11092019 - BAILOUT: Pressure on states as FG starts deductions

First batch of 320 Nigerians
back from S-Africa today
9 15
—ENVOY
•Ohanaeze asks S-East govs
to prepare for returnees
E-DAILY 11
Why I can't do
a collabo with
Tiwa Savage
—Yemi Alade
CBN slams penalties for delayed e-payment transactions
19
VOL. 26: NO. 63894 WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019
<strong>BAILOUT</strong>: <strong>Pressure</strong> on states
as FG starts deductions
•Cuts 2020 budget projections to N9.789 trn
•Reduces capital expenditure to N2trn
•Says fiscal challenges requires bold, decisive actions
IMN claims 12 killed as Police disperse
8
members on street procession; no casualty, say
Police AAC
PETITION:
Court rules
Friday
COLUMNISTS
12
How I stopped
Jonathan from giving
life pension, immunity
to NASS members
—ADOKE
41
CHART: PRINCE OKAFOR
Abducted Maths
professor
6
murdered in Ondo
FASAN 32 DEAR BUNMI 43 AFE 45 INSIGHT 23
SEE
INSIDE
STORY
ON PAGE
5
Atiku Vs
Buhari:
Anxiety as
tribunal
delivers
judgement
today 8
I'll treat
Boko
Haram
as
bandits
—BUHARI
Mr & Mrs
9

2 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019 — 3

4 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019

vanguardnews
@vanguardnews
Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019 — 5
NEWS HOTLINES
POCKET CARTOON
018773962,
@vanguardnews 08052867058
PRESIDENT BUHARI RECEIVES ICRC PRESIDENT— President Muhammadu Buhari in a handshake
with Head of Delegation, Accredited Representative to ECOWAS, Mr Eloi Fillion. Others are ICRC
Deputy Regional Director for Africa, Mr Patrick Yiussef and Deputy Head of Delegation, ICRC, Mr
Jean-Francois Queguinner after an audience with ICRC Delegation held at the State House, Abuja,
yesterday. STATE HOUSE PHOTO.
<strong>BAILOUT</strong>: <strong>Pressure</strong> on states as FG
starts deductions
By Emma Ujah,
Abuja Bureau Chief
ABUJA —
Finances of state
governments
may come under
pressure as the Federal
Government starts
deductions of the N662
billion bailout funds
begin this month.
Minister of Finance,
Budget and National
Planning, Mrs. Zainab
Ahmed, who disclosed
this in Abuja yesterday,
also said the government
plans to cut 2020 budget
to N9.789 trillion, down
from the current
N10.068trillion.
She said: “The loan
came from the CBN
(Central Bank of
Nigeria) and will return
there. Recoveries will
start from the next FAAC
(Federation Accounts
Allocation Committee)
meeting where federally
collected revenues are
distributed among the
three tiers of
government). We will
deduct at source and
return it to CBN.”
According to the
minister, the deductions
at source from the
benefitting states will
start this month.
The total amount that
states governments are
expected to repay to the
Federal Government
amounts to N662 billion,
broken down into N324
billion from Debt
Management Office,
DMO and N338 billion
from the Central Bank of
Nigeria, CBN.
The DMO portion at
N14.83 per cent was a
conversion of the debt of
states to long-term bonds
at a rate of 14.3 per cent
payable over a period of
20 years, while the
CBN’s loans to 27 states
for payment of
outstanding salaries is at
a rate of 9 per cent over
a period of 20 years.
States with the largest
exposure include Kogi,
N50.84 billion; Osun,
N35 billion; and Benue,
N28 billion.
Osun State is the most
indebted, with CBN
component of N88.6
billion plus N35 billion,
bringing the Federal
Government’s
sponsored debt to
N123.6 billion, followed
by Delta with N69.8
billion DMO bond and
N10 billion CBN loan,
bringing its total
exposure to N79.8
billion.
Ogun State came third
with N55.4 billion DMO
exposure plus N20
billion exposure to CBN,
which brings its total
indebtedness to the
Federal Government to
N75.4 billion.
FG cutting 2020
budget to N9.7
trn
The minister in a
document released
yesterday, also said the
Federal Government had
plans to cut its 2020
budget to N9.789 trillion,
down from the current
N10.068 trillion.
The figure was
contained in the Draft
2020-2022 Medium Term
Economic Framework
and Fiscal Strategy
Paper (MTEF/FSP).
If retained, next year’s
budget would be lower
than the 2019 budget by
about N279.266 billion.
The document
indicated a total federal
revenue expectation of
N7.634 trillion which
would, however, be
slightly higher than the
2019 revenue projection
of N7.594 trillion.
The detailed
expenditure outlook for
the next three years
indicated that in 2021,
the Federal Government
would spend N10.110
trillion, which will be
raised to N10.418 trillion
in 2022.
On the revenue side, it
projected N 7.634 in
2020; N7. 856 trillion in
2021; and N7.8655 in
2022.
The MTEF/FSP
presented by the
minister indicated that
the federal government
would drastically cut
capital expenditure in
the 2020 budget to N2.
053 trillion from the
current N3.184 trillion,
due to fiscal challenges
confronting the nation
and increasing
personnel costs.
She said: “The draft
2020-2022 Medium Term
Continues on Page 41
Should NCC regulate internet use in Nigeria? (2)
By Bose Adelaja, Olayinka Latona
& Chiamaka Uba
Regulation
and
policing of the
cyberspace is long
overdue. This would
encourage positive
engagements and
reduce internet fraud.
NCC should also look
into regulating the
effectiveness of our
network providers. I
believe this should
also be a priority on
their list.
-Damilola Queen
Corps member.
Regulation without
adequate monitoring
equals futility. Besides, most
of the transactions done in
this part of the globe are
mainly internet-based.
Regulation isn’t necessary in
my opinion. I would suggest
that NCC puts a ban on
certain cyber sites that
promote promiscuity, fraud,
cybercrimes etc. These sites
wrongly educate its
subscribers and as such,
negatively influence them.
Efforts channelled in this
direction will cause a
redirection in internet use.
-Anaegbunam Arinze
Student
I
strongly agree
that NCC should
regulate the use of
Internet in Nigeria. The
internet of course, has
been useful in diverse
ways, in terms of
education, seeking
knowledge and so on.
However, the nonregulation
has led to
some dishonest ones
carrying out illegal acts
such as fraud via the
Internet. The regulation
will serve as a check.
-Idebi Faith
Corps member
Government should
regulate the use of
internet because some
have capitalized on this
to map out strategies for
kidnapping, hacking
bank accounts,
fraudulent internet
banking, examination
malpractice, forgery,
falsification and other
wrong uses of the
internet. We should not
fold our arms and watch
things deteriorate, so
regulation is a must.
-Sola Adedeji
B u i l d e r
It will be a great
progress towards
creating a sane
environment for
internet users and
social media in
particular. It will curb to
an extent, cyber
bullying, hate speech
and menace of keyboard
warriors who use
anonymity to perpetrate
evil online thereby
making the internet
unsafe for all. It’s a
welcome development.
- Afolayanka Semilore
Linguist
No, the NCC should
not regulate the use of
the internet because that is
one platform where most
people feel comfortable to
speak up. Nigerians find
it difficult to be heard in so
many areas especially
when it comes to the
government on pressing
issues. The internet has
served as a means of
communication between
the people and
government, and all other
organisations.
-Akande Oluwafunmilade
Entrepreneur

6—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019
200 bandits sack Niger communities, kidnap 6
By Wole Mosadomi
M INNA—GUNMEN
numbering about 200,
Monday, invaded some
communities in Rafi Local
Government area of Niger State
and sacked members of the
communities.
Armed with guns, daggers
cutlasses among other weapons,
the bandits were said to have
stormed the communities in the
afternoon and started shooting
sporadically, as they drove freely
from one street to the other and
Soldier abandons
fight against
insurgents, goes
for robbery
By Umar Yusuf
YOLA—A serving soldier,
who was on special
assignment in the current fight
against the Boko Haram
insurgents in Mungonu Local
Government Area of Borno
State has been apprehended
alongside one other for alleged
robbery and car snatching in
Yola.
Parading the two suspects in
Yola, the Public Relations
Officer of Adamawa State
Police Command, DSP
Sulaiman Nguroje, said the
incident happened on Tuesday
at 1a.m., near the popular
Target Junction in the state
capital.
According to Nguroje, “the
suspects accosted a lady along
Target Junction and ordered
her to surrender her Toyota
Camry car at gunpoint, which
she did.
“Luckily enough, the matter
was reported to policemen on
duty along Target Junction,
who swung into action
immediately, in collaboration
with vigilante operatives, and
arrested the suspects.
“We were able to recover the
car, an AK-47 rifle and 35
rounds of ammunition from the
suspects.”
During interrogation by
newsmen, the soldier who
identified himself as Dampa
Hyellambamun, said he was on
special operations in
Monguno.
“I got a pass to come to Yola
from my base in Monguno and
the pass had expired since
August 10,” he said.
Asked why he resorted to
robbing innocent people
instead of defending them, the
soldier said he was forced to
resort to self-help because he
had neither received his salary
nor allowance for a long time.
He said: “I was given a gun
without salary and allowance.
What do you want me to do
when I’m on the verge of
starvation?”
The two suspects, according
to the Police spokesman, will
appear in court as soon as
investigations were completed.
one house to the other,
demanding for money and other
valuables from residents.
Besides cash and other
valuables stolen, the bandits were
also said to have rustled some
cows, sheep and goats from the
communities.
The raid, which led to a
stampede, many of the villagers,
mostly women and children,
suffered injuries during, with no
fewer than six of them
kidnapped.
Vanguard gathered that
villagers that escaped
Police recover decomposing body of abducted Applied
Maths prof
By Dayo Johnson
AKURE—THE abducted
Professor of Applied
Mathematics and Acting Dean,
School of Postgraduate Studies,
University of Science and
Technology, OSUSTECH,
Okitipupa, Ondo State, Professor
Gideon Okedayo, has been
murdered.
The late Okedayo, who was of
the Department of Mathematical
Sciences, was abducted
alongside his driver on September
5, on Auchi Road on his way to
his hometown in Igara, Edo State.
Reports had it that the driver
was later released after which he
reported to the Police. Detectives
from Edo State Police Command
have, on Saturday, found his
official vehicle, a Toyota Corolla
car with number plates 06X47OD,
where it was abandoned by his
kidnappers.
Findings showed that his
abductors did not contact his
family for ransom, fuelling
speculation that he might have
been murdered few hours after he
was kidnapped.
His decomposing corpse was
said to have been discovered on
Monday in a bush of about 15
metres from where he was
kidnapped.
Meanwhile, the incident has
thrown the institution into
mourning.
Speaking with Vanguard in
confidence, one of his colleague
said: “The body of the lecturer was
found inside a bush. It is sad.
They have killed Professor
Okedayo. We learned about his
gruesome killing yesterday
(Monday) night.
“We were called from the Police
Station and told they have found
his body. They confirmed to us
that he must have been
murdered by his abductors. This
is just a sad moment for all of us
at the university.”
Chairman of the OSUSTECH
chapter of the Academic Staff
Union of Universities, ASUU, Dr.
Dipo Akomolafe, said ASUU and
the university community had
been thrown into disarray and
were saddened by the
development.
He said: “His decomposing
body was found in the bush. This
immediately relocated to
neighbouring communities on
motorcycles across a stream, while
others went to Kagara,
headquarters of Rafi Local
Government area.
Most of them, it was gathered,
left their property behind as they
ran for their lives.
Some of them are temporarily
sleeping at the Ahmadu Attaihiru
Secondary School and Lafene
Primary School, Kagara.
Contacted, Director-General of
the State Emergency
Management Agency, Alhaji
Professor Okedayo
is so sad to ASUU and his family
members because the abductors
never called anybody, whether
ASUU or Okedayo’s family, for
ransom.”
Also, Chairman, Joint Action
By Evelyn Usman
THE lifeless body of a
Lebanese, Bassan Khodari,
was, yesterday, found inside a
septic tank in his house at 26
Bombay Crescent, Apapa, Lagos.
He was alleged to have been
murdered by his domestic
workers, who are on the run.
Late Khodari, who relocated to
Abuja, left his house in the care
of his domestic staff. He travelled
to Lebanon and returned to his
Apapa home on Monday.
He was said to have expressed
surprise on noticing strange faces
in his house, which had been
Ibrahim Inga, confirmed the
incident, describing it as
unfortunate. He added that the
local government was handling
the matter until the state
government takes over.
“The state government is aware
of it and we are strategising and
liaising with the Police and other
security agencies to move to the
affected areas,” he added.
Public Relations Officer of the
state Police Command, DSP
Muhammed Abubakar, also
confirmed the incident, but added
that the Command was not aware
Committee of Staff Unions of the
Institution, Temidayo Temola,
said in his reaction that “we are
devastated and in disarray. It’s a
big loss to the university
community. We have lost a man
looted. Upon inquiry, he was
informed that the strangers were
brought in by his gateman.
He reportedly engaged his
gateman in a verbal confrontation
and ordered him and the
strangers to leave his apartment
the next day. But his remains were
found in a septic tank yesterday.
One of his relatives, said to have
visited yesterday morning,
reportedly met the gate opened.
A neighbour, who simply gave
his name as Chief Chionye Nze,
said: “We did not know what
happened until we saw some
policemen here. We were told that
the Lebanese’s relative, who came
of any kidnap.
Abubakar said: “We are aware
of the ugly incident and we are
reviewing the security
architecture of communities in the
hinterland, because it appears
they are prone to this type of
security breach.
“As the moment, we are aware
of the invasion of some
communities in Rafi Local
Government Area. But we are not
aware that anybody was
kidnapped. Our men are on the
ground and we will surely arrest
the perpetrators.”
of international repute. This is
one death too many.”
The labour leader, who
described the late don as a peaceloving
and generous person, said
the sad news had thrown the
OSUSTECH campus into
mourning.
Deputy Vice Chancellor of the
university, Professor Francis
Igbasan, said: “The government
has failed in its responsibility to
protect its citizens. We are not
happy as a university with the
gruesome murder of one of us.
“It takes years to produce a
professor. In advanced country
there is a special insurance for
professors because they know
their worth. They don’t joke with
their professors.”
Wife on medication
Contacted on phone, the widow
of the deceased Professor, Mrs
Marries Okedayo, could not
speak because she was said to
have been on medication since
she heard of her husband’s death.
Her sister, who spoke in
confidence, told Vanguard: “l am
sorry she cannot speak with the
press on this devastating matter
now.
“She has been on drip since
they informed her of the death of
her husband. Maybe she would
agree to speak later.”
Vanguard gathered that the
deceased had two children, the
eldest in University of Ilorin,
Kwara State, while the other is in
secondary school.
Lebanese murdered, dumped in
septic tank by domestic workers
visiting, traced the blood to the
well where his body was dumped.
“He was the one that reported
the matter to the Police.”
Policemen from Area ‘B’
Division, according to Chionye,
evacuated the corpse.
Vanguard gathered that a senior
Police officer at the State Criminal
Investigation and Intelligence
Department, SCIID, was leading
detectives in the investigation and
were said to be closing in on the
suspected perpetrators.
Contacted, Lagos State Police
Public Relations Officer, DSP
Elkana Bala, said investigation
was ongoing.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019—7
... with Emma'nKen (08163121378)
Who else thinks this guy by the left
looks like a chronic groomsman?
Shi’itte members on the street of Abuja, yesterday. PHOTO: Gbemiga Olamikan.
Man remanded in prison custody over neighbour’s death
By Onozure Dania
LAGOS—A Lagos High Court
sitting in Ikeja, yesterday,
remanded an unemployed man,
Bakare Akeem, in prison custody
for allegedly killing his neighbour
with a plank.
Justice Mojisola Dada gave the
order after the defendant took his
plea.
Akeem, whose residential
address was not given, is
standing trial on a count charge
By Rotimi Ojomoyela
ADO-EKITI—TWO persons
were, yesterday, feared dead
in Oye-Ekiti as hoodlums
attacked the convoy of the wife of
the state governor, Erelu Bisi
Fayemi, after hijacking a protest
by the students of Federal
University, Oye-Ekiti.
Mrs Fayemi was returning from
a tour of some local government
areas, when her convoy was
attacked.
The hoodlums were said to
have gone on rampage hours
after the students dispersed from
protesting power outages in the
community.
They were said to have
confronted the security operatives
and vandalised vehicles in the
convoy of the First Lady.
The students had gathered as
early as 6:39a.m. in front of the
gates of the institution’s twin
campuses in Oye and Ikole,
calling on the Federal
Government to ensure that the
body saddled with providing
power to the campuses did their
job and phase out incessant
power outage on the campuses.
It was gathered that the
students dispersed after a few
hours and that normalcy had
returned on the campuses and
their environs, when some
miscreants regrouped and took
advantage of the situation to
unleash violence on innocent
people.
of murder to which he pleaded
not guilty.
Earlier, Lagos State prosecutor,
Mr. O. I. Seshan, told the court
that the defendant committed the
alleged offence on June 26, 2018,
at 10.10p.m. in Surulere.
He said the defendant
allegedly killed one Eguzuoba
Ikechukwu by heating his head
with a plank, which led to his
death.
According to the prosecutor, the
offence committed is punishable
Reacting, Police Public Relations
Officer of Ekiti Command, DSP
Caleb Ikechukwu, confirmed the
attack.
Ikechukwu explained that the
students truly protested in the
morning, blocked the Ifaki-Ikole-
Omuo Federal highway and
prevented free flow of vehicles.
His words: “The students did
not allow vehicles to move freely
and they allegedly vandalised the
property of the Benin Electricity
Distribution Company, BEDC.
“When Police went there to
dialogue with them, they resisted.
under Section 223 of the Criminal
Law of 2015.
He urged the court to remand
the defendant in prison custody
and asked for an accelerated trial.
Meanwhile, counsel to the
defendant, Mrs S. D. Bakenni-
Salami, said: “I just got proof of
evidence this morning(yesterday).
I will be studying the file.”
Justice Dada remanded the
defendant in custody and
adjourned the case until October
29 for trial.
Hoodlums hijack Ekiti varsity
students’ protest, attack
Mrs Fayemi's convoy
By Onozure Dania
LAGOS—A
45-year-old
property consultant, Sunny
Okey, who allegedly swindled a
woman in search of a shop to rent
to the tune of N1 million, was
yesterday arraigned before a
Lagos High Court sitting in
Igbosere.
The defendant is facing a twocount
charge of obtaining and
stealing preferred against him by
the Police.
The prosecutor, Cyriacus Osuji,
told the court that the defendant
committed the offence between
November 2018 and May 2019.
He said the incident took place
at Road 3, Shop E294 Ikota
Shopping Complex, Ajah, Lagos.
And the wife of the governor, who
went on a local government tour,
ran into the barricade mounted
on the road.
“The students were reported
to have been violent,
destroying cars and smashing
the windscreens of vehicles. At
this stage, we were warning
that the command would not
tolerate hooliganism under any
guise.
“We want to assure the public
that the Police are on top of the
situation and our people must go
about their normal businesses.”
Property consultant
swindles woman of N1m
Osuji said: “The defendant
promised the complainant, Mrs
Georget Macauly, that the
occupant of the shop was going
to move out by January 2019 and
asked her to make payment for
the shop.
“The first payment complainant
made was N700,000, and when
she went back to meet the
defendant to know why she can’t
occupy the shop, the defendant
then asked her to pay the balance
of N300,000, which she did.”
But when the complainant got
there, the person occupying the
shop was still there and all efforts
to reach the defendant proved
abortive.
Okeh pleaded not guilty to the
charge against him.
These children must be
privatised or they will sell
Lagos when they grow up
Make she come first. We'll cross
that river when we get there.

8—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019
VISIT:
APC
National
Chairman,
Comrade
Adams
Oshiomhole
(left), and
Minister of
Women
Affairs,
Pauline
Tallen,
during her
visit to
Oshiomhole
in Abuja,
yesterday.
Photo:
Gbemiga
Olamikan.
IMN claims 12 killed as police disperse
members on street procession Meanwhile,
•No casualty in clash with Shi’ite —Police
•Say 4 arrested in Kaduna, 36 in Katsina
•Add: Ban on procession, applicable to IMN members only
By Kingsley
Omonobi, Ben
Agande &
Luminous
Jannamike
THE Police and members
of Islamic Movement in
Nigeria, IMN, clashed,
yesterday, in some states of
the federation, with the latter,
also known as Shi’ites,
claiming that at least 12 of
them were killed.
But the Police reacted
swiftly to say nobody was
killed in the latest clash with
the IMN members, noting
that four of the protesters
were arrested.
The Shi’ites had said last
week that they would embark
on their annual religious rite,
Ashura, procession yesterday
but the police warned them
not to, saying their group,
IMN, remained a proscribed
organisation.
According to the police, any
procession by the member
will be seen as terrorist act.
It was gathered that about
100 members of the group had
gathered at Hayin Danmani
Junction along Nnamdi
Azikiwe Bye-pass in Kaduna
where they embarked on the
procession.
Members of the IMN came
out at about 6am, ostensibly
to beat the police who had
earlier vowed to enforce the
ban on public procession in
Kaduna State.
However, half way into the
procession, it was gathered
that a detachment of
policemen tried to disperse
the gathering, leading to a
clash between them and
members of the group.
It was also learned that at
the end of the encounter,
three members of the group
were killed, while about 10
others sustained injuries.
No casualty in
clash with Shi’ites
—Police
Meanwhile, spokesman of
Kaduna State Police
Command, Yakubu Sabo,
said no casualty was
recorded as the police
“dispersed the protesters
professionally.”
He said it had become the
standard practice by members
of IMN to claim that police
killed their members, even
when such incident did not
take place.
12 mmbers killed
—IMN
However, IMN insisted
that 12 of its members were
killed in a nationwide
crackdown, including the
three allegedly killed in
Kaduna.
The group’s spokesperson,
Ibrahim Musa, said in a
statement that the killings
took place after attacks on
Ashura mourners in Kaduna,
Bauchi, Sokoto and Katsina
states.
The statement, however,
said similar processions in
Abuja, Jos, Kebbi, Minna,
Lafia, Yola, Gusau, Zaria,
Kano, Jalingo, Damaturu,
Hadejia and Potiskum,
ended peacefully.
Ashura, a Shi'ite mourning
period in commemoration of
the killing of Imam Hussein,
a grandson of Prophet
Muhammad, is observed on
the 10th day of the first month
of Islamic lunar calendar,
Muharram.
The statement read: ‘’The
Islamic Movement in
Nigeria, IMN, has confirmed
the killing of at least a dozen
of Ashura mourners across
the nation during the
peaceful Ashura mourning
procession today, September
10, 2019.
"At least three people were
confirmed killed by the police
in Kaduna and 10 others
injured, some fatally, when
thousands of Muslim
brothers and sisters trooped
out in the early hours of today
(yesterday) commemorating
the tragic events of Ashura.
‘’In Bauchi, reports also
have it that three people were
killed during the Ashura
procession when the police
attacked the mourners.
Similarly, three other people
were killed by the police in
Azare, also in Bauchi State.
Another three people were
killed by the police in Gombe.
‘’One person was
reportedly killed by the police
in Illela, during the Ashura
procession there, and
another person was killed in
Goronyo all in Sokoto State.
In Malumfashi, Katsina
State, another person was
also killed.
Ban on procession,
applicable to IMN
members only
—Police
Force
Headquarters stated
yesterday that the ban on
procession it issued on IMN
on Monday was meant only
for the Shi’ites Islamic sect
which operates under the
Islamic Movement of Nigeria,
IMN.
It clarified that non-IMN
Muslims making the ‘Ashura’
procession with their
counterparts all over the world
were free to carry out their
procession.
A statement by DCP Frank
Mba, Force Public Relations
Officer, said: “Following the
deluge of enquiries
concerning the ban on
procession on the proscribed
Islamic Movement in Nigeria,
IMN, it has become absolutely
imperative to clarify that the
ban on processions is
applicable to members of the
proscribed Islamic Movement
in Nigeria only.
“Against this backdrop,
Muslims marking the
commemoration of Ashura
throughout the country along
with other Muslims across the
world are free to carry out the
annual Ashura. procession.
“Meanwhile, the Inspector-
General of Police, IGP
Mohammed Adamu, has
directed all Commissioners of
Police and their respective
supervisory Assistant
Inspectors-General of Police in
Commands and Zones to give
full effect to the above
clarifications and ensure that
non-IMN Muslims are not in
any way restricted from
exercising their freedom of
religion, worship and peaceful
assembly."
Buhari, IGP, D-G NIA, NSA meet in Aso Rock
By Johnbosco
Agbakwuru
A BUJA—PRESIDENT
Muhammadu
Buhari, yesterday , met
behind closed doors with
the Inspector General of
Police, IGP, Mohammed
Adamu; Director-General
of National Intelligence
Agency, NIA, Ahmed
Abubakar, and National
Security Adviser, NSA,
Babagana Monguno, at
the Presidential Villa,
Abuja.
Also at the meeting,
which started after the
president met with
Major-Gen. A. B.
Mamman (retd), was the
Chief of Staff, Mallam
Abba Kyari, and Secretary
to the Government of the
Federation, SGF, Boss
Mustapha.
Vanguard reliably
gathered that the meeting
was for the Proposed
African Security
Leadership Summit to be
hosted by Nigeria.
The security chiefs did
not address journalists
after the meeting.
Atiku vs Buhari: Anxiety
as tribunal delivers
judgement today
By Ikechukwu
Nnochiri
ABUJA— THERE is
palpable tension as the
Presidential Election
Petition Tribunal sitting in
Abuja has fixed today to
deliver judgement on the
petition seeking to nullify
President Muhammadu
Buhari’s re-election.
The Justice Mohammed
Garba-led five-member
panel tribunal had on
August 21, reserved its
verdict on the petition the
opposition Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP, and
its candidate, Atiku
Abubakar, lodged to
challenge the outcome of
the February 23 presidential
election declared in favour
of President Buhari and the
ruling All Progressives
Congress, APC.
The tribunal is mandated
under section134 (1) to (3)
of the Electoral Act, 2010, to
determine the petition filed
on March 18 within 180
days.
The constitutionally
stipulated timeframe was
due to elapse on Saturday,
September 14, a
development that fuelled
speculations that the verdict
could be delivered on Friday.
However, lawyers in the
matter, yesterday, confirmed
to Vanguard that the tribunal
has notified all the parties
that the judgement day is
today.
Military detaining 3,600
children in North-East
—Human Rights Watch
•It’s a lie, Army replies
A
report released by
Human Rights Watch,
HRW, yesterday, indicated
that the military has
detained at least 3,600
children in the North-East
where the Boko Haram war
is being fought.
The report said most of the
children, including 1,617
girls, were being detained
at Giwa military barracks in
Maiduguri, Borno State
capital.
But Defence
Headquarters, in a preemptive
manner on
Monday, dismissed the
report, saying no child was
held in detention facilities
in the North-East
However, Human Rights
Watch said the military had
since 2013 arbitrarily
detained the children in
“degrading and inhuman
conditions” for suspected
involvement with the Boko
Haram insurgents.
“Many children are held
without charge for months
or years in squalid and
severely overcrowded
military barracks, with no
contact with the outside
world,” it said.
HRW added that it spoke
with 32 children and youth,
who had been in such
detention facilities,
including one who was
quoted as saying they were
“packed tightly in their cells
with hundreds of other
detainees like razor blades
in a pack.”
“None of the children said
they were taken before a
judge or appeared in court,
as required by law, and only
one saw someone who he
thought may have been a
lawyer. None were aware
of any charges against
them. One was detained
when he was only five
years old,” the organisation
said.
The organisation alleged
that the military arrested the
children during operations,
security sweeps, screening
procedures for internally
displaced persons, and
based on information from
informants.
“Many of the children said
they were arrested after
fleeing Boko Haram attacks
on their village or while
seeking refuge at camps for
internally displaced people,”
it said, quoting one as saying
he was “arrested and
detained for more than two
years for allegedly selling
yams to Boko Haram
members.”
It’s a lie, Army
replies
Reacting to the report,
acting Director, Army Public
Relations, Col. Onyema
Chukwuma, said in a
statement: ‘’The report is
not only false but also capable
of undermining the joint
efforts of the Armed Forces
and other security agencies
in the North-East.
‘’It is an established fact
that Boko Haram terrorists
indoctrinate women and
children who they use as
suicide bombers in the
theatre of operations. In the
conduct of their operations,
troops arrest these children
while attempting to detonate
explosives and provide tacit
support to insurgents such
as intelligence on troops’
movement and
deployments.
‘’Contrary to HRW’s
claims, however, the Armed
Forces of Nigeria manages
children in the North-East
theatre as victims of war and
not as suspects.
Apprehended children are
kept in secured places
where they are adequately
fed, profiled and deradicalised
before their
release.’’

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019—9
By Victoria
Ojeme, with agency
reports
ABUJA—THE Consul-
General of Nigeria in
Johannesburg, Godwin
Adama, has said the first
batch of Nigerian returnees
from South Africa would
depart for Lagos today.
Adama said in a telephone
interview, yesterday, that the
first batch of returnees were
expected to depart South
Africa by 9:00 a.m.
The consul-general also
disclosed that Air Peace had
indicated interest to evacuate
over 600 Nigerians who were
willing to return home,
following the latest
xenophobic attacks.
He said: “The first flight
leaves by 09: 00 hours
Wednesday with about 320
passengers and the second
batch will leave on Thursday,
all things being equal.
“We have over 600 who
have indicated interest. All
things being equal, without
any hitches, the plane will
take off by 09: 00 hours this
Wednesday. The manifest for
the first flight is ready, and
we are working on the next
flight.”
President Muhammadu
Buhari had on Monday
called for the immediate
evacuation of Nigerians
willing to return home from
South Africa following the
latest attacks on Nigerians
and other nationals.
Chairman of Air Peace, Mr
Allen Onyema, had last week
volunteered to send aircraft
to evacuate Nigerians who
wished to return home
without payment.
“Air Peace is willing to
support the Nigerian
government’s efforts in this
matter by deploying our B777
aircraft to evacuate Nigerians
back home,” Onyema said.
Chairman of the Air Peace
also advised the returnees
against making payment to
anyone for their flights to
HEALTH TIPS
By Sola Ogundipe
Safety lifting techniques
SAFE lifting techniques are
commonly overlooked. Safe
lifting techniques should be
adopted by all. Even if you
don’t lift heavy objects often,
you are still susceptible to
injury. You can strain your
back if you are not careful.
Before lifting, assess what
you are lifting and where it
is going. Recognise how
heavy the object is and
determine if you can lift it
by yourself. Never hesitate
to ask for help if it is too
heavy. Make sure to check
the pathway you are taking
to your final destination.
There should be no trip
hazards or debris in your
path.
To safely lift the object, get
as close as possible. Position
your feet shoulder-width
apart and angle one foot
slightly forward for better
balance.
VISIT: Ms Oladunni Ogunsulire, acting Registrar/Chief Executive
Officer, Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators of
Nigeria, ICSAN (left), and Mr Eze Anaba, Editor, Vanguard
Newspaper, during a visit to Vanguard Newspapers by ICSAN, in
Lagos, yesterday,. Photo: Kehinde Gbadamosi.
Xenophobia: First batch of 320
Nigerians’ll return today —Envoy
•SA High Commission, Consulate in Lagos, Abuja reopen
•S-Africa outlines plans to deal with xenophobic violence
Lagos.
Onyema urged the
returning Nigerians to guard
against unauthorised
persons, reportedly collecting
$1,000 from them, adding
that none of them should pay
for the flights.
According to him, the
airline is particularly
concerned about the safety of
Nigerians in South Africa
following the attacks.
Chairman, Nigerians in
Diaspora Commission
When you go to bend
down for the object, keep
your back straight and use
your legs and hips to lower
yourself to the object. Never
bend at the waist because
this will cause immediate
strain on your lower back.
As you bend down to pick
up the object, use the hand
of the leg that is angled
forward and place it on the
side of the object furthest
from you.
After you have a firm,
comfortable grip, tighten
your core and focus on
keeping a straight back as
you lift the object with your
legs and hips. Looking
forward will help keep your
back straight and extend
your legs. Keep the object
close to your body.
Never hold your breath
while you lift an object.
Exhale when lifting an
object.
(NIDCOM), Mrs Abike
Dabiri-Erewa, had also
pledged the Federal
Government’s support to
any Nigerian that wanted to
return home.
Dabiri-Erewa said this
after a closed door meeting
with the Senate Committee
on Diaspora and Non-
Governmental
Organisations in Abuja.
She said that the returnees
would be encouraged to
enroll and participate in the
various social intervention
programmes of the
government.
Meanwhile, the South
African High Commission
in Abuja and its Consulate
in Lagos have resumed
operations.
They were shut down by
the South African
government last week,
following attack on some
South African business
interests in the country,
including MTN, Shoprite,
among others.
The High Commission
said in a statement: "All staff
members and their families
are accounted for, and no
incident of intimidation has
been experienced by any of
them since resuming official
work.
‘’We are receiving support
from the office of the IG and
many of our colleagues
have been reassured of their
safety.
‘’The South African
Missions in Nigeria have
been reassured by the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
of its unwavering support
during this period.
‘’The relations between the
two countries remain strong
and on course. Once again,
we condemn the careless use
of social media as it creates
panic among communities.
‘’We are now ready to serve
our Nigerian brothers and
sisters and look forward to a
rewarding and fulfilling
relationship.’’
SA outlines plans
to deal with
xenophobic
violence
Also yesterday, South
Africa’s justice, crime
prevention and security cluster
ministers, yesterday, outlined
plans to deal with attacks on
foreigners that have rocked the
country in recent weeks.
The government also
revealed, at a media briefing,
that it was in the dark about
the number of undocumented
foreigners in the country.
Leading the team was
Minister of Defence and
Military Veterans, Nosiviwe
Mapisa-Nqakula, who
outlined several plans on how
government would deal with
the situation.
Mapisa-Nqakula said the
government would strengthen
police to ensure speedy arrests
of perpetrators of attacks on
foreigners in an intelligencedriven
operation, in what it
described as early warning
system which she said was
currently ongoing.
She said: “Intelligence
agencies are working day and
night to detect and prevent the
occurrence of these violent
incidents and we now know a
lot of these have been nipped
in the bud because of the early
warning systems."
I’ll treat Boko Haram
as bandits —Buhari
By Johnbosco
Agbakwuru
AMuhammadu BUJA—PRESIDENT
Buharii
said, yesterday, that the
remnants of Boko Haram in
the North-East of the country
were bandits, and would be
treated as such.
He stated this when he
granted audience to the
President of International
Committee of the Red Cross,
ICRC, Mr. Peter Maurer, at
the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The president in a
statement by his Special
Adviser on Media and
Publicity, Chief Femi
Adesina, said: “Boko Haram
has been degraded, but its
members are still a nuisance
around Lake Chad and
surrounding islands.
“That is why we are
cooperating with Chad,
Cameroon, Niger Republic,
and other countries. We are
also using the Air Force quite
effectively. They are bandits,
and we will continue to treat
them as such.”
He said government was
concentrating on repairing
damaged infrastructure,
rehabilitation of internally
displaced persons, securing
their communities, so that
they can return home.
He applauded the support
of the ICRC and other
humanitarian organisations,
noting: “The situation of the
displaced persons is very
pathetic. Some children
don’t know where their
parents are, neither do they
know where they come from.
“We are focusing on
education and healthcare,
along with rebuilding of
infrastructure. The agency
formerly under the
leadership of Gen.
Theophilus Danjuma, retd,
and now headed by Major-
General Paul Tarfa, retd, is
quietly making an
impression. We are
dedicating lots of resources
to the area.”
Speaking earlier, Maurer
said Nigeria was the 5th
largest operation of ICRC
worldwide, and the
organisation would continue
to render humanitarian
action to people affected by
violence.
On the recent killing of two
officials in the North-East, he
said: “We are shaken by the
killing of our staff, but not
discouraged. Humanitarian
assistance should continue,
and we applaud the
hospitality of Nigeria.”
Meanwhile, President
Muhammadu Buhari has
decried what he described
as “undue politicization” of
the security situation in the
country.
The president made his
feelings known when he
received promoters of the
proposed African Security
Leadership Summit at State
House, Abuja, yesterday.
EFCC/FBI operations: We’ve
recovered $169,850, N92m,
arrest 167—Magu
By Soni Daniel &
Innocent Anaba
ECONOMIC
and
Financial Crimes
Commission, EFCC,
yesterday, said its
collaboration with the Federal
Bureau of Investigation, FBI,
of the United States of
America has paid off as it has
arrested 167 Nigerians over
alleged computer-related
frauds.
The commission also said it
recovered from the arrested
fraudsters the sum of $169,850
and N92 million.
Acting chairman of EFCC,
Mr Ibrahim Magu,
represented by the
commission’s Director of
Operations, Mr Mohammed
Abba, who briefed newsmen
at an EFCC/FBI briefing on
their joint operation, tagged
Operation Rewire in Lagos,
said: “EFCC/FBI joint
operations in Nigeria
recorded tremendous
successes leading to a
number of arrests, seizures
and recoveries. The
suspected fraudsters arrested
in the course of this operation
will be persecuted
accordingly.
“It is instructive to note that,
from August 12, 2019 to date,
the collaborative Operation
Rewired coordinated by the
EFCC in Nigeria as an
impetus to our sustained
operations on perpetrators of
various computer-related
frauds have resulted in the
arrest 167 Nigerians for
alleged computer-related
frauds.
“We have also recovered
from the arrested fraudsters
the sum of $169,850 as well
as the sum of N92million.
“Being an international
model operation targeted at
the varied forms of computerrelated
frauds, the EFCC/FBI
collaborative operation
spanning three weeks was
designed to intercept and
interrupt the global network
of the internet fraudsters.
“Before now, as you are all
aware, we had relentlessly
launched intensive
investigative actions against
the infamous yahoo yahoo
boys culminating into various
strategic raids, onslaught on
criminals’ hideouts,
prosecutions and
convictions.
“I am happy to inform you
that our efforts in coordinating
the EFCC/FBI joint
operations in Nigeria
recorded tremendous
successes leading to a
number of arrests, seizures
and recoveries. The
suspected fraudsters arrested
in the course of this operation
will be persecuted
accordingly."

