24042019 - Dogara bombs Tinubu

Our 

2019 

Awoism and the borrowing Elections: 77 

unending search for 

transformational still at 19% panels set up 

leadership in Nigeria: 

8 

40 Challenges to GDP to hear 766 

9 

—Finance Minister petitions 

NLNG, others to reach FID on $12bn gas project by Q4’19 

ECONOMY 

UBA shareholders slam 

AMCON, regulators over 

excessive charges, fines 

19 

19 

Olam Int’l earmarks N130bn for 

Dangote Flour Mills acquisition 19 

LAPO MfB boss harps 

on customer focus 19 

VOL. 26: NO. 63793 WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24, 2019 

UBA 57th AGM— Chairman, United Bank for Africa Plc, UBA, Mr. Tony 

Elumelu (4th right); Group Managing Director/CEO, Mr. Kennedy Uzoka 

(3rd right); CEO, UBA Africa, Mr. Victor Osadolor (2nd left), flanked by the 

Bank’s Directors, from left: Ms Angela Aneke; Mrs Foluke Abdulrasaq; Mrs 

Onari Duke; and Erelu Angela Adebayo, during the 57th Annual General 

Meeting of the Bank in Lagos, yesterday. 

ALLEGED BUDGET-PADDING WAR: 

Dogara bombs Tinubu 

•Says he has fascist agenda; scheming against Buhari’s govt 

•Asks him to tell Nigerians why he wants to instal NASS leaders 

•Adds: It’s dubious to accuse NASS of budget padding; Buhari, ministers responsible for delays 

Nigeria 8 

suffers 

450,000 

barrels 

setback in 3 

days, records 

$32m loss 

NEW 

CABINET: 

Buhari in 

dilemma 

over 

A-Ibom’s 

slot 9 

T 

Insecurity: 63.2% of SIM data 

in use invalid, NCC reveals 

9 

EL-ZAKYZAKY PROTEST—Members of Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) 

during a procession to mark the 68th birthday anniversary and 1,224 days of 

detention of their leader, Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakyzaky in Abuja, yesterday. 

Photo: Gbemiga Olamikan. 

By Levinus 

Nwabughiogu 

ABUJA — Speaker 

of the House of 

Representatives, Yakubu 

Dogara, has tonguelashed 

National Leader 

of the All Progressives 

Congress, APC, Asiwaju 

Bola Tinubu, over his 

comments that the 8th 

National Assembly 

under him and Senate 

President Bukola Saraki 

delayed and padded 

budgets, and hampered 

Naira stable 

at N359.3/$ 

in parallel 

market 41 

President Muhammadu 

Buhari’s lofty projects for 

the country. 

He also alleged that 

Tinubu was pursuing a 

fascist agenda of 

controlling all levers of 

power in Nigeria, asking 

Continues on Page 5 

Mr & Mrs 

COLUMNISTS PRINCEWILL 17 DEAR BUNMI FASAN 

39 32 

SEE 

INSIDE

2 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24, 2019

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24, 2019 — 3


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Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24, 2019—5 

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STATE VISIT—From left: President Muhammadu Buhari with H.H. Sheikh Tamin Bin Hamad Al- 

Thani, Emir of Qatar, and First Lady, Mrs Aisha Buhari, during a State visit by the Emir to the State 

House, Abuja, yesterday. State House photo. 

Dogara bombs Tinubu 

Continues from Page 1 

him to come clean on his 

quest to install the next 

Senate President and 

Speaker of the House of 

Representatives of the 

9th Assembly. 

On Sunday, Asiwaju 

Tinubu had said he was 

backing President 

Buhari and APC’s 

adoption of Senator 

Ahmad Lawan for Senate 

Presidency, and Femi 

Gbajabiamila for the 

House 

of 

Representatives speaker 

to avert a repeat of what 

happened in 2015 when 

Saraki and Dogara 

allegedly hijacked both 

positions and used them 

against Buhari’s 

administration. 

Reacting to the 

allegations yesterday, 

Dogara said it was only 

an ignorant person that 

would accuse the 

National Assembly of 

budget padding. 

In a statement by his 

Special Adviser on 

Media and Public 

Affairs, Hassan Turaki, 

the speaker also claimed 

that in the last four 

years, Tinubu had 

schemed against 

Buhari’s government. 

Dogara on 

Tinubu 

The statement read: 

“We have noted the 

statement issued on 

April 21, 2019 by 

Asiwaju Bola Ahmed 

Tinubu wherein he 

stated his reasons for 

sponsoring or supporting 

some aspirants to 

various leadership 

positions in the 

forthcoming 9th 

Assembly. 

"Ordinarily, this would 

not have elicited any 

response from Speaker of 

the House of 

Representatives, Hon. 

Yakubu Dogara, as 

Asiwaju is entitled to 

sponsor those he 

believes will have no 

choice but answer to his 

dog whistles anytime he 

blows same in his 

capacity as the selfacclaimed 

national 

leader of his party. 

“If Asiwaju had 

confined his intervention 

to stubborn facts, this 

response would not have 

been necessary. He, 

however, used the 

opportunity to 

manufacture falsehoods 

and paint a non-existing 

picture of the 

stewardship of Mr 

Speaker and the work of 

the 8th House of 

Representatives under 

his watch. 

“Asiwaju Tinubu 

accused the leadership 

of the National Assembly 

of stymieing ‘the APC 

legislative initiatives 

while attempting to foist 

noxious reactionary and 

self-interest legislation 

on the nation.’ 

‘Tinubu had said 

further: ‘Just look at the 

way Saraki and Dogara 

and their ilk hijacked the 

budget process these 

past four years. National 

budgets were delayed 

and distorted as these 

actors repeatedly sought 

to pad budgets with pet 

projects that would profit 

them. 

‘Even worse, they cut 

funds intended to 

prosper projects that 

would have benefited the 

average person. After 

four years of their antics 

halting the progress of 

government, we should 

do all we can to prevent 

a repeat of their malign 

control of the National 

Assembly.’ He 

generously used the 

usual unexplained 

words like installing a 

progressive leadership 

and so on.” 

Tinubu’s 

clandestine 

roles against 

Buhari’s govt 

Dogara continued: “We 

do not expect Asiwaju 

Tinubu to dwell on 

brazen mendacity, much 

less murder facts and 

decorum in his rabid bid 

to justify his patently 

clear fascist agenda of 

controlling all levers of 

power in Nigeria. 

‘’Asiwaju Tinubu’s 

nocturnal agenda has no 

parallel in the history of 

any democracy and it is 

more loathsome when he 

throws caution to the 

winds and maligns 

government officials who 

are doing a yeoman’s job 

of stabilising the 

government of President 

Muhammadu Buhari, 

even in spite of political 

differences. 

“It is on record that the 

speaker has done more 

to stabilise this 

government more than 

Asiwaju Tinubu and his 

ilk whose stock-in-trade 

is scheming, 

manipulation and 

subversion, especially 

when they feel they 

cannot be caught. 

‘’When the history of 

Buhari’s administration 

is written by those who 

know the truth of what 

really transpired in the 

last four years, Asiwaju’s 

pretentious loyalty to 

President Buhari will 

then be exposed. 

‘’Perhaps, Asiwaju is 

still bitter about the 

leadership contest for 

speakership of the 8th 

Assembly, even though 

the actors have moved on 

culminating in Speaker 

Dogara magnanimously 

facilitating the 

appointment of his 

opponent in the race and 

Tinubu’s protege as 

House Majority leader. 

Budget 

timelines under 

Buhari 

‘’The chief cause of 

delay in enacting the 

budget is the persistent 


By Bose Adelaja,Yinka Latona, 

Chiamaka Uba, Tolulope 

Oke&Erinfolami Abdulkudus 

Collapsed state of Lagos roads, worsening traffic gridlocks (3) 

I 

think the issue of 

trailers occupying 

the roads may be one of 

the reasons some of the 

roads are old. They 

cannot bear the weight 

of the trailers. 

There should be special 

roads for trailers and 

tankers, strong enough 

to bear the weight. I 

believe preventive 

measures should be 

taken to ensure a better 

Lagos. 

Mr.Nonso Chude 

Student 

The traffic in Lagos 

State is terrible. Kirikiri 

Bridge and Mile 2 are the 

most terrible places 

because of tankers and 

trailers. 

As for Lekki Phase 2, 

especially Ajah axis, too 

many people are on the 

road. 

That is why there is 

congestion. The good thing 

is that there is traffic light 

and the road is good and 

wide enough. I don’t know 

what else can be done. 

Miss Okeowo Abiola 

Student 

The gridlock on some 

Lagos roads is caused by 

trailers parked on both sides 

of the road. I think the 

government should look into 

it properly and contact the 

persons in charge to carry 

out necessary reopairs on the 

roads. Those trailers should 

be allotted parking lots 

instead of obstructing the 

roads, creating homes for 

touts and increasing the rate 

of robbery and rape 

especially at night. Miss 

Sandra Ohagba 

Student 

T 

he traffic gridlock in 

Lagos is something else 

and the truth is that the 

gridlock shortens people's 

lifespan because they actually 

don’t have time to rest. How 

will someone resume work at 

8a.m? He leaves work at 5pm 

and gets home around 10pm. 

Why would people not age 

early and get frustrated? 80 

per cent of Lagos residents 

are frustrated. 

Mr. Victor Basset 

Civil servant 

The issue of bad roads 

in Lagos is really 

damning for a place 

regarded as the sixth 

largest economy in 

Africa. 

I think the government 

should step up efforts in 

this regard. 

The government should 

construct more solid 

roads and they should 

have a functional railway 

in order to reduce the 

traffic. 

Mr. Innocent Oge 

Student 

As for the state of the 

roads, there should be 

a maintenance policy for old 

roads such that every road 

would at least, be fixed 

once a year. To tackle the 

increase in traffic gridlock 

in Lagos, we must first look 

at the reasons for the 

gridlock. We should 

consider how best to 

accommodate so many 

people and still maintain 

effective transportation 

system in the state. 

Mr. Ogunseye Ifeoluwa 

Student

6—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24, 2019 

19 persons 

returning 

from wedding 

die in auto 

crash in 

Jigawa 

AT least 19 persons were 

killed, yesterday, in a 

road accident in Gwaram 

Local Government Area of 

Jigawa State. 

The accident happened at 

Gwaram Sabuwa, around 

11:30 a.m. close to 

Government Girls Unity 

College. 

A witness said the accident 

occurred when the front tyre 

of an overloaded bus burst. 

The bus, after somersaulting, 

burst into flames. He said the 

victims were burnt beyond 

recognition. 

“I saw six corpses of newborn 

babies attached to their 

mothers’ corpses,” he said. 

The bus, which had a sitting 

capacity of 19, had about 40 

persons (mostly women and 

children) in it when the 

accident happened. 

Jigawa 

police 

spokesperson, Audu Jinjiri, 

confirmed the report, saying 

19 persons were killed while 

21 sustained ‘severe injuries. 

The commuters were from 

Zangon community in 

Katagum Local Government 

Area, heading to Gadan 

Maiwa community in Ningi 

Local Government Area, both 

in Bauchi State. 

The victims were said to be 

friends and relatives, coming 

from a wedding ceremony. 

Troops kill 5 

bandits in 

Benue 

By Peter Duru 

M AKURDI—FIVE 

bandits were , 

yesterday, killed in a gun 

battle between troops of the 72 

Special Forces Battalion, 

Makurdi and suspected 

armed militia in Katsina/Ala 

local Government Area of 

Benue State. 

The gun duel also led to 

recovery of one General 

Purpose Machine Gun, two 

AK-47 rifles, 198 rounds of 

7.62 mm NATO ammunition, 

16 rounds of 7.63 mm special 

ammunition, two vehicles and 

seven motorcycles. 

A statement by acting 

Director, Army Public 

Relations, Colonel Sagir 

Musa, in Makurdi, said the 

troops were deployed for 

internal security operation in 

Katsina/Ala to quell the 

ongoing bloody conflict 

between Ikurav and Shitile. 

According to him, “the 

efforts of the troops were 

sequel to information received 

about the planned attack on 

Katsina-Ala town by Shitile 

armed bandits. Hence, the 72 

Special Forces Battalion 

troops laid an ambush along 

the suspected route where 

they intercepted the armed 

fighters/attackers. 

Man, 30, arrested for attempting to sell own 

children in Calabar 

By Emma Una 

CALABAR — An attempt by 

a 30-year-old man, Edet 

Essien, to sell two of his 

children for N350,000 was foiled 

in Calabar by operatives of the 

Cross River State Police 

Command. 

It was gathered from Ekem, a 

resident of the area, that Essien 

took his two children, a male 

and a female, to Murray Street 

where he sought for buyers to 

enable him raise money, which 

he said will save him from 

poverty. 

He said: “He came here with 

the children and asked after one 

rich man on this street and when 

he did not see the man we 

asked him why he was looking 

for the man, and he said he was 

looking for someone to buy his 

two children. He said the male 

child is N200,000 while the 

female is N150, 000.”. 

Ekem said they were taken 

aback by what the man said 

and to stop him from taking 

the children somewhere to 

sell, they had to “delay him 

while they made efforts to 

contact the police at Atakpa 

Police Station where 

operatives came and arrested 

him. 

“He said he is from Akwa 

Ibom State but resides in 

Usung Inyang, which is in 

Odukpani Local Government 

Area of Cross River State.” 

At the Atakpa Police 

Station, the Divisional Police 

Officer confirmed the arrest 

of the man, saying the matter 

has been transferred to the 

State Criminal Division at the 

Police Command 

headquarters for 

investigations. 

DSP Irene Ugbo, the Cross 

River State police command 

Public Relations Officers, 

said she is yet to be briefed 

on the matter. 

Edet Essien and the children. 

National Theatre GM, Oyedepo, dies in auto crash 

THE General Manager and 

Chief Executive Officer of 

National Theatre, in Lagos, Dr 

Stella Oyedepo, is dead. 

She died on Easter Monday while 

returning to Lagos from an official 

trip when her car was said to have 

rammed into an articulated vehicle 

at Sagamu along the Benin-Ijebu- 

Ode express road. 

Director in charge of Business 

Development at the National 

Theatre, Mr Abiodun Abe, who 

confirmed the development, 

yesterday, said himself, Public 

Relations Officer of the National 

Theatre, Mr Steve Ogundele, and 

other management staff were 

taking the corpse of the deceased 

to Ilorin, her home town. 

Abe said the management of 

National Theatre would soon issue 

a statement on her funeral details. 

The late Oyedepo assumed duty 

as the incumbent CEO of National 

Theatre on April 22, 2018. 

An artiste, Pelumi Lawal, said it 

was sad that the deceased was 

returning from Calabar only to 

die around Sagamu. 

He said; “She had begun to 

transform the National Theatre 

to its pride of place within the 

last one year of her leadership. 

She was indeed doing a good 

job without making noise. 

“The toilets and the air 

conditioners at the National 

Theatre’s halls have begun to 

function well. All these were to her 

credit. 

“She was a very humble and a 

hard working administrator who 

used to listen to people’s advice 

on how to move the National 

Theatre forward. 

“It pains me that we have lost 

such a great woman. May she rest 

in peace.” 

Man drags widow to court over late 

husband’s N210,000 debt 

A 46-year-old man, Uma 

Emeka, yesterday, dragged a 

widow before a Sharia Court lI, 

sitting at Magajin Gari, Kaduna 

State, over N210, 000 debts. 

Emeka, who lives in NEPA 

Roundabout way, Kaduna, told 

the court that he deposited 

N210,000 into Malami Sa’idu’s 

account of the widow’s late 

husband in 2016 to help him buy 

a Toyota Highlander 2003 

model. 

Court jails 2 women for wearing 

skimpy dresses in Kaduna 

ASHARI’A Court II, sitting 

at Magajin Gari, Kaduna, 

yesterday, sentenced 20-year- old 

Farida Taofiq and Raihana Abbas 

to two months in prison each for 

wearing skimpy dresses. 

Taofiq and Abbas, residents of 

Argungu Road in Kaduna, were 

convicted after they pleaded 

guilty for constituting public 

nuisance and indecent dressing. 

The two convicts, however, 

pleaded for leniency saying they 

won’t repeat such crime again. 

The judge, Mallam Musa 

Sa'ad-Goma, however, gave the 

convicts an option to pay N3,000 

fine each. 

Sa’ad-Goma also ordered 

them to return to their parents’ 

homes. 

Earlier, the prosecution 

counsel, Aliyu Ibrahim, said 

Taofiq and Abbas were 

arrested on April 16, at a black 

spot along Sabon Gari Road 

roaming the street in skimpy 

dresses. 

“When they were asked 

where they were going, they 

said they were going to a 

friend’s house who just put to 

bed,” the prosecution said. 

Ibrahim said the offence 

contravened the provisions of 

Section 346 of the Sharia Penal 

Code of Kaduna State. 

He said Sa’idu bought the car 

and sold it, with a promise to get 

another one for him but he never 

did. 

He said: "I lost Sa’idu’s phone 

number because he has been 

avoiding me. I heard of his death 

afterwards. 

“The deceased has a house in 

Shanono Rigasa, Kaduna, his 

family has put it for sale but they 

are rejecting a lot of offers made 

for the house, they don’t want to 

sell the house to pay me my 

money,” Emeka said. 

The widow of the deceased, 

Asabe, after hearing the complaint 

against her late husband, admitted 

to the accusations. 

She said: “Before my husband 

died, he told me that he owed 

Emeka some money. We have put 

our house at Shanono Rigasa, 

Kaduna for sale to be able to pay 

Emeka his money. 

“We have received very 

discouraging offers for the house. 

We can’t sell the house for the 

amount they are offering. I promise 

that we will pay back Emeka his 

money.” 

The judge, Dahiru Lawal, in his 

judgment, held that the court 

would carry out as assessment on 

the house and liaise with agents 

to see if the widow can get a better 

offer. 

Suspected 

cultists kill 2 

in Ibeju-Lekki 

By Esther Onyegbula 

BARELY a week after four 

persons were beheaded at 

Alasiya in Abraham Adesanya 

area of Eti-Osa Local Government 

Area, Lagos State, two other 

persons have been hacked to 

death by suspected cultists at 

Imalete-Alafia and Igbojiya 

communities in Ibeju-Lekki Local 

Government Area. 

It was learned that one of the 

suspected cultists, identified as 

Focus, was killed and mutilated 

Sunday morning at Igbojiya 

community. The cult members also 

killed another person in the 

neighbouring Imalete Alafia town. 

It was also gathered that Focus, 

suspected to be a member of Eye 

confraternity, was waiting for his 

meal, which he ordered at a local 

eatery when the cult members shot 

him. 

Eyewitness account had it that 

the gunshots had no effect on him, 

so the cult boys attacked him with 

machetes and axes as he tried to 

escape. 

“Gradually, he became weak, 

having received severe cuts on his 

skull, neck and several parts of the 

body. He died near a popular spot 

in the community,” the eyewitness 

said. 

It will be recalled that after the 

attack in Alasiya last week, the 

police arrested two suspects, 

Saheed Lateef and Julius 

Augulere, for their alleged 

involvement in the cult clash that 

left four people dead. 

Contracted, Lagos State Police 

command spokesman, DSP Bala 

Elkana, said he was not aware of 

the incident and that he would get 

back to Vanguard, but at press 

time,he has not.


... with Emma'nKen (08163121378) 

Who wants to die? is it your running? 

NEW, IMPROVED: The new face of Murtala Muhammed International Airport 

Road constructed by Lagos State Government, to be commissioned today by President 

Muhammadu Buhari. 

Student commits suicide over 

academic performance 

KOLAPO Olowoporoku, a 

student of Obafemi Awolowo 

University, Ile-ife, has reportedly 

committed suicide by swallowing 

a poisonous substance, on 

Sunday, after repeatedly failing 

some courses. 

Olowoporoku was an ‘extra 

year’ Computer Science student, 

who ought to have graduated two 

sessions ago but was delayed as 

a result of two outstanding 

courses. 

It was gathered that the 

deceased whose mates graduated 

in 2016/2017 academic session, 

served as the general secretary of 

his departmental association in 

2016. 

Speaking with an online 

newspaper, his class 

representative, Ayo Oyewole, 

noted that the death of 

Olowoporoku came as a rude 

shock, adding that the department 

was yet to get details of the 

incident at press time. 

School claims 

ignorance 

Meanwhile, when contacted on 

Monday by the online newspaper, 

the school security officer, 

Babatunde Oyatokun, claimed 

ignorance of the issue. 

“I also read it online. They said 

he killed himself because he failed 

some courses but I don’t have any 

information on that,” he said. 

His death 

A close friend of Olowoporoku, 

who preferred to be identified as 

Mayowa, spoke of the possible 

connection of his death with the 

failure in some courses as 

rumoured by many. 

He said; “He is not the only one 

that had issues (with some 

courses). I also had but I have 

passed them.” 

“He wrote the course as an extra 

student. That (was) first semester 

last session. The result came out 

late because of ASUU strike but 

was released in the second 

semester. (The one he told me 

about is CVE- technical report 

writing). So, when it was 

eventually released, he failed that 

one again. 

“So, he said they were going 

to the department to beg the 

lecturers. Out of six of them who 

took the course as extra year 

students, only one passed. So I 

feel that contributed to his 

depression." 

Asked if the deceased ever 

confided in him about his 

frustrations, Mayowa replied: 

“He never showed it. But I 

could remember in Part Four, 

he told me that there’s pressure 

from home and that they (the 

parents) don’t know what he is 

facing in school. They want 

him to graduate with a first class 

or second class upper.” 

One of the students who 

visited the deceased residence 

in Lagos on Monday, 

Oludolapo Adepoju, confirmed 

Olowoporoku’s death and spoke of 

the sad and gloomy state the team 

met the family. 

When quizzed further about what 

led to the suicide, he explained that 

the family does not want any details 

published about the incident. 

He said: “What has happened 

has happened and the family is not 

happy. They don’t want any other 

information published. After all, his 

picture has been circulated on the 

internet.” 

Usman Opeyemi, a final year 

student opined that although 

Olowoporoku went through trying 

times, suicide should not have been 

an option. 

He said: “In as much as I 

understand his pains, I don’t 

believe suicide is worth it. 

Terminating one’s life is not the 

best.” 

Lover-boy set girlfriend's family 

house ablaze, kills 5 persons 

•3 hospitalised, suspect on the run 

By Dayo Johnson 

AKURE—A lover-boy 

identified as Deji 

Adenuga reportedly set the 

family house of his 

girlfriend, Titi Sanumi, 

ablaze in Okitipupa council 

area of Ondo State, killing 

five persons . 

Three others, who 

sustained various degrees of 

burns, were rushed to the 

trauma centre in Ondo town. 

Eight members of the 

family were said to be 

sleeping in a room when the 

lover boy stormed the house 

on Adetuwo Street, lgbodigo 

in Okitipupa and set it 

ablaze. 

Police sources said the 

suspect came to the house 

with petrol with which he 

sprayed the room before 

setting it ablaze. 

Vanguard gathered that the 

family members could not 

escape because of the thick 

smokes that enveloped the 

one room. 

The girlfriend, according to 

police source, was not at home 

when the lover-boy wrecked the 

havoc. 

Meanwhile, the state police 

command has declared him 

wanted. 

Spokesperson of the 

command, Femi Joseph, said one 

Alade Victor reported the arson 

and killing at the police station 

at about 6 am yesterday. 

Joseph added that Alade said 

at about 2:45 am same day his 

brother, Alade Glory, aged 45, 

with eight others were sleeping 

on a room when one Deji set the 

house ablaze. 

According to him, five of the 

family members in the room died 

in the process while others, who 

sustained Burns were rushed to 

the hospital for urgent treatment. 

He said that the suspect fled 

after committing the heinous 

crime and efforts are in progress 

to smoke him out of his hiding. 

The corpses of the five family 

members according to him have 

been deposited at the general 

hospital in Okitipupa. 

Some crimes can't be solved with 

N100 ooooo 

...Then know that there is fire on the 

mountain

8—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24 , 2019 

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

VISIT: From left, Country Director, African Development Bank, AfDB, Mr Ebrima Faal; 

COS AfDB President, Prof. Oyebanji Oyeyinka; AfDB President, Dr Akinwunmi Adesina; 

President Muhammadu Buhari; Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh, and Foreign Affairs 

Minister, Geoffrey Onyeama when Buhari hosted Adesina at State House, Abuja, yesterday. 

Our borrowing still at 19% to GDP 

—Finance Minister 

By Emma Ujah, 

Abuja Bureau Chief 

ABUJA—MINISTER of 

Finance, Mrs Zainab 

Ahmed, has put Nigeria’s 

borrowing at 19 per cent to 

Gross Domestic Product, GDP, 

saying it is low compared to 

countries such as Ghana, 

Brazil, South Africa, Egypt 

and Angola. 

Ahmed in a statement by 

her Special Adviser on 

Media, Mr. Paul Abechi, in 

Abuja, yesterday, was 

obviously reacting to concerns 

by critics that the current 

administration was mounting 

debts. 

“In the borrowing, we are 

still at 19 per cent to GDP. Our 

borrowing is still low. What is 

allowed by our Fiscal 

Responsibility Act is the 

maximum of 25 per cent of 

our GDP compared to 

countries such as Ghana, 

Egypt, South Africa, Angola 

and Brazil and we are the 

lowest in terms of borrowing,” 

she was quoted as saying. 

Challenge of 

revenue generation 

Acknowledging the 

challenge of revenue 

generation by the country, the 

minister said: “What we have 

is revenue problem and 

when revenue performs at 

the aggregate rate of 55 

percent, it hinders the ability 

to operate our budget. 

“So it hinders our ability to 

service all categories of 

expenditures, including 

salaries, allowances, capitals 

as well as debts.” 

Consequently, Ahmed said 

the ministry was paying 

particular attention to 

enhancing revenue and 

collection capacities. 

On fuel subsidy 

Clarifying the vexed issue 

of subsidy, the minister said 

there was a difference 

between the current subsidy 

regime and what it was under 

the past administration. 

According to her, in the 

past, subsidy was paid to oil 

marketers in a manner that 

lacked transparency, as 

against the new regime in 

which NNPC is the sole 

importer of petroleum 

products. 

She said: "So when they 

import, it is the cost of 

business and deduct that cost 

before they remit the little 

money to the federation 

•Says borrowing low, compared 

to Ghana, Brazil, S/Africa 

account. So that is completely 

different. It is more cost 

effective, it is cheaper and 

what is being done now is 

easier to monitor what 

transpired.” 

She also insisted that there 

was no immediate plan to 

remove subsidy from 

petroleum products in the 

country, as no alternative 

arrangement had been 

found. 

“We are not there yet and 

we discuss this periodically 

under the Economic 

Management Team, but we 

have not found a formula that 

works for Nigeria and you 

know Nigeria is unique 

because what works in 

Ghana may not work in here. 

"So it is still work in progress 

and so there is no intention 

to remove fuel subsidy at this 

time,” Ahmed said. 

Nigeria suffers 450,000 barrels 

setback in 3 days, records $32m loss 

•As Aiteo extinguishes Nembe Creek fire, moves to 

inspect facility 

By Udeme 

Akpan 

NIGERIA has so far 

suspended the export 

of about 150,000 barrels of 

crude oil per day, bpd, for 

three days, totalling 450,000 

barrels due to the destruction 

of Nembe Creek pipeline, 

dedicated to the export of 

crude in the area. 

The disruption in export 

covered the period from April 

21 to 23. 

The destruction of the 

facility, which culminated in 

the declaration of force 

majure, has also hindered the 

generation of about $32 

million at the current price of 

$73 per barrel. 

Meanwhile, Aiteo has 

succeeded in tackling the fire, 

expected to pave way for 

inspection and 

commencement of 

rehabilitation of the facility. 

This is even as Neconde 

Energy Limited has invented 

an Alternative Evacuation 

Technology, AET, to tackle oil 

theft and pipeline vandalism 

in Nigeria. 

In a statement, yesterday, 

Aiteo stated: “Aiteo confirms 

that the fire reported within 

its Right Of Way (ROW) of 

the NCTL on April 21, 2019 

has been completely put out. 

The security team conducted 

further inspections at various 

times yesterday and confirms 

this position. 

“In line with regulatory 

requirements, a Joint 

Investigation Visit, JIV, 

comprising security and 

regulatory agencies as well 

as community 

representatives and Aiteo 

personnel will be constituted 

and deployed to the site to 

attend to the necessary 

incident formalities.This team 

is expected at the incident site 

imminently. 

“The Joint Task Force on 

Security team has confirmed 

that sabotage of the pipeline 

at Awoba was responsible; 

has identified some culprits 

and is set to act as is 

necessary. 

“Aiteo is working on further 

site preparation and 

mobilisation of specialised 

equipment to the swamps for 

further remedial action to 

facilitate a quick return to full 

functionality. Further 

information will be made 

available as soon as these 

occur.” 

Head, Corporate 

Communications of the 

company, Mr Ndiana 

Matthew, had earlier stated: 

“We are constrained to shut 

in injection as well as other 

related operations into the 

NCTL. In accordance with 

standard procedure, we 

requested the other injectors 

to do same." 

CJN: Court asked to declare 

Muhammad unfit, order new 

selection 

Taraba killings: Reps urge 

security agencies to fish out 

perpetrators 

By Levinus 

Nwabughiogu 

ABUJA—HOUSE of 

Representatives, 

yesterday, charged the 

nation’s security agencies to 

arrest the perpetrators of the 

killings in Taraba State, which 

have prompted a renewed war 

between Tiv and Jukun ethnic 

groups. 

The House also called for 

thorough investigation to 

unravel the forces behind the 

crisis with a view to providing 

a lasting solution to it. 

The resolution followed a 

motion on the need for 

intervention in the crisis in 

Wukari Local Government 

Area of Taraba State 

sponsored by Danjuma 

Shiddi (PDP, Taraba) and 

Emmanuel Udende (APGA, 

Benue) at yesterday’s plenary. 

While further directing the 

National Emergency 

Management Agency, 

NEMA, and the Presidential 

Committee on North-East to, 

By Ikechukwu 

Nnochiri 

A BUJA—ABUJA 

Division of the Federal 

High Court has okayed a 

fresh suit seeking to bar 


Buhari from appointing the 

acting Chief Justice of 

Nigeria, CJN, Justice Tanko 

Muhammad, to take over the 

leadership of the judiciary in 

substantive capacity. 

The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/ 

CS/420/2019, is praying the 

court to declare Justice 

Muhammad, who is 

currently the most senior jurist 

at the Supreme Court, unfit 

to replace the sacked CJN, 

Justice Walter Onnoghen. 

Specifically, the plaintiff, 

Chief Malcom Omirhobo, 

who is a human rights lawyer, 

is praying the court to declare 

that the acting CJN, Justice 

Muhammad, having made 

himself available as a tool 

used in the violation of the 

constitution, especially with 

regards to the “illegal” 

removal of the former CJN, 

was, therefore, not a proper 

and fit person to be 

recommended for 

appointment to head the 

judiciary. 

It is the contention of the 

plaintiff that the acting CJN 

conducted himself in a 

manner that reduced the 

confidence of the public in the 

integrity and impartiality of 

the judiciary. 

Cited as 1st to 7th 

defendants in the suit were 

National Judicial Council, 

NJC; Federal Judicial 

Service Commission, FJSC; 

as a matter of urgency, provide 

relief materials including 

food, healthcare services 

and roofing materials to the 

victims of the crisis, the lawmakers 

particularly called on 

Nigerian Army to step up 

surveillance in the affected 

communities until peace was 

restored just as they also urged 

the Benue and Taraba states 

governments to close ranks for 

the sake of peace. 

Moving the motion earlier, 

Shiddi said: “In the recent 

time, Wukari Local 

Government Area of Taraba 

State has become unstable 

because of communal clashes 

between Tiv and Jukun. 

“In addition to the 

destruction of houses and 

infrastructure including 

schools, health facilities and 

even places of warships, 

several people have been 

killed in the internecine feud 

between the two tribal groups. 

“As at the last count, no fewer 

than 10,000 people have fled 

their homes and their food 

stuff completely destroyed." 

acting CJN; Federal 

Government of Nigeria, 

President Buhari, Attorney 

General of the Federation 

and National Assembly. 

The plaintiff, among other 

things, urged the court to 

declare that the suspension 

and/or removal of a CJN from 

office, is a shared 

responsibility of the 1st 

defendant (NJC), 5th 

defendant (Buhari) and 7th 

defendant 

(National 

Assembly). 

He argued that Buhari 

lacked the constitutional 

powers to unilaterally 

suspend and/or remove a 

sitting CJN from office, as 

was done in the case of 

Onnoghen. 

He, therefore, applied for a 

court order to restrain the 

National Assembly from 

confirming any appointment 

of Justice Muhammad as the 

substantive CJN. 

El-Zakzaky: 

We’re not at 

odds with 

Buhari’s govt 

—Shi’ites 

By Luminous 

Jannamike 

ABUJA— 

Islamic 

Movement in Nigeria, 

IMN, has said it was not at 

odds with either the Federal 

Government under 


Buhari or any other 

constituted authority in 

Nigeria, in spite of intense 

provocation by agents of the 

present administration. 

Members of the Muslim 

sect, also known as Shi’ites, 

however, vowed to continue 

in their expression of 

dismay over the refusal of 

the government to obey 

multiple court orders 

directing the release of their 

leader, Shiekh Ibraheem El- 

Zakzaky, and his wife, 

Zeenat, through every 

legitimate means at their 

disposal. 

Speaking with Vanguard 

in Abuja, Chairman, Free 

El-Zakzaky Campaign 

Committee of IMN, Sheikh 

Abdulrahman Abubakar, 

said: “We are not at odds 

with the government. The 

reality is that we are 

expressing our concerns 

and dismay as regards the 

continuous incarceration of 

our leader, who was attacked 

by the Nigerian army. 

"We believe the attack was 

at the instance of the 

Commander-in-Chief of the 

Nigerian army who is the 

President, Mr Buhari. 

“Despite the court order 

that the Sheikh is being 

detained illegally and 

should be released 

unconditionally, the 

government has refused to 

obey."


VISIT: From left—Director, Administrations, Nigerian Army Resource Centre, NARC, 

Brigadier General UT Otaru; Secretary, Universal Service Provision Fund, USPF, Mr. Ayuba 

Shuaibu; Director, Research and Development, Nigerian Communications Commission, 

NCC, Mr. Ephraim Nwokenneya; Director General, NARC, Major General GA Wahab; 

Chief of Staff to the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Mr. Usman Malah; and Head, 

Special Intervention Projects, NCC, Dr. Henry Nkemadu, during a courtesy visit by NARC 

to the headquarters of the Commission in Abuja. 

NEW CABINET: Buhari in dilemma 

over A-Ibom’s slot 

•Akpabio, Ita Enang in contention 

as Udoma set to quit public service 

By Soni Daniel, 

Northern Region 

Editor 

ABUJA—WITH barely 

a month to the end of 

the current administration, 


Buhari appears to be in a 

dilemma on who should fill 

the ministerial slot meant 

for Akwa Ibom State. 

Buhari, Vanguard 

learned, is favourably 

disposed to retaining the 

current Minister of Budget 

and National Planning and 

son of Nigerian eminent 

jurist, Senator Udoma Udo 

Udoma, but the prominent 

lawyer and bureaucrat is 

said to have pleaded to be 

allowed to quit public 

service after many years of 

outing. 

It was gathered that 

Buhari had taken more 

than a passing interest in 

Udoma since he 

successfully deployed his 

business and financial 

acumen in bailing Nigeria 

out of recession last year 

and enabled the country to 

experience some level of 

growth and economic 

stability, as confirmed by 

international rating 

agencies. 

Buhari is also said to have 

been impressed by the 

minister’s levelheadedness 

and for serving 

as a bridge-builder 

between the federal and 

Akwa Ibom State 

government since coming 

on board and helping to 

create stability and 

harmony between the two 

tiers of government. 

Presidential source said, 

however, that despite 

Buhari’s admiration of 

Udoma’s towering 

leadership and 

administrative credentials, 

the minister has made it 

clear that he would serve 

only one term and retire 

from public service, having 

put in many years serving 

Nigeria and its people in 

different spheres. 

The decision by Udoma 

not to serve again in the 

new cabinet leaves Buhari 

with the option of choosing 

his cabinet member from 

Akwa Ibom State from the 

duo of former Governor 

Godswill Akpabio and 

Senator Ita Enang, who 

currently serves as Senior 

Special Assistant to the 

President on National 

Assembly Matters (Senate). 

Although Akpabio would 

eminently fit the bill 

because of his position as a 

former governor and the 

strong support he 

mobilised for the All 

Progressives Congress, 

which enabled the party to 

score over 40 percent in the 

just concluded presidential 

election in the state. 

However the state 

government, which is 

supposed to recommend a 

ministerial candidate to the 

Presidency, is said to be 

frontally opposed to the 

candidature of the former 

governor and would not do 

63.2% of registered SIM data invalid —NCC 

By Emmanuel 

Elebeke 

ABUJA—The Nigerian 

Communications 

Commission, NCC, said 

yesterday that since the 

SIM registration exercise 

started in 2011, 63.2 per 

cent of 151,449,837 

registration data of 

subscribers was invalid. 

According to the 

commission, only 

55,749,652 is valid, based 

on face capturing and 

fingerprints. 

Consequently, it 

threatened to, henceforth, 

try those indulging in 

illegal SIM registration for 

felony with 25 years 

imprisonment, as 

prescribed by the law. 

Executive Commissioner, 

Stakeholder Management, 

NCC, Mr. Sunday Dare, 

who stated these during 

the South-South regional 

sensitization workshop on 

the dangers of fraudulentlyactivated 

SIM cards, 

organised by the 

commission in Port 

Harcourt, Rivers State, 

insisted that the right things 

must be done by 

registration agents and 

their MNOs to curb the 

dangers posed by the 

menace. 

