03092019

N2bn contract
scam: EFCC
detains, grills
Maina
4 years too AKINRINADE @ 80:
short for leaders
to make impact
9
8
— JONATHAN Nigeria-Biafra war
BUA, NPA tango over Port-Harcourt Port
•Maina’s son pulled
out pistol to resist
father’s arrest —
DSS
POLITICS
How we drafted plan
that ended
42-43
19
VOL. 26: NO. 63910 THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2019
Uproar, as FG returns toll
gates to federal roads
STORY
ON PAGE
5
•It’s insensitive, anti-people — PDP; no reason to bring back toll gates — CACOL
•Government being unfair — ex-NBA vice chair
•You can’t raise VAT, bring back toll gates at same time — ADVOCACY CENTRE
BUHARI ARRIVES SOUTH AFRICA...
$9.6bn
Judgement
debt: UK
Court order
stopped
seizure of
Nigeria's
assets
— Lai
Mohammed
9
Strike looms
as labour
rejects FG’s
offer on
consequential
adjustment
Mr & Mrs
10
President Muhammadu Buhari being received by Foreign Minister of South Africa, Lindiwe Sisulu on arrival for
a three-day official visit yesterday. He is in South Africa for talks with President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Why Buhari
moved NSIP from
Osinbajo’s
Tribunal
upholds
Ganduje,
Lalong, 13
Tambuwal's office — APC
15
elections •PDP keeps mum
COLUMNISTS: OLU FASAN 31
Failure to amend PSC Act:
Senate moves to
recover N7trn lost to
foreign firms by FG 8
AMAECHI
40
C
M
Y
K

2—Vanguard, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2019

Vanguard, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2019 — 3

4—Vanguard, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2019

vanguardnews @vanguardnews @vanguardnews
Vanguard, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2019 — 5
POCKET CARTOON
because we want to limit
significantly, if not totally
eliminate cash at the plazas
while ensuring that
electronic devices that are
being used do not impede
rapid movement.
More land
needed
L-R (front row) Papa Ayo Oritsejafor, Mr. Amaju Melvin Pinnick, Dr.
Augustine Uroye, Chief Joseph Otumara and Dr. Michael Tidi.during the
2nd warri economic summit in warri delta state
Uproar, as FG returns toll
gates to federal roads
By Johnbosco
Agbakwuru, Henry
Ojelu & Dirisu
Yakubu
ABUJA — THE
F e d e r a l
Government said
yesterday that plans are at
an advanced stage to
return toll gates on federal
highways.
Recall that former
President Olusegun
Obasanjo had in 2003,
abolished toll gates on
federal highways.
Minister of Works and
Housing, Babatunde
Fashola, disclosed this
while briefing State House
correspondents after the
Federal Executive Council,
FEC, meeting presided
over by President
Muhammadu Buhari at the
Council Chamber,
Presidential Villa Abuja.
Fashola, flanked by
Information & Culture
Minister, Alhaji Lai
Mohammed, said there is
no law stopping
government from having
toll gates on federal roads.
Government’s plans drew
the ire of Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP,
former Vice President of
Nigeria Bar Association,
NBA, Monday Ubani and
Cente for Anti-corruption
and Open Leadership,
CACOL, who described it
as a ploy to further
impoverish Nigerians.
However, Fashola said:
“There is no reason we
can’t toll, there was a policy
of government to abolish
tolls or as it were, dismantle
toll plazas but there is no
law that prohibits tolling in
Nigeria today.
“We expect to return toll
plazas. We have concluded
the designs of what they
will look like, what
materials they will be
rebuilt with, what new
considerations must go into
them.”
He said government is
also considering
eliminating payment of
cash by introducing
electronic modes of
payment at the toll plazas.
The minister further
disclosed that government
needs to acquire more
lands to expand the width
of the toll gates for
proposed ten lane roads.
“What we are looking at
now and trying to conclude
is how the back-end runs;
and that is important
“We are also now faced
with the need to acquire
more land to establish the
width of the toll plazas
because I believe we are
looking at 10-lane plazas so
that there can be more
outlets. So we need to
acquire more land, that is
the work that is currently
being done now.
“But let me also say that
the expectation that
collection of tolls will then
produce the replacement
cost of the road is perhaps
not accurate because the
traffic toll count that we
have done on major
highways does not suggest
that there is enough
vehicular traffic across all
roads.
“The two or three heavy
routes are the Lagos-
Ibadan, Abuja-Kano,
Abuja-Lokoja. Now, on
Lagos-Ibadan, the heaviest
traffic you will find is
between Lagos and
Sagamu, it is about 40,000
vehicles.
“After Sagamu, heading
to Ibadan, (traffic) drops to
about 20,000 vehicles. So
most of it would have gone
eastwards, to Ondo and
Ore, and by the time you
get to Benin, the number
significantly drops.
“It goes up again at the
confluence where they are
heading towards the River
Niger. So, you can see that
it is not a static 40,000 all
the way. Same thing with
Abuja, Kano, Zaria. After
Kaduna, the traffic
significantly drops. It is
about 40,000 there too, but
after Kaduna, it begins to
drop by the time you get to
Zaria.
“If you have driven on
that road before, by the time
you are driving between
Zaria and Kaduna, you see
how thin the recurring
number of vehicles you
meet is and as you begin to
head closer between
Kaduna and Abuja, the
number of vehicles begins
to increase.
“So I think it is important
to have that at the back of
your mind, not all roads
have those traffic counts.
“I also want to let you
know that what we are
doing is not accidental, we
are being deliberate and
methodical, collecting
information to know what
to do with which place and
what.
“Going to PPP, I say that
in the context of people
attributing PPPs to the right
to toll, no, government can
also toll. That is the point
and that will happen
without taking private
sector fund.
“Let me refer you back to
the Executive Order Seven
that the President signed on
tax credit for infrastructure.
Essentially, that is another
PPP initiative where
companies are supposed to
invest their money in
infrastructure and then
recover it from their tax
payments.
“What people may not
understand is first, the
company has to make profit
before it can be taxed. So
when you have to build a
N50 billion highway, how
many Nigerian companies
are even doing turnovers of
N50 billion in the private
sector?
“How many are declaring
profits of N50 billion and
the tax that you apply on
N50 billion profit is 30
percent. So if you do that,
it will be about N15 billion.
“Look at it that way, so
how many companies are
in that range? A few banks,
maybe, and, perhaps,
Dangote and it is a
surprise, therefore, that the
Dangote Group is the one
building the Apapa/
Oworonsoki Expressway
using tax credit.”
It’s insensitive, antipeople
— PDP
Reacting yesterday,
Continues on Page 41
By Abosade Adelaja
& Chiamaka Uba
NIGERIA @ 59: Our expectations from leaders (4)
AS Nigeria clocks
59, I look forward
to seeing a Nigeria that
works for everyone, not
for some selected few.
All sectors - Education,
health, transportation,
security, economy etc.,
need to improve.
Nigerians deserve a
true government for us
and by us. The crop of
leaders we have now
are not doing well.
—Fagbowore
Medayese,
Shoemaker
I
am not expecting
something much
from Nigeria because
the people at the helm
of affairs tend to have
strategies that can
never work.
However, Nigerians
should develop personal
strategies that will make
them more comfortable
.We should all begin to
practise the Nigeria of
our dream anywhere we
find ourselves.
—Fred Ikharebha,
Clergy
One of the things
that the Nigerian
elite have failed to
understand is what it
means to govern. So we
have one generation
after the other of very bad
politicians. Government
has gone from bad to
worse. I think the
government should
focus more on purposeful
leadership which will
bring sanity to the
system.
-Emmanuel O. Uba
Corps member
As we remember 1st
October, 1960 - we
need to ask ourselves a
pertinent question:
What are the aged
Nigerians doing at
the corridors of power?
I expect all well
meaning Nigerians to
utilise this period to
invite the wrath of God
on those who plunged
Nigeria into the ocean
of unimaginable setback
and unbearable ridicule.
— Israel Akintola,
School Administrator
As Nigeria turns 59,
I expect Nigerians
to embrace love which is
the basis of our
forefathers coming
together in the first
place. Government at all
levels should do
everything in their
capacity to create jobs
most especially in the
agricultural sector as
this will further reduce
insecurity.
—Odeyemi Sunday
Ezekiel,
Farmer
My expectation is
for all Nigerians
to embrace peace and
reject all forms of tribal,
religious and political
discriminations. As
Nigeria grows, we need
to be very careful in
choosing our leaders. We
no longer want a greedy
people who cares for
only their families. We
want an end to
corruption.
—Adesunloye
Abiodun,
Activist

6—Vanguard, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2019
7 pregnant girls from East rescued on their
way to Lagos baby factory
By Evelyn Usman
L AGOS—POLICEMEN
attached to Isolo Division,
in the early hours of yesterday,
rescued seven stranded
pregnant ladies between ages
of 13 and 27 years, at Cele Bus
Stop, along the Apapa-Oshodi
Expressway, Lagos.
Vanguard gathered that the
Trader docked
over N3m deal
By Onozure Dania
LAGOS—A trader, Lawal
Alao, who allegedly
obtained N3 million from his
business partner under guise
of doing business with it, was
arraigned before a Lagos
Magistrate’s Court sitting in
Igbosere, yesterday.
Alao, 52, is facing a fivecount
charge bordering on
fraud, stealing and issuance
of dud cheque, preferred
against him by the Police.
The prosecutor, Inspector
Emby Ingobo, told the court
that the defendant
committed the alleged
offences on September 16,
2018, at 11a.m. at Ogombo
Village in Eti-Osa area of
Lagos.
He said the defendant
fraudulently obtained N3
million from the
complainant, one Michael
Onyebuchi, under guise of
doing a lawful business with
the money.
The prosecutor said that
the defendant had promised
to refund the money to the
complainant after doing
business with, it but failed
to do so.
He added that “instead of
refunding the money to the
complainant, the defendant
issued a bank cheque in
favour of the complainant,
but the cheque was
dishonoured on
presentation due to
insufficient funds in the
defendant’s account.”
According to the
prosecutor the offences
committed is punishable
under Sections 287, 314, 321
and 411 of the Criminal Law
of Lagos State, 2015.
However, the defendant
pleaded not guilty to the
charge.
The magistrate, Mrs
Folashade Botoku, granted
him bail in the sum of
N250,000 with one surety in
like sum.
She said the surety must be
gainfully employed and must
show evidence of tax
payments to Lagos State
Government.
The case was adjourned
until October 31 for mention.
ladies were on their way to the
baby factory in Ijegun area of
the state recently unconvered by
the Police.
The expectant mothers, five of
who were from Imo State and
one each from Abia and Rivers
States, were said to have been
instructed to wait at Cele Bus
Stop, from where a man would
come and pick them to Ijegun.
By Evelyn Usman
Asuspected member of a threeman
robbery gang that
specialised in attacking persons
that went to withdraw cash from
the banks, has said he was raising
money to rent an apartment and
get married.
He also revealed that his
gang’s targets were those who
made cash withdrawal of
N300,000 and above.
The 26-year-old suspect,
Mamud Mohammed, was
arrested in Mushin area of Lagos,
by the Divisional Police Officer
in-charge of Olosan Division, SP
Ayodele Arogbo, and Sergeant
Omosaye Akinjopo.
The policemen, as gathered,
were on a routine surveillance
around Olorunsogo area of
Mushin, when they sighted a
motorcyclist conveying a man
carrying a bag.
Vanguard gathered that
Sergeant Akinjopo accosted the
motorcyclist, with an intention to
conduct a check on the bag he
was carrying.
This resulted in an argument,
as the passenger vehemently
resisted and directed the
motorcyclist to move on.
However, at the end, the
passenger was overpowered
while the motorcyclist escaped.
On getting to the station, the
bag was searched, only for
policemen to discover to the
astonishment of all, that it
contained four double-barrelled
pistols and 45 live cartridges.
During interrogation, the
suspect disclosed that he was on
his way to meet other members
of his gang in Ikotun area of
Lagos, from where they were to
proceed for an operation.
The Kwara-State born suspect
said: “I belong to a three-man
robbery gang. We rob people
who go to bank to withdraw
cash. We operate around Ikotun,
Governor’s Road and Ijegun
areas.
“We go to these banks in two
motorcycles owned by leader of
the gang, Alariwo. We would
park the motorbikes near a bank
of our choice. Alariwo would go
into the bank, pretending to be a
customer, while the rest of us
would be outside, waiting for
directive from him.
However, on reaching Cele
Bus Stop Monday night, they
were said to be unable to
connect with the contact person
that would pick them.
Their presence aroused
suspicion, as some curious
onlookers were said to have
contacted the Police.
Explaining how they were
rescued, Lagos State Police
Public Relations Officer, Elkana
Bala, said: “On October 2, at
about 1a.m., Isolo Police Station
received information that seven
pregnant young girls were seen
stranded at Cele Bus Stop along
Oshodi-Apapa Expressway,
Lagos.
“A team of detectives, led by
the Divisional Police Officer,
Isolo, CSP Folorunsho Gabriel,
mobilised to the area, where the
seven pregnant girls were
rescued to the station. A child
of about two years was also
I needed money to rent apartment,
get married— Robber
Mohammed and the weapons
“While in the banking hall,
Alariwo would be filling
a withdrawal teller, while
peeping through other
customers who are also filling
theirs, to know how much they
intend to withdraw.
“Sometimes, some people
display their cheques and
withdrawal tellers carelessly,
which makes it easier to know
what they intend to withdraw.
“Thereafter, he would wait until
the person makes the withdrawal.
Before the person leaves the
bank, Alariwo would either call
or send us text message,
describing what the person is
wearing.
“We would carry on from there
Katsina varsity loses 2 students
By Bashir Bello
KATSINA—TRAGEDY has hit
the Federal University,
Dutsinma, FUD, Katsina State, as
two of its students died in two
separate mishaps.
While a 100 Level student,
Suleiman Sulieman, died while
swimming at Dutsinma Dam, the
other, a 200 Level student, Nana
Mustapha, died in an accident on
Kankara Road.
The university’s spokesman,
Habibu Matazu, who confirmed
by trailing the person to a
convenient place, where we
would intercept him or her and
collect the withdrawn money at
gunpoint.”
He stated that he had only gone
on operation with the gang twice,
saying “the first time I
accompanied them, we collected
N500,000 from a woman ,at Ikotun
and I got N70,000 from that
operation.
“The second time I
accompanied them, we collected
N300,000 from a man and my
share from it was N50,000.
“We don’t go after those who
withdraw less than N300,000. My
intention was to save the money
and rent an apartment, because I
both incidents, said the university
was deeply touched and prayed
for the repose of their souls.
It was gathered that Suleiman,
a student of Physics and
Electronics had gone to the dam
to celebrate the independence
day alongside some other
students, when the incident
happened.
According to sources,
Suleiman’s corpse was recovered
and taken to his home town in
Funtua, where funeral prayer was
held before he was buried.
rescued.
“They were all handed over to
National Agency for the
Prohibition of Trafficking in
Persons, NAPTIP, for further
investigation.”
Recall that policemen at Isheri-
Osun Division uncovered a
building used as baby factory
along Ijegun/Ikotun Road,
rescuing 19 pregnant ladies
between ages 15 and 28, with
two women, Happiness
Ukwuoma, 40, and Sherifat
Ipeya, 54, were arrested.
am preparing to get married.”
‘My regrets’
He, however, expressed regrets
over his action, saying “I was
riding motorbike for survival, until
task force seized it last year. I have
been living in the ghetto because
I had no roof under my head. That
was where I met Alariwo.
“I regret my action. If I had
succeeded in getting an
apartment and perhaps bought
another motorbike, I would have
left the gang. I plead to be
forgiven. I beg for mercy from
those I collected money from.”
The suspect, according to the
Lagos State Police Public
Relations Officer, DSP Elkana
Bala, would be charged to court
at the end of investigation.
Similarly, Nana, a student of
Microbiology, was going to the
permanent site of the university
for lecture alongside other
students in a car, when they had
an accident. Four others were
injured.
She has since been buried in
Dutsinma cemetery, according to
Islamic rites.
The three injured students were
hospitalised in Kano State, while
the driver (another female
student) was hospitalised in the
school’s hospital.

Vanguard, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2019—7
We'll get mastermind of 31
Nigerians sold into slavery in
Burkina Faso— Gov Masari
By Bashir Bello
K ATSINA—GOVERNOR
Aminu Masari of Katsina
State has vowed to arrest the
prime suspect behind the
trafficking and selling of 31
Nigerian citizens, from Katsina
and Zamfara states, into slavery
in Burkina Faso.
The governor stated this when
he received 23 of the victims, who
were returned to the state through
the rescue mission initiated by the
state government.
Governor Masari said two out
of the 31 were agents of the prime
suspect and for fear of unknown,
refused to come with others while
the remaining six opted to come
back on their own.
According to him, “we are
working on the little information
we have about him (the prime
suspect) but with the arrival of the
victims, I am sure we are going
to have as much information to
enable us track him down. We
would allow the security agencies
debrief them to enable us to know
the identity of the person who sold
them into slavery.”
On why they were 23 instead
of 31 that returned, the governor
said: “According to them, six of
them have some money on them
By Umar Yusuf
YOLA—THERE
was
pandemonium yesterday in
Yola, the Adamawa State Capital,
following the killing of one Alhaji
Abdu Bali, leader of a Fulani
Socio Cultural outfit “Tabital
Pulaaku”.
Bali was said to have been killed
alongside his friend while others
sustained various degrees of
injuries during an Independence
Day attack in the outskirts of the
state capital.
Sources close to family revealed
that about five gunmen stormed
Bali residence at about 8:00 pm
in Lakare community and opened
fire on them killing the leader.
It was gathered that Alhaji Bali
was in the room with his friends
when the gunmen arrived
shooting sporadically before
entering the house killing him
and badly injured others that
were with him.
Another source alleged that the
gunmen were kidnappers whose
mission was to abduct him , but
the resistance of the Fulani
security leader led to his untimely
death.
The suspected kidnappers, it
was further revealed were said to
be after the Fulani group leader
residing in Lakare.
The state Police Command has
confirmed the killing.
Meanwhile, Governor Ahmadu
Fintiri of the state has condemned
the killing of Alhaji Balli and one
other in Yola.
so they decided to come back on
their own. So whether they are
back or not, we don’t know
because we don’t have their
names.
“The other two refused to come
because there is some suspicion
that they are allies of the person
who sold them. So they are afraid
of coming back home. That is why
we ended up with bringing 23 of
them.”
The governor could not control
his emotion, after seeing an
elderly man among the victims.
He said: “What is surprising is
I’ve seen an old man among
them. What is he going to do for
you? Hard labour, slavery in far
away Burkina Faso? But we will
continue to liaise with our foreign
missions in situations like this
and see what we can do to return
all Nigerians back home.
“What is most important is that
we have cut bureaucracy to the
lowest level, otherwise we would
be here writing letters, contacting
this and that. What is important
is for them to come back home and
they are back home with little
amount because we didn’t spend
much to bring them back from
Burkina Faso to Nigeria.”
The governor commended the
Nigerian Ambassador to Burkina
Gunmen kill Fulani leader in Adamawa
The governor through his
Media Aide, Mr. Solomon
Kumanga, said he was saddened
that another precious life had
been needlessly taken, casting
dark pall on the celebration of the
country’s 59th independence
anniversary in the state.
He equally condemned the
killing of one Ishaya Dauda , PDP
Chairman of Muchalla Ward in
Mubi North local government,
which also occurred on the
Independence Day.
While condoling with the
families of the deceased, the
governor said he has directed
security agents to track and
apprehend the killers.
Faso, Hajiya Rahmatu Ahmed,
who informed the state
government on the development
that led to the swift intervention.
Special Adviser and Permanent
Secretary in the Government
House, Muntari Lawal, who the
Ambassador contacted, hinted
that the victims were tricked with
illegal mining work to Burkina
Faso.
Meanwhile, the Special
Adviser on Drugs, Narcotics and
Trafficking, Alhaji Hamza Brodo,
who was dispatched with a 30-
seater luxury bus to go to
Ouagadougou and convey the
victims back home, said 10 of the
victims were indigenes of
Zamfara State.
Meanwhile, the victims took
turns to narrate their ordeals,
describing their experiences as
miserable, as they starved and
went into begging to survive.
Recall that the 31 Nigerians
were sold into slavery by one
Alhaji Usman from Kankara town
(now at large) to a Beninise lady
in Benin Republic (Cotonou) who
in turn sold them in
Ouagadougou, the Burkina Faso
capital, where she kept them in
servitude without food or money.
The lady was apprehended by
the local authorities in Gaoua.
Meanwhile, Nigerian Army,
yesterday, rescued some civilians
from Boko Haram captivity and
recovered weapons from the
insurgents during an attack in
Gubio, Borno State.
In a statement in Abuja, Aminu
Iliyasu, Army Operations Media
Coordinator, said the Sector 3 was
supported by the Air Task Force
of the Operation Lafiya Dole to
successfully repel the attack
which occurred between Sunday
and Tuesday.
According to him, two
insurgents were neutralised,
while one gun truck, two AK-47
rifles and one anti-aircraft gun
were recovered.
OCCUPATIONAL HAZARD: Journalist and activist,
Mr. Agba Jalingo (middle) being taken back to Afokang
Prison, Cross River State in handcuffs from Federal High
Court sitting in Calabar, yesterday.
... with Emma'nKen (08163121378)
My friend just get rich,
all relatives will get well
That there button is a Nigerian
Who's the idiot? Network,
caller or callee?