10 — VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019
SON seizes N3.5m substandard
cables, wires in Osun
By Shina Abubakar
O S SOGBO—THE
t a n d a r d
Organisation of Nigeria,
SON, yesterday,
confiscated fake electrical
cables and wires worth
N3.5 million in Osun State.
The substandard goods
were confiscated during a
raid of major electrical
markets in Osogbo by SON
officials.
Some electrical shops,
whose owners absconded
after sighting SON officials,
were also sealed.
Speaking with newsmen
after the raid, SON’s state
coordinator, Mr. Jerome
Umoru, said the raid of the
electrical markets was
aimed at getting rid of
substandard cables and
wires in the markets.
Umoru said the
confiscated cables and
wires would be destroyed.
His words: “The major
essence of this raid is to
send a very strong warning
to those dealing in
substandard cables and
wires to desist from it because
SON will continue to go after
them.
“Today (yesterday) we
confiscated about N3.5
million substandard
cables and wires, despite
warning them to stop
importing or selling fake
electric cables.
“This is just the beginning
as we will continue to go
after those dealing in
substandard cables until we
minimise the selling of the
product in our markets.”
2019 Power Nigeria Confab to
explore digitalisation in energy
sector
LAGOS—THE
8th
edition of West Africa’s
largest power and
renewable energy event,
Power Nigeria Exhibition
and Conference is set to
discuss advantages that the
digitalisation of the power
sector in Nigeria will
generate.
The conference will
present a rare opportunity
for Nigerians to engage in
constructive and interactive
sessions with industry
experts and decisionmakers
from various
organizations in the power
and energy industry while
deliberating on the impact
of deploying innovative
digital technologies.
Speaking on the
scheduled session focusing
on digitalization, the
Exhibition Director of Power
Nigeria, Deep Karani, said:
“I am positive that the
Power Nigeria Conference
and Exhibition will yield
fruitful discourse and
exchange of ideas that will
examine the intersections
between investment in
human capital, natural
resources, innovation and
technology in Nigeria.
"Power Nigeria is thrilled
to be offering strategic
expertise as this is our way
of impacting the country
with maximum
knowledge.”
Also, Karani said:
“Participants of this session
on digitalisation can expect
to unlock ideas on the
potential of innovative
technologies, which can be
implemented in the
Nigerian and West African
power and energy sector.
We will provide insight and
solution to both
ATTACKS: 13 Oro adherents
remanded in Ogun prison
By Daud Olatunji
A Ogun
BEOKUTA—AN
State
Magistrate Court sitting in
Ilaro, yesterday, remanded
13 Oro adherents arrested
for allegedly attacking
Muslims and Christians in
Idi-Iroko area of Ipokia
local government area of
the state.
Magistrate S. O. Banwo
gave the order that the
accused persons, who were
charged to court in two
separate suits filed at the
magistrate court, were
accused of assault,
contempt of court, among
others.
The prosecutor, Dada
Olushola, said 13 accused
persons arrested by Police
while committing the
offence during the last Oro
festival.
Olushola added that the
accused persons observed
organisations and
individuals looking to set
up structures that can help
them achieve their digital
goals. As a trusted platform,
Power Nigeria Exhibition
and Conference will
provide a rich knowledge
to help attendees
navigate through the
opportunities in Nigeria.”
the Oro festival during the
day time which is against
the judgment and order of
the High Court in Ipokia.
The Prosecutor said:
“That you observed the Oro
festival during the day time
which is against the
judgment and order of the
High Court, Ipokia and
thereby, committed an
offence contrary to and
punishable under section
133 (9) of the criminal code
Vol 1 laws of Ogun state
2006.
“That you act in a
scrupulous manner likely
to cause a breach of the
public peace by breaking
bottles in the frontage of the
house of one Rasaq Rabiu
of Okoro Ibatefin and
thereby committed an
offence contrary to and
punishable under
section 249 (d) of the
criminal code Vol 1 laws
of Ogun state 2006.”
COMMISSIONING: From left; District 9110 Governor Nigeria Rotary International, Rtn Dr. Jide.
Akeredolu; Rtn Aare Kola Oyefeso, representing Chief Kessington Adebutu, KJW; the doyen of Past
Districts Governors, Rotary International District 9110 Nigeria, Rtn Julius Adelusi-Adeluyi and President,
Rotary Club of Ikeja District 9110, Rtn Olumuyiwa Fagbola at the commissioning of the two classroom blocks
of Ikeja Junior High School, Lagos donated by Rotary Club of Ikeja and sponsored by Chief Adebutu.
N26BN SAVINGS: I didn’t inflate contracts,
Fashola tackles BPP •Asks BPP to publish rates
By Olasunkanmi
Akoni
LAGOS—MINISTER of
Works and Housing,
Babatunde Fashola,
yesterday, said there was
no inflation in the contracts
awarded by his ministry in
2018.
The Bureau of Public
Procurement, BPP, said it
saved N26 billion for the
Federal Government in
2018 by revising the sums
of government contracts
approved by some
ministries, departments
and agencies.
The agency said the
highest reduction was
made from the Ministry of
Power, Works and Housing
where N22.22 billion was
cut from a request of
N877.40 billion.
But reacting to the BPP
claims, Fashola, in a
statement, through his
Media Adviser, Hakeem
Bello, challenged the
agency to publish its rates
for clarification, insisting
that there was no inflated
contract.
The statement reads:
“The attention of the
Minister of Works and
Housing has been drawn
to headlines from reports
credited to the Bureau of
Public Procurement, BPP,
about its having “saved
over N26 billion” for the
Federal Government in the
year 2018 by revising down
inflated contract sums by
Government Contractors
some of which emanated
from the erstwhile Ministry
of Power, Works and
Housing.
”Being a department of
the same Government,
ordinarily this should not
warrant a reply; however
the misleading nature of the
reporting in the media and
the statements credited to
BPP compel a response for
the purposes of clarification
and enlightenment of the
public.
”Any person, who takes
6th Agagu memorial
lecture holds Sept 13
LAGOS—THE 6th Dr.
Olusegun Agagu
memorial lecture comes up
on Friday, September 13,
2019, at the Civic Centre,
Victoria Island, Lagos.
The lecture, which will
feature Governor Babajide
Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State
as chief host, will also have
the former President of the
Parliamentary Republic of
Mauritius, Dr. Ameerah
Gurib-Fakim, delivering
the keynote address.
The theme is Climate
Change and the Problem
of Population Migration in
time to read the provisions
of the Public Procurement
Act, which created the BPP,
will understand that no
contract can be awarded
until BPP certifies that it
has no objection.
”Therefore, there was no
inflated contract because
BPP clearly stated that it
reduced the costs, and
according to BPP she “…
saved over N26 Billion…”
”And this is the heart of
the matter because BPP’s
savings can only be a
Subjective assessment
based on rates quoted by
contractors, reviewed by
the Ministry, and sent to
BPP for certification.
"Until BPP publishes its
rates which the then
Ministry of Power, Works
and Housing demanded in
writing, there can be no
objective basis for
determining whether any
savings were indeed made
if only BPP knows its rates
for procurement.
”Once rates are
published and design is
known, quantities can be
ascertained and costs can
be determined.
”This is the field of
Quantity Surveyors and
Construction Economists,
and the Minister of Works
and Housing has not
made any secret about
his call for a revision of
the Public Procurement
Act to resolve this and
other gaps in the law.”
FARMERS/HERDERS CLASH: NSCDC
inaugurates Agro-Ranger Squad in Ondo
AKURE—THE Nigeria
Security and Civil
Defence Corps, NSCDC,
Ondo State Command,
yesterday in Akure,
inaugurated the Agro-
Ranger Squad to address
clashes between
herdsmen and farmers in
the state.
Inaugurating the squad,
Africa. The lecture will be
chaired by former
Secretary-General of the
Commonwealth, Chief
Emeka Anyaoku, while the
former Vice-Chancellor of
the University of Lagos,
Prof. Oye Ibidapo-Obe,
will serve as guest speaker.
Dr. Agagu served as
governor of Ondo State for
six years (2003-2009) and
also served as Aviation
Minister (1999-2000) and
Minister of Mine and Steel
(2000-2002). He died on
September 13, 2013, at
the age of 65.
the state Commandant of
NSCDC, Mrs. Christiana
Abiakam-Omanu, said the
squad was in line with the
Federal Ministry of
Agriculture and Rural
Development initiative on
the provision of security at
proposed cattle ranches and
other agro-allied
investments.
Abiakam-Omanu said:
“This is one of the
measures being adopted
by the government to
effectively checkmate the
incessant farmers/
herders clashes and
enhance effective
protection of indigenous
and foreign investment
in the agricultural sector.
“Agro-Ranger is a
model elite force of NSCDC
mentally and physically
trained to give security
cover and protection to
agro-allied industries as
well as protect farmers and
their farmland against any
intruding forces.
“There is a need for us not
to breach this trust by reassuring
our investors,
particularly those operating
in the rural areas that their
investments are safe from
the activities of criminals
and bandits, who seem to
be increasing daily.”
According to her, the
NSCDC personnel in the
squad have undergone
rigorous training that can
enhance their capacity
under highly experienced
professionals.
She promised that the
squad would be deployed
immediately to areas they
are needed.
In his remarks, Gov.
Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo
State commended the step
taken by the corps, saying
that it would improve
agricultural output and
ensure food security in
tandem with the Federal
Government’s initiative in
the sector.
Akeredolu, who was
represented by Mr. Ifedayo
Abegunde, the Secretary to
the State Government,
noted that those who had
been discouraged in
farming by activities of
criminals would be
encouraged to come back.

I did not
demand
N10m from
Fatoyinbo
— Busola Dakolo
•as Timi Dakolo
says N10m is
nothing to me
op singer, Timi Dakolo has
Pexpressed deep pain following
the now-trending report that his
wife, Busola Dakolo, made
monetary demand in her suit
against the senior pastor of the
Commonwealth of Zion Assembly
(COZA), Biodun Fatoyinbo.
Reacting to the report, the singer
said: “They said I’m looking for
N10 million, how much is N10
million? One weekend show. See,
do you see this studio? Do you know
how much it costs to pay for this
studio? Some Nigerians do not
have sense. They should better
come and enjoy my life. Do I look
like N10 million is my problem?
Don’t go and be believing all these
lies. I was in the studio when
someone buzzed me to say that
‘Timi you asked for N10 million,”
he said.
However, Busola Dakolo has
debunked rumours that she
demanded N10 million as
financial claims from Pastor
Biodun Fatoyinbo of COZA for
allegedly raping her.
A statement released on Monday
by Busola’s lawyer, Pelumi
Olajengbesi, reads thus:
“The suit has been the subject of
several news headlines, albeit with
a lot of misleading information.
This missive is aimed at clarifying
this misinformation and setting
the records straight. Firstly, our
client filed the civil suit against
Biodun Fatoyinbo on September
6, 2019, at the High Court of the
Federal Capital Territory, Abuja
and not the Federal High Court,
as widely reported. As of the time
of filing the suit, the same had yet
to be assigned to a judge for
hearing. Secondly, the court did
not issue any summons on our
client and the 14 days given to the
defendant (Biodun Fatoyinbo)
within which to enter appearance
to the writ of summons commences
from the date of personal service
of the said suit on the person of
Biodun Fatoyinbo and this
certainly will be after the matter
has been assigned to a judge.
Thirdly, our client has not sought
any monetary damages and/or
compensation against Biodun
Fatoyinbo in her reliefs. This is
because our client’s reason for
filing the civil suit against Biodun
Fatoyinbo is, inter-alia, for the
court to make pronouncements on
her rights as well as Biodun’s
liabilities and also to help other
victims of sexual, physical and
emotional abuse
gain the courage
to confront their
•Busola
Dakolo
abusers no
matter how
h i g h l y
placed they
may be.”
•Yemi
Alade
Stories By Tolulope Abereoje
Why I can’t do a collabo
with Tiwa Savage
— Yemi Alade
Just like their male counterparts, Wizkid and Davido, the
alleged battle for supremacy between female Nigerian
music giants, Yemi Alade and Tiwa Savage is no secret to
fans across the world, and although many heaved a sigh of
relief after Tiwa congratulated Yemi over the release of her
album ‘Woman of Steel’, Yemi Alade has revealed that she
may never collaborate with her colleague, Tiwa Savage,
because she is not sure how fans would react to the
project.
In a chat with Bolanle Olukanni on Ndani TV,
Yemi claims that both her fans and that of Tiwa
are the ones that keep steering trouble in their
ways.
“It’s unfortunate that with the troubles
that people keep steering in our ways, it
probably will never allow us to ever have a
collaboration. This is because you’re not
sure the outcome would even be positive or
be overrun by negative things and all the
fights. When we do music, we do it so people
can be happy, so when we do a song together,
what are we fueling? What are we
encouraging? That’s the most important
question,” she said.
Yemi Alade has, however, signed a
global licensing deal with Universal
Music Africa (UMA), universal Music
Group’s West African affiliate, in
partnership with Universal Music France
(UMF).
The implication of this deal is that UMA
will be the exclusive worldwide record music
partner for Yemi Alade and her label,
Effyzzie Music Group.
Taking to her Instagram page, she
wrote:
“God is the greatest.
@effyzziemusicgroup
congratulations.
@universalmusicfrance signs
licensing deal with
@effyzziemusicgroup for Nigerian
superstar @yemialade.”
Maureen Esisi reacts to her rumoured
crashed marriage
Says: ‘I will spill the real deal’
he news that the three-year-old
Tmarriage of Nollywood actor,
Blossom Chukwujekwu and wife,
Maureen Esisi has hit the rocks has
left many in shock and asking question
as to the reason behind the breakup.
While many say Blossom has
returned to his ex-girlfriend, Lilian
Esoro, who broke his heart by marrying
Ubi Franklin (which has been denied
by Lilian), others believe there is more
to the breakup than meets the eye.
In an Instagram post, Maureen Esisi
has now alerted her followers and all
concerned parties to turn on their
notifications as she’s ready to provide
details about her reportedly crashed
marriage to her husband.
“Countdown to the release. You all
have been waiting too long? I
apologize. Turn on your notifications.
Spilling the real deal 11/09/2019 Stay
tuned,” she wrote.
Nollywood actress Padita Agu has,
however, confirmed the sad story of the
marriage crash in a post on her
Instagram page.
“I have known Maureen Ezissi
@redvigor
and
@blossomchukwujekwu for a long
time now. I knew them each separately
before they got married and one thing
that remained unique about them is
how amazing and such a sweet heart
•Tiwa
Savage
they both are. Till date, they
remain so. It is in their DNA. The
news about their separation, is
sadly and painfully true. But the
news being peddled and written
about them is, however, very
untrue. Do not believe
everything you read on social
media! They reserve the right
to decide what part of their
lives to make public and which
to keep private. At this point,
let us respect their choice for
privacy over this issue and
pray for the best for them. If it
is God’s will, they will sort it
out and be together again and
if not, they will remain good
friends as they move
on with their
separate lives.
But please
ignore all the
allegations
you read on
blogs. None of
them is true.
Maureen is
one of the
sweetest
souls I have
e v e r
encountered.,”
she wrote.
Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019—11
Tonto Dikeh,
Davido eulogize
late mums
Controversial Nollywood actress,
Tonto Dikeh, and hip-hop musician,
Davido recently took to their social
media pages to eulogize their late
mothers, thanking them for their support
despite the fact that they are no more.
Tonto, 34, thanked her deceased mother,
Mrs. Dikeh, for protecting her life after
thirty years of her death.
“RIP Queen. Thanks for always
protecting me, ma. Thanks for always
being by me, ma. I’m doing well and life
couldn’t be more rosy at the moment. I
love you mama. 30 years and a day apart
but you’re my confidant, my closest
friend, my Ma. Rest On Mama.
Celebration of a very short but amazing
life lived on earth,” she wrote.
In the same vein, Davido shared a
painting of his late mom, Dr Veronica
Imade Adeleke as he remembered her
sixteen years after her death. “Love u
mommy. I know it’s you that is protecting
me, I know. I love you. Your son is gallant.
RIP,” he wrote.
Davido’s mom was a lecturer at
Babcock University, Ogun State and she
passed away on March 6, 2003. Davido
has given each of his daughters a name
from his mother in
remembrance of
her.
Broda Shaggi and I failed many times
before we found characters that worked’
— SLKomedy
ctor and comedian, SLKomedy, in a recent
Apanel discussion on social content for
Nigeria revealed that he and his friend, Samuel
Perry, popularly known as Broda Shaggi had
to go through the try and fail process before
they finally clinched the characters that have
hitherto made them famous.
He revealed this, at the 2nd edition of
Social4Media Masterclass an event organized
by Lagos based marketing and media company,
•Blossom
•Davido
•Maureen
•Tonto
ID Africa and marketing technology
startup, Plaqad.
Stressing the importance of
perseverance and consistency for content
creators through his own inspiring story
and that of another viral comic,
Brodashaggi, SLKomedy said: “I knew
Brodashaggi when he was just ‘Samuel’.
And Samuel would always create and
publish skits, but most people probably
saw them and just scrolled past. He tried
different characters that weren’t
successful until he created Brodashaggi.
I also had several failed attempts before
creating ‘Boda Wasiu’ which went viral.”
Other speakers and facilitators shared
useful insights, using case studies, to
provide practical tools for participants
in order for them to effectively leverage
opportunities that digital media offers.
SLKomedy is well known for his viral
videos featuring the character “Boda
Wasiu”, where he sits in a car and makes
pun-filled, funny calls to famous people
while addressing trending social issues
in the country.
The maiden edition of Social4Media
which held in 2017 featured MI Abaga,
Alibaba, Frank Donga, Osagie Alonge,
Tomiwa Aladekomo, Yemi Adamolekun,
Ayeni Adekunle of BHM and others.
•SLKomedy

12—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019
PARTNERSHIP: From left, Regional Marketing Manager, PZ Consumer, Ekekwe Roy;
Marketing Director Africa, PZ Cussons, Kalyan Bandyopadhyay; Manchester City FC Club
legend, Micah Richards; and Manchester City FC Head of Partnerships, EMEA, Tom Boyle,
at the official Premier Cool and Manchester City FC partnership renewal announcement, in
Lagos.
Bakassi: NLC to approach ICJ for review
of judgement
•As monarch accuses OBJ, Duke of
By Ike
Uchechukwu
C Nigeria
ALABAR—THE
Labour
Congress, NLC, Committee
on Bakassi and Oil Wells
has concluded plans to
approach the International
Court of Justice, ICJ, to
review the judgement that
ceded a portion of Nigeria's
territory to the Republic of
Cameroon.
Chairman NLC, Cross
River State branch,
Committee on Bakassi/76
Oil Wells, Mr Okon Etim,
made the disclosure during
the committee’s visit on a
fact-finding mission to the
palace of Paramount Ruler of
Bakassi in Calabar,
yesterday.
Etim said they were at the
monarch’s palace to bring
back the consciousness of the
nation to the injustice done
to Cross River State and the
nation at large where a vast
portion of the country’s
territory was ceded to
Cameroon.
The NLC committee
chairman stated that for this
to be achieved, they needed
to seek the consent of the
monarch.
He said:”For this to be
achieved, we will start from
the origin and root of the
matter, and that is you. It is
sad that we have come here
to remind you of the pain and
bitter experience you went
through.
“As concerned citizens, we
intend to know what went
wrong and possibly
approach the International
Court of Justice, ICJ. We are
here to let you know that all
hope is not lost.”
On his part, the Paramount
Ruler of Bakassi, HRM Etim
Okon Edet, chastised
former Governor Donald
Duke of the state and
President Olusegun
Obasanjo for their failure in
the applications of the right
strategies to prevent ceding
of Bakassi to Cameroon.
He said: “I will be grateful
mortgaging Bakassi
if as a committee if you do a
holistic investigation, not
only on oil wells but about
the welfare of my people who
suddenly became destitutes
in their own ancestral land.
“I think for now I am
worried about my subjects
who live like destitutes. I am
worried about their welfare
and security. I am yet to know
how they are faring. As a
leader, I am not happy at all
because of the pain and
suffering of my kinsmen who
now wallow in poverty as a
result of being pursued out
of their ancestral land.
“Where were you people
when I was crying to the
world that I and my kinsmen
were being deprived of our
father land? And the world
kept quiet to make us total
strangers in on our ancestral
land.
“Donald said to OBJ, don’t
set up the presidential
committee, for I am going to
do the resettlement. And I
told Obasanjo, no. That
objection got Donald Duke
infuriated and I was told to
walk out of the meeting.
Obasanjo said to me, your
governor is going to resettle
you people.
“He was so carried away
by the ambition of becoming
the president, that whatever
Akpabio vs Ekpenyong: Tension as
tribunal delivers judgement today
By Chioma
Onuegbu
UYO —THERE is
tension in Uyo, Akwa
Ibom State as the National
Assembly Election Petition
Tribunal sitting in Uyo, will
today deliver judgement in
the case between Senator
Godswill Akpabio and
Senator Christopher
Ekpenyong for Ikot Ekpene
senatorial district seat.
The tribunal had on August
8, 2019 after adoption of
written addresses by
petitioners and respondents
reserved judgement.
This came as chairman of
the Governorship Election
Petition Tribunal sitting in
Uyo, Akwa Ibom State,
Justice A. Yakubu has
assured the petitioners and
respondents in the case that
the panel will deliver justice
to them.
Justice Yakubu, who gave
the assurance, yesterday, in
his remarks after the
adoption of the final
addresses by parties,
adjourned to a later date to
be communicated to parties.
He commended counsel to
the petitioners and
respondents for the peace
witnessed throughout the
proceedings, adding that the
panel did not experience any
security breach in the course
of handling the cases.
In the first case, Akpabio
of All Progressives Congress,
APC, is challenging the
victory of Ekpenyong of
Peoples Democratic Party,
PDP in the February, 23, 2019
senatorial election.
OBJ said to him, he didn’t
know how to counter it to the
extent that he allowed his
immediate community to be
ceded.”
He accused both leaders of
mortgaging Bakassi for Noble
Peace prize and ambition to
become the country’s
president .
“Unfortunately, Obasanjo
equally lost in his ambition to
win the Noble Peace Prize,
while Donald Duke also was
unable to realise his
presidential ambition.
“If there is anything causing
me headache, it is the welfare
of my subjects who have
become destitutes on their
father's land.”
Ekpenyong of PDP polled
a total of 118, 215 votes while
Akpabio, who was seeking
second term in the Senate
scored a total of 83,158 votes.
Dissatisfied with the
outcome of the election,
Akpabio approached the
tribunal to reclaim his alleged
stolen votes from the PDP
candidate.
NGO splashes cash on persons
with disability in Delta
PLEDGE Love Charity
Foundation, PLCF, has
given crash grants to exlepers
and persons living
with disabilities under the
aegis of Joint National
Association of Persons With
Disabilities, JONAPWD.
PLCF president, Innocent
Aganbi, flanked by other
executives while presenting
cheques to the group at Eku
town hall, Ethiope East Local
Government Area, Delta
State, said that the exercise
was part of funding for the
empowerment of the
beneficiaries.
He explained that having
trained the beneficiaries on
various vocational skills,
PLCF decided to give them
the cash grant to assist them
in establishing their skills.
Acknowledging the support
of PLCF, members and
executives of JONAPWD,
further presented an award of
excellence to the group for its
humanitarian gesture to the
underprivileged in the
society.
Speaking on the essence of
its humanitarian outreach,
Aganbi said: “We have been
able to go beyond the
secluded leprosy community
and brought together the joint
association of persons with
disabilities by empowering
them with skills acquisition
programmes and award of
certificates of competency."
AAC petition: Court to rule
on Friday
A
Federal High Court
sitting in Port Harcourt,
Rivers State will on Friday
decide if it was proper for
the President of the Court
of Appeal to constitute
another panel to examine
the merit of the case brought
by Awara Biokpomabo
Festus and the African
Action Congress, AAC,
against the election of
Governor Nyesom Wike of
Rivers State.
The President of the Court
of Appeal, Justice Zainab
Bulkachuwa, had, in
conformity with the Court of
Appeal decision in Appeal
No: CA/PH/376/2019
recently, halted the former
panel from continuing with
the matter. The directive was
preceded by the
displeasure expressed by
the Appeal Court against
the former tribunal’s
decision in refusing to
entertain the petition filed
by a party in the case, and
its dismissal of the petition
which was purported to
have been withdrawn by a
faction of the party.
The AAC had ran into
leadership crisis wherein
another Chairman, Mr
Leonard Ezenwa, was said
to have been named. The
said new chairman had
allegedly, without
consultation with National
Executive Council, NEC, of
AAC, hired another lawyer,
Mr Henry Bello, to represent
the party in court.
Mr Bello was the same
lawyer that represented a
faction of All Progressives
Congress, APC, in Rivers
State, led by Senator
Magnus Abe.
Until the emergence of
Bello as AAC lawyer, the
party and its governorship
candidate, Biokpamabo,
were represented by Tawo
Tawo, SAN.
Following the dispute in
the party leading to the
purported suspension of its
presidential candidate, Mr
Omoyele Sowore, Leonard
Ezenwa emerged as the
acting chairman of the party.
The tribunal dismissed the
AAC petition at the tribunal,
describing it as
“abandoned,” though the
law prescribes that any
objection to pre-hearing
matters, has to be addressed
after the substantial issues
have been dealt with.
We'll continue to work as if
this is our first term — Wike
GOVERNOR Nyesom
Wike of Rivers State
has said he will continue to
deliver key projects across
the state all through his
second term.
Commissioning the
rebranded Government
Secondary School, Ubima
(former Community
Secondary School, Ubima),
yesterday, Wike said he
would not be affected by the
second term syndrome.
He said: “We will continue
to work as if this is our first
term. We will never go to
sleep all through our second
term.
“For us, we shall continue
to deliver projects for our
people. There will be no
stoppage in the execution of
projects. Our people will
continue to see new projects.”
Wike called for the prayers
and support of Rivers people
so that he could continue to
work towards improving the
state.
“We seek your prayers and
support as we continue to
develop Rivers State. God
has been kind to us, so nobody
can intimidate us with
propaganda and blackmail.
We shall remain focused,” he
said.
Wike who changed the
name of the school from
Community Secondary
School, Ubima to
Government Secondary
School, Ubima said he
promised to rebuild the school
and to the glory of God that
promise has been fulfilled.
Delta South: Our faith in
Nigeria’s judiciary not in vain
— DSU
OLEH—A political
group, United Ijaw,
Itsekiri and Isoko for Delta
South Advancement,
known as Delta South
United, DSU, has hailed
the judiciary for proving
to be the hope of justice
seekers in Nigeria.
Convener of the group,
Chief Timi Dajagbasan,
who spoke after the
group’s quarterly
meeting in Oleh, Delta
State, yesterday, hailed
the judiciary for quashing
the victory of Senator
James Manager in the
February 23, 2019
National Assembly
election for Delta South.
Dajagbasan, a chieftain
of All Progressives Congress,
APC, said the people
of Delta South had
unshakeable faith in the
tribunal to stop the Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP,
candidate, Senator
Manager, from running
away with the mandate of
the people, adding that the
Ijaw, Itsekiri, Isoko and
Urhobo communities in
Delta South voted against
the four-time senator.
He said: “We know
Senator Manager did not
win the election. That is
why we are commending
the judiciary for
establishing that there was
massive rigging in the
area he controlled and
subsequently cancelled
those humongous votes."

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019 — 13
By Peter Duru
M AKURDI—BENUE
State government
has raised the alarm over
the existence of ghost
schools in the state.
Speaking through the
acting Executive Chairman
of Benue State Universal
Basic Education Board,
SUBEB, Mr. Matthew
Mnyam, the government
said the ghost schools were
created as conduit pipes to
drain funds from the coffers
of government.
Mr. Mnyam, who made
the disclosure in Makurdi,
said he would constitute
visitation committees to be
headed by people from
outside the Board that
would embark on physical
visitation to all government
schools to fish out the said
schools and their owners.
The chairman said, “we
are aware that some ghost
schools exist, so we are
going out for physical
inspection. We will devise
ways of catching them
because a criminal always
advance his or her reason
before you arrive. But we
will have teams that will go
on that inspection. They
will include people from
outside, who may also head
the inspection team, so that
if the ghost schools are
created from within
SUBEB they will be able to
fish them out. We will not
disclose our plans any
further, but we know that
ghost schools exist.”
According to him, he had
:Vanguard
News
Benue govt raises
alarm over ghost
schools
*Says 'they are created
to siphon govt funds'
directed four directors of the
board to proceed on leave,
while a storekeeper and
payroll officer had been
suspended from their
positions in the on-going
reorganisation of the
Board.
He said, “I have
deliberately decided to
embark on some changes,
which many people may
not know. I have allowed
some directors to have their
full three years annual
leave, that is three months.
Some had two months so
that we can sanitize their
places. It will enable me
look into their offices and
see what they are doing. I
think that is the only way I
can sanitize the system
because they were there,
they had become
everything in that office and
they become everything
they think they were, and
the people outside there are
afraid of them.
“I leant that even those
that came here as executive
chairmen were also afraid
of them. Those affected are
the Director of
Administration and Supply;
Director of Finance; Director
of Planning, Research and
Statistics, and the Director
of Social Mobilization.
"They have been there for
a long time. For a Director
to stay in an office for up to
five years without going on
leave, I think he would take
things for granted.
"So it is better for someone
to come and see what he
has been doing."
:@vanguardnews :@vanguardnews NEWS HOTLINES: 08052867023, 08052867058
Police confirm kidnap of 6 persons
on Kaduna/Abuja highway
Osinbajo flags off National Livestock
Transformation Plan *Says 'it's not RUGA
By Umar Yusuf,
with agency report
A DAMAWA—VICE
President, Prof. Yemi
Osinbajo has flagged off
the National Livestock
Transformation Plan, NLTP,
at the Gongoshi Grazing
Reserve in Mayo-Belwa
Local Government Area of
Adamawa, saying saying
“This Project is not RUGA
as being insinuated in
some quarters.”
Inaugurating the project,
Osinbajo said the plan was
designed to run from 2019-
2028 as part of Federal
Government’s initiative in
collaboration with States
under the auspices of the
National Economic
Council, NEC.
He said the plan,
targeted at supporting the
development of Nigeria’s
livestock sector, was to be
implemented in seven pilot
states of Adamawa, Benue,
Kaduna, Plateau,
Nasarawa, Taraba and
Zamfara.
According to the vice
president, the plan would
be implemented as a
collaboration project
between the Federal and
State governments,
farmers, pastoralists and
private investors.
He said “In this plan the
State Government or
private investors provide
the land, the federal
government does not and
will not take any land from
a State or local government.
Any participating state will
provide the land and its
own contribution to the
project. The federal
government merely
supports.
“It is a plan that hopes to
birth tailor made ranches
where cattle are bred, and
meat and dairy products are
produced using modern
livestock breeding and
dairy methods. This solves
the problem of cattle
grazing into and
destroying farmlands. It
ensures a practical
response to the pressures
PARADE—From left: Director of Human Resources and Administration, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria,
FAAN, Mr. Norris Anozie; Managing Director, FAAN, Capt. Rabiu Hamisu Yadudu; Minister of Aviation, Sen.
Hadi Sirika, and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Aviation, Engr Hassan Musa, during the graduates of Aviation
Security and Aerodrome Rescue & Fire Fighting Services passing out parade ceremony, at Service Development
Center, Afaka, Kaduna State.
K ADUNA—THE
Kaduna State police
command has confirmed
the kidnap of six persons
on Abuja-Kaduna highway
by suspected kidnappers in
military uniform on
Sunday.
In a statement issued late
Monday Night, the Police
public Relations Officer of
the Command, Yakubu
Sabo said efforts are on to
secure the release of the
kidnap victims.
“The Command has
received a sad information
from DPO Rijana that on 7/
9/19 at about 2330hrs he
received a distress call that,
Armed Men in military
uniform intercepted a
on water and pasture by
forces of climate change.”
He noted that the plan was
designed to provide modern
meat and dairy industry and
in some cases integrated
crop farming.
According to Osinbajo, the
unique feature of the plan
was that any participating
state would determine its
own model.
“I wish to emphasise that
this is not RUGA. Because
the idea of RUGA settlements
launched by the Ministry of
Agriculture created a
problem when it was
perceived as a plan to seize
lands to create settlements
for herders.
“RUGA was not the plan
designed and approved by
the governors and the
President rightly suspended
the implementation,”
Osinbajo said.
He said the NLTP was
endorsed by all governors
and could only be
implemented with the full
participation and consent of
the governors and the people
commercial bus (Preview )
REG NO ABJ 905 XC at a
point near Rijana Village
along Kaduna - Abuja
Expressway and took away
six persons into the bush.
“Patrol Teams within the
axis were quickly mobilised
to the scene and engaged
the hoodlums as a result of
which one Rofiat Tijjani 17
yrs and one other person
both of Tudunwada Kaduna
were released by the
criminals in their desperate
attempt to escape. Both
victims were taken to station
alongside the vehicle.
“Efforts are still on to
rescue the remaining four
victims and arrest the
Criminals."
of the state.
Osinbajo said no state
could be forced to participate,
noting that Adamawa had
chosen to begin the
implementation of the plan.
He noted Adamawa state
experienced several crises on
account of clashes between
herders and farmers
resulting in the destruction
of lives and property.
He also observed that the
introduction of the livestock
transformation plan was a
win-win for the state and its
people, and would provide
a basis for peaceful
coexistence, jobs for many
and a mechanism for
resolving disputes.
Gov. Ahmadu Fintiri of
Adamawa said that the flagoff
of the plan was a robust
all encompassing lifechanging
transformation
programme in the livestock
sub-sector.
Fintiri said among others:
“the Plan will create job
opportunities and solve
lingering conflict between
farmers and herders.”
NIPSS begs Plateau gov for 100
hectares land for accommodation
By Therese
Nanlong
OS—THE Director-
JGeneral, DG, of the
National Institute of Policy
and Strategic Studies,
NIPSS, Kuru, near Jos,
Professor Habu Galadima,
has solicited for about 100
hectares of land from
Plateau State Governor
Simon Lalong to enable the
institute build more
facilities to accommodate
more participants.
The DG said availability
of space would ensure the
upward review of
participants from the
current figure of 60 to 100
and urged the governor to
use his influence as
Chairman of the Northern
Governors’ Forum to bring
the attention of President
Muhammadu Buhari and
Northern governors to meet
the several needs of NIPSS.
Professor Galadima, who
was on a courtesy visit to
the Governor at the
Government House,
appealed to him to facilitate
the speedy completion of
the approved six units of
two bedrooms flats
promised the Institute for
the Directing Staff and also
the completion of the
Legacy Project of the
Governor which has
reached advanced stage
too.
He described NIPSS as a
good ambassador of
Plateau State saying “there
is no place you go to in
Nigeria and abroad that the
name of NIPSS, Jos is not
recognized. It is a great
promotion for the State and
what it holds.”
Responding, Governor
Lalong expressed
appreciation for the
services of NIPSS to the
state, particularly in areas
of research and proffering
solutions to many
challenges of the state and
country at large, but added
that he wants more space
for Plateau participants at
the Senior Executive
Course of the institute.