Dare, who was 

represented at the forum by 

the Director, Compliance 

Monitoring and 

Enforcement at the 

Commission, Mr. Efosa 

Idehen, said the new 

moves followed eight years 

continuous fight against 

cases of fraudulentlyregistered 

or activated SIM 

cards by the commission 

since 2012 without 

appreciable compliance by 

the MNOs and their 

different layers of 

registration agents across 

the country. 

According to him, this 

constitutes a threat to 

national security and the 

nation’s interest. 

“Unfortunately, despite 

the level of stakeholder 

engagements, sanction so 

far imposed, arrests made 

and prosecutions secured 

through working with law 

enforcement agencies, 

among others, the level of 

compliance with the SIM 

registrations rules by the 

so under any condition. 

Top backers of Governor 

Emmanuel Udom and the 

Peoples Democratic Party in 

Uyo have made it clear that 

Akpabio should not be 

given such top position so 

soon, having embarrassed 

them by defecting from 

their fold and joining forces 

with the opposition to work 

against them. 

A power broker in the 

state told Vanguard that 

they would rather stay 

without a minister than 

recommend Akpabio to 

become one, a post that 

would automatically 

elevate him to the APC 

political leader in the state. 

The choice of Ita Enang, 

which appears to be more 

appeasing to the PDP and 

APC fold in the state, 

however, hangs in the 

balance since some of the 

political leaders feel that he 

had been in government 

since 1999, first, as member 

of the House of 

Representatives for 12 

years and later as senator 

for four years before being 

appointed presidential 

aide in 2015 by Buhari. 

various players across the 

SIM registration value 

chain remains 

unsatisfactory,” he 

lamented. 

ELECTRICITY: Nigeria needs 

cost effective tariff —AfDB 

By Johnbosco 

Agbakwuru 

A BUJA—PRESIDENT 

of African 

Development Bank, AfDB, 

Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina, 

has said Nigeria needs to 

evolve a more cost effective 

tariff structure in order to 

achieve steady electricity 

supply. 

Speaking with State 

House correspondents after 

meeting behind closed 

doors with President 

Muhammadu Buhari at the 

Presidential villa, Abuja, 

yesterday, Adesina said 

power was one of the critical 

infrastructure needed in 

Africa’s largest economy- 

Nigeria to be able to 

industrialise. 

According to him, “there 

is no doubt that Nigeria 

needs a lot of power. 

Without power you can’t do 

anything; industries can’t 

develop without power. 

“There are three 

components, one I think we 

need to get the tariff 

structure because if you 

don’t have good cost 

effective tariff structure, 

investments from private 

sector become very difficult 

in the energy sector. The 

second is liquidity 

constraints in the power 

sector should be addressed. 

“ 

Adesina disclosed that 

the AfDB had so far 

invested about $400 million 

in the Transmission 

Comapny of Nigeria, TCN, 

to help the country improve 

on electricity generation 

and distribution. 

“We in the bank have 

invested over $400 million 

in the transmission 

company of Nigeria to 

support it, we have also 

provided risks guarantees 

to be able to guarantee the 

risk of non-repayment to 

free up the liquidity 

constraints. But at the end 

of the day, it is to diversify 

the energy subsets that we 

have,” he said. 

The AfDB President also 

explained that Nigeria 

needed use its gas deposit 

as well as hydro and solar 

energy to improve 

electricity supply for the 

citizens. 

77 panels set to hear 

766 election petitions 

By Ikechukwu 

Nnochiri 

ABUJA—President of 

the Court of Appeal, 

Justice Zainab 

Bulkachuwa, has 

constituted 77 panels to 

hear and determine 

petitions that arose from the 

2019 general elections 

across the federation. 

Whereas the Presidential 

Election Petition Tribunal 

which has already received 

four petitions challenging 

the return of President 

Muhammadu Buhari as 

winner of the February 23 

presidential poll, will hold 

its proceedings at the Court 

of Appeal Headquarters in 

Abuja. 

Other tribunals will hear 

cases at select high court 

premises in various states 

where Governorship, 

National Assembly and 

State Assembly elections 

took place, while in states 

adjudged to be volatile, 

their tribunal will be 

relocated to Abuja. 

SPEAKERSHIP: I won't step down for 

anybody, says Bago 

By Levinus 

Nwabughiogu 

ABUJA—AN aspirant to 

the speakership of the 

9th House of 

Representatives, 

Mohammed Bago, 

yesterday refuted claims 

that he has stepped down 

his ambition. 

The lawmaker said he 

was very much in the race 

and would not contemplate 

stepping down for anyone. 

Bago spoke against the 

backdrop of growing 

enquiries and speculations 

that he had dropped out of 

the race. 

In a statement by 

spokesman of his 

campaign organization, 

Victor Ogene, in Abuja 

yesterday, Bago said the 

race to lead the 9th House 

was not about himself but 

the collective aspiration of 

The Deputy Chief Registrar 

at the Court of Appeal, 

Mrs Rabi 

Abdulazeez, disclosed 

yesterday that petitions 

challenging the outcome of 

various elections 

conducted by the 

Independent National 

Electoral Commission, 

INEC, have increased from 

736 that it was as at April 4, 

to 766. 

She disclosed that 30 new 

petitions were lodged as at 

April 16. 

According to the data 

released by Abdulazeez 

yesterday, aside from the 

four petitions challenging 

the outcome of the 

presidential poll, a total of 

101 petitions are querying 

results of the House of 

Representatives elections. 

Similarly, the number of 

petitions seeking to 

invalidate results of 

senatorial elections 

increased to 207, while a 

total of 402 petitions have 

been lodged against State 

House of Assembly 

elections. 

the people of the North 

Central for all inclusive 

governance. 

He said the only 

acceptable redress to the 

injustice of zoning of offices 

would be his victory. 

the third time lawmaker 

who represents Chanchagi 

Federal Constituency, 

asked his detractors to allow 

the 360 members decide 

his fate on inauguration day 

in June.

10 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24, 2019 


Vanguard holds first telecom 

industry discourse on OTT today 

By Prince Osuagwu 

L AGOS—VANGUARD 

Newspapers will 

today, at the Civic Centre, 

Victoria Island, Lagos hold 

the first stakeholders 

conference on the impact of 

Over the Top, OTT service 

providers in the telecom 

industry. 

OTTs are agents of 

disruptive technology. They 

mostly render services to the 

consumers, over the 

network of traditional 

operators, bypassing 

controls. They include 

Facebook, Whatsapp, 

Twitter, Instagram, 

LinkedIN, Viber and 

Netflix, among others. 

The essence of the 

talkshop is to hammer out 

strategic decisions on how 

the regulator, licensed 

telecom operators in 

Nigeria and their OTT 

counterparts, will co-exist in 

an ecosystem that ensures 

mutual respect and gain for 

everybody. 

Themed: “Unlocking the 

revenue and growth 

opportunities in the telecoms 

sector in a changing 

business model and digital 

technology environment - 

Role of Regulator, Operators 

and OTT service providers”, 

the conference will start by 

10.00am 

The Executive Vice 

Chairman of the Nigerian 

Communications 

Commission, NCC, Prof 

Umar Danbatta will open the 

conference with a lecture, 

followed by a panel of 

discussants made up of the 

Chairman of Association of 

Licensed Telecom 

Companies of Nigeria, 

ALTON, Engr Gbenga 

Adebayo, President of 

Association of Telecom 

Companies of Nigeria, 

ATCON, Mr. Teniola 

Olusola, CEO of Airtel, Mr. 

Segun Ogunsanya, Chief 

Enterprise Business Officer, 

MTN Nigeria, Mrs Lynda 

St. Nwafor and Chairman 

Wireless Access Services 

Providers Association of 

Nigeria, WASPAN, Mr. 

Chijioke Eze among others. 

NCAA set to demolish over 7,000 

telecommunication masts, towers 

By Lawani Mikairu 

L Nigerian 

AGOS—THE 

Civil 

Aviation Authority, NCAA, 

yesterday, said it will 

demolish over 7,000 

telecommunication masts 

and towers belonging 

to Global System for 

Mobile Communications, 

GSM, providers erected 

all over the country . 

The regulatory authority 

has issued a 30-day 

ultimatum to the providers 

to obtain the statutory 

Aviation Height Clearance 

certificate. 

Confirming this 

yesterday, General 

Manager, Public Relations, 

NCAA, Sam Adurogboye 

said: “NCAA is compelled 

to recourse to this line of 

action when the 

Activities of OTT operators 

have created unrest for 

telecom operators who feel 

their revenues are eroded by 

their operations. Many 

traditional telecom service 

providers believe that voice 

telephony and SMS 

revenues are under threat 

from newer, IP based 

alternatives like WhatsApp, 

Skype, Viber, among others. 

Similarly, third party web 

content and social 

networking companies such 

as Google and Facebook are 

increasingly generating 

huge revenues and driving 

high levels of data traffic 

which ride on the 

broadband networks of 

traditional telecom 

operators. To further worsen 

the case, telecom operators 

still have to make significant 

investments in upgrading 

their networks to handle the 

increasing volume of data 

generated by the same 

providers of OTT services. 

The telcos demand a 

revenue flow from such 

services else they do not 

have incentives to continue 

maintaining the networks. 

However, different 

stakeholders are of the 

opinion that rather than 

crush the activities of the 

OTTs, which provide some 

kind of economic power to 

the consumers, operators 

need to leverage their 

distinct assets and 

capabilities in order to 

counter the threat. 

In reaction to this 

demand, Vanguard, 

through this forum, is 

bringing the different 

parties together to chart a 

new course. 

The event is expected to 

analyse and discuss the 

current regulatory 

environment in the face of 

threat to revenue streams of 

Telco’s from OTT service 

players. 

It will also discuss how 

the changing shift in 

consumer preferences and 

behaviour is impacting 

traditional telecom services 

offerings vis a vis increasing 

competition from OTT 

service players. 

telecommunication 

providers have blatantly 

failed to obtain the statutory 

AHC. 

“Under the Civil Aviation 

Act, 2006, Section 30(3)(1), 

NCAA is empowered to 

prohibit and regulate the 

installation of any structure 

which by virtue of its height 

or position is considered to 

endanger the safety of air 

navigation. 

“Furthermore, the Nigeria 

Civil Aviation Regulations 

(Nig.CARs) Part 12.1.7.1.3.1 

stipulates that No person or 

organisation shall put up a 

structure (permanent or 

temporary) within the 

navigable airspace of 

Nigeria unless such a 

person or organisation is a 

holder of AHC Certificate 

granted under this 

Regulation.” 

AS BUHARI VISITS: Lagosians urge President 

to visit Oshodi/Apapa expressway 

By Evelyn Usman 

& Olasunkanmi 

Akoni 

L 

A G O S — 

MOTORISTS 

plying the Oshodi/Apapa 

expressway have appealed 

to President Muhammadu 

Buhari to visit the Oshodi/ 

Apapa expressway to get 

first-hand assessment of the 

situation. 

Barring any last minute 

change, Governor 

Akinwunmi Ambode of 

Lagos State will receive 

President Buhari today on 

One-Day official visit to 

commission some projects. 

The motorists urged the 

President to visit the axis 

after commissioning 

landmark projects as part of 

his scheduled visit to 

Lagos. 

The motorists expressed 

confidence that such visit 

would proffer the long 

awaited solution to the 

perennial gridlock along 

the expressway. 

Some motorists, who 

spoke with Vanguard said 

the trucks evacuated from 

the President’s route, were 

brought to the already 

congested Oshodi/Apapa 

expressway, while others 

are parked on some streets. 

As at yesterday, motorists 

plying the ever busy 

expressway were trapped 

between Ijesha and Second 

Rainbow. 

Speaking with Vanguard, 

a motorist, Mr. 

Maduabuchukwu Onyema 

said: “It will be good to 

have the President visit this 

expressway today to see 

things for himself. This is 

because he may not believe 

the situation by the time he 

is conveyed round areas 

where trucks have been 

moved.” 

Another motorist, Mr. 

Gbolahon Olayemi said: “I 

agree that the President 

should visit this route, if 

indeed his inaugural 

speech of being president 

for all, is true. 

“The only time politicians 

need Nigerians is during 

election. This is a test for 

•LASG releases travel advice 

the president to show that 

he is indeed a father of all.” 

Buhari visits Lagos 

Meanwhile, in a 

statement 

by 

Commissioner for 

Information and Strategy, 

Kehinde Bamigbetan said 

projects to be 

commissioned include: 

the rehabilitated 10-lane 

Oshodi-Muritala 

Muhammed International 

Airport Road; the 170-Bed 

‘Ayinke House’ (Maternity 

Hospital) at the Lagos State 

University Teaching 

Hospital (LASUTH) Ikeja; 

the Lagos State Theatre at 

Oregun, Ikeja; new 820 

Obasanjo responsible for shortcomings 

of '79, '99 Constitutions — FALANA 

By Dayo Adesulu 

Lrights AGOS—HUMAN 

activist, Mr. 

Femi Falana (SAN), 

yesterday, said the 

shortcomings in the 1979 

and 1999 constitutions 

would have been 

addressed long ago if Chief 

Olusegun Obasanjo had 

accepted and implemented 

a minority report written by 

Chief Olusegun Osoba and 

the late Yusufu Bala 

Usman. 

He said the controversy 

that surrounds the 

birthplace of Alhaji Atiku 

Abubakar and what 

qualifies someone to be a 

citizen of Nigeria was 

clearly resolved in the 

report. 

Speaking during the 

public presentation of the 

report held at the University 

of Lagos (UNILAG) 

Auditorium in Lagos, 

Falana said unknown to 

the youths of this 

generation, the Not Too 

Young to Run campaign 

was pioneered by Osoba 

and the late Usman 43 

Mass Transit Buses and 

the multi-level Oshodi- 

Transport Interchange 

along the Apapa-Oshodi 

Expressway. 

Travel advice to motorists 

To ensure free flow of 

traffic during the visit, the 

State Ministry of 

Transportation has also 

notified members of the 

public, especially motorists, 

about traffic diversion on 

some major roads as part 

of efforts to ensure a hitchfree 

movement. 


statement, the Presidential 

visit will hold between the 

hours of 9.00am and 

3.00pm during which traffic 

along the following routes 

shall be diverted: Mobolaji 

Bank-Anthony Way 

(coming from the 

Presidential Wing of 

Murtala Mohammed 

Airport to LASUTH Under 

Bridge), Kodesoh Road, 

Obafemi Awolowo Way, 

Kudirat Abiola Way, 

Ikorodu Road (between 

Ojota Intersection and 

Anthony Interchange), 

Oworonshoki-Apapa 

Expressway (between 

Anthony and Oshodi 

Transport Interchange), 

International Airport 

Road through the Local 

Wing of the airport to 

Mobolaji Bank-Anthony 

Way and back to 

Obafemi Awolowo Way. 

•Laments fate of Osoba, Usman Minority Report 

years ago. 

He said: "Unknown to the 

Not Too Young to Run 

campaigners, Osoba and 

Usman had recommended 

in Section 145 of their own 

Draft Constitution way back 

in 1976 the minimum age 

of 30 as part of the 

qualifications to contest for 

the office president or 

governor. 

"43 years later, the same 

provision is being 

celebrated by youths who 

now see the man that 

treated the Minority Draft 

then as “non-existent.” 

"As Osoba and Usman 

rightly put it, the 1979 

Constitution is a deliberate 

effort at mystification for the 

selfish interests of the 

bourgeoisie. The 

constitution is verbose. It is 

laden with technical 

loopholes. As a matter fact, 

the pull for the Chapter II 

of the 1979 Constitution, 

which is also incorporated 

in the 1999 Constitution, 

was actually the Minority 

Report of Osoba and 

Usman that we are 

celebrating today." 

SANWOOLU OPENS 

DEFENCE: Lagos State 

Governor-elect, Mr. 

Babajide Sanwo-Olu 

(middle); flanked by his 

Deputy, Dr. Obafemi 

Hamzat (left) and 

chieftain, All 


Lagos State, Mr. 

Demola Seriki, signing 

copies of legal 

documents, at the Lagos 

State Election Petition 

Tribunal to open his 

defense against the 

petition filed by the 

governorship 

candidates of AD) and 

Labour Party, 

challenging outcome of 

the recent gubernatorial 

elections, in Ikeja Lagos 

yesterday. 

On his part, Chief 

Olusegun Osoba said: 

"Restructuring is a fraud", 

adding that those calling for 

restructuring are doing so 

for their selfish interest. 

He said: "The few in the 

country who are calling for 

restructuring do so either to 

get more states creation to 

field in more politicians or 

to demand resource control. 

The recurring lie by the elite 

is that what we need to cure 

all our political, economic 

and social ills is 

restructuring. Restructuring 

as proposed by some 

members of the ruling elites 

is a blatant lie." 

"When they say 

restructuring, they never 

defined it. I have not seen 

any one of them defined 

what they mean." 

In his remarks, Mr. 

Attahiru Usman, son of the 

co-author, late Yusuf Bala 

Usman lauded the Minority 

Report and Draft 

Constitution for the Federal 

Republic of Nigeria, adding 

that if the content was strictly 

adhered to, it would resolve 

many constitutional issues.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24, 2019— 11 

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

MOREMI: From left; Oba Francis Alao, The Olugbon; Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, Ojaja II; Chief 

Alex Duduyemi, the Aro Asiwaju of Ile- ife; Mrs Omotayo Omotosho, FRN, His Royal Majesty Oba Yekini 

Adeniyi Elegushi, Kusenla II; wife of the governor of Ogun State, Funsho Amosun and Erelu Abiola Dosumu 

after watching Moremi the Musical performance on Easter Monday at Terra Kulture in Lagos. 

OSUN GOV APPEAL PANEL: PDP kicks 

against inclusion of Justice Oyewole 

•Says Oyewole has strong links with APC 

•He’s not on panel, A’Court replies PDP 

By Ikechukwu 

Nnochiri & Dirisu 

Yakubu 

ABUJA—THE Peoples 

Democratic Party, 

PDP, yesterday, rejected the 

inclusion of Justice J.O.K 

Oyewole as a member of 

the Osun State 

Governorship Election 

Appeal Tribunal. 

The party said its position 

is predicated on the fact that 

“Hon. Justice Oyewole has 

strong connections with the 

All Progressives Congress, 

APC, which is an interested 

party in the appeal.” 

Addressing a press 

conference in Abuja, 

spokesman of the party, 

Kola Ologbondiyan said 

the PDP has already 

petitioned the President of 

the Court, objecting to the 

inclusion of Justice 

Oyewole in the appeal 

panel based on “the clear 

ASUU faults Aisha Buhari on creation 

of private varsity 

By Ola Ajayi 

I Academic BADAN—THE 

Staff Union 

of Universities, ASUU, 

yesterday faulted the 

proposed plan by the First 

Lady, Mrs Aisha Buhari, to 

establish a private 

university to be named after 


Buhari, saying the move is 

antithetical to the 

development of existing 

public universities in the 

country. 

While advising the 

President and his wife to be 

hesitant in establishing the 

proposed university, the 

academic union said if the 

plan comes to fruition, it will 

spell doom for public 

university education. 

The Union, through its UI 

branch chairman, 

Professor Deji Omole and 

former National Treasurer 

of the Union, Professor 

likelihood of his being 

biased against the person 

of our candidate, Senator 

Ademola Adeleke and the 

PDP, under which he 

contested the 2018 Osun 

state governorship 

election.” 

Ologbondiyan said: “Our 

grounds of objection 

against Justice Oyewole’s 

membership of the appeal 

panel are as follows: 

“Hon. Justice Oyewole, 

JCA, is an indigene of 

Osun State and he had 

served as a High Court 

Judge of Lagos State and 

had thus served under the 

administration of Senator 

Ahmed Bola Tinubu, (the 

national leader of the APC) 

while he (Tinubu) was the 

governor of Lagos State. 

“When the seat of the 

Chief Judge of Osun State 

became vacant, some years 

back, upon the retirement 

of Hon. Justice G.O Ojo, 

Senator Ahmed Bola 

Ademola Aremu alleged 

that the plan, which is still 

in embryonic stage, has 

confirmed why President 

Buhari has “continued to 

reduce budgetary 

allocation to education since 

he assumed office in 2015.” 

The union leaders said 

this while speaking with 

newsmen in Ibadan. 

Wife of the President, 

Aisha Buhari had at a Town 

hall meeting in Yola 

disclosed that she would 

establish a private 

university to be named after 

President Buhari in 

partnership with some 

foreigners. 

Prof Omole said: “When 

I also heard about the 

proposed private university 

to be named after the 

President, I just looked at 

it as a joke taken too far. If 

we have a president in a 

country that has simply 

refused to fund public 

Tinubu insisted on having 

his anointed candidate, 

Hon Justice J.O.K 

Oyewole, on the Judiciary 

of Osun State at all cost. 

“It will be recalled that it 

took the courageous 

intervention of the then 

Chief Justice of Nigeria, 

CJN, Justice Aloma 

Murktar to prevail that the 

most senior judge of Osun 

State judiciary should be so 

appointed.” 

It also noted that “When 

a seat became vacant at the 

Court of Appeal, the name 

of Hon. Justice Oyewole 

was pushed forward by 

Senator Tinubu, using the 

slot of Osun State and thus, 

Justice Oyewole became 

Justice of the Court of 

Appeal. 

“It is, therefore, a fact 

known to us and members 

of the public that Hon. 

Justice Oyewole has a 

strong connection with the 

APC and its leader, Senator 

education and all we get 

from the family of the first 

lady is to establish a private 

university in collaboration 

with some foreigners. 

“To me, I think, it is a 

disaster for this country and 

for a sitting president. The 

implication is that 

Nigerians should know 

that this leadership does 

not believe in publicfunded 

education. 

“It is not the children of 

the rich that will solve the 

problems of Nigeria but the 

children of the poor and the 

tool they need is quality 

education.” 

Also speaking, Professor 

Aremu said: “I don’t think 

that she is serious. We 

already have proliferation 

of universities and they are 

not taken care of. Since they 

are policy makers, they will 

now formulate policies that 

will run public universities 

aground for their interest to 

thrive. I thought we have 

actually left that era.'' 

Ahmed Tinubu. As such he 

should not sit as a panel 

member for a governorship 

election dispute between the 

PDP and the APC. 

“Moreover, Hon. Justice 

J.O.K Oyewole is from Osun 

State. The instant appeal is 

over the decision of the 

Osun State Governorship 

Tribunal. Given his 

connections with the APC, 

it will be most unsafe to 

allow Hon. Justice J.O.K 

Oyewole to sit on the 

Appeal Panel. The party is 

not assured that justice will 

be done with Hon. Justice 

J.O.K Oyewole as a member 

of the Panel. 

“The PDP, therefore, 

demands that the President 

of the Court of Appeal 

immediately replace Hon. 

Justice Oyewole with 

another justice of the Court 

of Appeal, without any 

affiliation with Osun state, 

out of the over 90 eminent 

Justices of the Court of 

Appeal.” 

He’s not on panel, 

A’Court replies PDP 

Meanwhile, President of 

the Court of Appeal, Justice 

Zainab Bulkachuwa, 

yesterday, debunked 

allegation that a judge loyal 

to the APC was included as 

a member of the Osun State 

Governorship Election 

Appeal Panel. 

This was contained in a 

statement by Head of 

Information Department at 

the Court of Appeal, Mrs. 

Saadatu Musa Kachalla. 

Justice Bulkachuwa, in a 

statement entitled: Don’t Be 

Misguided, said: “Hon. 

Justice Joseph Oyewole, 

Justice of the Court of 

Appeal, Enugu Division, an 

industrious son of the Osun 

State, is not a member of the 

Osun Governorship 

Election Appeal Tribunal set 

up by the President of the 

Court of Appeal who had 

earlier said that the court 

must always put her 

integrity on the front burner. 

“The Members of the 

public are therefore advised 

not to be misguided by 

desperate and jittery 

individuals whose action is 

to heat up the polity. 

Oshodi bus transport 

interchange’ll move 1m 

commuters daily 

By Dapo Akinrefon 

L Managing AGOS—THE 

Director, 

Planet Projects Limited, 

handling the Oshodi bus 

transport interchange, Mr. 

Abiodun Otunola, 

yesterday, said the three 

newly constructed 

terminals, when 

operational, will move an 

average of one million 

commuters daily. 

The project is to be 

commissioned by President 

Muhammdu Buhari. 

Conducting newsmen on 

a tour of the project, 

yesterday, Mr. Otunola 

assured that Terminal 

Three of the interchange is 

ready for commissioning 

today. 

While describing the 

project as iconic, he said the 

project was an initiative of 

the state government, 

adding that the execution 

is by a 99.9 per cent 

Nigerian team. 

He said: “Essentially, the 

transport interchange is to 

address the traffic 

environmental, safety and 

transportation problem in 

Lagos state. Oshodi is 

perhaps the busiest 

transport interchange 

ECOWAS, IOM, NAPTIP advocate 

National Biometric Identity 

By Bose Adelaja & 

Victor Arjiromanus 

L E AGOS—THE 

c o n o m i c 

Community of West African 

States, ECOWAS, 

International Organisation 

for Migration IOM and 

National Agency for the 

Prohibition of Traffic in 

Persons, NAPTIP, yesterday, 

advocated the need for 

migrants to possess 

ECOWAS National 

Biometric Identity in order 

to fight human trafficking 

across West African borders. 

At a sensitisation and 

advocacy programme which 

took place in Lagos, 

ECOWAS Director Free 

Movement Siaw-Boateng, 

IOM Chief of Mission 

Frantz Celestin and 

NAPTIP Director General 

Dame Julie Oka-Donli 

urged migrants to possess 

valid travel documents 

while transporters and 

World Reading Day: Fayemi’s wife 

tasks youths on reading culture 

By Rotimi Ojomoyela 

Awife DO-EKITI—THE 

of Ekiti State 

Governor, Erelu Bisi 

Fayemi, yesterday, urged 

Nigerian youths to develop 

good reading habits. 

Mrs. Fayemi, who said 

this during the 2019 World 

Reading Day in Ado Ekiti, 

lamented the lack of 

reading culture among the 

youths. 

She noted that it has 

anywhere in Africa. Prior to 

the inception of this project, 

there were 13 independent 

parks in Oshodi and close 

to 500 buses are loading 

every time to different 

designation, close to 34 

designations across 

Nigeria. 

“As a result of this, we 

know that the problem here 

is not just environmental 

but largely transport. If we 

can solve the transport 

problem, then we can deal 

with any other issue. 

“We have to provide a 

terminal that can handle at 

least one million people 

every day, not in the 

immediate, but we believe 

that when this terminal 

open, we should be able to 

do about 300, 000 and then 

gradually in the next five 

to 10 years we will get about 

one million people on a 

daily basis.” 

Speaking further, he said: 

“Terminal 1 would serve 

those travelling outside the 

state, especially the west 

coast; Terminal 2 will 

service commuters 

heading to Abule Egba and 

adjoining places, and 

Terminal 3 would serve 

commuters heading for 

Anthony, Ojota, Lagos 

Island, Ikorodu and 

environs.'' 

drivers were enjoined to 

join in the fight against 

human trafficking. 

Celestin said: 

“Transporters and drivers 

can play a pivotal role by 

ensuring all passengers are 

in the possession of valid 

travel documents and take 

the necessary steps to 

report cases of human 

trafficking and 

smuggling.” 

Oka-Donli said trafficking 

is a very serious situation 

that requires urgent 

solution calling on 

stakeholders to rise to the 

challenge. 

Reeling out the 

importance of the National 

Biometric Identity, Siaw- 

Boateng said it will 

facilitate mobility within 

West African States, 

discourage irregular 

migration, enhance 

security network, and 

encourage information 

dissemination and proper 

identification of citizens. 

really affected Nigeria’s 

developmental process. 

She lamented that the 

youths give prominence to 

frivolities rather than 

engaging in activities 

capable of sharpening their 

intellectual capable 

through reading. 

She, however, said the 

present administration 

would soon embark on 

building of public library for 

advancement of quality 

education in the state.

12—VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24, 2019 

PROTEST: Members of Islamic Movement of Nigeria, IMN, during a peaceful protest demanding the release of their leader, Sheikh 

Zakzaky, on Shehu Shagari Road Abuja, yesterday. Photos: Gbemiga Olamikan. 

UNIBEN students protest 

lecturers’ strike 

By Alemma Aliu 

BENIN 

CITY— 

ACTIVITIES on the 

busy Benin -Lagos 

highway were grounded 

by Pharmacy students of 

the University of Benin, 

UNIBEN, yesterday, over 

fears that their graduating 

students may not be able to 

undergo induction due to 

non completion of their 

programme. 

The non conclusion 

according to them, is due 

to the two months strike by 

their lecturers over non 

payment of sundry 

allowances by the 

management of the 

University. 

But the school’s Public 

Relations Officer, Michael 

Osasuyi said the 

allowances being 

demanded are not known 

to the school though he 

confirmed that 

management of the school 

had met with a view to 

resolving the impasse 

At press time, there was 

still vehicular traffic on the 

road as the students did not 

allow any vehicle to enter 

the campus while many 

vehicles coming from Lagos 

had to pass through the 

untarred road opposite 7Up 

Bottling Company to access 

the city centre through 

Siluko Road. 

One of the students told 

Vanguard yesterday, that 

“Our lecturers went on 

strike last year over this 

same matter and 

management assured them 

that the issue would be 

looked into, but nothing 

was done. 

"Two months ago, they 

embarked on a fresh strike 

and the implication is that 

our students who are due 

for induction will not be able 

to go through that, while 

those still in school cannot 

write exams when their 

counterparts from other 

departments are writing. So 

we want management to 

look into it.” 

Chairman, Joint Campus 

Committee, JCC, Edo 

State axis of National 

Association of Nigerian 

Students, NANS, Salami 

David said: “We have been 

able to persuade the 

students to go back into 

campus as at 5.25 p.m., this 

was done with collaboration 

of the school security 

apparatus, the SUG and 

management but they have 

threatened to resume 

tomorrow (today) but we 

will continue to persuade 

them to sheath their sword 

while management look 

into the issues they are 

raising.” 

IAAAS holds first career 

seminar in Nigeria 

UNITED States based 

International 

Association of African 

Authors and Scholars, 

IAAAS, will hold the 

maiden edition of its Career 

Advancement and 

Leadership Skills Seminar 

on May 3, in Port Harcourt, 

River State 

Executive Director of the 

association, Chinedum 

Igwe said the career and 

leadership seminar which 

is being promoted to build 

manpower development 

and exceptional leaders in 

partnership with two 

universities in the USA ( 

Beulah Heights University 

and University of West 

Georgia) is designed to 

enhance organisational 

growth and nationbuilding 

in Africa 

He said the course 

content of the seminar had 

been professionally 

designed for company 

executives, civil servants, 

upwardly mobile 

individuals and university 

graduates seeking to 

advance their careers as 

well as to acquire requisite 

leadership skills training 

that will make them 

exceptional leaders in their 

respective organizations or 

chosen profession 

Akpabio’s legal team resumes inspection of 

election materials 

By Chioma 

Onuegbu 

UYO—THE seven-man 

legal team of the 

senator representing Ikot 

Ekpene senatorial district, 

Senator Godswill Akpabio 

yesterday, resumed the 

inspection of election 

materials at the 

headquarters of 

Independent National 

Electoral Commission, 

INEC, Udo Udoma 

Avenue, Uyo, Akwa Ibom 

State. 

It was gathered that the 

ongoing inspection process 

which resumed, yesterday, 

was stopped last Tuesday 

because of the Easter 

holidays. 

Vanguard observed before 

10 a.m., yesterday, that the 

legal team of Senator 

Akpabio who contested for 

a re-election into the Senate 

seat on the platform of the 


APC, were already at the 

INEC Strong Room trying 

to sort out the materials 

stacked in heaps. 

However, Mr Ekom 

Nwoko, one of the lawyers 

representing the Peoples 

Democratic Party, PDP, at 

the tribunal, said he was at 

Rubber farmers raise alarm over FG’s neglect 

By Ike 

Uchechukwu 

CALABAR—NO fewer 

than 207 rubber 

plantation owners in Cross 

River State have decried 

their neglect by the Federal 

Government and the state 

government saying, that the 

non inclusion of rubber on 

the recent list of crops by 

the Central Bank of 

Nigeria, CBN to benefit 

from the bank’s loan was 

not fair. 

They bemoaned the non 

inclusion of rubber in the 

recent list of crops by the 

CBN, which are to enjoy 

generous nine per cent 

loan interest and 

moratorium. 

The rubber farmers 

the venue to observe the 

inspection being done by 

the petitioners, being 

joined as a respondent in 

the matter. 

Nwoko disclosed that the 

PDP and the first 

respondent, Dr. 

Christopher Ekpenyong of 

the PDP had filed a motion 

for the Tribunal to set aside 

some reliefs granted exparte 

by the Tribunal, 

especially forensic 

examination of election 

materials. 

Expressing the hope that 

Fish out corrupt politicians in APC, Uwabuofu 

solution and progress. 

tells Buhari 

By Ochuko 

Akuopha 

OLEH—STALWART of 

the All Progressives 

Congress, APC, in Delta 

State, Mr. Chidi Uwabuofu, 

has urged President 

Muhammadu Buhari to 

fish out dubious elements 

seeking refuge in the APC, 

saying the party could not 

afford to be a safe haven for 

corrupt politicians. 

Uwabuofu, in a statement 

yesterday, said: “Those who 

created Nigeria’s problems 

cannot by mere change of 

their political parties 

become the harbingers of 

expressed dismay over the 

development when Mrs. 

Ufuoma Obrutse, the 

Managing Director, 

Imoniyame Holdings Ltd 

in Delta State briefed 

journalists in Calabar, 

yesterday. 

Speaking on the 

development, she insisted 

that the marginalisation 

was very unfair to a sector 

which generates huge 

employment and attracts 

heavy foreign exchange to 

the country. 

She said, “It is important 

for the Federal Government 

to have a rethink over 

excluding rubber, which 

engages greater number of 

Nigerians directly and 

indirectly, from the list. It 

some reliefs would be set 

aside, Nwoko added, “Our 

motion is premised on 

section 151 of the Electoral 

Act, and inspection of 

Electoral materials does not 

cover forensic examination. 

That is the premise of our 

motion. And likely, the 

motion will come up next 

week, but we have not got 

a date yet.” 

Speaking later, Public 

Affairs Officer of INEC, 

Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Don 

Etukudo, said the legal 

team was able to sort out 

the election materials for 

the 10 local government 

areas , yesterday. 

“Mr. President’s 

commitment to fighting 

corrupt practices no doubt 

is revamping our tainted 

image internationally, an 

image occasioned by the 

past democratic 

governments’ tolerance for 

grand corruption. 

“However, there are 

complains of partisan bias 

in the fight against 

corruption, the allegation 

that the former PDP 

chieftains that switched 

alliance to APC are being 

shielded in the fight against 

corruption for political 

reasons. 

“I don’ t know how 

truthful this claim is, but If 

is also not arguable that the 

rubber sector generates 

more foreign exchange 

than many other crops. 

“The Federal 

Government should extend 

the intervention fund to 

rubber if they do not want 

it to go extinct. We are 

already facing huge 

challenges, and to exclude 

us may mean that the 

intention is to further 

dampen us whereas we are 

a more reliable economic 

bolster. 

“Rubber has more 

challenges yet with greater 

benefits even though it has 

about seven years gestation 

period. Yet, it has 

generational value. So we 

need more assistance. We 

His words, “You have 

seen that the inspection 

process is going on. The 

legal team of the APC 

started the process of 

inspection of the election 

materials when we took 

them to the Strong Room 

and they saw the materials. 

“What the legal team was 

able to do today 

(yesterday), was to bring 

out the election materials 

for all the 10 councils. By 

tomorrow (today), they will 

be start actual inspection of 

the materials. They will start 

with Abak, Etim Ekpo and 

Ika Local Government 

Areas of the state.” 

the fight against corruption 

is biased and is just a 

ready-made instrument 

for political persecution of 

perceived enemies, then 

Nigeria is doomed. To 

stand a chance of 

minimising corruption for 

public good, the crusade 

against it must be free from 

politics. It must be fair and 

sincere in all ramifications. 

“I therefore, expect 

Buhari to charge up anti 

corruption agencies to look 

within for these individuals 

who allegedly leaped out 

from the main opposition 

party in order to evade 

justice and bring them to 

book. 

therefore, call on the 

Federal Government to 

urgently review its 

statement so that we in the 

rubber sector can enjoy 

same incentive,” she said. 

Another speaker, Mr. 

Hebrew Akpan, who spoke 

for the 207 rubber farmers 

in Cross River State called 

on government to revive the 

moribund Presidential 

Committee on Rubber. 

He explained that there 

are nine states in the 

southern part of the country, 

considered as the rubber 

belt region, which has high 

concentration of rubber 

plantation, maintaining that 

the sector can therefore, not 

be overlooked and 

marginalised.


Islam not against child spacing — Katsina 

Govt •Lists problems of not spacing children 

By Bashir Bello 

KGovernment 

ATSINA—STATE 

yesterday called on 

women of reproductive 

ages to embrace child 

birth spacing, saying 

Islam does not kick 

against child spacing as 

its being misconstrued. 

Commissioner of 

Health, Mariatu Bala 

Usman, stated this 

during the government’s 

Health Promotion 

Outreach under the 

Saving One Million 

Lives Programme for 

Results conducted for 

nursing mothers at 

Dutsinma local 

government area of the 

state. 