8—Vanguard, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2019
BUSINESS NETWORKING: From left, Keesha Borden, President, O'Her Hair Extensions; Professor Willis
Water, Dean, College of Education, Virginia State University; Kimberly Brown, Associate Professor, Virginia
Commonwealth University, USA; Dr Yewande Austin, Founder, Global Institute for Diversity and Change; Angela
Allen, Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, West Texas A&M University; Lois Frankforter, President, Girls
Friendly Society, USA and Judge Bill Littlejohn, retired judge from Dayton Ohio Municipal Court, USA at the
business networking night with American business professionals, in Lagos. Photo: Lamidi Bamidele.
4 years too short for any leader
to make impact, says Jonathan
•Says conducting elections every 4 years too burdensome
FORMER President
Goodluck Jonathan
said, yesterday, that a fouryear
tenure was too short for
any president to make
meaningful impact on the
country.
He also said there was no
need for any president to
remain in power for upward
of 14 years, since the country
was not his private estate.
Jonathan, who stated these
at the constitutional term
limits summit taking place in
Niamey, Niger Republic,
said the conduct of elections
was too expensive that it
could constitute a distraction
to performance.
He made veiled reference
to Nigeria, where people are
already discussing 2023
elections, barely months after
the 2019 elections.
According to him, this can
distract any president with a
four-year tenure in office,
especially in the developing
world.
He noted that conducting
elections every four years
was too burdensome for
countries, especially
developing countries,
stressing that it was also too
distracting for the president
in power.
He said: “When Professor
Wade (Senegal) was in his
last tenure, he changed the
constitution and extended
the term limits from five to
seven years.
‘’He thought he would win
the election. But Macky Sall
reduced it to five years. We
must commend dynamic
leaders like that.
“There is no need for one
person to sit for 14 years,
doing what? The country is
not your personal estate.
Countries are free to amend
their laws. Just like the
president of Niger Republic
said, different nations have
different ways of doing
things, so it is better they have
their own way of doing
things. I agree to that.
“Most countries in Africa
emulate America that is a
stable country, and take four
years as tenure. Such
countries include Nigeria,
Kenya and Ghana.
“Four years is quite a short
period for a country that is
developing for a person who
wants to change the country
to do much.
‘’In Nigeria, we just
finished the election and
some people are already
talking about 2023 election.
It is distracting.
“That is why some people
come with the idea of a single
tenure; so a president can sit
down and plan all his
programmes for the good of
the country.
‘’We are too distracted with
these elections. Why must
we waste money every four
years to elect a leader? Those
are the things that agitate
our minds.”
The ex-president had,
during his tenure,
canvassed a six-year single
tenure for Nigeria’s
president but he was
pilloried by many
stakeholders who argued
that his recommendation was
an attempt to perpetuate
himself in office.
Jonathan was defeated by
the incumbent President,
Muhammadu Buhari, in the
2015 elections and remained
the first incumbent to be
defeated in an election in
Nigeria.
Stop harassing young
Nigerians carrying laptops,
FG tells security agencies
THE
Federal
Government has
frowned on wrongful
profiling of young
Nigerians with
computing devices such
as laptops, tablets,
among others, by security
agencies.
Minister of
Communications, Isa
Pantami, who gave the
warning in a statement
by his spokesperson,
Uwa Suleiman, said if the
trend continued
unchecked, it could
dampen the vigorous
attempt at diversifying
the economy and push
more young energies
underground, with
catastrophic
consequences.
According to the
minister, “the attention of
the Federal Ministry of
Communications, FMC,
has been drawn to reports
of widespread
harassment of young
Nigerians with personal
computers, tablets or
phablets in public places.
“These reports indicate
that young persons are
generally regarded as
fraudsters by officers of
Failure to amend PSC Act: Senate moves to
recover N7trn lost to foreign firms by FG
•To review PSA Act to boost Nigeria’s revenue
By Henry Umoru
ABUJA— THE Senate,
yesterday, began the
process of recovering the $21
billion (about N7 trillion) lost
by the Federal Government to
foreign firms due to failure to
review Production Sharing
Contract, PSC, Act.
According to the Senate, the
Federal Government lost N7
trillion for a period of 20 years
due to the non-review of the
act.
It also said the country
would gain N30 billion
monthly (N360 billion
annually) if the act was
reviewed and amended as it
would also boost the nation’s
revenue earnings.
Consequently, the Senate
resolved to consider a bill to
review the Production Sharing
Contract Act in a bid to boost
the country’s revenue
earnings.
It mandated its Committee
on Petroleum Resources
Upstream to investigate
reasons for the failure to review
the provisions of the act
Resolutions of the Senate
were sequel to a motion,
entitled, “Urgent need to
review and recover additional
revenue accruable to the
government of the federation
from Production Sharing
Contracts pursuant to Section
16 of the Deep Offshore and
Inland Basin Production
Sharing Contract Act.”
The motion, which was
sponsored by Senator Ifeanyi
Patrick Ubah (Young
Progressives Party, YPP,
Anambra South) was cosponsored
by 30 other
senators.
Monies can be
injected into
financing the 2020
budget
In his remarks, President of
the Senate, Ahmad Lawan,
who promised that the
nation’s economy would gain
significantly if the act was
reviewed and amended, said:
“The monies can be injected
into financing the 2020
budget. This is one important
and patriotic motion we have
taken so far in the Ninth
Senate.
“Let me say that tomorrow
(today), the bill that needs to
be amended is coming up for
consideration for second
reading, and I believe what
we need to do is to give it the
most expeditious
consideration ever.
“We also pray the executive
arm of government will give
it expeditious treatment
because this is one bill, if
amended and signed, will
give us N160 billion proposed
for the 2020 budget.
“So time is of essence here,
and, therefore, we will do
everything possible to pass it,
and, of course, follow it up, so
that the effect is seen in money
available to finance the 2020
appropriation which will be
presented possibly next
week.”
N7trn lost to foreign
firms
Earlier in his presentation,
Senator Ubah said: “As a
result of the non-review and
amendment of the PSC Act,
the Federal Government has
lost about $21 billion (about
N7 trillion) over a period of 20
years.
“Nigeria, having lost trillions
of naira due to non-review of
the PSA Act, stands to gain
an additional sum above N30
billion monthly (N360 billion
annually) if the act is reviewed
and amended.
“The Senate notes with
concern that the Senate
Committee on Petroleum
Resources Upstream has over
several years been inundated
with a plethora of petitions and
complaints and has suo motu
observed that the government
of the federation has lost
several billions of United
States dollars in potentially
accruable revenue due to the
non-review and amendment
of the salient provisions of the
Deep Offshore and Inland
Basin Production Sharing
Contract Act Cap D3 LFN
2004 and especially section 16
of the Act which regulates the
sharing of additional revenue
between the Nigerian
National Petroleum
Corporation (NNPC) and the
various Production Sharing
Contract oil companies.
“The Senate is aware that
Production Sharing Contract,
PSC, is a contractual
arrangement for petroleum
exploration and production,
whereby the state, as owner
of petroleum resources,
engages a contractor to
provide technical and
financial services for
exploration and production
operations for an agreed
share in profit oil after
payments of royalty, cost and
tax oil, and that this
contractual arrangement were
offered by the Federal
Government of Nigeria in the
1991 licensing round and its
terms was codified into a
legislation namely, the Deep
Offshore and Inland Basin
Production Sharing Contract
Act Cap D3 LFN 2004 (PSC
Act) which became effective
on January 1, 1993."
security agencies if found
with such devices in their
possession and
subsequently subjected to
varied forms of harassment
and in some cases outright
extortion.
“The ministry notes with
dismay, this unfortunate
turn of events as we
celebrate the growing and
bubbling technology ecosystem
in Nigeria that
enables young persons to
learn various skills ranging
from software engineering
to varied forms of
entrepreneurship by
simply accessing online
tools and content on these
devices.”
The minister said
although he was aware that
several other persons
engaged in nefarious
activities using computers
and similar devices,
caution must be applied
not to paint all young
Nigerians with a similar
brush.
He also commended the
efforts of some law
enforcement agencies,
including Economic and
Financial Crimes
Commission, EFCC, in
intelligence gathering and
subsequent apprehension
of these unscrupulous
elements, who use
computing systems to
commit cybercrimes.
According to him, the
digital economy in Nigeria
has continued to soar, thus
giving impetus to the
growth of ICT as a major
segment of the economy.
The statement added: “It
would, therefore, be
counterproductive to stifle
this sector of the economy
by labeling every young
Nigerian with a computing
device as a fraudster.
“We understand the need
for proactivity to protect the
society, however this must
be done credibly while
recognising the
fundamental human rights
of every citizen of Nigeria.
If these situation goes
unchecked, it will dampen the
vigorous attempt at
diversifying the economy and
rather push more young
energies underground with
catastrophic consequences,”
The minister said his
ministry was committed to
working closely with
parastatals, such as the
National Information
Technology Development
Agencies, NITDA, Nigerian
Communications
Commission, NCC, and
relevant security agencies,
and all groups promoting
digital capacity building in
Nigeria, to ensure that such
incidents were completely
eliminated.

Vanguard, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2019—9
Kidnapping: Senate resolves
to make special law
• Kicks against security agents
avoiding highways, using train
VERIFICATION: Executive Secretary, Pension Transitional Arrangements Directorate,
PTAD, Dr. Chioma Ejikeme (middle) with some officials of PTAD monitoring on-going
PTAD’s Parastatal Pensioner Verification Exercise for pensioners in Kaduna State, yesterday.
$9.6bn judgement award: UK court's order
stopped seizure of Nigeria's assets
— Mohammed
By Soni Daniel,
Northern Region
Editor
ONE week after securing
the nod of the United
Kingdom Commercial Court
to appeal against the $9.6
billion it earlier granted in
favour of Process and
Industrial Development,
P&ID, Limited and to appeal
against the huge award, the
Federal Government said,
yesterday, that the UK court
order stopped seizure of
Nigeria's assets.
It will be recalled that apart
from halting the immediate
payment of the money to
P&ID, Justice Butcher, who
presided over the matter, also
HEALTH TIPS
By Sola Ogundipe
Signs your water might be
unsafe to drink
Most of us don’t think
about the water we drink. We
just fill a glass and drink. Is
the water you're drinking
safe? What can you do if your
drinking water suddenly
became contaminated? A
good rule of thumb is to
check for cloudiness.
Water that's safe to drink
should ideally be clear with
no odour or funny taste. One
way to tell if water is
contaminated is to look for
turbidity, or cloudiness.
While cloudy water isn't
necessarily dangerous to
your health, it could signal
the presence of unsafe
pathogens or chemicals.
If your drinking water
tastes metallic, smells fishy,
or comes out cloudy, it could
signal the presence of unsafe
contaminants.
The best way to tell exactly
what's in your water is to
have it professionally tested,
•As FG appeals $200m deposit for stay of execution
granted Nigeria leave to
appeal against the
judgement, which Nigeria
had complained about based
on many grounds.
Briefing newsmen on the
outcome of the case in
London, Minister of
Information, Alhaji Lai
Mohammed, who was part
of the Federal Government’s
delegation to London, said
government was pleased
with the fact that the court saw
merits in Nigeria’s case and
granted five of the six prayers
it tabled before it.
The minister boasted: “The
Federal Government is
pleased that the judge fairly
recognised the merits of its
arguments and the true
but there are a few ways to
screen for contaminants
using your senses.
Also check to see if your
hands feel slimy after
washing them with soap
and water.
If your water smells like
bleach, be wary of excess
chlorine. Water that smells
like bleach could be a sign of
excess chlorine in your local
system.
Water that smells like
sewage or rotten eggs could
contain hydrogen sulfide, a
colourless gas that can
naturally occur in
groundwater. When this gas
is exposed to certain bacteria,
it converts into sulphate,
which can cause
dehydration or diarrhea.
If water smells fishy, it
could be a sign of barium or
cadmium.
A number of contaminants,
including arsenic and
nitrates, are hidden to the
naked eye.
nature of P&ID and its
strategy, and that he granted
permission to appeal against
his own decision and a stay,
pending appeal.
‘’The Federal Government
looks forward to its day in
court in the Court of Appeal,
where it is confident that it
will receive a fair hearing of
its case and that the order
permitting enforcement of
the arbitral award will be set
aside.’’
Mohammed said Nigeria
presented a simple case and
drew the attention of the court
to the fact that the beneficiary
of the huge award, P&ID, a
company without a physical
address and no known
investment anywhere in the
world, deliberately set out to
dupe Nigeria from day one,
with the connivance of
unpatriotic, corrupt and
greedy Nigerians.
We raked N9.2bn in one day with
closure of borders— Customs CG
•As Senate summons CBN gov,
Immigration boss today
By Henry Umoru
A BUJA—THE
Comptroller-General
of Nigeria Customs Service,
NCS, Col.Hameed Ali
(retd), yesterday, told the
National Assembly that with
the closure of land borders
by the Federal Government,
the revenue generation base
of the agency has increased
greatly, saying it raked in
N9.2 billion in one day in
September.
According to him, with the
closure of the borders in the
last two months, the revenue
earnings through the
Customs Service have
improved as it now raking
in N5.8 billion daily.
Ali spoke, yesterday, when
he appeared before the Joint
Finance Committee of the
Senate and House of
Representatives to brief the
lawmakers on the 2020-2022
Medium Term Expenditure
Framework, MTEF, and
Fiscal Strategy Paper, FSP,
by the Federal Government.
Meanwhile, the Joint
Finance Committee, which
is chaired by Senator
Solomon Adeola
Olamilekan (APC Lagos
West) has summoned the
Comptroller-General of
Nigeria Immigration
Service, Muhammed
Babandede and others, to
appear before it in Senate
Committee Room 231 by
9am today.
Finance Minister, Zainab
Ahmed, in her presentation
before the committee
yesterday, explained the
content of the MTEF/FSP
document to the NASS joint
committee on Finance.
Speaking further, the
Comptroller General of
Customs said: “When we
closed the border my fear
was that our revenue was
going to drop.To be honest,
our revenue kept increasing.
There was a day in
September that we collected
N9.2 billion in one day. It
has never happened
before.
“This is after the closure of
the border and since then,
we have maintained an
average of about N4.7billion
to N5.8 billion on a daily
basis, which is far more than
we used to collect."
By Henry Umoru
ABUJA—The Senate
resolved, yesterday, to
come up with an antikidnapping
law to stem the
high rate of abduction in the
country.
Its resolution came against
the backdrop of an additional
prayer made by Senator
Matthew Urhoghide (PDP,
Edo State), during the
consideration of of a point of
order by Senator Dino
Melaye (PDP, Kogi West).
Melaye, whose point of
order came through Orders
42 and 52, had raised an
alarm over the spate of
kidnapping along Lokoja-
Abuja expressway, which,
he noted, was the gateway
to about nine states of the
federation and the only road
linking said the Southern
and Northern parts of this
country.
Senator Melaye told his
colleagues that something
very serious needed to be
done to address the cases of
kidnapping on the
expressway which had led
to the killing of many
people.
He said: “I think this
should go beyond the
normal presentation of
motions, secondment and
resolutions. I think the
attention of the Federal
Government and specifically
the security agencies must be
brought to the dastardly act."
Based on Melaye’s point
of order, the Senate urged the
security agencies to
adequately secure the
Abuja-Lokoja highway and
all other highways in the
country, and also called for
adequate budgetary
allocation to the security
agencies, but insisted that
such allocations must be fully
accounted for.
It also called on the
Inspector General of Police,
IGP, Muhammad Adamu, to
intensify efforts at protecting
Nigerians, and made case for
implementation of the
Senate Ad-hoc Committee on
Security report in the 8th
Senate.
The Senate equally called
for total ban on security
agents travelling in trains
because of the security
situation the country,
especially on the Abuja-
Kaduna highway, saying
they were expected to clear
the highway for other
travelling Nigerians and not
themselves.
In his remarks, Senate
president, Ahmad Lawan,
said: “I agree completely that
we need to do something
different. We need to go back
to the report on the ad-hoc
committee on security
infrastructure. We could go
by way of public hearing to
review security
infrastructure."
N2bn contract scam: EFCC
detains, grills Maina
•His son pulled out pistol to resist
father’s arrest— DSS
By Soni Daniel,
Northern Region
Editor
A
few hours after
Department of State
Service, DSS, handed over
former Chairman of the
defunct Presidential Pension
Reforms Task Team,
Abdulrasheed Maina, to
Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission,
EFCC, operatives of the
anti-graft agency
immediately took him on a
number of issues relating to
money laundering and
contract scam worth N2
billion.
Vanguard gathered from
credible EFCC sources that
a special team set up by the
commission took on Maina
and grilled him for hours as
soon as he was handed over
by the DSS.
The interrogation of Maina
is being conducted at the
Wuse 2 Office of the EFCC.
A top source in the agency
said: “We finally received
Maina from the DSS today
(yesterday) and our team of
interrogators is currently
grilling him on many issues,
which we expect him to
provide answers in writing.
“He is likely going to
spend some days with us
and we may need to approach
the court to grant us
more time to interrogate
him because his case has
some foreign connections
and we really need to finish
with the investigation before
arraigning him in court."
Meanwhile, DSS said,
yesterday, that Faisal,
Maina's son, pulled a pistol
against its operatives while
his father was being arrested
in Abuja on Monday.
Spokesman of the agency,
Peter Afunanya, who also
confirmed the arrest in a
statement, said Maina was
arrested at a hotel in Abuja
on September 30, 2019,
saying his son attempted to
open fire on the DSS
operatives involved in the
operation.
“Maina was arrested in
company of his 20-year-old
son, Faisal Abdulrasheed
Maina, who unsuccessfully
tried to resist the arrest.
“The lad even pulled a
pistol against the security
agents involved in the
operation. He was, however,
disarmed and arrested. He
is a final year student at the
Canadian University of
Dubai where he is studying
Telecoms Engineering.

10 — VANGUARD, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2019
Flu may recur if our facilities are
not fixed —QC STUDENTS
By Elizabeth
Uwandu & Esther
Oyeniyi
L students AGOS—SOME
of Queens
College, Yaba, yesterday,,
lamented their being
denied entrance into the
school by the management
over inability to produce
medical reports, having
been sent home for being
sick.
The students, however,
insisted that the flu may
recur if the management
failed to fix the deplorable
facilities in the school.
One of the senior
students, who craved
anonymity, told
Vanguard: “We are
boarders, but had to be sent
home to treat ourselves after
we complained of fever, cold
and catarrh. However, upon
our return to school today,
we were denied access,
because we did not come
with signed medical
reports. This is despite
telling them that we are
medically fit.”
The students, who were
outside the school gate by
12 noon, said although the
flu that made some students
to be sent home, last week,
was not related to water
borne disease, as reported
by some media.
“We are afraid the kind of
ASSET DECLARATIONS: Court
grants SERAP’s application
By Olasunkanmi
Akoni
LAGOS—A
Federal
High Court, sitting in
Ikoyi, Lagos, yesterday,
granted the application
filed by Socio-Economic
Rights and Accountability
Project, SERAP, to compel
the Code of Conduct
Bureau, CCB, to disclose
details of asset declarations
submitted to it by
successive presidents and
state governors, since the
return of democracy in
1999.
In the suit, SERAP is
applying for judicial review
and to seek an order of
mandamus directing and
compelling the CCB to
disclose details of asset
declarations of all
presidents and state
governors since 1999.
SERAP, in its reaction to
the ruling of Justice Muslim
Hassan of the Federal High
Court, said it has won the
epidemic that affected our
school two years ago may
come back as we now live
with big rats and are
crammed like sardines in
our hostels. Besides that,
the facilities are not okay.
The toilets are bad due to
lack of running water; the
lights are dim and we can’t
use them to read at night,’’
said a senior secondary two
student.
Another senior student
said: “Before I left for home,
we were five on a single
bed at the sickbay. Aside,
the medical personnel
there don’t have sympathy
for us when we fall sick.”
Justifying the QC’s
decision not to allow
students without a duly
signed medical report into
the school, a parent, who
gave his name as Mr Ibom
said: “The reason you see
these students outside is
because the school wants to
be sure that the students
are truly okay. This is to
avoid them falling ill again.
However, all the students
that came with medical
report and have completed
their drugs intake, and who
came to the school without
any drugs have resumed.”
Asked if there was any
outbreak of disease, the
clergyman said: “My
daughter was affected too
with malaria, there is no
serious issue now as
everything is okay.”
latest round in the legal
battle.
Justice Hassan ruled that
“Going through the
Application filed by SERAP,
supported by a 14-
paragraph affidavit, with
supporting exhibits,
statements setting out the
facts, verifying affidavits
and written address in
support, I am satisfied that
leave ought to be granted
in this case, and I hereby
grant the motion for leave.”
Justice Hassan granted
the order for leave following
the hearing of an argument
in court on ex parte motion
by SERAP counsel,
Adelanke Aremo.
In a statement by
Kolawole Oluwadare,
SERAP's Deputy Director,
the suit number FHC/L/CS/
1019/2019 filed in June
followed the CCB’s claim
that it could not disclose
details of asset declarations
submitted to it by
successive presidents and
state governors since 1999.
Ifelodun LG boss to prioritise security
L AGOS—CHAIRMAN,
Ifelodun Local Council
Development Area, LCDA,
of Lagos State, Shuaib
Ajidagba, weekend, said
security of lives and
property of residents of the
council remain his
administration’s priority.
Disclosing this in a chat
with newsmen, after
receiving a ‘Public Safety
Award’ presented by
organisers of Nigeria Safety
Award for Excellence
(9jaSAFE) in his office, he
said: “In running of a
government, security is first
priority. It is one of the
things you put into
consideration. Without
security, there is no safe
place to construct roads,
health centres or build
schools. Without security,
you cannot achieve
anything. That is why
security is uppermost in our
mind.”
CONFERENCE—From left, Chief Executive Officer, Alder Consulting, Mr. Leke Alder; Founder
and Director, West Africa Theological Seminary, Dr. Gary Maxey; President, Church Administrators
Society of Nigeria, CASON, Pastor Seyi Oladimeji, and Senior Pastor, Daystar Christian Centre,
Pastor Sam Adeyemi, at 2019 CASON Conference, tagged "The Future of the Church and Church
of the Future" , held in Lagos.
MINIMUM WAGE: Crisis looms as
Labour issues strike notice
By Johnbosco
Agbakwuru
A BUJA—THE
Organized Labour,
yesterday, rejected the offer
by the Federal Government
on consequential
adjustment of the new
minimum wage for workers
on Grade Levels 7 to 14.
Labour also said that
workers have exhausted
their patience
and demanded the
reconvening of the meeting
of the committee
negotiating the
consequential adjustments,
with a view to concluding
the process within one
week.
The rejection of the
government offer was
contained in a
statement titled: “Need for
Urgent Intervention on the
Stalled Negotiation of
Consequential Adjustment
of Salaries arising from the
new national minimum
wage of N30,000 per month
to avert industrial crisis,”
issued in Abuja and signed
by Comrades Ayuba
Wabba, President, Nigeria
Labour Congress, NLC;
Quadri Olaleye, President,
Trade Union Congress,
TUC; Simon Anchaver, Ag.
Chairman, and Alade
Bashir Lawal, Secretary,
Joint National Public
Service Negotiating
Council, JNPSNC.
The statement issued after
a meeting at the Labour
House, Abuja, read: “The
leadership of Organised
Labour in Nigeria,
comprising the Nigeria
Labour Congress, NLC,
and the Trade Union
Congress, TUC, met on
October 2, 2019 with the
JNPSNC-Trade Union
Side, at the Labour House,
Abuja.
“The sole agenda of the
meeting was to receive
briefing from JNPSNC and
to discuss the way forward
on the deadlock in
negotiations for
consequential wage
adjustment for workers in
public service arising from
the recent enactment of the
new national minimum
wage of N30,000 per
month.
“Subsequently, the
meeting went into very
extensive deliberations on
the following concerns:
“Organized Labour has
out of its patriotic
disposition demonstrated a
great deal of restraint,
consideration and patience
with government. In the
course of negotiations for
consequential salary
adjustment, organized
labour had to moderate its
initial position of having
66.6% upward salary
adjustment for workers on
salary grade level 07-17 by
accepting an upward
adjustment of 29% for
officers on salary level 07-
14 and 24% adjustment for
officers on salary grade
level 15 - 17.
“Despite this patriotic
gesture, government has
kept insisting that it can
only pay 11% for officers on
grade level 07 14 and 6.5%
consequential wage
increase to public workers
for officers on level 15-17.
“Since the last national
minimum wage of
N18,000, workers have
been forced to suffer huge
inflation and astronomical
hike in the prices of
essential goods and
services."
Ambode left huge financial debts for
Lagos —SANWO-OLU
By Olasunkanmi
Akoni
L AGOS—GOVERNOR
Babajide Sanwo-Olu of
Lagos State, yesterday, said
paucity of funds and huge
debts he inherited from his
predecessor, Akinwunmi
Ambode, were hindering
execution of projects.
Sanwo-Olu, who said his
administration had various
programmes to address the
current challenges in the
state, lamented that the
implementation of his
development agenda had
largely been slowed down
by a number of irrevocable
financial liabilities tied to
the state’s resources by
Ambode.
Beyond a short-term fix
that resulted in the ongoing
rehabilitation of highways
and arterial roads, the
governor said Lagos would
be expanding the capacity
of its water transportation
and leveraging Information
and Communication
Technology to address
various challenges in the
mass transit system.
The governor spoke as a
guest at The Platform
Nigeria, a yearly
programme to mark the
Independence Day
organised by the Covenant
Christian Centre, Orile-
Iganmu, Lagos.
The church’s senior
Pastor, Poju Oyemade,
coordinated the session.
Sanwo-Olu said: “We
have to look at the finances
Afe Babalola tasks FG, Ekiti govt to repair collapsed
bridge
By Rotimi Ojomyela
A FOUNDER DO-EKITI—
of Afe
Babalola University,
ABUAD, Chief Afe
Babalola, SAN, yesterday,
described the event leading
to the collapse of some
bridges in the state as a
reflection of gross neglect
of the state by the Federal
Government.
Babalola expressed sadness
over the death of a man during
the collapse of the bridge, after a
torrential downpour on Monday
evening, saying the incident was
a national disaster.
Speaking with journalists at
ABUAD, Babalola said: “For the
past nine years, I have been
maintaining that road but, this
year, after series of letters, Federal
Road Maintenance Agency,
FERMA, wrote to me informing
that they have awarded the road
to a contractor, and I have been
following the contractor day and
night.
"What I know which is true is
that, the contractor had done
more damage to the road than
helping us. I wrote about the bridge
to all those concerned; the Federal
Ministry of Works and copied the
President. I also wrote letters to
the state governor, Dr. Kayode
Fayemi, because I knew that road
was neglected by the contractor
and the federal government.
“Indeed, Ekiti State is the most
neglected state in this country.
Look at the road between Ilesha
and Ado-Ekiti, it was made over 20
years ago.
of the state. But, I know I
cannot give excuses to
Lagosians that I met the
state in financial mess. It
would amount to
meaningless stories. And
nobody will ever know the
real status of finances of any
state until they get there. It
is until I got there that I
realised how bad we are in
terms of outstanding
liabilities, financial
commitments to local banks
and Federal Government’s
bonds.”
The governor, however,
said that efforts were on to
widen the tax net and
improve the Internally
Generated Revenue (IGR)
of the State, which, he said,
would be used to fund some
of the pending capital
projects.
Sanwo-Olu, who
cautioned critics of his fourmonth
old government,
said that the period was “too
short” to measure the
impact of the
administration. “I believe in
proper planning of key
programmes before
implementation of
decisions that would affect
lives of the people.”
Giving details about why
Lagos would continue to
experience traffic
congestion, Sanwo-Olu
said more than 10 per cent
of the nation’s 180 million
population reside in the
state.