14 — VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019
From left: CEO,
Avilex Biotech
LTD, Alex Lemmy
Ochonma;
Founder, Ibeju-
Lekki Connect
(IBLC), Ore-
Oluwa Solana;
Head of Private
Sector, HCI
Healthcare,
Murphy Aruna;
and broadcast
journalist, Radio
Nigeria, Radio One
FM, Olayinka
Yusuf, at the second
edition of Ibeju-
Lekki Connect
Meet and Greet in
Lagos.
Court grants final forfeiture of Diezani's
$40m jewellery
By Innocent Anaba
LAGOS—A Federal
High Court sitting in
Lagos, yesterday, granted
final forfeiture of the $40
million worth jewelry
belonging to the former
Petroleum Minister, Mrs.
Diezani Allison-Madueke,
to the Federal Government.
The jewelry includes over
419 bangles, 315 rings, 304
earrings, 189 wristwatches,
267 necklaces, and a
customised gold iPhone.
Trial judge, Justice
Nicholas Oweibo, granted
the order of final forfeiture
of the said jewelry while
delivering judgment in a
suit by the Economic and
Financial Crimes
Commission, EFCC.
According to the court,
Mrs. Allison-Madueke
instead of showing cause
why the properties should
not be finally forfeited to the
Federal Government only
applied to set aside and
discharge the earlier
interim order of forfeiture
made by the court on July
5, 2019.
The court had on July 5,
2019, ordered temporary
forfeiture of the jewelry,
following an ex-parte
application by the EFCC,
through its counsel, Mr.
Rotimi Oyedepo.
The EFCC had in the
application alleged that the
$40million worth of jewelry
and other items were
products of unlawful
activities.
On September 2, 2019,
Mrs. Allison-Madueke’s
lawyer, Nnamdi Awa-Kalu,
Osun, Oyo govts spar over LAUTECH
By Adeola Badru &
Shina Abubakar
O Osun
SOGBO—THE
State
government, yesterday,
said it has never defaulted
in discharging its
responsibilities, especially
with regards to paying its
share of bills to workers of
Ladoke Akintola University
of Technology, LAUTECH.
But in a swift reaction, the
Oyo State government
picked holes in the claims
made by the Osun State
government
Osun State faulted the
comments by Governor
Seyi Makinde of Oyo State
on the running of the
institution that tended to
suggest that the state has
abandoned payment of
workers of the institution
describing it as a product
of misinformation.
It said to the contrary, the
state has always been alive
to its responsibility about its
obligations to LAUTECH
despite the obvious
lopsidedness in the
distribution
of
infrastructure between the
two owner states.
In a statement from the
Office of the Secretary to the
State Government, SSG,
Mr. Wole Oyebamiji, noted
that Osun State has never
defaulted in the payment of
salaries of workers in both
the university and the
Teaching Hospital in
Osogbo.
It added that in 2017
alone, while Oyo
contributed N717, 888,
795.00, Osun contributed
N1, 292, 000, 000.00. In
2018, Oyo contributed
N443, 865,554.00; Osun
contributed N500, 000,000.
The government was
however quick to add that
in addition to contributing
regularly to LAUTECH in
Ogbomoso, as indicated
above, Osun State alone
has been responsible for
paying the salaries of
workers at LAUTECH
Teaching Hospital, Osogbo,
from 2013 to date,
amounting to N16, 369,
953, 830.48.
For instance, from
January to June this
year, while Oyo had paid
about N1.1billion to the
university, Osun, on the
other hand, had paid
about N1.7 billion from
January to July this year to
LAUTECH Teaching
Hospital. This is in
addition to the N300
million it released to the
university in July.
Oyo govt reacts
While reacting to the
Osun State government’s
claim that it has paid its
dues on the issue of
LAUTECH, the
Commissioner for
Education in Oyo State,
Prof. Daud Songodoyin
said: “All I know is that
our state has paid up to
date what was allocated to
us. Only last week,
Governor Seyi Makinde
re-issued N800 million to
the school.
“Now, who pays more?
From our own side as Oyo
State, we have have not
defaulted and I can assure
you that on Friday, we were
hinted that the staff want to
go on strike with ASUU,
saying that they will start
their exams yesterday
(Monday).
argued an application
challenging court’s
jurisdiction to make such an
interim forfeiture order and
urged the court to set aside
the interim order.
Awa-Kalu, whose
application was supported
with 11 paragraphs
affidavit, urged the court to
refuse the EFCC’s
temptation of making the
order but to discharge the
interim order place on his
client’s items.
But counsel to the EFCC,
Oyedepo urged the court to
discountenance Diezani’s
application to set aside the
interim order, as the former
Minister of Petroleum had
failed to show cause while
the items should not finally
be forfeited to the Federal
Government of Nigeria.
He had urged the court to
dismiss the respondent’s
application and also make
an order for final forfeiture
of the said items.
In his judgment,
yesterday, Justice Oweibo
cited several authorities of
appellant court, saying that
instead of the respondent
(Allison-Madueke)
showing cause while the
property should not be
finally forfeited, only filed a
motion to set aside the
interim order.
“On the whole and
because of the respondent’s
failure to show cause why
the property should not be
finally forfeited, the order of
final forfeiture is hereby
granted. The property is
hereby finally forfeited to
the Federal government of
Nigeria,” the court held.
Educationist tasks Nigerians on reading
By Bose Adelaja
LAGOS—THE Tutor-
General of District 6,
Lagos State, Mr. Ebenezer
Olusanya has said that
Nigerians have a lot to
benefit academically by
cultivating the habit of
reading a book a day.
Speaking at the maiden
edition of Reviving Yoruba
Literature and Culture
through book reading and
the launching of a book
titled: Agadagodo (The
padlock), organised in
Lagos by Scribbled Gold
Media and Event Solutions,
Olusanya said the nation’s
cultural heritage and
languages will be
harnessed if only
Nigerians broaden their
reading horizons.
Represented by Mrs.
Ikumapayi Omolara, he
said the state government
will ensure that book
reading is given a boost in
public schools.
In her welcome address,
the General Manager of
Bond 92.9FM, Princess
Wuraola Adenike Adegoke,
lamented that many parents
do not see the need to
transfer Nigeria’s culture to
the upcoming generations,
saying this poses a big risk
to the nation as a whole.
She said: “Our language
and culture must not be
allowed to die as these are
veritable tools to comport
ourselves in the public as
well as expand in
knowledge and wisdom.”
Author of the book,
Agadagodo, Pa Michael
Adegoke said the book is a
must-read for all, while the
reviewer, Yemi Saba of
Bambi communications
said the book encourages
youths to comport
themselves in the public
and guide against
extravagant lifestyle.
SUG/ASUP CLASH: Ede Poly shut
By Shina Abubakar
OSOGBO—IN a bid
to forestall
breakdown of law and
order on the campus of
the Federal Polytechnic,
Ede, Osun State,
management of the
institution has shut the
school for two weeks.
The Academic Staff
Union of the institution
had asked the
management to suspend
the Students’ Union
President, Rufai Lukman,
for deflating the tyres of
the vehicle of a lecturer.
However, Lukman said
he had appeared before
the disciplinary
committee set up by the
school and followed
every instruction given
to him to the letter.
But the union was not
satisfied, insisting that the
SUG leader be
suspended, a situation
that created tension in the
school.
At a press conference
Court restrains Osun Govt
from installing monarch
By Shina Abubakar
OSOGBO—AN Osun
State High Court,
sitting in Ile-Ife, has
restrained the state
government from installing
Prince Meshack Oyewole
as the Olulamekun of
Yakoyo, a town in Ife-North
local government area of
the state.
The court injunction,
which was signed by
Justice J. O. Ogundele and
made available to
newsmen in Osogbo
disclosed that the state
government should not
present a staff of office to
anyone pending the
determination of the
motion, in a notice filed
before the court on
December 24, 2018.
Vanguard gathered that
100 DAYS IN OFFICE: Lagos PDP
flays Sanwo-Olu’s performance
By Dapo Akinrefon
L Peoples AGOS—THE
Democratic
Party, PDP, in Lagos State,
yesterday, chided
Governor Babajide
Sanwo-Olu for allegedly
misappropriating state
funds to celebrate his 100
days in office describing
it as a charade.
In a statement by
Taofik Gani, the Lagos
PDP faulted the
celebration saying:
“Even by the governor’s
presentations, he can at
best score 35% mark.
Such a celebration of
failure ought to have
been avoided by any
sensitive and honourable
government.”
''For the sake of clarity,
we monitored the undue
celebrations from
preparations to the
gathering. Invitations
addressed by the Chairman
of the Governing
Council, Professor Nasiru
Musa, he described the
situation as a minor misunderstanding
within the
Polytechnic community
which will be resolved
amicably.
Prof. Musa said: “The
council arrived on this
campus and we had a
joint meeting involving
three representatives of
the government, members
of the management of the
Polytechnic and the staff
unions in the school. At
the end of the meeting, we
were able to reach an
understanding, it is a
family affair and it has been
resolved in that manner.
“The discussions we had
with the various unions
were very fruitful and the
outcome is encouraging
that in the two weeks
that we will be on
semester break the
polytechnic will be able
to solve the problem.''
the state government had
already scheduled
Thursday, September 12,
2019, for the installation of
a monarch in the town.
Joined as defendants in
the matter with Prince
Meshack Oyewole, are
Governor Gboyega
Oyetola, the Ooni of Ife,
Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi;
Ife-North Local
Government among others.
The plaintiff, Prince Isaac
Oyekanmi had approached
the court seeking an interim
injunction restraining the
state government or any of
its agents from installing or
presenting staff of office to
the first defendant.
The ruling reads in part:
“I hereby make an order of
interim injunction against
the 2nd - 6th defendant/
respondent as prayed.”
were sent to only APC
chieftains from and
outside Lagos state, also
invited were APC
apologists. To clear this
fact, the disabled persons,
who struggled to attend
the occasion, boldly and
openly accused the
Governor of neglect, even
in his speech.
''This is just as the
Governor again exposed
his unpreparedness for
the job when he
described the Badagry
road as being within the
Lagos East Senatorial
district as well as
confusing Kogi for Kebbi
in the LAKE rice project.
In struggling to mention
achievements, the
Governor, who claimed
to have installed
functional WiFi in Lagos,
however, could not
mention the areas, but
only promised to do so.”

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019—15
Xenophobia: Ohanaeze asks S’East
govs to prepare for returnee victims
By Johnbosco
Agbakwuru
ABUJA—APEX Igbo sociocultural
organisation,
Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has advised
South-East governors to make
adequate preparation and put the
necessary infrastructure to
accommodate victims of the
xenophobic attacks in South
Africa.
Ohanaeze has also planned to
acknowledge Igbo sons and
daughters that have played key
roles in the economic
development of the Igbo nation
and Nigeria at large.
Briefing journalists yesterday in
Abuja on the forthcoming Igbo
Day celebration, President of
Ohanaeze, Federal Capital
Territory, FCT, chapter, Mazi
Odozi Nwodo, flanked by the
chairman of Igbo Day 2019
Planning Committee, Dr. Kachi
Iheme, frowned at the attacks on
Nigerians in South Africa
despite the contributions of the
country towards dismantling
apartheid.
The Ohanaeze President
challenged governors of the
South-East geo-political zone to
provide palliatives for
Nigerians returning from South
Africa.
According to him, “the South-
East governors must put things
on ground to assist those
returning from South Africa, the
bulk of whom are Igbo people.
BoT takes over leadership of Igbo community in Lagos
By Esther Onyegbula
THE Board of Trustee, BoT,
Igbo-speaking community,
Lagos, yesterday, took over the
reins of leadership of the
association due to the crisis that
engulfed the ill-fated general
elections of the association in
Lagos last month.
Chairman of the Board, Chief
Jonathan Nnaji, said: “The
We call on them to use this
opportunity to put infrastructure
that will cushion the effect of
their unplanned dislocation.
“However, with the return of our
brothers and sisters, Ohanaeze is
not empowered economically to
assist. But I am sure the states
and the Federal Government
must have done things to make
sure that those people coming
back don’t feel the effect of their
unexpected disengagement from
South Africa.”
Nwodo explained that the
events taking place in South
Africa were not only a slight on
South Africa, but a shame to the
entire Africa.
He said: “In the 70s, Nigeria
took responsibility in not only
association under my
superintendence has taken over
the reins of leadership so as to
avoid power vacuum till we
resolve amicably and fraternally
the unfortunate incident that
abruptly ended the election that
was meant for a change of baton
in leadership.
“This action, apart from being
constitutional, is also in line with
the oath signed by all the
nurturing but empowering
those leaders in South Africa
today. I am also aware that
Nelson Mandela in the
heydays of his struggle was
quartered in Igboland,
precisely in the house of the
one we call the Boy is Good,
Chief Mbazulike Amaechi, the
only surviving minister of the
First Republic.
“For South Africans to start
behaving the way that they are
doing is quite unfortunate.”
On the Ndigbo Day celebration,
Nwodo said the group will be
honouring prominent individuals
from the South-East who have
contributed immensely to the
development of the Igbo nation
and the country at large.
SIGNING: From left— Assistant General Overseer, Peter Afolayan; his wife, Lady Evangelist Stella; General Secretary,
Pastor Dapo Olatemiju, and The Parish Pastor in Charge, Pastor Olakojo, during the launch of Pulpit TV and signing of agreement
on the sponsorship of Christ Arrival International Church, CAIC, Gethsemane Football Club, in Ibadan. PHOTO: Dare Fasube.
Ill-treatment responsible for worsening Biafra agitation—IPOB
By Chimaobi Nwaiwu
NNEWI—LEADER of the
Indigenous People of Biafra,
IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu,
yesterday, said it was the illtreatment
by successive
governments, particularly the
current President Muhammadu
Buhari-led All Progressives
Congress, APC, administration,
that aggravated the agitation for
the Sovereign State of Biafra led
by IPOB.
In a paper presented by Mazi
Kanu to the European Union,
EU, Parliament, made available
to Vanguard by IPOB’s
Deputy Leader, Uche Mefor,
Kanu said: “After the civil war,
Biafrans slowly rebuilt their world
but as far as Nigeria was
concerned, they were not and
never had been Biafrans.
“They were Nigerians from the
South-East or Igbo-speaking
Nigerians.
“The war was airbrushed out of
the Nigerian consciousness.
Biafrans could only whisper about
their loss. Joining the global
Biafran Diaspora was one option
for those who could get out of the
country; others remained in
Biafraland, the Biafran identity
among themselves,
undiminished.
“Nigeria leaders, particularly
the current administration of
President Muhammadu Buhari's
continous crushing of the Biafra
identity has been the order of the
day, as even peacefully
commemorating the war risks
arrest, detention, ill-treatment or
being shot.
“In recent years, the Nigerian
state authorities have conducted
three orchestrated campaigns
against Biafrans and the three
Operation Python Dance military
operations have been battles
targeted against the Biarfans. The
first being in 2016, the second in
2017 and the third is ongoing, all
designed to undermine calls for
Biafra self determination.
“Operation Python Dance
campaigns are laden with
intimidation, serious and
systemic human rights
violations carried out by the
state with impunity and IPOB
a voice for Biafrans’ selfdetermination,
a non-violent
group, being always targeted
for destruction.”
contestants prior to the election.
The resolution shall come as soon
as we reconcile all issues which
are expected to be very brief, as
we are most eager to put the
incident behind us and forge
ahead.
“It was, indeed, a regrettable setback
to our expectation as board
members and to all those who
believe in the utility and sense of
purpose, which our association
Mrs Ugwuanyi’s
scholarship
beneficiaries
express
gratitude
OVER 100 beneficiaries of
the scholarship scheme of
wife of Enugu State governor,
Mrs. Monica Ugwuanyi,
yesterday, joined women of the
state at their monthly prayer
rally to offer prayers for the
state.
The beneficiaries, who are
mostly indigent, used the
opportunity to express
gratitude to God for giving
Enugu State “a benevolent,
visionary and God-fearing
governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi,
and using his wife, Monica, to
wipe away their tears by
granting them free education
through scholarships.
Speaking at the event, one
of the earlier beneficiaries of the
scheme, which commenced
three years ago, Miss Winifred
Maduko, a First Class
graduate, stated that Mrs.
Ugwuanyi’s gesture has
enabled her to meet her
educational need in spite of her
poor background.
Miss Maduko disclosed that
the scholarship scheme, tagged
Project 102, has offered
scholarship to 105 candidates
since it commenced in 2016.
Emphasising the role of
education in alleviation of
poverty, Maduko, on behalf of
the beneficiaries, commended
Mrs. Ugwuanyi for her
philanthropic disposition.
Explaining how this scheme
came about, Mrs. Ugwuanyi
said: “We came into the villages
during school hours and saw
children out of schools. We
started asking questions and
were told that they were out of
schools.
“It is true that in Enugu State
education is free, at least to the
basic level But there are certain
fees to be paid. We provided
uniforms, sandals, bags, books
and other writing materials.”
She enjoined the people to
be selfless and extend helping
hands to the needy to make the
world a better place.
The event also featured raffle
draws, where winners went
home with washing machine,
blender, grinding machine,
cooker, while some people
were equally empowered with
some items to start businesses.
represents.
“It is in the face of the foregoing
that the BoT set in motion a
mechanism meant to sanitise the
impasse and provide the needed
clue for a way forward.”
Other members in attendance
at the event were the outgoing
President, Chief Ebele Ubani;
Secretary-General, BoT, Chief
Obi Nwadigo, Lagos State;
Anomnze Nna Ndigbo in Lagos
and Eze Dr Cyril Osuala, among
others.

16—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019
VISIT: Oyo State
Governor, Seyi
Makinde (middle),
General Manager,
Treasury Services,
Federal Mortgage
Bank of Nigeria,
Mr Kabiru
Yagboyaju (right)
and Group Head,
National Housing
Fund, Mr Abubakar
Musa Omar, during
the bank
management team's
visit to the
governor in Ibadan.
Oil exploration: Deal directly with us, Iko
community tells SEEPCO
•Alleges ill treatment by SEEPCO, NPDC
By Chioma
Onuegbu
UYO—INDIGENES of
Iko community,
Eastern Obolo Local
Government Area, Akwa
Ibom State have vowed to
use legal measures to resist
any attempt by Sterling
Energy Exploration and
Production Company
Nigerian Limited,
SEEPCO, to prevent
Nigeria Petroleum
Development Company,
NPDC, from having a
direct negotiation and
agreement with them on all
issues relating to the
operations of the company
in Utapate oil and gas field
development project in the
OML 13.
Elders, women and
youths of the community,
who staged a peaceful
protest against alleged ill
treatment by NPDC and
Sterling Energy
Exploration and Production
Company Nigeria Limited,
SEEPCO, said the
SEEPCO will not be
allowed into the town to
carry out its operations until
it calls for a dialogue and
meet directly with them on
the vexed issues.
Protem Chairman of the community,
Mr. Sampson Agba,
Youth President, Mr. Evans Toyo,
Woman Leader, Mrs. Amira
Sampson, Elder David Ufford and
others who spoke during the
protest, accused the company of
using divide and rule tactics to
cause problems in the community,
insisting that the company must
carry out an Environmental
Impact Assessment and respect
their right to a General
Memorandum of Understanding,
GMoU.
Meanwhile, addressing
newsmen, the community
solicitor and human rights
activist, Dr. Akpor Mudiaga-Odje,
said NPDC in partnership with
SEEPCO “Are now in the process
of operating in full, OML 13,
which is substantially located
within the precincts and
boundaries of our client, Iko
community.
“The Iko community hosts the
largest oil fields, that is, Utapate
Oil Fields and a Flow-station in
the OML 13 Cluster
arrangements as established by
the Nigerian Petroleum
Development Company, NPDC.
Mudiaga-Odje who addressed
newsmen moments before the
protest, said: “The issues at stake
in this context are truly located
within the present intention of
SEEPCO to commence work
with a view of operating OML 13
owned by NPDC.
“President Muhammadu
Buhari has graciously approved
the commencement of operation
of OML 13 with a view of raising
the national crude oil output to
three million barrels per day by
April, 2020.
“The above was sequel to the
payment of the sum of $3.15 billion
by SEEPCO to the NPDC for
the operation of the OML 13.
Needless to say that, the Iko community
hosts the largest oil fields,
that is Utapate Oil Fields and a
flow-station in the OML 13 Cluster
arrangements as established
by NPDC.
“Our clients had expected that
the State Government, Eastern
Obolo Local Government
Council, SEEPCO and Naturals
Oil Services Limited, NOSL will
directly interface with the Iko
community on these issues and
more, as duly represented by Our
clients.
“However, to our clients’
chagrin and utter dismay,
SEEPCO decided on the contrary
to set up a committee for that
purpose, and which said
committee does not represent in
its true sense the interests of our
clients, Iko Community.
“Our clients have therefore,
resolved unequivocally and
unanimously to henceforth deal
directly with NPDC on this matter
of the operations of OML 13 as
they have completely lost faith in
the sincerity of SEEPCO and
NOSL on this Issue.”
Enugu traders protest 2yrs caretakers'
administration
By Dennis Agbo
ENUGU—TRADERS in
Ogbete main market
Enugu have protested
none conduct of election for
the administration of the
market union for over two
years.
The traders who carried
placards indicating their
grievances protested in the
council premises of Enugu
North local government
headquarters along
Okpara avenue, Enugu.
Some of the placards
read: “Ogbete traders don’t
want caretakers again,”
“Give Ogbete date of
election,” “We are not going
without date of election,”
“Our election should not
pass two weeks from today.”
Leader of the Concerned
Ogbete market traders, Mr.
Osita Ike who spoke on
their behalf told the
chairman of Enugu North
local government council,
that the over stay of the
caretaker committee in
Ogbete for a period of two
years and one month
instead of six months was
long over due.
He lamented that it was
an abberration for nontrader
to over see the
administration of traders
inside the market and
called for immediate
conduct of election.
“Enugu state is one of the most
peaceful states and does not need
crisis, therefore we are demanding
for immediate dissolution of the
caretaker government, immediate
conduct of election in this
month of September 2019,” Ike
demanded.
Chairman of Enugu North local
government council, Hon. Emma
Onoh appealed to the protesters
to go back to their shops while he
dialogues for conduct of election
in the market.
He charged them not to be
violent in their agitation but to
maintain peace until the election
is conducted.
Police dettachment from
Enugu Area command
supervised the peaceful protest
and assured the traders that their
compliants would be directed to
the appropriate quarters.
St Ambrose's
Old Students
Association
meets
THE old students
association of St
Ambrose's College
Usiefurun (SACOSA),
Udu /Jeremi branch,will
host the National
General Meeting on
S a t u r d a y
14th.September,2019.
The venue is Daddy Bakery
opposite Udu Market,
Ovwian at 11.00am.
Technology hands start ups
key to $5.1trn FX market
More than five years since global foreign exchange (FX)
trading was tainted by a rigging scandal, a handful of banks
are more dominant than ever and show no sign of weakening their
grip on the $5.1 trillion (4.13 trillion pounds)-a-day electronic
market.
But below the radar a new breed of start-ups is seeking to break
their hegemony by pursuing the smaller but higher-margin customer-facing
FX business used by asset managers, pension funds
and insurance companies.
Data analytics firm Coalition estimates the bulk of daily flows
are between banks and the majority are likely to remain with the
big lenders, notably Citi, JPMorgan, Bank of America Merrill
Lynch, HSBC and UBS who together hold almost 45 percent of
worldwide FX trading, up from around 35 percent in 2012.
The upstarts say banks can read trading patterns to obtain higher
prices from asset managers, who should instead save millions of
dollars a year, as much as 50% in FX trading costs, by trading
directly with each other.
Wall Street down as global
growth worries hit tech stocks
United States (US) stocks fell in morning trading
yesterday as weak economic data from China
added to fears of a global recession and pushed investors
out of riskier technology stocks.
China’s factory-gate prices shrank 0.8 percent in August,
the sharpest pace of decline in three years, as businesses
slashed prices to cope with flagging demand amid
a bruising trade war with the United States that has slowed
growth in the world’s second largest economy.
Microsoft Corporation was the biggest drag on the
S&P 500 for the second straight session. Losses in Visa
Incorporated and Mastercard Incorporated pulled the
tech sector .SPLRCT 1.51 percent lower. Healthcare
stocks .SPXHC were down 1.26 percent.
Bank stocks .SPXBK were the top boost to the financial
sector, rising 1.06 percent, while energy stocks
jumped 1.53 percent. U.S. Treasury yields US2YT=RR
US10YT=RR climbed to fresh three-week peaks. [US]
Trading so far this week has largely been subdued as
investors hold out for policy decisions from central
banks on potential monetary easing.
SoftBank in talks to invest
in Latam venture capital
funds
Japan’s SoftBank Group Corporation is in talks with
venture capital firms in Latin America to invest hundreds
of millions of dollars in their funds, a move likely
to speed up spending of a $5 billion regional venture capital
fund, three sources with knowledge of the matter said.
So far, SoftBank has only announced direct investments
using the fund’s resources, injecting capital into Colombian
delivery app Rappi, Brazilian lender Creditas, gym
membership app Gympass and Mexican payments firm
Clip, for instance.
However, SoftBank’s Latin America fund also plans to
invest in venture capital funds as a way to further foster
innovation in the region, the sources said on condition of
anonymity. The strategy will position SoftBank closer to
startups that may eventually grow big enough to receive
the group’s direct investments.
SoftBank executives told fund managers it intends to
deploy roughly $500 million in five to 10 funds, one
source said.
WeWork IPO valuation
may dip below $20bn
WeWork is considering slashing the valuation of its
planned stock market launch to below $20 billion,
two people familiar with the matter said, the latest blow
to leading tech investor SoftBank Group after limp
flotations of Uber and Slack..
Having previously hoped to be in a position to begin its
roadshow to pitch the initial public offering (IPO) to investors
as early as this week, We Company may now wait
until Monday of next week, one source also said.
The valuation for the money-losing U.S. office-sharing
startup could be as low as $15 billion-$18 billion, one of
the sources with direct knowledge of the matter said,
roughly a third of the $47 billion We Company was valued
at when Softbank made a follow-on investment in the
company.
Stories credited to Reuters & BCC

TWENTY years ago, the
British government
pledged to end child poverty
within a generation, choosing
to centre its domestic policy on
achieving equal opportunity for
all its citizens. With 1.1 million
children lifted out of poverty by
2010, the UK was on track
towards achieving this goal
although a change of
government (with its budget
cuts and austerity measures) has
jeopardised these aims.
Nonetheless, in 2010, all
political parties in the United
Kingdom renewed their
promise to British children
through the Child Poverty Act,
a national pledge to sustainably
impact generations of present
and future citizens.
Imagine if 20 years ago in
Nigeria, on the strength of our
return to democracy, then
President Olusegun Obasanjo
had committed significant
resources towards improving
early education or if the
National Assembly had made
“the law the public conscience”,
to quote a philosopher, Hobbes,
wouldn’t the fates of the army
of young people recruited by
Boko Haram or the Niger Delta
Avengers have been different?
Marginalisation
of millions
Rather than supervise the defunding
and privatisation of
Nigerian education (and many
other national assets), and,
therefore, the marginalisation of
millions of Nigerians who
cannot afford the fees of private
universities and secondary
schools operated by then
members of government, our
democracy could have been
built on a surer foundation by
refusing to see poverty as
inevitable and by showing real
commitment to eliminating a
social situation which
contributes in no small measure
towards ethno-religious conflict.
The same could be said of
many African nations grappling
with insecurity and xenophobia.
The poor blame foreigners for
deprivation, ignoring the real
issue: globally, democratisation
came with political rights but
not with the concomitant
economic opportunities which
assure national stability and
cohesion. Nigeria must show
leadership in Africa: besides
Benny Hinn
THE Israeli televangelist
has renounced the
prosperity gospel which he
helped popularise around the
world. In a live broadcast and
to the shock of many, he said:
“It’s an offense to the Lord, it’s
an offense to say give $1,000. I
think it’s an offense to the Holy
Spirit to place a price on the
Gospel”.
He also called tithing
extortion, a “gimmick” to
“squeeze” money out from a
congregation.
Much damage has been done
to the psyche of developing
countries through the
commercialisation of religion,
where one buys forgiveness for
misdeeds, like in medieval
Poverty in a world of plenty: A legislative challenge
actively condemning
xenophobia (and recalling our
long history of supporting antiapartheid
regimes in southern
Africa), we must develop a state
whose moral principles of
solidarity and equality are
translated into law. Nigeria,
with its many people and ethnic
groups, is a potential template
for managing plurality in the
modern world, if lawmaking in
our society adheres to the
principles of nation-building.
Our National Assembly must
imbibe positive change into the
fabric of our society, assist
democratic ideals to veritably
take root in government and
governance by passing bills that
fix pressing social concerns and
entrench them, so they become
a part of the public mindset, not
to be challenged or undone by
ill-meaning politics or
politicians in the future. After
the Second World War, the
welfare state in Europe was
legislated into being, creating
the inalienable right to certain
free or subsidised government
•Benny Hinn
times, on the strength of one’s
offering. The damage done to
the rule of law and to public
ethics and values cannot be
quantified.
services.
Ironically, although these
policies, by investing in
citizens, helped create the
stability and democratic politics
The Nigerian
National Assembly
can show
leadership in Africa
by setting a
national pro-poor
agenda and
dialoguing with
people, involving
them in lawmaking
of the West in the 20 th century,
in Africa, the IMF and World
Bank advocated drastically
cutting public services, the
effects of which we are just
realising today, nearly 30 years
Power probe
THE sixth House of
Representatives probed
the Olusegun Obasanjo
administration’s spending $16
billion on power.
In 2008, the Ndudi Elumeluled
House and ad hoc committee
on power investigated and
revealed, on live television,
what was alleged to be the
practice at the time: contractors
without any proven ability or
capacity surprisingly received
multi-billion Naira contracts
which they were unable to
execute, thus resulting in work
being abandoned around the
country.
Following this, another probe
was announced involving the
ninth Assembly which should
pick up where its predecessors
left off.
Without resolving the
Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019 —17
later, when advanced Only parliament can ensure
economies which continued to that we start to spend on
invest in their people have healthcare and education
been able to maintain countries again, through their approval
invested in the same largely of laws and budgets which steer
progressive goals.
policy implementation in a propeople
direction, creating an
We must realise the
consequences of deregulation inclusive economy, without
(which is already being which the lofty goals of peace
challenged around the world) and cohesiveness will remain a
distant dream. Imagine if
members of the National
Assembly from the North, for
example, passed bills to assist
poor farmers in insuring their
crops against desertification and
climate change, the effects
would have been felt across the
Sahel.
Support to farmers through
laws to promote access to
fertilizer and other agricultural
necessities would impact food
security. With food security,
combined with a legislative
agenda to combat climate
change, would Boko Haram
have found it so easy to recruit?
We must legislate on lasting
social protection mechanisms
coupled with rural and urban
and the withdrawal of the state,
the consequences of the
defective provision of national
services by incompetent private
entities (e.g. in our power
sector), a model that has made
a handful of people rich,
leaving the majority without
access to much needed facilities
or public assistance.
This is what the masses in
South Africa should be angry at,
not the presence of equally poor
Nigerians etching out a living.
But elites around the world
have mastered the eternal art
of divide and conquer. The rise
of populism in the US, the UK
and Brazil where the poor of
these countries are pitted
against immigrants and
minorities is an electoral
strategy. Can the parliaments of
the world, the people’s true
representatives, arise to this
century’s challenge,
confronting the dangerous
absurdity and immorality of
poverty in a world of plenty?
allegations of large-scale
misuse of government funds,
we cannot get to the bottom of
the frustrations and resentments
of Nigerians (and Africans at
large) who see a small, affluent
section of society continuously
access riches and opportunity
through its connection to
government, while the majority
stagnates or falls deeper into
poverty.
This mystery of poverty for the
masses, in a global context of
plenty, where we are able to
produce more goods and
wealth than at any other time
in human history, will either be
the crisis that prompted true
democratic reform or the reason
for our demise accelerated by
climate change, itself a result of
exploitation and unsustainable,
unjust economic relations.
community regeneration
programmes. Unless National
Assemblies take legislative
action to tackle poverty and
make our socio-economic
systems fairer and more
inclusive, the African continent
and indeed the world, will
continue to be defined by class
conflict masquerading as racist
or xenophobic, ethno-religious
strife.
Increased
cooperation
The Nigerian National
Assembly can show leadership
in Africa by setting a national
(and why not regional) propoor
agenda and dialoguing
with people, involving them in
law-making. What we need at
this time is increased
cooperation between the people
and governments of Africa and
the global South, to learn from
each other’s successes and
challenges. NASS should
provide the platform for
ordinary people, constituents, to
translate their wishes to
government, making sure their
demands are considered
through budget oversight and
ensuring resource allocation
meets people’s needs.
Finally, in a country which
struggles to fund its budgets
while many of the wealthiest
companies and people get away
with paying little to nothing in
taxes, where financial
impropriety continues to
jeopardise government’s ability
to deliver services for its people,
the National Assembly must
urgently propose bills to
provide financial justice, rather
than what Nigerians have
always known, which is
exploitation of the majority, in
an environment that neither
rewards nor promotes justice or
common human decency.
Tabia Princewill is a
strategic communications
consultant and public policy
analyst. She is also the cohost
and executive producer
of a talk show, WALK THE
TALK which airs on
Channels TV.

18 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019
WE are elated by the new song that
the Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi
Sirika, sang after a recent meeting
with South East Governors over the
closure of the Akanu Ibiam
International Airport, Enugu.
The closure of the airport, which
took effect on August 24, 2019, had
drawn massive anxieties among
stakeholders in the South-East and
users of the airport because there was
no mention of the duration of the
closure and steps the Federal
Government would take to correct the
problems complained of.
Instead, Sirika had simply said the
airport, which is more than 50 years
old, would be closed because of an offensive
radio mast and a nearby market
that attracts birds, thus presenting
the risk of bird strikes on aircraft.
Even when the spokesperson of the
Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria,
FAAN, Mrs. Henrietta Yakubu, assured
the closure was for the purpose
Sirika’s new song on Enugu Airport
of repairing and expanding the ragged
runway, she gave no further details.
This was totally unlike the case of
the Abuja airport whose closure for
six weeks in March 2017 was heralded
by elaborate preparations to divert
traffic to Kaduna Airport while credible
contractors worked on the second
runway day and night till completion.
At the meeting penultimate weekend,
Sirika said the airport would be
reopened before December 2019, and
that reputable construction companies
like Julius Berger and PW had been
contracted to work “day and night”
to ensure the runway is extended and
the tarmac and buildings destroyed by
rainstorms are repaired.
Said he: “Indeed for us at the centre
in this federating country, we take the
city of Enugu extremely important,
because what Enugu is to the South
East is what Kaduna, for example, is
to the North or Ibadan to the South
West.
“So, contemplating to close down
the runway in the heart of the South
Eastern part of the country, (sic) very
mobile, very enterprising people, it’s
not done without complete respect and
regard to the activities around this
centre. It was purely based on safety
to ensure that people (who) are flying
into the airport do so safely”.
We find these words very
reassuring, and as a newspaper, we
will keep an eye on this project to its
logical conclusion.
We believe the only way this country
will develop is for public amenities
built with our commonwealth to be
evenly distributed among the six
geopolitical zones.
It will not only promote even
development, it will also give every
section a sense of belonging and
increase their love for the country.
We call on the governments and
peoples of the South-East to give the
Federal Government maximum
support to complete this project, and
ensure that the use of the alternative
Owerri and Asaba airports is as safe
and convenient as possible for
travellers.
OPINION
Blundered past, xenophobia and diplomatic crossroads
By SAMUEL OROVWUJE
You cannot escape the responsibility of
tomorrow by evading it today – Abraham
Lincoln
THE Nigeria - South Africa Relations
has displayed two contrasting faces
over the last three decades or so. Nigeria’s
flamboyant and frenetic African relations
consistently reflect a strong sense of
cooperation, solidarity and intoxicating
big brother role; in contrast, South Africa
speaks about Nigeria with unrealistic
political ambiguities and diplomatic
insensibility.
The current face-off or stand-off over
xenophobic attacks on Nigerian citizens
and other African nationals has raised
tensions in Nigeria-South Africa Relations
at citizens - to - citizens engagement.
This article examines the foundational
issues of racial intolerance and dislike for
foreigners, particularly Nigerians in South
Africa within the broader past framework
of the apartheid regime and indeed the
post-apartheid socio-economic reality,
which has over time shaped the existential
notions of false community and vague
entitlement.
This also shapes the empty sense of
belonging amongst a number of Black
South Africans and on other the hand,
Nigeria’s daunting task of addressing the
country’s myriad domestic challenges. It
also maintains its unproductive and lack
of economic gains abroad as a regional
leader in Africa as well a global player in
some important international fora like the
United Nations.
Additionally, it highlights fresh
perspectives to recalibrating reverse
migration and building robust foreign
policy and diplomatic template that
priortise economic prosperity and
national pride. Apart from that, the
provision of social inclusion schemes at
home for the average citizen will help to
restore hope for young Nigerians from
poverty- stricken purgatory village life
waiting to brave the journey of no return.
At least they would not become victims of
xenophobic attacks in South Africa or face
death sentences in obscure Asian
countries.
Indeed, the question of xenophobia in
contemporary South Africa discourse, in
my view, are profound psychosomatic
carry-over or the blatant negative product
of the humiliating apartheid regime that
cannot be wish away from the collective
consciousness of the people of the rainbow
nation. The attendant dispossession of
their existential pride has often blurred
the spirit of the African brotherhood.
The despicable and repugnant apartheid
regime also bruised the ego and sense of
humanity of these great Africans who
became vulnerable and exploited in their
own land, and the reality of these past facts
has continued to obstruct the wheel of
progress and development.
The political crisis of that dark era led
to social dislocation, which in turn
affected their economic means,
educational attainment and the required
skill sets that would have prepared them
for high-level jobs and proper integration
into a new democratic South Africa that
promises a brighter future.
Similarly, Nigeria with the treacherous
military regimes over the years has failed
in its domestic management of petrol
receiveables and to a very large extent
could not translate its foreign policy
aspirations into reality. President
Muhammadu Buhari will continue to
confront major challenges, ranging from
security constraints at home to incomplete
social engineering, true federalism,
nagging resource nationalism and justice.
These challenges in my view have
profound implications for Nigeria’s policy
towards South Africa, given the closer ties
between the two countries over the past
few years. Nigerian policymakers should
factor in these realities as they fashion next
level Nigeria - South Africa relations.
Xenophobic violence is not a new
phenomenon in post-apartheid South
Africa. The recent xenophobic attacks
have been attributed to a combination of
factors which include local political
pressures over time, increases in prices of
Nigeria’s diplomacy
should not dwell much on
the criticism of the
xenophobic attacks in South
Africa, but rather on
creating an enabling
environment that would
create jobs
basic goods, high levels of unemployment
which stood at 25 per cent and the growing
concerns and frustrations about the South
African government under incumbent
President Cyril Ramaphosa to provide
essential services to poor people and the
resultant economic hardship
and tensions surrounding crime and
competition over scarce resources by nonnational
population.
The continued socio-economic issues
are pushing the average South African
into extreme poverty in the midst of plenty
Send Opinions & Letters to:
opinions1234@yahoo.com
and there is a high level of dissatisfaction
with the scheme of things after the fall of
the apartheid regime. From 2008, there
were 135 separate violent incidents that
left 62 people dead, at least 670 wounded
and unfortunately, dozens were carnally
assaulted and many properties destroyed
and looted without compensation.
Going forward, Nigeria’s diplomacy
should not dwell much on the criticism of
the xenophobic attacks in South Africa;
but rather concrete efforts should be made
at home to create an enabling environment
that would create jobs and livelihoods for
the common people in Nigeria and, by
extension, South Africa for its own people.
In addition, the South Africa domestic
environment has been hostile to nonnationals,
particularly undocumented
migrants, and there is implicit culture of
impunity which encourages mob justice
in most communities.
More importantly, Black South Africans’
inhumanity to other Africans, particularly
Nigerians, is also fuelled and supported
by the wide-spread corruption and
institutionalised xenophobia in the police,
immigration services and other state
structures, apart from lack of requisite
knowledge and respect in handling legal
and policy framework for dealing with
non-nationals in the area of conflict
management.
It is important to note that people
migrating in search for safer and more
prosperous living conditions is as old as
man.
Additionally, the right of any person to
leave any country is enshrined in the 1948
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
and the 1965 International Convention on
the Elimination of All Forms of Racial
Discrimination.
•Orovwuje, a public affairs analyst,
wrote from Lagos