The commissioner who 

described child spacing 

as good and healthy, 

called on the nursing 

TOUR:From left— 

President/Chairman, 

Council Nigerian Institute 

of Public Relations, 

(NIPR) Mukhtar Zubairu 

Sirajo, Group Executive 

Director, Strategy, 

Portfolio Development & 

Capital Projects, Dangote 

industries limited, 

Devakumar.V.G. Edwin, 

Chairman, Nigerian 

Union of Journalists, 

(NUJ) Lagos State 

Council, Dr. Qasim 

Akinreti, during the NUJ 

and NIPR, members 

facility tour of Dangote oil 

refinery and fertilizer 

project in Lekki, Lagos, 

yesterday. 

mothers to embrace it to 

improve their health 

status as well as the well 

being of their children. 

Mariatu who 

expressed concern about 

the Contraceptive 

Prevalence Rate, CPR, in 

the state, said, “There 

are some indicators we 

are very concerned 

about. But what we have 

seen is that 80% - 90% of 

women that attend this 

session actually access 

the service. Obviously, 

they get all the advice 

they need from the 

outreach. And we get 

over 150 women 

accessing services and 

products. 

“So we are confident 

that as the message goes 

round to our people that 

child spacing is indeed 

very healthy, good for 

improving the health 

status of women and 

children. And most 

importantly, that Islam 

which is the religion of 

most of the people 

around here actually 

encourages child 

spacing. Islam 

e n c o u r a g e s 

improvement in health 

status. So with that 

message going across to 

people, we are confident 

that our contraceptive 

prevalence rate would 

go up.” 

The Commissioner 

attributed lack of child 

spacing to the root cause 

of malnutrition in the 

state. 

Others she said 

included, lack of 

knowledge about the 

type of food to feed the 

child, lack of compliance 

with exclusive breast 

feeding and lack of 

access to routine 

immunization hence 

the need to address it 

head on. 

“We also expect our 

routine immunization 

coverage to go up 

because all the women 

who come for today’s 

outreach give their 

children 

for 

immunization. And if 

you look at it, Dutsinma 

in particular, most of 

them came with their 

cards, which means they 

have been accessing 

routine immunization. 

We don’t have many 

defaulters here. 

“We make sure community 

leaders, religious leaders, 

participate and this also gives 

them confidence that whatever 

the ministry of health is bringing 

is something that is acceptable 

to their leaders, because they 

believe their own people will not 

bring something that is bad to 

them,” Mariatu said. 

FG condoles with Kajuru attack victims 

... assures of better security nationwide 

By Emmanuel 

Elebeke 

K ADUNA—THE 

F e d e r a l 

Government has 

condoled with the 

families of the two 

persons, a Nigerian and 

a Briton, killed in 

Friday’s attack on Kajuru 

Castle Resort, in Kaduna 

State, promising that 

the killers will be 

apprehended and 

brought to justice. 

In a statement issued in 

Abuja, the Minister of 

Information and Culture, 

Alhaji Lai Mohammed, 

also assured that the 

security agencies were 

doing everything possible 

to ensure that the three 

A - court sets up elections tribunal in 

Nasarawa 

By David Odama 

L AFIA—PRESIDENT 

Court of Appeal has 

set up a tribunal to handle 

petition cases in 

Nasarawa State. 

Secretary of the 

National and State 

Assembly Elections 

Petitions Tribunal sitting 

in Lafia, Bello Muktar 

disclosed this yesterday 

while exchanging views 

with journalists in Lafia 


Tribunal Secretary, 

tribunal was constituted 

because the number of 

petitions received in 

Nasarawa state was more 

than the required number 

a single panel could 

entertained. 

“A tribunal is expected to 

handle between one to 20 

petitions, but currently 

there are 24 petitions before 

the tribunal in the state, 

hence the need for 

persons who were 

kidnapped in the attack 

were released unharmed. 

The Minister said the 

dastardly attack that led to 

the death of Mrs Faye 

Mooney, a British aid 

worker, and Mr Matthew 

Oguche, a Nigerian, while 

visiting the popular resort, 

was a setback to efforts at 

promoting tourism in the 

another panel,” the 

Secretary added. 

Muktar explained that 

the tribunal had stopped 

receiving petitions 

following the expiration 

of the 21-days period for 

petitioners to file petition 

from the day results were 

announced. 

Mukhtar hinted that 

the tribunal would hold 

its inaugural sitting on 

May 6, 2019. 

country. 

‘’We commiserate with 

the families and friends of 

Mooney and Oguche, and 

wish to assure that the 

security agencies will leave 

no stone unturned in their 

efforts to apprehend the 

killers and bring them to 

justice,’’ he said. 

The minister stated that 

the Federal Government 

had recently stepped up 

efforts to stem the wave of 

violence and banditry in 

parts of the country through 

better intelligence 

gathering and increased 

collaboration by the 

security agencies. 

He said the efforts had 

started paying off, as the 

level of violent attacks, 

banditry and kidnappings 

was being reduced 

nationwide. 

‘’The government will not 

relent until all parts of the 

country are made safe for 

all, whether they are 

tourists, business people or 

ordinary Nigerians who 

want to live in 

an atmosphere of peace 

and security,’’ he added. 

Troops avert communal clash, 

kill 5 mercenaries in Benue 

...recover arms,ammunition 

By Kingsley 

Omonobi & Joseph 

Erunke 

A Nigerian BUJA—THE 

Army has 

said its troops deployed 

in Benue State killed five 

armed militias in the 

state, on Monday and 

averted what could have 

been a major violent 

clash between two Tiv 

clans - Shitile and Ikyora 

The suspected 

mercenaries were killed 

in an ambush by the 

troops after information 

that they were coming for 

attack in the area. 

The acting Director of 

Army 

Public 

Relations,Col. Sagir 

Musa, in a statement 

yesterday ,said the 

ambush by the troops was 

sequel to information 

received about the 

planned attack on 

Katsina - Ala town by 

Shitile armed bandits.” 

The statement reads, 

”Some troops of 72 

Special Forces (SF) 

Battalion Makurdi, 

deployed for internal 

security operations in 

Katsina - Ala Local 

Government Area of 

Benue state, have 

averted what could have 

been a terrible clash 

between two Tiv clans - 

Shitile and Ikyora in the 

early hours of today 

Monday 22 of April 

2019. 

“The efforts of the 

troops were sequel to 

information received 

about the planned 

attack on Katsina - Ala 

town by Shitile armed 

bandits. Hence, the 72 

SF Battalion troops laid 

an ambush along the 

suspected route where 

they intercepted the 

armed fighters/ 

attackers. 

“Consequently, there 

was an exchange of fire 

between the armed 

fighters and the 

soldiers. Five armed 

militia met their 

waterloo during the 

encounter. “ 

The statement said the 

troops recovered one 

General Purpose 

Machine Gun; two AK 

47 Rifles;198 rounds of 

7.62 mm NATO 

ammunition;16 rounds 

of 7.63 mm Special 

Ammunition;two 

vehicles and 7 

motorcycles. 

“The Nigerian Army 

hereby applaud those 

who provided the 

information that led to 

the success of this 

operation. Nigerian 

Army also uses this 

opportunity to remind 

the public on the need 

to be their brothers’ 

keeper and continue to 

provide useful and 

timely information to the 

nearest security 

agencies for decisive 

action,”the statement 

added. 

N7bn wonder bank scheme: 

EFCC freezes 16 accounts, 

detains mastermind 

By Soni Daniel 

ABUJA—THE flop of a 

promising multimillion 

scheme, which was 

to deliver between 135 and 

200 per cent interest to 

investors, has forced the 

Economic and Financial 

Crimes Commission to 

freeze 16 bank accounts 

associated with the 

scheme. 

Similarly, the operator of 

the scheme and his 

company are now under 

investigation by the EFCC, 

which had already taken 

them in for interrogation 

over the project that has 

reportedly led to the loss of 

over N7 billion by no fewer 

than 27,440 unsuspecting 

Nigerians. 

While the probe is on, no 

fewer than 22 property 

across the country, have 

been traced to the key 

suspect, whose name was 

given by the EFCC as 

Babagana Dalori, while the 

business name was given 

as Galaxy Transportation 

and Construction Services 

Limited. 

An interim report turned 

in by investigators said: “At 

the moment, he has used 

the investors’ money to 

incorporate different 

entities without getting 

their consent. He now has 

Galaxy Global Energy 

Concept Ltd, Galaxy 

Miners Concept Ltd, 

Galaxy Global Farms, 

Galaxy Computers, Galaxy 

Block Making Factory, 

Galaxy Hospital and 

Galaxy Hotel.” 

The anti-graft agency 

contended that “Contrary to 

the claim of Galaxy 

spokesman that the matter 

was civil and not criminal, 

the business of deposittaking 

under Nigerian 

legislation can only be 

undertaken by a licensed 

deposittaking financial 

institution as enshrined in 

Banks and Other Financial 

Institutions Act (BOFIA), 

CBN Act and the NDIC." 

However, Dalori has 

vehemently denied 

committing any crime, 

saying the business deal he 

had with other Nigerians 

were genuine and doing 

well before it ran into murky 

waters.According to him, 

the ongoing mater was a 

civil matter and not 

criminal as insinuated, 

adding that his arrest and 

detention was not as a result of 

any fraud. 

Speaking through one of his 

officials, Mr. Cletus Onoja, Dalori 

said the company was merely 

taken for investigation by the 

EFCC following a petition by the 

company's clients.

14 — VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24, 2019 

My generation has failed 

Nigerians — SOYINKA 

WOLE Soyinka, Nobel 

laureate, says his 

generation has failed the 

country. 

Speaking on Hard Talk, 

a BBC programme, the 

professor said the dreams 

people of his generation 

had about the country had 

not materialised. 

“Has your generation of 

older Nigerians failed the 

people?” Zeinab Badawi, 

the anchor of the 

programme had asked. 

Responding, Soyinka 

said: “Yes, I believe so. I 

compare today with dreams 

and aspirations we had 

when we all rushed home 

after studies abroad. We 

considered ourselves the 

renaissance people that are 

going to lift the continent 

to world standards, 

competitors anywhere. It 

hasn’t happened.” 

Asked to comment about 

the 2019 presidential 

election, he said: “The 2019 

election is one of the most 

depressing elections we’ve 

been through. Talking for 

myself, it wasn’t possible 

for me to make a choice for 

the simple reason that both 

candidates (President 

Muhammadu Buhari and 

Atiku Abubakar) both had 

histories— one immediate, 

one past —which made one 

look for alternatives.” 

He explained why he 

was soft on Buhari in 2015 

when he referred to the 

president as a born again 

democrat. 

Soyinka said Buhari did 

not win the 2015 election 

because the people were 

endeared to him but for the 

fact that Nigerians could 

not continue with former 

President Goodluck 

Jonathan in office. 

He said: “General Buhari 

didn’t really win the first 

election, he won by default. 

It was impossible to 

continue with Jonathan 

(back in 2015). 

“As it happened, yes, I did 

use that expression ‘born 

again democrat’. When 

somebody competes in an 

election three, four times 

and persists, he must 

believe in democracy… the 

circumstances in Nigeria, 

the fact that Nigerians have 

shown the military what a 

huge failure they were 

makes it possible for one to 

identify the possibility of 

exceptions when they seem 

to behave like democrats. 

“But in any case, I kept 

emphasising that 

Nigerians had a very 

difficult choice and as I said, 

It was between the devil 

and the deep blue sea.” 

ATTACK ON IRT OFFICERS: IGP orders 

manhunt, arrest of perpetrators 

By Kingsley Omonobi 

& Joseph Erunke 

A Inspector BUJA—THE 

General 

of Police, IGP, Mohammed 

Adamu, has ordered the 

arrest and prosecution of all 

persons involved in the 

unprovoked attack on 

Police officers on legitimate 

duty to arrest some 

suspected armed robbers 

and receivers of a stolen 

vehicle in a community in 

Cross River State. 

The attack which occurred 

on April 17, 2019 at Ogoja 

Community, was 

masterminded and 

executed by one Ikenga, a 

notorious receiver of stolen 

property, and his gang 

members. 

Four Police officers 

attached to IGP Intelligence 

Response Team, IRT, unit 

were seriously wounded, 

with deep machete cuts on 

their heads and other parts 

of their bodies. 

The detectives (the 

victims of the savage attack) 

were investigating a case 

of a stolen Toyota Sienna 

Bus earlier reported by 

the Master Chapel 

Church, a Pentecostal 

church based in Lagos. 

The detectives had, after 

a painstaking investigation, 

arrested four suspects - 

Peter, Ben, Ebuka and 

Johnson. 

Force Public Relations 

Officer, Frank Mba,in a 

statement, said the police 

boss decried “the 

unprovoked and gruesome 

attack on police officers who 

were on a legitimate 

mission to arrest some 

suspected armed robbers 

and receivers of a stolen 

vehicle in a community in 

Cross River State. The 

attack which occurred on 

the 17th April, 2019, at 

Ogoja Community, was 

masterminded and 

executed by one Ikenga, a 


property, and his gang 

members. Four Police 

officers attached to IGP 

Intelligence Response 

Team (IRT) unit were 

seriously and grievously 

wounded, with deep 

machete cuts on their 

heads and other parts of 

their bodies 

“The detectives (the 

victims of the savage attack) 

are investigating a case of 

a stolen Toyota Sienna Bus 

earlier reported by the 

Master Chapel Church, a 

Pentecostal church based in 

Lagos. The detectives had, 

after a painstaking 

investigation, arrested four 

male suspects - Peter, Ben, 

Ebuka and Johnson. The 

suspects who were 

positively implicated in the 

crime by Police 

investigation, confessed to 

indeed stealing the 

vehicle. They stated 

further that they had 

sold the vehicle to 

another criminal in 

Benue State. Hence, 

detectives moved to 

Benue State with one of 

the suspects. On arrest of 

the suspect in Benue 

State, he stated that he had 

sold the vehicle to another 


goods based in Ogoja for a 

sum of N250, 000. 

“ With this discovery, the 

detectives proceeded 

straight to Cross River State, 

where the notorious 

receiver IKENGA was 

apprehended and the 

stolen vehicle recovered. 

''However, in a bizarre 

twist, after his arrest, the 

suspect raised an alarm in 

his native language which 

attracted his gang 

members. Subsequently, 

the policemen came under 

serious physical attack from 

weapon- wielding 

hoodlums. The officers 

were savagely wounded by 

these armed gangs. 

Consequently, Ikenga, the 

notorious crook escaped 

with the stolen vehicle. 

''The IGP has therefore 

ordered for the immediate 

manhunt and arrest of Mr 

IKenga and other 

members of his gang.'' 

NAF acquired 16 aircraft, produced 90 pilots 

in 3 years — BURATAI 

By Joseph Erunke 

A Nigerian BUJA—THE 

Air Force 

yesterday said a total of 16 

aircraft were acquired in the 

last three years by its current 

administration under the 

Chief of Air Staff, Air Mashal 

Sadique Abubakar. 

Besides, the service said 

it winged a total of 90 pilots 

within the three-year period 

while 68 others were 

undertaking local and 

foreign training 

programmes. 

At a briefing in Abuja 

ahead 

of 

its 55th anniversary 

celebration billed to take 

place Monday in Abuja, the 

Air Force, through Air 

Commodore Nnamdi 

Ananaba, the Chairman, 

Organising Committee of 

the event, tagged: ” NAF at 

55" also announced that it 

was expecting additional 18 

aircraft for subsequent 

induction into its existing 

fleet. 

Ananaba disclosed that in 

its determination to enhance 

its air capacity, the service 

had reactivated a total of 14 

platforms besides training 

7,000 special personnel 

within the period under 

review. 

He named the aircraft it 

took delivery of to include 

10 Super Mushshak; four 

Mi-35M and two Bell 412 

helicopters. 

“The NAF has winged 90 

pilots in the last 3 years while 

68 others are in training both 

home and abroad. In the 

same vein, 14 previously 

grounded aircraft such as 

Falcon 900, ATR-42, 

Beechcraft, Super Puma, 

EC-135 Do-228, Mi-35P, F- 

7 and L-39 have been 

reactivated, “he said. 

According to him, in 

furtherance of its capacitybuilding 

efforts towards 

containing insurgency in 

the North East, and other 

internal security challenges 

in parts of the country, the 

Air Force trained 7,000 

personnel in varied 

specialties. 

Out of the number, it said 

1000 were trained as 

Special Forces (and had 

since been deployed for 

active combat operations), 

while 4,000 others are 

Regiment personnel. 

“Training and 

infrastructural 

development have also 

been on the increase to 

further develop capacity 

and capability for the job 

ahead. Over 7,000 

personnel have been 

trained in different 

specialties and these 

include over 4,000 

Regiment personnel and 

1,000 Special Forces 

personnel who have been 

actively involved in 

combat operations with 

the army,'' it said. 

Court orders Navy, others to produce hotelier 

detained for over 90 days 

By Innocent Anaba 

ABUJA—A Federal 

High Court sitting 

at Abuja has ordered the 

officers of the Nigeria 

Navy and others to 

appear before it to 

explain why they failed 

to arraign one Saibu 

Ogunmola, Chairman/ 

Chief Executive Officer, 

CEO, of Peace and Love 

International Hotel, who 

has been in their custody 

since January 17, 2019. 

Trial judge, Justice 

Lilian Ojukwu, gave the 

order in her ruling in an 

ex-parte application for 

the hotelier’s 

fundamental rights, 

argued by his lawyer, 

McAnthony Aikharialea. 

Joined as corespondents 

in the suit 

are the Chief of Naval 

Staff; the Commander 

NNS Beecroft, Apapa, 

Lagos and the Defence 

Intelligence Agency, 

DIA, Abuja. 

In the motion ex-parte, 

lawyer to the hotelier, 

Aikharialea, asked the 

court for an order 

granting the applicant bail 

forthwith from the 

respondents’ detention 

pending the determination 

of main suit. 

He also asked for an 

order compelling the 

respondents or any other 

agency to appear before 

the court with the 

applicant to show cause 

why the applicant 

should not be arraign for 

whatever offence alleged 

against him having gone 

beyond reasonable time 

to do so. 

The hotelier’s lawyer 

also informed the court 

that all efforts made to 

see his clients were 

frustrated by the 

respondents. 

The hotelier in an 

affidavit deposed to by 

one of his cousins, Sodiq 

Raji, averred that he 

knew the detained 

hotelier who is from 

Ilashe Village (across 

the water), Amuwo 

Odofin 

Local 

Government Area, Lagos 

State, as a businessman 

and a community leader 

who, though spent most 

of his time at his Snake 

Island, where his hotel is 

located, but always In 

touch with virtually 

everybody in the village 

and guide the youth 

against nefarious acts.

VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24, 2019—15 

INTERACTION: A cross section of participants during an interactive session with journalists 

on Nigerian election violence report, South-East zone by organised by Women's Aid Collective, 

WACOL and International Foundation for Electoral Systems, IFES, in Enugu, yesterday. 

Photo: NAN 

REPS SPEAKERSHIP: Onyejeocha urges 

S-West contender to step down 

...says there’s need to equitably distribute all NASS leadership positions 

•As Ohanaeze youths ask APC to reserve speakership for S-East 

By Emman 

Ovuakporie 

ABUJA—A forth time 

member of the House 

of Representatives and 

frontline contender for 

speakership of the House, 

Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, has 

asked her challenger from 

the South West to step 

down. 

This came as Ohanaeze 

youths yesterday asked the 


APC, to withdraw the 

contender from the 9th 

House of Representatives 

Speakership race. 

Onyejeocha said this 

while briefing journalists on 

her legislative agenda, 

yesterday. 

She said: "Nigeria needs 

healing at this stage, all 

Nigerians should make 

sacrifice and that is why the 

leader should step aside. 

“I am first and foremost a 

member of the APC and I 

know that there’s a 

constitution of the Federal 

Republic of Nigeria that 

advocates the principle of 

federal character. 

“APC as a party is guided 

by the constitution of 

Federal Repuplic of 

Nigeria and my zone 

which is South-East is 

saying we deserve to be 

adequately represented in 

leadership positions." 

Onyejeocha who was 

responding to a plethora of 

questions from journalists, 

hinted: "I respect my party 

chairman, Comrade 

Adams Oshiomhole but he 

is yet to include a woman 

in the leadership 

configuration and I believe 

it is time to do so. 

“He should make a 

sacrifice here. He was 

minority leader and 

majority leader at different 

assemblies and this whole 

thing is not about me but 

about Nigeria. Let 

speakership go to another 

zone. 

“President Muhammadu 

Buhari twice picked his 

running mate from the 

South-East, he is a good 

man and a nice man that 

knows what is right. So, 

there’s need to equitably 

distribute all leadership 

positions in the national 

assembly in favour of each 

geo-political zone in 

Nigeria." 

Speaking further on her 

ability to lead the House, 

she said: "In my nine years 

of being a member of the 

House of Representatives, 

I have sponsored several 

motions and bills, 

oversighted multiple 

activities and initiatives of 

government, ministries, 

departments and agencies 

and helped deliver 

meaningful constituency 

projects to the people of 

Isuikwuato/Umunneochi 

Federal Constituency of 

Abia State that I represent. 

“I have chaired very 

important committees of the 

House of Representatives, 

including the Committees 

of Aviation and Women in 

Parliament. As chairperson 

of the Aviation Committee 

of the House for two 

sessions now, I oversighted 

the successful building of 

the New International 

Airport Terminal in Abuja, 

as well as remodelling and 

renovation of several other 

airports and runways 

across the country. I believe 

that I am very well 

equipped with knowledge, 

experience and the 

integrity needed to manage 

bigger responsibilities." 

Onyejeocha who was 

elected for the fourth term 

in the 2019 general election 

said if elected Speaker, she 

would ensure technology is 

applied to the daily 

activities of the parliament. 

She said she would 

ensure support for the 

Executive while 

maintaining the 

independence of the 

parliament. 

The aspirant said she 

would ensure respect and 

equal treatment of all 

members including those 

elected for the first time. 

Leave speakership 

to S-East, Ohanaeze 

youths tell APC 

In its statement, the 

youth wing of Ohanaeze, 

rising from an urgent national 

executive meeting, 

called on the National 

Chairman of the ruling 

APC, Adams Oshiomhole 

and the party to withdraw 

their support for the contender 

from the South 

West, as the party’s choice 

of Speaker for the 9th National 

Assembly in the interest 

of equity, gender 

and justice. 

The statement signed by 

Dr Okey Nwachukwu 

asked the party to support 

Onyejeocha from Abia, as 

the impartial candidate for 

speakership, insisting that 

Ndigbo finds 

"Oshiomhole’s implicit 

support for him as not only 

divisive but also 

disrespectful to Ndigbo." 

The youths said that ‘it 

was after a thorough 

appraisal of the capacity, 

experience and integrity 

rating of the APC memberselect 

from the South East 

zone that the decision was 

taken to endorse ranking 

Federal House of 

Representatives memberelect, 

Onyejeocha from 

Abia for the position of 

Buhari cannot afford to ignore S-East 

—Nwoye 

By Vincent 

Ujumadu 

A WKA—THE 

governorship 

candidate of All 


APC, in the last election in 

Anambra State and the 

member representing 

Anambra East and West in 

the House of 

Representatives, Dr. Tony 

Nwoye said yesterday that 


Buhari cannot afford to 

neglect the South East 

geopolitical zone during 

his second tenure. 

Addressing reporters at 

Nsugbe in Anambra East 

Local Government Area 

during the flag off of the 

third edition of his medical 

mission for the federal 

constituency, Nwoye 

described Igbo as a critical 

segment of Nigeria, 

adding that it would be 

difficult for the country to 

achieve greatness without 

the Igbo nation. 

According to him, 

"although the people of 

the South East did not vote 

massively for the APC, the 

president could woo them 

into the party by carrying 

them along through juicy 

appointments." 

He said the "South-East 

deserves the Secretary to 

the Government of the 

Federation, SGF, or the 

deputy senate president, 

adding that knowing the 

way the mind of the 

president works; he would 

not fail to give Igbo the two 

positions." 

Imo lawmakers probe 

state's financial status 

...invite SGI, Accountant General, 15 

LGA chairmen 

By Chinonso 

Alozie 

OWERRRI—The Imo 

State House of 

Assembly, yesterday 

summoned the Secretary to 

the Government of Imo 

State, SGI, Mark Uchendu, 

to appear at the plenary 

today to explain what the 

lawmakers tagged as 

“desecrating” statement 

against the House by the 

SGI, during a radio 

programme at Imo 

Broadcasting Corporation, 

IBC. 

Also in another dramatic 

motion observed by 

Vanguard, raised by the 

member representing 

Nkwerre state constituency, 

Chika Madumere, the 

House unanimously 

agreed on summoning the 

Accountant General and 

the Commissioner for 

Finance, Ugochi Nnanna 

Okoro, to ascertain the 

financial status of the state. 

According to Madumere, 

“We want to find out the 

exact financial status of Imo 

State. We want to have a 

clearer picture of the proper 

state of Imo. We want to 

have the exact amount that 

has accrued to the state and 

the debt status of Imo State. 

We want to put to rest these 

rumour and speculations 

about our state.” 

Vanguard was at the 

plenary at about 02:49pm 

yesterday where the 

lawmaker representing 

Ideato North state 

constituency, Arthur 

Egwim, raised the motion 

to summon the SGI. 

Also to join the SGI to the 

plenary is the Director 

General of IBC, Ralph 

Aforaku. 

The House also passed a 

motion summoning 15 local 

government chairmen to 

appear at the plenary to 

give reasons they ignored 

its earlier invitation. 

Some of the local 

governments affected 

included Aboh Mbaise; 

Ahiazu Mbaise; Ehime 

Mbano; Ideato North; Ihitte 

Uboama; Ikeduru; Isiala 

Mbano; Onuimo; Njaba; Isu 

Orlu; and Owerri North. 

The lawmakers added 

that the local government 

chairmen should come with 

their Directors of 

Administration and 

General Service, DAGS, as 

well as their treasurers. 

The summoning of the 

lawmakers came as a result 

of a motion raised by the 

lawmaker representing 

Ehime Mbano state 

constituency, saying: “Mr 

Speaker, we have invited 

the local government 

chairmen to interface with 

the committee on local 

government affairs but they 

have refused to honour our 

invitation. 

“They have refused to 

honour this invitation. This 

morning, 15 of them were 

invited to interface with this 

committee and only two 

came. 

“I stand to say that this 

House has been 

undermined by these 

chairmen. You know too 

well that there is this 

synergy that always 

existed especially with the 

executive chairmen. We 

created the laws 

that brought that synergy. 

“At no point, these 

chairmen should disobeyed 

this House. I don’t know 

why this honourable House 

will invite these chairmen 

and they will refuse to 

honour this invitation. I 

want to appeal to my 

colleagues. 

“We want them to be 

invited to this House and 

show cause why they 

should ignore the invitation 

extended to them by this 

House.” 

Umahi commissions new 

FRSC complex in Abakaliki 

By Peter Okutu 

A BAKALIKI— 

GOVERNOR David 

Umahi of Ebonyi State, 

yesterday commissioned 

the Federal Road Safety 

Corps, FRSC, New 

Complex and access road 

at RS9.2 Ebonyi State 

Sector Command, 

Abakaliki. 

In his remarks, Governor 

Umahi who expressed 

delight over the standard 

work carried out in the 

execution of the project 

promised that his 

administration would in the 

weeks ahead, commence 

the installation of solar 

street light along the access 

road leading to the new 

complex. 

“I am delighted to be part 

of this history-making 

occasion. This building is 

a repilca of what we do in 

Ebonyi. It is a project that 

is fit to be in Ebonyi State. 

Bad job is difficult to be 

executed. Money doesn’t 

create happiness. What 

creates happiness is 

service to the people. The 

greatest gift is to make 

somebody close to you 

happy. Solar light will be 

provided in weeks along 

the access road leading to 

the new complex.” 

Speaking, the Corps 

Marshal, Federal Road 

Safety Corps, Dr. 

Boboye Oyeyemi 

explained that “available 

statistics show that the 

Corps was able to reduce 

annual road traffic crashes 

in the state from 248 in 

2017 to 185 by the end of 

2018.”

16 — Vanguard WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24, 2019 

UNVEILING: From left— Bolaji Anifowose, Vice President, Commercial, Crown Flour Mills; Rohit Chugh, 

Vice President, Flour, Olam Grains; Raji Rasheed Omotunde, brand ambassador, Mama Gold Flour, his 

wife, Betty, and John Olaoye, General Manager, Sales and Marketing, Crown Flour Mills, during the 

unveiling of Omotunde as Mama Gold Flour brand ambassador in Lagos, yesterday. 

May 29: Onu issues deadline to heads of parastatals 

By Emmanuel 

Elebeke 

ABUJA—IN compli 

ance with the Presidential 

directive, the Minister 

of Science and Technology, 

Dr. Ogbonnaya 

Onu on Tuesday summoned 

the Director-Generals 

of agencies under 

the Ministry and directed 

them to submit the 

achievements recorded 

latest today Wednesday, 

24th April 2019. 

At the meeting, Dr Onu 

who just returned from an 

official visit to Sochi, Russia 

where he attended the 

2019 ATOMEXPO International 

Conference and 

exhibition emphasized 

that important achievements 

of the agencies 

should be highlighted. 

The minister directed 

the DGs to focus their research 

efforts on challenges 

faced by the nation 

and come up with effective 

solutions. In this 

wise, record achievements 

by the agencies in 

identification of crude oil 

theft through finger-print 

and discovery of new 

grasses to stem herder’s/ 

farmers clashes, according 

to the Minister, must 

be given prominent attention 

in their submissions. 

He further appealed to 

the DGs to collaborate in 

their research endeavors 

to avoid duplication and 

waste of efforts and re- 

sources. He tasked the 

DGs and the committee 

involved with the collation 

of the key achievements to 

work on the summaries of 

the agencies’ achievements 

so that it could be 

forwarded to the Secretary 

of the Federal Government 

in good time. 

Nigeria key to UK financial inclusion 

in Africa —Beaufils 

By Prince Okafor 

LAGOS—THE British 

Deputy High Commissioner 

to Nigeria, Laure 

Beaufils, has reinstated 

that Nigeria remains the 

United Kingdom centre for 

the acceleration of financial 

inclusion in Africa. 

Beaufils made this 

known during an interactive 

session with Enhancing 

Financial Innovation & 

Access (EFInA), in partnership 

with the British High 

Commission to Nigeria 

with Central Bank of Nigeria, 

CBN and 

stakeholders in the 

FinTech industry in Lagos. 

The FinTech companies 

also announced CredPal, 

Capricom Digital, RIBY, 

SmartTeller, ExtraMile Africa 

and Social Lender as 

winners of the $2 million 

Fintech Challenge Fund 

organised by EFInA. 

Speaking during the 

“The Ministry is involved 

with Research 

and Development of Science 

and Technology, 

and there is no reason 

Nigeria must not be the 

first in science, technology 

and innovation” he 

added. 

Dr. Onu highlighted 

meeting, Beaufils said: 

“Nigeria remains central 

in United Kingdom’s objectives 

to accelerate financial 

inclusion in Africa. 

“Fintech is clearly part 

of the solution to Nigeria’s 

low levels of financial 

inclusion but it also needs 

be the basis of rich partnership 

between Nigerian 

firms, suppliers and 

investors and their counterparts 

in the UK. That’s 

why as well as providing 

grants and incubation 

support, we are sending 

Fintech grant beneficiaries 

to UK fintech week 

later this month. 

“EFInA’s excellent 

work to promote the sector 

in Nigeria is good for 

EPC demostrates Christ love 

with distribution of free food, 

school items 

By Gabriel Olawale 

L Pentecostal AGOS—EVANGEL 

Church, 

EPC Okota has put smiles 

on the faces over 2,500 

people with free distribution 

of food items, clothes, 

free medical, barbing and 

legal services as part of 

activities to celebrate the 

death and resurrection of 

Jesus Christ. 

Speaking during the exercise 

tagged, 

“DoGoodFriday” Lead Pastor 

and General Overseer 

of EPC, Iheanyi Ejiogu 

said that Easter is the season 

where the church 

marks the death and resurrection 

of Lord and Saviour, 

Jesus Christ. 

“One of the hallmarks of 

the season is “Good Friday” 

which actually described 

the suffering and 

death of Jesus which 

earned mankind salvation. 

God told us to reach out to 

people by doing something 

practical that will 

show people that truly 

some key achievements 

from the proposed period, 

which included eradication 

of malaria in Africa, 

soil less farming, helping 

the Internally Displaced 

Persons, progress on 

Sickle-cell/anemia management 

and epilepsy 

etc. 

the grantees, good for Nigeria 

and good for the UK. 

A well run grant scheme 

with worthy grantees is a 

great start – but it can 

only do so much. EFInA 

and its partners will now 

have to work hard with 

firms and regulators to 

create the safest, strongest 

and most enabling environment 

for good ideas 

to flourish.” 

Also, the Chief Executive 

Officer of EFInA, Mr. 

Esaie Diei, said: “Several 

organizations are working 

to ensure that CBN’s 2020 

Financial Inclusion Strategy 

(NFIS) to reduce financial 

exclusion to 20 

percent in 2020 remains 

achievable. 

God loves them. 

“The beneficiaries of our 

free items and services 

don’t have to be our church 

members or even Christians, 

because the purpose 

is not to increase the 

number of members but 

for somebody who is tired 

today can look back later 

and say that at one point 

when I was tired, God 

showed me love through 

EPC. 

Ejiogu said that the program 

was second of its 

kind, “it started last year 

when I became the lead 

pastor and then it was only 

distribution of food items, 

but thank God with support 

of church members and 

friends, we are able to expand 

the gesture and reach 

out to a lot of people. 

“Do Good Nigeria will 

take place on 1st of October 

across the country in 

all Evangel Pentecostal 

Churches, and private organisation 

is welcome to 

partner for the success of 

the programme. 

Tanzania eyes 10,000 MW 

power generation capacity by 

2025 

Tanzania aims to have six times its current power 

generation capacity by 2025 through investment in 

thermal and renewable energy, deputy energy minister 

Subira Mgalu told parliament yesterday. 

The East African country boasts reserves of over 57 trillion 

cubic feet (tcf) of natural gas, but faces periodic power 

shortages. 

Investors have long complained that a lack of reliable 

power hurts business in the country. 

"Implementation of various power generation projects 

will increase the capacity of our national power grid from 

1,602 megawatts presently to 10,000 megawatts by 2025," 

Mgalu told parliament. 

Tanzania has said it plans to export surplus electricity 

to energy-starved nations in eastern and southern Africa 

once it has boosted its generation capacity. 

"We need to have abundant and reliable power from an 

energy mix that includes hydropower, natural gas, solar 

and wind," Mgalu said. 

Goldman says removal of Iran oil 

sanctions waivers to have limited 

impact 

Goldman Sachs expects the United States' decision 

to end waivers from sanctions on imports of 

Iranian oil to have a limited impact on prices, even 

though the timing of the halt is much more sudden 

than expected. 

"While we acknowledge the near-term upside price 

risks, we reiterate our fundamentally derived Brent 

price trading range of $70-75 per barrel for the second 

quarter of 2019," the bank wrote in a note on Monday. 

The United States on Monday demanded that buyers 

of Iranian oil stop purchases by May 1 or face sanctions, 

a move to choke off Tehran's oil revenues. In response, 

crude prices rose to six-month highs on fears of a 

potential supply crunch. 

Lava Int'l strengthens roots in 

Ethiopia, South Africa 

Indian mobile handset brand, Lava International has 

strengthened its international roots by entering into the 

newer markets like Ethiopia and South Africa this year. 

The company has aimed to further mark its growth with its 

strategic initiatives to amplify and enlarge their business to 

other international markets. 

Lava International Limited is quite vividly present in various 

geographies such as Russia, Uzbekistan, Nigeria, Ghana, 

Kenya, Sudan, and Tanzania. Replicating its trade friendly 

practices from India, Lava is also rapidly gaining the trade 

trust in Egypt and has been rated the most recommended 

brand by the retailers. 

Further to this the company has been flourishing its 

operations in Egypt,by establishing it as a headquarters and 

manufacturing hub for Africa 

The home-grown company had entered into Egypt in 2017, 

has been able to capture a market share of 15 percent in the 

sub$100 segment within a year of its launch and since then it 

has opened various job avenues for the African citizens. China 

has also been a sturdy market for Lava and has provided them 

with great opportunity to grow leaps and bounds with the 

launch its first assembly unit in 2011 and the R&D centre in 

2012. 

Speaking on the expansion, Mr. Vikram Parmar, Business 

Head- Africa, Lava International Limited, said-"This expansion 

in Ethiopia and South Africa has presented us with ample 

opportunities to take the company to newer heights 

internationally." 

Bank of America warns of slowing 

growth of net interest 

Bank of America Corp forecast that net interest 

income would rise half as fast this year after reporting 

first-quarter revenue on Tuesday that fell short of 

expectations. 

The bank's shares initially fell as much as 2.8 percent but 

recovered to trade up 0.4 percent by mid-afternoon as 

analysts focused on its success in reducing expenses. 

Bank of America, the second-biggest U.S. bank by assets, 

followed rival domestic lenders by struggling to generate 

top-line growth in the latest quarter and suffering from a 

decline in trading revenue. 

All stories credited to Reuters

THE system is rigged 

against the average 

Nigerian. By saying this, one 

runs the risk of being labelled 

a populist. Yet, many of the 

states where violence and 

insecurity occur in Nigeria often 

have the highest poverty 

indices or the most job losses. 

While many agree that 

ethno-religious conflict is a 

product of competition over 

scarce resources, few in the 

Nigerian political economy have 

done much to ensure a more 

equitable distribution of 

resources and opportunities 

coupled with increased 

production of said resources. 

Our political elite very often 

stands in the way of the 

development of our indigenous 

industry and one could do a 

study on the deindustrialisation 

of the North 

and the parallel rise of religious 

fundamentalism, terrorism and 

kidnappings. Interestingly, it 

isn’t just the state in Nigeria 

which exhibits predatory or 

unproductive behaviours. The 

private sector which many hope 

will solve all our problems takes 

advantage of the poor 

regulatory framework and 

extorts both workers and 

consumers. 