Vanguard, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2019 — 11
By Dayo Johnson
AWest
KURE—SOUTH
governors,
yesterday, vowed not to rest,
in their efforts to tackle
crimes in the region, until
their people can sleep with
their eyes closed.
Chairman of the
Southwest Governors’
Forum, Governor Rotimi
Akeredolu said this in
Akure at a church service
for the state’s Covenant
Renewal Day 2019.
Akeredolu, who is also
Ondo State governor, said
the South West governors
are responding
comprehensively to the
various security challenges
facing the zone.
Speaking through his
deputy, Mr. Agboola Ajayi,
the governor said his
colleagues in the zone are
collaborating to re-jig the
security architecture of the
:Vanguard
News
:@vanguardnews :@vanguardnews NEWS HOTLINES: 08052867023, 08052867058
INSECURITY: We won’t rest until our
people can sleep with their eyes closed
—S’West govs
zone to respond
adequately to new
challenges.
His words: “It is no
longer news that our
country is going through
security challenges.
Therefore, all hands must
be on deck to salvage it
together.
“The governors in the
region are doing their best
to
respond
comprehensively to the
new challenges.
“Also, Ondo State is
working in collaboration
with sister states in
Southwestern zone to rejig
the security architecture
of the zone to make it
respond adequately to the
new challenges.
“The State Government
has never relented on its
efforts to curb crime and
criminalities within our
boundaries. We will
continue this until our
people can sleep with their
two eyes closed.
“Nigeria must survive its
challenges and it is
possible if we all agree and
pray together in unison.”
Akeredolu, who
described the church
service as an opportunity to
renew strength and pray to
God for future life in the
state, said no government
or organisation could
achieve its craved height.
The governor urged the
federal and state
governments to renew their
covenant with God on
yearly basis.
He said: “There is,
therefore, a compelling
need for collaboration of all
stakeholders in the task of
building a virile and
egalitarian society.”
Security summit
In June, the governors of
the six South-west states
had vowed to put their
political affiliations aside to
confront the security
S/AFRICA RETURNEES—Deputy Governor of Oyo State, Engr. Rauf Olaniyan (middle, in blue) with
the 30 Oyo State indigene returnees from South Africa, when he received them at the government
secretariat in Ibadan. PHOTO: Oyo State Government.
LG PRIMARY: APC aspirants protest
in Ekiti, reject alleged imposition
By Rotimi
Ajomoyela
Aaggrieved
DO-EKITI—SOME
All
Progressives Congress,
APC, local government
Chairmanship aspirants,
yesterday, accused the
leadership of the party in
the State of allegedly
imposing candidates on the
party.
The aspirants said this
during a protest at the
party secretariat in Ado
Ekiti, Ekiti State.
Those who protested
were former chairman of
Ado Ekiti metropolitan
council, Mrs. Tosin Aluko
and Tajudeen Gidado, who
are chairmanship aspirants
in the council for the
December 7, 2019 elections
in the state.
The party suspended
primaries in Ado, Ikole and
Ekiti East local
governments last Saturday
over alleged security threat
and rumour that some
members were planning to
disrupt the process in a
violent manner.
The placard-carrying
protesters, led by the two
aspirants, besieged the
party secretariat at about
9.30 am and rejected the
consensus process that
produced Mrs. Omotunde
Fajuyi as the candidate.
Addressing the party,
Gidado and Aluko rejected
80TH BIRTHDAY ANNIVERSARY: Akinrinade,
a fighter for democracy, rule of law —TINUBU
By Dapo
Akinrefon
L AGOS—NATIONAL
Leader of the All
Progressives Congress, APC,
Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, yesterday,
described former Chief of Defence
Staff, Lt. Gen. Alani Akinrinade
(retd) as a fighter for democracy,
rule of law and social justice with
whom he was in the trenches
during the military era.
In a special tribute to mark
Akinrinade’s 80th birthday
celebration, Tinubu said
Akinrinade remains a true
democrat, an unrelenting fighter
for rule of law and social justice
and a statesman extraordinary
who served and continues to serve
his country with all that he has.
The statement reads:
“Whether in the army or in
retirement, General Alani
Akinrinade (retd) deployed all he
is endowed with to accomplish
whatever tasks he is given or to
the goals he sets for himself. He
served and continues to serve his
country with all that he has: his
intellect, energy, power,
doggedness and commitment. He
served the military meritoriously
and faithfully. Given his brilliance
and tenacity, he rose to the
pinnacle of the military profession
as Chief of Army Staff and later
Chief of Defence Staff, appointed
to help in stabilizing the new
civilian government then in 1979
during the Second Republic. He,
however, quit barely a year after,
retiring from the military, as it were,
at just 38.
“The circumstance of General
Akinrinade’s retirement is a
testament to his impeccable
character and good qualities.
Once he is convinced in a course
of action and makes his decision,
General Akinrinade does not look
back.
“For close to 30 years that our
paths have crossed in the field of
struggle for the termination of
military rule in Nigeria and political
emancipation of Nigerians,
General Akinrinade has not
changed a bit. He is a true
democrat, an unrelenting fighter
for rule of law and social justice
and a statesman extraordinaire."
the choice of Fajuyi as the
candidate, saying such
was a flagrant violation of
party’s constitution, which
stipulated that there must
be indirect primary when
consensus option fails.
In a letter presented to
the State Working
Committee, yesterday, the
Deputy Governor and
leader of the party in Ado
Ekiti council, Chief Bisi
Egbeyemi and 35 others
had picked Fajuyi against
the wishes of the two other
aspirants.
Speaking about the
protest and the fence
mending steps being taken
by the party, the APC State
Publicity Secretary, Mr. Ade
Ajayi, said the party was not
interested in imposition of
candidates.
Ajayi also exonerated
Governor Kayode Fayemi
of complicity in the crises
that dogged the primaries,
warning that nobody
should bring the governor
into the controversial issue.
He said: “Some group of
people came to protest here
today (yesterday) and said
they rejected the consensus
option in Ado Ekiti. They
were led by Mrs. Tosin
Aluko and Mr. Tajudeen
Gidado.
“They came with
placards carrying
inscription that they
rejected imposition, that
they wanted primaries. We
have never contemplated
imposition as a party."
challenges facing their
region.
They made the pledge in
separate remarks at a
security summit, titled:
“Stakeholders’ Security
Summit: Focus on Western
Nigeria” held in Ibadan,
Oyo State.
The summit was
organised by the
Development Agenda for
Western Nigeria, DAWN,
Commission, which is an
organ of the six states
established to pursue their
aspiration of socioeconomic
integration.
At the summit, Akeredolu
had said that no sacrifice
was too much for the
governors to make to
protect their people.
He said the governors
had decided to cast their
party affiliations aside to
tackle the security
challenges facing the
region.
SACK OF ASUU LEADERS: CSOs
protest, seek govt's intervention
for quality education
By Ebunoluwa
Sessou
LAGOS—A coalition of
Civil Society
organizations, yesterday,
marched on the Lagos
State House of Assembly,
calling for intervention of
the state government to
address the dwindling
level of education in all the
state-owned institutions
including Lagos State
University, LASU, Lagos
State Polytechnic,
LASPOTECH, as well as
Adeniran Ogunsanya
College of Education,
AOCOED.
In a letter submitted to the
House, jointly signed by
the United Action for
Democracy, UAD, Sahara
Education Development
Initiative, SEDI, Workbond
International Network,
WIN, and Committee for
Defence of Human Rights,
CDHR, the coalition stated
that the dismissal of ASUU
leaders prompted the
peaceful rally.
The CSOs also demanded
the reinstatement of five
ASUU-LASU officials that
were dismissed by the Prof.
Bayo Ninalowo-led
governing council, and the
Cleric admonishes Nigerians
to be honest, kind
....As Islamic Group honours Oyetola’s aide
IBADAN— FOUNDER and
Chairman of Mas’had-L-Asrar
Almujaba Worldwide, Sheik
Abdul-Jelil Owonikoko,
yesterday, urged Nigerians to
imbibe the virtues of honesty and
kindness in their respective way
of life.
This came as multiple award
winning photo journalist and a
media aide to Governor
Adegboyega Oyetola of Osun
State, Mr. Sikiru Adeoye-Yusuf
has been conferred with Aminul
Mashhad worldwide, an award
reserved only for men found to
be honest and kind in character.
Sheik Owonikoko gave this
admonition during the
conferment of the awards by his
organisation on the ace journalist
and 11 others held in Saki, Oyo
State.
The Islamic Cleric said honesty,
kindness and sincerity were parts
of the virtues found in Mr.
Adeoye-Yusuf by the Islamic
group which gave birth to the
award and recognition given to
him.
He added that Nigeria would
be great if only all citizens could
emulate these virtues in all their
affairs.
Vice Chancellor, Professor
Lanre Fagbohun.
It further urged the
Governor to constitute a
Visitation Panel to the
institution as a matter of
urgency. .
A leader of the group, Mr. Kunle
Wiseman Ajayi urged the
government to resolve the matter
as soon as possible.
He said: “The country is rich yet
our people are suffering. Why are
we suffering? They are wasting our
resources; they are even using our
resources to fight us.
“The people that are leading the
institutions are not leading
intellectually; they are leading in
a gestapo manner.
“When workers of
LASPOTECH fought over the
salary scale that have been
accepted nationwide and have not
been implemented in the school,
38 workers of the institution were
arrested and detained in Kirikiri
Maximum Prison."
“We are demanding the
immediate reinstatement of
all the sacked workers in
LASPOTECH and LASU.
We want an urgent
intervention of the
government. The politicians
are more eager to allocate
jumbo salaries to
themselves.
He disclosed that Mr.
Adeoye-Yusuf, who is currently
a Senior Special Assistant
on Media to Osun State Governor,
was the first to receive
this category of award since
1997 when the organization
was established.
Speaking about the
organisation and its benefits
particularly to Nigerians, he
stated that it was established to
strengthen people’s belief in
power of prayer in solving
problems confronting individuals
and the nation.
He said: “Today, we are
celebrating the 12th anniversary
of our organisation, which was
established 22 years ago with key
objectives of promoting the
virtues of Islam and
strengthening belief in the
efficacy of prayers in solving all
manners of problems confronting
individuals and the nation.
“We are also using this
opportunity to honour 12 of our
members with different categories
of awards of excellence in
recognition of their commitment
to the attainment of sustainable
development goals, service to
Mashhad and humanity in
general.”

12—Vanguard, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2019
Court rules on Journalist Jalingo’s bail
application Friday
By Ike
Uchechukwu
CALABAR—A Federal
High Court sitting in
Calabar, Cross River State
has adjourned till Friday to
rule on the bail application
by journalist and activist,
Mr. Agba Jalingo, who has
been in custody since
August 22, 2019, when he
was arrested.
Jalingo is facing charges
bordering on treason,
terrorism and attempt to
topple the Cross River
State government.
Trial judge, Justice
Simon Amobeda, will also
on Friday rule on the
preliminary objection to the
bail application by the
prosecution counsel, Mr.
Dennis Tarhemba.
In his argument, counsel
to Jalingo, Mr. Attah
Ochinke, argued that
Section 161 sub section 2
of the Administration of
Criminal Justice Act
provides that a defendant
was entitled to bail, as the
offences for which his client
was charged are bailable.
Jalingo is to remain
remanded in prison
custody till the next
Bayelsa/Kogi guber: INEC didn't disqualify any
candidate —Okoye •Says parties submitted invalid nominations
By Emem Idio
Y ENAGOA—Chairman,
Information and Voter
Education Committee of
Independent National
Commission, INEC, and
National Commissioner, Mr
Festus Okoye, has reacted to
the disqualification of some
governorship candidates in
Bayelsa and Kogi states,
noting that the candidates
who claimed to have been
disqualified were not validly
nominated by their political
parties.
Okoye, who stated this,
yesterday, during a youth
campus sensitisation
programme at Niger Delta
adjourned date.
One of Jalingo’s counsel,
Mr. James Ibor, told
journalists: “I am very
impressed that finally the
court has taken our
application for bail. We can
only be hopeful that it will
University, Amassoma,
Bayelsa State, blamed the
political parties for
presenting candidates that
did not meet the minimum
requirements as spelt out by
the 1999 Constitution as
amended.
According to Okoye, since
go on our way. The issue
of bail is at the discretion
of the court. So, if it doesn’t
go in our favour, there is
no cause for alarm. We will
go ahead with the
hearing.”
Vanguard learned that
Jalingo was arrested in his
Lagos residence by men
attached to the Intelligence
the political parties did not
submit valid nominations,
the commission cannot put
them on the ballot, pointing
out that the political parties
cannot ask for substitution of
candidates as their
nominations were invalid in
the first place.
He said: “It is expected
Response Team of Nigeria
Police on August 22, 2019.
He spent 34 days in Police
detention before he was
arraigned on September
25, 2019 where he pleaded
not guilty to the four count
charge preferred against
him. He was remanded in
prison custody by the court.
that any political party that
wants to sponsor candidates
for elections must know the
provisions of the constitution.
So for you to submit
candidates, you must know
the basics according to
Section 172 of the 1999
constitution as amended."
We're not part of Miss Amnesty Nigeria 2019
—PAP
THE
Presidential
Amnesty Programme,
PAP, has denied media report
that it was part of the alleged
2nd Edition, Miss Amnesty
Nigeria 2019, said to be an
“empowerment initiative”
scheduled to hold on
October 19, 2019 in Aba,
Port-Harcourt, Owerri,
Asaba, Lagos and Abuja.
PAP in a statement,
yesterday, said: “Our
attention has been drawn to
Okowa's wife denies receiving N3.5bn grant
from IGD
By Festus Ahon
A SABA—Following
speculations in the social
media, wife of Delta State
governor, Mrs Edith Okowa,
yesterday, said her
organisation, 05 Initiative, did
not receive N3.5 billion ($10
billion) grant from Initiative
for Global Development,
IGD, an international
organisation.
Briefing newsmen on the
activities of the organisation,
she explained that 05
Initiative got international
recognition when she led
members of her group to
SUMMIT: A cross section of participants at the 2nd Warri Economic
Summit, in Warri, Delta State, yesterday.
make a presentation on the
humanitarian activities of the
organisation at United
Nations General Assembly in
New York, United States of
America, adding that IGD
indicated interest to partner
her pet project, the 05
Initiative, after her
presentation.
Mrs Okowa said: “Their
interest is centred on
digitising our sickle cell clinics
across the state. This will
generate critical data that will
aid in the management of
sickle cell patients.
“I will like to state
categorically that no
memorandum of
understanding has been
signed and no financial
commitment has been
made. If my organisation
was given any money, I will
be glad but no money was
given. No money was given.
“05 Initiative is a nongovernmental
organisation
with the mission to feed the
hungry, provide shelter for
the homeless, clothe the poor,
care for the sick and visit
prisoners.
“The achievements of the
05 Initiative include welfare
packages for prison inmates,
empowerment of no fewer
than 2,500 Delta women,
medical outreach to over
26,000 Deltans, settlement of
hospital bills for indigent
citizens, provision of shelter
for the homeless and feed-
a publication being circulated
by one Tracy McWary
Foundation, soliciting
participation by interested
females to audition for the
2nd edition, Miss Amnesty
Nigeria 2019, which she
claimed to be an
'empowerment initiative'
scheduled for October 19,
2019 in Aba, Port-Harcourt,
Owerri, Asaba, Lagos and
Abuja.
“This is to notify the public
that PAP is not involved and
has no business with the
Tracy Mcwary Foundation.
We also wish to state that we
have no connection with the
project being advertised.
“This disclaimer has
become necessary as Miss
Tracy McWary is currently
under investigation by the
Nigeria Police for defrauding
the Presidential Amnesty
Programme. Anyone who
does business with her or her
so-called foundation in the
name of the Presidential
Amnesty Programme does
so at his or her own risk.”
Reps embark on inspection of
abandoned, uncompleted
NDDC projects in Bayelsa
By Emem Idio
YENAGOA- AS part of
its tour of abandoned and
uncompleted projects
belonging to Niger Delta
Development Commission,
NDDC, in Niger Delta, the
House of Representatives
Committee on NDDC, has
inspected uncompleted
projects of the commission in
Bayelsa State.
Members of the committee
on their oversight function
inspect NDDC’s projects,
especially roads and bridges
that are uncompleted in the
state.
Some of the projects
inspected include Federal
University of Otuoke, FUO,
internal 16km road awarded
in 2012 that was reduced to
6km in Otuoke, Ogbia Local
Government Area of the
state.
Other projects include
Orthopedic Centre,
Children and Maternity
Hospital, Otuoke 14km
Market Access Road, with
drainage, which was
awarded in 2016, 4km
Bayelsa Palm/Otuoke Road
with drainage, 150ms Afa
Bridge, which was awarded
in 2010 and 1km internal
road and shore protection, in
Onuebum Community all in
Ogbia Local Government
Area of the state.
Member representing
Ogbia Federal Constituency,
Mr Fred Obua, who led the
team on the inspection tour,
said the inspection was
necessary to ensure that the
spate of uncompleted
projects was curtailed across
the country.
Rivers guber: Dismiss
Awara’s petition, AAC tells
tribunal
AFRICAN
Action
Congress, AAC, has
asked the Rivers State
Governorship Election
Tribunal sitting in Port
Harcourt to dismiss the
petition by the defeated
African Action Congress,
AAC, governorship
candidate, Biokpomabo
Awara, against the election
of Governor Nyesom Wike
for lacking in merit.
The tribunal chairman,
Justice Kingsley Orjiako,
announced that the tribunal
had reserved judgement
following the adoption of
final written addresses by
parties.
The AAC sponsored Awara
for the March 9, 2019
governorship election in the
state.
Counsel to the AAC,
Henry Bello, while adopting
the party’s final written
address, yesterday, urged
the tribunal to place value on
the video clip tendered,
which showed the
declaration of Governor Wike
as the winner of the March
9, 2019 governorship
election after due collation of
results.
The AAC had declared that
their decision to call for the
dismissal of the petition by
Awara was borne out of the
party’s commitment to the
truth.
It said: “A lawyer should not
promote a case which to his
knowledge is false. Every
iota of their case is made in
falsehood. Therefore,
counsel for the party
presenting the truth before
the tribunal deserves
commendation."
2nd Warri Summit: Okowa,
others urge sustenance of
peace for investment growth
By Jimitota
Onoyume
WARRI—
THE
SECOND Warri
Economic Summit with the
themed “Warri rocks, open for
business and leisure,” held
yesterday in Warri South
Local Government Area of
Delta State, with Governor
Ifeanyi Okowa urging
stakeholders to continue to
build on the area of security
to attract more investors to the
state.
The governor, who
commended the Chairman ,
Warri South council, Dr
Michael Tidi, and his team
for the summit said, he was
impressed that the economic
life of the oil-rich city was fast
rebounding after the first
summit organised by the
council last year.
The governor who spoke
through the Chief of Staff,
Government House, Asaba,
Mr David Edevbie, said the
state government will
continue to create the
enabling environment for
investors to thrive, adding
that the government had
created development agency
for Warri and environs and
the entire state to take
development to all parts of the
state.
Chairman of the council,
Tidi, in his welcome address,
enjoined various ethnic
groups in the oil rich city to
sink their differences for the
growth and development of
the city.
Co-host of the summit,
Chairman, Warri Economic
Summit Group, Mr
Emmanuel Jakpa, harped on
unity among various tribes in
Warri, stressing that
development projects that
will take the city to greater
heights will transcend ethnic
sentiments.

VANGUARD, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2019 — 13
YELLOW FEVER: Death
toll rises to 17 in Bauchi
BAUCHI—BAUCHI State
Primary Health Care
Development Agency says one
more patient of yellow fever has
died in Alkaleri Local Council of
the state.
The Executive Chairman of
the agency, Dr. Rilwanu
Mohammed, made this known at
a briefing, yesterday, in Bauchi.
Mohammed said that the
additional death brought to 17
deaths out of the 20 yellow fever
cases recently recorded in 11 local
government areas of the state.
He said 13 out of the dead were
recorded in Alkaleri Local
Government; one in Bauchi, one
in Dass, one in Darazo and one
in Ningi Local Council of the
state.
The other local council areas
affected are Gamawa, Jamare,
Kirfi, Tafawa Balewa, Torro and
Tribunal upholds Ganduje,
Lalong, Tambuwal elections
*PDP kicks, to appeal judgment Kano ruling
By Therese
Nanlong &
Abdulmumin
Murtala, with
agency report
J Governorship
OS—STATE
Election Tribunals in Jos and
Kano, yesterday, upheld the
election of Governor Simon
Lalong of Plateau State and
his Kano State counterpart,
Abdullahi Ganduje, both of
the All Progressives
Congress, APC.
While the Tribunal
dismissed the petition by the
Peoples Democratic Party,
PDP and its Governorship
candidate, Senator
Jeremiah Useni, against
Governor Lalong for failure
to prove their case, it
dismissed PDP,
gubernatorial candidate,
Abba Kabir Yusuf, petition
against Governor Ganduje
for lack of merit.
In Jos, the petitioners had
alleged that Lalong the
APC governorship
candidate in the March 9,
2019 election and the
second respondent in the
case, was not qualified to
contest the election because
of the differences in the
names on his certificates.
But the three-man
tribunal led by Justice
Salman in a four hour
judgment, dismissed the
petition saying that Lalong
was qualified to contest the
election.
On the issue of alleged
different names on Lalong’s
certificates, the Tribunal
held that the second
respondent, Lalong was the
owner of the certificates and
all the four different names
were linked.
Reacting to the judgment,
Lalong described his victory
as a victory for the people
of the state and an
affirmation of the mandate
freely given to him in the
last general elections where
his party the APC won
resoundingly.
Warji.
The outbreak of yellow fever
occurred on Aug. 29 in Alkaleri
Local Council of the state.
Meanwhile, the Bauchi State
Ministry of Health, in
collaboration with the agency and
Bauchi State Agency for the
Control of HIV, Malaria, Leprosy
and Tuberculosis, BACATMA,
have commenced fumigation in
Alkaleri Local Government
Agency.
During the fumigation in Alkaleri
on yesterday, the state
Commissioner for Health, Hawal
Jatau, said that the exercise was
necessary due to additional cases
recorded in the area.
The commissioner, who was
represented by Dr Muhammad
Alkali, said that the state Governor,
Sen. Bala Mohammed, ordered the
fumigation to check the spread.
The Governor in a
statement by his Director of
Press and Public Affairs, Dr.
Makut Simon Macham,
said “The verdict of the
election petition tribunal not
only affirms our mandate,
but also shows that we are
all winners as the people
of the state will now have
seamless governance since
the distractions of litigation
are now settled”.
Lalong who commended
the Tribunal for “dispensing
justice without fear or
favour”, extended a hand
of fellowship to the
opposition PDP to join
hands with him to rescue
the State from
underdevelopment,
insecurity and poverty and
consolidate on the
achievements of the last
four years, saying “there is
no winner or loser in this
verdict, Plateau State is the
winner.”
In Kano, the tribunal
headed by Justice Halima
Shamaki, while delivering
the judgment, stated that
the petition was dismissed
for lack of merit insisting
that the Independent
National Electoral
Commission, INEC, had
authority to cancel elections
where there was crisis and
or declare an election
inconclusive.
Speaking on the
judgment, the Attorney
General of Kano State,
Ibrahim Mukhtar
expressed happiness over
the judgment, saying “We
can describe today as the
final day for this Tribunal as
it has completed its sitting
here in Kano and has
delivered its judgment in
favor of Dr Abdullahi
Ganduje the second
respondent. The main
complain by the petitioners
against the respondent, the
governor of Kano State, is
that they won the election
conducted by INEC on the
9th of March because it was
the respondents who
created mayhem and
COURTESY VISIT—From left: Deputy Secretary General, Nigerian Gas Association, NGA,
Mr. Mike Oseh; Managing Director, Ibile Oil & Gas Corporation, Mrs. Doyin Akinyanju;
Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Lagos State, Engr. Olalere Odusote;
President, NGA, Mrs. Audrey Joe-Ezigbo, and Chairman, Conference and Events Committee,
NGA, Mrs. Misan Jekhine, during a courtesy visit to the commissioner, in Lagos.
violence at Gama Ward
wanting to benefit from it
and that was why INEC
decided.
However, responding,
Rabiu Bichi, the state’s PDP
chairman, declared that the
party was going to appeal
the judgment as he
expressed dissatisfaction.
He said among others,
“The judgment has been
delivered, though not in
our favor at this stage. We
wish to thank people of
Kano State for their
perseverance and what
they did during the
elections .One thing I like
about the judgment is that
the head of the panel said
that she makes mistakes
and when she makes
mistakes she wants to be
taken higher, this is not the
end of it.
“I could recall that during
the hearing the judgment
delivered not in our favor,
we appealed at Kaduna
Court of Appeal and we got
judgment in our favor. They
also took the matter to
Supreme Court which was
decided in our favor also.
So this is not the end of it.
In this too we are asking our
lawyers to look at the
judgment, come out with a
position, and as she said,
try and see where she
made mistakes and then
we appeal further.”
Meanwhile, the Sokoto
State Election Tribunal, has
affirmed the victory of
Aminu Tambuwal as
governor of the state.
The tribunal, yesterday
dismissed the petition of the
APC and its candidate, Mr.
Ahmed Aliyu for lacking in
merit and inability to
establish non-compliance.
It also resolved the
allegations of noncompliance
with the
electoral act in the conduct
of the election against the
petitioners for failure to
prove same evidence of the
petitioners’ witnesses,
especially witness number
10 hearsay evidence that
could not be given any
value in court to prove any
of the allegations.
The tribunal, sitting at the
Wuse Zone 2 Magistrate
court after it was relocated
from Sokoto State to Abuja
for alleged security reasons,
declared the petition as
‘proper in law.’
On the objections raised
by the petitioner against the
petition urging it to dismiss
the petition for lacking in
merit, unanimously, the
tribunal dismissed the
objections and held that the
petition was properly filed.
The Justice Abbas Bawale
who led tribunal equally
ruled that the petitioners,
Aliyu and his party, the APC
duly paid the filing fees.
It held that against the
argument of the
respondents that the
petition disclosed the
substantial cause of action
and was properly signed by
the petitioners. It further
held that the non-joinder of
the running mate to the
petitioners was not enough
to render the petition
incompetent.
Justice Bawale held that
the application by the
respondent lacked merit
and constituted a waste of
judicial time
HERDSMEN CRISIS: 23,940 infants and
children in Benue IDP camps malnourished
....Agency wants FG to fulfill pledge to re-construct destroyed
communities
By Peter Duru
M
A K U R D I —
INDICATIONS have
emerged that over 23,940 Benue
children and infants displaced and
taking refuge in Internally
Displaced Persons, IDP, camps, as
a result of 2018 herdsmen crisis
in the state, are suffering from
malnutrition.
The children, between the ages
of 1-59 months, are part of the
over 112,617 children still trapped
in the 28 official and unofficial
camps and the host communities
of the camps located in seven
local government areas of the
state.
According to an official statistics
of the IDPs in Benue State,
obtained, yesterday, from the
State Emergency Management
Law practice, a social responsibility
for societal re-engineering
—Mrakpor
ASABA—THE Delta State
Attorney-General and
Commissioner for Justice, Mr.
Peter Mrakpor, says that law
practice is a vital and veritable tool
for societal re-engineering, as well
as a profit making venture.
Mr. Mrakpor stated this on
Tuesday at a send-forth party for
the 2018 NYSC Batch C, Stream
1 and Stream 2 members that
served in the Ministry of Justice.
Addressing the 27 out-going
Corps members, who,
coincidentally, are all lawyers, the
Justice commissioner advised
them to imbibe the virtues of hard
work, dedication, quality service
and good public relations and
stressed the need to give
maximum satisfaction to their
clients as, according to him, the
ability to maintain clients’
satisfaction is one of the major
indicators to measure customer’s
loyalty and success in business.
While sharing his personal
experiences when he started
private law practice over 30 years
ago to inspire the young lawyers,
the Attorney-General
admonished them to eschew
indolence and any form of
unethical behaviour contrary to
Agency, SEMA, in Makurdi, the
children were part of the 82,658
households affected by the
herdsmen crisis in the state.
The 28 official and unofficial
camps and communities where
the children are taking refuge
with their parents are located in
Logo, Guma, Makurdi, Okpokwu,
Gwer West, Kwande and Agatu
Local Government Areas, LGAs
of the state.
A breakdown of the location of
the affected children showed
that Makurdi LGA is hosting
4,559 of the malnourished
children Logo LGA 5,652, Agatu
LGA 4,044, Guma LGA 5,763,
Gwer West LGA has 3,185 of the
malnourished children, Kwande
LGA 580 children while
Okpokwu LGA has a record the
157 malnourished children.
Speaking on the development
the Special Assistant to the
Executive Secretary of Benue
the code of ethics binding on
all legal practitioners in the
country.
Mr. Mrakpor also enjoined the
out-going Corps members to
explore the diverse opportunities
available in the legal landscape in
the country and charged them to
pursue continuous legal education
as part of measures to build their
capacity for vibrant and successful
law practice.
The AG later presented the 27
out-going Corp Members with
letters of commendations
personally endorsed by him
together with transport allowance
that would take them back to their
respective States. He also
presented some of the Corps
Members with cash awards for
answering questions correctly
during a quiz competition bordering
on the Ministry of Justice, its
operations and other matters
connected thereto.
Earlier, the Functioning Solicitor-
General/Permanent Secretary of
the Ministry, Mr. Daniel Momah
who spoke through the Director of
Legal Drafting, Omamuzo Erebe,
while thanking the youth Corps
members for their industry,
dedication to duties during their
one year service in the Ministry,
wished them the best in their
SEMA, Mr. Chia Alexander
said the agency was
collaborating with its partners
to address the challenge.
“Already the International
Committee of the Red Cross,
ICPC, has distributed nutrition
packs to the children to help us
tackle the challenge but we still
need more help. The situation we
have at hand in Benue is
heartrending and it is way beyond
the state government which has
been carrying that burden though
with assistance from some
agencies and organization but we
need more help.
“We appeal to the Federal
government to release the N10
billion it promised states affected
by herdsmen crisis and give
Benue our share so that the reconstruction
of the affected
communities in the state can
commence, to enable the victims
return to their ancestral homes."

