Ore during a press 

conference to herald 

the 1st Ministers 

Development and 

Networking Summit 

held in Lagos, Photo: 

Joe Akintola. 

of military rule. So, I have 

been there longer than any 

Nigerian would ever be 

there. 

“So, when I say 

something, I know what I 

am talking about. Kabiyesi 

(Alake) anytime you say, 

“leave my boss alone,” I say 

“he is your boss” But I am 

also his (Buhari) boss. So, 

you might also ask your boss 

(Buhari) to leave his boss 

alone or do what is right 

than his boss wants him 

to do.” 

Alake urges ex-President 

to stop attacking Buhari 

Earlier in his goodwill 

message, Alake, who served 

as a military officer during 

the military administration 

of Muhammadu Buhari 

between 1983 and 1985, 

disclosed that he had 

always told Obasanjo to 

leave his boss alone. 

The monarch said: “Those 

guys who are talking about 

three terms should check 

their mathematics because 

Obasanjo had gone 

beyond. 

“You all know that I was 

an officer under General 

Buhari, so, each time 

Obasanjo criticises my boss, 

I always stand to say my 

senior (Obasanjo) please, 

leave the President alone. 

“At 82, baba is still 

fighting on, please, fight 

less and be a consultant to 

everybody. You have been 

a warrior all your life. 

“You need to rest, fight 

less, and rather take a 

position of a consultant at 

your new age. 

“At 82 years of age, I think 

you should sheathe your 

sword more rather than use 

it always.” 

I hold Obasanjo in high 

esteem — Buhari 

Meanwhile, President 

Buhari has described the 

former President as “a 

passionate and great patriot 

who deserves accolades for 

his immeasurable 

contributions to our 

democracy and national 

unity.” 

In a statement by the 

Senior Special Assistant to 

the President on Media 

and Publicity Malam Garba 

Shehu, the President said: 

“Chief Obasanjo gave a 

good account of himself 

and inspired his juniors 

with his wit and other 

leadership skills. 

“Nigeria’s successful 

transition to democratic rule 

in October 1979 was one of 

Obasanjo’s remarkable 

contributions to national 

development.” 

OYO GOV POLL: Ladoja, Lanlehin, Makinde form alliance 

against APC 

By Ola Ajayi & 

Adeola Badru 

IBADAN—FOUR days 

to the governorship 

and House of Assembly 

election, some opposition 

parties have agreed to form 

alliance with Peoples 


against the governorship 

candidate of tAll 


APC, in Oyo State, Chief 

Adebayo Adelabu. 

The parties, whose 

governorship candidates 

have stepped down for the 

PDP candidate, Seyi 

Makinde, are African 

Democratic Congress, ADC, 

Action Alliance, AA; Zenith 

Labour Party, ZLP, Alliance 

for Democracy, AD and 

Social Democratic Party. 

While stepping down, the 

governorship candidates of 

the parties told the 

mammoth crowd at the NUJ 

Press Centre, Ibadan that 

they had agreed to 

relinquish their ambitions to 

pave way for the emergence 

of the PDP candidate. 

Speaking on behalf 

others, Senator Lanlehin 

said: “The coalition agreed 

to decisions reached 

thereto, after series of 

meetings 

and 

consultations. Those 

gathered here are 

respectable governorship 

candidates of our various 

political parties and others 

have agreed to form 

alliance. 

“We have decided that in 

order to present an effective 

and workable solution to 

the unpalatable situation 

where Oyo State has been 

remotely controlled for the 

past eight years by outside 

forces and all manner of 

constituted authority, there 

is the need to form alliance 

of political parties in the 

state”. 

“We have firmly resolved 

to present one candidate in 

the person of Engr. Seyi 

Makinde of PDP for the 

office of Governor at the 

elections holding on 

March 9, 2019.'' 

Amosun reinstates dismissed 

NLC leader, others 

By Daud Olatunji 

A 

BEOUTA— 

GOVERNOR 

Ibikunle 

Amosun of Ogun State, 

yesterday, approved the 

reinstatement of the 

dismissed the state 

chairman of the Nigeria 

Labour Congress, NLC, 

Akeem Ambali, into the 

state civil service. 

NLC’s National 

President, Ayuba Wabba 

disclosed this to newsmen 

in Abeokuta after a 

marathon meeting with the 

state government. 

Ambali and others were 

reinstated about a year 

after Ambali was 

dismissed by the state 

government over an 

alleged professional 

misconduct. 

Vanguard gathered that 

Ambali’s reinstatement was 

one of the reasons the NLC 

leadership scheduled a 

protest march in the 

state on Tuesday. 

However, the protest did 

not hold as the 

state governor agreed to 

the workers’ demands. 

Wabba said: “We have to 

thank him for his large 

heart and for the time and 

importance he has given to 

all the issues which has led 

to a meaningful resolution. 

“All the four issues have 

been resolved, particularly 

the four we have 

highlighted, from the 

pension issues to the issue 

of withheld deduction, to 

the issue of payment of 

gratuity, to the issue of our 

Chairman who was 

actually disengaged. 

“Government has agreed 

that he has been reinstated 

and all issues have been 

resolved. 

“You will realise we 

started yesterday and we 

reconvened today and all 

through the discussion, His 

Excellency was physically 

available with his officials 

and all the issues have been 

resolved." 

In his remarks, 

Amosun said: “They have 

just christened me 

Comrade Governor and I 

am happy about that. 

“I think it is just a 

communication gap and 

we’ve blocked the gaps, all 

issues have been amicably 

resolved.” 

In his remarks, Ambali 

described his experience 

while he was removed as 

a wonderful one. 

Osun begins revitalisation of 

332 healthcare facilities, hospitals 

By Gbenge Olarinoye 

O 

S O G B O — 

GOVERNOR 

Gboyega Oyetola of Osun 

State, yesterday, declared 

that healthcare facilities will 

be guaranteed in all 

communities in Osun State 

from middle of the year. 

Minister of Health Prof. 

Isaac Adewole, who 

corroborated this, said the 

steps being taking by the 

governor to improve on 

healthcare is the first in the 

Southwest which he hoped 

“other states will soon 

emulate.” 

They spoke at the flag off 

of the massive 

revitalisation of nine 

General hospitals/ 

Comprehensive Health 

Centres and 332 Primary 

Healthcare Centres (PHCs) 

in Osogbo, the state capital. 

Last month, Governor 

Gboyega Oyetoala, 

flagged off work on the 

rehabilitation and 

equipping of the Ejigbo 

and Ifetedo General 

Hospitals. 

Group drums support for Isiaka, warns against 

vote buying 

ABEOKUTA—THE 

Ogun Professional 

League, yesterday, 

drummed support for the 

governorship candidate 

of the African Democratic 

Congress, ADC, Prince 

Gboyega Nasir Isiaka and 

described him as the best 

person to unleash the 

economic and social 

potentials of the state. 

Rising from its meeting 

in Abeokuta, the group 

said they have 

painstakingly watched 

the campaigns of all the 

major candidates and 

have come to the decision 

that Isiaka did not only 

possess the requisite 

experience for the job but 

he has the integrity and 

clean heart needed to run 

people’s friendly 


They also pleaded with 

the electorates to shun 

Yesterday’s ceremony to 

symbolise commencement 

of work on the first batch of 

150 PHC was witnessed by 

traditional rulers, political 

leaders and people from 

diverse background. 

On completion, each of 

the 332 wards in the state 

will have a functional, wellequipped 

primary 

healthcare centre available 

to treat people. 

He said: “There will be no 

need to be going to the 

General hospital to treat 

malaria and common 

aliment,” Governor Oyetola 

told the enthusiastic crowd 

at the ceremony. 

“This administration has 

deliberately decided to take 

quality and equitable 

healthcare delivery to the 

grassroots. 

“We have instituted the 

Osun Health Insurance 

Scheme to complement the 

state’s health architecture 

just as our government 

makes healthcare 

affordable to its citizens 

under the scheme and pays 

premium for the highly 

vulnerable." 

vote buying and ignore 

people asking for the 

PVC’s in exchange for 

money. 

In a statement by its 

Chairman, Engr. Tade 

Ogunsayo, he said: “It 

took us several months to 

study all the candidates 

and their political parties 

and we have come to the 

conclusion that ADC was 

not only peaceful but has 

the candidate the public 

can trust."


Court affirms delisting of 

APC candidates by INEC in 

C’River 

By Ike 

Uchechukwu 

CALABAR —A Cross 

River State High Court 

sitting in Calabar, 

yesterday, affirmed the 

delisting of candidates of 

the All Progressives 

Congress, APC, for the 

governorship, House of 

Representatives, as well as 

state House of Assembly 

election by the 



INEC, in February 23 and 

March 9, 2019 polls. 

Trail judge, Justice Eyo 

Ita in suit No: HC/48/2019, 

noted that following the 

decision of the Federal 

High Court, Abuja in suit 

FHC/CA/CS/73/2018 on 

the 11 /2/2019 which 

delisted all the candidates 

of APC from the 2019 

elections. 

“I declare that APC, the 

1st respondent herein, is 

obliged to apply and obey 

it constitution and 

guideline and their prayer 

N0 2 was decided in suit 

FHC/CA/CS/73/2018 on 

11/2/2019 and is res 

judicatta. 

“Prayer N0.3 was 

decided in Suit N0: FHC/ 

CA/CS/73/2018 and 

following that decision, 

INEC, the second 

defendant herein, has 

removed the names of all 

candidates forwarded to it 

by APC as a product of the 

primaries from its ballot 

papers. Prayers 4 and 5 

in this case were granted 

in suit No: FHC/CA/CS/ 

73/2018. INEC has 

removed those names 

from its ballot papers. 

“The name of the third 

defendant has already 

been voided and being 

one of those names sent 

to INEC by the first 

defendant, APC, should 

be removed from INEC 

ballot papers for the 

governorship election in 

Cross River State coming 

up on the 9/3/2109 in line 

with consequential l order 

5 in the Federal High 

Court case. 

“I am of the settled view 

that the main cause of 

action in claims 2-6 in this 

matter w hich are the APC 

primary elections for her 

candidates in Cross River 

State and the sending of 

names of APC candidates 

based thereon to INEC, 

were resolved by the 

Federal High Court in the 

case referred to above on 

the 11/2/2019.The cause of 

action in those claims are 

therefore, res judicatta, 

FHC/CA/CS/73/2018. 

Claims 2-6 in this action 

are in consequence 

dismissed as there is 

nothing left to decide in 

them,” the court held. 

Tobi commends Okowa over 

Sapela Market 

A 

community leader and 

activist, Mr. Ben Tobi, 

has commended Governor 

Ifeanyi Okowa for the good 

job he is doing in Sapele, 

Delta State, which he noted 

was why Sapele people will 

vote him again, come 

March 9, 2019. 

His emphasis was on 

Sapele Main Market, 

which had been 

abandoned for so long 

He also said that he 

(Okowa) was giving facelift 

to some of the roads that 

had gone bad and left 

unattended to for so long. 

He pleaded with Okowa 

to extend his good job on 

road rehabilitation to inner 

roads such as Neburagho, 

Addi, Ikomi, Boyo 

Extension, Ayo Odometan 

among others, which are 

bad, and prone to floods. 

He said: “The people are 

complaining that they 

have been neglected after 

voting massively for him in 

2015. So, you should do 

something about the 

roads, you should be 

grateful to people like Mr. 

Boyo, of Foodland, Mr. Pat 

Itor one of his SA and 

Kingsly Ogio, Peoples 


ward Chairman, 

Abigborodo, who have 

been able to convinced us 

to vote you again and that 

the road will be work on. 

“We are now set to vote 

him again. You should also 

revisit Yoruba Road, which 

is the longest road in 

Sapele where your men 

did shady job last year.” 

Produce soldiers who killed PDP chieftain, Govt 

photographer, Bayelsa govt tasks Buratai 

By Emem Idio 

Y ENAGOA— 

BAYELSA State 

Government has called on 

the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. 

Gen. Tukur Buratai, to 

produce the soldiers who 

murdered Government 

House Photographer, Mr. 

Reginald Dei, and Peoples 


ward leader, Mr. 

Seidougha Taribi during 

the Presidential/National 

Assembly elections in 

Oweikorogha community 

in Southern Ijaw Local 

Government Area of the 

state. 

Director, Strategic 

Communications, 

Governor’s Office, Chief 

Nathan Egba-Ologo, in a 

statement yesterday, said 

that the COAS has a 

responsibility to redeem the 

image of the army by 

ensuring the arrest and trial 

of the soldiers who 

murdered Dei and 

Seidougha in Southern 

Ijaw on election day. 

He said, “The Bayelsa 

State Government is 

making a passionate 

appeal to the Chief Army 

Staff, Lt. Gen. Buratai, to 

investigate, identify and 

prosecute the soldiers who 

murdered a Government 

House Photographer, Mr. 

Dei, and a PDP chieftain, 

Taribi, on February 23, 2019 

in Southern Ijaw. 

“Contrary to our initial 

thinking that the gruesome 

murder was carried out by 

armed men in Army 

uniform, fresh facts have 

emerged that soldiers of 

the Nigerian Army killed 

the photo journalist and his 

friend in Southern Ijaw. 

“The state Publicity 

Secretary òf the APC, Mr. 

Doifie Buokoribo, said in a 

report carried by the Nation 

Newspaper of March 5, 

2019, that an agent of the 


APC, led the soldiers to the 

residence of Taribi to kill 

the deceased during a 

phantom gun battle. 

“We are of the strong view 

that the Nigerian Army 

under the leadership of 

Gen. Buratai has a 

responsibility to intervene 

and ensure investigation of 

this brazen act to redeem 

the image of the service." 

A-Ibom PDP carpets Osinbajo, APC over stolen 

mandate claim 

By Chioma 

Onuegbu 

UYO—AKWA Ibom 

State chapter of the 

People’s Democratic Party, 

PDP, has carpeted Vice 

president Yemi Osinbajo 

and the All Progressives 

Congress, APC, over 

claims that their party 

result in the state was 

stolen. 

PDP state Publicity 

Secretary, Mr. Ini 

Ememobong in a 

statement, yesterday in 

Uyo, said: “For the records, 

Jonathan felicitates with Obasanjo at 82 

FORMER President 

Goodluck Jonathan 

has felicitated with ex- 

President Chief Olusegun 

Obasanjo on the occasion 

of his 82nd birthday, 

describing him as a 

courageous leader who is 

committed to Nigeria’s 

unity and progress. 

Jonathan in a goodwill 

message also noted that 

Chief Obasanjo belongs to 


the class of Africa’s great 

leaders. 

He said: “I rejoice with 

you today on the occasion 

of your 82nd birthday. 

Indeed, you have been a 

great asset to our nation and 

your service to humanity 

has been exemplary. 

“You are a patriotic and 

courageous leader who has 

remained steadfast in 

nation-building. Your 

ROYAL 

BLESSING: From left, 

All Progressives 

Congress, APC, candidate 

for Irepodun/Ifelodun 

Constituency II, Ekiti 

State House of Assembly, 

Mr Hakeem Jamiu, 

receiving royal blessing 

from the Kabiyesi of 

Araromi Obo, Oba 

Oyebode Olowookere, 

and Olori Olowookere at 

the Oba’s palace, 

Araromi Obo, yesterday. 

PDP candidate, Sunday 

Omosilade, withdrew 

from the race last Friday. 

GOVERNOR Nyesom 

Wike of Rivers State 

has raised the alarm of an 

alleged plot by security 

agencies and the All 


APC, to kidnap the Resident 

Electoral Commissioner, 

legacies as a former Head 

of State and President of 

Nigeria will continue to 

endure; considering your 

achievements in the areas 

of unity, peace and 

development in Nigeria 

and the rest of Africa. 

“History has accorded 

you a place in the roll call 

of great leaders not just in 

Nigeria but also in Africa." 

Akwa Ibom people know 

who the mandate thieves 

are, they are those who 

refused to go on 

consultation and grassroots 

campaign but held rallies 

in towns and instead of 

telling the people what their 

plans were, proclaimed 

themselves god and touted 

their invincibility. 

“They took the electorate 

for granted, preferring to 

deal with the big names 

only. On the day of election, 

those who brought 

policemen and army 

REC, of the state to create 

an excuse for the 

postponement of the 

governorship and state 

Assembly elections. 

Wike also that the state 

government had intercepted 

credible intelligence that the 

APC plans to use the 

security agencies to 

generate mass violence to 

disrupt the distribution of 

electoral materials on 

March 9, 2019 to compel the 



INEC, to postpone the 



Speaking during a town 

hall meeting for Rivers West 

senatorial district, yesterday 

in Ahoada, Wike 

said: “They are struggling 

personnel to aid in electoral 

malpractice are the real 

thieves. 

“After the election, during 

collation, the real thieves 

are the people who went to 

Oruk Anam Independent 

National Electoral 

Commission, INEC office, 

Ikot Ekpene INEC office 

and Essien Udim INEC 

office. 

“Those who invited the 

GOC and Army personnel 

to help in their attempt to 

thwart the announcement 

of senatorial results for Ikot 

Ekpene senatorial district 

results, are the thieves." 

Rivers guber: APC, security agencies plan to 

kidnap REC to seek postponement, says Wike 

to ensure that the 


Assembly elections don’t 

hold in Rivers State. The 

APC is planning with 

security agencies to kidnap 

the Rivers State REC. They 

will send people wearing 

army uniforms to kidnap the 

REC so that INEC will be 

forced to postpone the 

elections. 

"That is their latest 

strategy and so I have to let 

the world hear that if 

anything happens, they 

should hold the APC and 

security services 

responsible. 

“These people are not 

kidnappers, they are 

security agents organised 

by security agencies 

working for APC." 

NEWS HOTLINES 

018773962, 

08052867058 

Those who sought to 

bribe INEC staff with 

foreign currency are the 

real thieves. 

UNIPORT 

Business 

School 

partners 

CSSLD 

PORT HARCOURT— 

THE University of Port 

Harcourt Business School, 

one of Nigeria’s frontline 

management and 

leadership training centres, 

has entered into a 

partnership with the Centre 

for Cultural Savvy and 

Leadership Development, 

CCSLD Consulting, a 

leading talent 

management company 

based in Manchester, 

United Kingdom. 

Under the partnership, 

UNIPORT Business 

School will certify clients 

drawn from diverse ethnic 

national, gender, socioeconomic 

and religious 

backgrounds trained, 

coached and mentored by 

CCSLD. 

Director of UNIPORT 

Business School, Professor 

Okey Onuchuku, and 

CCSLD Director, Osoba 

Otaigbe, endorsed the pact 

at the Director’s UNIPORT 

office in Port Harcourt in 

Rivers State. 

C 

M 

Y 

K


Saturday polls'll finally bury Saraki political 

dynasty in Kwara— Senator-elect 

By Demola 

Akinyemi 

I LORIN—Senator-elect 

in Kwara South senatorial 

district of Kwara State, Lola 

Ashiru, has said Saturday's 


Assembly elections will 

ensure total freedom for the 

people of Kwara and finally 

end Dr. Bukola Saraki's 

political dynasty in the state. 

According to Ashiru, All 


APC, in the state has 

demonstrated in the 

February 23 presidential and 

National Assembly elections 

that it is prepared to free 

Kwarans from one family’s 

political dominance. 

Ashiru who spoke with 

journalists, yesterday, in 

Offa, Offa Local Government 

Area of the state, said “the 

people of the state are very 

prepared to save themselves 

from the stranglehold of the 

present regime. 

"Nothing is going to stop 

us from achieving victory. 

No amount of tribulation, 

falsehood and illicit funds 

will stop us from achieving a 

total victory. Last election was 

straight 10 zero, at the end 

of this Saturday we will have 

36 zero. It is an assurance 

because people are 

prepared. On Saturday, 

what is left of Dr Bukola 

Sarakis political dynasty 

would be finally buried. 

“I have never lost any 

election. You can see what 

happened on February 23. It 

had always been 

manipulations upon 

manipulations. I have 

known all along when the 

system is right, when votes 

count that I will win an 

election. 

"I am grateful to the 

Federal Government, I am 

grateful to the security 

personnel and Independent 


Commission, INEC, for 

playing the rule as it should 

be. That is why we won this 

election. Any election that is 

free and fair people will 

always triumph in Kwara 

State.” 

APGA gov candidate accuses Yari of plotting 

to rig polls using police 

By Joseph 

Erunke 

ABUJA—AHEAD of 

Saturday’s 


Assembly elections, All 

Progressives Grand 

Alliance, APGA, 


Zamfara State, Alhaji Sani 

Shinkafi, has accused the 

state governor, Abdulaziz 

Yari of plotting to rig the 

election using men of 

Nigeria Police. 

He alleged that Yari was 

planning to use 15 units of 

Mobile Police Force to rig 

the elections in the state. 

In the petition to the IGP, 

entitled: ”Plot by Zamfara 

governor, Yari, to rig March 

9, 2019 has been 

discovered," Shinkafi 

claimed "credible 

information indicated Yari 

had perfected the rigging 

plans. 

He alleged that the 

governor was carrying out 

the plans “in connivance 

with a National 

Commissioner in the Police 

Service Commission 

Abuja.” 

The petition read in part: 

“The plot is to use the 

Mobile Police to disrupt the 

election and chase away 

voters in areas considered 

to be strongholds of APGA, 

NRM, PDP and G8 

supporters across the 14 

local government areas of 

the state. 

"The governor boasted 

during his meeting with All 


APC, factional chairman 

and APC factional 


APC factional state secretary 

and APC factional Youth 

Leader over his plans. 

“Governor Yari has 

repeatedly stated that the 

party will not allow free, fair 

and credible election in 

Zamfara State.Governor 

Yari anchors his confidence 

on what he and his 

supporters call ‘Federal 

Might’. He believes that 

APC-controlled Federal 

Government will send 15 

units of Mobile Police in 

addition with other security 

agencies to rig the election 

in favour of APC. 

“He made it clear that he 

will intimidate the major 

opposition parties, PDP, 

APGA, NRM candidates 

during the election to have 

their way. We urge the 

Federal Government lead by 


Buhari to know that the 

Zamfara State is part of the 

federation called Nigeria 

and the people of the state 

deserve to be given equal 

protection to vote for 

candidates of their choice in 

a peaceful atmosphere not 

a militarized one as 

Governor Yari is planning 

to do." 

WALK-TO-SUPPORT: A cross section of All Progressives Congress, 

APC, in Omole Phase 2 in conjunction with Senator Gbenga 

Ashafa, during a Walk to Support Sanwo-Olu and Obafemi Hamzat, 

APC governorship candidate and his running mate, in Omole, Lagos, 

yesterday. Photo: Bunmi Azeez. 

Today is Ash Wednesday 

•As Catholic Bishops urge citizens to pray for Nigeria 

By Sam Eyoboka 

& Luminous 

Jannamike 

T 

O D A Y , 

March 6, 2019 is Ash 

Wednesday, which marks the 

beginning of the lenten 

season. 

This came as the Catholic 

Bishops’ Conference of 

Nigeria, CBCN, has urged 

Nigerians to pray for the 

country’s freedom from the 

bondage of corruption. 

According to a release by 

Director of Social 

Communications, Catholic 

Archdiocese of Lagos, Gabriel 

Osu, “the Lenten season is a 

period of 40 days during 

which Christians are 

encouraged to intensify 

prayers, abstinence, fasting 

and alms giving. 

"In Catholic churches all 

over the world, the faithful are 

expected to receive ash on 

their foreheads as a sign of 

repentance and a reminder 

that we all came from ash and 

will someday return to ash. 

"Here in the Archdiocese of 

Lagos, the faithful would be 

led into the Lenten season by 

the Archbishop of Lagos, His 

Grace, Alfred Adewale 

Martins, at the Holy Cross 

Cathedral.” 

On the essence of the 

season, Osu explains: “At this 

period of lent, we are all 

expected to draw nearer to 

God by constant prayer, 

forsake sin and being at peace 

with our fellow men. It is a 

season of renewal of our faith 

in our creator by renouncing 

all fleshy desires that tend to 

weigh us down and purifying 

our spirit for the greater glory 

of God. But it should not just 

end at this lent season. Our 

prayer is that the fruit of the 

season would continue to 

germinate and bear more fruit 

in our daily lives”. 

Catholic Bishops 

urge citizens to 

pray for Nigeria 

Meanwhile, in a special 

message by the President of 

CBCN, Archbishop 

Augustine Akubeze, to mark 

the beginning of this year’s 

Lenten season, CBCN said: 

"We cannot move forward if 

we do not turn to God in 

prayer. The prosperity of 

Nigerians is being held 

captive by corruption. Let us 

pray and work for the 

liberation of Nigeria so that 

every Nigerian can realise 

their God-given potentials 

“We must as the Holy 

Father said, turn away from 

the culture of dominating the 

weak. We must turn away 

from the culture of 

individualism. 

"We must turn away from 

corruption and politics of 

bitterness. We must turn 

away from the rhetoric of hate 

speech, which creates 

mutual suspicion among 

ourselves." 

Benue guber: Ortom plans to 

compromise electoral officers 

with over N380m —APC 

By Dirisu 

Yakubu 

ABUJA— 

ALL 


APC, in Benue State has 

accused Governor Samuel 

Ortom of plot to dole out huge 

sums of money to electoral 

officers in a bid to retain his 

seat at all cost. 

In a statement, yesterday, 

by chairman of the party in 

the state, Abba Yaro, APC said 

to achieve this, the governor 

had set aside varying sums 

of money with which to 

induce staff of Independent 


Commission, INEC, and adhoc 

staff employed to assist 

the commission in the 

conduct of the exercise. 

The statement read: 

“Nigerians would recall that 

the governor had on various 

occasions boasted that he was 

going to win the forthcoming 

elections by all means. 

According to the plan by the 

governor and PDP in Benue 

State, INEC ad-hoc staff in 

the 5,102 polling units and 

voting points will be given 

N75,000 for refreshment, 

amounting to N382,650,000. 

“In a similar manner, Ward 

Collation Officers in the 276 

council wards in Benue 

State are to go home with 

N150,000 each. It is further 

alleged that each of the 23 

local government electoral 

officers, EOs, will get 

N1,500,000 as 'understanding' 

fee. 

The Resident Electoral 

Commissioner, REC, Benue 

State is not left out in the 

largess as N500 million has 

been earmarked for him to be 

paid through a royal father in 

the state. Votes are to be 

bought in all the polling units 

with N300, 000 

(N1,530,600,000 for 5,102 

PUs) set aside per polling unit 

for that purpose.” 

Chiding the administration 

of Governor Ortom for what 

it called poor stewardship in 

the past four years, Yaro noted 

that considering “where we 

are in Benue State where 

salaries are not paid for over 

12 months as well as 

gratuities and pensions, 

these monies earmarked for 

the election by the governor 

are ridiculous to say the 

least.” 

“The Benue State governor 

has not initiated and 

completed any project in the 

last four years and setting 

aside these huge amounts of 

money to buy votes would 

amount to playing on the 

sensibilities of the Benue 

electorate especially those 

who are vulnerable. 

“The governor has in the 

last four years impoverished 

the Benue people through 

massive looting only to plan 

to buy votes and win a 

second term which, God will 

forbid.” 

Commission commences 

probe of Tiv/Jukun crisis in 

Benue 

By Peter Duru 

M AKURDI—THE 

commission of 

inquiry set up by Benue 

State government to 

probe the recent crisis in 

Tiv/Jukun in Abinsi, 

Guma and Fidi in 

Makurdi local 

government areas of the 

state, yesterday, held its 

inaugural sitting, 

pledging to find an end 

to the persistent conflict. 

It will be recalled that 

a bloody conflict erupted 

between the two ethnic 

communities last January 

leading to the death and 

injuring many and 

destruction of several 

property in the affected 

communities. 

In his inaugural 

speech, Chairman of the 

panel, Justice Wilfred 

Kpochi, appealed to the 

feuding parties to 

cooperate with the 

commission, assuring 

that “our mandate is to 

ensure the restoration of 

mutual trust and peace 

among the parties. 

"If in the course of 

proceedings, the 

parties have any 

misgivings, please do 

not hesitate to bring 

them forward and it will 

be dispassionately 

treated.” 

Responding, counsel to 

Jukun community, Mr. 

Dogara Aboshi, who 

expressed confidence in 

the panel’s ability to do 

justice to the parties 

observed that “there is 

need to deploy more 

security personnel within 

the sitting area since this 

is a commission to 

address the conflict 

between two ethnic 

groups that displaced 

many, claimed several 

lives and property worth 

millions of naira.” 

The state counsel, Mr. 

Ejembi Enyikola, on his 

part said the 

proceedings would 

commence by calling 

witnesses from the 

Jukuns to give evidence.

14 — VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 6, 

2019 

FG urges civil servants 

to shun corruption 

By Victor Young 

ABUJA—THE Federal 

Government has 

advised civil servants to 

shun corruption and other 

related offences at their 

work places in line with the 

anti-corruption programme 

of the present government. 

Permanent Secretary, 

Federal Ministry of Labour 

and Employment, Mrs 

Ibukun Odusote, made the 

call in Abuja while flagging 

off a sensitisation and 

awareness creation workshop 

on Transparency and 

Anti-Corruption Practices 

organized for junior officers 

of the Ministry. 

Represented by the Director, 

Human Resources 

Management, Ajibola Ibrahim, 

Odusote said the 

workshop would educate 

participants on understanding 

of corruption, as 

well as their roles, individually 

and collectively, in 

curbing the menace. 

According to her, corruption 

was not limited to financial 

crimes, but included 

“the little things you do, 

or neglect to do in the conduct 

of your daily schedule 

of duties like movement of 

files, handling mails/other 

official documents, among 

others.” 

Welcoming participants, 

By Luminous 

Jannamike 

A Health BUJA—WORLD 

Organisation, 

WHO, has confirmed 

significant reduction in the 

number of new Lassa fever 

cases reported in Nigeria. 

Last week, 23 new cases 

were reported from eight 

states compared with up to 

80 new cases reported 

within seven days in January 

2019. 

Speaking on the reduction 

in new cases, Dr Clement 

Peter, the WHO Officer-in-Charge 

for Nigeria, 

said yesterday : “We welcome 

the decrease in the 

number of new cases reported. 

However, this is no 

time to lower our guards. 

We must remain resolute 

and continue our intensified 

response to the current 

outbreak.” 

He said intensified response 

activities were ongoing 

to control the outbreak 

across Nigeria; 

stressing that to fully contain 

the outbreak, WHO 

would remain mobilized to 

assist the government to 

stem further spread of the 

disease. 

Specifically, he said the 

WHO had mobilized 

US$400,000 to support Lassa 

fever response activities 

in the country, and also deployed 

experts to affected 

States to assist with coordination, 

active surveillance, 

case management, laboratory 

investigation, provision 

of supplies and research. 

“Our response to the out- 

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

Director, Special Duties/ 

Projects, Dr. M. E. Nwordu, 

said the workshop was 

organized to equip the junior 

officers with adequate 

information to guide their 

official engagements to be 

in line with the principles 

and practices of transparency 

devoid of corruption. 

She expressed hope the 

workshop to usher in a significant 

improvement in 

service delivery by the officers, 

to aid the war 

against corruption, as instituted 

by government. 

In his presentation titled 

“The Integrity Imperative 

in the Workplace”, the Resource 

Person from the Independent 

Corrupt Practices 

and Other Related Offences 

Commission, ICPC, 

Mr. Ahmed Abdul, discussed 

Corruption in the 

workplace – the definition, 

forms, causes and consequences. 

He noted the importance 

of integrity in the workplace 

and its positive impact 

on any organization, 

imploring the management 

of the Federal Ministry of 

Labour and Employment to 

not only ensure punitive 

measures for corrupt practices, 

but also reward officers 

for outstanding performance 

as a motivation to 

staff. 

WHO confirms drop in Lassa 

fever cases 

break illustrates WHO’s 

strengthened capacity to 

actively support countries 

to better protect their population 

against health 

emergencies and outbreaks,” 

Dr. Peter said. 

However, Vanguard reports 

that the efforts to contain 

Lassa fever in Nigeria 

have been closely coordinated 

with the Nigeria 

Centre for Disease Control 

(NCDC) as well as Federal 

and States’ authorities. 

In that vein, a stakeholders’ 

meeting was convened 

recently by NCDC to assess 

ongoing activities, 

identify and discuss lessons 

learned and improve 

the response to the outbreak. 

Arising from that meeting, 

stakeholders visited 

Ondo State, one of the affected 

states, to assist with 

the establishment of a mobile 

laboratory to support 

the disease investigation. 

A 

member of Delta 

State Rural development 

Agency board and 

National President of the 

Oxygen Movement, 

Prince Eduvie Larry 

Efekodha has said choosing 

Okowa is in Isoko and 

Delta South's best interest 

and a resolution in the right 

direction. 

Efekodha disclosed this 

while addressing electorate, 

opinion leaders and 

royal families in Oleh during 

the Delta South equity 

declaration endorsement of 

Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of 

Delta State. 

INSPECTION: 

Governor Gboyega 

Oyetola of Osun 

State (2nd right) inspecting 

medical 

equipment procured 

for primary healthcare 

centres in the 

state during the flagoff 

of revitalisation of 

of medical facilities 

yesterday. 

Showing him the 

equipment is Dr. 

Oluwole Fabiyi Biyi, 

(2nd right), Minister 

of Heath, Prof. Isaac 

Adewole (right) and 

a member of the 

Healthcare facilities 

revitalisation committee, 

Dr. R. Rafiu 

Isamotu. 

POLLS: IGP bans unauthorised use of 

unmarked, covered vehicle number plate 

•Vows to punish personnel caught escorting defaulters 

By Kingsley Omonobi 

Joseph Erunke 

ABUJA—THE act 

ing Inspector-General 

of Police, Mohammed 

Adamu, has banned 

the unauthorised use of 

unmarked and covered 

vehicle number plate 

ahead of Saturday’s governorship 

and house of 

assemblies election. 

A statement, yesterday 

by the Force Public Relations 

Officer,ACP Frank 

Mba,said the ban was sequel 

to intelligence Reports 

that “the unwholesome 

practice may be deployed 

by some unscrupulous 

persons to aid the 

commission of electoral 

related offences before, 

during and after the Saturday, 

9th March, 2019 

Gubernatorial/House of 

Assembly elections.” 

The statement read in 

full:”The Inspector General 

of Police,acting IGP 

Mohammed Adamu,has 

proscribed with immediate 

effect the covering of 

Vehicle Number Plates by 

all unauthorized vehicle 

users across the Country. 

The IGP gave this order 

on Tuesday, 5th March, 

2019, following intelligence 

report that the unwholesome 

practice may 

be deployed by some unscrupulous 

persons to aid 

He gave the reasons as 

Okowa's superlative performance 

in project executions, 

youth empowerment 

and health sector reforms. 

He said: ‘’Re-electing 

Okowa will concretise equity 

and rotation of power 

in the state. Only equity 

can guarantee Delta South 

governorship interest in 

2031. Supporting Delta 

North in 2019 will also secure 

their support for Delta 

South in 2031. ‘’The declaration 

goes further to forbid 

any voter in Delta South 

and Isoko to vote for any 

other candidate apart from 

the commission of electoral 

related offences before, 

during and after the 

Saturday, 9th March, 

2019 Gubernatorial/ 

House of Assembly elections. 

“Apart from the above 

immediate possible 

threats to the polls, the 

IGP also noted that the 

covering of Vehicle 

Number Plate amounts 

to a clear breach of the 

Road Traffic Act and other 

relevant laws of the 

land. In addition, the act 

could also impact negatively 

on national security 

and safety and has 

the capacity to; heighten 

criminal activities, 

engender atmosphere of 

lawlessness, shield perpetrators 

of crime and 

place unnecessary pressure 

on security agencies 

in their routine crime prevention 

and monitoring 

tasks. 

“The IGP therefore directs 

all Assistant Inspectors 

General of Police 

(AIGs) and Commissioners 

of Police (CPs) in the Zonal 

and State Commands to 

strictly enforce the restriction 

order at their various 

Areas of Responsibilities 

(AOR) and to ensure that 

all defaulters are dealt with 

according to the law. 

“The IGP also warns that 

any security personnel 

Governor Okowa from Delta 

North. Anyone who 

votes otherwise should be 

seen as mortgaging the 

political future of isoko people 

and the entire delta 

south for selfish satisfaction. 

‘’The declaration also 

stated that it is not yet the 

turn of Delta Central or 

Delta South in 2019 and 

Delta South should not partake 

in the betrayal of equity 

and political trust of 

Delta North people who 

have always stood in support 

of equity. The turn of 

Delta Central is 2023 and 

found escorting their principal 

with an unmarked 

vehicle or those with 

By Joseph Erunke 

ABUJA—THE Min 

ister of Education, 

Mallam Adamu Adamu, 

said yesterday 67 Nigerians 

were awarded Commonwealth 

Scholarship to 

study in Commonwealth 

nations across the world. 

Similarly, the minister 

said scholars from other 

Commonwealth countries 

were currently studying in 

Nigeria’s tertiary institutions 

under the Commonwealth 

scholarship. 

He, however, did not disclose 

the number of foreign 

scholars in the country under 

the scheme. 

At a briefing in Abuja, 

ahead of the 2019 celebration 

of Commonwealth 

Day Celebration, scheduled 

for next Monday, Adamu, 

said the importance 

of Nigeria in the Commonwealth 

of Nations,was recently 

demonstrated with 

the recent visit of the Secretary-General 

of Commonwealth, 

Baroness Patricia 

Scotland, on election 

observation mission. 

‘Okowa's endorsement in Isoko, Delta South’s best interest’ 

67 Nigerians get Commonwealth 

scholarships in 4 years— Adamu 

total support should be given 

to the zone (Delta Central) 

when the time comes 

and that time is not 2019. 

‘’The traditional rulers 

only spoke the minds of 

majority of their subject on 

this matter as the only way 

to protect our political future 

in the coming years for 

the younger generation. 

