31052019 - Dont withdraw licensed guns, Reps tell Buhari

Delta rakes 

in N5.06bn 

IGR in April 

Senate says 9 BARKIN LADI ATTACK: 

economy in Imam 

danger, as FG Abubakar, 

spends N11 trn hero deserving 

on oil subsidy in of honour 

36 6 years —OSINBAJO 41 says NSA 

Finance Minister has no power to suspend SEC DG —Industrial Court; reinstates Gwarzo 

FG to adopt new 

strategy in 

tackling insecurity, 

8 

19 

** 

VOL. 26: NO. 63822 FRIDAY, MAY 31, 2019 

INSECURITY: 

Don’t withdraw licensed 

guns, Reps tell Buhari 

STORY 

ON 

PAGE 5 

•Say that will expose innocent Nigerians to more danger 

•Insist Executive order can’t override Act of Parliament 

•Urge President to sign National Commission Against Proliferation of Small Arms Bill 

IPOB SIT-AT-HOME ORDER... 

LEFT: Deserted Asaba 

end of the River Niger 

Bridge, near God is 

Good Transport 

company. 

ABOVE: Deserted 

River Niger Bridge, 

yesterday. 

Photos: Emma Amaize 

& Chimaobi Nwaiwu. 

Mr & Mrs 

OSHIOMHOLE: 

APC national 

officers 

demand urgent 

meeting 

8 

2019 Budget: 

Buhari to 

spend N1bn 

on travels 

COLUMNISTS OWEI LAKEMFA 31 

9 

My experience on 

Ethiopian Airline 

plane that nearly 

crashed in Lagos 

— OBASANJO 11 

DONU 17 36 

AZU

2—VANGUARD, FRIDAY, MAY 31, 2019

"Vanguard, FRIDAY MAY 31, 2019—3


vanguardnews @vanguardnews @vanguardnews 

Vanguard, FRIDAY, MAY 31, 2019 — 5 

POCKET CARTOON 

State Dinner—From left: Billionaire, Chief Athur Eze; former Minister of Labour, Emeka Worgu and 

former Minister of Culture, Chief Edem Duke, during a State Dinner to mark the 2019 Presidential 

Inauguration at the State House Conference Centre, Abuja, Wednesday night. Photo: Abayomi Adeshida. 

INSECURITY: 

Don’t withdraw licensed 


By Levinus 

Nwabughiogu 

ABUJA—THE 

House of 

Representatives, 

yesterday, asked 

President Muhammadu 

Buhari to immediately 

rescind his decision to 

withdraw licensed guns 

from their owners. 

The resolution followed 

the consideration and 

adoption of a motion, 

which came under 

Matters of Urgent Public 

Importance, titled: 

“Motion on the Need for 

Mr. President to Rescind 

the Executive Order to 

Remove, Revoke and 

Banish all Firearms 

Certificates and 

Licences Throughout the 

Country,” at the plenary. 

Besides, the 

lawmakers said the 

executive order cannot 

override an act of 

parliament, just as they 

urged the President to 

sign into law the bill on 

the establishment of the 

(National) Commission 

against the proliferation 

of small arms and light 

weapons. 

Sponsored by Nnenna 

Ukeje, representing 

Bende Federal 

Constituency of Abia 

State, she said the 

motion became necessary 

due to media reports that 

the President recently 

signed an executive 

order compelling all gun 

owners to surrender 

their licensed guns to 

the state authorities, with 

the aim of checkmating 

the rising cases of 

banditry, kidnapping and 

other forms of criminality 

in the country. 

But in their reckoning, 

the lawmakers argued 

that licensed guns 

weren’t the ones used to 

perpetrate crimes. 

According to the 

members, withdrawing 

the guns would further 

expose law abiding 

Nigerians to danger, as 

they would be the target 

of “mindless criminals 

and bandits.” 

They called on the 

security agencies to 

rather go after the 

criminals, who were 

carrying out their 

nefarious acts with 

unlicensed guns. 

Moving the motion, 

Ukeje said: “The House 

notes with concern the 

rising spate of 

insecurity in our 

country, and worried 

that insecurity which 

was hitherto confined to 

the North-East, the 

North-Central states has 

spread rapidly to the 

North-Western states 

and all other parts of the 

country. 

“The House is further 

worried that there is an 

increased number of 

deaths resulting from 

terrorism, kidnapping, 

banditry and other 

violent crimes, as it 

notes that in response to 

the local and 

international outcry and 

concern for Nigeria 

security situation, Mr. 

President signed an 

executive order to 

remove, revoke and 

banish all guns 

certificates and licences 

throughout the 

federation. 

“It is concerned that 

this omnibus order 

targets illegal gun 

owners and their guns, 

while there doesn’t seem 

to be institutional 

actionable policy or plan 

to mop up small arms 

and light weapons that 

are at the centre of these 

crimes. 

“The House is 

convinced that the high 

number of illegal guns is 

responsible, among 

others factors, for the 

increase in crime.” 

Withdrawing 

licensed guns ‘ll 

worsen 

insecurity 

Contributing to the 

debate, Edwards Pwajok 

from Plateau State, 

stated that withdrawing 

duly licensed guns 

would make the owners 

vulnerable. 

“Government should 

not expose Nigerians to 

all forms of attack 

because criminals will 

not go for licence 

Continues on Page 49 

By Bose Adelaja,Dickson Omobola, 

Tolulope Oke, Chiamaka Uba, 

Erinfolami Abdulkudus& Janet 

Somoye 

As Buhari begins 2nd term, what areas should he prioritise? (4) 

I 

think 

we are tired of this 

government. 

Suicide cases are rampant 

among youths. I believe 

the country’s poor 

leadership has claimed 

lives even more than 

natural death. I am urging 

the President to focus on 

empowering the youths so 

that they would have 

sense of belonging. I am 

sure the level of 

depression in the society 

would reduce. 

Mr.Oladimeji Olaoluwa, 

Musician 

He needs to focus on 

security which has 

been a major challenge 

over the years. The 

herdsmen are waxing 

stronger daily. Kidnapping, 

banditry and robbery are on 

the rise. Youth 

empowerment needs to be 

a major goal as the youths 

have been neglected for too 

long in the area of 

employment and nationbuilding. 

There is need for 

equal representation of 

women in political positions. 

Miss Dorcas Michael 

Student 

First, he should focus on 

the education 

sector. He should 

declare a state of 

emergency on the sector 

from the primary to the 

tertiary level. Schools in 

Nigeria are lagging 

behind. There are no 

facilities for research. 

Medical tourism has to be 

stopped and governmentowned 

hospitals should be 

well equipped. 

Furthermore, the dying 

economy of the nation 

should be revitalised. 

Miss Seidu Esther Student 

I 

think improving the 

power sector can 

enhance productivity in 

the nation and attract 

several foreign 

investors. This will help 

to give us the Nigeria 

of our dreams. Buhari 

can achieve that if he 

want to do it. 

Mr. Victor Olatunde, 

Engineer 

Buhari was voted in 

2015 because of his 

perceived readiness to 

end corruption. 

In 2019, he should 

strengthen our antigraft 

agencies to fight 

corruption. 

Nigerians would be 

glad to see a successful 

anti-corruption crusade. 

Comrade David Lawal 

Media Officer 

He knows what to do 

for us to be happy. 

The roads are too bad 

and gridlock has taken 

over our roads. 

On herdsmen, 

something should be 

done urgently to end the 

killings and destruction. 

Mr. Ifeanyichukwu 

Nwafo 

Phone accessory seller

6—Vanguard, FRIDAY, MAY 31, 2019 

Villagers bury man alive for beheading brother 

By Emma Una 

CALABAR—A young man, 

who allegedly beheaded his 

elder brother in Liokom, 

Wanihem community, Yala Local 

Government Area of Cross River 

State on Wednesday, was 

reportedly buried alive in the 

same grave with his victim. 

It was gathered that the two 

brothers, Obok and Ojemba, 

who recently lost their mother, 

had no prior misunderstanding until 

the incident occurred Wednesday 

morning. 

One of the villagers, Sunday Uloko, 

disclosed that “Ojemba is the younger 

one. Obok came back from a wake 

keep yesterday (Wednesday) 

morning and his wife gave him some 

food to eat before going to the farm to 

stake his yams. But while eating, 

Ojemba took the machete which Obok 

had sharpened and from behind dealt 

three cuts on his brother and severed 

his head.” 

Uloko said Obok’s wife raised 

the alarm that attracted the 

villagers and they tried to arrest 

the assailant, who took refuge 

in his room, threatening that 

anyone who comes close 

would also receive the same 

treatment he meted out on his 

brother. 

Uloko added: “He went 

inside his room daring anyone 

to come close. Three young 

men with odeshi went to his 

room to drag him out.” 

Uloko said after he was 

brought out from his room, 

the villagers had some 

deliberations before coming 

up with the decision to bury 

him alongside his late 

brother, adding “the villagers 

viewed his act as an 

abomination and that he too 

should die with his brother. 

“They tied his limbs and 

dumped him inside the grave 

they dug for his brother. They 

placed his brother’s body on his 

and covered the grave. 

“He was begging and 

shouting that they should have 

mercy on him, but nobody 

listened. Their mother died just 

some weeks back.” 

Meanwhile, DSP Irene Ugbo, 

Cross River State Police Command 

Public Relations Officer, did 

not pick calls to her mobile. 

Man drags 

ex-wife to 

court over 

custody of 

20-month-old 

daughter 

A35-year-old man, Idris 

Yusuf , on Thursday 

dragged his ex-wife to 

Sharia Court l sitting in 

Magajin Gari, Kaduna State, 

seeking custody of his 20- 

month-old daughter. 

Yusuf, who resides in 

Unguan Rimi, Kaduna, told 

the court that their marriage 

was terminated in court in 

2018 with the condition that 

he should be allowed to see 

his baby. 

“Whenever I go to their 

house to see my baby, she 

stops me from taking her out 

to buy things. 

“I was ordered by the court 

to give her N7,000 monthly 

for the child’s upkeep. I have 

not failed to give her the 

money since then. 

‘Even when I had a 

problem in April, I was able 

to raise N5,000 with a 

promise to make it up. 

“I have since re-married. I 

want my baby to feel the 

fatherly love I have for her 

at her young age. If they are 

denying me my daughter 

now, who knows what will 

happen in the future, Yusuf 

said. 

The former wife, Asmau, 

26, denied Yususf’s claims. 

“He has an outstanding 

balance of N12000 which he 

has not paid in child 

support. I can’t allow him 

take the baby anywhere. 

“I know he will run away 

with the baby”, she alleged. 

The judge, Dahiru Lawal, 

ordered the complainant to 

pay the outstanding balance 

of N12,000. 

Lawal also ordered Asmau 

to sign an agreement 

allowing the baby to spend 

the Id-El Fitri (Sallah) with 

her father. 

“Whenever you want your 

daughter to spend the 

weekends with you, both of 

you should come to the court 

and sign another agreement. 

“The baby would be 

handed over to you here in 

court”, the Judge ordered. 

Sheikh Dahiru Usman Bauchi (middle) addressing participants during the closing ceremony of his annual Tafsir in Kaduna, 

yesterday. NAN PHOTO. 

Gunmen kill Delta Poly staff, kidnap Katsina Poly lecturer 

By Festus Ahon 

& Bashir Bello 

BARELY one month after a 

contract staff of Delta State 

Polytechnic, Ogwashi-Uku, was 

killed by gunmen, a senior staff of 

the institution, Mr. Chukwudi John, 

was Wednesday shot dead by 

gunmen at a beer parlour in 

Ogwashi-Uku, Aniocha South 

Local Government Area of Delta 

state. 

It was gathered that the deceased, 

popularly known as Mr. Biggi, was 

shot six times at close range, while 

leaving the bar. 

The circumstance that led to his 

killing was still hazy at press time, 

but the Public Relations Officer of the 

school, Mr. Manfred Oyibode, who 

confirmed the incident, said: “The 

Police are handling the matter. It 

will not be wise for me to make 

categorical statements on it now. 

“He was not killed in the school 

premises. The news that filtered in 

said he was just coming out from the 

hotel when an unknown person shot 

him. He is not a lecturer, but a nonteaching 

staff. 

The state Commissioner of Police, 

Mr. Adeleke Adeyinka, who also 

confirmed the incident, said no 

arrest has been made, adding that 

the deceased was an administrative 

staff of the institution. 

...in Katsina 

Meanwhile, a lecturer with the 

Department of Technical Education, 

Hassan Usman Polytechnic 

Katsina, Dr. Bello Birchi, was 

kidnapped by gunmen yesterday. 

Vanguard gathered that 

Birchi was kidnapped at 

Tashar Bara’u village along 

Dutsinma Road in Katsina 

State. 

Spokesperson of Katsina 

State Police Command, SP 

Gambo Isah, who confirmed 

the development, said its 

operatives are making efforts 

to rescue the man. 

Contacted, Chairman of 

Academic Staff Union of the 

Polytechnic, ASUP, Dr Sabi’u 

Yau Abdullahi, said the union 

is greatly disturbed over the 

unfortunate incidence. 

Meanwhile, at press time no 

communication had been 

established with the 


ASABA—A single mother 

of three children, 

Monday, slumped and died 

during the Delta State 

Governor Annual Elders’ 

Tournament Walk, with the 

theme Walk to Health. 

The woman, Vanguard 

gathered, slumped around 

Total petrol station by traffic 

light less than two kilometers 

into the walk which 

commenced at Abraka 

Junction in Asaba through 

Dennis Osadebay Way, 

Nnebisi Road, Anwai road 

through to Government 

House, Asaba. 

It was a 10 kilometre walk 

kidnappers. 

Robber killed 

Meanwhile, a robber was 

reportedly killed and another 

arrested in a gun battle 

between the officers and men 

of Operation Puff Adder and 

the hoodlums in the state. 

The state’s Commissioner 

of Police, CP Sanusi, who 

confirmed the development 

while briefing newsmen 

yesterday, said the bandit 

was killed when his men 

raided the hoodlums camp in 

Illella village in Safana Local 

Government Area of the state. 

According to him, “today 

(yesterday) at about 1p.m., 

that was strictly for Deltans 

aged 55 and 70 years without 

gender discrimination. 

The deceased, who was 

identified as Lovett 

Ighorodhe, was a teacher at 

the Asagba Secondary 

school, Asaba. 

A source in the school, 

who spoke on condition of 

anonymity, said the woman 

was hale and hearty when 

she left for the walk, adding 

that she was a native of 

Aboh in Ndokwa East Local 

Government Area of the 

state and in her 50s. 

The corpse was said to 

have been deposited at the 

morgue of the Federal 

Medical Centre, FMC. 

based on a tip-off, Operation 

Puff Adder led by Divisional 

Police Officer, Batsari Division, 

raided one of the bandits camps 

at Illella village, Safana LGA 

of Katsina State. 

“After a fierce gun duel, the 

team succeeded in dislodging 

the hoodlums from their 

enclaves as a result of which 

one of the hoodlums was killed 

during the shootout, while one 

was arrested alive and the rest 

took to their heels into the 

forest. 

“The team recovered one AK- 

47 rifle with Breach No. 

1986RG8604 and four 

motorcycles from the bandits,” 

CP Buba stated. 

Mother of 3 slumps, dies during Delta Elders' Walk-to-Health 

Wondering how her children 

would cope without their 

mother, the source said: “The 

news of her death came to us 

as a rude shock. If anybody 

had told us that she would die 

even two years time, we would 

have doubted it.” 

While describing her as lively 

person, he said the woman 

was in the Guidance and 

Counselling unit of the school. 

Vanguard reliably gathered 

that the woman would be 

buried on June 22. 

Meanwhile, Governor 

Ifeanyi Okowa, who received 

the participants at Government 

House, expressed joy that 

elders came out to participate 

actively in the walk.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, MAY 31, 2019—7 

Lagos arraigns doctor-couple for negligence 

By Innocent Anaba 

THE Lagos State Government, 

yesterday, arraigned the 

Medical Director of Excel Medical 

Centre Dolphin Estate, Ikoyi, 

Lagos, Dr Ejike Orji and his doctor 

wife, Ifeayinwa, before a Lagos 

High Court sitting in Igbosere on 

a three-count charge of causing 

grievous harm, recklessness and 

negligence. 

When the case came up for 

hearing yesterday, the prosecutor, 

Babatunde Sunmonu, told Justice 

Adedayo Akintoye that he has a 

three-count charge against the 

defendants and prayed the court 

that the charge be read to the 

defendants so that they can take 

their plea. 

Consequently, the trial judge 

granted his prayer and the 

charges were read to the 

defendants, who both pleaded not 

guilty. 

Following their not guilty plea, 

the prosecutor asked the court for 

a trial date and that the accused 

be remanded in prison custody 

pending their trial. 

However, counsel to the 

By Soni Daniel 

ABUJA—THE Economic and 

Financial Crimes 

Commission will today arraign the 

controversial official of the Joint 

Admissions and Matriculation 

Board, Philomina Chieshe and 

five others before Justice Peter 

Afen of a Federal Capital Territory 

High Court in Abuja, following her 

alleged involvement in a N35 

million fraud. 

Apart from Philomena, the other 

five officials of JAMB in the matter 

are Samuel Umoru, Yakubu 

Jekada, Daniel Agbo, Priscilla 

Ogunsola, and Aliyu Yakubu. 

Philomena, who is a JAMB 

official in Benue State, became 

popular when she made an 

outlandish claim that a mysterious 

snake swallowed about N35 

million cash arising from sale of 

e-JAMB cards in the state. 

The controversial JAMB official 

is being prosecuted by the EFCC 

on an eight-count charge, 

following her refusal to furnish the 

management of JAMB the true 

information on the financial status 

of JAMB e-cards supplied to the 

Benue Zonal office between 2014 

and 2016. 

An EFCC investigator, who 

probed her and seven other heads 

of JAMB offices nationwide, 

where widespread stealing took 

place, noted that instead of 

Philomena rendering account on 

the said N35 million, being the 

shortfall of unremitted e-JAMB 

cards in connivance with other 

officials, she claimed that a 

mysterious snake swallowed the 

money. 

The investigator said: 

“Philomena ought to know that the 

defendants, Mr. K.C Okho told the 

court that he has filed a bail 

application and that the prosecutor 

had been served, and appealed to 

the court to allow him move same. 

After arguments on the bail 

application and the prosecution’s 

opposition, Justice Akintoye 

granted bail to the two accused 

in the sum of N500,000 with two 

sureties. 

The judge further ordered that 

the sureties must be persons 

gainfully employed with 

evidence of three years tax 

payment to the Lagos State 

Government. 

The court also ordered that the 

residential as well as the office 

addresses of the sureties must be 

verified by the court’s Deputy 

Registrar, Administration and 

approval given by same. 

While releasing the accused to 

their lawyer, Justice Akintoye 

gave the accused till June 3, to 

perfect their bail conditions else 

they would be remanded in 

prison custody. 

Meanwhile, Justice Akintoye 

has adjourned the matter till June 

3, for further direction. 

shortfall in the unremitted e-JAMB 

cards, which she claimed 

disappeared as a result of 

manipulation from the kingdom of 

darkness, is false and untenable 

before the law. 

“The shameful action of the 

suspect breaches Section 139 (a) 

of the Penal Code Law,” the officer 

said. 

One of the charges filed before 

the FCT High Court and dated 

May 17 reads: “That you, Samuel 

Sale Umoru and Philomena 

Chieshe between August 2014 

and July 2016 in Abuja within the 

jurisdiction of this honourable 

court conspired among 

yourselves to misappropriate 

funds belonging to the Joint 


Board, an agency of the Federal 

Government of Nigeria and you 

therefore committed an offence 

contrary to Section 97 (2) of the 

Penal Code. 

“That you, Samuel Sale Umoru 

and Philomena Chieshe between 

August 2014 and July 2016 in 

In the three-count charge, 

the defendants, Dr Orji and 

his wife, were alleged to have 

on or about July 26, 2018 at 

Excel Medical Centre, Plot 

458, Corporate Drive, Dolphin 

Estate, Ikoyi, Lagos, caused 

one Somtochukwu Ezi-Ashi 

(male) grievous harm by 

fixing a Plaster of Paris, POP, 

cast too tightly on his leg. 

They were also alleged to 

have, at the same time and 

place within the Lagos 

judicial division, not being an 

orthopaedic specialists 

recklessly administered 

orthopaedic medical 

treatment to Somtochukwu 

Ezi-Ashi. 

The offence committed is 

said to be contrary to section 

251 (1) (c) of the criminal code 

chC17 Volume 3 Laws of 

Lagos State, 2015. 

Count three of the charges 

alleged that the defendants at 

their medical centre were 

negligent in administering 

treatment on Somtochukwu 

Ezi-Ashi, thereby causing him 

harm to his leg. 

EFCC docks 6 who claimed 

snake swallowed JAMB’s N35m 

Abuja within the jurisdiction 

of this honourable court while 

being state coordinator and 

clerical officer of the state office 

of the Joint Admissions and 

Matriculation Board, 

committed criminal breach of 

trust in respect of the said 

properties and you thereby 

committed an offence contrary 

to and punishable by Section 

315 of the Penal Code. 

“That you, Samuel Sale 

Umoru and Philomena 

Chieshe between August 

2014 and July 2016 in Abuja 

and Benue State within the 

jurisdiction of this honourable 

court while being state 

coordinator and clerical officer 

of the state office of the Joint 


Board, an agency of the Federal 

Government of Nigeria and 

you therefore committed an 

offence contrary to Section 

308 of the Penal Code and 

punishable under Section 309 

of the same law. 

Police confirm killing of 

NDLEA operative in Lafia 

NASARAWA State Police 

Command has confirmed the 

killing of Mr. Dennis Onoja, an 

official of the National Drugs Law 

Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, by 

unknown persons in Lafia. 

ASP Usman Samaila, Police 

Public Relations Officer in the state, 

who confirmed the incident 

yesterday in Lafia, said the incident 

happened in the early hours of 

Wednesday at the deceased 

residence in Tudun-Kauri axis of 

Lafia metropolis. 

According to him, it was 

raining at the time of the 

incident while the victim’s 

power generating set was on 

and the noise made it 

impossible for his neighbours to 

know what was happening. 

He said one of the neighbours 

went to charge the battery of his 

mobile phone in the victim’s 

apartment when he saw his 

lifeless body in his room. 

... with Emma'nKen (08163121378) 

Cute Kimani, bros mouth 

dey smell? Face him na 

Shatta Wale and Stone Bwoy 

have forgotten the gun 

incident, because something 

better is in the middle 

Caveat: When it's your turn to 

be in need, message yourself o


Calls for Oshiomhole’s removal: 

APC national officers demand 

urgent meeting 

By Omeiza Ajayi 

ABUJA— THE dust 

generated by Deputy 

National Chairman (North) 

of All Progressives 

Congress, APC, Lawali 

Shuaibu's call, asking the 

National Chairman, 

Comrade Adams 

Oshiomhole, to resign is yet 

to settle. 

This is because, 

yesterday, national officers 

of the party, who are not 

members of its National 

Working Committee, NWC, 

demanded an urgent 

interface with NWC to 

discuss the matter. 

The officers are, however, 

members of APC National 

Executive Committee, 

NEC. 

The party officials, under 

the aegis of Forum of Non- 

National Working 

Committee (Non-NWC) in 

a letter signed by their 

Chairman, Alhaji Nasiru 

Danu, and Secretary, 

Omolayo Akintola, said the 

meeting had become 

necessary to discuss 

emerging issues before 

they get out of hand. 

There have been calls by 

some stakeholders of the 

party on NWC to convene 

a NEC meeting to resolve 

issues, which arose from 

the conduct of the last 

general elections and also 

forge a common front 

ahead of the composition of 

the next cabinet by 


Buhari. 

However, in the leaked 

letter dated May 29, 2019, 

entitled: “Demand for an 

urgent interface with NWC 

organ of our party-APC” 

and addressed to the 

National Chairman, the 

national officers said the 

meeting was “principally to 

address critical issues 

affecting our great party 

before such issues go out 

of hands, which could be 

inimical to the general 

welfare of the party.” 

The forum said it would 

have called for such a 

meeting earlier, “but we 

considered the concluded 

2019 general elections 

where our party recorded 

successes and losses. 

“This body rose from 

today‘s (29-05-2019) 

emergency meeting shortly 

after the Presidential 

inauguration ceremony 

held at the Eagle Square, 

Abuja and concluded the 

following request be made. 

“We, hereby, request for 

a meeting to be fixed from 

your end as soon as 

possible in order to meet 

with the urgency it 

demands.” 

The letter addressed to the 

national chairman was also 

copied chairman of the 

APC Governors Forum, 

Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi 

State. 

Concentrate on tackling 

insecurity, Ndume urges 

Buhari 

By Ndahi 

Marama 

M AIDUGURI— 

SENATOR Ali 

Ndume (APC-Borno), has 

urged President 

Muhammadu Buhari to 

give priority attention to 

security challenges facing 

the country to fast-track 

sustainable social and 

economic development. 

He also blamed security 

agencies, particularly the 

military, for its inability to 

finish or nip in the bud the 

lingering Boko Haram 

crisis in the state and North- 

East in general. 

Ndume, who spoke at a 

media interactive session in 

Maiduguri, yesterday, 

said it was good for the 

Federal Government to 

leave other things and 

concentrate on improving 

security situation in the 

country. 

He said: “Government 

should leave any other 

things for now to 

concentrate on security, any 

other things are not as 

important as security, 

because if a country, family 

or a town cannot be 

secured, then the people 

cannot do anything, they 

cannot farm, go to school, 

they cannot think well, 

hospital cannot work 

securely and patients 

cannot move freely from one 

location to another. 

“It is important for 

government to show 

determination in 

addressing the issue of 

security first.’’ 

Ndume, who is contesting 

the Senate presidency in 

the 9th Assembly on the 

platform of All Progressives 

Congress, APC, advocated 

more proactive measures to 

end insurgency and 

banditry in the country. 

“This time around, the 

Federal Government 

should turn around to 

change things; draw a time 

line, give necessary 

support and marching 

orders to the security 

agencies that Boko Haram 

insurgency should be over 

in the next two years or six 

months. 

“Now that they are 

successfully repelled or 

substantially degraded, 

Boko Haram and issues of 

banditry should be a thing 

of the past and that should 

come from the 

Commander-in-Chief." 

INAUGURATION: From left, Chief of Medical Services, 063 NAF Hospital, Abuja, Air 

Commodore Mohammed Shaibu; Air Commodore Abiodun Abolarinwa (retd); Chief of Air 

Staff, Air Marshal Sadiq Abubakar, and some senior officers, during the inauguration of 

Air CDRE BA Bolarinwa Accident and Emergency Department of the 063 Nigerian Air 

Force Hospital, in Abuja , yesterday. Photo: NAN. 

FG to adopt new strategy in 

tackling insecurity, says NSA 

By Joseph 

Erunke 

ABUJA—AGAINST the 

backdrop of Nigeria’s 

current security challenges, 

the Federal Government 

has hinted of its intention 

to adopt new strategy to 

arrest the situation. 

Already, government has 

begun measures aimed at 

formulating a 

comprehensive 2019 

National Security Strategy 

that will not only provide a 

veritable road map to 

navigate the complex and 

dynamic security 

environment but also cater 

for the needs of the people. 

National Security 

Adviser, NSA, Alhaji 

Babagana Monguno, who 

said these during the 

conduct of validation 

session on the draft 

National Security Strategy, 

organised by his office in 

Abuja, yesterday, said the 

new strategy would focus 

on addressing socioeconomic 

concerns such as 

poverty, unemployment, 

corruption, security and the 

economy, which are key 

focal points of the current 

administration. 

Monguno, who was 

represented by Director of 

Policy and Strategy, Office 

of the National Security 

Adviser, Aminu Lawal, 

noted that Nigeria’s first 

National Security Strategy 

was conceived in 2014 with 

the purpose of guiding, 

organising and 

harmonising the nation’s 

security policies and efforts. 

He said: “Permit me to 

state that in line with the 

new notion of national 

security, which has the 

‘people’ and not the ‘state’ 

as the focus, the strategy 

will place emphasis on 

human security to enhance 

the social well-being of the 

citizenry. 

“Therefore, we need to 

address socio-economic 

concerns such as poverty 

and unemployment as well 

as corruption, security and 

the economy, which are key 

focal points of this 

administration. 

“The ultimate aim will be 

to employ the instruments 

of national power in the 

most efficient and effective 

manner, to promote peace 

and prosperity in a secure 

and enabling environment. 

“I am, however, aware 

that there are different 

perspectives on how a 

national security strategy 

should be crafted as well as 

what the contents should 

be. 

“This may also vary from 

country to country and as 

such, we will continue to 

domesticate ours to suit the 

prevailing environment.” 

According to him, the 

validation session on the 

draft National Security 

Strategy is to ensure that at 

the end of the day, a 

comprehensive 2019 

National Security Strategy, 

that will provide a veritable 

road map to navigate the 

complex and dynamic 

security environment, will 

be formulated. 

He said: “Understanding 

the process for developing 

and formulation is, 

therefore, critical to guard 

against it, describing in 

granular details, specific 

policies of Ministries 

Departments and Agencies 

in the document. 

‘’To this end, I will ensure 

that there are series of 

workshops and 

sensitisation on the final 

product to the citizenry as 

it is a public document for 

all.” 

Reps speakership: 195 memberselect 

sign for Bago 

By Levinus 

Nwabughiogu 

ABUJA—The support 

base of Mohammed 

Bago, a frontline 

contender to the 

speakership of the House 

of Representatives of the 

incoming 9th National 

Assembly may have 

increased with 195 

members-elect signing up 

for him. 

The move apparently 

shows that the memberselect 

may have largely 

bought into the equity 

agitation of the aspirant. 

Similarly, 156 members 

were said to have openly 

declared support for his 

candidature recently after 

a meeting at a location in 

Gwarimpa, Abuja. 

Bago, a third time 

member from Niger State, 

is contesting against the 

All Progressives 

Congress, APC, endorsed 

aspirant, Femi 

Gbajabiamila from Lagos 

State, is generally 

regarded as the champion 

of equity and fairness in 

the contest for 

speakership. 

Speaking on the current 

standing of the 

candidates, a memberelect 

from the South-West 

told journalists that the 

current swing towards 

Bago may have arisen 

from a combination of 

factors, chiefly his brilliant 

showing at the 

interaction, which the 

rival Peoples Democratic 

Party, PDP, held with all 

the aspirants, including 

Gbajabiamila, at the 

Transcorp Hilton last 

week. 

Besides this, the 

member-elect, who craved 

anonymity, stated that 

“even within the ruling 

APC, Bago has so deftly 

sold his message that he is 

currently running neck to 

neck with Gbajabiamila for 

the signature of our party 

members.” 

The member-elect also 

disclosed that the current 

crisis of confidence raging 

among top APC stalwarts 

is also working perfectly in 

Bago’s favour. 

The member who was 

obviously referring to the 

godfather spat between 

Kaduna State Governor, 

Nasir el-Rufai and National 

Leader of the party, Alhaji 

Bola Tinubu, as well as 

this week’s epistle by 

Deputy National 

Chairman, North of APC, 

Senator Lawan Shuaibu, 

asking the party’s 

National Chairman, 

Adams Oshiomhole, to 

resign stated that Bago’s 

candidacy is being 

adopted, promising a 

surprise on the 

inuaguaration day. 

The member-elect hinted 

that arising from the 

uncertainty surrounding 

the brickbats, many top 

members of the party from 

North-West and North-East 

zones have started making 

overtures to the Bago 

group in search of 

accommodation. 

“In fact, if things continue 

the way they are going, 

before the end of Sallah 

festivities billed for next 

week, the Bago campaign 

would have become a 

hurricane, with no fewer 

than 230 members elect on 

board,”the member said. 

When contacted for 

comments on the new 

development, spokesman 

for Bago Campaign 

Organisation, Victor 

Ogene, said issues that 

have to do with memberselect 

supporting Bago 

would remain closely 

guarded until few days to 

inauguration.

Mfon Udoh 


VISIT: From left: Hi-tech Editor, Prince Osuagwu; Evelyn Usman, Assitant Crime Editor; Sola Ogundipe, Heaith Editor; 

Emma Nnadozie, Crime Editor; Chioma Gabriel, Editor, Special Features; Eze Anaba, Editor, all of Vanguard newspapers; 

CSP Segun Ajao, DPO, Kirikiri Police Station; Kenneth Ehigiator, News Editor; Mike Ebonugwo, Features Editor (both of 

Vanguard) and S.O, Kirikiri Police Station, Rilwani Abdurahim, during the DPO's visit to Vanguard newspaper premises, 

Lagos, yesterday. Photo Kehinde Shonola. 

Senate says economy in danger, as FG spends 

N11trn on subsidy payment in 6 yrs 

•Okays N129bn subsidy payment to 67 oil marketers 

•As senators call for end to subsidy payment 

•Senate adjourns plenary till June 6 

By Henry Umoru 

ABUJA— THE Senate, 

yesterday, raised the 

alarm that the nation has 

spent not less than N11 

trillion on oil subsidy 

payment in six years, 

warning that further 

HEALTH TIPS 

By Sola Ogundipe 

Avoid erectile dysfunction 

SOMETIMES all those 

extra kilos can take a toll on 

your sex life and increase 

erectile dysfunction, ED, 

risk. If you’re obese, you’re 

more likely to get high 

cholesterol levels and 

diabetes, which can lead to 

erection problems. 

A waist size over 40 

inches is more likely to put 

you at risk for ED. If you 

want to stay on top of your 

game, keep a healthy 

weight. 

Erectile dysfunction is 

often linked to heart 

disease, so it makes sense 

to cut back on foods like 

full-fat dairy, fried foods, 

and red meat. Eat more 

fresh fruits and veggies, 

fish, and whole grains. 

Cleaning up your diet can 

pay off in the bedroom. 

If you are diabetic, take 

care of it. High blood sugar 

can damage the nerves and 

blood vessels in the male 

sex organ. 

Stop tobacco smoking 

payment could kill the 

economy. 

Consequently, the 

Senate asked the Federal 

Government to put an end 

to the payment of oil 

subsidy, which it 

described as a drain on 

the economy. 

completely because it hurts 

your sex life by narrowing 

your blood vessels and 

prevents medications 

working properly. 

Alcohol can dampen 

libido. If alcohol is causing 

your ED, it probably will go 

away when you cut back or 

quit drinking. 

Recreational drugs like 

cocaine, amphetamines, 

marijuana and opiates are 

a bad idea. They often lead 

to erection trouble. Erectile 

dysfunction is also a 

common side effect for 

many prescription drugs, 

so be wary. 

Exercise is good for sex 

life in lots of ways. It helps 

the heart and blood vessels 

stay healthy, keeps weight 

in check and lowers stress. 

Just regular 30-minute 

walk each day could lower 

your chance of having ED. 

It’s not unusual to have 

trouble getting an erection 

once in a while, but if it 

starts happening more 

often, don’t ignore it. 

The lawmakers also 

called for building of new 

refineries to finally put an 

end to fuel subsidy 

payment in the country. 

Resolutions of the 

Senate were sequel to the 

consideration of a report 

of the Senator Kabiru 

Marafa (APC, Zamfara 

Central)-led Committee 

on Petroleum, 

Downstream on 

Promissory Note 

Programme and a Bond 

Issuance to Settle 

Inherited Local Debts and 

Contractual Obligations to 

Petroleum Marketers. 

In his presentation, 

yesterday, Marafa said 

the committee observed 

that there were 

differences in 

submissions made by the 

Federal Ministry of 

Finance, Petroleum 

Products Pricing 

Regulatory Agency, 

PPPRA, and oil marketers. 

According to him, all the 

subsidy arrears’ claims 

were based on three interrelated 

elements, namely 

subsidy, forex differentials 

and bank interests on 

unpaid claims. 

Okays N129bn 

subsidy payment 

to 67 oil marketers 

Meanwhile, the Senate, 

yesterday, approved the 

payment of N129 billion as 

subsidy arrear claims to 67 

petroleum marketers. 

The approval followed 

the adoption of report of 

Senator Marafa-led 

Committee on Petroleum 

Downstream. 

The Senate has, however, 

adjourned till June 6 for its 

valedictory session. 

Some of the oil marketers 

are: AA Rano, Ascon, Aiteo, 

Total, MRS Oil & Gas 

Limited, Sahara Energy, 

Oando PLC, A-Z 

Petroleum, Masters 

Energy, Northwest 

Petroleum, Fresh Enery, 

Forte Oil, Integrated Oil 

among others. 

It would be recalled that 

the Senate had on Tuesday 

approved N69 billion as oil 

subsidy claim for Premuim 

Motor Spirit for 19 oil 

marketers. 

Senator Marafa said: 

“That the recent request 

computation is based on 

one of the already identified 

elements (forex 

differential). 

“That due to scarcity of 

forex within the period, oil 

marketing companies were 

allowed to source forex 

outside CBN rate to enable 

them meet the country’s 

petroleum products 

demand. 

“That NNPC Retail gets 

its petroleum product 

allocation directly from 

PPPMC at already 

subsidised rate and so does 

not require forex to transact 

its business.” 

Some of the oil marketers 

and the amount approved 

for them include: Total 

Nigeria Plc, N13.7 billion; 

Northwest Petroleum, 

N11.4 billion; Masters 

Energy, N10 billion; MRS 

Oil Plc, N8.8 billion; and 

Sahara Energy, N8.4 

billion. 

Others are MRS Oil & 

Gas Limited, N6.3 billion; 

Nipco Plc, N4.2 billion; 

Forte Oil, N3.9 billion; 

DEEJONES Petroleum & 

Gas, N4.1 billion; Emadeb, 

N4 billion, among others. 

Senators call for 

end to subsidy 

payment 

In his contribution, 

Senator Barnabas Gemade 

said: “What has happened 

to those who defrauded the 

nation? I believe the 9th 

Senate will do justice to 

know what has happened 

to this money.” 

On his part,Chairman, 

Senate Committee on 

Public Accounts, Senator 

Matthew Urhoghide (PDP, 

Edo South), expressed 

concern that more subsidy 

requests would come in the 

incoming Ninth Assembly 

because “the computations 

were not properly done”. 

He said: “Government 

should be serious in its 

policies and not be 

directionless in executing 

these policies.” 

On his part, Senator 

Bassey Akpan (PDP, Akwa 

Ibom), said: “ I submit 

totally to this initiative as 

this will add value to the 

petroleum sector.” 

Also in his contribution, 

Senator Victor Umeh 

(APGA, Anambra), said: “It 

is very sad for the country 

that the crude that we use 

to drive our cars is not 

manufactured in Nigeria 

and the cash spent on this 

is outrageous. 

In his remarks, Deputy 

Senate President, Senator 

Ike Ekweremadu, who 

presided, lamented that 

Nigerian National 

Petroleum Corporation, 

NNPC, now charges 

subsidy claims on the 

Consolidated Revenue 

Fund of the Federation, a 

development he described 

as unconstitutional. 