CURRENCY BUYING SELLING
US DOLLAR
POUNDS
EURO
FRANC
YEN
CFA
WAUA
RENMINBI
RIYAL
SDR
DANISH
RAND
$95.00 0.00
2,235.00 0.00
$10.97 0.05
$63.23 0.64
$58.49 0.64
305.9 306.4 306.9
378.1842 378.8023 379.4205
337.5607 338.1124 338.6642
308.8651 309.37 309.8748
2.8594 2.8641 2.8688
0.4965 0.5065 0.5165
418.4522 419.1361 419.8201
42.9336 43.0043 43.0749
81.5559 81.6892 81.8225
418.8077 419.4922 420.1768
45.2401 45.314 45.388
20.842 20.8761 20.9101
CBN Exchange rate as at 10/09/2019
Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019 — 19
CBN slams penalties for delayed
e-payment transactions
By Elizabeth Adegbesan
THE Central Bank of Nigeria,
CBN, has ordered that Payment
Service Providers, PSPs, in the
country would pay N1,000 for each
delayed transaction on electronic
payments or collection channels.
The apex bank gave the order in
its latest issued Regulation on
electronic payments and collections
for public and private sectors in
Nigeria.
According to the regulator, the
regulation is a revision of the 2014
Guidelines on e-payment of
salaries, pensions, suppliers and
taxes in Nigeria and is aimed at
guiding the end-to-end electronic
payment of salaries, pensions and
other remittances, suppliers and
revenue collections in the country.
It noted: “This Regulation applies
to all CBN regulated entities
operating in Nigeria and mandates
adoption, implementation and
compliance with the directives on
end-to-end electronic payments of
all forms of salaries, pensions &
other remittances, suppliers,
revenue collections including but
not limited to taxes, levies,
penalties, recoveries, assessments,
and the disbursement of funds for
social programs payments bills,
honorarium, scholarships,
allowances, etc. herein referred to
collectively as ‘payments and
collections’.”
On infractions and sanctions for
PSPs the regulation read: “If e-
payment solution is not approved
by CBN, PSPs shall immediately
cease the provision or offering of
such un-approved e-payment
solutions; pay penalty of N1million
on every occurrence.
“Non completion of transactions
within stipulated timelines due to
challenges with solution provider’s
platform or operational inefficiency
and non-return of un-applied funds
within stipulated timelines, will
attract a penalty of N1,000 for every
transaction; Penalty of N1,000 for
every transaction delayed; Other
penalty as may be applicable in the
relevant payment channel
regulation.”
On infractions and sanctions for
Deposit Money Banks (DMBs),
Other Financial Institutions (OFIs)
and Mobile Money Operators
(MMOs), it read: “When third
party e-payment solution is not
approved by CBN, terminate use
of the unapproved end-to-end e-
payment solution will attract a
warning letter to the Managing
Director; and penalty of N2 million
for DMB and N1 million for OFIs
on every repeated occurrence.
“Transactions not consummated
within the timelines prescribed in
the relevant Payment channel
regulation and non-return of unapplied
funds to payer’s account
within 24 hours will attract a penalty
of N1,000 per transaction or any
part thereof not consummated
within stipulated timeline; Funds
to be returned at the prevailing
Monetary Policy Rate, MPR for the
period and report of infraction in
annual report; and other penalty
as may be applicable in the relevant
payment channel regulation.’’
“Non-provision of quarterly
report on end-to-end e-payment of
salaries, pensions, suppliers &
taxes to the CBN and submission
of false or inaccurate reports will
attract N5,000 penalty for each day
for which report is not provided to
the CBN; Penalty of N250,000 and
a warning letter to the Managing
Director .”
From left: Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Deputy Director, Mr kayode Asanmo; CBN Deputy
Director, Mr Haruna Mustafa; Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria
(ABCON) President, Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe; Manager, Travelex World Wide Money, during
the CBN sensitization workshop on Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of
Terrorism (AML/CFT) and Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in
West Africa (GIABA) held in Lagos.
NIMASA, NOSDRA mull plans to access oil spills
compensation Fund
•As spills in Nigeria records a downward trend
By Godwin Oritse
THE
Nigerian
M a r i t i m e
Administration and
Safety Agency,
NIMASA and the
National Oil Spill
Detection and
Response Agency,
NOSDRA, are
currently meeting to
plan how to process
and access
compensation for
victims of oil spills in
Nigeria from the
International Oil
P o l l u t i o n
Compensation Fund,
IOPC.
This is just as
Nigeria continues to
record a downward
trend in oil spills
across the country in
the last seven years.
Speaking at the
National workshop on Oil
Pollution Liability and
Compensation in Lagos,
yesterday, Minister of
Environment,
Dr.
Mohammad Abubakar, said
that the move was targeted
at drawing attention to the
scope and implementation of
IOPC.
Abubakar, represented by
the Director General,
NOSDRA, Mr. Idris Musa,
also said that the workshop
will deepen the
understanding of common
challenges and complexities
of oil spill.
Abubakar stated:
“Consideration should not
only be given to socioeconomic
losses suffered by
individuals or communities,
but also to ecological damage
by way of effective
restoration of the damaged
ecosystem.
“Particular attention must
be paid to how our citizen can
adhere strictly to the
procedure for accessing the
benefits inherent in the
International Oil Pollution
Compensation Fund, IOPC”.
Earlier in his opening
remarks, Director General of
NIMASA, Dr. Dakuku
Peterside, said that Nigeria
needs to develop strategies
and policies for effective
shoreline response.
Meanwhile, there has been
a downward trend in the
number of oil spills as only
30,000 metric tons (mt) of oil
spills were recorded last year
compared to 2.26 million
metric tons (mmt) in 2012.
According to Mr. Mark
Homan, Claims Manager, the
IOPC, 2.65 mmt of oil spills
were recorded in 2013,
2.7mmt in 2014, 1.8mmt in
2015, while 815,000 mt and
24,000mt were recorded in
2016 and 2017, respectively.
Next Titan S-6:
Heritage Bank
boosts
entrepreneurship
among youths
Heritage Bank Plc, has again
thrown its usual support
behind the The Next Titan,
season-6 of the reality TV show
targeted at giving young
entrepreneurs opportunity to
display their ingenuity and talents.
Speaking during the audition at
the Sheba Event Centre in Lagos,
the Managing Director, Ifie
Sekibo, stated that the bank has
continued to make seamless efforts
to demonstrate its commitment
towards developing and
positioning youths to become
world-class citizens equipped and
ready to be absorbed into an
increasingly competitive
workforce. “One of the reasons
why we chose, as an organization,
to support the entrepreneurial
growth and welfare of the youths
is to see young men and women
play vital roles in the socioeconomic
development of the
country and help curb the high
level of unemployment,” Sekibo
said. Represented by the bank’s
Head, Brand Management &
Sustainability, Corporate
Communications, Ozena Utulu,
Sekibo said Heritage Bank is
positioned to lead the recovery of
the economy through enhancing
youth entrepreneurship
development and engendering
self-employment via its various
initiatives and products.
NPF
Microfinance
unveils
education
financing
product
By Yinka Kolawole
THE NPF Microfinance
Bank has unveiled its
children’s education
financing product, Kids
Education Account (KEA),
aimed at supporting parents
to pay school fees seamlessly.
A statement from the bank
said the product was
conceptualised to enable
significant enrolment in schools
for millions of Nigerian children
who are denied their right to
education, essentially due to
poverty.
According to the bank,
restricted access to education is
one of the surest ways of
transmitting poverty from
generation to generation, adding
that education is a vital human
right, enshrined in the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights and
the United Nations Convention
on the Rights of the Child.
“In designing the product,
we believe that every child
should have the right to
quality education so that they
can have more chances in life,
including employment
opportunities, better health
and also to participate in the
political process. Early
childhood education and care
as conceptualised and
incorporated in the features of
the product makes it a unique
financing option currently
being offers in the banking
industry,” the bank stated.
The statement noted that the
product is unique because it
guarantees access to up to 50
percent school fees offered as
loan to interested parents.

20 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019 —21

22 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019

Nigeria’s greasy, sleazy,
billion-dollar oil theft industry
This is the concluding part of the
investigative report which was first
published yesterday.
By MICHAEL EBOH
TRANSPARENCY International further
noted that investigations had similarly
suggested that soldiers know the locations of
the illegal cooking pots, are often paid off not
to close down oil theft rings, and maintain an
overview of the illegal operations.
“A more recent analysis quotes one worker
employed by an illegal refinery pointing out
a Nigerian military helicopter flying over the
site of his operation after flames and smoke -
all by-products of the oil refining processes -
had been released into the air. There was,
however, no investigation and no attempt to
close down the illegal cooking pot.
“The interviewee reported that he works with
the ‘navy, marine police, NSCDC and the
army’, paying them in order to allow passage
or to enable operations to be run smoothly
and without interference, a relationship that
only turns sour if one tries ‘to get crude oil
without putting them in the know.'
“In October 2018, the Navy were forced to
deny allegations that personnel collected huge
bribes from oil bunkerers in exchange for
allowing them to operate freely in Bille coastal
communities in Rivers State,” the TI report
disclosed.
Pipeline
vandalism
Furthermore, the Nigerian Natural Resource
Charter, NNRC, declared that crude oil theft
had defied all efforts to eradicate it because
proceeds from the illicit activity had been
fuelling crimes in the Niger Delta and was
also being used to finance local and regional
elections in the oil-producing region and the
country in general.
The NNRC, in a report on crude oil theft,
disclosed that it had been observed over the
years, that prior to any election in Nigeria,
cases of crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism
skyrocket in the country.
The global extractive industry watchdog also
stated that oil theft tends to rise during periods
of high crude oil prices and in periods of
increased production as well as when militant
groups are signaling the need for renegotiation
of their amnesty payoffs. It blamed
the rising trend of crude oil theft on the absence
of a comprehensive law or agency dealing
with pipeline security as well as the fact
that several organisations overlap with each
limited roles. The NNRC further highlighted
the rise on the decentralised role of various
agencies involved to curb the challenge, apart
from acts and laws that were not in line with
current realities.
Arrests
Despite the complicity of some security
operatives, several arrests are still being made
Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019 — 23
and many of the suspects still being
prosecuted. In addition to the arrest of Shuaibu
Ogunmola in January this year, troops of the
81 Division of the Nigerian Army, had in May
2019, arrested five oil thieves at Akute, Ogun
State, while troops from the same military
formation arrested 15 pipeline vandals at Ilara
and Imagbon areas of Ikorodu, Lagos and also
arrested six person caught vandalising oil installations
at Fagbile Estate, Isheri-Ijegun,
Lagos.
In October 2018, officers of the Nigerian
Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC,
arrested 35 oil thieves and oil well head
vandals in Rivers State; while in September
2018, officers from the Nigerian Navy arrested
14 suspects with nine trucks laden with
petroleum products and crude oil in Rivers
State.
In December 2018, NSCDC said it had
arrested a total of 132 suspected oil thieves in
Rivers State, impounded 15 vehicles, 36 trucks
loaded with petroleum products, in addition
to 20 boats and two vessels, four barges and
170 drums. In July 2019, the officers of the
Nigerian Navy in Rivers State arrested five
suspects who are specialists in oil pipeline
vandalisation and products theft.
Reasons, impacts of oil thefts
However, despite the various arrests, the
menace of crude oil and petroleum products
theft continued unabated due, according to
the NNRC, to the fact that existing laws do
not constitute a major deterrence and there is
widespread connivance and complacence of
government and military officials.
These, it claimed, have allowed oil theft to
skyrocket over the last 10 years. Crude oil theft
has impacted the
country negatively,
especially as it has
polluted the land and
contaminated the
water with Benzene
carcinogen at levels
around 900, higher
than the World Health
Organisation’s, WHO,
approved level for
drinking water.
It has also led to a
Reports had it
that crude oil
thefts have led
to decline in
school
enrollments
and increased
child
malnutrition
rise in the activities of
bush refineries and brought about a major
devastation of land and water in the Niger
Delta region, to the extent that the cleanup of
Ogoniland is estimated to cost $1 billion for
1,000 square kilometres. The Ogoni cleanup,
it was estimated, would take over two decades
to complete; that is, to restore the vegetation
to its original state, while the extrapolated
costs of cleaning the entire Niger-Delta
was estimated to be in excess of $3 billion.
Reports had it that crude oil thefts have led
to decline in school enrollments and increased
child malnutrition; reduced the life expectancy
of the average Niger-Delta inhabitant to 40
years compared to 54.5 years national
average; and brought about an increase in the
consumption of contaminated food with high
levels of traceable metals and hydrocarbons.
Furthermore, the NNRC noted that the
advent of bush refineries has caused unrest
and threat of violence due to struggle for
control rights and high registration fees; while
control rights infighting has led to arms
proliferation among rival gangs.
The NNRC disclosed that these criminal
gangs enjoy support from locals due to under
development of the region and
minimal government support
and infrastructure; while it alleged
complicity by highly
placed civilians and military
personnel who secure release
of arrested vandals.
It added that crude oil theft
had engendered loss of
economic activities and jobs to
neighbouring countries due to
insecurity, displacement of civilians
due to clashes between
militants and military forces,
with their properties destroyed
during clashes. Professor
Obafemi Ajibola, Managing
Director/Chief Executive Officer of New Nigerian
Foundation, NNF, maintained that every
Nigerian should be interested in putting an end
to the menace, because it is a national issue that
affects everyone and involves loss of lives.
He said: “These revenue losses and environmental
effects are significant and should not be
overlooked. In addition, oil theft has become an
enterprise involving institutions, security personnel,
criminals and communities, and because it
has a value chain, it does not respond to one line
of intervention.”
A social development consultant, Mr. Niyi
Awodeyi, noted that most of the children in the
Niger Delta, instead of focusing on their
education, are attracted to the crude oil theft
business. To curb crude oil theft in the country,
NOSDRA chief executive, Idris Musa advocated
more resources and tools for security operatives
to perform their work effectively as well as the
periodic transfer of security operatives to avoid
getting influenced by oil thieves and proper orientation
for security operatives to minimise corruption.
He also called for the real-life satellite monitoring/surveillance
programmes for crude oil and
replacement of ageing pipelines and other facilities.
Replacement of
ageing pipelines
Musa highlighted the need for a national
database of oil fingerprint, which would be linked
with such databases internationally, such as the
Eurocrude System. According to him, the national
database of oil fingerprint would mark Nigerian
oil with covert molecular fuel markers that would
be virtually impossible for thieves to detect and
also allow regulators to determine if fuel sold at
dispensing stations are from illegal sources or
not.
In his suggestion for a more sustainable
approach, Musa called for the certification of
Nigerian crude oil going into the international
market, as this can track down oil thieves and
can enable the Federal Government block the
market for stolen crude, thereby serving as a
disincentive to the syndicates.
He further called for public exposure of illegal
supply network after arrest, collaboration with international
security outfits such as the Interpol to
track stolen oil, the thieves and their sponsors.
To address oil theft, the Federal Government
said it had commenced the tracking of Nigeria's
crude oil output and was currently working with
the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission,
EFCC, to track vessels illegally lifting crude oil
from the country.
It claimed it had acquired the capacity to
monitor vessels operating in Nigeria and through
its monitoring of these vessels, it had observed
irregularities in the movement of some of the
vessels mandated to lift crude oil from Nigeria.
It said the data observed from the activities and
from the movement of vessels would help
determine the various loading points of the
vessels, the dead weight of the vessels and the
volume of crude oil lifted from the country by the
vessels.
It added that the tracking programme would
be extended to the downstream sector, to
determine the volume of Premium Motor Spirit,
PMS, also known as petrol, imported into the
country; the quantity of the products brought in
by each vessels; the depots the commodity are
stored, up to the points of retail to motorists.

24 — Vanguard, Wednesday, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019
By Prince Osuagwu
The National Bureau of Sta
tistics, NBS, has just released
the telecom sector porting activities
for the second quarter of 2019,
indicating that the 4th telecom
operator 9Mobile is gaining tremendous
ground with the highest
number of subscribers porting into
its network at the end of the quarter.
9Mobile also led in quarter one,
gaining more subscribers from the
bigger networks. According to
NBS, the telecom operator which
has gone through harrowing times
from $1.2 billion loan debacle to
losing a major investor and part-
9Mobile gains 14, 469 subscribers from big operators in Q2’09 porting activities
ner Etisalat of UAE and a complicated
sales story managed to accumulate
a whopping 19,369 subscribers
in porting activities in the
quarter while just about 4,900 subscribers
left its services.
Breakdown of the statistics
showes that in April, MTN gained
3,018 subscribers and lost 942,
Glo gained 697 and lost 2,401,
Airtel gained 809 and lost 2,792
while 9mobile gained 4,017 and
lost 1,808. In May, MTN gained
3,018 and had 942 ported out of
its network, Glo gained 767 and
lost 3,013 Airtel gained 305 and
lost 5 while 9Mobile gained 6,691
and lost only 1,892
In June, MTN gained 1,524 and
lost 1,178, Glo gained 420 and lost
3,887, Airtel gained 241 and lost
73 while 9Mobile gained 8,661
and lost 1,200.
Generally, 9mobile, at the end
of the quarter, had a total of 19,369
subscribers porting into its network
while 4,900 subscribers left
to other networks. It was followed
by MTN which gained a total
number of 7,560 subscribers while
3,062 subscribers left. Also, Glo
gained a total of 1,884 subscribers
and lost 9,301. Airtel gained a
total of 1,355 subscribers while
losing 2,870 subscribers
It means that while 9Mobile
and MTN gained 14, 469 and
4,498 subscribers respectively at
the end of June 2019, in porting
activities, Globacom and Airtel
lost ,7, 417 and 1,515 subscribers
respectively at the end of the quarter.
Although 9Mobile gained tremendously
in porting activities
for the quarter, statistics also
showed that at the end of the quarter,
MTN still leads the pack in
total subscription with a total of
65,142,166 subscribers. This is
followed by Glo with 46,594,981
and Airtel with 45,929,995, while
9Mobile still takes the back seat
with 15,965,250 subscribers. The
figures put the total number of
subscribers in the telecom industry
at 173,632,392 at the end of
June 2019.
Meanwhile, Industry experts say
the statistics appear a verdict by
the subscribers and therefore,
while the operators who gained
subscribers are working to increase
the tally, those who lost subscribers
should use the opportunity
to reflect on where they went
wrong and tweak their services towards
regaining lost grounds.
Why ICT may double
petroleum contribution
to Nigeria’s GDP by 2021
By Prince Osuagwu,
Hi-Tech Editor
THE Oil sector has been
the mainstay of Nigerian
economy for a long time, but it
appears the growing influence
of the Information and Communications
Technology, ICT
sector, is going to change the
narratives.
Recent figures released by
the National Bureau of Statistics,
NBS puts ICT contribution
to the Gross Domestic
Product, GDP to 13.8 percent
as against that of petroleum 8.8
percent . Going by these figures,
the Minister of Communications,
Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim
Pantami, has predicted that
the ICT sector will not only
replace the oil sector as the
mainstay of the economy, but
will, in two years double what
it contributes to the GDP..
The Minister spoke at the
ongoing session of the International
Telecommunications
Union ITU Telecom World
2019, in Budapest, Hungary.
As the leader of Nigerian
delegation to the annual
event, Pantami said that the
government wants to sustain
the steady growth of ICT in the
country which underscores the
need for Nigeria to make
strong showing at events like
the ITU World.
He said such reputable ICT
events will enable delegates to
network and get the best ideas
which they will put into best
practice on getting back to
their respective countries.
He promised that the Nigerian
delegate to the event will
take time to put all of the ideas
gotten from several meetings
and networking, into good use
towards the development of
the country.
The Minister commended
the Nigerian Communications
Commission, NCC, for successfully
putting together Nigeria’s
participation and told
the delegates to maximise the
opportunity provided by the
attendance by thinking global
and acting local.
He said: “I want to
thank the NCC for organising
the Nigeria’s participation
to this very important
event. The effort
is highly commendable.
We hope the tempo will
be sustained.
“I’ve been saying it and
I’ll repeat it again that the
future of the world is in ICT.
It is a privilege to be part of
this sector and at the same
time to be with the stakeholders
of the ICT in Nigeria. If
you look at it critically, and
most importantly the recent
statistics released by the
NBC, it will tell you that the
future is indeed in the ICT. So
this is a clear indication that
at the pace ICT is growing in
Nigeria, most probably in the
next two to three years, the
contribution of the ICT to the
GDP will, at least, double that
of oil sector. This is a country
that was relying so much on
oil sector. But today the oil sector
is not even neighbours as
the gap between the two is
wide. ICT contributes 13 percent
as against eight bythe
I’ve been
saying it and
I’ll repeat it
again that the
future of the
world is in ICT
oil
sector.
The credit
should however
go to every
stakeholder in
the sector including
a
driver.”
The Chairman,
NCC’s
Board, Sena
t o r
Olabiyi
Durojaiye
c o m -
mended
the Minister
for
his wise
counsel
even as
the Executive
Vice
Chairman of the NCC, Prof
Umar Garba Danbatta, told the
Minister that the commission
has provided information on
what agencies under Ministry
of Communications are
busy doing to grow
the ICT sector in
Nigeria.
Nigeria’s delegation
to Budapest
included the Nigerian
Ambassador
to Hungary.
Ms Eniola
Olaitan Ajay,
Chairman, NCC
Board, Senator
Olabiyi Durojaiye,
Former
Chairman
NCC Board,
Alhaji Ahmad
Joda, Director
General National
Information
Technology
Development
Agency,
NITDA,
Mallam Kashifu
Inuwa
Ibrahim,
NCC
Commissioner, Mr Clem
Baiye, among others.
C
M
Y
K

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019
It is cheaper to consign cargoes through Eastern ports — Agents, Importers
By Godwin Oritse
THE perennial traffic
gridlock in the Lagos
ports access roads has created
massive opportunities for cargo
operations in the Eastern ports
of the Nigerian Ports Authority,
NPA, as more importers are
now consigning their cargoes to
that region for cost
effectiveness.
Findings by Vanguard
Maritime Report revealed that
while it costs between
N1.3million and N1.5million to
transport a 20ft container from
Lagos ports to the Eastern flank
of the country, it costs about
N650,000 to move a container
from the Port Harcourt port to
Lagos.
Speaking to Vanguard
Maritime Report, a licensed
Customs agents Mr. Vincent
Kekereogo, who has abandoned
the Lagos ports for Eastern ports
said the number of days it take
a container to exit any port in
Lagos involves considerable
costs on both the importer,
transporter and agent.
Kekereogo said that it takes
far more time for vessels to drop
containers at the Lagos
terminals, get processed for
Customs clearance before they
are loaded on vehicles for
delivery, noting that what an
importer pays as demurrage on
a container in Lagos was
enough to clear his goods in Port
Harcourt port.
The seasoned Customs
agents said that terminal
operators in Lagos were
exploiting importers by
imposing all sorts of arbitrary
charges on containers, adding:
“A normal freight from China to
Lagos is between $2,800 and
$3,400 for 20 feet container but
from China to Port Harcourt it
Continues on Page 2
maritimerepor6005@gmail.com
By Godwin Oritse
THE Nigerian Ports
Authority, NPA, has
indicated that the
fractionalisation of its pension
associations was driven by a
fight over the one percent
check-off dues on the estimated
N8.4 billion annual pension
payments accruable to retirees
of the organisation.
Speaking to Vanguard
Maritime Report on the crisis,
General Manager,
Superannuation Fund of the
NPA, Comrade Isa Suwaid,
said some money has been
given to the interim leadership
of the association noting that
NPA’s management would like
to know how they spent the
money.
Resolution of
the crisis
He stated: “Three groups are
fighting over this money, we will
like to know what they actually
do with this money”. He said
the management has been
trying to resolve the crisis within
the association adding that it
will continue to do so until a
truce was reached.
Speaking to Vanguard
Maritime Report on the
development, the secretary
general who claimed that he
was the authentic leader of the
Nigerian Ports Authority
Pensioners Welfare Association,
NPAPWA, Mr. Godwin
Nwigwe, said that long after
VOl. 2 No. 60
More controversy over NPA pension money
•Fresh election for a new exco underway — NPA
the court judgments, none of
them has appealed adding that
only one aspect of the judgment
was executed.
Nwigwe said: “That aspect of
the judgment that was executed
is the handing over of assets of
the association to an interim
caretaker committee headed by
Comrade Ali Umoru which now
claims to be the leader of the
group.”
It was also gathered that the
NPA describes the election that
brought Mr. Charles Binitie led
executive as illegal but Nwigwe
challenged the NPA
management to decide the
legality of the election of its
pensioners.
He said: “A court of competent
jurisdiction ordered that an
election be held and over 5,000
retirees voted the people of their
choice only for NPA to say that
it will neither accept the result
of the election nor recognize the
elected executives. You can see
that NPA is the one stoking the
fire of division amongst the
retirees”.
The Board of Trustees of the
Continues on Page 2

2
NEWS
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019
maritimerepor6005@gmail.com
•From left: Mr. Wole Gege, Vice Chairman; Mr. Chuks Igana; and Dr. Ignatius Uche of the
Port Facility Security Officer, PFSO, during the Forum’s monthly in Lagos.
NEXIM seeks Navy support on sealink
project, inland waterways operation
By Evelyn Usman
THE Managing Director
of the Nigerian Export–
Import Bank, NEXIM, Mr. Abba
Bello, has solicited partnership,
support and cooperation of the
Nigerian Navy towards
facilitating the regional Sealink
Project, internal waterways
operation and coastal trade.
Bello, who received the Chief
of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral
Ibok-Ete Ibas, on a courtesy visit,
identified the areas of support and
cooperation to include
involvement of the Navy
Hydrography Department in the
proposed survey of the lower
River Niger and River Benue
with the submission of data
collected to the Navy
Hydrography Department for
chart publishing.
Other areas, according to him,
included provision of security
support for safe navigation along
the trade routes/channels and
development of a mutually
beneficial partnership framework
to use the Naval Dockyard
Limited for servicing/repairs of
Sealink operated vessels, design
and construction of barges.
He added that the partnership
would also include recruitment of
retired naval personnel.
In response, Vice Admiral Ibas
underscored the commitment of
the Nigerian Navy to the security
of the nation’s waterways
following the establishment of
NNS LUGARD at Lokoja and
Naval Outposts at Onitsha and
NIWA debunks media reports on
leadership crisis
By Godwin Oritse
FOLLOWING
the
appointment of the
immediate past Managing
Director of the National Inland
Waterways Authority, NIWA,
Senator Olorunimbe Mamora as
Minister of the Federal Republic,
Mr. Danladi Ibrahim has taken
over as Managing Director of the
agency on an acting capacity.
A statement by the General
Manager, Corporate Affairs of
NIWA, Mr. Tayo Fadile, said
there was no truth in the media
report about leadership crisis in
the agency adding that there was
no leadership vacuum after
Senator Olorunimbe’s exit from
the agency.
Fadile said that the former
managing director officially
handed over to Danladi Ibrahim
who had acted as Managing
Director of NIWA before now. He
said that Danladi will act until the
Federal Government appoints a
substantive managing director.
Part of the statement read: “We
have read some maritime
publications and stories on the
social media platforms alleging
that there is crisis or lacuna at the
National Inland Waterways
Authority. This is not true and
readers should not believe the
false stories making the rounds
in the public space. The exmanaging
director, Senator
Mamora Olorunimbe officially
handed over the mantle of
leardership to Barrister Danladi
Ibrahim, who was the acting
managing director of NIWA.
“The office is calm and all
general managers are working
harmoniously with the acting
managing director. Barrister
Danladi Ibtrahim will remain the
acting managing director until the
Federal Government appoints a
substantive managing director for
the authority. The general public
should please take note that any
narrative contrary to what is stated
here is false and should be
ignored”.
Idah.
He also mentioned the
prospects for the establishment of
other Nigerian Navy outposts
along the nation’s major inland
waters, particularly at Oguta and
Shagunu in Imo and Niger states
respectively.
Ibas who recalled the existing
Nigerian Navy’s collaboration
with other agencies of
government including the
National Inland Waterways
More controversy over NPA pension money
Continues from page 1
association has lost three out of
its four members to death,
leaving Engr Godwin Okafor,
as the only survivor, who
conducted an Annual General
Meeting after which an election
was held where Binitie was
elected as National President of
NPAPWA. Last week, both the
Umoru and Binitie led factions
were guests of the Police in
Lagos to explain their role in
the crisis rocking the
association.
In his reaction, spokesman of
the agency, Mr. Adams Jatto,
said he was not aware of the
pensioners crisis adding that he
will investigate and get back to
our correspondent.
Also speaking, Binitie
explained that once a staff
retires, that person
automatically becomes a
member of the NPAPWA, a claim
that was debunked by the Lagos
State Branch of the NPAPWA
which believe the retiree must
register as a pensioner to be a
member of NPAPWA.
Binitie explained that when
both the Federal and Lagos
High Court suspended the
leadership of the NPAPWA in
2013, the accounts of the
Authority, NIWA and Nigerian
Maritime Administration and
Safety Agency, NIMASA,
advocated for the articulation of a
memorandum of understanding
between the Nigerian Navy and
NEXIM/NIWA towards the
proposed collaboration on the
Regional Sealink Project.
He assured Bello of Navy’s
capacity to support the project in
the areas of production of
appropriate navigational charts
for the nation’s inland waterways
and support in the dredging
operations.
Other areas are in the provision
of necessary security to cover the
entire project and construction of
barges for inland waterways
movement at the Naval Dockyard
Limited and Naval Shipyard
Limited.
The Regional Sealink Project is
an initiative of the NEXIM on the
prompting of Organized Private
Sector, OPS.
The project is designed to bridge
maritime transport infrastructure
gap among ECOWAS member
states, as well as promote inland
waterways operations.
It is expected to facilitate intraregional
trade and reduction of
non-tariff measures, regional
integration/reduction in logistics
cost and promotion of inland
waterways and intra-coastal trade
especially in facilitating
movement of bulk commodities,
e.g. solid minerals.
The Sealink Project has been
endorsed and adopted by the
ECOWAS Commission as one of
its priority projects under the
ECOWAS Community
Development Programmes and is
also co-opted into the Nigerian
Fleet Implementation Committee,
NFIC.
association was also suspended
and as such deductions from
retirees’ accounts could not be
effected adding that it was at
this time he was elected
president of the group.
Explaining further, Binitie
said his inability to pay his check
off dues was what the
management of NPA was now
using against him and denying
him the leadership of the
association.
Leadership of
the association
Meanwhile the Lagos State
chapter of the NPAPWA led Mr.
Ganiyu Makanjuola is also
moving against the Binitie
elected executive saying the
election that brought him as
president did not have the
management of NPA in
attendance.
In his reaction, Comrade Ali
Umoru confirmed that his
leadership group was an
interim one as he disclosed that
new elections will be held before
the end of this year. Umoru also
told Vanguard Maritime
Report that the Binitie led
executives were not registered
members of the NPAPWA.
It is cheaper to
consign cargoes
through Eastern
ports
— Agents, Importers
Continues from page 1
is between $3,800 to $4,000.
“The turnaround for vessels
from China to Port Harcourt is
45 days while that of Lagos is
between 30 and 35 days but
before a container is dropped
for customs examination in
Lagos, the vessel from China
would have arrived Port
Harcourt, completed her
operations and gone while that
of Lagos is still trying to find its
way out of the terminal.
“The only difference between
Port Harcourt and Lagos ports
is that you pay more in terminal
handling and shipping charges
but that again you gain in
transportation and turn-around
time. The cargo traffic in the
Eastern region is low, so the
terminal operators have all the
time in the world to handle
your cargo delivery process
efficiently.
“Efficiency is very critical in
logistics because it helps you to
plan. You can clear with
Customs in one week in Lagos
but how do you get your
container out of the terminal?
We are in a state of emergency
situation in Lagos.”
Kekereogo also disclosed that
another option was for his
containers to be consigned to
the Ikorodu Lighter Terminal
concessioned to Sapid Bonded
Terminal, stressing that about
100 containers are moved to
Ikorodu everyday by the waters
from where he takes delivery of
his customers’ goods.
It was also gathered that the
Chambers of Festus Keyamo
was engaged by the Lagos State
branch of the NPAPWA for the
legal needs of the group.
In his reaction, Godwin
Okafor, the only surviving
member of the Board of
Trustees, told Vanguard
Maritime Report that NPA was
duly invited to the annual
general meeting but the
authority refused to attend for
reasons best known to the
management.
He disclosed that the election
that brought Charles Binitie led
executive was ordered by the
court and NPA cannot reject the
result of that election. He,
however, suggested that if NPA
was not satisfied with the result
of the election, it should call for
another one.
He said: “I hope that NPA
handles the crisis with maturity.
Please tell NPA that I beg them
to intervene in the matter and
help to resolve the crisis. I am
very old now, there is little or
nothing I can do now”.
Efforts to get comments from
the Chambers of Keyamo was
futile as calls and text messages
to his phone lines were not
answered.

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019
PFSO Forum advocates review of nation’s
maritime laws
•Says sanctions for stowaways not stringent enough
By Godwin Oritse
THE Port Facility Security
Officers, PFSO, forum is
advocating for the review of the
nation’s maritime laws
particularly in the aspect of
sanctions against stowaways, an
incident that has been
reoccurring in the industry.
Speaking at the monthly
meeting of the Forum, its
chairman, Dr. Ignatius Uche,
said the incidents have also
become a source of worry for the
Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, as
it has now beamed searchlight
on the possible solution.
Uche disclosed that the Forum
has commenced moves for an
amendment to the maritime laws
in Nigeria adding that as soon
as possible, the group will
intimate the officially designated
authority, which is the Nigerian
Maritime Administration and
Safety Agency, NIMASA.
On the issue of stowaway he
NIMASA building capacity through intellectual
exercise
By Godwin Oritse
IN line with its mandate to
build human capital for the
maritime industry among young
Nigerians, the Nigerian
Maritime Administration and
Safety Agency, NIMASA, has
concluded plans to enhance the
participation of youths in its
forthcoming annual essay
competitions slated as part of
activities to commemorate the
2019 World Maritime Day.
A statement by the Head of
Public Relation and deputy
director, Mr. Isichei Osamgbi,
said the competition was
instituted to encourage youth
participation in the maritime
sector.
According to Osamgbi, the
Director General of the Agency,
Dr. Dakuku Peterside, described
the youth as the future of the
sector adding that NIMASA
would continue to do all it can
to encourage them to pursue
careers and investment
opportunities in the maritime
industry after graduation.
Speaking about the topic and
prizes for winners of the essay
competition, Osamgbi quoted
Peterside as saying that this
year’s topic for the essay
competition will be
“Empowering Women in the
Maritime Community”, in line
with the theme of the 2019
World Maritime Day
celebration.
He added that the winner
would go home with N500,000
educational grant and a laptop
while the winning essay would
be published in the NIMASA
magazine, The Voyage.
Osamgbi further disclosed
that the first and second runners
up would get educational
grants worth N350,000 and
N250,000 respectively as well
as laptops while consolation
prizes of N100,000 would be
given as educational grants to
seven other runners up.
It will be recalled that during
the last three years, NIMASA
has organized this essay
competition as part of the
activities to celebrate the world
maritime day.
Regulations & Policies 3
maritimerepor6005@gmail.com
stated: “The laws on stowaways
need amendment if the menace
of stowaway is to be curbed in
our maritime environment.”
He noted that the international
laws provide for enough
protection for them and for them
to be handled based on
international best practice.
The PFSO of ENL Terminal,
Clement Akomah, said that the
need for the Forum to push for
stringent measures to be put in
place in line with the ISPS Code
to checkmate the recurring trends
of stowaway cases on our
maritime domain cannot be
overemphasized. It was also
suggested that the Forum should
push for a bill through NIMASA
to the National Assembly on
challenges posed by stowaways.
Although, there are
unconfirmed reports that the NPA
has set up a six-man committee
to look into the menace of
stowaways with a view to finding
a permanent solution to the
problem, a source close to the
PFSOs could not give details of
the committees activities.
. . . calls for maritime trust fund
Meanwhile, the PFSO Forum
has called for a maritime trust
fund with a view to further
securing the Nigerian maritime
industry.
Uche said that maritime
business was big business
adding that the government
alone cannot fund the security
aspect of it. He said: “There is a
need for all stakeholders to come
together to fund a maritime
security trust fund that will be
used to train security personnel,
buy equipment amongst security
needs of the maritime industry.”
From left: Mr Paul Maduagwu, Public Relations Officer; Mr. Akinbote Akinbode, Financial Secretary; Mr. Charles Binitie,
President; Barrister Robert Anyibama, Legal Adviser; and Mr. Godwin Nwigwe, General Secretary of the Binitie led Executive of
the Nigerian Ports Authority Pensioners Welfare Association, NPAPWA at a meeting in Lagos.
Customs moves to halt re-examination of cargoes outside ports
By Oko Ebuka
IN a bid to resolve the
chaotic situation arising
from cargo examinations and reexaminations
within and outside
the ports, the Nigerian Customs
Service, NCS, may have
decided that no consignment
will be subjected to further
examination once it officially
exits the ports.
But it appears that a section of
the Customs have refused to
comply as Vanguard Maritime
Report saw some Customs
officials stopping and ordering
containers on trucks to be opened
for re-examination on Lagos
roads and even other locations
outside Lagos.
Assistant Comptroller General,
ACG, Zone ‘A’, Nigerian
Customs Service, NCS, Kaycee
Ekekezie, lamented that the
unfortunate interceptions of
properly exited cargoes on the
highways, especially at Area ‘B’
or Leventis area of Apapa, Lagos
were in contravention of certain
decisions of the NCS.
She also indicted the Federal
Operations Unit, FOU, Zone ‘A’
operatives in the immediate
vicinity of especially Ports and
Terminal Multi-services Limited,
PTML Command, on this
contravention, adding that it
brings bad image to the
Customs.
She stated: “The practice does
not augur well for the public
image of Nigeria Customs
Service, which are ordinarily
perceived as working at cross
purposes with their colleagues
inside the terminals, rather than
sharing intelligence. If
anything, proper, convincing
checks ought to have been done
inside the Ports/terminals before
cargoes are finally exited from
the ports”.
Ekekezie, who said these at a
roundtable discussion with
Association of Nigerian Licensed
Customs Agents, ANLCA,
Western Zone, equally added
that the Comptroller General of
Customs, CGC, Col. Hameed
Ibrahim Ali (retd), has zero
tolerance for officer’s
indiscretion, which he
personally sanctions as soon as
such are brought to his notice.