The Equity declaration 

also called on all Isoko sons 

and daughters to come out 

massively to vote for Governor 

Ifeanyi Okowa to be 

in the good side of political 

history in other to benefit 

in the nearest future.’’ 

masked vehicle number 

plates will be arrested and 

dealt with accordingly.” 

Adamu said the Commonwealth 

of Nations 

“have been cooperating 

immensely together in the 

pursuit of their common 

goals and shared values in 

the areas of education, 

trade, security and governance 

among others. 

“The Commonwealth 

Scholarship and Fellow 

Plan, CSFP, was instituted 

in 1959 to give practical 

expression to the declared 

intention of Commonwealth 

countries to contribute 

to the provision of highlevel 

education and training 

by sharing their resources 

and facilities. 

“Since its inception, Nigeria 

has been operating 

as an awarding country. 

She maintains scholarship 

awards to other countries 

of the Commonwealth, 

such as Sierra Leone. As a 

receiving and nominating 

country, Nigeria receives 

awards from other Commonwealth 

member countries, 

such as the UK, New 

Zealand, Australia, etc.” 

He explained that ahead 

of the celebration, “Some 

activities have been lined 

up for the celebration of 

this year’s Commonwealth 

Day such as Youth Lecture, 

quiz competition involving 

senior secondary school 

children within the FCT, 

holding today,5th 

March,2019. Contestants 

will be tested on Commonwealth 

issues, ICT, Social 

Studies, Current Affairs, 

English Language, etc.” 

According to him, activities 

lined up for this year’s 

event, included parade of 

Commonwealth flags by 

students; presentation of 

theme song composed by 

one of the schools; drama 

presentation on the theme 

for this year’s observance; 

poetic rendition, cultural 

dance among others.

C 

M 

Y 

K 

Alleged N400m fraud: Metuh’s lawyers 

apply to withdraw over alleged threat 

By Ikechukwu 

Nnochiri 

A BUJA—THE 

trial of the former 

National Publicity Secretary 

of the Peoples Democratic 

Party, PDP, Olisa Metuh, 

took a dramatic turn 

yesterday as his team of 

lawyers asked the Federal 

High Court in Abuja to 

allow them to withdraw 

from the case. 

In a motion dated March 

4, the team of 12 lawyers 

led by two Senior 

Advocates of Nigeria, Dr. 

Onyechi Ikpeazu and Mr. 

Emeka Etiaba, adduced 

reasons why they would no 

longer appear before the 

court to defend the former 

PDP spokesman who is 

facing money laundering 

charges. 

Metuh’s lawyers told the 

court that they have been 

under “immense pressure” 

with respect to their 

continued appearance in 

CAMPAIGN: Enugu 

State Governor and 

governorship 

candidate of the 

Peoples Democratic 

Party, PDP, Ifeanyi 

Ugwuanyi (waving in 

the 

middle) 

acknowledging 

cheers from jubilant, 

teeming supporters 

and admirers, during 

his door-to-door 

campaign in Nsukka 

Local Government 

Area ahead of the 

March 9 elections, 

yesterday. 

the case, alleging threats to 

their lives. 

They urged the court to 

allow them to withdraw 

from the trial in the interest 

of justice. 

“The counsel 

representing the 1st 

defendant have been going 

through immense pressure 

with respect to their 

appearance in this case 

including severe threat to 

their lives and will be 

unable to contain the 1st 

defendant”, read the 

withdrawal application 

predicated on section 

349(7)and (8) of the 

Administration of Criminal 

Justice Act, ACJA, 2015. 

Besides, Metuh’s 

lawyers, who were all 

absent at the resumed 

proceeding on the matter 

yesterday, said they would 

be occupied with election 

petition cases and would no 

longer be able to attend the 

day to day trial that was 

ordered by the court. 

In a supporting affidavit 

that was deposed to by 

Metuh’s lead counsel, 

Ikpeazu, SAN, he told the 

court that he received crank 

calls by persons that 

threatened to kill him 

because of the way he 

“mishandled” the case. 

“I have received 

numerous threats to my life 

from diverse sources 

through telephone calls 

with disguised numbers, 

giving ultimatum and 

threatening to kill me based 

on the manner they claimed 

I had been mishandling 

the case,” he averred. 

Ikpeazu further told the 

court that his next in 

command, Etiaba, SAN, 

also informed him that “he 

had received similar threats 

and thus would no longer 

proceed with the 

representation of the 1st 

defendant.” 

He contended that “in 

the circumstance, it is 

impossible to avail the 1st 

PDP to Elechi: Return money you wasted 

on uncompleted projects 

By Peter Okutu 

A BAKALIKI—THE 

People’s Democratic 

Party, PDP, in Ebonyi State 

yesterday called on former 

Governor Martin Elechi to 

return "the billions of naira" 

he wasted on uncompleted 

projects which littered the 

state during his eight years 

reign as governor. 

The party stated this while 

reacting to the former 

governor’s briefing titled: 

“Ebonyi State government 

is painting the streets in 

the name of projects” on 

Monday in Abakaliki. 

In a statement issued in 

Abakaliki, the PDP’s State 

Publicity Secretary, Deacon 

Okulegu Bethran Enyim 

explained that the 

disposition of the former 

governor was an indication 

of someone who never 

believed that the incumbent 

governor would outachieve 

him (Elechi) in just 

few years in office, adding 

that: “Of course, we 

appreciate the fact that the 

former Governor Martin 

Elechi in Ebonyi State does 

not understand and cannot 

even imagine what the 

developmental strides of 

David Umahi means to the 

people of Ebonyi State.” 

The statement read in 

part: “The Ebonyi State 


PDP, has dismissed the 

latest press briefing by the 

former governor, Martin 

Elechi. The briefing is 

laughable. 

” The state chapter of the 

People’s Democratic Party 

inEbonyi State dismisses 

the opinion of Martin 

Elechi and challenge him 

to return the billions of 

naira spent on Oferekpe 

water schemes project and 

various uncompleted 

projects during his tenure. 

“PDP in Ebonyi State 

describes it as a waste of 

Funeral rites of late Debe Ojukwu begins 

THE 

funeral 

programme of the 

Late Chief Debe 

Odumegwu-Ojukwu 

(Akpunwa Nnewi), aged 

62, the first son of the late 


Biafran leader, Chief Dim 

Odumegwu Ojukwu, the 

Eze Gburugburu of 

Igboland, has 

commenced. 

According to the burial 

arrangement by the family, 

the rites commenced on 

yesterday with a Service 

of Songs at the Catholic 

Church of Assumption, 

Falomo, Ikoyi , Lagos. 

defendant the legal 

representation he deserves 

in this case” and therefore 

asked that the court grant 

the application to enable 

them withdraw from the 

trial. 

Meanwhile, owing to the 

development, trial Justice 

Okon Abang sought 

Metuh’s opinion on what 

he would want the court to 

do in the circumstance. 

Responding from the 

dock, Metuh told the court 

that he met with his lawyers 

on Monday evening, 

saying they took turns and 

recounted how they were 

traumatized by experiences 

they have had in the hands 

of the Federal Government 

since the trial started. 

He prayed the court for 

an adjournment to enable 

his lawyers to move their 

application. 

Consequently, Justice 

Abang adjourned the 

matter till March 13. 

resources and time for the 

former governor to clutch at 

every semblance of a 

floating straw to save 

himself from drowning in 

the ocean of Governor 

David Umahi avalanche 

of achievements in the 

state." 

By Chinonso 

Alozie 

OWERRI—A Federal 

High Court sitting in 

Owerri yesterday, sacked 

the Imo State governorship 

candidate of the Social 

Democratic Party, SDP, 

Okey Ezeh. 

The court presided over 

by Justice Tijjani Ringim, 

also requested that Ezeh’s 

name should be replaced 

with Casmir Anyanwu. 

Ringim said that 

according to credible 

evidences before the court, 

at the time the primary of 


Lagos Ohanaeze's endorsement 

of Sanwo-Olu, scam —Ndigbo 

By Chris 

Onuoha 

A 

GROUP of 

concerned citizens 

of Ndigbo in Lagos has 

described as a scam, the 

endorsement of All 


APC, governorship 

candidate, Mr. Babajide 

Sanwo-Olu by the Lagos 

State chapter of 

Ohanaeze Ndigbo. 

Leaders of the group 

comprising Dr. Jonathan 

Nnaji, Dr. Vincent 

Anyigor, Chief Arthur 

Nwachukwu and Ben 

Akah, said the Lagos 

Ohanaeze chairman, 

Chief Solomon Ogbonna 

conducted himself in a 

manner that does not 

represent the interest of 

Ndigbo in Lagos. 

The Spokesperson of 

the group, Ben Akah, in 

a statement yesterday in 

Lagos said: “We just 

NEWS HOTLINES 

018773962, 

08052867058 

want to let people know 

that what has happened in 

the past few days is what 

we call a scam. The 

President General of 

Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief 

Nnia Nwodo had earlier 

declared that the policy of 

the Peoples Democratic 

Party, PDP, that is hinged 

on restructuring is 

welcomed by the Igbo 

race, that power should be 

devolved to the various 

units.” 

The group also said: “We 

also want the space to be 

open for people to prosper, 

individual businesses to 

rise so that poverty can be 

chased away, because the 

policies of PDP were 

consistent with the 

aspirations of Ndigbo in 

general. Stemming from 

this, the Ime-obi council 

under Nwodo took a 

decision that in this 

particular election, the Igbo 

race will support the PDP." 

Emulate Umahi on agriculture, 

infrastructure, technocrat tells 

S-East govs 

By Charles 

Kumolu 

CHIEF Executive 

Officer of Blue 

Diamond Logistics, Mr. 

Festus Mbisiogu, has 

urged Southeast 

governors to emulate 

Ebonyi State governor, 

Chief Dave Umahi on 

what he described as 

strides in infrastructure 

and agricultural reinvigoration. 

Mbisiogu, who stated 

this after a visit to the 

state, described Ebonyi 

as a model of 

development every 

governor should 

emulate. 

He said: "I am proud 

of Governor Umahi and 

his team. Truly, he has 

executed the divine 

mandate of his 

administration equitably. 

This has resulted in the 

progress made in the 

areas of infrastructure 


agriculture. 

“As far as I am concerned, 

Ebonyi State of today is one 

of the best states in Nigeria 

in terms of infrastructure 

development, which is a 

key driver for progress, an 

enabler for productivity and 

sustainable economic 

growth. 

“I am shocked at the level 

of development going on 

silently in the state. I am 

proud of Ebonyi because, 

with the level of 

infrastructure investment 

that I saw, human 

development, poverty 

reduction, and the 

attainment of the 

Millennium Development 

Goals, MDGs, are 

guaranteed in the state.” 

Deputy Governor of the 

state, Dr. Eric Kenneth 

Igwe, who conducted 

Mbisiogu round the state, 

commended him for the 

roles he has been playing 

in ensuring that Nigeria 

and China maintain a 

cordial relationship. 

Court sacks Imo SDP gov candidate 

SDP was held, Ezeh could 

not have been a member of 

the party. 

He added that in line 

with Section 133(2) of the 

Evidence Act, the plaintiff 

(Anyanwu) was the winner 

of the said primary election 

conducted October 6, 

2018. 

Part of his orders read that, 

“Ezeh’s name be replaced 

with that of the plaintiff and 

to submit same to the INEC 

in line with Section 87(4b) 

of the constitution.” 

It should be recalled that 

Anyanwu had gone to 

court to challenge the 

reason behind the 

removal of his name by the 

party as the governorship 

candidate in Imo State. 

He claimed that, “he got 

855 votes out of 1,409 cast 

to defeat other aspirants.” 

Reacting, Okey Ezeh 

through his Director of 

Media and Publicity, 

Collins Opuruzo, said: 

“We are aware that a 

Federal High Court in 

Owerri sat on Tuesday, 

March 5, 2019 and made a 

careless pronouncement 

about the SDP 

governorship ticket in Imo 

State, a ruling which cannot 

stand the test of appeal."


BRIEFING: From left— Mr Muda Yusuf, Director General; Mr Babatunde Ruwase, President; Mrs 

Toki Mabogunje, Deputy President; Asiwaju Michael Olawale-Cole, Vice -President and Mr Sola Oyetayo, 

Vice-President, all of Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, during the press briefing on Agenda 

setting for the President-elect held in Lagos, yesterday. Photo Lamidi Bamidele. 

E-Waste: NCC moves against nontypeapproved 

devices 

By Emmanuel 

Elebeke 

ABUJA—THE Nigerian 

Communications 

Commission, NCC has 

warned importers and 

dealers on handset devices 

to desist from importation 

and sales of nontypeapproved 

electric devices in 

the telecommunication 

industry without type 

approval by the 

commission. 

The Executive Vice 

Chairman of the 

Commission, Prof. Umar 

Danbatta, gave the warning 

at the Public Inquiry on e- 

Waste Regulations and 

Disaster Recovery 

Guidelines held on Tuesday 

in Abuja. 

The EVC said about 75 

per cent of electronics 

Urhobo youths back rotation of gov seat, 

endorse Okowa 

Okowa for second term. 

The chairman of the 

group, Comrade Nixon 

Duru Ufuoma, who spoke 

to our correspondent at 

Orerokpe Market, 

Orerokpe in Okpe Local 

Government Area noted 

that the rotation of the 

governorship seat amongst 

the three senatorial districts 

in the state has brought 

peace and unity in the state 

and therefore stressed the 

need for the Urhobos to 

adopt the Peoples 

Democratic Party's unwritten 

gentleman agreement on 

the issue. 

"Delta Central and South 

imported into Nigeria are 

toxic junks, hence the 

move by NCC and other 

relevant stakeholders to 

come up with draft policy 

for effective regulation and 

management of e-waste in 

the sector, warning that any 

action contrary to the 

provision of the law would 

be resisted by the NCC 

and ensure that such 

people will be brought 

before the law to answer for 

Polls: Don't neglect elites in campaigns, 

Lagos residents tell politicians 

By Olasunkanmi 

Akoni 

L AGOS—RESIDENTS 

of Omole phase II, 

Ikosi-Isheri Local Council 

Development Area, LCDA, 

have called on the political 

class to change their 

strategy by involving the 

elites in campaigneering in 

order to reduce voters' 

apathy during elections. 

Meanwhile Senator 

Gbenga Ashafa, 

representing Lagos East 

Senatorial District, has 

called on residents of the 

district to come and vote enmasse 

for the governorship 

candidate of All 

Progressive Congress, 

Babajide Sanwo-Olu and 

other APC candidates in the 

Saturday elections in the 

state. 

The Chairman of Omole 

Phase 11, Dele Lanasa and 

the Vice Chairman of 

By Lucky Oji 

Uyouths GHELLI—Urhobo 

under the 

aegis of Coalition of Urhobo 

Youth Leaders have 

declared their support for 

rotation of governorship 

seat amongst the three 

senatorial districts in Delta 

State and also endorsed 

Governor Ifeanyi Okowa 

for a second tenure. 

The group made this 

known during a 

sensitization tour to popular 

markets in the twenty four 

kingdoms of Urhobo nation 

on the need for rotation of 

governorship seat and 

endorsement of Governor 

Mogodo, Lanre Bakare 

made the call Tuesday, 

during a door-to-door 

campaign, organized by 

Ashafa in conjunction with 

Coalition of Gated Estates 

within the district aimed at 

drawing support for APC 

Gubernatorial candidate 

Babajide Sanwo-Olu and 

his deputy Dr. Obafemi 

Hamzat as well as all APC 


Candidates in Lagos East. 

The Door to Door Campaign 

was embarked upon 

for the sole purpose of sensitizing 

the residents of Lagos 

East Senatorial District 

on reasons why they should 

vote for the APC candidates 

in the up coming Gubernatorial 

as well as House of 

Assembly Elections and to 

urge them to come out en 

masse to vote for them. 

Lanasa also appreciated 

Ashafa for filulfilling his 

promise. " You promised 

three transformer,s we 

have seen it. You are not 

far from us." 

The Chairman said, "The 

DTHA: CUPP endorses 

Ajudua for another term 

By Festus Ahon 

ASABA—TEN political 

parties under the aegis 

of the Coalition of United 

Political Parties, CUPP have 

endorsed the member 

representing Oshimili 

North Constituency in the 

Delta State House of 

Assembly and Chief Whip 

of the House, Princess Pat 

Ajudua as the sole 

candidate for Saturday's 

House of Assembly election 

in Oshimili North Constituency 

. 

have served two terms of 

eight years each and Delta 

North has served only a 

tenure meritoriously in the 

person of Governor Okowa 

. So in the principle of 

equity and for his laudable 

achievements in all sectors 

across the state, we, the 

youth leaders of the twenty 

four kingdoms decided that 

we should sensitize the 

Urhobo nation on the need 

to support the rotation of 

the governorship seat 

amongst the three 

senatorial districts in the 

state and also endorsed 

Governor Okowa for a 

second tenure." 

such breaches of the law. 

‘‘Let this be a warning to 

those people in our mist 

selling electric devices for 

use in the 

telecommunication 

industry without type 

approval to know that it is 

an action that is contrary to 

the provision of the law and 

the NCC will take actions 

to ensure that such people 

will be brought before the 

law to answer for those 

breaches of the law. 

‘‘Prior to the importation 

of hand held telecom devices, 

we insist we do prior 

to the importation of any 

telecom equipment, including 

hand held devices that 

we would like to have one 

of such devices, one being 

brought to the NCC for 

checking." 

The endorsement which is 

coming barely three days to 

the governorship and State 


elections affirmed the 

resolve of candidates of 

other political parties for the 

Oshimili North 

Constituency seat to 

support and work for the 

victory of Hon Pat Ajudua 

who is the PDP candidate 

for election. 

The political parties that 

endorsed third term 

member Lawmaker who is 

also the Chief Whip of the 

Delta State House of 

Assembly are Kowa Party, 

Action Alliance AA, 

Independent Democrats, 

ID, African People's 

Alliance, APA, Accord Party, 

People's Party of Nigeria, 

PPN among others. 

The State Chairman of the 

Coalition of United Political 

Parties, CUPP and Senior 

Special Assistant to the 

Governor on Inter Parties 

Relations, Chief Josiah 

Efetobor said "having 

viewed and accessed the 

performance of Mrs Pat 

Ajudua as a legislator, the 

political parties decided to 

endorse her as the sole 

candidate for the House of 

Assembly election for 

Oshimili North 

Constituency". 

Zimbabwe borrows $985 million from 

African banks 

ZIMBABWE'S Reserve Bank has borrowed 

$985 million from African banks including 

Mozambique's central bank and the African 

Export and Import Bank to purchase fuel and other 

critical imports, Governor John Mangudya said. 

Zimbabwe is in the grip of a severe dollar crunch 

and last month ditched a discredited 1:1 dollar 

peg for surrogate bond notes and electronic 

dollars, merging them into a lower-value 

transitional currency called the RTGS dollar. 

Mangudya said the loans would be repaid from 

future gold earnings and had a tenure of between 

three and five years. 

"These loans are well structured facilities 

contracted last year," he told a parliamentary 

committee. 

ZOLA Electric announces expansion 

into Nigeria market 

ZOLA Electric ('ZOLA'), the leading renewable 

energy brand in Africa, with 200,000 

installations and more than 1,000,000 daily users 

has announced plans to bring clean, affordable, 

reliable 24 hour power to Nigeria. 

According to Mr. Bill Lenihan, Chief Executive 

Officer, ZOLA's entry into the Nigerian market is 

in line with the mission of the company to use 

distributed renewable energy solutions to make 

clean, affordable reliable 24 hour accessible for 

anyone, anywhere. 

"ZOLA Electric is a power solutions pioneer that 

is now one of the most trusted brands in Africa's 

distributed renewable energy market. We have 

successfully delivered our clean, affordable and 

reliable power solutions across Tanzania, Rwanda, 

Côte d'Ivoire, and Ghana. We're super excited to 

make our clean, affordable and reliable 24 power 

solutions available to Nigerian homes, business 

and organizations. 

Mr. Lenihan explained that ZOLA will expand its 

distributed smart storage + solar energy model 

and launch an affordable renewable energy 

alternative for Nigerians in a bid to deliver clean 

energy access to over 1 million households and 

businesses in Nigeria over the next three years. 

This ambitious expansion is focused on improving 

environmental, health and economic outcomes 

while driving the transition to clean, renewable 

energy. 

Kenya plans to sell 25-year 

infrastructure bond this month 

Kenya will sell a 25-year amortized infrastructure 

bond this month to raise up to 50 billion shillings 

($500.25 million), the central bank said on Friday. 

The bond, which will be auctioned on March 20, 

will come with a coupon of 12.200 percent, the 

central bank said, adding that it be tax free in 

line with the government's policy of encouraging 

investors to bank infrastructure bonds. 

London - Stocks edge higher amid 

continued Brexit optimism 

Sales of new U.S. homes climbed in December to their 

highest pace in seven months, a sign that lower 

mortgage rates are helping the real estate market. 

The Commerce Department said Tuesday that newhome 

sales rose 3.7 percent in December to a seasonally 

adjusted annual rate of 621,000. November's sales were 

revised down to 599,000 from an annual rate of 657,000. 

For all of 2018, new-home sales rose 1.5 percent. 

Purchases began to dip in June as higher mortgage 

rates worsened affordability, but mortgage rates have 

fallen since peaking in early November and that appears 

to be supporting a sales rebound. 

The sales gains point to a potentially stronger 2019. 

The purchase of new homes not yet under construction 

surged 22.4 percent in December from the prior month. 

Average 30-year mortgage rates at 4.35 percent, down 

from nearly 5 percent in early November, have also 

eased some affordability pressures.

ONE hears the oftenrepeated 

assertion that 

politics in our country is rarely 

if ever based on any real 

ideology. While this appears 

true on the surface, the just 

concluded 2019 Presidential 

election shows a seismic shift 

many are yet to reckon with. 


Buhari won the 2015 elections 

with a margin of 2,571,759 

votes and in 2019, he did so 

again with 3,928,869 votes, 

meaning an additional 

1,357,110 more Nigerians 

decided to support him. Why? 

A new understanding of 

income inequality took centre 

stage, in a country where the 

increasing number of private 

jets was once mistaken for 

“evidence” the Nigerian 

economy was doing well. 

Former President Goodluck 

Jonathan, once criticized a 

2014 World Bank report, 

saying: “If you talk about 

ownership of private jets, 

Nigeria will be among the first 

10 countries, yet they are 

saying that Nigeria is among 

the five poorest countries”. 

Nigeria’s GDP growth rarely 

reflected what was happening 

at the grassroots level: we’ve 

often been in the ironic 

situation of recording high 

levels of financial growth with 

little impact on the real 

economy. 

Dividends of 

democracy 

Growth in Nigeria has failed 

to reduce poverty because the 

poor are not integrated into the 

economy and have no access 

to its proceeds. Politicians 

came to power declaring they 

wanted to secure the 

“dividends of democracy” for 

their people while pursuing 

policies which continuously 

widened the gap between the 

rich and poor. In fact, the only 

way of accessing wealth is 

often to position oneself on the 

patronage ladder by 

“attaching” to a big man who 

redistributes benefits for his 

ethnic kin. 

Atiku Abubakar, the PDP 

Presidential candidate, a selfconfessed 

admirer of 

Margaret Thatcher, believes 

expenditure on social 

investment schemes are 

nothing short of a waste of 

time. A majority of poor and 

working-class people, traders 

and artisans, disagreed with 

him through their votes. 

While IMF backed studies 

prove long term economic 

growth is tied to rising 

equality in income 

distribution, it is safe to say 

there has been, since 2015, the 

beginning of an instinctive 

recognition among the masses 

or the voting public, that the 

Buhari 

REPORTEDLY, 

the 

President said his 

second term would be 

“tough”, which sent the usual 

alarmists into a frenzy. Now, 

tough for whom? Tough for 

those who only relied on 

government patronage while 

The Next Level: Mass appreciation of 

progressive politics 

decisions taken by past 

governments which 

subsidised the rights and 

appetites of some people 

(using public funds), while 

exposing the majority of the 

population to the risks and 

vagaries of the global market, 

without any form of social 

protection, wasn’t just morally 

unjust, it was economically 

unsustainable. 

In Lagos, five million people 

collected PVCs but a little less 

than one million people came 

out to vote on election day. 

We’ve all heard by now of the 

“power of the Ks”, Kano, 

Katsina, Kaduna, where, every 

election, the talakawa come 

out in huge numbers. What 

makes the masses in the North 

so much more politically 

active and engaged than those 

in the South? 

Why does the average 

middle-class Southerner say, 

with much pride: “I am not 

interested in politics”, as if this 

self-avowed disinterest were 

itself a marker of status. Is 

politics only for those who 

aren’t integrated into 

networks of patronage and 

security through which one 

survives election cycles? Or is 

it that the South, which has 

always touted itself as more 

progressive, is actually more 

masquerading as business 

men, definitely. There is a 

difference, in a democracy, 

between real economic policy 

and a system where private 

individuals are dependent on 

government benefaction or 

sponsorship to survive. 

conservative than initially 

thought? 

In Nigeria, the rich blame 

the poor for poverty (a 

Victorian attitude to wealth 

with many similarities to what 

obtains in ultra-capitalist 

societies like the US or the 

UK). The affluent believe the 

Is it that the 

South, which 

has always 

touted itself as 

more 

progressive, is 

actually more 

conservative 

than initially 

thought? 

poor are poor almost by 

“choice” because they aren’t 

“smart” enough to take 

advantage of opportunities, 

forgetting that their own 

position on the social ladder 

naturally enables them to tap 

into economic prospects 

offered by the state (which is 

how wealth is primarily created 

in Nigeria, no matter what one 

National Bureau of Statistics 

THE National Bureau of 

Statistics, NBS, said 

foreign trade has seen its 

“fourth consecutive rise” from 

N16.29 trillion in 2015 to 

N32.26 trillion in 2018. In fact, 

the total volume of trade in 

2018 exceeds even the highest 

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 6, 2019 —17 

says of supposedly “private” 

initiatives or investments). 

In such a context, the 

leaders of the Southern 

economy whose private firms 

are better integrated into the 

network of discretionary, 

public-private dealings would 

support a would-be “probusiness” 

candidate, because 

his Presidency would mean 

business as usual. As for the 

North, it didn’t ideologically 

endorse the commodification 

of social life which capitalism 

and pro-Western modes of 

thought entrenched in the 

South after Awolowo’s 

passing. 

By “commodification of 

social life” one refers to the 

liberal politics which turn all 

available goods and services 

into market commodities: the 

destruction of public health 

and education in favour of 

private schools and hospitals 

was particularly felt in the 

North, which continues to 

suffer the worst outcomes in 

terms of healthcare and 

education. 

Healthcare and 

education 

In this regard, candidates 

who not only preach a 

liberalism reminiscent of 

structural adjustment, remind 

the average Nigerian of what 

happened to free or affordable 

public services in the 1990s, 

and after the privatisation 

drive in the early 2000s. 

Islamic belief in the North 

talks about the ills of capitalist 

consumption in a way 

Christianity, or rather, the new 

levels on record in 2014, 

nearly double the numbers 

pre-recession. Interestingly, 

this hasn’t received attention 

from the doomsday predictors 

who said the “next level” was 

economic collapse. 

age churches in the South, no 

longer do. A more “Spartan” 

Buhari, to use the media’s 

favourite word to describe 

him, would thus appeal more 

to people in the North and the 

South who see conspicuous 

consumption and corruption 

funded by oil rents as the heart 

of Nigeria’s social, moral and 

economic problems. 

However, Buhari’s victory 

isn’t a result of the “politics of 

envy”. Atiku didn’t lose 

because the North likes 

“poverty”, or because 

Buharists resent rich people, 

which in the mouths of PDP 

supporters is an ironic selfindictment, 

almost like 

admitting that they know their 

candidate was promising 

money would trickle down 

once more. In the past, the 

treasury was open to 

“distributing” resources to 

various groups: from 

construction firms to ethnoreligious 

or cultural 

associations, politicians and 

those close to them. 

Conversation about 

social justice 

Universally, any 

conversation about social 

justice, poverty and economic 

inequality, is often seen by 

conservatives as a means of 

blaming the rich for being 

rich. Margaret Thatcher once 

said: “I reject vehemently the 

politics of envy, the incitement 

of people to regard all success 

as if it were something 

discreditable, gained only by 

taking selfish advantage of 

others. I do not think it is in 

the character of the British 

people to begrudge a lion’s 

share to those who have 

genuinely played a lion’s 

part”. 

Who decides what it means 

to “play a lion’s part” 

(therefore determining who 

receives a “lion’s share” of our 

resources) should be of 

particular interest to us as 

Nigerians, because Margaret 

Thatcher neither encouraged 

amnesty for corrupt people nor 

did she confuse 

entrepreneurialism with the 

use of public resources for 

private gain. Economic 

success based on a legitimate 

law-abiding business is one 

thing, profiting off Nigeria’s 

weak institutional and 

prosecutorial framework to 

ensure huge returns to a small 

group of people, is another. 

No other Nigerian leader 

has come to power without the 

backing of the generals. The 

masses are beginning to focus 

on economic inequality, and 

more importantly, they’re 

identifying who’s behind it. 

The political elite have always 

used power to their advantage, 

isn’t it time the masses did the 

same and voted based on their 

own interests? 

Tabia Princewill is a 

strategic communications 

consultant and public policy 

analyst. She is also the cohost 

and executive producer 

of a talk show, WALK THE 

TALK which airs on 

Channels TV.


UNDER the Federal Road Safety 

Commission Act, Part 11, 

Section 4 (t), “carrying passengers or 

loads in excess of the number a 

particular vehicle is licensed to carry” 

is a serious traffic offence. 

Up to the 1980s, every vehicle on our 

roads complied with the specific 

number of persons or tonnage of load 

allotted to it by law or faced arrest by 

traffic police officers. 

Every commercial vehicle had 

written on its body the number of 

passengers or weight of loads it could 

not exceed, and it was common sight 

to see traffic officers stop vehicles on 

the road to count the number of 

passengers aboard. 

Like most things in Nigeria, the 

number of passengers a commercial 

vehicle carries no longer bothers law 

enforcers. A commercial cab driver is 

now free to squeeze into his car as 

many passengers as he may wish. 

Along the Badagry-Owode Road in 

Need to maintain safety 

on our highways 

Lagos, it is usual to see cabs with the 

capacity to accommodate only four 

passengers carrying six to eight on the 

seats and another two in the boots. 

They are allowed to cross all the 

numerous Customs, Federal Road 

Safety and Police checkpoints on the 

road. 

Also, many inter-state buses and 

cars carrying consumer goods are 

overloaded and most of these are old 

vehicles travelling long distances. 

Apart from overloading, the law 

enforcement agents who litter our 

highways allow ill-maintained vehicles 

to go scot-free. 

Vehicles (including heavy trucks and 

tankers) that are clearly no longer 

roadworthy litter virtually all our 

roads. 

Some of them spew heavy black 

smoke which imperils the visibility of 

motorists and yet nothing is done to 

enforce the relevant laws. 

The reasons behind the inability of 

the law enforcement agencies to do 

their jobs are not far-fetched. Top on 

the list is the ubiquitous problem of 

corruption. 

Most of the law enforcers are on the 

roads to collect illegal tolls from these 

lawbreakers and allow them go free. 

The second major cause is that many 

of the owners of these vehicles are 

influential individuals in society who 

use their privileged positions to 

frustrate law enforcement. 

The inability of statutory agencies to 

enforce the laws on roadworthiness 

and loading of vehicles is responsible 

for most of the accidents that claim 

thousands of lives on our highways 

every year. 

These vehicles invariably break 

down in the middle of the roads, block 

them and cause nightmarish traffic 

snarls. 

Some lose control and result in loss 

of lives and property. 

It is said that corruption kills. These 

are some of the ways it does. The war 

on corruption should shift to the road 

sector and sanitise it for the safety of 

the citizenry on our highways. 

The value of a Nigerian life 

By Caleb Adebayo 

ABOUT a week ago, I was passing 

through one of Lagos’ very busy 

roads and an ambulance, its sirens blaring, 

was trying to weave its way through the 

traffic. It repeatedly sounded its horn, its 

driver frantically announcing that there 

was an emergency. 

A few people tried to move, others just 

sat still, unyielding, while the ambulance 

driver was helpless. About a day before, I 

had seen a similar incident, only this time 

it was a police vehicle blaring its sirens 

and honking for cars to move aside. In less 

than a minute, everyone moved to the side 

and the police van drove through. 

Only yesterday, I learnt from a friend 

about how her uncle had been involved in 

an accident, and that while he was left there 

to bleed, his phones, laptop and even wrist 

watch were stolen, with no attempt at 

offering assistance. 

These incidents and many more, I will 

refer to in this spiel, make me wonder: what 

really is the value of a Nigerian life? Over 

the past few years, Nigeria has suffered the 

worst cases of insecurity in sub-Saharan 

Africa. 

Its citizens have been killed in droves like 

chickens slaughtered during festivities. The 

security incidents in Benue, Borno, Jos and 

elsewhere should still be fresh in our 

memories, but has been quickly forgotten, 

because somehow, we perhaps have gotten 

accustomed to unnecessary deaths that an 

extra one is just a statistic and nothing 

more. 

The Otedola bridge explosion in Lagos 

in June last year that claimed lives, caused 

untold tragedies to families and kept many 

in very critical conditions has not long 

passed, yet tankers still continue to 

transport PMS across the country at busy 

hours of the day, worsened by the fact that 

these tankers are not roadworthy. 

Do we also forget Leah Sharibu who was 

a victim of the Dapchi abductions by Boko 

Haram and has still not been found over a 

year after she was abducted? Do we realise 

how nothing is being said about it by the 

government? 

Some weeks ago, a story made the rounds 

about indiscriminate shooting by a 

Customs official because he was refused a 

bribe. A few days ago, we heard of another 

indiscriminate shooting incident by a 

policeman in Ayobo, Lagos State, even 

though the police have denied it, making 

it their word against that of eyewitnesses. 

To add to all of these, our roads are a 

death trap; a good opportunity for highway 

robbers and killers, or worse still, for 

unsavory road accidents. And while these 

killings and accidents are on the rise, 

nobody cares. 

The average Nigerian who is alive merely 

thanks God that ‘it was not him’. The 

government in power only makes an offhand 

statement, if any will be made at all, 

condemning the incident while the 

responsible law enforcement agencies in 

instances where they are the culprits are 

skilled in denials; well-worded press statements 

that play on the intelligence of citizens. 

Soon after the tragedy, everyone claps 

their hands in amazement, heaves sighs, 

and moves on, as though the dead are the 

unlucky gamers in a game of musical 

OPINION 

chairs, the ones who after the music 

stopped, could not find any of life’s chairs 

to sit on. 

Healthcare in the country is deplorable, 

security agencies are killing citizens - a 

terror to those they are supposed to protect; 

the government is silent on reprisal 

attacks and ethnic cleansing; politics takes 

precedence over people, and the same 

people whose lives don’t matter are the ones 

who, sadly, are the pawns of the political 

process, giving up their lives while doing 

the bidding of one political candidate or 

the other. 

The presidential and national assembly 

In a country where 

lives mean little or 

nothing, and politics, 

re-election or power 

means everything, we 

are simply building a 

time bomb of lawlessness 

elections have just been concluded, with 

violence in certain quarters and reports of 

absence of security personnel; or where they 

were there, their passiveness. 

This again attests to the fact that the Nigerian 

life is in the hands of the 

Nigerian, that he has no assurance of 

security from the government, that if he 

asserts his right too much, he will be killed 

by the security operatives. If he goes out on 

the road and gets unlucky, he could be the 

victim of a tanker explosion from a tanker 

that was meant to be kept off the road; or if 

he was from a particular ethnic group or 

professed a certain faith, he would be the 

target of abduction or outright death. 

Equally, if he stepped out to exercise the 

most important and basic of his civic duties, 

he will be intimidated and possibly killed; 

or even worse that if his two-year-old 

developed a severe illness, he would have 

to hope for divine intervention or simply 

watch the poor child die, because there was 

no affordable healthcare. 

And we wonder why one in every three 

Nigerians wants to leave the country for 

‘greener pasture’. In a country where lives 

mean little or nothing, and politics, reelection 

or power means everything, we are 

simply building a time bomb of lawlessness. 

A place where people would rather take 

laws into their hands than trust the system, 

because the system does not even care 

about them anyway. 

With all the politicking that has been 

happening in recent times, which of the 

candidates we keep rooting for has assured 

us that the Nigerian life would mean 

something? Which of them has a roadmap 

for affordable healthcare or low-cost 

housing or increased security or border 

control? 

Yet, we, the ones who bear the brunt of it 

all, walk to the polls and imprint against 

their logos, endorsing another four years 

for people who do not place value on the 

Nigerian life. Until we reverse this trend, 

the Nigerian life would be worth next to 

nothing. 

•Adebayo, a lawyer, wrote from Lagos.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 6 , 2019 — 19 

CBN imposes forex restriction on textile 

imports, unveils measures to revamp industry 

•To sell N503bn Treasury Bills in 3 months 

By Emma Ujah & Elizabeth 

Adegbesan 

The Central Bank of 

Nigeria (CBN) has 

imposed foreign exchange 

restriction on importation of 

textile and textile materials into 

the country. 

Consequently, importers of 

textile and textile materials 

would not be able to purchase 

foreign exchange from banks 

and bureaux de change as well 

as other operators in the official 

foreign exchange market. 

The CBN Governor, 

Mr.Godwin Emefiele, 

announced the forex restriction 

at a meeting with textile 

manufacturers, and cotton 

farmers at the bank’s 

headquarters, in Abuja, 

yesterday. 

He directed that banks and 

Bureaux de Change must stop 

selling foreign exchange to such 

importers, with immediate effect. 

According to him, 

discouraging textiles imports 

was key to revamping the local 

industry. 

He also said that operators in 

the sector would be granted loans 

at single-digit interest rates, as 

part of the renewed intervention. 

In addition, the loans granted 

the operators by the Bank of 

Industry would be restructured, 

to ease their re-payment terms. 