Mismanagement 

and elite consumption 

In fact, going by the number 

of failed banks and companies 

taken over by AMCON every 

few years, it is safe to say that 

the same people who steal from 

government are the same set of 

people who force private 

enterprises to collapse under 

the weight of mismanagement 

and elite consumption. 

It’s quite revolutionary to 

state, in Nigeria, that the poor 

are not the problem. After the 

elections I was inundated with 

emails bemoaning stomach 

infrastructure and the influence 

of money on our politics. Some 

even went as far as hoping that 

one day the right to vote in 

Nigeria would be tied to income 

or individual level of education. 

We often think it is the poor who 

are not democrats but the elite 

in Nigeria is not as democratic 

or supportive of social justice as 

many would like to think. When 

Femi Falana (SAN) 

HE recently criticized 

Nigerians’ willingness 

to support people accused of 

corruption by wearing “aso ebi” 

during their trials. He also 

criticized the “bad lawyers” who 

frustrate trials and help people 

get away with destroying 

Nigeria. 

“Here, out of the money you 

have stolen, you get a bad 

lawyer who will adopt all 

manner of delay tactics to get 

the state frustrated from 

prosecuting you. 

In England, if you file a 

motion that is meant to delay 

the case, you are disciplined by 

the law society”. He asked why 

a foreign country was able to 

find James Ibori guilty, 

something a local court couldn’t 

do. 

“When he (Ibori) got to 

England, he pleaded guilty. You 

Democracy won’t solve all our problems 

without socio-economic restructuring 

the poor receive “stomach 

infrastructure” and proceed to 

“vote their conscience” we see 

this as a fluke. We lament their 

acceptance of financial 

inducement while 

simultaneously being quite 

complacent about the dollar 

bribes and financial 

misappropriation going on at 

the top, so long as it benefits 

groups or persons we perceive 

as deserving of privilege. 

Corruption is an 

unacknowledged privilege, 

while stomach infrastructure, 

going by middle class 

understanding, is the real 

crime. 

The Nigerian system 

encourages winner-takes-all, 

dog-eat-dog behaviour. So, the 

poor when approached with 

token gifts, in a system where 

they receive no other benefits, 

are simply acting according to 

their rational, best interest by 

accepting them. I’m not 

defending stomach 

know why? When lawyers saw 

his defence, they told him it was 

a sham and they couldn’t go on 

with the case. He asked if they 

could file an appeal, and they 

told him: ‘We don’t do that 

here.’ 

They told him that if they went 

on and he got convicted, he 

would get the highest 

punishment. They told him they 

were afraid they would also 

lose their licence to practise law, 

because they would be charged 

for wasting the resources of her 

majesty’s court. 

Our country has been 

destroyed to the point that we 

now celebrate those who are 

corrupt. When you charge a big 

man for stolen money abroad, 

the lawyer will have to apply to 

the court to be paid for 

defending somebody who is 

charged with corruption. But 

infrastructure, I’m simply 

questioning the elitist rational 

that makes most Nigerians see 

the poor as the problem while 

they ignore the part the middle 

class and the elite plays in 

upholding corruption. The 

Corruption is an 

unacknowledged 

privilege, while 

stomach 

infrastructure, 

going by middle 

class 

understanding, is 

the real crime 

middle class in particular does 

not realise just how much the 

system is rigged against it, 

something the poor have no 

misgivings about. We’re all 

•Femi Falana 

here, you pay the lawyer and 

bribe the judge. The judiciary 

cannot operate outside the 

Nigerian system.” There’s not 

much to add. 

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24, 2019 —17 

subtly encouraged to be 

predators and seek out our best 

interest with a very narrow, short 

term view. 

When we speak of rigging in 

Nigeria, we’re usually talking 

about elections: rarely do we 

pause to consider the many 

ways in which our economy and 

our society are rigged against 

ordinary people, nor do analysts 

pay much attention to the real 

effects of politics, outside of 

discussions about the successes 

or losses of calculating 

individuals. We agree, in 

principle, that democracy is 

good and desirable, yet we fail 

to adopt democratic attitudes, 

which is why we talk about job 

creation without mentioning 

economic inequality or the 

privileges associated with 

certain status groups, thus 

making sure that no matter the 

individuals or parties in power, 

poverty remains and 

Tunde Bakare 

THE Overseer of the Latter 

Rain Assembly, says 

Nigerian universities are 

“glorified secondary schools”. 

He is right. We need to stop 

creating new universities 

without remodeling existing 

institutions and making sure 

they are up to a certain 

standard. 

Mr Bakare also prayed 

Buhari would choose 

competent ministers in his 

second term. This is the prayer 

of all Nigerians. Beyond 

balancing ethno-religious 

interests and zoning 

calculations, government won’t 

deliver on its promises unless 

merit is the primary reason for 

appointment. 

Ethno-religious balancing is 

the formula the political elite 

uses to trick Nigerians into 

believing their interests can 

only be served if represented by 

a member of their ethnic group. 

Competence isn’t the deciding 

factor. 

This balancing act rationalises 

and give order to otherwise 

brutal political power play. 

These rules only work for 

politicians not for the majority. 

Mr Bakare also said: “We have 

neglected the greatest asset of 

perpetuates itself in families for 

generations, while on the other 

hand, wealth is continuously 

accessible to some. 

Popular culture tells us rising 

up the ladder is simply about 

“hustling harder”: this does us 

all a great disservice. One often 

hears “do they have two heads” 

in reference to those who are 

able to “make it” in Nigeria. The 

appearance of success is only 

part of the story; it also doesn’t 

acknowledge the number of 

outwardly successful people 

who’ve “achieved” or 

“triumphed over adversity” 

only by cheating the system or 

conforming to the thuggish 

behavior it requires and 

celebrates. Curiously, poverty 

attains a sort of “natural” 

quality in Africa: we accept 

some people will always be poor 

and only a chosen few will 

escape. This stops us from 

analysing risk taking behaviour 

for example, from governors or 

bank managers who gamble 

with public fortunes and walk 

away scot free, no matter the 

disastrous results for 

shareholders and citizens. 

We can keep arguing over 

individual politicians and 

calling ourselves “fans” or 

loyalists while nothing really 

changes. In the end, even the 

activists collude with the system 

and make money from stating 

half-truths and banalities. The 

situation is not hopeless, 

despite the picture I’ve painted. 

The more people are awakened 

to the fundamental issue, which 

is not about the amalgamation 

of different ethnic groups into 

one entity but rather about the 

urgent necessity of economic 

restructuring, the closer we’ll 

get to achieving a measure of 

social justice. After all, these 

conversations are becoming the 

norm around the world. Why 

not Nigeria? 

•Tunde Bakare 

any nation, human capital. Our 

educational system has gone 

down the drain; we need to 

revive it”. 

These common sense 

recommendations are often 

repeated yet poorly adhered to 

by successive governments. 

President Buhari in his second 

term has the opportunity to do 

something different. 

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.


THERE is a frightening amount of hate 

speech circulating in the Nigerian political 

atmosphere right now. It was barely 

noticeable in 2011 when former President 

Goodluck Jonathan made his first 

presidential run. 

It became obvious in 2015 when we had 

Jonathan, a Southern Christian and 

candidate of the Peoples Democratic 

Party, PDP, and Buhari, a Northern 

Muslim and the flag bearer of the All 

Progressives Congress, APC, locking 

horns in an atmosphere suffused with 

scathing propaganda and mainly plied 

through the social media. 

The divisions fostered during the 2015 

electioneering activities never left the 

minds of Nigerians as extremists have 

had a free rein since. 

Perhaps responding to the perceived 

lack of inclusion in the Buhari 

government, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and his 

Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, IPOB, 

mounted fusillades of hate speeches over 

Dealing decisively with hate speech culprits 

his pirate Radio Biafra, calling Nigeria a 

“zoo”, insulting some ethnic groups and 

calling for Biafran independence. 

This led to his arrest, detention and 

eventual release on bail. At the height of 

IPOB’s street agitations, the Coalition of 

Northern Groups, CNG, in August 2017 

met in Kaduna and issued a “quit notice” 

to Igbo people living in the North, though 

they eventually withdrew it. 

During this period a number of 

“separatist” groups proliferated mainly 

on the social media. One Adeyinka 

Grandson, a self-proclaimed Yoruba 

separatist agitator, made frequent 

incendiary broadcasts targeted mainly at 

Igbo and the Hausa/Fulani groups living 

in the South West. 

Following the presidential election of 

February 23, 2019 and disturbances 

involving some hoodlums who disrupted 

voting in Igbo-dominant areas in Lagos, 

Grandson resurfaced on the internet, 

calling for a genocide against the Igbo. 

In apparent reprisal, a yet to be identified 

Igbo/Biafran activist made a viral video 

vowing to assassinate Grandson. 

Unfortunately, the government and lawenforcement 

agencies have largely stood 

by and allowed these dangerous elements 

seeking to unsettle our fragile national 

unity to flower and flourish. Have we 

forgotten so soon the dangerous events 

that led to the pogroms, military 

intervention and civil war in Nigeria in 

the 1960s? 

What about the Rwanda and Burundi 

genocides that claimed almost a million 

lives within a couple of months in 1994? 

These purveyors of hate speeches 

largely respond to promptings from the 

words and actions of misguided leaders 

and disgruntled politicians. 

They ride on ethnic hatred and 

separatism to sow their seeds of discord. 

Many of these elements live outside the 

country and cowardly use the social media 

in their attempts to set the nation ablaze. 

Enough is enough! This danger must 

be halted now. These agents provocateurs 

must be apprehended and dealt with. The 

tension is rapidly building up and if it 

reaches the breaking point no one can be 

safe. 

A stitch in time saves nine. 

UNICEF cash transfer: What next? 

By Carl Umegboro 

QUINTESSENTIALLY, United Nations 

Children’s Fund, UNICEF, which was 

created by the UN-General Assembly on 

December 11, 1946, to provide succours to 

underprivileged children and mothers 

originally in countries devastated by World 

War II, is extensively, in its characteristic 

interventions making headway, touching more 

lives. A two-day media dialogue on Educate- 

A-Child, EAC, Cash Transfer Programme in 

Birnin-Kebbi, Kebbi State on April 8-9, 2019 

unwittingly, exposed extreme wickedness, 

exploitation and egotism of the ruling class 

against the people. Steve J. Stowell notably 

said, “Great leaders find ways to connect with 

their people and help them fulfill their 

potential.” 

An exploratory field-trip by about 40 

journalists representing a diverse range of 

frontline media outlets in the country 

alongside related government agencies 

particularly Federal Ministry of Information 

and Culture, and Federal Ministry of 

Education, which climaxed the summit 

compellingly, raised critical questions for 

political leaders vis-à-vis future of the society. 

In brief, is democracy pragmatically, a 

representative government or abysmally, 

survival-of-the-fittest scheme? 

However, a question that may curiously, 

reasonably come from officious bystanders is: 

Why the Cash Transfer Programme, CTP? 

Could an arm of the UN still be dishing out 

cash in 21st century for effectual economic 

empowerment? And if affirmative, to what 

extent can such initiative go considering that 

in a society like Nigeria, majority live below 

average? And how much can the global 

agency afford for a significant impact to its 

beneficiaries? Remember, in 2018, a report by 

Brookings Institution had pigeonholed 

Nigeria as the nation with the highest number 

of extremely poor people. Factual or otherwise; 

a story for another day. However, the bottom 

line is - the polity direly calls for strategic 

synergic interventions. 

An American labour leader, attorney and 

president of the 1.7 million-member American 

Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO, which 

represents teachers; para-professionals and 

school-related personnel, Randi Weingarten, 

once said, “A rich, robust, well-resourced public 

education is one of the best routes out of 

poverty and a pathway to prosperity.” Then 

again, former UN scribe, Kofi Annan on one 

occasion said, “Extreme poverty anywhere is 

a threat to human security everywhere”. By 

these remarks, the concept of UNICEF-CTP is 

largely buttressed. 

Thus, the CTP is strategically aimed at 

decisively fighting poverty by means of 

promoting child-education in the society. By 

this, UNICEF provides stipends primarily to 

encourage underprivileged mothers to enroll 

their children in schools. As designed, mothers 

are encouraged to utilize the funds for petty 

businesses, and then cater for their children’s 

needs from the proceeds. In other words, 

UNICEF sagaciously, conscientiously targets 

killing two birds with a stone; boosting childeducation 

and then, family empowerment by 

making idle and underprivileged mothers 

become economically active for family’s 

sustenance. 

Arguably, President Muhammadu Buhari’s 

innovative policy on child-education 

synchronically complements the UNICEF 

Educate-A-Child initiative. For example, while 

UNICEF-CTP encourages mothers to enroll 

their children in schools alongside provides 

OPINION 

supports for basic school needs, Buhari’s 

School-Feeding-Programme on the other 

hand, convivially boosts pupils’ interests vis-àvis 

attendance in school. These strategically 

designed mechanisms are therefore, 

phenomenally compatible. Any meaningful 

fight against poverty demands multidimensional 

tactics and collective 

responsibility. 

The cheering account of the field-trip to 

Kawara-Manu Model Primary School, in 

Maiyama LGA, Birnin-Kebbi; a beneficiaryschool 

of the UNICEF CTP is; Cash-Transfer- 

Programme is significantly, exponentially 

yielding the target goals; promoting childeducation 

with pupils’ population multiplying 

in triples. The bad news, on the other hand - the 

positive result is tragically metamorphosing 

UNICEF’s target is clearly 

to inculcate the idea to 

policy-makers, and never to 

takeover governments’ 

responsibilities 

to a secondary crisis which requires a state of 

emergency. 

To be straightforward, the classrooms and 

teachers are consequently, insufficient to meet 

the upsurges. A classroom that designedly 

accommodates maximum of 30 pupils 

presently disgustingly squeezes over 100 

pupils sitting on the floor as chairs impede 

available spaces. Imagine a breakout of 

infectious disease; apparently, no child will 

escape infections due to their proximities. 

Parenthetically, how would a teacher 

effectively control such a high number of 

pupils? Thus, the goals invariably, may be 

defeated if not complementarily remedied. 

Nevertheless, the momentum should be 

sustained. 

These quagmires bring us to; “What next 

after CTP?” UNICEF’s target is clearly to 

inculcate the idea to policy-makers, and never 

to takeover governments’ responsibilities. 

Indisputably, UNICEF cannot fund the 

programme eternally but as presently 

operative; a timeframe of two years for an area 

due to financial implications. Similarly, 

Buhari’s feeding programme is yet to spread 

to the entire nation; hence, if left for federal 

government alone, it may realistically suffer 

defects. Thus, for sustainability, a pragmatic 

remedial mechanism points to Section 

14(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal 

Republic of Nigeria, as amended - “the security 

and welfare of the people shall be the primary 

purpose of government”. 

Philosophically, in-depth sense of security 

hasn’t been effusively figured out by leaders. 

Security etymologically includes social 

security which is synonymous with welfare. 

English Dictionary defines security as “the 

condition of not being threatened, especially 

physically, psychologically, emotionally or 

financially”. In other words, the Constitution 

understandingly, circumspectly used ‘security 

and welfare of the people’ simultaneously. 

Unfortunately, leaders often, negligently limit 

insecurity to hostilities with guns, bows and 

arrows. And where it didn’t occur, diversion of 

security votes mischievously to private 

accounts and for luxury property abroad 

eccentrically follows suit. Security votes, 

noteworthily, is distinctly accountable public 

funds for general security and cannot be 

misconstrued as ‘unaccountable’ funds for 

leaders in power. Even in Freetown, there is no 

free lunch, they say. 

•Umegboro, a public affairs analyst, wrote from 

Birnin-Kebbi in Kebbi State.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24 , 2019 — 19 

NLNG, others to reach FID on $12bn 

gas project by Q4’19 

By Udeme Akpan 

Stakeholders - Nigerian 

National Petroleum Corporation, 

NNPC, Shell Gas BV, Total 

Gaz Electricite Holdings of 

France, and Eni International - 

involved in Nigeria’s $12 billion 

Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas, 

NLNG Train-7 have concluded 

plans to take the Final Investment 

Decision, FID, in the last quarter 

of 2019, Q4’19. 

Investigations by Vanguard 

showed that the FID had suffered 

several postponements in the past 

few years, because of many factors, 

especially funding and gas 

supply. 

But the spokesman of NLNG 

Limited, Mr. Andy Odeh, in a 

telephone interview with Vanguard 

yesterday, said that all issues 

would be resolved before the 

expiration of the new timeline. 

He said: “All issues have been 

addressed to enable us take the 

FID on Train-7 targeted at enabling 

us to increase output from 

22mtpa to 30mtpa when completed. 

The Managing Director, 

NLNG, Tony Attah, had earlier 

said: “It is also about the upstream 

development, which is the real 

gas that will come to us. That also 

is a huge investment of $5 to $6billion. 

So, potentially, the full value 

network is almost $12billion. We 

have gone to the market to raise 

that fund and we are very positive. 

“This is the biggest opportunity, 

I will say, for Nigeria today. We 

have 600tcf (trillion cubic feet) of 

gas, which puts us as number nine 

in the world, but we are very 

aware of the 600tcf scope that 

would be proven. The issue with 

gas is the receiver and that is what 

the NLNG represents today as the 

receptacle for gas. 

“We are here to enable gas. It is 

CURRENCY BUYING SELLING 

US DOLLAR 

POUNDS 

EURO 

FRANC 

YEN 

CFA 

WAUA 

RENMINBI 

RIYAL 

SDR 

DANISH 

RAND 

$90.90 -0.20 

2,326.00 -20.00 

$12.63 0.09 

$74.59 0.55 

$66.43 0.88 

305.9 306.4 306.9 

396.2935 396.9412 397.589 

343.0669 343.6276 344.1884 

299.3444 299.8336 300.3229 

2.7313 2.7357 2.7402 

0.5054 0.5154 0.5254 

423.7008 424.3934 425.0859 

45.5091 45.5839 45.6588 

81.569 81.7023 81.8356 

424.3139 425.0074 425.701 

45.9482 46.0233 46.0984 

. 21.4689 21.504 21.5391 

CBN Exchange rate as at 23/04/2019 

time for Nigeria and I am even 

challenged that Nigeria has ridden 

on the back of oil for more 

than 50 years, it is now time to fly 

on the wings of gas.” 

Attah disclosed that the company 

has already awarded the 

contract for Front End Engineering 

Design (FEED) of its planned 

plant expansion project, Train-7, 

to B7 JV Consortium and SCD 

JV Consortium. 

He stated: “The Front End Engineering 

Design is the most crucial 

part in the build-up to the 

actualisation of Train-7, after some 

delay and lost opportunities to 

reinforce Nigeria’s position 

prominently on the global energy 

map. Today’s event goes to show 

that Train-7 is alive. 

“Typically, FEED takes about 9- 

12 months but we have explored 

another strategy for this project 

by adopting the Dual FEED Process 

which awards this crucial 

part of the Train 7 project to two 

prospective engineering consortia, 

instead of one contractor. 

What this does for us is give us 

a degree of freedom to start 

FEED and sometime after, EPC 

Bidding, with both activities 

overlapping. We remain committed 

to taking FID as soon as 

these processes are complete.” 

CONFERENCE: From left, Clinical Health Adviser, The Shell Petroleum Development 

Company Of Nigeria, Dr. Olayinka Mosuro; Social Performance Adviser, Shell Nigeria 

Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo, Hope Nuka; Vice President, Oil and Gas 

Trainers Association of Nigeria, Mazi Sam Azoka Onyechi; former military head of state, 

General Yakubu Gowon (retd); and Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and 

Monitoring Board, Mr. Simbi Wabote, during an inspection of the exhibition booth of Shell 

at the 2019 Annual Conference and Exhibition of the Oil and Gas Trainers Association of 

Nigeria in Lagos. 

Olam Intl earmarks N130bn for Dangote Flour 

Mills acquisition 

By Prince Okafor 

Singapore-based commod 

ity trader, Olam 

International, which holds a 0.1 

per cent stake in Dangote Flour 

Mills Plc, DFM, 

yesterday, said it will 

acquire the company for 

an enterprise value of 

N130. 

Olam was established 

in 1989 and now listed 

on the Singapore 

Exchange and the bids 

could be a move by the 

firm to expand its 

franchise in Nigeria. 

The deal, according to 

DFM, would be on the 

basis of debt free, cash 

free at the end of the 

transaction, which 

means working capital 

and debt value would be 

net out at the end of the 

transaction. 

The deal will also see 

Olam expand its reach 

in the pasta market in 

Nigeria, as it looks to 

cash in on the growing 

demand of wheat-based 

products in the region. 

In a statement by the 

company, the final deal value will 

be based on net debt and net 

working capital of DFM. 

Olam, through its subsidiary 

Crown Flour Mills, currently owns 

over five million shares of DFM. 

Olam was bidding to acquire all 

the outstanding and issued shares 

of DFM that were not currently 

owned by Olam through its 

subsidiary, Crown Flour Mills 

Limited. 

In a notice signed by the Group 

Chief Executive Officer of DFM, 

Mr. Thabo Mabe, the company 

stated: “If the conditions of the 

transactions are satisfied and 

sanctioned by the court, the 

company would be delisted 

from NSE (Nigerian Stock 

Exchange). 

“The offer was subject to, 

amongst other things, 

shareholders’ approval, 

regulatory approvals, the 

sanctions of the Federal High 

Court. 

“The board would review the 

offer in the best interest of the 

shareholders. 

“The board will keep both the 

capital markets and the public 

updated on tangible 

development in this regard, in 

line with the applicable 

regulatory requirements,” it 

added. 

Lapo MfB boss harps on customer focus 

By Providence Emmanuel 

THE Managing Director, 

Lapo Microfinance Bank, 

Mr. Godwin Ehigiamusoe, has 

said that customer focus is key 

to business growth while 

reiterating his bank’s 

commitment to providing 

financial services, especially 

loan, to people who are 

excluded from credits. 

The bank, in partnership with 

World Savings and Retail 

Banking Institute, WSBI, 

organised a one day 

Customer Service Forum, 

titled: “Client Centricity” 

with a view to helping its 

clients understand the 

importance of putting customers 

at the centre of business 

decisions. 

He revealed that the bank 

has a plan to implement a 

project that would enable 

more women at the grass root 

make savings, which is the 

UBA shareholders 

slam AMCON, 

regulators over 

excessive 

charges, fines 

By Nkiruka Nnorom 

Shareholders of United 

Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc 

yesterday took a swipe at the 

regulatory authorities and the Asset 

Management Corporation of Nigeria 

(AMCON) over punitive fines 

and other charges they impose on 

financial institutions in the country, 

even as they approved payment of 

N22.3 billion earlier recommended 

by the Board of directors of the bank 

as dividend for the 2018 financial 

year. 

The dividend approved by the 

shareholders translated to 65 kobo 

per 50 kobo share held by the shareholders. 

Mr Boniface Okezie, National 

Chairman, Progressive 

Shareholders Association of Nigeria 

(PSAN) and Nona Awoh, an 

independent shareholder activist, 

who spoke at the bank’s 57th Annual 

General Meeting, AGM, in Lagos, 

stated that AMCON and other 

regulatory agencies act as if they 

exist for the purposes of imposition 

of fines on the companies, saying 

that they live off shareholders’ sweat. 

Speaking on the bank’s financial 

performance for the year ended 

December 31, 2018, Okezie, who 

described AMCON’s levies as 

worrisome, commended the Board 

and management of UBA for the 

dividend in spite of unfriendly operating 

environment. 

He disclosed that with the results, 

UBA has shown that it can make 

Africa proud being the biggest bank, 

adding: “In the last two years, we 

have paid over N30 billion to 

AMCON. It is high time AMCON 

sets its eyes elsewhere on making 

their money as it is impacting 

negatively on our dividend”. 

Corroborating Okezie, Nona 

Awoh, who also commended the 

bank’s subsidiaries for improved 

contribution to the bank’s bottomline, 

said it was time CBN stopped 

depriving shareholders of the benefits 

of their investments and challenged 

banks’ management to stand 

up to the ‘new form of slavery’. 

Responding, Chairman, Board of 

Directors, UBA, Tony Elumelu, 

assured shareholders that the 

Group is on a stronger footing to 

gain more market share in Nigeria 

and other 19 African countries where 

it operates. 

Elumelu noted that despite the 

relatively slow recovery in the 

economy, the Group’s retail deposit 

grew by 42 percent, a testament to 

its improved service channels and 

enhanced customer service. 

reason for partnering WSBI and 

engaging the staff and 

customers. 

Ehigiamusoe said that 

customer focus is basically 

putting clients at the centre of 

everything a business does, 

stating: “Customer centricity is 

a critical factor in achieving a 

double bottom line goal of 

excellent customer experience 

and satisfaction, as well as 

enhanced business volume and 

superior corporate performance.



22 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, ARPIL 24, 2019 

President Muhammadu Buhari Zainab Ahmed, Minister of Finance Godwin Emefiele, Governor, 

Central Bank of Nigeria 

Exporters battle FG over N350bn grant 

Audu Ogbeh, Minister of 

Agriculture 

By Emeka Anaeto 

GOVERNMENT’s effort at diver 

sifying the economy through revamping 

of the non-oil sector with the 

expected huge foreign exchange earnings 

and massive job creation is currently 

under threat as stakeholders in 

the sector cry out that delay in the payment 

of the accumulated Export Expansion 

Grant (EEG) is hitting very hard 

on their businesses. 

A key element of the Economic Recovery 

and Growth Plan, ERGP, has 

shown the intention of the present administration 

to take the country out of 

the dependence on oil revenue by getting 

other sectors up and working. 

This is seen in the renewed interest 

in agriculture and solid mineral sectors 

with the hope of meeting domestic consumption 

and enough to export to earn 

foreign exchange. 

In line with this objective, the federal 

government promised to beam searchlight 

on the export sector, how to expand 

and promote the sector for the 

much needed foreign exchange, industrial 

growth as well as job and employment 

creation. 

This policy direction has since catalyzed 

activities in the non-oil sector, 

including exports. But it appears there 

is currently a clog in the wheel of 

progress. 

However, according to Organized Private 

Sector Exporters Association 

(OPSEA), the inability of government 

to meet up with the promissory notes 

for non-oil exporters for dues owed them 

for over nine years may so well undermine 

the successes recorded so far by 

the policy. 

In a letter to President Mohammadu 

Buhari, appealing for his intervention 

into the matter, OPSEA recounted that 

before now, the previous administration 

commenced the issuance of EEG to genuine 

exporters but the grant was later 

suspended in 2007 due to duplicitous 

claims and counter-claims by stakeholders 

over who and who should indeed 

benefit from the package. 

The development, according to an insider, 

has led to the accumulated sum 

of N350billion owed to exporters between 

2007 and 2016. 

Consequently, the association makes 

a three point demand on the issue. First 

is that the Reverse Auction Process 

(RAP) for issuance of Promissory Notes 

(PINs) should be reconsidered by the 

government. Secondly, the government 

(including the Debt Management Office, 

DMO) should restrict themselves 

to issuing the PNs as the shortest term 

feasible for payment, while equal treatment 

should be meted to all beneficiaries 

of all categories of PN. 

The third demand by OPSEA is that 

exporters should be issued PNs with 

shortest tenure (spread evenly over a 

maximum period of three years) bearing 

in mind that payment has been delayed 

for a period of three to 12 years for 

member’s claims. 

Their position was stated clearly in the 

Save-Our-Souls letter to the president, 

where the association averred that members 

are becoming very unsettled in their 

businesses more than ever and unable 

to carry out their vital roles. 

The association says government’s inaction 

is causing mounting challenges 

to their members. One of such major 

challenges is the accumulating interests 

on loans which is said to be making their 

investment and pricing decisions in their 

businesses very difficult. “We have taken 

up debts to service the receivables 

and these debts are incurring further 

interests with the continuing delay in the 

payment of EEG claims’, says of the exporters. 

OPSEA members play vital role in economic 

diversification through their contribution 

in generating the much needed 

foreign exchange earnings through 

export and creating numerous job opportunities 

via their operations throughout 

the country. 

“Your Excellency sir, we are being constrained 

to draw your attention to the 

continued hardship and ill-treatment 

being inflicted upon the businesses and 

investors in strategically important nonoil 

export sector, especially as it relates 

to the Promissory Notes (PN) program 

of the Federal Government of Nigeria 

“We, the exporters have been waiting 

anxiously since the approval from the 

National Assembly (NASS) for the PN 

to be issued”, the letter read in part. 

The exporters disclosed that the NASS 

approval and later briefing by the Debt 

Management Office (DMO) on the implementation 

of PN program. “But to 

our deep shock and dismay, we were 

informed that the DMO is now planning 

to issue the PN through a Reverse Auction 

Process (RAP). The DMO has not 

been forthcoming with any further details 

about the mechanism of the RAP but 

they said that essentially it involves the 

beneficiaries of PN program to offer/accept 

discounts to their claims before they 

can be disbursed”, the association stated 

in the letter. 

The PINs are meant to settle debts 

which are due for payment for exports 

done during the 2007 to 2016 period, 

and the association is weary that federal 

government has made no mention of 

the RAP for issuance of PIN in any of its 

announcements or in its numerous interactions 

with the exporters in the two 

to three years of the issuance of RAP. 

“Some beneficiaries of the program 

have been issued their PIN without subjecting 

them to any further verification 

after the NASS approval and without any 

deduction/reduction being made by the 

Debt Management Office (DMO) on the 

PIN approved for them by the federal 

government and the national assembly. 

“Therefore, imposing further reduction 

in the value of PIN receivable by them 

is not only unfair and unjust, but this 

kind of discrimination approach is clearly 

contrary to the generally accepted 

standards of proper due process”, the 

One of such major 

challenges is the 

accumulating interests 

on loans 

which is said to be 

making their investment 

and pricing 

decisions in 

their businesses 

very difficult 

association lamented. 

The exporters query the alleged further 

imposition of costs/deductions the 

RAP before issuing PIN at this stage, 

arguing that such action raises a question 

mark on the intent and sincerity of 

government towards meeting its obligations 

to the exporters. This, OPSEA stated 

would seriously erode investor confidence, 

as well as dampen the appetite 

for fresh investments including much 

needed foreign direct investment into 

the non-oil export sector. 

Recall that initially, pressure was on 

the National Assembly to do its work and 

give its legislative nod for the issuance 

of the federal government’s N350billion 

Promissory Notes to exporters in continuation 

of the Export Expansion Grant 

(EEG). 

This was after the executive arm seems 

to have done its bit. But the pressure is 

now back on the executive to complete 

what it started by ensuring that the PNs 

are settled without further delays. 

Reliably sources have it that the Presidency 

(Federal Executive Council) had 

sent three issues for the formal approval 

of the National Assembly earlier in 

the year. The three executive resolutions 

bother on EEG claims, payment of construction 

contractors and pensions. 

While NASS is said to have since rectified 

the latter two items, it was however 

unclear then if legislative action on 

the EEG claims was made. 

It could be equally recalled that diversification 

of the economy is one of the 

main policy initiatives of the Buhari administration 

that is aimed at shifting the 

nation’s economy from oil-based to nonoil 

sectors. 

Consequently, federal government 

promised to beam its searchlight on the 

export sector; how to expand and promote 

the sector for the much needed foreign 

exchange, industrial growth as well 

as job creation opportunities. 

It was learnt that the Federal Executive 

Council (FEC) in one of its weekly 

meetings gave approval for the payment 

of the EEG Promissory Notes. It was 

equally gathered that the EEG claims 

by the non-oil exporters have been processed 

and prepared by the federal government 

implementation committee 

with members drawn from the Federal 

Ministry of Finance, Federal Ministry 

of Industry, Trade and Investment, Central 

Bank of Nigeria, Nigeria Customs 

Service, Federal Ministry of Budget and 

Planning, Federal Inland Revenue Service 

as well as Nigeria Export Promotion 

Council. 

Even the N350 billion EEG claim is said 

to have been audited by officials of Presidential 

Initiative on Continuous Audit 

(PICA) between since last year but exporters 

are bewildered that even with all 

the said inputs on the matter, nothing 

positive is yet to come their way in terms 

of payment. 

In Nigeria, operators in agricultural 

and agro-allied sector form the bulk of 

non-oil exporters that contribute to over 

80% of the nation’s non-oil earnings. According 

to experts, the federal government 

needs to carry along the private 

sector players in order to realize its economic 

diversification agenda. 

They believe that faithful implementation 

of the EEG policy is the needed elixir 

to help track performance in the non-oil 

sector and accelerate the rate of industrial 

growth in the country. 

The non-oil sector is seen to have great 

potentials, including the capacity to sustain 

the economy and ensuring inclusive 

growth, as in the case of agriculture.




26— Vanguard, Wednesday, APRIL 24, 2019 

•OPPO F11 

OPPO makes first launch in Nigeria 

By Prince Osuagwu 

Mobile device maker, 

OPPO has 

concluded plans to launch 

its F11 Pro device in 

Nigeria. This will be the 

first time ever the global 

smartphone giant will be 

launching any of its 

flagship products in 

Nigeria. 

OPPO is a leading 

innovative global 

smartphone brand. As of 

today, the company provides 

cutting edge smartphones to 

over 200 million people all 

over the world. OPPO is 

ranked among the top five 

global smartphone brands 

and is popular for its stylish 

smartphone designs, quality 

photography experience and 

the status symbol it provides 

to its users. 

OPPO was the first mobile 

brand in the world to launch 

smartphones with 5MP and 

16MP front cameras and also 

the first to introduce the 

motorised rotating camera, the 

Ultra HD feature and the 5x 

Dual Camera Zoom 

technology. OPPO’s Selfie 

Expert F series launched in 

2016 drove a selfie trend in 

the world. 

Oppo prides itself as 

trendsetters in premium 

smartphone design and 

state-of-the-art camera 

technology in the global 

smartphone industry. The 

event is slated for Friday at 

the Oriental Hotels, Lagos. 

By Juliet Umeh 

Access to healthcare in Nigeria 

and indeed, Africa, still 

remains a big challenge. For 

instance, Nigerians pay through the 

nose to get quality diagnoses and 

treatments for common ailments. 

Medical tourism keeps the nation’s 

economy bleeding. 

Penultimate week, President 

Muhammadu Buhari lamented that 

Nigeria loses over N400 billion 

annually to medical tourism and 

urged stakeholders to join hands to 

find solution to it. 

Addressing participants of the 

Senior Executive Course, SEC 41 of 

the National Institute of Policy and 

Strategic Studies, NIPSS, Buhari 

said for the good of the country, there 

must be solutions to issues that 

could close the gaps in the 

institutional, legal and policy 

frameworks for funding universal 

healthcare delivery. 

He persuaded the participants to 

embark on researches that will 

examine the experiences of other 

countries in Africa, Asia, Europe 

and the Americas in funding 

universal healthcare delivery and 

how lessons learnt can benefit the 

country. 

However, stakeholders in the 

health sector say even if the 

president’s demands are met, 

without putting in place relevant 

technologies that can disrupt the 

existing status quo in the health 

sector, access to healthcare will still 

be a nightmare. 

At a digital health summit 

recently in Lagos, organised by 

Premier Medical System, PMS, 

PharmAccess Foundation and 

Healthcare Federation of Nigeria, 

HFN, with theme: Leveraging 

mobile technology for health: 

Progress and Challenges, 

stakeholders lamented the low 

acceptance of digital technology in 

the health sector. 

Although they agreed that 

Nigeria’s mobile technology 

penetration presented a novel 

opportunity to accelerate progress 

towards attainment of National 

Health goals, they, however, 

regretted that very little progress 

has been made so far. 

For them, in other sectors, 

including education, banking, 

entertainment and media, there is a 

concerted effort towards leveraging 

technology which has resulted in 

each of the sectors getting returns 

for their investments. 

They believe the health care 

professionals need to be more 

innovative and engender disruption 

of their sector with mobile health, 

m-health technology, to forestall the 

sector going into extinction. 

Mobile health is the practice of 

medicine and public health 

supported by mobile devices. It 

deals with using mobile 

communication 

devices such as 

mobile phones, 

tablet computers and 

wearable devices 

such as smart 

watches, for health 

s e r v i c e s , 

information, and 

data collection. The 

mHealth field has 

emerged as a sub- 

segment of eHealth, which deals 

with the use of information and 

communication 

technology, ICT, tools 

such as computers, 

mobile phones, 

communications 

satellite, patient 

monitors, among 

others, for health 

services and 

information. 

m H e a l t h 

applications include 

the use of mobile 

devices in collecting 

community and 

clinical health data, 

delivery of healthcare 

information to 

practitioners, 

researchers and patients, real-time 

monitoring of patient vital signs, 

direct provision of care via mobile 

•Digital healthcare 

DIGITAL HEALTH 

M-health to lead positive 

disruption in health sector 

•Why digital health contributes $179 billion to global economy 

Today in South 

Africa, people living 

with HIV/AIDS do 

not need to get to 

the pharmacy to get 

a drug; they go to an 

ATM machine, put 

in the code or 

prescription and the 

machine dispenses 

the antiretroviral 

drugs 

telemedicine as well as training and 

collaboration of health workers. 

President of 

HFN, Mrs. Clare 

Omasteye, 

described digital 

health as cultural 

transformation 

which integrates 

digital electronics 

to achieve great 

outcomes in health 

care. 

She said digital 

health is 

contributing $179 

billion globally and 

that in the next six 

years; the market 

will grow in triple 

folds to peak at 

$536 billion. 

She quoted statistics from the 

Global Digital Health as saying that 

the digital health market is expected 

to reach $206 billion by 2020, driven 

particularly by the mobile and 

wireless health market. 

Omasteye described digital 

innovation as: “The transfer of skills 

using mhealth such as mobile phone 

and internet to be able to get highly 

skilled jobs that are usually done by 

highly trained people and pass on 

to people who are not trained. 