2019 Budget: 

Buhari to 

spend N1bn 

on travels 

•N8.6m on 

books, N26.4m on 

newspapers 

By Emma Ujah, 

Abuja Bureau 

Chief & Dirisu 

Yakubu 

P RESIDENT 

Muhammadu 

Buhari is to spend N1. 001 

billion on travels this year. 

The detailed 2019 

budget, which he signed 

into law early this week, 

showed that the president 

would spent N751.296 

million travelling around 

the world and another 

N250. 021 million locally. 

According to the budget, 

Vice President Yemi 

Osinbajo will also spend 

N217.060 million on foreign 

travels and another N83. 74 

million on local travels. 

N3.822 billion was 

earmarked for annual 

routine maintenance of 

mechanical/electrical 

installations in the Villa. 

According to the budget, 

N576. 747 million was set 

aside for the phased 

replacement of vehicles, 

spares and tyres in the 

presidential CVU, security/ 

police escort and State 

House operational fleet. 

Another N395. 834 

million was earmarked for 

the construction of the 

Presidential Wing of the 

State House Clinic, while 

N395. 834 million would be 

spent on the construction of 

office buildings. 

The President would 

spend N164. 176 million on 

honourarium and sitting 

allowance, as well as, N25 

.652 million on meals and 

refreshments. 

The Office of the Chief 

Security Officer to the 

President got the sum of N 

433. 457 million for the 

purchase of security and 

operational vehicles. 

The State House Medical 

Centre was allocated a total 

of N798.856 million, with 

drugs and medicals 

supplies taking N208. 350 

million and N 244.364 

million earmarked for the 

purchase of health and 

medical equipment. 

Conversion/upgrade of 

Villa Ranch and 

construction of wildlife 

conservation capture 

would take N27. 463 

million; while rehabilitation 

of animal enclosure/ 

procurement of Vet Lab 

equipment was allocated a 

separate N11. 865 million. 

Meanwhile, the Office of 

the President would spend 

N8,580,741 on the 

purchase of books in the 

2019 fiscal year. Similarly, 

N26, 432, 346 was provided 

in the budget for the 

purchase of newspapers, 

while N3, 511,909 was set 

aside for magazines and 

periodicals.

10 — VANGUARD, FRIDAY, MAY 31, 2019 

Buhari, NUJ mourn as Kola 

Animasaun dies at 80 

Ljournalist, AGOS—VETERAN 

columnist 

and a former Chairman, 

Editorial Board of Vanguard 

Media Limited, Alhaji Kola 

Muslim Animasaun is 

dead. 

Animasaun, who was 

buried at the Markaz 

Mosque cemetery, Agege, 

by 2pm, was aged 80. 

He died in the early 

morning of yesterday, May 

30, 2019. 

Reacting to Animasaun's 

death, President 

Muhammadu Buhari 

expressed grief over the 

death of the iconic 

journalist. 

The President offered 

condolences to the 

Animasaun family and 

friends, including the 

management of Vanguard 

Media Limited, 

publishers of Vanguard 

Newspapers, where the 

late veteran newsman 

spent many years as a 

formidable columnist. 

The President also 

commiserated with the 

Nigerian Union of 

Journalists and the 

Nigerian Guild of 

Editors on the demise of 

one of the country’s most 

trusted and respected 

columnists. 

President Buhari said 

he believed Alhaji 

Animashaun will be long 

remembered and 

honoured for the rich 

and elucidating writeups 

in the ‘’Voice of 

Reason’’ column he left 

behind; the many 

literary works he 

authored as well as the 

array of media 

professionals he trained 

and mentored on the 

ethics of the noble pen 

profession. 

NUJ 

Also reacting, Chairman, 

Nigerian Union of 

Journalists, NUJ, in Lagos 

State, Dr. Qasim Akinreti 

said: “With deep heart, I 

announce the death of our 

father in the journalism 

profession, a first class 

journalist, columnist, 

trainer and mentor, Alhaji 

Muslim Kola Animasaun. 

"I visited him at home 

Wednesday night in 

company of two journalists. 

I held his hand and prayed 

for him. I am glad he lived 

a fulfilled life. We lost a rare 

gem in the industry.” 

OANDO JV hosts research, 

devt forum 

LAGOS—AS a way of 

changing the Nigerian 

narrative and building a 

culture that supports 

innovation, Oando and its 

Joint Venture (JV) Partners, 

Nigeria AGIP Oil 

Company (NAOC) and the 

Nigerian National 

Petroleum Corporation 

(NNPC) held the second 

edition of its of Research 

and Development 

Exhibition themed: 

Research and Development 

Forum/Exhibition of 

Emerging Technologies in 

Abuja. 

Notable stakeholders in 

the oil and gas sector 

present at the event were 

Executive Secretary, 

Nigeria Content 

Development and 

Monitoring Board 

(NCDMB), Engr. Simbi 

Wabote; Group Managing 

Director, NNPC, Dr. 

Maitanki Baru; Vice 

Chairman, NAOC; Lorenzo 

Fiorillo and Ainojie Irune, 

Chief Operating Officer, 

Oando Energy Resources 

who was represented by 

Akinbambo Ibidapo-Obe, 

the General Manager, 

Commercial, Oando 

Energy Resources. 

Speaking at the event, the 

General Manager, 

Commercial, Oando 

Energy Resources, 

Akinbambo Ibidapo-Obe, 

said: “At Oando we believe 

in the popular saying 

Innovate or Die which can 

rightly be attributed to our 

success story to date. In a 

unique terrain like ours, 

innovation in financing, 

geosciences, Information 

technology and all facets 

of our operations are 

crucial to business 

survival. Research and 

innovation is pertinent to 

the development of not 

only your company but 

the sector, country and the 

continent at large. 

"It is our responsibility as 

sector leaders and good 

corporate citizen to 

champion initiatives like 

this to promote innovation 

in the sector and country 

through research by 

supporting and 

encouraging the brains 

behind these innovative 

technological solutions 

and ideas.” 

FACTS BEHIND THE SUSTAINABILITY REPORT: Group MD, Dangote Industries Ltd, Mr. Olakunle Alake 

(middle); Group MD, Dangote Cement Plc, Joseph Makoju (2nd left), beating the gong while CEO, Nigerian 

Stock Exchange, Oscar Onyema (left); Group Chief Financial Officer, Dangote Cement Plc, Guillaume Moyen 

(2nd right) and Group Chief Sustainability and Governance Officer, Dangote Industries Ltd, Dr. Ndidi Nnoli, 

applauded when the management of Dangote Industries Limited launched the 2018 Dangote Cement Sustainability 

Report at the maiden edition of Facts Behind the Sustainability Report, at NSE, Lagos, yesterday. 

We’re working on short term solution 

to solve Apapa gridlock — SANWO-OLU 

By Olasunkanmi 

Akoni & Monsuru 

Olowoopejo 

LAGOS — 

GOVERNOR 

Babajide Sanwo-Olu of 

Lagos State, yesterday, said 

that the traffic problem in 

Apapa and its environs was 

multi-faceted and required 

the joint effort of the Federal 

and State Governments as 

well stakeholders to find a 

lasting solution. 

Sanwo-Olu, who had 

earlier promised to tackle 

the Apapa traffic gridlock in 

the first 60 days of 

assumption, said this while 

inspecting the traffic 

situation in the axis. 

While assuring residents 

that a short term solution 

was around the corner, the 

governor said: “We must 

thank the Federal 

Government for setting up 

a Presidential Taskforce that 

will work with the state 

government to resolve the 

gridlock in Apapa.” 

“The facility is owned by 

the federal government but 

the users are Lagos citizens. 

We have discovered that 

the problem of Apapa is 

multi-faceted; one agency 

cannot resolve the issue. 

“From where we started 

at the Lily terminal, they are 

developing along Malu 

road a terminal that can 

contain 1000 trucks. 

“It is a well constructed 

terminal that will be 

converted to a temporary 

holding bay for the trucks. 

“They have started 

moving the trucks there but 

the movement is not fast 

enough. 

“Once they do that, all the 

trucks on the Ijora Bridge, 

and others within that axis 

can utilize it”, he said. 

He also said: “During the 

tour, we realised that NPA 

and Dangote have worked 

on the wharf Road up to the 

Apapa Port but it is sad that 

the trucks are still parking 

on the road. 

“From our interactions 

with the stakeholders, it 

was discovered that the 

NPA has a concession 

company, APMT. 

“We realise that there is a 

disconnect in the activities 

of picking and dropping of 

containers in the ports. 

“One of the strategies we 

will be engaging is 

NIMASA, shipping 

councils, NPA and others to 

resolve the issue especially 

on how they can push the 

commencement date for 

the collection of demurrage. 

“The 1000 capacity Tin 

Can Ports Terminal will be 

available by next month. 

What is left to be completed 

are the water system, toilet 

facility and power supply. 

“Another solution is the 

land we have within the 

....Signs executive order on refuse, traffic mgt 

Court grants Naira Marley N2m bail 

By Innocent Anaba 

LAGOS—A Federal 

High Court sitting in 

Lagos, yesterday, granted 

bail to embattled artiste, 

Azeez Fashola also known 

as Naira Marley in the sum 

of N2 million with two 

sureties in like sum. 

Trial judge, Justice 

Nicholas Oweibo also said 

that one surety must not be 

less than grade level 10 in 

the civil service and must 

own a landed property 

within the jurisdiction of the 

court. The court said 

prosecution should verify 

By Olasunkanmi 

Akoni & Monsuru 

Olowoopejo 

LAGOS — BARELY 

24 hours after being 

sworn-in, Governor 

Babajide Sanwo-Olu of 

Lagos State, yesterday, 

declared a state of 

emergency on 

environmental, sanitation 

and traffic management 

matters in the state just as 

he signed an executive 

addresses of the sureties. 

The Economic and 

Financial Crimes 

Commission, EFCC, had 

on May 20, arraigned the 

musician on an 11-count 

charge of conspiracy, 

possession of counterfeit 

credit cards and fraud. 

Also mentioned in the 

charge is one Yad Isril, who 

is said to be at large. 

The musician, however, 

pleaded not guilty to the 

charge. 

Arguing his bail 

application earlier, 

yesterday, his counsel, Mr. 

Olalekan Ojo, SAN, urged 

order on indiscriminate 

dumping of refuse in the 

state. 

He also disclosed that 

the minimum wage would 

be addressed urgently to 

improve workers' welfare 

in the state. 

Besides, the governor 

met with security chiefs, 

comprising of the Navy, 

Airforce, Army, and 

Police, as well as 

authourities of Lagos 

State 

Traffic 

Management Agency, in 

the court to grant the 

musician bail on liberal 

terms. 

However, EFCC counsel, 

Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo, 

opposed the application for 

bail, claiming that the 

defendant was a “flight 

risk.” 

The judge ruled that the 

reasons adduced by 

prosecution were not strong 

enough to warrant denial of 

bail to the defendant. 

The court consequently 

granted the defendant 

bail and adjourned the 

case till October 22, 23 

and 24, 2019 for trial. 

Tin Can Port. The land will 

need the cooperation of the 

Federal and State 

governments. We will need 

to move the people that are 

occupying the land because 

the occupants are illegal 

squatters. We need to source 

for funds to complete the 

project. 

“We are hoping that, in 

due cause, we will get all 

these issues behind us. 

“But the final solution to 

ending the gridlock within 

Apapa is an economic 

solution. We need to build 

another port. It is a long 

term solution. We will take 

it upon ourselves, with the 

support of the NPA, to 

develop the Lekki and 

Badagry ports.” 

the state and Permanent 

Secretaries in various 

ministries at the Lagos 

House, Alausa, Ikeja. 

The order, it was 

gathered, was not aimed at 

arresting environmental 

offenders, but to ensure the 

state is clean. 

While signing the 

executive order, Sanwo- 

Olu said: “As from the date 

of this order, there shall be 

zero tolerance for 

environmental abuse, 

including illegal and 

indiscriminate dumping of 

refuse, construction on 

drainage points and 

setbacks. 

“All LASTMA officials 

shall effectively carry out 

their functions by ensuring 

strict enforcement and 

compliance with all extant 

traffic rules and regulations 

while LASTMA officials 

will immediately begin 

work on a shift basis. 

“Also, road and traffic 

management operations 

will be on till 11 pm on a 

daily basis. 

“I expect the fullest level 

of compliance with this 

order and will look to the 

various heads of ministries, 

departments and agencies 

to give full force and effect 

to the orders."

•I go die 

Stories by Benjamin Njoku 

s President Muhammadu Buhari began his second 

Aterm in office, on Wednesday, May 29, popular 

comedian, I Go Dye has taken a swipe at the political 

development of the country, lamenting that the past 20 

years of Nigerian democracy has brought about untold 

hardship, disunity and insecurity than it has impacted 

positively on the well-being of the citizenry. 

The popular comedian made this observation in a 

statement he released, on Wednesday, to commemorate 

the inauguration of Buhari’s second term in office. He 

BY ROTIMI AGBANA 

Peter Okoye, a.k.a. Mr. P of the defunct 

singing group, P-Square no longer 

subscribe to the idea that blood is thicker than 

water. During the week, half of the Okoye 

twins cried foul after a show promoter used 

his image to promote his twin brother, Paul 

Okoye’s show, without his consent. The show 

held last Sunday, in Angola. In fact, the singer 

threatened to take a legal action against the 

said show promoter. 

According to Mr. P, (Peter), using his photo 

to promote his brother’s event in Angola 

without his consent caused him a lot of 

inconveniences because he also had an event 

in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. 

“So they needed my image to sell their show 

in Angola. This promoter @pubfoureventos 

you’ll be hearing from my lawyers soon. My 

dear people in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, I just 

arrived. No need to panic, I’m here! This is 

the reason I have to make it clear. I can’t begin 

to tell you what I have had to deal with in the 

last couple of days. My management has been 

accused of double booking me, promoters 

panicking, and fans in Angola saying how 

they’re looking forward to my performing in 

Luanda Angola”, he said. 

However, he made it clear that his legal 

threat was more of image protection, integrity 

and accountability, rather than emotions or 

sentiments. “Let’s be clear, no need to make 

this emotional and being sentimental. It is a 

matter of integrity and business. Nothing else! 

I have to protect my name and image; that’s 

all! Again the promoters and organizers of 

that event/festival have to be held accountable. 

My legal team is on it. Thank you,” he 

clarified. 

Meanwhile, reacting to the threat in an 

Instagram post, his half brother, Paul Okoye 

simply muted, “ No bad mind biko.” 

20 years of democracy: 

Our leaders have failed 

us, laments I go Dye 

Okoye brothers’ unending feud! 

decried the failure of the federal government 

to salvage the dwindling economy of the nation 

in the past 20 years. 

According to him, while the will of the 

people, their freedom to be heard and 

represented was nurtured in democratic 

principles, the present democratic setting in the 

country is a complete departure from the 

norms. 

He said with years,months and days gone 

by,the agonies of disappointment, hate, 

marginalization, corruption and injustice have 

continued to ruin the collective well-being of 

the people. This price, he stressed has become 

so expensive to maintain, as it also expands 

into billion’s of dollars just to satisfy our elected 

officials,while the gap of poverty continue to 

grow. 

“Our former Presidents, Governors and 

legislators have continued to take home 

packages that our elder statesmen never 

enjoyed after labouring for 35 years. They are 

frustrated everyday with several screenings 

for their pensions. The freedom of democracy 

has created monsters in our political landscape, 

breed demons in the midst a religious society 

that has no value for human lives,” he bemoans. 

The price of democracy has given birth to 

kidnapping, suicide bombers, insurgents, 

militants, armed bandits,herdsmen, ritualists, 

Boko haram and numerous political cronies’ 

that are desperate to divide this nation, if their 

selfish interest is uttered.” 

“Today, public institutions are left for the poor 

masses to bear following the ills of 

unproductive governments in the past 20 years 

of this faceless and expensive journey called 

democracy. Till date, no bill has been passed 

to reduce the unemployment rate nor improve 

the life expectancy of the people. Nigerian 

Democracy has given birth to an endless 

frustration, leading to the increasing rate 

at which young people take their lives 

out of frustration,” ‘ I Go Dye lamented. 

•Peter 

Okoye 

Chief Igbinedion woos film makers to 

Okada 

The Esama of Benin kingdom, Chief Gabriel Osawaru 

Igbinedion has encouraged film makers and producers 

across the country to take advantage of the historical sites and 

serene atmosphere that pervades the ancient town of Okada to 

shoot their films. 

The octogenarian business mogul made the passionate appeal 

recently, when the cast and crew of Lancelot Imasuen’s latest 

flick, ‘Family First’ paid him a courtesy visit after the premiering 

of the movie on the campus as part of activities marking the 

20th anniversary of the Igbinedion University, Okada. 

Esema, who was excited receiving the entourage at his palatial 

country home, said Okada is home to many historical sites that 

can be used as movie locations. 

‘We have a forest that nobody has tampered with. Also, we 

have more historical sites here than anywhere else. I have 

seen what you people are doing in Asaba. I implore you to 

come and shoot their films,” he said. 


Steve Benson plans big for 

showbiz industry 

Music business enthusiast and songwriter, Ohenhen 

Osazuwa Stephen a.k.a Steve Benson (SB) has 

concluded plans to launch a broad-based record company 

that provides and produces all related high-demand 

entertainment solutions. 

The new outfit, MSN OCEAN will be a major player in 

the fast-growing Nigerian entertainment industry as it has 

huge interests and business dealings as a record label. 

Steve Benson (SB) as he’s fondly called by his fans has 

been working underground for the past four years alongside 

his team of dodged professionals understudying the 

peculiarities of the global entertainment sector. 

Steve said serious plans have been made to sign not 

only artistes but also, Deejays too. Besides, the first act 

whose project is 85% ready, the company is said to be 

setting its eyes on the big picture with the talents discovery 

project called MSN Talent Hunt. The show, according to 

Steve Benson, who is not a newcomer to the 

music scene, will be powered in 

conjunction with an 

international branding and 

events company. The contest will 

feature musicians (solo or bands), 

DJs, dancers and comedians. 

Steve is a songwriter and 

recording artiste as well as 

a music business 

enthusiast. He 

decided to take the 

backstage to 

empower other 

young and 

talented persons, 

hence the 

establishment of 

the MSN 

O C E A N 

outfit. 

Omotola’s crazy love for 

dogs 

•Omotola 

•Steve 

Benson 

While superstars might be busy 

making movies or embarking 

on lavish vacations abroad, but that 

doesn’t mean they don’t have pets. 

And Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde is no 

exception. The actress is one of 

the celebrities who have always 

been fond of animals and have 

had plenty of them in their 

care over the years. She 

shared a photo of 

herself cuddling 

her pet on 

Instagram to show 

the world how 

much she’s in love 

with her pet. 

Perhaps, it’s safe to 

say that the actress 

is a self-proclaimed 

lover of animals. 

•Igbinedion


Buhari declines assent 

to bill establishing 

Maritime varsity 


AMuhammadu BUJA—PRESIDENT 

Buhari, 

yesterday, declined assent 

to a bill seeking to establish 

the Nigeria Maritime 

University, NMU, passed 

by the National Assembly. 

The refusal to sign the bill 

was contained in a letter to 

the Senate President, Dr. 

Bukola Saraki, and read by 

Deputy Senate President, 

Senator Ike Ekweremadu. 

The deputy Senate 

President read two letters 

from the President on his 

decision to decline assent 

to two bills. 

Besides the Maritime 

University Bill, the 

President also rejected the 

Institute of Chartered 

Biochemists and Molecular 

Biologists of Nigeria Bill, 

2019. 

According to the letters, 

the president decided to 

decline assent to the 

Maritime University Bill 

because the funding 

provisions for the institution 

“are grossly excessive.” 

He said: “Pursuant to 

section 58 (4) of the 1999 

constitution as amended, I 

hereby convey to the Senate 

my decision on May 25, 

The purpose of Zakatul-l-Fitr 

THE main purpose of 

Zakatul-l-Fitr at the 

end of Ramadan can be 

seen from two perspectives. 

One, is to purify our fast 

from our shortcomings 

during the month. 

As human beings, we are 

prone to errors even when 

we were reminded of the 

implications of some of our 

actions we still fall into it 

inadvertently. 

Second, it is meant to 

make everybody, all classes 

of people, happy at the end 

of Ramadan, so that the 

celebration of Eid will be 

joyous for everybody. 

Therefore, it is obligatory 

on every responsible 

Muslim, man or woman, to 

pay Zakatul-l-Fitr once you 

have more than what you 

and your family can take for 

Eid-l-Fitr, because 

everybody needs food for 

the celebration. 

Ibn Umar reported that 

the Prophet (s.a.w), made 

Zakatul-l-Fitr compulsory 

on every slave, freeman, 

male, female, young and 

old among the Muslims; 

one Saa` (Bukhari). A “saa” 

is four complete scoops 

with the two hands full of a 

man of average built. It is a 

measure of volume, not 

weight given to the needy 

2019 to decline presidential 

assent to the Nigeria 

Maritime University 

Establishment Bill 2018 

recently passed by the 

National assembly. 

“I am declining my assent 

to the bill because the 

funding provisions are 

grossly excessive and will 

disrupt the operations of a 

number of government 

agencies and institutions.” 

It will be recalled that the 

NMU was established by 

the administration of former 

President Goodluck 

Jonathan, but only began 

academic activities under 

Buhari’s government in 

2018. 

The university is located 

at Okerenkoko in Warri 

South-West Local 

Government Area of Delta 

State. 

Muslims. 

The Prophet also 

commanded that Zakatull-Fitr 

be given before the 

Eid prayer so that people 

can eat or at least be sure 

of enjoyable celebration. It 

is not permissible to give it 

after Eid-il-Fitr. 

However, it can be done 

one or two days before Eid. 

“They used to give it one 

or two days before (Eid) al- 

Fitr.” Bukhaari. As a result, 

it is a sin for any Muslim to 

neglect the payment of 

Zakatul-l-Fitr. 

Zakatul-l-Fitr should be 

paid on all members of the 

household. If you have 10 

people in your house, it 

must be paid in 10 times, 

including yourself, even if 

the youngest member is 

just a day old, or another 

person joined the family 24 

hours before Eid. 

Zakatul-l-Fitr is given 

only to needy Muslims or 

Imams in your community 

for onward distribution to 

needy Muslims. 

If Zakatul-l-Fitr is paid in 

money although it is not 

encouraged, those who 

coordinate the distribution 

should ensure that they give 

it out to the needy before 

the due time. May Allah 

accept it as act of Ibadaah. 

Amin. 

Delta North: A-Court restores Nwaoboshi as 

senator-elect, sacks Nwoko 

By Ikechukwu 

Nnochiri 

ABUJA—THE Court of 

Appeal sitting in 

Abuja, yesterday, restored 

Senator Peter Nwaoboshi of 

Peoples Democratic Party, 

PDP, as the senator-elect for 

Delta North senatorial 

district. 

The appellate court, in a 

unanimous decision by a 

three-man panel of justices, 

voided the judgment of the 

Federal High Court in 

Abuja that sacked 

Nwaoboshi on the premise 

that he was not validly 

nominated by PDP. 

Justice Ahmed 

Mohammed of the lower 

court had in a judgment on 

April 3, held that Nwaoboshi 

was not validly nominated 

in the primary election the 

PDP held in Delta State on 

October 2, 2018. 

Meanwhile, dissatisfied 

with the judgment, the 

embattled lawmaker 

approached the appellate 

court to set it aside. 

In his six grounds of 

appeal, Nwaoboshi 

contended that the verdict 

was entered against him in 

error. 

In its lead decision, 

Owie tasks Buhari on employment for youths 

By Alemma Aliu 

BENIN CITY – 

FORMER Chief Whip 

of the Senate, Roland 

Owie, has called on 


Buhari to ensure adequate 

provision for young 

Nigerians in terms of access 

to qualitative education, 

Wike promises to intensify 

projects delivery 

GOVERNOR Nyesom 

Wike of Rivers State 

has said he will work with 

the speed of light in his 

second term because he 

believes that four years will 

elapse in no time. 

Speaking after inspecting 

Mother and Child Hospital 

under construction and 

Government Craft 

Development Centre being 

rehabilitated in Port 

Harcourt, yesterday, Wike 

said the process of projects 

delivery would be 

intensified for the good of 

Rivers people. 

He said: “Four years for 

us is like four months. So 

we have no time. Now that 

the people have given us 

another mandate, we 

should be able to give them 

the best.” 

On the Mother and Child 

Hospital, Wike informed 

that his administration had 

commenced re-modelling 

the facility because the 

former contractor failed to 

meet the required 

standard. 

He said: “The former 

contractor failed to execute 

the contract in line with the 

specifications of the project. 

If everything works well as 

we have agreed, we 

believe that in the next 

three months, we will 

complete the Mother and 

Child Hospital. 

“We have also given more 

assignments from what we 

have identified as lapses. 

The contract was not 

awarded by us and the 

former contractor was not 

competent.” 

At the Government Craft 

Development Centre, 

Wike directed the 

immediate demolition of 

shanties around the school. 

He said: “There are so 

many shanties in the 

Government Craft 

Development Centre. I 

have directed that they be 

demolished. 

“As a result of the 

shanties, criminals can 

have easy access to the 

school. We must do the 

right thing. First of all, we 

are improving on the 

security network around 

the school and enhancing 

the learning environment.” 

employment opportunities 

to take Nigeria out from the 

poorest nations of the world 

in the midst of her wealth 

being mismanaged. 

He also cautioned youths 

to shun drugs and cultism, 

which he said would ruin 

them and their families. 

Owie spoke, yesterday, 

after being inducted as a 

member of the Chorister of 

St Albert's Catholic Church 

on Ugbowo campus of the 

University of Benin, Benin 

City, which is mostly 

populated by students. 

He said the government 

of the defunct Unity Party of 

Nigeria, UPN, did it in the 

then Bendel State now Edo 

and Delta states and urged 

the current government to 

make adequate provision 

for the youths of the 

country. 

He said: “I have to 

appeal to our children to 

know that the ultimate 

danger and destruction for 

cultism and drugs is that 

the life of the child will no 

longer be okay. 

"So, the best bet is that 

they shouldn’t destroy the 

life that God has given to 

them, they must avoid 

cultism, they should avoid 

drug. 

“Buhari now has the 

opportunity, the last four 

years for him to ensure that 

these stop. Nigeria is now 

rated the 92nd poorest 

nation in the world." 

prepared and delivered by 

Justice Mohammed Idris, 

the appellate court, said it 

had after “a forensic and 

microscopic examination” 

of all the affidavit evidence 

brought before it by the 

parties, concluded that the 

lower court erred. 

The appellate court held 

that as at December 17, 

2018, when Nwoko went to 

court to challenge the 

outcome of PDP’s primary 

election, his suit had 

become status barred by 

virtue of section 285(9) of 

the 4th Alteration to the 

1999 Constitution that 

prescribed 14 days for filing 

of pre-election matters. 

It held that the trial court 

had no jurisdiction to 

entertain Nwoko’s suit. 

“After a microscopic 

examination of affidavit 

evidence before this court, 

we came to the conclusion 

that the suit was clearly 

statute barred. We allow 

the appeal and set-aside 

the judgment of the trial 

court. The substantive suit 

is hereby struck out. We 

make no order as to cost,” 

Justice Mohammed held. 

Other justices that 

concurred with the lead 

judgement were Justices 

Adamu Jauro and 

Emmanuel Agim.


INAUGURATION: Gov Bagudu taking the oath of office flanked by his wives at the 

inauguration ceremony in Kebbi on Wednesday. 

Bello's administration worst in 

Kogi history — Group 

By Boluwaji 

Obahopo 

L Movement OKOJA—SALVAGE 

for a Better 

Kogi State,SMBK, has 

described the administration 

of Governor Yahaya Bello, as 

the worst in the history of the 

state. 

Spokesperson of the group, 

Hassan Isiaka in Lokoja 

yesterday, said aside 

insecurity and unpaid 

salaries, all other critical 

sectors of the state had 

crumbled under the present 

government. 

According to him,“The last 

three and half years have been 

the worst years in the history 

of Kogi State. We have never 

had it this bad. We complained 

about Prince Abubakar Audu, 

Alhaji Ibrahim Idris and 

Captain Idris Wada, but our 

current governor, Alhaji 

Yahaya Bello is out of this 

world. The damage done to all 

sectors of our economy by the 

actions and policies of the 

Yahaya Bello led 

administration will sink the 

state if urgent measures are 

not taken by patriotic citizens 

of Kogi state. 

“Kogi state is sitting on keg 

of gunpowder with large 

cache of ammunition in the 

hands of hoodlums. To avert a 

gloomy future, Kogi must elect 

an intelligent man with sound 

military background as the 

next governor of the state. His 

military experience will come 

handy in confronting the 

menace of illegal arms in the 

state. Aside insecurity, we 

need a mature, experienced, 

intelligent Governor that will 

restore the glory of the state 

that has been battered by 

Yahaya Bello.” 

Dangote Cement unveils new 

sustainability report, adopts GRI, 

NSE guidelines 

By Peter 

Egwuatu 

DANGOTE CEMENT Plc 

(DCP), the largest listed 

company on the Nigerian Stock 

Exchange (NSE) has released its 

2018 Dangote Cement 

Sustainability Report, outlining 

its sustainability initiatives, 

activities and achievements 

during the 2018 financial year.. 

The report was unveiled 

yesterday, at the maiden edition 

of ‘Facts Behind the 

Sustainability Report’(FBSR), an 

interactive forum created by the 

Exchange to further promote 

Environmental, Social and 

Governance (ESG) performance 

and reporting among listed 

companies in Nigeria, in line with 

its newly introduced NSE 

Sustainability Disclosures 

Guidelines. 

Dangote Cement Plc, Nigeria’s 

biggest indigenous company, 

aims to make the culture of 

sustainability a business 

imperative through its 7-Pillar 

approach to Sustainability, called 

“The Dangote Way”. 

With major operations in three 

locations in Nigeria and across 

14 African countries, the 

organisation is enhancing its 

positive impact on the economy, 

environment and society through 

an integrated approach that 

mainstreams sustainability across 

the entire business. This process 

includes publishing its maiden 

GRI-Standards compliant 

sustainability report. 

Speaking during the event, 

Group Managing Director, 

Dangote Cement Plc, Engr. 

Joseph Makoju said: “We have 

identified and are leveraging 

sustainability to drive regulatory 

compliance, proactive risk 

management and building trust 

and goodwill in the countries, 

markets and communities where 

we operate.” 

The Chief Executive Officer of 

the NSE, Mr. Oscar N. Onyema, 

OON, said “better ESG reporting 

is key to strengthening capital 

markets and achieving a 

sustainable global economy. The 

Exchange is strategically 

positioned to influence the 

adoption of globally recognised 

sustainability standards by 

Nigerian businesses and we 

continue to highlight the 

importance of sustainable 

business practices in delivering 

value to our listed companies and 

investing public to support 

economic growth”. 

Boko Haram has been defeated, 

'll never come back — Buratai 

By Kingsley 

Omonobi 

ABUJA—CHIEF of Army Staff, 

Lt. General Tukur Buratai, 

yesterday said the Boko Haram 

terrorist group had been defeated 

by the Nigerian military, vowing 

that the group would never return 

as Boko Haram. 

According to him,“Boko 

Haram has been defeated by 

the Nigerian Military. They 

will never come back as Boko 

Haram. What is currently 

playing out in the North East 

is the metamorphosis of 

Islamic State of West Africa 

Province, ISWAP, an attempt 

by a group of international 

criminal organizations to 

explore the loopholes created 

by the breakdown of law and 

order in some neighbouring 

countries to perpetrate 

criminality in the West African 

sub-region.”. 

The Army Chief who spoke 

when children of some schools in 

Abuja visited him to learn more 

about a book, ‘The Legend of 

Buratai’, written in his honour 

and presented to the public on 

May 17, declared that just "as 

Boko Haram group was pursued 

out of the North East, the current 

band of international criminals 

gangs operating on the guise of 

ISWAP will also be chased and 

hunted down." 

Kogi election killings: Govt, 

Police shielding arrest of 

political thugs — PDP 

•Allow Police do their job — Govt 

By Boluwaji 

Obahopo 

LOKOJA—THE Peoples 

Democratic Party, PDP, in 

Kogi State, has accused the 

state government of blocking 

the arrest of suspects 

connected with the shootings 

during the last governorship/ 

House of Assembly elections 

in Yagba West council area of 

the state. 

PDP State Publicity 

Secretary, Bode Ogunmola, 

claimed “The suspect who 

confessed that he and others 

were engaged by Yagba West 

local government, confessed 

to the fact that fire arms were 

brought from Lokoja and 

given to them by agents of the 

state government. When 

officers from SARS Abuja office 

were on their way to Yagba 

West with the suspect to 

identify the rest of the other 

culprits, they were prevented 

from fulfilling their mission, as 

government officials made 

Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, Ex-PenCom 

DG, gets Board appointment in UK 

CHINELO ANOHU-Amazu, 

former Director General of the 

National Pension Commission 

(PenCom), has been appointed on 

the board of the University of 

Edinburgh Business School, 

Scotland. 

The University said on its 

website that Anohu-Amazu was 

appointed alongside Joanne 

O’Callaghan, Vice President of 

State Street Global Services. 

“ChineloAnohu is a lawyer and 

immediate past Director General 

and CEO of the National Pension 

Commission (PenCom), Nigeria,” 

her bio on the website read. 

“She currently advises 

multilateral policy institutions as 

well as the private sector on the 

strategic deployment of finance 

for impact, and serves on the 

London Stock Exchange Africa 

Advisory Group. 

“Chinelo has already worked 

with the Business School’s 

overtures to the operatives to 

abandon their journey. Till 

date, the rest of the culprits are 

going and walking about 

freely, enjoying protection 

from the state government. 

“The PDP calls on the 

Inspector General of Police to 

be aware of the action aimed 

at preventing the arrest of 

suspects who masterminded 

the shootings during the last 

Governorship and House of 

Assembly elections; nobody 

should be above the law.” 

But the state government in 

its reaction through the 

Director General, Media and 

publicity, to the state 

government, Kingsley Fanwo, 

said “Criminal cases are 

handled by the Police and 

other Law Enforcement 

Agencies. Government doesn’t 

interfere in such issues. We 

are serious about the fight 

against criminality. This 

government will never shield 

any culprit from facing justice. 

Let the police do their job”. 

Sustainable Business Initative in 

the embedding of sustainability 

principles and practice in the 

investment of pension funds in 

Africa.” 

Commenting on the 

appointment, Wendy Loretto, 

Dean of the Business School, 

said: “Our International Advisory 

Board provides independent 

advice, ensuring we remain 

outward-looking and innovative. 

We were delighted to hear from 

Chinelo and Joanne at their 

recent first meeting of the board. 

“Our board now comprises 14 

external members, almost half of 

whom are women. We look 

forward to benefiting from their 

deep and international 

experience at senior level.” 

Anohu-Amazu’s was axed from 

PenCom leadership on April 13, 

2017 against the rules and 

regulations on her appointment. 

The former PenCom boss was 

succeeded by Aisha Dahir-Umar 

who has been at the helm of 

affairs in an acting capacity. 

The children at the interaction 

included the White Plain British 

Schools, Abuja, EFAB 

International School, Gifted 

Hunira Arcade, Command 

Children School Mogadishu, 

Command Day Secondary 

School, Lungi, and Command 

Secondary School Suleija 

(Boarding). 

Speaking on how he copes with 

pressure of office, the COAS said, 

“When I was appointed the Chief 

of Army Staff, I had the feeling 

that I will be the least controversial 

COAS. I had the feeling I will 

have excellent relationship with 

the media. This first thing I did 

was to call the then Director of 

Army Public Relations and I told 

him that henceforth, all our actions 

and activities must be reported 

and made known to the media. 

“They had a right to know. It is 

the Nigerian Army. There should 

be no gaps about information in 

our operations in the North- East 

or elsewhere. Before then, we 

used to have so many reporters 

in north east including informants 

for the terrorists who planted 

stories and breaking news some 

of which went contrary to 

happenings, with ploy to make 

troops unstable or demoralized. 

“So we started reporting events 

and occurrence about the battle, 

attacks in the north east. We were 

breaking the news ourselves but 

this time, the real actions on the 

ground, not fabrications. We 

also commenced interaction with 

stakeholders for them to see and 

know the true happenings, which 

later opened their eyes to 

appreciating what we were going 

through and the heroic efforts of 

troops. We interacted with the 

NBA, Human Rights Groups, the 

Media, and others and they now 

understand our job better. 

“I also took personal steps to 

ensure troops fitness and agility 

particularly on the battle field by 

issuing orders for officers and 

soldiers to trim down”. 

Continuing, Buratai said, “We 

also had pressures from 

International Organizations 

including Amnesty International 

who also find fault in anything 

we do. I believe they have 

hidden agenda which is best 

known to them by reporting 

falsehood against Nigerian 

military But by and large we set 

up investigation teams and found 

out the allegations they made 

were fabricated.

14 — VANGUARD, FRIDAY, MAY 31, 2019 

SPECIAL MUSLIM PRAYER FOR LATE ALHAJI KOLA ANIMASAUN 

A special Muslim prayer for veteran columnist and former Chairman, Editorial Board, Vanguard Newspaper, late Alhaji Kola Animasaun was 

held yesterday at his residence, Adegbite Close, off Lagos/Abeokuta road, Agege yesterday. PHOTOS: JOE AKINTOLA, PHOTO EDITOR. 

Alhaja Silifat Animasaun, widow, being consoled by her daughter, Seun. 

From left: Mrs. Abosede Adefaye, Mr. Gbenga Adefaye, GM/Editor in Chief, 

Vanguard Newspapers and Mr. Ajibola Animasaun, son of the deceased. 

Alhaji Jubril Abdul-Kareem, former Chairman of From left: Mr. Mutiu Ahmed, Mr. Adeboye Animasaun, 

son of the deceased and Mr. Feyi Agege Local Govt (left) and Alhaji Hakeem Awayeti. 

Fadairo, 

Relations and sympathisers at Animasaun's house. 

IST YEAR REMEMBRANCE OF LATE GBADEBOWALE ABODERIN 

First year remembrance service for Late Gbadebowale Wayne Aboderin, former Chairman of Punch Newspapers was 

held at The Trinity House, Victoria Island, Lagos yesterday. Photos: Lamidi Bamidele. 

From left; Mrs Titilayo Aboderin (widow); Nicolle, Charelle and Vanassa 

Aboderin (daughters.) 

From left; Mrs Angela Emuwa, Chairman, Punch Newspapers; Mrs Wunmi 

Obe; Mr Tunde Obe and Mrs Stella Davies. 

From left; Mrs Derin Akintola; Mrs Olubunmi 

Talabi and Dr Michael Talabi. 

Members of Dolphins Female basketball 

foundation founded by late Gbadebowale Aboderin. 

From left; Mr Olusegun Adediran, Chairman, Editorial 

Board; Mr Martin Ayankola, Editor; Mrs Folukemi 

Gbemuotor, Senior Admin Manager and Mr Ademola 

Osinubi, Managing Director, all of Punch Newspapers.


banks, public schools, 

shops and other business 

ventures in Umuahia 

opened for normal 

transactions. 