Emefiele said: “We have 

decided to implement a few 

steps which we believe will 

support the revival of the textile 

sectors. These steps include: 

“Financial support to Textile 

manufacturers with the provision 

of funds at single digits rate, to 

refit, re-tools and upgrade their 

factories in order to produce high 

quality textile materials for the 

CURRENCY BUYING SELLING 

US DOLLAR 

POUNDS 

EURO 

FRANC 

YEN 

CFA 

WAUA 

RENMINBI 

RIYAL 

SDR 

DANISH 

RAND 

$94.10 0.00 

2,157.00 0.00 

$12.52 0.16 

$65.68 0.01 

$56.72 0.13 

305.9 306.4 306.9 

403.5127 404.1722 404.8318 

346.7071 347.2738 347.8405 

305.5334 306.0328 306.5322 

2.7344 2.7389 2.7434 

0.5116 0.5216 0.5316 

425.8069 426.5029 427.1989 

45.634 45.7091 45.7841 

81.5646 81.698 81.8313 

425.9658 426.662 427.3583 

46.4527 46.5286 46.6045 

21.4631 21.4981 

21.5332 

CBN Exchange rate as at 05/03/2019 

local and export market 

“Effective immediately, the 

CBN hereby place the access to 

forex for all forms of textile 

materials on the forex restriction 

list. Accordingly, all forex dealers 

in Nigeria are to desist from 

granting any importer of textile 

material access to forex in the 

Nigerian Foreign exchange 

market. In addition, we shall 

adopt a range of other strategies 

that will make it difficult for 

recalcitrant smugglers to operate 

banking business in Nigeria.” 

Emefiele said that the CBN 

would initially support the 

importation of cotton lint for use 

in textile factories, with a caveat 

that such importers shall begin 

sourcing all their cotton needs 

locally beginning from year 

2020. 

“As part of its Anchor Borrowers 

Program, the CBN will support 

local growers of cotton to enable 

them meet the needs of the textile 

industries in Nigeria. The CBN 

shall also support efforts to source 

high yield cotton seedlings so as 

to ensure the yields from our 

cotton farmers meet global 

benchmarks,” he explained 

further. 

In order to tackle the problem 

of power supply, the CBN boss 

promised to assist in creating 

Textile Production Centers in 

designated areas in the country 

where access to electricity would 

be guaranteed. 

Treasury bills issuance 

Meanwhile, the CBN 

yesterday said that it will issue 

N503 billion worth of Treasury 

Bills (NTBs) in the next three 

months up to May 30, 2019. 

The apex bank disclosed this 

in its second quarterly NTBs 

Issuance programme released 

yesterday. 

The TB issuance which 

represents the amount of bills 

that will mature during the 

period, consist of N79.6 billion 

worth of 91 days bills; N152.8 

billion worth of 182 days bills 

and N270.7 billion 364 days 

bills. 

The issuance programme 

showed that the apex bank will 

issue N138 billion in the first 

two weeks of March, 

comprising N8 billion worth of 

91 days bills, N22.3 billion 

worth of 182 days bills and 

N107.7 billion worth of 364 

days bills. 

In April, CBN will issue 

N154.3 billion worth of bills, 

comprising of N15.9 billion 

worth of 91 days bills, N46.9 

billion worth of 182 days bills, 

and N91.5 billion worth of 364 

days bills. 

In May, the apex bank plans 

to issue bills worth N211 billion 

which include N55.8 billion 

worth of 91 days bills, N83.6 

billion worth of 182 days bills, 

and N71.6 billion worth of 364 

days bills. 

From left: Managing Director, CCECC Nigeria Ltd., Michael Jiang; Group President/Chief 

Executive, Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, and Group Managing Director, Dangote 

Cement Plc, Engr. Joseph Makoju when delegates from China Civil Engineering Construction 

Corporation Ltd (CCECC) paid a courtesy visit to Dangote Industries Limited Head Office 

in Ikoyi 

Shareholders endorse Access, Diamond Banks 

proposed merger 

By Peter Egwuatu 

Shareholders of 

Access Bank Plc 

and Diamond Bank Plc 

yesterday endorsed the 

proposed merger of 

both institutions at a 

court ordered meeting. 

The shareholders of 

Access Bank Plc 

commended the 

merger while 

demanding that the 

Board of Directors 

should ensure that their 

value of investment is 

adequately maximised. 

The shareholders 

who voted in support of 

the merger pulled 

97.89 percent or 

14,298,393,943 units of shares, 

while those against stood at 2.11 

percent or 307,122,041 units 

shares. 

Some of the shareholders 

leaders that spoke at the 

meeting include Mr. Adebayo 

Adeleke of Independent 

Shareholders Association of 

Nigeria (ISAN), Mrs. Bisi 

Bakare of the Pragmatic 


Nigeria (PSAN), and Muktar 

Muktar of Trusted 

Shareholders’ Association of 

Nigeria (TSAN). 

Speaking, National Coordinator, 

Independent 


Nigeria, Emeritus, Sir Sunny 

Nwosu, stated: “We support the 

merger because it is not a 

regulatory induced merger and 

the great benefit we would 

derive in the value of our 

investment both in the short and 

long run.” 

While explaining the benefit of 

the merger, Group Managing 

Director/CEO, Access Bank, 

Herbert Wigwe said: “After the 

merger, we would attract more 

opportunities such as trade 

finance from international 

partners. With the final merger 

of both banks and the status of 

the resulting entity as ‘the largest 

bank in Africa’s largest 

economy,’ this greatly bolsters 

the bank’s brand, opening doors 

of opportunity both in local and 

international markets” 

NNPC moves 

against 

fraudulent oil 

marketers, 

seizes N771m 

assets 

By Michael Eboh 

THE Nigerian National 

Petroleum Corporation, 

NNPC, yesterday, stated that it has 

partnered with the country’s anticorruption 

agencies and the 

Department of State Security 

Services, DSS, to recover assets 

worth over N771 million from some 

fraudulent oil marketers. 

In a statement in Abuja, the 

NNPC said the marketers had 

under-paid for petroleum products 

supplied to them from its 

downstream subsidiary, the 

Petroleum Products Marketing 

Company, PPMC, at the Kaduna 

Depot. 

It stated that the shady dealings 

of the fraudulent oil marketers were 

uncovered by forensic experts 

engaged by the NNPC Anti- 

Corruption Committee for the 

purpose. 

The Chairman of the NNPC Anti- 

Corruption Committee, Mr. Mike 

Balami, disclosed that some of the 

assets recovered from the oil 

marketers include filling stations, 

water factories and six sports utility 

vehicles. 

He added that the forensic 

investigation would be extended 

to the other NNPC depots across 

the country to stop the bleeding of 

the national oil company. 

He said, “It was established that 

the affected marketers lifted 

petroleum products from the 

PPMC Kaduna depot without 

evidence of payment and when 

confronted with the evidence, they 

admitted to the offence and failed 

to pay their liabilities. 

“The NNPC Group Managing 

Director, Mr. Maikanti Baru, was 

passionate about stopping all the 

leakages in the corporation. The 

forfeited assets would be handed 

over to NNPC Corporate Asset 

Boarding and Disposal Committee, 

CABDC, for immediate disposal.” 

Balami added that investigation 

into lifting of petroleum products 

without evidence of payment was 

continuing, while he urged all 

relevant stakeholders to support 

the NNPC Anti-Corruption 

Committee in its onerous task of 

recovering all its monies outside 

NNPC’s system. 

He said that this was the first 

time that the NNPC would be 

taking over assets forfeited by 

marketers who defaulted in their 

terms of engagement. 

Balami disclosed that the federal 

government’s intelligence and 

anti-corruption agencies that 

collaborated with the committee to 

recover the assets from the 

defaulting marketers included the 

DSS, Economic and Financial 

Crimes Commission, EFCC and 

the Independent Corrupt Practices 

and Other Related Offences 

Commission.


Godwin Emefiele, CBN Governor 

How I&E forex window buoyed naira stability with 

$50bn inflows 

By Babajide Komolafe 

Foreign exchange inflows through 

the Investors and Exporters (I&E) 

foreign exchange window hit the $50 

billion at the end of February. This huge 

inflow was instrumental to the stability of 

the naira against the dollar since 2017. 

The Investors and Exporters (I&E) forex 

window allows investors and exporters to 

purchase and sell foreign exchange at the 

prevailing market rate. Prior to the 

introduction of the I&E window on April 

2017, the nation’s foreign exchange market 

was bedevilled with acute shortage of 

supply of foreign exchange due to apathy 

of foreign investors who exited the nation’s 

financial markets in droves in the wake of 

the sharp decline in the nation’s external 

reserve caused by sharp decline in crude 

oil prices between starting from July 2014. 

The scarcity triggered sharp depreciation 

of the naira with the exchange rate rising 

to N520 per dollar in February 2017, while 

the gap between the official exchange rate 

and the parallel market rate rose to 70 

percent. 

The I&E forex window was introduced 

to address these challenges. According to 

the CBN, the objective of the window is to 

boost liquidity in the foreign exchange 

market and ensure timely execution and 

settlement for eligible transactions. In a 

circular issued on April 21, 2017 introducing 

the window, the CBN stated that, “Eligible 

transactions in the window include: 

Invisible transactions (excluding 

International Airlines Ticket sales’ 

remittances), Loan repayments, loan 

interest payments, dividends/income 

remittances, capital repatriation, 

management services fees, consultancy 

fees, etc; Bills for collection and; Any other 

trade-related payment obligations (at the 

instance of the customer).” 

The apex bank further stated that, “The 

supply of foreign currency to the window 

shall be through portfolio investors, 

exporters, authorised dealers and other 

parties with foreign currency to exchange 

to Naira. The CBN shall also be a market 

participant at this window to promote 

liquidity and professional market conduct.” 

Transactions in the window commenced 

on Monday April 24, while the FMDQ 

introduced the Nigeria Autonomous 

Foreign Exchange Rate (NAFEX) as 

reference rate for the window. 

Cautious Optimism 

However the introduction of the I&E 

forex window was greeted with cautious 

optimism and apprehension due to 

Herbert Wigwe Access Bank GMD/ 

CEO 

liquidity concerns and sustainability of the 

structure of the market. In addition to these 

was anxiety over the direction of exchange 

rate in the market. 

This attitude was informed by the 22.6 

percent depreciation suffered by the naira 

in the window in the first week of trading. 

Compared to the official exchange rate of 

N305 per dollar, NAFEX opened at 

N374.25 per dollar and closed at N374.96 

per dollar, hence 22.6 per cent naira 

depreciation in the first day of trading. By 

the close of the first week, the naira suffered 

further depreciation in the window with 

NAFEX rising further to N379 per dollar. 

The mood among banking experts was 

captured in a commentary on the 

introduction of the window, by Ecobank 

research analysts, Mr. Kunle Ezun and Mr. 

Kenneth Asenime. They noted: “In the 

immediate, forex supply to the market is 

expected to rise, possibly by around 75 per 

cent, as portfolio Investors and Exporters 

(who hitherto are not disposed to the official 

market due to pricing) re-enter the market, 

which in turn will improve liquidity and 

strengthen the naira. 

“However, the lack of communication on 

the restricted items on the exclusion list 

could further limit the positive impact 

introduced by the regulatory change on the 

market, requiring another regulatory 

change by the CBN to correct imbalances. 

“Over all, the impact of the circular would 

largely depend on how much flexibility, 

transparency and liquidity the CBN is 

willing to inject to support the FX spot 

market. As such, the CBN might need to 

intervene more in the interbank FX spot 

market and other segments of the FX 

market.” 

Also speaking at the Access Bank FX2017 

seminar, which focussed on the introduction 

of the I&E forex window, Access Bank’s 

Group Managing Director/Chief Executive, 

Mr. Herbert Wigwe said: “We as regulators, 

market participants and businesses should 

sit down together to understand the modus 

operandi of the recently introduced forex 

markets and how it will impact on our 

businesses going forward.” 

“We are beginning to see inflows into 

the market, it is still very early days yet, but 

at least we are beginning to see semblance 

of inflows. We must work together to 

strengthen this market in which we do 

business.” 

However within one month of its 

introduction the I&E forex window gained 

confidence and credibility due to 

transparency of its operations visi-a-vis the 

determination of the ruling exchange rate, 

with the volume of dollars traded in the 

Bismarck Rewane, MD/CEO, Financial 

Derivatives Company 

window rising to $1 billion per week in 

the first month of its introduction. 

This led to commendation by global 

rating agency, Fitch Ratings, which stated: 

“NAFEX provides investors and exporters 

with a more transparent mechanism 

through which they can sell foreign 

currency to willing buyers. Authorised 

banks act as intermediaries, clearing funds 

supplied by portfolio investors and 

exporters and ensuring timely execution 

of settlement for buyers. “Despite its short 

record, volumes transacted through 

NAFEX are growing. In our opinion, 

NAFEX offers a more transparent 

alternative to accessing FC than is available 

through the other foreign-exchange 

markets in the country. Several exchange 

rates operate in Nigeria.” 

Performance and Impact 

Vanguard analysis showed that the 

foreign exchange inflow through the I&E 

The naira appreciated 

to N360 per dollar on 

Friday November 2 nd , 

2017 from N390 per 

dollar at the end of 

April. On the same day 

I&E forex window 

exchange rate dropped 

to N360.57 per dollar, 

from the opening rate 

of N374.25 on April 

24 th , 2017, implying 

convergence of the 

exchange rates. 

forex window has been growing. From 

April 2st when the window commenced 

operations to December 31 st 2017, $24 

billion was traded in the window, while 

foreign investors, exporters and other non 

CBN players injected $6 billion. 

Further analysis showed that in 2018, the 

I&E forex window attracted $33.34 billion 

inflows with, foreign investors, exporters 

and other non CBN players injecting $23.89 

billion. 

The impact of these huge inflows is 

reflected in the steady increase in the 

nation’s external reserves. From $30.8 

billion at the end of April 2017, a week after 

the I&E forex window was introduced, the 

reserves rose steadily to a peak of $48 billion 

at the end of May 2018. 

The steady growth in the nation’s external 

reserves also led to appreciation of the naira 

in the nation’s foreign exchange market, 

which culminated to the convergence of the 

parallel market exchange rate and the I&E 

Aminu Gwadabe, President, ABCON 

forex window rate within the first six 

months of the window. 

Responding to increased dollar supply 

to bureaux de change (BDCs) by the CBN, 

the naira appreciated to N360 per dollar 

on Friday November 2 nd , 2017 from N390 

per dollar at the end of April. On the same 

day I&E forex window exchange rate 

dropped to N360.57 per dollar, from the 

opening rate of N374.25 on April 24 th , 

2017, implying convergence of the 

exchange rates. 

Since then the naira exchange rate has 

been stable within the range of N360 per 

dollar and N363 per dollar in the parallel 

market and in the I&E forex window. 

Another beneficiary of the I&E forex 

window is the Nigerian Stock Exchange 

(NSE). Between 2014 and April 2017, the 

NSE All-Share Index lost 40 of its value 

due to exit of foreign investors from the 

stock market. The introduction of the I&E 

window however encouraged foreign 

investors to return to the stock market. As a 

result the NSE All-Share Index gained 39 

percent three months after the window was 

introduced, and by the end of 2017 the 

index had surged 42 percent. 

Analysts comment 

In an interview with Vanguard 

Newspaper, Managing Director/Chief 

Executive, Financial Derivatives Company 

Limited, Mr. Bismarck Rewane 

commended the I&E forex window. He 

said: “Compared to where we were before 

the I&E window, I think the I&E window 

has done very well. It is the most efficient 

of the current dispensation. However, if 

we want an ideal situation it should be 

that we should head towards an efficient 

market structure and an efficient rate. The 

I&E window is nearest to an efficient rate 

but it is not the answer to a market 

structure.” 

President Association of Bureaux De 

Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), 

Dr. Aminu Gwadabe also commended the 

I&E forex window saying, “The window 

has impacted positively on increasing level 

of investors’ confidence in the nation’s 

foreign exchange market. It has also 

helped to deepen the foreign exchange 

market and increased liquidity.” 

On their part, analysts at Vetiva Capital 

Management Limited opined that the I&E 

forex window played a critical role in the 

nation’s recovery from economic recession. 

“The NAFEX fixing has been a boom to 

Nigeria’s forex market, boosting liquidity 

and price discovery, but also fostering 

investor confidence in the economy. The 

improvement in the forex market has been 

a critical element of Nigeria’s economic 

recovery”, they said.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 6 , 2019 — 21

22 — VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 6, 2019


C 

M 

Y 

K 

24 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY 6, MARCH, 2019 

Visa, PayMate collaborate to meet clients' payment needs 

By Prince Osuagwu 

Payment firm, Visa and India's 

Business-to-Business, B2B payments 

platform, PayMate, have concluded 

plans to simplify payable and 

receivable processes for businesses 

of all sizes for Central and Eastern 

Europe, Middle East and Africa, 

CEMEA, regions. 

Consummating the deal, the two 

companies say they would provide 

Visa's financial institution clients in 

the CEMEA regions with access to 

PayMate's proprietary payment 

platform for their corporate 

customers' payment needs. 

Visa's Vice-President and head of 

Visa Business Solutions, CEMEA, 

Mr. Rakesh Khanna, said the move 

follows Visa and PayMate's initial 

launch in India in 2017. 

He said: "PayMate's cloud-based 

platform digitises the entire 

procurement-to-payment cycle for 

businesses and helps large 

enterprises and SMBs to transition 

from traditionally slow and costly 

forms of payments like cash and 

cheques to real-time and efficient 

digital payments. 

"The platform is built to help its 

business customers automate and 

seamlessly manage vendor payments 

(Payables), customer payments 

(Receivables) and invoicing, 

thus improving process efficiency 

and providing greater 

transparency of cash flows." 

According to Khanna, Visa has 

a significant focus on digitisation 

of B2B payments and "we are 

teaming up with companies like 

PayMate to help simplify payable 

and receivable processes for 

businesses of all sizes. 

"Our initial foray with PayMate 

in India resulted in a large 

number of enterprises and SMBs 

making payments using Visa commercial 

cards across industry verticals, 

contributing to significant B2B 

payment volume growth in the country 

Ḣe also added: "We are keen to 

extend this alliance to enable our 

financial institution clients in 

CEMEA to streamline the B2B 

payments process for their corporate 

customers. At the same time, we are 

introducing secure, fast and efficient 

digital payments to sellers to help 

optimise their cash flows," Khanna 

explained. 

CEO, PayMate, Mr. Ajay Adiseshann, 

said there is an ever increasing 

demand for automation and 

digitisation of the entire procurement 

to payment cycle to help save 

cost, time and effort. 

He said: "We have a 

comprehensive payments platform 

that reduces expenses and time for 

processing payments, thus helping 

buyers pay earlier and helping 

sellers receive payments faster. We 

are thrilled to expand outside India 

with Visa and offer our platform to 

businesses operating in CEMEA 

region." 


(Hi-Tech Editor) 

Cybercrime has become the 

wost threat to every company 

in the world. It is estimated 

that about 54 per cent of companies 

globally, experience at 

least one cyber attack every year. 

In Nigeria, it is even a menace 

that appears to have defied 

any solution. This is despite the 

array of solution providers in the 

market. Both large and small 

organisations in the country fall 

victim to cyber attacks on daily 

basis, losing valuable data, information 

and even money in 

the process. 

Late January last year, the 

National Information 

Technology Development Agency, 

NITDA raised alarm over 

impending cyber attacks on 

many Nigerian companies. 

The agency warned all Ministries, 

Departments and Agencies, 

MDAs and other government 

establishments as well as 

the private sector, to be wary of 

potential attacks in 2018. 

The agency's warning was 

based on the intelligence of its 

Computer Emergency 

Readiness and Response Team, 

CERRT, which it deployed in 

conjunction with other industry 

stakeholders, in their efforts at 

ensuring a safe and secure 

cyberspace. 

The solution was said to have 

intercepted some signals of 

potential cyber-attacks targeting 

banking, health, power and 

transportation systems, as well as 

other critical national 

infrastructure. 

Despite all that warning and 

the measures NITDA proffered 

to forestall the attacks, it is 

reported that in 2018 alone, 

about 60 per cent of Nigerian 

firms suffered cyber-attacks. 

Meanwhile, 43 per cent of these 

are small and medium enterprises, 

SMEs which form the backbone 

of the economy. 

What this means is that Nigeria 

bore a greater percentage of the 

over $1 trillion loss to cyber 

attacks in 2018. 

The shocking revelation, however, 

is that it could get worse 

this year if stricter security measures 

are not adopted. Unfortunately, 

only about 38 per cent of 

global organisations claim to 

have the right infrastructure to 

handle the kind of sophisticated 

cyber-attack anticipated to 

spring up this year. 

CYBER ATTACK: 60% of Nigerian 

businesses attacked in 2018 

•Businesses lose $1trn to Cyber crimes in 2018 

•92.4% of attacks comes via email, says Sidmach 

This leaves many companies 

seriously vulnerable to attacks 

with dire consequences which 

even individual citizens will 

join the companies to share. 

Attack mitigating security 

measures 

Issuing the warning last 

year, Director-General of NIT- 

DA, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, 

said his agency has 

worked tirelessly to discover 

some of the measures which 

could forestall such potential 

attack and is pleased to release 

them to the public. 

In Nigeria, it is 

even a menace 

that appears to 

have defied any 

solution; this is 

despite the array 

of solution 

providers in the 

market 

Pantami said the precautionary 

measures, which are still 

relevant till today, include ensuring 

that all data are encrypted, 

particularly ones containing 

sensitive information like 

personal details. 

Others are to ensure that 

networks are fully secure 

through the use of wired 

network thereby protecting 

them from possible hackers who 

may easily capitalise on Wi-Fi 

security lapses to remotely 

break into computer systems. 

He also advised that where 

Wi-Fi network is used, people 

should ensure that an up to 

date encryption standard is in 

use and turn off the service set 

identifier, SSID, broadcasting 

function on the wireless router 

if it is not needed 

Also at a one-day Sidmach/ 

Sophos lunch and learn event 

in Lagos recently, Country 

Manager of Sophos (Nigeria), 

Mr. Jimi Falaiye said businesses 

are often concerned about 

security of data, when unfortunately, 

95 per cent of securi- 

Continues on Page 25

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 6, 2019 

Filipino seafarers repatriated $6.14 bn USD in 2018 

B y Godwin Oritse with 

agency reports 

SEAFAERS from 

Philippines working 

onboard foreign oceangoing 

vessels sent home a 

record amount of 6.14 billion 

U.S. dollars through the 

banking system in 2018, 

representing an 4.6 percent 

or 270 million U.S. dollars 

from the 5.87 billion U.S. 

dollars recorded in 2017, a 

member of the Philippine 

House of Representatives 

said. 

“The amount does not 

include money remitted via 

non-bank channels as well as 

cash physically brought home 

by sailors on vacations,” 

lawmaker Aniceto Bertiz said 

in a statement. 

By place of origin, Bertiz 

said the top sources of cash 

transfers from Filipino sailors 

in 2018 were the United 

States, 2.31 billion U.S. 

dollars; Singapore, 563.85 

million U.S. dollars; 

Germany, 560.98 million U.S. 

dollars; Japan, 435.82 million 

U.S. dollars; Britain, 331.23 

million U.S. dollars; China’s 

Hong Kong, 275.53 million 

U.S. dollars; the Netherlands, 

259.12 million U.S. dollars; 

Greece, 174.98 million U.S. 

dollars. 

“We see the demand for 

Filipino sailors rising steadily 

in tandem with international 

merchant ship traffic, as 

economies around the world 

continue to expand,” Bertiz 

said, adding the demand will 

grow as the global economy 

expands in 2019 and 2020. 

Filipino seafarers or seamen 

serve on bulk carriers, 

container ships, oil, gas, 

chemical and other product 

tankers, general cargo ships, 

pure car carriers and tugboats 

around the world. 

According to the data culled 

by the ACTS-OFW, there are 

over 500,000 at any given 

time, to include staff on cruise 

Continues on page 2 

maritimerepor6005@gmail.com 

VOl. 2 No. 34 

Nigeria imports 1.4 billion litres of 

fuel worth N2.03bn in 2 months 

• AS frozen fish tops import chart 

By Godwin Oritse 

NIGERIA, in the last 

two months, imported 

a total of 986, 492 metric 

tons (mt) of petroleum 

products, representing 

1,387,410,984.2 litres of 

fuel just as frozen fish tops 

import chart for the month 

of February 2019 with a total 

volume of 2.463million mt 

imported. 

The figures contained in 

the shipping position of the 

Nigerian Ports Authority, 

NPA, made available to 

Vanguard Maritime Report, 

also showed that more fuel 

was consumed in the month 

of January 2019 as a total of 

705, 185 mt of fuel was 

imported compared to only 

281,297 mt imported in 

February. 

The shipping position of 

the NPA is a document that 

shows the volume and types 

of cargoes that are brought 

into the country on a daily 

basis. 

It also shows the type of 

vessels involved in the 

affreightment of these goods 

just as it also indicates the 

port of discharge and the 

shipping agencies attached 

to these vessels. 

According to the shipping 

Continues on page 2

2 

NEWS 



Nigeria ship owners should embrace joint venture 

for sustainability- Seafarers 

By Godfrey Bivbere & 

Cynthia Alo 

Following frequent collapse 

of indigenous shipping 

companies in the country, 

seafarers under the aegis of 

Nigeria Merchant Navy 

Officers and Water Transport 

Senior Staff Association, 

NMNOWTSSA, have called 

on Nigeria ship owners to 

embrace joint venture 

operation for sustainability. 

Making the call in an 

exclusive chat with Vanguard 

Maritime Report in Lagos, 

President of NMNOWTSSA, 

Alalade Mathew, said joint 

venture is the standard at the 

global level. 

Mathew attributed the collapse 

of most of the indigenous 

shipping companies in the past 

to the desire by Nigerians to 

fully own their companies, 

noting that at the death of such 

owners; the outfits are no 

longer sustainable. 

On the disbursement of the 

Cabotage Vessel Financing 

Fund, CVFF, the 

NMNOWTSSA boss explained 

that the federal government 

must ensure that the right 

persons get the loan for the 

development of the shipping 

industry in the country. 

He stressed the need for 

government to consult with 

the NMNOWTSSA because 

they know those who are truly 

shipping experts and have the 

capacity to operate shipping 

company. 

He also blamed the banks for 

not carrying out due diligence 

in giving out loans to would 

be ship owners which had led 

to a lot of bad loans. 

According to him, “If you 

want to get loans, the bank 

must have a formidable 

maritime desk that is suppose 

to monitor the loan, I do not 

know if they have it. 

“In advance countries they 

run joint ventures unlike 

Nigeria where it is a one man 

show. So when that one man 

collapse, the venture collapse 

too but it is not so in other 

countries. 

“Joint ownership in shipping 

makes it easier. 

“Also, on the part of the banks, 

they should assess those they 

are giving loans to; they can 

make use of experts to examine 

the loaner. 

“Before disbursement of this 

fund, they should allow the 

union, the professionals to 

know those who are serious 

make input about beneficiaries. 

They know the professionals 

who have the capacity and 

would be able to pay back such 

loans. Most of the present ship 

owners are just portfolio ship 

owners, some do not have 

offices. 

So, let them disburse it and let 

us know who they are giving it 

to because they are not 

carrying the seafarers along, 

we do not know who they are 

disbursing it to. 

“What we had then was that 

they disbursed similar thing in 

the past (the Ship Building and 

Ship Financing, SBSF, Fund) 

and that the beneficiaries could 

not return the money but it is 

not a yardstick for them not to 

disburse Cabotage Vessel 

Financing Fund, CVFF. 

“If they could not control the 

past, how about now? The 

essence fund is to grow 

capacity therefore they should 

disburse it, monitor it and 

ensure that the ship owners get 

this fund and acquire vessels, 

it will be of benefit to Nigeria 

because the seafarers will be 

able to get the required sea 

time training,” he concluded. 

Filipino 

seafarers 

repatriated 

$6.14 bn USD 

in 2018 

Continues from page 1 

•Additional six OCEA Class Patrol Vessels recently 

acquired by the Nigerian Navy 

Nigeria imports 1.4 billion litres of fuel in 2 months 


position document, while 24, 

266 mt of Aviation Turbine 

Kerosene, ATK, which is also 

known as Jet A1 of aviation 

fuel against 98,512 mt of 

Automotive Gas Oil, AGO 

otherwise known as diesel. 

A breakdown of the figure 

also showed that while a 

total of 902,392 mt came 

through the Lagos ports, 84, 

100 mt was brought into the 

country through Calabar 

port. 

The shipping position also 

indicated that Premium 

Motor Spirit, PMS led other 

petroleum products. 

Other imports topping the 

Chart include bulk sugar 

with 318,400 mt and wheat 

with total of 263, 552 mt in 

the last two months. 

For general cargoes, a total 

of 126,119 mt were recorded 

for both months, while 118, 

688 mt was recorded in 

February, 7,431 mt came into 

the country in January. 

A further breakdown of the 

figure showed that frozen fish 

recorded 23,165 mt as against 

15, 344 mt of containerized 

cargoes, while bulk salt 

import stood at 23 mt. 

Reacting to the 

development, Chairman of 

the Port Consultative Council, 

PCC, Otunba Kunle Folarin 

said that the need for the use 

of imported fuel will continue 

to rise as long as the local 

refineries perform below 

expectation. 

He explained that these 

refineries are more than 50 

years old and cannot perform 

optimally. 

He said “The refineries are 

epileptic, there refineries are 

more than 50 years old, you 

cannot expect them to 

optimal in their production 

and they are not producing 

24 hours and seven days a 

week. 

“For what we know, the 

need for the use of fuel is 

rising every day, do we have 

a public transport system that 

mass transit people, so every 

body has to put their vehicle 

on the road. 

“The rail which could 

conveniently lift 400 people 

at a time is not in the corridor 

of the metropolis. 

“If you look at the 

importation of used vehicles, 

it is also increasing, so the 

demand for the use of fuel 

will basically increase.” 

On the issue of fish import 

Folarin said that the 

increase in fish import could 

be attributed to the fact that 

it is a cheaper source of 

protein for the masses. 

Most of the beef products 

come from a particular part of 

the country and transporting 

these animals have brought 

about added cost that has 

impacted on the purchasing 

power of the people. 

“Transport is almost 60 

percent of the cost of goods 

and services in Nigeria” he 

stated. 

ships. It said annual 

deployment or redeployment 

averages between 450,000 to 

480,000. 

More than 10 million 

Filipinos work overseas to seek 

better opportunities and send 

back money to their families, 

government data show. Of this 

number, around 2.3 million 

work in the Middle East and 

Africa. 

The Philippine central bank 

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas 

(BSP) data showed that 

personal remittances grew by 

3.0 percent year-on-year in 

2018, reaching 32.2 billion 

U.S. dollars, the highest 

annual level to date. 

The growth in personal 

remittances during the year 

was driven by remittance 

inflows from land-based 

Overseas Filipinos (OFs) with 

work contracts of one year or 

more and remittances from 

both sea-based and landbased 

OFs with work contracts 

of less than one year rose 

annually by 2.8 percent and 

4.6 percent, respectively, the 

BSP said. 

The BSP further said that 

personal remittances are a 

major driver of domestic 

consumption in 2018, 

accounting for 9.7 percent of 

gross domestic product and 

8.1 percent of the gross 

national income. 

Source: Xinhua

2 

NEWS 



Nigeria ship owners should embrace joint venture 

for sustainability- Seafarers 

By Godfrey Bivbere & 

Cynthia Alo 

Following frequent collapse 

of indigenous shipping 

companies in the country, 

seafarers under the aegis of 

Nigeria Merchant Navy 

Officers and Water Transport 

Senior Staff Association, 

NMNOWTSSA, have called 

on Nigeria ship owners to 

embrace joint venture 

operation for sustainability. 

Making the call in an 

exclusive chat with Vanguard 

Maritime Report in Lagos, 

President of NMNOWTSSA, 

Alalade Mathew, said joint 

venture is the standard at the 

global level. 

Mathew attributed the collapse 

of most of the indigenous 

shipping companies in the past 

to the desire by Nigerians to 

fully own their companies, 

noting that at the death of such 

owners; the outfits are no 

longer sustainable. 

On the disbursement of the 

Cabotage Vessel Financing 

Fund, CVFF, the 

NMNOWTSSA boss explained 

that the federal government 

must ensure that the right 

persons get the loan for the 

development of the shipping 

industry in the country. 

He stressed the need for 

government to consult with 

the NMNOWTSSA because 

they know those who are truly 

shipping experts and have the 

capacity to operate shipping 

company. 

He also blamed the banks for 

not carrying out due diligence 

in giving out loans to would 

be ship owners which had led 

to a lot of bad loans. 

According to him, “If you 

want to get loans, the bank 

must have a formidable 

maritime desk that is suppose 

to monitor the loan, I do not 

know if they have it. 

“In advance countries they 

run joint ventures unlike 

Nigeria where it is a one man 

show. So when that one man 

collapse, the venture collapse 

too but it is not so in other 

countries. 

“Joint ownership in shipping 

makes it easier. 

“Also, on the part of the banks, 

they should assess those they 

are giving loans to; they can 

make use of experts to examine 

the loaner. 

“Before disbursement of this 

fund, they should allow the 

union, the professionals to 

know those who are serious 

make input about beneficiaries. 

They know the professionals 

who have the capacity and 

would be able to pay back such 

loans. Most of the present ship 

owners are just portfolio ship 

owners, some do not have 

offices. 

So, let them disburse it and let 

us know who they are giving it 

to because they are not 

carrying the seafarers along, 

we do not know who they are 

disbursing it to. 

“What we had then was that 

they disbursed similar thing in 

the past (the Ship Building and 

Ship Financing, SBSF, Fund) 

and that the beneficiaries could 

not return the money but it is 

not a yardstick for them not to 

disburse Cabotage Vessel 

Financing Fund, CVFF. 

“If they could not control the 

past, how about now? The 

essence fund is to grow 

capacity therefore they should 

disburse it, monitor it and 

ensure that the ship owners get 

this fund and acquire vessels, 

it will be of benefit to Nigeria 

because the seafarers will be 

able to get the required sea 

time training,” he concluded. 

Filipino 

seafarers 

repatriated 

$6.14 bn USD 

in 2018 


•Nigerian Navy wae ships 

Nigeria imports 1.4 billion litres of fuel in 2 months 


position document, while 24, 

266 mt of Aviation Turbine 

Kerosene, ATK, which is also 

known as Jet A1 of aviation 

fuel against 98,512 mt of 

Automotive Gas Oil, AGO 

otherwise known as diesel. 

A breakdown of the figure 

also showed that while a 

total of 902,392 mt came 

through the Lagos ports, 84, 

100 mt was brought into the 

country through Calabar 

port. 

The shipping position also 

indicated that Premium 

Motor Spirit, PMS led other 

petroleum products. 

Other imports topping the 

Chart include bulk sugar 

with 318,400 mt and wheat 

with total of 263, 552 mt in 

the last two months. 

For general cargoes, a total 

of 126,119 mt were recorded 

for both months, while 118, 

688 mt was recorded in 

February, 7,431 mt came into 

the country in January. 

A further breakdown of the 

figure showed that frozen fish 

recorded 23,165 mt as against 

15, 344 mt of containerized 

cargoes, while bulk salt 

import stood at 23 mt. 

Reacting to the 

development, Chairman of 

the Port Consultative Council, 

PCC, Otunba Kunle Folarin 

said that the need for the use 

of imported fuel will continue 

to rise as long as the local 

refineries perform below 

expectation. 

He explained that these 

refineries are more than 50 

years old and cannot perform 

optimally. 

He said “The refineries are 

epileptic, there refineries are 

more than 50 years old, you 

cannot expect them to 

optimal in their production 

and they are not producing 

24 hours and seven days a 

week. 

“For what we know, the 

need for the use of fuel is 

rising every day, do we have 

a public transport system that 

mass transit people, so every 

body has to put their vehicle 

on the road. 

“The rail which could 

conveniently lift 400 people 

at a time is not in the corridor 

of the metropolis. 

“If you look at the 

importation of used vehicles, 

it is also increasing, so the 

demand for the use of fuel 

will basically increase.” 

On the issue of fish import 

Folarin said that the 

increase in fish import could 

be attributed to the fact that 

it is a cheaper source of 

protein for the masses. 

Most of the beef products 

come from a particular part of 

the country and transporting 

these animals have brought 

about added cost that has 

impacted on the purchasing 

power of the people. 

“Transport is almost 60 

percent of the cost of goods 

and services in Nigeria” he 

stated. 

ships. It said annual 

deployment or redeployment 

averages between 450,000 to 

480,000. 

More than 10 million 

Filipinos work overseas to seek 

better opportunities and send 

back money to their families, 

government data show. Of this 

number, around 2.3 million 

work in the Middle East and 

Africa. 

The Philippine central bank 

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas 

(BSP) data showed that 

personal remittances grew by 

3.0 percent year-on-year in 

2018, reaching 32.2 billion 

U.S. dollars, the highest 

annual level to date. 

The growth in personal 

remittances during the year 

was driven by remittance 

inflows from land-based 

Overseas Filipinos (OFs) with 

work contracts of one year or 

more and remittances from 

both sea-based and landbased 

OFs with work contracts 

of less than one year rose 

annually by 2.8 percent and 

4.6 percent, respectively, the 

BSP said. 

The BSP further said that 

personal remittances are a 

major driver of domestic 

consumption in 2018, 

accounting for 9.7 percent of 

gross domestic product and 

8.1 percent of the gross 

national income. 

Source: Xinhua


By Godfrey Bivbere 

THE Nigerian Maritime 

Administration and 

Safety Agency, NIMASA, has 

reiterated its commitment to 

growing the blue economy 

through its capacity building 

drive. 