4
Terminals & Ships
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019
maritimerepor6005@gmail.com
NAFDAC to
automate
payment for
cargo inspection
By Oko Ebuka &
Gideon Nnaemezie
THE National Agency
for Food, Drug
Administration and Control,
NAFDAC, has automated
the payment process for its
cargo inspection in order to
reduce delays in cargo
clearance.
Speaking on this
development, Director,
Ports Inspection Directorate,
PID, NAFDAC, Professor
Samson Tunde Adebayo,
said that the automation
exercise is the only panacea
to the problem of
consignment delays in the
port.
Adebayo, who disclosed
this while receiving
members of the Association
of Nigerian Licensed
Customs Agents, ANLCA,
Western Zone Chapter, on
a courtesy visit, added that
mechanisms are being put
in place presently to
automate all processes in
NAFDAC, which is one of
the core agenda of the
Director General, NAFDAC,
Mojisola Christiana
Adeyeye, in order to
drastically reduce human
interfaces and minimize
corruption at the Agency.
He stated: “The process is
automated to the extent that
once all payments and
queries are attended to, the
consignment is
automatically released.
What is likely to cause
delays, may be some
administrative procedures
that were not perfected
before expecting releases.”
Responding, the Zonal
Coordinator, Western Zone
Chapters of ANLCA,
Comrade John DanKatsina
Ofobike, praised
NAFDAC as they make
efforts to reduce the
hardships encountered by
the members of the
association as he assured
their readiness to facilitate
the execution of NAFDAC’s
mandate in checkmating
the inflow of illegal drugs
and unwholesome
substances into Nigeria.
By Oko Ebuka
THE Council for the
Regulation of Freight
Forwarding in Nigeria,
CRFFN, has denied inserting
the feasibility study of
Ozubulu Bonded Terminal in
the 2019 appropriation budget.
The proposed study for the
development of the terminal
•L-R: Prince Bola Ajibola, Chairman, Senior Citizens Care Foundation; Oba Olusanya Dosunmu, Olowu of Owu and Chairman,
SIFAX group; Barr (Dr.) Taiwo Afolabi (MON), Group Executive Vice Chairman, SIFAX Group and Jide Taiwo, Executive
Director, Senior Citizens Care Foundation during the induction of Afolabi as an Ambassador for the Rights and Care of Elderly
in Nigeria by the foundation in Lagos.
Shippers’ Council checkmating shipping
companies, terminal operators — Hassan Bello
By Godfrey Bivbere
EXECUTIVE Secretary/
Chief Executive Officer
of the Nigerian Shippers
Council, NSC, Hassan Bello,
has said that the Council was
working hard to checkmate
shipping companies and
terminal operators against
unfair and unauthorised
charges that added to the cost
of shipping in the country.
He made the remarks in
statement at the just concluded
summit on unfair surcharges
and high local shipping
charges levied by
multinational shipping
companies. Bello noted that
though there has been some
level of success, the Council’s
efforts have been met with
some challenges also.
Noting the importance of the
summit, he said it was for the
Union of African Shippers
Council, UASC, member states
to have a deep reflection on
these arbitrary charges with a
view to determine how it can
technically address the
unwholesome practices and
subtly reverse the trend.
Bello stated: “I believe we
are all very enthusiastic about
our gathering here today,
because our discussion
bothers on reducing cost of
doing business at out ports to
the minimum for healthy
competition with ports all over
the world.
“The UASC member states
must collectively work as a
bloc to remove unfriendly
policies or circumstances that
the shipping companies relied
upon for arbitrary increases of
their charges. Some of the
identified surcharges have
been prevalent in the subregion
under various
nomenclatures such as the
peak season surcharge and
war risk surcharge to mention
a few.
“According to the United
Nations Conference on Trade
and Development, UNCTAD,
surcharges are supposed to be
temporary measures by
shipping lines involved in the
shipment of goods worldwide
to address peculiar challenges
of shipping at their
destinations which are subject
to removal when the situation
normalizes.
“The Nigerian Shippers’
Council has been checkmating
the shipping companies
operating in Nigeria on the
move to impose charges
without due consultation with
relevant stakeholders in the
port industry in Nigeria. We
have a pending case in court
because we asked the
shipping companies to revert
to an agreed negotiated rates
of some services, after they
had unilaterally increased the
charges.
“We are not opposed to
alternative dispute resolution
CRFFN disowns N100m budget for Ozubulu bonded terminal feasibility study
which will cost N100 million
was added in the 2019
appropriation budget with
Code number ERGP90101727.
The Registrar and Chief
Executive Officer, CEO,
CRFFN, Samuel Nwakohu,
said the Council was not aware
of the provision in the 2019
budget and vowed not to
execute the project, on
grounds it could be an error.
He stated: “I know what you
are talking about, have you
ever made a mistake in your
life? I’m sure whoever put it
there, put it there in error
because it has nothing to do
with us.
“It is not part of our mandate,
I know nothing about it, we
have seen it and we have
discussed it and we will
definitely ignore it. We are not
going to award it. Another way
to ignore it is what we call
“corrigendum”, which is a
long process and I don’t want
to go that way.
“Some people have even
called me names that I’m a
fraudster whereas I know
nothing about it.”
mechanisms to ensure that
there is continuous cordial
business relationship. The
shipping companies capitalize
on the absence of indigenous
shipping companies in most
West and Central African
Countries to unilaterally fix
rates that are only convenient
to them without considering
the adverse effects these
arbitrary charges have on the
economy of their host
countries.
Arbitrary
charges
“The Shippers’ Councils of
member States are expected to
negotiate any increase of any
charge with the service
providers before they are
implemented, but it is obvious
that the shipping companies
do not follow this procedure.”
Bello urged participants at
the event to strategize on all
the measures that can be put
in place to address this trend
that is not only injurious to our
economies, but also leading to
high cost of doing business at
our ports and limiting the
growth of our indigenous
shipping companies.
The NSC boss pointed out
that concrete resolutions
would be adopted on how to
address the unfair and high
charges of shipping
companies at our ports in the
interest of our maritime
industry.

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019
maritimerepor6005@gmail.com
Customs & Imports
5
OPERATION EX-SWIFT RESPONSE
Customs boss under fire for alleged demeaning Customs’ hierarchy
By Eguono Odjegba
COMPTROLLER General
of Customs, CGC, Col.
Hameed Ali (retd) has come
under criticisms for allegedly
cheapening the hierarchy of the
Nigerian Customs Service,
NCS, against the military.
The criticisms come on the
heels of the ongoing joint
customs-military-para military
operations at the nation’s land
borders, in which the Customs
boss deployed assistant
comptroller generals into the
field, to work with military
middle level officers,
considered to be of the
equivalent rank of deputy
comptrollers of Customs.
The decision, they contend,
amounts to a deliberate effort to
demean the Nigeria Customs
Service, arguing that Ali’s
military background has
made as I speak with you. If
you know ACG Abubakar well,
you will appreciate that he is
a stickler to due process and
not somebody to go outside the
schedule of the CGC.”
Meanwhile, the assignment
code named ‘Operation Ex-
Swift Response’ according to
official explanation has been
designed to checkmate entry
of foreign rice, illegal
migration, arms and
ammunition into the country.
The operation has been
dogged by controversy as
Nigeria has since come under
ECOWAS sub regional
scrutiny over her alleged
unilateral decision to partially
or totally close a sub regional
border without recourse to
ECOWAS member states;
believed to have been caught
panting under the
circumstances.
A security expert who
prefers to remain anonymous
described the border joint
operation as a case of
executive rascality and sheer
official overzealousness.
He said: “I was listening to
their explanation on
television, where the Customs
spokesman said the operation
was coordinated by the Office
of the National Security
Adviser, ONSA, and I began
to wonder when the ONSA
became the commander-in-
continued to reflect in his
handling of the Customs. Critics
said this accounts for the
lowering of morale in the
Service.
A retired Customs comptroller
who spoke under condition of
anonymity said: “The greatest
challenge in the Customs
service in recent time is the
attempt to degrade the Service
against the military. It is killing
motivation, killing efficiency
and productivity.
“Don’t take my words for it;
carry out a survey as a journalist.
There is a design to make
Customs function beneath the
military. Just imagine deploying
assistant comptroller generals,
equivalent to army major
generals to the field to work with
officers of the rank of Colonel,
Navy Captain and
Commodore. That is demeaning
because they are equivalent to
Border closures gain traction in the North West Customs command
By Eguono Odjegba
CONTRARY to raging
debates on the partial
closure of Nigeria’s land
borders nationwide, the border
stations in the North West may
have stepped up compliance,
with cargo and human traffic
being subjected to thorough
checks.
Information at the disposal
of Vanguard Maritime
Report indicates that the
sector led by the Coordinator
of Customs Zone B, Assistant
Comptroller General Abubakar
Bashir, held strategy review
meetings last week in Katsina
to appraise performance so far.
Sources close to the office of
the coordinator said: “They
meet regularly to evaluate
their performance, fashion out
more friendly strategies to
continue to implement their
mandate, with zero tolerance
for failure.”
But asked what major or
significant seizures have been
made since the beginning of
the exercise, the source said:
“The assignment is not
focused on seizure, it is
focused on blocking economic
sabotage such as bringing in
foreign rice, and in
checkmating entry of arms and
ammunition.
“Of course seizures have
been made and still being
chief of the Armed Forces.
“You see, there is a
procedure for security
operations, much more an
important one that affects
border closure. Border closure
is a big deal, do you know
what it is to close a sub
regional border? Sovereign
states are involved;
international trading countries
are involved, it is not what you
Aminu Dahiru Customs Assistant Comptroller General in charge of Enforcement, Investigation
and Inspection with Col. AM Haruna of Nigerian Army during a visit to Ilesha Ibaruba Chikanda
Border axis of Kwara state as part of “Operation Ex Swift Response” aimed at strengthening
border security nationwide
just wake up and you fancy
you need to do this, no. The
president and commander-inchief
of the Armed Forces must
be adequately communicated
and his consent gotten. There
are those who will argue that
President Buhari was carried
along, I have my reservation
that he was adequately
carried along.”
deputy comptrollers of
Customs.”
Also speaking on the CGC’s
perceived disregard for the
Customs hierarchy, a maritime
analyst who also declined to be
mentioned said: “In the military
and para-military services,
management chiefs don’t
operate on the fields. They
engage on visitation and
oversight assessment of specific
assignments. Certain ranks are
reserved for field operations and
certain ranks for management
roles, there is no basis to mix
them up.
“The Customs boss is doing
what he is doing because he
has no regard for the Customs
hierarchy. I am not saying he
hates the Customs, I am saying
he lacks respect for it and this
assignment has clearly
demonstrated that. Show me in
any military collaborations in
which a major general works
with a deputy comptroller of
Customs, Immigration or
Prisons?”, he asked.
ETLS aimed at elimination of Customs duties, taxes
—Ministry
By Naomi Uzor
THE Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, has said that the
objective of ECOWAS Trade
Liberalization Scheme, ETLS, is
to establish a Customs Union
among all Member States
aimed at total elimination of
Customs duties and taxes of
equivalent effect, removal of
tariff barriers and the
establishment of common
customs polices without barriers
to promote trade and seamless
movement of goods and
services within the West African
region.
Speaking at a one day
sensitization workshop on ETLS
organised by the Lagos
Chamber of Commerce and
Industry, LCCI, the Permanent
Secretary, Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, Mustapha Suleiman,
said the Ministry viewed the
ETLS as a very critical
mechanism in achieving
sustainable integration and
development in the sub-region.
The Governor of Lagos State,
Babatunde Sanwo-Olu, said the
workshop could not have been
more apt as it should open corps
of Lagos entrepreneurs to the
opportunities inherent in the
free trade.
Sanwo-Olu who was
represented by the special
adviser on Commerce, Industry
and Cooperatives, Hon.
Oladele Ajayi, noted that the
ETLS was important as it not
only
encourages
entrepreneurial development in
the ECOWAS region, but also
increases intra-regional trade,
boosts economic activities,
increases West African
competitiveness on the global
market and increases GDP of
members states for the better
welfare of citizens.
“Undoubtedly, our dear Lagos
State and Nigeria would benefit
tremendously when all
indigenous businesses thrive. I
am, therefore, glad to assure all
our resilient entrepreneurs of
the state government’s support
in ensuring that you continually
receive necessary support
towards maximizing the
potentials and benefits of the
ETLS” he said.
The President of LCCI, Mr.
Babatunde Ruwase said with
the recent global developments
around trade issues, as well as
the recent developments
regarding the African
Continental Free Trade
Agreement, AfCFTA, which
Nigeria has already signed, it
has become necessary for all
stakeholders to come together
and discuss on the progress
made so far on ETLS as well as
the challenges facing its
implementation within the
region.
“You will agree with me,
therefore, that a forum such as
this is not only necessary but
very timely, bearing in mind that
the AfCFTA fully recognises
regional trade agreements like
the ETLS and also rides on such
agreements for its successful
actualisation. Lessons learned
from our experience with the
ETLS would be very useful as
we progress with the AfCFTA”
he said.
Ruwase who was represented
by Mrs. Toki Mabogunje noted
that LCCI believes strongly that
Nigeria stands to benefit from
the ELTS if member states within
the region work towards its
successful implementation.
“This is a major justification
for a forum like this, which
provides the opportunity for
stakeholders to assess the
scheme, highlight current
challenges or constraints and
proffer possible suggestions
that can make the scheme work
better to benefit the nation and
the entire member states within
the sub region.
“It is, therefore, my hope that
the outcome of our deliberations
at this forum will help contribute
towards the attainment of the
goal of deepening intraregional
trade within ECOWAS
and laying a solid foundation
for the AfCFTA” he said.

6
Corporate Report
Foreigners taking
advantage of our
human capacity
gap — Umezurike
Engr. Austin Umezurike is the President of the alumni
of the Maritime Academy of Nigeria, MAN Oron,
AMANO. A consultant professional marine engineer,
Umezurike, in this interview with Vanguard Maritime
Report takes a critical look at challenges confronting the
nation’s maritime education system, with its spillover
effects on the labour market. Excerpt:
By Eguono Odjegba
AS President of AMANO and
a professional in seafaring,
what would you say are the
immediate challenges of the
industry?
Not having a pipeline of ready,
qualified seafarers to take up those
roles is very disturbing. So, the first
challenge is the lack of vessels, where
stranded ex-cadets can take up their
training. For maritime cadets who
aspire to work as seafarers, sea time
opportunity is very, very important
because you cannot go and sit for your
certificate of competency
examination without the required sea
time and this vary for different
categories of seafarers; whether you
are in navigation, engineering and
also whether you have attended the
traditional maritime education in
Oron or elsewhere…because if you
didn’t attend a place like MAN Oron
and you have been working on your
own, maybe you left the university and
didn’t study maritime but manage to
get onboard a vessel and started say,
as a deck engine oiler, then you
require a longer sea time of 36
months for you to sit for your certificate
of competency examination. But with
your academic HND or ND
qualification in maritime studies, that
time is reduced maybe 24 months for
engineers, maybe you require 12 to
18 months, it depends on the level.
So are you saying the challenges
of sea time training arrangement of
cadets started with the sinking of our
NNLS?
You can say that, yes, because we
no longer have any vessel. After that
sad development, cadets started
having trouble where to do their sea
time. Over time, only the children of
privileged Nigerians or those with the
right connections got assistance to do
their sea time, the majority of cadets
became stranded, some ended up
roaming the streets, some ended up
been okada riders. It’s very
frustrating.
How is it done in Egypt and
Ghana?
In Egypt government makes
provision for a training vessel for the
maritime academy and also works
in collaboration with private
shipping companies to allocate
spaces for cadets. In Ghana, I am not
so sure how they do it but I do know
that they have relationship with
international shipping companies
with a memorandum of
understanding, MoU, for Ghanaian
cadets to secure spaces in their
vessels.
So in Egypt and Ghana, there are
no cases of stranded cadets as we
have in Nigeria?
I am not sure, but again, I have
heard that in Ghana placements of
cadets is strictly government duty, its
official. Egypt is even more
organized, yes; you can say the
situation is mainly Nigeria.
Why are we not having similar
arrangement here?
I don’t know why it has been
difficult. To be frank with you, back
in 2013 I got involved with an agency
called Global Onboard Training
Company, GOTC, it is affiliated to
the International Maritime
Organisation, IMO, and their drive
is to ensure that stranded cadets have
respite for their full sea time. During
that time, I think we made effort with
our branch representative in UK to
bring Nigeria into the GOTC. I think
it reached an advanced stage with
MAN Oron and the Transport
Ministry. I think MAN, NIMASA
actually became part of GOTC but
unfortunately, the whole arrangement
collapsed, it could not work out. Later
in 2017 GOTC actually invited me to
South Africa to deliver a paper on
their maiden Onboard Training for
seafarers. We tried again to reestablish
moves to get Nigeria
onboard, we reached out to the
authorities; that was the time MAN
Oron was undergoing transition, you
know the interim management
committee, IMC, was appointed, so
we made efforts whether they can
reactivate their participation in
GOTC. That also failed.
Why were such positive
arrangements failing at every stage
despite the benefits Nigeria stood
to gain?
I think that it boils down to what is
called the Nigerian factor because the
process of getting government to key
into such things require reaching the
highest level, which is ministry of
transport to get them involved. But if
you are not able to access these
authorities it is difficult for you to
break through. It is very frustrating
to see that our maritime industry
labour-wise is really suffering and yet
nothing is been done actually to
address the challenges. Just yesterday
we were talking about the Nigerian
Maritime University, NMU, and
about why the President didn’t accent
to the bill and we were saying what is
important to have a maritime
university, because that’s the trend
globally. These days, it takes care of
the senior or corporate management
level manpower development; a lot
more down the line, not just the
traditional deck and engine
certificate of competency because of
the advancement in technology. So
other courses are been incorporated,
so instead of getting an ND or HND
you get a degree in various discipline
in maritime, oil and gas. So aspiring
for degree courses in these fields is
good and even upgrading MAN Oron
to a degree award giving academy
like the NDA, NITT. So if a cadet
comes out after four years even if he
maritimerepor6005@gmail.com
•Engr. Austin Umezurike ,President of the alumni of the
Maritime Academy of Nigeria, MAN Oron
cannot go to sea to continue maritime
career, technically, he can go to other
fields as long as he has that degree.
But that’s the limiting factor for some
of our cadets, once they fail to secure
sea time, they are caught in the
middle of nowhere and get stuck, they
are not marketable or employable.
Going back to the issue of why
government is not doing that, if you
do not have a proper structure in
place, the right kind of people in policy
making and also people to be able to
implement these policies, it looks
frustrating. Now when you have an
institution like MAN Oron that has
been in existence close to 40 years and
you don’t have a systematic way of
training cadets so that at the end of
their training they can proceed further
Most of our
youths are mainly
restricted to
bunkering vessels
with supply vessels
in the oil support
services, many of
them don’t have
experience in
foreign going
vessels because
there are no local
companies with
such vessels, so it is
very frustrating
into doing their sea time, and for this
period of time nothing has been done
to arrest the situation, it is
disappointing.
Indeed, going forward…
But at the end of the day we can
complain as much as we want that
oh we are having experts coming here
to take jobs from us, but the truth is
that there is so much human capacity
gap in the maritime sector that you
may be surprised to hear this from
me that a lot of the people coming in
are coming because we lack depth,
that is the ability to fulfill the
requirements to manage our vessels.
Recently, an overseas company ask
us…we do crew and vessel
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019
management, to provide a whole
range of crew, about 21 of them to
take over a vessel in Nigeria that has
been manned by experts, very large
crew carrier, VLCC, for storage of
crude oil. We have been searching for
the past five weeks for qualified
manpower, because our maritime
labour market is mainly local,
coastal voyage. There are very few
right now who have experience
working in VLCC, most of our youths
are mainly restricted to bunkering
vessels with supply vessels in the oil
support services, many of them don’t
have experience in foreign going
vessels because there are no local
companies with such vessels, so it is
very frustrating.
Even as a journalist, I feel very
embarrassed already not to talk
about a professional in the field. But
what effort has AMANO made to
get the Nigerian policy makers and
economic drivers to get involved in
the window of opportunity provided
by GOTC to salvage our stranded
cadets.
AMANO is a very young
organization, like I said earlier we
became active only in 2014. We made
repeated efforts to access the transport
minister after an initial
correspondence to be able to present
our case. Many times we wrote to
NIMASA, NPA, you know we are not
politically connected, so we have not
been able to gain audience, but we
are not giving up. Last year July
after we had our stakeholders’
engagement, we sent a copy of the
communiqué to the minister of
transport, of course it was
acknowledged, we tried to follow up
but nothing came out of it. Ideally, to
be honest with you, AMANO is the
only maritime stakeholder with the
convergence of expertise that has
what it takes to change things in the
industry. Do you know why? Because
members of AMANO covers different
sectors of the maritime, oil and gas
industry. We have ship owners, some
of our members are crewing agents,
some work with stevedoring
companies, some are stevedores,
some are ship managers, some work
with NPA, NIMASA and the ministry
of transport…we cut across. We hope
to be able to grow stronger and come
out stronger, not for ourselves but for
the development of the industry,
because we are seeing what is
happening; we are better positioned
to present a common voice; we
understand and fell the challenges. A
lot of us complain about the lack of
correct implementation of Cabotage,
complain of poor treatment of
seafarers by vessel owners, manning
agents, by ship managers and then
on the other hand, we have amongst
us ship owners who complain of poor
attitude of local seafarers. So it is a
very big problem and sometimes, we
have to try to douse tension because
there are challenges everybody will
talk about and look for ways to resolve
them.
Is AMANO aware of the steady
backlog of abandoned projects at
MAN Oron in the past 15 years, are
you concerned?
I was at MAN Oron recently. We
went to see the rector to tell him about
our plan as alumni to want to give
back to the system through what we
call Alumni Engine Support
Program. It is about some of our
members with vast sub sectoral
experience to go back to Oron to offer
free lecture, while the academy
provides logistic support.
The rector was very ecstatic about
it; we are working on the modalities.
With regards to issue of abandoned
projects, you will be amazed at the
level of completion some of the
abandoned projects have received.
The rector have done a lot to also raise
the standard of the academy to fit with
international standards and this has
rubbed off positively on the image of
Nigeria at international fora and
within the global maritime
community. We saw world class
auditorium, simulator and ICT
departments, theatre size classrooms
and library, all of which are already
in use. Some old buildings and
structures the rector inherited have
been completed, he remodeled these
old structures to meet acceptable
international learning environment
standard.
But is it not strange that AMANO
kept quiet over the years while sub
standard and white elephant
projects littered the academy
I said earlier that AMANO is
relatively young. One of the challenges
AMANO has is the wide range
interests of members. Some are
abroad, some are at sea, we are
scattered all over the place, but
gradually, we getting organized and
have began to meet. So far we have
been making efforts to look at the
present state of affairs of MAN Oron
and also thinking about its future.
During the Senate Public Hearing on
the conversion of MAN Oron into a
maritime university in 2016, we made
appearance and made submission.
Also when the minister of transport
set up the interim management
committee, IMC, in 2017, we made
a case to get involved. The projects in
question are tied to known people in
society, I think now that AMANO is
in place, would-be contractors cannot
afford to continue the old way. We are
very impressed with the incumbent
rector, we think he has genuine and
achievable development blueprint to
move MAN Oron forward, we will
continue to partner with him.
Earlier this year, management
of MAN Oron and the Association
of Marine Engineers tussled over
the latter’s remark that the academy
had no qualified marine teaching
personnel. What is your take on that?
This has to do with the wage
structure of MAN Oron which I
explained earlier. The current wage
structure cannot attract qualified
professional marine workforce, there
is no reason to quarrel about what is
obvious. The problem isn’t that of the
rector it is problem of government
and of successive leadership.

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019
maritimerepor6005@gmail.com
US-China trade conflict’s mounting impact on
commodity flows and demand
THE US-China trade
dispute has evolved into
a very different animal in the
past year.
After multiple bouts of tariffs
and counter-tariffs, on August 23,
Beijing slapped a 5% levy on US
crude for the first time, targeting
a commodity already influenced
by the trade tensions, and
adding to a swathe of US-origin
commodities like propane, LNG
and soybeans.
This was part of a wider tariff
on $75 billion of US imports into
China. US President Donald
Trump responded with raising
tariffs on $550 billion of Chinese
goods, and ordered US
companies to “immediately start
looking for an alternative to
China, including bringing your
companies HOME and making
your products in the USA.”
In August, the dispute had
spilled over into currency, with
China allowing the yuan to
breach the 7 per US dollar level
for the first time in 11 years in
retaliation for the US imposing
new 10% tariffs on $300 billion
of Chinese goods. This was
followed by the US Treasury
officially designating China as
a currency manipulator—a move
that had been avoided by
previous administrations due to
its controversial nature.
These developments have
taken the trade dispute into
uncharted territory, with risks
now enveloping everything from
international currency and
financial markets to global
economic growth. The impact on
crude oil and other commodity
markets too will be felt on many
levels, far beyond the
reconfiguration of trade flows.
Ripples through global
economy
At the start of 2019,
governments, businesses and
investors were already digging
in for a fundamental
repositioning of the economic
relationship between the US
and China, potentially
extending well beyond the
Trump era. But the yuan
devaluation triggered market
turmoil and raised the specter
of an escalation on several
fronts.
“Overall, we are maintaining
our views that RMB will
depreciate on a multi-month
basis and reach around 7.20 by
end-Q3 2019 and 7.40 by end-
2019,” economists at Japan’s
Nomura bank said in August.
Nomura said the devaluation
had created numerous negative
risks including the US
increasing the tariff rate to 25%
on all imports from China before
year-end; China allowing for
yuan flexibility; the risk of China
halting US agriculture
purchases; the US refraining
from issuing licenses to Huawei;
and a lack of long USD forex
hedging from Chinese
corporates. The tariff battles since
mid-2018 may reduce global
Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
in 2020 by 0.5%, Gita Gopinath,
Economic Counsellor and
Director of the Research
Department at the International
Monetary Fund, said at a press
conference in mid-July.
“So this is a significant cost to
the global economy, and at a time
when global trade is already
very weak and investment is
weak in the world,” Gopinath
said, adding that prolonged
trade uncertainty was weighing
on business sentiment
everywhere in the world, which
then has implications for
demand. S&P Global Ratings’
chief economist Paul Gruenwald
wrote in early July that the socalled
second-order effects of the
trade dispute, which were
working through the indirect
channel of confidence rather
than directly through tariffrelated
price increases, are new.
“Where once we had identified
them as a downside risk, they
have now begun to move into
our baseline forecast. These risks
are slower moving and
cumulatively larger than the
first-round effects,” Gruenwald
said.
S&P Global Ratings Warnings
were being sounded even in
June, when Morgan Stanley
slashed its 2019 global oil
demand growth estimate to 1
million b/d from 1.2 million b/d,
which it said was “broadly halfway
between trend growth and
a recession scenario.”
Other banks including
Citigroup, Barclays, Goldman
Sachs and Australia’s ANZ have
significantly downgraded their
oil demand forecasts in the last
two months, with estimates now
ranging from just over 1 million
b/d to 1.275 million b/d.
S&P Global Platts Analytics
slashed its oil demand growth
outlook to 1.2 million b/d for
2019, down from 1.5 million b/d
in 2018, citing subdued
economic growth and global
trade. Separately, Platts
Analytics estimated that the US-
China struggle over trade will
lower diesel demand in the US
by 90 million b/d: “In the US,
when GDP was growing 4% a
couple of quarters last year,
distillate demand increased 200
million b/d year on year. Now
that GDP growth has slowed to
2%, distillate is in decline with
the trade war estimated to be
contributing 90 million b/d of
negative growth.”
UK considers deploying drones to
the Gulf amid Iran tensions
THE United Kingdom
isconsidering deploying
British drones to the Gulf amid
tensions with Iran, Sky News
reported early on Monday.
UK’s Royal Air Force (RAF) has
a number of Reaper drones based
in nearby Kuwait and flying over
Iraq and Syria.
These could be re-tasked if the
decision to deploy drones to the
Gulf is taken, Sky News said.
The drones will help with
overhead surveillance as British
warships are continuing to escort
UK-flagged tankers through the
Strait of Hormuz, according to
the report. On Friday, the UK
called for broad support to tackle
Gulf shipping threats after Iran
seized a British-flagged oil tanker
in the strait in July.
Iran seized the ship following
the seizure of an Iranian tanker
in Gibralter just days before.
Authorities believed it was
carrying an illagal oil shipment
to Syria which is under an
international embargo.
The tanker was later released
despite pressure from US
pursuing Iran tanker
On Sunday, the tanker which
was being pursued by the U.S.
across the Mediterranean Sea
slowed to a near-stop Sunday off
the coast of Syria, where
America’s top diplomat alleges it
will be unloaded despite denials
from Tehran.
The ongoing saga of the Adrian
Darya 1, formerly known as the
Grace 1, comes as tensions
remain high between the U.S.
and Iran over its unraveling
nuclear deal with world powers.
Tehran is set to send a deputy
foreign minister and a team of
economists to Paris on Monday
for talks over ways to salvage the
accord after a call between
Iranian President Hassan
Rouhani and French President
Emmanuel Macron.
The ship-tracking website
MarineTraffic.com showed the
Adrian Darya slowed to a nearstop
on Sunday some 92
kilometers off Syria. The ship’s
Automatic Identification System
does not show its destination after
its mariners onboard previously
listed it as ports in Greece and
Turkey.
Paris meeting
Meanwhile, Iranian Deputy
Foreign Minister Abbas
Araghchi is due to travel to Paris
with economists on Monday, the
state-run IRNA news agency
reported. That came after a call
Saturday between Rouhani and
Macron, who recently surprised
the Group of Seven summit in
France by inviting Iranian
Foreign Minister Mohammad
Javad Zarif there.
Iran is set to further break the
terms of the nuclear deal on
Friday if Europe fails to offer it a
way to sell its crude oil on the
global market. The U.S. under
President Donald Trump
unilaterally withdrew from the
deal over a year ago and imposed
sanctions on Iran that are
battering its economy.
The deal’s “terms are not
changeable and all the parties
need be committed to its
content,” Rouhani said,
according to IRNA.
International Maritime 7

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019
Data & Figures
maritimerepor6005@gmail.com
Vessels Expected At Lagos Port, August 27, 2019
Vessels Expected At Delta Port, August 27, 2019
Vessels Expected At Calabar Port, August 27, 2019
Vessels Expected At Onne Port, August 27, 2019

Vanguard, Wednesday, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019 — 25
How cyber bullying affects children’s
education
…Nigeria among top
30 countries most hit
By Juliet Umeh
As internet connectivity
deepens across the world,
its side effect has
continued to manifest in the form
of cyber bullying and other social
vices against children.
The recent report from the
United Nations Children’s Fund,
UNICEF, said Nigeria is one of
the 30 countries of the world
where cyber bulling is rife.
The report said one in three
young people in these 30
countries admitted having been a
victim of online bullying with one
in five reporting having skipped
school due to cyber bullying and
other cyber violence.
Cyber bullying or cyber
harassment is a form of bullying
or harassment using electronic
means. It is when someone,
typically teens, bully or harass
others on the internet, particularly
on social media sites.
Harmful bullying behaviour
can include posting rumours,
threats, sexual remarks, a victims’
personal information, or
pejorative labels -hate speech.
Bullying or harassment can be
identified by repeated behaviour
and intent to harm. Victims may
experience lower self-esteem,
increased suicidal ideation, and a
variety of negative emotional
responses, including being
scared, frustrated, angry, and
depressed.
Also, almost three-quarters of
young people also said social
networks, including Facebook,
Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter,
are the most common place for
online bullying.
According to the report, more
By Juliet Umeh
A
Nigerian-based digital
savings platform, CashBox,
has said it wants to double the
number of customers saving on its
platform by year-end through
improved quality services.
The tech start-up which is
designed to inculcate and promote
the habit of savings in users while
earning interest, said it wants to
increase its user base from 10000
to 20, 000 by leveraging more
technology and customer-centric
services.
CEO of the firm, Mr. Sydney
Aigbogun, said they are
investing hugely in secured
technology to ensure that their
customers get improved quality
services which would help their
growth and double the registered
users before the year runs out.
He said the company rewards
its customers as much as 15
percent annually while allowing
users save as low as N100.
Aigbogun explained that the
reason for the establishment of the
tech start-up firm is to encourage
the habit of savings in an economy
that has been challenged by
falling disposable income and low
purchasing power, so as to enable
them cushion effect of shocks
from arising unforeseen
circumstances.
He said: “There are three
than 170,000 U-Reporters aged
13-24 years old participated in the
poll including young people from
Nigeria, Albania, Bangladesh,
Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Burkina
Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ecuador,
France, Gambia, Ghana, India,
Indonesia, Iraq, Jamaica, Kosovo,
Liberia, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali,
Moldova, Montenegro, Myanmar,
Romania, Sierra Leone, Trinidad
& Tobago, Ukraine, Vietnam and
Zimbabwe.
UNICEF Executive Director,
Henrietta Fore, said the major
reason for the overwhelming
result is because connected
classrooms mean school no longer
ends once a student leaves class,
and, unfortunately, neither does
schoolyard bullying.
She said through the poll, young
people were asked via SMS and
instant messaging technology a
series of questions relating to
their experiences of online
bullying and violence, where it
most frequently happens, and
who they think is responsible for
ending it.
The report has it that 32 percent
of those polled believe
governments should be
responsible for ending cyber
bullying, 31 percent said young
people and 29 percent said
internet companies.
Thirty four percent of
respondents in sub-Saharan
Africa said they had been a victim
of online bullying
The poll results challenge the
notion that cyber bullying among
classmates is a uniquely highincome
issue. Some 39 percent
said they knew about private
online groups inside the school
community where children share
information about peers for the
purpose of bullying.
UN Special Representative of
the Secretary-General, SRSG, on
Violence against Children Najat
Maalla Mjid, said: “One of the key
messages that we can clearly see
from their opinions is the need for
children and young people
involvement and partnering:
When asked who should be
responsible for ending cyber
bullying, the opinions were
equally divided between
governments, internet service
providers and young people
themselves. We are in this together
and we must share the
responsibility in partnership.
CashBox to rekindle savings culture among Nigerians
plans for users who wish to save
on Cashbox; the first is the regular
saver designed mainly for salary
earners. The Regular Saver allows
users save any amount as low as
N100 regularly on a daily, weekly,
or monthly basis, depending on
the one convenient for the user.
“Users on this plan earn
between seven to 10 percent
interest annually and are at liberty
to suspend their savings at any
time. They are also entitled to
make four withdrawals at no cost,
on the first day of the last month
of every quarter, which is March,
June, September and December
and any withdrawal done outside
these days attracts a five percent
charge on the account,” he said.
“The reason for the five percent
deduction outside the free
withdrawal days was to
discourage users from seeing the
platform as a traditional back by
curtailing all forms of unnecessary
withdrawals.
The second plan is the Locked
Savings which works like a
normal fixed deposit account of
Deposit “Money Banks, DMBs.
Nonetheless, users get their
interest upfront and minimum
tenor for the plan is 90 days.
The plan also allows users lock
a fixed sum of money for any time
frame above 90 days, get their
interest upfront and locked funds
at maturity. Users of the plan can
•Cyber bullying
earn as high as 15 percent interest
per annum depending on the
length of time and are open to the
option of rolling-over or withdraw
their savings at maturity.
By Juliet Umeh
Electronics manufacturer, LG
has launched new range of
gas cooker, Cancun to enrich the
kitchen experience of its
customers in Nigeria
LG said the new product builds
on the company’s tech innovation
which offers auto-off timer and
Dual Heating technology with
electric grilling heater.
Managing Director of LG
Electronics West Africa
Operations, Mr Tae-ick Son, said
the new LG Cancun comes with
strong and solid stainless
finishing; blue interior that
provides an upscale look with
premium interior design and
state-of-the-art Glass Touch
Control which makes it easy to
control and clean. It also has a
tilted cooktop control that helps
intuitive grasp and to turn on and
off easily.
He said: “We are thrilled to
ROSATOM promises to raise
Nigeria's future nuclear tech
experts
By Prince Osuagwu
Inspired by the need to raise the
next generation of nuclear
energy technology experts in
Nigeria, ROSATOM - Russia’s
state-run nuclear energy
corporation, has invited students
and young professionals across
Nigeria to partake in the fifth
edition of its annual online video
competition tagged “Atoms for
Africa”.
The competition is also
facilitated by EnerConnect as well
as the African Young Generation
in Nuclear and South African
Young Nuclear Professionals
Society.
Billed to run up until end of
September, this edition is devoted
to supporting interest in nuclear
research and capabilities among
young Nigerian and African
scientists. Participants are
required to research how
innovative use of nuclear
technologies can assist in
achieving the UN Sustainable
Development Goals, UNSDGs, in
Africa.
To compete, they have to make
a short video about their findings
on the topic and share on
Facebook.
A two stage judging process
will be used to select the winning
teams, an independent jury made
up of nuclear professionals and
experts on sustainability topics
will select the top 10 videos and
the general public will be invited
to vote for the best video on the
Rosatom Africa
Facebook page.
The award
ceremony will
take place within
two African
Nuclear Youth
Summits to be
held in
Johannesburg,
South Africa in
early October
2019.
Competitors
who created the
top two videos
will win an all-expenses paid trip
to Russia in November 2019. The
trip to Russia for winning teams
will include visits to well-known
Moscow landmarks, Russia’s
state-of-the-art nuclear facilities,
top nuclear universities as well as
other scientific and technological
facilities. The winners will also
meet African students currently
studying various nuclear
disciplines in Russia.
Recall, last year, a Nigerian,
Ugenyi Igbokwe, was among the
finalists - beating other
participants from across
Africa.Underscoring
ROSATOM’s commitment
towards nurturing young
professionals in the field of
Nuclear energy, CEO, ROSATOM
Central and Southern Africa,
Dmitry Shornikov, said: “One of
our key missions at ROSATOM is
to assist the brightest young
minds from across the globe to
work together in solving global
challenges that will shape the
future of energy and the world as
we know it.”
He added: “This is a great
opportunity for young people from
very different walks of life who share
a common passion to build a bright
and sustainable future for Africa to
discover more about various nuclear
applications and their vast benefits
for the region”.
The federal government of Nigeria
had signed an agreement with
Russia’s ROSATOM for the
construction of nuclear power plants
and a nuclear research center in
Nigeria.
•Nuclear plant
How LG's new tech gas cooker aids seamless cooking
announce the launch of our new gas
cooker – Cancun in Nigeria. The
company’s focus is to offer
customers gas cookers that will offer
everyone a seamless cooking
experience.
“The new cooking gas offers
excellent culinary performance. It
has Triple UltraHeat Burner with
3.6 KW powerful heating capacity
that makes even cooking and
reduces the cooking time
remarkably. It adopts Dual Heating
technology with electric grilling
heater on the top and gas baking
heater at the bottom and has
recessed opening for holding the
oven handle comfortably.
“The new LG Cancun makes
cooking and baking more
convenient and safe. You can
easily present the Auto-Off
time of LG New Cooker while
it is on. It automatically turns
off according to the present
time. So you don’t have to wait
any more in front of the cooker
until the food is done. The Safe
Closing Damper also prevents
the glass cover from being
suddenly shut. Even if you let go of
the glass cover, it will be suspended
at 45° degree.
“With EasyClean, three steps, 20
minutes, spotless oven, you won’t
have to worry about hazardous
chemicals, disgusting fumes and
rigorous manual labour to clean
your oven. You can easily remove
any residue with water waterfriendly
enamel. Just wipe away any
residue after spraying water inside
the oven and pressing EasyClean
button to activate 20 minutes
cleaning course”, Son explained.
He said one can cook foods such
as fried eggs, steaks and vegetables
on the Cast Iron Griddle at the same
time.
•LG Gas cooker