Motorists and tricycle 

operators also engaged in 

their normal daily 

operations, while 

policemen continued to 

patrol the city and its 

environs. 

VANGUARD VISITS CREDIT DIRECT: Editor, Vanguard Newspapers, Mr. Eze Anaba (5th left); MD, Credit Direct, Mr. 

Akinwande Ademosu(5th right); Executive Director, Gredit Direct Limited, Mr. Chukwuma Nwanze (3rd left); Mr. Jude Ndu (4th 

right) and others, during Vanguard's management' visit to Credit Direct in Lagos. PHOTO: Bunmi Azeez. 

Biafra Day Sit-at-Home: 

Onitsha, Aba, Nnewi shut; zero 

compliance in Awka, Asaba, Owerri 

By Chioma 

Gabriel, Emeka 

Mamah, Emma 

Amaize, Vincent 

Ujumadu, Festus 

Ahon, Dennis 

Agbo, Peter Okutu, 

Chimaobi Nwaiwu 

& Ugochukwu 

Alaribe 

THERE was a nearcomplete 

lockdown of 

the entire South-East geopolitical 

zone yesterday, 

following the sit-at-home 

order at the instance of the 

Indigenous People of 

Biafra, IPOB, which has 

described the success as a 

sign that it was in total 

control of the zone. 

Across the South-East 

and South-South, the 

group recorded total 

compliance in some major 

cities and its environs; 

partial but substantial 

compliance in some and 

failure in parts of 

Enugu,Imo and Ebonyi 

states. 

...Onitsha, Awka 

IPOB recorded total 

compliance in Onitsha and 

Nnewi in the early hours 

of yesterday, as business 

activities were shut. 

The situation was, 

however, different in the 

Anambra State capital as 

people moved about their 

businesses and the offices 

and commercial houses 

were open without 

molestation. 

Apart from police patrol 

vans that were stationed in 

strategic positions in and 

around Awka, there was 

nothing to show that there 

was any order directing 

people to sit at home. 

In Onitsha, all the 

markets, financial 

institutions, transport 

companies, schools and 

government institutions 

were closed. There was 

partial compliance in Oba, 

Nnewi, Obosi, Nkpor, 

Ogidi, Ihiala and other 

surrounding towns and 

villages. 

Also, the fact that 

yesterday was Feast of 

Ascension which Catholics 

usually observe as a day of 

obligation, made many 

people to also abstain from 

work and businesses as all 

schools and offices run by 

Catholics were not open. 

There was peaceful 

atmosphere in the state as 

security agencies, including 

the Army, Navy, Police 

Nigerian Security and Civil 

Defence Corps, NSCDC, 

were at different junctions 

to ensure there was no 

breakdown of law and 

order. 

The usual gridlock in most 

parts of Onitsha was totally 

absent and there was no 

member of IPOB sited in 

any part of the state. 

Federal Road Safety 

Corps, FRSC, officials that 

mount check points in 

various parts of the state 

were surprisingly 

absent. 

The popular Onitsha 

Main Market, Marine 

Market, Ose Okwodu 

Market and other street 

markets, as well as Nkwo 

Nnewi Market were not 

opened for business. 

Shops, including the 

popular Sir Emeka Ofor 

and other plazas known for 

selling and repairing 

telephones and its 

accessories were all closed 

for business. 

In Fegge area of Onitsha, 

roads were deserted while 

shops in buildings were all 

under lock and key. The 

popular Bridgehead 

Market that had over 25 

markets under it, including 

the Onitsha Patent 

Medicine Market, were all 

closed. 

The Ochanja Central 

Market and all the markets 

also in Fegge area of 

Onitsha were closed for 

business as youths 

engaged in all kinds of 

games including football, 

draft and other games. 

...Nnewi 

In Nnewi, the compliance 

level was 100 percent 

unlike in the past, as all the 

markets, financial 

institutions, road-side 

business activities and 

shops, including artisans 

markets, transport 

companies totally complied 

with the IPOB directive. 

Basking in the euphoria 

of the apparent success of 

the order, IPOB Media and 

Publicity Secretary, Emma 

Powerful, said: “There is 

no lingering doubt that 

IPOB is in complete charge 

of the entire Biafraland 

“The total compliance we 

have witnessed in today’s 

celebration has dispelled 

the claims that Biafrans 

cannot forge a common 

front to pursue anything 

that is important to them. 

“We are happy with the 

level of high compliance 

with the sit-at-home 

directive issued by the 

leadership of our great 

movement. 

“The early morning 

broadcast from our leader 

in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, 

at 6a.m. local time in Biafra 

set the tone for the day. 

“Indications from all 

quarters point to total 

compliance, including 

Yenagoa, Bayelsa State. 

“We expected our people 

to comply, but never did we 

anticipate this near perfect 

compliance. 

“The respect and 

humility Biafrans 

demonstrated today is an 

indication that Biafra 

restoration is the singular 

most important issue in the 

lives of our people. 

“We encourage our 

people to remain peaceful, 

steadfast and not allow 

themselves to be 

intimidated into 

disrespecting our war 

heroes, heroines and 

faithful who lost their lives 

in the course of Biafra 

agitation. 

“Today (yesterday) is a 

truly historic day, our dead 

soldiers, fathers and 

mothers; sisters and 

brothers; friends and well 

wishers who also died in 

the Biafra agitation, will be 

proud of us.” 

...Aba 

In Aba, Abia State, 

business activities were, 

yesterday, grounded. 

The gates of major 

markets in the city such as 

the Ariaria International, 

Ekeoha, Cemetery, Alaoji 

Spare Parts, Ehere, Ngwa 

Road, were open, but there 

were no traders or 

customers in sight. 

Banks, schools, as well as 

Jubilee Road Spare Parts 

Market and St. Michael’s 

Road Phone and Computer 

Accessories Market and 

shops were placed under 

lock and key. 

The roads in the city were 

deserted as people were 

seen trekking to their 

destinations with several 

teams of security agents 

patrolling the streets, while 

others were stationed at 

major junctions. 

It was observed that 

traders still stayed away 

despite the assurance of the 

Abia State Commissioner of 

Police, Mr. Ene Okon, 

threatening to arrest 

anybody found harassing 

residents or traders at any 

market. 

Police patrol vehicles 

were stationed at the major 

entrances to markets. 

According to a trader at 

the Ariaria International 

Market, Mrs Chioma 

Ogbonna, “we decided to 

close shops in compliance 

with the IPOB order. We 

identify with IPOB in 

remembering our fallen 

heroes who died that we 

may live. 

“What they are doing is 

in line with our desire to 

enjoy freedom from 

oppression.” 

...Umuahia 

Residents of Umuahia, 

however, refused to obey 

the sit-at-home order, as 

they went about their 

activities. 

Government offices, 

Partial in Enugu, 

negative in Asaba 

In Enugu, the sit-at-home 

order recorded substantial 

compliance as some 

complied with the directive, 

while others went on with 

their normal daily activities. 

In the early hours of the 

day, some traders in most 

markets in Timber market 

Abakpa, Abakpa market, 

Ogbete Main Market at 

Ogui, New market in 

Enugu, among other 

markets did not open for 

business. 

By afternoon, business 

activities began to creep in 

and some who had stayed 

away from their business 

premises opened. The civil 

servants went to work but 

the streets were not their 

normal bustle of activities. 

There were no military or 

police patrols, just like there 

were no reports of 

molestation of any Biafran 

activist, even when a 

coalition of pro-Biafra 

groups marked the day 

with a lecture on the 52nd 

anniversary of Biafra. 

In Imo and Ebonyi states, 

the sit-at-home was not 

obeyed, just as the leader 

of MASSOB, Uchenna 

Madu said that Owerri 

people celebrated it their 

own way. 

Residents of Asaba, Delta 

State capital, yesterday 

defied the order and went 

about their normal 

business. 

Being major gateway to 

the eastern of the country, 

Asaba is believed to be one 

of IPOB's strongholds. 

However, civil servants, 

traders, schools and 

corporate organisations 

ignored the order as 

people went about their 

daily routine.


WORKSHOP: From left— Samuel Ayuba, Ogun State Coordinator 1, Standards Organisation of 

Nigeria, SON; Mrs. Oby Egbuciem, State Coordinator, Lagos 11; Adeoye Onipede, State Coordinator, 

Ogun 11, Sagamu; Mrs Tosan Akin-Akosile, Regional Coordinator, South-West, representing DG, 

SON and Olelekan Omoniyi, State Coordinator, Kogi, during SON Lagos sectorial workshop on 

SON calibration services in Lagos. 

Edo ADC House of Reps candidate defects 

to APC, backs Obaseki 

By Alemma Aliu 

BENIN CITY—IT 

was a bumper 

harvest for Edo 

State All Progressives 

Congress (APC) as 

African Democratic 

Congress, ADC, House 

of Representatives 

candidate in the 2019 

general elections, Hon. 

Omo-Efosa Osagie with 

thousands of his 

supporters defected to 

the APC and pledged 

support for Edo State 

governor, Godwin 

Obaseki, citing good 

governance. 

At a rally in Oredo 

Ward 12, he said his 

reason is to compliment 

ongoing developments 

in the State, adding that 

"we do not want to be 

left behind in the 

economic reforms. 

According to him, 

"everyone can see the 

good work the Governor 

is doing in the State. He 

is the man God sent to 

deliver Edo State from 

the hands of bad leaders. 

Without sentiments, the 

Governor is doing the 

right thing. 

"As a former member 

of the Action Democratic 

Congress, it is very 

simple and clear, not just 

me, but all of us here 

because I cannot take 

any step without the 

consent of my members. 

"It is because of the 

good work the Governor 

is doing, that is why we 

are joining the APC. 

"We have seen that it 

is very important to 

come and support and 

throw our weight behind 

him; Because when you 

see a man that is doing 

the right thing, you must 

quickly take a step and 

support that person so 

that he will be 

encouraged. Edo state 

has always been a 

progressive state and 

always showed example 

for other states in the 

south-south to follow 

from the days of our 

great leader, Dr Samuel 

Ogbemudia to Professor 

Ambrose Alli and 

Comrade Adams 

Oshiomhole, we have 

been moving on and now 

Obaseki, the wake and 

see governor has come 

with a completely new 

approach as seen in all 

strata; infrastructure, 

education, job creation, 

capacity building and 

others. That is the kind 

of person everybody in 

Edo state must join to 

take Edo state to the 

next level". 

The leader of Oredo 

Ward 12, Mr. Edo 

Ewansiha, presented the 

defectors with brooms 

which is the symbol of 

APC. 

JPMorgan’s deposit growth slowing 

as customers seek higher yield 

Deposit growth at JPMorgan Chase & Co, the 

largest US bank by assets, is slowing as customers withdraw 

some of their money and stash it with competing banks that pay higher 

interest rates, a bank executive said yesterday. 

Most big U.S. banks have been slow to raise the interest rates they pay 

customers on their savings and deposits, despite the US Federal Reserve 

setting current rates at between 2.25 percent and 2.5percent. 

This has left an opening for some smaller and online-only banks that are 

trying to capitalize on customer frustration by offering savings accounts 

and other products that pay between 2 percent and 2.45 percent interest. 

Gordon Smith, co-president and chief operating officer for JPMorgan 

Chase, said that though customers are taking out money, and this is contributing 

to slowing in the bank’s deposit growth, most of those customers 

still keep Chase as their main bank. 

US economy accelerates in Q1, but 

momentum slowing 

United States (US) economic growth acceler 

ated in the first quarter, but inflation pressures were much 

weaker than initially thought, supporting a recent decision by the 

Federal Reserve to suspend further rate increases. 

There are also signs that the export- and inventory-driven momentum 

faded early in the second quarter. Manufacturing, retail 

sales, housing and exports dropped in April. 

The U.S. central bank early this year suspended its three-year 

monetary policy tightening campaign, dropping forecasts for any 

interest rate increases this year. The Fed raised borrowing costs 

four times in 2018. 

Gross domestic product increased at a 3.1 percent annualized rate, 

the government said in its second reading of first-quarter GDP on 

Thursday. That was slightly down from the 3.2 percent pace estimated 

last month. The economy grew at a 2.2 percent pace in the 

October-December period. 

A gauge of inflation tracked by the Fed increased at a 1.0 percent 

rate last quarter, instead of the previously reported 1.3 percent 

pace. Fed policymakers are likely to shrug off the last quarter’s 

growth spurt and focus on the weak domestic demand and inflation 

when they meet next month. 

Tesla woes send Panasonic’s 

U.S. solar cells to Philippines 

M 

ost of the solar cells made by Panasonic at Tesla 

Inc’s New York manufacturing plant are being purchased 

by H.R.D. Singapore’s factories in the Philippines, a chief supplier 

of panels to Japanese eco-homebuilder Ichijo Co Limited, sources 

familiar with the arrangement have said. 

Reuters reported that Panasonic planned to ship most cells from 

the plant overseas, instead of selling them to Tesla for its trademark 

Solar Roof as initially intended, because of low demand from Tesla 

and a trade loophole that had fired up new foreign interest. That 

loophole allows companies outside the United States to ship solar 

panels into America duty-free provided the panels are made with 

US built cells. 

Until now, the identity of the buyer of the Panasonic cells, which 

Panasonic is producing at the Tesla facility under an agreement struck 

in 2016, has not been published. 

Wall St pauses after trade tension-driven 

selloff 

US stocks rose for the first time yesterday, as 

President Donald Trump said trade talks with China 

were going well, offering a glimmer of hope to markets roiled 

by worries that a protracted dispute would slow economic 

growth. 

A senior Chinese diplomat said provoking trade disputes is 

“naked economic terrorism”, even as Trump said Beijing 

wanted to make a deal with Washington. 

The escalating dispute has weighed heavily on Wall Street 

this month, putting its main indexes on track for losses of 

more than 5 percent in May. The benchmark S&P 500 is now 

5.9% away from its all-time high of 2,954.13 hit on May 1. 

“The positivity in markets was very muted yesterday, there 

are fractional gains,” said Peter Kenny, founder of Kenny’s 

Commentary LLC in New York. 

Sories credited to Reuters


NIGEL Linacre is an old 

friend of mine and a UKbased 

Brit who has done 

valuable charity work in East 

Africa. I think his micro 

development model can be 

copied in Nigeria and hope 

Vanguard readers find his 

story as inspiring as I do. 

WHAT if there was a lowcost 

practical way to 

make a difference to a million 

Nigerians? 

WellBoring is an NGO 

bringing clean water to 100 

schools in Africa, with an 

average school and 

community population of 

1,000, transforming the lives 

of some 100,000 people, as a 

first step to getting clean water 

to a million people. If it can 

be done in Kenya where most 

of the work has been done, it 

can be done in Nigeria. 

How did it begin? I got the 

idea of taking British-based 

executives to work in resource 

poor Kenyan schools where 

we challenged the executives 

to use their skills to make a 

difference. 

Water 

problem 

Two senior engineers came 

on the Leadership Journey 

and said they could sort the 

water problem at a school. The 

head of the school said a 

borehole would provide the 

solution. 

How would that work, I 

asked? With enough rain 

falling from the sky, much of 

it seeping into the ground, 

there would likely be plenty 

of water underground in 

aquifers, layers of permeable 

rock which contain 

groundwater. We could get a 

small hole drilled deep into the 

ground, fit a tube and a pump, 

and the school would have 

water. 

We went back to the UK and 

decided to form a charity, a 

kind of NGO. I asked my son 

•Pupils fetching water from the WellBoring pump at a school in Kenya 

A life-changing WellBoring tale 

what we should call it and he 

said “WellBoring Dad”. Well, 

we called it WellBoring, which 

is slang for very dull! We gave 

our time to the charity and 

asked our friends to contribute 

cash. Working with a local 

driller, the first project was 

ready. After surveying the 

ground and drilling for a few 

days, several hundred 

children had clean water. 

That felt great but could we 

repeat it? We decided to keep 

a focus on rural primary 

schools, since children suffer 

most from water-borne 

diseases, and we felt an 

institution had to be 

responsible for each well. 

There are thousands of such 

schools where schoolchildren 

are currently walking to rivers 

to get polluted river water. 

We went slowly, taking 

months to complete early 

projects, as we figured how to 

do this well. We wanted school 

communities to contribute 

what they could, providing 

basic materials to support the 

drilling process, so that they 

would feel a sense of 

ownership and responsibility. 

With half a dozen projects 

completed, we were going 

well, and we surveyed the 

scale of the challenge. 

Millions of Kenyans lack 

access to clean water. How 

would we get scale? 

In my profession, I coach 

senior executives and run 

leadership courses. I know 

you have to have a clear goal 

before you know how you will 

get there. The what comes 

before the how! Getting water 

to 100 schools felt like a great 

goal, and we are now most of 

the way there. Next, we had 

to make the technology 

simple, with virtually no 

running costs. Handpumps 

We’re also happy 

to coach people 

who want to do 

what we have done 

in a country like 

Nigeria; together 

we can change the 

world 

could provide the solution. We 

raised funds and rolled out. 

Within the schools, water is 

used to drink, for 

handwashing, and for 

cleaning classroom floors, 

reducing sickness and 

disease. In some schools it’s 

used to cook. Water is 

variously shared with the 

community for drinking 

purposes and even for 

washing clothes, multiplying 

the impact. We work with 

school’s health teachers via 

workshops. We monitor use of 

water and the running of the 

pump. We revisit for simple 

maintenance purposes. 

What’s the impact? Nonattendance 

at schools falls 

dramatically. From over 20 per 

cent to a few percent. That 

means an extra 100 children 

at a typical school. Across 100 

schools that’s 10,000 more 

children at school today and 

every school day. And when 

they do go to school, they 

don’t have to leave to fetch 

water. Academic results 

improve. Schools start to 

develop kitchen garden for 

school lunches. The benefits 

are immense and measurable. 

Rainwater 

harvesting 

WellBoring works mostly in 

areas where plenty of water 

can be found somewhere 

between 100 and 250 feet (30 

and 80 metres). Less than that 

and there’s a risk of surface 

contamination. Deeper than 

that, and the free-to-run 

handpumps we usually fit 

won’t work. Occasionally, 

where it is hard to drill, we fit 

rainwater harvesting 

solutions, but they need huge 

capacities to provide constant 

availability. 

Do WellBoring’s wells keep 

working? We encourage school 

leaders to get in touch 

whenever there is any 

problem. We revisit the 

schools. On our most recent 

survey, 100 per cent of all the 

wells are working. There will 

be occasional downtime but 

we are staying in the picture 

to deliver a low-cost durable 

solution. 

Most of these wells cost 

around $6,000, and transform 

over 600 lives at less than $10 

a life, including training and 

maintenance. The individual 

cost will vary depending on 

the depth at which water is 

found. 

We’ve found that people are 

willing to give to WellBoring, 

because we are delivering 

results, and because the UK- 

Europe team give our time, so 

we don’t have overheads, and 

almost every pound given is 

spent in-country where it 

makes the biggest difference. 

While most of WellBoring’s 

first 100 schools are in Kenya 

we have started into Uganda, 

where similar problems 

persist, and intend to make a 

bigger difference in more 

countries. We want to work 

with governments, institutions 

and communities. We’re also 

happy to coach people who 

want to do what we have done 

in a country like Nigeria. 

Together we can change the 

world. 

Nigel Linacre, Chair, 

W e l l B o r i n g . 

www.Wellboring.org 

Responses 

To 

Donzol2002@Yahoo.co.uk Or 

To 0802 747 6458 Or 0811 675 

9752. Please kindly note that 

unless you specifically request 

anonymity, your email or text 

message may be published 

with your name and contact 

details attached.

18 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, MAY 31, 2019 

AS President Muhammadu Buhari 

and the various elected or re-elected 

governors of 29 states begin their 

tenures of office, we wish to put on 

their tables the most pressing issues 

they should give utmost priority to 

pull Nigeria back from increasing 

cases of insecurity, economic 

doldrums and other social problems 

plaguing the country. 

Federal Character principle in the 

In 2015, Buhari correctly surmised 

distribution of public offices to 

the pressing needs of the nation prevent sectional domination argued 

which he made his priority: the that it would give all Nigerians a 

Economy, Security and Antisense 

of belonging and promote 

Corruption. Four years after, the list collective patriotism. 

has lengthened somewhat. A fourth Once Nigerians get the sense that 

item - Equity - has not only crept into 

the President has abandoned his 

the list but also demands to be “97%/5%” lopsided approach to 

accorded the number one priority. appointments to top Federal 

Happily, of these four items, Equity 

Government posts, it will bring more 

can quickly be attained, with the hands on deck to solve the economic, 

appropriate political will, at the security and anti-corruption 

outset and sustained throughout the 

challenges of the country. 

tenure. The visionary authors of our The obvious case in the last four 

1999 Constitution, who strongly years of people from only a section 

espoused firm adherence to the 

of the country sitting around the table 

Agenda for Buhari’s second term 

to agonise over our security 

challenges never produced any useful 

results. Instead, insecurity morphed 

in size and number. From Boko 

Haram insurgency in the North East, 

the lingering armed herdsmen attacks 

have almost gone out of control, 

while a new monster - the North West 

“bandits” - is now even knocking on 

the door of the President’s hometown, 

Daura. 

Let President Buhari borrow a leaf 

from former President Olusegun 

Obasanjo who, on assuming office 

for his second term in 2003, realised 

the need to widen the scope and 

quality of human resources for his 

government. He brought in 

specialists without considering 

political party affiliations, and was 

able to create a booming, middle 

class-friendly economy after getting 

Nigeria out of the Paris Club debt 

which this regime continues to 

benefit from till date. 

The President requires a total rejig 

of strategy and vision to save Nigeria. 

The continued attachment to blame 

game will never help us. The greater 

challenge lies in internal soul 

searching, house cleaning and 

correction of past blunders by this 

government. 

The Governors, in addition to 

sorting out the financial mess of their 

predecessors, have a duty to explore 

new ideas in revenue generation, 

frugal management of scare resources 

and the push for state police to secure 

our communities from armed evil 

men lurking in the forests. 

This is an opportunity for a new 

beginning. 

OPINION 

Increasing suicide rate: Which way out? 

By Oluwafunmilayo Olowa 

IT would be imperative to begin this piece 

with the definition of health. World Health 

Organisation, WHO, succinctly defined it as: 

“A state of complete physical, mental and social 

well-being, and not merely the absence of 

disease or infirmity.” Unfortunately, in today’s 

increasingly demanding and competitive 

world, mental and social well-being aspects of 

health have been neglected to the peril of the 

individual and society. British criminal 

psychologist, David Farrington, captured this 

insidious neglect as thus: “Problem children 

tend to grow up into problem adults and 

problem adults tend to produce more problem 

children.” 

Suicide, a global health challenge, is one of 

the major devastating and re-occurring 

manifestations of Nigeria’s deteriorating 

public mental health. It is the act of killing 

oneself. It is most often as a result of mental 

illness, with depression being one of such 

illnesses. Other mental illnesses that are 

strongly associated with suicide include 

substance use disorder and psychotic illnesses. 

Eating, personality, trauma-related and 

anxiety disorders are mental illnesses that 

could also lead to suicide. 

However, suicide is not always due to mental 

illness. Sometimes, it happens impulsively in 

moments of crisis. Such crisis include the 

inability to deal with life stresses, such as 

financial problems, broken relationships, 

chronic pains or illness, among others. Suicide 

may also be a means of ‘crying for help’. In 

some cases, persons who died through suicide 

did not know the act would kill them. They 

made wrong judgements in an attempt to cry 

for help and that eventually took their life. In 

short, suicide could be regarded as a failed 

coping mechanism. 

Globally, close to 800,000 people die every 

year due to suicide. Yet, there are many more 

people who attempt it on a daily basis. In 2016, 

according to WHO, it was the second leading 

cause of death among 15 to 29-year-olds in 

the world. Every suicide is a tragedy that affects 

families and societies, and it has long-lasting 

effects on a people. These nuggets would help 

us understand that many people commit 

suicide not because they are weak, but because 

they are sick. They are in a disturbed state of 

mind and their minds keep telling them it is 

the right thing to do. Many who commit 

suicide struggle a lot to silence this internal 

voice that keeps telling them the only option is 

to take their own life. They are not cowards. 

They are people struggling, in silence, with 

mental illness for a long time without help. 

Suicide has become rampant in the country 

that it makes headlines in print and virtual 

media. A report in the Vanguard by Esther 

Onyegbula, titled ‘Revealing Notes of Suicide 

Victims’, informed that: “Some years back, 

Nigerians were referred to as the happiest 

people on earth. Unfortunately today, that has 

become history as a lot of people slide into 

depression and become suicidal.” In 2018, 

Spectator Index published a WHO report that 

stated that Nigeria has 15 per cent suicide rate 

per 100,000 people, making it the fifth highest 

suicide rate in the world after South Korea (24 

per cent), Russia (18 per cent), India (16 per 

cent) and Japan (15.4 per cent). 

At this juncture, a few of the recent Nigerian 

suicide news would suffice in this rendition. 

Segun, in Ogun, killed himself because he 

scored low JAMB; Aisha Omolola, a 300-level 

student of Ahmadu Bello University, drank 

Sniper and died; Jesutosin Adeniyi’s lifeless 

body was found dangling from a tree in Lagos; 

Allwell Orji, a medical doctor, jumped into 

Lagos lagoon; Chukwuemeka Akachi, a firstclass, 

final-year English student of the 

University of Nigeria, drink Sniper and died… 

and the morbid list continues. In these cases, 

hanging, drinking of insecticide (example, 

Sniper) and drowning are the commonest ways 

of taking one’s own life. Other methods include 

firearms or medication overdose. 

These saddening suicide stories and 

increasing mental illnesses in Nigeria, begs a 

pressing national question: Which way out? 

The need to curtail this wildfire called suicide 

cannot be overemphasised. First of all, the 

individual and the society should acknowledge 

that mental health is an integral part of their 

lives. It is unfortunate that people concentrate 

more on their physical health, while their 

mental health dilapidates. 

Many Nigerians do not know what mental 

health is all about or do not take it seriously. 

How could people access treatment for mental 

illness when they are not aware of what it is? 

To reduce incidents of 

suicide, government should 

employ enough psychiatrists 

and clinical psychologists in 

hospitals, prisons and school 

clinics 

There are people who are suffering in silence, 

or who link their mental-illness symptoms to 

spiritual attacks or who assume their loved 

ones do not care about them. German-born 

United States physician and author, Martin 

H. Fischer, encapsulated this when he said: “If 

you are physically sick, you can elicit the 

interest of a battery of physicians; but if you 

are mentally sick, you are lucky if the janitor 

comes around.” Nigerian hospitals, prisons 

and government are not helping matter as well. 

This is reflected in a recent Punch front-page 

headline titled, ‘Rising Suicide Crisis: How 

250 Psychiatrists Battle Nigeria’s 60 Million 

Mental Cases.’ 

Mental-health awareness is not dependent 

on whether one is educated or not. There are 

incidents of unawareness among welleducated 

people. A prior suicide attempt is a 

very important risk factor. There should also 

be government and organisational policies to 

reduce the use or abuse of psychoactive drugs. 

Follow-up care for people who have attempted 

suicide and provision of community support 

is very important. 

To reduce incidents of suicide, the 

government should employ enough 

psychiatrists and clinical psychologists in 

hospitals, prisons and school clinics. People 

should be mentally aware of their health and 

avoid the stigmatisation of people with mental 

illness. People should know that depression is 

not a sign of weakness. Rather, it is a sickness, 

which is manageable and treatable with 

professional help. People should understand 

that anyone, at any time, could develop mental 

illness like someone could develop physical 

illness. 

Furthermore, a review of Nigerian education 

system is crucial. Students study in unhealthy 

and stressful conditions. High expectations 

and impossible workload - imagine a junior 

secondary school student taking 17 subjects in 

a term or a university student offering 

compulsory courses that are not related to his/ 

her discipline - are doing more harm than 

good. Hormonal changes, poor educational 

environment, poverty, inadequate social 

support, marital instability, violence, abuse, 

loss or sense of isolation could trigger mental 

illnesses, which could lead to suicide. 

Attention should be paid to early signs of 

mental illness in people around us. It would be 

important to conclude this reflection with an 

advice: Be your brother’s keeper. Screening 

for mental illness could be introduced as part 

of routine screening in hospitals and as part of 

health fitness exercises done when people gain 

admission into schools or into the National 

Youth Service Corps, NYSC, scheme or when 

recruited for jobs. 

•Olowa is a clinical psychologist with the 

University College Hospital, Ibadan

Finance Minister has no power to suspend 

SEC DG – Industrial Court 

•Reinstates Gwarzo as DG 

By Nkiruka Nnorom 

The National Industrial 

Court, yesterday in Abuja, 

ordered the immediate 

reinstatement of Mounir 

Gwarzo, the suspended 

Director-General of the 

Securities and Exchange 

Commission (SEC), back to his 

position. 

Justice Sanusi Kado, in his 

judgment, held that the 

Minister of Finance, named 

as second defendant in the 

suit, lacked the power to 

suspend the claimant. SEC is 

one of the government agencies 

under the ministry of finance. 

Kado further held that the 

issue in dispute was not about 

the position of the claimant 

(Gwarzo) as the DG of the 

Commission, but who has the 

power to suspend him. 

He said that the Minister, in 

the absence of the board, only 

had supervisory power, which 

does not include disciplinary 

power to suspend the DG. 

Kado held that it was only the 

Permanent Secretary in the of 

Ministry of Finance, on the 

directive of the president, who 

had the power of suspension. 

He stated, “the minister’s 

role was that of 

recommendation.” 

Kado, in addition, said the 

Administrative Panel of Inquiry 

that indicted the claimant was 

not a court of law neither was 

it a quasi-judicial body, but just 

a body set up for a fact finding 

duty. 

He therefore declared that 

the suspension of the claimant 

was null, void and of no effect. 

Kado also declared that the 

recommendation of the 

Administrative Panel of Inquiry 

set up by the second 

defendant, be set aside. 

The judge then ordered the 

reinstatement of the claimant 

as the DG of SEC to complete 

his five year tenure. 

CURRENCY BUYING SELLING 

US DOLLAR 

POUNDS 

EURO 

FRANC 

YEN 

CFA 

WAUA 

RENMINBI 

RIYAL 

SDR 

DANISH 

RAND 

$102.35 2.85 

2,437.00 -1.00 

$11.76 -0.11 

$67.36 -2.09 

$57.55 -1.26 

305.95 306.45 306.95 

386.4454 387.077 387.7085 

340.8589 341.4159 341.973 

303.5218 304.0179 304.5139 

2.7892 2.7938 2.7983 

0.5012 0.5112 0.5212 

421.001 421.689 422.377 

44.2903 44.3631 44.4359 

81.5823 81.7156 81.849 

421.6909 422.38 423.0692 

45.624 45.6986 45.7731 

. 20.8875 20.9217 20.9558 

CBN Exchange rate as at 30/05/2019 

He further ordered that the 

claimant’s salaries, allowances 

and entitlements accrued be 

paid to him in full. 

Mrs Kemi Adeosun, the 

By Sebastine Obasi, with 

agency report 

Nigeria is expected to cut 

the level of sulphur 

allowed in imported fuels this 

year, but the cap is still 10 

times above what health 

campaigners urge, oil trade 

sources said yesterday. 

In oil-for-product exchange 

contracts, Nigerian National 

Petroleum Corporation, 

NNPC, has asked for diesel 

former Finance Minister, on 

Nov. 29, 2017, suspended 

Gwarzo and set up an 

administrative panel of 

inquiry to investigate 

allegations of financial 


impropriety levelled against 

him. 

The ex-minister said Gwarzo 

was suspended from office to 

allow for an unhindered 

investigation. Gwarzo however, 

in June, 2018 approached the 

court to challenge his 

suspension. 

From left: Mr. Abiodun AmokomowoManaging Director, Ibile Holdings Limited, Mrs. 

Olayinka Oladunjoye; Commissioner for Commerce Industry and Cooperatives 

(Representative of Lagos State Governor), Arch. Jacob Olufemi Williams, Managing Director; 

Willao Nigeria Limited at the commissioning of The Campbell Centre in Lagos. 

Nigeria cuts fuel sulphur cap, but still 

above target 

and gasoline at a maximum of 

500 parts per million, 

ppm, sulphur, the trade 

sources said. 

NNPC had in 2018 

outlined a plan to 

gradually cut the 

allowed sulphur to 50 

ppm for diesel and 150 

ppm for gasoline by the 

end of 2019, from 3,000 

ppm and 1,500 ppm, 

respectively. 

About 40 companies 

have been shortlisted 

for the contracts, known 

as direct sale, direct 

purchase (DSDP) and 

have until the end of 

yesterday (Thursday) 

to submit their pricing 

to supply the fuels, the 

trade sources said. The 

contracts are expected 

to begin in late August 

or September. 

Nigeria depends 

almost entirely on 

imported fuels due to 

limited and poorly 

maintained refineries. 

The country also caps prices 

for gasoline, which means the 

government would pay 

directly if it mandates higherquality 

fuel. The United 

Nations Environment 

Programme, UNEP and 

health campaigners have 

pressed West African nations 

to ban fuels above 50 ppm due 

to evidence of significant 

health problems associated 

with the emissions. The health 

impacts are particularly acute 

in dense urban areas such as 

Lagos. 

Experts said the new limits 

would change little, as few 

global refineries produce 

gasoline or diesel above 500 

African trade pact takes off without Nigeria 

By Yinka Kolawole, agency 

report 

The African Continental 

Free Trade Area 

(AfCFTA) agreement came 

into effect yesterday, without 

Nigeria, Africa’s largest 

economy, following 

ratification of the deal by the 

required 22 countries a month 

ago. 

The trade pact will 

potentially cover a market of 

1.2 billion people, with a 

combined gross domestic 

product of $2.5 trillion, once 

passed by all 55 nations 

recognized as part of the 

African Union (AU), to 

become world’s largest free 

trade zone. 

Recall that the minimum 

threshold of ratifications by 22 

ppm. “Given the relatively low 

sulphur content of gasoline 

currently imported, the new 

sulphur limit will not have a 

marked effect either on quality 

or price,” said Jeremy Parker, 

Head of business development 

with Africa-focused 

downstream energy 

consultancy, Citac. 

Meanwhile, the Senate has 

approved $422 million payment 

to cover debts to petroleum 

marketers for the fuel subsidy 

programme. The government 

has struggled for years to make 

timely subsidy payments to fuel 

importers. The more limited 

cash flow during the oil price 

crash exacerbated the issue. 

African countries was achieved 

on April 29, 2019, when Sierra 

Leone and Saharawi Republic 

signed up to the deal, with the 

agreement taking effect a 

month later on May 30, 2019. 

All that is now left is for AU 

and African Ministers of Trade 

to finalize work on supporting 

instruments to facilitate the 

launch of the operational phase 

of the AfCFTA during an Extra- 

Ordinary heads of state and 

government summit on 7th 

July 2019. 

Jakkie Cilliers, Head of 

African Futures and 

Innovation at the South Africabased 

Institute for Security 

Studies, said AfCFTA would 

help the continent move away 

from mainly exporting 

commodities to build 

manufacturing capacity and 

Unity Bank 

rolls out 

financial 

literacy for 

children 

By Cynthia Alo 

In line with the financial 

literacy initiatives of the 

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), 

Unity Bank has hosted a spelling 

BEE Competition to Mark 

Children’s Day for secondary 

school students. 

The competition was held 

simultaneously in Lagos, Abuja 

and Port Harcourt to promote 

youth engagement, create shared 

value and drive sustainable 

development initiatives. 

Over the years, the Bank has 

consistently provided financial 

literacy programs to schools, but 

this initiative is even more 

important today as the CBN and 

other stakeholders have worked 

out framework for inclusion of 

financial literacy into secondary 

schools’ education curriculum. 

Commenting on the Children’s 

Day event, the Group Head, 

Retail& SME, Unity Bank Plc, 

Olufunwa Akinmade, stated that 

“as a financial institution, it is 

important to positively reflect on 

the survival of the Nigerian Child 

from infantile helplessness to 

independent adulthood. 

He added that “the Spelling 

BEE Competition was 

conceptualized as an 

engagement platform to mentor 

the students for leadership, 

business and professional 

responsibility in an atmosphere 

of fun, excitement and 

relaxation”. 

According to him, the ultimate 

goal has always been to provide 

students with tools that would 

enable them become more 

conversant with financial 

services, savings culture and 

financial management, adding 

that, the program is designed to 

effectively stimulate the students 

with quality entertainment. 

The bank is holding the 

Spelling BEE competition to 

connect effectively with the 

aspiration of the Nigerian Child. 

In this instance, Unity Bank is 

demonstrating its keen interest in 

the Nigerian children as much as 

it is driving the importance of 

education as a vehicle to 

empower every child to achieve 

their dreams and aspirations for 

the future. 

industrialize. 

Though Nigeria has not 

signed up yet, President 

Muhammadu Buhari is still 

reviewing an impactassessment 

report on the 

deal. 

Nigeria is one of three 

countries, including Benin 

and Eritrea that has not 

signed the deal, while 22 

nations, including South 

Africa, have ratified the text, 

the next step after signing. 

Trade between African 

countries is at 15%, compared 

with 20% in Latin America and 

58% in Asia, according to 

African Export-Import Bank 

(Afreximbank). This could 

increase by 52% by 2022 and 

can more than double within 

the first decade after 

implementing the deal, the 

bank said in a report last year.




By Olayinka Ajayi 

20 years of democracy, what do 

you think needs to be changed? 

To improve our democracy, we 

should continue to honour those 

who possess or possessed strong 

democratic ideals. I was delighted 

to hear that the Federal Government 

on June 10 would be 

putting my mother in the 

Nigerian Hall of Fame as the 

Heroine of Nigeria’s Democracy. 

Such actions will go a long 

way in strengthening our democracy 

and will let Nigerians realise 

that behind every heroic act 

lies a reward that will surely 

come even if it comes after your 

demise. 

How would you describe the 

fight for June 12? 

The fight for June 12 was vicious 

in an unprecedented way. 

It was unexpected but what made 

matters worse was not just the callous 

way that both my parents were 

killed during their democratic 

struggle but the betrayals they 

suffered before and after their demise. 

The second part of the battle 

was to ensure that they were 

officially recognized. To this end, 

I wrote two books entitled: “The 

President Who Never Ruled” and 

“The Stolen Presidency” while my 

sister Hafsat Abiola set up the 

Kudirat Initiative for Democracy 

in order to promote democracy 

through the ideals my mother 

stood for. 

So is this the picture of democratic 

culture your parent sacrificed 

their lives for? 

This is the picture of the democracy 

that my parents sacrificed 

their lives for because there is now 

a division of power between the 

judiciary, the legislative and executive 

parts of government. This 

division did not exist with the 

democratic dispensation that came 

into power in 1999. Then there was 

constant interference in the affairs 

of state governors whom in some 

cases were illegally removed from 

office by the then president. Even 

allocations were withheld then. 

From your estimation, do you 

think this administration has been 

able to address the lingering issue 

of job lost, high level of poverty 

and economic degradation? 

Addressing multiple problems 

that emerged over a long period 

of time cannot take place overnight. 