14—Vanguard, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2019
ANNIVERSARY: From left, Former Governor of Ogun State, Chief Olusegun Osoba; Managing
Director of Sujimoto Construction Limited, Sijibomi Ogundele, and Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun
State, at Sujimoto's 5th anniversary tagged "Celebration of Resilience," at Banana Island, Lagos.
Nigeria’s insecurity rate lowest
— Omo-Agege
By Chris Ochayi
ABUJA— DEPUTY
President, Senator
Ovie Omo-Agege,
yesterday, said Nigeria had
the lowest rate of
kidnappings, armed
banditry and other related
crimes in the world.
Omo-Agege, who spoke
at a stakeholders’ national
discourse on security and
economic development in
Abuja, said some external
detractors had picked
interest in blowing
insecurity challenges in
Nigeria out of proportion.
Speaking at a one-day
discourse with the theme,
"Nigeria’s national security
interest: Issues, challenges
and the way forward,”
pointed out that insecurity
was a phenomenal
challenge common
anywhere in the world,
including the developed
countries.
The stakeholders
discourse was organised by
Global Initiative for African
Development, GIFAD, in
conjunction with Pan-
African Institute for Global
Affairs and Strategic
Studies.
Represented by his
Senior Special Assistant on
Strategic Security, Col.
Melvin Usman (retd), the
Deputy Senate President
explained that foreigners
hyped insecurity scenario
of Nigeria more than what
happened in their country.
According to him, “No
doubt, if we take issues one
by one, we would certainly
find one teething,
sometimes lingering
problems. But the fact
remains that many of our
detractors as a nation take
undue interest in blowing
our problems out of
proportion.
"Even in cases where in
their own countries, those
vices are worse, they stand
on mountain tops to
disparage Nigeria while
speaking of theirs as
pockets of deviant
behaviour.
“A very recent example
was the United Nations
Rapporteur, Agnes
Callamard‘s report of
violence in Nigeria, which
unfairly described the
country as ‘a pressure
cooker of violence.'
"Take the issue of security,
particularly kidnapping and
armed robbery. Recent
statistics show that in 2017 in
the United States, there were
100 robberies per 1000
Fashola urges youth to be part of leadership
MINISTER of Works
and Housing, Mr
Babatunde Fashola, has
urged the youths to be part
of leadership by actively
contributing to issues and
not just castigating those in
authority.
Fashola stated this during
the 81st anniversary
celebration of Ikoyi Club
1938, in Lagos.
In a lecture he deliverd at
the event, entitled, “Youth
and Leadership in Nation
Building,” Fashiola said
“youths can use their
•Says external detractors blowing it out of
proportion
population. In England and
Wales it was 127. In France
147, and in 'very peaceful'
Sweden, 87. In Nigeria for
the same period, there were
3,527 cases of armed robbery
recorded in the country
(Federal Bureau of Statistics).
“If you compute this figure
with a very conservative
population of 150 million,
what we have is 0.024
robberies per 1000 for the
period under review. Even if
we factor-in a generous
margin of error for unreported
Bishop blames current economic
situation on poor leadership
By Tina
Akannam
THE Bishop of House of
Joy Ministry and Sam
Zuga Foundation, Bishop
Sam Zuga, has attributed the
current economic situation in
the country to poor leadership
at all level.
Zuga, who made this
assertion in Kano State,
yesterday, while addressing
hundreds of beneficiaries of
Sam Zuga Foundation, a free
medical treatment, said
leadership problem was
common in African countries.
Said he: “Leadership is not
all about the position you
occupy as a leader, it is the
solution you provide to the
Bishop Sam Zuga
people you lead. Many
Africans are suffering today
because thier leaders are only
conscious of the position they
occupy.
“That you occupy a
leadership position at any
level, does not mean you are
a leader. Unless you are able
to provide solutions to the
camera phone, which is a
very useful tool, to take
pictures and post to
appropriate quarters,
instead of posting fake news
on social media.”
He also advised them to
think of how to be employers
of labour instead of
depending on the system to
provide them jobs.
According to him, he
joined Ikoyi Club to meet
big men and to discuss
business as an upcoming
lawyer, stressing that
Nigerians should not wait
cases, it would still hover
around one robbery per 1000
population.
"Nigeria, therefore, has far
less cases of this vice than all
these nations given as
examples.
"In the same token, Mexico
is acclaimed to be the world’s
headquarters of kidnap-forransom,
followed by the
United States. We all are
aware that Nigeria has its
share of these vices namely
robbery and kidnapping. But
rather than call them what
they are, what we hear from
our detractors is 'terror'."
yearnings of the people you
lead.”
He explained that "just as
a shepherd expects good milk
from his cattle if he feeds them
well, that’s how a leader
should expect productive
followers if he provides for
thier needs."
Zuga also observed that
African leaders believed in
consumption rather than
production, saying that "they
take what belongs to the
people and convert it to their
personal use.
“Leaders eat what belongs
to the people, and so the
people see them as thier
enemies because they see
them eating what belongs to
them."
until their leaders die before
they celebrate them,
adding: “They should learn
to celebrate their leaders
now.”
The lecture was
preceeded by activities to
mark the club’s 81st
anniversary, including
Charity Walk, family fun
day, which featured
children and adult bazaar;
award presentations, raffle
draw, recognition and
presentation of plaques to
sponsors.

Vanguard, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2019—15
US committed to supporting Nigerian entrepreneurs— Brooks
By Chidi Nkwopara
OWERRI—THE United States
Government said it remains
“committed to supporting
Nigerian entrepreneurs because
it represents the nation’s best
hope to create new products and
services that will be attractive to
markets around the world.”
The Public Affairs Officer,
Consulate General, Lagos, Mr.
Russell Brooks, made his
government’s position known
yesterday, while flagging off the
Conference for Emerging
Entrepreneurs in Owerri.
“This conference is important to
the United States Consulate
because we have learned that it
is an extremely successful means
to promote one of our principal
aims in Nigeria, which is to
encourage economic growth,
trade and investment,” Mr.
Brooks said.
While saying the emergence of
new entrepreneurs will not only
produce the growth, jobs and
incomes that will be crucial to
bringing about the future Nigeria
that young people want and
deserve, Brooks also commended
the Chief Executive Officer of
Field of Skills and Dreams, FSD,
Mrs. Omowale Ogurinde, for
organising the two-day
conference, “with 150 young,
talented and ambitious
entrepreneurs from across the
South-East” in attendance.
He recalled that the Bureau of
Enugu govt introduces security number for keke
ENUGU
State
government has introduced
security numbers for all tricycles
operating in the state to check
crimes in the transport sector.
This came just as OTrike, an ondemand
tricycling hailing
service, made a debut in the state,
available on the OPay app.
Chairman, State Tricycle
Association, Mr. Benjamin Ikah,
who disclosed the new security
number yesterday during the
official launch of Opera Payment
Transport System, Opay, noted
that the new security measure was
to dissuade riders from using their
tricycles to commit crimes and to
enhance the confidence of
commuters.
While appealing to
management of OPay to ensure
AS part of the state
government’s plan to
reintegrate and resettle Imo
indigenes, who recently returned
from South Africa as a result of
xenophobic attacks, Governor
Emeka Ihedioha of Imo State has
set up an inter-ministerial
committee.
that riders in their network
participate in the activities of the
association, he added that the
security number would be
obtained through established
units of keke riders in the state.
Also, Permanent Secretary,
Ministry of Transportation, Mr.
Ogbonna Idike, commended the
management of OPay for bringing
dignity to riders in the state.
Statistics reported in 2017 that
Nigerian micro, small and
medium enterprises created 59.6
million jobs across the country,
stressing that “for Nigeria to
succeed, the men and women
who are creating these
businesses, or hope to create new
businesses, must succeed.”
In his speech, Imo State
Commissioner for Commerce and
Entrepreneurship, Mr. Johnbosco
Okeahialam, said the state
has the largest reservoir of talents.
COLLOQUIUM: From left—Steffen Damborg of Digital Traformation Strategist, Copenhagen, Denmark; Acting
Managing Director, Obiageli Chiki-Ijegbulem, and Chairman, Mr. Kayode Falowo, both of Greenwich Registrars/Data Solution
Limited, at Greenwich Registrars’ colloquium on Big Data in Nigeria, in Lagos, yesterday.
Biafra agitations justified by actions
that make Nigeria private property
— Bishop Udeh
By Chimaobi Nwaiwu
NNEWI—AS the euphoria of
the 59th independence
celebration is still in the air,
General Overseer of Mount Zion
Faith Global Ministries Inc. a.k.a
By Fire By Fire, Nnewi, Anambra
State, Bishop Abraham Chris
Udeh, has said some people still
act as if the country is their
private property.
According to the cleric, this
behaviour justifies the struggle for
self-rule as advocated by the
Indigenous People of Biafra,
IPOB, the Movement for the
Actualisation Sovereign State of
Biafra, MASSOB, and other
Biafra agitating groups.
Bishop Udeh, who addressed
newsmen in his Church
yesterday, said it has become very
imperative for the actualisation of
Biafra freedom from Nigeria
because some people have
continued to lord it over others
they consider second class
citizens in their own fatherland.
His words: “The present
situation, where Igbo are
treated as second class citizens
in Nigeria has called for
sovereignty for the Igbo,”
adding that his church has
embarked on 40days fasting and
prayer to bring down God’s
hands for the Igbo to actualise
Biafra without bloodshed.
According to Bishop Udeh,
“those who are not terrorists are
identified with terrorism,
whereas those who are
terrorising the country are
tagged bandits, yet they
massacre people in every corner
of Nigeria, while those who are
tagging IPOB as a terrorist
group look the other way.
“Igbo are tired of the mantra
of ‘One Nigeria’ and should be
allowed to be on their own and
in their own country, as it
is happening in some parts of
the world. Our case should not
be an exception, since we
cannot be accommodated in
Nigeria and are treated as
second class citizens in the
project called Nigeria.
“If Nigerians are honest in
their claim of one indivisible
Nigeria, they should
demonstrate it with the 2023
presidency. It is clearly the turn
of Ndigbo to produce the
President of Nigeria.
“It should not be a case of ‘Igbo
must fight for it’, because those
ethnic groups who have enjoyed
the rotation and are enjoying it
now did not fight to get it.”
Speaking during the reception
of the returnees at Government
House, Owerri, yesterday,
Governor Ihedioha thanked God
for saving their lives.
He reminded them that this is
a period for soul searching,
saying, “we understand clearly
the import of this incident. What
the displacement has given rise
to is that you have to start afresh,
begin to adjust either to start a
new life or otherwise.”
He noted that a desk has been
set up to articulate an
implementable plan that will
guarantee sustainable livelihood
for them.
He disclosed that the Inter-
Ministerial Committee, which will
be headed by his Special Adviser
on Diaspora Affairs, Professor
Chudi Uwazuruike, shall
APC salutes
Buhari for Abia
nominee on
NDDC board
By Clifford Ndujihe
ABIA State chairman of All
Progressives Congress,
APC, Dr. Emmanuel Ndukwe,
has dismissed as hog-wash,
the statement credited to a
factional chairman of the party,
Mr. Donatus Nwankpa,
rejecting the nomination of Mr.
Nwogu Nwogu as the state
representative on the Niger
Delta Development
Commission, NDDC, Board.
In a petition to President
Muhammadu Buhari, Mr.
Nwankpa described Nwogu’s
renomination as not only a
ridicule to party supremacy,
but also an effort to undermine
reward to loyal APC faithful in
the state.
However, Dr. Ndukwe, who
said he is the authentic
chairman of APC in Abia, said
Nwogu’s renomination was in
order because “he is not only
a loyal member of the party,
who worked hard and
delivered his unit to President
Buhari during the presidential
election, but he is also from
Ukwa East, which is an oilproducing
area of Abia State.”
Dr. Ndukwe, who is backed
by High Chief Ikechi
Emenike, a long time
supporter of Buhari, said he
remains chairman of APC in
Abia via a court order that has
not been upturned.
Ndukwe, who was Abia
State co-ordinator of Buhari
2015 Support Group as well as
the presidential campaign
council, added: “We thank
President Buhari for
considering Mr. Nwogu for
reappointment.
“The move will encourage
loyal members of APC in Abia
State to work more and
strengthen the party.”
Xenophobia: Ihedioha moves to
rehabilitate South Africa returnees
comprise ministries of Youths;
Labour; Education and Health, to
be supervised by the Ministry of
Gender and Vulnerable Group
Affairs, will work out how to help
them resettle.
The governor noted that the
state is doing its best to link up
with the Federal Government to
ensure that special attention is
given to Imo returnees, as the
state has fulfilled all
requirements.
He thanked the management
of Air Peace for their patriotic act
of bringing home Nigerians at no
cost, and commended the
Archbishop of Owerri
Ecclesiastical Province, Most Rev.
Anthony Obinna, for providing
succour, “which has greatly
strengthened the returnees since
they arrived the state.”

16—Vanguard, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2019
LAUNCHING: From left— Mr Jelili Akinpelu, Mr Gbenga Onimowo, Commercial Director, Lafarge
Africa Plc, Mr Michel Puchercos, CEO, Lafarge Africa Plc, Mr Abiodun Awe, and Mr Idim Nsemo, Sectional
Head, Product Certification Department, Standard Organisation of Nigeria, SON, during the relaunch
of improved cement product SUPASET' by Lafarge in Lagos, yesterday. Photo: Kehinde Gbadamosi.
UBTH tasks elderly on healthy living
By Alemma Aliu
BENIN CITY—THE
management of the
University of Benin
Teaching Hospital,
UBTH, has urged elderly
persons to give more
attention to their health
status as they grow old
to being broken down by
avoidable ailments.
Chief Medical Director
of the hospital, Professor
Darlington Obaseki
stated this at an event
organised by the
hospital to mark United
Nations day for the
elderly where lectures
on hypertension,
diabetes and other ailments
were delivered.
He said: “Today is the
United Nations
international day for
elderly persons which
coincided with our 59th
independence, the UN
said we should celebrate
our senior citizens, those
of us that are 60 years
and above so UBTH
decided to use this
opportunity to bring
healthcare to the town
because we know some
of us coming to UBTH is
not easy so we decided
to come and tell you
about what we are doing
and how you can live a
better life. How you can
live a healthier life, how
you can age and still be
happy. Aging is not a
disease, we cannot say
Osoba, Abiodun, others grace Sujimoto's
5th anniversary celebration
By Emmanuel
Okogba
LAGOS—CHIEF Segun
Osoba, Governor Dapo
Abiodun of Ogun State,
Mo’Abudu and some top
business leaders were part
of the over 1,820 guests that
celebrated with Sujimoto
@5 on Banana Island in
Lagos.
Guests were held
spellbound by the beauty,
architectural sophistication
and quality of finishing of
the already sold-out
Giuliano by Sujimoto, as
they were given a tour of
the building before being
Delta Speaker hails Mrakpor on UNIBEN
alumni leadership award
By Elizabeth
Uwandu
ASABA—THE State
Attorney-General/
Commissioner for Justice
who is also the Chairman
of the State Task Force on
Human Trafficking and
Illegal Migration has been
ushered into the event
venue. One of the guests,
a socialite who have spent
majority of her life abroad,
said: “I had thought your
online pictures were
exaggerated but seeing the
Giuliano in person is a
different experience
because it is more beautiful
in real life. The impeccable
finishing is also very
exceptional. “
Speaking at the event, the MD/
CEO of Sujimoto, Sijibomi
Ogundele, who appreciated
everybody present, said:
“Pessimist don’t know this, but
they contribute more to our
success than our failures.
described as an erudite
scholar and a legal
luminary per excellence
whose footprints in the
administration of justice
will remain indelible and a
watershed in the history of
the State.
The Speaker of the State
Lagos CP lauds Opay's motorbike hailing
service
By Akeem Salau
LAGOS—THE Lagos
State Commissioner of
Police, CP Zubairu Muazu
has commended Opay’s
motorbike hailing service,
ORide, on the safety and
security measures the
company has put in place
in the state.
The commissioner who
was received at the
company’s head office in
Ikeja by Country Manager
of OPay, Iniabasi Akpan
said that the company’s
because we are old you
will now sit at home. We
want to let you know that
despite age, you can still
contribute to the
betterment of our society.
“UBTH being a
premium healthcare
provider in Nigeria, we
took it upon ourselves to
come to town and
educate our elderly on
the health implications of
the different activities
they do. This outreach is
a yearly event, we did it
last year for the retirees
from UBTH and today we
operation model has
helped reduce criminal
activities in Lagos State.
Muazu expressed his
happiness on how ORide has
gainfully and reasonably
employed thousands of people in
the past four months since its
launch.
Conducting the Commissioner
round the company's operation
room, Akpan said that ORide
ensures that riders are not only
trained to international standards
but also undergo verifications
processes before they join the
programme. Some other processes
include providing two guarantors
and a riders license.
“They aren’t like the regular
bikers you see on the road and
it’s well regulated,first and foremost
you are sure of who you are
journeying with and the person
is well trained”,
Akpan, however, seized the
opportunity to plead with the CP
to show more support to the
riders.
ORide is an on-demand
motorbike ride-hailing service
created with the vision to solve
the transportation challenge of
getting people and goods to their
destination, in a timely and safe
fashion.
have brought it to our
people”
On Nigeria’s 59th
independence, Obaseki
said “we must not give
up hope there is a bright
future for Nigeria and a
country that we all
dream of will come to
pass.”
The luxury real estate
developer compared the Sujimoto
story to the Chinese Bamboo tree,
explaining how it will take you
five years to nurture and fertilize
the ground before the Chinese
bamboo tree breaks through the
ground on the fifth year and after
that it breaks ground, it grows 30
meters tall in five weeks.
Governor of Ogun State, Chief
Dapo Abiodun, while
commending Ogundele, said: “By
all measures, Suji today, is a name
that resonates the length and
breadth of this country and for
his age, this young man is a
success story and I do not have a
doubt that this is just the
beginning. My prayer is that all
other young Nigerians will use
Suji as a prayer point.
House of Assembly Rt.
Honourable Sheriff Oborevwori
in his congratulatory message
personally signed by him stated
that the choice of Peter Mrakpor
for the Inspirational Leadership
Award conferred on him by the
Asaba branch of the University
of Benin Alumni Association, was
not an accident but in recognition
of the Delta Attorney-General’s
innumerable achievements.
The Delta AG, an alumnus of
the University of Benin, dedicated
the award to the state governor,
Senator Ifeanyi Okowa for finding
him worthy to serve in his cabinet.
He said he was humbled by the
recognition and promised to
always uphold the tenets of the
rule of law, fairness, equity and
justice in the discharge of his
duties.
Other recipients of different
categories of awards include a
former Commissioner for Lands
and Survey, Mr. Patrick Ferife, the
Accountant General of the Delta
State, Mr. Cyril Agbele, Dr.
Dennis Amafor, Bishop Ken
Ebolum and a host of others.
Wall Street drops more than 1%
on domestic growth worries
UNITED States (US) stocks fell more than 1 percent
for the second straight session yesterday, hitting a
fresh one-month low, as September’s weak private payrolls
report added to concerns of a slowdown in the world’s
largest economy.
US private employers hired fewer-than-expected
workers in September, the ADP National Employment
Report showed, pointing to weakness in the labour market.
The report, a precursor to the Labour Department’s more
comprehensive jobs report due on Friday, followed a
contraction in US manufacturing activity to its lowest level
in more than a decade.
That hit investor faith in the strength of the domestic
economy, a key reason for a rally in the benchmark index
this year, wiping off the third-quarter gains on the S&P
500 and Dow. Both indexes slipped below their 100-day
moving averages for the first time in about a month
yesterday, seen as a strong technical support level that
could presage further losses.
London court allows mass claim
against Google over iPhone data
LONDON’S Court of Appeal gave the go-ahead for
action against Google over claims it collected data
from more than 4million iPhone users, overturning a
ruling in 2018 that in effect blocked any route to legal
redress. The claimants said Google, a unit of Alphabet
Inc., had illegally accessed details of Apple iPhone users’
internet browsing data by bypassing privacy settings on
the Safari browser between June 2011 and February 2012.
London’s High Court ruled in October 2018 that
Google’s alleged role in the collection, collation and use
of data from the browser was wrongful and a breach of
duty, but claimants had not suffered “damage” as specified
by Britain’s Data Protection Act.
James Oldnall, lead lawyer on the case, said the Court
of Appeal decision had “confirmed our view that
representative actions are essential for holding corporate
giants to account”.
Ford, Fiat Chrysler report higher
quarterly US pick-up truck sales
FORD Motor Company and Fiat Chrysler
Automobiles NV yesterday reported higher pickup
truck sales for the third quarter in the United States,
as lower interest rates helped boost demand in a market
that has seen sales decline.
Ford said sales of its pick-up trucks rose 5 percent to
240,387 vehicles, its best third-quarter performance in 14
years, even as overall sales fell 4.9 percent to 580,251
automobiles, hurt by lower demand for its passenger cars
including the Taurus sedan.
Fiat Chrysler’s sales of its Ram pick-up trucks surged
14 percent to 161,635, marginally lifting overall sales by
0.1 percent to 565,034 cars.
Automakers in the United States are focusing on selling
larger SUVs and trucks that are more profitable, as
passenger cars fall out of favour.
While higher vehicle prices and rising interest rates
earlier in the year kept car shoppers on the sidelines,
analysts expect recent interest rate cuts to boost sales in
the third quarter.
Tesla’s China production to start,
eyes on mass production timing
TESLA Incorporated’s China factory aims to start
production this month but it is unclear when it will
meet year-end production targets due to uncertainties
around orders, labour and suppliers, sources with
knowledge of the matter said. The United States (US)
electric vehicle maker aims to produce at least 1,000 Model
3s a week from the new factory by the end of this year, the
centerpiece of its ambitions to boost sales in the world’s
biggest auto market and avoid higher import tariffs
imposed on U.S. cars. The plant’s mass production
schedule is crucial for Tesla’s hopes of reaching its total
production rate at an annualized 500,000 vehicles by the
end of this year. The $2 billion factory - Tesla’s first car
manufacturing site overseas - gained key government
approvals last month and is on schedule to start production
in October, the sources said.
Stories credited to Reuters