26 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019 —27

28 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019
VOL. 2 NO. 56 WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019
Catholic Bishops celebrate
Owerri Archdiocese
By Chidi Nkwopara
OWERRI- The Imo State
capital, played host to no
fewer than 25 Catholic Bishops,
including the Apostolic Nuncio to
Nigeria, Archbishop Antonio
Guido Filipazzi, and hundreds of
priests, tthe religious and lay
faithful.
They were all in Owerri for the
silver jubilee celebration of the
inauguration of Owerri
Ecclesiastical Province and
installation of Most Rev. Dr.
Anthony J. V. Obinna, as the
Metropolitan of the Province,
comprising Orlu, Okigwe,
Umuahia, Aba, Ahiara and
Owerri.
This date, in the previous years,
was celebrated as the Owerri
Archdiocesan Day. Put simply, the
Owerri Archdiocesan Day is an
annual event, which primarily
recalls the 1994 elevation of the
Catholic Diocese of Owerri, to an
Archdiocese, and to the position
of Metropolitan See within the
Ecclesiastical Province.
While establishing the Owerri
Archdiocesan Day, Dr. Obinna
emphasised what he called “the
inculturative thrust” of its
programme of activities.
His words: “Given the need to
welcome the Good News of
salvation, into the intimacy of our
lives and Igbo culture, special
prominence would be given to the
Igbo language, through an
annual series of lectures by Igbo
scholars, in the Igbo language.
Archbishop Obinna also opined
that the symbiotic relationship
between true worship of God and
the cherishing of genuine human
values, which the festivities and
the lectures seek to orchestrate, is
thereby anchored and
strengthened.
On arrival, one of the first port
of call was the Government
House, where representatives of
the Catholic Bishops, paid a
courtesy call on Governor Emeka
Ihedioha.
The Governor used the
opportunity to not only welcome
his guests to Owerri, but also
assured them of their safety,
throughout their stay in the state.
For Chief Ihedioha, it was a
thing of joy that the Archdiocesan
silver jubilee celebration came in
his time as Governor of Imo State.
He reiterated his promise to
govern the state with the fear of
God, as well as upholding the
rule of law, accountability,
transparency and independence
of the three arms of government.
Preaching the sermon that can
rightly be said to summarize the
feelings of the Bishops at a
concelebrated Pontifical Mass, the
Catholic Bishop of Nsukka, Most
Rev. Godfrey Igwebuike Onah,
said that today, Nigerians expect
so much of their Bishop’s.
His words:
“In the darkness and gloom that
have enveloped our country, many
are looking expectantly at the
Church for a ray of hope, however
faint. Whether it is about the
perceived Islamiztion and
Fulanization of the country, or
about the current effort of the
Federal Government to stifle
every form of opposition, people
are asking: What is the Church
doing? And by the Church, they
simply mean Catholic Bishops.
“But I ask: What else can the
Bishops do that they have not
done already? The Bishops have
prayed and continued to pray for
Nigeria. The Bishops have
spoken clearly and consistently
against bad governance, from the
time of military dictatorship,
when the voice of the Church was
the only one that could not be
silenced, till today, when military
dictatorship has returned in
another form.
“The Bishops have expressly
stated that this country is in
trouble. The Bishops have told the
government repeatedly that the
only way out of this catastrophe
that is about to happen in this
country is justice and fairness:
respect for those parts of the
Constitution that are just and fair;
amendment of those parts of the
Constitution that were so framed
as to favour parts of the country,
Representatives of the Catholic Bishops in a group photograph with Governor Emeka Ihedioha
and some government functionaries, in Government House, Owerri
Archbishop Anthony Obinna, introducing his brother Bishops to Governor Ihedioha
Kidnapping: How 19-year-old boy in Imo was
arrested while waiting for N200,000 ransom
*From left, Victoria Metu, Chukwudi Iwuala and Uchenna Metu, at
the Imo State Police Command.
By Chinonso Alozie,
Owerri
A 19-year-old boy, Uchenna
Metu and two others all from
Isiala Mbano local government
area of Imo State, have been
arrested by the police while
allegedly waiting for a ransom of
two hundred thousand naira from
the relatives of their kidnap
victim, one Happiness Amaigbo,
from Nwangele local government
area, who later was said to have
died in hostage.
Southeast Voice was at the Imo
State Police command at the time
they were paraded, as the police
fingered Uchenna, as the
masterminder of the
kidnapping.
He was paraded alongside
Chukwudi Iwuala, 30-year-old
either geographically or
religiously.
“This country is experiencing
deterioration on a daily basis and
our people are loosing confidence
in themselves. There is a decay of
infrastructure and near total
collapse of security. All these have
been pointed out by the Catholic
Bishops on several occasions.
What have the Bishops not said?
“At the peak of insecurity in this
country, the Bishops candidly
advised the President to resign
since he could no longer provide
protection to the lives and
properties of Nigerians.
Repeatedly, the Bishops have
engaged every president of this
country.
“But what about our Christians,
including our Catholics, who are
in government? There are cardcarrying
Catholics in all the
political parties that have ruled
Nigeria since the return to
democracy. What have these
Catholics or Christian members
of the ruling parties done to
translate into concrete action the
indications that the Bishops have
given? Bishops have marched the
streets in prayer and protest.
Bishops have taken the
government to court in some
states. The only thing that we
have not done and will never do
is to incite our people to violence,
because that would be wrong.
“The Federal Government of
Nigeria needs to know that our
youths are losing confidence in
the peaceful and non-violent way
we are proposing. And I will like
to state clearly that today, out of
respect for Archbishop Anthony
Obinna, who has been foremost
in speaking out in defence of good
governance both in his state and
in the country, that the current
Federal Government of Nigeria
will hold itself responsible if it
refuses to listen to the voice of
reason and the calamity we all
fear will befall our dear country.”
Continuing, Bishop Onah said
that the Islamization and
Fulanization project has gone
beyond being a hidden agenda,
for it is now being implemented
openly and with impunity.
“But then, there is a limit to the
extent to which the people can be
oppressed without their reaction
to the oppression. We therefore
appeal to all those in government
at different levels in this country,
to remember that they are there
to serve all the people in Nigeria”,
Onah said.
The celebration was rounded off
with the Odenigbo Lecture,
delivered by a university don,
Rev. Fr. Longinus Chinagorom.
and Victoria Chinyere Metu, 22-
year-old lady and elder sister to
Uchenna.
According to the police,
Uchenna initiated the process
with Chukwudi Iwuala and one
Chima who is at large.
The police said that Uchenna
Metu, as part of his strategies to
get the ransom of two hundred
thousand naira collected his
elder sister’s (Victoria Chinyere
Metu) bank account and sent it to
the relatives of their victim to pay
in the money.
Uchenna and his men were said
to be waiting for the money to be
paid into the bank. The police
said: “We have been monitoring
their conversation and we
followed the sister to the bank
Continues on Page 29

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32— Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019
Xenophobic killings: South Africa, Nigeria
and principle of diplomatic reciprocity
THE barrage of xenophobic
attacks against Nigerians
and other African immigrants in
South Africa came to a head
last week with the murderous
destruction of Nigerian lives
and businesses by South
Africans. These were coming
only weeks after Nigerians
became targets in series of
isolated but sustained attacks
launched against them and
their businesses under the
watchful gaze of the South
African Police. Only recently, a
Nigerian business woman died
under suspicious circumstances
while another well-known
socialite was brutally assaulted
and beaten by South African
security agents. The situation
last week was remarkably
different as the attacks were
evidently coordinated, fierce
and as was the case in the past,
appeared to enjoy some
measure of official support.
The other remarkable thing
about the attacks is that unlike
in the past, nationals of other
African countries were also
target. They were lumped
together with Nigerians who
were the usual victims of such
herd onslaughts. And it would
appear that this last point, the
inclusion of other African
nationals, made all the
difference to Nigeria’s official
response. These countries were
quick to respond to the outrage
from South Africa by either
calling off scheduled meetings
or sport events among other
diplomatic steps to register their
displeasure at the treatment
meted to their citizens.
The steps taken by these
“smaller” countries called world
attention to the outrageous and
unacceptable behaviour of
South Africans and no doubt
prompted Nigeria into taking
some steps, however, late or
lame they may seem.
Otherwise, Nigeria’s response
in the past has been almost
apologetic and tinged with a
sense of national shame. We
blame the victims of such
attacks by accusing them of
improper behaviour abroad
while doing our best to say
nothing in order, apparently,
not to call further attention to
the shame that we imagine
should be our collective lot at
such moments.
We make this same response
when Nigerians are accused of
criminal behaviour abroad. We
go all the way to put a distance
between our country and the
accused persons. This is just
one step from accepting guilt
and an open invitation to these
foreign countries to do to and
with our citizens whatever they
like. Except where those
privileged by their background
or connections are concerned.
That is when our slumbering
giant stirs. The simple principle
of presumption of innocence is
never remembered. Neither is
any request to meet, ascertain
the true state of things or the
condition under which
Nigerians accused of crimes
abroad are held, made.
Our attitude is to throw them
under the bus and abandon
them to their fate. But following
the example of our smaller
African brothers, we summoned
courage to act. Our usually
retiring Foreign Minister,
Geoffrey Onyeama, who
appeared to have ceded his
responsibilities as far as
Nigerian immigrants are
concerned to the Chair of the
Nigerian Diaspora
Commission, Abike Dabiri,
decided to “summon” South
Africa’s High Commissioner,
Bobby Monroe, to a meeting.
Only irresponsible
countries and weak
leaders count on the
goodwill of others
where they should
demand their due
President Buhari sent a
special envoy in the person of
the boss of the National
Intelligence Agency, Ahmed
Abubakar, to President Cyril
Ramaphosa. These series of
diplomatic initiatives prompted
from abroad are, lame as they
are, the most far-reaching
Nigeria would take in the many
years since our country and
Nigerians became victims of
post-apartheid South Africa’s
hostility. So far, South Africa has
not committed to implementing
any of the demands placed
before them by Nigeria.
Nigeria is demanding
compensation for Nigerian
businesses destroyed in the
wave of the xenophobic attacks
and the introduction of Nigerian
security agents at the Nigerian
High Commission in South
Africa. While the first demand
makes a lot of sense, the other
one sounds like its exact
opposite. What is the sense in
expatriating Nigerian security
agents to South Africa? Is it to
protect Nigerians from attacks
in their different locations in the
so-called Rainbow Nation that
can no longer endure the sight
of other Africans? Under what
type of community policing that
the Buhari government has
refused to implement here in
Nigeria, despite electoral
promises, would this come?
If our security agents are
located at the Nigerian High
Commission, would Nigerian
businesses be moved there as
well? The security model being
proposed here for expatriation
is the same that has roundly
proven useless in combating
crime and insurgency in
different parts of Nigeria.
President Muhammadu Buhari
is wont to combat Nigeria’s
security inadequacies by
ordering his Service Chiefs to
relocate from Abuja to wherever
happens to be the current
“headquarters” of insurgency or
crime. His security chiefs have
had cause to change base (or
refuse to do so as was the case
with Idris Ibrahim, the former
Inspector General of Police)
from Abuja at different times to
such places as Benue, Taraba
or Zamfara to the states of the
North-East.
As he does this, he conflates
the role of the paramilitary forces
with that of the military that are
forced into paramilitary
operations. Today, Nigerian
soldiers man checkpoints,
protect our streets with police
and civil defence officials, and
engage in border patrols with
the Nigeria Customs. Not
satisfied with this militarisation
of our society we are now
talking of expatriating our
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police (or is it military)
personnel that are already too
thinly spread around the
country abroad. Is this to keep
or make peace between
Nigerians and their hosts in
South Africa?
What would the South African
police or military be doing in the
face of all this? Rather than
demanding that South Africa
protects our citizens as they
would citizens from other parts
of the world we are busy
making useless, impractical
demands of them? Did South
Africa have to deploy its security
agents to their businesses in
Nigeria that were attacked last
week? We provided necessary
security for their businesses and
even opened fire on and killed
our citizens.
Let us learn to demand what
is our due. Only irresponsible
countries and weak leaders
count on the goodwill of others
where they should demand
their due. We should demand,
as a matter of diplomatic
reciprocity, what is our due. If
South Africans are not random
targets of attacks or homicide in
Nigeria, if we offer protection
as a matter of civilised conduct
to businesses owned by
nationals of other countries, we
should be able to demand same
treatment for our citizens
abroad. When America
demanded parity with Nigeria
in visa fees, they did not wait
to consult us.
They did what was in their
interest. We waited open-eyed
until a United Kingdom court
imposed a multi-billion pounds
fine on us for allegedly
reneging on an agreement and
are now scrambling for a way
out. When the Nigerian
Communications Commission
imposed a fine on South Africaowned
MTN, our leaders went
about seeking a soft landing for
MTN. Nonsense!
Has N1 trn MTN fine worsened South Africa's xenophobia?
By SUNDAY ADOLE JONAH
UNTIL Nigerians learn to face
truth and learn to live with it,
we will continue to delude ourselves
and subsequently get stuck in the habit
of making poor judgements based on
faulty analyses of situations.
If this becomes a national habit, then
other people will see Nigerians as
basically half-learned and emotionallycharged
when they make policies.
Already, Nigeria has been
designated the poverty capital of the
world as well as the emerging wirefraud
capital of the world.
Let us pause and learn from history:
One of the remarkable events in 1983
was the anti-African xenophobia that
took place in Nigeria. Recall that under
the Second Republic civilian
government of Alhaji Shehu Shagari,
Nigeria displayed virulent anti-
Ghanaian actions that has given us the
folksy vocabulary known as “Ghanamust-go”.
That is used to reference a
brand of hardcore jute bag that those
hapless Ghanaians back then were
forced to pack their belongings and
head for home.
Today, many Nigerians are still
insensitive to think that “Ghana-mustgo”
is cool because it evokes memories
of Nigeria as an economic magnet for
other African migrants in the past.
Does this not remind us of South Africa
of 2019?
It will further do well for those older
Nigerians to recall that “Ghana-mustgo”
or not, not all Ghanaians scrammed
home and those who stayed put
reasoned that Nigeria was still better
off than home of 1984-85.
Does this still not remind us of South
Africa of 2019? The Max plane on
standby to bring Nigerians back home
will remain empty for as long as
Nigeria’s policy-and decision-makers
still live in denials.
When the current government came
to office in 2015, Nigeria's first
xenophobic target was South Africa,
whence that country’s giant
multinational, MTN, was hit with a
spurious fine equal to its 10-year
operating profit for surprisingly
“encouraging” Boko Haram by not deregistering
the SIM cards of that terror
group’s operatives.
Did anyone inside Aso Rock honestly
believe that South Africans are utter
fools to just be taken for a cheap ride
knowing that a good chunk of
The Max plane on
standby to bring
Nigerians back home will
remain empty for as long
as Nigeria’s policy- and
decision-makers still live
in denials
Nigeria’s public office holders had
invested heavily in the South African
economy since Western banks became
increasingly discomfited with stolen
monies flowing out of Africa?
To the South Africans, the
insinuation that MTN supports Boko
Haram was vile reasoning because
one of Boko Haram’s modus operandi
was always to hit mobile
communications towers wherever they
wish to operate, thus imperiling
smooth communication lines.
Truth was that MTN assisted the
Goodluck Jonathan government to do
triangulations by pinpointing the exact
locations of Boko Haram terrorists to
the then functional and very effective
Department of State Services, DSS,
under Mr. Ita Ekpenyong. Maybe,
MTN was really punished for aiding
the fight against Boko Haram!
The Buhari government went further
to menace MTN-linked financial
institutions like Diamond Bank and
others, whilst threatening to impose
huge sales tax on liquor knowing the
South Africans have also invested in
the brewery industry in Nigeria.
Really, what kind of world does
government think we are living in? A
world where you hurt the investors who
take risks to come into the country
because Western investors are packing
out and you still expect South Africans
to see you as some “giant” calling the
shots in the continent?
Nigerians should do retrospective
soul-searching with respect to this
South African thing.
•Jonah is of the Federal University
of Technology, Minna, Niger State
C
M
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Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019 — 33
:Vanguard News :@vanguardnews :@vanguardnews NEWS HOTLINES: 08052867023, 08052867058
COMMISSIONING:
From left: Mrs.
Folashade Adefisayo,
Commissioner for
Education, Lagos State
representing Governor
Babajide Sanwo-Olu of
Lagos State; Mr Steve
Babaeko, CEO, X3M
Ideas Ltd and Mr. Ayodeji
Ojo, Principal, Agidingbi
Junior Grammar School,
during
the
commissioning of the
renovated building
housing the new state-ofthe-art
library, counseling
centre and the sick bay of
Agidingbi Junior
Grammar School
sponsored By X3M Ideas
Ltd as its CSR project in
Lagos yesterday. Photo:
Akeem Salau.
What N’Delta expects from Akpabio,
Sylva, Keyamo — MILITANTS
By Emma Amaize
W
A R R I —
MILITANTS in
Niger Delta have charged
the Minister of Niger Delta,
Obong Godswill Akpabio,
Minister of State for
Petroleum, Chief Timipre
Sylva and Minister of State
for Niger Delta, Festus
Keyamo, SAN, to
collectively develop the oil
region and extricate the
people from the shackle of
poverty.
Leader of the 21st
Century Youths of Niger
Delta and Agitators with
Conscience, self-styled
“General” Izon Ebi, in a
statement, yesterday, said,
“We, congratulate Akpabio,
Sylva and Keyamo on their
well-deserved
appointments, but what
Niger Delta people want
from them is development
and eradication of poverty.”
Meanwhile, the Reformed
Niger Delta Avengers,
RNDA, and a coalition of
nine other militant groups
in Niger Delta, have
warned against an alleged
“gang up” by some
powerful forces to remove
the Coordinator of the
Presidential Amnesty
Programme, PAP, Prof
Charles Dokubo, saying it
will come with collateral
damage to the oil region.
RNDA in a statement by
the leader, “Major General”
Johnmark Ezonebi, aka
Obama, said: “Any attempt
to remove or replace the
hardworking with track
record of integrity and
transparency, Prof Dokubo,
who has obviously
redirected the programme
and transformed the
Amnesty Office will lead to
collateral damage on all oil
facilities and oil
installations.
“Until tomorrow, the Niger
Delta youths regard
Akpabio as a leader with the
mark of uncommon
transformation as seen in
the case of Akwa Ibom State,
where he held sway as
governor for eight years and
we believe in him when he
says he stamps his footprint
whenever he is called to
serve.
“We urge him to stand firm
and be just, fair, focused and
fearless to justify his
defection from PDP to the
ruling APC.
“Keyamo is one man the
youths of the Niger Delta are
looking up to because he
grew up in Warri, schooled
in Warri and as a Warri boy
growing up, we believe that
he knows and understands
the rudiments and the plight
of the Niger Deltans.
“So much is expected of
him by the youths of the
Niger Delta, most especially
Delta State as a symbol of
unity and purpose of
leadership.
“We attentively listened to
the speech of Chief Sylva
where he said that he will
not disappoint Bayelsans,
the Ijaw nation and the
Niger Delta in particular
and that he should be
forgiven for past mistakes
and we should join hands
with him to build a
prosperous Niger Delta. For
us, we have no grudge
against him and we look
forward to working with him
if he needs our support at
any point in time if he truly
realises himself, that he is
saddled with the
responsibility of uniting the
Niger Delta once again for
the sake of development and
prosperity for his people.
“If
President
Muhammadu Buhari finds
him worthy to drive the
petroleum sector as the
Minister for Petroleum
(State), it is a clear indication
that this administration
means well for the Niger
Delta and must be
supported with genuine
intent of dialogue and
reconciliation to collectively
develop,” they said.
On the Niger Delta
Development Commission,
NDDC, the group said, “At
this point, we want to warn
that injustice breeds
anarchy and anarchy stalls
development. Therefore, we
should be mindful of the
composition of the new
NDDC board and the MD
slot of Bayelsans.
“We have observed that
important commission such
as NDDC saddled with the
responsibility of developing
the Niger Delta,
empowering its youths and
indigenes is being used for
political patronage. We will
not fold our arms any longer
and watch the commission
used for political settlement.''
Emmanuel charges A-Ibom community leaders on corps
members’ welfare, safety
By Chioma Onuegbu
U YO—GOVERNOR
Udom Emmanuel of
Akwa Ibom State has urged
council chairmen and
traditional rulers across the
31 local government areas
of the state to always
ensure the welfare and
HOR MINORITY LEADERSHIP: Ayu-led committee
submits report
By Festus Ahon
A committee
SABA—THE
constituted by the Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP,
Board of Trustees, BoT, to
look into the minority
leadership crisis in the
House of Representatives,
has submitted its report.
Chairman of the
Committee and former
President of the Senate,
safety of corps members
deployed to their domains.
Emmanuel gave the
advice yesterday, during
the formal closing of
Orientation Course for the
2019 Batch ‘B’ stream 2
corps members in, Nsit
Atai Local Government
Area of the state.
The governor, represented
by the state Commissioner,
Ministry of Youths and
Sport, Mr Monday Uko
charged the corps members
to bring development to the
communities they are
posted to for their primary
assignment.
“In my address to you
during the swearing in
ceremony, I charged you on
.... Exonerate Elumelu, others
Senator Iyorchia Ayu,
along with a member of the
committee, former Senate
President, Senator
Adolphus Wabara,
submitted the report to the
PDP BoT Chairman,
Senator Walid Jibrin on
Monday, in Abuja.
Other members of the
Committee include former
Senate President, Senator
David Mark, a former
Deputy Senate President,
Senator Ibrahim Mantu
and a former Deputy
Speaker of the House of
Representatives, Mr Austin
Opara.
In the report, the
committee exonerated
Mr. Ndudi Elumelu and
six others of any
complicity in the
nomination and official
announcement of the
minority leadership of
the House.
the values of discipline, hard
work, resourcefulness and
other ideals essential for
success in life.
“As a vibrant segment of
the society, you are
expected to go to your
various places of primary
assignment and exhibit
tendencies that will bring
development to your host
community.
“In order to harness the
potentials of these young
Nigerians for the benefit of
Akwa Ibom State, I urge the
local government chairmen
across the state as well as
community leaders to
ensure that the welfare and
safety of corps members in
their domains are their
concern.”
He also urged the 2019
Batch ‘B’ stream 2 corps
members to remain focused
in their areas of primary
assignment to contribute
positively to the
development of their host
communities.
Why I'm yet to form
my cabinet — WIKE
ORT HARCOURT—
PGOVERNOR Nyesom
Wike of Rivers State has
said that he was yet to form
his cabinet because he is
seeking people who will
work with dedication and
passion for the state.
Speaking during the
submission of report by the
Committee for Accreditation
and Approval of Private
Schools in Rivers State at
the Government House, Port
Harcourt yesterday, Wike
said he will not be moved
by criticisms because he was
committed to doing what is
right for the state.
He said: “I have not
formed my cabinet because
I am taking my time to
monitor people who will
work with passion for Rivers
State.
“Politics is involved, but
you must be ready to work
for the state. That is why
there is a delay in the
formation of the cabinet. No
matter the criticism, I will do
what is right.
“We must work to move
Rivers State forward. In
doing that, we must step on
toes. We can’t allow the state
to be the way it is. I believe
that with the calibre of
HOSTCOM rallies support for Sylva,
tasks him on Brass LNG project
By Emem Idio
YCommunities
ENAGOA—HOST
of
Nigeria Oil and Gas,
HOSTCOM, Bayelsa State
chapter and over 300
communities in the state
have described the
appointment of former
governor of the state, Chief
Timipre Sylva as Minister
of State for Petroleum as a
welcome development.
They urged all
stakeholders in the industry
to rally round and support
him to succeed.
The state chairman of
HOSTCOM, HRH Boma
Kerekebunah, in statement
in Yenagoa, promised to
galvanized the needed
support of oil and gas
producing communities in
the state for the minister to
turn around what he
described as the “sad
persons who served in the
committee, you have done
a good job. I have
confidence in the
committee,” he said.
Wike said he established
the committee because of
the urgent need to check the
downward slide of private
schools in the state.
He said: “People have
unnecessarily
commercialised education.
They have become traders
in the field of education.
We will not allow that to
continue.
“All those schools that you
have denied accreditation,
even the ones you have
approved, I will look at
them again. But
specifically, the ones you
have denied. They will not
function in this state.
“I hope you went to the
churches to investigate their
schools. We cannot allow
what is going on to
continue. Some schools are
collecting fees and killing
our children and say they
are giving them education.
The 763 remaining, we will
select a team to visit these
schools. Any school that is
not qualified to operate will
not get our final approval.”
Sand Dealers absolve Police
of complicity In dredging feud
RIVER Niger Sand
Dealers in Asaba,
Delta State, have absolved
the police of alleged
complicity and favouritism
in the feud between the
group and their opponents
of Sand Dealers Multi-
Purpose Co-operative
Society led by David Ossai.
Ossai of the Sand Dealers
Multi-Purpose Co-operative
Society had recently
petitioned the Inspector
General of Police, IGP, Mr.
Mohammed Adamu, and
addressed newsmen,
alleging failure by the state
Commissioner of Police to
enforce a Federal High
Court, Benin City, Edo
State, judgment granting
trajectory bedevling the oil
and gas sector and
reposition the ministry to
that of pride and glory for
the entire benefit of the
nation.”
He urge the minister, to
use his good office to
address the suffering
faced by the state
especially in bringing to
mainstream the Brass
Liquefied Natural Gas,
LNG project which he said
was long overdue.
He said: “We also expect
you will intervene in the
relocation of oil companies
headquarters to the Niger
Delta as directed by Vice
President Yemi Osinbanjo
as then the acting President
and citing of Modular
Refineries in Bayelsa State
which will help the
development of the state
and reduce youth
restiveness.''
members of his group right
to dredge banks of the
Asaba River Niger.
But reacting, Secretary of
the River Niger Sand
Dealers, Mr Victor
Nnalue, who also briefed
newsmen, said that the
court judgment had
expired, having been
voided by a Court of
Appeal sitting in Lagos,
judgment, which granted
the Federal Ministry of
Mines and Power the
authority to issue dredging
licenses as against the
National Inland Waterways
Authority, NIWA, where the
said Jah Dave and his
group obtained their
outdated licenses.

34—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019
China to boost Nigeria’s
economic development
THE
Chinese
government has
indicated interest to boost
Nigeria’s economic
development and growth.
Speaking at the 70th
anniversary celebration of
the founding of Peoples
Republic of China, the
Chinese Consul-General
in Lagos, Mr. Chu
Maoming, gave the
assurance, citing the
resolve of the government
of the Peoples Republic
China to bolster bilateral
relationship with Nigeria.
He also said in an
attempt to improve the
cultural affinities between
the two countries, a Kung
fu performance was
staged reflecting China’s
way of life.
His words: “We have
supported each other in
By Clifford Ndujihe
IT was carnival of sorts
at Adazi-Ani, a
community in Anaocha
Local Government Area
Anambra State,
penultimate week, during
the celebration of the 2019
new year festival.
Adazi-Ani is the country
home of Chief Godwin U.
Okeke, owner of GUO
Transport Company. Part of
the colourful celebration
was a youth carnival,
sponsored by Dr. Emeka
Okeke and friends, laced
with huge cultural display
and entertainments by
different kinds of
masquerades and other
entertainment groups.
Held at the Eke Market
Square, the heart of Adazi
Ani town, the youth
carnival was attended by
dignitaries, including
Commissioner for
Housing, member
economic, political and
social aspects and for
about five years. A
Chinese troupe have
been going round
Nigerian schools to
perform for cultural
exchange, which stand
to strengthen ties.
“We hope we could
promote the culture
exchange between
China and Nigeria to a
new high.”
For chairman of
Chinese Community in
Nigeria, Mr. Dong
Rui’e: “China and
Nigeria have ties which
have translated into
mutual economic
success, as the two
countries have a lot to do
in the future so they
need to support one
another.”
Adazi-Ani youth carnival ends
with call for community devt
representing Anaocha in
Anambra State House of
Assembly, some advisers
to Governor Willie
Obiano and Dr. Emeka
Okeke, among others.
Addressing newsmen
at the occasion, Dr
Emeka Okeke, Founder/
CEO, RISE Clinic
Nigeria, disclosed that
the reason behind the
youth carnival was to
bring the indigenes of
the community together
to chart ways of meeting
the needs of the
community.
He stressed that the
festival is the only
means of attracting
people, especially the
well-to-do to
understand the needs
of the community,
invest in small
businesses around the
community and assist in
supporting the needs of
the community.
Okpe youths allege alienation
in empowerment programme
By Simon Adewale
YOUTHS, on the
platform of Sapele
Okpe Youths Mandate for
Change, in Sapele Local
Government Area, has
described the recent
appointment and
empowerment
programmes across Delta
State by Senator Ovie
Omo-Agege as laudable
and commendable.
The group attributed it
to the love the Deputy
Senate President has for
his people, but decried the
alienation of Okpe youths
in Sapele council from
appointments and empowerment
programmes.
According to
Convener of the group,
Owin Orhomonokpeye,
Omo-Agege’s action was
unfortunate given the
youths’ sacrifices in his
electoral victory.
In a statement,
Orhomonokpeye said
the deputy chairman of
All progressives
Congress, APC, Delta
State, Elvis Ayomanor,
knows the youths’
contribution to Senator
Omo-Agege’s victory,
but ignored their
demand to be included
in the appointment and
empowerment scheme.
ROUND TABLE: From left— Executive Director, Large Enterprises, Bank of Industry, BoI, Mr. Simon
Aranonu; Managing Director, BoI, Mr. Olukayode Pitan; President, International Committee of the Red Cross,
Peter Maurer; Board Director, BoI, Alhaji Mohammed Bintube; Executive Director, BoI, Mrs. Toyin Adeniji,
and Executive Director, Small and Medium Enterprises, Mr. Omar Shekarau, at the round table organised by
BoI and ECC towards investing in conflict-ridden communities, in Abuja, yesterday.
Herdsmen turning FUTO to
cattle colony—Registrar
By Chidi Nkwopara
O WERRI—THE
management of
Federal University of
Technology, Owerri, FUTO,
has raised the alarm that
herdsmen and their cows
have invaded the
institution.
Speaking to Vanguard
yesterday, the Registrar,
Mr. John Nnabuihe,
wondered why herdsmen
want to turn the campus
into a grazing area.
According to him, “it was
not funny driving to the
Senate building this
morning (yesterday). It is
baffling why herdsmen are
gradually transforming
FUTO premises into a cattle
colony.”
The Registrar said the
institution has written to the
chairman, Cattle Owners
Association, Obinze,
complaining about the
development.
Part of the letter, dated
September 4, and copied to
heads of security agencies
in the state, read: “I write
on the authority of the Vice
Chancellor, to draw your
attention to the incessant
invasion of herdsmen and
their cattle on the campus
of the Federal University of
Technology, Owerri.”
He reminded the Cattle
Owners Association
chairman that government
prohibited the group from
grazing on university lands
and environs.
He added: “The sensitive
nature of grazing on
campus and the obvious
tension it breeds among
students, may ultimately
lead to clashes, if not
curbed. This is given the
current precarious security
challenges associated with
open grazing.”
The university then
requested the chairman to
urgently intervene by
directing the herdsmen to
desist from grazing within
the campus.
By Chinonso Alozie
O WERRI—SENATOR
Rochas Okorocha
yesterday, boasted that his
successor, Governor Emeka
Ihedioha was afraid of him.
Okorocha spoke in Owerri
through his Special
Adviser on Media, Sam
Onwuemeodo, in reaction
to a law suit filed against
him by Ihedioha.
Okorocha, the immediate
past governor of the state
said the court action was a
bad example by the current
government.
It stated: “Imo State
governor, Chief Emeka
Ihedioha had falsely
denied ordering the arrest
of his predecessor, Senator
Rochas Okorocha, about
one month after the arrest
order was issued.
“He has also taken the
former governor to court in
his resolve to continue to
step on his toes, that of his
family members and all
those who served the state
under him.
“In the suit filed at the
Magistrate Court on
Friday, September 6, Chief
Ihedioha claimed that since
he became governor,
Senator Okorocha has
‘consistently been in the
deplorable habit of
fomenting trouble’ and that
he is ‘always in Owerri to
“Note that security
agencies have been alerted
to take measures against
anyone grazing cattle
within the university
environment,” the
Registrar added.
Meanwhile, the Institute
intimidate
government’.”
his
‘Okorocha hardly
comes to Imo’
But Onwuemeodo said
that “Okorocha left Imo in
the evening of May 29. He
was not in Imo when
Ihedioha and his
avalanche of task forces
and committees
descended on his
children and investments.
He was not in Imo when
his daughter was slapped
and shops of the daughter
and wife were invaded
and looted.
“Between May 29 and
today, Okorocha had
visited Imo only once. He
left after spending two
days. He was also not in
Imo when they took about
700 thugs to invade his
private residence at Sipbat.
It took the intervention of
well-meaning Imo people,
including youths, to stop
them.
“The next thing
Ihedioha did through the
Secretary to the State
Government, Uche
Onyeaguocha was to
order for the arrest of
Okorocha. The whole world
descended on them and
condemned that
recklessness and as an
after-thought, he denied
giving the arrest order.
of Women, Gender and
Development Studies, in
collaboration with the
Students Union Government
and FUTO Women
Association, yesterday,
flagged off its war against
vices in the university.
Ihedioha’s scared, says Okorocha
“Why did it take him
almost one month to say
that? The same kind of
denial greeted the
demolition of Akachi Tower.
“Ihedioha has some fears:
the fear of what can be done
to reduce the long antenna
of Okorocha’s steady
popularity among Imolites;
“the fear of how to
overcome the burden
created by Okorocha’s
m o n u m e n t a l
achievements; and the
fear that he never won the
governorship election.
“With these fears, he
decided to fight Rochas
Okorocha with all his
strength, to the extent that
the whole thing has
become petty.
“Obviously, Chief
Ihedioha appears
overwhelmed. Capacity is
key in the governance of
Imo State. And when one
lacks it, he resorts to selfhelp,
which has nothing
to do with visionary or
articulate leadership or
action.
“Governor Ihedioha
should stop being allergic
to Okorocha and to
everything about him.
“This court action is a
very bad example. It is
also embarrassing like his
previous actions against an
innocent man who handed
over to him.”