Making this known over the 

weekend during an 

interactive session with 

Regulations & Policies 3 


Capacity building: NIMASA committed to developing blue 

economy –– Peterside 

journalists in Lagos, Director 

General of NIMASA, Dakuku 

Peterside, said that adequate 

knowledge of the sector would 

ensure fair and professional 

reportage. He charged the 

media to embrace investigative 

journalism in their method of 

•From left: Jean Anishere, President, WIMAFRICA, Honourable Minister of Transportation, 

Mr. Chibuike Rotimi Amaecchi, Middle, The Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports 

Authority (NPA), Hadiza Bala Usman (right), during the 2nd African Women in Maritime 

(WIMAFRICA) Continental Conference / Annual General Meeting in Lagos recently. 

CSDdevnet calls for Sustainable use of Marine 

resources to fast-track Nigeria’s Development 


THE conservation of the 

oceans, seas and other 

abundant marine resources in 

Nigeria has been identified as 

one of the key steps in achieving 

sustainable development in 

Nigeria. 

Speaking at the commemoration 

of the World Wild Life Day 

weekend, Chair of the Board of 

Trustee of the Climate and Sustainable 

Development Network 

CSDevNet, Dr. Ibrahim Choji 

said that Marine wildlife has 

sustained Nigerians for many 

years as it provides food, nourishment 

and materials for handicraft 

and construction. 

NAFFAC Advocates Specialized Port 

Administration 

By Eguono Odjegba 

THE National Association 

of Freight Forwarders 

and Air Consolidators 

(NAFFAC) have said the 

adoption of specialized port 

liberalization will eliminate 

myriads of problems bedevilling 

the port system in 

Nigeria. 

In a recent chat with 

Vanguard Maritime Report, 

the National President of the 

group, Prince Bakare 

Adeyinka, noted that 

specialized terminal 

operations would not only 

resolve most current 

challenges but also lead to 

higher productivity and cost 

efficiency. 

Adeyinka who explained 

that most successful maritime 

nations like China have since 

switched to specialized cargo 

operations however, further 

noted that such is only possible 

in Nigeria as soon as 

government can muster the 

political will to direct the 

conversion of some of the 

existing terminals to export 

bases while others are 

reorganized to handle specific 

imports, reflecting the 

necessary differential in cargo 

handling fees. 

His words, “If we want to 

decongest Apapa port for 

instance, then we must 

clamour for specialized port 

The theme for this year’s celebration 

is 'Life below water: for 

people and planet'. 

According to Dr Choji, this 

year’s theme aligns essentially 

with Goal 14 of the Sustainable 

Development Goals (SDG14) 

which aims to “conserve and 

sustainably use the oceans, 

seas and marine resources for 

sustainable development.” 

“This is the first World Wildlife 

Day to focus on life below 

water and it presents an opportunity 

to raise awareness on the 

importance and rich diversity of 

marine life in Nigeria”, Dr 

Choji said. 

“The importance of marine 

species to Nigeria’s development 

cannot be overemphasised 

and it behoves on government 

to ensure that Nigeria’s 

marine resources are sustainably 

conserved in order for it to 

continue to provide these services 

for future generations,” 

He added. 

The increasing loss of marine 

resources occasioned by the 

shrinking Lake Chad has contributed 

greatly to the level insurgency 

across the North-East 

region of Nigeria as the loss of 

marine wild life occasioned by 

climate change has led to colossal 

loss of livelihoods for 

millions of people in that region, 

CSDevNet stated. 

administration to tackle the 

bottleneck we are faced with. 

“China ports benefitted from 

specialized administration 

because what Shanghai port 

handles is quite different from 

what Guangzhou port is 

handling.” 

Citing APM Terminals, Ports 

and Cargo Handling Services 

and Tin Can Island Container 

Terminal (TICT) as some of 

those already abreast of the 

developmental leap, the 

NAFFAC boss urged the 

federal government to gazette 

specialized operations along 

single cargo consignment 

such as Roll-On-Roll-Off, 

Bulk, Containerized, Finished 

and Vehicular consignments. 

reportage as it will benefit the 

maritime industry and the 

nation at large. 

The NIMASA boss who was 

represented by the Executive 

Director, Finance and 

Administration of NIMASA, 

Bashir Jamoh, also gave the 

assurance that the Agency will 

continue to partner the media 

in various ways, including 

capacity building; adding that 

the media form the channel 

through which activities of the 

Agency can be made public, 

thereby attracting more 

participation in the sector. 

“On our part as an Agency, 

we give priority to capacity 

building as it remains the only 

way the industry can grow and 

the Media are not left out of 

this. We are what we project 

to our stakeholders, both local 

and international; hence the 

need for the media to embrace 

investigative journalism to 

make their reportage factual 

and balanced”, he said. 

Speaking further, he stated 

that the Agency remains 

committed to the ideals of 

actualising the Blue Economy, 

which deals with the totality 

of all economic activity 

associated with the oceans, 

seas, harbours and coastal 

zones. The concept also 

includes; aquaculture, 

biomedicine, boats and 

shipbuilding, ship repairs, 

defense and security, amongst 

others all geared towards 

wealth and job creation for the 

growth and development of 

the Nigerian economy. 

He also highlighted other 

steps the Agency is taking to 

ensure a robust maritime 

sector to include the drafting 

of a dedicated anti-piracy bill, 

which is before the National 


with Agency report 

The National Drive to 

make Ghana’s two 

seaports activities paperless 

is positive for the 

development of the maritime 

economy as it continues to 

experience major reforms in 

its quest to establish greater 

ease in doing businessenhancing 

trade facilitation, 

efficient port services and 

revenue collection and 

becoming the preferred trade 

destination in the sub- 

Saharan Africa sub-region. 

Speaking on the State of 

Nation Address, last week in 

Ghana, His Excellency, Nana 

Addo Dankwah Akuffo-Addo 

restated the importance of 

Ghana’s ports as national 

assets and government’s 

commitment to improving 

trade activities to the benefit 

of all Ghanaians. 

Assembly, to provide the 

requisite framework for the 

fight, prosecution and 

punishment of piracy and 

other related crimes in Nigeria 

and the Gulf of Guinea, 

expected to be passed to law 

soon. Also, the Agency has the 

approval for the acquisition of 

intelligence gathering 

maritime domain awareness 

assets and military response 

assets to fight pirates and 

make Nigeria’s maritime 

domain safe for economic 

activities. 

Also speaking during the 

event, the President of the 

Shipping Correspondent of 

Nigeria, SCAN, Yusuf 

Babalola commended the 

Management of NIMASA for 

its strides in transforming the 

maritime sector, through 

various Stakeholder oriented 

policies. 

While assuring the Agency 

of its readiness to partner it to 

ensure it actualize its 

mandates, he applauded the 

Agency for its huge 

contributions to the 

Consolidated Revenue Fund, 

CFR of the Federal 

Government, its increase 

awareness in the area of 

International Ships and Ports 

Security (ISPS) Facility Code, 

which has led to more 

compliance by the various 

facility operators, the berthing 

a modular floating dock 

amongst other strides. 

It may be recalled that 

collaboration has remained the 

hallmark of the present 

Management of NIMASA, 

which has helped the Agency 

achieve various strides since 

the inception of the Dakuku 

Peterside led Management. 

Ghana beat Nigerian ports to 

become the preferred maritime 

trade hub in Africa 

Recounting the introduction 

of the paperless operations 

for clearance of goods within 

a day to three, the initiatives 

at the country’s sea ports is 

yielding results to the 

commendation of importers 

and stakeholders. The 

President further articulated 

the announcement of other 

reforms to enhance the 

competitive position of 

Ghana’s ports and its impact 

on the cost of living in the 

country. 

Going forward, the 

President expressed the 

preparedness of government 

to put in place initiativesmodernising 

Ghana’s ports 

in terms of infrastructure and 

ICT, to position them as the 

preferred maritime trade hub 

of business in West Africa. 

With the ports serving as 

receptacles for cargo and 

platform for trade.

4 

Terminals & Ships 


Tin-Can port commences truck call up 


THE Port Manager of Tincan 

Island Port, Emmanuel 

Akporherhi, has said that the 

port has commenced the 

enforcement of the truck call 

up system, a week after Apapa 

port started the enforcement. 

The introduction of the callup 

system is meant to regulate 

movements of trucks to and 

from the ports in the port 

vicinity. 

Akporherhi, who disclosed 

this to Vanguard Maritime 

Report in Lagos, said that the 

introduction of the call up 

system is part of efforts to 

control the vehicular traffic in 

and out of the port. 

He however explained that 

the system is not yet fully 

automated but that it is already 

helping in controlling traffic at 

the port. 

Recall that the Association of 

Maritime Truck Owners, 

AMATO, and Container Truck 

Owners Association of 

Nigeria, COTOAN, have 

explained that the new system 

would restore sanity within 

Apapa and its environs as it 

concerned the movement and 

parking of trucks. 

The statement noted that 

movement and parking of 

trucks had been a source of 

traffic congestion in the in 

Apapa over the years. 

AMATO and COTOAN 

noted that the expected effect 

of the new programme is as a 

result of a stakeholders’ 

meeting held at the weekend. 

They pointed out that the 

meeting was attended by the 

AMATO/COTOAN coalition 

as well as the Multi-Agency 

Taskforce, headed by Rear 

Adm. E.O. Eyo. 

The statement pointed out 

that the key issues discussed 

at the meeting include: traffic 

gridlock, parking of trucks on 

the bridges and along the 

roads, endless queues and the 

dangers of fatigue on the 

drivers. 

It added that the meeting 

agreed that all AMATO/ 

COTOAN members must 

abide by the resolutions 

reached in the meeting. 

The statement read in part, 

“truck drivers must obtain callup 

codes before bringing out 

their trucks; they must ensure 

that the hire of the truck 

(Agents) assist in processing 

the call-up. 

“The truckers must design 

disks for the identification of 

their garages; confirm booking 

number of the export container 

they carry before coming to 

the ports. 

“They must not park along 

the roads after exiting the 

port.’’ 

The chairmen of the truckers’ 

bodies also said that it had 

become an offense to offer 

money for the passing of 

trucks. 

They advised members to 

always call their superiors for 



Attacks on trawlers have reduced –– FG, Fishing trawlers 

THE Nigerian Trawler 

Owners Association, 

NITOA, and the 

Federal Department of Fishery 

and Agriculture, have said that 

there has been a drastic 

reduction in pirates attacks 

against fishing trawlers. 

Speaking to Vanguard 

Maritime Report, President of 

the association, Mr. Amire 

Akinbola, said although he 

could not make the figures 

available to our 

correspondent, the report of 

such attacks was very minimal 

last year. 

Akinbola also said that no 

incident has been reported 

assistance should they 

encounter any challenge. 

The statement, however, 

threatened sanctions against 

members who violated any of 

the regulations, while 

appealing to the task force to 

IN a bid to enhance its 

operations , African Circle 

Pollution Management Limited, 

ACPML, has procured two 

more patrol boats. The purchase 

of the boats is in addition to the 

ones it got earlier namely, MV 

Etypou, MV Maizube 1 and 

MV Maizube 2. 

The procurement of the two 

Coast Guard 36 patrol boats was 

in line with its desire to fulfil its 

mandate as contained in the 

agreement it signed with the 

Federal Government through 

the Nigerian Ports Authority 

(NPA). 

The two boats named 

Aderinsola and Hadiza, are 

fitted with modern technological 

features to cope with their 

functions in Nigeria territorial 

waters, particularly in the 

nation’s seaports situated in 

Lagos, Port Harcourt, Warri and 

Calabar. 

The procurement of the boats 

is in accordance with the 

requirements of Maritime 

Pollution (MARPOL) 73/78, one 

of the key guidelines of the 

this year by any of their 

members adding that it is the 

hope and prayer of trawler 

owners that these negative 

menaces that almost chase 

operators out of the fishery 

business would no more be 

•Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) General Manager, Health, Safety and Environment (HSE), Engr. Suleiman Abdulbaki 

representing NPA Managing Director, Ms. Hadiza Bala Usman; Africa Circle Pollution Management Limited (ACPML) 

Regional Manager, East, Pastor Olajide Oluwayemi; NPA Principal Manager Environment, Engr. Yunusa Ibrahim; NPA 

Assistant General Manager, Safety, Engr. Olukayode Omiwole; NPA Manager, Safety, Mr. Faruk Abubakar and others at 

the formal unveiling of two Coast Guard 36 patrol boats procured by ACPML at Tin Can Island Port, Apapa, Lagos...recently. 

be more civil in its activities. 

The truckers’ body in the 

statement also called for a 

review of some unfriendly 

policies that denied them the 

use of some infrastructure 

close to the ports. 

prominent in the country’s 

maritime domain. 

He explained that the 

relative peace being 

experienced now in the fishery 

sub-sector has also increased 

the rate at which aquatic 

products from Nigeria are 

exported. 

He disclosed that not all the 

fishing vessels operate from 

Lagos, explaining that there 

are operators in the sector that 

are outside Lagos and their 

businesses are booming. 

He stated: “Yes, this is correct; 

you see a lot of people mistake 

pirate attacks for sea robbery, 

they are not exactly the same. 

“Piracy happens when there 

is violence on board a vessel 

with a view to cart away from 

that vessel, and it happens 

only outside the territorial 

waters of the country. If it is 

within the territorial waters that 

is sea robbery. What we have 

mostly on fishing vessels is sea 

robbery. 

“There are times we have 

pirates’ attacks but in recent 

years, it is not witnessed. It is 

possible for the two to happen 

with the vessel, if for example, 

the vessel is attack within the 

territorial and the vessel is 

taken as a platform to go and 

attack other vessels, it is 

piracy”. 

Confirming the development, 

Deputy Director at the Fishery 

and Agriculture department of 

the Federal Ministry 

of Agriculture, Mrs Bola 

Kupolati said that the number 

of attacks on fishing trawlers 

was very insignificant. 

African Circle procures 2 patrol boats 

for marine pollution control 


global maritime watchdog, the 

International Maritime 

Organisation (IMO) which has 

its headquarters in London, 

United Kingdom. With the 

provisions of MARPOL 73/78, 

the management of the NPA is 

mandated by the IMO to 

provide adequate waste 

reception facilities for waste 

generated in vessels calling in 

Nigerian ports. 

While unveiling the boats in 

a brief ceremony which took 

place at Tin Can Island Port 

(TCIP), Apapa, Lagos, the 

Managing Director of the NPA, 

Ms. Hadiza Bala Usman 

commended the management 

of ACPML for the strides it has 

made since it signed the 

agreement with the Federal 

Government over two decades 

ago. 

Usman who was represented 

at the occasion by the NPA 

General Manager, Health 

Safety and Environment 

(HSE), Engr. Suleiman 

Abdulbaki noted that ACPML 

has done well in the execution 

of the provisions of the 

agreement it signed with the 


Her words: “African Circle 

Pollution Management Limited 

has been in partnership with 

Nigerian Ports Authority for over 

two decades in the areas of 

pollution control monitoring, 

and management of ports 

reception facilities, ACPML 

operates in the most excellent 

way to the highest standard”. 

The NPA Managing Director 

noted that the acquisition of two 

Coast Guard 36 patrol boats by 

the company was a noteworthy 

achievement that deserves high 

commendation. 

According to her, the 

acquisition of the boats will go 

a long way in enhancing the 

effective management of ship 

generated waste in accordance 

with the provisions in the 

Annexes of MARPOL 73/78 

convention. On behalf of our 

Managing Director, Hadiza 

Bala Usman and the entire 

management of Nigerian Ports 

Authority, I have the privilege 

to commission these boats for 

efficient and effective 

management of marine 

pollution on our water 

channels. May the Almighty 

God bless you. Amen!


THE Tin-can Island 

Command of the 

Nigeria Customs 

Service, NCS has warned 

officers and men of the 

Command to stay away from 

corrupt actions as any officer 

caught henceforth will be 

prosecuted. 

This is even as the 

Command has called port 

users with proof of corruption 

against any Customs 

officer to come forward to 

enable it take appropriate 

action. 

Vanguard Maritime Report 

gathered that the Customs 

Area Controller, CAC, Musa 

Baba Abdullahi, had handed 

over this new charge on the 

officers in line with the zero 

tolerance to corruption by the 

Comptroller General of 

Customs, CGC, Col. Hameed 

Ali (rted). 

Confirming this, the Public 

Relations Officer of the 

Command, Uche Ejesieme, 

said that the CAC had 

continually stressed the need 

for officers and men to stay 

away any such practices. 

Ejesieme told Vanguard 

Maritime Report that Tin-can 

Customs boss has often times 

in most of the management 

meetings admonished officers 

on this issue of corruption. 

According to him, “Yes, our 

position on this is very clear. 

As a command the Controller 

has often times in most of the 

management meetings 

admonished officers on this 

issue that you raised and the 

good thing is that the officers 

themselves who are in the 

field are not oblivious of the 

position of the Customs Area 

Controller, Comptroller Musa 

Baba Abdullahi. 

“And this is simple zero 

tolerance of corruption and 

that is why we have provided 

dedicated lines like help desk 

line. We have the dispute 

resolution committee, we have 

other platforms and these 

platforms are deliberate 

creation of the CAC. 

“Their responsibility is to 

ensure that they deal with any 

issue arising from complaints 

of extortions, complaints 

about official highhandedness 

and you know all manner of 

infractions or corruption 

tendencies. 

“So once we receive the 

reports, we escalate it to the 

CAC and such reports would 

be thoroughly investigated 

and any officer who is found 

wanting would be sanctioned 

accordingly, there is no two 

ways about that. 

On whether any officer has 

been sanctioned in the last six 

months, the Tin-can Island 

Customs image maker 

wondered why port users are 


Customs & Imports 5 

Corruption: Tin-Can Customs warns officers 

...... charges port users to come up with proof 


finding it difficult to come 

forward with evidence of 

corruption against officers. 

“I do not know why it is 

difficult for people to come up 

with reports, we can only hear 

maybe somebody coming up to 

talk about issues of corruption, 

issues of corrupt tendencies but 

they find it difficult to come up 

with such reports. 

“We have always told them 

once you are confronted with that 

kind of situation, you come up 

with report and we document it. 

We will thoroughly investigate 

it and once we investigate it and 

anybody is found wanting 

everybody knows that the CGC 

and board of the current 

By Eguono Odjegba sealed each of the 

T 

questionable containers, 

HE Special Task Force noting that should the seal be 

unit of the Importers tampered with, the task force 

Association of Nigeria, IMAN, acting in concert with the 

on illegal importations has Nigeria Police will drag the 

sealed a total of five owners to court and commence 

warehouses in addition to prosecution. 

intercepting 10 containers of Okolo said the IMAN 

offensive and questionable Special Task Force will 

goods between January and continue to partner 

February, 2019. 

government agencies in 

Chief Operating Officer curbing the menace of 

(COO) of the IMAN Special smuggling and every act of 

Task Force, South West Zone, economic sabotage. 

Mr. Prosper Okolo, told Samples of the items shown 

Vanguard Maritime Report to our reporter at the task force 

that the containers made up of premises in Lagos includes 

6x20oft and 4x40ft were foreign bottled water, new 

impounded in various parts of tyres swathe in three and four 

Lagos due to various pairs, foreign beverages. 

infractions, ranging from Okolo stated: “We are 

concealments and smuggling. pleased to announce to you 

Okolo said the warehouses that in the last two months a 

allegedly involved in total of 10 containers of 6x20ft 

questionable importations and and 4x40ft containers with 

production of fake and sub various infractions ranging 

standard products will be from concealments, banned 

made to face the full weight of and smuggled goods imported 

the law; while explaining that into the country was 

doubtful imports will be intercepted in various parts of 

released to their owners as Lagos by the Task Force. 

soon as they show importation “The Task Force has so far 

permit and approval from sealed five warehouses which 

relevant agencies of were found to deal in 

government to engage in importation of tyres, used 

production of the said sub clothing, unwholesome 

standards items. 

products among others without 

He explained that although the required regulations and 

the containers were not taken permits. 

out of the premises of the “Some of the affected 

owners, his task force has warehouses which were found 

management has Zero 

tolerance for corruption, am 

not just saying this because I 

want to say it, we are not just 

mouthing it. We are very 

deeply committed about this 

and once we receive any report 

we investigate and once you 

are found wanting we would 

set up an internal investigative 

mechanism and if it is an 

officer who we see clearly that 

he is involved in that kind of 

action; we subject them to trial 

and once we trial them and the 

matter is established beyond 

reasonable doubt; then we 

escalate to higher authorities 

for clear disciplinary action,” 

he concluded. 

•Practice Manager, World Bank, Benedict Eijbergen (left); The Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), 

Hadiza Bala Usman; Senior Transport Spec., World Bank, Olatunji Ahmed; and the Technical Assistant to the MD, Dr. Abubakar 

Dantsoho, during the World Bank Group’s visit to NPA corporate headquarters in Marina, Lagos. 

Importers Association seals 5 warehouses 

to have gone against the 

importation laws such as 

concealment of up to five small 

tyres into big ones to pay 

lesser duties. These acts the 

task force sees as not only 

economic sabotage, but also 

endangering the lives of 

Nigerians as these tyres 

though new, but has lost their 

THE 

National 

Association of 

Government Approved 

Freight Forwarders, 

NAGAFF, has applauded 

the Standards Organisation 

of Nigeria, SON for the 

recent conferment of ISO/ 

IC 17021 on it by the 

National Accreditation 

Board of India (NABCB). 

NAGAFF, in a statement 

signed by its founder, 

Boniface Aniebonam, and 

made available to 

Vanguard Maritime 

Report, noted that the 

conferment is based on 

competence, integrity and 

impartiality of SON as a 

service provider. 

It further stated: “This 

international recognition 

for SON has been 

value due to the way they 

were concealed and imported 

into the country.” 

Okolo said his task force will 

continue to partner with 

security agencies and 

departments involved in 

import and export to rid 

Nigeria of all anti-economic 

menace. 

NAGAFF applauds SON 

on Indian standard 

upwardly mobile and 

stakeholders driven since 

the assumption office of the 

new management. 

“The exploits of SON 

have given confidence that 

services offered by SON 

would naturally meet 

clients’ requirements. We 

are happy to note that the 

accreditation has brought 

SON at par with its 

counterparts in Europe, 

America, Asia, and some 

African countries. 

“We are also confident 

that this recognition will 

serve as a challenge for 

SON to aim higher and 

afford you an opportunity 

to leave indelible marks in 

the annals of Nigerian 

history,” the statement 

noted.

6 

Corporate Report 



Navy 2018 score card: 340 suspects arrested over alleged 

maritime offences 

*277,040 crude oil, 23.1m litres AGO,1.2m DPK, lost to illegal refining 

*46 vessels arrested 


One of the ills bedeviling the 

security space of the country’s 

coastline has been the 

scourge of maritime crimes such 

as piracy , sea robbery , crude 

oil theft , bunkering , insurgency 

and hostage taking. 

Often times , Nigerians are 

daunted with news of criminal 

elements who hide under the 

veneer of these maritime crimes 

to inflict untold emotional and 

psychological trauma on 

innocent and defenseless 

sailors. 

Aside this, is the huge impact 

these acts of criminalities have 

on Nigeria, which relies on the 

sea for about 90% of its import 

and export , with oil being a 

major part of its trade. 

With the rich endowment of 

Nigeria’s maritime domain, its 

networks of oil and gas 

installations and associated 

shipping which are threatened 

by maritime crimes, insecurity 

in the country’s maritime 

domain becomes a major source 

of concern. 

This concern rests at the door 

step of the Nigerian Navy , 

which statutory mandate 

according to the new Navy Act 

of 1964, included maritime 

defense of the country as its 

main responsibility. 

To tackle these challenges, 

any littoral country needs not 

just a good number of workforce 

in its Navy but adequate 

platforms such as ships and 

helicopters and attendant 

strategic resources to effectively 

police its territorial domain. 

Unfortunately, the Nigerian 

Navy, can not boast of having 

all it takes to monitor the 

nation’s vast maritime space 

due to inadequate ships and 

helicopters. 

For instance, Nigeria has a 

delta region with over 3,000 

crude oil bearing creeks which 

presents a unique challenge to 

maritime policing. 

Consequently, the inadequacy 

of platforms gives undue 

advantage to criminals who are 

mostly local residents with 

adequate local knowledge of 

the creeks. 

But the Chief of the Naval 

Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete 

Ibas, at a recent lecture at the 

National Defence College, 

said efforts of the Service 

towards acquisition of UAVs to 

mitigate this challenge was at 

an advanced stage. However, 

with the prevailing obstacles, 

a cursory look at the Navy’s 

operational activities aimed at 

ensuring a safe maritime 

domain for economic activities 

to thrive, showed significant 

gains were achieved in 2018, 

which led to increased output 

in maritime trade, particularly 

oil production. 

This was revealed in a 

statistics on the Nigerian Navy 

score card for 2018, at the 

disposal of Vanguard Maritime 

Report. In the year under 

review, reported incidents of 

piracy on shipping in Nigeria’s 

maritime domain indicated a 

relatively sustained downward 

trend in the number of 

successful attacks. 

Statistics however, revealed 

that the quantity of crude oil 

lost as a result of illegal oil 

refining activities in 2018 is 

about 277,040 Barrels, while 

about 23.1 Million litres of AGO, 

212,610 litres of PMS and 1.2 

Million litres of DPK were also 

lost. 

On the other hand, no attack 

on shipping was recorded in 

the nation’s waters between 

June and August 2018, 

according to the report. 

But an attack each, was 

recorded in July, October and 

December 2018, mainly along 

the coasts of Bayelsa, Delta and 

Rivers States. Also , few attacks 

were said to have taken place 

in the swamp/onshore areas, 

with none reported against the 

Oil and Gas Installations, OGI 

located offshore during the year 

in focus. 

The seeming feat as 

gathered , was not unconnected 

with the Nigerian Navy’s focus 

on capacity development under 

the watch of Vice Admiral 

Ibok-Ete Ibas and various 

operational activities 

conducted during the year 

under review. 

Vanguard Maritime Report 

gathered that the operational 

engagements of the NN in 2018 

which were geared towards 

securing the internal, territorial 

and Exclusive Economic 

Zone,EEZ spectrums of the 

maritime domain and 

contributing to counter 

insurgency and counter 

terrorism efforts on land, 

included Operation TSARE 

TEKU. 

From the statistics, 34 pirates 

attacks on shipping were 

reported, out of which nine 

were successful and 25 

unsuccessful between January 

and December 2018, through 

this operation that is mandated 

to combat attacks on shipping 

and other illegal activities in its 

designated area, as well as 

protect offshore oil and gas 

installations. 

Also, 20 sea robbery attacks 

were reported, out of which six 

were successful and 14 

unsuccessful, while 46 vessels 

and barges were arrested over 

alleged involvement in 

maritime crimes during the 

period under review. 

Since the inception of Op 

TSARE TEKU in April 2016, 

record showed drastic 

reduction in reported incidents 

of attacks with fewer 

successful attacks. 

Since most attacks at sea 

originate from land, the NN, 

emplaced a Choke Point 

Management and Control 

Regime which involves 

•The Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas 

deployment of armed personnel 

in houseboats, to strategic 

locations within the creeks and 

supported by patrol boats. 

Information at Vanguard 

Maritime Report showed that 

nine houseboats otherwise 

known as Naval Security 

Stations, NSS were deployed 

where crude oil theft and illegal 

refining activities are known to 

be prevalent. Since the 

introduction of the Choke Point 

Control Regime, several arrests 

and destruction of barges and 

other vessels allegedly used 

for conveying stolen crude oil 

While the Service’s 

2018 scorecard 

highlighted the 

threats to legitimate 

activities in the 

nation’s maritime 

environment as well 

as its efforts in 

combating them, 

there is still need to 

address some 

outstanding issues 

and capability gaps 

affecting the NN 

operations 

and illegally refined products 

have reportedly been arrested, 

according to report. 

In the year under review, 31 

large wooden boats were 

arrested over alleged 

involvement in illegalities, 

while 176 others were 

destroyed. 

Another major capability 

development adopted to 

combat maritime crimes, was 

Operation RIVER SWEEP. Its 

introduction according to Rear 

Admiral Mackson Kadiri, at a 

recent media briefing in Abuja, 

was informed by noticeable 

increasing activities of illegal 

refiners, particularly in Delta 

and Rivers States. 

The Operation he explained, 

involved air surveillance, 

insertion of Special Forces by 

gunboats, pulling down of 

located illegal refining sites 

with the use of swamp buggies 

as well as arrest/destruction of 

boats and barges found in such 

locations. 

In 2018, 637 illegal refining 

sites were reportedly destroyed 

during Operation River Sweep. 

Also, 104 speed boats and 340 

suspects were arrested over 

alleged Crude Oil Theft , COT, 

Illegal bunkering and 

smuggling. 

Statistics also revealed that 

the quantity of crude oil lost as 

a result of illegal oil refining 

activities in 2018 was about 

277,040 Barrels, while about 

23.1 Million litres of AGO, 

212,610litres of PMS and 1.2 

Million litres of DPK were also 

lost. 

In addition to the use of 

vessels and helicopters, is 

another operational 

engagement known as 

Maritime Domain Awareness, 

which carries out 

round the clock surveillance 

of Nigeria’s maritime space 

using the Regional and 

Maritime Awareness Capability, 

RMAC and Falcon Eye 

facilities, with a view to 

securing the internal, territorial 

and EEZ spectrums of the 

maritime domain, as well as 

contributing to counter 

insurgency and counter 

terrorism efforts on land. 

Investigation shows that the 

NN has 24 Maritime Domain 

Awareness MDA Centres 

located across the Nigerian 

coastline, which facilitate 

prompt reporting of attacks of 

vessels at sea and subsequent 

foiling of several piracy 

incidents. 

Forty-six vessels and barges 

as gathered , were arrested last 

year through these MDA 

centres. 

To enhance response 

capability , the NN, said it 

acquired more platforms in 

2018. Among them were 

additional six OCEA Class 

patrol vessels namely NNS 

NGURU, SHIRORO, EKULU, 

OSE, GONGOLA and 

CALABAR as well as the 

induction of several riverine 

patrol boats, last December , for 

seaward and riverine 

operations. 

But whether these additional 

boats will adequately enhance 

the patrol of the vast maritime 

space, remains a question to be 

answered when the Navy’s 

2019 scorecard will be 

reviewed. 

While the Service’s 2018 

scorecard highlighted the 

threats to legitimate activities in 

the nation’s maritime 

environment as well as its 

efforts in combating them, there 

is still need to address some 

outstanding issues and 

capability gaps affecting the 

NN operations. 

One of these boiling issues is 

the need for the Nigerian 

National Petroleum Commission 

NNPC to impress on oil 

companies to emplace more 

effective surveillance/ 

monitoring mechanisms on 

their crude oil pipeline 

networks. 

There is also need for the Gulf 

of Guinea, GoG countries to 

have a harmonized procedure 

for the arrest, detention and 

prosecution of maritime crimes. 

Though reports have it 

that Nigeria had made effort by 

introducing the Harmonized 

Standard Operating Procedures 

for the Arrest, Detention and 

Prosecution of Persons and 

Vessels in Nigeria’s Maritime 

Environment (HSOP AD&P). 

However, these procedures do 

not apply to maritime offences 

outside Nigeria’s area of 

jurisdiction. More so, the 

document is said not to have 

the force of law, leading to 

substantial non-compliance by 

some stakeholders in Maritime 

Law Enforcement. 

In this regard, the National 

Assembly would be required to 

facilitate passage of the Anti- 

Piracy Bill for the administration 

of justice to suspected pirates 

arrested by the NN. 

In addition, is the necessity 

of an appropriate legal 

framework and closer liaison 

with prosecuting agencies, for 

the expeditious prosecution of 

maritime crimes in the GoG, if 

indeed the mandate of the NN 

to ensure safer waterways and 

sea lanes for Nigeria’s economy 

to thrive, must be realized in its 

entirety.



IMO 2020 sulfur cap pushes up sale, prices of 

secondhand tankers 

THE new sulfur emission 

norms for marine fuels 

have pushed up the sale prices 

of secondhand tankers, 

particularly the Long Range II, 

which are in strong demand, 

shipping industry executives 

said. 

Sale prices of five-year-old LR2s 

have risen by up to 28% in the 

last six months alone, they said. 

Under the regulations of 

International Maritime 

Organization, it will be 

mandatory globally to cut sulfur 

emissions from marine fuels to 

0.5% from next year compared 

with the current 3.5%. This will 

push up the demand for marine 

gasoil, or MGO, which is moved 

in clean tankers and their freight 

rates are also expected to get a 

boost, making them attractive for 

investors. 

Shipowners are finding it 

lucrative to buy clean tankers 

such as LR2s, which is a 

preferred mode of transport for 

MGO, sources said. 

“There is an asset play going 

on with more LR2s being 

grabbed by owners in the sale 

and purchase, or S&P, market,” a 

source involved in such deals said 

on the sidelines of the MARE 

Shipping Forum in Singapore 

earlier this week. Around 10-15 

LR2s have exchanged hands in 

the last six months, he said. 

This is pushing up the prices 

of the LR2s, which are 

significantly higher compared to 

last year. 

A five-year-old LR2 is now 

being quoted around $31-$32 

million in the S&P market up 24%- 

28% from $25 million in August, 

according to the estimates of 

THE NS Concept is a 

colossal red-and-yellow oil 

tanker with an international 

background almost as colorful as 

its paintwork. It sails under the 

flag of Liberia; was built in South 

Korea by Hyundai, and is owned 

and commercially managed by 

Russia’s Sovcomflot. But of late 

it’s been mostly nowhere in 

particularly, drifting in 

international waters, with US 

sanctions sending it wildly offcourse. 

This tanker is one of as many 

of a dozen left in limbo off the 

Venezuelan coast due to US 

sanctions on the nation’s oil 

exports. Some, laden with as 

many as two million barrels of oil 

apiece, are waiting just offshore. 

Others, like the Concept, have 

been forced out to sea after being 

rejected from their intended 

destination in the US. While 

Venezuela maintains that its oil 

exports remain high, they seem 

to be counting the total tanker 

loadings, and not actual 

departures or off-loadings, Samir 

Mandani, co-founder of 

TankerTrackers.com, told Quartz. 

“What you get is a large parking 

lot of floating storage,” he said. 

•Filipino seafarers still rule the sea for now. 

brokers. 

“The IMO 2020 regulations are 

already being priced in the value 

of ships,” said an S&P broker who 

did not wish to be named. 

Considering the further upside 

potential in the clean tanker 

prices, not many five year olds 

are now being offered in the 

market. Owners prefer to keep 

these ships in anticipation of 

further value enhancement and 

also to recover the cost of 

investment made earlier. 

Most sales and purchases are 

taking place in the 10-year- and 

15-year-old segment, the S&P 

broker said. 

Even for the 10-year-old LR2s, 

brokers estimate that the going 

rate is now $22-$23 million. 

These ships were worth around 

$19.5-$20 million in August last 

year, they said. A 10-year-old 

ship is now priced close to the 

value of a five-year-old six 

months ago, they added. 

Most big oil trading and 

refining companies are looking 

to have LR2s but existing owners 

will not easily part with the 

younger ships, said a ship 

finance executive who is 

channeling investment into such 

deals. 

“It is not easy to get a young 

LR2 ship for purchase,” he said. 

Despite newbuilds entering 

the global fleet as well, it is the 

positive freight outlook for these 

tankers, which is prompting 

owners “to sit up and take 

action,” he said. Furthermore, 

newbuilds have to be ordered a 

few years in advance while the 

secondhand ships can exchange 

Millions of barrels of oil are stranded in the Atlantic by 

US sanctions 

“Actual exports are now sub-one 

million barrels per day.” 

Just as tankers full of oil find 

themselves unable to dock, other 

tankers are reportedly hauling 

seawater, for ballast, around 

instead of their usual, more 

valuable cargo. Soaring US 

production, reductions in OPEC 

output, and these recent 

sanctions are making it harder for 

them to find oil to haul on 

multiple legs of their round-theworld 

voyages as they do 

ordinarily. “The result is a 

procession of empty supertankers 

making voyages of as much as 

21,000 miles to the U.S. direct 

from Asia, all the way around 

South Africa, holding nothing but 

seawater for stability,” Julian Lee, 

an oil strategist, explained in 

Bloomberg. 

For ship owners, these are 

expensive developments. Oil 

tankers earn money when they’re 

full of oil and moving briskly from 

port to port. But complex 

geopolitical factors have made it 

harder for them to do so—with 

the bottom line taking the hit. 

Owners of tankers forced to 

reroute, go massively off-course, 

or sit idle for days or weeks at a 

time face unexpected financial 

pressures. Whether they can shift 

the costs to producers and 

refiners—and subsequently raise 

oil prices—remains to be seen. 

Earlier this year, the Concept 

departed Venezuela for Houston, 

carrying half a million barrels of 

Venezuelan oil. By the time it 

arrived at the American port, 

however, the US Treasury 

Department had imposed 

sanctions on PDSVA, the 

Venezuela state-owned oil firm, 

making it illegal for the oil to be 

unloaded. For the next six days, 

the tanker sat at the port before 

being turned around and sent 

back out into the Gulf of Mexico, 

where it eventually moored at the 

Dutch island of Sint Eustatius, 

around 240 miles east of Puerto 

Rico. 

There, according to Tanker 

Tracker, the Concept transferred 

its oil to an enormous Saudi 

tanker, the Ghazal. It is now 

headed for the port of 

Kaohsiung, in Taiwan, estimated 

to arrive April 5, though whether 

or not it will unload its cargo 

when it arrives, or carry it on to 

another port, is currently 

unclear. 

International News 7 

hands at short notice and are also 

relatively cheaper. 

Large volumes of MGO are 

expected to move from North 

Asia, India and the Middle East 

to Europe to meet the 

burgeoning demand in runup to 

and after the new marine fuel 

emission norms are implemented. 

Demand for MGO can at least 

double next year, said Ralph 

Leszczynski, Singapore-based 

director for research for Banchero 

Costa, a global shipping 

brokerage and consultancy. Asia 

is now heavily surplus in gasoil 

and most of these volumes will 

move to Europe, he said. 

Economy of scale warrants that 

larger parcels are moved in 

single voyages and it is here that 

LR2s have an edge over the 

LR1s and MRs. 