This administration has surpassed 

my expectations because 

I know the decadent state of the 

Nigeria that it inherited. The 

country had collapsed and the 

possibility of a revival, in the short 

or long run, was well below average. 

Despite these challenges and 

much lower than expected crude 

oil revenues, the President Muhammadu 

Buhari government 

was still able to provide bailouts 

to state governments and tackle 

poverty ferociously via schemes 

like N-Power where currently over 

half a million youths are employed 

from each local government not 

as labourers but as agricultural 

consultants, teachers and health 

personnel. The government is also 

tackling job losses by rolling out 

the most ambitious infrastructural 

development program in Nigeria’s 

history, focusing on railway 

systems and road networks which 

will further boost trade and transportation. 

What is your take on the state 

of insecurity that was described 

as a plan to Fulanise Nigeria 

Jamiu Abiola 

Fulanisation of Nigeria, 

product of Obasanjo’s 

failed policies 

— JAMIU ABIOLA 

*Some of Buhari’s critics are mere alarmist 

struggling to remain relevant 

ALHAJI Jamiu Abiola is the son of the June 12, 1993 presidential 

election winner, late Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale 

and Kudirat Abiola. Jamiu is the Author of four books: ‘Realistic 

Hopes, The Prisoner of Conscience, The President who never Ruled 

and The Stolen Presidency. In this interview, the multi-lingual 

Shettima Rasheed of Borno bared his mind on Nigeria’s 20 years 

of democracy and the recognition of June 12 as the nation’s democracy 

day among other issues. 

by former President Olusegun 

Obasanjo? 

The state of insecurity, dubbed by 

the former president as a plan to 

fulanise Nigeria, is actually a creation 

of the failed policies of his administration 

and those of some 

leaders before him. We must always 

remember that persistent corruption 

is what has created the 

poverty that has made Nigeria a 

haven for militants. The Obasanjo 

administration, exporting crude at 

the cost of over 100 dollars following 

the Iraq war, failed to fulfill its 

promise to diversify the Nigerian 

economy. This would have provided 

jobs for the youths that have 

now embraced militancy. In those 

days that administration spoke of 

It is only through patriotism 

that leaders can 

make any desirable impact; 

President Buhari 

has demonstrated such 

rare patriotism by not 

only contesting for elections 

over and over 

again but by also never 

for once deciding to take 

the law into his own 

hands 

cassava and bitumen as products 

to supplement oil but none of 

these plans ever saw the light of 

day. President Buhari thus inherited 

a looted and battered 

economy that is still dependent on 

oil as a single largest source of income. 

This reality is the genesis 

of the current insurgency but with 

the social schemes and military 

plans in place the current government 

will soon defeat the insurgency. 

Do you agree with critics that 

President Buhari under-performed 

in his first tenure? 

Critics stating that President Buhari 

has under-performed are doing 

so because they have failed to 

properly assess the state of the nation 

as of May 28, 2015. To me, some 

of them are mere alarmists who, in 

a desperate bid to remain relevant, 

have resorted to painting bogus 

doomsday scenarios existing only 

within the figment of their imaginations. 

Do you know, for example, 

that according to UN figures, there 

were around 3m rifles in Nigeria in 

the possession of non-state individuals 

at the time this administration 

came into power and that those 

weapons, in many cases, were even 

more sophisticated than the arms 

in the army’s possession? Without 

security there can be no development 

so the government had to deploy 

very scarce resources to equip 

our armed forces whose weapons 

had become obsolete. This was at a 

time that the Avengers caused a 

sharp drop in oil exports and, as a 

result, oil revenue. As this was ongoing, 

more capital was miraculously 

sourced and eventually used to 

bail out collapsing state governments 

and to provide badly needed 

infrastructure to a very rapidly 

rising population. Looking at these 

facts, and many others, it would be 

foolhardy for anyone to suggest that 

the Buhari/Osinbajo administration 

has underperformed. 

What are your expectations of 

President Buhari in his second term? 

I expect President Buhari to keep 

honouring his promises to Nigerians 

because he is one of the few African 

leaders known to never break his 

promises. In line with his declaration 

of June 12 as Democracy Day, I 

also expect him to continue abiding 

by the principles of June 12 as he 

has done in his first administration, 

particularly as regards his resolve to 

crush poverty since my father’s campaign 

was entitled “Farewell to Poverty”. 

Already, this administration is 

feeding almost 10million pupils daily, 

transferring cash to the poorest 

households and providing loans to 

the poorest traders. I hope to see 

more of that in this next tenure. I also 

hope to continue to see a cordial 

working relationship between President 

Muhammadu Buhari and Vicepresident 

Yemi Osinbajo because the 

vice-president has not only played a 

critical role in this administration’s 

accomplishments but over a span of 

decades he has proven himself to be 

a man of sound integrity and competence 

just like the president. 

What do you think set President 

Buhari apart from other Nigerian 

Presidents in 20 years of our democracy, 

which your father paved the 

way for? 

What sets President Buhari apart 

from other former presidents is that 

he is determined to ensure that democracy 

touches the lives of the poorest 

in our society, regardless of their 

tribe or region. His N-Power program 

does not only target beneficiaries from 

each local government but it places 

particular emphasis on the youths 

within the 18 and 35 year age bracket, 

the most restless and volatile segment 

of any society. This is a welcome 

development because that is 

the only way that unrest will be reduced 

and that democracy will flourish. 

If democracy fails to take care of 

the many poor and continues to cater 

for the few rich as was done in 

the past, democracy will perish so our 

president is on the right track and 

thus deserves our collective support. 

Your father, late MKO Abiola, was 

known more for business and philanthropy 

do you foresee President 

Buhari’s second term bettering lives 

of Nigerians in these regards? 

I agree but that was at the middle 

stage of his adult life, at the later stage 

he was known for sacrifice and patriotism. 

It is only through patriotism 

that leaders can make any desirable 

impact. President Buhari has demonstrated 

such rare patriotism by not 

only contesting for elections over and 

over again but by also never for once 

deciding to take the law into his own 

hands even when there was ample 

evidence that he had been cheated. 

This attitude and patriotic zeal will 

no doubt continue to help him formulate 

policies that would make 

more direct positive impact in the 

lives of Nigerians. 

Despite President Buhari’s kind 

gesture, do you foresee the emergence 

of next president of Nigeria 

from the South-West in 2023? 

We are all Nigerians. The most important 

thing now is for us, in line 

with the ideals of Moshood and 

Kudirat Abiola, to build more bridges 

connecting all the regions of this 

country and not walls dividing them.


MANUFACTURING SECTOR IN 20 YEARS: 

Our position — LCCI 

The Nigerian Manufacturing 

Sector has been practically on 

the decline over the past two 

decades. This is in spite of the 

 

numerous policies and measures 

that have been articulated by 

successive governments. 

Manufacturing contribution to 

GDP remains at an average of 7 

per cent over this period. The 

sector has remained largely 

import dependent which has 

made it very vulnerable to 

external shocks. This feature is 

also a factor on the weak 

competitiveness of the sector. 

Many manufacturing firms have 

low local value addition, weak 

backward integration, 

inadequate forward integration, 

and very low job creation 

potentials. All of these weaken 

the impact of the sector on the 

economy and the development 

process. 

Past policy measures 

If there is anything that we are 

short of, it is the framing of very 

good policy documents to 

provide direction for the 

economy. Many of these 

documents have very robust 

sections for industrialisation 

strategy. However, these 

laudable policies have not really 

translated into concrete actions 

or sustainable industrial growth. 

Since 1998, a few major policy 

documents have been released 

by the government. First, the 

National Economic 

Empowerment and 

Development Strategy, NEEDS 

document, which was put in 

place during the regime of 

President Obasanjo as civilian 

president. The major thrusts of 

this policy document are as 

follows: 

To radically increase local 

value addition at every 

stage of the manufacturing 

chain; 

To reduce the export of 

primary products and 

encourage local processing 

of such products; 

To promote total factor 

productivity; 

To promote backward and 

forward linkages in some 

niche sectors; 

To develop an appropriate 

Science and Engineering 

infrastructure that will 

support industrial 

development. 

The target for the industrial 

sector under this policy was to 

achieve 7 per cent annual 

growth on Manufacturing and 

increase capacity utilisation to 

70 per cent by 2007. The policy 

also aims to remove all 

infrastructure constraints and 

establish industrial clusters and 

industrial parks. It also focuses 

on 

export-oriented 

manufacturing sector and 

procurement policy that 

supports local production. 

Evidently, the NEEDS document 

was an excellent document with 

very rich content for the 

transformation of the Nigerian 

economy. But the reality is that 

these lofty goals have not been 

achieved. The sector is still as 

weak today as it was in 1999, 

when the NEEDS document was 

put together. 

After the NEEDS document 

during the Obasanjo regime, we 

had the Seven Points Agenda 

under the then President 

Yar’Adua administration. This 

agenda also had very robust 

content for industrialisation 

strategy. The story is the same 

with the regime of President 

Goodluck Jonathan, when we 

had the transformation agenda. 

However, at the twilight of his 

administration, he launched the 

Nigerian Industrialisation 

Revolution Plan, NIRP which is 

specifically focused on 

industrialisation. It is worthy of 

note that the current 

administration has adopted the 

NIRP as its policy document for 

the promotion of industrial 

development. I believe this is in 

good spirit of ensuring 

continuity of policies that are 

found worthy. Presently, the 

NIRP complements the 

Economic Recovery and Growth 

Plan (ERGP). 

Policy/ 

outcome 

dichotomy 

The truth is that we are not 

short of good policies or models 

for our industrialisation. The 

challenge has been the yawning 

gap between the excellent 

policies and the practical 

outcomes. 

Nigerian Industrial 

Revolution Plan, NIRP 

This is a very comprehensive 

document which is specific to 

the industrial sector. It identifies 

the critical bottlenecks, 

opportunities and the strategy 

for the promotion of industrial 

growth. The main vision of the 

NIRP is to make; 

Nigeria the preferred 

manufacturing hub in West 

Africa; 

Nigeria the preferred 

source of supply of low and 

medium technology 

consumer and industrial 

products, domestically and 

internationally; 

Nigeria one of the top 10 

players in at least 10 key 

manufacturing categories 

within the next five years. 

Again, these are very lofty 

visions and objectives, but not 

much has happened to translate 

this to reality. The sector is still 

largely stagnated, with capacity 

utilisation still at 40 per cent 

threshold. 

Way forward 

The systemic issues of 

infrastructure should be 

addressed as a matter of utmost 

priority. Immediate focus should 

be on electricity supply and 

transportation. Unless we have 

these two critical infrastructure 

in place, it will be very difficult 

to ensure a competitive 

industrial sector and to make 

possible the transformation of 

the sector. 

 

 

We should focus on labourintensive 

industries to 

enhance job creation and 

promote economic 

inclusion. 

We should ensure that there 

is adequate investment in 

core industries such as 

Iron and Steel and 

Petrochemical. 

We should take full 

advantage of the large 

Nigerian market to scale 

up our industrial capacity 

utilisation. 

State of the 

 

manufacturing sector 

Lack of the basic industries 

such as Iron and Steel and 

Petrochemical; 

Lack of skilled manpower; 

Infrastructure issues, 

especially power and 

logistics; 

 

 

Influx of substandard and 

fake products through the 

porous borders; 

· Weak domestic patronage 

both from the government 

and the private 

consumers. 

Flow of trade 

The Nigerian manufacturing 

sector is too dependent on 

import, which is a major 

shortcoming of the Nigerian 

manufacturing sector. The 

sector accounts for about 3 per 

cent of export revenue and 50 

per cent of import. This 

demonstrates that the sector is 

not properly aligned with the 

vision of self-reliance being 

promoted by the current 

government. Local value 

addition is still very weak. The 

most sustainable segment of the 

manufacturing sector is the 

food & beverage industries, 

where the local content is well 

over 80 per cent. This explains 

the competitive strength of the 

sector. 

The challenge 

has been the 

yawning gap 

between the 

excellent policies 

and the practical 

outcomes 

Current challenges 

Weak infrastructural base – 

power, transportation, 

Apapa issues, railway 

system; 

High cost of fund, absence 

of long-term funds, 

challenges of access to 

credit by SMEs as well as 

other firms in the sector, 

because of perception of 

manufacturing as very 

risky in the economy. 

Except for the occasional 

availability of intervention 

funds, especially from the 

Bank of Industry, BoI, the 

cost of fund in the Nigerian 

economy is well over 25 

per cent for industrialists. 

It is difficult to achieve a 

c o m p e t i t i v e 

manufacturing investment 

with this kind of fund; 

The tenure of fund is also very 

short, most times, a 

maximum of one year. It is 

difficult to do any serious 

manufacturing investment 

with a tenure of fund of just 

one year or less; 

The Small Businesses account 

for over 50 per cent of the 

GDP but have access to only 1 

per cent of the bank credit to 

private sector. This 

demonstrates the enormity of 

the funding challenges that 

are faced by small businesses; 

The manufacturing sector 

also suffers from the 

challenges of weak 

institutions. This makes 

regulation ineffective – faking 

and counterfeiting, 

smuggling, under invoicing 

etc; 

Research and Development 

does not attract sufficient 

investments needed to 

promote industrialisation; 

A major challenge to 

industrialisation is the low 

industrial space and absence 

of innovation. Many 

industries have the challenge 

of getting qualified labour for 

their businesses. The 

curriculum of many tertiary 

institutions is not dynamic 

and most often, not aligned 

to the needs of industries, 

which is very dynamic. 

Therefore, the static 

curriculum cannot meet the 

needs of a dynamic setting. 

Competition law 

Most times, small players in the 

industrial sector are very 

vulnerable to the forces of 

competition, both from within and 

outside the Nigerian economy. 

The big players in each of the 

sectors tend to dominate and 

crowd out the small ones. This 

has made it necessary for a 

competitive law to be in place to 

prevent monopoly practices or 

acts of collusion among major 

players in a particular sector. 

The tariff regime is most often, 

not in alignment with the 

industrial policy. This is 

important, in order to ensure a 

trade policy that complements 

industrial development. 

Conclusion 

On the whole, it is evident that 

numerous laudable steps have 

been taken in the last two decades 

to promote industrialisation, but 

not much progress has been 

achieved. We have seen some 

outcomes of positive nature with 

regards to the food & beverage 

sector as well as the cement 

industry. Many of the other 

segments in the sector are not 

deeply rooted in manufacturing, 

because of their weak linkages and 

local content. Some 

manufacturers are as dependent 

on import as importers of 

consumer products of niche 

goods. 

It is important to complement 

our protectionist policies with the 

drive for competitiveness. We can 

only achieve a sustainable 

industrial growth when we ensure 

that our manufacturing firms are 

competitive domestically and 

globally. This should be our 

vision.



• 

26—VANGUARD, FRIDAY, MAY 31, 2019 

IN 2016, when the 

National Hajj 

Commission of Nigeria, 

(NAHCON)), entered the fray 

of bursting the bubble of 

Corruption as it affects the 

payment and administration 

of Hadaya-animal slaughter- 

, no one is left in doubt that 

the task would be herculean. 

Perhaps, I need to refresh 

or whet the appetite of 

readers on what I’m driving 

at. Long before the 

establishment of NAHCON 

and even some years after, 

no arrangement for 

collection of Hadaya was in 

place. It was an all comers 

affairs in which not even the 

state was in charge of. 

Private people collect money 

from pilgrims under the 

pretext that they would pay 

for the Hadaya on their 

behalf only to disappear into 

thin air without trace. 

Neither the meat nor the 

collector were to be seen 

ever after. 

This practice continued 

and got to a head in 2015 

when some state officials 

were fingered in both the 

setting up of the syndicate 

that engaged in the 

fraudulent act but also have 

their hands in all the cooks 

and jars This became the 

proverbial final straw that 

broke the camels back . 

Therefore, in 2016,the 

commission and the 

management of JAIZ bank 

PLC, which had just been 

appointed as representative 

of Islamic Development 

Bank,( IDB) for the collection 

of Hadaya entered into a 

partnership in which the 

latter was approved as the 

sole and official collector of 

Hadaya payment. 

The rationale behind the 

idea was to counter and 

eradicate the endemic 

corruption in the Hadaya 

project and most 

importantly to institute and 

strengthen transparency in 

the scheme with a view to 

deliver quality and 

sustainable service to the 

pilgrims across the country. 

Now three years down the 

road, an in depth assessment 

of the partnership 

expectedly showed some 

improvements especially in 

reducing the cases of fraud 

associated with the collection 

as well as individuals 

involved in them but there 

has also arises new set of 

challenges confronting the 

two parties in the 

implementation of the policy 

Some of the problems 

included the reduction in the 

number of registered 

Ramadan 26, 1440 A.H. 

That hadaya project can be 

transparent, good 

BY MOUSA UBANDAWAKI 

pilgrims from Nigeria due to 

the country’s economic 

climate couple with the 

spiral Hajj cost. It should be 

noted that in 2016 for 

instance, the scheme had 

over 19000 registered 

pilgrims that paid through 

the arrangement. In 2017, 

the figure fell to just over 

15.000and to an all time 

low of just 6000 in 2018. 

The parties also identified 

the lack of cooperation from 

most state officials as well 

as placement of Hadaya 

payment outside the official 

exchange rate. Investigation 

revealed that these officials 

did do due to the fact that 

they have little knowledge 

about the arrangement aside 

the fact that some decided 

for personal reason to stay 

aloof so as not to ruffle 

feathers. It was for these 

reasons that the two parties 

embarked on a plan of action 

to re-strategize with a view 

to bring a new architecture 

and work out a new formula 

to smoothen out the rough 

edges. 

Speaking during a contract 

renewal meeting, the 

Chairman /CEO of NAHCON, 

Barrister Abdullahi Mukhtar 

Muhammad said that there 

was need to adopt a new 

strategy to make the 

arrangement work 

smoothly. “We need to 

improve the relationship and 

arrangement of the Hadaya 

collection. Although, you 

have demonstrated a high 

degree of transparency, but 

there are still challenges and 

the market has not been 

optimally tapped. “ 

The NAHCON boss also 

reiterated the resolve of the 

commission to employ 

drastic measures to block 

leakages in the collection and 

administration of Hadaya 

even if it meant using the 

‘carrot and stick ‘ tactics to 

ensure compliance adding 

that the commission is 

unwavering in it’s 

commitment to rout the 

scourge of corruption in 

Hadaya scheme. 

Now things seem about 

to get better with the the 

decision of the Bank to 

improve relationship with 

the states by making them 

stakeholders in the scheme. 

In this connection, the state 

would be encouraged to key 

into the project through a 

commission sharing 

agreement that will reward 

states on the basis of the 

number of pilgrims that paid 

through the bank in each 

state This arrangement will 

make the state play more 

prominent role in 

implementing the Hadaya 

project. 

Another encouraging pact 

is the pledge by NAHCON to 

extend the concessionary 

exchange rate to 

accommodate Hadaya 

payment to I.D B just as being 

done to other service 

providers in Saudi Arabia so 

as to bring down the cost of 

Hadaya and make it 

affordable to intending 

pilgrims paying under the 

JAIZ arrangement. In fact, it 

is fair to say that so many of 

the pilgrims that patronize 

crooks ds so due to the low 

rate charged by those 

outlets. For instance, while 

IDB charge between 475/ 

490 Saudi Riyal, individual 

or illegal operators collect as 

low as 200/250 riyal.,no 

wonder that only a handful of 

pilgrims paid through the 

JAIZ arrangement in 2018. 

Now with a competitive 

price expected this year ,it 

is hoped that many pilgrims 

will prefer to pay through the 

officially recognized entity 

which would be an extremely 

entertaining spectacle like “a 

cat thrown among some 

pigeons. 

Ubandawaki is of the 

Information and Publication 

Unit of NAHCON. 

From left: Mrs Salami; Dr Rosemary Danesi; Dr 

Hikmot Koleosho; Dr Mariam Gbajumo-Sheriff; Dr 

Sule Sheidu; Imam Hassan Tahir; Mr Adigun; Mr 

Mutahiru Oladimeji and two staff of Bab Salam 

Home during a visit of UNILAG Muslim community 

to the Home. 

BARKA JUMAH 

Joyous Eid Fitr 

When the lamp of faith is dim and fading, 

Lailatul Quadri, is the oil that spark fresh 

spiritual confidence. 

The enchanting canopy of the Night of 

Majesty shall gift to each of us utter conquest 

in the battlefield of life. 

Our Ramadan sacrifices had risen into 

Allah's pretty and spacious sky, and secured 

restoration that align our existence with the 

beauty of wellness, joyful forgiveness, triumph 

and peace. 

For 30 days, we drifted in the tortuous 

aloneness of hunger to lofty destinations that 

embrace praise and worship of Allah. 

Ramadan requires patient mindfulness in 

order to gain traction that lead us to the 

prosperity of salvation & total forgiveness. 

Once this stature is attained, we now must 

learn to persist within her ennobling 

conditions! 

As we slide to the end of the 2019 Ramadan 

regime, may our enlivened faith guard and 

guide us to the blessedness of the 2020 

edition. 

Believe forever that the justice and goodness 

of Ramadan never falters, never changes nor 

perish. 

Her truth is indestructible and her joyful 

goodness, is boundless. 

Stay steady, and be not frightened by the 

harsh motions of this world that the 

redemptive powers of Ramadan had 

subjugated and replaced with Allah's glorious 

and unending favors. 

Be good all the time. Take life real easy 

until we again, mercifully, converge at the 

2020 edition of Ramadan. Be Ramadan 

strong! 'Happy jumat. Joyous Eid Fitr. — 

Dr Adewale Adeeyo, OON 

Treat all pilgrims equally, , Kana 

tells pilgrims’ doctor 

ors 

•As NAHCON trains National Medical Team 

Screening and orientation of 2019 Hajj National Medical Team 

(NMT) members were concluded over the weekend, 26th 

May 2019 in Abuja. The NMT composition is shared on a ratio of 

60/40% between states and the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria 

(NAHCON) respectively, while funding is on the reverse 

order. NAHCON’s mode of nomination follows a random balloting 

where whosoever’s registration number is generated through 

a token is shortlisted. Thereafter, the individual is invited for screening 

and those who successfully scale through are appointed for 

the job. 

At the orientation ceremony held in Stonehedge Hotel Abuja, 

leader of the NMT and representative of Federal Ministry of Health 

in the Commission, Dr. Ibrahim Kana outlined the strategies put in 

place for the medical personnel to carry out their responsibilities 

efficiently. He called on them to regard their task as a shared 

responsibility where each member respects general work ethics of 

the medical profession. They are to treat all pilgrims equally, 

unmindful of a person’s class or prestige. They were also warned to 

treat pilgrims with outmost respect being the prime reason behind 

their assignment in Saudi Arabia. Dr. Kana presented a paper on 

Roles, Responsibilities And Expectation Of Medical Personnel. 

The gathering was introduced to a medical disciplinary committee 

headed by Captain Hamji, who would receive and investigate any 

complaint against medical personnel and mete out appropriate 

disciplinary action to the erring staff. 

Meanwhile, Secretary of the Medical Committee from NAHCON, 

Wafiyyah Mustapha, enumerated to the members the total 

breakdown of their allowances and number of days of their 

engagement in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, the decision to accept the 

offer and proceed with the engagement or not rests entirely with 

them. She thereafter counselled them against bickering after 

accepting the offer in the first instance, as this will amount to breach 

of their undertaking. 

Other papers presented include, Airlift and Luggage Handling by 

NAHCON’s Engr Goni Sanda, Islamic Tenets of Hajj by Dr. 

Abdulkadir Bello, and Training On Electronic Medical Record System 

coordinated by three doctors distributed across three groups 

categorized accordingly: doctors, nurses and pharmacists

ASSOCIATE professor, 

University of Ilorin, Dr. 

Mahfouz Adedimeji has 

decried how insecurity in the 

country was being linked with 

religion, particularly Islam. 

He said religion had been in 

place during colonial era 

adding that the country’s 

security situation wasn’t as 

worst as it is today. 

Dr Adedimeji stated this 

during the 24th Annual 

Ramadan Lecture in honour of 

Late Alhaji Adiatu Alamu 

Akinola, organized by the Ola- 

Olu Muslim Society of Nigeria. 

Dr Adedimeji who was a 

guest lecturer at the event said: 

“We should not ascribe the 

state of insecurity in Nigeria to 

tribe and especially religion as 

being said in some quarters. 

Religion has been with us even 

before colonialism started. 

Insecurities in Nigeria has to 

do with the fact that some 

persons are becoming 

increasingly dominiary and 

oppressed this with the 

proliferation of arms has 

fuelled insecurity in the 

country”he added. 

He said the increasing rate of 

insecurity was not peculiar to 

Nigeria, adding that the world 

at large is increasingly 

becoming unsecured. 

In his own contribution, the 

Resident Electoral 

Commissioner for Oyo state, 

Alhaji Mutiu Agboke assured 

that despite the security 

challenges in the nation, it 

would not in anyway affect the 

Ramadan 26, 1440 A.H. 

Don’t link violence, insecurity with religion 

— Adedimeji 

•As Ola-Olu Muslim Society holds memorial Ramadan lecture 

By Gbenga Olarinoye, Osogbo 

successful conduct of the coming 

elections in Kogi and Bayelsa 

states. 

He said, “The important things 

for Nigerians to note is that we 

shall continue to review the 

security situations in the 

country so that INEC can identify 

the challenges and the security 

agents are also in tandem with 

us. Not only this, We have 

started preparations for 2023. 

The Akinrun of Ikirun, Oba 

Abdulrauf Adedeji said that 

communal relations and the 

involvement of local hunters 

would go a long way in curbing 

the insecurity facing the nation. 

The monarch said, “with deep 

communal relations, it would be 

easy to apprehend criminals. 

During the olden days as 

everyone knew one another and 

what they were capable of doing, 

local hunters were close to the 

people and it was easy to know 

who is behind any crime”. 

“ The whole community knew 

the nooks and crannies and the 

base of criminal elements in 

their locality. If only our 

government can engage the 

services of local hunters and 

pay them stipends, insecurity 

will be over in the country.” 

Prominent personality at the 

event included,the Oluwo of 

Iwo, Oba AbdulRasheed 

Adewale Akanbi, Prof. 

AbdulGaniyu Olayinka Raji, 

Resident Electoral 

Commissioner, INEC, Ogun 

state, Prof. Lai Olurode, 

University of Lagos and 

Magistrate Khadijat Oloyade 

among others. 

Others were Akirun of Ikirun, 

Oba AbdulRauf Adedeji, Alhaji 

Yekeen Akande Agaja, Alhaji 

Idris Yayi, Dr (Mrs) Ganiyat 

Taiwo Adeagbo and the 

Chairman, Isokan Muslimi of 

Iwoland, Alhaji Abdulrasheed 

Fasasi Mogaji. 

Nigeria needs your prayer 

ers now, 

lawmaker urges Muslims 

BY BOSE ADELAJA 

As Muslims observe the holy month of Ramadan, a 

Lawmaker representing Epe Federal Constituency in Lagos 

State Hon. Taosir Wale Raji has urged Muslims Ummah across 

the nation, to remember Nigeria in their prayers and render 

supplications for the country for her progress. 

In a Ramadan message issued through his Media office, Raji 

stated that nothing can solve the country;s challenges other 

than divine intervention. 

Raji urged Muslims to use the sacred month to pray for peace, 

stability, growth and developments for Nigeria and the leaders 

piloting her affairs. “This holy month provides us opportunity 

to commune directly with our creator. We should therefore 

use this sacred moments to seek forgiveness and mercies upon 

our nation and her leaders. We must pray for stability and 

peace so that prosperity will spread across every nooks and 

cranny,” he said. 

"Vanguard, FRIDAY MAY 31, 2019—27 

Veteran eran Muslim journalist, 

Kola ola Animashaun passes on 

Veteran Muslim journalist, columnist (Voice of Reason) 

and former Chairman of the Editorial Board of Vanguard 

Newspaper, Alhaji Kola Muslim Animashaun is dead. He died 

yesterday in the wee hours at the age 80. His remains were 

laid to rest at the Muslim Cemetery, Jinadu Street, Markaz, 

Agege, Lagos after the janazah rites. He is surved by wife, 

children and grand children. 

MMPN mourns 

Eulogies for the Mentor of all 

mentor 

ors: 

Kola Animashaun 

THE national leadership and the Lagos State chapter of 

the Muslim Media Practitioners of Nigeria (MMPN) 

commiserate with the family of the iconic journalist, Alhaji 

Kola Animashaun who transited on Thursday, May 30, 2019 

(Ramadan 25, 1440 A.H) at the ripe age of 80. 

Alhaji Animashaun bestrode firmament of Nigerian media 

landscape as a colossus and inspired in us the virtues of 

dedication, excellence and forthrightness in journalism. An 

icon of our age, he played a frontline role in the formation 

and sustainability of our association. 

He was a warm and welcoming person who had a lasting 

impression at first encounter with anybody. 

His skill as a journalist and public opinion moulder shone 

brightly in his weekly column, Voice of Reason in the 

Vanguard, as his style as simple as it is, is very compelling, 

making journalism attractive for us as an influential calling. 

Alhaji Animashaun will be remembered for many giants in 

journalism that he mentored to prominence 

In his death, the nation has lost a true voice of reason, who 

intervenes with his lucid and informed commentaries at 

critical times in the life of the nation. 

It is not too much if we celebrate his life and times as a 

nationalist or nation builder. 

We are comforted that our doyen in journalism departed on 

a beautiful note, in the glorious month of Ramadan and during 

the last ten days when Muslims globally become more 

dedicated in 

ibaadaat in 

the search 

for the night 

of majesty - 

Lailatulqadr. 

In this, we 

s a y 

alhamdulillah 

for a 

gracious 

transition! 

As we pray 

for the entire 

family that 

Allah gives 

them the 

fortitude to 

bear his 

passage, 

Inna lillahi 

wa Inna 

i l a e h i 

raajiuna. 

Alhaji Kola Animashaun 

From left: Former Secretary to Osun State Government, Alhaji MoshoodAdeoti; 

Justice Jide Falola; Olororuwo of Ororuwo; Oba AdeyemiAdeyanju; Former 

INEC Commissioner and Chairman, University of Lagos Muslim Community, 

Prof Lai Olurode and Aragbiji of Iragbijiland, Oba Ayotunde Olabomi Odundun11 

during the 24th Ramadan lecture tittled; Prophetic Responses to 

SecurityThreats/Issues during the Golden Era of Islam’’ in honour Late Alhaji 

Alamu Akinola in Iwo,Osun State last weekend. PHOTO; NAJEEM RAHEEM 

The widow, Chief Alhaja Silfat Dupe Animasaun 

(middle) in the car with her daughters.


HERDSMEN: Tension, 

anger in South West 

•Insecurity assuming a dangerous direction—Monarchs 

•The task before govs 

By Dayo Johnson 

& Dapo Akinrefon 

REPORTS across the South- 

West states have shown that 

the insecurity level 

occassioned by the activities of 

herdsmen has reached a 

threatening point. 

The situation is now being likened 

to an existential threat by most 

stakeholders in the region. 

Villages are being attacked at will 

by herdsmen without response 

from security agencies. 

No one is safe as the herdsmen, 

not only murder people in remote 

but kidnap travellers in the region. 

The traditional institution in some 

villages, seems threatened, as the 

herdsmen have become audcious 

to the extent of threatening 

monarchs in their palaces. 

Concerned by this, various Yoruba 

groups, elders and leaders during 

the week lampooned the 

lackadaisical attitude of the 

Federal Government towards the 

invasion and unprovoked attacks 

by herdsmen across the country 

especially in the South-West. 

The Yoruba Council of Elders, 

YCE, Afenifere, Agbekoya 

Farmers’ Association, Soludero 

Hunters Association, the South- 

West Peoples Democratic Party, 

PDP and the All Progressives 

Congress, APC, were among those 

who expressed misgivings about 

the nefarious activities of 

herdsmen particularly in the 

South-West. 

The groups also expressed worry 

over the herdsmen’s incursion in 

the region, submitting that the 

region is under siege. 

Firing the first salvo was the 

YCE which advised the Presidency 

to check the killing spree of the 

herders across the country, 

especially in Yorubaland, to 

prevent people from resorting to 

self-defence and anarchy. 

The Yoruba elders who described 

the herdsmen as untouchables, 

listed many instances when the 

bandits kidnapped and killed 

innocent people without any 

justifiable reason. 

YCE, in a statement by its 

President, Col. S. Ade Agbede 

(retd), said: “As Yoruba elders and 

leaders in our own rights, we owe 

it a duty to speak up.” 

He was, however, quick to 

disclose that 1,123 cells belonging 

to armed herdsmen are located 

across Yoruba nation. 

“The cells are said to be well 

organised and they are said to 

appear to network with each other 

as the cells may not be known 

except that there have been 

increase in their organisational 

skills,” Agbede said. 

Also, the Peoples Democratic 

Party, PDP, in the South-West 

raised alarm that the region is 

under siege by herdsmen who 

perpetrate crime on a daily basis 

in the most unfettered manner. 

On its part, the Agbekoya 

Farmers' Society said it will not 

fold its arms while killings, rape 

and kidnappings go on unabated 

by herdsmen. 

President-General of Agbeokya, 

Aare Okikiola Kamorudeen 

Aremu said: “The Agbekoya 

cannot continue to fold its arms 

while her sons and daughters are 

killed, raped and kidnapped on a 

daily basis by the Bororo Fulani. 

Agbekoya Farmers' Society is 

ready to join hands with Nigeria 

Police Force and other security 

agencies in order to stop the 

killings, rape, abductions and 

kidnappings in the South-West of 

the country.” 

Also lending its voice to the 

worrying state of insecurity in the 

region, the PDP in the South- 

West said: “It is absurd and 

inexcusable for us to be under 

siege in our own nation.” 

A statement by the party’s 

Zonal Publicity Secretary in 

Akure, Mr. Ayo Fadaka said: “It is 

unfortunate to state that the South- 

West is today under the siege of 

Fulani terrorists or herdsmen, who 

perpetrate criminal actions daily 

in the most unfettered manner. 

“In our region, kidnapping, 

assault and rape by these 

marauders remain unchecked, 

this lethargy has emboldened 

them to even attack a traditional 

ruler in his palace, without 

repercussions, thus egregiously 

making a bold statement that we, 

the Yoruba, have become their 

captives.” 

Not wanting to be caught 

unawares, Afenifere has asked 

Yoruba in the South-West to 

activate their traditional and 

communal self-defense system in 

the face of existential threats and 

killings by the herdsmen militia. 

The Yoruba group said: “The 

killings across the country by the 

herdsmen/militia are willful and 

deliberate in pursuit of their 

expansionist and conquest 

agenda.” 

The hunters in the region were 

also not left behind as they vowed 

not to sit by and watch the 

unprovoked attacks by the herders 

on travellers and other people in 

the zone. 

Coordinator of Hunters in the 

South-West, who also doubles as 

the President, Soludero Hunters 

Association, Dr Nureni Ajijola 

Reports across 

the South- 

West have 

shown that 

the insecurity 

level has 

reached an 

alarming 

Anabi said he and thousands of his 

members would liaise with the 

Agbekoya Association and other 

conventional security agencies to 

ensure that criminals have no 

hiding place in the state. 

For instance, in Akure, Ondo 

State, Vanguard has lost count on 

the number of kidnappings, ritual 

killings and other criminal 

activities carried out by the 

herdsmen. 

Health officers in Federal 

Government hospitals, including 

a pregnant doctor, traditional 

rulers, regents, lecturers, school 

children, civil servants, and a host 

of other personalities have been 

victims of kidnapping and 

banditry across the state. 

Herdsmen threaten monarch 

Last week, the height of 

criminality in the state played out 

as the life of a traditional ruler in 

the state, the Onigedegede of 

Gedegede in Akoko North-West 

Council of the state, Oba Walidu 

Sanni was threatened by nine 

herdsmen who walked into his 

palace unhindered. 

Oba Sanni raised the alarm at 

a stakeholders parley initiated 

by the state government to douse 

tension and apprehension in the 

council area over the activities of 

the herdsmen. 

The ‘sin’ of the traditional ruler 

was that he reported the continued 

destruction of his subjects’ farm 

produce and farmlands to the 

police. 

The timely intervention of 

Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, who 

deployed security operatives to the 

town, doused tension and 

prevented a bloody clash between 

the herdsmen and the people of the 

community after they invaded the 

monarch’s palace and threatened 

him. 

Arifayan Ayolekan and a staff of 

Dangote Group of Companies, 

Ibrahim Lawal were last week 

abducted in Ikare Akoko area of 

the state. 

They regained their freedom 

after parting with a N5 million 

ransom. 

Also in Ibadan, Oyo State, 

suspected herdsmen killed the 

Officer-in-charge of the Special 

Anti Robbery Squad in Saki Area 

of the Oyo State Police Command, 

Sheu Magu, and a member of his 

team. 

The deceased were said to have 

died as a result of machete injuries 

sustained in the hands of the 

herdsmen during an operation in 

a forest around Saki-Ogboro. 

It was however, reported that the 

SARS men had arrested some 

suspected Fulani herdsmen for 

disturbing public peace but they 

were ambushed by another group 

of herdsmen. 

Similarly in Ogun State, 

herdsmen attacked some 

communities in Ketu Local 

Council Development Area. 

Narrating the incident in a 

statement, the Coordinator- 

General and Director of Public 

Affairs of Ketu Advancement 

Forum, Kunle Abiose and 

Williams Olayode respectively 

said the herders invaded “our 

farms, hewing down palm trees for 

their herds to graze on.” 

Besides, pandemonium 

reportedly broke out in Iwoye 

community, in the Imeko-Afon 

Local Government Area of Ogun 

State when suspected herdsmen 

and farmers clashed. 

Four persons were feared dead 

in the incident as further findings 

showed that the Divisional Crime 

Officer in charge of Imeko and a 

police inspector were shot in one 

of the attacks. 

Monarchs decry insecurity 

proportion 

Kidnappings 

Also, two wedding 

guests, Gbalaja Mayowa and 

Continues on page 29

HERDSMEN: Tension, anger in 

South West 

•Gov. Sanwo-Olu •Gov. Abiodun •Gov. Makinde 

•Gov. Oyetola 

Continued from page 28 

level 

Reacting to the insecurity in the 

state, the Owaale of Ikare, Oba 

Kolapo Adegbite-Adedoyin said 

the killings justified the clarion 

call for state police. 

Oba Adedoyin said: “There are 

many advantages of state policing, 

known as community policing in 

some societies. A policeman ought 

to know the nook and cranny of 

his society as well as the people of 

the area. 

“So, if you bring someone from 

Kaura Namoda or Port Harcourt 

who doesn’t know the terrain of 

this area or even speak the 

language, policing effectively 

would be difficult for such a 

person. 

“In the western world, police 

don’t have settlements, they live 

among the people, they know 

who criminals are within but 

here, they fence an area and call 

it police barracks. How will 

officers know the terrain of the 

community they are policing? 

“Although some people are of 

the opinion that politicians may 

abuse their usage, or misuse them, 

especially for election purposes, 

but one has to weigh the 

advantages vis a viz the 

disadvantages.” 