Vanguard, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2019 — 17

18 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2019
FOR the generality of Nigerians, especially
those who place very high
premium and esteem on President
Muhammadu Buhari’s much-touted
personal integrity, the Presidency’s
rebuttal of the growing rumour that
he could be shuffling towards a possible
“third term” agenda came as a
great relief and reassurance.
The President’s Special Assistant on
Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba
Shehu, issued a statement that was unambiguous
that his principal had no
such intentions. According to Shehu,
apart from having no such designs,
the Constitution does not permit an
extra term after two maximum terms
in office.
He, in fact, made a reference to the
failed attempt by a former President
to change the Constitution and said:
“No such attempt will happen under
this President…Any activity aimed at
altering the two-term limit will not
succeed and shall never have his time
Buhari’s timely ‘third term’ rebuttal
or support”.
Buhari, with his cult following in the
North and parts of the South West;
and given his long quest for the presidential
power, was seen by political
pundits as a typical politician who
might be tempted either by his own
desires or the pressures of his
followers to try tenure elongation,
which many of our leaders both in
military uniform and out of it had
tried and failed.
The manner in which the military
and security agencies have come so
boldly into the picture in attempts to
dilute human rights, the independence
and powers of the National Assembly,
the Judiciary and the Independent
National Electoral Commission,
INEC, in the past four years sent
worrying signals that Constitution
amendment for tenure elongation
could be the next bus-stop.
This speculation was not helped by
the sudden mushrooming of what
Shehu described as “so-called support
groups”, brazenly brandishing readiness
to kick-start campaigns towards
that end.
Much as we note the relief this assurance
will bring to the polity, we still
call for vigilance by all lovers of democracy
and constitutionalism. Every
attempt in the past was always met
with an official denial of the plot while
the perpetrators went on preparing
underground. Let us watch and see
what will happen in the next two, three
years.
We urge the President to go beyond
merely denying the ambition and take
strong measures against those behind
the plots.
If necessary actions are not taken
to nip them in the bud, and if government
and party officials suddenly begin
describing the agitators as “enjoying
their democratic rights”, then
it is time for Nigerians to rise and
protect our democracy.
The routine change of elected leaders
and political parties within the limit
of two maximum terms (eight years)
is healthy for our unity in diversity.
It is in the national interest and must
be preserved at all costs.
The next level anthem
By IKECHUKWU AGADA
IT was John F. Kennedy who said:
“Things do not just happen,
things are made to happen.”
When most kings ascend the throne
of their forefathers, they do not stir ripples
in the waters for fear it could trigger
a wave that might capsize their
fledgling rule.
In other words, they see but seldom
talk; talk but seldom walk. It is only a
wise king who knows that a crown of
gold is useless if the people do not
respect its wearer. The Next Level
anthem beggars description.
Image makers have vested interests
in manufacturing publicity for their
principals; after all, relevance is the
name of the game.
Defending the present administration
is tough because even the blind
can see the handwriting on the wall.
The Next Level Anthem will make an
excellent material for a Nollywood
blockbuster.
You may be forgiven if your first impression
about the Next Level mantra
was paradise on earth.
But many now see it as a systematic
and well thought out agenda oxygenated
to impoverish the masses and turn
them into robots. It is therefore a nobrainer
that things are transforming
from bad to worse.
The claim by the Federal Government
that shutting border has frustrated
smuggling is a welcome development
but should not be an excuse to
punish innocent Nigerians. Nigerians
should not be punished because of poor
and compromised border security as
the development has triggered inflation
(prices of goods are now reaching
the clouds).
Closing of border should be holistic
(not closing the South and leaving the
North) with adequate provisions made
to cushion the effect.
For an administration that elevates
politics over policy, implementation is
her greatest undoing because of vested
interests.
What is the assurance that the advice
of the newly formed Economic
Advisory Council will be carried out
by the president when he is surrounded
by a strong cabal?
There is a common defect among
policy analysts and decision makers of
the Federal Government. This gap has
to be closed. The revised 7.5% Value
Added Tax, CBN cashless policy and
the composition of the Economic Advisory
Council are all economic catalysts
but adequate palliative provisions
ought to be made to cushion the
resultant harsh effects on the poor
masses.
It is unfair to talk about VAT increase
when N30,000 minimum wage implementation
is yet to see the light of day.
OPINION
In a nation where there are countless
number of out-of-school children and
many live below one dollar per day,
imposing unnecessary tax increase is
most unfortunate.
The CBN forex restrictions on some
imported products should be extended
to foreign education and medical
trips abroad in order to use the Nigerian
content initiative to fix local hospitals
and public schools and make
The revised 7.5% Value
Added Tax, CBN cashless
policy and the composition
of the Economic Advisory
Council are all economic
catalysts, but adequate palliative
provisions ought to be
made to cushion the resultant
harsh effects on the poor
masses
them attractive so that those who cannot
afford (medical or educational)
trips abroad can also enjoy good
healthcare and sound education in a
country they are joint heirs to.
Perhaps, this is one of the reasons
why some sister nations do not value
Send Opinions & Letters to:
opinions1234@yahoo.com
Nigeria and her citizens despite being
the giant of Africa.
Solving security and electricity challenges
should be paramount. But how
does one achieve this in a country
where a sitting chief executive officer
of a state took a selfie with bandits
brandishing arms?
It is sad that Nigeria is going on a
borrowing spree when N100 billion has
been earmarked for the National Livestock
Transformation Scheme despite
the mutual suspicion and public outcry
over the RUGA racket. Perhaps,
these developments are some of the
reasons why the 2020 budget is yet to
be passed.
The Federal Government should
mandate the CBN to, as a matter of
urgent public importance, suspend
these anti-people, anti-economy and
pro-poverty policies in order not to frustrate
the ease of doing business.
The Senate should concur with the
House of Representatives by taking a
stand against these policies before they
become law.
Nigeria at this challenging time
needs leadership that will inject propeople
innovations and game-changing
ideas to improve the international
image of the country and bring honour
to her citizenry.
*Agada,a commentator on national issues,
wrote via:

BUA, NPA tango over Port Harcourt port,
...1,250 jobs also on the line
By Emeka Anaeto, Business
Editor
The controversy over the
decommissioning of
Terminal B, Port Harcourt Port, Rivers
State, managed by BUA Group,
may have brought a threat to N150
billion industrial port project with
estimated 1250 jobs also on the
line.
The management of BUA Group
which disclosed these to newsmen
yesterday in Port Harcourt also
said that revenue losses to both the
Federal government and the
terminal operators amount to
annual inflow of about N2.0 billion.
The Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA,
had shut down the Terminal
allegedly on safety concerns,
though BUA said they safety issues
being addressed by it only affected
one out of the four berths the
terminal operates.
General Manager, BUA Ports &
Terminals Limited, Mohammed
Ibrahim, conducting newsmen
round the Group’s industrial
facility housing it’s ultra-modern
cement factory, with Pasta, Flour and
Sugar plants, said the industrial
complex would depend on the
operation of the terminal to go into
full operation. He also added that
the factories are scheduled to be
•From Left: Chairman of Atlas Mara and CEO of Fairfax Africa, Michael Wilkerson, Acting
President and CEO of OPIC, David Bohigian; CEO Union Bank, Emeka Emuwa, and Founder
of Atlas Mara and CEO of Atlas Merchant Capital, Bob Diamond, at the ceremony to sign the
agreement...recently.
Capital Flight: DPR step up enforcement of local
contents Act on IOCs
By Ediri Ejoh & Kehinde
Adeyanju
The Department of
Petroleum Resources,
DPR, yesterday said it is
working out measures to direct
all major manufacturers of
petroleum products to establish
CURRENCY BUYING SELLING
US DOLLAR
POUNDS
EURO
FRANC
YEN
CFA
WAUA
RENMINBI
RIYAL
SDR
DANISH
RAND
$ 100.55 -0.80
$2,477.00 24.00
$12.85 0.03
$57.37 -1.52
$52.38 -1.24
306 306.5 307
376.1658 376.7805 377.3951
334.458 335.0045 335.551
305.7248 306.2244 306.7239
2.8452 2.8498 2.8545
0.4892 0.4992 0.5092
416.0993 416.7792 417.4591
42.8023 42.8727 42.9431
81.5695 81.7028 81.8361
416.772 417.453 418.134
44.7846 44.8578 44.931
20.0514 20.0841 20.1169
CBN Exchange rate as at 02/10/2019
commissioned this month before
the NPA’s shut down of the facility.
Ibrahim explained that three out
of the four berths in the terminal
were in good conditions while
plans were underway to do some
repairs works on the fourth berth,
for which they wrote NPA seeking
their lab base in Nigeria, in a
bid to reduce over $30 billion
capital flight in the petroleum
industry and comply with local
content Act.
According to the Executive
Secretary of Nigeria Content
Development and Monitoring
Board, NCDMB, Simbi Wabote
said most work done in the
oil and gas industry in nigeria
were done abroad prior to the
enactment of the Nigeria Oil
and Gas Industry Content
Development, NOGICD Act
in 2010 and it resulted in
permission for the repair to be
carried out.
He lamented that NPA
misunderstood the letter and
clamped down on the entire
facility, adding that his company
has committed over $400 million
to the execution of the industrial
estimated capital flight of
$380billion over the last 50 years.
He added that the estimated
job opportunities lost was in the
region of two million.
Speaking at the ongoing third
oil and gas industry laboratory
stakeholders’ workshop
yesterday, Abdurahman Sikiru,
Head, Laboratory Services, DPR,
said, “Going by challenges
encountered in the sector, the
DPR have concluded plans to
make sure going forward
laboratory companies do not
short-change their clients. We
would ensure adequate
Vanguard, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2019 — 19
project billed to start operation
later this month.
He also said that the Group had
committed over N22.9 million to
the rehabilitation of the Terminal
B facility it inherited from NPA
while more repair works were still
underway before the shut down.
supervision of all their processes
from the point of sample
collection to analysis and track all
their activities so as to drive best
international standards in the
industry.
“We are going to create the
enabling environment in Nigeria
and see to it that this technical
expertise will be domicile in
Nigeria to enable cheaper cost of
doing business for the industry.
Research and Development is
also springing up and these are
some of the critical areas of the
industry we are trying to
develop.”
W/Bank appoints
new Country
Director for
Nigeria
Emma Ujah, Abuja Bureau
Chief
THE World Bank has
appointed a new Country
Director for Nigeria. He is Mr.
Shubham Chaudhuri.
Mr. Chaudhuri succeeded
Mr. Rachid Benmessaoud who
has completed his term as the
Country Director for Nigeria,
according to a statement by the
bank. Shubham, a U.S. national
who grew up in India, joined
the World Bank in 2004 and has
held several leadership
positions at the Bank, with his
most recent position being
Country Director for
Afghanistan.
“It is an honor to be in Nigeria
and have the opportunity
to help our government
partners, at the Federal
and state levels, realize
Nigeria’s full and considerable
potential, by
transforming the economy,
catalyzing private investment
and job creation, investing
in Nigeria’s children,
and creating opportunities
for Nigeria’s youth
and women, ,” said Mr.
Chaudhuri.
He added, “The World
Bank Group has a longstanding
partnership with
Nigeria and I look forward
to deepening our engagement
with government partners,
with Nigeria’s very
vibrant civil society and private
sector, and with international
development partners
to help lift millions of
Nigerians out of poverty”.
The bank said that in his
new position, Mr.
Chaudhuri’s top priorities
would be to lead the strategic
dialogue with government,
development partners,
and other key stakeholders;
develop and
implement the new Country
Partnership Framework,
and provide customized solutions
and policy advice to
Nigeria.
Prior to this, Mr.
Chaudhuri was Practice
Manager in the Macroeconomics
and Fiscal Management
Global Practice for the
South Asia Region.
Mr. Shubham spent a decade
as an economics professor
and Director of the
Program in Economic and
Political Development at
Columbia University in
New York, before joining the
bank.
Nigeria losing huge revenue to poor access roads at the ports - Labour leaders
By Victor Young
Immediate
past
President-General of
Maritime Workers Union of
Nigeria, MWUN, and
Chairman MWUN Advisory
Council, Anthony Emmanuel
Nted, has appealed to the
federal government to
quicken the repairs and
reconstruction of Oshodi-
Apapa Expressway, to halt the
economic loss the deplorable
condition of the road is
inflicting on the nation.
Nted who spoke at a social gathering
to mark his 59th birthday on October
1, 2019 lamented the loss the nation
is incurring as a result of the failed
road, saying it is unquantifiable
monetarily, as it had forced many port
operators to either relocate to
neighboring and more business
friendly countries, or scaled down their
operations.
“As a stakeholder in the ports, the
access road to the ports especially the
Oshodi-Apapa Expressway is in a
terrible state, though the government
is doing something now. They have
started reconstruction from flour Mill
to Apapa. The government needs
to do something quick so that we can
stop the loss. Because of the
deplorable access road, so many
vessels are being diverted to
neighbouring countries. It did not start
today; it has been in a bad state for a
very long time. Importers and other
businesses are relocating and scaling
down their operations to minimize the
loss. As a result, many vessels are
being diverted to Cotonu, Togo and
other friendlier neigbouring countries
and Nigeria losing heavy revenue.
The road needs to be fixed quickly so
that we can reduce the loss to the
barest minimum. “The losses to the
government, business and residents
of Apapa cannot be quantified in
monetary terms. A vessel that ought
to stay in the port for three days now
stays for three weeks, one month, two
months or three months incurring
demurrage for operators.”
Corroborating, incumbent PG,
Adewale Adeyanju, lamented the
deplorable state of the access roads to
the nation’s ports, saying: “It has not
been easy for the maritime sector,
coupled with the bad roads that
are affecting the economy.”

20 —Vanguard, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2019

Vanguard, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2019 — 21

22 —Vanguard, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2019

Vanguard, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2019 — 23

24—Vanguard, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2019

Vanguard, THURSDAY, OCTOMBER 3, 2019 — 25
FG proposes central control of humanitarian
responses in Nigeria
By Victoria Ojeme
The Minister of Humanitarian
Affairs, Disaster Management and
Social Development, Sadiya Umar
Farouq, has hinted on a proposal
by the Federal Government to setup
a central coordinating body for
all international humanitarian
responses in Nigeria in order to
check allegations of fund
diversions.
The Minister who spoke at the
ongoing United Nations General
Assembly in New York said, the
theme of this year’s meeting centres
on four global issues -governing
and multi-sectoral effort and
poverty eradication, quality
education, climate action as well
as inclusion which are parts of the
mandates of the ministry
Sadiya said social inclusion and
cohesion are very key at any
country and that is why the
President deemed it fit to create a
ministry that would handle these
issues, Ministry for Humanitarian
Affairs for disaster management
and Social Development.
“Nigerians will be carried along
no one will be left behind, people
who need these social intervention,
the most vulnerable in the society
will be covered, displaced people
will be covered as well, our youths
who are jobless, we are going to
create programmes for them, he
said.
She explained that that there is
“a plan in place and we going to
see to it that all these interventions
reached to the targeted persons.
“We are going to have a one stop
intervention centre for every
intervention that comes in, so that
we will be able to know where and
who gets what; we are going to put
in place a system that will have
checks and balance to know who
is doing what at what time, to what
camp and to what targeted
population,” he explained.
She added that the ministry is
going to do that because the main
role of the ministry is to supervise
and coordinate all these
Humanitarian intervention in the
country adding that there are going
to be sanctions for any person or
group of persons or agencies that
is caught involve in abuse or
diversion of funds.
This year's UNGA theme is:
"Galvanizing multilateral efforts for
poverty eradication, quality
education, climate action and
inclusion."
According to the General
Assembly President, Tijjani
Muhammad-Bande the fact that
world leaders have convened at
United Nations Headquarters in
New York is “a veritable testament
to the primacy of this great
multilateral body.”
He added that the issues at hand
are “most critical and increasingly
urgent for the attainment of
international peace and security, as
well as the achievement of the
Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs).
“Too long at the crossroads of
human development…we need to
join efforts in finding solutions to
the untold hardship from violent
conflicts, terrorism, natural
disasters, drug and sex trafficking,
illiteracy, and so on which millions
of people around the world suffer
from”, he said.
“The implementation of the SDGs
by 2030
must be our
priority, in
the interest
of the
billions of
people who
may never
step inside
this great
Hall, but
who hope
that the
w o r k
undertaken
here would
galvanize
efforts for
poverty
eradication,
z e r o
hunger,
quality
education,
climate
action and
inclusion”,
M r .
Muhammad-
Bande
declared.
•Sadiya Umar Farouq
•L-R: 55th National President, Institutes of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, Mazi Nnamdi Okwuadigbo,
B.Sc, FCA , 9th National Chairperson of the Society of Women Accountants of Nigeria, SWAN, Mrs. Felicia
Bamgbose, FCA and Grand Patron, SWAN, Mrs. Elizabeth Adegbite, MBA, FCA, during the investiture
ceremony of the 9th SWAN's Chairperson in Lagos recently
Women are positive instruments in
nation building— ICAN President
...as 9th SWAN chairperson promises catch-them-young programmes for
aspiring female accountant
By Ebunoluwa Sessou
The 55th National Presi
dent, Institute of Char
tered Accountants of
Nigeria, ICAN, Mazi Nnamdi
Okwuadigbo, B.Sc, FCA has
said that the role of women in
the growth and development of
the institute and Nigeria in
general cannot be
overemphasised.
He disclosed this during the
investiture ceremony of the 9th
National Chairperson of the
Society of Women Accountants
of Nigeria, SWAN, Mrs. Felicia
Bamgbose, FCA, saying it is the
discovery of the impact of
women that gave birth to SWAN,
a woman wing of ICAN.
According to him, SWAN as a
body has contributed immensely
to the development of the
country since its creation 41
years ago. "SWAN has reached
its evitable heights and it has
remained strong force in ICAN
as well as the country.
While appreciating the initiator
of SWAN, Mrs. Elizabeth
Adegbite, MBA, FCA, for the
relentless efforts and other
women including the immediate
past National Chairperson, late
Mrs Folake Onabolu, FCA, as
well as the newly installed
executives, the President
advised that they must
endeavour to leave lasting
legacies not only in SWAN but
the country at large.
He added that the new
executives should lead other
SWAN members to be in the
vanguard of advocacy on the
promotion of accountability and
effective management of our
collective resources in the country.
"I believe that the new
leadership of SWAN would
sustain the legacies and break
new grounds that would make
impact of SWAN felt more
profoundly in the country.
"In line with the United Nation's
Sustainable Development Goal 5,
we would continue to promote
gender equality as an institute
and among professional
accountants in the nation. A
significant percentage of ICAN
are females, manning different
strategy desks at the institute.
Women are adequately
represents on the different
committees of ICAN.
"Gender equality is not only a
fundamental human rights but
a necessary foundation for a
peaceful, prosperous and
sustainable world. Providing
women and girls with equal
access to education, health
care, decent work and
representation in political and
economic decision-making
process will fuel sustainable
economic and benefit society
and humanity at large", he said.
In her acceptance speech, the
9th National Chairperson,
SWAN, Mrs. Felicia Bamgbose,
FCA, reiterated that with the
few members at the
commencement of SWAN, as at
today can boost of over 9500
members.
"For the past 41 years, SWAN
has grown to what it is today
by the efforts, hard work, good
leadership and dedication of
our Grand Patron, Past
Chairpersons and notable
members of the Society.
"My services in the various
capacity climax with my being
elected as the 9th Chairperson
of the Society on August 18,
2019 which by extension
requires me to steer the ship
with my fellow colleagues for
the two years.
"With this year's Presidential
objective of 'harnessing internal
capacity', we would therefore
deepen the efforts at
encouraging our members and
would be female chartered
accountants to embrace lifelong
learning as a culture.
We would provide platform
that would expose our
members to different learning
opportunities for their
continuous professional
development. For the would be
female chartered accountants,
we are compensation with
various district societies
through SWAN chapters across
the country on the catch-themyoung
programmes.
"Career talks and other
knowledge events would be
organized for secondary school
students with particular
emphasis on encouraging female
students to envision themselves
as future leaders. There are
scholarships for outstanding but
indigent female students from
the geopolitical. Adding four
students from North Central,
North West, South East and
South South.
On the scholarship, she said,
one of the mandates of SWAN is
to encourage female Accounting
students that are intelligent but
lack financial capability to
actualise their dreams.
The welfare of our members
would be given greater priority.
The protection of our members
from any form of victimisation or
workplace discriminatory
practices is one responsibility we
would not take with levity.
She however advised the four
recipients of the SWAN
scholarship to e focused in
whatever they are doing. "Work
hard, there is no short cut to
working hard and with God, the
reward will be success.
"For female chartered
accountants in Nigeria, there is
need to make themselves
relevant and not biased that
being a female is a problem.
They must attain the topmost
position because their no
segregation of whether you are
a woman or a man. That fact that
you are a female chartered
accountant means that, you have
something to give to your
society", she said.
Grand Patron and initiator of
SWAN, Mrs. Elizabeth Adegite,
said, she was fulfilled with the
growth and development of the
association. "I feel elated to see
what we created 41 years ago is
growing and making impact
within the womenhood and the
society at large.
"This is because we have taken
it upon ourselves to encourage
the young ones to join the
accountancy professional by
mentoring them. We do other
things to encourage the young
ones to make sure that succeed
in their examinations", she
explained.