“It could change the way people 

access healthcare. So the traditional 

venues where people get health 

care will no longer be the same as 

they can access it from the comfort 

of their home. 

Innovations in the health sector 

According to Omasteye, “today in 

South Africa, people living with 

HIV/AIDS do not need to get to the 

pharmacy to get a drug. They go to 

an ATM machine, put in the code or 

prescription and the 

machine dispenses the 

antiretroviral 

drugs. 

“Even the 

fear of 

buying fake 

drugs vanishes 

with mHealth. Today, there are 

RX systems that are SMS-related. 

You scratch a box and you send a 

code somewhere else to authenticate 

if the drug is genuine. There are also 

wearable devices like Apple watch 

to tell you how you slept, what your 

blood pressure is and what you 

should do next. 

“In phlebotomy - a process of 

making an incision in a vein with a 

needle, there is a technology akin 

to torch light, which can be shone 

and all the veins in the body are 

seen quickly and clearly. 

“With your mobile device, you can 

have your health record and it also 

can serve as a glucometer for your 

blood sugar if you are able to keep 

the record of your sugar level over a 

period of time. You send it to your 

doctor who manages you. 

“There is also ECG machine 

which can work with your phone, it 

tells you exactly how to place the 

machine and you send the result 

back to your doctor. 

“There are online pharmacists 

where a patient doesn’t even need 

to go to hospital any more. He or 

she only needs to upload the 

prescription 

at 

thisismymedicine.com, and it helps 


C 

M 

Y 

K

Vanguard, Wednesday, APRIL 24, 2019 — 27 

Eventstracer to provide 

transformational skills to SMEs 


Worried by uncoordination 

among stakeholders in 

the event planning industry, 

which results to 

gaps in the expected value, 

a foremost online 

event industry hub, 

Eventstracer, is set to host 

a summit for Small and 

Medium Size Event 

Planners to integrate 

them in order to attract 

value. 

The summit, which is to 

be held in May at Best 

Western Star Fire Hotel, 

Ikeja, Lagos, is dubbed: 

Growing my Event. 

Speaking at a pre-summit 

media briefing, General 

Manager of the digital 

platform, Mr. Maxwell 

Nzekwe, said the 

summit will equip the 

stakeholders with transformational 

knowledge 

about event management 

and business skills. 

Nzekwe said: “Despite 

the growth in Nigeria’s 

event industry, research 

carried out by Eventstracer 

showed that gaps 

NaijaSecCon cybersecurity conference returns to Nigeria 

By Chinasa Afigbo 

Nigeria’s acclaimed 

largest annual technical 

Cyber-Security Conference, 

NaijaSecCon Cybersecurity 

Conference, has returned 

to Lagos. 

This year’s edition will hold 

at Ace Olivia Hall, City Mall, 

Opposite Muson Centre, in 

May 2019. It is expected to be 

better than the last edition, in 

terms of participation, speakers, 

exhibitors and other activities. 

Being its third edition, the 

event has attracted top industry 

professionals including 

CIOs, CTOs, CSOs, and senior 

management officers 

from key industries including 

Finance, Energy, Telecoms, 

Government, Education and 

IT. 

Lead Convener of NaijaSecCon, 

Mr Rotimi Akinyele, 

said that “a global survey carried 

out by IBM puts an average 

cost of a data breach at 

$3.86 million, 6.4% up from 

2017. The average cost, globally, 

for each loss of stolen 

record containing sensitive 

and confidential information 

is also up from last year, landing 

at $148 per record- a 4.8% 

increase from 2017. Nigeria 

appears to be one of the most 

hit with cyber fraud within the 

African space, having reported 

about N5.6 billion in electronic 

banking fraud cases in 

2017. 

Therefore, Akinyele said that 

“this year’s event is a gathering 

of seasoned information 

security practitioners, evangelists, 

penetration testers, crypto-crackers, 

reverse-engineers, 

*From left: Head of Products, Mr. Victor Okechukwu; General Manager, Mr. 

Maxwell Nzekwe and Head of Business Development, Mrs. Uloma Okonkwo 

all of Eventstracer, during pre-summit media briefing in Lagos. 

digital forensics analysts, and 

others who will come together 

to deliberate and advice on 

solution to solving the peculiar 

Nigerian information 

space constraints,” he declared. 

Akinyele added that with 

the introduction of regulations 

such as the Central 

Bank of Nigeria, CBN Cyber 

Security Framework and the 

EU General Data Protection 

Regulation, GDPR coming 

to raise the importance of 

security among Nigerian 

companies, the event is expected 

to attract over 500 

guests. 

“This year’s event will 

showcase a mixture of both 

technical and governance 

aspect of information security 

whilst providing access 

to enthusiasts on how and 

where to get started within 

the cyber security space”, he 

said. Speakers for this event 

includes industry experts like 

Bharat Soni - GTBank’s 

CISO, Osioke Ojior – NIB- 

SS CRO, Harrison Nnaji – 

First Bank’s CISO, Ikenna 

Onyebuchi – Lead, Cyber 

Intelligence Center, Deloitte 

etc. 

The event is in four sections 

including: A Lockpick 

Village - where enthusiasts 

and tinkers alike are served 

to the chills of how lockpicking 

works; Cyber Security 

Career Village – For cyber 

enthusiasts, IT Security pros, 

and those who would love to 

create a career within the 

space; Technical Conference 

– With more than 10 

industry experts unraveling 

and advising on applicable 

still exist in the provision 

of value to stakeholders 

in the event industry. 

He identified these 

stakeholders as event 

sponsors, event owners, 

exhibitors, event venue 

owners and event visitors, 

stating that the summit 

will help integrate 

and equip them with requisite 

skills. 

Nzekwe said: “The 

event value chain which 

consists of event naming, 

event design, venue 

choice and event execution 

still requires 

plenty of development 

for the event industry to 

keep growing and this is 

one of the reasons Eventstracer 

is organising this 

summit.” 

He said the summit 

will have speakers like 

Convener of the Nigeria 

International Film Summit, 

NIFS, which is held 

annually in Lagos, Paris 

threats within the space and 

Live Hacking Contest– For 

students of tertiary institutions, 

a special kind of cyber 

security competition where 

security enthusiasts take part 

and Los Angeles; Executive 

Director of Balmoral 

Events Limited, Mr. 

Adegoke Obembe and a 

Certified Business 

Coach,Folasade Odunaiya. 


these speakers were 

carefully selected based 

on their broad experiences, 

achievements and 

expertise across all aspects 

of the event management 

industry. 

in various challenges including 

reverse engineering, network 

security, cryptography, 

web security, network security, 

digital forensics and 

others. 

DIGITAL HEALTH 

M-health to lead positive disruption in health sector 


pick all orders and sends it to various 

pharmacists closest to the patient, who 

will in turn, deliver the drugs,” she 

added. 

She said few Apps are also helpful 

such as SaferMum, a tech that connects 

mothers and give them access to 

antenatal checkups, immunisation 

date, information on what they need 

for their children; SeekMed, that 

connects patients to online doctor, 

among others. 

Challenges of Nigeria health sector 

in thinking disruptively 

However, Omasteye noted that a lot 

of innovations have taken place in 

Nigeria in the last one year which 

didn’t cross gestation period: “There 

were over 200 Medtech innovations in 

Nigeria. The challenge is that most of 

them die in the next six months. Now, 

the health system is so fragmented that 

there are no hubs and collaborations 

to enable people think disruptively." 

She also listed other factors to 

include laws and the regulatory 

environment that surround digital 

health; limited funding, poor access to 

data, no reimbursement system. 

Corroborating Omatseye, 

Coordinator, Lagos Zone National 

Health Insurance Scheme, NHIS, Mr. 

Olufemi Akingbade, said Nigeria is 

nowhere in implementing mHealth 

yet. 

LG revolutionises music 

experience with new audio 

systems 


Electronic maker, LG, 

said its latest line-up of 

2019 audio systems has capacity 

to transform the way 

people experience sound in 

the Middle East and Africa , 

MEA region. 

The new products were introduced 

recently at its annual 

celebration of 

innovation, InnoFest MEA, 

in South Korea. 

The products included the 

SoundBar system, which 

supports high resolution audio 

via an advanced processing 

algorithm that can convert 

conventional audio file 

formats, bringing output 

closer to studio quality. For 

ultimate convenience, the 

LG Soundbar also features 

Google Assistant which 

makes requests simply a 

voice command away. 

The product features a 

powerful output of 5.1.2ch 

570W sound bar and superior 

technology from Meridian 

Audio, housed in an elegant 

body, with understated 

design. Meridian’s Bass and 

Space technology enables 

the product to create strong 

bass, alongside a rich, 

textured sound for a 

definitive listening 

experience. Meridian Image 

Elevation works to enhance 

the listener’s sense of immersion, 

lifting audio to cre- 

a t e 

sound 

that not 

only surrounds 

t h e 

room, 

but also 

complements 

what is 

He, however, noted that digital 

health is very useful in the sector 

especially in registration, 

verification and identification of 

those to be provided care, but 

regretted that a lot of doctors are so 

scared of embracing the technology. 

Akingbade said the way out 

would be to ensure that all mHealth 

App developers form a hub instead 

of sitting in silos. 

Meanwhile, the General 

Manager, Lagos State Health 

Management Agency, LASHA, Dr 

Olapeju Adenusi, said with the 23 

million people in Lagos, the only 

way to drive health efficiently and 

effectively is to embrace mhealth. 

The position of the ATCON in 

expanding infrastructure 

President, Association of 

Telecommunications Companies of 

Nigeria, ATCON, Mr. Olusola, 

Teniola, said that the key factor in 

getting mHealth working in 

Nigeria would be to collaborate 

with not only the regulators but 

healthcare practitioners and other 

stakeholders to ensure an 

ecosystem that involves everyone. 

He said: “We are also engaging 

the government, Nigerian 

Communications Commission, 

NCC, to encourage public-private 

partnership, PPP, format and we are 

•LG XBoom 

on screen to provide a 

greater sense of realism. 

There is also the XBOOM 

Mini designed for party 

freaks and outdoor entertainers. 

The gadget features 

a solid output of 3,500W, 

complete with deep, 

resonant low-frequency 

performance courtesy of its 

10-inch subwoofer. Its 

Compression Horn generates 

crisper and more detailed 

audio across higher 

frequencies, whilst LG’s 

Party Accelerator+ feature 

enables users to build their 

music to a pulsating 

crescendo. An easy-to-use DJ 

App available for Android 

and iOS devices, provides 

access to a range of effects 

such as Scratch Mixing and 

DJ Loop. 

XBOOM Mini has a builtin 

DVD player to enable users 

to enjoy a cinematic experience 

at home. To 

entertain the household and 

guests further, the product 

features Karaoke Star – 

with 18 vocal effects to give 

each person their own 

unique sound. Multi Color 

Lighting adds to the partylike 

atmosphere, with 

various presets and the 

ability to sync tracks with the 

lighting system. Listeners 

can use LG’s Bluetooth App 

to connect the mini 

component with up to three 

s m a r t p h o n e s 

simultaneously. 

trying to work with Ministry of 

Power to improve supply.” 

Future of health sector with 

mhealth 

The participants at the event 

agreed that an innovation such as 

Artificial Intelligence, AI, has the 

potential to disrupt treatment 

planning and drug developments. 

With AI, there will be accuracy in 

predicting and preventing 

illnesses, diagnosing diseases, 

making drugs better than they are 

today and managing health 

conditions from the comfort of 

people’s homes. 

Virtual reality has also shown four 

areas in which it can make a change 

such as in training, it can tell and 

show you things you can’t see in a 

classroom, help in pain relief, help 

in mental and also the management 

of chronic diseases. 

Today, with 3D printing, one can 

order drugs online, print the drug 

in one’s home and consume it 

immediately. 

Maybe to imbibe all these 

cultures in Nigeria, there is need to 

reorient medical practitioners and 

disabuse their minds that 

technology cannot take away their 

jobs but would rather take away 

wastages, inefficiency and make 

them better doctors, pharmacists 

and medical health providers.



30— Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24, 2019 

VOL. 2 NO. 46 

By Vincent Ujumadu 

AWKA — ONE of the 

greatest worries of a 

typical family in Igboland is the 

cost of burying the dead. It is 

common to find families 

incurring debts to bury people 

who, even when they were alive, 

hardly enjoyed the good things 

of life. 

Some people had had to keep 

their dead ones who did not 

enjoy the benefit of adequate 

medical care during their 

lifetime in the mortuary for a very 

long time to enable them build 

befitting houses merely to show 

off. Usually, they take months to 

prepare for the burial 

ceremonies during which 

expensive and colourful posters 

and brochures, as well as dresses 

of all kinds are made. Members 

of the family, both married and 

unmarried, are taxed and made 

to contribute to the budget for the 

burial, without minding the 

financial capabilities of some of 

the people concerned. 

There was this case of a 

foreign-trained Nigerian 

businessman from Anambra 

South Senatorial Zone, whose 

father died. He kept the father 

in the mortuary and commenced 

the construction of three 

mansions in his compound. 

While construction was still 

going on, his mother also died 

and her body was again taken 

to the mortuary where her 

husband was kept. Eventually, 

the houses were completed after 

three years and a date was fixed 

for the burial of the couple. 

While people looked forward 

for the opportunity to enter the 

houses during the burial of his 

parents, he decided to organise 

the ceremony in a nearby 

primary school field where his 

dead parents were laid in state. 

Fierce-looking securitymen were 

kept at the entrance of the newly 

built houses to control movement 

of the people. There had also 

been occasions where people 

had to sell their family land to 

raise money for burials. 

Over time, burial became a 

competitive venture in Igboland 

with its attendant adverse 

consequences. Although there 

had been subdued complaints, 

even by the churches, it was 

difficult for any action to be 

taken. 

However, it was the Catholic 

Bishop of Awka Diocese, Most 

Rev. Paulinus Ezeokafor that 

began the campaign against 

expensive burial in Anambra 

State. He started by preaching 

against it even during 

expensive burials he presided 

over as he often told the families 

concerned that the money spent 

during such a ceremony could 

be better channeled to more 

meaningful ventures. 

Subsequently, he carried the 

crusade to the Anambra State 

House of Assembly. 

In fact, it was gathered that 

he was instrumental to the 

introduction of the bill on the 

control of burials in Anambra 

State through a lawmaker from 

•A burial ceremony in Anambra 

Expensive Burials: Anambra 

lawmakers to the rescue 

his Diocese. The cleric was 

thereafter appointed a resource 

person for the bill. 

His visit to the state assembly 

in 2018 coincided with the 

public hearing on the bill during 

which he observed that the 

extravagance displayed by the 

people during funeral 

ceremonies in the state had 

reached a point that necessitated 

an effective legislation to control 

the excesses. 

According to him, if it 

remained unchecked, expensive 

burials would lead people into 

pitiable situations and bondage. 

He said: “I have seen families 

sell their real estates, property, 

and personal belongings, in 

order to meet up with the 

expectations of society as regards 

funeral expenses. Businesses 

had folded, marriages had 

broken down, children had been 

By Chinenyeh Ozor 

The age long custom of 

freeborns and outcasts 

which existed for over 300 

years in Ede-Oballa 

community in Nsukka Local 

Government Area of Enugu 

State has been abolished by 

the community to pave way for 

freedom of association, intramarriages, 

freedom of worship 

and cultural heritage among 

the people for peaceful 

coexistence in the community. 

Rising from a town hall 

meeting at Umu-Oda village 

square, the traditional ruler of 

Ede-Oballa community, Igwe 

(Dr.) Asogwa Christian while 

denouncing the ancient 

tradition of freeborn and 

outcasts before the general 

assembly of the entire 

community said that the 

community after interfacing 

with various religious leaders, 

stakeholders and Enugu State 

Government, the present 

generation of Ede- Oballa 

Abor denounced the ancient 

cultural inheritance of freeborn 

and outcasts from their 

forefathers, noting that 

out of school and sudden deaths 

had been recorded, simply 

because people could not 

wriggle out of the devastating 

effects of the huge expenses 

incurred during the funerals of 

their loved ones. 

“I always seize any available 

opportunity to speak on the 

dangers of wasteful burials and 

funerals among our people. I 

have insisted that what we should 

be talking about is how to give 

our people decent and befitting 

living and not befitting funerals 

by which we mean mindless 

display of extravagance. 

‘The money used for 

extravagant burials could be 

better applied to helping the 

living. The faithful already know 

this, and I have received 

countless phone calls 

commending the move. 

‘Wearing of expensive mourning 

henceforth, every male and 

female of the community is free 

from the bondage of freeborn 

and outcasts which had existed 

in the community for over 300 

years. 

Igwe Asogwa said that there 

are no dissenting voices over 

abolishing the age long 

syndrome of freeborn and 

outcasts in the community. 

He noted that the barbaric 

culture has been a thorn in the 

flesh and has eaten deep into 

the marrows of the community 

for several decades, averring 

that several marriages crashed, 

were cancelled, traditional 

rights, chieftaincy titles and the 

prestigious Ozo title in Igboland 

denied some indigenes of the 

dresses (Asoebi) has turned into 

a practice used for display of 

wealth and importance.” 

To put his ideas into practice, 

the bishop had banned the 

production of brochures in the 

Catholic Diocese of Awka, with 

effect from 1st May, 2017. He had 

also banned priests and the 

religious in the Diocese from 

cooking and sharing souvenirs 

during the burial of their 

relatives, in a bid to reduce the 

cost of burial and funeral 

ceremonies 

To save families from the 

exorbitant amounts spent by 

families in burying their dead 

ones in line with the Bishop’s 

campaign, the Anambra House 

of Assembly, two weeks ago, 

passed a bill for a law to control 

burial and funeral ceremonies in 

the state 

The bill, which was sponsored 

community because of freeborn 

and outcasts norms. 

“By this pronouncement 

abolishing the Osu caste system 

in Ede-Oballa community, 

anybody either by omission or 

commission who calls a fellow 

indigene Osu, would be 

arrested and prosecuted. I was 

the town union's President- 

General for 10 years and 

Onowu to the late traditional 

ruler for another 10 years and 

found out that the outcasts, Osu, 

were not allowed to be heads of 

villages they belonged. An 

example was the Umuidu 

village where one was denied 

the headship of the village and 

I went into it, reclaimed it and 

consulted widely to abolish it 

•Traditional ruler of Ede-Oballa community, Igwe (Dr.) Asogwa 

Christian(middle) and elders of the community. 

by the member representing 

Anaocha II Constituency, Chief 

Charles Ezeani, provides that 

“in the event of death, no person 

shall deposit any corpse in the 

mortuary or any place beyond 

two months from the date of 

death, while burial ceremonies 

shall be for one day only.” 

It also banned the destruction 

of property, firing of gunshots, 

praise singing and blocking of 

roads and streets during burial 

ceremonies in the state, warning 

that defaulters would be 

punished according to the law. 

In addition, it provides that 

“from the commencement of the 

law, no person shall subject any 

relation of the deceased person 

to a mourning period of more 

than one week from the date of 

the burial ceremony.” 

Draft of the bill provides that 

widows/widowers should 

commence their normal business 

activities after the mourning 

period; 

It also provided that: 

*No widow shall be restricted 

from any public place after her 

mourning period; 

*No person, including widow/ 

widower shall wear a mourning 

clothe for the purpose of 

mourning after mourning period. 

*No person or group of persons 

shall deprive a widow from 

sleeping during her mourning 

period; 

“No person shall force a widow 

to shave her hair during burial 

ceremony of her husband. A 

widow is at liberty to shave her 

hair; 

*The Department of Town 

Union and Chieftaincy Matters 

in the Ministry of Local 

Government and Chieftaincy 

Matters shall be empowered to 

liaise with the town unions of 

each town in the state to ensure 

the enforcement of the law; 

*There shall be a committee to 

be known as town monitoring 

committee which shall consist of 

five persons; and 

*The president of each town 

union in the state shall be the 

chairman. Three persons shall be 

appointed by the traditional ruler 

of every town in the state and 

their cabinet members and two 

by the town union of every 

community. 

300-year-old outcast system abolished in Enugu community 

completely in the 29 villages 

of Ede-Oballa ancient 

kingdom,“ he noted. 

“We all live together in the 

community, share things in 

common, attend meetings and 

churches together, buy and sell 

at one market, yet some 

indigenes of the community are 

regarded as outcasts while 

others are freeborn. We all are 

born into the community several 

years ago. Some indigenes 

were born in the community 90 

years ago and still regarded as 

outcasts. Nobody can give full 

account of the history of outcast 

and freeborn. The syndrome has 

been in existence for over 300 

years before the present 

generation of the community. A 

culture you can’t give account 

of or determine its origin has to 

be discarded to pave way for 

digital age culture and 

tradition,” he noted. 

“Some elders of the community 

hardly could take the Onyishi 

title as the oldest man of a village 

in Ede-Oballa community due to 

the belief in the Osu system. The 

community decided to throw 

away the barbaric ancient cultural 

heritage to the vultures of the air 

for digital inheritance.”

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24, 2019 — 31 

Nigeria has deficit of 349,227 

metric tonnes of seeds — NASC DG 

The National Agri 

cultural Seed 

Council, NASC, has 

disclosed that the 

country has a deficit of 

349,227 metric tonnes 

of seed, worth over 

N130 billion, adding 

that the amount of fake 

seeds in circulation between 

2012 to 2016 has 

decreased by 81 per 

cent. 

Dr Philip Ojo, the Director 

General, NASC, 

disclosed this in Abuja 

at the Second Edition 

of the SeedConnect 

2019 recently. 

Ojo said that in spite 

of the large quantity of 

seed produced currently, 

the country was still 

experiencing wide gap 

between supply and 

quantity required. 

“In 2018, the total certified 

seed produced 

for 7 major crops, 

Maize, Rice, Sorghum, 

Cowpea, groundnut, 

Millet and Soybean 

was 72,951 metric 

tonnes 

“But the actual requirement 

was 422,229 

metric tonnes leaving a 

deficit of 349,227 metric 

tonnes, worth over 

•Group CEO of Farmcrowdy Group (FCG), Onyeka 

Akumah (2nd left); Co-Founder and CEO of 

Livestock247.com, Ibrahim Maigari Ahmadu (middle) 

and Co-Founder & Managing Director, Farmgate Africa, 

Kenneth Obiajulu (2nd right) flanked by members of 

Farmgate Africa and Livestock247 teams 

N130 billion. 

“By year 2020, the requirement 

of certified 

seed will be 441,800 

metric tonnes which is 

approximately N143 billion. 

“This is a huge business 

opportunity waiting 

to be tapped. This 

is also a huge space for 

private companies to 

key into, “ he said. 

On the decrease in 

the amount of fake 

seeds in circulation, 

Ojo said the success 

was achieved through 

continued collaboration 

Farmgate, Livestock247 partnership 

will deepen agric offerings- Obiajulu 

The 

Managing 

D i r e c t o r , 

Farmgate Africa, Kenneth 

Obiajulu, has disclosed 

that the company’s 

partnership with an online 

Livestock Market is to 

deliver value for both 

smallholder farmers and 

major processors and 

buyers. 

Speaking at the 

announcement of the 

partnership recently, 

Kenneth Obiajulu, who is 

also a co-founder of 

Farmgate Africa, said, 

“Our goal has always been 

to collaborate with relevant 

partners in the 

agribusiness space to 

deliver value for both 

smallholder farmers and 

major processors/buyers. 

“The partnership 

b e t w e e n 

Livestock247.com, 

Farmgate Africa and the 

Farmcrowdy Group as a 

whole will deepen the 

offerings in the 

agricultural space in terms 

of proper organization 

and profitable deployment 

of funds to key areas of 

production and trading. 

“On the production end, 

Farmcrowdy has 

partnered with 

Livestock247.com in 

piloting its first ever cattle 

feedlot in Adamawa State. 

The first phases have been 

quite successful and this 

sees the businesses 

scaling production to over 

24,000 bulls with about 

1,200 feedlot clusters in 

the North East, North West 

and Southern parts of 

Nigeria operating 

through feedlot systems. 

“On the trading end, 

Farmgate Africa has 

anchored the relationship 

that 

sees 

Livestock247.com trading 

in excess of 20,000 bulls in 

over 10 abattoirs in Lagos 

for FY2019 alone. 

He added “With our 

livestock portfolio, we have 

received substantial orders 

from notable key accounts 

that require bulls which 

meets with specific criteria. 

Our vision is a shared one 

with Livestock247.com, 

and this sees us developing 

the marketing together 

both from a production and 

marketing point”. Also 

speaking at the 

announcement of the 

partnership, Ibrahim 

Maigari Ahmadu, CEO of 

Livestock247.com, said 

that the Livestock247.com 

vision is to mitigate the 

spread of animal to human 

disease transmission by 

ensuring that only traceable 

and Fit-for-Slaughter 

Livestock is traded, 

exchanged, processed and 

consumed by all. 

He added that it will also 

change the narrative by 

providing an alternative to 

nomadic pastoralism 

which has been a source of 

conflicts around Nigeria. 

create more job 

opportunities and provide 

veterinary professionals, 

haulage companies, 

ruminant feed producers 

with more activities.” 

of relevant agencies 

which ensured that 

farmers got improved 

seeds on time to boost 

their productivity. 

“With the position Nigeria 

occupies in the 

region, there has to be 

concerted efforts to ensure 

quality seeds are 

sold in the country. 

“So much efforts have 

been taken by sensitisation 

and surveillance 

of the seed market, liaising 

with state government 

through collaboration 

with private 

partners. 

“Continuous efforts 

have been made by 

NASC to curb these activities 

through market 

sensitisation and market 

raids for fake seeds 

before and during 

planting season. 

“We are optimistic that 

the percentage of fake 

seeds in circulation will 

keep declining with 

more sensitisation and 

awareness campaign, “ 

he said. 

Also, Mr Richard Olafare, 

President, Seed 

Entrepreneurs Association 

of Nigeria (SEED- 

AN) said that his association 

was the largest 

in Africa, contributing 

to the feeding of over 

300 million mouths in 

Nigeria and West Africa. 

He said the association 

started modestly 

with a capacity to produce 

only about 5,000 

metric tonnes of quality 

seeds about 12 years 

ago. 

He added that it now 

had the capacity to 

produce over a 

100,000 metric tonnes 

of quality seeds. 

Mr Munir Babagana, 

representative of 

Chairman, Senate 

Committee on Agriculture, 

Sen. Abdullahi 

Adamu, said that the 

Seed Bill had been 

passed by the National 

Assembly. 

He added that the 

bill was now with President 

Muhammadu 

Buhari for assent, and 

hoped that it would be 

signed into law before 

the end of the 8th Assembly. 

vicahiyoung@yahoo.com 

Implementation of CPS challenging to 

states ----Dahir-Umar 

Stories by Victor Young 

SINCE the advent of 

the Contributory Pension 

Scheme, CPS, following 

the Pension Reform 

Act of 2004 as 

amended, no fewer than 

24 states have enacted 

laws establishing CPS as 

it is generally seen as the 

solution to defunct defined 

benefit scheme, 

DBS, that was associated 

with years of unpaid benefits 

to pensioners and 

other hiccups. 

Out of the 24 states with 

CPS pension laws, five 

states; Lagos, Kaduna, 

Ondo Edo, Ekiti states, 

Anambra Local Government 

and the Federal 

Capital Territory, FCT are 

currently remitting both 

the employer and employee 

pension contributions 

of their employees 

while four states; 

Zamfara, Kebbi, Rivers 

and Anambra states remit 

only employee contributions 

of either the state or 

local government employees. 

Speaking with Pension 

and You, Acting Director- 

General of National Pension 

Commission, 

PenCom, Mrs Aisha 

Dahir-Umar, said the implementation 

of the CPS 

had been quite challenging 

for the states and local 

governments, amidst 

the tough financial constraints 

occasioned by low 

internally generated revenues, 

IGR, and dwindling 

crude oil receipts 

into the Federation Account. 

According to her, 

“Other key challenges 

militating against the implementation 

of the CPS 

as observed in various 

states have been the lack 

of political will on the 

part of the state governments 

and the inordinate 

allocation of scarce resources 

to less impactful 

projects. Many State Executives 

would rather invest 

in infrastructures that 

could be visible and serve 

as a means for gaining 

political capital than settle 

pension obligations to 

retirees. Furthermore, 

history has shown that 

accruing pension liabilities 

under the DBS carries 

very little, if any, repercussions 

as some state 

Executives had served 

their full terms (four 

years) without paying 

gratuity or pension and 

nothing happens. This 

contrasts with the CPS 

which, to some extent, 

has measures to guide 

against defaults in contributions 

and/or remittance 

by government (the employer). 

*Members of the National Association of Nigerian 

Traders FCT Branch at the Micro Pension Plan Launch 

in Abuja , at the official launch of Micro-pension scheme 

, by President Muhammadu Buhari , recently in 

Abuja.(INSET) PenCom DG. Mrs Aisha Dahir-Umar 

“Other than lack of political 

will on the part of 

many state executives, 

the Nigerian workers are 

generally apprehensive 

towards the CPS due to 

ignorance of the workings 

of the scheme. 

Many workers, including 

those vested with the responsibility 

of ensuring 

smooth implementation 

of the Scheme fail to realize 

that the CPS protects 

their interest more 

than the DBS. As a consequence 

of this ignorance, 

they fail to ensure 

timely and adequate deduction 

of pension contributions 

or remittances 

of same. This leads to the 

phenomenon of unfunded 

Retirment Saving 

Accounts,RSAs or delayed 

remittances with 

ABOUT seven months 

after the verification 

of pensioners and former 

workers of the defunct 

Nigerian Airways Pensioners, 

some of the pensioners 

are still struggling 

to get their benefits 

paid. 

Though they are just a 

handful, investigations 

revealed that these pensioners 

have been passing 

through hard times, 

and been moving from 

pillar to post for their 

benefits to no avail.. 

Recall that 15 years after 

the liquidation of the 

national carrier by President 

Olusegun Obasanjo 

in 2002, and after long 

agitations and struggles 

for the payment of their 

benefits, with many of 

the beneficiaries dying in 

the process, President 

Muhammadu Buhari 

late last year, released 

N22.6 billion for 50 percent 

part payment of 

their benefits. 

Despite this some pensioners 

up till today, are 

still struggling to get 

their benefits. 

The verification and 

the attendant effect of loss 

of income on pension assets. 

“Another obstacle to the 

adoption or full implementation 

of the CPS in 

many states is the reluctance 

by senior public 

servants in the states to 

embrace the scheme. 

The apprehension towards 

the CPS is worse 

among the senior public 

servants who keep shifting 

the goal post for the 

adoption of the scheme to 

a time when they would 

have retired from service 

under the DBS. This has 

resulted in unending 

shifts in the commencement 

dates of the CPS by 

many states or feet dragging 

in the adoption of 

the scheme in states. 

Unbelievable:Some Nigeria Airways 

Pensioners still battling for benefits 

payment exercise were 

conducted by the Presidential 

Initiative on 

Continuous Audit, 

PICA, in Lagos, Kano 

and Enugu states. 

However, checks revealed 

that among those 

yet-to-be paid their benefits 

after verification exercise 

that entailed 

among others, bio-data 

capturing are said to 

have issues with their 

bank accounts. 

Speaking to Pension 

and You, Chairman of 

Nigeria Union of Pensioners, 

NUP, Nigerian 

Airways branch, Mr. 

Sam Nzene, said though 

those yet-to-be paid 

were minimal, but believes 

the issue would 

soon be sorted out. 


"yes, some few people 

have not been paid. 

They are not up to 10. 

They have issues with 

their bank accounts. 

Their case is with the 

account department. 

Since January, we have 

been on it. I am sure 

they will be paid any 

moment from now.

32— Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24, 2019 

Buhari and the conundrum of 

our security challenge 

IN his response to the Easter 

Sunday coordinated attacks 

on mosques and hotels during 

which more than 200 people were 

killed, President Muhammadu 

Buhari sent his heartfelt 

condolences to the government 

and people of Sri Lanka. Anyone 

reading about the president’s 

response to the mindless carnage 

in Sri Lanka would be pardoned 

to think that killings on such a scale 

are alien to Nigerians. The truth, 

however, is that it has become 

normal to read, if not witness, 

mass killings involving hundreds 

of innocent Nigerians quite 

frequently. Nigerians now live 

under the looming shadow of 

unprovoked attacks perpetrated by 

criminals operating with hardly 

any fear of reprisals for their 

action. All over the country, 

Nigerians are randomly rounded 

up and killed while their property 

are carted away and their 

communities are sacked by groups 

and individuals that are not 

entirely unknown to their 

attackers or the law enforcement 

agents that have responsibility for 

such activities. 

Parts of the North-West zone of 

Nigeria where the president hails 

from have become virtual criminal 

enclaves in which laws of the 

frontier reign. Warlords and 

criminal gangs operate with little 

or no challenge to their operations. 

On the occasions when the 

authorities appear to respond to 

the cries of Nigerians affected by 

these attacks, there is little to 

suggest that such interventions 

have any salutary outcome. What 

is visible for Nigerians to see is the 

increasing rate of terror attacks all 

across the country. From Sokoto 

and Zamfara to Katsina and 

Kaduna; Rivers, Bayelsa and Delta 

to Edo, Anambra and Enugu to 

Ondo and Oyo; Plateau, 

Nassarawa and Benue to Lagos, 

criminals appear to have assumed 

the reins of power- literally. Their 

operations assume different 

aspects depending on what part of 

the country is concerned. Some are 

of a sectarian kind, others are 

ethnic while yet others are turf 

wars carried on by cult groups. But 

the overwhelming majority of 

these activities are perpetrated by 

hardened criminals that operate 

under fungible labels as 

kidnappers, armed robbers and 

rapists. 

Some are in control of many of 

the alike legal and illegal mines 

that have sprung up in different 

parts of the country; others 

position themselves on major 

highways and yet others operate 

from one forest domicile to 

another, and from where they 

launch periodic attacks on 

isolated communities and villages. 

We are not here talking of such 

murderous groups as Boko Haram 

that appear to be selling their 

criminal franchise to fringe groups 

in parts of the country hitherto free 

of the activities of the insurgents. 

Today, persons and groups linked 

to Boko Haram are being seen or 

arrested down the Southern parts 

of the country, far from their North- 

East enclave. What does this 

indicate but the failure of 

governance and leadership? That 

the security operatives and 

agencies appear stuck in a 

sustained cat and dog battle with 

criminals in all parts of the 

country is indicative of how weak 

Abuja simply 

cannot look on in 

bemused silence to 

the carnage at 

home while 

offering its 

condolences on 

less egregious 

situations abroad 

the structures of our national 

security architecture have become 

in the last eight years or 

thereabout, covering the Goodluck 

Jonathan and Muhammadu 

Buhari administrations. 

But the chaotic situation in the 

North-West is a pointer to the 

weakness of official response to 

growing insecurity in Nigeria. At 

one point in Zamfara, the 

governor, Abdulazeez Yari, threw 

up his hands in the air in abject 

resignation. The man who once 

Unnecessary ‘turf war' between NEPZA and NSEZCO 

By Mike Babatunde 

NIGERIA embraced the idea of special 

economic zones, SEZs, in 1992, well 

ahead of many other countries, when it 

designated the first SEZ in the country. The 

SEZs are to serve as new frontiers for the 

country’s industrialisation. It was in 

furtherance of this objective that President 

Muhammadu Buhari launched the Economic 

Recovery and Growth Plan, ERGP, 2017-2020, 

in April 2017. Then, the president could not 

have, in his wildest imagination, thought that 

such a laudable idea would become a subject 

of mud-slinging. The plan was conceived as a 

medium-term national plan and road map 

comprising sectoral plans for agriculture and 

food security, energy and transport 

infrastructure, industrialisation and social 

investment. The ERGP is the vehicle to 

accelerate the implementation of the Nigeria 

Industrial Revolution Plan, NIRP, through the 

use of the special economic zones to generate 

jobs, promote exports, boost growth and 

improve skills. 

According to StearsBusiness, “a special 

economic zone, SEZ, is a broad term for 

industrial parks, free trade zones, export 

processing zones, etc. The common 

denominator is that the government 

demarcates a physical area where businesses 

receive “special treatment” of some form - 

different regulations, infrastructure, tax 

regimes, etc. Governments often opt for SEZs 

to support industries that would typically find 

it hard to operate, attract foreign businesses to 

locate in an otherwise unfriendly climate or to 

encourage clusters of businesses who benefit 

by locating near each other by access to 

standard inputs at lower cost (economies of 

scale).” 

But, in spite of the ‘special treatments’ given 

to the SEZs, they were found to have largely 

underperformed due to a number of factors, 

including but not limited to cash flow or 

funding issues. Being government-owned 

entities, the annual budgets are not enough to 

provide the requisite investments in worldclass 

infrastructure, operations and 

management services. There is also lack of 

operating competitiveness that limited the 

growth of established free trade zones. Also 

worthy of mention is the absence of a deliberate 

strategy to attract investors, create clusters or 

encourage the development of local value 

chains using SEZs, and therefore the lack of 

an appropriate link between the 

industrialisation strategy of government and 

the free trade zones. 

Anyway, as President Buhari noted at the 

signing ceremony for the investment 

partnership between the Nigeria SEZ 

Investment Company Limited, NSEZCO, and 

its strategic investment partners on February 

8, 2019: “When we decided to continue with 

the implementation of the Nigeria Industrial 

Revolution Plan of the previous administration 

and launched our Economic Recovery and 

Growth Plan to fast track implementation, we 

had a vision of Nigeria as the pre-eminent 

manufacturing hub in sub-Saharan Africa and 

a major exporter to our immediate West 

African sub-region, the rest of Africa and 

indeed the world. Special Economic Zones 

have an important role to play in achieving 

this vision.” 