Also, the Deji of Akureland, Oba 

Aladelusi Aladetoyinbo said: 

THE TEAM 

•Gov. Fayemi 

“The security in the South-West 

is assuming a dangerous 

direction. It is highly disturbing 

and calls for urgent and proactive 

approach. 

“It is a fact that the issue of 

kidnapping was strange in the 

South-West in the past, now, it 

has suddenly turned out to be a 

lucrative crime in the region. 

“You are aware that some 

traditional rulers in Ondo State 

have been victims of kidnap at 

one point on the other. This is 

sacrilegious and ridiculous. 

“I have continuously advocated 

for community policing. We can’t 

afford to centralise the security 

system and expect better 

performance. That will remain a 

tall order. 

“The traditional rulers should be 

given a definite role and be 

involved in the security 

arrangement. It is very important 

if we must get out of this 

threatening situation. There are 

ways through which we can 

contribute effectively to 

stemming the tides of insecurity. 

“We cannot sweep the issue of 

restructuring under the carpet. It 

is very pivotal to a secured, 

equitable and just society.” 

S’West govs should liaise 

with OPC — Oba Olanipekun 

Also, the Zaki of Arigidi Akoko 

in Akoko Nort-West area of the 

EDITOR: Dayo Johnson 

Deputy Editor: Dapo Akinrefon 

08023844928 (sms only) 

CORRESPONDENTS: 

Ola Ajayi 

Ibadan 

Gbenga Olarinoye 

Osogbo 

Dare Fasube 

(Photo) 

Daud Olatunji 

Abeokuta 

Rotimi Ojomoyela 

Ekiti 

Monsuru Olowoopejo Lagos 

Adeola Badru 

Ibadan 

•Gov. Akeredolu 

state, Oba Yisa Olanipekun has 

called on governors in the South- 

West to liaise with members of 

Oodua Peoples’ Congress, OPC, 

and give them orientation and 

incentives that can make them 

police our roads, communities 

and forests against herdsmen 

invasion and other criminality 

now ravaging the zone.” 

Security situation in the 

South-West — Ondo APC 

The State Publicity Secretary of 

the ruling APC, Alex Kalejaye 

said: “The security situation in 

the South-West, and indeed, the 

entire country, is worrisome to 

say the least. People need to feel 

secured to give their best to a 

system. 

“We feel strongly that it is about 

time we worked out the right 

strategy to nip the dangerous 

trend in the bud, instead of 

dwelling on who was wrong.” 

By Rotimi Ojomoyela 

IBADAN—SCALING down the 

increasing rate of child mortality 

and new born deaths across the 

country has been a major challenge 

to health professionals and care 

givers in the country and her 

development partners alike. 

Experts disclosed that Nigeria 

accounts for 10 per cent of the global 

burden of infant, child and maternal 

mortality and they insisted that if 

the country is desirous of achieving 

the Sustainable Development 

Goal, SDG, target of 25 deaths per 

thousand births in 2030, it needs 

to accelerate infant mortality 

reduction from the current 

alarming situation. 

Child deaths in Nigeria mostly 

occur in rural localities of highly 

populated states. 

Ten states which include Bauchi, 

Niger, Kebbi, Zamfara, Sokoto 

Kastina, Jigawa, Kano, Lagos and 

Oyo have been identified as high 

prevalent areas. 

Survey indicates that the number 

of babies dying in Oyo State daily 

was higher in absolute number than 

others in the South- West states 

because of the population of the 

state and data from SMART Survey 

indicated that Oyo ranked 3rd in 

absolute number when compared 

with the other states affected by the 

infant deaths. 

This apparently informed the 

partnership between the United 

Nations International Children's 

Emergency Fund, UNICEF, and 

Oyo State Government, which 

culminated in the launch of 

Accelerated Action for Impact, AAI, 

an initiative formulated by the duo 

to wage a total war against the 

scourge of new born death in three 

most affected communities in Oyo - 

Ibadan North-East, Ibarapa North 

and Saki West. 

This revelation was made at a 

forum tagged: Media dialogue on 

improving health outcomes for 

children in Oyo State through 

Accelerated Action for Impact, 

which was organised by the duo in 

Ibadan to sensitise journalists on the 

need for immediate action to tackle 

the scourge. 

The problem 

A health specialist with UNICEF, 

Dr Adebola Hassan told journalists 

at the forum that the six local 

government areas were mapped 

through survey, which UNICEF 

considered as having a 

preponderance of neo-natal death, 

but three of them - Ibadan North- 

East, Ibarapa North and Saki West 

- were doing terribly bad and 

needed more intervention than 


Community takes action against 

new born deaths in Oyo 

others. 

She added that the AAI is to fasttrack 

interventions on the 

preventable child death through a 

granular data from local 

governments, wards and 

communities considered to be 

burdened by the neo-natal death. 

Dr Hassan said that this novel 

approach helped in scaling the 

number of areas needing more 

intervention into the three local 

governments. 

She noted that prior to the 

intervention of UNICEF, 334,000 

new born were estimated to die due 

to inadequate health facilities, 

inadequate doctors and other health 

workers and unequal distribution 

of nurses. 

Dr Hassan said most of these 

children die from preventable 

diseases, and as a result of lack of 

information on exclusive 

breastfeeding, immunisation and 

nutrition of children up till the age 

of five. This is even when available 

vaccines and good nutrition could 

have prevented such deaths. 

Community to the rescue 

Through the effort of community 

development associations’ 

volunteers in the three local 

government areas, windows of 

dialogue with the people at the 

grassroots were opened and this led 

to improved patronage of the health 

facilities. 

Information on exclusive 

breastfeeding and immunisation 

has also been scaled up. 

A National Orientation Agency 

officer at the forum, Moshood 

Olaleye, in his paper titled: 

Community Involvement and 

Participation, said that through the 

information materials produced to 

assist the CDA volunteers in the 

area of exclusive breastfeeding and 

immunisation, health workers and 

patients have been sensitized on the 

use of health facilities instead of 

patronising Community Birth 

Attendants, CBA, or Traditional 

Birth Attendants,TBA. 

Olaleye added that both CBAs and 

TBAs now synergize with health 

workers such that they now refer 

patients to health centres. 

The General Secretary, 

Community Development Council, 

Ibadan North- East, Ahmed 

Olayemi Yusuf told Vanguard that 

“Immediately NOA contacted us, 

we embarked on house to house 

campaign, sensitising our people 

on the need for the pregnant women 

to be attending hospital for their 

ante-natal clinic and they have been 

doing so. We also educate them on 

the need for exclusive beastfeeding. 

Land dispute pits Ede community against varsity 

OSOGBO—RESIDENTS 

of 

Ededimeji Community in Ede, Osun 

State, are spoiling for war with their 

traditional ruler, Oba Muniru Adesola 

Lawal, over parcels of land where the 

permanent site of the Redeemer’s 

University of Nigeria, RUN, is located. 

The community, at a press conference 

in Osogbo, Osun State, accused the faithbased 

university of encroaching on 611 

acres of land belonging to the community. 

Mr. Wasiu AbdulAzeez, who spoke on 

behalf of 18 families that make up the 

community warned against provoking 

religious crisis in the town. 

He said: “Despite the incessant threats 

and intimidations from the hands of 

RCCG, we have remained persistently 

focused to pursue the case. 

“Since April 2012, the Redeemer’s 

University management have continued 

to unleash terror on the innocent occupiers 

of the land who refused to be 

intimidated into submitting their lands. 

“The horrible scene of mobilising over 

a hundred thugs and hoodlums with 

powerful arms and earth-moving 

equipment , bulldozer, on Wednesday 

March 6, 2019 to raze down the entire 

Oloya village, destroying Mosque, 

homesteads and plantation with 

impunity was most unfortunate, as 

property worth over N500 million have 

been destroyed.” 

The community noted that 

intervention of the former Governor, 

Rauf Aregbesola did not yield any 

result. 

But when contacted, a management 

staff of the university, who pleaded for 

anonymity, said the concerned 

community should wait for the outcome 

of the case which is currently in a law 

court.


Obijackson tasks FG 

on primary healthcare 

By Polycarp Nwafor 

THE Founder of 

Obijackson 

Foundation, Dr. Ernest 

Azudialu-Obiejesi, has 

called on the Federal 

Government and other 

stakeholders to seek 

innovative ways of 

providing quality primary 

healthcare. 

He said this at a funfair 

in Okija, Anambra State, 

to felicitate with children 

born at the Obijackson 

Women and Children’s 

Hospital, Okija. 

Obiejesi lamented 

that millions of Nigerian 

children die from 

avoidable ailment due 

to lack of access to 

primary healthcare. 

He added that the 

hospital was set up to 

provide quality 

healthcare for children 

in Anambra and 

beyond, regardless of 

the economic status of 

their parents. 

China shouldn't be blamed 

for trade talks failure—Envoy 

By Chioma Gabriel 

THE new Chinese 

Consul General in 

Lagos, Chu Maoming, 

has said that the 11th 

round of China-U.S. highlevel 

trade talks that 

ended recently with no 

agreement reached, 

cannot be blamed on his 

country. 

The Trump 

administration had 

labelled China with 

“reneging on promises,” 

claiming that it had seen 

an erosion in 

commitments by China, 

accused China of 

backtracking on its 

pledges and infringing 

upon its major concerns. 

However, Chu Maoming 

said the claims completely 

disregarded facts and 

such false accusation on 

China is nothing but a lie. 


“keeping promises is a 

moral principle that the 

Chinese nation has 

always adhered to. During 

the last 40 years, China 

opened its doors for 

construction and shared 

the outcomes of its reform 

and is opening up to the 

outside world. 

“The contribution it 

made to the world 

economy is obvious to all. 

The country has always 

fulfilled its commitments 

since its accession to the 

World Trade Organisation, 

WTO. By firmly 

supporting the multilateral 

system, largely lowering 

tariffs and reducing nontariff 

barriers, and 

opposing unilateralism 

and protectionism, China 

is showing to the world 

an image of a responsible 

and faithful major 

country.” 

The envoy added that 

by 2010, China had 

fulfilled all of its tariff 

reduction commitments, 

reducing the average tariff 

level from 15.3 percent in 

2001 to 9.8 percent. 

He added that as early 

as 2007, China had 

honoured all of its 

commitments on trade in 

services and now, the 

breadth of the country’s 

openness in this sector 

is close to the average 

level of developed 

countries. 


even the Office of the 

United States Trade 

Representative had 

praised China’s 

performance in the 

WTO in many of its 

annual reports, saying 

the Chinese 

government had 

fulfilled WTO 

commitments. 

His words: “Since last 

year, the country has 

taken a slew of 

measures to further 

open up, including the 

tariff reduction for 

automobiles and 

cosmetics, the issuance 

of the foreign 

investment law, and 

widened market 

access. 

“Now, the 

manufacturing sector of 

the country is open to 

foreign investment in 

an all-round manner. 

In addition to keeping 

promises, China is 

doing further. 

“The major reform 

measures announced 

by Chinese President 

Xi Jinping at the 

second Belt and Road 

Forum for International 

Cooperation have won 

positive responses from 

the world, indicating 

that China is advancing 

steadfastly with full 

confidence. 

“China has always 

promoted consultation 

and negotiation with 

utmost sincerity, 

hoping to achieve an 

agreement that leads to 

win-win results based 

on equality and mutual 

respect ever since 

China and the United 

States started trade 

talks last year.” 

MECH TECH 2.0: From left—CEO, Automedics, Kunle Shonaike; graduate, MechTech 2.0, 

Halimat Adeyemi; CEO, Enyo Retail and Supply, Abayomi Awobokun; first prize winner, MechTech 2.0, 

Ayeni Akinyemi, and Chairman, MOMTAN, Alhaji Moruf Arowolo, at the graduation of MechTech 2.0 

students powered by Enyo in Lagos. 

Confusion, accusations in Imo 

over demolition of Akachi Tower 

•It’s Ihedioha’s first assignment—Okorocha 

•It must be unpaid contractors; we're focused on better things —Govt 

By Chinonso Alozie 

& Dennis Agbo 

ACCUSATIONS and 

counter-accusations 

have trailed the demolition 

of Akachi Tower in Owerri, 

Imo State. 

While the immediate past 

governor, Rochas 

Okorocha, said it was a first 

assignment of the new 

administration of Governor 

Emeka Ihedioha, the 

governor denied any 

knowledge of the 

demolition, but suggested 

that it could be the work of 

those who have been 

working around the statue 

without being paid by the 

Okorocha government. 

Okorocha, through his 

Special Adviser on Media, 

Sam Onwuemedo, said: 

“We want to also use this 

opportunity to inform the 

general public that 24 

hours after inauguration, 

the new PDP government 

in the state carried out its 

first assignment by 

demolishing Akachi (the 

symbolic hand of God) 

Tower erected by the former 

governor. 

“This is suspicious. They 

have also changed the Imo 

Trade and Investment 

Centre to Ahiajoku. The 

former governor had taken 

certain steps to bring Imo 

people closer to God. We 

have also heard that they 

want to close the 

Government House 

Chapel.” 

Ihedioha’s reacts 

Responding, Ihedioha 

through his Special 

Adviser on Media, Steve 

Osuji, said: “Imo State 

government has no hand 

•It was built on private land—Eyewitness 

•… as EFCC denies arresting Okorocha 

in the demolition of Akachi 

statue. Contrary to reports 

emanating from Owerri, 

the government of Imo 

State has no hand in the 

pulling down of the 

gargantuan Akachi statue 

near Aba Road, Owerri. 

“At about noon on 

Thursday (yesterday), a 

mammoth crowd had 

besieged the Akachi statue 

hacking at it and trying to 

pull it down, apparently 

acting in pent up anger. 

“According to reports, Imo 

people seem to have 

nursed a loathing for the 

statue right from the 

beginning, considering it a 

monument that portends 

ominous auguries for the 

people of the state. 

“Another version suggests 

that the contractors who 

have been working rather 

endlessly around the statue 

for some time, but who may 

have not been paid, may be 

responsible for the 

breaching of the giant 

statue. 

“If government deems it 

necessary to pull down the 

statue or any structure for 

that matter, it would be 

done properly and in 

accordance with the law. 

“Does it stand to reason 

that a government that is 

barely 24 hours old, with no 

handover notes whatsoever 

and without an office to 

work from, would concern 

itself with an ordinary 

statue? 

“Let it be known that the 

new government in Imo 

State has its eyes set on 

nobler goals which 

includes fast-tracking the 

rebuilding of Imo State. 

“It is interesting to note 

that the Akachi statue is a 

massive monument of a 

hand pointing 

heavenwards and rising 

about 50 feet into the 

atmosphere. Not many in 

Imo quite understand the 

significance of the baleful 

legacies of outgone 

governor, Rochas 

Okorocha.” 

Eyewitnesses' 

accounts 

Vanguard observed that 

the demolition started at 

about 02:15p.m. 

Meanwhile, security 

agents have taken over the 

location of the tower, 

halting the demolition. 

While an eyewitness told 

Vanguard that the 

demolition was carried out 

by the agents of the new 

government of Emeka 

Ihedioha, others were of the 

view that the land on which 

the Akachi Tower was built 

was forcefully collected from 

the original owners, who on 

their own decided to carry 

out the demolition. 

According to one 

Onyenso, “we saw some 

people in two hilux vehicles 

last night and some 

security people. They came, 

moved round the tower and 

later drove off. 

“Just this afternoon 

(yesterday), as we were 

working in our site, we saw 

a group of people with a 

caterpillar and they ordered 

the man in the caterpillar 

to start pulling down the 

Akachi Tower. 

“They were shouting ‘a 

new government has 

emerged and we are 

taking what belongs to us; 

nobody can stop us. There 

is a new government, old 

things have passed away 

and given way for a new 

thing.” 

Another, who did not 

want his name mentioned 

told Vanguard: “This 

land is not government's 

land. It belongs to some 

people. 

“It is like some people 

are angry and they want 

to take laws into their 

hands. With the way this 

thing has started, anything 

can happen at anytime. 

“Government must be 

guided and be careful of 

those using its name to take 

actions. This is taking a very 

bad shape, whether you 

like it or not.” 

...EFCC 

This is just as the 

Economic and Financial 

Crimes Commission, 

EFCC, has said it did not 

arrest Okorocha. 

It added that Okorocha 

had no invitation from them 

and urged people to 

disregard the rumours in 

the social media. 

EFCC spokesman, 

South-East regional 

office, Mr. Chris Oluka, 

told Vanguard in Enugu 

that the commission has 

been having issues with 

Okorocha but that the 

former governor has 

neither been invited for 

questioning nor arrested.

Britain, go or stay, stop 

diverting attention 

ANIGERIAN genius, Odia 

Ofeimun asked me a 

rhetorical question: “How does a 

minority, which takes control of the 

majority, retain power?” He 

answered: “By force or falsehood.” I 

added: “Or both.” Although he raised 

it within the context of the 

ethnocentric power relations in 

Nigeria, it is also true of Britain. 

The Vikings from the 

Scandinavian countries of Sweden, 

Norway and Denmark for three 

centuries from 800 AD, poured out, 

attacking ships and raiding coastal 

areas, especially in Europe. They 

later forced France to cede the 

northern part of the country to them, 

which they named Normandy. 

The Vikings had a sense of 

entitlement, so when the Anglo- 

Saxon (English) throne became 

vacant in 1066 following the death 

of Edward the Confessor, who left no 

heirs, Norwegian Vikings led by 

Harald Hardrada felt they had a 

right to seize the throne. But the 

invaders were defeated by the 

English led by Harold Godwinesson. 

However, the war-weary English 

were no match for a second invading 

Viking army, this time the Normans 

led by 38-year-old William, Duke of 

Normandy. William crowned 

himself, king of England on 

By Odidi Omoaka 

IT is reasonable to conclude that whenever 

the All Progressives Congress, APC, holds 

up the mirror to look at itself, the image that 

comes up is that of a once-in-an-age 

progressive entity created to remedy our 

national defects. Hard evidence, however, 

declines to support this distorted image. By 

June 11, if the ruling party’s desire comes to 

fruition, the control of three arms of the 

country’s government will be in the hands of 

moslems, the first time since the return to 

democratic rule in 1999. President 

Muhammadu Buhari is already the leader of 

the Executive arm. 

The Judiciary has Justice Tanko 

Mohammed in place as the Chief Justice of 

Nigeria, CJN, following the chicanery that 

ousted Justice Walter Onnoghen, a Southern 

Christian, as CJN. The President of the Federal 

Court of Appeal, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, 

and Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, 

Justice Adamu Abdu-Kafarati, like the CJN, 

are both moslems. 

Should things pan out as the APC has them 

planned, the Senate will have Senator Ahmed 

Lawan as president, with a strong possibility 

that his deputy will be Kabiru Gaya, who has 

been everything but coy about his ambition. 

The House of Representatives, by APC’s design, 

is expected to produce Femi Gbajabiamila, a 

moslem, as speaker. The Gbajabiamila camp 

has already settled for Idris Wase, a moslem 

from the North-Central zone, as deputy 

speaker. The design is similar to what the APC 

adopted in 2015, which had the same 

candidates for both positions. But it was 

outwitted by Senator Bukola Saraki and 

Aminu Dogara, who halted the plan for moslem 

headship of the two chambers by restoring 

religious balance. 

What this indicates is that the APC views 

Nigerian Christians, especially those in the 

South, as children of a lesser god, who deserve 

no more than political crumbs. Hints that the 

APC was designed as a special purpose vehicle 

Christmas Day in 1066 and became 

known as William the Bastard or 

William the Conqueror. 

Applying Ofeimun’s theory of how 

minorities rule majorities, history 

showed how the conquering Vikings/ 

Normans established the British 

monarchy which subsist until today, 

ruled the majority English, brought 

Scotland and Wales and part of 

Ireland under their control and 

called the new territory, United 

Kingdom. It also showed how small 

Britain invaded 95 countries in the 

world, conquering and colonising 

vast territories, including India and 

Nigeria, singing “Rule, Britannia! 

Britannia, rule the waves!” and 

vowing the sun will never set on its 

empire. 

But the sun actually set on it as the 

bruising Second World War saw the 

demise of the empire called “Great” 

Britain. A humbled Britain tried to 

join the European Common Market 

(now the European Union, EU) in 

1963 and 1967, but then French 

President, Charles De Gaulle vetoed 

it. His argument was that Britain 

with its balance of payment 

problems, devalued currency, 

tradition of obtaining cheap food 

from all parts of the world and its 

“habits and traditions” was unfit to 

join the rest of Europe. 

De Gaulle died in 1970, and three 

years later, Britain under Prime 

Minister Edward Heath, was 

admitted into the European 

Common Market. Forty nine years 

after De Gaulle blocked Britain, the 

country itself voted to exit the body 

in what has become known as Brexit. 

But in the last three years, Britain 

which had taken the democratic 

decision to exit the EU continues to 

dilly-dally rather than take a 

principled position. 

That tells a lot about Old Britain 

which, to use a trite English 

expression, wants to eat its cake and 

have it; it claims to belong to the 

European Union without wanting to 

abide by its basic programmes. A 

major achievement of the EU is a 

I would have 

campaigned for the 

Brexit 

entertainment to 

continue, except 

that it is diverting 

attention from 

serious global 

issues like 

insecurity 

common currency, the Euro, but 

Britain sticks to its British Pound. EU 

has a common visa, the Shengen, but 

Britain sticks to its own individual 

visa. Britain which had through the 

use of force, falsehood, cunning and 

unparalleled ruthlessness ruled, 

conquered, colonised or seized major 

parts of the world, including the 

United States, Canada, Australia, the 

Palestine and many parts of Africa, 

Asia and the Caribbean, in Brexit, 

exposed itself as merely a smart alec 

with a sense of entitlement. 

A question on moslem dominance of our politics 

to foist an Islamic domination agenda on 

Nigeria were there from when it emerged in 

2013 as a fusion of disparate political interests. 

It could not have been otherwise. The party’s 

leader, General Muhammadu Buhari (now 

president), has, in some quarters, been tagged 

a sectional champion. Early in 2014, an 

Islamic cleric, Ambassador Yusuf Garba, 

likened the APC to Egypt’s Muslim 

Brotherhood and accused it of harbouring 

plans to Islamise Nigeria. Garba, a member 

of a group named Religious Equity Promotion 

Council, REPC, arrived at his position just by 

looking at the APC Interim National Executive 

Committee, which was chock-full with 

moslems. 

Appointed as national chairman was Chief 

Bisi Akande, Aminu Bello Masari as Deputy 

national chairman, Tijani Musa Tumsah as 

national secretary, Nasir el-Rufai as deputy 

national secretary and Lai Mohammed as 

national publicity secretary. The party also 

appointed Sadiya Umar Faruq as national 

treasurer, Shaibu Musa as national financial 

secretary, Abubakar Lado as national youth 

leader, Muiz Banire as national legal adviser, 

Bala Jubrin as deputy national auditor and 

Sharia Ikeazor (a convert to Islam) as national 

woman leader. 

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and other 

groups, particularly the Christian Association 

of Nigeria, CAN, also warned that hints of bias 

in favour of Islam carry the potential to 

uncouple the country, as they were bound to 

reboot sectarian tensions. Their voices were, 

however, drowned out by the powerful APC 

propaganda machine, abetted by undiscerning 

Nigerians and power-seeking desperadoes. 

Further hints of the APC’s indifference to the 

country’s religious plurality manifested after 

General Buhari had emerged as presidential 

candidate and was shopping for a Southern 

running mate. It emerged that the party was 

considering Tinubu to run on a moslemmoslem 

ticket with Buhari, news of which 

provoked widespread disapproval, including 

from former President Olusegun Obasanjo. The 


Although it voluntarily joined a 

union which logically dictates that 

it must give up some of its 

sovereignty, Britain complained it 

was losing some sovereignty to the 

EU Executive and wanted it fully 

restored. While EU law allows free 

movement of member-country 

citizens, including the right to live 

and work in part of the continent, 

Britain sought to restrict the free 

movement of citizens from EU 

member countries, especially from 

Easter European countries like 

Romania and Poland. 

While Britain gets a lot of services 

from the EU, including subsidy for 

its farmers, it complains that it is 

contributing £13 billion ($19 

billion) annually to the EU. The 

Brexit supporters argued that it is 

better for Britain to directly control 

and utilize this contribution. 

So Britain held a referendum on 

June 23, 2016 based on the question: 

"Should the United Kingdom 

remain a member of the European 

Union or leave the European 

Union?" The result was 17,410,742 

or 51.89 percent voting Brexit and 

16,141,241 or 48.11 percent voting 

to remain. The results showed that 

the primary force for Brexit were the 

English who voted 53.38 percent for 

exit and 46.62 percent to remain. 

The only minority group that 

voted for exit was Wales with 52.53 

percent for and 47 percent against. 

Scotland which is trying to secede 

from the United Kingdom posted an 

overwhelming 62 percent to remain, 

while 38 percent voted to exit. 

Northern Ireland with its restless 

Irish population who want to have 

unfettered access to the rest of 

Ireland, voted 55.78 percent to 

remain while 44.22 percent voted 

Brexit. Only 33 percent of Asian 

voters and 27 percent Black voters 

wanted exit, the rest voted for Britain 

to remain in the EU. 

With the vote, Prime Minister 

APC back-tracked, picking Yemi Osinbajo, a 

Pentecostal pastor, and momentarily selling 

itself as a thoughtful entity. 

But old habits are notoriously tough to shake. 

Following its victory in the presidential 

election, the APC rebooted its agenda, with 

Buhari at the wheel. Among his first 

appointments, even while it took him six 

months to constitute a cabinet, were Lawal 

Daura, a retired officer recalled to head the 

Department of State Security, DSS; Hammid 

Ali, a retired Army officer as Comptroller- 

General of Customs; and Abba Kyari as Chief 

of Staff. The agenda proceeded with the 

appointment of Ibrahim K Idris, an assistant 

inspector-general of police, to replace 

Solomon Arase as inspector-general of police. 

That particular appointment induced, in one 

fell swoop, the retirement of 21 deputy 

inspectors-general of police and assistant 

inspectors-general of police, who were Idris’ 

seniors. 

The conduct of the APC in 

the last four years does not 

inspire hope that the next four 

will drip with sensitivity to 

religious or sectional balance 

It equally manifested in the President’s 

decision to replace Dr. Ibe Kachikwu as group 

managing director of the Nigerian National 

Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, with Dr. 

Miakanti Baru, a Northern moslem; and 

refusal to appoint, in substantive capacity, Mr. 

Matthew Seiyefa, as DSS director-general, 

after serving in acting capacity when Daura 

was sacked by the Vice President. Instead, 

Buhari appointed Yusuf Magaji Bichi, a 

moslem from Kano State. The same pattern 

could be seen in the replacement of Kemi 

Adeosun, a Yoruba Christian, who resigned as 

minister of finance. Her replacement turned 

out to be Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, who was said to 

have been the candidate of Governor Nasir el- 

Send Opinions & Letters to: 

opinions1234@yahoo.com 

David Cameron, who had 

campaigned to remain, resigned and 

his hardline Home Secretary, 

Theresa May who was also opposed 

to Brexit, replaced him, vowing to 

implement a programme she 

campaigned against. On March 29, 

2017, her government invoked 

Article 50 of the Treaty on European 

Union, starting a two-year process 

within which Britain was to exit the 

EU. That was when the tantrums 

started. So when the exit date came, 

Britain remained undecided, with 

Mrs. May rushing a number of times 

to European countries and the EU 

headquarters in Brussels to beg for 

more time which she got under 

humiliating circumstances. 

Although her three years in office 

has been consumed by Brexit, she has 

lost all votes in parliament on the 

issue. Brexit has become non-stop 

comedy in which Britain not only 

entertains on the world stage, but also 

popularises and coins all sorts of 

words and expressions. These 

include Brexit, Irish Backstop, Blind 

or Blindfold Brexit, Hard Border, 

Chequers Plan, No Deal Brexit, Hard 

Brexit, Soft Brexit, Slow Brexit, 

Leavers, Brexiteers, Brextremist, 

Brexiters, Lexiters, Brexiter, Remainer 

and Remoaner. 

Exactly one week ago, the Prime 

Minister tearfully resigned. Theresa 

May wept in May for failing to 

achieve the Brexit mission she never 

had faith in; it is not her failure, but 

that of her country which placed 

responsibilities on a person who by 

speech, demonstration and vote 

showed clearly she was opposed to 

Brexit. 

I would have campaigned for the 

Brexit entertainment to continue, 

except that it is diverting attention 

from serious global issues like 

insecurity, senseless wars, growing 

mass poverty, hunger and climate 

change. 

Rufai of Kaduna State. As such, it was not much 

of a surprise when el-Rufai, with insensitivity 

to the tinder-box religious situation in Kaduna 

State, settled for a moslem running-mate, a 

decision he said had the approval of President 

Buhari with whom he consulted. 

Bad as the situation is, there is a huge chance 

that it could get worse. Much worse, especially 

for Southern Christians. The conduct of the 

APC in the last four years does not inspire hope 

that the next four will drip with sensitivity to 

religious or sectional balance. By 2023, 

Nigerians will have another chance to elect a 

president. There is very little, if any, chance of 

Buhari’s successor being a Christian or 

Southerner. Rumoured to be keen on the job is 

el-Rufai, whose indifference to the plight of 

Christians in his state has seen communities 

explode with violence, one after the other, like 

firecrackers on a string. 

Tinubu, the Southerner, who is allegedly 

being pressured to run, is a moslem. The APC, 

it is safe to assume, will not hand its presidential 

ticket to a Christian, Northern or Southern. 

The chances of a Christian emerging Nigeria’s 

president in the near future, I believe, are waferthin. 

The northern political/religious 

establishment is ceaseless in saying politics is 

a numbers game. 

A recent study released by the US fact tank, 

Pew Research Centre, projects that Nigeria will 

be home to 9.5 per cent of the global moslem 

population by 2060. As at 2015, it stood at 5.1 

per cent. The projection is that local moslem 

population would have grown from a little 

over 90 million (50 per cent) in 2015 to 

283.1million (60.5 per cent). Conversely, the 

Christian population (86.6million in 2015) is 

projected to climb to 174.2million in 2060. 

While the 2015 figure (48.1 per cent of local 

population) gave Nigeria 3.8 per cent of the 

global Christian population, the projected 

2060 figure will have Nigerian Christians 

making up 37.2 per cent of local population 

and 5.7 per cent of global Christian 

population. Islam continues to spread 

globally. 

•Omoaka, a public affairs analyst, wrote from 

Abuja.


YOUR LUCK TODAY 

By Joshua Adeyemo Phone 08056180139 

GEMINI: Most of the exciting happenings are 

within your base of operation. And healthy relationships 

may start between you and other members of 

your work force. Take the initiative. 

CANCER: When it comes to passion/romance, you 

come first. And on a day like this when love is in 

the air, you can’t be left in the cold. Don’t be selfish 

please. 

LEO: Financial success may be what you want to 

celebrate with members of your opposite sex who 

unexpectedly arouse your passion. 

VIRGO: Many will desire you strongly today but 

you’ll equally attract the green-eyed monster called 

jealousy especially from your established relationship. 

Movement and communication will do the 

magic 

LIBRA: Romantic Venus and sexy Mars are bringing 

influences of money, friendship, real love and 

leadership to earth’s inhabitants. What do you want? 

SCORPIO: Venus, Mars and Pluto at work today 

will influence many of you to give more time to 

matters-of-the-heart, especially physical side of it. 

SAGITTARIUS: Love is in the air but if care is not 

taken, members of your opposite sex you see as your 

superiors (or boss) may become entangled. Watch 

it. 

CAPRICORN: Influence of the Moon today actually 

wants you to work hard but if you ignore love, 

you’ll not be able to concentrate on what you are 

doing. Friends will drive your fun-seeking vehicle 

along social circles. 

L E I S U R E 

TAKE HEART — ELLA RANDLE 

Whenever you think you can or think you can’t, 

either way you are right.” Henry Ford 

You can ask yourself these questions, what are 

you going to do now? What do you choose now? 

Because you can either keep focusing on that, or 

you can focus on what you want. And when 

people start focusing on what they want, what 

they don’t want falls away, and what they want 

becomes the expanded reality. Ella Randle 

TERROR MUDA in “Never say goodbye” 

SAYINGS OF 

OUR PEOPLE 

Brothers love 

each other 

when they 

are equally 

rich. ~ African 

proverb 

By Kola Fayemi 

AQUARIUS: Some of you will be falling in love 

for the first time. And those of you who are old in 

the act will have rare excitement and satisfaction. 

Money can come in. 

PISCES: You will find it relatively difficult to ignore 

love as attractive members of your opposite 

sex may go out of their way to gain your attention. 

DUDU in “ROLLING HOT” By A.O. OLAIDE 

ARIES: Powerful emotional feelings may overwhelm 

some of you and make you crave secret affair 

(with your subordinates?) It’s important you don’t 

allow scandal. 

TAURUS: Better opportunity to make money may 

come your way but those who want your affection 

and vice versa, may not allow you to concentrate 

fully. Take advantage of the opportunity to establish 

friendship with influential people. 

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 wrong with me? 

Dear Joshua, 

I have written you many letters without response, I hope 

I will be lucky this time around. What’s your e-mail address? 

Although, I am interested in my financial affair and will 

like to know what awaits me in the future as the ups and 

downs are giving me concern, what I want you to tell me 

is: Who is working spiritually against my marriage? I have 

married four times. Why? 

Dayo, Oyo. 

Dear Dayo, 

My e-mail is: joshuaadeyemo@yahoo.com If you have 

spiritual warfare, it is in your financial affairs. You were 

endowed with special ability to make money for both yourself 

and other people. 

However, three things can militate against your finances 

namely; inability to hold on to your gains for too long 

(miscalculation) jealousy and occultic manipulation by 

those who are green with envy. 

Yet, whatever happens, dire financial misfortune is not 

meant for you, especially if you heed advice from your 

star; your being spiritual will assist you. 

YOUR LOVE LIFE 

Fortunate placement of the Moon and Venus in Libra 

and Sagittarius endowed you with charming and magnetic 

personality which will make it easier for you to attract 

members of your opposite sex who will be willing to 

make you happy. But after sometime, your hidden aggressive 

personality and tendencies to worry will come out to 

the resentment of members of your opposite sex. 

Some other times, you promise more than you can deliver. 

Then yours is a jealous soul (yes everybody was born 

with jealous traits) but yours is extraordinary and if you 

have reason to doubt the other person, you may not be 

able to forgive. The summary here is that there’s not much 

spiritual aspect working against you here but your too 

strong or powerful personality is what you will need to 

work on: if at all you have problem with love. One sure 

bet is members of your opposite sex cannot do without 

your magnetic pose.. 

VIRGINIA 

HOME & ABROAD 

dadadekola@yahoo.com 

By Lawrence Akapa



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

We’ve developed framework 

to raise Bayelsa IGR by 90% 

— WOGMAN 

By Emem Idio 

Y BAYELSA 

ENAGOA— 

State 

Waterways Oil and Gas 

Marketers Association of 

Nigeria ,WOGMAN, said it 

had developed a framework 

that will help increase the 

Internally Generated 

Revenue, IGR, of the state 

by 90 per cent at the end of 

2019. 

State Chairman of 

WOGMAN, Progress 

Kemebigha, in a chat with 

newsmen in Yenagoa, said 

the framework would also 

help create 200 jobs 

annually to help tackle 

issues of unemployment in 

the state. 

Giving insight into the 

potentials of the waterways 

oil and gas sector of the 

state's economy, 

Okowa’ll surpass his first term 

achievements — OJO 


A m SABA—THE 

e m b e r 

representing Ukwuani 

constituency in the Delta 

State House of Assembly, 

Dr Alphonsus Ojo has said 

Governor Ifeanyi Okowa 

will surpass his first term 

achievements in his second 

tenure. 

Speaking with newsmen 

during the swearing-in of 

the governor, Wednesday at 

the Asaba township 

stadium, Ojo said; “Okowa 

is a hardworking governor. 

He came in as governor in 

2015 when the country was 

experiencing economic 

recession yet he was able 

to do a lot for us. 

Activist urges DTHA to pass 

Coastal Areas Devt Agency Bill 

By Emma Amaize 

Aa SABA—ACTIVIST 

n d 

environmentalist, Mr. 

Sheriff Mulade, yesterday, 

called on the Delta State 

House of Assembly to 

expedite passage of the 

Coastal 

Areas 

Development Agency, 

CADA Bill, will catalyze 

development, boost 

security and give a sense 

of belonging to riverine 

communities in the state. 

Congratulating Governor 

Ifeanyi Okowa and his 

deputy, Kingsley Otuaro on 

their swearing-in for a 

second term in office, 

Mulade, who is the chief 

promoter of the bill, “The 

riverine communities that 

contribute 80 percent to the 

state treasury lack social 

basic amenities such as 

electricity, portable 

drinking water, good 

healthcare, quality 

education, good roads and 

transportation. 

“Creating the Coastal 

Areas Development 

Agency will promote peace, 

Kemebigha said the state 

stands to gain more if 

modern approaches are 

used to engage youths in 

the sector as stakeholders 

and marketers. 

He said: “Rather than let 

unemployed youths in the 

state to continue to lament 

in the midst of plenty, one 

basic thing we would do is 

to train and register them 

with major oil and gas 

marketers, so that they can 

become independent 

marketers. 

“We will take the state back 

to the days when people in 

riverine areas enjoyed the 

services of floating filling 

stations and petroleum 

products were easily 

accessed at official pump 

price. The ideas behind this 

new framework is to also 

tackle issues such crude oil 

theft and illegal refining 

that have plagued the 

nation’s economy for long.'' 

“His projects are all over 

the state. He touched all the 

critical areas ranging from 

roads, education, health, 

agriculture, job creation 

and human capital 

development. 

“Okowa was able to 

manage the very lean 

resources of the state to 

build infrastructure. 

Indeed, he showed his 

commitment to the well 

being of the state; he didn’t 

hide his passion for the 

development of the state. 

“Okowa will do more in 

his second tenure. He has 

hit the ground running 

already. He has turned the 

state to a construction site. 

Work is going on in virtually 

every local government of 

the state.'' 

bring development, employment 

and reduce crime 

in the riverine communities 

“Creation of CADA will 

help check security 

problems, reduce conflicts 

between International Oil 

Companies and host 

riverine communities, it will 

also boost the security 

situation and attract 

investors to the coastal 

areas, thereby bringing 

development to them.'' 

Egbule to present book on 

entrepreneurship 

A 

former Nigerian 

Vocational 

Association, NVA 

,President, Prof. Patrick 

Egbule, a professor of 

Vocational and Agricultural 

Economics, will present a 

book 

titled 

“ Entrepreneurship, 

fundamentals and 

practices under the astute 

chairmanship of Prof. A.E. 

Anigala, former Deputy 

Vice Chancellor, 

Buhari, govs urged to fulfil campaign 

promises 

By Jimitota 

Onoyume 

W 

A R R I — 

PRESIDENT 

Muhammadu Buhari and 

governors sworn into offices 

on Wednesday have been 

urged to abide by their 

campaign promises to the 

electorate. 