26 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, OCTOMBER 3, 2019
Why FG must revive textile
industry now
—Convener, Abuja Fashion Summit
The Convener of Abuja
Fashion Summit/Show,
Morolake Oluwakunmi
Nwokoro, has expressed worry
that the Nigerian fashion industry
has not been accorded the
necessary support by
stakeholders in both the public
and private sectors, to reach its
full potential.
According to Nwokoro, the
industry has the capacity to
catapult the nation’s economy
from its current state of quagmire,
the same way it contributes
heavily annually to the US
economy and that of other
developed countries.
In a chat with Woman’s Own,
the graduate of Biochemistry who
is an alumna of the Enterprise
Development Centre and a
Cherie Blair Foundation mentee,
said her maiden 2-day fashion
summit/show coming up in Abuja
with the theme ‘The Impact of the
Fashion Industry in the Growing
Nigerian Economy’, was
designed to rightly position the
fashion industry as a viable sector
to be explored in the nation’s
quest for diversification.
She said: “The fashion
industry’s value-chain is very
*Morolake Nwokoro
By Josephine Agbonkhese
wide. It generally has the potential
to get more people employed
because making a single clothe
involves a chain and various
professionals. The chain includes
the textile industry but it is
however sad to see that none of
our textile industries are
functioning in Nigeria. We all
know that the textile industry is
the largest employer of labour in
Kogi guber: Monarch tasks women to unit against Violence, intimidation during election
By Boluwaji Obahopo
LOKOJA - The Ohinoyi of
Ebira land, HRM, Dr Ado
Ibrahim has challenged
women in the country to unit
and speak in one voice
towards putting an end to
violence against women in
election.
Dr Ibrahim attributed failure
of women in Nigeria to believe
many economies because of its
high demand; everybody wears
clothes at every point in time. So,
it’s a very huge industry.
“The Nigerian fashion industry
has evolved over the years and
has been revolutionized in a way
that nations all over the world
want to have something to do
with it. Even celebrities in Europe
and America admire our fashion.
As a people too, our women and
men are very fashionable and
would go any length to look
good. From bags to wristwatches,
perfumes, hair, shoes and
clothes, we always ensure we look
the path. So, the industry has the
capacity to generate much more
income for the government and
the nation if round pegs are put
in round holes.
“When I look at statistics on
what the creative industry is
supposed to contribute to the
GDP of Nigeria by 2020, which
is about $1billion, I know that
things have to be done
appropriately for such to be
realized. It is also disheartening
that our locally-made fabric is
becoming more expensive by the
day due to shortage of raw
materials. It really saddens me
because Nigeria should have
gone past this.”
According to Nwokoro, the
summit will also examine issues
of funding, security and its effects
on the industry, as well as the
myriad of challenges faced by
those in the textile industry.
“This summit already endorsed
by the Abuja Enterprise Agency;
Ministry of Industry, Trade &
Investment; NDDC; Fashion
Designers Association of Nigeria,
FADAN, and quite a lot of
partners from the private sector,
will serve as a platform for
collaboration for public and
private sector stakeholders. This
includes financial institutions,
government and professionals
working across the industry’s
value chain. I hope that by the
end of it, government and other
stakeholders will be set to build
the textile/fashion industry.”
On what will give her the most
satisfaction after the summit,
Nwokoro said: “I will be fulfilled
if one textile company comes back
to life; if the designers present
get some commitment from
financial institutions to fund the
fashion industry; if successful
designers volunteer to mentor
one or two younger designers by
allowing them undergo
internship in their organisations;
or if the Federal Government
becomes more committed to
growing the textile industry.”
in themselves as one of the
reason why violence and
harassment of women persist
in politics.
The monarch disclosed this
weekend when a Non
Governmental Organization,
Challenge Parenthood
Initiative (CPI) paid him an
advocacy visit in Okene ahead
of the November 16,
governorship election in Kogi
State.
Dr Ibrahim who described
Gospel Artiste embarks on ‘Street Concert’ to
help women, others
By Franca Odia and Ekhato
Paula
Gospel Artiste, Eliza
beth Moses popularly
known as LIZA C, has embarked
on ‘Street Concert’ to
help women, youths and children
on the streets in different
communities. Adding that,
transforming lives of indigent
women, youths and children
living on the streets should be
paramount.
While unveiling her foundation
recently, ‘LIZA Moses
Foundation’, the gospel artiste
called on Nigerians to give
their widows mite saying
nothing is small to help
humanity.
According to her, it takes a
person with the heart of gold
to remember the downtrodden,
the forgotten, the abandoned
and children who are
roaming the streets on a daily
basis.
“We use this show as vehicle
of empowerment and transformation.
The participants
and beneficiaries at these
concerts are usually given
food items, clothes, cash
grants acquisition, skill
training to mention but a few.
“Before the launching, we
have organized five street
concerts within last three years
in three different locations;
mainly Ijesha, Ajegunle and
Makoko communities in
Women as nation builder and
should be treated with
respect, and given equal
opportunity in the political
space, said it was appalling
that despite the campaign for
inclusion of more women in
politics, it has not been fully
implemented in Nigeria and
Africa in general.
He said, "Any form of
violence before, during and
after election in Nigeria is
condemnable. It is time for
Lagos. The foundation
has thus
reached out to over
three thousand
beneficiaries with
soul lifting music
and gift items”, she
said.
With the
presence of the
music artistes who
featured at the
event, including
Kenny Saint Best,
KSB, Zaaki Adzee,
Teddy Fresh
Prince, Akin Alabi,
DJ Gosporella
among others,
LIZA C believed
the launch would
widen the scope of
the foundation to
reaching out to
more people on the
streets.
The Liza C Street
Concert according
to her is give voice to the
voiceless. “The aim of the
program was to create an
outreach so as to communicate
with the people in the society.
The foundation has launched
five street concerts within three
years and in three different
locations in Lagos.
“Over three thousand people
have been reached with soul
uplifting music, food items,
drinks, clothing, gift item and
cash grants. The foundation
provides an avenue for
empowering the struggling
women, helpless youths and
the uneducated children.
“The foundation enriches
the society with skill acquisition
and community building
program, so as to add to the
growth of the society and
country as a whole”, she said.
Our gender equity initiative is to empower,
improve lives of Nigerian women, girls
— Country Director, RiseUp
By Chioma Obinna
The Country Director of
Rise Up in Nigeria, Mrs.
Theresa Effa has said that the organizations
Gender Equity Initiative,
GEI, was strictly to empower
and improve the lives of Nigerian
women and girls challenged by
gender inequality occasioned by
cultural and religious beliefs.
To this end, the organization has
doled out $100,000 grants to leaders
of civil society organizations in
Nigeria in the last one year to push
for government-friendly policies
that will impact positively on the
lives of women in their localities.
Rise Up is an international organization
that activates women
and girls to transform their lives,
families and communities for a more
just and equitable world through
investment in local solutions,
strengthening leadership, and
building movements. Since 2009,
Rise Up’s powerful network of over
500 leaders has directly benefited
politicians to move from a must
-win -syndrome politics, to
adopt a model were the voices
of the electorates will be
reflected through the ballot."
He eulogized Nigerian
women for their roles in home
and nation building, "The time
is ripe for women to come
together in one voice and
participate in active politics, by
avoiding any form of
distraction that could emanate
7 million girls, youth, and women,
advocating for over 100 laws and
policies impacting 115 million people
in Africa, Latin America among
others.
Gender inequality has continued
to hamper progress in communities
across Nigeria. This is not unconnected
with the fact that different cultures
and beliefs have made most
Nigerian women and girls being
considered as subordinate to their
male counterparts. This is also evidenced
in the number of out of
school children in Nigeria where 60
per cent of the 10.05 million children
out of school are girls according
to the 2017 Multiple Indicator
Survey, MICs.
Disclosing these at the just –concluded
One –Day Workshop on
“Advocacy Strategy Review and
Report Writing” in Lagos, the Country
Director who expressed confidence
in the project executed by the
beneficiaries of the grants so far, recalled
that Rise Up for women and
girls in Nigeria with the implementation
of Champions for Change Initiative
in 2013 and began implementation
of GEI in 2017.
Giving insight into the grants, she
said the prgramme started with 20
civil society leaders who are already
implementing gender equity. “We
trained and build their skills in terms
of leadership and then give them
grants to go and implement gender
based activities within their
locality. The grants usually range
from $10,000 dollars to 20,000 to implement
within one year.”
Effa explained that the grants are
strictly for the implementation of
advocacy and policy-related activities
to change systems that would
influence activities or sustain activities
that would drive issues around
gender, adding that, it could be
on an increase opportunity for
women and girls for instance issues
around education, waivers or
scholarship for women.
“In the past one year, we have
trained 20 civil society leaders and
out of that 20, we have 10 of them
implementing different projects,
in different states”
from any quarters in the
society.
"Women makes the future
hence, the nation cannot
achieve its developmental
potentials when women are
completely relegated to the
background. It is worrisome
the spate of violence faced by
women in the country."
The monarch equally
enjoined the NGO not to be
discouraged in accomplishing
her goals which according to

Vanguard, THURSDAY, OCTOMBER 3, 2019 — 27
Why we created the first non-stop breast cancer centre — Founder, RFCA
... Lack of early detection would make one spend N18 million treating stage four cancer
By Elizabeth Uwandu
Aside the stigma, fear and
trepidation that a breast
cancer patient face, the
rigour, cost and means of
treating this disease are
responsible for the 70
percent of cancer related
death in low and middle
income countries.
This and many more were
revealed by Mrs Ebele
Mbanugo, Founder, Run for
a Cure Africa Breast Cancer
Foundation, RFCA at the
media clinic held in Lagos,
Nigeria recently organised
to unveil activities to mark the
10 years anniversary of the
non-for-profit organisation.
Speaking of the impacts
RFCA has made since its
debute in 2009, Mbanugo
reiterated that foundation
has three mandate, to
educate; screen and provide
clear access to treatment for
the indigenous patients
diagnosed with breast
cancer.
According to her, RFCA
with international partners
such as Winship Cancer
Institute, Atlanta, Georgia,
have provided over 10, 000
women in West Africa with
education and screening
provrammes.
On the milestones the
NGO has made , RFCA
founder, said the centre birth
after the experience of her
mother bout with cancer
became the first to operate
an all exclusive breast cancer
centre.
Noting that most time , it
was not the disease that
killed a patient but the rigour
encounter during treatment.
Her words, " RFCA is
credited with being the first
organisation to establish a
functioning patient
navigation programme, and
also is the first to operate a
one stop breast centre in
Nigeria. And since then, over
2000 patients have pass
through it.
"The breast centre set in
partnership with Lagos
University Teaching
Hospital, LUTH that
provided a space has in one
place all the doctors a
woman needs to see for
breast cancer treatment.
"Before now, you have to
visit different departments in
LUTH for your treatment.
From visiting the oncologist
department, to the
radiotherapy diagnosis
center, and surgery etc. For
women, going through the
trauma of breast cancer and
being subjected to such
rigours of treatments make
some reach a point where
they decided it was easier 'if
I die because the treatment
is too much.
"Creating this centre has
drastically reduce the stress
of breast cancer treatment;
reduce the time of diagnosis
which usually tookn a period
of six months to one year.
Now, one can get diagnosis
done within a month. And
we are looking for a time it
will take two months for
diagnosis. " She said.
Lamenting that level of
breast cancer awareness
despite being high, the
impact was still low as many
Nigerians get to know of the
cancer at stage four. "On
government involvement in
the fight against cancer? My
advise is to make cancer
screening free, available,
and accessible for the
average woman.
Day children at Modupe Cole
Memorial Home cried for joy
By Josephine
Agbonkhese
Penultimate weekend
when many rested
from the hustle and bustle
of the city of Lagos, a group
of business and
professional women under
the auspices of Real
Unique Ladies, RUL, chose
to have a sacrificial
weekend, denying
themselves the comfort of
their homes.
Numbering about two
dozen, their choice
destination was the
Modupe Cole Memorial
Child Care & Treatment
Home, Akoka, Lagos—a
59-year-old facility
dedicated to the welfare,
education and
empowerment of children
living with various kinds of
disabilities, including
cerebral palsy,
hydrocephalus, polio,
autism and down
syndrome among others.
Although the visit did not
last a whole day, to the
children, it was a memory
to forever relish as they
beamed with joy when the
women arrived, bearing
food, toiletries and a
motherly disposition.
Speaking on the rationale
behind the visit, Ilesanmi
Omobolanle, Head Admin,
RUL, said it was in
commemoration of the notfor-profit
organisation’s
second anniversary, and
also in line with its
objective of touching lives
and creating awareness
about those in need of the
help of well-meaning
Nigerians.
Her words: “We cannot
continue to wait for
government. Let us do what
we can to fill gaps. This is
what RUL is all about:
sharing love, reaching out
to the needy, affecting the
society positively.”
She recalled that the
group had, in the past,
extended similar gesture to
aged persons at the Regina
Moody Home for the
Elderly, among other
charitable deeds.
“Last year, we were at
Regina Moody Home for
the Elderly in Mushin,
Lagos. We have our eyes
on reaching market
women, mothers and girls
with our charity and
empowerment
programmes,” Omobolanle
said.
Items the women donated
to the home included rice,
oil, tubers of yam,
beverages, among others,
with members of the group
saying they were excited
about making impact in
their little ways.

28—VANGUARD, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2019
08152060944
Sowore: ore: DSS still till in violation of court t order
— Lawyers
By Innocent Anaba,
Henry Ojelu & Onozure
Dania
Despite the arraignment of
Omoyele Sowore, convener of
#RevolutionNow and
Publisher of Sahara
Reporters, by the Federal
Government on Monday on
treason charge, the
Department of State Security,
DSS, had last week refused
to obey an order of a Federal
High Court, Abuja, which on
September 24, 2019, ordered
his release from its custody.
The same court had on August
8, 2019, granted DSS
permission to hold to Sowore
for 40 days. Although events
appear to have overtaken the
court order, some lawyers
who spoke to Law and Human
Rights insists that the DSS is
still technically in breach of
the court order.
Exceprt
•Sowore, in court with lawyers during his arraignment on Monday
John Odugbela, SAN
I think that the refusal by DSS
to obey the order of court is
not a good omen for our
fragile democracy and rule of
law. Every order of the court
must be obeyed. I want to
believe that the issue of the
petition against Justice
Taiwo is a rumor because his
decision can always be
appealed against except we
don’t know what they know.
It was a judicial decision by
the court and any party not
satisfied can always appeal.
Prof Sam Erugo, Dean,
Faculty of Law, Abia
State University O n
the face of it, one is tempted
to conclude that it is another
case of disobedience to court
orders, an unacceptable
character of the current
government. It smacks of
impunity in governance and
antithetical to the rule of law.
However, considering the
nature of the charge, real or
imagined, such attitude of
government is not new.
They may have other reasons
to keep the suspect,
particularly when he has not
been formally charged
(though he has been charged
now for treason). From this
perspective, the expected
reaction of government
should be to formally arraign
him, or simply obey the
order and re-arrest him
thereafter for arraignment.
The security agencies need be
advised on transparency as
against impunity in the
exercise of executive powers,
more so, because power is
transient and it could be
anybody’s turn the next time.
Transparency, an aspect of
rule of law dictates that DSS
should be clear on the rules,
and explain why the order of
court can’t be obeyed, not to
keep mute or avoid service,
and pretend to be above the
law, same law that established
the agency.
When you have a situation
where the government
refuses to obey court orders,
you begin to appreciate why
the citizens are becoming
increasingly lawless. The
government resort to petition
to National Judicial Council,
NJC, is unfortunately another
case of intimidation of the
judiciary. The judge simply
exercised judicial discretion,
rightly or wrongly. One would
expect dissatisfied party to
test the ruling before an
appellate court before
petition to NJC. What will be
the basis of the petition? For
NJC to review the basis of
exercise of discretion, or
what?
Adindu Ugwuzor
DSS refusal is contemptuous
of the court and an invitation
to lawlessness and anarchy.
Then petition against Justice
Taiwo is blackmail and
intimidation of the judiciary.
He acted in his capacity as a
judge seized of the facts of the
matter.
Gideon Okebu
In a society where the rule of
law is supreme, orders of
court are obeyed and adhered
to, until set aside. For
instance, recently in England,
the Supreme Court held that
the suspension of Parliament
was unlawful and the Prime
Minister and other agencies
complied with the order for
parliament to resume, despite
holding contrary views.
However, in a society where
the rule of law is negotiable or
waiveable, you find the
government and its agencies
defying the courts. I think
the actions of the DSS are
egregious and anti
democratic. Be that as it
may, I think it pertinent to
ask the judiciary how and
why she deigned to such
base level, losing its candor
and veneration thereby.
Ige Asemudara
It is most unfortunate that
the General Buhari-led
Federal Government has
thrown caution to the wind
in disrespecting the rule of
law. The DSS is controlled by
the presidency and
When you
have a
situation
where the
government
refuses to
obey court
orders, you
begin to
appreciate
why the
citizens are
becoming
increasingly
lawless
therefore, it is the presidency
that has disobeyed a court
order or at best, the presidency
has directed or prompted the
DSS to disobey a court order.
This government is shameless
just as it is lawless. A judge gave
an order granting bail to a
defendant and the next thing,
the government would say was
that they would petition him to
the NJC. Why did they not
petition when the judge
granted a detention order
against the same defendant.
This government has serially
refused to respect court orders
in El Zakzakay’s case, in Sambo
Dasuki’s case and now in
Sowore’s case. They cannot
pick and choose which court
order to obey. When we raised
alarm at the beginning of this
administration that this
government was despotic,
some people called us name
just in the interest of their
failed party, now they are all
fed up.
The government has done
everything possible to
intimidate the judges. They
even violently removed
judges or justices thereby
tampering even with the NJC,
that is why they have the
effrontery to say they want to
petition a judge to NJC. A
contemnor is threatening to
petition NJC against a
righteous judge.
As a matter of law, the judge
has the legal powers to grant
bail in treasonable felony
cases. In fact, he can grant bail
in all cases depending on the
materials supplied to him. Bail
is at the discretion of a judge.
The day a judge is deprived his
discretion in matters before
him, that day, an end has come
to law and justice.
Yemi Omodele
The development today that
Sowore has been arraigned
before a Federal High Court
Abuja Division must have laid
to rest the hullabaloo about
DSS not being released on bail
earlier on granted. However,
the attitude of FRN
disobeying court orders is
unacceptable and an act of
disrespect to a judicial
constituted authority. The
government should have a
rethink about disobeying
court orders
David Fadile
On the refusal by the FG to
give effect to the order of the
Federal High court granting
bail to Sowore, it is a gross
violation of the constitution.
Sec 287(3) of the constitution
provides that the decision and
orders of the High court,
Federal High court is binding
on all persons and authority.
The president swore to
uphold and abide by the
provisions of the constitution.
This is a contradiction. The
action of the Federal
Government as held in
Governor of Lagos State Vs
Ojukwu constitute executive
lawlessness. The civil
societies and all concerned
citizens, lovers of democracy
and rules of law should
muster strength and occupy
the streets before this
government completely
becomes despotic. This
becomes necessary as there
is no hope from the National
Assembly as same has
become the puppet of the FG
otherwise by now
impeachment proceeding
should have been initiated.
Evans Ufeli
The State Security Services is
Continues on Page 29
C
M
Y
K

VANGUARD, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2019—29
Auchi welcomes first SAN after 54 years
SEPTEMBER 23,
2019 will certainly
go down as historic in
the annals of the ancient
city of Auchi, the
political headquarters
of Etsako West, Edo
State.
Though largely a legal
affair, the news of an
Auchi indigene joining
the exalted club of
select lawyers who
adorn the silk robe,
elicited a kind of wild
jubilation that had not
been seen in a long
while. It was, indeed, a
mileston that took 54
years to attain.
Before now, the
ancient city of Auchi,
with all its traditional
razzmatazz, have
become used to sharing
the spotlights with its
Sowore: DSS still in violation of
court order — Lawyers
Continued from page 28
in gross violation of the
fundamental rights of
Mr. Omoyele Sowore
who ought not to have
been arrested in the first
place by the
aforementioned
security agency.
However, Sowore’s
continuous detention
even after the Federal
High Court Abuja
Division, before Justice
Taiwo Taiwo, had
granted him bail is to
say the least, most
disconcerting. The state
security services is
therefore, in contempt
of court for violating the
orders of court and
desecrating the sacred
judicial order of the
state.
The violation of the
order of court shows
clearly that this
administration is
undemocratic, weak
and reckless. The
government on daily
basis has deepen its
efforts to work against
due process and the rule
of law. This a system
that works against itself.
In one breath, the
government is talking
about strategies to woo
foreign investors, in
another she violates her
own laws before the
world, makes a ridicule
of herself and a mockery
EDITORIAL
Innocent Anaba
( Editor)
Ikechukwu Nnochiri
Henry Ojelu,
Onozure Dania
neighbours. This time,
however, the feeling of
achievement was real,
unique and special.
Though it boasts of
having produced a
lawyer as early as 1965
with the likes of Prince
Kesignton Momoh, it is
fortutous that Mr Malik
Aikunegbe blazed the
trail. He made history
as the first Auchi legal
luminary to become a
SAN.
The huge presence of
notable Auchi
personalities at the
conferment ceremony
in Abuja, on September
23, was a clear
testament of how
deeply touching the
SAN honour meant to
Auchi kingdom and its
people.
of her economy, that is
the low that we find
here. This only scare
investors away because
it only re-enforces the
fact that we’ve got no
bankable appeal that
will attract investors if
we can’t respect our
own laws.
As regards the executive
threatening to report
Justice Taiwo to the
NJC, this is perhaps the
most disgraceful low of
this administration
again. This is like taking
a poisonous leave to a
purification feast. What
has the judge done
wrong? He acted within
the laws and if the ruling
is not good enough in
your estimation, you
can appeal, you’ve got
so many options and
reporting the judge to
the NJC is certainly not
one of them.
The executive must be
careful in her actions, so
it does not destroy
Nigeria.
This careless attempts
to erode the judiciary of
its relevance must stop.
Nigeria is a democratic
country that must be
adminitered on the basis
and tenets of the due
process and the rule of
law and any attempt to
supplant the ideals of
democratic engagement
must be resisted
vehemently.
Fidel Osordi
The DSS disobeyed the
orders of a competent
court of record. There
are consequences.
The
Federal
Government cannot
petition the NJC
because a court
performed its duties
which he swore under
the Constitution to
perform. I think this is a
rumour but if found to
be true it means the
country is in trouble.
*Mr Malik Aikunegbe, SAN
Thus, it did not come
as a surprise that Auchi
took advantage of the
conferment ceremony
to showcase her rich
cultural heritage, unity
of purpose and total
solidarity with the
awardee, Mr Malik
Aikunegbe, SAN.
The roll call of notable
Edo North indigenes as
well as friends and
associates of the latest
SAN in town, who
thronged Abuja to
personally witness the
jinx-breaking induction
ceremony, looked like a
who-is-who. They
include Justice
Constance Momoh,
former Chief Judge of
Edo State; Mr Zakawanu
Garuba, former Speaker
of Edo State House of
Assembly; Mrr Mahmud
Garuba; Philip Shuaibu,
Edo State deputy
governor; Chief Mike
Ozekhome, SAN; HRH
Oba Danesi Kelvin and a
host of others.
Goodwill messages
also came from Mr
Godwin Obaseki, Edo
state Governor; his
former principal and
legal luminary, Chief
Wole Olanipekun; his
alma mater, the
University of Ibadan, as
well as his friends and
associates
Extolling his virtues,
speaker after speaker
described the soft
spoken lawyer as a goal
getter, adding his
elevation as SAN was
the result of hard work
and brilliance.
Aikunegbe first
obtained his LL.B from
the University of Ibadan
before proceeding to the
Obafemi Awolowo
University, Ile ife Osun
State, for his Masters.
NBA-SBL Chair named Oyo State director
of Odu’a Investment Company
THE
current
chairman of the
Nigerian Bar
Association Section on
Business Law, NBA-SBL,
Mr Seni Adio, SAN has
been appointed a
director of Odu’a
Investment Company
Limited, an investment
company set up for the
business interest of old
Western states, which
include, Oyo, Ogun,
Ondo, Osun and Ekiti.
Adio’s appointed was
conveyed in a letter by
the Secretary to Oyo
State Government,
Olubamiwo Adeosun.
The NBA-SBL Chair,
who is an indigene of
Oyo State, is expected to
sit as the Oyo State
representative on the
board of the company,
which is currently
involved in diverse
economic activities in
property development
and management,
h o s p i t a l i t y ,
telecommunications,
printing and
p u b l i c a t i o n ,
agriculture, among
other things. Adio, is a
Thereafter, he
attended the lnstitute
of Advanced Legal
Studies, University of
Lagos. The new SAN is
a well rounded
socialite despite being
academically
inclined. In his legal
career, he served as
Special Assistant on
Legal Matters to a
former minister of
Justice and Attorney
General, during which
he was able to make
significant inputs to
the
legal
development of the
country
Mr Mahmud
Garuba, a prominent
Auchi lawyer, in
whose chamber Bar
Malik Aikunegbe cut
his legal teeth,
provides an insight
into these posers. He
said the road to
SANship is laced with
“legal thorns,” but
requires uncommon
display of brilliance,
doggedness and
*Adio, SAN
highly skilled
commercial litigation
lawyer with extensive
expertise in Maritime
law, Energy (Oil and
G a s ) ,
Telecommunications,
Gaming and
Entertainment,
Health Law, and
Capital Markets
transactions.
As chair of NBA
Section on Business
Law, he continues to
work actively with the
courage for anyone who is
desirous of being
conferred with the
coveted title.
“Now that Malik has
broken the jinx, in the next
few years about five or
more SAN’s would come
out of Auchi,” he added.
Former Speaker of Edo
House of Assembly, Mr
Garuba, also a lawyer and
Auchi indigene, the
SANship is a reserved
privilege. He went on to
add that, “to become a
SAN, one must apply for it.
There is no record to show
that an Auchi lawyer ever
applied and was denied.
So, we are happy that our
brother, Malik, applied
and was considered
worthy. This has put Auchi
on the SAN map of Nigeria,
if there’s anything of such.”
An Auchi born Cultural
A m b a s s a d o r ,
Abdulwajeed Obomeghie
and others went spiritual
on the issue of years,
according to them, God’s
time is the best and also
shared the view of others
that Malik elevation
success story will paved
way for others.
Nigerian Economic
Summit Group, NESG and
the National Assembly
through a working group
called National Assembly
Business Environment
Roundtable, NASSBER.
He is also a member of the
Presidential Committee
for Impact and Readiness
Assessment of the Africa
Continental Free Trade
Area, AfCFTA, set by
President Muhammadu
Buhari in 2018.
The committee was
charged with the
responsibility of
addressing risks
associated with signing the
agreement, while
assessing potential costs
and impact of AfCFTA for
Nigeria in relation to the
benefits, identify the
short, medium and longterm
measures to prepare
Nigerian businesses for
the take-off of the AfCFTA
trading bloc and a back-up
plan that covers selected
scenarios and, review the
trade remedy options to
safeguard the Nigerian
economy from predatory
and other unfair trade
practices.