Such is the interest in LR2s that 

last month even a 14-year-old 

fetched around $13.5-$14 million 

for the seller, sources said. 

While LR2s have eaten into the 

demand for MRs in moving 

cargoes from North Asia but as a 

spillover impact, the sale prices 

of smaller ships has also 

benefited from the upward trend. 

The 2009-built Japanese MRs 

can now fetch around $16.2-$16.3 

million, up from $15 million-$15.5 

million, three months ago, 

brokers’ estimates showed. 

Even the Aframaxes, which are 

used to move fuel oil, are in 

strong demand as an asset worth 

investing in, sources said. This 

is because part of the demand for 

bunkers under the IMO 2020 

regime will be met from high and 

low sulfur fuel oil. 

Brokers estimate that close to 

40 Aframaxes and LR2s 

combined have exchanged hands 

in the last six months. Earlier this 

month, Viking sold three 2005- 

2006 built Aframaxes en bloc to 

buyers in the Middle East, and 

market participants said the total 

deal was close to $48.5 million. 

Viking executives could not be 

immediately reached for 

comments. 

Egypt mulls 

launching shipping 

lines to increase 

trade exchange 

MINISTER of Business 

Sector Hesham Tawfik 

said that his ministry mulls 

launching navigation lines within 

the framework of its strategy to 

increase trade exchange between 

Egypt and various countries. The 

strategy is meant also to promote 

the Egyptian exports especially 

vegetables and fruits, he noted. 

During his speech at the 4th 

Investment Forum organized by 

the Federation of Egyptian 

Chambers of Commerce 

(FEDCOC), Tawfik said that his 

ministry studies resuming the 

shipping line between 

Alexandria and Europe via Italy. 

During the event held under 

rubric of “Together to Africa”, 

Tawfik underlined that his 

ministry seeks to create 

investment opportunities via 

developing its affiliated firms in 

order to serve their interests. 

Caribbean 

commitment to IMO 

standards to support 

the blue economy 

CARIBBEAN States and 

Territories have re-affirmed 

their commitment to 

implementing IMO standards 

for safe, secure and sustainable 

shipping. This is part of wider 

efforts to intensify investments 

and harness the full potential of 

the oceans, rivers and lakes to 

accelerate economic growth, 

create jobs and fight poverty. 

Ministers responsible for 

maritime transport and other 

participants representing the 

Governments in the region* met 

at a High Level Symposium (27 

February) in Montego Bay, 

Jamaica, under the theme, 

“Maritime Transportation: 

Harnessing the Blue Economy 

for the Sustainable Development 

of the Caribbean”.


Data & Figures 

maritimerepor6005@gmail.com


Why Cisco Meraki simplifies IT 

solutions for SMEs 


CLOUD managed IT solutions 

provider, Cisco 

Meraki, has taken the cause of 

Small and Medium Enterprises, 

SMEs in the country into 

consideration, tailoring services 

towards ameliorating their 

technological shortcomings. 

The company said it has created 

a simplified Information 

Technology, IT solution to modernise 

their operations. 

According to Cisco, many organisations 

today are dealing 

with the challenges of lack of 

funding for advanced digital 

solutions and a lack of IT specialists 

to manage those solutions. 

So, Meraki provides a 

suite of simplified digitisation 

solutions to which small organisations 

can plug their systems 

to access the path to powerful 

technology. 

According to Cisco's Territory 

manager, Nigeria ,Ghana, 

East and subsaharan Africa, 

Nick Malherbe, the need for 

businesses to use data smartly 

and securely for business success 

cannot be overemphasised. 

He said: "In Nigeria, 

small and medium businesses 

account for 84 per cent of employment 

attesting to the fact 

that they contribute greatly to 

the GDP of the economy. The 

success of this sector is key to 

the success of our economy, it 

is therefore imperative that 

these businesses use IT solutions 

that are secure, simple 

and intelligent. With Cisco 

Meraki, these MSMEs can 

enjoy agility, operational efficiency, 

and most importantly, 

data security that they require 

to accelerate their digital transformations. 

Our goal is to help 

customers benefit from digitisation 

by simplifying IT solutions." 

Digitisation is the big trend 

of today and it is important for 

businesses, whether big or 

small, to adopt digitisation. The 

new Meraki offerings, according 

to Cisco, are designed to 

Huawei's new solutions to facilitate large scale 5G 

networks roll out 


HUAWEI Technologies, at the justconcluded 

Mobile World Congress 

2019, MWC19, in Barcelona, Spain 

exhibited simplified 5G sites, architecture, 

protocols, and operations and 

maintenance, O&M to 

telecommunications companies. 

The tech firm said the offerings will help 

its end-to-end 5G products and solutions 

with operator customers and partners from 

around the world, including making 

operators quickly deploy 5G networks on 

a large scale. 

Huawei also displayed its new innovative 

5G products and other IT solutions 

including SoftCOM AI which will help 

build autonomous driving networks of the 

future and maximize the value of telecom 

networks. 

The company expressed its commitment 

to helping operators expand their business 

boundaries and achieve new growth 

through innovations in networks, services, 

and business models. 

It also demonstrated its core technologies 

behind the new products and solutions, 

•From left: Steven Kewley, EMEAR Commercial Regional 

Manager; Olakunle Oloruntimehin, General Manager, Nigeria 

and West African Countries and Nick Malherbe, Territory Manager 

for Nigeria, Ghana East and Sub-Saharan Africa, all of Cisco, at 

the launch of Cisco Meraki in Lagos recently. 

simplify IT solutions for small 

and medium businesses even 

in the absence of an IT specialist. 

The technology provides 

complete network visibility and 

control - no hardware controllers 

or overlay software required. 

Configurations and 

management are easily performed 

remotely or on-site, 

while trouble shooting can be 

done in a fraction of the time 

with advanced networking analytics, 

allowing businesses to 

focus on more projects that are 

impactful. 

General Manager, Cisco Nigeria, 

Olakunle Oloruntimehin, 

said: "Cisco Meraki creates 

the simplest, most powerful solutions, 

helping everyone from 

small businesses to global enterprises 

save time and money." 

Nigeria's Swift Networks makes 

LSEG's Companies to Inspire 

Africa 2019 list 

By Juliet Umeh 

Swift Networks Limited 

has emerged one of the 

360 companies to inspire Africa 

in 2019 as published by 

the London Stock Exchange 

Group, LSEG. The survey 

which went through rigorous 

scrutiny by experts across the 

continent saw Swift Networks 

emerging as one of the finalists 

in a keenly contested selection 

process. 

LSEG's 'Companies to Inspire 

Africa 2019' report picks 

out 360 high-performing companies 

from about 32 countries 

for recognition. 

Although over 5,000 compa- 

including radio frequency, optical 

transmission, IP, and IT. 

Similarly, Huawei demonstrated its 8K 

nies were said to be nominated, 

the publication said the 

final list was selected based 

on set criteria like growth, 

transparency, and innovation. 

Reacting to the development, 

Managing Director, 

Swift Networks Limited, Mr. 

Charles Anudu expressed the 

company's appreciation to all 

stakeholders for their partnership 

over the years which 

he said was largely responsible 

for the success of the 

brand in the Nigerian market." 

He noted that 2018 was 

a very positive year for the 

company despite the recession. 

He said that in addition to 

providing excellent broadband 

internet service to its 

teeming enterprise customers. 


ty breaches are due to human 

error. 

"Cyber-criminals and hackers 

will infiltrate your company 

through your weakest link, 

which is almost never in the 

IT department," he added. 

Meanwhile, he revealed that 

92.4 per cent of malware is delivered 

via email, with ransomware 

that affects Small and 

Medium Businesses, SMBs. 

Market Intelligence and 

Research Analyst at Sidmach 

Technologies Nigeria Limited, 

Mr Nathanael Odofin, also 

noted that about 22 per cent of 

organisations are winding up 

operations due to ransomware 

He said: "Reports reveal that 

81 per cent of businesses have 

experienced ransomware; 66 

per cent have suffered a data 

breach; 35 per cent were victims 

of ransomware 

"Meanwhile, anti-virus is not 

enough because most of them 

are reactive in nature. 

Antivirus protects systems 

from classic dangers like 

known viruses, Trojans, and 

worms but it cannot protect 

without a signature database 

for detection. 

"A study has found that a typical 

antivirus will only stop 30- 

50 per cent of new malware 

when it first appears. Unless 

the antivirus software has seen 

a particular threat in the past, 

it won't necessarily protect your 

computer. 

He reminded businesses in 

Nigeria that over half of all 

cyber breaches in 2017 

included the use of malware 

which activities include: 

stealing credit card details; 

revealing passwords and 

spreading spam. 

He advised Nigerian 

organisations to deploy 

software security solutions, 

which Sophos has developed 

to "keep a very close eye on 

what is happening inside your 

....As Rain hooks up for first 5G commercial 

launch in South Africa 

Meanwhile, South Africa's mobile data-only 

network operator, Rain, has announced the 

launch of first 5G commercial network in South 

Africa in partnership with Huawei. This has 

made South Africa one of the first countries to 

launch 5G. 

Rain said it has been able to build the 5G 

network using Huawei's end-to-end 5G 

solutions on its 3.6GHz spectrum. 

In the first phase of roll out, Rain said it has 

deployed a number of 5G sites in key areas in 

Johannesburg. 

Rain CEO, Willem Roos, said: "The network 

will provide fibre-like speeds without the 

installation complexities, time delays and cost 

of laying fibre in under-serviced areas. We 

support President Ramaphosa's investment drive 

in the country and hope to contribute to readying 

South Africa for the Fourth Industrial 

Revolution." 

CYBER ATTACK: 60% 

of Nigerian businesses 

attacked in 2018 

high-definition, HD, live streaming on 

Vodafone Spain's 5G networks, and 

showcased new applications such as Cloud 

VR, cloud gaming, and cloud PCs. 

The demonstrations gave it the leverage 

system, blocking both known 

and unknown malware 

threats. It also safeguards you 

against any potentially harmful 

programs." 

The Lunch and Learn event 

was aimed at assisting IT 

experts in different 

organisations to understand 

cost-effective security dynamics, 

and tools that mitigate latest 

threats while receiving 

insights to have complete visibility 

and control of their IT 

infrastructure. 

Conscious security tips 

Other tips that could help 

Nigerian companies be 

security conscious include: 

*Ensure that free Wi-Fi 

connections as well as other 

wireless connections such as 

Bluetooth or infrared ports are 

not used unless where 

necessary; 

*Ensure that operating systems 

and other software applications 

are regularly 

updated with the latest 

patches; 

*Install anti-malware protection 

on all IT systems as 

this will help in protecting 

your organisation's network 

from potential attacks through 

virus-laden software and 

email attachments. 

* Put appropriate guidelines 

in place for connecting 

personal devices into the 

organisation's network; 

*Use credential vaults and 

multi-factor authentication 

instead of user passwords; 

*Regularly back up 

organisation's data and 

critical files. 

*Carry out organisationwide 

enlightenment 

campaign and awareness on 

measures to deal with cyber 

security threats as well as the 

procedures to always follow 

when using workstations. 

to announce to multiple European 

operators, including Vodafone, that 5G 

networks are now ready for commercial use. 

Huawei launched full range of 5G end-to-end 

product solutions, from core network, the bearer 

network, and base station to terminals in the 

beginning of 2018. The company already 

launched 5G phones at MWC19. 

Apart from deploying new base stations, 

Huawei's solutions are said to enable Rain to fully 

leverage existing LTE network and allocated 

spectrum for 5G deployment. 

President of Huawei Cloud Core Network 

Product Line, Shi Jilin, said: "It is an important 

step to work with Rain in bringing the first 5G 

network construction in South Africa. 

"With our solutions, we are committed to 

working with operators with our innovative 

solutions to build future-oriented networks for 

smooth evolution and migration for the maximum 

value out of their investment and the best user 

experience."

26— VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 6, 2019

VOL. 2 NO. 43 

BY CHINONSO ALOZIE, 

OWERRI 

FOR sometime now, women 

from the rural areas in Imo 

State have been conveyed from 

their communities to Owerri in 

order to stage protests and 

counter-protests in the name of 

politics. 

South-East Voice learnt that 

it has exposed the women to 

serious dangers. 

In Imo State, in the period 

leading to general elections, 

women have been reportedly 

injured, teargassed by security 

operatives and in most cases, 

the innocent women clashed 

with opponents of their 

sponsors. 

Sometimes, these women are 

not properly informed on the 

reasons why they were asked 

to come out and protest. 

Just like in the build-up to the 

2015 general elections, 

thousands of widows protested 

in front of Imo Government 

House. They were reportedly 

beaten while scores were badly 

injured including a photo 

journalist, Etuk Eric, who was 

rough-handled. 

Still in 2015, when the 

immediate past president of 

Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan 

was visiting His Royal 

Highness, HRH, Eze Cletus 

Ilomuanya, among other 

notable traditional rulers to 

have an interaction with them 

along Concord Avenue in 

Owerri, women said to be loyal 

to Governor Rochas Okorocha 

protested at the venue where 

the then President Goodluck 

Jonathan and Imo monarchs 

were having a meeting. Of 

course, the women were 

dispersed with teargas and 

some of them got injured as 

they tried to take cover. 

Similar incidents happened 

within that period. 

This time around, it was the 

2019 general elections that 

brought the women out again, 

making several demands. 

It is getting tough, as the 

fallout of the National 

Assembly elections in Imo State 

had charged the political 

atmosphere. Women were seen 

engaging in protests and 

counter- protests. 

Hundreds of women from 

Imo West Senatorial District, 

which has 12 local government 

areas, have demanded for the 

cancellation of the controversial 

results in which Governor 

Rochas Okorocha was declared 

winner. 

Days after, scores of women 

supporting Okorocha protested 

against APC national 

chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, 

warning him not to step his feet 

in Imo State. 

The women led by Okorocha’s 

appointees, Gertrude Oduka 

and Ijeoma Igboanusi said they 

were not happy that the 

National Working Committee of 

APC suspended Okorocha from 

the party as a result of alleged 

anti-party activities. 

However, the women from 

Imo West Senatorial District, led 

by the zonal Woman leader, 

How women led protests in Imo 

over elections 

*Women protesting against Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, in Owerri. 

Photo by Chinonso Alozie 

Mrs. Ihejiagwa Oby told South- 

East Voice that they decided to 

protest because the original 

results of Imo West election was 

not declared, adding that they 

were saddened by the way the 

returning officer announced 

the results under duress. 

During their protest to the 

By Vincent Ujumadu 

AWKA — LAST week’s 

massive voting for the 

People's Democratic Party, PDP, 

by voters in Anambra State and 

the eventual outcome of the 

presidential election by the party 

is causing a state of uncertainty 

in the state ahead of Saturday’s 

House of Assembly election. 

Anambra State will not be 

participating in the governorship 

election as it is among the states 

where staggered governorship 

elections are held in the country. 

Courtesy of the immediate past 

governor of the state, Mr. Peter 

Obi, who is the vice-presidential 

candidate of PDP in the February 

23 election, the PDP presidential 

candidate and his running mate 

polled 534,738, while President 

Muhammadu Buhari’s APC 

polled 33,298 votes. This was 

despite the support allegedly 

given to the APC by the 

Governor Willie Obiano 

administration, apparently to 

decimate PDP. 

The fear in government circles 

in the state is that if the pattern 

of the presidential election is 

followed during the House of 

Assembly polls, the ruling All 

Progressives Grand Alliance, 

APGA, might find it difficult to 

get majority in the incoming 

Assembly. Currently, APGA has 

27 members in the 30-member 

assembly and has been enjoying 

smooth relationship with the 

executive arm of government. 

Apparently sensing the danger 

the governor might face if he fails 

to secure majority in the 

Resident Electoral 

Commissioner in Owerri, the 

women said: “The Presidential 


elections were marred by 

irregularities in the state 

especially in Imo West 

Senatorial District. 

“It is also important to note 


Uncertainty envelopes Anambra House of Assembly poll 

*As Churches take centre stage 

incoming house, Governor 

Obiano is believed to be pulling 

the necessary strings to ensure 

electoral success for APGA 

members on Saturday. Among 

the strings include the alleged 

directive to traditional rulers, 

presidents’-general of town 

unions and political appointees 

to ensure that their areas were 

delivered to APGA to guarantee 

government’s continued 

patronage. 

One of the permutations is also 

that having supported APC 

during the presidential election, 

the ruling party at the federal 

level might also support APGA 

to secure majority in the state 

House of Assembly. 

Whether the leadership of 

APC in the state would agree to 

support APGA is yet to be 

determined, although both 

APGA and APC appear to be 

seeing PDP as their common 

political enemy in the state. One 

clear fact is that APC does not 

have strong candidates in many 

state constituencies, which is 

likely to affect the fortunes of the 

party on Saturday. 

However, the main game 

appears to have gone into the 

churches where interest groups 

have taken the center stage. At 

the weekend, pastoral councils 

were held in many parts of the 

state and surprisingly, many 

House of Assembly candidates 

were seen addressing the 

participants, made up of the 

clergy and the laity. 

The visit by the candidates 

prepared ground for Sunday 

sermons during which many 

priests spoke on the need to 

maintain political stability in 

that the women of Orlu zone 

are protesting against the 

brutal assassination of two of 

our sons at Ejemekwuru during 

the governor’s campaign rally 

in Oguta LGA and property of 

people were destroyed. 

“The Resident Electoral 

Commissioner, it is obvious that 

lives are at risk if a chief 

Anambra State, arguing that the 

only way to ensure such stability 

is to vote for APGA candidates 

to support the governor for the 

remaining period of his 

administration. 

As one priest in Awka Diocese 

said, the concern of the church 

is stability in the system. 

“Politicians may be concerned 

with dethroning their opponents 

at all cost, but we must be 

mindful of such a stance. The 

people will be the loser should 

there be political chaos that can 

be avoided through the ballot 

box,” he said. 

Another issue that is creating 

uncertainty in the state is the 

zoning arrangement in many 

communities, which the outcome 

of last Saturday’s results is 

disrupting in many 

constituencies. For instance, in 

one federal constituency in 

Anambra South Senatorial zone, 

positions were zoned to the 

towns that make up the 

constituency. But after the 

National Assembly election, a 

candidate from one community 

that produced the member of 

House of Representatives is 

gunning to go to the House of 

Assembly against the 

gentleman’s agreement in the 

area. 

Their agreement is that once a 

town produces the local 

government chairman, another 

town should produce the 

member of House of 

Representatives, while the 

House of Assembly should go to 

another town. 

South-East Voice observed that 

stakeholders in the various 

communities have been meeting 

security officer of the state could 

use the military as well as the 

police to perpetrate electoral 

mayhem against the citizenry. 

“We want to use this 

opportunity to tell you that there 

was use of power to intimidate 

collation agents in Mmahu in 

Ohaji/Egbema LGA and forced 

them to rewrite results for him. 

“However, you will agree 

with us that in an atmosphere 

of rancour, crisis and electoral 

fraud, free, fair and credible 

election does not exist in our 

democratic process.” 

On their demands regarding 

the governorship and House of 

Assembly, elections in the state 

and the level of involvement of 

security agencies in the state, 

the women said: “Therefore, 

the military and other security 

agencies should desist from 

being used by electoral umpires 

to rig election anymore in the 

state. The military must adhere 

to their primary responsibilities 

and their due area of 

assignment or duties as 

specified by law. 

“We, however, call on the 

Brigade Commander of 34 

Artillery Brigade Obinze to 

warn and caution his boys from 

getting involved in electoral 

fraud for whatsoever reason 

may be behind their 

engagement in such act. 

“We also call on the 

Commissioner of Police to give 

same sense of orientation to his 

men. The Nigeria Police should 

not perpetrate electoral fraud 

against the wishes of the 

people. 

“In our passionate appeal, we 

pray that security agents 

should be agents of peace and 

harmony in the electoral 

process. They should exhibit 

high sense of decorum for the 

growth of the democratic 

system in Nigeria.” 

to resolve the impasse, which is 

likely to affect the political 

cohesion in their areas. One 

member of the state House of 

Assembly, whose position is 

being threatened by a candidate 

of another political party in his 

constituency said: “Over time, 

our local government had 

followed political zoning 

religiously such that once one 

town assumes a political 

position, it would not contest for 

another one to ensure equity. 

My expectation is that since one 

town has produced the House 

of Representatives memberelect, 


candidates from other political 

parties from the town should 

step down for a candidate from 

another town. But what we are 

seeing is a situation whereby 

some stakeholders are 

encouraging the said candidate 

to continue with his political 

ambition because he is from 

another political party. 

“They want to disrupt the 

existing arrangement because 

they have the population, which 

is worrisome. The disturbing 

aspect of it is that the said 

candidate if from a political party 

opposed to Governor Willie 

Obiano and we know that their 

intention is to muster enough 

members in the House of 

Assembly to make governance 

difficult in Anambra State.” 

However, one thing the APGA 

candidates are happy about is 

that the enthusiasm with which 

PDP approached the presidential 

and national assembly elections 

is no longer in existence, which 

is why APGA might have an 

upper hand on Saturday.

28— VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 6, 2019


30— Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 6, 2019


Emerhor-led MDA resolves to work for 

Ogboru, APC candidates in Delta 


A Olorogun SABA—THE 

O'Tega 

Emerhor led Mainstream 

Delta APC, MDA, 

yesterday resolved to work 

for the victory of Chief Great 

Ogboru and other 

candidates of the party in 

the forthcoming 

gubernatorial and State 

Houses of Assembly 

election. 

MDA in a statement after 

an emergency meeting of 

the group held at the 

country home of Olorogun 

O'Tega Emerhor signed by 

its Cordinator and Leader, 

Chief Alfred Oloko and 

Mr. Awele Van-Nwoko, 

passed a vote of absolute 

confidence in the 

leadership of Olorogun 

O’tega Emerhor and the 

Chief Cyril Ogodo led State 

Executive of the party. 

While pledging to 

continue to support Olorogun 

O'Tega Emerhor and Chief Cyril 

Ogodo in the task of leading APC 

in Delta State to greater heights, 

they congratulated President 

Muhammadu Buhari and Vice 

President Yemi Osinbajo on their 

victory at the Presidential election 

of February 23rd. 

While thanking Nigerians for 

giving President Muhammadu 

Buhari four more years to move 

Nigeria to the next level of 

progress and development, the 

group in the statement said; "The 

MDA thanks all its members, 

particularly the 4000 canvassers 

it inaugurated for the door to door 

campaign leading up to the 

Obaseki takes campaign 

to Edo communities 

By Alemma Aliu 

BENIN CITY—OVER 

20 communities 

around Ward 2 Oredo local 

government area yesterday 

promised to vote for the All 

Progressives Congress in 

Saturday's House of 

Assembly election in Edo 

state. 

They said they were 

convinced that Governor 

Godwin Obaseki was doing 

enough and needed a 

friendly house of assembly 

to continue the works he is 

doing across the state. 

The communities spoke 

when Chief of Staff to 

Obaseki, Mr. Taiwo 

Akerele, inspected over ten 

road projects at Amagba, 

Ogumwenyin, Irhirhi, 

Iyekogba, Ugbor amongst 

others. 

Leader of Ogumwenyin 

community, Mr. Frank 

Omogiate, said all 

members of Ogumwenyin 

have keyed into the next 

level agenda of the All Pro- 

presidential and national 

assembly elections of February 

23, 2019 for their hard work in 

ensuring that Delta APC gave 

our president over 25% votes in 

Delta State. 

gressive Congress. 

Traditional head of 

Amagba community, HRH 

Frank Imadamwan, said no 

government has provided 

infrastructure for the 

community in the past ten 

years. 

Imadamwan said they 

would use their votes to 

show appreciation to 

Governor Obaseki in the 

forth coming House of 

Assembly election. 

“Tell Obaseki we are 

going to vote for the APC. 

As he has remembered our 

community, that is how we 

will reward him by voting 

for his party.” 

On his part, Akerele said 

Obaseki needs a friendly 

House of Assembly to 

enable him get more 

funding to provide 

infrastructure across the 

state. 

He appealed to the community 

leaders to mobilize their 

supporters to vote for the APC 

on Saturday.

32— Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 6, 2019 

2019 elections: The thing about the 

tension between the Yoruba and the Igbo 

IN a national election that in 

the main featured two Fulani 

politicians as presidential 

candidates, the Yoruba and Igbo 

are again at loggerheads, locking 

horns over a matter that some 

would say at best makes them 

meddlesome busybodies and mere 

bystanders. The tension between 

the Yoruba and the Igbo which is 

the fallout of the February 23 

elections reflects the age-long 

political fault lines between the 

two largest ethnic groups from the 

southern parts of Nigeria. Dog eat 

s—t, na goat mout’ dey smell! 

There were probably more cases 

of violence leading to loss of lives 

and property in the South of 

Nigeria than in any part of the 

North, including the Boko Haramravaged 

sections of the region. 

How did we get to this point, this 

state of affairs in which mourners 

now cry louder than the bereaved? 

In the case of the Yoruba and the 

Igbo, the matter all started after a 

group of thugs disrupted voting in 

Okota, a part of Lagos reputedly 

dominated by supporters of the 

People's Democratic Party, PDP, the 

main rival of the governing All 

Progressives Congress or APC. 

These hoodlums chased away 

voters, overturned tables, snatched 

ballot boxes and set them on fire. 

One of them was apprehended and 

beaten within an inch of his life. In 

what could have led to a further 

escalation of tension, the 

apprehended thug reportedly died 

from his injuries. But this has been 

shown to be false. There are 

available images of the disruption 

caused by the thugs in Okota as 

well as of their apprehended 

member on his hospital bed. 

There were cases of electoral 

violence in other parts of Lagos as 

in other parts of the country. None 

of these had the ethnic colouration 

of what happened in Okota. Thus, 

the Okota incident was not 

isolated but for the ethnic tinge 

added to the narrative. That things 

would take this ethnic turn was 

clear immediately the disruption 

was being read as an attack on the 

Igbo, said to be the dominant 

ethnic group in that area of Okota. 

But there is no reason to suppose 

all of the voters in that part of Lagos 

were Igbo even if it is conceded that 

they are concentrated in that 

area. 

What the initial ethnic reading 

did was to feed into existing 

narratives of conspiracies against 

the Igbo within Lagos and the 

larger Nigerian context. This was 

then amplified in a manner that 

gave the impression that the Igbo 

were again being systematically 

targeted by the Yoruba in an 

election that did not even feature 

a Yoruba as president. Yet, what we 

must not forget is that attacks 

occurred in other parts of Lagos 

State that could not by any stretch 

of the imagination be described as 

Igbo-dominated to say nothing of 

the rest of the country. 

The attack in Okota deserves the 

Encounter with an anointed, but unassuming one 

By Olufunke Phillips 

FOR the past 19 years, the status quo had 

remained the same in Lagos. It was all 

about: Win a first term, do some pretty 

transformative work and win an easy second 

term. But for the first time, we heard a new 

name, Babajide Sanwo-Olu and beheld posters 

of a new candidate cropping up around Lagos. 

Is this a case of the party of change changing 

someone that wasn’t delivering on his 

promises? 

Is this the new anointed one? Who is he? Why 

should we look at him? Will he be forced on 

us? I had my opinions. I mean, if you were in 

Lagos and you had not been living under a 

rock over the last few months, you’d probably 

have your own opinions too. The entire drama 

had played out in front of us all. The crux of it 

was when his opponent in the party primary 

election, the incumbent governor, Mr. 

Akinwunmi Ambode, had called a press 

conference to cast aspersions on his mental 

state and accuse him of past criminal 

misdeeds. 

That had piqued my interest. This was worth 

looking into. If the man that wanted to be my 

next governor had a case of spending fake 

currency, then I needed to know about it. I 

didn’t take those alleged accusations lightly. I 

think a lot of people did not take them lightly. 

They came from the lips of the governor but at 

the same time, I have never believed an 

incumbent deserved a second term just because 

he is an incumbent. If you are doing a good job 

and the people you are serving can feel the 

impact, then yes, maybe a second term is in the 

offing. But if the general populace is not happy, 

then you surely cannot expect a second term. 

This is not Buy One Get One Free scheme we 

are doing here. You have to work really hard to 

deserve that second term. 

So, with all these in mind, the press 

conference was watched with a pinch of salt 

but was my curiosity piqued? It definitely was. 

I wanted to meet the man and ask him these 

questions face to face. “Ngbo sir, they say you 

were spending fake dollars in America? How 

come? And while we’re on that, what mental 

illness is it that they say you suffer from?” These 

were the firsts of many questions that I wanted 

to ask Mr. Sanwo-Olu. I did a couple of posts 

to my thousands of followers on social media. 

I followed the primaries for the two leading 

parties in the state and when both candidates 

were announced, I put out a post about my 

interest in moderating a governorship debate 

between both candidates. 

Mr. Jimi Agbaje, the candidate of the PDP to 

me is like a leap year, he disappears and pops 

up every four years. Sanwo-Olu to me, though 

a three-time Commissioner and Special 

Adviser in Lagos for more than 10 years, still 

did not evoke much statewide recognition; so 

I set out to find out more about him. 

First, I googled his public profile. Fifty threeyear-old 

Sanwo-Olu spent 16 years in the 

public sector and 11 in the private sector. 

Educated at University of Lagos, Lagos 

Business School, Kennedy School of 

Government, London Business School, his 

educational qualifications, public and private 

sector achievements made him an interesting 

candidate. He was a three-time commissioner 

in the state (commissioner of budget and 

economic planning, commissioner for 

commerce and industry, commissioner for 

establishments, training and pensions); had 

done a lot of work on improving the state’s 

internally generated revenue, IGR, had led the 

publication of the Lagos State Economic 

Empowerment and Development Strategy, 

LASEEDS and set up of the Lagos State 

Security Trust Fund. 

An opportunity for a meeting finally came 

up. I was prepared for him to come late 

because you know how these politicians do. 

Keep people waiting because they have to 

attend to every issue under the sun. Waiting for 

a politician can be quite a tedious affair, my 

experience in the past had left a sour taste in 

my mouth; so I was pleasantly surprised when 

he was on time. This might seem like a small 

deal but African timing has never been alluring 

to me and the penchant Nigerians have for 

keeping people waiting is a pet peeve. I was 

glad that we were setting off on the right path. 

The attack in Okota 

deserves the 

unreserved contempt 

of every Nigerian 

and should be 

condemned in the 

strongest terms 

possible 

unreserved contempt of every 

Nigerian and should be 

condemned in the strongest terms 

possible. The authorities should go 

after and apprehend everyone 

connected to it. But that is what 

they should also do in other parts 

of the country where there were 

cases of electoral violence. 

Despicable as it was, there was 

nothing really that special about 

the disruption in Okota. Not in the 

light of what transpired in other 

parts of Lagos and the rest of the 

country where lives and property 

were lost. What made Okota look 

like an isolated case was the ethnic 

meaning that was read into what 

happened. 

The thugs who struck in Okota, 

assuming they were all Yoruba, 

would have sooner attacked other 

Yoruba in opposition parties as 

they had those non-Yoruba in 

Okota. In other parts of 

Yorubaland where there were 

many incidents of electoral 

violence, the victims could not 

have been any people but the 

Yoruba? When thugs strike as they 

did in Okota, they are not 

necessarily discriminating on 

grounds of ethnic label. It just so 

happened that those thought to 

have been affected in Okota were 

overwhelmingly Igbo. My point, 

therefore, is that making too much 

of the ethnic factor in that one 

incident was an unnecessary 

distraction that could have been 

avoided given the situation in 

which we have found ourselves in 

this country. It was an unnecessary 

escalation of issues and there is no 

reason to suppose that those 

pushing that line of reasoning are 

entirely without design. 

We are all falling under the wiles 

of politicians that would stop at 

nothing to gain electoral mileage. 

Is it any surprise that days after 

the incident in Okota, reports of 

hoodlums forcing Igbo shop 

owners in places like Oshodi to 

shut down would make the rounds? 

Who are the Nigerians ignorant of 

the fact that the people that control 

Oshodi market and environs are 

the armed band of the governing 

party in Lagos? Which is not the 

same thing as saying that the 

opposition PDP that appears to be 

enjoying and perhaps fanning the 

anti-immigrant narrative in Lagos 

is without its armed section or is 

entirely at ease with the idea that 

Lagos is a ‘no-man’s land’ as is 

He came into the room wearing a simple 

blue native attire. If you hadn’t seen his picture 

before and hadn’t met him prior, you might be 

forgiven for thinking he was one of the many 

people slated to attend the meeting. There were 

no airs around him. He came in, introduced 

himself and took a seat. I kept looking at him. 

I didn’t know what I was expecting to see but it 

wasn’t this man that looked simple and 

unassuming. He looked like he could be your 

uncle. He wasn’t brash. He waited for a person 

to finish speaking before he responded. He 

didn’t interrupt. He wasn’t condescending with 

his answers to the questions being asked. All 

through these, I kept looking at his eyes and I 

could have sworn I saw the gears in his brain 

turning while he was answering questions. He 

looked like one of those people we used to call 

efiko in my high school. Ah! This one is smart 

oh! I thought, but we can’t deny that the 

Sanwo-Olu did a very good 

job of explaining the 

accusations that came his way 

before he even got the party 

ticket to contest as the 

candidate in the elections 

questions might have been scripted and he had 

prepared. Well, you can’t fake smarts for too 

long and I was confident that if the session was 

scripted and put on, I would see a crack before 

it was over. 

I asked him why the incumbent governor, 

his opponent during the election and a 

member of the same political party he 

belonged to, had made those accusations 

against him. For the first time, I saw something 

other than warmth, intelligence, wit and smarts 

behind his eyes. I saw hurt. I wasn’t sure. Was 

the hurt because of the question, or because of 

the person that had levelled the accusations 

against him? I didn’t know but I wanted to find 

out. 

Truthfully speaking, after Fashola, I didn’t 

know how much I had missed having a wellspoken 

orator as a governor. I know people 

being purveyed by some of their 

Igbo supporters. The terrible thing 

about their antics is that they sit 

back and watch as an entire ethnic 

group is being portrayed in 

xenophobic terms and made to 

account for the action of 

politicians like them fighting for 

their own personal interest in the 

name of the people. 

To clarify, the PDP is no less a 

party supported by the Yoruba than 

it is by the Igbo. Neither is the APC 

without its fair share of Igbo 

politicians. Igbo and Yoruba 

political leaders cut across the 

hierarchy of both parties and 

others. There is no reason why in 

Lagos the PDP should be made to 

look like an Igbo party or one that 

caters to their interest specially. 

While the dominant elements of 

the PDP might not be Yoruba, the 

party has it loyalists among the 

Yoruba as among the Igbo. 

The electorates of Ondo and 

Ekiti, two Yoruba-speaking states 

carried by the PDP in last week’s 

elections surely can’t be anything 

but overwhelmingly Yoruba? If 

any one is, therefore, looking for 

an Igbo party, it’s to the All 

Progressives Grand Alliance, 

APGA, they should look, not the 

PDP. There is no sense in making 

the APC in Lagos look like the 

champion of Yoruba interest. No! 

Leaders of the party may be the 

dominant arm of the Yoruba 

political elite for now. But their 

interest does not aggregate the 

interest of the Yoruba. The Igbo 

must resist the attempt to make 

them appear as victims of tribal 

hate in a crass game of power grab 

by groups and/or individuals with 

allegiance to no one but 

themselves. 

will say 'Ehen? He can speak English well and 

so? How does that translate to governance' I 

don’t know but I daresay a governor that can 

express himself confidently and explain issues 

in a concise and deliberate manner is a delight 

to listen to any day; and yes, Lagos has missed 

that. Okay, fine, I have missed that if we’re 

being pedantic. 

Sanwo-Olu explained these allegations 

clearly. He doesn’t have a criminal record. 

Home or abroad. He doesn’t have issues with 

any authority in the United States. He put it on 

record that he has travelled out to this same 

America where he supposedly has criminal 

charges against his person four times this year 

alone. 

On his records as a patient at Gbagada 

General Hospital, he has never been admitted 

as a patient at Gbagada General Hospital. 

He has never sought treatment for any ailment 

at Gbagada General Hospital, nor anywhere 

in the world. The one and only time he had 

been to Gbagada General Hospital was on a 

charity outreach visit where he had gone to 

donate equipment to the hospital. 

Just like that? Allegations explained away 

just like that. It was anti-climatic, I won’t lie to 

you. With the way the incumbent governor had 

called a press conference, a world press 

conference for that matter, mind you, just to 

level these accusations then to have them 

explained away without any pomp, fanfare or 

attendant drama was weird. I was expecting 

to hear stories of coverups, blackmail etcetera; 

or maybe just a little mudslinging back at his 

accuser but no, none of that. 

Sanwo-Olu did a very good job of explaining 

these accusations that came his way before he 

even got the party ticket to contest as the 

candidate in the general elections. His answers 

were clean, clear and precise. It also spoke to 

his simplicity. Simple answers to clear up the 

spurious allegations levelled against him. I 

liked it. I really liked that he didn’t see the need 

to disrespect his accuser or the office; after all, 

it is an office he is vying for. It inspires 

confidence in him and says he knows what he 

is doing. For an introduction to the person who 

may be the next governor of the Centre of 

Excellence, this was a pretty good one. 

*Ms Phillips, a journalist, wrote from Lagos 

C 

M 

Y 

K


We reject presidential election 

results—N'Delta agitators 

By Levinus 

Nwabughiogu 

ABUJA—NIGER Delta 

agitators, yesterday, 

said they will not recognise 


Buhari as the winner of the 

presidential elections held 

on February 23, adding 

that the mineral resources 

from the region would “not 

be used to run a 

government that is 

compromised.” 

A statement by John 

Duku, Leader of the Niger 

Delta Watchdog/Convener, 

Coalition of Niger Delta 

Agitators, in Abuja, the 

agitators said the elections 

fell below minimum 

acceptable standards, 

stressing that it was 

characterised by vote 

buying and outright 

alteration of results in 

favour of All Progressives 

Congress, APC, and the 

President. 