Bishop of the Diocese of 

Warri Anglican 

communion, Rt Rev 

Christian Ide made the 

appeal in his Bishop’s 

Charge at the first session 

....As CENTREP tasks FG to implement electoral 

reports for future polls 

By Perez Brisibe 

U CENTRE GHELLI— 

for the 

Vulnerable and the 

Underprivileged, 

CENTREP, has asked 


Buhari to use his second 

term in office to implement 

the reports by the 

Muhammed Uwais, 

Sheikh Lemu and Ken 

Nnamani Electoral Reform 

panels in a bid to enhance 

the conduct of future 

general elections’ 

nationwide. 

The group also described 

previous elections in the 

country 

since 

independence as a “big 

joke” saying, “Our nation 

has remained a laughing 

Academics, Delta State 

University, Abraka, 

while the book review is 

Prof. Sunny Awhefeada. 

Expected at the event 

is Prof. Pat. Utomi, while 

the host is the Vice 

Chancellor, Delta State 

University, Abraka, Prof. 

Victor Peretomode. The 

event is slated to hold on 

June 8, at the Faculty of 

Education, Dean’s 

Conference hall, Abraka, 

Delta State. 

of the 13th synod of the 

Diocese with the theme 

“Our True Identity,” at the 

Cathedral Church of St 

Andrew, Okere-Warri, 

Delta State. He stressed 

that politicians should not 

take Nigerians for a ride as 

they were voted into 

various political offices on 

account of their campaign 

promises. 

Lamenting the killings 

and violence that 

characterised the general 

election in several parts of 

the country, he said that the 


should take urgent steps to 

avert a repeat of the ugly 

experience in future 

stock in the eyes of the 

whole world for too long 

simply because elections 

nationwide have remained 

a big joke since 

independence.” 

CENTREP’s Executive 

Director, Ogehenejabor 

Ikimi in a statement 

yesterday, said: “The 

Second and Third 

Republics general 

elections nationwide were 

a sham as same signalled 

the beginning of vote 

buying and other vices 

inimical to credible, free 

and fair election except for 

the 1993 Presidential 

election. 

“We make bold to say that 

since independence, 

general elections 

nationwide have been a big 

joke. The Fourth Republic 

which began in May 29, 

1999 ushered in a new vice 

of ballot snatching, ballot 

stuffing and vote 

allocations into our electoral 

process amongst other 

vices. 

“The above no doubt 

necessitated the then 

incumbent President, 

Umaru Yar Adua in the 

year 2007 to set up the 

Uwais Electoral Reform 

Panel in a bid to reforming 

our stunted and deformed 

electoral process. 

“Then came President 

Goodluck Jonathan, who in 

the year 2011 set up the 

Sheikh Lemu Electoral 

elections by initiating 

electoral reforms that will 

also introduce modern 

technology in the electoral 

process. 

“It is time to move forward 

as a nation. All the 

negative reports that 

followed the elections 

should set us thinking on 

how we can improve on the 

current electoral process. 

This would require electoral 

reforms of the current 

Electoral Act. We call on the 

executive and the 

legislature to begin reforms 

on the Electoral Act early 

enough so that all will be 

set for the next general 

election in year 2023. They 

Reform Panel also in a bid 

to reforming our nation’s 

electoral process. 

“The Sheikh Lemu Ianel 

like the Uwais Panel 

recommended a wide range 

of electoral reforms. 

However, neither did the 

administration of the late 

Yar Adua nor that of 

President Jonathan have 

the will power to implement 

the above wide range of 

useful reforms 

recommended by both 

panels. 

“In the year 2015, came 

the Ken Nnamani Electoral 

Access Bank 

G r o u p 

Managing 

Director, 

Herbert Wigwe 

taking a selfie 

photograph 

with some of 

the students at 

Girls Secondary 

Grammar 

School, Ikoyi to 

celebrate 

Children’s Day. 

should particularly think 

along the line of 

introducing modern 

technology in the electoral 

process that would ensure 

free, fair and credible 

elections,” he said. 

Congratulating Governor 

Ifeanyi Okowa on his reelection, 

the Anglican 

Church also commended 

the governor for signing 

into law “Delta State Public 

and Private Properties bill 

2018,” saying that it “Will 

curb the incessant 

harassment of developers , 

particularly by youths who 

often times chase away 

investors who are ready to 

do business.” 

Reform Panel set up by the 

incumbent President 

Buhari 

which 

recommended a wide range 

of reforms as an addendum 

to the ones recommended 

by the Uwais and Lemu 

panels but till date, no 

white paper had been 

published by the Federal 

Government on the said 

recommendations just like 

the two previous 

administrations owing 

largely to glaring systemic 

errors and lack of will power 

to reform our electoral 

process. 

SPG Marine warns mischief makers 

THE management of 

SPG Marine Service 

Nigeria Limited, an oil and 

gas servicing firm operating 

in Yenagoa, Port Harcourt, 

Benin Republic, Ghana, 

and Cameroon, has 

declared war on people it 

termed mischief makers 

and those trying to smear 

the image of the company. 

A press statement by the 

company's General 

Manager, Mr. Bredino 

Hilton Jacobs, in Yenagoa, 

Bayelsa State yesterday 

read in part: "Going 

forward, we will be seeking 

legal recourse and working 

very closely with security 

officials to address any 

attempt by any 

organisation, group of 

persons, or individual to 

tarnish the reputation 

we've built for SPG Marine 

Service over the years," he 

said. 

"SPG Marine Service 

have been operating in the 

maritime sector, within and 

outside Nigeria, for 

upwards of 3 years. We 

meet our contractual 

obligations to our clients 

and always try to give back 

to communities we operate 

from through our Corporate 

Social Responsibility 

initiatives, one of which is 

SPG Football Club." 

"It is however surprising 

and quite disappointing that 

despite all these, some 

group of persons, for 

reasons best known to 

them, will make attempts at 

sullying the reputation of 

SPG Marine Service. We 

will be tough on all such 

persons or group of people," 

he said.


NUPENG asks Buhari to rejig economic 

team, prioritise security, infrastructure 

By Victor 

Ahiuma-Young 

NIGERIA Union of 

Petroleum and 

Natural Gas Workers, 

NUPENG, yesterday, 

pleaded with President 

Muhammadu Buhari to 

rejig his economic team 

and prioritise security as 

well as infrastructural 

development among 

others, as he begins his 

second term of four years 

as president of Nigeria. 

While congratulating 

Nigeria and its citizens 

for a peaceful and 

successful inauguration 

of 

President 

Muhammadu Buhari 

and Vice-President Yemi 

Osinbajo, on 

Wednesday, NUPENG 

in a statement by its 

President, Prince 

William Akporeha, 

among others, urged 

“the government to look 

into the collapsed state of 

country’s security 

architecture, especially 

the increasing cases of 

kidnapping, armed 

banditry, communal 

clashes, insurgency, 

advanced fee fraud, 

cyber cimes, Boko 

Haram, ritual killings, 

herder-farmer conflicts, 

cattle rustling and youth 

restiveness. 

"The high prevalence of 

insecurity in Nigeria has 

given rise to drastic cut 

in supply chain of both 

cash and food crops from 

the rural communities. 

Worst still, this has led 

to rural-urban migration, 

a situation that has 

snowballed into 

population explosion 

and avoidable 

overstretched 

infrastructure in the 

urban centres as people 

are looking for safety 

and protection of their 

lives. Regrettably, this is 

a fresh threat that could 

trigger famine in the 

country. 

“Besides, this menace 

has drastically reduced 

investment profile of 

Nigeria because both 

local and foreign 

investors are scared of the 

hostile and insecure 

environment, which is a 

big risk to them and their 

financial institutions. 

"As a result of this, many 

employable Nigerians are 

grappling with acute 

unemployment and the 

few that are engaged are 

faced with job insecurity. 

“NUPENG therefore 

calls on President 

Muhammadu Buhari, 

having attained this fresh 

milestone and mandate to 

speedily nip the security 

challenges of the country 

in the bud with such 

proactive intervention. We 

believe this will serve as 

springboard to open 

windows of opportunities 

for socio-economic growth 

and advancement." 

MOU: From left, Mr. Kennedy Ighodaro, Executive Director, DLM 

Advisory Partners; Ademola Seriki, Chairman, Primero Transport 

Services Limited, and Mr. Fola Tinubu, Managing Director, Primero 

Transport Services Limited at the signing ceremony of N16.50 billion 

Series 1 Medium Term Note transaction under the N100 biilion 

Securitisation Programme sponsored by the company, in Lagos. 

Gov Zulum orders immediate 

payment of salary/pension arrears 

By Ndahi 

Marama 

M AIDUGURI— 

GOVERNOR 

Babagana Zulum of Borno 

State, yesterday, ordered 

immediate payment and 

settlement of all 

outstanding salary and 

pension arrears of civil 

servants who had 

undergone biometric data 

capture or yet to do before 

Group tasks Edo govt on 

social amenities for Illushi 

community 

ILLUSHI Progressive 

Association of Nigeria, 

IPAN, in Esan South-East 

Local Government Area of 

Edo State, has called on the 

state government to come 

to the aid of the community 

by providing social 

amenities, such as roads, 

potable water and 

electricity. 

Chairman of the 

association, Christopher 

Okeh, in a statement, 

yesterday, also frowned at 

the activities of land 

speculators in the 

community. 

Okeh, who noted that 

previous governments in 

the state abandoned the 

community, appealed to 

Governor Godwin Obaseki 

to extend to the people of 

the community the 

development he had 

started in several parts of 

the state. 

He pledged the support 

and commitment of Illushi 

people to the state and 

federal governments. 

On land speculation, 

Okeh said for any valid sale 

of land in the community 

to take effect, the approval 

of the elders must be 

obtained. 

Warning those conniving 

with land speculators for 

purpose of illegal purchase 

of land in the community 

to stop forthwith, he said: 

"Anybody who buys any 

portion of the land 

belonging to Illushi 

community without the 

approval of the entire 

community does so at his 

or her own risk.” 

He stressed the need for 

sons and daughters of 

Illushi community in 

diaspora to pool their 

resources together for 

purposes of developing the 

community and enhancing 

the living standards of the 

people. 

the Eid-el fitr celebration. 

The governor gave the 

directive when Chairman of 

Nigeria Labour Congress, 

NLC, Bulama Abiso, led 

other executive members 

on a solidarity/courtesy call 

on him at the Government 

House, Maiduguri. 

Recall that his 

predecessor, Kashim 

Shettima, for over three 

years introduced 

controversial biometric data 

of all civil servants, which 

led to stoppage of salary 

payments of thousands of 

civil servants directly or 

indirectly affected by Mr. 

Bako led-committee. 

But putting smiles on the 

faces of the affected workers 

and pensioners, Zulum 

directed all permanent 

secretaries in the ministries 

and heads of government 

parastatalls/boards/ 

agencies to immediately 

compile list of their affected 

staff/pensioners, bring it on 

his table on or before June 

3, 2019 for approval and 

payment before the 

forthcoming sallah. 

His words: “As 

government, we cannot 

allow some of our civil 

servants affected by the 

biometric data to continue 

to suffer without paying 

their entitlements for the 

past three years when the 

exercise was introduced. 

For now, I am not interested 

in anything called biometric 

data, but to see that even if 

it is a table payment, all 

those affected in the 

exercise should be paid 

pending when they are 

found to be guilty or 

collecting different salaries 

in the name of ghost 

workers." 

Audit of LG account necessary 

to fast-track grassroots devt 

—Banigo 

By Davies 

Iheamnachor 

PORT HARCOURT— 

Rivers State Deputy 

Governor, Dr. Ipalibo 

Harry-Banigo, has said the 

essence of setting up a 

committee, by Governor 

Nyesom Wike, to 

investigate and audit the 

financial transactions of the 

23 local government areas 

of the state was to 

reposition the local 

government areas for 

grassroots development 

and democratic dividends. 

Banigo spoke, yesterday, 

at the Government House, 

Port Harcourt, when the 

local government area 

Audit Committee met with 

chairmen of the 23 councils 

in the state. 

It will be recalled that 

Wike inaugurated a 

committee to investigate 

and audit the financial 

transactions of the 23 

councils from May 2018 to 

May 2019 on Tuesday, with 

a three-week mandate to 

complete and submit its 

report. 

Banigo warned that the 

committee would not 

tolerate any attempt to 

interfere with the smooth 

running of its business by 

any form of inducement 

whatsoever, stressing that 

any of such attempt would 

be resisted. 

She noted that the 

committee would not 

hesitate to indict any council 

as well as other 

stakeholders that fail to give 

its maximum cooperation. 

However, Chairman of 

Port Harcourt LGA, Victor 

Ihunwo, assured the 

committee that the 

chairmen of the 23 councils 

would give their maximum 

support to ensure that the 

committee succeeds. 

Huawei competition aims at inspiring ICT learning in 

Africa —MD 

M Director 

ANAGING 

of 

Huawei Technologies, 

Abuja Office, Nigeria, 

Tank Li, has said the ICT 

competition organised by 

the firm is aimed at 

inspiring ICT learning in 

Africa. 

This was made known 

in Abuja during the 

presentation of Ahmadu 

Bello University, ABU, 

students who 

represented Africa and 

Nigeria at 2018/2019 

Hauwei Global ICT 

competition in China. 

Li said: “Huawei 

understands the value of 

a good talent ecosystem, 

which is the foundation 

for a smart future. In the 

past 30 years, Huawei 

has made a lot of efforts 

to cultivate ICT talents by 

sharing accumulated 

knowledge systems and 

best practices. 

“Faced with the 

challenges of the future 

ICT industry, this ICT 

competition is part of our 

innovative initiatives to 

support and promote ICT 

skills. We believe that this 

Delt govt urged to set up 

Burutu devt agency 

By Onozure 

Dania 

LEADER of Burutu 

Local Government 

Area Legislative Arm, Delta 

State, Mr. Joseph Alubeze- 

Fuludu, has urged 

Governor Ifeanyi Okowa to 

establish Burutu 

Development Agency just 

like the Uvwie/Warri Area 

Agency to address 

developmental gap 

between the council and 

others in the state. 

Alubeze-Fuludu also 

made appeal to Okowa to 

consider Burutu council for 

two commissionership slots. 

Speaking to journalists in 

Warri, Alubeze-Fuludu 

hailed the governor on his 

successful swearing-in as 

governor of the state for a 

second term. 

He also appealed to the 

state government to extend 

the hand of fellowship by 

establishing Burutu 

Development Agency for 

efficient road network in the 

riverine area, pointing out 

that the agency will no 

event will inspire more 

students in ICT learning 

in Africa. This platform 

provides students with a 

world-class stage to 

showcase themselves and 

consolidate the vital ICT 

needed for Africa’s 

development.” 

Three Nigerian 

students emerged the top 

three winners in the 

Global Final of Huawei 

ICT Competition, in 

Dongguan, China. 

They competed with 49 

other teams with a total 

of 147 students 

representing 30 countries 

racing for the global 

doubt open business 

opportunities with other 

sister communities if 

approved. 

He explained that the 

riverine areas of the state 

were in dire need of roads 

and bridges because of the 

terrain, hence the call since 

Deltans have identified the 

state governor as road 

master across the state and 

silent achiever. 

Commending the 

governor for his laudable 

projects his last four years 

had recorded, Alubeze- 

Fuludu said he has no 

doubt that the next four 

years of Okowa’s 

administration will surpass 

the record of the past four 

years. 

Calling on the people of 

Burutu council to queue 

behind Okowa’s 

administration and give 

him maximum supports, he 

said Burutu people had 

gained much in his last four 

years administration, but it 

will not stop them asking 

for more. 

trophy. 

One of the winners, 

Adebayo Abdulqudus, a 

22-year-old Nigerian 

said: “For the past eight 

months, we left our 

families, we left relatives, 

we left our friends, we left 

out social lives, and we 

participated in the 

Huawei ICT competition 

to win." 

“Though we got the 

third prize at the global 

finals, our participation, 

the experience and the 

opportunity to learn are 

the most important things 

of all.”


Crocodile tears for Zamfara and a 

culture of interference 

THE immediate reason why the 

Supreme Court ruling on 

Zamfara has sparked a civil war in 

the All Progressives Congress, APC, 

is that the decision could further 

complicate the outcome of the 

leadership vote in the 

ninth National Assembly in a few 

days. 

Before the ruling nullified the 

election of the three APC senators 

from Zamfara, the party had 65 

senators, for example, which is seven 

less than the two-thirds majority 

required to produce the next Senate 

president, without help from the 

opposition. 

With the party unable to persuade 

Senator Ali Ndume to step down for 

Senator Ahmed Lawan, the Supreme 

Court’s decision worsens the APC’s 

numerical nightmare in the 

legislature. But it improves the 

chances of the Peoples Democratic 

Party, PDP, to renew, possibly for 

another four years, the gift of 

political adultery which it has 

enjoyed these past years in the 

Saraki-Ekweremadu love affair. 

But the problem is not only short 

term. At the state level, the tally has 

improved from the pre-election status 

of 23-12 in favour of the APC to the 

current 19-16, with at least two key 

states of Osun and Kano still 

undecided by the courts and one 

potentially consequential 

governorship election (Kogi) coming 

up later this year. 

Given the demi-god role that 

governors play in local and national 

politics, largely because of the 

enormous funds they control, the 

stage is set for a showdown between 

the APC and the PDP in the next four 

years, with a huge army of APC 

discontents, further splitting 

themselves between the PDP, and 

possibly, a new third force. 

Soft target 

And all this appears down to the 

spectacular mismanagement of the 

APC primaries as a result of 

corruption, incompetence and the 

blatant refusal of party mandarins 

to follow the rules. I’ll come back to 

this shortly. 

In response to the Supreme Court 

judgement which declared that votes 

for the party in the governorship and 

legislative elections were wasted, the 

party’s deputy national chairman, 

Lawal Shuaibu, asked national 

chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, to 

resign. Making the era of John 

Odigie-Oyegun look like the party’s 

golden age, Shuaibu said 

Oshiomhole had failed and brought 

nothing but grief and misery to the 

party. 

In the meantime, Oshiomhole, 

who you can bet on my dime would 

return fire, has trained his own gun 

elsewhere. He aimed at the Supreme 

Court judgement, accusing the court 

of stretching technicalities, rather 

than the substance of the law to 

ridiculous limits, and by so doing 

imposing strangers on the people of 

Zamfara, as if their misery at the 

hands of bandits was not enough. 

I don’t know what Oshiomhole 

wanted the Supreme Court to do, but 

if the Court indeed imposed 

strangers on the people of Zamfara, 

then the APC opened the door and 

offered the strangers front seats. This 

is one of the states in the North where 

the opposition PDP has never won 

elections since the beginning of the 

Fourth Republic 20 years ago. It’s 

been solid anti-PDP, along with Borno 

and Yobe, before party shenanigans 

opened the door. 

Strangers in the house 

The former governor, Abdulaziz 

Yari, is the stranger-in-chief. He spent 

more time in Abuja either looking 

after himself or looking after the 

Governor’s Forum than he spent in 

Gusau. And instead of going quietly 

after his eight wasted years, he 

insisted on imposing a successor on 

the long-suffering people of the state. 

It was the fight between Yari and 

another desperado, Senator Kabir 

Marafa, that would wreck the party, 

with the two men calling God as 

witness that their selfish notion of 

justice had not been served. 

Surely, Oshiomohle remembers 

that there were no primaries in 

Zamfara after Yari threatened that 

anyone from the party’s 

headquarters who came to the state 

to conduct one would not return to 

Abuja alive. Rather than face Yari 

and Marafa - the party’s nemesis in 

Zamfara - and confront allegations 

of serious corruption in the primaries 

(with some people spending as much 

as N4 billion, according to multiple 

credible sources), Oshiomhole has 

I don’t know what 

Oshiomhole wanted the 

Supreme Court to do, 

but if the Court indeed 

imposed strangers on 

the people of Zamfara, 

then the APC opened 

the door and offered the 

strangers front seats 

chosen the soft and convenient target: 

the Supreme Court. 

Zamfara was the metaphor of 

APC’s catastrophic primaries in a 

number of states and Oshiomhole 

cannot pretend otherwise. In Delta, 

Imo, Rivers, Adamawa, Ogun and 

Lagos, it was a shambolic spectre of 

bribes, shady deals, intimidation, 

blackmail and rules-bending in 

varying degrees, with the national 

secretariat worsted in all outcomes. 

Yet, party secretariat turmoil has a 

fairly long recent history; a culture 

that often produces temporary 

pleasure and comfort for the 

instigators, but ultimately, never 

ends well. 

Obasanjo’s seed 

Like many bad habits in the last 

two decades, former President 

Olusegun Obasanjo was the first 

major exponent of meddling in party 

affairs and later, hijacking the party 

completely. A former PDP governor 

told me on Tuesday that it was under 

Solomon Lar, the first chairman of 

the PDP, that the office of party 

chairman became a tollgate - 

something that might 

never have happened 

had Sunday Awoniyi 

emerged the 

chairman of the 

party. 

The former 

governor said after 

party primaries had 

been conducted and 

winners announced, it 

was common, under 

Lar, to find an 

unexpected letter from 

the chairman’s office 

nominating a 

completely different 

candidate or list of 

candidates, and saying: “This letter 

substitutes any previous letter you 

may have received on this matter.” 

To checkmate this problem, 

Obasanjo who had just been drafted 

by the military to run for office, 

mobilised ten governors who 

confronted Lar and apart from 

“imposing” Obasanjo’s running 

mate (Atiku Abubakar) on Lar, also 

paved the way for Obasanjo to 

demand his resignation. 

After Lar’s execution, Obasanjo 

increasingly took control of the party 

to the point where he got former 

Governor James Ibori and co to 

amend the party’s constitution which 

then vested him with the position of 

chairman of the BOT - the party’s 

alpha and omega - apart from being 

president. 

His initial intention was to bend 

the party to his will, but over time 

interference became entrenched and 

widespread. The habit festered, 

infecting not only the PDP but also 

other political parties, which were, 

to be honest, the PDP’s Siamese 

cousins. 

The aftermath 

As politicians crossed and 

crisscrossed carpet, the habit of 

malicious interference in the party 

secretariat mutated to the point these 

days where government officials 

think they are in charge of the party 

and party officials think they are in 

charge of the government. 

When, for example, Oshiomhole 

stepped into line, displacing the chief 

of defence staff, to receive Presidentelect 

Muhammadu Buhari at the 

Eagles Square on Wednesday, he 

didn’t mean any harm. He was just 

overwhelmed by Freudian 

grandeur; grandeur that has not 

only blurred party-government lines, 

but which has also conquered it. 

Yet, an important distinction in 

style remains: if Obasanjo reduced 

the party to a mere pawn, Buhari’s 

aloofness has created a mushroom 

of aggressively contending power 

centres and radical cells, with each 

centre or cell eager to use the party 

to its own advantage. And that 

advantage means only one thing: 

getting power at any cost. 

I can understand Oshiomhole 

thinking that the Supreme Court is 

his problem. He’s probably too 

occupied with mourning his party’s 

current loss and the blemish on his 

record as chairman to see that the 

problem goes much deeper. I can 

also understand Shuaibu asking 

Oshiomhole to resign. He’s too 

concerned about the party’s 

numerical nightmare, not to 

mention Oshiomhole’s grating style, 

to see that the problem goes much 

deeper. 

Until the party becomes more than 

a mere vehicle to get power for its 

own sake; until it has some clear 

organising principles, develops and 

honours a system that keep its 

leaders honest and accountable, it 

would continue to drift. And it 

requires more than taking a stab at 

the Supreme Court, playing musical 

chairs with the party leadership or 

asking for Oshiomhole’s head, to fix 

the broken system. 

The party must find its soul. 

I’ll go into full time farming 

after leaving office — Dickson 

By Samuel 

Oyadongha 

Y ENAGOA—GOVERNOR 

Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa 

State, has said that he will go into 

full time farming when he leaves 

office next year. 

Dickson noted that investing in 

agriculture would create 

sustainable economy for the 

people and urged the youths to 

embrace farming. 

The governor in an interview 

at his country home farm, at Toru- 

Orua in Sagbama Local 

Government Area of the state, 

yesterday, said “When my tenure 

as governor rounds up, I will go 

into full time farming. We must 

understand the importance of 

investing in agriculture. 

“One is to be able to provide 

food and create jobs. We must 

imbibe the spirit, because for me, 

agriculture is paramount and is 

about creating sustainable 

economy. Seriake Dickson’s 

Farm has been in existence since 

2002. I started farming in 2007 

when I was a House of 

Representatives member. 

“I have my farmland here in 

Sagbama, about 25 hectares and 

I have various farm produce, 

including fish farming, crops, 

Delta rakes N5.06bn IGR in 

April 

By Perez 

Brisibe 

UGHELLI—THE member 

representing Delta South 

senatorial district on the Delta 

State Board of Internal Revenue, 

Barry Gbe has said the current 

board has surpassed previous 

boards in tax drive having closed 

the 2018 year with N58billion as 

against N35billion per annum by 

the preceding boards. 

He also placed the gross 

collection in the state Internally 

Generated Revenue, IGR, for the 

month of April at N5, 

006,643,796.51. 

Speaking on measures being 

put in place to scale up the IGR 

in the state, he said: “We opened 

a window for tax reconciliation, 

improved on technology, e- 

collections and auditing to enable 

the revenue collection process. 

“We also improved our 

enforcement processes, opened 

vegetables, cattle rearing among 

others. In Yenegwe, Yenegoa 

Local Government Area, I have 

over 30 hectares and the one in 

Abuja, Kolangwua Tupa is about 

a 100 hectares. 

“I developed interest in 

farming here in the village (Toru- 

Orua) with my parents’ plantain 

plantation because my father was 

a farmer,” he explained. 

Dickson decried the over 

dependent of the people on 

government for employment, 

describing it “as the tragedy of 

an under developed deprived 

environment like Bayelsa where 

everybody thinks that survival 

must come from government.” 

On the state government efforts 

to develop agriculture, he said 

“We have made a lot of investment 

to enable our people engage in 

farming. We have built an 

aquaculture village in Yenagoa 

and there we have over 2, 000 

young fishermen undergoing 

training. 

“We have also built 35, 000 birds 

capacity poultry and that has been 

handed over to the University of 

Africa, Sagbama. We have 

cassava /starch processing 

factory, which is the largest not 

only in Nigeria but Africa. It was 

built by a Dutch company.” 

Ekere vs Udom Emmanuel: 

Tribunal strikes out REC’s name 

By Chioma 

Onuegbu 

UYO —THE Governorship 

Election Petition Tribunal 

sitting in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State 

has struck out name of the 

Resident Electoral Commissioner 

REC, Mike Igini in the petition 

by All Progressives Congress, 

APC and its candidate, Obong 

Nsima Ekere, challenging the 

outcome of the outcome of the 

governorship election held 

March 9, 2019. 

Chairman of the tribunal A. M 

Yakubu struck out Igini’s name 

during yesterday’s proceedings 

on the grounds that Igini 

functioned only as an Officer of 

the Independent National 

Electoral Commission, INEC, 

which is already the third 

respondent in the petition. 

The tribunal decision followed 

a motion raised by counsel to 

INEC Sylva Ogwemon, SAN, 

who argued that Igini’s name was 

not supposed to be joined in the 

suite. 

APC and Ekere had joined Igini 

in the petition in which they are 

challenging victory of Udom 

Emmanuel of the People’s 

Democratic Party, PDP, in the said 

election. 

Chairman of the tribunal 

wondered why the petitioners 

had joined the name of the REC 

in the suit in the first instance. 

According to Yakubu, Igini had 

no personal case to answer 

having only functioned as an 

officer of INEC, “which” is 

already a party in the petition and 

not in his personal capacity.” 

Counsel to the petitioner, 

S.Okutepa, SAN, apologised to 

the tribunal over the time wasted 

on the erroneous joinder. 

window for tax reconciliation, 

expanded the tax net through 

informal sector penetration and 

drive the tax process through the 

informal sector which has been 

under tapped, looked around the 

motor licensing area, revenue 

collection of road taxes, ground 

rent, and moved to redefine some 

other processes to redefine the 

collection process as well as on 

direct assessments. 

“So, all of these improvement 

areas outside the PAYE, 

accounted for the growth. We 

have been able to move up 

revenue from an average of 

N35billion per annum in 2014/ 

2013 to what we close with of 

N58billion in 2018. 

“We started the process in 2015 

when we came on board, and it 

started materializing in mid 2016 

and through proper execution, we 

have started getting result and 

we are sure that if given more 

time, on these strategies we have 

put in place, we are sure of 

growing it far above what we 

closed with in 2018.”



IFEDIORA 

I, formerly known as Frank 

Ifediora Chukwunonso, now 

wish to be known as Frank 

Vincent. All former 

documents remain valid. 

General public please take 

note. 

ONUOHA 

I, formerly known as Chioma 

Chika Suzanna Onuoha, now 

wish to be known as Chioma 

Chika 

Suzanna 

Chukwuemeka. Former 



note. 

OKEREKE 

I, formerly known as Miss 

Chinyere Okoro Okereke, now 

wish to be known as Mrs. 

Chinyere Patricia Shedrack. All 

former documents remain 

valid. General public please 

take note. 

EBE 


Ebe Chinenye Jessica, now 


Odo Chinenye Jessica. All 


Valid. General public take 

note. 

ADEKUNLE 


Moriliat Olaide Adekunle, 

now wish to be known as 

Mrs Moriliat Olaide 

Naphew. All former 


General public take note. 

ADEWUNMI 

I, formerly known as 

Adewunmi Idowu Funmilola, 


Ashimi Idowu Rukayat. All 


valid. General public take 

note. 

ONYEGBULE 


Onyegbule Vivian Ihuoma, 


Mrs Egbujor Ambrose Vivian 

Ihuoma. All former 

documents remain valid. Imo 

State Civil Service and general 

public please take note. 

OKEOGHENE 


Okeoghene Beauty Irorobeje, 

now wish to be known as Mrs 

Okeoghene Beauty Bialeke. 

All former documents remain 

valid, any authority it may 

concern and general public to 

take note. 

ERUA 


Oteji Eke Arua, now wish to 

be known as Mrs Oteji 

Ezera Agwu. All former 

documents remain valid. The 

general public should please 

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OFUADARHO 

I, formerly known as Miss Ofuadarho 

Juliet, now wish to be known as Mrs 

Eruayete Sivwephreta Juliet. All 

documents bearing former names 

remain valid. Banks,Hospital 

Management Board, Asaba. DELSU, 

ABRAKA. and other relevant 

authorities concern and the general 

public please take note 

NWAOGE 

I, formerly known as Nwaoge 

Winner Chukwuka, now wish 

to be known as Nwaoge-Okoh 

Winner Chukwuka Williams. 



take note. 

FADIPE 


Irebami Oluwasola Fadipe, 


Mrs. Irebami Oluwasola 

Ekoja. All former documents 

remain valid. General public 

please take note. 

JULIUS 

I, formerly known as Peter 

Prince Julius, now wish to be 

known as Peter Uwem Linus. 



take note. 

OKOLIE 

I, formerly known as Okolie 

Lawretta Nwakaego, now 

wish to be known as Oyeleye 

Lawretta Nwakaego. All 


Valid. General public take 

note. 

JAIYEOLA 

I, formerly known as Jaiyeola 

Esther Adeola, now wish to 

be known as Manuenyenwa 

Esther Adeola. All former 



ASUNI 


Asuni Olatilewa Modinat, 


Mrs Wale-Akinbola 

Olatilewa Modinat. All 



note. 

NSUDE 


Chinyere Happiness Nsude, 


Mrs Chinyere Happiness 

Chime . All former documents 



OHWOVORIOLE 


Ohwovoriole Ogheneakpobo 

Christabel, now wish to be 

known as Princess 

Ogheneakpobo Christabel 

Ogbon, All former documents 

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may concern and general 

public to take note. 

EMETO 


Emeto Judith Chioma, now 

wish to be known as Mrs 

Okwara Judith Chioma. All 


valid. The general public 

should please take note. 

MADU 


Miss Madu Tochi Cynthia, 


Mrs. Tochi Daniels Ugorji. All 

former documents remains 

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OYEGUNLE 


Kemi Oluwatosin Oyegunle, 

now wish to be known as Mrs. 

Kemi Oluwatosin Ajibola. All 



take note. 

OKPAKPOR 


Okpakpor Emamusi Belinda, 

now wish to be known as Mrs. 

Ufoegbune Emamusi Belinda 

Okpakpor. All former 



note. 

ARUNA 

I, formerly known as Kafilat 

Oluwadamilare Aruna, now 

wish to be known as 

Oluwadamilare Kafilat 

Olukoga. All former 



note. 

FASE 

I, formerly known as Fase 

Kessy, now wish to be 

known as Agbro Kessy. 

All former documents 

remain valid. General 

public take note. 

ISEGUN 


Isegun Godwin, now wish 

to be known as Ashogbon 

Segun. All former 



CHRIS 

I, formerly known as Vivien 

Osolonye Chris, now wish to 

be known as Mrs Ugonabor 

Vivien Osolonye. All former 



IKHIANOSIME 


Ikhianosime Grace, now wish 

to be known as Grace Henry 

Ezerie. Former documents 


Please take note. 

ILAYA-IBEYON 

I, formerly known as Ilaya- 

Ibeyon Sonia Ejiroghene, now 

wish to be known as Egbe 

Ilaya Sonia Ejiroghene. All 



note. 

ILOENE 


Iloene Ukamaka Vivian, now 


Anaele Ukamaka Vivian. All 


valid. The general public 


KINGDOM 


Kingdom Favour, now wish 

to be known as Tambeke 

Favour. All former 

documents remains valid, 

general public please take 

note. 

OKOHN 

This is to confirm that I, Ezema 

John Okohn and Nwa-Attah 

John Benjamin refer to one 

and the same person but now 

wish to be known as Nwa- 

Attah John Benjamin. All 



take note. 

TIJANI 

I, formerly known as Tijani 

Medinat Damilola, now wish 

to be known as Akinwale 

Medinat Damilola. All former 



note. 

EZEPUE 


Chidiebere Ezepue, now wish 

to be known as Chidi Ezepue. 



take note. 

UYOH OD 


Molly Irorohwo Uyoh, now 


Flourish Irorohwo-Uyoh 

Ogbemudiare. All former 



IKIMI 

I, formerly known as Ikimi 

Afokeoghene Lydia, now 

wish to be known as Nnaji 

Afokeoghene Lydia. All 



note. 

ELEKWACHI 


Lydia Chizoba Elekwachi, 


Mrs Lydia Chizoba 

Gbadamosi. All former 


Banks and general public take 

note. 

OYETTAYA 

I, formerly known as Alamu 

Oyettaya Emmanuel, now 

wish to be known as Grace 

Alamu Oyetayo Emmanuel. 

Former documents remain 

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EZEKIEL 


Donatus Ezekiel, now wish 

to be known as Donatus 

Karan Ezekiel. All former 



note. 

OKPARA 


Okpara Doris Ijeoma, now wish 

to be known as Mrs. 

Aniememke Doris Ijeoma. All 

documents bearing my former 

name remain valid. General 


ALOZIE 


Alozie Ifunanya Roseline, now 


Alozie Roseline I. Onukogu. 

All former documents remains 

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AILERU 

I, formerly known as Aileru 

Abiola Fausat, now wish to 

be known as Abiola Fausat 

Egberongbe. All former 



note. 

OWOLOLA 


Owolola Teniola Promise, 


Mrs. Oni Teniola Promise. 



take note. 

EZE 

I, formerly known as Eze 

Maureen Dasola, now wish 

to be known as Eze Maureen 

Munachukwuso. All former 

documents remain Valid. 


AKPA 


Akpa Oluchukwu Favour, 


Mrs Ebere Oluchukwu 

Favour. All former 


NYSC and general public take 

note. 

COLLINS 


Collins Gozie Pius, now 

wish to be known as 

Emenike Chigozie Pius. All 



note. 

UMUNNA 


Umunna Isioma Chinwe, now 


Chiaha Isioma Chinwe. All 


valid. NYSC and general 


ONYEOMAKANI 


Lydia Uche Onyeomakani, 


Mrs. Lydia Uche Okuguni. 


valid. General public 

Please take note. 

MBACHU 


Prisca Sopuruchi Mbachu, now 

wish to be known as Dr. (Mrs) 

Prisca Sopuruchi Mbaeyi. All 


valid. The general public should 


OKONKWO 

I, formerly known 

as Okonkwo Chioma Eugenia, 

now wish to be known 

as Udemba Chioma Eugenia. 

All documents bearing my 

former name remain valid. 


AWUNOR 

This is to Confirm that the Names 

Onyekachukwu Eziafa Awunor; 

Onyeka Eziafakaego Awunor; and 

Onyeka Eziafa Awunor refers to one 

and the same Person That I now wish 

to be known and addressed as 

Onyekachukwu Eziafa Emefiele all 

documents bearing these names 

remain valid. General Public take 

note. 

ABAH 


Cordelia Amaka Abah, now 


Cordelia Amaka Joshua. All 



take note. 

MONYE 


Monye 

Rosemary 

Chukwueweneiwe, now wish to 

be known as Mrs. Diei 

Rosemary Chukwueweneiwe. 



take note. 

OLANIYI 

I, formerly known as Olaniyi 

Temitope Mary, now wish to 

be known as Oshin Temitope 

Mary. All former documents 

remain Valid. General public 

take note. 

AGHAULOR 

This is to notify the public that the 

name, Aghaulor Nwayemike and 

Aghaulor Nwayemike Celestine refer 

to one and the same me. I now wish to 

be known as Aghaulor Nwayemike 

Celestine. All former documents 

remain valid. Diamond Bank now 

Access Bank and general public take 

note. 

EZE 

I, formerly known as Eze 

Adaeze Luisa Obiageli, 


Eze Adaeze Louisa. All 



note. 

OKOH 

I, formerly known as Mr 

Okoh Peter Arinze, now wish 

to be known as Mr 

Chinweuba Peter Arinze. All 



take note. 

EKPENDU 


Ekpendu Chikodi Ifeoma, 


Chikodi Gracegold Iwejua. 


valid. General public Please 

take note. 

OKIKE 


Okike Iheoma Goodness, now 


Michael Iheoma (Nee- Okike). 


valid. The general public should 


ONWUNALI 

I, formerly known as Kate 

(Katherine) Ngozi Onwunali, 

now wish to be known as Kate 

(Katherine) Ngozi Enyichi. All 

documents bearing my former 

name remain valid. General 


EVWARHONOR 


Evwarhonor Faith Maureen, 

now wish to be known as Mrs 

Oghifo Faith Maureen. All 


valid, any authority it may 

concern and the general public 

to take note.

CHANGE OF NAME 

EFFIONG IZ 

MOHAMMED NESIEGHO 


Idorenyin Peter Effiong, now 

I, formerly known as Bala 

Mohammed, now wish to be 


Omamoke Nesiegho, now 

wish to be known as Mrs. known as Bala Mohammad wish to be known as Mrs 

Idorenyin Ubong Enefiok. All 

Omamoke Omars - Ofugara. 

Usman. All former documents 

former documents remain valid. 