Rather than commend the government for 

the initiative, especially for incorporating its 

predecessor’s NIRP into the new order (this is 

rather strange in this clime; some other 

administrations would have jettisoned the 

previous government’s initiative), some people 

are now throwing brickbats at the government, 

accusing it of bringing about NSEZCO 

straight from the president’s closet. Yet, all the 

government did was launch the ERGP to fast 

track the implementation of the previous 

regime’s programme. Contrary to insinuations 

by sponsors of the misinformation, including 

some political office holders who feel 

reportedly relocated to Abuja in 

fear for his own life and, perhaps, 

the near-total collapse of 

governance in his state, said he was 

no longer the chief security officer 

of his state. It is a known fact that 

state governors are saddled with 

the vacuous label of “chief security 

officer” even while everybody 

knows actual power and 

responsibility for security in the 

states lies with the president in 

Abuja. But depending on how 

convenient the situation is, state 

governors are humoured with the 

meaningless title of “chief security 

officer”. Yet the comedians 

running around with these titles 

know they cannot instruct the 

Commissioner of Police in their 

state to execute an order that does 

not have the imprimatur of Abuja. 

Even Kadaria Ahmed, the 

broadcaster who recently gave 

Yari the full length of her tongue, 

knows that she should have 

directed the venom of her anger at 

Muhammadu Buhari. 

President Buhari it was who 

came into office promising to rid 

Nigeria of insecurity. That was a 

cardinal aspect of his campaign 

programme in 2015 and in the 

months that led to the 2019 

elections. But Buhari apparently 

made this promise and thereafter 

went to sleep - or went about 

finding a solution to his own 

health issues that consumed so 

much of his first term in office. Yet, 

one would have expected that after 

Buhari bounced back to health he 

would effect a major overhaul of 

his security strategy in order to give 

life to his vision. But no, the 

president has no cogent answer to 

the problem. The most basic of 

steps he could take was replace his 

security chiefs but Buhari appears 

sworn to a secret oath that forbids 

such a step. The president, indeed, 

is averse to changing any of his 

threatened and sheer mischief makers, the 

execution of the presidential initiative cannot 

be said to have been done in a closet. It was an 

open process that involved experts from the 

public and the private sectors. 

Unfortunately, what appears to be a turf war 

on this critical issue is between two Federal 

Government agencies - the Nigeria Export 

Processing Zones Authority, NEPZA, and 

NSEZCO. The former came into force with 

the first SEZ in the country in 1992. Its 

mandate is clear, at least so it seems: to license 

and regulate the economic free zones. 

NSEZCO, on the other hand, is to serve as the 

holding company to take care of the Federal 

Government’s 25 percent stake in the joint 

venture, leaving the rest in the hands of other 

investors. It is normal for agencies of 

government to have disagreements, especially 

when and where functions are seen to be 

overlapping, whether contrived or genuinely 

so. This is why the NEPZA should be applauded 

for drawing the attention of the Attorney- 

It is left for President 

Buhari to resolve the 

matter in the country’s 

interest 

General of the Federation to the matter for his 

legal opinion. Where the problem appears to 

be is what looks like the continued 

recalcitrance of the agency even after the 

Attorney-General had given a verdict on the 

matter. 

NEPZA should not be found working against 

the purpose and direction of the policy of this 

administration which has not violated any 

extant law. Consequently, the funds domiciled 

in NEPZA should be released to NSEZCO to 

enable her utilize same for the presidential 

initiative. NEPZA cannot insist on being on 

the board of NSEZCO when the Federal 

Send Opinions & Letters to: 

opinions1234@yahoo.com 

non-performing appointees, be 

they security chiefs, ministers or 

heads of parastatals. To compound 

issues, the president himself 

recently said he has been taking 

things slowly in order not to break 

down or simply to avoid repeating 

the mistakes of the past. The office 

of the president is not for a person 

hoping merely to survive but one 

that can indeed take Nigeria to the 

next level of economic, social and 

political development. 

President Buhari, nicknamed 

Baba Go-slow, is wearing his 

moniker on his sleeves. If by selfacknowledgment, 

he is a slow 

coach that is the more reason he 

should surround himself with men 

and women who move at the speed 

of light. These would compensate 

for his weakness. His slow ways 

and his reluctance to do something 

about it are proving too costly to 

Nigerians on all fronts. Where the 

economy is struggling, we cannot 

afford the kind of insecurity to life 

and property that has made life 

pursuits increasingly difficult or 

impossible. Even suspected 

foreigners are killing Nigerians in 

their hundreds on a daily basis. 

Abuja simply cannot look on in 

bemused silence to the carnage at 

home while offering its 

condolences on less egregious 

situations abroad. It is 

disheartening that a president 

whose party vowed to restructure 

Nigeria along the lines of a 

federation would suddenly find a 

reason to walk back on his word. 

This is a vexing lack of integrity. 

Yet a lot of the insecurity in the land 

is connected to the unitary 

structure of our security 

arrangement. 

A decentralised structure that 

puts security in the hands of people 

familiar with their respective 

communities and states is the right 

way to go. No question! 

Government does not deem it fit to put it there. 

It also does not lie inits mouth to insist on the 

law setting it up to be amended to reflect what 

it (NEPZA) thought should be. Anyway, it is left 

for President Buhari to resolve the matter in 

the country’s interest. To allow the 

disagreement to fester can spell doom for the 

Made-in-Nigeria for Export, MINE, initiative 

which, interestingly, is already attracting 

interests from some foreign investors. This is a 

project that has come a long way; one in which 

a Project Delivery Team has been set up to 

oversee, and the services of expert consultant 

Professor Justin Yifu Lin and the Institute of 

New Structural Economics, Peking University, 

China and external leverage consultants from 

Bain & Company and later McKinsey 

&Company, KPMG and Aluko &Oyebode has 

been procured.It is one in which a Project 

Steering Committee was convened under the 

leadership of theMinister of Industry, Trade 

and Investment, with top officials of the 

ministry, members drawnfrom the Economic 

Management Team and several related 

government agencies, as well as theUnited 

Nations Industrial Development Organisation, 

UNIDO and Africa Export-Import Bank. 

What is likely to happen should the feud be 

allowed to continue is that the country would 

lose the strategic investment partners that have 

indicated interest in Project MINE. This would 

also mean that the other objectives of the project 

such as the envisaged structural transformation 

of the economy by increasing the 

manufacturing sector’s contribution to GDP 

to 20 per cent by 2029; the expected 1.5million 

new manufacturing jobs of the initial phase of 

the project; the increased foreign exchange 

earnings to the tune of about $30billion by 

2029, among others, would be gone with the 

winds. Surely, Nigeria cannot afford to throw 

away all of these on account of two agencies of 

the government fighting over who should do 

what or who should dispense the about N14.3 

billion at stake for the project. 

•Babatunde, a social commentator, wrote 

from Lagos



UNVEILING: 

From left; 

Toluwaleke 

Adenmosun 

(Partner Services); 

Niyi Yusuf 

(Managing Partner/ 

Social Sector) 

Kelvin Balogun 

(Partner, Ventures) 

A b a y o m i 

Olarinmoye 

(Partner, Real 

Sector) all of 

Verraki Partners 

during the 

company's media 

unveiling in Lagos. 

FG urged to protect environment from 

mining activities 

By Jimitota 

Onoyume 

W ARRI—THE 

F e d e r a l 

Government has been 

urged to protect 

communities from the 

harm brought on 

environment by activities 

of mining companies. 

Acting Head, 

Department of Civil 

Engineering, Delta State 

University, Oleh campus, 

Dr Hilary Owamah made 

the appeal during the 

inauguration of Delta 

State chapter of Oil and 

Solid Mineral Producing 

Landlords Association of 

Nigeria, OMPALAN. 

He said mining 

though profitable but 

can be very destructive, 

stressing that the three 

Ugborodo graduates accuse major oil firms of 

marginalisation 

Programme, UREP, 

By Onozure Dania 

W 

A R R I — 

UGBORODO 

Graduates Association, 

UGA, the umbrella body of 

all Ugborodo graduates in 

Nigeria and Diaspora 

yesterday, accused 

Chevron Nigeria, Shell 

Petroleum Development 

Company, SPDC and 

PanOcean of what they 

termed as marginalisation 

that has kept Ugborodo 

c o m m u n i t y 

underdeveloped with wide 

spread poverty and high 

unemployment amongst 

graduates. 

Addressing newsmen 

after its meeting in Warri, 

Delta State, its President, 

Ololo Solomon, accused 

Chevron of applying 

divide and rule tactics 

against the community 

after allegedly breaching 

the late Eric Igban led 

Ugborodo Trust 

Memorandum of 

Understandings, MOUs, 

which were supposed to be 

a blueprint for Ugborodo 

development and was 

generally accepted by all 

and sundry in the 

community. 

Ololo said “The late Eric 

Igban led Trust/Chevron 

MOUs made provision for 

annual employment, 

salaries increment and 

scholarship for Ugborodo 

indigenes including 


development, but what we 

have today is Chevron 

working against the people 

and subjecting them to 

perpetual suffering, 

poverty, neglect, 

unemployment and 

environmental degradation 

while creating a garrisonstyle 

industrial barrack, 

where our community 

doesn’t benefit 

economically. 

“The Chevron VTP 

programme had been 

stylishly abandoned and no 

employment provision was 

made for the army of 

unemployed graduates in 

the community and despite 

our effort to promote 

education in the 

community on our own 

through the Ugborodo 

Rural Education 

Chevron and SPDC refuse 

to partner us. 

“Chevron, SPDC and Pan 

Ocean claimed they do not 

have vacancies for our 

graduates, yet we see them 

employ graduates’ 

personnel all the time on 

their facilities in our land, 

this is to show you the 

height of impunity in which 

they operate with no 

regard to host community. 

What these multinationals 

By Festus Ahon Ughelli South 

Constituency in the Delta 

A 

S A B A — State House of Assembly, 

CHIEFTAIN of Mr. Reuben Izeze at St 

the Peoples Democratic James Anglican Church, 

Party, PDP, in Delta State, Ughelli. 

Chief 

Samuel He said: “Okowa’s 

Oboramohwhoyere has enviable achievements in 

said that Governor Ifeanyi the human and 

Okowa would surpass his 

first term achievements in 

his second tenure. 

Oboramohwoyere stated 

this during his victory 

thanksgiving on the reelection 

of Okowa and the 


development of the state 

endeared him to all Deltas 

and his landslide victory 

will motivate him to do 

more for his people.” 

Thanking God for the 

member representing peaceful conduct of the 

are doing in Ugborodo has 

a negative ripple effect, 

because they are now 

training the youth to 

become future terrorists and 

militants, instead of being 

gainfully employed or 

empower them to become 

useful to the society. 

“UGA and the good 

people of Ugborodo will 

resist Chevron, SPDC and 

PanOcean marginalisation 

campaign with all possible 

means,” the group noted. 

Okowa’ll surpass his first term achievements 

— Oboramohwhoyere 

just concluded general 

election in the state and 

across the country, 

Oboramohwoyere, who is 

the Senior Special Assistant 

to Okowa on Community 

Development, said Okowa 

will not relent in his quest 

to make the Delta a 

pacesetter and model for 

other states in the country 

to follow. 

Earlier in his homily, 

Vicar of the Church, Ven. 

D. U Esharidede urged 

Nigerians to be prayerful, 

saying “With prayers, 

Christians can be 

victorious.” 

Custodian preaches purity as Olokun festival holds in 

Ile Ife 

AS this year’s edition 

of the annual Olokun 

Festival rounds off in Ile 

Ife, Osun State, Princess 

Latifat Momodu, the 

Ambassador of Olokun, the 

ocean goddess has called 

on Nigerians to always 

strive to be pure and shun 

all forms of evil. 

She said this will allow 

God to hearken to the 

prayers by her, the Olokun 

custodian, as the grand 

finale of the consultation 

with the spirit being is done 

in observation of the final 

rites of the Olokun Festival 

this weekend. 

Speaking with newsmen 

in Lagos, Ms Momodu, 

who was appointed 

Heritage Ambassador of 

the Olokun Legacy last 

year, said the ongoing 

Olokun festival, being 

hosted by the Ooni of Ife, 

Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, 

which took off today in Ile 

Ife, would be rounded off, 

weekend, with final prayers 

to and consultations with 

the goddess. 

She said Nigerians 

should uphold purity of 

hearts and abstain from 

stages which he listed as 

prospecting, exploration 

and exploitation do so 

much harm on the 

environment. 

He also called on 

mining companies to 

build healthy 

relationship with their 

host communities. 

doing evil so that the 

prayers offered by the 

Olokun devotees for the 

well-being of the nation, 

would be answered. 

She said: “Olokun is one 

of the powerful angels God 

sent to the world to save 

people from bondage, that 

is why an Olokun devotee 

has the healing powers 

and power for prosperity 

and fruitfulness. And 

people would begin to 

wonder how. It because 

Olokun is clean. Olokun 

does not associate with evil. 

And that is the message we 

want to pass to the world.'' 

RNDA blasts ex-militants 

over protest against 

NDDC boss 

By Emma Amaize 

W 

A R R 1 — 

REFORMED 

Niger Delta Avengers, 

RNDA, yesterday, warned 

ex-militants, who carried 

out a protest, last week, 

against the acting 

Managing Director, Niger 

Delta Development 

Commission, NDDC, 

Professor Nelson 

Brambaifa, describing them 

as “disgruntled criminally 

minded and misinformed 

people who have lost their 

place in the genuine 

agitation by Niger Delta.” 

Leader of RNDA, selfstyled 

“Major General” 

Johnmark Ezonebi, aka 

Obama, who spoke after a 

meeting of unit 

commanders of the group 

and coalition of other nine 

militant groups in Benin 

River, Delta State, said 

“The so-called phase three 

and five ex-militants are 

directionless, hence they 

embarked on a journey for 

selfish gains designed by 

their corrupt sponsors.” 

Ezonebi said, “It is 

high time we put a stop 

to these senseless 

protests against the 

acting MD and we say 

this should not repeat 

itself again, otherwise, 

RNDA with the coalition of 

the nine militant groups in 

the creek will be left with 

no option than to smoke out 

the cowards and their 

corrupt-minded sponsors. 

“RNDA will be forced to 

LACK OF ELECTRICITY SUPPLY: 

A-Ibom villages threaten to 

shut down substations 

By Chioma Onuegbu 

UNINE YO—SEVENTY- 

villages in Itu 

Local Government Area of 

Akwa Ibom State have 

lamented lack of electricity 

supply to their 

communities following 

alleged fraudulent 

activities of some staff of Port 

Harcourt Electricity 

Distribution Company, 

PHEDC, threatening to 

shutdown power 

substations if nothing was 

done to address the 

lingering situation soon. 

The communities handed 

down the threat in a letter 

addressed to Nigeria 

Electricity Regulatory 

Commission, Abuja, 

through the Chief 

Executive Officer, PHEDC, 

and copied the state 

governor, the Paramount 

Ruler of Itu, all the clan 

Heads, the council 

chairman, the state 

Commissioner of Police 

and heads of other security 

agencies, Consumer 

Protection Council by 

Chairmen in Council and 

youth presidents of the 79 

villages of Itu LGA. 

The leaders of the 

villages, in the statement, 

called for the removal of the 

declare them wanted and 

tag them enemies of 


Buhari-led All Progressives 

Congress, APC 

government and also 

enemies to the Niger Delta 

region. 

“We are very pleased 

with the genuine efforts, 

policies and programmes of 

President Buhari-led 

Federal Government 

towards the development of 

the Niger Delta region and 

reorganisation of the 

NDDC. 

“RNDA wishes to 

commend the acting 

Managing Director of 

NDDC for the proper 

utilisation of the available 

little resources in the 

commission within these 

three months which- has 

helped in addressing most 

of the developmental 

challenges affecting the oil 

rich long neglected region. 

“This is the first time an 

elder statesman full of 

integrity, technocrat and 

man, who is not there to 

acquire wealth, become a 

governor, federal minister 

and senator has been 

appointed to manage the 

NDDC board. 

“RNDA and the coalition 

of the nine militant groups, 

which accepted ceasefire 

with the Federal 

Government in 2016 and 

have sustained the existing 

peace in the creeks of the 

region, warn the so-called 

non-existent and selfacclaimed 

ex-militants to 

withdraw from their 

kangaroo protest,” he said. 

PHEDC marketers 

involved in the fraudulent 

dealings. 

They said, “We 

chairmen in council of 

the 79 villages in Itu 

LGA, the village youth 

presidents from the 

different villages and the 

relevant stakeholders, 

after due consultations 

and considerations have 

resolved that the PHEDC 

should restore steady light 

to Itu communities within 

21 working days with effect 

from April 8, 2019. 

“That PHEDC should 

with immediate effect 

remove every staff or 

contractor that is found 

wanting as we are aware 

that the Head of 

Marketing and the 

marketers are engaged in 

fraudulent dealings to rob 

Itu people and do not remit 

the proceeds from the 

billings to the head office. 

“We will shutdown all 

sub-stations operating in 

Itu council if justice is not 

done to our requests within 

the stipulated period. 

“Light should be retrieved 

from all quarters which it 

had been illegally 

distributed to, until the 

primary constituents, the 

people of Itu are settled.”

34—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24, 2019 

Campaign of calumny 

linking us with violence 

won't stop Biafra —IPOB 

By Chimaobi 

Nwaiwu 

N 

N E W I — 

INDIGENOUS 

People of Biafra, IPOB, 

yesterday said that no 

amount of campaign of 

calumny, linking them with 

violent attacks on Police 

stations or associating them 

with murder of people who 

once had something to do 

with the group, will deter it 

from achieving the 

sovereign State of Biafra. 

IPOB in a statement by its 

Media and Publicity 

Secretary, Emma Powerful, 

alleged that "some faceless 

people working for the All 


APC, are doing all they can 

to tarnish the image of our 

leader, Mazi Nnamdi 

Kanu and IPOB as a group 

because of the revelations 

he is making in his recent 

Radio Biafra broadcasts." 

He stated: “If the motive 

behind the faceless people 

working for APC 

government in their 

campaign of calumny, linking 

IPOB with violent attacks 

on Police stations 

and associating IPOB with 

murder is to dampen or 

deflect attention from the 

earth-shattering worldwide 

broadcast we have been 

making through our leader, 

Mazi Nnamdi Kanu on 

Radio Biafra, then they 

better be informed that their 

plans have failed woefully. 

“Our leader, Mazi 

Nnamdi Kanu will 

continue to broadcast so 

that mankind may know 

the evil that the present 

administration in Nigeria 

has become. This 

diversionary tactics of 

planting sensational stories 

in the media is 

meaningless and will never 

work. Whoever it was 

within the Nigerian 

security apparatus that 

dreamt up this ruse is a 

colossal failure, because we 

IPOB have faced worse 

and came out stronger." 

Enugu govt equips 216 secondary 

schools with e-libraries 

By Dennis Agbo 

E NUGU—ENUGU 

State government has 

equipped no less than 216 

out of 292 secondary 

schools with E-libraries 

where students surf the 

internet even in the rural 

areas. 

This development is 

coming on the heels of 

alleged infrastructural 

decay, lack of adequate 

teachers and other forms of 

shortcomings in some 

primary and post-primary 

education system in 

Nigeria. 

The state has however 

silently revolutionized the 

educational system to 

benefit her future 

generation under the 

administration of Governor 

Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi. 

Chairman of the Post 

Primary Schools 

Management Board, 

PPSMB, in the state, 

Nestor Ezeme in an 

interview with Vanguard 

said that the equipment for 

the entire 292 secondary 

schools have already been 

procured while installations 

are on-going to finish the 

remaining few schools that 

have not been installed. 

“The E-libraries are 

crucial to students whose 

examinations are now 

mostly by Computer Based 

Tests, CBT. This is a 

progressive development 

in secondary education 

that was not experienced by 

those that attended 

secondary schools in the 

last millennium. The 

advantage is that 

graduates of this standard 

are worldwide compliant to 

tackle evolving challenges." 

Firm leverages on technology to 

deliver legal services 

ONLINE legal support 

company, Quicklaw 

Limited, has simplified 

legal processes by 

leveraging on technology to 

advance the Nigerian legal 

industry. 

Navigating the Nigerian 

legal system can be 

incredibly intimidating for 

small business owners and 

individuals without the 

support of a lawyer; 

nevertheless, the 

importance of legal support 

cannot be over emphasised 

as it helps protect the 

business and individual in 

the long run. 

Championing this cause 

is Quicklaw.ng by 

Quicklaw Limited with the 

goal to redefine and modernise 

the legal industry 

in Nigeria. This online 

platform aims to change 

the perception of the Nigerian 

legal system with 

its value offering of easily 

accessible, fast and affordable 

legal services. 

Through the website, 

Quicklaw Limited fosters a 

community of increasingly 

legal-conscious 

individuals. 


QuickLaw Limited, CEO, 

Sade Michael, “this 

platform was founded with 

the focus of proactively 

helping people secure and 

protect the things they 

value." 

OPENING: From left—Lekan Ajisafe, Director, Terminal 3 Restaurant; Brigadier General 

Abdallah Ahmad; Bunmi Ajisafe, Chief Executive Officer, Terminal 3 Restaurant; and Senator 

Opeyemi Bamidele cutting the ribbon to officially open the restaurant in Ogudu, Lagos. 

Don't abandon 2nd Niger Bridge, Anglican 

Communion begs FG 

By Chimaobi 

Nwaiwu 

N NEWI—THE 

ongoing work on 

the 2nd Niger Bridge has 

received 

the 

commendation of the 

Diocese on the Niger, 

Anglican Communion, 

Onitsha, Anambra State. 

Describing the bridge as 

a landmark project, the 

Diocese through its Bishop, 

Owen Nwokolo, urged the 

Buhari-led government to 

ensure its completion 

within the stipulated time, 

saying that the economic 

and social value of the 

bridge to the South-East 

and the nation in general 

is not something that 

should be used to play 

politics by abandoning it 

halfway. 

Nwokolo said: “We must 

commend the Federal 

Government for 

commencing work on the 

second Niger Bridge, 

which is a landmark project 

in the history of President 

Muhammadu Buhari-led 

All Progressive Congress, 

APC, government. We must 

however, state that the 

economic and social value 

of the bridge to the South- 

East and the nation in 

general, is not something 

to be abandoned half-way 

because of petty politics. 

“A project in the class and 

magnitude of 2nd Niger 

Bridge should not be 

sacrificed on the altar of 

politics, sentiments or 

ethnic affiliation. We 

therefore, pray that the 

Federal Government 

should not because of 

politics, abandon the work 

half-way." 

Diocese on the Niger, 

however, scored the 

Federal Government low 

on the dilapidated state of 

federal roads in the South- 

East and urged the 

government to step up 

action in rehabilitating all 

federal roads in the region. 

He continued: “We must 

not fail to express sadness 

over the way the federal 

government has allowed 

federal roads in the South- 

East to continue to 

deteriorate, following 

inadequate attention 

towards them. We regret the 

deplorable condition of the 

Onitsha-Enugu federal 

highway; the Enugu- 

Umuahia-Aba-Port- 

Harcourt express-road and 

part of the Onitsha-Owerri- 

Aba road among others. 

“We must equally 

condemn the ever 

increasing insecurity in the 

country occasioned by the 

gradual spread of killings 

by arms-bearing killer 

herdsmen. The federal 

government must urgently 

call the herdsmen to order 

to avoid reprisals attacks, a 

situation that can create 

regrettable, chaotic state of 

emergency in the country.” 

The Anglican 

Communion also called for 

a harmonious and peaceful 

coexistence among 

different ethnic groups in 

Nigeria for meaningful 

development to be 

achieved, adding that “for 

any progress and 

development to occur in 

Nigeria, love, mutual trust 

and peaceful coexistence 

among different ethnic 

groups must first be 

collectively, individually 

and genuinely sought by 

the people. 

“We are passionately 

appealing to all the ethnic 

groups in the country to 

sink whatever differences 

and work together with the 

government to achieve the 

desired Nigerian 

philosophy of the founding 

fathers.” 

Withdraw your cases against Ihedioha, Nwoga, 

Ohakim tell Imo gov candidates 

By Chidi 

Nkwopara 

O WERRI—Elder 

statesman and former 

Minister of Establishment 

and Management Services, 

Chief Innocent Diala 

Nwoga and a former 

governor of Imo State, Ikedi 

Ohakim, have advised 

those challenging the 

victory of Chief Emeka 

Ihedioha in the recent 

gubernatorial election in 

the state to “have a rethink 

and allow the wish of the 

citizenry to stand”. 

The duo who spoke in 

Owerri, at a gathering of 

stakeholders of the 

"Rebuild Imo Project," 

advised the governorship 

candidates to peacefully 

withdraw the cases they 

filed against the governorelect. 

Nwoga said: “Much as 

the people who failed in the 

last governorship election 

will argue that they have a 

constitutional right to seek 

redress in the court of 

competent jurisdiction, I 

will however, appeal to 

them to have a rethink and 

peacefully withdraw the 

cases they filed against the 

governor-elect, Chief 

Emeka Ihedioha.” 

While describing the 

litigations currently 

pending in court as 

“unnecessary distraction”, 

Nwoga however urged 

Imolites to join hands with 

Ihedioha in the huge task 

of rebuilding the ruins 

which Imo State has been 

reduced to in the past eight 

years. 

“Honestly, we have been 

in this state in the past eight 

years. We have equally 

witnessed the horrific 

governance and massive 

destruction of all 

government establishment, 

which has set us decades 

behind”, Nwoga noted. 

Nwoga, who was pioneer 

Imo State chairman of the 

Peoples Democratic Party, 

PDP, described the Imo 

governor-elect as “the 

choice of the people and 

one with the competence 

and relevant experience to 

run its affairs”. 

Continuing, Nwoga said: 

“Ihedioha has the 

competence and 

experience to turn this state 

around for good. I have no 

doubt that he also has the 

capacity to appraise issues 

and he is very sensitive to 

the plight of the people. 

Every right thinking person 

should support him 

considering the efforts to 

restore and rebuild the 

state.” 

On his part, the 

immediate past governor of 

the state, Ohakim, said he 

was virtually distracted 

throughout his four-year 

tenure. 

“I was virtually in court 

for four years. It was a huge 

distraction and I do not 

wish the governor-elect to 

pass through the same sad 

experience like I did”, 

Ohakim said. 

While reminding the 

audience that he contested 

for the gubernatorial seat 

with Ihedioha in the last 

election, Ohakim also said 

that he has no intention of 

dragging the governorelect 

to court.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24 , 2019—35 


Easter attacks: CAN laments Sri Lanka 

bombings, Benue killings, others 

By Luminous 

Jannamike 

ABUJA — Christian 

Association of Nigeria, 

CAN, has expressed sadness 

over the attacks on Christians 

in Benue, Gombe, and 

Adamawa states as well as 

Sri Lanka Island in South 

Asia during the Easter 

celebrations last Sunday. 

The attacks left no fewer 

than 331 persons dead and 

440 others suffering multiple 

injuries. 

In his reaction, CAN 

President, Rev Samson 

Ayokunle, said it was a tragic 

irony that the terrorist attacks 

took place on a day Christians 

world over were celebrating 

the resurrection of Jesus 

Christ. 

In a statement, yesterday, 

by his media aide, Pastor 

Bayo Oladeji, the CAN 

President said: “The 

Christian Association of 

Nigeria, CAN, commiserates 

with the government and 

people of Sri Lanka over the 

terrorist bombing of churches 

during Easter Sunday 

services. 

"In this moment of colossal 

national mourning, CAN, 

with a heavy heart, stands 

with the government and 

people of Sri Lanka. This 

attack came while the whole 

world had not yet recovered 

from the shock of the 

disastrous fire, which ravaged 

one of France’s most iconic 

sites, Notre-Dame Cathedral, 

though the incident was not 

linked to terror attack. 

“The same weekend here 

in Nigeria, no fewer than 11 

persons were reportedly 

killed in Benue State during 

the Easter celebrations. 

"No fewer than 20 others 

died and some 35 others also 

sustained injuries in other 

Easter attacks on Christians 

in Adamawa and Gombe 

states. Our hearts are with the 

families that were affected 

and we pray for all those who 

are recuperating in the 

hospitals and medical 

facilities for quick recovery.” 

Ayokunle stated that 

Christians are increasingly 

becoming endangered 

species all over the world, 

stressing that no fewer than 

200 innocent women, 

including a teenage student, 

Leah Sharibu, have been 

kidnapped by Boko Haram 

terrorists in Nigeria. 

He lamented that “sadly, 

the government appears 

powerless in rescuing them 

and protecting the lives of 

Nigerians.” 

The CAN President called 

on the United Nations and 

other global organisations to 

come to the aid of all the 

victims in Sri Lanka, France, 

Nigeria and other countries 

of the world suffering from 

similar fate. 

Zoro accuses Badaru of aiding Chinese firm 

in land grabbing, calls for his resignation 

•It's a figment of his imagination—Political Adviser to Badaru 

By Abdulmumin 

Murtala 

KANO—MEMBER of 

the House of 

Representatives representing 

Gagarawa, Gumel, Sule 

Tankarkar and Mai Gatari 

constituency in Jigawa State, 

Sani Zoro, has accused 

Governor Muhammad 

Badaru of shady deals with 

Chinese companies. 

Zoro who was in Kano State 

on private business, claimed 

the governor was using his 

position to run his personal 

businesses in partnership 

with Chinese companies in 

the perceived takeover of land 

from local farmers, 

exploitation of employees 

and the importation of 

prisoners from China to work 

in the name of expatriates. 

But in a swift reaction, 

Political Adviser to Badaru 

described Zoro’s claims as a 

figment of his imagination. 

The Political Adviser, who 

was also in Kano State for 

undisclosed reasons, 

dismissed the claim of land 

grabbing as not true, saying 

Lee Group in Gumel was 

working in partnership with 

the local farmers with 

everyone owning a stake. 

According to him, “the Lee 

Group is also going to provide 

enhanced seeds and water 

Bad leadership, cause of N-Delta under 

development — Mulade 

By Gab Ejuwa 

Y ENAGOA—AN 

environmental 

activist, Sheriff Mulade, 

yesterday said 

infrastructural decay and 

high rate of poverty in the 

oil-rich Niger Delta was as 

a result of bad leadership. 

Muldae, during an 

interactive session with 

journalists in Yenagoa, 

Bayelsa State, drew the 

Federal Government’s 

attention to economic, 

environmental, communal 

and leadership crises 

rocking the region, which, 

according to him, have 

VISIT: Senator repesenting Kaduna Central, Shehu Sani (middle) 

with the Imam of Kakangi, Alhaji Zakari Umar (left) andVice 

President, Coalition of Brinin Gwari Association, Mallam Nasir 

Khalid, when the associations visited the Senator over the banditry 

in Birnin Gwari, at his Kaduna residence. Photo: Olu Ajayi. 

thrown Niger Delta into a 

web of conflicting interests. 

He urged government to 

consider setting up a 

sustainable and 

comprehensive social 

welfare programme that 

will change the attitude of 

a selected few, who took 

advantage of the crises in 

the region to enrich 

themselves and built 

empires across the region 

in the name of fighting for 

the region’s development. 

Mulade insisted that 

Niger Delta people were no 

longer interested in arms 

struggle to agitate for the 

development of the region, 

saying: “We can no longer 

put up with individuals 

masquerading as those 

agitating for the 

development of the region.” 

He called for an end to 

the developmental setbacks 

that political, traditional 

and religious leaders in the 

region were foisting on 

them. 

He said: “They are the 

major problems of 

development in the region, 

sowing the seeds of 

selfishness, ethnicity and 

hatred among the people, 

in addition to the region’s 

development resources 

being embezzled by 

political and other leaders.” 

channels that would also 

allow the farmers to farm 

three times a year as against 

the traditional annual raining 

season farming in the 

region.” 

He also stated that if what 

the lawmaker was saying was 

true that the people of 

Gagarawa were angry with 

the government due to the 

said suppression by 

government, they wouldn’t 

have voted into power again. 

Defending the governor’s 

constant travels to China he 

explained that apart from the 

fact that the “governor is 

entitled to four weeks of break 

annually, he also goes to 

such trips to enhance the 

agricultural development of 

the state. 

"The governor never 

accepted to offer lands to the 

Chinese companies until all 

agreements as to the 

stakeholders concerned were 

made and in the mean time 

work has gone far in the 

affected areas.” 

Meanwhile, Zoro asked 

Governor Badaru to use his 

conscience to resign from 

office because he is engaged 

in double dealing, which is 

unconstitutional. 

"You cannot pursue 

business as well as public 

office simultaneously. That is 

unconstitutional. One thing 

should give way for the other 

and he has failed apparently. 

It is better for him to abdicate 

before he plunges the state 

into crises.” 

Group tasks Okowa, 

others on inclusive govt 

By Onozure 

Dania 

Asocio-cultural group, 

Ozoro Progressive 

Union, OPU, in Delta State, 

has charged Governor 

Ifeanyi Okowa to run an 

inclusive government in his 

second term in office. 

President of OPU, Lagos 

Central, Mr. Kennedy 

Ozofere, also urged Okowa 

and others to be closer to the 

electorate, just as they did 

during electioneering 

campaign, as well as to 

ensure that they fulfill the 

campaign promises made to 

the electorate. 

The group also charged 

the governor to embark on 

mass empowerment of the 

electorate rather than 

individual empowerment, 

which the group said does 

not reflect on the state’s 

development. 

According to Ozofere, 

“while congratulating 

Okowa for his re-election, 

we’re also advising him not 

to embark on discriminatory 

governance. He should run 

inclusive government. 

"Election has come and 

gone, the people of Delta 

State, especially the people 

of Isoko North and South, 

have willingly given him 

their mandate to govern them 

for another four years, so he 

should carry everyone in the 

state along in his scheme of 

things. 

“We are also tasking the 

governor to embark on 

general empowerment of all 

Deltans and development of 

the state as a whole, and be 

more closer to the people just 

as he did when seeking their 

votes for his re-election. Now 

that he has been re-elected, 

he shouldn’t distance 

himself from the electorate. 

“We are also calling on the 

governor, Senator James 

Manager, Mr Leo Okuweh 

and other elected politicians 

not to jettison all that they 

promised the electorate 

during electioneering 

campaign." 

Delta A-G wades into impasse 

between communities, oil firm 

By Festus Ahon 

& Perez Brisibe 

UGHELLI— DELTA 

State Attorney- 

General and Commissioner 

for Justice, Peter Mrakpor, 

has promised to look into 

the grievances between oil 

bearing communities 

within Oil Mining Lease, 

OML, 30 and Heritage Oil 

Company. 

The communities through 

their presidents-general 

had issued a seven-day 

ultimatum to the company 

and its subsidiaries to vacate 

their territory or face the 

wrath of the people in the 

area. 

However, in a bid to avert 

what he described as the 

socio economic resultant 

effects of the imminent 

shutdown of over 90,000 

barrel per day oil production 

in Oil Mining Lease 30, the 

attorney-general invited the 

president generals of the 

communities to brief him on 

their grievances with the 

company. 

The Commissioner for 

Justice in a statement, 

yesterday by the ministry’s 

Public Relations Officer, Ivovi 

Aruoriwo, noted that the 

leaders accused the company 

of breaching all the terms of 

the GMOU signed between 

the communities and the oil 

company. 

According to the statement, 

President-General of 

Ewvreni Community, Chief 

Victor Ohare who also 

doubles as the Chairman of 

Presidents-General Forum of 

OML 30 who spoke on behalf 

of the leaders, accused 

the company of using security 

agencies to intimidate, 

harass and suppress their 

genuine agitations and none 

employment of indigenes of 

the communities and regular 

disengagements of the few 

already working with the 

company. 

Burial 

The burial of Dorathy 

Izebhua Etusi will hold 

Friday, April 26 at Egbele, 

Uromi, Edo State. 

According to the son of 

the deceased, Rev. Joseph 

Etusi-Ehimen, interment, 

slated for 4pm, will be 

preceeded by service of 

songs at her residence, 

Obedu 2, Uromi, Esan 

North-East Local 

Government Area of Edo 

State.. 

Entertainment of guests 

will hold on Saturday, April 

27 at St Michael's Catholic 

Church in Obedu while the 

outing service takes place 

on Sunday, April 28 at 

Assemblies of God Church 

in Odedu.


WITH CHARLES KUMOLU 

midweekpersonality@gmail.com 

08052140865 (sms only) 

PERSONALITY ETHICS 

Independence is key 

to achieving one's 

goals 

Guidance and 

mentoring are 

crucial to growth 

I leverage on my 

past experience to 

get results 

My word is my bond 

Background and lessons: 

My growing up years were 

dynamic considering my 

background, societal exposure 

and academic training. 

These three areas helped to 

shape my perspective about 

life and people. The lessons 

drawn from them are numerous. 

However, one of the 

most important lessons is 

that I was able to understand 

the power of relationships 

from the positive and even 

the negative angles. I have 

also learned about the power 

of independence in achieving 

one's goals and objectives in 

life 

Phases in life 

There have been several 

landmarks in my life. 

Becoming a mother was one 

of them. Making my first N1 

million profit was another 

defining moment for me. Another 

area that have shaped 

me as a person is my marriage, 

which has completely 

redefined and refined my 

views about life. I have truly 

learned to rely on God alone 

for everything. Progress for 

me is no longer measured by 

landmarks, but by maturity 

from my various experiences, 

which are both positive 

and negative. I made my first 

N1 million before Zedge was 

officially registered. It felt 

like a good start. It made me 

to start believing that all my 

distant dreams were possible. 

Till date, I have been applying 

the takeaways from 

the moment I realised I had 

made N1 million from my 

business. 

erate $7.25m in partner revenues. 

I am keen on providing real 

solutions to business gaps in 

public and private companies. 

Other fields I am passionate 

about include project 

management, finance, management, 

and accounting. 

I have a Bachelors degree 

in Communications, an MBA 

from the University of South 

Wales and I am awaiting a 

Masters degree in Social Sciences 

,International Relations, 

from Kingston University. 