The agitators also raised 

the alarm over an alleged 

plot by APC to rig the 

forthcoming governorship 

election in Akwa Ibom State 

on Saturday. 

They said: “We wish to 

state that the justconcluded 

presidential 

election was conducted 

below the minimal 

acceptable standard. It was 

marred by serious 

irregularities, vote buying 

and outright alteration of 

results in favour of APC 

and Buhari. 

“In some Northern states, 

INEC officials were coerced 

into allocating results to 

candidates and parties 

without actual voting, and 

the outcome has failed to 

reflect the will of Nigerians. 

“It is indeed worrisome to 

see the government that 

came into power as a result 

of free, fair, credible and 

transparent elections 

suddenly destroy critical 

state institutions such as 

INEC, the judiciary and 

others in order to bend the 

will of the people in its 

favour. 

“We reject President 

Buhari as the winner of the 

just-concluded presidential 

election; we also use this 

medium to advise INEC to 

be cautious of subverting 

the will of the people as 

they would surely pay 

dearly for the evil they 

committed against the 

Nigerian people. 

“We want to restate our 

earlier stand that Niger 

Delta resources would not 

be used to run a compromised 

government.” 

By Gabriel 

Enogholase 

BENIN—AHEAD of the 

governorship/state 


elections, Edo State 

chapter of All Progressives 

Congress, APC, yesterday, 

received some defectors 

from Peoples Democratic 

Party, PDP, in Esan South- 

East Local Government 

Area of the state. 

Receiving the defectors at 

the party’s secretariat in 

Benin City, state Chairman 

of the party, Mr. Anselm 

Ojezua, said the decision 

of the defectors was timely, 

as the party was working 

for a decisive victory for all 

On gov elections 

Continuing, the agitators 

said: “We also want to alert 

the entire Nigerians and 

the international 

community of fresh plot by 

APC leadership and 

security agencies to 

forcefully take Akwa Ibom 

State by all means. This plot 

was concluded last Sunday 

in Abuja with top APC 

members in attendance. 

“They observed that they 

may not be able to make any 

difference in Rivers and 

Cross River as APC in the 

two states are currently 

awaiting court ruling. 

“According to one of the 

its candidates in the state. 

He said that APC in Edo 

State needed formidable 

representations at the state 

House of Assembly to 

support Governor Godwin 

O b a s e k i - l e d 

administration's 

achievements. 

On the calibre of 

defectors coming into the 

party, Ojezua said: “Illushi 

is very important in Esan 

South-East because of its 

strong political base and 

agrarian nature. 

“I believe receiving 

leaders from that locality 

will make the March 9 

election easy for us.” 

The state Commissioner 

for Women Affairs and 

leaders, Bayelsa would not 

have its governorship 

election now, so the only 

state that they must take by 

force is Akwa Ibom. 

“They have decided to 

recruit thugs and ensure 

that Army and policemen 

are also drafted to the state 

with the instruction that 

APC must win at all cost. 

“INEC has already been 

informed to suspend the 

use of card readers in some 

polling units across the 

state. We also want to warn 

APC thugs to be careful as 

we would not spare them 

during our action if the 

need arises.” 

...as APC receives PDP defectors in Edo 

By Simon Adewal 

SENIOR 

Special 

Assistant to the state 

governor on Youth Matters, 

Mr. Solomon Mikie, 

yesterday, has enjoined 

youths in Delta State “to 

cast their votes for Governor 

Ifeanyi Okowa with a view 

to giving him the 

opportunity of a second 

tenure to enable him 

complete his development 

projects across the state.” 

Mikie, who spoke to 

newsmen in Koko, 

headquarters of Warri 

North Local Government 

Area, said: “Governor 

Okowa has satisfied the 

people of the state by 

fulfilling his campaign 

promises and his agenda 

of prosperity for all, peace 

and security, human capital 

WORKSHOP: 

From left— Managing 

Partner, DesignThinkers 

Academy, South Africa, 

Mr. Robert Bloom; CEO, 

BROOT Consulting/ 

Managing Partner, 

DesignThinkers 

Academy Nigeria, Dr 

Olukunle Iyanda, and 

others, using design 

thinking methodology 

gathering intelligence in 

respect to financial 

inclusion in Nigeria 

during the design 

thinking workshop for 

Innovation Leadership, in 

Ikeja, Lagos, yesterday. 

Social Development, Ms 

Magdalene Ohenhen, and 

Chairman, South-East 

council, Mr. Victor 

Emuakhagbon, who were 

at the APC secretariat, 

assured that the party will 

emerge victorious in the 

area. 

Ohenhen said: “For us in 

Esan South-East, we are 

happy because we now 

have a stronger team that 

will work towards ensuring 

victory for APC in the 

March 9 election. 

“We had issues at Illushi 

during the presidential 


elections, but we are 

happy they have come to 

join us today.” 

Mikie urges Delta youths to re-elect Okowa 


infrastructure, hence he 

deserves a second tenure 

to consolidate on his giant 

stride for the people of the 

state.” 

Emphasising on the love 

that the state governor has 

for the people of the state, 

particularly the youths, 

he said: “Governor Okowa 

has evenly spread 

appointments to all parts 

Buhari urged to reward 

voters with performance 

By Jimitota 

Onoyume 

WARRI—A political 

activist, Mr. 

Edward Nikagbatse- 

Oki, has called on 


Buhari to reciprocate the 

votes from the common 

man by ensuring he 

delivers on his campaign 

promises to Nigerians. 

Speaking in Warri, 

Delta State, he also 

called on the electorate 

to consolidate the Buhari 

administration by voting 

massively for All 


APC, in the 



elections on Saturday, 

adding that APC 

government in all parts 


ASABA—AHEAD of 

this Saturday’s 

governorship election, 

organised labour in 

Delta State has 

endorsed Governor 

Ifeanyi Okowa's second 

term bid, commending 

the governor for paying 

priority attention to the 

workers' welfare. 

Speaking at a meeting 

between the governor, 

leaders and members 

of organised labour in 

the state, the state 

Chairman Nigeria 

Labour Congress, 

NLC, Mr. Jonathan 

Jemirieyigbe, said: 

“Governor Okowa has 

been in the vanguard of 

everything that 

promotes the welfare of 

workers from the 

payment of salary 

arrears to the 

implementation of the 

new minimum wages, 

which is why Delta 

State NLC has openly 

come out to endorse 

him for a second term.” 

Jemeregbe said 

Okowa had always put 

of the state and has 

always made sure that 

artisans, traders, civil 

servants and others 

benefit from the 

dividends of democracy 

under his watchful eyes. 

“His government 

provided road networks 

linking several hitherto 

remote villages and 

hamlets. The prudence 

with which he has 

overseen the affairs of 

governance should not be 

missed by the people.” 

of the country will 

enhance the performance 

ability of the President. 

He said: “Take your 

respective states from 


PDP, and their allies 

because they sold your 

states with their corrupt 

practices and underdeveloped 

the states with 

their ill-gotten wealth. 

“Think Nigeria, talk 

Nigeria; protect and 

defend the unity of the 

country and stop paying 

lip service to Nigeria, the 

giant of Africa. 

“Mr. President and all 

elected APC National 

Assembly members, the 

common man has done 

their job by electing you. 

You should reciprocate by 

meeting their yearnings 

and aspirations.” 

Organised labour scores 

Okowa high, endorses 

him for 2nd term 

the needs of workers in 

the front burner, 

describing the 

relationship between 

state government and 

labour as “a success 

story.” 

Responding, Okowa 

said: “I must thank the 

unions and all our 

workers for the support 

and understanding we 

received. With the 

prayers and the support 

of the workforce, Deltans 

and leaders across the 

state, we were able to 

consolidate on the 

promises that we made as 

a government.” 

Appreciating Deltans 

for the support his 

administration received 

during his first tenure, 

the governor called for a 

peaceful governorship 

election, saying “the 

support I have been 

receiving means a lot to 

me. 

“It makes me believe 

that we are on the right 

path; it makes me believe 

that in coming back for 

second tenure, I have the 

backing of the people 

and that is very 

encouraging. 

“For our state to be 

taken to greater heights, 

every hand must be on 

deck because I cannot do 

it alone. Our government 

is not all about elections, 

it is about working with 

all Deltans directly or 

indirectly. 

“So we need to look 

beyond the elections and 

not approach it as a do-ordie 

affair. Let us vote 

peacefully, as no election 

is worth the loss of lives.”


Guber poll: No results without 

card readers —Ebonyi REC 

By Peter Okutu 

A BAKALIKI—THE 



INEC, yesterday stressed 

that the commission will not 

accept any result computed 

through manual voting at 

any polling unit where card 

readers were not used. It 

said the presiding officer 

will return zero results to 

INEC in the State. 

The State Resident 

Electoral Commissioner, 

Prof Godswill Obioma 

stated this at the INEC 

headquarters in Abakaliki 

during a consultative 

meeting with stakeholders 

ahead of 2019 governorship 

and State House of 

Assembly elections in 

Ebonyi State. 

He advised political 

parties to shun violence 

and vote buying as INEC 

was prepared to ensure 

a hitch-free exercise on 

Saturday. 

“We have done 

verification of the 

materials at CBN with 

DSS and party agents. We 

are satisfied that the 

materials are on 

ground. The sensitive 

materials will be 

accompanied by security 

agents to our offices in 

LGAs. We have told the 

police to make sure the 

materials reach their 

destinations. 

“Non-sensitive and 

sensitive will be done 

rack by rack. This is to 

ensure transparency. By 

Friday, all the camps will 

be reactivated so that by 

Saturday, 8 a.m. elections 

will resume. 

“There is no manual 

voting in the election. 

Where there is manual 

voting, the presiding 

officer will return zero 

results. Avoid violence." 

Thousands of Kwankwasiyya 

members adopt Uzodinma 

By Chinonso 

Alozie 

O WERRI—Thousands 

of members 

of Kwankwasiyya 

Movement of Senator 

Rabiu Kwankwaso in Imo 

State, yesterday collapsed 

their structure to the Imo 

State governorship 

candidate of the All 


APC. 

According to the leader 

of Kwankwasiyya in the 

state, Ezeji Bernard, who 

pledged their support 

for APC at the party’s 

secretariat in Owerri, said 

they decided to join Hope 

Uzodinma to rescue Imo 

State. 

He said: “Today, I am 

officially telling you that we 

have left PDP. It is a thing 

of joy for me that we are 

back home because we 

were in APC before. 

“We are back because 

someone has come in to 

bring hope to the people of 

Imo State. Uzodinma is 

the bold man that rescued 

the state from the hands 

of Pharoah. We came to 

APC because it is no 

longer in the hands of 

Rochas Okorocha and his 

family. 

“When others ran away, 

Uzodinma stood firm so 

that our children will have 

a future. We have 

decided to come and 

collapse our structure for 

Senator Uzodinma and 

we will support him come 

Saturday's governorship 

election.” 

Responding, the Imo 

APC, guber candidate, 

Hope Uzodinma said: 

“Today is a special day 

because something new 

has happened. 

“Let me use this 

opportunity to respond to 

some of the lies being 

bandied by the governor 

called Okorocha. I am 

proud that I delivered my 

polling unit, ward and 

Local Govrrnment for 

President Buhari." 

Brand institute honours Life Worth 

FOREMOST provider 

of managed healthcare 

in Nigeria, Life Worth 

Medicare Limited, has won 

West Africa Best HMO in 

Nigeria at the West Africa 

Brand Excellence Awards 

held recently in Lagos. 

The award which was 

organised by the Institute 

of Brand Management of 

Nigeria, IBMN and 

supported by Brand 

Journalists Association of 

Nigeria, BJAN also 

rewarded brands in other 

categories for their 

innovations and cuttingedge 

service delivery. 

According to the 

organiser, Life Worth, 

which was established in 

2014 has developed 

products that meet the 

expectations of all 

categories of peopleindividual, 

family, 

corporate, associations, 

community or schools 

using latest technology 

and providing enhanced 

customer experience in 

Nigeria. 

Speaking on the award, 

Managing Director of Life 

Worth HMO, Dr. 

Raymond Osho said: 

"Our drive is to empower 

people across Nigeria to 

stay and live healthier by 

preventive healthcare 

services, that is, helping 

them avoid illnesses and 

detect problems before 

noticing any symptoms 

while we provide access 

to quality healthcare 

services in case of 

eventualities." 

WELCOMING: Goverorship candidate of the APC in Imo State, Senator Hope Uzodinma, 

welcoming the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (SAN) at the Sam Mbakwe Airport, Owerri 

yesterday. 

Ohanaeze didn’t approve any guber 

candidate for Lagos —Nwodo 

...asks security agents to be neutral in Saturday’s elections 

•Obi charges Ndigbo to vote en masse 

By Chioma 

Gabriel & Dennis 

Agbo 

E 

N U G U — 

PRESIDENT 

General of Ohanaeze 

Ndigbo, Chief Nnia Nwodo 

has distanced the apex 

Igbo socio-cultural 

organisation from 

statements credited to the 

group’s President in 

Lagos, Solomon Ogbonna 

that Ndigbo should vote for 

a particular candidate in 

Lagos governorship 

election on Saturday. 

Nwodo in a video on 

Monday, washed the 

hands of Ohanaeze from 

Ogbonna’s statement and 

described it as a personal 

opinion which no Igbo in 

Lagos should take 

seriously. 

He also encouraged the 

Igbo residing in Lagos to 

defy the violence of last 

presidential election in the 

commercial city and come 

out once again to cast their 

votes without fear of 

intimidation. 

In a video conducted in 

Igbo language and 

personally circulated to 

Vanguard, Nwodo said: 

“On the coming 


assembly elections, 

Ohanaeze never met to tell 

Ndigbo where to vote. 

What Imeobi Ohanaeze 

said was that one thing you 

need to have at the back of 

your mind is that whoever 

you want to vote for should 

be one who agrees on 

restructuring so that if a 

governor is called upon to 

call a meeting for 

restructuring, he would 

agree to summon such 

meeting. It is such people 

you should vote for. In 

Igboland, it’s not difficult to 

find such people. One who 

has done well, let him go 

for second term. 

“For the Igbo living 

outside our land, nobody 

should scare you people. 

We all have equal rights 

whether you reside in 

Igboland or in diaspora. I 

have been most disturbed 

by news from Lagos and I 

want to tell our people 

residing in Lagos that what 

Solomon Ogbonna, the 

Ohanaeze President in 

Lagos, said was his 

personal opinion and was 

never approved by 

Ohanaeze Ndigbo. 

“We never asked him to 

nominate who to vote for in 

Lagos. What he said was 

in bad faith and nobody 

should listen to him. Both 

Jim Agbaje and Sanwo-Olu 

are contestants and they are 

all good people and you 

should vote for whoever 

you prefer but be mindful 

of who is interested in 

restructuring." 

...asks security 

agents to be neutral 

in Saturday’s 

elections 

Also yesterday, the pan- 

Igbo group asked the 

Nigeria Army and security 

agents to be neural during 

the Saturday’s 

governorship polls. 

A release signed by the 

spokesman of the 

organisation, Chuks 

Ibegbu said the military 

conduct in the Presidential 

poll was dismal especially 

in states like Rivers, 

Bayela, Imo, Akwa Ibom , 

Cross River and Abia. 

“In other lands, the army 

and security agents help to 

build a virile society but it 

appears we have an 

occupation army here. We 

warn them not to aid and 

abet rigging or harassment 

of voters. INEC officials 

must also be neutral. 

Unless we have free and 

fair election, the society 

will not make any 

progress." 

Obi charges 

Ndigbo to vote 

en masse 

Meanwhile, former 

governor of Anambra State 

and the Vice Presidential 

candidate of the Peoples 

Democratic Party, PDP, in 

the 2019 general elections, 

Peter Obi has expressed 

worry over the alleged 

threat by some people in 

Lagos State that voters 

would be dealt with if they 

vote for another political 

party other than the ruling 


APC. 

Obi, who spoke to 

reporters in Onitsha, said: 

“Every Nigerian is free to 

vote where he resides 

without molestation and 

those who are trying to force 

people to vote for a 

particular political party are 

starting what they cannot 

control. Our people are lawabiding." 

Ugwuanyi'll not defect to APC—Aide 

By Dennis Agbo 

E NUGU—SENIOR 

Special Adviser to 

Governor Ifeanyi 

Ugwuanyi on security and 

special projects and son of 

former governor of old 

Anambra state, Dr Josef 

Umunnakwe Onoh has 

deflated the suspicion in 

some quarters that the 

governor would defect to 


Congress, APC, after 2019 

elections. 

Onoh also said that the 

issue of the APC not 

securing 25 percent votes 

during the presidential 

election was a compound 

fault of the opposition party 

in the state and exonerated 

Governor Ugwuanyi on the 

APC tragedy of 25 percent 

in the state. 

Onoh in an interview 

with Vanguard noted that 

Enugu State was a 100 

percent PDP state with the 

people prepared for the 


assembly elections next 

Saturday. 

“We are guaranteed of 

victory because Ifeanyi 

Ugwuanyi is the face of 

PDP in Enugu State. The 

unique thing is that the 

masses in the rural areas 

are the ones that will come 

out enmasse to deliver 

Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi because 

he has fulfilled beyond his 

electoral promises. They 

will be voting for the person 

this time and not the party,” 

Onoh stated. 

On the rumour that 

Ugwuanyi will defect to 

APC, Onoh said, “The 

Governor of Enugu State is 

not defecting to any APC. 

He is a man of integrity and 

has remained in the PDP. 

The only thing is that his 

style of governance is what 

people do not understand. 

He said it from the day he 

was sworn in that he is not 

governor for PDP alone."


Momoh accuses Oshiomhole of using police in Edo 

THE Momoh Abubakar 

C a m p a i g n 

Organisation has accused 


APC, National Chairman, 

Adams Oshiomhole, of 

being behind the 

deployment of mobile 

policemen drawn from 

Mopol 60, lyamho, 

Oshiomhole’s country 

home, to ensure the entire 

community was barricaded. 

The organisation said the 

move paved way for thumb 

printing of ballot papers by 

APC members, leading to 

the allocation of 775 votes 

to APC and zero to Peoples 

Democratic Party, PDP, in 

Oshiomhole’s polling unit 

in Iyamho, Etsako West 

Local Government Area, 

Edo State. 

In a statement by the 

Director-General of 

Momoh’s Campaign 

Organisation, Dr Wilson 

Imogah, the PDP senatorial 

candidate for Delta North, 

condemned “the unholy 

alliance between security 

agencies and some 

powerful APC chieftains, as 

the party’s flag bearer, 

Momoh Abubakar, was 

robbed of victory due to the 

massive electoral fraud, 

voters’ intimidation and 

other irregularities which 

By Marie Nanlong 

J OS—FOLLOWING 

restiveness over a 

purported jihad targeted at 

Plateau State, the state 

Police Command has 

assured citizens that there 

is no such thing, urging 

them to be calm. 

The rumoured jihad on 

Plateau State has been 

trending on the social 

media. Though the state 

government earlier denied 

such, the Police yesterday 

said thorough investigation 

revealed that the rumour is 

a hoax and should be 

ignored. 

According to the state 

Police Public Relations 

Officer, DSP Mathias 

Tyopev, “the attention of 

the Plateau State Police 

Command has been drawn 

By Etop Ekanem 

WARRI—A chieftain of 


Party, PDP, Delta State, 

Thompson Abideke, has 

advised Deltans to reject 

vote-buying and vote 

Governor Ifeanyi Okowa 

for a second term in 

Saturday’s election. 

Abideke said money 

politics was a sin that can 

destroy smooth election 

characterised the polls in 

Edo North.” 

Imogah said results of the 


Assembly polls for Edo 

North as released by 



INEC, was not a true 

reflection of what truly 

transpired, stressing that 

the election was marred by 

to an inciting document 

entitled The Final Jihad on 

the Plateau, being 

circulated by mischiefmakers 

on the Plateau with 

the aim of creating fear and 

hate among the peaceloving 

people of Plateau 

State to cause a breakdown 

of law and order. 

“After investigation, 

Plateau State Police 

Command realised that the 

initiator of this inciting 

process by encouraging 

crisis. 

Abideke, the Director, 

Operation Return Okowa 

for a Second Tenure, said: 

“The abundant peace 

being enjoyed by Deltans 

in all the 25 councils in the 

state is the effort of the 

governor, who has been 

able to bring all the warring 

ethnic groups together as 

one family. 

“Before Okowa came on 

irregularities, vote buying 

and the massive use of 

security agencies by the 

ruling party to influence the 

final outcome. 

Similarly, he accused 

Senator Alimikhena of 

using soldiers to arrest and 

detain PDP stalwarts across 

Weppa Wanno, whilst ballot 

box stuffing took place in 

Ugieda, Anwain and 

No jihad in Plateau—Police 

By Victoria Ojeme 

THE President of 

E C O W A S 

Commission, Jean-Claude 

Kassi Brou, yesterday, 

called for increase in intraregional 

trade, including 

the elimination of formal 

document opened a fake 

Facebook account just for 

this purpose. 

“We also found out that 

there was no truth in the 

write up and considers it as 

the handiwork of faceless 

mischief-makers, who are 

bent on fanning the embers 

of religious and political 

hate and disunity in the 

state with a view to causing 

the breach of the peace. 

“The Plateau State Police 

ECOWAS calls for barrier elimination 

and informal barriers to 

trade and development of 

infrastructure to facilitate 

trade towards achieving 

single currency in 2020. 

Brou, who made the call 

at a seminar on the 

ECOWAS single currency 

in Dakar, Senegal, 

No alternative to Okowa—Abideke 

board, there were several 

crises that almost consumed 

the entire state, especially 

in the South senatorial 

district. But he has been 

able to settle various 

communal crises.” 

According to Abideke, a 

lot of youths have been 

engaged as special 

advisers and assistants, 

while widows, youths and 

aged are also not left out 

in the scheme of things. 

Agbede. 

Imogah said: “In Akoko 

Edo, for instance, we 

painted the picture of how 

an APC House of 

Representatives member 

led a contingent of soldiers 

to Uneme axis, where they 

cordoned off the community 

and forced INEC officials to 

allocate an additional 4,000 

votes to the APC tally.” 

KPMG SCHOLARSHIP: From left—Partner, Chief Operating Officer, 

KMPG, Mr Victor Onyenkpa; awardee, Mr. Omoyibo Innocent, and Partner, 

Audit/Consumer Market and Corporate Social Responsibility, KPMG, Mrs Tope 

Onitiri, during the presentation of scholarships to beneficiaries of KPMG 

scholarship programme in Lagos. 

Command therefore warns 

that any individual or group 

of individuals caught 

circulating documents 

capable of inciting religious 

passion or promoting hate 

speeches will be dealt with 

in accordance with the 

extant laws of the land. 

“Members of the public 

are advised to ignore such 

insidious write ups and go 

about their normal and 

lawful businesses.” 

disclosed that countries that 

met the criteria will 

commence the process. 

He added that in the quest 

to ensure the success of 

ECOWAS single currency 

in a timely manner, the 

following recommendations 

will be made: 

To ensure free movement 

of labor and capital within 

the region, including 

flexible wages and the 

banking system; increase 

intra-regional trade, 

including the elimination of 

formal and informal barriers 

to trade and development 

of infrastructure to facilitate 

trade, and to continue to 

pursue reforms at the level 

of the member states in the 

areas of monetary and fiscal 

policies management for the 

credibility of the future 

single currency. 

We’ll set Lagosians free 

from slavery—AD chair 

By Agbonkhese Oboh 

THE Lagos State 

Chairman of Alliance 

for Democracy, AD, Mr. 

Kola Ajayi, has said the 

party is not just going to 

win the state for the sake 

of politics, but is driven by 

the need to free Lagosians 

from slavery. 

Ajayi spoke to newsmen 

during AD’s rally in 

Lagos tagged Walk For 

Salis, which started from 

Agege and ended at 

Alausa, Ikeja, for the 

party’s Lagos State 


High Chief Owolabi Salis. 

According to Ajayi, “we 

are going into this election 

to win and not to play. We 

want to take Lagosians 

out of slavery with a 

government of the 

people. 

“A government that 

cannot provide the 

grassroots with basic 

amenities is a failed one. 

By Maryann 

Michael 

AHEAD of Saturday’s 

governorship and 

state House of Assembly 

elections, traditional 

rulers in Delta State 

have appealed to the 

military and other 

security agencies not to 

to disenfranchise 

Deltans by turning the 

state into a theatre of 

war. 

Chairman of the state 

Council of Traditional 

Rulers and Obi of Owa, 

Dr. Emmanuel 

Efeizomor II, made the 

appeal in a statement in 

Asaba. 

Obi Efeizomor said the 

call was sequel to plans 

by the Federal 

Government to deploy 

the military personnel 

during Saturday’s 

governorship election in 

the state. 

Dr. Efeizomor said: 

“Delta State has been a 

peaceful state as the 

present and previous 

administration had done 

a lot to achieve peace 

and ethnic harmony, 

which should not be 

truncated under 

whatever guise. 

“We insist that security 

agencies on election 

duty should adhere 

strictly to the rules of 

engagement. We 

equally beg politicians 

to display maturity and 

Education, housing and 

health are the people’s 

rights. If you cannot let 

them have these, it is not 

governance but slavery. 

AD is here to provide 

freedom.” 

Also speaking at the 

rally, Ikeja council 

Chairman of AD, Mr. 

Bakare Garuba, said 

Lagosians should expect 

good development with 

AD in power, as Salis, if 

voted in as governor, will 

concentrate on the needs 

of the people. 

Garuba pointed out that 

Lagosians lack water, 

while the schools are in 

poor condition, adding 

that AD, a welfarist party, 

would bring governance 

to the grassroots. 

The Walk With Salis 

rally started from Araromi 

Street in Agege, through 

Arigbenla, Capitol, 

Moshalashi Alhaja, 

Guinnesss, Oba Akran 

and terminated at Alausa. 

Delta traditional rulers 

appeal to security 

agencies over polls 

play by the rules. 

“We need not remind 

the people of Delta State 

that elections will come 

and go, but Delta State 

will remain an 

indivisible political 

entity of the nation. 

“All eligible voters 

should be allowed to 

freely cast their votes for 

their choice candidates 

without any hindrance. 

“In every contest there 

must be a winner and a 

loser. We enjoin 

politicians to adopt the 

spirit of sportsmanship 

and be magnanimous in 

victory because at the 

end of the day, Delta 

State will be the winner.” 

The statement also 

enjoined Deltans to be 

undaunted and not be 

intimidated by the 

military from performing 

their civic duty on 

election day, urging the 

youths not to engage in 

any act capable of 

causing crisis and 

political violence before 

during and after the 

elections, adding that 

election should not be 

seen as a do-or-die 

affair. 

It said: “We equally 

urge the Independent 


Commission, INEC, to 

be transparent and truly 

conduct free, fair and 

credible polls that will be 

acceptable to all 

Nigerians.”

36 — VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 06, 2019 

WITH CHARLES KUMOLU 

midweekpersonality@gmail.com 

08052140865 (sms only) 

PERSONALITY ETHICS 

Everybody's grass 

can be green 

God didn't 

commission Adam to 

be richer than eve 

Someone needs to 

make a decision to 

compete 

Growing up: 

I am the first in a family of six. 

My dad didn't have kids on time. 

When I was born, it was like a 

rollercoaster for him. I got the 

best of almost everything he 

could afford at the time. I 

attended the best schools he 

could afford. Since I am the first, 

there was a lot of pressure from 

my parents to make sure that I 

did the right things for my 

siblings to emulate. I took my 

education seriously. Most of 

those things our parent hinged 

on while we were living with 

them became so real by the time 

we left their homes. The rules 

they gave me shaped me when I 

found myself in school. I 

naturally found myself abiding 

by those principles and made 

sure I lived up to expectation. My 

father was a lecturer and 

entrepreneur. He is a practicing 

surveyor. My mother was also a 

teacher and a lawyer. It was not 

that we were overly rich but we 

were very comfortable. It was a 

close-knit family with plenty of 

love. My upbringing was quite 

good. 

Opportunity to grow 

While working in the bank, I 

had a couple of companies under 

me and Laundry King is one of 

them. Laundry King started 

operating as a business on April 

1, 2011. We started skeletally 

initially. I had staff that did the 

pickup and cleaning. I used to 

also do the pickup in the morning 

and did deliveries after work. I 

also did pick up after work, took 

the clothes to the factory and did 

the cleaning. At the same time, I 

also did deliveries to clients after 

work. I did that from April to 

August and felt that the business 

needed my time, and 

concentration to be able to build 

a proper structure and take the 

business to the next level. I knew 

that being in the bank did not 

give me the opportunity to grow 

the business, I had to resign. 

Laundry King, Nedcomoaks, 

Victoria Crest Property 

I set up Laundry King more 

than seven years ago. We help 

busy professionals by making 

their clothes clean and we return 

it to them looking newer. The life 

of professionals in a city like 

Lagos is busy and coming back 

ICHECHI OKONKWO: 

Millionaire's wife creating 

own wealth with creativity 

THIS story beams light on the path to the success of Ichechi Okonkwo, founder 

of many successful businesses in upscale Lekki/Chevron in Lagos. The account 

underscores what being the wife of a successful man and parents means, and 

the motivating factor it could constitute. Mrs. Okonwko, interestingly narrates 

how she combined both to become the Managing Director/CEO, Laundry King, 

Sweet Dreams Essentials and Marketing Director of Nedcomoaks Ltd, owners 

of Victoria Crest Property. Drawing from her experiences, you can't help but 

agree that she was taught well and she is leading the way currently. 

home to deal with the home front 

including laundering is stressful. 

It was that feeling that gave birth 

to Laundry King at the time. 

Sweet Dreams Essentials is the 

baby of the house. It is about the 

room and bathroom essentials. It 

is about everything that makes 

the room and bathroom 

comfortable. The best place to 

find convenience is the bedroom. 

The body works so hard that it 

gets tired and needs a beautiful 

place to relax. The idea is to give 

the room that beautiful look. 

Everything that makes the rooms 

comfortable is what Sweet 

Dreams Essentials is all about. 

There is an arm of the group that 

does direct sales and marketing 

for the Nedcomoaks and Victoria 

Crest Property. The parent group 

builds while we do direct sales 

and marketing. I am Dr. Kennedy 

Okonkwo's wife and I am a 

mother of three amazing 

children. I am positive minded, 

energetic, and accommodating. 

I love to give people room to 

discover who they are. 

Resources and energy 

Real Estate has been part of me 

because my father is a surveyor. 

Sometimes when he did some 

jobs in Port Harcourt where we 

lived, he didn't get paid in cash 

but land. What he was doing was 

to develop the plots of land they 

were giving him. He rented some 

out after developing them, while 

he also sold some to buy more. 

At the time I was growing up, I 

had already learned from my 

father that real estate is a good 

sector to invest in. What I saw 

my father doing made me believe 

that real estate is the safest place 

anyone can invest in till date. 

Seeing how he put his time, 

resources and energy into real 

estate convinced me that it was 

something worth doing. I 

married a man who is passionate 

about bridging the gap in the real 

estate sector in Nigeria. It was 

not far from what I had known 

and it was not difficult for me to 

understand. My husband builds 

houses and over time, I started 

marketing them to friends and 

other clients. I have grown to 

become the Sales Director of the 

organisation. Doing all these at 

the same time is quite 

challenging but I try to create a 

balance. 

Laundry King has been 

running for more than seven 

years. I have been able to build 

a good team and a structure to 

the extent that it does not require 

my presence for the business to 

function effectively. I mainly 

supervise their activities and I 

also have managers at different 

levels with specified functions. 

Supervising the Sales Directorate 

at Nedcomaoks takes much of my 

time. I ensure that I create time 

for my family and even go on 

targeted holidays. 

Different backgrounds 

My father and my husband 

mentored me. In addition, there 

are some known disciplined 

women in Nigeria who I look up 

to and they helped to shape the 

woman that I am. Marriage is an 

institution that is supposed to 

bind two people with different 

backgrounds, different goals, 

and different ideologies together. 

We sat down and identified our 

vision. We know what we want. 

We have similar goals and a 

similar drive. We have 

everything that could produce 

synergy for us to succeed. We 

work with an open approach, 

especially on finances. A lot of 

couples don't share details of 

their finances with each other 

because they feel it is personal 

but we have not allowed that in 

our marriage. 

Finances, pains, and struggles 

If we are able to discuss our 

finances, pains, and struggles, 

the openness will help us to 

respond to issues. If there is a 

decision my husband wants to 

make, we will talk about it and if 

there is a decision I want to make 

we also discuss it. If he says he 

does not think I shoul do things 

the way I plan, we both look at 

his reasons based on merit and 

know what to do. When someone 

decides to keep things away 

from the other person and if 

anything goes wrong he would 

wish he had told the other 

partner. There were times we 

tried it not because we didn't want 

each other to know about those 

things but pressure. In the end, 

the individual would wish he or 

she had mentioned it to the other 

partner who would have thought 

10 steps ahead of me to see 

where the end result will lead. 

We always work together. 

Turning point 

My turning point was when I 

resigned and began to write 

paychecks for people. One of the 

things I love to do is to make an 

impact on people and sitting 

down behind the desk did not 

guarantee that. When I was 

resigning some people thought 

I was crazy. I was also afraid but 

I knew what I wanted and I knew 

the legacy I wanted. I needed 

that decision to realise my 

dreams. 

Read full version on 

www.vanguardngr.com

Why Udom deserves a second term 

By Henry Onyema 

BEFORE penultimate 

week’s presidential 

election, pundits had 

speculated that Akwa 

Ibom State would be a 

fierce battle ground for the 

two frontline political parties, 


Party, PDP, and the All Progressives 

Congress, APC. 

This expectation was 

largely because, former 

Senate Minority 

Leader, Godswill Akpabio, 

had created the impression 

after he decamped 

to the ruling party, 

that Akwa Ibom people 

were under his magical 

spell. Clearly, the emphatic 

defeat suffered by 

President Buhari in Akwa 

Ibom State showed that 

Akpabio’s over-bloated 

self-worth was a mirage. 

Akpabio did not only lose 

his imaginary grip on the 

millions of votes he promised 

the president, he was 

also rejected by his kinsmen 

who trooped out enmasse 

to truncate his bid 

to return to the Senate. By 

the results of the presidential 


elections in Akwa 

Ibom, the world has seen 

that Akpabio’s political 

relevance in the state is 

dead and buried. 

Beyond this obvious 

fact, the election also 

shows that the people of 

Akwa Ibom State are experiencing 

something 

that money cannot buy - 

good governance. The 

thousands of votes re- 

corded by the PDP’s Presidential 

candidate, Alhaji 

Atiku Abubakar, in the 

state was a vote for good 

governance which Governor 

Udom Emmanuel represents. 

Akwa Ibom people 

have seen the light 

exemplified by Governor 

Udom’s transformational 

leadership and have taken 

a stance with their 

votes never to return to 

the dark days of slavery. 

In a space of four years, 

Governor Udom has done 

what many thought was 

practically impossible. 

The previous administration 

before him was 

praised for converting the 

state into a massive construction 

site with the 

building of roads and several 

other infrastructures. 

But Governor Udom’s administration 

has proved 

that governance is not just 

about building infrastructures 

but also about building 

up the people to enable 

them achieve their 

potentials. 

When Udom took office 

in 2015, one of his cardinal 

goals was to awaken 

the consciousness of his 

people. This led to the 

launch of the Dakkada 

‘arise’ philosophy aimed 

at awakening the people 

to shed off the retrogressive 

attitude of laziness, 

inertia, inferiority complex, 

ethnicity, hatred and 

arise to the faith of greatness. 

Four years on, the messages 

contained in the 

Dakkada vision have 

been engraved in the consciousness 

of the people, 

including the young generation, 

who have internalised 

the philosophy, 

and apply same in their 

day-to-day activities. The 


•Gov. Udom Emmanuel 

success recorded with the 

philosophy is clearly evident 

as indigenes now 

strive to engage in all 

manner of productive ventures. 

Farmers in the villages 

now apply themselves 

more dedicatedly to producing 

food. Market men 

and women take their 

business more seriously. 

Artisans and craftsmen 

and women now seek better 

and efficient ways to 

ply their trades. Pupils/ 

students now study harder 

and civil servants go to 

work early and try to justify 

their pay. 

Governor Udom did not 

stop at this: he embarked 

on an unprecedented aggressive 

industrialisation 

drive which has now 

placed Akwa Ibom on the 

global map as one of the 

best destinations for local 

and foreign investors. 

While most states in the 

country grappled with the 

challenges of the last recession 

that gripped the 

nation, Udom’s leadership 

foresight gave birth 

to numerous world class 

industries in the state. 

Amongst them is the largest 

syringe manufacturing 

factory in Africa located at 

Onne; Pencil Production 

Factory; Toothpick Production 

Factory; Electric 

Digital Metering Solutions 

Manufacturing Factory; 

Resuscitation of 

Peacock Paint Factory ; 

Fertilizer Blending Factory; 

Plastic Manufacturing 

Factory; Rice Mill; 

Palm Kernel Crushing 

Plant, Ibesikpo Asutan; 

Petroleum Tank Farm; 

Starch Manufacturing 

Plant; Palm Kernel Crushing 

Plant, Ukanafun and 

Palm Oil Processing plant. 

Through these industries, 

Akwa Ibom State hitherto 

referred to as ‘civil 

servant state’ is now a 

beehive of production activities. 

In the educational sector, 

the governor is aggressively 

pursuing his 

policy of free and compulsory 

basic education in all 

public schools. 

Over 15 community 

schools have been taken 

over by the government 

in effort to standardise 

education in the state. Sixty 

two schools have also 

been renovated by the 

governor with over N600 

million WAEC fees payment 

for indigenes in public 

secondary schools annually. 

In the area of manpower 


workers welfare, Akwa 

Ibom State is one of the 

few states that have paid 

all outstanding pensions 

and gratuities to retired 

workers. Aside all these, 

the governor has also recorded 

remarkable success 

in the recruitment 

and training of the state 

workforce. 