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019—35
GRADUATION: Proprietress of Uncle Bayus School, Ikorodu, Mrs. Idowu (middle),
with some parents and their graduating children during the end of session/graduation
party of the school.
Katsina swaps 6 bandits with 20
kidnap victims, others
By Bashir Bello
KATSINA —KATSINA
State government,
yesterday, swapped six
suspected bandits for the
release of 20 kidnap victims
in the bandits’ captivity.
Governor Aminu Masari of
Katsina State while handing
over the bandits, who were
kept in some security
agencies' detention, to their
leaders, said the bandits
were expected to in turn
release 20 kidnap victims in
their den before the end of
yesterday.
The bandits had on,
Monday, freed five kidnap
victims in their captivity to
the government in the state.
It will be recalled that
Governor Masari, last week,
embarked on tour of the
hideouts of the bandits in
eight frontline local
government areas of the state
to dialogue with them on the
need to embrace peace and
stop the needless killings,
kidnappings and cattle
rustling among others.
Masari said the process
was in fulfillment of the
agreement reached during
ongoing dialogue in the
eight frontline local
governments in Katsina
State.
According to him, “Part of
the agreement with
suspected cattle rustlers and
bandits is that government
would hand over their
members in detention that
have not been prosecuted
and they would in return
handover to government
people that have been
kidnapped.
“The process had started
yesterday (Monday) where
the suspected bandits
surrendered five kidnapped
people and before closing
time today (yesterday), they
are going to return many
people kidnapped that are
in their custody. Six
suspected bandits and cattle
rustlers are now being
released to their two leaders,
they (bandits) would in turn
release 20 kidnapped
people by the end of today
(yesterday).”
Masari, however,
expressed hope that the
process would be completed
within the next one or two
days to enable the
government start the second
phase of the peace initiatives
that have started with the
visit to the localities by the
state government in
particular and the North
Western states in general.
Ikeja DISCO, Labour sign pact on workers’
condition of service
By Victor Young
THE protracted dispute
between the
management of Ikeja
Electricity Distribution
Company, DISCO, Ikeja, and
organised labour in the power
sector over a Collective
Bargaining Agreement,
CBA, detailing the conditions
of service of workers, was
yesterday, settled with the
signing of agreement by the
two parties.
Under the aegis of
National Union of Electricity
Employees, NUEE, and its
Senior Staff Association of
Electricity and Allied
Companies, SSAEAC,
counterpart, and the
management of the
distribution company, signed
the CBA at the Alausa
headquarters of the
distribution company.
Managing Director/Chief
Executive Officer, Mr
Anthony Youdeowei, and
Chief Human Resource and
Administration Officer, Mr
Henry Ajibola, signed the
agreement on behalf of Ikeja
DISCO.
According toYoudeowei,
the agreement was for the
interest of both parties
because it would ensure
peace and enhance
productivity.
Addressing the workers of
the company after the
signing, NUEE General
Secretary, Mr Joe Ajaero, said
the signing was the first
phase and that the major
issue was its implementation.
According to him, "the
signing of condition of service
for workers in Ikeja Electric
is the first phase. It is the duty
of the union to enforce
compliance. No matter how
good a condition of service is,
there must be implemention.’’
He lamented that workers
had been sacked and their
right abused, but declared
that such would no longer
happen with the new
condition of service,
informing that the next stage
was to negotiate for an
increase in salary, which was
not the same as the condition
of service.
Advising the workers to be
more productive and that
they would begin to get their
rightful entitlements with the
agreement, he said: ‘’Now,
any employer that asks a
worker to do any job beyond
office hour will pay the right
allowance. Days of slave
labour is over. Any worker
that is sacked today will be
paid the right entitlement."
Bayelsa partners GEF, UNDP to save N-Delta
red monkey from extinction
By Samuel
Oyadongha
YENAGOA— BAYELSA
State government in
partnership with Global
Environment Facility, GEF,
and United Nations
Development Programme,
UNDP, have launched a
programme to preserve the
endangered Niger Delta
Red Colombus monkey from
extinction.
Already, a total of 7,080
hectares of gazetted forest
reserve spanning Apoi,
Kokologbene and Gbaraun
communities have been
established to preserve the
endangered red Colombus
monkey specie.
Speaking at a forum in
Yenagoa, which had in
attendance representatives
from Apoi, Kokologbene and
Gbaraun communities, the
state government through
the Permanent Secretary,
Ministry of Environment,
Mr. Adaka Ezekiel, called on
the people to help sustain the
programme.
“You ought to be at the
vanguard to protect and
conserve the critically
endangered Niger Delta
Red Colombus monkey
(poliocolobus epieni). Recall
an awareness campaign/
rally was recently held in
Yenagoa, the state capital on
the need to preserve this
specie of monkey found only
in Bayelsa,” he said.
Also speaking, an
environmental consultant,
Mr. Aroboi Okonofua said:
“The Apoi creek forest
reserve is very important not
only to Bayelsa but to the
whole world.
“It has the ‘epieni’ which
is the Niger Delta Red
Monkey. They are only
found in this area and
nowhere else in the whole
world.
“Hunters have been asked
not to kill the monkey
anymore because we risk not
having them anywhere in
the globe if not conserved
and preserved now.
“To this end, youths in the
communities have been
trained on the protection and
conservation of the
endangered monkey
specie.”
Speaking on behalf of the
communities, Mr. Duba
Matthew, thanked the state
government and others for
initiating the programme
and promised to key into it.
100 days in office: NAPPMED
seeks continued support for
Okowa
By Festus Ahon
A SABA—NIGERIA
Association of Patent
and Proprietary
Medicine Dealers,
NAPPMED, Delta State
chapter has called for
continued support for
Governor Ifeanyi Okowa
for a stronger Delta.
Assessing Okowa’s
achievements in his first
100 days in office in his
second tenure, the group
expressed satisfaction
with the developmental
strides of the governor.
Describing Okowa’s
second coming as an act
of God, NAPPMED, in a
statement by Prince
Macauley Ezewu,
Enakireru congratulates Omo-
Agege over victory at tribunal
A
leader of All
Progressives
Congress, APC, in Uvwie
Local Government Area,
John Enakireru, has
congratulated Senator
Ovie Omo-Agege, Deputy
President of the Senate on
his victory at the National
Assembly Election Petition
Tribunal sitting in Asaba,
Delta State.
Enakireru in an interview
in Effurun, Delta State said
he was not surprised
because Omo Agege with
leaders of the party
campaigned vigorously
through the nooks and
crannies of Delta Central
senatorial district leading
to the victory of the party
in all elections in the state.
“The victory of Senator
Omo Agege Deputy at the
election petition tribunal in
Group organises walk to
sensitise public on danger of
suicide
NIGERIANS from all
walks of life have
staged a walk, tagged "Walk
Against Suicide,” to
sensitise the general public
on the danger of suicide.
The walk, which started
at the main gate of Yaba
College of Technology,
Lagos State, kicked off at
8am, with a procession
round Yaba College of
Technology premises
before heading for
Shomolu, a suburb of
Lagos.
The event which was
sponsored by Longrich
Mandate in partnership
with United Nations
Information Centre, UNIC,
Lagos but put forward by
the Glittow Hope
Foundation kick-started
series of activities to
celebrate “World Suicide
Prevention Day 2019 with
the theme: “Working
President; Chief Gabriel
Okobia, Secretary and
Chief Lucky Esidje
lauded Deltans for their
massive support for
Okowa.
They said Okowa has
“done a lot of things,
elevating the people of
the state, ranging from
empowerment of Deltans
in all areas and the
rehabilitation and
construction of roads in
all the 25 local
government areas of the
state.”
NAPPMED promised
to continue to support
the state Commissioner
for Health and National
Assembly members from
Delta State to make Delta
the Dubai of Africa.
Asaba is well deserved and
we, the APC family of
Uvwie Local Government
Area, are expecting the
bigger one very soon. His
victories at the general
election and the election
petition tribunal are
confirmation that Delta
Central and Delta State is
indeed an APC state.”
Enakireru said the
Deputy President of the
Senate has within the last
three months displayed
high level leadership in his
efforts to alleviate the
suffering of his people
through empowerment
and appointments.
He specifically
commended him for those
he empowered and
appointed from Uvwie
LGA.
Together To Prevent Suicide.”
During the walk,
members of the group
displayed placards with
inscriptions such as “Say
Yes To Life; Choose To Live;
You Are Not Alone; Say No
To Negativity; Suicide Is
Not An Option; Suicide
may seem to be an escape
from distress to the culprit.
It is the beginning of
endless distress for those
left behind.”
In a chat with Vanguard,
Convener of the walk,
Oluwatobi Abodurin, said
inspiration came as a result
of the rising cases of
suicide in Nigeria,
propelled by frustration
and depression. She
lamented that most of the
victims embraced the act for
lack of adequate care and
love. She advised that an
organised counselling
session be structured to
stem the ugly tide.

36— Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019
WITH HENRY OJELU
midweekpersonality@gmail.com
08111813061 (sms only)
KEN ANORUO:
Lawyer cum
philanthropist with
passion for orphanage
homes
His name may not ring a bell in the roll call of
prominent lawyers in Nigeria, but
Ken Anoruo is making impact in areas outside
of the legal profession. For over 10 years, Anoruo
has successful executed a strategy of supporting
motherless baby’s homes through students’
participation. In this interview, he shares insight on
the strategy, his challenges and expectations from
government.
Background
I am a native of Obogwe
in Umunwaku autonomous
community of Ohaji/Egbema
Local Government Area of
Imo state. My father, late Pa
Alphonsus Uchewuako
Anoruo was a civil servant
and my mother late Mrs.
Irene Anoruo was a farmer. I
attended Central School
Umunwaku, Ohaji, for my
primary school. After my
secondary school, I was
admitted into Adeniran
Ogunsanya College of
Education Ijanikin where I
studied Economics and
Political Science. From
there, I proceeded to the
Lagos State University
where I obtained my First
Degree in Law. I was called
to the Nigerian Bar on
November 25, 2015.
Childhood Dreams
My childhood dream has
been to make impact and
stand out in whatever I find
myself doing. As to whether
or not it has been achieved,
I will say it’s a work in
progress. Though I have
achieved some, I am not
there yet. The most
important thing is to start
well on a good foundation.
And like the scripture says,
“the hand of Zerubabel has
laid this foundation, and he
must finish it “.
Challenges growing up
My childhood is one
characterized by a lot of
challenges. First I lost my
mother at a very tender age
and my father refused to
remarry. According to him,
my mother loved and
respected him so much that
he did not think he could
ever get a woman that would
be a close substitute.
Secondly, he said he
wouldn’t like any woman to
come in and maltreat us.
So that decision made me
and my siblings not to
experience motherly care.
In addition to that, four of
my sisters were sent out as
housemaids, thereby
leaving us with much
domestic works and less
time to play unlike some of
our
mates
who
could
afford
the
luxury of
playing
moments
due to
the fact
that
they had
sisters
who
could do
most of
the
domestic
chores
at home.
At some
point, I
was
almost
frustrated
out of
school
due to
non
payment
of school
fees. So I was on and off
school. It took the
intervention of my eldest
I believe that
the world will
become a
better place for
all if we
devote our
time to doing
good to our
fellow man.
We are blessed
to be a
blessing and
anything short
of that to me is
a wasted
purpose
brother Chidi Anoruo (now
late) to revive my dreams.
Orphanage homes
project
Basically the project was
conceived to motivate
people especially students
to imbibe the culture of
giving. The desire to
inculcate certain
humanitarian values into
Kenneth Anoruo
children is the primary
motivation behind the
project. The idea is to see
the project or similar ideas
duplicated in different forms
by these students in their
various endeavors. Today in
our society, people find it
difficult to part with their
belongings and valuables
not knowing
that is one of
the ways to
live a happy
life. Come to
think of it,
how many
orphans and
beggars can I
feed? Or how
many widows
can I assist
alone? So
since the
vision is to
make the
society better
by taking
care of the
vulnerable
amongst us, I
feel there is
the need to
educate the
younger
generation to
emulate the
idea. Besides
mobilizing
the students
to give
whatever
they can afford to orphans,
I also encourage them to
join me in my other
humanitarian activities
carried out by my
foundation, Ken Anouro
Centre for Humanitarian
Initiative, KACHI.
The passion
My humanitarian activities
are simply my own way of
giving a definition to my
philosophy of life. I believe
that the world will become a
better place for all if we
devote our time to doing
good to our fellow man. We
are blessed to be a blessing
and anything short of that to
me is a wasted purpose. So
from the little God has
blesses me, I try as much as
I can to use to affect lives.
Orphanage reforms
I think that the
government should as a
matter of urgency rise up to
the occasion and pay more
attention to the operation of
orphanage homes in
Nigeria. The ministries of
women affairs of the various
states should be concerned
about the activities in the
orphanage home. There is
so much rot in orphanage
homes operation across the
country. Many use it as a
conduit for perpetrating
heinous crimes such as
child trafficking and rituals.
Government should set up
a committee to monitor the
activities of these homes
and ensure that every
children home is set up
with a clear vision which
must make these
vulnerable children better
persons in the future.
Orphanage homes should
not be a business venture
with which their operators
use to swindle unsuspecting
members of the public.
Other projects
Aside our orphanage
homes project, we also run
a pre-varsity tutorial
academy. The academy has
made tremendous impact
since inception and this
justifies the reason it is the
number one name that
comes to the mind of
prospective Joint Admission
and Matriculation Board,
JAMB examination
candidates. We run a six
month intensive program
which is designed to
properly equip the students.
The aim is to make the
students self reliant at the
end of the program. Since
students are moving into
another phase of life, the
least we owe them is to
make a radical
dislodgement of certain set
patterns which have for
long conscripted them in a
cocoon of fear and
inferiority complex. The
radical dislodgement of
those set patterns gives
room of a reorientation
which will make them tilt
towards a better direction
in life. Today our students
are doing very well with
many graduating with first
class in different higher
institutions.
Role models
The truth is that looking
up to people in life
sometimes could be
discouraging and
frustrating thereby making
one to lose focus. Life is not
about competition and who
has achieved most or the
least in life. Rather, it
should be more of purpose
and impact. No two people
can make the same impact
in life. The lives of
Methuselah and Christ
illustrate one principle; it is
not the years in one’s life
that matters but the life in
one’s years. I always look
up to God for greater
impact, but that doesn’t
mean I don’t have people
that I consult whenever I
need some advice.
Biggest life’s lesson
One of the biggest lessons
I have learnt is that life
does not give you what you
want; it only gives you what
it has at a moment in time.
It is left for you to decide
what to make out of it.
Advice for
entrepreneurs
For upcoming
entrepreneurs, the basic
tools for building a striving
business include
dedication, diligence and
self discipline. No business
grows overnight. A
business is like a new born
baby who has to undergo
certain stages with
changes, from childhood to
adolescent, to youth and
adulthood. In all these
stages, the parents need
patience, dedication and a
defined family value with
which the child will be
known with. That is how
businesses work.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019 — 37

38 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019 — 39

40—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019
Atiku, ambition and the endgame
By Louis Odion, FNGE
So, after all his thunderous im
precations and venomous profiling
of the Wazirin Adamawa as
“hopelessly corrupt”, OBJ could not
resist the temptation of a N50m
“egunje” from the same tainted
hand. Perhaps, our ever sanctimonious
patriarch never reckoned the
secret would leak.
No less amusing was the explanation
offered by the giver when the
EFCC hound uncovered an assortment
of fingerprints and footprints
of beneficiaries of a staggering
150m Euros (N60b) moneybag
Atiku allegedly laundered ahead of
the 2019 polls of which a consortium
of local and foreign marabouts
were said to have assured him, with
oracular certainty, of a landslide
victory. If the last hurdle to Aso Rock
was cash, the free-spender from
Jada was ready to break the bank,
whether in local or hard currency.
Without the least regard for logic or
shame, Atiku’s spin doctors told us
the strange N50m found in the account
of Obasanjo Library was only
“a donation” to a “non-profit organization”
involved in humanitarian
work. The gods are surely wise.
Of course, only kindergarten pupils
would buy that. Coming after
OBJ had literally declared war on
APC and virtually parlayed any forum
available to hurl personal insults
at President Muhammadu
Buhari, it must have finally dawned
on the more discerning why prescient
Professor Wole Soyinka chose
to christen Obasanjo’s mammoth
Ota edifice “a Laundromat” at its
founding more than a decade ago.
How tragic then that those who
now wish to be looked upon as the
harbingers of Nigeria’s ethical rebirth
are, alas, still unable to prove
to the nation they had in any way
outgrown their old vice of moneysharing
rackets.
Well, the danger of astrology is its
addictiveness. In his most recent
autobiography entitled “My
Watch”, OBJ had, based on stated
“research and observation”, characterized
his deputy (while president
for eight years) as both perennial
captive and slave to sorcerers.
So, once assured of the presidential
crown by fortune-tellers, it would
appear Atiku has become rather
obsessed with becoming king, even
if that meant sedating himself into
a nirvana and dreaming up a magic-realist
kingdom in which he is
both lord and lone inhabitant.
Only such fixation could indeed
explain the desperation lately of
Atiku and his enablers - mostly lurking
in the shadows of cyberspace -
to foist the fable of a coming coronation,
not based on facts but sheer
fantasy.
Juvenile twisting of facts
This psychosis partly manifests in
the juvenile twisting of facts by a mob
who, apparently scarred by the prospects
of languishing another four
years in the political wilderness, now
conveniently choose to not only inhabit
that fantasyland, but also luxuriate
in its numbing make-believe.
It explains their desperation
last weekend to exhume the lighthearted
words uttered by Lai Mohammed
in 2015 as APC spokesman
on the needless controversy
around Buhari’s certificate, package
and re-present same in a totally different
context, just to prop their lame
argument which similarly failed to
fly five years ago.
It is also the reason the Atiku people
would lie shamelessly before the election
tribunal that the otherwise
thoughtful and compassionate TraderMoni
and MarketMoni schemes
initiated by the Buhari administration
was a bribe to induce voters ahead
of the 2019 polls.
Apparently failing to do their research
properly, they even declared,
*Atiku Abubakar
with a ring of authority, that the funds
being disbursed to market women
and the vulnerable in our society were
extra-budgetary spending. Seriously?
But the last time I checked, the twin
programmes were approved by the
Federal Executive Council and duly
funded by the Appropriations Acts of
2017 and 2018.
To be sure, it is quite within the democratic
rights of the candidate of Peoples
Democratic Party to contest the
outcome of the February polls which
gave APC 15,191,847 votes as against
his own distant 11,262,978. But it is
debatable if the arguments marshaled
so far in the past few months
by his legal team are convincing
enough.
Given the cold letters of the law and
legal precedents, it would be herculean
indeed to prove the claim of
electoral malpractices in a presidential
poll. That means the petitioner is
saddled with the arduous task of producing
witnesses to give testimony
proving such infraction in more than
100,000 polling units where the exercise
took place.
This requirement is already well stated
in the decision of the Supreme
Court in Buhari v. Obasanjo (2005)
thus: “The very big obstacle that anyone
who seeks to have the election of
the President or Governor upturned
is very large number of witnesses he
Despite all these
unassailable facts, it
remains a big puzzle
why the Atiku people
still chose to gamble
with the theory of
electronic server
must call due to the size of the respective
constituency. In a country like our
own, he may have to call about
250,000 - 300,000 witnesses. By the
time the court would have heard from
all of them with the way our present
law is couched, the incumbent would
have long finished and left his office
and even if the petitioner finally wins,
it will be an empty victory bereft of
substance.” So, PDP’s present case at
the presidential election tribunal is
anchored primarily on two main legs
viz INEC server and Buhari’s “lack of
school certificate”.
But rather than persuade, the argument
on the server has been most
amusing. From the outset, no one disputes
that the entire polls were premised
on the Electoral Act 2010 (as
amended). Relentless pressures
mounted on President Muhammadu
Buhari to assent to a raft of amendments
proposed by the Bukola Saraki-led
Senate seeking electronic
transmission of results did not succeed.
The President’s action was informed
by the superior argument that for the
purpose of the 2019 polls, much as
desirable as electronic transmission
would conduce to the sanctity of the
ballot, the sad reality was that a considerable
ratio of the over 100,000
polling units in 774 councils across
the federation and Abuja was yet to be
covered by digital networks to experiment
with such innovation.
What’s more, an authority no less
than the nation’s chief electoral umpire
himself did attest, before hand
and without ambiguity, that only
manual transmission of results was
applicable in the exercise.
Despite all these unassailable facts,
it remains a big puzzle why the Atiku
people still chose to gamble with the
theory of electronic server. By the curious
calculations of the fictive server,
PDP polled 18,356,732 votes ahead
of APC’s 16,741,430.
Fine. But the devil is actually in the
details. It turned out the Kenyan the
petitioner had touted as possessing the
“smoking gun” himself admitted,
under cross-examination, that the
data he tendered was gleaned from
the website created two weeks after
the results were announced by a faceless
“whistle-blower”. Worse, it was
discovered that the IP address of the
website is a commercial one patronized
by all manner of businessmen in
many countries across the world.
More comedy. Again invoking the
same “server” like a talisman, the
Atiku people had pooh-poohed the
INEC results announced in Borno in
favor of Buhari on the grounds that
the high numbers were unjustifiable
given the ongoing Boko Haram insurgency
in the area. But wait a minute
- it turned out that the figures allocated
to Atiku in the same Borno by the
all-knowing “server” are far higher
than those of Buhari which they had
faulted vigorously as impossible because
of security issue!
A symbolic victory
However, the “server” was not bold
enough to discredit the figures from
Atiku’s own polling unit in his native
Adamawa where Buhari entered a
symbolic victory by polling 186 to the
former’s 167.
On the issue of Buhari’s academic
credentials, it is perhaps a measure of
PDP’s infinite capacity for mischief
that the bogey of “no school cert” is
still being retailed till date, having
failed woefully to gain traction back
in 2015. To begin with, isn’t it amazing
that a nation could even be beguiled
into entertaining such a doubt
about a man who records clearly confirm
had not only attended numerous
official courses conferring higher academic
status during a career spanning
over three decades, but also had
the uncommon privilege of leading
the country as head of state between
1984 and 1985?
Perhaps the easiest way to validate
history is to cite witnesses. Luckily,
some of Buhari’s classmates at Provincial
Secondary School, Katsina in
1961, are still alive. To prove doubters
wrong, the President has even gone
the extra mile by making public a
black-and-white photograph showing
him then in company of classmates
including now retired President
of the Court of Appeal, Justice Umaru
Abdullahi.
This truth has not been disputed, nor
has Justice Abdullahi denied.
On the contrary, it is open secret today
that, in their last-ditch effort to
rake up muck but in abject ignorance
of the confidentiality principle of English
system, PDP’s agents had approached
University of Cambridge in
the U.K. to ascertain whether Buhari
actually sat for school certificate. But
seen as “busy-bodies”, the authorities
at the British institution declined the
applicants. The request was only
granted when Buhari’s representative
duly applied for the results which was
later tendered before the court.
Against this overwhelming backcloth,
the rationally minded cannot
but wonder what may be giving Atiku
and his crowd confidence. Maybe, it
is the metaphysics of the marabouts.
•Odion is Senior Technical
Assistant (Media) to the President.
Delta State and Okowa’s
worthy example
By Matthew Ozah
George Orwell was quoted to
have said about one of his
novels, Animal Farm “If it does
not speak for itself, it is a failure”.
At the end of the day, the novel did
not speak for itself because of
what critics refer to as its fanciful
treatment of the suppression of a
revolution by tyrants. Also, it is
always less successful for anyone
to husband the reputation of any
politician or public figure without
some definite achievements to
anchor with. Therefore, praise
singing without any evidence will
always be an exercise in futility
and a venture that will not satisfy
its mission or see the light of day.
In that case, the time has come
to smash the gloomiest myths
about Nigeria’s politics by giving
honour to whom it is appropriately
due. This is because it is human
nature and particularly in the char-
*Ifeayi Okowa
acter of mischievous persons to
always focus on the bad news rather
than the good ones about people,
events and places. For instance,
if you ask a cross section
of people this question: Do you
believe or trust Nigeria’s politicians?
The answer that you may
get is not farfetched. Of course,
majority will respond negatively
due to the ugly political activities
and poor performance of political
office holders across the country.
However, for the incumbent
Delta State Governor, Senator Ifeanyi
Okowa, he does not need
any propaganda machinery or
image laundry from political contractors
to appear clean before the
people. Okowa’s administration is
not in the business of talking or
seeking who to speak on its behalf.
Rather, it has chosen to set
out goals and has determined to
stop at nothing than to develop the
state. As it were, the people have
become the image launders and
positive mouthpiece of the
Okowa’s government. This is because,
for twenty eight years since
Delta State was created the indigenes
have not seen the level of
infrastructural development save
for the tenures of Felix Ibru, the
first civilian governor of the state
and that of the Odidigborigbo,
James Ibori.
Politics has not been idle or
meaningless under Okowa’s administration
and in trying to curb
the bigoted behaviour associated
with government contracts, the
check and balance has become an
The task and demonstration
that government
is capable of
fighting off corruption
to a marginable extent
has shown in Okowa’s
performance and attitude
towards the business
of governance
institution. The state government
is doing its best to change the complexion
of politics from self-enrichment
to selfless service to the people
and state. However, it would
not be easy to dismiss some elements
of glib among politicians
in the state. Without doubt, Okowa
has definitely taken the state to
unique heights and on the lips of
Deltans, speaks volume of his performance.
This writer traversed
the state recently, and the level
and quality of road rehabilitation
I saw in Sapele, is absolutely
amazing. Roads in the ancient city
among others in the state are either
rehabilitated or constructed
afresh to link up villages and
towns. For instance, the Akumazi/
Ekuoma road, Owerre-Olubor/
Uteogbeje road, Umunede/
Otolokpo road, Mbiri Emuhu
road among others scattered
across the state.
Politics and performance have
not been this smooth in the state.
Therefore, it is magical in the eyes
of many and to show the level of
their ecstasy, Deltans now refer to
governor Okowa as ‘The road
Master’. However, the governor
being who he is, simply selfless,
humble and filled with humane
character does not allow arrogance
of power to engulf him.
Therefore, he constantly attributes
his success to the peace that exists
among the people in the state. The
other day, while receiving members
of the state council of traditional
rulers, he said, “Traditional
rulers in the state have done so
much for us, you are architects of
peace in our state. When the various
Kingdoms are at peace with
themselves, God will bless the
state…” Indeed, Okowa is a blessing
to the state looking at the arrays
of achievements connected to
his government. It has always
been the headache of political
parties during elections to worry
about who occupies the Government
House. Ordinarily, Deltans
have no angst about who is the
henchman or woman, which
makes it possible for citizens of
the state to ask questions when
things are going wrong and speak
in praise when it is necessary just
as it is the case now.
Task and demonstration
The task and demonstration that
government is capable of fighting
off corruption to a marginable extent
has shown in Okowa’s performance
and attitude towards
the business of governance. According
to the Minister of Aviation,
Hadi Sirika, who, recently
inspected facilities at the Asaba
International Airport said: “Governor
Ifeanyi Okowa is always a
very serious minded person, very
focused, principled and always
committed to doing the right
thing, I have been informed how
he ensured transparency in the
concessioning of the Asaba airport.
Some of his friends bid for
the airport and lost, and in the interest
of his people, he did not interfere
and did not care whether
his friends lost but what he wanted
was quality and the right people
to run the airport and I think
this is what will help our nation”.
The conclusion of this matter is
that Okowa’s performance has provided
an enduring underpinning
that government is a continuum. Instead
of chasing shadows in the
name of probe, investigation and
heaping blames on previous administration,
Okowa has chosen to hit
the ground running. Equally encouraging
under Okowa’s administration
is the ability to house all
government agencies and parastatals
under one roof at the state secretariat.
This has not only saved the
government huge revenue on rents
but also allow quick attention to the
business of governance. It is the citizens
and not the governor’s men
who should testify to a ‘hypothesis’
that, ‘so, government can work?’

vanguardnews @vanguardnews @vanguardnews
Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019 — 41
NEWS HOTLINES
018773962,
08052867058
Shiitte members on the street of Abuja before the arrival of security men,
yesterday. Photo: Gbemiga Olamikan.
AFRICAN SECURITY LEADERSHIP SUMMIT—From left: Board
Chairman, Global Initiative for Leadership Success (GILS), retired Maj.-
Gen. Abdullahi Mamman; Chief Sunny Chukwumele and President
Muhammadu Buhari, during their meeting at the Presidential Villa on the
forthcoming African Security Leadership Summit in Abuja, yesterday. Photo:
NAN.
How I stopped Jonathan from giving life pension, immunity
to NASS members —ADOKE
•Says he took risk to save Nigeria from
costly presidential blunders
By Soni Daniel,
Northern Region
Editor
A BUJA—Former
Attorney General
and Justice Minister,
Mohammed Adoke, has
revealed how he risked
his job by prevailing
former president
Goodluck Jonathan to
withdraw assent to a bill
that would have made
presiding officers in
Nigeria’s legislature
one of the most powerful
groups of people in the
country.
The bill, which had
already been signed by
Jonathan and was about
to be transmitted to the
National Assembly
before Adoke got wind
of it, granted huge life
pensions and immunity
from prosecution for
Nigerian lawmakers
after leaving office.
The revelations are
contained in Adoke’s
latest book entitled
“Burden of Service:
reminiscences of a
Nigeria’s former
Attorney General” due
for presentation next
week.
According to the former
minister, the proposed
amendments embedded
under the Constitution’s
Fourth Amendment Bill
2015, was passed by the
National Assembly after
the 2015 elections.
Adoke recalled in the
book: “I had travelled
out of the country when
this happened and on
return discovered that
the bill had not been
forwarded to me for
review as was the
practice with President
Jonathan.
“On getting wind that
the president was about
to transmit his assent to
the National Assembly, I
Naira depreciates to N362.80 /$
in I&E window
By Elizabeth Adegbesan
The naira yesterday depreciated to N362.80 per
dollar in the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window.
Data from FMDQ showed that the indicative
exchange rate for the I&E window rose to N362.80
per dollar yesterday from N362.18 per dollar on
Monday, translating to 62 kobo depreciation for the
naira.
The volume of dollars traded on the window
dropped by 11 percent to $174.59million from
$196.51 million on Monday.
However, the naira appreciated by 20 kobo in the
parallel market yesterday.
According to naijabdcs.com, the live exchange rate
platform of the Association of Bureaux De Change
Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), the parallel market
exchange rate dropped to N358 per dollar yesterday
from N358.2 per dollar on Monday translating to
20 kobo appreciation of the naira.
quickly placed a call to
the Senior Special
Assistant to the
President on
Administration, Mr. Matt
Aikhionbare, to confirm
if, indeed, the President
<strong>BAILOUT</strong>: <strong>Pressure</strong> on states as FG
starts deductions
Continues from Page 5
Fiscal Framework shows
that Nigeria faces
significant medium-term
fiscal challenges,
especially with respect to
revenue generation and
rapid growth in
personnel costs.”
The draft MTEF/FSP
indicated that the federal
government would spend
less on capital projects in
the next two years.
From the current N3.184
trillion, representing
about 32 per cent of total
expenditure, the
document indicated that
only N2.053 trillion or 21
per cent of the federal
government total budget
would be available for
capital projects next year.
The amount would be
N2. 030 in 2021 (20 per
cent) and then marginally
rise to N2.047 trillion in
2022.
Conversely, and
contrary to this
administration’s earlier
plan to progressively
raise capital expenditure,
recurrent budget would
be raised from the current
N4. 385 trillion to N4.749
trillion in 2020; N4.883
trillion in 2021; and
had signed the bill.
“Upon confirmation
that he had, I requested
Aikhionbare not to
transmit the instrument
to the National Assembly
as I needed to discuss
some of the amendments
with the President,” he
wrote.
According to him, the
several amendments
approved by Jonathan
were serious
N4.900 in 2022.
The MTEF/FSP
equally showed that debt
service would rise from
the current N2.144
trillion to N2.452 trillion
in 2020; N2. 737 trillion
in 2021 ; and N2.942
trillion in 2022.
Mrs. Ahmed
announced that oil
production levels would
be based on an average
projection of 2.18 million
barrels per day (bpd) in
2020, down from the
current 2.3 million bpd.
“We believe that this is
a more realistic
projection,’’ she said.
It would be raised to
2.22 million bpd in 2021
and 2.36 million bpd in
2022.
According to her,
“actual daily crude oil
production and exports
have been well below
budget projection since
2013, despite installed
capacity of up to 2. 5
million bpd for a number
of reasons.
‘’For 2018, actual
production was 1.86
mbpd and for the first
half of 2019, it was 1.86
mbpd
production).’’
(base
constitutional breaches,
which were done without
recourse to due process.
The former minister
said however that when
he rushed and met
Jonathan and pointed
out the grave
implications of his
action, he agreed to
drop the transmission of
the bill to the NASS.
According to Adoke,
some of the provisions
Oil benchmark
set at $55/barrel
The Federal
Government also set a
lower benchmark oil
price of $55 per barrel,
against the $60 per
barrel in the current
budget.
The minister explained
that the administration
expected an oil glut in
2020, as well as the need
to cushion unexpected
oil price shocks.
Exchange rate was left
at N305 /$1 throughout
the three-year period of
the MTEF.
Debt
The document showed
that the debt-to-revenue
ration which stood at 31
per cent in the current
budget, would rise to
about 33 per cent in 2020
and increase to 38 in
2021, before falling
marginally to 37 per cent
in 2022.
New borrowings
would, however, be
moderated from the
current N1. 605 trillion
to N1.700 trillion in
2020; N1. 600 trillion in
2021 and N1. 300 trillion
in 2022.
Government
approved by Jonathan
were self-serving and
not in the interest of the
nation and he had to
move against them.
“For one, the bill
sought to take away the
power of the president to
assent to constitutional
amendments and would
mean that the National
Assembly could amend
the Constitution and
bring it into force without
presidential approval."
requires tough
decisions
She added that in order
to achieve sustainable
fiscal objectives of the
federal government,
bold steps must be taken
by the administration.
“Achieving fiscal
sustainability and macrofiscal
objectives of the
government will require
bold, decisive and
urgent action.
Government is
determined to act as may
be required,” the
minister said.
2018, HY 2019
Budget
performances
The Director-General of
the Budget Office, Mr.
Ben Akabueze, revealed
that the federal
government had been
running on deficit
budgets due to low
revenue generation.
“In summary, for 2018
the aggregate revenue
collected was about N4
trillion and expenditure
was about N7 trillion,
which included about
N1.7 trillion of capital
expenditure. For half
year 2019, we have
realized about N2 trillion
and expenditure about
N3. 3 trillion,’’ he said.