It is interesting to say 

that I am an avid explorer of 

new business opportunities. 

Sources of influence 

There are two major sources 

of influence in my life. The 

first was my grandmother, 

the late Alhaja Abibat Atanda-Owo, 

who had an impact 

on the woman I have become. 

She essentially taught 

me values, morals, and ideals 

of life. From her, I learned 

that guidance and mentoring 

are crucial part of growth 

and development. Also, Assistant 

Inspector General of 

Police,AIG, Taiwo Lakanu, 

who is my second father, has 

been a source of guidance 

and mentoring in various aspects 

of my womanhood. 

Turning point 

The experience that I can 

term a turning point was 

when I took a decision to become 

an entrepreneur, specifically 

to run and manage 

my own organisation. After 

working with several organisations 

for 12 years, I realised 

my dream of being an 

entrepreneur. I decided to 

start building my own business 

empire. Looking back 

now, I realised that it was an 

audacious move, which I 

didn't know would work. 

I believe that my greatest 

achievements are still ahead. 

Life is in stages and achievements 

are all along these 

stages of growth. I have a vision 

of what the society 

should be. That is why I keep 

striving towards that. Also, 

raising my children to be life 

models to society is one of the 

goals. My dream society is 

one where everyone, regardless 

of race, gender or religious 

persuasion, would have 

a fair chance of succeeding 

like everybody else. 

Cherished values 

My most cherished virtue is 

pristine integrity that has always 

reflected in every aspect 

of my life. Nobody is 

perfect, but with God's help, 

I always do my best to ensure 

that my word is my bond. 

This is what I also expect 

from my business and personal 

relationships. 

On Zedge 

In 2016 Zedge was registered 

officially. We established 

Zedge to provide corporate 

solutions for government 

agencies, and private 

institutions as well as corporate 

organisations in the 

ATANDA-OWO: 

How my first million 

changed my orientation 

She comes across smart and sassy. 

With looks that could effortlessly open any door and intelligence 

that speaks volumes about her vision, Kikelomo Atanda-Owo is 

making loud statements with Z-Edge Nigeria Limited-- a 

positioning and strategic market planning, vendor relations and 

supply chain firm that helps organisations increase their 

turnover through proper implementation of business strategy. 

The Managing Director of the high-end firm discusses her life, 

craft and how she was able to create a niche for herself as an 

entrepreneur. 

$7.25m revenue 

Over the years, I have built 

a reputation for process and 

product innovation, 

developing business 

strategies, incubating new 

business models, and 

building winning marketing 

programmes. I have handled 

project management and 

managed profitable business 

models for high-end 

enterprise solutions like MTN 

Nigeria, and Stanbic ITC 

among others on projects 

that support businesses to 

leverage on marketing and 

communications to grow 

their businesses. 

I led the "MTN Football 

Scholar" programme for 

young talented Nigerian 

boys with the funding of $3M 

per season for more than 

three years and helped gensphere 

of their management 

services, client's accounts 

and staff development. 

Zedge also handles procurement 

services for organisations 

and corporate events. 

Establishing any business 

in Nigeria is promising as 

long as one remains focused 

on his or her niche market 

and offers something unique 

However, there have been 

challenges. The challenges 

are certainly not far-fetched. 

The economic climate is one. 

Also, the financial challenges 

of running a business during 

a recession certainly do 

not help when a business is 

still very young. Economically, 

the setbacks are the external 

factors that are affecting 

businesses in Nigeria which 

are governmental, political 

and infrastructural. 

Overcoming these challenges 

are possible throughprudence 

and shrewd business 

intelligence. I have 

learned how to cut cost in my 

organisation and also how to 

manage resources efficiently. 

In terms of economic 

challenges, I have been able 

to overcome by leveraging 

on my past experience garnered 

from my previous 

working career. 

Self-limiting 

I think one of the major 

challenges for women 

attaining peak positions in 

organisations is the effect of 

female 

gender 

discrimination, which has always 

been part of the society, 

as well as self-limiting capacities 

of women in many organisations. 

There are also other issues 

that mitigate against women 

attaining their potentialities. 

For instance, their level of 

personal ambition matters so 

much. Another thing is that 

societal barriers negatively 

impact on women making 

progress in the corporate 

world. However, I believe 

these barriers are coming 

down as more women make 

their marks in government, 

the corporate sector and 

even in manufacturing. I 

could name women who have 

inspired me but one that 

comes to mind right now is 

Mrs. Adebola Adesola, CEO of 

Standard Chartered. She is a 

woman I respect so much 

and have the privilege of 

knowing. Women have much 

to offer than they are doing 

currently. 

Statistics have shown that 

women are excellent 

managers, leaders, and 

strategists in any role and in 

every society. 

I believe, that the future will 

be a brighter one when 

women are given more 

opportunities and higher 

responsibilities in politics, 

technology, science, 

business and society in 

general. 

Higher stakes 

Being an entrepreneur is 

not an easy thing. The stakes 

are higher because you are in 

charge of the success of your 

business as well as the 

wellbeing of your staff, 

shareholders, and 

customers. Entrepreneurs 

should keep innovating and 

plan well. My faith inspires 

me in life and keeps me going. 

A good schedule always 

helps but no matter what 

happens I prioritise my 

family over everything else.




I should have dumped him first 

Dear Bunmi, 

I was recently dumped 

unexpected by my 

boyfriend of almost a year. 

He made a few comments 

that hurt me and I should 

have dumped him first. 

But I’m still desperately in 

love with him and can’t stop 

thinking about him. He said 

he wants to be friends. I 

tried but it didn’t work, so 

I’ve told him I don’t like 

him and don’t want to be his 

friend. 

Now I feel I’ve ruined my 

chances of getting him 

back, let alone friendship. 

The day before he ended 

the relationship, he said he 

loved me. How can his 

feelings change so 

suddenly? 

Hafsat, byy e-mail. 

Dear Hafsat, 

A man (or woman) can 

declare love during sex or 

through a need to shut the 

other person up and stop 

her (or him) repeatedly 

asking, ‘Do you love me?’ 

So, sometimes feelings of 

lust or frustration, rather 

than love, can generate the 

words, ‘I love you’. 

In a similar way, you can’t 

stop thinking about the 

boyfriend who dumped you, 

not because you truly love 

him, but because you want 

to go back to the way things 

were before to do what you 

said you should have done 

in the first place— dump 

him before he dumps you. 

I suspect you told your ex 

the truth when you said that 

deep down you do not like 

him at all. This is not the 

same as saying you don’t 

still love him in a way. 

Some kinds of love are 

simply not friendly: pure 

lust for example, or desire 

for the man he ought to be. 

Ex-lovers can never be 

friends as long as feelings 

still hurt. So give it more 

time. Avoid him. 

Throw away the 

mementos. Go out and have 

fun, whether you want to or 

not. Some day, when you 

see him again, and you 

don’t give a damn, you will 

know if there is any basis 

for friendship. 

Should I continue to see 

my married lover? 

Dear Bunmi, 

I often spend my annual 

leave with a childhood 

friend who works in a 

neighbouring country. Last 

year, I met a local man at a 

party and we clicked 

instantly. He was keen for 

me to return again and I 

said I would. 

On returning this year, he 

told me he was married, but 

during my stay, it was clear 

his feelings towards me 

haven’t changed. He’s sent 

texts since my return to say 

he wants to see me again. 

What should I do? 

Julie, by e-mail. 

Dear Julie, 

What you should do? The 

obvious answer here is 

nothing! Don’t text him, 

don’t call him, don’t do a 

thing except delete his 

details from your phone 

and change your future 

holiday plans. Go to 

somewhere else instead — 

not because holiday 

romances do not 

occasionally work out, but 

because the man wanted a 

year before he bothered to 

tell you he was married. 

For all of 12 months, while 

your imagination was 

turning him into a hero, he 

was just another unfaithful 

husband, which makes him 

a cheat in any woman’s 

language. 

He seems more committed to his children 

Dear Bunmi, 

I desperately want to get 

married and start a family of 

my own as I’m already 28. 

But my boyfriend says he 

can’t commit to me until I 

commit to his kids. We’ve 

been together for three years. 

He’s divorced but sees a lot 

of his ex because of the 

children. I understand and 

respect him for it. 

We lived together briefly 

but I had to move back to my 

flat because we were always 

arguing over his kids. 

Whilst we lived together, he 

had them all the weekends 

and some nights in the week 

as their mum is a nurse. 

What this all boils down to 

is that you went on a date 

with the world’s rudest 

woman. What a cheek! Of 

course you’re hurt and a bit 

paranoid. Even a guy with a 

huge ego (and other 

things!) would be thrown by 

what she did. But do not 

worry 

He’s a brilliant dad but he 

seldom finds time for us. He 

wants me to always spend 

time with the kids, who are 

seven and five years, but 

sometimes, they can be very 

difficult and worse if I’m 

there. He says he loves me 

but I want commitment. I feel 

I’m wasting my life. 

Julie, by e-mail. 

Dear Julie, 

If you can’t accept that this 

man comes complete with 

baggage, then you are 

wasting your time. Kids take 

up space and time and 

there’s no getting round 

that. A lot of women would 

envy a man who takes his 

obligations seriously, but I 

can understand your 

wanting to have a bit of him 

all to yourself. 

Try not to see his kids as a 

threat. If you can warm up 

to them, their behaviour 

should improve. Try to get 

one night a week when it’s 

just the two of you without 

kids. 

You should also try to be 

part of this family for a few 

months. If things don’t 

improve, you may have to 

call it quits and walk away, 

but he sounds like the kind 

of man who’s worth some 

extra effort. 

She rubbished my 

performance 

Dear Bunmi, 

After months of running 

after this girl I fancied, she 

later agreed to be my 

girlfriend and I ended up 

having sex with her. The sex 

went really well at first but 

about a minute after I 

penetrated, she stopped me 

and said, “Sorry, this is not 

working for me.” I asked her 

what she meant and she said 

she wasn’t feeling much. 

Needless to say, I was 

gutted. I haven’t seen her 

since (and I don’t want to 

after her nastiness) but my 

confidence is shattered. 

I am nervous that I won’t 

be able to get an erection at 

all the next time around. Do 

you think it means I have a 

really small penis? She 

wasn’t my first girlfriend and 

none had complained until 

now. 

John, by e-mail. 

Dear John, 

What this all boils down to 

is that you went on a date 

with the world’s rudest 

woman. What a cheek! Of 

course you’re hurt and a bit 

paranoid. Even a guy with a 

huge ego (and other things!) 

would be thrown by what she 

did. But do not worry. 

First, it’s ridiculous for her 

to judge your performance 

based on one minute. Lots of 

men are a little wobbly to 

begin with, especially when 

they’re with someone new. 

Second, it may have 

nothing to do with the size 

or your bits and everything 

to do with the size of hers. 

Nearly all nerves in the 

vagina are concentrated in 

the first inch and it is 

doubtful you weren’t able to 

penetrate that far! 

Don’t give her (or it) 

another thought. But do 

make sure you choose your 

next girlfriend carefully so 

that experience is a good one 

to balance out the last. 

Are arranged marriages worth 

the bother? 

Dear Bunmi, 

I am in my late twenties 

from a fairly rich family in 

one of the northern states. 

Although I was born and 

raised in Lagos, I was 

brought up as a staunch 

Muslim. Recently, my 

parents told me that they 

were arranging a marriage 

for me, which I didn’t really 

think too much of. Because 

of my resentment, a meeting 

was arranged between the 

girl and me and I found her 

pleasant and attractive. She 

is also well educated. 

My problem is that I’m a bit 

nervous about being forced 

into marriage with this girl 

who I barely know. Do you 

know of any figures that give 

an indication of the relative 

success of arranged 

marriages and forced 

marriages? 

Ishmael, by e-mail. 

Try not to 

see his 

kids as a 

threat. If 

you can 

warm up to 

them, their 

behaviour 

should 

improve. 

Try to get 

one night a 

week when 

it’s just the 

two of you 

without 

kids 

Dear Ishmael, 

There are no specific 

figures to show the relative 

success of arranged 

marriages other than the fact 

that divorce rates in the 

religious groups practising it 

are negligible. 

They may be a reflection of 

the differing social and 

sexual expectations held by 

“arranged marriages”— 

partners or the social stigma 

attached to divorcees within 

the religion rather than a 

reflection of happiness. 

If you compare the 

arranged marriage with the 

‘shot-gun’ types where the 

bride is pregnant before 

marriage, the likelihood of a 

divorce in the latter is 

higher. 

Your ‘intended’ is pleasant 

and educated and you sound 

as if you don’t want to go 

against your parents wish. 

Why not give the 

relationship a go by getting 

to know her better first? 

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


Awoism and the unending search for 

transformational leadership in Nigeria: 

Challenges 

ON March 6, 2018 I was 

conferred with the 2018 

Obafemi Awolowo Prize for 

Leadership. As part of the award 

ceremony, I delivered a lecture 

which revolved around the political 

philosophy of the late Chief 

Obafemi Awolowo and the eternal 

search for transformational 

leadership in Nigeria. Owing to the 

relevance of this issue to current 

events in Nigeria, and my 

conviction that there is still so much 

that the current crop of Nigerian 

political leaders can learn from past 

leaders, I have decided to serialise 

the lecture over the course of the 

coming weeks. 

The hallmark of Chief Obafemi 

Awolowo 

In my heart, there is no question 

of my pleasure and pride in 

receiving the prestigious award. 

However, I am at the same time 

very mindful of the high moral 

duties and responsibilities that 

such an award brings to its 

recipients. It is a direct call to 

reflect upon, and exemplify, the 

virtues and principles of good 

governance, selflessness, public 

spiritedness and transformational 

leadership which Chief Awolowo 

exhibited and championed all 

through his life on this planet. 

Chief Awolowo was a political 

institution and innovator, who 

made the impossible possible. His 

people-centred ideals and policies: 

free education, free healthcare, 

economic empowerment, first 

television station in Africa; the 

Liberty Stadium, Cocoa House, 

public welfare, ethical tolerance 

and national pride were all very 

expensive and impossible at that 

time, given that there was no oil 

and gas windfall at the time, and 

were financed by income from 

agriculture. They were, however, 

made to look easy and possible by 

Chief Awolowo’s careful and 

meticulous planning. This 

doggedness and determination of 

making the impossible possible is 

the hallmark of Awoism. 

Transformational leadership 

versus transactional leadership 

Since Nigeria and Africa lost the 

visionary leader, many selfproclaimed 

Awoists have emerged, 

whose actions and priorities 

outrightly negate the peoplecentered 

ideals and philosophy of 

Awoism. Rather than offer 

transformational leadership to the 

Nigerian people, we have 

witnessed the rise of transactional 

leaders who view leadership from 

the narrow lens of selfaggrandisement, 

self-interest, 

short-termism and the suppression 

of the public will. Some of our 

leaders have simply become our 

greatest hazard as a nation. 

The present system and 

government encourages 

politicians to do everything and 

anything to attain power. The 

politicians see attainment of 

power not as a means to an end 

but as the end in itself. They will 

bribe, corrupt, intimidate, coerce, 

browbeat and indeed resort to 

every trick in the book to be a 

senator, Reps member, 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 

politicians. 

Many rulers but few leaders 

On the contrary, the old Western 

Region under Chief Awolowo had 

a higher standard of living than 

most Western democracies at the 

time. Today, Nigeria is the poverty 

capital of the world. Eighty seven 

million Nigerians (about half of 

our population) currently live in 

extreme poverty. Also, according 

to UN estimates, extreme poverty 

in Nigeria is growing by six people 

every minute. Life expectancy in 

Nigeria today is about 48 years, 

which is lamentable when 

compared to United States (79 

years), Canada (82 years), 

The unfortunate 

incursion of the 

military into the 

Nigerian political 

space led to a 

gradual annihilation 

of the tenets of true 

federalism in 

Nigeria 

Switzerland (83 years) and even 

Ghana (63 years). The Nigerian 

nation has lost its direction and 

focus, and has become a state with 

many rulers and a few leaders. For 

many years, the prosperity, peace 

and progress of the Nigerian 

nation has been held hostage by a 

clique of kleptocratic rulers who 

make the possible impossible, and 

make the impossible unattainable. 

Thirty two years after Chief 

Awolowo’s transition, the search 

for transformational leadership 

across Nigeria’s political, 

economic, social and educational 

sectors remains complex, 

desperate and incomplete. 

Nigeria can witness peace, 

progress and prosperity again, if 

our political class fully understand 

and implement the political 

philosophy and postulations of 

Chief Awolowo on political, 

economic, social and educational 

governance. My remarks will, 

therefore, reflect on the tenets and 

political, economic and 

educational ideology of Awoism 

and how they remain 

indispensable if Nigeria is to 

address the structural 

imperfections and deformities in 

our political, economic, social and 

educational systems. 

1. Awoism as a political 

ideology: True federalism, 

regional autonomy and 

multiculturalism 

Awoism as a political philosophy 

puts premium on true federalism, 

regional autonomy and 

multiculturalism. His book, Path 

to Nigerian Freedom (which I will 

rebrand as path to a nation 

Nigeria)- the first federalist 

manifesto by any Nigerian 

politician-expertly advocated 

federalism as the only basis to 

safeguard the interests of the over 

250 diverse ethnic nationalities 

that make up Nigeria. Given the 

size and diversity of a 

heterogeneous nation like Nigeria, 

Chief Awolowo foresaw that it will 

be impossible for a central 

government to effectively finance 

and oversee all key sectors of the 

economy. 

Furthermore, he 

understood that 

Central, Eastern, 

Northern and 

Western regions 

of Nigeria have 

divergent 

cultures and 

belief systems; 

different 

religions; 

d i s t i n c t 

languages; and 

m o s t 

importantly 

dissimilar 

interest in formal 

education. 

While the 

Western region 

believed very 

strongly in 

f o r m a l 

education, the 

North believed 

more in 

pastoralism, 

agriculture and 

informal and 

largely Islamic 

education; while 

the East was the 

home of 

industrialists 

and tradesmen. 

Thus, at the end 

of the 

amalgamation 

in 1914, even the 

c o l o n i a l 

authorities 

struggled to 

understand a 

functional and 

coherent 

structural 

direction to 

which the new 

Nigerian state 

should evolve. 

Studies show 

that the official records of Mr. A. J. 

Harding, a clerk in the Colonial 

Office, after reading through 

Luggard’s proposal for the 

amalgamation of 1914, concluded 

that the emergent state would be 

‘impossible to classify’. 

He warned that: "…It is not a 

unitary state with local 

government areas but a central 

executive and legislature. It is not 

a federal state with federal 

executive, legislative and finances, 

in addition to provincial executive, 

legislatures and finances. It is not 

a personal union of separate 

colonies under the same governor. 

It is not a confederation of states. 

If adopted, his proposal can hardly 

be a permanent solution. With one 

man in practical control of the 

executive and legislative organs of 

all the parts, the machine may 

work possibly for sufficient time to 

enable the transition period to be 

left behind, by which time the 

answer to the problem - unitary 

state or federal - would probably 

have become clear." 

Mr. Harding further described 

Lord Luggard’s amalgamation 

idea as an “unauthorised scheme”, 

and recommended breaking the 

country into four provinces, 

namely the Central, Eastern, 

Northern and Western provinces. 

Perhaps this was why our first 

national anthem cautiously 

acknowledged that “though tribes 

and tongue may differ, in 

brotherhood we stand.” 

Chief Awolowo was an 

unrepentant federalist. As the 

leader of the Action Group, he 

presented clear and compelling 

proposals for a federal 

constitution in the constitutional 

conferences held in London preindependence. 

He had a vision for 

equal power and resource sharing 

arrangement between central 

government and the federating 

units. As he famously noted in his 

book, Thoughts on the Nigerian 

Constitution: "If a country is 

unilingual or bilingual or 

multilingual, and also consists of 

communities which over periods 

of years have developed divergent 

nationalities, the constitution must 

be federal and the constituent states 

must be organised on the dual basis 

of language and nationality…any 

experiment with a unitary 

constitution in a bilingual or 

multilingual country must fail in 

the long run… since Nigeria is a 

multilingual and multinational 

country per excellence, the only 

Constitution that is suitable for its 

peculiar circumstances is a 

Federal Constitution. 

Some of these ideals were 

reflected in the 1954 Lytleton 

Constitution which recognised the 

autonomy of each region with 

each region having its own 

legislative and executive powers. 

The 1960 Independence 

Constitution, as well as the 1963 

Republic Constitution, retained 

the federal structure with each 

region remaining semiautonomous 

and self-governing. 

However, the unfortunate 

incursion of the military into the 

Nigerian political space led to a 

gradual annihilation of the tenets 

of true federalism in Nigeria. With 

military leadership came the 

absolute concentration of powers 

in the central government. The 

military constitutions, amongst 

other things, accumulated several 

executive powers to the central 

government, thereby strangulating 

the capacity of the regions and 

states to independently finance 

and execute development 

programmes. 

To be continued…

Dogara bombs 


‘’What Nigerians 

don’t know is that the 


refusal or neglect of the 

executive to present it in 

good time. For the 

records, in the last four 

years, there was no 

urgency or plan by the 

executive to achieve a 

January to December 

budget cycle. 

‘’For the avoidance of 

doubt, we will show the 

dates the budget 

estimates were submitted 

by the executive in the 

last four years below: 

2016 Budget was 

submitted on December 

22, 2015, exactly nine 

days to the end of the 

year; 2017 Budget 

submitted on December 

14, 2016, just 17 days to 

the end of the year. 

‘’2018 Budget was 

presented on November 

7, 2017, the earliest, 

even though it also fell 

short of the 90 days 

stipulated by the Fiscal 

Responsibility Act. 2019 

budget was presented on 

December 19, 2018, 

exactly 12 days to the 

end of the year. 

“As if the late or delayed 

submission of budget 

estimates wasn’t enough, 

in most cases, Ministers 

and heads of agencies 

contributed to the socalled 

delay by 

consistently refusing to 

appear before National 

Assembly Standing 

Committees to defend 

their budget proposals in 

line with the provision of 

the Law. 

‘’At some point, the 

leadership of the 

National Assembly had to 

take up the issue with 

the President who 

advised his ministers to 

honour legislative 

invitations to defend 

their budgets. 

Executive’s 

behind-thescene 

actions on 

budgets 

By Elizabeth Adegbesan 

The naira yesterday was stable at N359.3 per dollar 

in the parallel market. 

However, the naira yesterday depreciated by 23 

kobo in the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window 

due to a 47 percent decline in the volume of dollars 

traded. 

Data from FMDQ showed that the indicative 

exchange rate for the I&E window rose to N 360.52 

per dollar yesterday from N360.29 per dollar last 

week Thursday, translating to 23 kobo depreciation 

for the naira. 

The volume of dollars (turnover) traded on the 

window yesterday declined by 47 percent to $141.02 

million from $ 265.59 million traded last week 

Thursday. 

vanguardnews @vanguardnews @vanguardnews 

Executive, through the 

various ministries, 

continued to propose 

additional projects to be 

included in the 2018 

budget even as at April 

and May of 2018 which 

further delayed the 

passage of the 2018 

budget. 

‘’These were 

communicated officially 

and if anyone is in 

doubt, we will exhibit 

the letters with the dates 

they were written and 

received. In any case, 

the National Assembly 

inserted a clause in the 

Appropriation Bill 

consistent with S.318 of 

the Constitution which 

allowed the Budget to 

last for 12 months after 

Mr President’s Assent. 

‘’This enabled the 

Executive to spend 

more of the capital 

component of the 

Budget as it still had 12 

months protected by 

law. 

How Buhari 

scuttled plans 

to achieve early 

passage of 

budgets 

“As an activist 

legislature, the 

National Assembly 

effected an amendment 

to S. 81(1) of the 

Constitution to compel 

Mr President to present 

the Budget estimates 

not later than 90 days to 

the end of a financial 

year in order to solve 

this problem but 

unfortunately, very 

unfortunately, Mr 

President declined 

assent to the bill which 

was passed by both the 

National Assembly and 

over two-third of the 

State Assemblies. 

“The National 

Assembly made a further 

attempt to make the 

budget process much 

better by improving the 

institutional capacity of 

the Parliament to 

process and pass 

Naira stable at N359.3/$ in 

parallel market 

National budgets by 

passing the National 

Assembly Budget and 

Research Office, NABRO, 

Establishment Bill into 

law. It was loosely 

modelled after the 

American Congressional 

Budget Office (CBO). 

Again, Mr President 

declined assent to the 

Bill. 

National 

Assembly not a 

rubber stamp to 

Executive 

“It is important to 

emphasize that the 

National Assembly is not 

a rubber stamp 

parliament and reserves 

the right, working 

cooperatively with the 

Executive to interrogate 

projects unilaterally 

inserted by the Executive 

branch without the input 

of or consultation with 

parliament. 

‘’The legislature cannot 

be accused of padding a 

Budget it has 

unquestionable 

constitutional power to 

review. The Budget is a 

law and the Executive 

does not make laws. 

“Therefore, it’s only the 

ignorant that say the 

maker of a document has 

padded the document 

that only he can 

constitutionally make. In 

the words of His 

Lordship, Hon Justice 

Gabriel Kolawole of the 

Federal High Court, in 

suit No.FHC/ABJ/CS/ 

259/2014 delivered on 

March 9, 2016, ‘the 

National Assembly was 

not created by drafters of 

the Constitution and 

imbued with the powers 

to receive ‘budget 

estimates which the first 

defendant 

is 

constitutionally 

empowered to prepare 

and lay before it, as a 

rubber stamp parliament. 

‘’The whole essence of 

the budget estimates 

being required to be laid 

before Parliament is to 

enable it, being the 

Assembly of the 

representatives of the 

people, to debate the 

said budget proposals 

and to make its own 

well-informed legislative 

inputs into it.’ 

He must come 

clean on why he 

wants to install 

NASS leaders 

“The parliamentarians 

are representatives of 

the Nigerian people and 

you don’t expect them to 

rubber-stamp budgets 

that are heavily skewed 

and lopsided against 

most sections of the 

country. 

‘’It is their 

responsibility to ensure 

equitable and even 

distribution of capital 

projects across all the 

nooks and crannies of 

the country, if the 

Executive fails to do so. 

In any case, it is false to 

state that legislative 

intervention in the 

Budget Process is to 

benefit the legislators 

and not their 

constituencies. 

‘’We challenge 

Asiwaju Tinubu to prove 

otherwise. He should 

also show in what way 

the 8th Assembly acted 

differently from other 

Assemblies of the past to 

warrant the kind of 

language used. 

‘’In any case, all the 

aspirants to the Senate 

Presidency and 

Speakership he is 

sponsoring are majority 

leaders in the 8th 

Assembly and took part 

in the Budget process 

that he made the chief 

basis of his crude attack. 

‘’This proves beyond 

doubt the hypocrisy of 

Asiwaju’s stated reasons 

for supporting his 

candidates. He should 

find better reasons other 

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24, 2019 —41 

NEWS HOTLINES 

018773962, 

08052867058 

ANIOMA CULTURAL FESTIVAL...Governor Ifeanyi Okowa (middle) flanked by Deputy Governor 

of Delta State, Barr. Kingsley Burutu Otuaro (left) and Arc. Kester Ifeadi (OFAAC President) at the 

16TH Anioma Cultural Festival, in Asaba, yesterday. 

than the lies being 

peddled about the 

Budget and obstructing 

government business. 

‘’Asiwaju shouldn’t 

take better informed 

Nigerians for fools. 

Otherwise, when he 

sought to take control of 

the 8th Senate and 8th 

House in 2015, was it 

because of any budget 

Saraki and Dogara had 

delayed or pet projects 

they had inserted into 

any Budget before 2015? 

‘’Asiwaju must come 

clean on this matter. He 

should let Nigerians 

know why he wants to 

install both the Senate 

President, the Speaker 

and leadership of the 9th 

Assembly. 

How 8th 

National 

Assembly 

assisted Buhari 

“The 8th National 

Assembly is on record to 

have supported Mr 

President’s requests on 

critical issues of 

governance. We backed 

him by Resolution on the 

issue of fuel subsidy, we 

backed him on the 

National Minimum 

wage, even though we 

were more sympathetic to 

workers’ rights. 

‘’In security matters, 

we never cut any 

proposal from Mr 

President, save our 

refusal to rubber-stamp a 

clear constitutional overreach 

of spending 

$1billion in arms 

purchase without 

appropriation. 

‘’We have passed more 

Bills than any Assembly 

before us, including 

Bills that are helping 

the government improve 

the ease of doing 

business in Nigeria, and 

there were times we 

passed Bills within 2 

legislative days. Is 

Tinubu genuinely 

ignorant of all these? 

Challenges for 


“We challenge Asiwaju 

Tinubu to list out the 

Bills he claimed were not 

passed by the National 

Assembly. The oil and 

gas or petroleum sector 

is the most important 

and critical sector of our 

economy which accounts 

for over 70 per cent of our 

earnings, the Executive 

didn’t forward a single 

Bill to the National 

Assembly to reform and 

reposition the sector in 

the last four years, even 

when repeatedly urged 

to do so by Mr Speaker 

in his first year in office. 

‘’The lawmakers 

waited in vain and had 

to take the bold initiative 

of crafting a Bill - 

Petroleum Industry 

Governance Bill, PGIB, 

among others, passed it 

in record time and 

transmitted same to Mr 

President for assent. This 

Bill was vetoed without 

an alternative Legal 

framework proposed by 

the Executive. 

“Asiwaju Tinubu 

should mention the socalled 

bills the Executive 

sent to the National 

Assembly and were 

delayed. 

“Could someone also 

challenge Asiwaju to list 

all the “noxious 

reactionary and self 

interested legislation? 

Can he name the bills 

that are reactionary and 

not in the national 

interest? Is this how 

wayward lust for power 

blinds the reasoning of 

people we should 

ordinarily respect? Is it 

not most unfair, 

unpatriotic and wicked 

for Asiwaju Tinubu to 

have resorted to factoids 

in promoting his known 

fascist agenda which he 

mistakenly thinks he is 

keeping secret?’’

42 — VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24, 2019 

A woman is helped after she collapsed as silence is observed as a tribute to victims during a memorial 

service in Colombo, April 23. REUTERS/Dinuka Liyanawatte 

ISIS claims Sri Lanka blasts, as govt says 

probe making progress 

*Suspect gave advance warning 

Islamic State claimed 

responsibility on 

Tuesday for the bomb attacks 

in Sri Lanka that 

killed 321 people in what 

officials believe was retaliation 

for assaults on 

mosques in New 

Zealand. 

The claim, issued 

through the group’s 

AMAQ news agency, 

was made after Sri Lanka 

said two domestic Islamist 

groups with suspected 

links to foreign 

militants were suspected 

to have been behind the 

attacks at three churches 

and four hotels. About 500 

people were also wounded 

in the bombings. 

Three sources told Reuters 

that Sri Lankan intelligence 

officials had 

been warned hours earlier 

by India that attacks 

by Islamists were imminent. 

It was not clear 

what action, if any, was 

taken. 

President Maithripala 

Sirisena said he would 

change the heads of the 

defence forces following 

their failure to act on the 

intelligence. 

“I will completely restructure 

the police and 

security forces in the coming 

weeks. I expect to 

change the heads of defence 

establishments 

within the next 24 hours,” 

Sirisena said in an address 

to the nation. 

“The security officials 

who got the intelligence 

report from a foreign nation 

did not share it with 

me. I have decided to take 

stern action against these 

officials.” 

Prime Minister Ranil 

Wickremesinghe told a 

news conference investigators 

were making 

progress in identifying 

the perpetrators. 

“We will be following up 

on IS claims, we believe 

there may be some links,” 

he said. 

The government has 

said at least seven suicide 

bombers were involved. 

In a statement, Islamic 

State named what it said 

were the seven attackers 

who carried out the attacks. 

It gave no further 

evidence to support its 

claim of responsibility. 

The hardline militant 

group, who have lost the 

territory they once held in 

Syria and Iraq to Western-backed 

forces, later 

released a video on Amaq 

showing eight assailants, 

seven of whom were 

masked, pledging allegiance 

to Islamic State 

leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. 

Earlier, junior minister 

for defence Ruwan 

Wijewardene told parliament 

two Sri Lankan Islamist 

groups - the National 

Thawheed Jama’ut 

and Jammiyathul Millathu 

Ibrahim - were responsible 

for the blasts, 

which detonated during 

Easter services and as 

hotels served breakfast. 

The first six bombs - on 

three churches and three 

luxury hotels - exploded 

within 20 minutes of each 

other. Two more explosions 

at a downmarket 

hotel and a house in a 

suburb of the capital, Colombo 

took place in the 

early afternoon. 

Wickremesinghe said 

the militants had tried to 

attack another hotel but 

had failed. Sri Lankan 

government and military 

sources said a Syrian had 

been detained among 40 

people being questioned 

over the bombs. 

Meanwhile, early warnings 

from India’s intelligence 

services to Sri Lan- 

kan officials ahead of the 

Easter Sunday bombings 

were based on information 

gleaned from an ISIS 

suspect. 

Delhi passed on unusually 

specific intelligence 

in the weeks and 

days leading up to the 

attacks, Sri Lankan officials 

have said, and at 

least some of it was 

gleaned from material 

obtained during interrogations 

of an ISIS suspect 

arrested in India, an Indian 

official told CNN. 

The suspect gave investigators 

the name of a 

man he trained in Sri 

Lanka, who is associated 

with a local extremist 

group implicated in the 

bombings, the source 

said. The man, Zahran 

Hashim, was identified 

in a video of the purported 

attackers released 

Tuesday by ISIS, which 

claimed responsibility for 

the Easter Sunday killings. 

African summit gives Sudan military three 

months for reforms 

African leaders meet 

ing in Cairo on 

Tuesday agreed to give 

Sudan’s ruling military 

council three months to 

implement democratic reforms, 

Egypt said on 

Tuesday, amid pressure 

for a quick handover of 

power to civilians. 

The decision extends a 

15-day deadline set by 

the African Union last 

week for Sudan’s Transitional 

Military Council 

(TMC) to hand over power 

to civilians or to be suspended 

from the group- 

ing. The TMC took over 

after President Omar al- 

Bashir was ousted on 

April 11. 

Any suspension of 

Sudan’s AU membership 

could affect the TMC’s 

efforts to win international 

recognition as the 

country’s legitimate rulers 

during an interim period 

of up to two years, 

and thus delay any aid to 

the country that has been 

trying to cope with a dire 

economic crisis. 

The TMC has been under 

pressure from demonstrators 

to hand power 

rapidly to civilians since 

the military ousted Bashir 

following months of 

protests against his 30 

years in office. 

Speaking at the end of 

a summit attended by several 

African heads of 

state, Sisi said that the 

meeting agreed on the 

need to deal with the situation 

in Sudan by working 

to “quickly restore the 

constitutional system 

through a political democratic 

process led and 

managed by the 

Sudanese themselves”. 

Kim Jong Un to meet Putin in 

Russia tomorrow 

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian 

President Vladimir Putin will meet on Thursday 

in the Russian Pacific port of Vladivostok to discuss 

the international standoff over Pyongyang’s nuclear 

programme, a Kremlin official said. 

The visit is part of Kim’s effort to build foreign support 

after the breakdown of a second U.S.-North Korea 

summit in Vietnam in February meant no relief on 

sanctions for North Korea, analysts said. 

The summit will be the first between Putin and the 

North Korean leader and the nuclear row, and how to 

resolve it, would be the main item on the agenda, 

Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters. 

“In the last few months the situation around the 

peninsula has stabilised somewhat, thanks in large 

part to North Korea’s initiatives of stopping rocket testing 

and closing its nuclear test site,” Ushakov said. 

“Russia intends to help in any way possible to cement 

that positive trend.” 

The North’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) 

said on Tuesday the visit would happen soon, but did 

not elaborate on a time or location. Kim’s chief aide, 

Kim Chang Son, was seen in Vladivostok on Sunday, 

according to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency. 

Vladivostok is the closest major Russian city to the 

short stretch of border that Russia and North Korea 

share, and can be reached from the border via train, 

Kim’s preferred mode of international transport. 

Saudi Arabia executes 37 people, 

crucifying one, for terror-related 

crimes 

Saudi Arabia has executed 37 men convicted of 

terror-related crimes, the kingdom’s official news 

agency said Tuesday. One of the convicts was crucified, 

according to an interior ministry statement carried 

by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA). 

“The death penalty was implemented on a number 

of criminals for adopting extremist terrorist ideologies 

and forming terrorist cells to corrupt and disrupt security 

as well as spreading chaos and provoking sectarian 

strife,” SPA said in a tweet. 

The statement listed the names of the 37 Saudi nationals 

who were executed in various parts of the country. 

Saudi Arabia has one of the highest death penalty 

rates in the world. 

It carried out one of its largest mass executions in 

January 2016 when 47 people were put to death, including 

prominent Shia leader Nimr al-Nimr. The 

executed prisoners were accused of terrorism and having 

extremist ideology. 

Egypt voters back constitutional 

referendum that could extend 

Sisi’s rule 

Egypt has voted to give President Abdel Fattah 

el-Sisi sweeping powers that could keep him in 

office until 2030. The National Elections Authority announced 

on Tuesday that Egyptians had voted to pass 

a number of major changes to the country’s constitution 

in a three-day referendum, with 88.83% voting 

in favor of tightening its strongman leader’s grip on 

power 

Fourteen amendments to Egypt’s 2014 constitution 

were up for a vote, as well as two new articles. Egypt’s 

parliament voted last week in favor of the changes. 

One amendment would extend a presidential term 

from four to six years. It would also add two more 

years to Sisi’s current term and allow him to seek reelection 

for another six-year term in 2024. 

Another measure would expand Sisi’s power over 

the legislative branch by creating an upper house 

known as a senate. The president would be able to 

handpick a third of the members. 