General public please take note. 



take note 

ADEKANLE 

IDIAPHO 

EMAMOKOR 

I, formerly known as Faith 

Adekanle, now wish to be 


Oghenevwogaga Idiapho, now 


Emamokor Oghenewaire, now 

known as Funmilayo wish to be known as Mrs wish to be known as Mrs 

Adekanle. All former Oghenevwogaga Idiapho Akpoguma Oghenewaire. All 



Esievoadje. All former documents 



General public please take note 

note 

please take note 

ODEY 

UDENWEZE E 

OHWOAJEVUEA 

I, formerly known as Odey I, formerly known as Udenweze I, formerly known as Miss 

Oghenechuko Cladys and Odey Sylvia Chika, now wish to be 

Ohwoajevue Precious 

Emokpolo Cladys, now wish to 

Oghenetega, now wish to be 

be known as Idahor 

known as Mrs. Okafor Sylvia known as Mrs. Eteyeba Precious 

Oghenekevwe Gladys. All former Chika. All former documents Oghenetega. All former 

documents remain valid. General 



public please take note 



OKWOSE 

GALAPOPO 

AGUJI 


Okwose Osham Joan, now 


Adams Osham Joan. All 



I, formerly known as Miss Edirin 

Endurance Galapopo, now wish 

to be known as Mrs. Eseoghene 

Edirin Emmanuella Oweh. All 



I, formerly known as Miss Aguji 

Kaosisochukwu Richael, now 

wish to be known as Mrs. Chineke 

Kaosisochukwu Richael. All 



take note. 

IKOGHO 

I, formerly known as Ikogho 

Goodluck Emeowatachekor, 


Ikogho Goodluck Young. All 



OJIAKU 

I, formerly known as Ojiaku Frank 

Ekene Nonso, now wish to be 

known as Amachukwu Frank 

Ekene. All former documents 

remain valid. The general public 


IWU 

I, formerly known as Iwu 

Stephanie Ijeoma, now wish to be 

known as Odoemenam Stephanie 

Ijeoma. All former documents 

remain valid. The general public 


take note. 

ONYEMUCHARA IHEANETU 

OKOCHA 

I, formerly known as Miss I, formerly known as Miss I, formerly known as Victor 

Onyemuchara Chiamaka Iheanetu Grace Ifeoma, now wish Okocha, now wish to be 

Michaeline, now wish to be to be known and addressed as known as Okoyeocha Victor 

known as Mrs. Ahaneku 

Mrs. Enyiocha Grace Ifeoma. All George. All former documents 

Chiamaka Michaeline. All 

former documents remain former documents remain valid. remain valid. The general 

valid. The general public The general public should please public should please take note. 

should please take note. take note. 

IGHOYIVBI 

ASAMIJOKO 

ATTAH 

I, formerly known as Ighoyivbi I, formerly known as I, formerly known as Miss Sandra 

Martha Elo, now wish to be Miss Asamijoko Obaroakpor Aladi Attah, now wish to be 

Melody, now wish to be known 

known and addressed as 

known as Mrs. Sandra Aladi 

as Mrs. Egede Jonah 0baroakpor Ifeanyichukwu. All former 

Omojesu Martha Elo. All former 

Melody. All former documents documents remain valid. General 

documents remain valid. The remain valid. General public public please take note. 

general public should please take please take note. 

note. 

ODIOBARA 

NWAEFULU 

OKPALA 

I, formerly known and addressed I, formerly known and addressed I, formerly known and addressed 

as Miss Odiobara Awele Sandra, as Miss Nwaefulu Ngozi as Miss Okpala Ebele 

now wish to be known and Francisca, now wish to be known Blessing, now wish to be known 

addressed as Mrs. Ikediashi and 

addressed and addressed as Mrs. Orakwelu 

Ebele Blessing. All former 

Awele Sandra. All former as Mrs. Chukwudilim Ngozi 


documents remain valid. General Francisca. All former documents 





NWOKEOCHA 

OPITI 

ADJEKOPHORI 

I, formerly known as I, formerly known as Miss Opiti I, formerly known as Miss Joy 

Miss Nwokeocha Peace Angel Afokeoghene, now wish to 

Adjekophori, now wish to be 

Ozioma, now wish to be be known as Mrs. Umahon 

known as Mrs. Otuya Peace Angela Afokeoghene. All former known as Miss Joy Adjekophori 

Ozioma. All former documents documents remain valid. General Fejiro. All former documents 

remain valid. General public public please take note. 




OKWOSEH OLISEDEME CHUKWUNONSO 

I, formerly known I, formerly known 

as Okwoseh Chinwe Norah, as Olisedeme Frank SPACE FOR 

now wish to be known Onyedikachukwu, now wish 

as Okwoseh Chinwe. All to be known as Enudi Moses SALE 



take note. 

Frank. All former documents 



FOR ADVERT PLACEMENT VISIT TRINITY MALL, BESIDE 

ZENITH BANK BALOGUN BUS STOP, OBAFEMI AWOLOWO 

WAY, IKEJA, 

OR MURPHIS PLAZA, SANUSI FAFUNWA STREET, 

VICTORIA ISLAND LAGOS 


Expert calls for revitalisation of 

museums 

MUSEUMS have kept 

reinventing themselves 

in their quest for becoming 

more interactive, audiencefocused, 

communityoriented, 

flexible, adaptable 

and mobile agencies. They 

have become cultural hubs 

functioning as platforms 

where creativity combines 

with knowledge and where 

visitors can also co-create, 

share and interact. 

By acting locally, museums 

can also advocate and 

mitigate global problems, 

striving to meet the challenges 

of today’s society pro-actively. 

So, it was not surprising that 

a call for the revitalization of 

museums for cultural 

promotion was made at the 

recently celebrated 

International Museum Day 

with the theme , “Museums 

as Cultural Hubs: The future 

of tradition.” 

The General Manager, 

Kwara State Hospitality and 

Tourism Board, Mr Michael 

Alabede made the call in 

Ilorin . 

He said that museums serve 

as custodian of our cultural 

resources, which does not 

allow them to go into 

extinction. 

The general manager said 

museums that were 

considered uninspiring and 

aloof are now being 

embraced because of their 

new progressive roles. 

“Museums are no longer 

dead ends, but interactive, 

audience focused, community 

oriented, flexible and mobile, 

and have become institutions 

where creativity is combined 

with knowledge. 

“Museums can tackle 

current problems in the 

society like drug abuse, 

kidnapping and prostitution, 

because as institution, they 

must be able to speak through 

their exhibitions and 

programmes for the good of 

the nation. “They can also 

serve as tourist attraction and 

also as job creators. 

“So, I believe that if the 

functions of the museums are 

revisited and revitalised, it 

will stop being just a structure 

that things are kept,”Alabede 

said. 

The Acting Director- 

General, National 

Commission for Museums 

and Monuments (NCMM), 

Alhaji Abdulkarim Kadiri, 

called for a concerted 

approach by the government 

and stakeholders towards 

making the museum services 

in Nigeria comparable to 

others elsewhere in the world. 

“The various challenges the 

institution faces can be 

surmounted if adequate 

commitment is demonstrated 

by all concerned. 

“For there to be any 

meaningful development of 

any nation, the people must 

know their past, present and 

properly plan for the future,” 

Kadiri said. 

In his speech, the Chairman, 

Governing Board of the 

NCMM, Umma Mammanda, 

expressed concern over the 

alarming rate at which our 

tradition was being eroded by 

western norms and values. 

“I make bold to say, if not 

for the museums, the future of 

our culture and tradition 

would have gone into 

extinction. 

“I therefore want to 

challenge all stakeholders to 

join the museum in being 

repository of our culture and 

tradition,” Mamman-da said. 

Cultural Diversity Day: Obaseki assures rich 

display of innovative cultural products at 2019 

NAFEST 

THE Edo State 

Governor, Mr Godwin 

Obaseki, has assured that his 

administration will exploit 

the hosting of the 2019 

National Festival for Arts and 

Culture (NAFEST), to 

showcase the state’s rich, 

innovative cultural products 

to the world. 

The governor gave the 

assurance 

in 

commemoration of the 

World Day for Cultural 

Diversity for Dialogue and 

Development, marked every 

May 21, by the United 

Nations and its various 

organs. 

The 2019 National Festival 

for Art and Culture will be 

hosted by Edo State from 

October 19 to 26, 2019. 

According to Obaseki, “As 

we mark the World Day for 

Cultural Diversity for 

Dialogue and Development, 

we assure of plans to 

showcase the glamorous 

heritage of Edo people and 

promote our world-renowned 

cultural products during the 

2019 NAFEST. There is no 

denying that Edo State 

occupies a pride of place in 

the cultural map of the world 

as a result of our peculiar 

heritage in arts, culture and 

remarkable footprint in 

human civilisation. 

“All of these and the modern 

incarnations will be on 

display at the 2019 NAFEST, 

which will serve as an 

opportunity for us to show 

how through innovative 

approaches, we have 

continued to preserve our rich 

cultural heritage bequeathed 

to us by our forefathers.” 

The governor reiterated the 

state government’s 

commitment to building 

institutions as well as 

leveraging multilateral 

partnerships to preserve and 

promote its cultural assets, 

noting, “Our cultural artefacts 

and expressions hold unique 

features which speak to and 

amplifies our identity as a 

people. We have set modalities 

for the building of institutions 

to showcase, promote, 

conserve and preserve our 

cultural assets for future 

generations.” 

Turkish Airlines to Open Five 

Lounges at New Istanbul Airport 

TURKISH Airlines is set 

to open five passenger 

lounges available for Business 

Class, Miles & Smiles Elite 

Plus & Elite, Star Alliance 

Gold and Corporate Club 

passengers at its brand new 

home base, Istanbul Airport. 

There are currently three 

lounges open: the Turkish 

Airlines Business Lounge, 

Miles & Smiles Lounge and 

Domestic Lounge. The 

Exclusive Lounge and Arrival 

Lounge are planned to open 

later in 2019. 

According to Turkish 

Airlines General Manager for 

Lagos, Mr. Yunus Ozbek, “As 

the global carrier that flies to 

more destinations in the world, 

we are well aware of passenger 

traffic and constantly strive to 

adapt in order to provide 

absolute comfort, style and 

unique travel experience for 

our travellers. 

These lounges have been 

uniquely designed to make 

traveling for Turkish Airlines’ 

Business Class, Miles & 

Smiles Elite Plus & Elite, Star 

Alliance Gold and Corporate 

Club passengers an activity 

like no other at our new home 

in Istanbul.” 

The Turkish Airlines 

Business Lounge has an 

approximate area of over 

60,000 square feet, seats 765 

guests and features 13 private 

suites with showers. Turkish 

Airlines designed a 130 

square foot museum in there 

in collaboration with the arts 

and cultural institution in 

Istanbul. The Turkish Airlines 

Miles & Smiles Lounge on 

over 60,000 square feet space, 

seats 765 guests and offers 11 

private suites with showers 

and space where guests can 

rest on comfortable couches, 

savour delicious and enjoy 

exclusive treats from Turkey 

along with international 

cuisine, or enjoy mobile 

masseur services. 

A console gaming 

experience, golf simulators 

and large children’s play area 

provide entertainment, while 

a technology centre with 3D 

glasses and virtual reality is 

planned. The two lounges also 

provide meeting rooms, a 

library and prayer room. 

The Turkish Airlines 

Domestic Lounge is 

accessible through a special 

entrance gate located outside 

the terminal so passengers 

can complete check-in 

procedures and transfer 

directly to the aircraft via 

buses.


CONSUMER RIGHTS: 

Be aware of your 

responsibilities 

In our last publication on 

Consumer Rights, 

Homemakers were 

informed about their rights as 

consumers and major players 

in the home when it comes to 

the health of the family. We 

did mention that the 

consumer rights are fully 

backed by laws as provided 

for in the Consumer Protection 

Council Act, under Chapter 

C25, Laws of the Federation 

of Nigeria 2004 and that the 

act provides for the 

establishment of the 

Consumer Protection Council 

(CPC) and empowers it to 

protect these rights for every 

Nigerian – no matter your 

social background. For 

instance, you have a right to 

Beware and be 

alert to the quality 

and safety of 

products and 

services before 

you purchase 

be protected, right to be 

heard, right to be informed, 

right to be assured and the 

right to seek redress. All 

these rights may seem just on 

paper and not working, if as 

consumers, you don’t play 

your part in ensuring you 

make a report when there is 

violation of your consumer 

rights. 

YOUR 

RESPONSIBILITIES 

According to information 

available to Homemakers, 

after products are 

purchased, consumers 

should follow every safety 

guideline before and during 

use. If any product defects 

come to light, the consumer 

should share concerns with 

the proper parties including 

the business in question 

and other consumers to 

protect other consumers 

from similar harm in the 

future. If they believe they 

have personally been 

harmed by a product or 

wronged by a corporation, 

these consumers can take 

the proper steps to seek 

compensation, which in 

turn will force that 

corporation to update its 

practices. 

Wondering, it doesn’t 

happen like that in Nigeria, 

there is an available 

information that will no 

longer be the usual, 

because a court has been 

assigned to Consumer 

Protection Agency 

especially in Lagos State to 

prosecute offenders of fake 

products with sentence 

terms. So, be aware by 

gathering all the information 

and facts available about a 

product or service, as well as, 

keep abreast of changes and 

innovations in the market. 

Beware and be alert to the 

quality and safety of products 

and services before 

you purchase. Think 

independently by 

making decisions 

about wellconsidered 

needs 

and wants. 

Also, speak out, 

be an ethical 

consumer which 

means you must be 

fair and never 

engage in 

d i s h o n e s t 

practices which 

affect other 

consumers 

negatively. 

I n f o r m 

businesses and 

appropriate 

regulatory 

authorities about 

y o u r 

dissatisfaction 

with a product or 

service, in a fair 

and honest 

manner and 

share experience by 

informing other consumers 

about your experiences with 

a product or service. 

Lastly, avoid waste, 

littering and contributing to 

pollution. Promote 

sustainable consumption by 

ensuring that what you 

consume does not impact on 

the environment negatively. 

CONSUMER WATCH A place that makes you plan ahead 

Items Prices Items 

Prices 

Items Prices 

Basket of Tomatoes N15,000 - N17,000 

A bag of Pepper (Rodo) N15,000 - N17,000 

A bag of Long pepper N15,000 - N17,000 

A bag of Onions (white) N12,000 - N14, 000 

A bag of Onions (Red) N9, 000 - N11, 000 

50kg of long grain Rice N16,000 - N16,500 

A derica of long grain Rice N250 - N300 

50kg of short grain Rice. N15,000 - N15,500 

A derica of short grain Rice N250 

A crate of eggs N1,000 - N1,100 

A bag of Olotu beans N14,000 - N38,000 

A bag of Oloyin N15,000 - N20,000 

A bag of Yam Flour (Elubo) N63, 000 - N69,000 

A bag of Garri (Yellow) N5,000 - N8,000 

A paint bucket 

N400 

A bag of Ijebu Gari N5,000 - N8,000 

A paint bucket 

N500 

25 Litres of Vegetable Oil N10,500 - N11, 000 

10Litres N5,500 - N6000 

25 Litres of Palm Oil N9,000 - N9,500 

5Litres of Palm Oil N1,900 - N2,000 

Salt N50 - N200 

Noodles- 70g N1,900 - N2,200 

Spaghetti (1packet) N180 - N200 

Macaroni(1packet) N180 - N200 

Semovita (10kg) N2,800 - N3,000 

Pampers (cartons of 8) N3,400 

Seasonings N100 - N500 

Tomato paste (2,200g) N1200 - N1500 

Tomato paste (Medium) N550 - N700 

Tomato paste(small) 

N150-N350 

Tomato sachet (a roll) 

N230 

Pack of toilet roll (48pieces) N1500-N1,800 

A Satchet of milk 

N25-N50 

A Sachet of beverage 

N40-N50 

Toothpaste 

N50-N300 

5 Litres of Kerosine N1,100 

12.5kg. Cooking gas N3, 700 

Yam (1 tuber). N400- N1,000 

Ugu Leaf (a bundle) N3, 000 – N4, 000 

A dozen of tied Ugu Leaf N7,50, 

Moin-Moin Leaf (a dozen) N800-1,000, 

1 pack- N150 

Carton Titus ice Fish N19,000 

1 Carton of Kote ice fish N14,500 

1 Carton of Sawa iced Fish N10, 000, 1Kg-N600

INSECURITY: Don’t 

withdraw licensed 


Continues from Page 5 

because that will expose 

them. I think he 

(President Buhari) 

should rescind that order 

and do every thing 

possible to mop up 

illegal guns. 

‘’This order does not 

serve any purpose other 

than increase insecurity. 

I think the President 

should rescind that 

decision. It is illadvised, 

and I think that 

this House should rise 

as one to support this 

motion,” he said. 

Licensed guns 

owners not 

responsible for 

insecurity 

Also speaking, Chika 

Adamu from Niger State 

said there was no 

empirical evidence to 

show that the owners of 

licensed guns were the 

ones perpetrating 

crimes. 

“There is no empirical 

study to prove that. The 

danger is that it will 

make all of us very 

vulnerable to attacks. We 

have communities that 

people with licensed 

guns provide security to 

their communities, for 

instance, engaging 

vigilante services and 

that to some extent, put 

fear in the minds of 

those hoodlums and that 

also secures the 

environment. 

‘’We are pushing the 

society into chaos. If the 

government wanted to 

do anything new, it 

should have been recertification, 

if there is 

need. If Mr. President 

wants all of us to be 

killed, I think he can 

take that decision, 

otherwise he should 

rescind it,” he said. 

It ‘ll make 

everyone 

vulnerable 

Naira down at N360.72/$ 

in I&E window 

By Elizabeth Adegbesan 

THE naira, yesterday depreciated by nine 

kobo in the Investors and Exporters (I&E) 

window due to a 39 percent decline in the 

volume of dollars traded. 

Data from FMDQ showed that the indicative 

exchange rate for the I&E window rose to N360.72 

per dollar yesterday from N360.63 per dollar on 

Tuesday, translating to nine kobo depreciation for 

the naira. 

The volume of dollars (turnover) traded on the 

window dropped by 39 percent to $53.99 million 

from $88.43million traded on Tuesday. 

However, the naira, yesterday, was stable at 

N359.4 per dollar in the parallel market. 

vanguardnews @vanguardnews @vanguardnews 

Segun Adekola from 

Ekiti State, in his 

contribution, said: “The 

order is to make 

everybody vulnerable in 

Nigeria. Anybody with 

secured licence for his or 

her gun wouldn’t want 

to be caught. I will 

advise that Mr. 

President should rescind 

his decision without 

delay. By the time 

people know that these 

guns are withdrawn, 

anyone can come and 

attack you.” 

Similarly, Sunday 

Adepoju from Oyo State, 

stated that licensed 

guns were used for selfdefence 

and protection. 

He said: “Majority of 

those having guns that 

are licensed are well to 

do personalities in the 

country. For instance, in 

a community or area 

where there are those 

with legal guns, the 

moment hoodlums come 

close and they hear 

gunshots, they flee.’’ 

For Nkem Abonta from 

Abia State, government 

would be encouraging 

gun smuggling if the 

order was enforced. 

Executive order 

can’t override 

Act of 

Parliament 

“If you tell us to return, 

then you are now telling 

the criminals that the 

people are defenceless. 

If you withdraw licensed 

guns, you are now 

encouraging gun 

smuggling. You cannot 

also use executive order 

to override an act of 

Parliament,” he added. 

Adopting the motion, 

the House also granted 

the second prayer which 

urged the President to 

“sign into law the bill on 

the establishment of the 

(National) Commission 

against the proliferation 

of small arms and light 


NEWS HOTLINES 

018773962, 

08052867058 

On The clashes in Plateau State— The Chief Imam of Nghar Yelwa Village, Alhaji Abdullahi Abubakar 

(left); Vice President Yemi Osinbajo (2nd left); Chairman, Northern Wing, Christian Association of 

Nigeria, Rev. Yakubu Pam (right) and the Out-Going Deputy Head of Mission, US Embassy, Mr. David 

Young (2nd right), discussing during an inter-faith meeting on the clashes in Plateau State at the State 

House, Abuja, yesterday. Photo: Abayomi Adeshida. 

weapons which is not 

only a domestic law but 

also a treaty obligation to 

help the nation curb the 

inflow of illegal 

weapons. 

In a related 

development, the House 

also urged the federal 

government to 

immediately mobilize 

engineers in the 

Ecological Fund Office to 

combat environmental 

threat at Nkwo-Edo 

Market at the industrial/ 

commercial hub of 

Nnewi in Anambra State. 

It also asked the 

National Emergency 

Management Agency, 

NEMA, to urgently 

provide needed support 

to those whose shelter 

and businesses have 

been disrupted. 

The resolution was 

sequel to the adoption of 

an infrastructural motion 

sponsored by Chris 

Azobuogu which stated 

Nnewi, the commercial 

and industrial hub of 

Anambra State, had been 

under serious ecological 

threats occasioned by 

gully erosion. 

According to the 

lawmaker, the erosion 

Military can’t achieve victory in battle 

without spiritual support — NAVAL CHIEF 

By Joseph Erunke 

ABUJA —THE Chief 

of Naval Staff,Vice 

Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe 

Ibas, has said the military 

cannot achieve victory in 

any battle without 

spiritual support. 

To this end, he tasked 

military personnel to 

resort to God in the 

challenge they are faced 

with, insisting that 

spiritual development 

was what they needed to 

achieve victory in 

battlefield. 

Speaking on the 

occasion of the 

foundation laying 

ceremony of places of 

worship at Navy Town, 

Abuja, yesterday, the 

naval chief also 

attributed the country’s 

slow pace of 

development to the 

current spate of 

insecurity across some 

parts of the country. 

He said: The erection of 

appropriate places of 

worship within the 

barracks is equally as 

germane as the provision 

of living accommodation 

and other administrative 

and operational 

commitments. 

“This is because a 

balanced level of 

spiritual maturity is 

necessary for military 

personnel to maintain 

the required level of 

conceptual and moral 

component of his 

fighting power. 

“This will enable him to 

retain a rational balance 

needed for the effective 

employment of his 

physical competencies to 

achieve victory in battle. 

“As we lay the 

has cut off the major 

entrance to Nkwo-Edo 

market through the 100- 

foot road and also 

destroyed properties 

worth billions of Naira. 

In passing the motion, 

the House mandated its 

joint Committees on 

Environment, Ecological 

Fund and NEMA to 

ensure compliance. 

foundation at these 

worship centres today, I 

believe we are laying the 

foundation for the 

spiritual and moral 

development of the 

service. 

Senate kicks against FG’s alleged plans to 

downgrade Enugu Airport 


A S BUJA—THE 

e n a t e , 

yesterday, kicked 

against plans by the 

Federal Government to 

downgrade the Akanu 

Ibiam International 

Airport, Enugu. 

Immediate past Aviation 

Minister, Senator Hadi 

Sirika, had dropped the 

hint of downgrade of the 

airport, following 

location of a market and 

other illegal structures 

close to the facility. 

But the Senate has 

asked the Federal 

Government to 

immediately jettison the 

idea, urging the 

government to 

rehabilitate the runway 

of Akanu Ibiam 

International Airport, 

Enugu for the safety of 

passengers and aircraft 

as well as conform with 

international aviation 

standards. 

The Upper Chamber 

also resolved that the 


took steps to complete 

the new terminal 

building of the Enugu 

International Airport and 

put it to use by local and 

foreign airlines. 

It also urged the 

Federal Ministry of 

Aviation and its agencies 

to develop a water 

source with the nearby 

Ekulu River for the use 

of the airport. 

While urging the 

ministry to return the 

generating sets 

allegedly removed from 

the airport to Port 

Harcourt on the orders of 

the immediate past 

Minister 

of 

Transportation, Mr. 

Rotimi Amaechi, the 

Senate thanked Enugu 

State government for 

swiftly demolishing and 

ordering the relocation of 

the Orie Emene Market, 

shutting down a nearby 

abattoir and ordering the 

immediate removal of 

the broadcasting mast 

and other illegal 

structures on approach 

of the airport. 

Resolutions of the 

Senate were sequel to 

motion, entitled “the 

threat to downgrade” the 

airport by Senator Victor 

Umeh (APGA, Anambra 

Central) and cosponsored 

by 16 other 

senators. 

Presenting the motion, 

Senator Umeh observed 

that the former Minister 

of Aviation, Senator 

Sirika, had threatened to 

downgrade the airport 

because of what he 

considered as imminent 

dangers posed to air 

travellers by the 

presence of a nearby 

market.


Nigeria’s society 

where rich people 

buy judgements, 

— LAWAN 


A BUJA—SENATE 

Leader, Senator 

Ahmad Lawan, All 

Progressives Congress, APC, 

Yobe North, yesterday took a 

swipe at the Judiciary, 

describing Nigeria as a country 

where very wealthy people 

buy judgements in their 

favour. 

According to him, there is the 

urgent need to put an end to 

the ugly trend by moving away 

from it completely. 

Lawan (APC, Yobe North), 

who noted that that was not 

the type of society Nigerians 

aspired to have, said 

Nigerians would cherish a 

society where those at the 

lowest line, the vulnerable, the 

disadvantaged, could go to 

courts and get judgement. 

According to him, the poor 

deserves to have judgement, 

irrespective of their socioeconomic 

status. 

The Senate leader spoke on 

the floor of the Senate during 

plenary yesterday while 

commenting on the request by 


Buhari for the confirmation of 

Justice Abaze Abubakar Sadiq 

as the President, Customary 

Court of Appeal, Federal 

Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja. 

Lawan noted that there was 

a clear demonstration of how 

the three arms of government 

work, adding that the National 

Assembly strive at all times to 

ensure the Legislature and 

the Judiciary work in a cordial 

manner. 

Noting that Nigerians expect 

the judiciary to be firm, fair and 

committed to ideals that the 

founding fathers of this country 

worked and died, he said that 

would make life better for 

every Nigerian. 

Lawan said: “This is a very 

clear demonstration of how the 

three arms of government can 

work cordially and 

productively. 

“We have by this action, 

suspended our rules in the 

interest of the people of this 

country and the judiciary. So I 

believe that there is sense in 

trying to, all the time, ensure 

that we work in a cordial 

manner, we have given the 

judiciary something in the 

interest of the country. 

“For the judiciary, you are 

expected by Nigerians to be 

firm, fair, and committed to 

those ideals that the founding 

fathers of this country worked 

and died for - that is to make 

life better for every Nigerian. 

“Ours is a society where 

people who have so much 

money buy judgments. I think 

that is not the type of society 

that we want. We want a 

society where those at the 

lowest line, the vulnerable, the 

disadvantaged can go to courts 

and get judgement because 

they deserve to get those 

judgements regardless of their 

socio-economic status. 

“So I want to pray for you and 

for all of us that this nomination 

that we are going to confirm 

by the grace of God will be a 

blessing and an additional 

advantage to the judiciary 

and the people of this 

great country.” 

Certificate Scandal: Adeleke qualified to 

contest Osun guber poll — A’COURT 

•Awards N3m cost against APC chieftains 

By Ikechukwu Nnochiri 

ABUJA—THE Court of 

Appeal sitting in Abuja, 

yesterday, said it was satisfied 

that Senator Ademola Adeleke of 

the Peoples Democratic Party, 

PDP, possessed the requisite 

educational qualification to 

contest the last Governorship 

Election in Osun State. 

The court invoked its powers 

and struck out the substantive suit 

that led to Adeleke’s 

disqualification, even as it 

awarded a cost of N3million 

against the two APC Chieftains. 

The appellate court, in a 

unanimous decision by a threeman 

panel of Justices, nullified 

as “perverse”, the judgment of an 

Abuja High Court in Bwari, 

which voided Adeleke’s 

nomination on the premise that 

he used forged WAEC Certificate 

and secured clearance to 

participate in the Osun 

governorship election that held 

on September 22, 2018. 

Two chieftains of the All 

Progressives Congress, APC, 

Wahab Raheem and Adam 

Habeeb, had in a suit they filed 

before the election was conducted, 

alleged that Adeleke made false 

declarations in the Form 

CF001, he submitted to the 

Independent National 

Electoral Commission, INEC. 

The Plaintiffs, through their 

lawyer, Mr. Bankole Akomolafe 

alleged that contrary to what was 

submitted to INEC, Adeleke, did 

not sit for WAEC examination in 

1981 as he claimed, since there 

was nothing like the Senior 

Secondary School Certificate 

Examination as at then. 

Besides, they maintained that 

NECO examination that Adeleke 

claimed he sat for could not be 

genuine, considering that the 

body was not in existence as at 

the time the Defendant said he 

sat for the examination. 

Following the suit, the high 

court, in a judgement delivered 

by Justice Othman Musa on 

April 2, held that Adeleke, who 

is currently representing Osun 

West Senatorial District, lacked 

the minimum educational 

qualification prescribed in section 

177 of the 1999 Constitution, as 

amended. 

However, the High Court 

verdict was, on Thursday, 

dismissed for being perverse and 

contradictory to documentary and 

oral evidence that was adduced 

by both the parties and witnesses. 

The appellate court, in a lead 

judgement by Justice Emmanuel 

Agim, held that the trial denied 

Adeleke fair hearing by 

deliberately refusing to properly 

From Left: MD/ 

Chief Strategist, 

Chain Reactions 

Nigeria, Mr Israel 

Jaiye Opayemi; 

MD, Edelman, 

South Africa, Mr 

Jordan Rittenberry 

and Founder/ 

Chairman, 

Proshare Nigeria 

Limited, Mr 

Olufemi Awoyemi 

during the public 

presentation of the 

2019 Edelman Trust 

Barometer at Eko 

Hotel, Victoria 

Island, Lagos 

yesterday. Photo by 

K e h i n d e 

Gbadamosi 

evaluate and consider all the 

evidence that showed that he 

attended Ede Muslim Grammar 

School Ede and sat for WASC in 

1981. 

The appellate court held that 

conclusion of the High Court that 

Adeleke dropped out of school 

was not supported by any 

evidence that was brought before 

the court. 

“If he had dropped out of school, 

he would not have sat for WAEC 

in 1981”, Justice Agim added. 

Relying on several Supreme 

Court decisions, the appellate 

court held that as far as Adeleke’s 

educational pursuit was up to 

the School Leaving level, it did 

not matter whether he passed 

the examination or not. 

Besides, it held that Justice 

Othman was wrong when he 

assumed jurisdiction and 

voided Adeleke’s nomination, 

based on issues that were 

previously resolved on August 

8 by a High Court in Oshogbo. 

It held that the Abuja court, 

including the plaintiffs, were 

stopped from querying 

Adeleke’s educational 

qualification, since a court of 

same coordinate jurisdiction 

had delivered judgment on it. 

“The judgement having been 

delivered out of time is void,” 

the appellate court held. 

My experience on Ethiopian Airline that nearly 

crashed in Lagos — OBASANJO 

L President 

AGOS—FORMER 

Olusegun 

Obasanjo has narrated his 

experience while on board an 

Ethiopian Airline flight that 

nearly crashed on Wednesday 

at the Murtala Muhammed 

International Airport in Lagos. 

The airplane, Boeing 777- 

300, narrowly avoided an 

accident while trying to land 

with nearly 400 people on 

board. 

In an exclusive interview with 

PREMIUM TIMES, Chief 

Obasanjo said: “he remained 

calm and read papers while the 

scary situation occurred.” 

Narrating his experience, the 

former president said: “While it 

all happened, I was reading my 

papers. 

“One man, who was next to me, 

said, ‘Oga you no worry?’ I said, 

‘If I worry, what will I do? If you 

are on a plane and you have a 

situation like this, why should you 

worry?’ I left everything in the 

hands of God.” 

Obasanjo was returning from a 

stakeholders dialogue on 

continental trade and 

implementation of the African 

Continental Free Trade 

Agreement, AFCFTA, which 

ended on Tuesday in Addis 

Ababa. 

The plane, with 394 persons 

on board, had a false landing 

due to strong winds and a 

heavy downpour and was 

about to overshoot its runway 

before it returned to the air. 

It later landed safely at the 

airport after spending about 10 

minutes in the air. 

Recalling his close shave 

with death, he said: “I was on 

Ethiopian Airline. Rain just came 

down heavily. 

“The pilot thought he could 

land. And he landed. He 

touched down. But I think he 

took a swift decision that he 

had to take off again. 

“So he took off. If he did not, I 

think he probably would have 

overrun the runway. He then 

apologised and said he would try 

to land again. He tried again, and 

we landed safely. And we all 

clapped.” 

The ex-military head of state 

said the pilot first landed the 

plane at about 12:20 p.m. before 

the incident, but finally landed 

safely on return at 12:30 p.m. 

“He touched the ground. Then 

he took off and apologised and 

landed again at about 12.30. We 

spent just about 10 minutes in the 

air before we landed again,” he 

said. 

Ethiopian Airlines recently 

suffered a crash of its flight ET302 

flying its B-737 MAX 800 aircraft 

in March which killed all 157 

persons on board. 

The aircraft en route Nairobi 

from Addis Ababa, crashed six 

minutes after takeoff around 

Bishoftu, 40 miles South-east of 

the Ethiopian capital. 

Two Nigerians died in the crash. 

Activist tasks 

Buhari to lead by 

example in 

anti-graft war 

LAGOS—THE Executive 

Director, Center for Social 

Justice, Eze Onyekpere has 

called on President 

Muhammadu Buhari to show 

example in the war against 

corruption. 

Onyekpere, who dwelt on the 

relevance of example in fighting 

corruption, also said that it is only 

when the President chooses a 

team that reflects a strong anticorruption 

stance that expected 

results can get down to the 

citizens and to the glory of the 

presidency itself. 

The rights activist spoke as a 

guest on a syndicated anticorruption 

radio proramme, 

Public Conscience, which runs 

on selected radio stations across 

Nigeria. 

Onyekpere, a lawyer, said 

Nigerians are known to excel in 

positions of trust and competence 

outside the shores of the country. 

He advised those in position of 

authority to recognize and utilize 

the services of deserving 

personalities for proper results. 

He further stressed that the 

office of the Auditor General 

should be in the vanguard of 

the anti-corruption fight 

adding that inadequate 

funding does not permit effective 

delivery of such a role. 

IE reiterates 

commitment to 

staff's safety 

By Dave Oso 

ELECTRICITY Distribution 

Company, Ikeja Electric Plc 

(IE) has reiterated the 

commitment of the company to 

the safety of its staff across its 

network area. 

Mr. Felix Ofulue, the Head of 

Corporate Communications gave 

the assurance in a statement in 

Lagos. He said the company was 

aware of the wave of malicious 

attacks on its staff by some 

customers and cautioned that the 

management will not allow 

unwarranted attack of its staff. 

“In line with the company’s 

obligation to provide service 

under a conducive atmosphere 

to our customers, we will 

continue to escalate such matters 

to law enforcement agencies,” he 

said. 

He disclosed that some of the 

attackers in the past cases had 

been sentenced to prison by 

Court, while urging aggrieved 

customers to remain mindful of 

these matters and adopt a more 

civil approach to engagement 

with staff. 

According to him, Section 173 

of the Criminal Law of Lagos 

State states that any person who 

unlawfully assaults another and 

thereby does him harm commits 

felony and is liable on conviction 

to imprisonment for three years. 

“It is wrong for persons to attack 

our technical staff who are on the 

ladder, it is also an offence to 

throw them off the ladder. Please 

note that IE has zero tolerance 

on assault on staff and remains 

committed to protecting the lives 

of its staff. We will not hesitate to 

seek redress through any means 

within the limits of law," he said.


By Theodore Opara 

New Land Rover Defender set for final testing 

TO celebrate World Land 

Rover Day, Land Rover has 

announced plans for the new 

Defender to complete a final 

phase of field testing with Tusk 

Trust, on location in Kenya. 

A Defender prototype wearing 

a unique camouflage will 

experience life at the Borana 

Conservancy as part of Land 

Rover’s 15-year partnership with 

Tusk Trust. The prototype will tow 

heavy loads, wade through rivers 

and carry supplies across 

unforgiving terrain in a series of 

real-world trials at the 14,000- 

hectare reserve. 

By the time the new Defender 

makes its public debut later this 

year, it will have passed more than 

45,000 individual tests in some 

of the most extreme 

environments on earth. Land 

Rover engineers have taken the 

test fleet to the 50-degree heat of 

the desert, the sub 40-degree cold 

of the Arctic, as well as up to 

10,000ft altitude of the Rocky 

Mountains in Colorado to ensure 

the new Defender will take 

everyday life in its stride, for even 

its most adventurous customers. 

Nick Rogers, Executive 

Director, Product Engineering, 

Jaguar Land Rover, said: “In 

addition to the extensive 

simulation and rig testing, we’ve 

driven new Defender 1.2 million 

kilometres across all terrains and 

in extreme climates to ensure that 

it is the toughest and most 

capable Land Rover ever made. 

The incredible opportunity to put 

it to the test in the field, 

supporting operations at the 

M ERCEDES-BENZ 

delivered 181,936 cars 

in April (-5.5%) and a total of 

742,809 in the first four months 

of the year (-5.6%). The 

ongoing sales success of the 

new A-Class resulted in 

worldwide growth for the 

compact cars in April (+6.0%). 

A contribution to this sales 

success came from the new A- 

Class Saloon, a further model 

complementing the compactcar 

entry into the world of 

premium saloon cars from 

Mercedes-Benz. Unit sales of 

SUVs were still dampened in 

April by the model changes. 

Mercedes-Benz Cars expects, 

especially for the new SUV 

models, increasing vehicle 

availability in the coming 

months and therefore 

additional growth 

opportunities in a highly 

competitive market 

environment. Since the 

beginning of the year, 

Mercedes-Benz has 

maintained its market 

leadership in the premium 

segment in Germany, UK, 

•Specially-camouflaged prototype model being used for the testing. 

Borana Conservancy in Kenya, 

with Tusk, will allow our 

engineers to verify that we are 

meeting this target as we enter 

the final phase of our 

development programme.” 

With on-road dynamics honed 

at the Nürburgring facility in 

Germany and all-terrain 

credentials tested on the muddy 

roads of Eastnor, UK, the rocky 

trails of Moab in Utah, and the 

All-new A-Class leads Mercedes-Benz sales 

growth in four months 

France, Switzerland, Sweden, 

Portugal, Poland, Denmark, 

Czech Republic, Australia and 

Canada. 

“With the EQC sales launch 

on May 6, we have reached 

another milestone along the 

way to a new era at Mercedes- 

Benz: The EQC is the pioneer 

of our future Mercedes-Benz 

EQ vehicle portfolio,” said 

Britta Seeger, member of the 

Board of Management of 

Daimler AG responsible for 

Mercedes-Benz Cars 

Marketing and Sales. “We are 

delighted not only with the first 

fully electric SUV from 

Mercedes-Benz, but also with 

strong demand for our new premium 

SUVs: The new model 

year of the GLC and GLC 

Coupé, and also the new GLS, 

have been available for order 

since April, and together with 

sand dunes of Dubai, the new 4x4 

promises to bring unparalleled 

breadth of capability and new 

levels of comfort and driveability 

to the Defender family. 