42— Vanguard, WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 11, 2019
TRIBUNAL: Uncertainty as Adeyeye,
others lose seats
By Clifford Ndujihe,
Henry Umoru, Ola Ajayi,
Rotimi Ojomoyela,
Chioma Onuegbu,
Marie-Therese Nanlong
& Jane Echewodo
THE rank of Federal
lawmakers, who got stinging
verdicts at the National Assembly
Election Petitions Tribunals
swelled, yesterday, with the sack
of Senator Dayo Adeyeye, APC,
Ekiti South.
The Ekiti tribunal in a
unanimous judgement declared
former Senate Minority Leader
and the candidate of the People’s
Democratic Party, Senator Biodun
Olujimi as the winner of the
February 23, 2019 poll.
Senator Adeyeye, who is
currently the chairman of Senate
Committee on Media, joins the
likes of Senators Dino Melaye
(PDP, Kogi West), and Senate
Chief Whip, Orji Uzor Kalu (APC,
Abia North), whose elections had
earlier being annulled. However,
Adeyeye’s case is the worse as
the tribunals gave Melaye and
Kalu the benefit of a fresh poll and
supplementary election,
respectively.
Adeyeye’s sack came on a day
that some of his colleagues got
favourable rulings.
Senators whose elections were
upheld, yesterday, were Solomon
Adeola (APC, Lagos West),
Abdulfatai Buhari (APC, Oyo
North) and Istifanus Gyang (PDP,
Plateau North).
How Gyang, Gagdi, Maitala
retained seats on the Plateau
The National Assembly Election
Tribunal sitting at West of Mines,
Jos, Plateau State dismissed the
petition of Sanusi Inuwa of the
United Progressives Party, UPP
against Senator Istifanus Gyang
of the PDP for lack of merit.
The Justice Theophilus
Nzeogwu-led Tribunal held that
the petition cannot be sustained
and struck it out on the ground
that the petitioner woefully failed
to prove his case.
“The petitioner failed to prove
his petition because he did not
tender any document to show
that he was indeed validly
nominated to contest for the
Plateau North Senatorial District,”
Nzeogwu said.
Also, another National
Assembly Election Petition
Tribunal sitting at High Court
premises also in Jos, dismissed
the petition filed by Jonathan
Dabo of the PDP against Haruna
Maitala of the All Progressives
Congress, APC, who was
declared the winner of the Jos
North/Bassa federal constituency
election.
The Tribunal dismissed the
petition for lacking in merit,
stressing that the petitioner failed
to prove his case of noncompliance
with the Electoral Act
2010 as amended and therefore,
affirmed the election of Haruna
Maitala.
Similarly, the Tribunal upheld
the election of Yusuf Gagdi of the
APC, who represents Pankshin/
Kanke/Kanam Federal
Constituency and dismissed the
petition filed by Timothy Golu of
the PDP.
•Adeyeye: Loses in Ekiti
•Kalu: Loses in Abia
In a five-hour judgement
delivered, yesterday, the tribunal
held that the petitioner failed to
prove his case of corruption and
non-compliance with the Electoral
Act 2010 as amended.
At the time of this report, the
judgement for the petition of
David Paradang of the Peoples
Democratic Party against
Hezekiah Dimka of the All
Progressives Congress
representing Plateau Central in
the National Assembly was still
being awaited.
Why Tribunal sacked Adeyeye
In Ado Ekiti, the Tribunal in a
unanimous judgement held that
Adeyeye did not win the contest
and declared Senator Biodun
Olujimi the winner of the
senatorial poll.
Following the Independent
National Electoral Commission,
INEC’s declaration of Adeyeye
as winner, Senator Olujimi
approached the tribunal craving
that she should be declared the
actual winner of the election.
She submitted that she scored
the highest number of lawful votes
cast during the keenly contested
poll.
In the alternative, Olujimi
prayed the tribunal to nullify
Adeyeye’s victory and order
supplementary election
accordingly in the district.
In her written address, the
petitioner claimed that the
election was not conducted in
substantial compliance with the
provisions of the Electoral Act,
having been allegedly fraught
with irregularities.
She urged the Tribunal to annul
votes in areas that were found to
•Melaye: Loses in Kogi
•Olujimi: Wins in Ekiti
•Adeyeye out, Olujimi in
•Judgement against me purchased — Adeyeye
•Adeola, Gyang, Gagdi, Maitala, others retain seats
•Chairman assures of fairness, justice in Akwa Ibom
be incredibly marked with
irregularities like over-voting,
multiple thumb-printing, ballot
box snatching, ballot-stuffing and
improper ballot counting should
be cancelled to know the actual
winner of the poll.
The petitioner also accused the
INEC of dereliction of duties,
saying most of the documents used
for the conduct of the election were
not duly signed by agents.
But the respondents countered
the submission, saying INEC did
what was right and constitutional,
by declaring the APC candidate,
who got the highest number of
lawful votes as winner.
Delivering the judgement, the
three -man tribunal led by Justice
D.D. Adeck nullified elections in
some polling units leaving Olujimi
with 54,894 votes and Adeyeye
with 52, 243, and declared Olujimi
the winner of the poll.
On the voting pattern, the
Tribunal said: “It is not tenable to
say that marked ballots were not
properly deposited in the boxes
because when this did not
happen, then it will lead to overvoting
and will affect counting at
every level of collation.
“The petitioner having polled
the highest number of lawful votes
should be declared the winner of
the election. We hereby declare the
petitioner the winner and she is
hereby returned elected.
“We hereby direct the INEC to
withdraw the certificate of return
from the respondent and issue
same to the petitioner,” he said.
Judgement against me
purchased — Adeyeye
Reacting to the verdict, Senator
Adeyeye alleged that the
judgement against him was
purchased, adding that upon
proper scrutiny, what he
described as the filthy lucre that
influenced it will be revealed.
Senator Adeyeye, in a
statement, said: “The judgement
of the tribunal today (yesterday)
is not short of open robbery and
a direct assault on the integrity
of the Nigerian judiciary.
“The whole world knows that
the Senatorial election of
February 23 was the freest and
fairest in the history of our state.
No doubt the judgement was
purchased. And upon proper
scrutiny the filthy lucre that
influenced it will be revealed.
“The judges shamelessly
contradicted themselves
throughout the judgement. They
went to great lengths to reach a
conclusion that did not flow from
the premise with jaundiced and
twisted logic."
Tribunal confirms Buhari’s
election
In Oyo, the Tribunal upheld
the election of the Senator
Abdulfatai Buhar, APC Oyo
North, in a unanimous
judgement delivered by three
man panel led by Justice Sambo
Daka, saying that the petitioner
did not succeed in convincing it
and also failed to prove his case
beyond reasonable doubts.
In a petition marked EPT/OY/
SEN/09/2019, the petitioners,
Mulikat Adeola-Akande of the
PDP asked the court to cancel
the INEC’s declaration of Buhari
as the winner of the March 9
election.
Other members of the panel are
Justice Anthony Akpovi
(Chairman) and Justice
Chinyere Ani.
Apart from upholding the
election of the senator, the panel
also awarded a cost of N150,000
against the petitioners, and
refused to grant the request of the
petitioners for damages.
In his response, Senator Buhari
expressed happiness at the
election and appreciated his party
and his legal team led by Lateef
Fagbemi SAN and his
constituents for their support and
prayers.
Solomon Adeola validly
elected — Tribunal
In Lagos, the Tribunal sitting in
Ikeja, yesterday, ruled that
Senator Solomon Adeola of the
APC won the Lagos West
senatorial election.
The three-member tribunal led
by Justice Kunaza Hamidu, in its
ruling held that the petition filed
by Mr Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour
of the PDP challenging the
election of Adeola failed as it did
not establish any prima facie case
against Adeola.
“The petition lacked merit and
is hereby dismissed. The
declaration of Sen. Solomon
Olamilekan Adeola by the
Independent National Election
Commission (INEC) as winner of
Feb. 23 National Assembly
election is hereby affirmed,” the
tribunal declared.
Rhodes-Vivour had dragged
Adeola and INEC before the
Tribunal, challenging the result
of the Lagos West Senatorial
District election over alleged
irregularities.
The APC and INEC are the
respondents in the case.
Tribunal Chairman assures
parties of justice in Akwa Ibom
Meanwhile, Chairman the
Governorship Election Petition
Tribunal sitting in Uyo, Akwa
Ibom State, Justice A. M Yakubu
has assured the petitioners and
respondents that the panel will
deliver justice to them.
Justice Yakubu gave the
assurance yesterday after the
adoption of the final addresses
presented by the parties before
adjourning the ruling a later date
to be communicated to all parties.
He commended counsels to
both the petitioners and
respondents for the peace
witnessed throughout the
proceedings, adding that the
panel did not experience any
security breach in the course of
handling the cases.
Justice Yakubu said in their final
addresses, 1st Respondent, Mr
Udom Emmanuel represented by
Lead Counsel Onyeachi Ikpeazu
(SAN) filed five processes; 2nd
Respondent, PDP, represented by
Tayo Oyetibo filed five processes;
3rd Respondent, INEC,
represented by Sylva Ogwemoh
(SAN) filed four processes while
the petitioners, Mr Nsima Ekere
and APC, represented by J. S.
Okupeta (SAN) filed eight
processes.
Presenting their final written
addresses earlier, the
Respondents asked the tribunal
to dismiss the objection by the
Petitioners.
Lead Counsel to the petitioner,
J. S. Okupeta (SAN) urged the
tribunal to reject every document
tendered by all the respondents
and to dismiss every objection
tendered against the petition as
stated in its written address.
PDP candidates in high hopes
At the moment the morale
among supporters of the PDP in
Akwa Ibom State is high following
the judgement that upheld the
victory of four of its National
Assembly candidates at the
February 23, 2019 elections.

How can someone so sexy be so
violent?
Dear Bunmi,
My girlfriend regularly
flares up whenever she sees
an argument coming and I
end up resorting to being
submissive just for a peaceful
life. I hate arguments. They
weigh me down. She’s so
horrible to people, both in
person and on the phone but
she reserves actual violence
for me.
She knows I could retaliate
but I never do. She’s 5ft 2in
and I’m 6ft 5in. She’s horrible
but also hot and sexy and I
love her. We’ve been together
for two years but maybe it’s
time to call it quits. Is this
enough reason?
Anjola, by e-mail.
Dear Anjola,
It’s more than enough
reason. Your height and your
Should we try again?
Dear Bunmi,
My ex-boyfriend wants to
get back together with me
after nearly a year apart. We
had a 10-year relationship
but ran into problems
sexually.
I have a very high sex drive
whereas he, for a number of
reasons, doesn’t (or at lease
it died over the last five
years). I like to have sex
whenever I feel like it but he
wanted to do it once a week,
generally on a Saturday
night. It was almost like
making an appointment. The
end came after 18 months
without sex when we had
drifted apart.
Now he says he knows he
was wrong and wants to
change and get the
chemistry back again. He is
suggesting getting
professional help to improve
his sex drive.
I have two concerns. First,
is he just saying this to get
me back or is he really able
to change? More importantly
he’s asked me if I’d had sex
with anyone else since we
split. I know how much it
would cut him up thinking
of his soul-mate sleeping
with someone else, so I said
no.
The truth is I’ve been with
several other men. Should I
take him back? And should I
tell him the whole truth?
Funmi, by e-mail.
gender are irrelevant. No one
should be abused in a
relationship, be it mental or
physical and you are getting
both.
What you feel for her is more
of lust as she’d done nothing
to earn your love. She needs
to change or you need to draw
the curtains. I know you said
you love her, but this is not a
normal, loving relationship.
Not by a million miles.
Why do people walk all over me?
Dear Bunmi,
I am in my 40s, with a
family. I have a husband who
cares for his family but who is
rather bossy.
He sometimes disapproves
of the clothes I wear and hates
me having anything to do
with my divorced single
friends.
My children too take
advantage of my easy-going
nature and disobey me from
time to time.
I have a shop on Lagos
Island. Sometimes I find it
difficult to recover debts owed
by my stubborn customers.
My best friend has always
told me that I should be more
assertive but whenever I try
to be aggressive, it turns to a
quarrel and I end up being
miserable.
I want to be able to tell
people how I feel about the
way they treat me without
feeling guilty.
Oye, by e-mail.
Dear Oye,
One thing you should know
by now is that the more you
let people walk all over you,
the more they take you for
granted.
You should know what you
want; sticking to your
decision is something you
have to work at.
And once you make up our
mind as long as you know
you’re right, don’t waver. You
can’t go through life without
Dear Fun mi,
The fact you’re even
considering this suggest you
still have feelings for this
hurting people.
As for the children, you
need to be stern with them if
you want them to be
disciplined adults.
Try to talk with your husband
about how you feel. It might
take him a while to loosen
some of his hold on you. But
once he does, together you
can then tackle the children’s
upbringing.
What you feel for her is more
of lust as she’d done nothing
to earn your love. She needs
to change or you need to
draw the curtains. I know
you said you love her, but
this is not a normal, loving
relationship. Not by a
million miles
man. But renewing your
relationship is not going to
be easy. Saying he will raise
his game and actually doing
it are two different things.
Let’s assume, for the sake
of argument, he can show
you more physical affection.
Would you be happy to
rekindle this relationship
based on a lie?
You shouldn’t feel guilty
seeing other men while you
were apart, so, while you
may wish to spare the
details, I think he needs to
know.
Ultimately though, this
decision is up to you. He
might want you back but do
you really want to go back to
the way you were. And for
all those 10 years, why didn’t
he offer marriage?
VANGU
ANGUARD, ARD, WEDNESDAY, , SEPTEMBER 11, 2019—43
Can’t get my ex off my mind
Dear Bunmi,
My girlfriend and I split up
two years ago. We lived
together before we did, only
we were always arguing. It
never was that way when we
lived apart. Our arguments
had to do with who did what
and who spent what.
However, in the time we’ve
been apart, I’ve really missed
her. I’ve tried to get back on
my feet by starting a new
relationship, but haven’t met
anyone I really like. Now I
think I might have been too
hasty by letting her go.
Do you think I should ask
her to let us try again?
Tony, By e-mail.
Dear Tony,
When a relationship ends, it
is always for a reason. With
you and your ex, it was
because you had different
ideas on how to share out
chores and how to spend
money. You obviously had a
basic incompatibility in the
way you approach life.
Now, two years later, what
has changed? Have you
altered your views on how
things would be done?
And do you think she’s
altered hers? Most
importantly, is she free to
come back to you?
If you get back together and
one of you hasn’t changed,
you’ll still have the same
problems all over again. Why
not put the past firmly behind
you and move on to someone
new and better?
Betrayed by the two people I
trusted!
Dear Bunmi,
My boyfriend of two years
and I broke up a few months
ago. I was just getting over
the break-up when I learnt
both my best friend and him
were now an item.
When I confronted my socalled
best friend, she
admitted they have feelings
for each other. I’ve since tried
to move on but I can’t as I see
this as a betrayal. I mean,
how do I keep her as my best
friend wile she’s going out
with the only man who ever
meant anything to me?
Clara, by e-mail.
Dear Clara,
Friendship such as you had
with your so-called best friend
is supposed to be an intimate
one. As things stand,
however, you can no longer
exchange the privacy and
trust best friends share, not if
everything you say or do can
be repeated to your ex.
Don’t cut her off completely,
however, as she, and probably
your ex and
mutual friends, will think
you’re jealous.
Be cordial with her if you
see her, but no more than that.
In the meantime, start looking
for a better friend and
boyfriends.
He thinks he’s my son’s dad
Dear Bunmi,
I’m in my mid-twenties
and have a young son. I’ve
been with my boyfriend
since our university days,
but I don’t love him any
more. I only stay in the
relationship because of this
child.
Around the time I became
pregnant, I’d been seeing
someone else for eight
weeks but broke offline
affair because I thought the
kid was my boyfriend’s.
Unfortunately, the boy looks
nothing like him. He looks
like the boy I had a fling
with.
I don’t want to continue to
lie to my boyfriend about my
son, it doesn’t feel right.
But how am I going to tell
my boyfriend what I’ve
done? People have told me
not to tell him but I can’t; I
don’t want to have to lie to
my son or to anyone. It’s
not fair.
Zainab, by e-mail.
Dear Zainab,
I agree with you. To
mislead your son about the
identity of his father would
be a gross deception. To
defraud your boyfriend by
allowing him unknowingly
to raise another man’s son
is equally unacceptable.
Unfortunately, a few
people are now aware of
your plight and you can’t
rely on them to be a part of
any conspiracy of silence.
You need to tell your
boyfriend that you’re
unsure who’s the father of
your child.
The double revelation of
your unfaithfulness and
that he may not, after all,
have a son, will wound
him. Yet, he may have
sensed that you are going
off him.
For everyone’s peace of
mind, a blood test is
needed. After the test, he
might even decide to
support you if he weren’t
the father. I wish you the
best of luck.
Share your problems and release your
burden. Write now to Dear Bunmi,
Vanguard Newspapers, P.M.B 1007,
Apapa, Lagos, or bunmsof@yahoo.co.uk

44 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019
YOUR LUCK TODAY
By Joshua Adeyemo Phone 08056180139
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
“Do not dwell in the past, or worry about
the future, concentrate the mind on
the present moment.”
-Take Heart Quotes-
A big part of happiness and success is letting
go of what you assume your life is supposed
to be, and sincerely appreciating it
for everything that it is in the moment.
- Ella Randle -
TERROR MUDA in “Never say goodbye”
SAYINGS OF
OUR PEOPLE
Knowledge
is
better
t h a n
riches. ~
Cameroon
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.
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.
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.
DUDU in “ROLLING HOT” By A.O. OLAIDE
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.
ASTROLOGICAL COUNSELLING
Send your date and place of birth to the Astrological
Counselling, P.M.B 1007, 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?
Khadija, Ibadan.
Dear Kahadija,
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 finance 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.
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

Xenophobic attacks of
Nigerians in South Africa
“Solution not in appointment of special envoys or
state visit but in current economic challenges in
Nigeria”.
NIGERIANS living in South Africa have yet
again come under attack by local vigilantes.
Many suffered only the destruction of their homes
and business, while some who lost their lives were
not so lucky. As usual reports of these events which
the press described as “Xenophobic attacks” have
attracted the usual condemnation from Nigerian
authorities. The House of Representatives through
a press conference called by the Speaker, was
particularly at the forefront of the demands for
answers from the South African authorities. While
the ruling party called for a nationalisation of South
African-owned business interests, the Presidency
announced that a special envoy had been
appointed to meet with the South African
authorities on the issue. It has now been reported
that as part of a fence-mending efforts, President
Muhammadu Buhari will pay a state visit to South
Africa in October.
To be certain, the recent xenophobic attacks were
not one of a kind. In 2015 and 2017, there occurred
a series of attacks on nationals of foreign countries.
In that attack, nationals of Zimbabwe and Nigeria
bore the brunt of the violence. That particular
incident was attributed to the inciting words of the
Zulu king who called on all foreigners to leave the
country. Prior to that time there had been reported
attacks in 1998, 2000, 2008, 2009 and 2013. In
2013, the governments of Nigeria and South Africa
signed a Memorandum of Understanding to
reinforce diplomatic ties with the hope of preventing
further attacks. The events of 2016 and 2017 have
proven that those efforts were in vain. The
recurrence of these attacks without a doubt raises
the question as to why they are common to South
Africa. Indeed, at a loss to understand why
Nigerians have been targeted, many reasons have
been adduced as being responsible, the most
amusing of which is the claim that South Africans
involved in the attack were acting on ridiculous
claim that foreigners, including Nigerians, were
taking away their jobs and women!
Xenophobia explained
However, to
understand the root
cause of the problem,
one must go a bit back
in history. Firstly, it is
important to note that
the word “xenophobia”
is not a medical term but
a political one. It is used
to describe a situation in
which members of a
The recent
attacks in
South
Africawill
occur again;
government
must act fast
group or culture regard
members of another culture as threats to their own
interests. Wikipedia specifically defines the word
to be: “the fear of that which is perceived to be
foreign or strange. Xenophobia can manifest itself
in many ways involving the relations and
perceptions of an in-group towards an out-group,
including a fear of losing identity, suspicion of its
activities, aggression, and desire to eliminate its
presence to secure a presumed purity. Xenophobia
can also be exhibited in the form of an “uncritical
exaltation of another culture” in which a culture
is ascribed “an unreal, stereotyped and exotic
quality”.
While many have traced the rise of Xenophobia
in South Africa to the post-apartheid era, the truth
is that the foundation of it was laid decades prior
to that time. It has, for example, been reported that
in the early part of the last century, South Africa
passed numerous acts intended to keep out
immigrants, such as the Immigrants Regulation
Act of 1913, which provided for the exclusion of
“undesirables”, a group of people that included
Indians. This effectively halted Indian immigration.
There was also The Township Franchise Ordinance
of 1924 which was intended to “deprive Indians of
municipal franchise”.
However, while 1994 was a remarkable year for
the country following the demise of apartheid,
studies have shown that it also marked the rise of
acute nationalist views and sentiments which have
fuelled the xenophobic attacks. According to a
2004 study published by the Southern African
Migration Project, SAMP: "The ANC government
- in its attempts to overcome the divides of the past
and build new forms of social cohesion... embarked
on an aggressive and inclusive nation-building
project. One unanticipated by-product of this
project has been a growth in intolerance towards
outsiders... Violence against
foreign citizens and African
refugees has become increasingly
common and communities are
divided by hostility and
suspicion.”
Whatever is the true origin and
cause of the problem, it cannot
be disputed that it is very wrong
and contrary not only to African
tradition of welcoming visitors
but also duties of countries to
protect foreigners from such
attacks. It is even more disturbing
when it is considered that Nigeria
contributed in no small measure to the collapse
of apartheid and subsequent enthronement of
democratic rule in South Africa. In a statement
released by the Nigerian Guild of Editors, the
South African Institute of International Affairs
was reported as having recorded that Nigeria
spent $61 billion between 1960 and 1995 in the
fight against apartheid.
We must look inwards
To address this issue, we must look inwards on
two broad fronts. Firstly, we must understand that
the general negative impression of Nigerians by
foreigners and specifically our African brothers in
South Africa has been influenced largely by the
conduct of some criminally-minded Nigerians
who for personal and fraudulent gain are not
bothered about the effect of their actions on the
generality of Nigerians and the country itself.
Recently the Federal Bureau of Investigations,
FBI, revealed the indictment of about 80 Nigerians
in fraud scams in the country. Also reporting on
the outcome of the visit of the special envoy
appointed by President Buhari to meet with the
South African authorities following the recent
spate of violence, officials of the host government
were reported by THISDAY to have stated as
follows:
“…President Cyril Ramaphosa and senior
officials of his government insisted to Buhari’s envoy
that the widespread attacks were not xenophobic,
revealing that although between December 2017
and September 2019, 89 Nigerians were killed in
the country, 39 of them were slain by their
compatriots due to drugs related disputes. South
African officials nevertheless admitted that 19 of
the death arose from police brutality while the rest
were due to other causes.
The South African authorities were also said to
have revealed that between 300,000 to 400,000
Nigerians are in South Africa. Of this number,
10,860 are currently in prison serving various terms
but 60 percent of these inmates are in for drugrelated
crimes. The authorities reportedly told the
envoy that there are three categories of Nigerians
in South Africa. The first are professionals, who
are doing very well in such fields as medicine and
the academics. The second are businessmen,
including genuine traders. The third are those into
drugs. These people (drug couriers) are few but
they are very loud. Sadly, it is they that are seen as
the faces of Nigeria in South Africa,” a senior official
was said to have told the special envoy.
While xenophobia and the attendant violence
cannot be excused or tolerated, such unflattering
statistics surely cannot help. So effort should be
directed at combating the activities of the few
unscrupulous Nigerians who have contributed
to this sordid image of Nigerians abroad. Secondly,
it is also important to examine just what it is that
draws Nigerians away from their fatherland to
such places where they suffer so much
indignation. Without a doubt the current
economic challenges have brought about an
exodus of sorts of Nigerians to other parts of the
world in search of the proverbial golden fleece. In
Nigeria at the moment, most businesses have
either collapsed or are on the brink of collapse
owing to a myriad of problems. Job opportunities,
where they do exist, are difficult to take advantage
of. A few years ago, several innocent lives were
lost following a stampede at the screening exercise
of a national agency for job applicants.
Many business ideas have been frustrated due
to absence of capital as banks still charge
unrealistic interest rates that continue to hamper
the growth and development of small businesses.
Yet as economists will point out, such small
businesses are the required linchpin for the long
term recovery of the Nigerian economy. Thus, in
my estimation, the immediate response from
government about the unending xenophobic
attacks on its citizens should be the formulation
of policies that will make it easier for Nigerians to
make a living here.
Where jobs are available and availability of
business credit is not a problem, the attraction of
foreign travel for purpose of basic economic
sustenance as opposed to large scale direct foreign
investment in the economies of other countries
will be reduced. This is where government should
direct its energies. The solution is not in the
appointment of special envoys or state visits. The
recent attacks, viewed against the history of
xenophobia in South Africa, should leave no one
in doubt that it will occur again. Government
must act fast.
According to figures
published by Gazzetta
dello Sport, Cristiano
Ronaldo takes home €31
million per year (£28m/
$34m) - €23m (£21m/$25m)
more than the league’s
second-highest earner
Matthijs de Ligt.
The summer signing from
Ajax is reportedly earning
€8m (£7.2m/$8.8m) per
year, with an extra €4m in
bonuses.
Another new arrival to
Italy’s top flight is in third
place, with Romelu Lukaku
receiving a salary of €7.5m
(£6.7m/$8.3m), with the
addition of €1.5m in bonus
payments.
Gonzalo Higuain,
meanwhile, has fallen to
fourth spot in the list having
been second to Ronaldo in
2018, while Paulo Dybala,
who was linked with a
summer exit from Juve, is in
fourth on €7.3m (£6.5m/
$8.1m) per year.
Indeed, Juve, who
Gazzetta estimates spend
€294m (£264m/$325m) per
year in wages, dominate the
list, with seven of their
players appearing in the top
eight.
That includes Aaron
Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019 — 45
Ronaldo’s highest paid
Serie A player
Danny Drinkwater will
not be punished by
Chelsea after he was
allegedly attacked by a
group of men while drunk
outside a Manchester
nightclub.
The midfielder, who is
currently on loan at Burnley,
was thrown out of the
Chinawhite Club in
Manchester 10 days ago.
He was left with bruises,
cuts to his face and a badly
injured ankle after the
incident and is likely to be
out of action for several
weeks while he receives
treatment.
It is understood Chelsea
have been in touch with
Ramsey, who arrived on a
free transfer from Arsenal,
with the Welshman earning
€7m (£6.3m/$7.7m) per year
on a contract that runs until
2023.
Juventus have won the last
eight Serie A titles in a row
and have kicked off the
2019-20 season with two
wins from two - against
Parma and Napoli
respectively.
They could well be pushed
closer in the current
campaign, however, with
Antonio Conte’s Inter
having brought in the likes
of Lukaku, Alexis Sanchez
and Diego Godin to
improve their prospects.
While Ronaldo is way out
in front as Serie A’s highest
earner, France Football’s
2019 list of the best-paid
players in the world puts the
Juve star in second place to
Barcelona forward Lionel
Messi.
The French publication
claims that the Argentine
takes home €130m (£117m/
$144m) in total income -
including salary, bonuses
and advertising revenue -
with former Real Madrid
attacker Ronaldo earning
€113m (£101m/$125m).
Drinkwater will not be
punished by Chelsea
Drinkwater to check that he
is okay, but any further
action is being left to
Burnley. He met Sean
Dyche on Monday to discuss
his future and the
consequences of that
meeting are likely to be
revealed on Thursday.
Man Utd stick to £179m
price for Pogba
Manchester United will not
budge on their £179million
(€200m) asking price for
Paul Pogba when the transfer
window re-opens in January,
according to reports in
Spain. Pogba failed in an
attempt to force his way out
of Old Trafford during the
summer, with Real Madrid
the Frenchman’s main
suitor. Zinedine Zidane is
still determined to sign
Pogba and Spanish outlet
Sport claim Real will revive
their interest in the
playmaker in January.
However, United will
continue to demand a
mammoth fee for Pogba
after successfully seeing off
Real’s advances during the
summer.
United’s first choice is to
keep hold of Pogba and tie
him down to a new longterm
contract. Agent Mino
Raiola has held talks with
United to discuss Pogba’s
future and the possibility of
a new contract. The
midfielder’s current deal
ends in 2021. Pogba himself
wants to join Real and is
keen to make his exit from
United next year.
S
ergio Ramos has spoken
of his desire to win a fifth
Champions League with
Real Madrid.
The 33-year-old has been
busy promoting a
documentary which provides
an inside look of the life of the
Real Madrid and Spain
captain.
Despite the show being
filmed during a disappointing
last season for himself and his
club, Ramos is confident of
Madrid v Levante
Hazard,
Rodriguez
ready to go
Eden Hazard and James
Rodríguez are ready and
could play at the weekend
for Real Madrid as they
restart their LaLiga
campaign against Levante
at the Santiago Bernabéu on
Saturday. Zidane has been
taking it easy with Hazard
to make sure he didn’t suffer
any setbacks on his road to
recovery ahead of his debut
with Real Madrid. But
having already returned to
training with the group and
with four more sessions to
go before the game, the
Belgian should be ready to
go for Saturday and a
starting berth has not been
ruled out.
Hazard suffered a
hamstring on August 16
and has been out since then.
James suffered a soleus
injury on August 26 and has
been ruled out since then too
as a mini-injury crisis hit
Zidane’s side early into the
season.
Abraham:
Racist abuse
left my mum
in tears
Chelsea striker Tammy
Abraham has revealed his
mother was reduced to tears
by the racist abuse he
received in the wake of the
UEFA Super Cup final.
Abraham missed the
decisive kick in a penalty
shootout which handed
Liverpool glory in Istanbul
last month and the 21-yearold
was subjected to vile
abuse on social media.
“I remember speaking to
my mum, she was
emotional, she was in tears,”
Abraham said in an
interview with CNN.
“She was just thinking,
‘Why him’. It’s obviously not
nice, seeing your son getting
abused.
“For me, I am a strong
character, it doesn’t affect
me as much, but it could
affect people who don’t have
my personality.”
Ramos: To win a fifth Champions League would be crazy
future glories and also hopes
that the screening of ‘The
Heart of Sergio Ramos’ will
inspire others.
“I am a child of the
neighbourhood, of Camas, and
I have worked hard to achieve
my dream and, if the series
helps someone, then that’s
perfect.
“It’s not just about football.
[It’s about] family, music and
horses, my other great
passions."

46 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019
Nigeria's U-23 national
team yesterday se
cured their place in
the CAF U-23 Africa Cup of
Nations to be held in Egypt in
November following their 5-0
win over Sudan in the return
leg of their Tokyo 2020 Olympic
Games qualifier at the
Stephen Keshi Stadium,
Asaba.
Taiwo Awoniyi, Ndifreke
Effiong (brace), Sunday Faleye
and Ibrahim Sanusi scored Nigeria's
goals to advance 5-1 on
aggregate.
The Eagles had lost 1-0 in the
first leg in Omdurman last
Former Super Eagles winger, Vic
tor Moses dream of having his loan
deal at Fenerbahçe converted to a permanent
deal may not see the light of
the day after all.
It was learnt that the Turkish club appear
to have been waded off due to
Moses’ £75,000-a-week wages, in addition
to the fee required to sign him.
The Nigerian international, who has
been on the radar of Inter Milan manager,
Antonio Conte at the just concluded
summer transfer window,
joined Fenerbahçe in January 2019
from parent club Chelsea.
He was instrumental in the team’s
progress last season, where he netted
four goals in 14 Super Lig appearances.
With his contract set to expire in 2021,
there are indications that the former
Wigan star may return to Chelsea if
Fernabache fail to reach an agreement
with the London Club.
Moses was part of the Super
•Breeze into CAF U-23 Championship
Thursday.
Nigeria scored three first half
goals through Taiwo Awoniyi
and a brace from Ndifreke
Effiong.
Awoniyi scored the first goal
in the ninth minute through a
header while Effiong doubled
Nigeria's lead in the 27th
minute with another header.
Effiong made it 3-0 two minutes
before the half time break
with a close range finish profiting
from an Ebube Duru cross
into the Sudanese box.
Olabiran and Sanusi both let
fly shots early in the second half
but they both missed targets
Nigeria's
Olympic
Team
spank
Sudan
5-0
Fenerbahçe set to cancel
Moses loan deal
•Onikan Stadium
Eagles squad that won the 2013 Africa
Cup of Nations in South Africa after
the team defeated Burkina Faso in
the final under former manager,
late Stephen Keshi.
He was also in the team that
played at the 2018 FIFA
World Cup, where the
team crashed out in the
group stages that had
countries such as Argentina,
Croatia,
and Iceland.
However, he
called time to
his football
ca-
reer
f o r
the senior
national
team
after the FIFA
World Cup citing
personal reason.
Why Onikan Stadium
is not ready — LSSC
Director General, Lagos
State Sports Commission
(LSSC), Oluwatoyin Gafar
has said that the delay in the
hand-over of Onikan Stadium
currently going through
remodeling was to allow the
contractor to deliver a befitting
stadium.
Gafar made the disclosure in
an interview with the News
Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on
while the U-23 Eagles had a
handball call in the opposition
box waved away by the referee.
Coach Imama Amapakabo
made an attacking substitution
in the 63rd minute with Sunday
Faleye replacing the impressive
Olabiran and he
scored with his first touch of the
ball after the Sudanese goalkeeper
spilled the ball.
Faleye turned provider as he
assisted Sanusi for the fifth goal
of the match.
Stephen Odey who came off
the bench in the second half fell
theatrically in the Sudanese
box.
the reason for the delay.
Onikan Stadium, formerly
named King George was built
in 1930 and located on Lagos
Island close to the Tafawa
Balewa Square was also
renovated in the 1930’s
The stadium is famous for
being home ground for top
Nigerian clubs such as Stationery
Stores FC, First Bank
and Julius Berger FC all Lagos-based
and has a sitting
capacity of 5,000.
The Stadium also played host
to the 1999 Youth World Cup,
hosted by Nigeria and will
now host another international
competition if Nigeria’s bid to
host the U-20 Women World
Cup scales through.
Gafar said that the stadium
was important to the state, adding
that it would have been
turned to a place of pride for
Africa upon completion.
“I will not give a definite
date for the completion of the
Onikan Stadium, we are
working on it and I know that
the contractor handling the
project is doing a good job.
•Moses
Champions League:
Oshoala makes Barca
squad trip to Juventus
Nigeria international Asisat
Oshoala has been included
in Barcelona's 18-
woman squad for their 2019-20
Women's Champions League
Round of 32 tie against Juventus
in Turin.
The Blaugranes initially
signed the forward on loan from
China's Jiangsu Suning in
January, and she scored the
Spanish giants' only goal in
their maiden Champions
League final last season.
Her goal for Barcelona in 4-1
loss to Lyon at the Groupama
Arena in Budapest saw her became
the first African woman to
play and score in the Champions
League final.
The 24-year-old's productive
loan move, having scored eight
•Iwobi
Captain of NPFL side and
Nigeria’s remaining
CAF Confederation cup representative
Enugu Rangers Okey
Odita has stated that the Flying
Antelopes are not under
goals in 11 outings in all competitions,
paved way for her permanent
switch as she was rewarded
with a three-year contract.
In a build-up to the new season,
Oshoala had scored eight
goals in five preseason matches
and has shown enough promise
to earn a place in Lluís Cortes'
latest Champions League
squad.
Having ended as European
runner-up last season, Barcelona
will restart their dream for
European glory in the Round of
32 against Italian giants
Juventus in this year's competition.
They will begin their Champions
League journey with a
first-leg trip to Turin on Tuesday,
which will see them face off
against Rita Guarino's side at
Stadio Giuseppe Moccagatta
the next day.
Aside from Oshoala, Dutch
star Lieke Martens, Aitana
Bonmati, Jennifer Hermoso,
goalkeeper Sandra Panos and
Andrea Falcon were among the
top stars who also made the trip.
Kanu slams Arsenal for
selling Iwobi
Arsenal made a big mistake when they sold Alex Iwobi to Everton.
That is the view of Gunners legend Nwankwo Kanu, who believes
his former club should have done all they could to hold on to a
player they had developed since he was eight.
Iwobi left the Emirates on deadline day, switching north London for
Merseyside in a deal that could eventually total £40 million ($49m).
For Kanu, the decision to cash in on the 23-year-old was the
wrong one.
“I would say they made a mistake, 100 per cent,” the Nigeria
hero told Goal . “Why they let him go, I don’t know.
“He’s a boy who, in and out, is Arsenal. He always wanted
to do his best for the club. He loves the club, but not only
that he can play football.
“What he brings week in, week out, the fans need to
appreciate that.
“I think he is still young and those are the type of people
you want in the team, people who grew up here, who
knows everything about the club and wants to die for the
club.
“He was one of them, so for us to lose him and to let him
go, was a shock. I couldn’t really believe we did it, but
that’s football.”
Kanu knows Iwobi well, with the winger having become
a regular in the Nigeria national team in recent
years.
When the transfer went through, he wished his compatriot
well on social media, tweeting: “We are proud
of you and will continue to support you. Good luck
with your new club.”
But the 43-year-old, who won two league titles
during his five-year stay with Arsenal between 1999
and 2004, admits if Iwobi had asked for advice, he
would have told him not to leave the Emirates.
“It was a surprise to everybody because it happened
right at the end of the window,” said Kanu.
“If I knew earlier, I could have said to him not to
go and that it was better for him to stay.
CAF CONFED Cup:
Rangers not under
pressure —Odita
Edo picks first judo gold as Youth Games begin
By Patrick Omorodion
The 5th National Youth
Games opened in Ilorin
yesterday with Edo state starting
the gold rush with a gold
in the judo event.
A joyous Chairman of the
Edo State Sports Commission,
Barrister Godwin Dudu-
Orumen in a WhatsApp message
wrote, “Edo picks first
gold in judo”, and expressed
hope that more will follow.
Edo athletes are attending the
annual youth sports festival for
the first time since its inception
in 2013 following the neglect
of sports by past administra-
pressure as they continue to build
up to the fast approaching CAF
Confederation cup tie against
Gabonese side AS Pelican.
Odita said the team has been
preparing well and have played
a couple of friendly games that
will help ensure that the team is
in shape. Odita added that they
tions.
Earlier, Governor of Kwara
State, Abdulrazak
Abdukrahaman, who was represented,
declared the annual
event open with an advice to the
athletes and officials to compete
fairly.
Minister of Sports and Youth
Development, Sunday Dare,
who held a closed door meeting
with State’s directors of
sports Monday night to discuss
the way forward for sports in the
country, could not attend the
opening ceremony as he left for
Abuja to attend the inaugural
Federal Executive Council of
the second term of President
will be ready to do Nigeria
proud on the continent.
“We are not on any pressure
as far as I am concerned. We are
in camp preparing for the
match on Sunday against the
Gabonese side. We have been
playing and preparing for the
match.”
Muhammadu Buhari today.
In a message read on his behalf
by the director of grassroot
sports development, Dr
Ademola Are, the minister said
the ministry was partnering
with the University of Ilorin to
ensure the identification of
young talents who will be
groomed to represent the country
in major championships in
future.
The number of events in the
competition was increased
from the 15 that were contested
for in the maiden edition in 2013
to 34 this year.
The competition ends of September
17.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019 — 47

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019
TODAY’S PUZZLE
Sudoku
FRIDAY’S ANSWER
TODAY’S CROSSWORD
QUICK CROSSWORD
THURSDAY’S SOLUTION
How to Play Sudoku
ACROSS
1 Bowman (6)
4 Canal boats (6)
8 Urban areas (5)
9 Cowboy story (7)
10 Gather together (7)
11 Exterior (5)
12 Game bird (9)
17 Not married (5)
19 Blow up (7)
21 Rapture, bliss (7)
22 Carried (5)
23 Afternoon rest (6)
24 One taking part in game (6)
DOWN
1 Assail (6)
2 Spring flower (7)
3 Follow as a result (5)
5 Run away (7)
6 Excellent (5)
7 Miscellaneous (6)
9 Aquatic plant (5,4)
13 Glowing (7)
14 Precisely (7)
15 Purchasers (6)
16 Seller (6)
18 Squander (5)
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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