In the area of youth development 

and capacity 

building, the N2bn interest-free 

loan for small 

scale entrepreneurs and 

tradershas proven to be a 

major lifeline for youths in 

the state. 

As is traditional in Nigeria 

when electionering 

campaign begins, most 

serving political actors 

seeking re-election often 

momentarily abandon the 

business of governance. 

But Governor Udom has 

shown that this should 

not be the norm with the 

launch of Akwa Ibom airline 

days to the election. 

By this landmark, the 

state 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. 

•Onyema is a media professional 

based in Lagos

C 

M 

Y 

K 


When Private Universities fail 

By Ladipo Adamolekun 

ONE key finding from a 

survey of selected public 

and private universities in 

eight African countries that I 

undertook for the Association 

of African Universities (AAU) 

in 2005 was the phenomenon 

of failed private universities. 

It was summarised as follows 

in my report: 

“Phenomenon of failed private 

universities: The phenomenon 

of ‘failed’ private 

universities was mentioned in 

the Democratic Republic of 

Congo (DRC) and Zimbabwe. 

In DRC, it was a case of the 

founders of two private universities 

requesting the state to 

take over the institutions. In 

Zimbabwe, the Great Zimbabwe 

University, sponsored by 

the Dutch Reformed Church, 

failed and the government had 

to step in to distribute its students 

among the country’s 

public universities. Against 

this background, it would 

make sense for governments 

that encourage private participation 

in the higher education 

sector to be proactive in 

taking steps to prevent failure”. 

With 79 private universities 

by January 2019, Nigeria is by 

far at the top of the league of 

African countries that encourage 

private participation in the 

higher education sector. At a 

time when Covenant University 

(privately owned) is one 

of only three Nigerian universities 

included among the 

1,258 universities in the Times 

Higher Education World University 

Rankings published in 

late 2018 (the other two are 

University of Ibadan and University 

of Nigeria, Nsukka), it 

would appear counterintuitive 

to warn about “when private 

universities fail”. I will demonstrate 

in this short essay that 

it makes eminent sense to accept 

the likelihood of failed 

private universities and have 

contingency plans for both the 

prevention of failure and the 

management of the consequences 

of failure. The essay 

begins with a brief overview 

of the Nigerian experience 

with private universities to 

date. 

Nigerian Experience 

with Private 

universities: 

An Overview 

“… an unreflective proliferation 

of private universities; a 

subordination of public interest 

to the private in the sphere 

of education… a growing class 

evolution of the educational 

system in favour of the privileged 

against the majority who 

are poor…” 

ASUU (Academic Staff Union 

of Universities) Communique 

of its June 11-12 NEC meeting, 

Vanguard, June 27th 

2005. 

Of the country’s 79 private 

universities, forty were established 

during the first decade 

(1999-2009) and the remaining 

39 during the second decade, 

almost a 50:50 spread. 

(For comparison, 57 public 

universities were established 

by the federal and state governments 

during the 20-year 

period – 20 and 37 respectively). 

If by 2005 when only about 

20 percent of private universities 

had been established 

ASUU was already critical of 

“unreflective proliferation”, it 

is almost certain that it will be 

hypercritical of the current 79. 

I would argue that many (including 

this writer) would 

agree that there has been a 

proliferation of private universities. 

Strikingly, they are almost 

equally split between 

faith-based universities and 

those established by individual 

founders. (Only one private 

university is explicitly international 

– the African University 

of Science and Technology 

in Abuja). 

Regarding geographical 

spread, there are more private 

universities in southern Nigeria 

than in northern Nigeria 

and the distribution across the 

six geo-political zones is also 

uneven both among the three 

in the north (more in northcentral 

than in the two other 

zones) and among the three 

in the south (more in the 

south-west, followed by the 

south-east and fewer in the 

south-south). 

Unlike the location of federal 

universities that has had to 

respect even spread, to the 

extent possible (there is, at 

least, one per state), establishment 

of private universities is 

dictated by affordability and, 

to some extent, by what economists 

call the law of demand 

and supply. In the case of the 

south-west with which I am 

most familiar, affordability appears 

to trump demand and 

supply. Unexpectedly, the 

over-supply of private universities 

in the zone is the major 

explanation for low students’ 

enrolment in a significant 

number of them – more on this 

point below. 

The most widely canvassed 

justification for the establishment 

of private universities in 

the country is that they help 

to increase access to university 

education. The incumbent 

Executive Secretary of Nigeria 

Universities Commission 

(NUC), Prof Adamu Abubakar 

Rasheed, is a strong protagonist 

of this viewpoint: he reportedly 

predicted the establishment 

of 150 additional private 

universities in the next 

three years in 2016 (see Vanguard, 

December 11th 2016). 

However, the available data 

on student admissions into 

public and private universities 

reveals that there is limit to 

their usefulness in expanding 

*Prof. Adamolekun 

access. According to my investigation, 

90 percent of total students’ 

enrolment in 2016/2017 

were in public universities 

with only 10 percent in private 

universities. The public/private 

share of enrolment is likely 

to be about the same in the 

current academic year. Indeed, 

the inability of many of 

the private universities to attract 

students is one of their 

major challenges as reported 

in the print media over the 

past decade – see for example 

a report on the problem in Joseph 

Ayo Babalola University 

Overall, the phenomenon 

of private 

universities must be 

adjudged a welcome 

development. They 

have contributed to 

increased access to 

university education, 

albeit to a more modest 

degree than is 

widely canvassed by 

their champions both 

inside and outside 

government 

(JABU) in Osun State in The 

Nation, January 31st 2019. 

A second argument for the 

establishment of private universities 

is that it ensures diversity 

in the provision of 

higher education which, in 

turn, increases the choices 

available to both students and 

their parents. Unlike ASUU 

that focuses on “class evolution” 

that pits the “privileged” 

against the “poor”, I strongly 

support the case for diversity 

and the possibilities of choice 

for students and parents. 

First, parents who prefer private 

to public universities inside 

Nigeria for a variety of 

reasons (for example, avoidance 

of interminable strikes 

that extend a four-year degree 

programme to six or seven 

years and attachment to a 

faith-based institution) would 

have had to either reluctantly 

send their children to the public 

universities or, if they can 

afford the expenses, send 

them to institutions outside the 

country. 

However, the abundant 

choices between 91 public and 

79 private universities in the 

country has not prevented a 

persistent bleeding of the 

economy through the expatriation 

of billions of naira annually 

to fund the education of 

Nigerian students in universities 

outside the country. 

There is strong evidence that 

a significant percentage of 

them study in second- and 

third-rate universities in African 

and European countries. 

In the circumstance, re-certification 

of degrees obtained 

abroad that is currently applied 

to the medical sciences 

and law should be generalized 

for all degrees obtained 

from outside the country with 

only selected publicized exceptions. 

Overall, the phenomenon of 

private universities must be 

adjudged a welcome development. 

They have contributed 

to increased access to university 

education, albeit to a more 

modest degree than is widely 

canvassed by their champions 

both inside and outside government. 

Significantly, too, 

the emergence of Covenant 

University that was established 

only in 2002 as one of 

three Nigerian institutions 

ranked among the best 1258 

in the world in 2018 is evidence 

that private universities 

can help to enhance quality 

university education in the 

country. 

How to prevent 

phenomenon of failed 

universities 

Strikingly, the three examples 

of failed private universities 

cited in the opening 

paragraph of this essay cover 

the two ownership types in Nigeria: 

the private university in 

Zimbabwe was faith-based 

while the two in DRC were 

owned by individual 

Founders. The obvious lesson 

to learn is that both types can 

fail. I would proffer two measures 

for preventing failure. 

First, the Federal Government 

should declare a minimum 

of five-year moratorium 

on the establishment of private 

universities. This would mean 

that no new private university 

will be approved until 2024. 

The moratorium could be extended 

to between seven and 

ten years in states where supply 

of private universities already 

exceed demand. This 

criterion will almost apply to 

a few states in the south-west 

and the south-ease. 

Second, I would like to recommend 

that absorptive ca- 

pacity should become a critical 

criterion for assessing applications 

for the establishment 

of new private universities. 

For example, if any of the public 

universities in a state (every 

state has at least two, one 

federal and one state-owned) 

is unable to meet its annual 

admission quota, there would 

no justification for licensing a 

private university in that state. 

Given the steep fees charged 

annually in private universities, 

proximity should not be 

an argument for licensing a 

private university. Parents that 

can afford to pay such fees 

would be able to choose from 

among existing private universities. 

Third, and finally, a decennial 

evaluation of every private 

university should be undertaken 

by a mixed panel of leading 

academics and top private 

sector chief executive officers 

(serving or retired in both cases). 

One crucial issue that 

should feature in the evaluation 

criteria is the succession 

plan for the leadership of universities 

established by individual 

founders. This is likely 

to contribute hugely to the 

prevention of failed private 

universities. 

Managing the 

Consequences of 

Failure 

The adage that prevention is 

better than cure also applies 

to the phenomenon of failed 

private universities. However, 

when prevention fails, managing 

the consequences becomes 

inescapable. The solution 

adopted in the DRC and 

Zimbabwe that is mentioned in 

the opening paragraph appears 

to be the most obvious: 

the state (the Federal Government, 

in the case of Nigeria) 

will have to step in and help 

the students in any failed private 

university. 

However, in addition to the 

option of distributing the students 

in failed private universities 

among selected federal 

universities, there are two other 

options. First, it is likely that 

a significant number of parents 

would choose to send their 

students to other Nigerian private 

universities (this option 

was not available in the two 

countries cited in my survey). 

The second option is for FG to 

agree with the owner/founder 

of the failed university to constitute 

the institution into a 

campus of the nearest federal 

university. The arrangement 

should be backed up with an 

appropriate Memorandum of 

Understanding (MOU) that 

would be legally binding. 

In closing, my point about 

the likelihood of failed private 

universities in Nigeria could 

turn out to be an understatement 

as the phenomenon 

could truly be upon us during 

the third decade of their emergence. 

To be forewarned is to 

be forearmed! 

NIGERIA NOTES (New Series) 

*Professor Ladipo Adamolekun 

writes from Iju, 

Akure North, Ondo State.


Verification: Lamentation as Airways 

Pensioners no sleep at center 

By Victor Ahiuma-Young & Monsuru 

Olowoopejo 

vicahiyoung@yahoo.com 

How Kwara Hotel laid off workers without benefits 

By Demola Akinyemi 

CALL it man's inhumani-ty 

to man, you may not be 

far from the truth. The story of 

the workers that were thrown 

out of their jobs by the management 

of Kwara State- owned 

Kwara Hotel, KH, over 20 

months ago without even termination 

letters, seems more of 

a fiction than real in modern 

day Nigeria, and in Kwara 

State in particular, the home of 

the Senate President; a twoterm 

governor of the the state. 

The sad story, it was gathered, 

started on May 25, 2017, when 

85 workers of KH, Ilorin, in crass 

display of impunity were sent 

into the job market by the management 

without the decency of 

issuing sack or termination letters 

to them. On that fateful day, 

it was gathered that six vehicles 

with armed mobile policemen 

were stationed at the gate of the 

hotel by the management. 

The policemen were given a list 

of the names of the workers that 

must not be allowed into the premises 

under no circumstances. 

As expected, union leaders 

and staff perceived by the management 

to be leading the demands 

for improved conditions 

of service and payments of salaries, 

cooperative society's money 

and other deductions of the 

staff, numbering 85 were affected. 

At the end of the day, they 

were refused entry into the premises 

of KH at the gate, and no 

termination of appointment letters 

were given to them till today. 

Contacted for government’s 

reaction, the Senior Special 

Assistant to the governor on 

Media and communications, 

Dr Muideen Akorede, promised 

to get back, but never did 

as at press time. 

Investigation revealed since 

the incident about 20 months 

ago, about 25 of them have 

moved on, while 60 others are 

still stranded and in search of 

how to keep body and soul together. 

They have been begging 

the government of Governor 

Abdulfatah Ahmed to come 

to their aid to save them from untimely 

deaths. Despite agitations, 

protests among others, 

during which one of the victims, 

Mr Bamidele Williams, popularly 

known as Baba Isanlu, lost his 

son because he could not afford 

to purchase the needed drugs 

for him, the management of KH 

has remained deaf. 

Besides, other members have 

been evicted by their landlords 

because they could not pay their 

house rents for over two years. 

Mr Williams who lost his son, 

spoke on development and lamented 

that he had to relocate 

•Victims tell tales of deaths, destitution 20 months after 

•Beg Saraki, Ahmed to save them from untimely death 

to his village in Isanlu-Isin in 

Irepodun Local Government 

Area of the state because of the 

hardship in Ilorin after the job 

loss in Kwara Hotel. 

According to him: “I could not 

believe that we would be laid off 

that way even up till now. I actually 

thought we would be recalled 

any moment. I could not 

take care of my family anymore. 

My son had been sick and I 

needed money to buy some 

drugs to take care of him. But I 

thought of several means of getting 

money to no avail. 

“Until I received a message 

that we should gather in Kwara 

Hotel for a peaceful protest 

where I believed I would get my 

money paid. We were inside 

Kwara Hotel premises for the 

protest when I received a call 

that my son has died. It was so 

painful.” 

Similarly, Mr Adeniyi Jesse, 

who has been ejected by his 

landlord over unpaid house rent, 

distributed family members 

among his relations while his 

personal effects were given to 

friends for safe-keep pending 

when he could get money to rent 

another apartment. The branch 

chairman of National Union of 

Hotel and Personal Services 

*Gov Abdulfa- 

Employees, NUHPSE, Kwara 

Hotel chapter, Mr Mohammed 

Ochennica, recently appealed 

to the Senate President, Dr. 

Bukola Saraki and the state 

governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah 

Ahmed to come to their aid 

over unpaid salaries, gratuities, 

cooperative deductions 

among others, to lessen the 

sufferings of workers, former 

staff and their families. 

Our offence 

He said: “It was in the cause 

of informing the state government 

that KH needed renovations 

because the infrastructure 

*Mohammed 

Ochennica 

Kwara Hotels. (Inset) Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed and Chairman 

of National Union of Hotel and Personal Services Employees, 

NUHPSE, Kwara Hotel chapter, Mr Mohammed Ochennica. 

were seriously dilapidating 

that they planned to sack us. 

When I got the hint that they 

had already compiled list and 

were about sharing the sack letters, 

I approached the management 

to find out the veracity of 

the report, but they denied it. 

“It was the following day that 

we met the gate of KH closed 

against us by a detachment of six 

vehicles of anti-riot mobile police 

officers. They compiled list and 

only those on the list were allowed 

inside; 85 of us were not 

allowed inside and till today, no 

sack letter has been given to us."


LAST week I discussed 

the problems associated 

with leadership in Nigeria 

and the need for election 

of ideal leaders. I 

stated how the lack of political 

ideology and the attractive 

nature of public office 

have ensured that most 

people who get elected into 

office pay little or no attention 

to service to the citizens. 

This week I will proffer 

suggestions on how to 

bring an end to the malaise 

brought about by poor leadership. 

The way forward 

in Nigeria 

The position of Local 

government councillors 

should be reserved for 

retired and much 

experienced people like 

teachers, professors, other 

professionals and 

clergymen. The way we 

have made it a salaried 

position in Nigeria is 

inappropriate. In fact, some 

councillors are advocating 

that it be pensionable. 

The local government, 

state and national 

assemblies have too many 

members. If we cannot 

return to our old regional 

government, then we 

should do something about 

our present structure. We 

do not need the large 

number of legislators at 

different levels. 

Today, too much power is 

concentrated in the 

government at the centre. 

Too much of the revenue of 

the federation is allotted to 

the government at the 

centre. 

The 1963 Constitution 

made revenue allocation 

derivation based. Section 

140(1) and (2) of that 

constitution provides: 

“40(1) There shall be 

paid by the Federation to 

each Region as sum equal 

to fifty per cent of- 

(a) The proceeds of any 

royalty received by the 

federation in respect of any 

minerals, extracted in that 

region; and 

(b) any mining rents 

derived by the Federation 

from within that region; 

(2) The Federation shall 

credit to the Distributable 

Pool Account a sum equal 

to thirty per cent of- 

(a) the proceeds of 

any royalty received by the 

Federation in respect of 

minerals extracted in any 

region; and 

(b) any mining rents 

derived by the federation 

from within any region”. 

As a necessary 

consequence of these 

provisions, each region 

substantially owned the 

proceeds from its territory. 

The people in each state or 

region were very 

productive and we all 

acknowledged money 

earned from our labour. 

Now the focus is essentially 

on oil based revenue. The 

oil boom has become oil 

doom. 

The 1979 Constitution 

and 1999 Constitution 

established Revenue 

Mobilisation Allocation and 

Fiscal Commission. 

It provides in section 32 

of the 1999 Constitution: 

“The commission shall 

have power to: 

(a) monitor the accruals 

The election of ideal leaders and 

our electoral process (2) 

President Buhari. 

to and disbursement of revenue 

from the Federation 

Account; 

(b) review, from time to 

time, the revenue allocation 

formulae and principles in 

operation to ensure 

conformity with changing 

realities”. 

The above provisions 

altered completely the 

provisions of Section 140(1) 

and (2) of the 1963 

Constitution earlier 

referred to. As a result, the 

revenue from mineral 

belongs to the Federal 

Government. Fortunately or 

unfortunately the money is 

so much that all other 

sectors of the economy 

have been neglected. 

Everybody left the farm and 

each state now looks unto 

the Federal Government as 

the big brother. Worse still, 

the bulk of the money now 

goes to political office 

holders at different levels. 

In the sixties, the West 

had cocoa which the people 

cultivated with diligence. 

There was also coffee. In 

the North there were cotton 

and groundnut and the 

East cultivated palm trees, 

rubber, etc. All these have 

been abandoned. Most of 

the economic trees are 

dead. The farm is deserted. 

In the process of 

exploitation, the Niger/ 

Delta suffers serious 

ecological problem. 

The neglect of the Niger 

Delta has brought about 

another problem of security 

of its own. There is a 

proliferation of militant 

groups all professing to be 

fighting the cause of the 

neglected people of the 

Niger/ Delta. Kidnappings 

and destruction of oil 

facilities have become the 

order of the day. The latest 

addition to this state of 

insecurity is the Boko 

Haram sect whose 

campaign of violence has 

resulted in thousands of 

deaths. 

The founding fathers had 

agreed on derivation 

principle in Lancaster 

House, London having 

taken into consideration the 

differences in culture, 

religion, philosophy of life, 

attitude to work, languages 

etc . One who believes that 

his father is a fool would 

sooner than later regret his 

Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. 

foolishness. There is urgent 

need for a new and realistic 

constitution. 

There is need for total 

devolution of power to 

enable each state or geopolitical 

zones in place of 

former region to effectively 

administer its resources 

and social/ political needs. 

The Federal Government 

should only be concerned 

with the management of 

common national affairs like 

currency, foreign affairs, 

etc. There will be less crisis 

and quarrels or inordinate 

ambition to become 

President, Federal 

The American 

presidential 

constitution 

that we 

borrowed has 

been bastardised 

in that 

the military 

only copied 

areas that 

suited it 

ministers and Federal legislator. 

The late Sarduana 

found the regional premiership 

more prestigious than 

being the Federal Prime 

Minister. 

So in the end, this is 

probably the best way to 

solve the Niger/ Delta 

problem. In my own state, 

we are not oil-rich but we 

know that with devolution 

of powers, we can make it. 

All states can make it. 

Reasonable shares of 

revenue generated in the 

states can still be made to 

go to the Federal 

Government in form of taxes 

imposed on the states on 

minerals derived therefrom. 

The American 

presidential constitution 

that we borrowed has been 

bastardised in that the 

military only copied areas 

that suited it. In America, 

the states are still very 

largely masters of their 

socio-economic matters. 

The present system encourages 

politicians to do 

everything and anything to 

attain power. The politician 

sees attainment of power 

not as a means to an end 

but as the end in itself. He 

will bribe, corrupt, intimidate, 

coerce, browbeat and 

indeed resort to every trick 

in the book to be a Senator, 

Governor, Minister, 

Commissioner, Local 

Government Chairman, 

Member of the House of 

Assembly and even Local 

Government Councillor. 

This has a direct effect on 

the quality of leadership 

available to the Country. 

On their part, members of 

the electorate, many of 

whom have been affected 

by the downturn in the 

economy of the country, will 

easily be bought over with 

the huge resources 

available to the corrupt 

politician. 

Conclusion 

Humans will continue to 

be humans. As a species, 

we will continue to exhibit 

the character traits and 

weaknesses which are 

inherent in us. Thus, bad 

leadership may continue to 

be a constant occurrence in 

Nigeria. However every 

effort must be made to put 

in place constitutional and 

legal framework that will 

reduce, discourage if not 

totally eradicate the factors 

upon which bad leadership 

thrives. 

In Nigeria such a move 

will be a total restructure of 

the framework of the 

Country so as to make the 

centre and political offices 

less attractive. This can only 

be done through the 

convocation of a Sovereign 

National Conference and 

not through piece meal 

amendments to Federal 

Constitution which is de 

facto unitary constitution. 

Whichever way one looks 

at it, the issue is the 

lopsidedness of the 

Constitution which cannot 

be cured by mere 

amendment. They can only 

be waved aside for so long 

as the patience of the 

people whose lives are 

directly affected holds. I 

believe that Nigerians 

should have the ultimate 

say as to whether the 

recommendations of the 

National Conference put in 

place by the Jonathan 

administration should see 

the light of day. This can 

only be done by the means 

of a referendum. 

•Obong Nsima Ekere, APC governorship 

candidate in Akwa Ibom 

The political calculation, 

configuration in Akwa Ibom 

By Tim Obot 

DURING 

the 

February 23 

Presidential/National 

Assembly elections, the 

Peoples’ Democratic Party, 

PDP in Akwa Ibom State 

delivered the state for its 

flag bearer former Vice 

President Atiku 

Abubakar. The PDP 

presidential candidate 

Abubakar polled 395,832 

votes to defeat President 

Muhammadu Buhari of 


Congress, APC who 

polled 175,429 votes, but 

the victory has turned out 

to be hollow. 

This is because the state 

government now has a 

tougher battle it must fight 

- the battle for its very 

survival, and this battle is 

turning out to be far 

tougher than the Udom 

Emmanuel-led 

Government anticipated. 

The tag-team of APC’s 


the state, Nsima Ekere 

and Senator Godswill 

Akpabio did a fantastic job 

to deliver Akwa Ibom to 

Buhari, achieving 175, 429 

votes despite alleged 

state-backed widespread 

rigging. 

Most observers believe 

that the APC won in the 

state - but that the 



INEC’s Resident Electoral 

Commissioner, REC and 

the State Government 

announced an entirely 

different poll result after 

the election. 

In spite of that, the APC 

was able to pull down the 

953,000 votes the PDP got 

in Akwa Ibom back in 

2015 to just 395,000 votes 

- a fatal blow to the 

presidential ambitions of 

Atiku Abubakar. 

It has now become 

obvious that the PDP in 

the state severely 

miscalculated - believing 

that Akwa Ibom could 

deliver more than a million 

votes to Atiku. They had 

believed strongly that PDP 

would win at the national 

level, thereby paving the 

way for an easy return to 

Akwa Ibom government 

house in March. 

Their calculation has 

now proved awfully 

misplaced. While APC got 

what they were looking for 

in the state, PDP threw an 

excessive amount of effort 

into the battle. They spent 

most of their money on the 

first election, believing 

they would need less on 

the second. They also 

brought in all the tricks of 

the game, all of which are 

now known to all parties 

in the contest. 

It is now evidently clear 

how smart APC’s decision 

to hold back in the first 

While the PDP is 

spent and 

exhausted, the 

APC is just 

getting started - 

and this time with 

national force 

behind its back 

election, letting the 

natural anger of the 

people against the slowmoving 

PDP, as well as the 

popularity of the 

candidates, bring them 

votes. So while the PDP 

is spent and exhausted, 

the APC is just getting 

started - and this time 

with national force behind 

its back. 

Already, sources say that 

PDP stakeholders have 

started reaching out to the 

APC team, hoping for a 

soft landing. Considering 

the large amounts Udom 

spent, let us also hope that 

the banker-turned 

governor will not have a 

lot of explaining to do 

about what the source of 

this money is, as soon as 

his governorship 

immunity expires. 

•Obot, a political analyst 

wrote from Akwa Ibom.


Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 6, 2019 —41 

NEWS HOTLINES 

018773962, 

08052867058 

PDP flays INEC over alleged 

violation of electoral guidelines 

•Accuses Yakubu of conspiracy, collusion 

By Dirisu Yakubu 

ABUJA—Ahead of 

Saturday’s Governorship 

and State Houses of 

Assembly elections, the 


PDP, has accused the 



INEC, of deliberate 

violations of the nation’s 

electoral laws and 

guidelines, saying the 

infractions constituted 

dangers to democracy in 

the land. 

National Chairman of the 

party, Prince Uche 

Secondus, stated this in a 

letter he jointly signed with 

the PDP National Secretary, 

Senator Ibrahim Tsauri, and 

addressed to chairman of 

the commission, Professor 

Mahmood Yakubu, in 

Abuja, yesterday. 

Leading other members of 

the National Working 

Committee, NWC, in a 

peaceful protest at INEC 

headquarters yesterday, 

Secondus faulted the 

credibility of the recently 

concluded Presidential 

election, citing instances of 

alleged manipulation of the 

electoral process in favour 

of the All Progressives 

Congress, APC. 

The letter read: “We want 

to place on record and bring 

to your attention the very 

obvious and noticeable 

infractions and violations of 

the electoral law and the 

regulations/guidelines 

regulating the 2019 general 

elections which have very 

negative implications on the 

credibility, transparency 

and integrity of the entire 

electoral processes 

particularly the just 

concluded Presidential and 

National Assembly 

elections. 

“This has become 

imperative as we approach 

the Gubernatorial and State 

Houses of Assembly 

elections billed for Saturday, 

March 9, 2019. 

Secondus listed the 

infractions: “The non-usage 

or selective enforcement of 

the Smart Card Reader, 

SCR, machines across the 

country. We observed with 

regrets that the usage of 

the SCR machines were 

enforced strategically in 

the South-South, South- 

East and the North- 

Central zones of the 

country which are 

essentially PDP 

strongholds. 

“This is radically 

different from what 

transpired in the North- 

West, North-East and the 

South-West which were 

estimated as the APC 

strongholds. This is quite 

contrary to the provisions 

of Paragraph 10(a) & (b) 

of the regulations and 

guidelines governing the 

2019 general elections 

and all the assurances 

you, Professor 

Mahmood Yakubu 

frequently gave up to the 

last hours before the 

elections. 

“The deliberate nondeployment 

of the 

Electronic Collation 

System, E-Collation, for 

the elections results from 

the units, through the 

ward centres to the 

Presidential Collation 

Centre in Abuja as 

provided for in the 2019 

electoral regulations and 

guidelines made by you, 

and as contained in your 

several official press 

statements is very suspect. 

‘’This is more so when 

you have never bothered 

to explain to Nigerians the 

justification for this 

sudden official somersault 

on such a critical 

component of the electoral 

process especially with all 

the tax payer’s money 

spent to install the 

facilities. 

“The unconstitutional 

deployment of the armed 

forces especially soldiers 

and police for the 

illegitimate purposes to 

harassing, intimidating, 

suppressing of leaders 

of the PDP and 

suppression of voters in 

PDP strongholds across 

the country which are 

very well known to you. 

“The use of these 

same security agents by 

Naira appreciates to 

N360.77/$ in I&E window 

By Elizabeth Adegbesan 

The naira yesterday appreciated to N360.77 

per dollar in the Investors and Exporters 

(I&E) window. 

Data from FMDQ showed that the indicative 

exchange rate for the window dropped to N360.77 

per dollar from N360.98 per dollar on Monday 

translating to 21 kobo appreciation of the naira. 

The volume of dollars traded on the window 

dropped by 90 percent to $91.66 million from $ 

959.02 billion traded on Monday. 

Similarly, the naira, yesterday, appreciated by 50 

kobo in the parallel market. According to 

naijabdcs.com, the live exchange rate platform of 

the Association of Bureaux De Change Operators 

(ABCON), the parallel market exchange dropped 

to N358 per dollar from N358.5 on Monday 

translating to 50 kobo depreciation of the naira. 

the government to harass 

and intimidate Resident 

Electoral Commissioners, 

RECs, and certain 

INEC’s national 

commissioners for the 

sake of forcing them to 

declare votes for the APC 

candidates throughout 

the country have been 

officially or otherwise 

brought to your 

knowledge by the 

affected officers who even 

threatened to resign from 

their positions. 

‘’Yet, you have decided 

to keep mute over it in a 

way portraying outright 

conspiracy and collusion 

of yourself and the 

commission with the APC 

government perpetrators. 

“We also want to bring 

to your knowledge that 

most of the collation 

centres in the country 

were cordoned off by 

officers and men of the 

armed forces who chased 

away accredited agents 

and or candidates of our 

party, the PDP, from such 

centres while the results 

of the elections from the 

units were being 

manipulated, mutilated 

and altered to suite the 

dictates and desires of the 

APC-led government. 

‘’These results that 

were tampered with were 

accepted by you and your 

commission and 

announced as the results 

of the elections.” 

The party also alleged 

mass cancellation of 

votes in its stronghold, 

saying “in places like 

Lagos, Rivers, Nasarawa, 

Abia, Benue, Plateau, 

Ondo and Osun states, 

results of duly conducted 

elections were illegally 

canceled, especially in 

PDP dominated areas, to 

reduce the margin of 

victory in those states in 

favour of APC candidates. 

“Is it not surprising to 

you that Lagos State with 

over six million voters can 

only return less than one 

million votes? This was 

the case in virtually all 

PDP dominated states 

where 

voters’ 

suppression was 

deployed as a major 

strategy by you and the 

APC government in 

active collaboration of 

some of your 

unscrupulous RECs and 

staffers. 

“We are sure that till 

date, the commission 

does not know the 

number of polling units 

where elections were 

cancelled and the total 

number of registered 

voters at such polling 

units. 

Responding on behalf 

of the commission, 

National Commissioner 

(Legal) at INEC, May 

Agbamuche-Mbu 

thanked the protesters 

for their “civilized 

approach,” pledging the 

readiness of the umpire to 

do a professional job. 

OBJ @ 82—The celebrant, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo (M) assisted by his 

wife, Bola Obasanjo (2nd right), cutting the birthday cake, while Alake of 

Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo (left); Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi (MP), 

President of the Inkatha Freedom Party, South Africa, (2nd left); Mrs Nike 

Akande (Right) and others watch, during the 82nd Birthday Anniversary of 

former President Obasanjo held in Abeokuta, Ogun State, yesterday. Photo: 

Wumi Akinola. 

POLLS: More security men for Bayelsa, 

Rivers, Delta, A- Ibom 


military personnel into PDP 

strongholds in the state, 

particularly riverine 

communities, to harass, 

intimidate and arrest PDP 

chieftains during the 

March 9, Governorship and 

State House of Assembly 

elections 

Briefing newsmen in 

Asaba, the Director General 

of the PDP campaign 

council, Chief Funkekeme 

Solomon, accused the APC 

of plotting “to 

psychologically 

disorganize the PDP 

members in the identified 

areas by arresting and/or 

placing key members of 

Governor Ifeanyi Okowa’s 

cabinet and top PDP 

officials in the state, under 

forced house arrest in order 

to dissolve their resolve, 

quarantine them to prevent 

free movement to cast their 

votes and weaken the 

stronghold of the PDP in 

those areas. 

Also reacting, Mr. Charles 

Aniagwu, the Chief Press 

Secretary to Governor 

Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta 

State, said the mobilization 

of security men to Delta 

State would not bend the 

will of the people of the state 

in their preference for a 

second term for Okowa. 

He said: “Beyond the fact 

that Delta is a PDP State, 

everyone knows that Ifeanyi 

Okowa has delivered on his 

mandate in Delta State and 

we are relying on the 

support of our people and 

we know that Deltans are 

not ungrateful. 

“They know what is good 

and what is a stronger Delta 

and they know that Senator 

Okowa is the person to give 

it to them. Whether they 

bring security or they don’t 

bring security, they believe 

democracy will thrive and 

support Senator Okowa for 

continuation of the very 

many laudable projects he 

has been executing in the 

last four years.” 

In his reaction, 

Commissioner for 

Information and Strategy in 

Akwa Ibom State, Mr. 

Charles Udoh, simply said: 

“The National leadership of 

the PDP has protested 

about that. And we stand 

with what the national 

leadership of the PDP, 

through its national 

chairman has said." 

Also reacting, Rivers State 

Commissioner for 

Information, Mr. Emma 

Okah, said: “Those who 

are outside of this place may 

see the idea as novel but 

those of us who are here 

know that it is not as 

elegant as it seems. 

‘’The whole idea is to see 

By Omeiza Ajayi 

ABUJA— Director 

G e n e r a l , 


Council of the All 


APC, Rotimi Amaechi, has 

said the long years of 

misrule of the Peoples 


caused hunger in the 

land, asking Nigerians to 

direct their anger towards 

the PDP and not President 

Muhammadu Buhari. 

He also said the council 

was satisfied with the votes 

it garnered for President 

Buhari in the February 23 

Presidential and National 


The council also reacted 

to the statement credited 

to the National Chairman 

of Peoples Democratic 

Party, PDP, Prince Uche 

Secondus, that President 

Buhari was not prepared 

to conduct an election in 

2023, saying the PDP 

chairman was not in a 

position to make such 

categorical statement. 

In a pre-election 

briefing yesterday in 

Abuja, Amaechi, who is 

also the Minister of 

Transportation, said not 

even the President could 

stop the process since it 

was a constitutional 

matter. 

Amaechi said: “I have 

said as the former 

Chairman of Governors’ 

Forum - Reno Omokri or 

how the APC can rig 

election for themselves. It 

is not about keeping 

security or helping the 

people to guarantee free 

and fair election, it is an 

organized plan to rig 

election for the APC and 

that is why we are decrying 

it.” 

Efforts to get Bayelsa 

State government and state 

chapter of the PDP to react 

last night proved abortive 

as they failed to respond to 

telephone calls. 

Blame PDP, not Buhari, for your 

hunger, Amaechi tells Nigerians 

whatever his name is has 

continued to say it is a lie 

- in the account of the 

excess crude was N68 

billion when Obasanjo 

was going. 

‘’If they left N68 billion 

in ECA, N8.7 billion is 

the railway project from 

Lagos to Kano, so we 

would have had money 

now. Lagos to Calabar is 

$11.1 billion, we could 

have had railway from 

Lagos to Calabar. 

“Nobody wants to ask 

where is that money that 

Obasanjo left behind? As 

far as you are concerned, 

you are hungry, it is 

Buhari that caused it, 

caused what? 

“You should not blame 

PDP? We are not blaming 

PDP, but I am a student of 

history; history is the 

study of past events and 

the present.’’ 

Speaking on the spread 

of the President’s votes, 

Amaechi said: “We are 

satisfied with the number 

of votes that he scored. 

Don’t forget the votes in 

South East put together 

was 198,000. 

‘’In Rivers, he scored 

65,000, even after that, 

they were writing results. 

About 15.5 million 

Nigerians came out and 

said Buhari, we are 

satisfied with what you 

are doing, but again we 

must be humble in 

victory.”

42 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY MARCH 6, 2019 

State Polls: INEC insists 

on Card Readers 

By Omeiza Ajayi 

ABUJA: The 

Independent 

National 

Electoral Commission 

INEC has insisted on 

the use of Smart Card 

Readers SCR for 

S a t u r d a y ' s 

Governorship, State 

Assembly and FCT 

Area Council 

Elections, urging 

Nigerians to ignore 

any information to the 

contrary. 

N a t i o n a l 

Commissioner in 

charge of Information 

and Voter Education, 

Festus Okoye in a 

statement Tuesday in Abuja noted that 

since the conduct of the February 23rd 

2019 Presidential and National 

Assembly elections, there have been 

allegations from certain quarters 

Commission was selective in its use of 

Smart Card Readers in its conduct of 

the elections. 

"These allegations have led to 

speculations that INEC may be forced 

to jettison their use in the March 9, 

2019 Governorship, State Houses of 

Assembly and Federal Capital Area 

Council elections", he said. 

The statement added that it is 

mandatory for the card readers to be 

used as there would be sanctions on 

both electoral officials and voters in a 

areas where it is not used. 

"INEC hereby states categorically that 

the allegations are absolutely false and 

the speculations are without any basis 

whatsoever. The use of the Smart Card 

Readers is not only mandatory but its 

deliberate non-use attracts the sanction 

of possible prosecution of erring officials 

in accordance with the INEC 

Regulations and Guidelines for the 

conduct of elections. This is in addition 

to the voiding of any result emanating 

from such units or areas as was done in 

the Presidential and National Assembly 

elections of February 23, 2019. 

"The general public and all officials 

engaged for the elections are hereby 

informed that the Commission is not 

reconsidering the use of these Smart 

Card Readers which 

has greatly improved 

the credibility of our 

elections and instilled a 

high level of public trust 

In them. 

"To clear any doubt or 

ambiguity, we wish to 

state that the deployment 

and mandatory use of 

Smart Card Readers in 

next Saturday's elections 

will not only be uniform 

but also universal, and 

the provisions of the 

Regulations and 

Guidelines will be strictly 

and vigorously enforced. 

All Stakeholders are to 

note and be guided 

accordingly please", the 

commission added. 

...as Group flays Fifth Columnists in Delta APC 

By Dele Oluwafemi 

•Card Reeader 

APC does not need federal might 

to crush PDP in Delta 

– Prophet Erue, state chairman 

By Emma Amaize, Festus Ahon, Perez 

Brisibe & Ochuko Akuopha 

CHAIRMAN of All Progressives Con 

gress, APC, in Delta State, Prophet 

Jones Ode Erue, has dismissed the pervasive 

claim that his party intends to employ 

“federal might” to rig Saturday’s Governorship 

and House of Assembly polls, boasting 

that APC has the capacity to trounce the ruling 

Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, because 

it is on ground in the state. 