The new Defender has been 

designed and developed in the 

UK, at Gaydon, home to Land 

Rover’s world-class design, 

engineering and testing facilities. 

The new home of global 

Defender production will be Land 

Rover’s recently opened state-ofthe-art 

manufacturing facility in 

Nitra, Slovakia. 

Land Rover has been an 

official partner of Tusk Trust 

wildlife conservation charity for 

15 years, helping to reach 

some of the world’s most 

remote locations. News of the 

testing initiative has been 

announced to mark World Land 

Rover Day, which is celebrated 

Jaguar I-PACE 

engine wins 

three awards 

THE all-electric Jaguar I- 

PACE has won Best 

Electric Powertrain, Best New 

Engine, and the 350 to 450PS 

category at The International 

Engine + Powertrain of the 

Year Awards. 

Announced at the Engine 

Expo + The Powertrain 

Technology Show in Stuttgart, 

the panel of 70 expert motoring 

journalists from 31 countries 

took into account key characteristics 

including performance, 

driveability, energy efficiency 

and refinement. 

These three titles recognise 

the technical excellence of the 

I-PACE’s zero emissions 

powertrain, which was 

designed and developed inhouse. 

•Jaguar I-PACE 

Jaguar Land 

Rover Sensory 

steering wheel 

A STEERING wheel developed 

by Jaguar Land Rover could help 

keep drivers’ eyes on the road - 

by using heat to tell drivers when 

to turn left or right. 

The research, in partnership with 

Glasgow University, has created 

a ‘sensory steering wheel’, parts 

of which can be quickly heated and 

cooled to inform drivers where to 

turn, when to change lane or to 

warn of an approaching junction. 

This could be particularly useful 

when visibility is reduced through 

poor weather or the layout of the 

road. The technology has also been 

applied to the gear-shift paddles 

to indicate when hand over from 

the driver to autonomous control 

in future self-driving vehicles is 

complete. 

Driver distraction is a major contributor 

to road accidents around 

the world and accounts for 10 per 

cent of all fatal crashes in the USA 

alone*. Jaguar Land Rover’s research 

suggests thermal cues could 

be a way to keep drivers fully focused 

on the road. 

The cues work on both sides of 

the steering wheel, indicating the 

direction to turn by rapidly warming 

or cooling one side by a difference 

of up to 6°C. For comfort a 

driver could adjust the range of 

temperature change.

44 Vanguard, FRIDAY, MAY 31, 2019 

China accuses US of ‘economic terrorism’ 

as trade war escalates 

CHINA accused the 

Trump administration 

of committing “economic 

terrorism” on Thursday, 

escalating its war of 

words with the United 

States amid rising trade 

tensions between the two 

countries. 

The Ministry of Foreign 

Affairs said the White 

House had “brought huge 

damage to the economy of 

other countries and the US 

itself,” spokesperson Lu 

Kang told reporters in 

Beijing on Thursday. 

Lu described US trade 

policy as “typical economic 

terrorism, economic hegemonism, 

and economic 

unilateralism.” 

The statement followed 

similarly ominous rhetoric 

from Chinese state media, 

which issued a stern message 

to Washington on 

Wednesday: “Don’t say we 

didn’t warn you.” 

The People’s Daily, the 

newspaper of the ruling 

Communist Party, used the 

loaded phrase in a commentary 

on Wednesday, 

in which it said that China 

would “never accept” the 

US’ suppression of Chinese 

development. 

The warning came as 

Boeing admits it fell short on safety alert for 737 

BOEING has admitted 

it “fell short” when it 

failed to implement a safety 

alert system on the 737 Max. 

The aircraft was grounded 

globally in March after 

two crashes within months. 

Boeing boss Dennis 

Muilenburg said a mistake 

had been made in the software 

for a cockpit warning 

light called an “angle-of-attack 

(AOA) disagree alert”. 

He said: “We clearly fell 

short and the implementation 

of this angle-of-attack 

disagree alert was a mistake, 

right, we did not implement 

it properly.” 

In an interview with Norah 

O’Donnell of CBS News 

he said Boeing was now fixing 

the problem. 

The alert could have notified 

pilots and maintenance 

crews that there was a problem 

early in the flight. 

One flight safety expert 

said if there had been an 

AOA disagree alert on 

board the Ethiopian airlines 

flight it “would have been 

the very first clue” for the 

pilots that something was 

wrong. 

Chris Brady, a pilot and 

author of The Boeing 737 

Technical Guide said: “I’m 

fairly confident that the Ethiopian 

Airlines flight probably 

would not have crashed 

if they had had the AOA disagree 

alert” on the aircraft. 

Ethiopian Airlines flight 

ET 302 crashed after an erroneous 

reading from one of 

the AOA sensors triggered 

a flight control system 

Pope Francis signs a Harley Davidson motorbike of the Christian motorcycle 

group ‘Jesus Biker’ as his cape is blown by a gust of wind during the 

weekly general audience at the Vatican. REUTERS/Yara Nardi 

(MCAS) which repeatedly 

pushed the nose of the aircraft 

down. 

All 157 people on board 

were killed. 

Mr Brady believes that if 

there had been an alert 

warning light showing that 

the AOA sensors were giving 

different readings, then 

the pilots might have followed 

an emergency procedure 

at an earlier point in 

the doomed flight. 

The procedure, detailead 

by Boeing in a bulletin 

to airlines and pilots 

in November subsequent 

to the Lion Air crash off Indonesia, 

involves flipping 

two switches, and turns off 

an automatic control system 

for the plane’s stabilisers. 

Boeing said in a statement 

a month ago that the 

“alert has not been considered 

a safety feature on airplanes 

and is not necessary 

for the safe operation of the 

airplane”. 

Mr Muilenburg also admitted 

in the CBS interview 

that the company knew that 

the alert system was not active 

on all 737 Max jets in 

2017 and yet did not tell the 

Federal Aviation Administration 

(FAA) for 13 

months. 

He said: “Our communication 

on that was not what 

it should have been.” 

Trump says impeachment is dirty, 

filthy 

U 

.S. President 

Donald Trump on 

Thursday scornfully rejected 

‘disgusting’ talk 

among Democrats about 

launching an impeachment 

inquiry against 

him in the aftermath of 

the Russia probe, saying 

he did nothing to merit 

such an outcome. 

Talking to reporters on 

the White House South 

Lawn ahead of a trip to 

Colorado, Trump grew 

animated in reacting to 

a statement from U.S. 

Special Counsel Robert 

Mueller on Wednesday. 

Mueller said his report 

on Russian collusion in 

the 2016 presidential 

campaign did not clear 

Trump of obstruction of 

justice and indicated it 

was up to Congress to 

decide whether he 

should be impeached. 

China’s top economic planning 

agency suggested it 

would be willing curb exports 

of rare earth minerals, 

which are crucial for 

high-tech manufacturing. 

On May 15, the Trump 

administration signed an 

order that potentially 

banned major Chinese 

companies, such as technology 

giant Huawei, 

from buying vital components 

such as computer 

chips from the US. 

Many of those chips are 

made using rare earths, of 

which China is a major 

exporter 

“At present, the United 

States completely overestimates 

its ability to control 

the global supply chain 

and is due to slap itself in 

the face when it sobers up 

from its happy, ignorant 

self-indulgence,” said the 

commentary published under 

the pseudonym 

Wuyuehe. “Don’t say we 

didn’t warn you.” 

Mueller’s statement 

fuelled an increase in 

calls from Democratic 

lawmakers for impeachment 

proceedings, and 

U.S. House of Representatives 

Speaker Nancy 

Pelosi, reacting to 

Mueller’s statement, 

said “nothing is off the 

table.” 

Asked if he expected 

to be impeached, Trump 

said: “I don’t see how 

It’s a dirty, filthy, disgusting 

word. It’s a giant 

presidential harassment.” 

He cited the U.S. Constitution’s 

language 

that a president can be 

charged with “high 

crimes and misdemeanours.” 

“There was no crime. 

There was no misdemeanour,” 

he said. 

While House Democrats 

have yet to decide 

whether to pursue impeachment, 

they are 

pressing forward with a 

number of investigations 

spinning off from the 

Russia probe. 

The Trump administration 

is fighting those 

congressional efforts, 

including an attempt by 

the Democratic chairman 

of the House tax-writing 

panel to obtain the president’s 

tax returns. 

The top Democrat on 

the Senate Finance Committee, 

Ron Wyden, said 

on Thursday the U.S. 

Treasury had been “unresponsive” 

to questions 

about Treasury Secretary 

Steve Mnuchin’s decision 

not to comply with 

the House demand for 

Trump’s returns, and he 

threatened to attempt to 

block any Treasury nominees 

if the department 

was not forthcoming. 

Baby with weight of apple 

defies odds to survive 

A 

baby born weighing just 245g (8.6oz), be 

lieved to be the tiniest on record to survive 

premature birth, has been discharged from hospital 

in the US. 

Baby Saybie weighed the same as a large apple 

when she was born at 23 weeks and three days in 

December 2018. 

Fighting for life, she was transferred to the intensive 

care unit at Sharp Mary Birch Hospital in 

San Diego, California. 

Doctors told Saybie’s parents she had just hours 

to live. 

But five months on, she was discharged weighing 

a healthy 5.6 pounds (2.5kg), confounding all 

expectations. 

A nurse who cared for Saybie as she battled for 

survival said her recovery and release earlier this 

month was a “miracle”. 

The Tiniest Babies Registry said Saybie is thought 

to be the world’s smallest surviving premature 

baby. 

The previous record was held by a baby girl from 

Germany, born weighing 252g (8.9oz) in 2015, according 

to the registry, operated by the University 

of Iowa. 

A baby, born weighing just 268g (9.45oz) in Japan 

earlier this year, is thought to be the smallest 

boy to have survived premature birth. 

South Africa gets 

gender-balanced cabinet 

SOUTH African President Cyril Ramaphosa has 

announced a new cabinet in which, for the first 

time in the country’s history, half of all ministers 

are women. 

In another unexpected move, one of the women is 

from the opposition. 

He appointed veteran opposition politician Patricia 

de Lille, who had stood for the Good Party, as 

minister of infrastructure development. 

The African National Congress party won a general 

election on 8 May. 

The move to have half of all cabinet posts occupied 

by women was a “surprise”. But it shows that 

the head of state is “astute”, she said. 

South Africans have welcomed the move to have 

equal gender representation. Tanya Cohen from 

Business Unity South Africa (Busa) said it sent “good 

signals to have qualified ministers like Dr Naledi 

Pandor as International Relations minister”. 

On Thursday President Ramaphosa made a point 

of hosting the “take a girl child to work” day, where 

he told students he wanted to be a lawyer from a 

very young age. Many hope that the presence of 

women will help in poverty alleviation especially 

among rural women. 

The most unexpected move was the appointment 

of the former Cape Town Mayor Patricia de Lille. 

She set up the Good party after she was forced to 

resign from the opposition Democratic Alliance following 

an acrimonious power struggle. 

New York: Teacher makes black 

students act as slaves 

A 

New York teacher singled out African-Ameri 

can students and cast them as slaves in a mock 

“auction” as part of a social studies lesson in March. 

An investigation by the New York Attorney General’s 

office found that the reenactment had a “profoundly 

negative effect on all of the students present 

, especially the African-American students.” 

“Every young person regardless of race, deserves 

the chance to attend school free of harassment, bias, 

and discrimination,” Attorney General Letitia James 

said in a statement. 

“Lessons designed to separate children on the 

basis of race have no place in New York classrooms, 

or in classrooms throughout this country.” 

The incident happened in two fifth-grade social 

studies classes at The Chapel School, a private 

school in Westchester County about 15 miles north 

of midtown Manhattan. 

The attorney general’s investigation also revealed 

that even before this incident, parents had complained 

to school administrators about the school’s 

lack of racial sensitivity and had concerns that the 

school did not do enough to address the complaints. 

Those complaints included unequal discipline of 

students on the basis of race, a lack of racial sensitivity 

in the curriculum and a lack of diversity among 

teachers.


SUMMIT: From left: Head of Corporate Relations, MTN Nigeria Communications 

Plc, Tobechukwu Okigbo; CEO, MTN Nigeria Communications Plc, Ferdi Moolman; 

Chairman Governing Board of NCC, Senator Olabiyi Durojaiye and a guest at the 

maiden Nigerian Telecom Leadership Summit held in Lagos. 

FCMB PROMO: From left: Special Guest, Reverend Nkele Ikpo; Zonal Head, 

First City Monument Bank, Owerri, Mr. Frederick Cyprian; One of the Star 

prize winners of an all-expense paid trip to China in the first draw of Season 2 

of "FCMB SME Race to China Promo", Mr. Ezeike Ifechukwu of Ife-Progress 

Resources Limited; Special Guest, His Royal Majesty, Eze (Dr.) Nwabiaraije 

Neogwe and Manager, First City Monument Bank, Aba Branch 1, Mrs. Florence 

Onwuka, during the promo draw event in Aba, Abia State. 

BRIEFING: From left; Kunle Oyelekan, member of the 50th anniversary planning committee, Shepherdhill Baptist Church, Deaconess 

Mojisola Amore, another member; Prof. Idowu Sobowale, Chairman of the committee and Officiating Pastor, Rev Israel Olu Kristilere, 

during the Shepherdhill Baptist church 50th Anniversary celebration media Briefing, held in Lagos, yesterday. Photo: Kehinde Shonola. 

THANKSGIVING: Evangelist & Mrs. Michael Diden and Mr. Elvis Okpako Eboh 

(middle) & other members of Association of Local Government Supervisors, ALGS, 

Delta State after a thanksgiving service held at Mega Praise Church of Christ, Sapele, 

Delta State to celebrate the reelection of Delta State Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa & 

other PDP candidates in the recent general elections. 

•Amuneke 

Marcelo dreams grand 

finish in super-six 

Rangers International 

Football Club of 

Enugu’ left-back, 

Chidiebere Okolie 

‘Marcelo’ has expressed 

happiness for playing 

football again after his 

lengthy period of injury 

nightmare that lasted 

nearly one year. 

Okolie who has been 

nicknamed ‘Marcelo’ by 

fellow players and fans 

tested full time competitive 

football action against 

Wikki Tourist of Bauchi at 

Gombe stadium, Pantami in 

the last cub match of the 

abridge league at the 

weekend. 

Speaking ahead of the fast 

approaching end of the 

season ‘Super-Six’ playoff 

scheduled for Agege 

stadium, Lagos, Wednesday, 

the stylish defender thanked 

God for His mercies that saw 

him through the injury 

period. 

“I just want to thank God 

for everything He has done 

for me and the coaches, 

management for giving 

me the opportunity to 

play the game I 

cherished most. 

Though, I was out for 

almost a year plus but 

the management and 

the technical crew still 

have faith in me and it was 

a thing of joy that I got my 

full time game against Wikki 

Tourist. Similarly, I wish to 

thank my colleagues who 

were there all the time to 

encourage and assist me on 

my way to recovery,” he said. 

He promised to always give 

his best to the club and 

believes that he did his best 

against Wikki Tourist of 

Bauchi but said that the 

coaches has the last 

The 2019 Ikoyi Club 

Tennis competition 

sponsored by Zenith 

Bank is gradually drawing 

to a close as decisive 

matches which took place 

on Wednesday night 

produced some finalists in 

various categories. 

In the Men’s Singles A, 

Chairman of the tennis 

section Ikoyi Club 1938, 

Abimbola Okubena, put up 

a spirited effort but 

eventually lost to Nishant 

Abbi in the semifinal 

encounter. Abbi with that 

feat booked a place in the 

AFCON: Tanzania 

won’t be pushovers 

— Amuneke 

Head Coach of the 

Taifa Stars of 

Tanzania, 

Emmanuel Amuneke has 

said his team won’t be 

pushovers at the 

forthcoming Africa Cup of 

Nations in Egypt but would 

make a positive impact. 

Having already become a 

national hero in the East 

African nation, the 1994 

AFCON winner said that 

they now want to build a 

strong team despite being 

drawn in a very difficult 

appraisal. 

“I will continue to work hard 

to justify my inclusion 

whenever am called upon by 

the coach to serve and to be 

back to my peak again,” he 

said. 

On the ‘Super-Six’, Okolie 

said that the club is going to 

Lagos with the spirit of 

champions to win the 

league. 

NPFL Playoff: Mfon 

Udoh says there’s no 

pressure for goals 

Mfon Udoh 

Mfon Udoh, the 

N i g e r i a 

Professional 

Football League (NPFL) all 

time highest goal scorer 

with record 23 goals, 

finished top on the scorers 

chart this season with ten 

goals but dismissed 

suggestions that he may be 

under increased pressure to 

score more during the NPFL 

Championship Playoff. 

The playoff kicks off June 4 

in Lagos with Udoh’s Akwa 

United competing with five 

others to determine the 2019 

Champions after teams 

played in two groups of 12 

teams. The top three in 

each group qualified for 

the playoff. 

The others are FC 

IfeanyiUbah, Enyimba 

International, Rangers 

International, Kano 

Pillars and Lobi Stars. 

“I think i have the 

capabilities to score 

goals, which i am used 

to . “I will score in the 

playoff by God grace 

but it is not like I am under 

any pressure to do so. 

“If at all there should be any 

pressure, it should be to win 

the playoff and become 

champions of NPFL with 

Akwa United, knowing fully 

well my team is yet to win 

the league before. So, this is 

an opportunity to do that in 

grand style”, he declared. 

Finalists emerge in Zenith Bank/Ikoyi Club 

Tennis tourney 

Singles A final and he will 

confront another 

impressive smasher, 

Kalada Kienka who 

defeated Ggenga Familoni 

6/4, 7/5 to book a final place. 

Kienka in an interview 

said he was ready to go all 

the way and win the title in 

Saturday’s final tie which 

promises to be highly 

explosive. 

In the women’s cadre, 

Julie Allagenyi defeated 

Ego Mbagwu 6/0, 6/0 while 

Maryann Chuks edged out 

Chizoba Onuoha 6/4, 6/7, 

10-8 in a highly tensed 

semifinal match also 

group. 

“For now we are 

preparing hard for the 

competition and I believe 

we will present a decent 

team that can stand against 

some of the continent’s 

best,” Amuneke said. 

Despite being grouped in 

a tough group alongside 

Senegal, Kenya, and 

Algeria, the former African 

Footballer of the Year note 

that his lads will take the 

matches one at a time and 

are not under any pressure 

going into the competition. 

Amuneke will be boosted 

by the form of captain and 

sensational goal scorer 

Mbwana Samatta who 

netted 33 goals in all 

competitions for Genk as 

they hope to make a huge 

impact on their first return 

to the competition in 39 

years. 

Currently camped in 

Egypt, Tanzania will face 

host nation Egypt on the 

13th of June in a friendly 

match before their first 

Group C opener against 

Senegal ten days later. 

decided on Wednesday. 

Allagenyi and Chuks will 

now meet in the Ladies 

singles final on Saturday. 

In the Men’s Singles B, 

Babatunde Olujobi 

defeated Hillary Eledu 6/0, 

6/4 to book a semifinal slot 

along with Bola Ayorinde 

who defeated Lanre 

Oladimeji 7/5, 6/3 in a close 

encounter. 

Emeka Azinge also 

earned a berth into the last 

four by beating Sesan Dada 

7/5, 6/3 just as Sule 

Mustapha won his match 

against Femi George who 

scratched at 7/6.


AFCON: Super 

Eagles camp kicks 

off Sunday 

The Super Eagles are expected to begin 

preparations for the Africa Cup of Nations 

on the 2nd of June in Asaba. 

Ahead of this year’s continental showdown in 

Egypt, the 2013 champions will report to training 

camp in Asaba to kickstart fitness and tactical 

preparations. 

In a brief interaction with reporters in Abuja, the 

second Vice President of the Nigerian Football 

Federation, Mallam Shehu Dikko said that 

everything is being put in place to make sure the 

team does well in Egypt. 

“So everything regarding their preparations is 

being sorted out. Once the players resume camp 

other issues that crop up will be dealt with. 

“But all programs have been set out and all 

procedures are done. All that is left now is for the 

team to resume camp on the 2nd of June” Dikko 

revealed. 

Dikko also gave insights on the Super Eagles 

chances of winning the trophy in Egypt. 

“The chances? It’s the Nations Cup we are 

contesting for. Our objective is to win the cup, this 

is not the World Cup, it’s the Nations Cup. We are 

not going there to just participate. The minimal 

benchmark is to win the trophy and that’s what we 

are going to do,” Dikko concluded. 

Nigeria is placed in Group B alongside Burundi, 

Guinea, and Madagascar. 

African Freestyle 

Football 

Championship 

organisers 

promise more 

thrills 

The 2019 African Freestyle 

Football Championship 

will be bigger and better 

than the two previous editions 

of the competition, the 

organisers have promised. 

The finals of this year’s 

championship, which is 

sanctioned by the World Freestyle 

Football Association and fully 

endorsed by WFFA co-founder 

Daniel Wood, will take place at 

the Balmoral Convention Centre, 

Federal Palace Hotel, Lagos on 

September 14 and September 15. 

The organisers and rights 

holders of the competition, Feet 

& Tricks International, 

explained some of the 

improvements to the 

tournament during a press 

conference in Lagos on 

Wednesday. 

“We’re excited to have 

started the drive to pave a new 

direction for freestyle football 

in Africa,” Feet & Tricks 

International Chairman, 

Valentine Ozigbo, said during 

the press conference. 

“In this year’s edition, we 

expect at least 30 African 

countries to be represented 

and many have already 

registered. We will work on the 

continuous development of 

African freestyle talent and 

continually exploit all available 

resources to create more 

awareness for the sport, and 

we’re grateful to our sponsors 

and partners.” 

Ozigbo explained that for the 

first time in the championship, 

there would be regional 

competitions to determine 

Nigeria’s representatives in 

the finals. 

Lineker hails Iwobi after 

historic goal against Chelsea 

England legend Gary 

Lineker had nothing but 

praise for Alex Iwobi after 

he netted the pick of the goals in 

Arsenal’s 4-1 loss to Chelsea in 

the final of the Europa League 

on Wednesday night. 

The Nigeria international was 

one of the few bright sparks as 

the Gunners threw away another 

chance to qualify for the 

Champions League, and several 

fans questioned the decision to 

name him on the bench, 

especially as German playmaker 

Mesut Ozil struggled during the 

game. 

Iwobi’s goal was a real 

collector’s item, scoring with a 

right-footed rocket from outside 

the area after Chelsea failed to 

clear their lines in the 69th 

minute. 

Writing on social media, 1986 

World Cup Golden Boot winner, 

Lineker said : ‘’That is one hell of 

a goal from Iwobi. We’ve seen 

some bonkers games in Europe 

this season. Not again, surely.’’ 

It was a historic goal as Iwobi 

became the first Nigerian player 

to score in the final of a European 

club competition, a feat the likes 

of Nwankwo Kanu, Finidi 

George, Taribo West, Chidi 

Odiah, Dickson Etuhu, Jonathan 

Akpoborie, Yakubu Aiyegbeni 

and Stephen Keshi failed to 

accomplish. 

NPFL Playoff: Anamena gunning for second 

League title with Enyimba 

Ifeanyi Anaemena, captain of 

Enyimba FC of Aba is 

looking forward to winning a 

second league title with the club 

after they qualified for the 

Championship Playoff with five 

other clubs. 

Enyimba, Akwa United, Kano 

Pillars, Rangers, FC IfeanyiUbah 

and Lobi Stars will compete in a 

mini league from June 4 in Lagos 

to determine the Nigeria 

Professional Football League 

(NPFL) 2019 Champions. 

Anaemena said after the last 

match of the season, that it had 

been a fruitful season for him 

having scored six goals in the 

league. 

Babayaro: Mikel deserves 

his place in Nigeria's AFCON 

squad 

The centre back expressed delight 

at being a part of the squad that 

qualified the former champions for 

another opportunity to enrich their 

trophy cabinet. 

“We are looking forward to the first 

match of the Championship Playoff 

against Rangers International. It is 

going to be a tough game 

considering the pedigree of the two 

teams in the NPFL and an oriental 

derby is always a match where the 

two teams want to win for pride.” 

said Anaemena. 

The former Giwa FC of Jos 

defender concluded by saying that 

his utmost desire would be to win 

the league with Enyimba at the end 

of the Playoff. 

Former Nigeria defender 

Celestine Babayaro says 

he has no problem with John 

Obi Mikel’s return to the 

national team. 

Mikel has been included in 

the Super Eagles’ provisional 

squad which is set to 

participate in the 2019 Africa 

Cup of Nations (AFCON) 

finals. 

Babayaro explained that the 

32-year-old central 

midfielder deserves his place 

in the squad as long as he is 

in good form. 

“John Obi Mikel has done 

well for the national team and 

the man is an experienced 

midfield player,” Babayaro 

said. 

‘’If you look at what Gareth 

Southgate is doing with the 

Former Super Eagles 

Coach, Clemens 

Westerhof has reiterated 

that he remains Nigeria’s most 

successful coach in history after 

taking the country to the 

echelon of world football during 

his reign. 

Westerhoff, 79, talked about his 

past experiences and 

achievements with Nigeria whilst 

reflecting on the good old days 

when the country reigned supreme 

both in Africa and the world. 

Speaking in Abuja during the 

week, Westerhof didn’t waste 

any time to wind the clock back 

to when he changed Nigerian 

football for good. 

“I remember a lot of things I 

did when I was the coach of the 

Nigerian team in 1994 when we 

qualified for the World Cup in 

the USA. 

“I took Nigeria from 79th 

position to 5th on the FIFA 

world rankings, that was an 

English national team, the man 

blends young with old. 

‘’He doesn’t just move the old 

ones immediately, he likes to 

blend for example Raheem 

Sterling and Harry Maguire at 

the back,” he added. 

‘’If the national team coach 

has looked at Mikel who plays 

at Middlesbrough, if he has 

watched him play and he’s inform, 

why not. If he’s in-form 

and has played well, I cannot 

see any reason why he can’t be 

invited. 

‘’If you have been doing well 

and playing regularly, I am up 

for it. If you look at his CV, he 

has won the Champions 

League, FA Cup, all kinds of 

cups. He has done well for 

himself ’’. 

I took Nigeria football to the 

world, says Westerhof 

unthinkable milestone and that 

has been its highest till date, 

right?” Westerhoff boasted. 

He added: “So I believe the 

current crop of players can still 

achieve this task or even better, 

they just have to be focused and 

disciplined and perform all 

assigned roles in top condition 

and state, then the results will 

come”. 

Chukwueze to replace 

Shaqiri at Liverpool 

Villarreal forward Samuel 

Chukwueze has played 

down rumours linking 

him with a potential move to Liverpool 

this summer. 

The 19-year-old Nigerian has 

enjoyed an impressive debut 

campaign for the LaLiga club 

but has a €60m release clause to 

ward off any potential suitors. 

The talented teenager joined 

Villarreal in 2017, despite being 

heavily linked to 

both Porto and 

Monaco, and has 

netted eight 

goals in total this 

season – having 

initially impressed 

for the 

club’s reserve side in 2017-18. 

His performances have seen 

him linked a summer move, with 

several outlets stating that Liverpool 

boss Jurgen Klopp is looking 

to replace Xherdan Shaqiri 

with the attacker. 

But Chukwueze was playing 

coy on his future, as cited by 

Marca, “I am aware that there 

are several interested teams, but 

I am still a Villarreal player and 

there is nothing concrete. 

“It’s good that I am linked to 

great clubs, because that shows 

that hard work has its reward. 

“I do not want to rush to go to 

another club. But if I ever had to 

leave, I should make sure I go to 

a club where I’m going to play.” 

•Chukwueze

Ramos 

Ramos wants 

to retire at 

Madrid 

Sergio Ramos has drawn a line 

under speculation 

surrounding his future by 

revealing he is staying at Real 

Madrid and adding that he would 

like to retire at the Santiago 

Bernabeu. 

Reports in the Spanish media had 

claimed the club captain was set to 

leave after receiving a lucrative offer 

from Chima, but the defender called 

a press conference on Thursday to 

clear up those rumours. 

“I want to make it very clear,” he 

said. “Lots of things have been 

speculated. I am a madridista, I 

want to finish my career here. I 

want to leave the past behind, the 

bad season. I want to retire here.” 

It had been claimed that one of the 

reasons Ramos wanted to leave was 

because of a fallout with 

president Florentino Perez, but the 

33-year-old said: “With the 

president, we have a father-son 

relationship. 

“There is a lot of warmth between 

us. Despite some ups and downs, 

we have always had a good 

relationship and we want to move 

forward together.” 

French Open: 

Osaka survives 

Azarenka scare 

World number one Naomi 

Osaka survived another 

early scare to reach the third round 

of the French Open. 

Japan’s Osaka, 21, overcame a 

poor start to beat two-time Grand 

Slam champion Victoria Azarenka 

4-6 7-5 6-3. 

Osaka is chasing her third 

successive Grand Slam title 

having won the 2018 US Open and 

the Australian Open earlier this 

year. 

She will play Greece’s Maria 

Sakkari or the Czech Republic’s 

Katerina Siniakova in the next 

round. 

“I was lucky enough to play her 

(Azarenka) twice before this and I 

knew she was playing really well,” 

said Osaka. 

“It was unfortunate that this was 

a second-round match but I am 

happy I won.” 

Asked if she is as calm on the 

inside as she looks on court, she 

added: “No. I choked on this side 

(at 5-1) and almost choked on the 

other side (at 5-3). I am very 

emotional.” 

Pressure is on 

Liverpool for 

Champions 

League final 

Former Liverpool star 

Michael Owen believes 

“all the pressure” will be on 

the Reds when they face Spurs in 

tomorrow’s all-Premier League 

Champions League Final in 

Madrid. 

Jurgen Klopp’s men beat 

Mauricio Pochettino’s side home 

and away in the league this 

While most couples don’t 

appreciate any last-minute 

changes of plan ahead of their 

wedding, two football fans were 

happy to make some adjustments 

after finding out the big day 

coincided with the Champions 

League final. 

Liverpool supporter Abby 

Norman and Tottenham Hotspur 

fan James Alexander, from 

Plymouth, have embraced the 

clash and are planning to show 

the big game. 

The couple, who appeared on 

today’s This Morning, are even 

planning to seat guests at the 

ceremony, according to who they 

support, and will run a sweep 

stake. 

Abby and James hadn’t 

anticipated the clash, as they 

never expected their teams to end 

up in the final. 

Abby said: ‘We joked and 

Hazard: I think that was my Chelsea goodbye 

Eden Hazard conceded he is 

likely to have played his last 

game for Chelsea after scoring 

twice in their Europa League final 

victory over Arsenal. 

Olivier Giroud opened the 

scoring against his former club 

before Hazard provided the assist 

for Pedro and soon got on the 

scoresheet himself, coolly scoring 

from the penalty spot before 

putting the game to bed by 

sweeping home after a stunning 

Alex Iwobi strike briefly gave 

Arsenal hope. 

Hazard had previously said he 

would reveal his plans for the 

future following the game in Baku 

and, after initially being reticent 

season and finished 26 points 

ahead of them in the table, just 

one point behind the champions 

Manchester City. 

Klopp will also be trying to avoid 

losing a seventh straight final, 

after losing his last three with 

Borussia Dortmund and first three 

with Liverpool, who are the 

bookmakers’ favourite to claim a 

sixth Champions League/ 

European Cup win. 

For Owen, this makes it 

Liverpool’s match to lose. 

Speaking to Press Association 

Sport, the BetVictor brand 

ambassador said: “All the 

pressure is on Liverpool because 

they know they need to win a 

trophy after the season they’ve 

had. 

“You don’t get a team together 

like that often and you have to 

make hay while the sun is 

shining. If they don’t win on 

Saturday it will be like a dagger 

through the heart of every 

Liverpool player and fan. 

“Spurs are under far less 

pressure and have surpassed 

expectations already by reaching 

Mauricio Pochettino would be 

taking a risk if he decided 

to start Harry Kane in the 

Champions League final, says 

Newcastle manager Rafa Benitez. 

When asked about starting Kane 

in Madrid, Benitez said: “That is 

the main question, whether you 

play him coming back from injury 

or not. 

A perfect match! 

Liverpool fan, Spurs supporter whose wedding 

clashes with Champions League final 

to commit himself, told BT Sport: 

“I think it’s a goodbye but in 

football you never know. 

“My dream was to play in 

Premier League, I did this for 

seven years in one of the biggest 

clubs in the world so now maybe 

it’s time for a new challenge.” 

Hazard has been linked with a 

move to Spanish giants Real 

Madrid and added: “I will decide 

in a few days. My target was to 

win the trophy, that’s the only 

thing in my mind. 

“I took my decision already, I 

said that two weeks’ ago. Now it 

depends on the club, both clubs. 

I’m just waiting like the fans wait. 

We’ll know in a couple of days.” 

Owen 

laughed that it 

could happen, 

but didn’t 

think it really 

would. After 

Tottenham’s 

game on 

Wednesday, 

our phones 

were going 

nuts. 

‘James was 

actually in 

London at the 

time and we 

couldn’t believe it had happened 

- and for a massive game as well.’ 

When they were asked by 

presenter Eamonn if they ever 

thought about cancelling the 

wedding, James was quick to 

reply ‘no.’ 

He said: ‘No, we never thought 

of cancelling, we just knew we 

had to show the game.’ 

Abby and James plan to have 

guests sit on either a Liverpool or 

Tottenham side during the 

ceremony, adding a fitting twist 

to the traditional bride or groom’s 

side set up. 

The Premier League generates 

more revenue than any other 

league in Europe - but which 

leagues are growing fastest? 

The big five European leagues 

grew their financial muscle by six 

per cent in 2017/18 with revenues 

totalling £13.7bn, according to 

Deloitte. 

Broken down by country, the 

Premier League leads the way by 

a distance with a value of £4.8bn, 

ahead of the Bundesliga (£2.8bn), 

La Liga (£2.7bn), Serie A (£2bn) 


Lloris wants to win for 

Pochettino 

Tottenham captain Hugo Lloris is desperate to win 

the Champions League to honour his “amazing” 

relationship with Mauricio Pochettino. 

The France goalkeeper has been a key part of Spurs’ 

rise during the five years of Pochettino’s reign after 

being made captain. 

He has been a lieutenant and leader on the pitch, 

while the Argentinian stood by his man earlier this 

season when Lloris was convicted of drink-driving. 

Lloris showed his appreciation for his manager last 

summer when he gave him a replica of the World 

Cup trophy he won with France, a memento which 

currently resides in Pochettino’s office. 

The 32-year-old is about to play another massive 

final as Spurs go for glory in the Champions League 

when they take on Liverpool in Madrid on Saturday 

and is driven on by his desire to repay Pochettino. 

“I’m really grateful. I think in life or in your career 

there is always some amazing 

meeting in terms of person, and 

it’s been the case with 

Mauricio,” he said. 

“And you know we are all 

ambitious and we are all 

working every day in the club 

to make history. 

“We could not do it before in 

the Premier League but we’ve 

done very well the last four years 

to reach the top four. 

“And we have a fantastic 

opportunity in the Champions 

League. It’s the biggest trophy 

that you can win and when it’s 

in front of you you must do 

everything to get it. 

“And it’s even more when you 

do it with people that you really 

want to do it, with Mauricio. It 

means even more. 

Starting Kane will be a risk 

— Benitez “The only one who can make the 

They said: ‘There will also be a 

sweep stake for the teams, the bar 

will be changed into a sports bar 

and the table plan is now by 

teams.’ 

Clearly concerned about the 

couple’s wedding, Eamonn and 

Ruth asked what would happen if 

the guests don’t support either of 

the competing teams. 

Abby quickly replied: ‘They 

need to be savvy and pick who to 

support then and who they think 

will win - which will obviously be 

Liverpool.’ 

Rich List: Premier League tops other leagues 

and Ligue 1 (£1.5bn). 

But England’s top-flight clubs 

have shelled out £2.8bn of that 

revenue in wages - but that 59 per 

cent ratio is still only bettered by 

the Bundesliga (53 per cent). 

At the other end of the scale, 

Ligue 1 wage bills hit £1.1bn, 

amounting to 75 per cent of their 

overall revenue - with Paris Saint- 

Germain, Marseille and Monaco 

primarily racking up the league’s 

additional cost. 

right decision is Pochettino, 

because he knows the player and 

he has been watching training. 

“The player will say ‘yes, I am 

fine’, because he will be 

desperate to play the final. So he 

has to talk with the medical staff 

and decide. 

“If you are asking me ‘what 

would you do?’ I cannot give you 

any answer because I haven’t seen 

the player. It is a big decision. 

“They were doing so well and the 

players up front are so dynamic, 

to change that and put a player 

who is maybe not fully fit is a risk. 

We have to wait and see how 

confident Pochettino is with the 

fitness of Harry Kane.” 

Inter Milan sack 

Spalletti as Conte 

set to take over 

Inter Milan manager Luciano 

Spalletti has been sacked after 

two years at the club. 

Former Chelsea boss Antonio 

Conte is set to replace the 60- 

year-old at the San Siro. 

Spalletti guided the Serie A side 

to fourth place and the final 

Champions League spot ahead of 

rivals AC Milan but they finished 

21 points behind champions 

Juventus and were knocked out 

of the Champions League during 

the group stages last season. 

A club statement on Twitter 

yesterday read: ‘FC 

Internazionale Milano can 

confirm that Luciano Spalletti is 

no longer head coach of the first 

team. 

‘The club wishes to thank 

Spalletti for his work and the 

results achieved together.’ 

The former Roma boss guided 

Inter to fourth place during his 

first season in charge, which 

ended a seven-year exile from the 

Champions League. 

However, Spalletti stripped the 

captaincy from top goalscorer 

Mauro Icardi, who did not play 

for nearly two months as a result 

of their falling out, and the club 

failed to mount a meaningful 

challenge in either Europe or the 

Coppa Italia. 

Inter Milan have yet to make a 

formal bid for Romelu Lukaku but 

they want to make the 

Manchester United striker 

Conte’s first signing.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, MAY 31, 2019 

TODAY’S PUZZLE 

Sudoku 

FRIDAY’S ANSWER 

TODAY’S CROSSWORD 

QUICK CROSSWORD 

THURSDAY’S SOLUTION 

Across 

1 Playing a part (6) 

4 Implored (6) 

8 Wanderer (5) 

9 Red Indian child (7) 

10 Without fault (7) 

11 Exterior (5) 

12 Fan (9) 

17 Desert haven (5) 

19 Get well again (7) 

21 Language of East Africa 

(7) 

22 Brink (5) 

24 Turn upside down (6) 

Down 

1 Sudden (6) 

2 Inns (7) 

3 Boldness (5) 

5 Daring feat (7) 

6 Phantom (5) 

7 Dismal (6) 

9 Fragrant mixture of dried 

leaves and petals (9) 

13 Ardent emotion (7) 

14 Daydream (7) 

15 Brags (6) 

16 The East (6) 

18 Play for time (5) 

20 Assembly of witches (5) 

How to Play Sudoku 

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

of the same number). 

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

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

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

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

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

multiplication, just plain logic and your imagination. 

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