30 —Vanguard, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2019

LAST week, Nigeria lost a
great son, Chiedu Osakwe,
who died on September 22, aged
64, in Geneva, Switzerland.
Ambassador Osakwe’s
contributions to the world trading
system, to Africa’s economic
integration and to Nigeria’s trade
diplomacy were so hugely
significant and unparalleled that
his death sent shock waves across
world.
The large, multi-racial gathering
at his memorial service at the Holy
Trinity Church in Geneva on
September 27 was a testimony to
how much he was lovedand
respected by the trade, diplomatic
and academic communities in
Geneva, his home for over twenty
years!
For me, Dr Osakwe’s death was
also a personal loss. I first met him
in 2005 when I joined the World
Trade Organisation, WTO,as a
research fellow, and he was a
Director at the world body. I have
fond memories of my interactions
with him, and particularly of his
deep knowledge, sharp mind and
great passions for Nigeria and
Africa.
In his 19 years at the WTO, from
1998 to 2017, Osakwe held, at the
most senior level, all the major
development-oriented roles. He
was, for example, Director of the
Doha Development Agenda,
leadingthe DDA negotiating
process. In her tribute,
Ambassador Amina Mohamed,
former Foreign Minister of Kenya,
recalled how she and Dr Osakwe
“spent precious moments codesigning
components of the
multilateral trading system that
would be most beneficial to
developing countries”. Osakwe
Adieu Chiedu Osakwe, Nigeria’s
great gift to the world
was also Director of the WTO
Accession Division, where he
helped several African and other
developing countries through the
difficultprocessof becoming WTO
members.The Belarus Mission to
the United Nations in Geneva said
in its tribute that
Osakwe”contributed significantly
to the revitalisation of negotiations
on Belarus WTO accession”.
Many others owed their accession
to him!
Hardly any other African has
made as much contribution as
Osakwe to push for a just and
development-friendly global
trading system. Someone called
him “a voice of reason on trade
issues”. Catriona Laing, British
High Commissioner to Nigeria,
described Osakwe as “a brilliant
trade guru”. Indeed, he was
brilliant, with enormous capacity
to articulate eloquently the positive
power of trade.
In 2017, Dr Osakwe retired from
the WTO, and immediately took
up the role of Associate Professor
of International Trade, Policy,
Diplomacy and Negotiations at the
International University of
Geneva. However, that same year,
he took a leave of absence to
become Trade Adviser to the then
Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment,
Okechukwu Enelamah.
This week, Nigeria
marked its 59th independence
anniversary;
if anything is worth
celebrating, it’s its
people, who, like Osakwe,
are so exceptionally
brilliant that the world
constantly calls upon
their expertise
He was later appointed as the first
Director-General of the Nigerian
Office for Trade Negotiations, and
Nigeria’s Chief Trade Negotiator.
These tasks seemed like a poisoned
chalice.How would a man
who spent his lifetime championing
open trade persuade a deeply
protectionist country to embrace
meaningful trade negotiations
and liberalisation? It was a tall
order. But Osakwe believed in the
power of logic and persuasion. As
Vanguard, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2019 — 31
he once said: ”Countries that are
open to trade grow faster and
generate more jobs than countries
that are closed up”.Of course,
President Muhammadu Buhari
has not embraced that wisdom;
that would require a Damascene
conversion. But it’s to Osakwe’s
credit that the president at least
acknowledged his “intellectual
depth, fervour and sense of
patriotism” as Buhari said in his
tribute.
So, as we have seen, Dr Osakwe
bestrode the world stage on trade,
and tried, ideationally and
institutionally, to transform
Nigeria’s trade policy and
negotiation landscapes. But it’s
for his monumental contribution
to Africa’s economic integration
that Osakwe will forever be
remembered. In June 2017, two
years after the negotiations on the
African Continental Free Trade
Area, AfCFTA, were launched but
had stalled, African leaders
appointed Ambassador Osakwe
as chairman of the AfCFTA
Negotiating Forum.He was, as
President Buhari rightly said,
given “the front-line and historic
role” of resuscitating and
concluding the negotiations.
Well, within a year, Osakwe
steered the negotiations to a
successful conclusion, leading to
the launch of the AfCFTA and the
signing of its agreement by 44
African countries in March 2018.
In his tribute, Ambassador Albert
Muchanga, African Union’s
Commissioner for Trade and
Industry, described Osakwe as
“giant of AfCFTA”, adding that:
“He contributed immensely to
what AfCFTA is and will be”.
Indeed, Osakwe was
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AfCFTA’schief architect, who
rallied the continent around the
agreement.
But not his own country, it
seemed. For over a year, Nigeria
dithered and kept the world on
tenterhooks about whether or not
it would sign the agreement. It
was deeply embarrassing. A
Nigerian had helped Africa
negotiate a historic continental
free trade agreement, yet Nigeria
balked at signing it. But Osakwe
was not deterred. As Richard
Ough, former Senior Economic
Adviser at the Nigerian Office of
the UK Department for
International Development, DfID,
said, Osakwe “demonstrated
perseverance, passion and
persuasion, convincing sceptics
at home of AfCFTA’s merits”. In
July this year, President Buhari
bowed to pressure and signed the
AfCFTA agreement; it was a
fulfilling moment for Dr Osakwe!
This week, Nigeria marked its
59th independence anniversary.
If anything is worth celebrating,
it’s its people, who, like Osakwe,
are so exceptionally brilliant that
the world constantly callsupon
their expertise. From the UN to
the World Bank, from the WTO to
the African Development Bank,
Nigerians are helping to create a
better world. Yet, paradoxically,
Nigeria can’t run its own affairs.
But Osakwe showed it could. He
left enduring positive legacies
with the creation of AfCFTA and
the NOTN.
African leaders and the
Nigerian government must build
on Osakwe’s legacies. They
shouldalso formally honour this
great Nigerian, this great African.
May his soul rest in peace!
Sowore, revolution and the vestiges of dictatorship
By Ladesope Ladelokun
IF there is any shouting evidence that
the vestiges of dictatorship still remain
with us long after we bade military
rule goodbye, it is the current travails of
political activist and Sahara Reporters
publisher, Omoyele Sowore. Since the beginning
of the Fourth Republic on May
29, 1999, successive governments have
worryingly engaged in practices that can
best be described as antithetical to democratic
norms. Put plainly, democracy has
failed to end abuses that characterised
the jackboot era of intolerance.
Who will forget the infamous Odi massacre
and the disregard for a Supreme
Court order that the Lagos State funds
seized by the Chief Olusegun Obasanjoled
Federal Government be released? Or
the clampdown on media houses perceived
to be enemies of former President
Goodluck Jonathan because of their criticism
of his government for not adequately
tackling Nigeria’s security problems?
Who will forget the seizure of newspapers
and destruction of thousands of copies by
soldiers during the Jonathan administration
which was described by the presidency
then as “isolated incidents of security
checks “?
In the current administration of President
Muhammadu Buhari, nothing appears
to have changed. Only recently,
Nobel Laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka, said
Nigeria had gone back to the repressive
and dark days of the Abacha era following
the unceasing human rights abuses
traced to the Buhari government. Also,
Nigerians known to be too critical of the
present government have either been detained
or their whereabouts unknown.
Back to the travails of Sowore, an egregious
example of the blatant disregard for
human rights and dissenting views was
displayed when the activist was arrested
and detained for calling out Nigerians to
protest the failings of the Buhari government
but was later charged with treasonable
felony and accused of insulting the
president.
True, #TheRevolutionNow convener
called for a revolution to get Nigeria out
of the woods - a call seen as an attempt to
topple Buhari by his loyalists. To be
fair, no lethal weapon has been caught
with either Sowore or his disciples to
provide evidence to support the claim of
an attempt by the activist to violently
take over the government of Buhari.
Rather than get agitated about the mention
of revolution and protests, the Buhari
government would do well to address the
issues raised by the activist and his group.
Except those who choose not to see the
ugly realities confronting us on a daily
basis, no one can deny that Nigeria is currently
bedeviled by nagging security
problems,grinding poverty, especially with
Nigeria as the poverty capital of the world.
Or is it the romance with individuals with
various corruption allegations hanging
over their heads who have now become
new creatures by virtue of the fact they
now belong to the ruling party? Or is it the
economy that is in a tailspin?
Instead of breathing down the necks of
Nigerians who demand good governance,
the call to protest should be a wake up
call to the concerned authorities to address
the aforementioned problems for the
betterment of Nigerians.
Curiously, the same government that
would not allow harmless protesters a
breathing space has no issues with negotiating
with bloodthirsty terrorists that
have brought sorrow, tears and blood to
many homes, justifying their action with
the argument that it is a global practice.
In the run-up to the 2015 elections, General
Buhari had promised to uphold the
rule of law and respect fundamental human
rights, claiming to be a reformed
democrat. Some of us believed because
Integrity was his middle name. But time
has since revealed it was the politician in
The call to protest should
be a wake up call to the
concerned authorities to
address the aforementioned
problems for the betterment
of Nigerians
him speaking.
Today, we are told national interest- as
defined by Buhari and the Department of
State Services, DSS- takes precedence
over the rule of law. If we pretend to
concede that the highlighted excuse for
blatant disregard for the laws of the land
is true, we can understand why former
National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki
and Shiite leader, Sheikh Ibrahim
Elzakzaky are still languishing in jail. But
what would be the excuse for detaining
Sowore after a court has granted him
bail? Do Sowore and his apostles bear
arms? Or is he known for coup plotting
and disturbance of public peace? Why is it
difficult for the Buhari government to obey
court orders not in its favour?
The argument that Buhari is not the
DSS does not hold water. These infractions
happened on the watch of Mr President
and the buck stops on his table as
Nigeria’s number one security officer as
he can’t feign ignorance of the excesses of
the DSS. No doubt , the Buhari government
is planting the seed of anarchy with
its scant regard for court orders not in its
favour, when it grows, history will definitely
not be kind to the present government.
Interestingly, the same government that
was quick to obey the order to detain Sowore
has suddenly developed cold feet
when the court granted him bail. Ordinarily,
Nigeria’s biggest opposition party,
the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP,
should be vociferous about the worrying
disdain for court orders not in favour of
the Buhari government. But that is if it
has the moral latitude for such. In PDP’s
Cross River State, a journalist, Agba Jalingo,
is in detention for a publication the
government does not find friendly. Where
then will the PDP derive the moral justification
to call out the ruling party for its
disturbing abuse of power?
Without any whiff of doubt, freedom of
expression is under threat in Nigeria. And
when a government justifies brazen disdain
for court orders, it is not for any other
reason but to kill dissenting voices. Little
wonder Prof Wole Soyinka was quoted
as saying the greatest threat to freedom is
the absence of criticism.
It is time men of good conscience in the
Nigerian Bar Association, the Nigeria
Labour Congress and all civil society
groups rose by exploring all constitutional
means to save the judiciary imminent
collapse and Nigeria from its gradual
slide into anarchy.
*Ladelokun, a public affairs commentator,
sent this piece via
Ladesopeladelokun@gmail.com

32—Vanguard, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2019
YOUR LUCK TODAY
By Joshua Adeyemo Phone 08056180139
LIBRA (Sept 23 – Oct 22) You will have good ideas and
needed opportunities to get things done your own way. Yet it
will never be a bad idea to be receptive to suggestions from
your friends.
SCORPIO (Oct 23 – Nov 21)Intelligent Mercury makes
an ingress to your Star sign today and bring you new and
good ideas. Your best bet is to engage on whatever can enhance
your financial prospects. But many of you will be induced
by powerful romantic attractions.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov 22 – Dec21)All eyes are on you. Opportunities
to assert yourself the way others will admire you
will come today. Don’t gamble with your personal family
affairs.
CAPRICORN (Dec 22 – Jan 19) Unnecessary argument
and poorly planned journey are sources of avoidable trouble.
Keep both yours and friends secrets. Back your ambition
with actions.
AQUARIUS (Jan 20 – Feb 18)As Mercury goes into Scorpio
today, it is important you prepare for both competent
and other competitors along your career/business lines. Be
more friendly.
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
A pretty face
and fine
clothes do
not make
character.
~Congolese
Proverb
By Kola Fayemi
PISCES (Feb 19 – Mar 19)Illusion of certain degree may
encourage some of you to nurse false hope, while other
members of this Star may unconsciously become source of
deceit to others.
ARIES ( Mar 21 – Apr 19)In order to record good results
meant for you today , you will need to do away with whatever
can not be placed above board. Encourage youngsters around
you.
TAURUS ( Apr 20 – May 20)Some of you may soon be
transferred from zone of comfort to more busy and stressful
place, although just for a while, but you will have financial
success to show for your efforts. Encourage your junior colleagues
at work to learn the rope properly.
GEMINI (May 21 – June 20)Here Is a typical day when
you can not get things done on your own alone . That is to say
you will need to secure the needed cooperation of other politely.
CANCER (June 21 – July 22)This is your lucky day when
things will work according to your plans. Those of you who
are more hard working will have more to gain. Watch what
you eat.
LEO (Jul23 – Aug 22)Success of many types are boldly
printed on your card. Here is a day when your enterprising
endeavour will pay good dividends. Do not neglect your love
life.
VIRGO (Aug 23 – Sept 22)There are two sets of members of
this Star sign. On one hand some will exhibit financial ambition.
On the other hand others will give priority to romantic
adventure.
ASTROLOGICAL COUNSELLING
Send your date and place of birth to the Astrological
Counselling, P.M.B 1007, Apapa, Lagos
I dreamt of bird nest
Dear Joshua,
I marked my 19th year birthday on May 7, this year – as I
was born in the year 2000. My daddy said I was born on a
Saturday but my mother insists on a Sunday as my birthday.
Being the very first born of the family both my father and
mummy truly love me. And I have made up my mind to repay
them once am in good position to take care of them. I am in
one of known Universities in Nigeria doing Banking and
Finance God willing I hope to graduate in two years time. In
real life I admire birds and thinking of having poultry as my
vocation once am through with my education, it came to me
as a big surprise recently when I saw a bird nest with many
young birds in it in my (well furnished) bed room, although in
real life me and other boy are room mates and I was wondering
where the furnished room came from. While I was admiring
the nest a man came into my room and rang a bell many
times till I woke up. You have once counseled my room mate
who advise me to seek your counseling. What is the meaning
of this dream ? Am I on the right track career line ? Who is right
between my mummy and daddy about the day of the week I
was born, although my personal calculation gives me Sunday
Hamid, Zaria.
VIRGINIA
dadadekola@yahoo.com
HOME & ABROAD
By Lawrence Akapa
Dear Hamid,
May 7, 2000 was a Sunday, thus both yourself and mummy
are correct. You were born on a fortunate day when the Sun
(basic selfhood), Mercury (intelligent thinking process) Venus
(money/love) lucky Jupiter and stable Saturn all conjoined in
Banking/Money related Taurus. All the placement are indications
of promising Banking Career with great potential to
become a known authority in the Accounting world. Two symbols
featured in your dream namely BELL and BIRDNEST/
BIRDS. This dream is highlighting the studious type of your
personality who will eventually become a very happy and highly
successful man. Luckily for you sincerity and honesty are in
your inner-self. Mind you there is no how a person will go
through life without coming across challenges, if and when
challenges come your way do not think that all I have written
for you here have been overtaken by events. No, surely God
will see you through.

Vanguard, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2019—33
LION CLUB: From left—District Governor, District 404B-2, Nigeria, Mr. Wesley Kafidiya; new
President of Ikeja Viva L'Amour Lion Club, Mrs Folashade Ashafa; Managing Consultant, CSDC Consulting
& Chairman of the occasion, Mr. Akinyele Oladeji, and Senator Gbenga Ashafa, during the presentation
of Folashade as the 14th President of Ikeja Viva L'Amour Lion Club, installation of other club officers
and fun raising for 2019/2020 club projects, in Lagos.
Obaseki calls for probe of
N20bn NNDC projects in Edo
By Gabriel
Enogholase
B ENIN—GOVERNOR
Godwin Obaseki of
Edo State has called for
probe into the utilisation of
the N20 billion emergency
funds expended by the
Niger Delta Development
Commission, NDDC, on
projects in the state in the
last six months.
Speaking when the
House of Representatives
Ad Hoc Committee on
NDDC visited him,
Governor Obaseki also said
that the state government
was exploring the option of
suing NDDC contractors
for delivering substandard
projects, which he said were
responsible for flooding in
parts of the state.
The governor said: “I am
surprised that NDDC
management is not here, as
I invited them months ago
when I received complaints
about the quality of work
done by their contractors,
but they ignored the invite.
There is no need having
NDDC in the state, when
they have total disregard for
the state government.
“The interim
management of the NDDC
claimed that N256 billion
was spent on emergency
project work, out of which
N20 billion was spent in
Okowa restates commitment to tourism devt
By Festus Ahon
A SABA—GOVERNOR
Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta
State has restated the
resolve of his
administration to the
development of tourism in
the state, saying if properly
developed, tourism will
create job opportunities and
Edo State in the last six
months.
“A year ago, barely 10
percent of the NDDC
budget for Edo State was
implemented. The
immediate past interim
management team of the
NDDC needs to show us
how they spent N20 billion
in the state.
“Beyond what the House
of Representatives
Committee is doing, there
must be a judicial inquiry
into the activities of NDDC.
wealth for Deltans.
Speaking during the
World Tourism Day hosted
by the state, Okowa who
was represented by the
Secretary to the State
Government, Mr. Chiedu
Ebie, said the tourism
sector was laden with
several benefits, which his
administration is
People must go to jail for
their corrupt acts.
“We signed a tripartite
agreement with NDDC
and they were supposed to
commit 40 percent, while
the state provides 60
percent. We opened an
account, but they didn’t
remit one kobo into it.
“I have instructed the
state’s Solicitor-General to
begin the process of taking
legal action against NDDC
contractors, who execute
substandard work in the
committed to harnessing for
the benefit of Deltans.
Also speaking at the
event, Minister of
Information and Culture,
Mr. Lai Mohammed, said
Delta State has proven to
be a tourism hub and has
encouraged activities that
promote cultural
advancement in the
state, particularly the
contractor who handled the
project on Apostolic Street
off Sokponba Road, which
led to flooding in the area.
We will blacklist them.”
Leader of the Reps
committee on NDDC
Abandoned Projects in Edo
State, Sergius Ogun, said
they were in the state to
investigate abandoned
NDDC projects, noting that
the committee has a short
time to work and submit its
report to the House.
SPDC holds 30% interest in OML11
not 45%, group corrects Wike
By Davies
Iheamnachor
PORT HARCOURT—
N A T I O N A L
Coordinator of Conscience
of Ogoni People, COOP,
Chief Gani Topba, has
described as ill-fated
claims by Governor
Nyesom Wike of Rivers
State that the state has
acquired 45 percent interest
of Shell Petroleum
Development Company,
SPDC, in Oil Mining
Lease, OML11.
Topba, in an-eight-page
letter sent to Governor
Wike, said: “We refuse to
believe that you could
exploit the debacle
between SPDC and the
Ogoni people by going
behind to work against
Ogoni interest as well as to
sabotage the supreme price
paid by the Ogoni
forebears in seeking justice
for an oppressed people.
“There is no such thing
as SPDC’s 45 percent
interest in OML 11. That
OML 11 was a joint venture
between the Nigerian
National Petroleum
Corporation, NNPC, with
55% stake; SPDC, 30%
stake; Total with 10%, while
Nigerian Agip Oil
Company, NAOC, has five
percent stake.
“Therefore, it is
inconceivable and
impracticable that Rivers
State government will
purport to have acquired 45
percent of interest when all
that SPDC had was 30
percent.
“In any event, OML 11
operated by SPDC expired
on June 30. Although
SPDC made effort to renew
same in 2017, the Minister
of Petroleum Resources
decided against renewal
with the result that OML
11 lapsed.”
He urged the state
government to retrieve
whatever money it had
paid for OML11, adding
that COOP would remain
resolute in fighting injustice
in Ogoni.
country.
Represented by Director-
General, Nigerian Tourism
Development Corporation,
Mr. Folorunso Coker, the
minister said tourism
currently employs more
than one million people
directly and indirectly.
Emphasising the place
of tourism in sustainable
development, he said:
“The ability of tourism to
Nigeria should focus
on youths—Gbagi
By Emma Amaize
A SABA—FORMER
Minister of State for
Education, Olorogun
Kenneth Gbagi, has
suggested that Nigeria
should re-prioritise and
focus on development of
the youths.
Gbagi, in his
independence message,
said: “My position, as we
celebrate the 59th birthday
of Nigeria, is that our focus
should be on the youths.
These young Nigerians
need to see Nigeria with
the eye we saw it.”
Recalling his emotions
on independence day
when he passed the Abuja
city gate with photographs
of previous and present
rulers, he said: “In the car
with me were two young
Nigerians in their 20s, who
seem not to understand
By Jimitota
Onoyume
WARRI—DELTA State
judiciary has marked
the beginning of its 2019/
2020 legal year with an
appeal on all stakeholders
to assist in the fight
against the rise in crime in
the state.
Chief Judge of the state,
Justice Marshal Umukoro,
at a special session held
in Asaba to usher in the
new legal year, stressed
the need to fix the get-richquick
syndrome largely at
the root of crime increase
in the state.
His words: “The
onslaught against violent
crimes in our society is an
undertaking in respect of
which we must all see
ourselves as stakeholders.
“We have a common
enemy here and no stone
should be left unturned in
Senator Enoh withdraws
appeal against Ayade
By Emma Una
C ALABAR—CROSS
River State
governorship candidate of
All Progressives Congress,
APC, SENATOR John
my excitement; they
have no knowledge of
the Nigeria I used to
know.
“Not so long ago, there
was a Nigeria filled with
dreams, hope and pride
at being called a
Nigerian. These
photographs at our city
gate filled me with
reflection of a time our
love for country was pure
and our dreams
beautiful.
“I was in awe, but I was
in it alone as those with
me could not fathom.
“My position is that
this love displayed on
the street of Abuja to mark
the 59th independence
should not be cosmetic,
but deliberately coupled
in such a demonstration
of love for a country that
is yearning and crying
for development.”
Delta legal year begins
with call for anti-crime war
generate
job
opportunities for the
skilled and unskilled
labour makes it a critical
sector.”
Speaking earlier, Delta
State Commissioner,
Directorate of Culture and
Tourism, Mr. Lawrence
Ejiofor, noted that the
development of tourism
was directly linked to
community development.
order to spare our dear
state the bleak prospect
of socio-economic
collapse precipitated by
an atmosphere of general
insecurity of life and
property.”
Justice Umukoro said
that 60 convicts were
secured at the High
Court with 16 of them
convicted for high profile
kidnap, adding that nine
persons charged with
murder were convicted
and sentenced to death
by hanging.
He said the number of
cases pending at the
High Court was 7,358:
those filed were 3,919,
while 3,307 cases were
disposed.
He added: “340
persons were convicted
in the Magistrate’s Court
in 4,585 cases filed and
8,501 cases are pending
as at the end of July.”
Enoh, has withdrawn his
petition against the
ruling of the Election
Petitions Tribunal, which
dismissed his petition as
a pre-election matter that
is outside the jurisdiction
of the tribunal.
Senator Enoh told a
party’s meeting in Abuja,
Tuesday night, that he
decided to withdraw the
petition so as not to
distract the effective
governance of the state.
His media aid, Mr.
Kelvin Orji, confirmed
the report, saying his
principal’s action is good
for the state and
democracy.