The party leader, who spoke to Vanguard 

in an interview, said APC’s plan this Saturday 

was to win the governorship polls and 

liberate Deltans from bondage. 

His words, “If APC will rig elections, why 

did we not rig the presidential election with 

federal might, those are the questions we 

must ask, how can a man from Oghara bring 

17, 000 votes in how many wards, with which 

card reader? Let us be frank and ask ourselves 

questions, how can one federal constituency 

produce result more than a senatorial 

district? 

“Not just any senatorial district, but the 

highest and most populated senatorial district 

in the state and you tell me there was 

an election? This is a challenge and an insult 

to the Urhobo nation,” he added. 

The APC chair, who maintained that the 

governorship is different from presidential 

said, “I assure you, on Saturday, we will give 

The Unity Force, a Delta State 

political watch group has decried 

the operation of fifth columnists in 

the Delta State chapter of the All 

Progressives Congress, APC saying their 

efforts were inhibiting the progress of the 

party in the state. 

The group in a statement issued by its 

coordinator, Onye Imaru observed the 

continued suspicion between the two major 

tendencies in the state and what it described 

as the frustrations of the minister of state, 

petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu in bringing 

them together. 

The reaction of the group was in the wake of 

the townhall meeting at PTI Conference 

Centre, Effurun, Delta State on Monday where 

issues of unity and strategies to win the election 

them (PDP) a very sound defeat, I can tell 

you that for free and you can go to the bank 

with it.” 

Our chances bright 

Asked how the party could achieve the feat 

when his party won only two of the 25 local 

government areas in the state in the last 

Presidential and National Assembly elections, 

he said, 

“You see, when people talk about that we 

won two local government areas, they 

should talk about how the election was conducted. 

We must follow the first principle, 

which is did election take place in some of 

the places? 

“People were busy voting while others were 

busy writing results. We have integrity and 

we saw what they did, but these are two different 

scenarios and this is a governorship 

election, which is closer to the people than 

the other election. 

“You will discover that you cannot be talking 

about us winning two local government 

areas because of that. The issue is what are 

our chances? Our chances are bright because 

we are on ground and they are not on 

ground. 

A man, who is afraid and withdrew to write 

result is afraid of defeat, so if you check him 

in writing results, what will happen? Defeat 

becomes obvious and his weakness exposed. 

He will experience the gains of defeat, I will 

not tell his pains, it is known to only the 

person, who is defeated,” he said. 

were deliberated on. The group particularly raised 

observations that the governorship candidate of the 

party, Chief Great Ogboru had for one reason or the 

other had not been able to bring everybody on board 

in his campaign. 

“From what can be seen it is evident that issues 

flowing from the governorship primaries of the 

party last year are still a yoke on the party and its 

aspirations to win the governorship election. 

“The absence of the major aspirants especially 

from Delta North in the campaign of the 

governorship candidate is a serious issue. It is 

either they have not been convinced or they still 

have issues to settle with our candidate and hence 

their seeming indifference towards the 

governorship election. 

“Every effort must be made to address the issue 

and we dare say that it is not too late for the issues 

to be resolved. 

“Our only concern is that the only person who 

Trouble on the Plateau: 

Useni’s kinsmen 

allege 

intimidation by 

government 

By Marie-Therese Nanlong. 

Jos - Ngwan Ishi O'Tarok, NIO, the apex 

body of the Tarok ethnic group in Plateau 

State has frowned at the alleged threat 

and intimidation of its people in neighbouring 

local government areas in the Southern 

zone of the State ahead of the governorship 

election. 

The body alleged that some politicians 

and government officials were threatening 

its members to either "vote the government 

in power or risk eviction and their farmlands 

confiscated" stressing that such development 

is deeply repressive. 

It would be recalled that the APC governorship 

candidate, Simon Lalong and the 

PDP governorship candidate, Jeremiah 

Useni are both from the Southern zone of 

the State. While Useni is Tarok from 

Langtang North, Lalong is Goemai from 

Shendam. The Tarok settled in many of the 

local government areas in the zone for their 

farming activities. 

Piqued by the development, the NIO in a 

statement issued in Jos and signed by David 

Dashe, its Caretaker Committee President 

called on security agents to provide necessary 

protection against any form of tyranny. 

According to him, "The attention of the 

Ngwan Ishi O'Tarok, NIO has been drawn 

to incidences of undue harassment and intimidation 

of Tarok voters in some neighbouring 

local government areas of Southern 

Plateau State ahead of the forthcoming 

governorship election in the State. 

"Already, the Tarok communities in some 

of these local government areas are being 

issued hammering threats to either vote the 

government in power in the State or risk 

eviction from their residences as they risk 

their farmlands being seized. There are also 

threats to unleash physical mayhem on them 

as was the case during the Presidential and 

National Assembly polls in Ajikamai village 

of Shendam local government area. 

"Some of these Tarok communities have 

also been summoned and harassed by some 

politicians and Government officials in the 

affected areas. These incidences have compelled 

us to form the conclusion that the 

attack on some of our people in Ajikamai 

on 23rd February, 2019 is unlikely to be the 

last episode of organized violence against 

them in their strive to exercise their right to 

personal freedom and elect leaders of their 

choice." 

The State government could not react to 

the allegations as the efforts to get Mark 

Longyen, the Senior Special Adviser to the 

Governor on Media and Publicity( and also 

from the Southern zone of the State) on his 

known mobile line did not yield result as he 

did not pick the calls put across to him. 

has shown serious efforts towards settling the groups, 

that is, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu has continued to be the 

subject of negative propaganda by what we now 

believe are fifth columnists in the party. This was 

obviously seen with the unbridled attack on the 

minister by the unidentified speaker at the Warri 

parley with Prof. Osinbajo who accused the minister 

of anti-party activities and that was despite 

commendations of Kachikwu’s efforts by the state 

chapter of the party and the Presidential Campaign 

Council. 

“Such assertions lead to the belief that there are 

fifth columnists working within the party who do 

not want the issues in the party to be resolved and 

perhaps for the purpose of sustaining the status quo 

in the state. 

“We appeal to all party members to come together 

for the purpose of addressing the issues that divide 

the party in Delta State for the purpose of projecting 

the interests of the party in the state.”

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY MARCH 6, 2019 — 43 

Ondo Assembly contests: 

Akeredolu mending fences, 

woos Mimiko 

Dayo Johnson Akure. 

SENSING the danger ahead if he 

loses the majority seats in the state 

House of Assembly this weekend, 

Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State 

has resorted to strategic close door meetings 

with various stakeholders. One common 

plea in the meetings is that the governor 

must not be disgraced as the voters 

did during the presidential and National 


Among those said to have been approached 

by Akeredolu is his predecessor, 

Dr Segun Mimiko who is the pillar 

behind the Zenith Labour Party, ZLP 

which is also formidable in the state. 

Findings by Vanguard indicated that the 

governor has been having meetings with 

different groups across the state following 

the poor performance of his party in 

the last presidential and National Assembly 

elections. 

The All Progressive Congress, APC despite 

being the party in power at Abuja 

and in the state lost the first round of election 

to the opposition Peoples Democratic 

Party, PDP in the state. 

Vanguard learnt that the loss unsettled 

the governor, his cabinet members and 

party members. 

The blame was laid at the footstep of the 

governor who they accused of anti party 

activities by supporting and funding the 

Action Alliance AA at the expense of candidates 

of his party- APC. 

Akeredolu reportedly told those he met 

with that the coming election was important 

to him and should not be let down. 

Vanguard gathered that he equally 

warned them that it would be disastrous 

for the state if the opposition should be 

allowed to have the majority in the state 

House of Assembly. 

Akeredolu had within the last one week 

held closed door meetings with labour 

Court turns down 

order to sack Igini 

from Akwa Ibom 

By Emmanuel Aziken, 

Political Editor 

Ajudicial move to compel the 


Electoral Commission, INEC 

to redeploy the Akwa Ibom Resident 

Electoral Commission, REC, Mr. Mike 

Igini away from the state has been 

rejected by an Abuja High Court. 

The ex parte injunction was sought 

by Mr. Stanley Okpara and had INEC 

and Igini as first and second 

respondents respectively. 

The rejection of the move was upon 

recent vociferous calls by chieftains of 

the Akwa Ibom State chapter of the All 

Progressives Congress, APC for the 

redeployment of Mr. Igini who they 

accused of not being straight in his 

duties. The accusations were, however, 

poohpoohed by other independent 

stakeholders who praised Igini’s 

commitment to justice. 

Mr. Okpara’s political affiliation was 

not made known in court papers 

leaders, farmers, NURTW leaders, Public 

servants, NULGE leadership, Directors/ 

Permanent Secretaries and leaders of the 

Inter- Party Advisory Council IPAC. 

He according to party members would 

be meeting other stakeholders in a bid not 

to take chances in the coming election. 

One of those who attended the meeting 

and confided in Vanguard said that the 

governor now looked sober after the poor 

performance of the party in the last elections. 

"lt seems the governor has learnt his lessons. 

He has come down from his high 

horse and has started begging the people 

not to disgrace him again,” a source 

present in one of the meetings said. 

Reacting, the governors Chief Press Secretary 

Segun Ajiboye said there was no 

political undertone to the meetings as he 

said that it was intimate them of his administration’s 

achievements in the last two 

years in office. 

"He thanked the workers for their sup- 

obtained by 

Vanguard. 

Justice O.A. 

Musa in 

rejecting the ex 

parte determined 

on February 28 

ruled thus: 

“After listening •Mike Igini 

to the applicant 

counsel move in terms and read 

through the affidavit in support of the 

interim relief sought herin, I am of the 

view that the reliefs are one which a 

court will grant at the end of a trial 

and not ex-parte. 

“Again when I considered the relief 

in the originating summon, it seeks to 

declare the 2nd defendant unfit to 

hold the position of Resident Electoral 

Commissioner in Nigeria and 

consequently remove him from the 

said office. 

“This exparte in my view, is an 

attempt to get judgment through the 

back door. When RECs are posted to 

port to his administration, 

and promised 

that deserving 

civil servants 

would earn their 

promotion and 

would continue 

to prioritize their 

welfare well 

above any other 

considerations,” 

Ajiboye said. 

But the opposition 

PDP in the 

state said that 

the series of 

meetings 

showed that the 

governor was jittery 

of the impending 

defeat 

on March 9. 

The Publicity 

Director of the party in the state, Ayotte 

Fadaka in his reaction said: "We see those 

meetings as a jittery reaction to their defeat 

in the last elections. 

Fadaka added that the people of the 

state have rejected the APC in the state 

during the last elections and would repeat 

same on March 9 this year during 

the House of Assembly election. End 

The approach to Mimiko was confirmed 

by the Media Aide to Mimiko, John 

Akinduro who said that Akeredolu and 

Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State 

visited Mimiko. 

“The party is formally seeking the support 

of Mimiko and his ZLP structure 

across the state so as to come victorious in 

Saturday’s State House of Assembly election.” 

Akinduro said in a statement. 

“Mimiko remains in ZLP but entreaties 

have been made to him to work with the 

APC for the Saturday state assembly elections. 

This is to help keep the Government 

of Ondo State relatively stable and 

rancour-free.” 

states they plan the election in those 

stats and when they are removed by 

court arbitrarily it may scuttle 

elections in those places. 

“It appears from the before me that 

the 2nd defendant is the REC in Akwa 

Ibom State, if I grant this application, 

it may spell doom to INEC’s plan for 

free and credible election. 

“For the above reason, its only fair 

that he remains in his position till I 

determine the originating summons.” 

Upon this the judge turned the 

request for an interim order for Igini 

to be removed and ordered that the 

status quo be maintained pending 

further hearing on March 21 

BAYELSA: INEC 

losses 63 card 

readers in 5 LGAs 

By Samuel Oyadongha 

& Emem Idio 

THE Independent National 

Electoral Commission, INEC, in 

Bayelsa State says it lost 63 smart 

card readers used during the February 23 

Presidential and National Assembly 

elections and pleaded with those in 

possession of the items to return them 

before Wednesday (today) ahead of the 

March 9 state assembly elections. 

The missing card readers, it was learned 

could not be accounted for at the close of 

the polls, penultimate week. 

Head of Department, INEC Voter 

Education and Publicity, Mr Wilfred 

Ifogah, yesterday, in Yenagoa said the 

affected local councils include Brass, 

Sagbama, Southern-Ijaw, Nembe and 

Yenagoa. 

Ifogah explained that in Brass ward 6, 

unit 19, one Smart Card Reader is 

missing; 24 missed in Nembe, ward 1, 4, 

12 and 13 while 24 also missed in 

Southern-Ijaw, ward 1, 2, 3, 12, and 15. 

“Eight smart card readers were missing 

in Sagbama ward 1 unit 5 and ward 6 

unit 3 while in Yenagoa, a total of 6 are 

also missing in ward 1, 11 and 16 

respectively. 

“Yes, about 63, card readers are missing. 

The REC has issued a statement that those 

involved should return them to INEC on 

or before Wednesday without being 

victimised,” he stated. 

Vanguard learned that the card readers 

were hijacked and carted away due to 

security challenges faced by INEC 

personnel in the affected areas. 

It was also learned that the missing card 

readers could affect the smooth conduct 

of polls in the affected units. 

GOVERNORSHIP POLLS: 

Results sheets 

of four LGs 

missing in Delta 


ASABA-TWO days to the 

governorship and state Houses 

of Assembly elections, result sheets of 

four local councils in Delta State are 

reported missing. 

An insider, who spoke to Vanguard 

on condition of anonymity, said they 

discovered the missing result sheets 

during the sorting of sensitive 

materials at the Central Bank of 

Nigeria, CBN, Asaba, Monday 

evening. 

While accusing one of the major 

political parties of plotting with the 

INEC and security agencies to rig the 

elections, he called on relevant 

stakeholders to be at alert so as to avert 

rigging of the governorship and state 

assembly polls in the state. 

The source also alleged that there 

were plans to militarise the state so 

as to cause fear and apprehension 

with a view to scaring voters from 

coming out to freely cast their votes 

for candidates of their choice in some 

local councils in Delta South 

Senatorial district. 

Efforts made to reach the Resident 

Electoral Commissioner, REC in the 

State, Dr Cyril Omorogbe for 

comments proved abortive. 

Meanwhile, the INEC has 

commenced the sorting of sensitive 

electoral materials at the Central Bank 

of Nigeria, CBN. 

The exercise which began, Monday, 

is being monitored by agents of 

political parties contesting the 

elections and security agents.

44— Vanguard, WEDNESDAY March 6, 2019 

YOUR LUCK TODAY 

By Joshua Adeyemo Phone 08056180139 

PISCES; Like yesterday the Moon will operate from 

favourable angle to your Star sign to the betterment of 

your cause. Think of both your immediate and far future 

now. 

ARIES You can still count on the supports of your tried 

and trusted friends. But it’s imperative you keep secrets as 

much as you can positively do. 

TAURUS; The more receptive and willing you are to give 

and take co-operation the better for you today. It’s wrong 

of you to neglect your friends in need now. 

GEMINI; You’ll have the needed opportunity to consolidate 

on progress you have recorded yesterday along your 

career/business lines. Try to work harder. 

CANCER; Element of luck will work favourably for you. 

Therefore you’re advised to expand the scope of your tentacle 

for better results. It’s another fairly favourable day 

for lovers who are more enterprising today. 

L E I S U R E 

TAKE HEART — ELLA RANDLE 

“When do we stop thinking everything is wonderful? 

Most often when we grow up? When we stop 

saying, “Awe” or Aha!”-Take Heart Quotes- 

Actually this very moment is a beautiful place to rekindle 

the flame of wonderment and gratitude. Take a moment 

and pause in wonder, in awe and reverence. Especially 

for the very simple things in our lives we take for granted. 

- Ella Randle - 

TERROR MUDA in “Never say goodbye” 

SAYINGS OF 

OUR PEOPLE 

A happy man 

marries the girl 

he loves, but a 

happier man 

loves the girl he 

marries. ~ African 

proverb 

By Kola Fayemi 

LEO; Joining forces with other people is not a sin but it’s 

important everybody knows the clear term of the venture 

, be it of short or longer duration. Be very practical. 

VIRGO; Many of you’ll travel either physically or within 

your mind; whichever one you’re involved with the out 

come will be favourable. Be more receptive, especially if 

your priority is commercial success. Take your new ideas 

more seriously today 

LIBRA; Similar to yesterday but, today more emphasis’ll 

be on money. Thus those of you who are more financially 

ambitious’ll have better and rewarding day than others. 

However that is not to say you should neglect your health. 

SCORPIO; Positive things are happening from (and 

around) you. The more enterprising you are the better for 

you today. And some of you will be mixing business & 

pleasure without harm. Lovers can have their way moderately. 

DUDU in “ROLLING HOT” By A.O. OLAIDE 

SAGITTARIUS; This may be your day when things can 

go according to your plans. And you’re advised to hit very 

hard not minding minor pressure from your base. 

CAPRICORN; Once again success would come if you experiment 

with good ideas rightly at the right time. Those 

of you travelling are in for an exciting day. 

AQUARIUS; Early part of the day may bring you good 

opportunity along your business/business lines. Work and 

your health must be taken very seriously. 

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 

BASIC CHARACTERISTICS OF AQUARIUS 

Aquarius is ruled by freedom loving Uranus-the planet of 

unpredictability, eccentricity and genius. Aquarius is friendly, 

loving, hopeful and very altruistic in nature. That is why they 

are nice persons who truly care for others, especially the less 

fortunate ones. They are loyal friend willing to belong to 

powerful social clubs or reasonable community. 

The quality of Aquarius is fixed. That means it is important 

for them to watch the way they change their minds on important 

issues; Uranus factor makes all Aquarius natives freedom 

loving and whoever tries to impose any idea on you will 

be resented. 

The element of Aquarius is the air. That makes you an intelligent 

person with fair share of sense of humour. Aquarius is 

the star sign that rules considerable social influence, and the 

natives of this star have better chances to have at least some 

influential friends. Then, Aquarians are truly good friends 

and bad enemies; it is not in the best interest of anybody to 

frustrate an Aquarian.. 

Aquarius being a scientific sign. Aquarians can be inventive. 

Any Aquarian who falls to take his/her sudden flashes of 

ideas seriously is doom (to fail eventually) because, Uranus 

the ruler of Aquarius, usually bring success to Aquarians 

unexpectedly through ideas that come suddenly, and unexpected 

luck usually accompany their sudden inspiration and/ 

or ideas. 

The most dangerous weak points of Aquarian are tendencies 

to procrastinate things and willingness to take opponents or 

enemies for granted I mean you must not believe that some 

body you might have had heated argument with will not try 

to undermine your progress after what will look like intervention 

of peace makers. 

VIRGINIA 

HOME & ABROAD 

dadadekola@yahoo.com 

By Lawrence Akapa

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, March 6, 2019 — 45 

I can’t stay faithful to just one 

man 

Dear Bunmi, 

I can’t remember when I’ve 

had only one boyfriend. I’ve 

always two-timed, at times 

having three relationships at 

one go. The men do it all the 

time and if my lovers don’t 

know about each other, where 

is the harm? 

I’ve now met a very 

responsible man and we are 

talking about marriage, I need 

to change my ways but I have 

no clue as to how to stay 

faithful to just one man. Any 

pointers? 

Adanze, by e-maiL 

Dear Adanze, 

For now, the fact you’re in 

love with Mr Right should 

keep you faithful, especially 

with the prospect of marriage. 

You’ll be so happy with him 

you won’t want to rock the 

boat by misbehaving. 

When the excitement 

dwindles, however, you may 

find yourself wondering if he’s 

enough for you and might be 

tempted to fill in the gaps. 

When that happens, instead 

of finding comfort in the arms 

of anolher man, you must 

hang on to face your 

problems. 

Being in love is said to be a 

state of madness when lust 

and adoration are 

overwhelming. But that can’t 

last and what’s real and worth 

holding on to is friendship, 

caring and shared hopes for 

a future together as well as 

sexual compatibility. 

My abusive mother now wants us to be 

friends 

Dear Bunmi, 

I grew up with a mother who 

physically and emotionally 

abused me. I’m now in my 

30s, happily married and 

blessed with great friends and 

have a cordial relationship 

with my mother, who has 

never admitted that she 

abused me. I love her in my 

own way, but I don’t feel 

affection or respect for her. 

The problem is that she picks 

on my polite detachment and 

complains about it constantly 

to my father. My dad wants 

me to make an effort— visit 

her more often and attend 

family functions with her. I’ve 

explained to him that I can’t 

fake a happy relationship 

with my mother, but I don’t 

want to make things harder 

on my dad. 

What is your advice? 

Helen, by e-mail. 

Being in love is said to be a 

state of madness when lust 

and adoration are overwhelming; 

but that can’t last and what’s real 

and worth holding on to is 

friendship, caring and shared 

hopes for a future together as 

well as sexual compatibility 

She doesn't want me back 

Dear Bunmi, 

I am a 31-year-old man. Five 

years ago, I fell in love with a 

woman and we had a son 

together. But I was ashamed 

that she was overweight, and 

I cheated on her. 

After we split up, I dated 

someone who fit my picture of 

the ‘perfect woman’— slim, 

career-driven, book smart. But 

something was missing and I 

realise that the love of my life 

wasn’t some abstract idea— 

she was the mother of my 

child. 

I told her I want to try things 

again and show her that I 

have grown up. She says she 

still has feelings for me, but 

she wants us both to move on. 

How do I get her back? 

Kenneth, by e-mail. 

Dear Kenneth, 

It’s interesting that when 

you fell in love and had a child 

with this woman, you weren’t 

willing to marry her. Don’t 

think for a minute that this 

distinction is lost on her. 

I’m also curious about how 

things really ended with your 

not-so-perfect ‘perfect 

woman.’ Did she get sick of 

you and kick you to the curb? 

If the mother of your child 

Dear Helen, 

I believe it’s unfair to ask a 

victim of sexual, physical or 

emotional abuse to pretend 

that everything is fine in the 

relationship with her abuser. 

You’re a full adult now and 

must have arrived at your 

decision after considerable 

thought. 

It is, therefore, 

unreasonable of your dad to 

ask that of you and you have 

no reason to feel guilty about 

the situation. I think it’s 

considerate of you to maintain 

a polite relationship with your 

mother. 

As far as I can tell, your 

mum abused you when she 

had the power to do so. The 

only reason she doesn’t abuse 

you now is that she no longer 

has the power. 

And where was your father 

when your mother was 

abusing you and why didn’t 

he protect you? 

For your own sake, I hope 

you find it in your heart to 

forgive your mother, whether 

she deserves it or not. That 

forgiveness would be for your 

own peace of mind, not hers. 

wasn’t good enough for you 

before, why is she good 

enough now? 

If you couldn’t look past 

certain physical attributes 

before, how do you know 

you’re no longer that shallow? 

For now, the best thing you 

can do to restore her faith is 

to create a new history of 

being reliable, a good 

companion, if she lets you, 

and an open book. You must 

be consistent in your 

behaviour and 100 per cent 

devoted to your cause. But 

remember that there are no 

guarantees. 

Embarrassed by my ill-shaped 

boobs 

Dear Bunmi, 

I have a smashing figure— 

tight stomach, nice bum 

(especially in thongs!), big 

boobs but one breast is slightly 

bigger than the other. 

I’m sure everyone can notice 

this. As a result, I don’t often 

leave the light on when I make 

love in case my partner 

laughs. Can this problem be 

fixed? 

Jane, by e-mail. 

Dear Jane, 

I don’l think your problem 

is with your boobs — it’s the 

way you feel about them. I'm 

sure you're the only one who 

notices this difference— most 

people are too busy admiring 

your lovely figure to notice 

that your boobs don’t match. 

Boobs aren’t exactly the 

same size as your friends 

must have told you. If you 

think yours is an imbalance, 

it shouldn’t be the serious 

problem you’re making it. 

Try to change the way you 

think about your boobs. 

Concentrate on the good 

things about your body, 

rather than the tiny flaws. 

He discourages joint investment 

Dear Bunmi, 

My boyfriend and I have 

been together for almost eight 

years now and we have a fouryear-old 

son. He was never 

that serious when we started 

our relationship, I was the one 

rushing him. 

After I had our son, I moved 

in with him and although we 

both have good jobs, he never 

encouraged me to discuss 

marriage. 

He’s currently building a 

house on a plot of land he 

bought for himself. When I 

suggested we build the house 

in our joint names, he 

advised me to get a plot and 

build my own. Do you think 

we have a future together? 

Roliat, by e-mail. 

Dear Roliat, 

From the start, your partner 

has been backing off from the 

relationship, pulling the rope 

in his direction. You kept 

pulling him back over to your 

side. And when you got 

pregnant, thal pulled him 

right over into living with 

you. What young man’s ego 

is not boosted by the arrival 

of a first son? 

Even with his much loved 

son, your man still won’t go 

the same mile. You want 

marriage, commitment, the 

works — and there’s nothing 

wrong with that. 

But your man doesn’t. You 

can keep pushing him to make 

that final commitment, but 

there’s always a risk he’ll 

end up walking away. If you 

accept things as they are, he’ll 

probably stay and you will 

have some sort of a future 

together but it may not be a 

future that makes you happy. 

She’s so experienced, can I trust 

her? 

Dear Bunmi, 

About nine months ago, I 

started dating my boss’s 

niece. She’s a beautiful, 

intelligent woman who’s 

highly respected among her 

peers and colleagues, but she 

does have a reputation for 

sleeping around. 

She’s never made a secret 

of the fact that she’s slept with 

several of her colleagues and 

I’ve heard a few are jealous 

she chose me. I love her and 

she says she loves me and 

only has eyes for me, but I 

can’t shake the feelings that 

she might go back to her old 

ways. 

Caleb, by e-mail. 

Dear Caleb, 

I suppose you don’t have 

history of your own at all? It 

would be much more unusual 

to meet a woman with no 

previous sexual partners, so 

give the woman a break, will 

you? 

Concentrate on the fact that 

she’s happy with you and you 

alone. If she enjoyed her 

previous life so much, she 

wouldn’t now be with you, 

would she? 

One thing that will surely 

jeopardise what you have is 

your getting all paranoid 

about what she’s doing when 

she’s not with you. 

Here’s another way to look 

at it: your girlfriend has 

sampled some of the male 

goods on offer, and now she 

obviously feels, from an 

informed perspective, that you 

are the best of the crop! So, 

don’t worry. Trust, you’re on 

to a winner. 

Share your problems and release your 

burden. Write now to Dear Bunmi, 

Vanguard Newspapers, P.M.B 1007, 

Apapa, Lagos, or bunmsof@yahoo.co.uk


Kidnappers release 

Kalu’s mother 

Super Eagles winger Samuel Kalu on 

Monday night heaved a sigh of relief as 

the unknown gunmen who grabbed his 

mother in Abia have set her free after a week 

in captivity. 

Ozuruonye Juliet Kalu was abducted on 27 

February as she travelled home in the 

south-eastern city of Abia. It was not 

clear if a ransom was paid but 

Police authorities in 

confirmed that 

Mrs. Kalu 

regained her 

freedom at about 

11.00pm on Monday 

night. “It is true that she 

released to her family,” 

Godfrey Ogbonna, of 

Abia State police said. 

“I can also confirm that 

investigations are 

ongoing to arrest those 

responsible. “We will 

make a public statement 

Aba 

was 

as soon 

a s more 

details emerge 

but for now, she 

is safe and reunited with 

her family at home.” 

Kalu who made the list 

of players for Super 

Eagles’ Africa Cup of 

Nations qualification tie 

Pharaohs to hit Nigeria 

on chartered aircraft 

The delegation of 

Senior National Team 

of Egypt, Pharaohs, will 

arrive in Nigeria on 

Sunday, 24th March 

aboard a chartered aircraft, 

for the prestige 

international friendly with 

the Super Eagles. 

Officials of both the 

Nigeria Football 

Federation and the 

Egyptian Football 

Association have 

confirmed that the team 

will fly into the Asaba 

Chelsea 

fight back at 

FIFA ban 

Chelsea have 

appealed against 

Fifa’s decision to ban 

them from signing players 

in the next two transfer 

windows. 

It follows the world 

governing body’s 

investigation into 

Chelsea’s signing of 

foreign Under-18 players. 

Fifa says it found 

breaches in 29 cases out 

of 92 investigated, 

including striker Bertrand 

Traore, now at Lyon. 

The governing body 

says it has received an 

appeal but could not 

confirm when this would 

be heard. 

PORTO V ROMA 

Roma will be without 

Javier Pastore 

against Porto tonight 

while Antonio Mirante 

could start ahead of Robin 

Olsen in goal. 

The likes of Gazzetta 

dello Sport and Pagine 

Romaniste suggest 

Airport direct from Niamey, 

Niger Republic – where 

they are due to play that 

country’s senior team on 

the final day of qualifying 

campaign for the 2019 

Africa Cup of Nations. 

The Pharaohs, like the 

Super Eagles, have made 

sure of a place at the finals 

taking place 21st June – 

19th July ahead of the final 

day of qualifiers, even 

before Egypt was handed 

the hosting right for the 

championship. 

•Kalu 

PSG unleash 

Mbappe, Di Maria 

on Red Devils 

It will require nothing 

short of a spectacular 

effort from Manchester 

United to knock Paris 

Saint-Germain out of the 

Champions League 

tonight. Ole Gunnar 

Solskjaer’s men go to the 

second leg – a game you 

can listen to live on 

talkSPORT – of their last- 

16 tie at the Parc-des- 

Prince trailing 2-0 from 

the first leg at Old Trafford. 

And to make matters 

even more difficult, 

United have a number of 

players unavailable for the 

game with Paul Pogba 

Pastore out, Mirante in 

Pastore’s left calf has 

flared up again, ruling 

him out of the trip to 

Porto. 

It comes after his 

former sporting director 

Walter Sabatini claimed 

the midfielder was 

‘embarrassing’ him with 

•Kalu’s mother 

against Seychelles on 

March 23 and the 

international friendly 

against Egypt expressed 

his relief at the release of 

his mother. 

FIFA WWC: 

Super Falcons 

clash with 

Banyana 

Banyana in 

Cyprus 

Africa Champions 

Super Falcons of 

Nigeria will today clash 

with rivals Banyana 

Banyana of South Africa to 

decide who wins the ninth 

position of Cyprus 

Women’s Cup. 

Nigeria finished third in 

group C after losing two 

games and winning one. 

Banyana Banyana finished 

at the bottom of group A 

with just a point. The match 

will be a replay of the 2018 

African Women Cup of 

Nations where the Super 

Falcons needed extra time 

and a penalty shoot-out to 

subdue the South African 

women making their debut 

in the FIFA Women World 

Cup billed for June in 

France. 

•Di Maria 

suspended, while Alexis 

Sanchez, Jesse Lingard, 

Juan Mata, Nemanja 

Matic, Ander Herrera, 

Matteo Darmian, Phil 

Jones and Antonio 

Valencia are all injured. 

his lack of impact for 

Roma. 

Calciomercato.com, 

meanwhile, writes 

Olsen’s recent 

performances have ‘not 

given Eusebio Di 

Francesco the right 

guarantees’. 

Senate has votes to reject Trump’s 

border emergency declaration 

US Senate Republi 

can leadership 

have acknowledged that 

opponents of President 

Donald Trump’s declaration 

of a national 

emergency along the 

US-Mexico border 

have enough votes in 

the Republican-led Senate 

to prevail on a resolution 

aimed at blocking 

the move. 

McConnell, who fell in 

line behind Trump despite 

his own misgivings 

about the declaration, 

said Trump will veto the 

resolution and that it’s 

likely to be sustained in 

Congress. McConnell’s 

remarks on Monday 

came after fellow Kentucky 

Senator Rand Paul 

became the latest Republican 

legislators to 

say he can’t go along 

with the White House on 

the emergency declaration. 

“I think what is clear in 

the Senate is there will 

be enough votes to pass 

the resolution of disapproval, 

which will then 

be vetoed by the president 

and then, in all 

likelihood, the veto will 

be upheld in the 

House,” McConnell 

told reporters. 

Besides Paul, other Republican 

senators who 

THOUSANDS of Al 

gerians took part 

in renewed protests in 

the capital and other 

cities on Tuesday, calling 

on President Abdelaziz 

Bouteflika to 

step down and rejecting 

his offer to not 

serve a full term after 

elections in April. 

“Game over” read 

one poster. “System - 

go away”, said another 

Ṫhe protests appear 

to lack leadership and 

organisation in a country 

still dominated by 

have announced they’ll 

defy Trump on the issue 

are Susan Collins of 

Maine, Lisa Murkowski 

of Alaska and Thom Tillis 

of North Carolina. With 

those four, and assuming 

that all 47 Democrats 

and their independent 

allies go against Trump, 

that would give opponents 

51 votes - just past 

the majority needed. 

Paul told reporters on 

Monday that based on 

conversations with colleagues, 

there are “at 

least 10” GOP senators 

prepared to vote to nullify 

Trump’s move. The 

vote is expected next 

week. 

veterans of the 1954- 

1962 independence war 

against France, including 

Bouteflika. 

But the unrest still 

poses the biggest challenge 

to the ailing leader 

and the ruling elite 

made up of the ruling 

party, businessmen, the 

military and security 

services. 

Tens of thousands of 

people have rallied in 

cities around Algeria in 

the largest protests 

since the 2011 Arab 

Spring, calling on 

Bouteflika, 82, not to 

The Democratic-led 

House recently voted to 

upendTrump’s declaration, 

which he declared 

to circumvent Congress 

and funnel billions of 

extra dollars to erecting 

his proposed border 

wall. 

Trump made the declaration 

after Congress 

passed a spending measure 

to keep the government 

open that include 

nearly $1.4bn in funding 

for border security measures, 

but not a concrete 

wall, ending a dispute 

that had led to a record 

35-day partial shutdown 

of the government. 

Nobel Prize in literature to be 

awarded twice this year 

TWO Nobel Prizes 

in literature will be 

presented this year after 

the scandal-hit awarding 

body was blocked 

from naming a winner in 

2018 

The Nobel Foundation 

banned the Swedish 

Academy from awarding 

last year’s prize following 

allegations of sexual 

misconduct against 

the husband of one of its 

board members and accusations 

of leaks, which 

effectively paralysed the 

institution. 

In a press release on 

Tuesday, the foundation, 

which executes Swedish 

inventor Alfred Nobel’s 

will, said that its Board of 

Directors “believes that 

the steps that the Swedish 

Academy has taken 

and intends to take will 

create good opportunities 

for restoring trust in the 

Academy as a prize-winning 

institution”. 

More Algerians take to streets to demand 

Bouteflika quit 

Anti-Semitism uproar at 

Belgian carnival 

A 

FLOAT featuring 

stereotyped Jewish 

figures at a carnival 

near Brussels has been 

widely criticised as anti- 

Semitic. 

The float in the town of 

Aalst, 25km (15 miles) 

from the European Parliament, 

featured the 

grinning figures of Orthodox 

Jews standing on 

large piles of money. 

Local Jewish organisations 

said it was “typical 

of Nazism of 1939”. 

“In a democratic country 

like Belgium, this has 

no place in 2019, carnival 

or not,” they said. 

The Coordinating 

Committee of Jewish Organisations 

of Belgium 

and the Forum of Jewish 

Organisations issued a 

joint statement saying 

they had lodged a formal 

complaint with authorities. 

They highlighted the 

“crooked noses” and 

“suitcases of money” 

used to portray the Jewish 

people. 

“The Jewish community 

naturally accepts 

humour, this is very important 

in a society, but 

there are boundaries 

that cannot be crossed,” 

the statement said. 

“At best, it is a disgraceful 

lack of discernment, 

especially given the rising 

context of anti- 

Semitism in our country 

and the world, at worst 

the reproduction of anti- 

Semitic caricatures worthy 

of the Nazi era.” 

submit election papers 

for the April 18 election. 

The papers were 

filed on Sunday. 

On Tuesday, hundreds 

of students protested 

in cities including 

Constantine, Annaba 

and Blida. 

Bouteflika, in power 

for 20 years, has not 

spoken in public since 

suffering a stroke in 

2013. 

Young Algerians who 

are at the forefront of 

the protests want a new 

generation of leaders 

and have few attachments 

to the old guard. 

After a decade-long 

Islamist insurgency 

that Bouteflika 

crushed early in his 

rule, Algerians generally 

tolerated a political 

system that left little 

room for dissent as 

a price to pay for relative 

peace and stability. 

But Algeria’s mostly 

young population, almost 

70 percent of 

whom are aged below 

30, are agitating for 

jobs, better services 

and an end to rampant 

corruption in a country 

that is one of Africa’s 

largest oil producers. 

Bouteflika’s opponents 

say he is no 

longer fit to lead, citing 

his health and a 

lack of economic reforms 

to tackle high 

unemployment, which 

exceeds 25 percent 

among people under 

30.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 6, 2019—47

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 6, 2019 

TODAY’S PUZZLE 

Sudoku 

FRIDAY’S ANSWER 

TODAY’S CROSSWORD 

QUICK CROSSWORD 

THURSDAY’S SOLUTION 

How to Play Sudoku 

ACROSS 

1 Send (8) 

6 Short sleep (3) 

9 Hazardous (5) 

10 Marvel (7) 

11 Apart (7) 

13 Freight (5) 

14 Road-surfacing 

material (6) 

15 Trading place (6) 

18 Arrive at (5) 

20 Cattle thief (7) 

21 Disrobe (7) 

22 Farewell (5) 

23 Strike or direct a blow (3) 

24 Deficit (8) 

DOWN 

2 Saviour (7) 

3 No (3) 

4 Recollection (6) 

5 Renegades (9) 

6 More pleasant (5) 

7 Absurd (12) 

8 Important discovery (12) 

12 Never dying (9) 

16 Slaying (7) 

17 Fast, in musical terms (6) 

19 Inspect accounts (5) 

22 Behave (3) 

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

of the same number). 

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

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

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

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

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

multiplication, just plain logic and your imagination. 

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

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

06032019 - POLLS: More security men for Bayelsa, Rivers, Delta, A-Ibom

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