Buhari, Emir of Qatar discuss 

investment opportunities 

By Johnbosco Agbakwuru 

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari and the Emir 

of Qatar, His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad 

Al-thani, yesterday met at the Presidential Villa, 

Abuja. 

The two leaders discussed issues of mutual benefits 

between the two countries which included investments 

in sectors like petroleum, power, aviation, agriculture, 

and railway, among others. 

A statement by the Special Adviser to the President 

on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina said President 

Buhari and his guest also discussed the recharge of 

Lake Chad with water from the Congo Basin to provide 

succour to the more than 30 million people adversely 

affected by the shrinking of the lake. 

According to him, “We invite you to invest in our 

refineries, pipelines, power sector, aviation, agriculture, 

education, and many others, so that you can have 

your management here to oversee the investment.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY APRIL 24, 2019 — 43 

How to end militarisation of elections (2) 

Continued from yesterday 

The civilian authorities should be 

left to conduct and fully carry out 

the electoral processes at all levels. 

Thus, the state is obligated to ensure 

that citizens who are sovereign, 

can exercise their franchise freely, 

un-molested and un-disturbed”. 

The above pronouncements of the 

Court of Appeal deal with, or rather 

focus largely on, the issue of the legality 

or propriety of the deployment 

of the armed forces for election 

purposes, and do not touch on 

the other issue raised by Nsofor 

JCA, namely, whether, assuming 

the deployment to be legal and authorised 

by the Constitution, “the 

election could have been conducted 

fairly and freely in this state of 

fear and insecurity.” His answer to 

this question is “definitely not.” This 

aspect of the issue must be kept distinct 

from the issue as to whether 

the President is authorised by the 

Constitution to deploy the military 

for election purposes; in other 

words, even if he has the constitutional 

power to so deploy the military, 

is the election not still invalidated 

by the presence of armed uniformed 

soldiers, with the authority 

of the President, in the polling units, 

collation centres and other areas 

where election activities took place, 

with the intimidating atmosphere of 

fear and feeling of insecurity thereby 

created? 

If the President is authorised by the 

Constitution to call out the military 

for election purposes, then, a conflict 

would have arisen between the 

provisions of the Constitution authorising 

him to do so and the provisions 

conferring on the people the 

right to exercise the franchise in a 

free, fair and credible election conducted 

by an independent, neutral 

and impartial electoral body as an 

electoral umpire – see sections 14(1) 

& (2) (c), 39, 40, 65, 71, 76, 77, 78, 

132, 133, 134, 153, Third Schedule, 

Part 1, E. The provisions in the 

above-mentioned sections of the 

Constitution are the basis and foundation 

of the entire governmental 

system of the country; they transcend 

and take precedence over the 

provisions of section 217 relating to 

the power of the President with respect 

to the operational use of the 

armed forces. It follows therefore 

that the election is still invalidated 

by the intimidating presence of 

armed uniformed military men, 

even if the President has the power 

under the Constitution to call them 

out. 

The decision of the Court of Appeal 

in All Progressive Congress v. Peoples 

Democratic Party, supra, went 

on appeal to the Supreme Court, 

[2015] 15 NWLR (Part 1481) p. 1, 

see especially page 62. The apex 

Court declined to make a pronouncement 

on the petitioner’s contention 

that the deployment of soldiers 

to perform election duties was 

unconstitutional, on the rather technical 

ground that “the issue of deployment 

of soldiers and whether 

or not such deployment is lawful 

and, if unlawful, whether it nullified 

the election, was not a matter 

properly before the tribunal or court 

below as the person who made the 

deployment was not named” at p. 

63. Furthermore, that the Chief of 

Defence Staff who was named as 

4th respondent was not, under the 

relevant provisions of the Electoral 

Act 2010, among the class of persons 

designated as parties in an election 

petition and since no relief was 

claimed against him, his joinder as 

a party was improper. As the petitioner’s 

contention was not raised 

as an issue, the pronouncement on 

it by the Court of Appeal, which was 

relied on by the petitioner, is only 

an obiter, not the ratio of the decision. 

The grounds of the Supreme Court 

ruling above do not apply in the 

present case. The President is a party 

in the case. He is the person who 

has the power to call out the military 

acting in his capacity either as 

Commander-in-Chief (see sections 

120(2) and 218(1) of the Constitution) 

and as the person specifically 

empowered by section 217(2)(c) to 

call out the military to aid the civil 

authorities to restore order in order 

to suppress insurrection. Anyone 

else calling out the military does so 

by his authority and as his agent. 

The deployment of soldiers, being 

unconstitutional, invalidates the 

election for the additional reason 

that our law does not, as a fundamental 

principle, allow the perpetrator 

of an unlawful act to benefit 

from it. “It is settled law,” said Tabai 

JCA, delivering the judgment of the 

Court of Appeal in Buhari & Anor v. 

Obasanjo & Ors, ibid at page 354 – 

355, that “a party should not be allowed 

to derive benefits from his 

own wrongs, lest the law becomes 

an instrument of injustice.” President 

Buhari, as the person who 

called out the soldiers for election 

duties in violation of the Constitution, 

should not be allowed to benefit 

from his unlawful act to secure 

his re-election for a second term as 

President. 

Finally, the ruling of the Supreme 

Court in All Progressive Congress 

v. Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) 

& Ors, supra, does not amount to the 

over-ruling of the Court of Appeal 

unequivocal pronouncement in the 

case; accordingly the latter, although 

its authority is diminished, 

remains the highest judicial pronouncement 

on the issue, and 

should command great weight and 

respect on the part of all of us, including 

the Federal Government of 

President Buhari. 

In any case, as earlier stated, even 

assuming President Buhari to have 

the constitutional power to deploy 

the military for election purposes, a 

conflict would have arisen between 

the provision of the Constitution conferring 

such power on him, and the 

provisions of the same Constitution 

conferring on the people the right 

to exercise the franchise in a free, 

fair and credible election unhindered 

by the fear and feeling of insecurity 

created by the intimidating 

presence of armed uniformed military 

men; in such a conflict, the latter 

provisions, being the basis and 

foundation of the entire governmental 

system, will prevail. 

The historic decision of the U.S. 

Supreme Court in the 1951 case of 

Youngstown Sheet and Tube Co v. 

Sawyer, 343 US 579 lends support 

to the view that the armed forces 

cannot be used to interfere in the 

private life and civil affairs of the 

citizenry. In response to a strike call 

in the steel industry during an 

emergency, declared by the President 

during a war in Korea in which 

the U.S. was involved, the President, 

without express statutory authorisation, 

but solely on his own 

independent authority under the 

US Constitution to preserve the security 

and safety of the nation, ordered 

the steel factories to be seized 

and operated by government agents 

in order to avert a national catastrophe 

which might follow from a 

stoppage of steel production owing 

to the strike. But he immediately 

sent a message to Congress informing 

it of his action, and inviting it to 

approve or revoke his action as it 

thought fit. 

In an action by the owners of the 

factories challenging the constitutionality 

of the seizure and praying 

that they be returned to them, the 

US Supreme Court held that, without 

express statutory authorisation, 

Professor Ben Nwabueze 

the President had no independent 

power under the Constitution to 

take possession of the steel mills 

and operate them by his agents, on 

the ground that seizure of private 

property even during a declared 

emergency requires legislative authorisation 

by Congress, to which 

alone the Constitution has entrusted 

the law-making power in both 

good and bad times. 

After stating that “emergency did 

not create power”, and that “it merely 

marked an occasion when power 

granted by law should be exercised”, 

the Court observed as follows: 

“The fact that it was necessary that 

measures be taken to keep steel in 

Assuming President 

Buhari to have the 

constitutional power to 

deploy the military for 

election purposes, a 

conflict would have 

arisen between the 

provision of the 

Constitution 

conferring such power 

on him, and the 

provisions of the same 

Constitution 

conferring on the 

people the right to 

exercise the franchise 

in a free, fair and 

credible election 

production does not mean that the 

President, rather than Congress, had 

the constitutional authority to 

act…..The President can act more 

quickly than Congress. The President 

with the armed forces at his disposal 

can move with force as well 

as with speed….Legislative power, 

by contrast, is slower to exercise. 

There must be delays while the ponderous 

machinery of committees, 

hearings, and debates is put into 

motion. That takes time; and while 

Congress slowly moves into action, 

the emergency may take its toll in 

wages, consumer goods, war production, 

the standard of living of the 

people, and perhaps even lives. 

Legislative action may indeed often 

be cumbersome, time-consuming, 

and apparently inefficient. But the 

doctrine of the separation of powers 

was adopted by the Constitution 

of 1787, not to promote efficiency but 

to preclude the exercise of arbitrary 

power. The purpose was, not to avoid 

friction, but, by means of the inevitable 

friction incident to the distribution 

of governmental powers 

among three departments, to save 

the people from autocracy” – quoting 

Justice Brandeis in Myers v. 

United States 272 US 52 (1926). 

The President had tried desperately 

to derive legal authority for his action 

from the provision in the Constitution 

designating him as commander-in-chief 

of the armed forces, 

but that too was emphatically 

rejected by the court. “We cannot”, 

it said, “with faithfulness to our constitutional 

system hold that the commander-in-chief 

of the armed forces 

has the ultimate power as such 

to take possession of private property 

in order to keep labour dispute 

from stopping production” 

at p. 587 – per Justice Black delivering 

the opinion of the court. “The 

Constitution”, said Justice Jackson 

in a separate concurring judgment, 

“did not contemplate that the title, 

Commander-in-Chief of the Army 

and Navy, will constitute him also 

commander-in-chief of the country, 

its industries and its inhabitants” at 

pp. 642- 4. 

President Buhari should be made 

to understand and accept that the 

title Commander-in-Chief of the 

Armed Forces of Nigeria does not 

make him the commander-in-chief 

of our private lives and affairs, our 

civil society and our elections. 

The widespread incidents of violence 

and the deployment of armed 

uniformed military men at the polling 

units, collation centres and other 

places where election activities 

were taking place prompt the question 

whether Nigeria is ripe for democracy 

The renowned British jurist, Professor 

Lord James Bryce in his Modern 

Democracies vol. 2 (1920), pages 

545 – 568 maintains that democracy 

and free government were not 

suitable nor meant for, and should 

not be embarked upon by, “backward 

peoples” among whom he 

classified the rest of humankind 

apart from Britain, Europe, North 

America, Australia, New Zealand 

and Japan. Despotism, he said, is 

what is good for them, and the democratic 

“experiments that are now 

being tried might have been better 

left untried. And if at all “the work 

of fitting” such peoples for self-government 

is to be attempted, it 

should be done by “slow degrees.” 

It did not occur to him that a world, 

half free and half unfree, is hardly 

realistic nor even possible in our 

present conditions of mass education, 

of enormous intellectual development 

and of fast communications 

which have brought it closer and 

closer together in feelings, aspirations 

and outlook; and that the capacity 

for self government, which 

took the advanced countries centuries 

to acquire, may today, given the 

free flow of ideas and under the stimulus 

of influences from the advanced 

peoples, be acquired in a 

comparatively shorter time. 

His countryman, the great political 

philosopher, John Stuart Mill, 

author of the famous Essay titled On 

Liberty (1859), reprinted in Unitarianism, 

Liberty and Representative 

Government (1910) Everyman’s Library 

pp. 78 – 79, 191 – 192 is guilty 

of the same error, although he appears 

less sweeping in terms of 

types of peoples for whom democracy 

is not meant. According to him, 

liberty is not meant for backward 

societies, or for a people of violent 

disposition, or a people lacking in 

public spiritedness, or in a sense of 

civic responsibility. “Despotism,” he 

asserts, “is a legitimate mode of government 

in dealing with barbarians, 

provided the end be their improvement, 

and the means justified by 

actually effecting that end. Liberty, 

as a principle, has no application to 

any state of things anterior to the 

time when mankind have become 

capable of being improved by free 

and equal discussion. Until then, 

there is nothing for them but implicit 

obedience to an Akbar or a Charlemagne, 

if they are so fortunate to 

find one.” He concedes, happily, that 

“all nations with whom we need 

here concern ourselves have “long 

since reached” the state of maturity 

to embark on the experimentation 

with liberty and democracy, and can 

over time learn their ways and habits. 

(Akbar was the commander of 

the Arab forces whose bravery in 

war, as described by Edward Gibbon 

in his Decline and Fall of the 

Roman Empire, was a decisive factor 

in the Arab conquest of North 

Africa in the seventh century A.D. 

Charlemagne (768-814 A.D.) was 

the masterful Germanic ruler who, 

after the fall of the Roman Empire 

in the West in 455 A.D. tried to recreate 

it with himself as successor 

emperor.) 

I disagree with the two acclaimed 

thinkers. Democracy, like other 

forms of government, is an art which 

has to be learnt and developed, and 

the learning involves a process of 

experimentation over time, of trial 

and error. It is wrong therefore to 

think that the experiment should 

not begin unless and until all the 

factors necessary for its success are 

present. These factors can be created 

or developed in the course of the 

experimentation. While certainly it 

functions better under conditions of 

modernity and development, democracy 

is not a form of government 

for civilised or developed societies 

only. In a society of men, whatever 

their state of development, and 

whatever their national character 

may be, whether self-restrained and 

public-spirited or not, there is no 

other viable alternative form of government. 

We are not of course talking 

about a nation of savages or barbarians. 

The position taken here is that liberty 

and democracy, if they are to 

take firm root and thrive (not if they 

are to be embarked upon at all) must 

have a foundation in certain shared 

sentiments that bind a society to 

respect human rights and to behave 

democratically, common sentiments 

expressed in habits, traditions, attitudes, 

a moral sense and a transcendental 

spirit. “The ultimate 

foundation of a free society”, Justice 

Felix Frankfurther of the Supreme 

Court, has remarked, ‘is the 

binding tie of cohesive sentiment”: 

Minersville School District v. Gobitis 

310 U.S. 506 (1940). 

The problem with us Nigerians is 

that we do not seem to be learning. 

•Concluded 

Professor Ben Nwabueze, SAN, 

elderstatesman and chairman of The 

Patriots, wrote from Lagos.

44 —Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, APRIL24, 2019 

YOUR LUCK TODAY 

By Joshua Adeyemo Phone 08056180139 

TAURUS;. As the saying goes “hard work pays” you will see 

evidence of the popular saying today as you will be rewarded 

according to your efforts at work. 

GEMINI; Good luck’ll knock at your door today. Those 

with burning desire for romantic pleasure are in for an exciting 

day with lots of satisfaction. Be loving. 

CANCER; Many of you’ll find it relatively difficult to ignore 

romantic feelings within and attractive invitation from outside. 

Some’ll travel for love actually. 

LEO; Happenings within your base of operation must not 

be allowed to weigh you down to the point of missing good 

opportunity at work before 2.17pm. 

L E I S U R E 

TAKE HEART — ELLA RANDLE 

“If we want to see our rainbows, we have to 

stand a little rain.” -Take Heart Quotes.- 

Life can be challenging but it’s a choice to get up after a 

fall and start to walk a mile in your shoes everyday and 

make something beautiful of the moments we have been 

given, because that’s the only way one can begin to understand 

what it means to walk mile in someone’s else 

shoes. Every day comes with a chance to learn and grow. 

- Ella Randle - 

SAYINGS OF 

OUR PEOPLE 

A healthy person 

who begs 

for food is an 

insult to a generous 

farmer. 

~Ghanaian Proverb 

VIRGO; Financial success is closer to you but if you misplace 

your priority then, that’s another thing entirely. Heated 

argument can not help your cause today. 

LIBRA. If good advice comes your way don’t be too arrogant 

to take it. Travelling for love or business will bring you the 

desired results. Be cautious before 2.17pm. 

SCORPIO; Success is boldly printed on your cards today 

and much will depend on what your priorities are. But your 

star desires mostly today is financial success. 

. 

SAGITTARIUS;. The moon continues it’s operation from 

favourable angle to your Star and enhances your prospects 

for success . The more friendly you are the better for your 

cause. 

CAPRICORN;. Don’t rely too heavily on friends today, especially 

before 2.17pm when Moon fluctuates. Learn how to 

consolidate on your recent progress. 

AQUARIUS; If you must take advantage of your magnetic 

personality before too long this is the right time to do just 

that as Venus’ll soon leave positive angle to your Star. Think 

of your image in all you do now. Watch carefully before 

2.17pm. 

PISCES; Tomorrow’ll bring more challenges through friends. 

Try your best to accomplish more along your career line 

today. Be very practical before 2.17pm. 

TERROR MUDA in “Never say goodbye” 

DUDU in “ROLLING HOT” By A.O. OLAIDE 

By Kola Fayemi 

ARIES; Better than yesterday. And there are people willing 

to give you the needed co operation. Don’t allow your love 

life to degenerate to laughing stuff with friends. 

ASTROLOGICAL COUNSELLING 

ASTROLOGICAL COUNSELLING 

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

trological 

Counselling, P.M.B 100 

007, 7, Apapa, Lagos 

WHAT IS MY SCORPIO STAR? 

Dear Joshua, 

What are characteristics of Scorpio Star? 

Sulaiman Kano. 

Dear Sulaiman, 

BASIC CHARACTERISTICS OF SCORPIO 

Scorpio the eighth of twelve zodiac signs, stands for secret, sex, 

sin, death, jealousy and regeneration. You can see that sex and 

death have powers to compel any earth’s inhabitant to surrender. 

Thus, Scorpio is the most powerful of all the 12 zodiac 

signs. That is why you are endowed with strong will powers that 

can be used to regenerate either yourself or those close to you. 

Scorpio is a water sign. It’s natives are emotional types with 

powerful intuition. They are of inclination to protect their loved 

ones and/or the people with weaker personality, however, if they 

have any cause to doubt the loyalty or sincerity of such person/ 

persons, they tend to become jealous and the strong love they 

have for the person can turn to hatred. And as they are the type 

capable of intensive love and bitter hatred, it is not good to incur 

their wrath. Scorpio being a member of fixed signs, it’s natives 

are not keen lovers of change. That is why you always love to 

make success of any important project of yours before consideration 

can be given to another one. And by so doing, you make 

yourself a reliable person. 

The water element of Scorpio makes them highly mysterious 

personalities whith intuition (and emotion) that can can be 

regarded as extra ordinary. 

Although, other influence in your natal horoscope can tempt 

some people to think that you are very open; the truth is, you can 

be highly secretive person who knows what he wants and how to 

get it. 

Your being secretive has many advantages, thus, you are encouraged 

not to be tempted to open up unnecessarily whenever 

it comes to manipulation of unseen forces or psychic energies. 

Let it be known that African Scorpio born person that refuses to 

acknowledge the reality of occult forces heads for failure. 

VIRGINIA 

HOME & ABROAD 

dadadekola@yahoo.com 

By Lawrence Akapa

You don’t scare us! 

boss 

Guardiola: Old Trafford 

has LOST its fear factor 

Manchester City’s emergence 

as a Premier League force 

means they are no longer scared 

of playing away at Old Trafford, 

according to Pep Guardiola. 

City have lost only one league 

clash away at rivals Manchester 

United since 2011 and are 

desperate for three points in their 

quest to retain the title. 

Guardiola has won both league 

games there since taking over as 

manager three years ago. 

‘The reason why is the fact that 

this club over the last decade has 

grown a lot and it is not scary to 

go there,’ Guardiola said. 

‘Before it was maybe more 

difficult. The players Man City 

had in the last decade made this 

game a little bit more equal. 

‘Three seasons since I am here 

we did better than them but here 

it is winning the title, not beating 

United. 

‘I don’t make theories about 

what happened in the past for 

what is going to happen in the 

future. Every game is completely 

different.’ 

Guardiola claimed he 

sympathises with Ole Gunnar 

Solskjaer, who has suffered six 

defeats in his last eight games, as 

the Norwegian comes under 

scrutiny for the club’s recent form. 

‘Everybody needs time,’ he 

added. ‘Our world, our position, I 

am close to Solskjaer, I understand 

perfectly his position. 

‘We feel alone and that is why I 

understand completely his 

position. It happens to all the 

managers around the world. That 

is the reality. I understand him 

Opeyemi “Sense” Adeyemi 

was, on Sunday, voted best 

boxer at the GOtv Boxing Night 

18, which held at the Indoor Sports 

Hall of the Obafemi Awolowo 

Stadium in Ibadan. The winner is 

awarded the Mojisola Ogunsanya 

Memorial Trophy to which a cash 

prize of N1million is attached. 

The 19-year old super 

bantamweight boxer, despite 

drawing his national challenge 

bout with Sadiq “Happy Boy” 

Adeleke, recorded the highest 

number of votes in the poll carried 

out by journalists at the event. 

According to the show 

organisers, Flykite Productions, 

the announcement of his name as 

the winner of the prize was not 

made at the venue, as it is 

customary, following an advice 

against it by the security 

personnel on duty at the show. 

“Policemen and officials of the 

private security firm at the event 

perfectly. I support him.’ 

Guardiola suggested Kevin De 

Bruyne, who picked up a 

hamstring injury at the weekend, 

needs a full pre-season to hit the 

heights of last year. 

‘Unfortunately it was one injury, 

another one, another one,’ the City 

GOtv Boxing Night 18: Adeyemi wins N1m Best Boxer prize 

advised against announcing the 

best boxer immediately after the 

show because they considered it 

less than safe to do so. Opeyemi 

will be presented with his cheque 

at our Lagos office,” the statement 

said. 

Last year at GOtv Boxing 

NextGen Search 4 in Abeokuta, 

Opeyemi emerged best boxer. 

This was after catching the eyes 

of boxing coaches at GOtv Boxing 

NextGen Search 3 in 2017 in 

Ibadan, where he was deemed a 

year too young to turn 

professional, despite excelling at 

during the sparring sessions for 

young boxers. He returned the 

following year and excelled again. 

In the headline bout of the night, 

Oto “Joe Boy” Joseph of Nigeria 

defended his African Boxing 

Union lightweight title by seeing 

off his Ghanaian opponent, 

Success “Brave Warrior” Tetteh of 

Ghana within 46 seconds. 

said. ‘Muscular problems, he 

had two or three. In England you 

don’t have time to make a 

preparation. 

‘You play every three days that 

is not the best way. You have to 

make a good pre-season. Now he 

has to pay attention, the little 

details, see if he can play one or 

two more games this season and 

next season make a good preseason. 

‘He has a lovely family and is 

incredibly well organised, family, 

training session, rest. We are going 

to speak with him to be safe, to be 

fit. That is what I am going to try 

and do.’ 

Emery: Champions 

League qualification 

in Arsenal’s hands 

Unai Emery says Arsenal’s 

Premier League top-four 

ambitions are in their own hands 

as they head to Wolves tonight. 

However, Arsenal have a game 

in hand over Chelsea, which 

means Emery’s side can guarantee 

a top-four finish if they win all their 

remaining games. 

“We have it in our hands, said 

Emery. “At the beginning of the 

season, after winter, we struggled 

in the table. 

“Our way is not changing. We are 

in a position with a big possibility 

of making our first target. 

“The key moments are now. 

Today is a big moment and a big 

match for us. 

“It is a good moment to show and 

try to do all we can, but with 

intelligence, because we need to be 

clear and we need to be playing 

with heart but above all being clear 

in our mind.” 

•Opeyemi ‘Sense’ Adeyemi 


Romario’s teammate dies on the 

streets of Brazil 

Former footballer Valdiram 

Caetano de Morais was 

found dead on the streets of Sao 

Paulo at just 36 years of age 

Police announced that they 

have detained three suspects 

over the killing. 

Born in the state of 

Pernambuco, he started out as a 

promising footballer with Vasco 

de Gama 13 years ago, where 

he played alongside Romario 

who was ending his career at the 

time. 

In fact, he was top scorer in the 

Copa Brasilena in 2006. 

Valdiram stood out more for 

his off-the-field behaviour and 

his nickname according to media 

in Brazil was ‘Bad Boy’ 

After his exit from the club in 

•Late Caetano de Morais 

2007 he went on to play for 18 

different clubs up until 2011, 

when his career came to a halt 

due to his lifestyle problems off 

the field. 

Ronaldo tells Juve to sign Isco, 

Varane, Félix 

Vinicius set to return 

against Getafe 

I 

n a season in which few incentives 

remain, the imminent return of 

Vinicius will add some excitement to 

the end of the campaign for followers 

of Real Madrid. With a Champions 

League spot all but secured for next 

season, Zinedine Zidane’s main 

objective is to get a look at his whole 

squad before making decisions on 

players for the next campaign. 

Vinicius is one of the shining lights 

to come from a dark season for Los 

Blancos, as the Brazilian attacker 

helped pull the team together during 

their most difficult period of the season 

in January and February. 

There is already plenty of speculation 

as to who Real Madrid will buy this 

summer, with some of Europe’s 

heavyweights being linked to the 

capital, but few new faces will be able 

to light up the Estadio Santiago 

Bernabeu like Vinicius has done 

this season. 

Zidane is a manager who doesn’t 

like to rush players back from injury, 

however Vinicius is now closer than 

ever to returning and should be 

available to get some minutes under his 

belt against Getafe at the Coliseum 

Alfonso Perez on Thursday night. 

Cristiano Ronaldo announced he 

would be staying at Juventus to 

see out his contract after the Old 

Lady secured an eighth consecutive 

Scudetto last weekend, and the club 

wasted little time in placating their 

star player further by asking him for 

some recommendations in the 

transfer market this summer 

According to Italian sports daily 

Corriere dello Sport, Ronaldo 

obliged with a list of six players he 

would like the club to try and land 

ahead of the 2019-20 season and 

another assault on the Champions 

League. 

Raphaël Varane has been one of 

Madrid’s most consistent performers 

over the past few seasons and is a 

trusted man at the back in Ronaldo’s 

eyes. Juventus will not find 

negotiations easy, with Real 

unwilling to part company with the 

25-year-old World Cup winner and 

a 500-million-euro release clause 

to get past before anyone gets to the 

table. 

Ronaldo always stated his praise 

for Spain midfielder Isco and they 

enjoyed a good on-pitch connection 

at Madrid. Again, the stumbling 

block comes with Madrid’s 

willingness or otherwise to sell: a 

few weeks ago Isco was halfway out 

of the door but the return of Zinedine 

Zidane has altered his status and 

the Spain midfielder has rarely 

shown any genuine inclination to 

leave the Bernabéu.


With the sudden 

withdrawal of Ghana 

from a proposed friendly 

match with Nigeria, the 

Nigeria Football Federation 

is now looking in the 

direction of Burkina Faso 

and Benin Republic as 

possible replacements. 

Ghana, it was gathered 

pulled out of a proposed 

friendly match for logistics 

reasons. The match is slated 

for Asaba in Nigeria while 

the team will be camped in 

Dubai, Asia to get their 

players accustomed to 

possible weather condition 

in Egypt during the Africa 

Cup of Nations. 

The Black Stars would 

therefore not be able to fly 

down to Asaba and then 

return to Dubai to continue 

camping. 

Benin could be a possible 

alternative on account of 

The journey to glory for 

African super stars at 

the ITTF World 

Championships began 

yesterday as the main draw 

of the men and women 

singles serves in Budapest, 

Hungary. 

Nigeria’s Aruna Quadri 

and Egypt’s Omar Assar 

will be aiming for the 

proximity and the fact that 

the Nigerian western 

neighbours are also 

preparing for the 

ITTF 2019: Quadri leads 

African stars against rest of 

the world 

U17 AFCON: Nigeria, 

Guinea tango in fierce 

semi final clash 

T 

wo–time champions Nigeria 

and West African rivals 

Guinea clash at the National 

Stadium, Dar es Salaam today 

in what is a much –anticipated 

first semi final of the ongoing 

Africa U17 Cup of Nations. 

Nigeria have been victorious 

at the continental tournament 

on two occasions, in 2001 and 

2007, and are the record 

winners of the FIFA U17 World 

Cup (five times). They are also 

taking part in their 9th U17 

AFCON. An intimidating 

pedigree that is bound to send 

jitters into Guinea’s camp. 

However, Guinea also come 

into the encounter with some 

recent eye –popping 

accomplishments. The Junior 

Syli Nationale are the reason 

why Cup holders Mali are not 

in Tanzania, having beaten the 

Malians at the WAFU A 

Tournament in September to 

earn their ticket. 

The Guineans also flaunt 

victories over Senegal (another 

team highly respected in youth 

football) and Morocco in the 

Ahead AFCON 2019: 

Eagles may play Stallions, 

Hawks 

continent’s glory in the 

men’s singles while Egypt’s 

Dina Meshref will be 

joined in the main draw of 

the women’s singles by 

Reem El-Eraky who fought 

her way from the group 

stage to the first round of the 

competition. 

Also veteran Egyptian 

star – Ahmed Saleh also 

worked his way to the main 

draw from the preliminary 

and he will also be carrying 

the continent’s hope in the 

event. 

Having won their 

qualifying round of the 

men’s doubles, Aruna 

Quadri and Omar Assar are 

determined to give their 

best and lift the fortune of 

Africa in the singles. 

A determined Quadri 

said: “I am fit and I am ready 

to roar regardless of who I 

am set up against. There is 

no doubt that it is a tough 

tournament because there 

are no minnows in table 

tennis as everybody is 

capable of causing upset.” 

continental premier 

competition. 

The proposed friendly 

match with Senegal has 

been confirmed, while 

Burkina Faso is also on the 

card, even though the 2013 

runners-up did not make the 

cut for the enlarged 2019 

edition. 

Nigeria possibly want 

largely West African 

oppositions to gauge the 

probable strength of 

Guinea, the team touted to 

pose the greatest opposition 

to Nigeria at the group 

stage of the competition. 

Nigeria will play its Africa 

Cup of Nations matches in 

Group B along Guinea, 

Madagascar and Burundi. 

group phase. 

With all four teams in the 

semi finals (Nigeria, Guinea, 

Cameroon, Angola) having 

secured their places at the 

FIFA U17 World Cup taking 

place in Brazil later in the year, 

there would be no pulling 

punches as all of them focus 

on being in Sunday’s final in 

Tanzania’s capital. 

Guinea are making their 

seventh appearance at the 

Africa U17 Cup of Nations 

which began in Mali 24 years 

ago. 

Coach Manu Garba is most 

likely to start with his regular 

squad, meaning Sunday 

Stephen in goal, Shedrack 

Tanko and Ogaga Oduko as 

wingbacks, Clement Ikenna 

and David Ishaya at 

centreback, captain Samson 

Tijani, Mayowa Abayomi (or 

Fawaz Abdullahi) and 

Olatomi Olaniyan in the 

midfield, and Akinkunmi 

Ayobami Amoo, Olakunle 

Olusegun and Wisdom Ubani 

at the fore. 

John Obuh: Eaglets ‘ll do 

well against Guinea 

ohn Obuh has urged 

JGolden Eaglets coach 

Manu Garba to give his 

team confidence ahead of 

their Africa Cup of Nations 

semi-final game against 

Guinea today. 

The Eaglets progressed to 

the last four of the 

competition after defeating 

host nation Tanzania 5-4 in 

their opening game. 

The team went on to pip 

Angola 1-0 before playing 

to a 1-1 stalemate against 

Uganda. With these results 

they emerged as Group A 

leaders with seven points. 

The former Nigeria U17 

and U20 coach Obuh has 

shared his advice for 53- 

year-old gaffer Garba. 

“I am quite certain they 

will do well against Guinea. 

The way they started is 

quite different from the way 

they have continued in the 

competition,” Obuh said. 

“Yes, they have conceded 

a number of goals but the 

NFF appoints media 

officers for National Teams 

he Nigeria Football 

TFederation, has appointed 

media officers for the various 

National Teams. 

While Mr. Toyin Ibitoye and 

Miss Jane Nweze have been 

retained for the Super Eagles 

and the Super Falcons 

respectively until after the two 

teams’ major championships 

this summer (the Super 

Eagles’ AFCON finals in 

Egypt and the Super Falcons’ 

FIFA World Cup finals in 

France), the Federation 

appointed a senior journalist, 

Mr. Pius Ayinor as media 

officer for the Super Eagles B, 

also known as CHAN Eagles. 

Mr. Sharif Abdallah will 

serve as media officer for the 

U23 National Team (Olympic 

Eagles) while Mr. Andrew 

Randa will take charge at the 

camp of the U20 Boys 

National Team (Flying 

Eagles). 

Akpom: From Arsenal’s academy to 

Greek champion 

ormer Arsenal’s academy 

Fgraduate, Chuba Akpom 

was part of the PAOK 

Salonika team that won the 

Greek Super League title for 

the first time in 34 years 

after beating Levadiakos on 

a day of high emotions at 

Tomba Stadium. 

Akpom joined Greek side 

PAOK Salonika on a threeyear 

deal back in 2018 , 

bringing to an end a 16-year 

affair with Arsenal after so 

many loan moves. 

Akpom made his debut 

with the club as a substitute 

in a 1–0 home win game 

against Asteras Tripoli back 

in November 2018 and 

scored his first goal with the 

club in a 2–1 home Super 

League win game against 

Panetolikos . 

Akpom was a key player 

in PAOK’s title push , but 

was an unused substitute on 

when PAOK won 5–0 at 

home against already 

relegated Levadiakos F.C. to 

end 34-year wait to win the 

Super League title. 

Akpom has chance to win 

the double with PAOK, as 

they go into their Greek 

Cup semi-final second leg 

match against Asteris 

Tripolis with a 2-0 lead. 

most important thing is that 

they are making progress. If 

they don’t concede goals we 

will not know whether the 

defence is good or the 

goalkeeper is good and if 

they don’t score we will not 

know if the strikers are 

doing well or if the team can 

score. 

“It is better they are 

scoring and conceding so 

that they will be able to 

know their strengths and 

weaknesses. 

“They have improved so 

well and I believe they will 

do well against Guinea. We 

have to give them the 

support they need.” 

Obuh is also pleased with 

the performance of the 

Nigeria coach in the U17 

AFCON. 

“I am very impressed with 

Manu Garba. He’s done 

very well. My advice for him 

is that he should continue to 

give his team confidence,” 

he added. 

Nothingham Forest spoil 

Mikel’s birthday fun 

Miss Cecilia Omorogbe will 

work with the U20 Girls 

(Falconets) while Mr. Francis 

Achi will serve the U17 Boys 

(Golden Eaglets) and Miss 

Faith Meremegbunam will 

work with the U17 Girls 

(Flamingos). 

uper Eagles Captain 

SJohn Mikel Obi’s 

Middlesbrough suffered a 

3-0 defeat away to 

Nothingham Forest in their 

Championship clash on 

Monday at the City Ground 

Nothingham. 

Mikel who turned 32 on 

the day led Boro as captain 

for the fourth time in a roll 

and their impressive three 

winning streak was ended 

by Forest. 

Joe Lolley scored twice, 

before Alexander Milosevic 

scored the third to hand 

Mikel a birthday to forget 

and threw Boro’s 

championship ambition 

into doubt. 

Mikel played the entire 

duration and has made 17 

appearances for the club 

this season. 

AFCON 2019: Rohr opens 

door for Ebuehi 

uper Eagles coach, 

SGernot Rohr said young 

and up coming Benfica right 

back, Tyronne Ebuehi is part 

of his plans for the Africa 

Cup of Nations. 

The Benfica defender 

played a huge role for the 

Super Eagles in their World 

Cup qualification 

campaign, but suffered a 

cruciate ligament injury, 

which ruled him out of the 

team to the World Cup. 

Former Sports Minister 

and Chairman National 

Sports Commission (NSC), 

Bolaji Abdullahi has tipped 

new sprint sensation, 

Divine Oduduru to do more 

faster times and put his 

name on world athletics. 

Oduduru last weekend at 

Ebuehi is now back to 

action and according to Rohr, 

the Nigerian-Dutch player 

would be accessed by the 

Super Eagles medical team 

and if he is free from injury 

he could return to the team. 

“He is a part of the team 

and we will assess him 

properly before the end of 

the season before deciding 

on his inclusion in our team 

for the AFCON. " 

Bolaji Abdulahi tips Oduduru to break 

more records 

...Commends Ogba, Delta State 

the Michael Johnson 

Invitational ran 9.94sec in 

the men’s 100m, Nigeria’s 

fastest since 2006 when 

Olusoji Fasuba ran a time of 

9.85 secs to set a new 

African record. He also set 

a new national 200m record 

with a 19.76 secs to break 

the 19.84 seconds set by 

Francis Obikwelu in 1999 at 

the World Championships in 

Seville Spain. 

“I was not surprised by his 

achievements, I never for a 

moment stopped following 

since we discovered him at 

the Warri 2013 AYAC which 

we hosted, I knew he was a 

world beater in waiting,” 

Abdullahi said. 

“For him to start the 

season with such a fantastic 

time, I know he will get 

better and chances that he 

will make podium 

appearances at the All 

African Games in Morocco 

and the IAAF World 

Championships in Doha”.


Vanguard, TUESDAY, APRIL 24, 2019 

TODAY’S PUZZLE 

Sudoku 

FRIDAY’S ANSWER 

TODAY’S CROSSWORD 

QUICK CROSSWORD 

MONDAY’S SOLUTION 

How to Play Sudoku 

ACROSS 

1 Meat-eaters (10) 

7 Marine mammal (8) 

8 Melody (4) 

9 Be acquainted with (4) 

10 Eight-sided figure (7) 

12 English county (11) 

14 Elongate (7) 

16 Encounter (4) 

19 Profound (4) 

20 Friendly (8) 

21 Great painters of 

the past (3,7) 

DOWN 

1 Speak huskily (5) 

2 Rebuke (7) 

3 Part of the eye (4) 

4 Cloudy (8) 

5 Additional (5) 

6 Nap (6) 

11 Announce (8) 

12 One who attends 

horses (6) 

13 Repeat (7) 

15 Eject (5) 

17 Stories (5) 

18 Cans (4) 

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. 

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