34—Vanguard, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2019
Anambra solves health
data challenge by deploying
N-Power staff to hospitals
By Vincent Ujumadu
A WKA—ANAMBRA
State government has
said it would deploy
beneficiaries of N-Power
programme to serve as
data clerks in all private
health facilities in the
state.
Permanent Secretary in
the state Ministry of
Health, Dr. John Ndibe,
who spoke during an
orientation programme for
120 private medical
proprietors in Awka,
observed that no fewer
than 70 percent of
Anambra women
patronise private health
facilities, hence the need
for accurate data keeping
to assist in planning.
According to the
Permanent Secretary, the
N-Power officers to be
posted to the private health
facilities have already been
equipped to carry out
specific tasks designed to
give feedback to
government through the
data they would collate
from such hospitals.
The state Family
Planning Coordinator,
Mrs. Stella Ekweozor, said
the state government
decided to partner private
hospitals because they
By Agbonkhese Oboh
ELDERS and leaders of
oil-rich Emadadja
community in Udu Local
Government Area of Delta
State have warned against
anyone parading himself
as President-General of
the community, affirming
that the only person duly
selected and sworn in by
consensus is Mr. Daniel
Ovedje, stressing that any
self-imposition shall be
resisted by the community.
The elders expressed
their position in a letter
addressed to the Ovie of
Udu Kingdom, HRM
Owhorhu I, by the most
elderly man (Okpakorere)
of Emadadja, Papa Ladja
Pribowei, and most elderly
men of the other quarters
in the town, including
Papa Philip Brosu for
Ighwreni quarters; Papa
Akpovoka Ohwajechon,
Ator quarters, and
Ekuruemu Uron for
Ekrovie quarters.
They expressed “dismay
and disappointment over
an announcement in the
state-owned DRTV/Radio
suggesting an
inauguration of a new
President-General for
attend to more clients
than governmentowned
hospitals.
She said: “We are not
training the doctors
because by virtue of their
duties, they are already
trained on family
planning.
“Rather, we want to
give them update
on Long Acting
R e v e r s i b l e
Contraceptives, LARC,
and most importantly,
counselling clients on
the best methods to apply
in family planning.”
She observed that the
issue of data collection
had been a problem
between private
hospitals and the
Ministry of Health,
which she noted was
why it was decided to
send N-Power staff as
data clerks to all the
private health facilities.
Ekweozor explained
that incentives,
including data
management tools,
health information
management system
tools and family
planning tools would be
given to private health
facilities to ensure the
success of the exercise in
the state.
Delta community elders
raise alarm over ‘fake PG’
Emadadja community in
the person of one Mr.
Emmanuel Jedje, an
incident that is capable
of breaching the peace
and causing chaos,
anarchy and a
breakdown of law and
order if not checked.
“The President-
General of Emadadja
community, who was
duly elected/selected by
popular decision, and
eventually sworn in for
a single tenure of three
years in April in line with
the community’s
constitution is Mr.
Daniel Ovedje.
“The TV/radio
announcement,
therefore, came to the
community as a rude
shock, as nothing
happened to warrant any
change in government.
“The purported
inauguration of Mr.
Emmanuel Jedje by a
handful of his friends is
a nullity, a ruthless
affront on the constitution
of the community
and a slap on the face of
the community elders
and leaders who have all
accepted the leadership
of Mr. Daniel Ovedje.”
Ebonyi to introduce whistle blowing against cultism
By Peter Okutu
A BAKALIKI—
GOVERNOR David
Umahi of Ebonyi State,
yesterday, reiterated the
commitment of his
administration to eradicate
cultism through the
introduction of “whistleblowing”
against cultists at
all levels in the state.
By Ugochukwu
Alaribe
UMUAHIA—IT was a
black independence
day for residents of
Ndiegoro area of Abia State,
as policemen razed their
homes over the death of
their colleague.
Unidentified gunmen
had attacked a Police patrol
team last weekend, killing
a policeman and a civilian
driver of the team, while
others were injured.
In retaliation for the
killing, Vanguard gathered
that several buildings at
Okojombo, Anaba,
Degema and Umuosi
streets at the Ndiegoro axis
were set ablaze by
policemen believed to be
from the Ndiegoro
Division.
Sources at the Ndiegoro
area told Vanguard that the
problem that led to the
shooting incident, which
claimed the lives of the
policeman and a civilian
driver, was a disagreement
between a drug cartel and
some police officers, who
usually visit the area to
“collect their share.”
One of the residents,
Nnamdi Nkwachukwu,
told Vanguard he managed
to escape with his wife and
three children before the
Governor Umahi stated
this during the celebration
of Nigeria’s independence
and Ebonyi at 23, at Pa
Ngele Oruta Township
Stadium, Abakaliki.
Umahi stated that the
state government, through
its empowerment
programmes, had done
much to ensure the state
was liberated from cultism,
Police officers set their
house ablaze, without
minding if people were in.
He said: “What
happened here has no
business with us that live
here. Every evening, when
people are returning from
market, policemen usually
come to Okojombo
Junction by Degema,
extorting people.
“On Friday, they were
doing the same thing
around 6:15p.m., when a
group of boys from
nowhere confronted
them. The policemen
began shooting, but the
boys overpowered the
officers and took their
guns.
“The one that died was
popularly known as Alhaji
and it is like he sustained
injury during that fight
and later died at Umuosi
Street, few metres away
from the scene of the fight.
The next day, Police
started arresting people.
After that, they started
burning buildings.”
Another, Mrs. Okpara
Adaku, a resident of
Anaba Street, said: “We
were not the ones that
killed their colleagues. If
the Police can burn, injure
and loot people’s shops as
they did in this area, then
Nigeria is in trouble.
but that with the
introduction of whistle
blowing, the fight will
become more effective and
result-oriented.
In his words: “We must
continue to fight against
cultism but let me say that
the war against cultism has
not started in Ebonyi State.
“To the general public, it
appears that we have won
“They ransacked homes
and shops, stealing bags
of rice,Plasma TV,
generators, handsets,
weave-ons, cartons of beer
and clothes.
“They should rather fish
out the real culprits. 10
persons were arrested in
our compound and Police
took N100,000 from them.”
Police fume
Contacted, Abia State
Police Commissioner, Ene
Okon, denied that Police
were behind the arson.
In his words: “Police has
not burnt any house.
Anybody that has a hand
in the murder of the
policeman will face the
law.
“We didn’t release
anybody not to talk of
collecting money. After
killing a police officer and
collecting AK-47 with 40
rounds, they came to
you(journalist) to whip up
sentiment. We are looking
for those arms now.
“They should bury their
heads in shame. They are
harbouring criminals and
now they’re accusing the
Police of coming to collect
money.
“Even if policemen came
there to collect money,
does that warrant killing
them?”
the war, but to me it appears
that there is going to be
very intensive war against
cultism as there will be
whistle blowers in this.
“When you identify any
cultist and notify us
through whistle blowing,
you will get a reward and
through this means, we
will completely eliminate
cultism in our society.”
HEALTH CONFAB: From left—Medical Director, TSC Medical, Dr. Gbenga Akande; Consultant
Neurologist, University College Hospital, Ibadan, Dr. Temitope Farombi; Chief Executive Officer, JBS
Medicare Services, Dr. Olutoyin Ajala; Medical Director, Wellpath Physiotherapy and Wellness Ltd., Boroji
Osindero, and Associate Professor in Family Medicine, Howard University College of Medicine, Professor
Babafemi Adenuga, at the Healthier Aging Conference in Lagos.
Police raze houses over
death of colleague in Aba
•Residents should bury their heads in shame—Police Commissioner
...as Gov Ikpeazu sets
up probe panel
Meanwhile, Governor
Okezie Ikpeazu has set a
panel of inquiry to look into
the remote and immediate
causes of the incidents.
In a statement by Abia
State Commissioner for
Information, Chief John
Kalu, the governor directed
the panel to determine
those involved, with a view
to bringing them to justice
as well as evaluate
properties lost as a result of
the alleged extra-judicial
action.
It listed members of the
panel to include
Chief Ukpai Ukpai,
Chairman; Mr. Sopuruchi
Beke, Eze Sunday
Emejiaka, Dr. NCNC
Okoli, with Rev. Ogboso
Ejindu as Secretary.
The statement explained
that the panel has two
weeks to submit its report
to the governor, stressing
that the panel is not meant
to pre-empt the ongoing
Police investigations on the
matter.
“Law-abiding members
of the public are urged to
go about their normal
businesses without fear of
further molestation, as the
government is fully on top
of the situation,” the
statement read in part.

Vanguard, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2019—35
Obaseki sacks all Special Assistants,
Senior Special Assistants
By Gabriel
Enogholase
BENIN —
GOVERNOR
Godwin Obaseki of Edo
State has terminated the
appointments of all his
Senior Special Assistants
and Special Assistants
Army begins
reconstruction
of collapsed
bridge liking
Kaduna,
Katsina,
Zamfara
THE 1 Division Nigerian
Army Kaduna,
yesterday, deployed its
personnel to commence the
reconstruction of Sabongida
bridge in Birnin Gwari Local
Government Area of Kaduna
State, linking Kaduna,
Katsina and Zamfara states.
It collapsed due to erosion
two years ago.
The army said it would
restore the 18-metre long
bridge within 10 weeks.
The General Officer
Commanding the Division,
Major.-General Faruq
Yahaya, said at the
commencement of the work,
that it was a demonstration
of the army’s commitment to
deepen civil-military
relations.
The GOC was represented
by Garrison Commander 1
Division, Brigadier-General,
Jimmy Akpor.
He said the idea of
rebuilding of the bridge
came from the Chief of Army
Staff, Lt- General Tukur
Buratai during one of his
operational visits to the Army
Super Camp in Kuyello.
According to Yahaya, the
collapse of the bridge, located
along the troubled Birni
Gwari axis, had left the
largely agrarian
communities in difficulties as
to how to move their farm
produce.
“The COAS on July 15,
was on his way to the
Nigerian Army Super Camp
in Kuyelo when he ran into
this collapsed bridge. He
immediately directed the
GOC in charge of 1 Div to
reconstruct the bridge and
that is what we have come
to start today. Nigeria Army
is fixing this bridge for the
community as part of civilmilitary
cooperation. We
have constructed roads, fixed
bridges across the country
and this is just another one,”
he said.
Governor Nasir el-Rufia of
Kaduna state, represented
by Commissioner for
Internal Security and Home
Affairs, Samuel Aruwan,
commended the army for the
gesture.
with immediate effect.
A statement in Benin
City, yesterday, by
Secretary to the State
Government, Mr
Osarodion Ogie, said:
“This development is in
line with efforts to
reorganise the
governance structure to
enhance efficiency in
service delivery to Edo
people.
“Fresh appointments
will be announced
within the next 30 days.”
Ogie noted that the
state government offered
its immense gratitude to
the outgoing aides for
their service and assures
them of continued
cordial relations in the
years ahead.
He said: “They are
hereby directed to hand
over all government
property and documents
in their possession to the
Office of the Secretary to
the State Government.”
BIRTHDAY: From left, Sir Ezekiel Ainabe, the Ojomo of Ekpoma
and former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, at the 85th birthday
celebration of the Esama of Benin, Sir Gabriel Igbinedion.
Ibom Deep Seaport’ll diversify Nigeria
economy — Speaker
By Chioma
Onuegbu
UYO —SPEAKER of
Akwa Ibom State
House of Assembly, Mr
Aniekan Bassey, has
commended the
determination of the current
administration towards the
growth of the country’s
economy.
Bassey, who spoke during
Independence Day
celebration at the Uyo
Township Stadium,
Tuesday, noted that the
development of the Ibom
Deep Seaport would help in
diversifying the economy of
the country.
He commended President
Muhammadu Buhari and
Governor Udom
Emmanuel’s led
administrations for their
commitment and dedication
to the development of the
seaport in the state.
“The complete
development of Ibom Deep
Seaport will aid the
diversification of our
economy and increase our
revenue potential as a
country,” he said.
The speaker, who
commended the role of
Nigeria’s founding fathers
whose sacrifices and
contributions paved the way
for the country’s attainment
of independence and unity,
urged Nigerians to remain
steadfast in the pursuit of
peace, love, harmony, unity.
Bassey on the occasion of
the independence
anniversary gave
scholarship awards to two
indigent students from his
state constituency, Uruan.
Presenting the scholarship
to the beneficiaries, he
said:”The scholarship
scheme is designed to
encourage the educational
pursuits of indigent students
and those with financial
challenges from secondary to
university levels.
“I appeal to you to make
good use of the opportunity
to create a better future for
yourselves. Education, we
all know, is the bedrock of
any society and the hope of
Uruan, Akwa Ibom and
Nigeria at large lies in the
education of the youths.”
2023 presidency: Mugidi warns
against utterances capable of
threatening nation’s unity
By Etop Ekanem
NATIONAL President
of Niger Delta
Consultative Forum, NDCF,
Mr Moses Mugidi, has
urged some Nigerians of
Northern extraction to be
cautious of their utterances
capable of threatening the
unity of the country.
Mugidi stated this in an
interview with newsmen in
Warri after a get together of
the group to mark Nigeria’s
59th Independence
anniversary while reacting to
statements credited to
Mallam Yerima, President of
Arewa Youth Forum; Prof.
Ango Audullahi, former Vice
Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello
University, ABU, Zaria and
Alhaji Bashir Tofa, former
presidential candidate of
National Republican
Conventions, NRC, where
they said the North would not
relinquish power to the South
in 2023.
He faulted the arguments
of Tofa, who said rotation of
the Presidency between
South and North was
“divisive, which will affect the
unity of the country and the
issue of rotation or this is our
turn does not arise.”
According to Mugidi, “It is
unfortunate that Ango
Audullahi and Tofa, who are
supposed to be statesmen,
can make such provocative
statements, which are
capable of heating the polity.
“Rotation of the presidency
between South and North is
an unwritten gentleman
agreement, which promotes
unity, peace and progress of
the country. It also gives both
parts of the country a sense
of belonging as stakeholders
in Nigeria Project.”
On Nigeria at 59, he said:
“All is not lost. Nigeria has
every reason to celebrate
because the unity of the
country alone is worth
celebrating and with the right
leaders with hardwork, the
country will be on track
again.”
Adamawa civil servants
protest 6 months salary
arears
By Umar Yusuf
YOLA— Aggrieved civil
servants in Adamawa
State, yesterday, trooped
into the streets of Yola, the
state capital, protesting and
demanding payment of
their six months’ salary
arrears.
They displayed placards
with inscriptions such as
“Governor Fintiri pay us
our salaries", “Governor
Fintiri your government
has starved us for long",
“give us our legitimate
earnings,” among others.
Spokesman of the
aggrieved workers, Faisal
Baba, told the state Deputy
Governor, Crowther Seth,
who led the government
delegation to meet the
workers that the
government had treated
them badly.
Faisal said following the
government refusal to pay
them their salaries, the state
House of Assembly made
a resolution asking the
Bhojsons unveils remote
generators
By Gabriel
Olawale
BHOJSONS Powerhub,
a subsidiary of Bhojsons
Group, has unveiled Kirloskar
remote management system
generators to promote users
convenience.
The new innovation offers
users opportunity to monitor
the use of their generators
anytime, anywhere and
foresee issues to undertake
preventive maintenance.
Speaking at the 2019 Power
Nigeria Exhibition in Lagos,
where the company
launched 1,000 KVA range
of Kirloskar Green
Generators to meet the
growing demand for higher
capacity, Head of Business
Unit of Bhojsons PowerHub,
Rajneesh Gupta, said with the
government to pay them
part of their salaries to
ameliorate their suffering.
He alleged that the
governor had refused to
respect the resolution, even
as a former lawmaker.
A letter presented to the
deputy governor by the
protesters read in part: "The
governor has left us in an
untold hardship, facing
serious debts and critical
conditions but we did not
cause any trouble and
instead, as law abiding
citizens, we gave our
maximum cooperation to
all the committees
constituted and now they
have submitted their report.
Let the governor consider
our plight and return us to
the payroll and if nothing
is done urgently, we will
reconvene for something
special.”
In his brief address to the
protesters, the deputy
governor assured that
government would treat
their demands positively.
Kebbi to commence bio fuel
production in 2020—Bagudu
By Kabir
DanKatsina
BIRNIN KEBBI—
KEBBI State
government, yesterday,
said it would start
producing bio fuel in
2020 aimed at boosting
the economy of the state.
Governor Abubakar
Bagudu, who made this
known to newsmen in
Birnin Kebbi after his
state broadcast making
59th Independence
anniversary of this
nation, also informed
that the state would host
the Argungu
International Fishing
Festival next year, which
did not hold since 2007.
Already, committees
have been set up to map
out strategies on how
the state will host the
event successfully.
He said: "My
administration has
concluded all
arrangement to
commence the
production of bio fuel to
boost our tiny economy
in the state. Since we
have land that has
mineral resources, so the
best thing is to put it in
usage to improve our
economy.’’
According to him,
government had already
sent officials to inspect
the local government
areas where the
production would start
and based on their
findings, Kamba and
Fakai Local Government
Areas had been
earmarked for the
production.
KRM, end user or customer
could monitor all their
Kirloskar Green Gens
operating across the country
through a single room.
He revealed that the system
would enable organisations,
especially large corporations
with large number of
generating sets in different
locations to monitor the
usage, performance and
health of their generators in
one control room thereby
ensuring efficiency, reducing
costs and maximizing
productivity.
Corroborating, Managing
Director of Bhojsons Plc,
Vishant Dalamal said: “Your
generator will be used most
efficiently as its health meter
will always be at the finger
tips making it possible to
monitor the health from
anywhere."

36 —Vanguard, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2019

Vanguard, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2019 — 37

C
M
Y
K
38 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2019
•Governor Emeka Ihedioha of Imo State, flanked by students from various schools in the
state reading during the celebration of the World Literacy Day.
How quota system,
racketeering, poor facilities
threaten relevance of Unity
Schools — Investigation
By Adesina Wahab, Rotimi
Ojomoyela, Elizabeth Uwandu
and Esther Oyeniyi
nity Secondary schools,
Uestablished by the Federal
Government across the states of
the federation, are now reeling
under the weight of poor and overstretched
facilities, admission racketeering
among others, which are
also threatening their relevance,
investigation by Vanguard Learning
has shown.
Another contentious issue that
many Nigerians are appalled by
in the management of the schools,
is the never ending use of quota
system in the admission of students.
To some people, the reasons for
establishing the schools such as
to bridge educational gap and foster
unity, are being defeated as the
schools have become centres of
ethnic and religious bigotry where
hapless parents and guardians
are extorted.
Early this year, the FG stated that
the criteria for admission into
the104 unity schools in the country
would include 60 per cent on
national merit, 30 per cent on
equality of states, and other factors
would constitute 10 per cent.
However, stakeholders are saying
that the 60 per cent criterion
for admission has been tilted to
favour some ethnic groups, rather
than fostering unity among Nigerians.
For example, the cut-off marks
for the 36 states and FCT last academic
session was perplexing.
Abia 130; Adamawa 62; Akwa-
Ibom 123; Anambra 139; Bauchi
35; Bayelsa 72; Benue 111; Borno
45; Cross River 97; Delta 131;
Ebonyi 112; Edo 127; Ekiti 119;
Enugu 134; Gombe 58; Imo 138;
Jigawa 44; Kaduna 91; Kano 67;
Katsina 60; Kebbi 9 (male) 20 (female);
Kogi 119; Kwara 123; Lagos
133; Nasarawa 58; Niger 93;
Ogun 131; Ondo 126; Osun 127;
Oyo 127; Plateau 97; Rivers 118;
Sokoto 9 (male) 13 (female); Taraba
3 (male) 11 (female); Yobe 2 (male)
27 (female); Zamfara 4 (male) 2
(female) and FCT Abuja 90.
The implication is that some candidates
would be denied admission
despite scoring high marks
because of where they hail from,
while some with low marks would
be admitted.
Commenting on the use of quota
system to admit students, Mrs
Chima Igbokwe said: “Quota system
is not being well implemented.
It is like robbing Peter to
pay Paul. Years back, my son scored
the highest in the primary school
common entrance exams (595/
600) and was not admitted into any
of the unity schools.
“We checked but couldn’t find
his name and he never felt happy
because he was denied an opportunity.
We, however, encouraged
him and sent him to another
school. My question is: What happens
to indigent students seeking
admission into unity schools?.”
Another parent said her son
scored 149, with FGC Odogbolu
as the first choice and FGC Ilorin
as the second choice, but was not
amongst the shortlisted candidates.
Mrs Kosoko, who attended one
of the schools years back
noted:”You can see that all animals
are not equal. In the same country,
there is a wide margin of between
2-139 points, how did we
get here? I went to a unity school
in the early seventies and then
90% of the population was from
all over the country and it was really
competitive getting in. Now,
it’s so debasing for one to be admitted
with only 2 points. Totally
unacceptable to me. It is a mockery
of our education sector.”
Justifying why quota system is
good, Akeem Somade has this
to say: “The low cut-off marks for
certain states is for a reason. The
school is said to be a unity school
where we must have pupils from
across the federation attending
classes together to promote unity.
If the cut-off mark is high, some
states may never be in the school.
We should not forget that schooling
is not only meant for academic
works, but to develop the potential
of individual students.”
Another parent, Akeem Fadare,
also corroborated Somade’s view.
Cankerworm
Meanwhile, a cankerworm
plaguing the unity schools is admission
racketeering involving
some management staff.
A number of parents are lamenting
that despite their wards meeting
all admission criteria, they still
had to bribe some people to get
their children in.
Mrs Chika Obi who had an ugly
experience in that regard, said:
“My son passed the examination
and was posted to Ekiti. But because
he was too young, we
wanted him closer home so, we
tried to get him transferred to FGC
Ijanikin, Lagos and the people
were demanding N300,000 bribe
from us.”
Another parent, Mrs Bisi
Kareem, said she paid N200,000
each for her two children to be
admitted there.
She blamed the development on
It’s so debasing for
one to be admitted
with only 2 points;
totally unacceptable
to me, it is a
mockery of our
education sector
the management of the schools,
saying they sometimes flout the
directive on cut-off mark and raise
it to ensure that many candidates
would not meet it and then would
be asking parents to bring money
to secure places for their wards.
Overstretched facilities
To say most of the schools are
making do with overstretched facilities
is an understatement, almost
all are in that pitiable position.
For instance, parents of students
in the three FGCs in Ekiti State
are lamenting the level of infrastructure
decay in the institutions
and are also worried about shortage
of teaching staff.
One of the parents and a prominent
member of the Parents Teachers
Association, FGC Efon Alaiye,
who preferred anonymity told
Vanguard Learning that it appeared
the FG has abandoned the
schools. He said aside from acute
shortage of staff, funding has been
a recurring problem, adding that
since the establishment of the
schools , the FG has not made any
deliberate effort to recruit more
teachers despite increase in enrolment.
He said the PTA had to handle
this fundamental function because
the government was not forthcoming.
He said presently, the PTA is
responsible for the recruitment and
payment of some teachers.
When one of the hostels in the
school got burnt recently, no help
came from the government and it
was the PTA that renovated the
facility.
The same situation obtains at the
Federal Science and Technical
College, FSTC, Yaba, Lagos where
the PTA Chairman, Olisa Anene,
said the association recruited a
number of teachers to augment
those sent there by government.
Also, the FSTC is experiencing
inadequate hostel accommodation,
staff quarters among others
and in a bid to solve the problem
of students' hostel, the school was
in the news recently.
The PTA had sought N50,000
donation per student to build a
new hostel, but the matter turned
controversial when some parents
alleged that the money was later
made compulsory and students
tacitly forced to pay.
The payment was eventually
stopped, as its collection threatened
the job of some top management
staff in the school.
For Mr Mojeed Bello, a digital
marketer who also attended one
of the schools years ago, "the education
sector has declined to the
very lowest level.
“Unity Schools are no longer relevant
and sustainable, and they
no longer foster unity. The FG
needs to privatise all FG-owned
educational institutions, including
unity schools and federal universities,”
he said.
Meanwhile, efforts to get the reaction
of the Director, Press Affairs
of the Federal Ministry of Education,
Mr Ben Goong, proved futile
as at press time.
He did not pick calls made to
his line or reply text message sent
to him.
Why parents
should not
encourage
children to cheat
— Administrator,
Elias Schools
By Adesina Wahab
The Administrator, Elias
Schools, Lagos, Mrs
Oluwakemi Oluwagunna, has
frowned at the situation where
some parents are encouraging and
supporting their children to cheat
in public examinations such as
those conducted by the West
African Examinations Council,
WAEC, the Joint Admissions and
Matriculation Board, JAMB,
among others.
She said parents involved in such
acts are sowing bad seeds in the
children which would later
adversely affect such children and
the society at large.
She stated this during the
celebration of the 30th anniversary
of the school.
According to Oluwagunna,
encouraging and supporting a
child to cheat in exams and the
child possessing a qualification he
does not merit, could be described
as more than an act of wickedness
considering the multiplier effects
on the society.
“Apart from the fact that a child
exposed to exam malpractice and
supported to be involved in such
is being taught evil, as he would
not see any merit in hard work and
diligence, the resultant effects are
best imagined. You took a child to
a miracle centre to write WAEC
and JAMB exams and he goes to
the university to read a course he
has no competence for, what do
you think will be the productivity
of the child?
“ I feel pained when I hear or see
some parents seeking a short cut
for their wards to pass exams. If a
child is not cut for academic line,
he can still do well in other areas.
That is why we are living the creed
of the name of our school- Elias,
which stands for excellence, love,
industry, advancement and
success,” she stated.
On the areas she would want the
government to assist private school
owners, Oluwagunna called for a
stop to multiple levies and taxes
and said the government should
see them as partners in the bid to
provide sound and qualitative
education to Nigerian children.
The Chairperson of the occasion,
Mrs Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, First
Lady of Lagos State, lauded the
founders, Dr and Mrs E.O
Dosunmu for their foresight.
Mrs Sanwo-Olu, represented by
a Permanent Secretary, Mrs Anike
Adekanye, said a government
worth its salt would give priority
to quality education for the
citizens.
The Guest Speaker, Prof. Tunde
Ope-Davies, called for the right
education that would use Godly
principles in training Nigerian
children. He commended the clear
vision and the doggedness of the
founders.
During the event, the e-Learning
Initiative of the school was
launched, while awards were given
distinguished alumni, workers and
friends of the school.
A free health care programme was
also organised for the host
community and parents, as part of
the corporate social responsibility
of the school.

Vanguard, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2019 —39
*Queens College students being checked on their return from sick leave
yesterday.
Accessing some scholarship bodies
in UK
By Adesina Wahab
ny student who has done
Aa little bit of research into
studying abroad will know it doesn’t
come cheap. With flights, health
insurance, visa and processing costs,
rising tuition costs in most countries,
as well as sky-high living expenses,
you’re going to need a decent-sized
bank account for that coveted
overseas stint. But what if you and
your family don’t have thousands
saved up and ready to spend on your
education? Don’t give up on the
dream just yet, there are ways you
can get a bit of extra help towards
funding.
Now, as a student who has likely
done at least a little bit of research,
you are also likely to know there are
scholarships available – what you
might not know are which ones you
are eligible for, where to find them,
or how to apply.
So here are some of the best
scholarships in the UK you could be
eligible for:
Through the UK Govt
Chevening Scholarships
The UK Government offers a global
scholarship programme called
Chevening. It is open to all
international students who meet
the Chevening eligibility criterion,
which states you must have applied
for at least three degree courses in
the UK, usually one-year Master’s
courses.
The majority of the scholarships pay
for your tuition fees, as well as a living
allowance, return flights from your
country to the UK, and sometimes
more to cover other expenses.
Commonwealth Master's Scholarships
If you are from a Commonwealth
country and are hoping to pursue a
Master’s degree in the UK, then the
Commonwealth Scholarship could
be for you.
The UK Department for
International Development, DFID,
provides funding for tuition fees,
exam fees, airfare cover to and from
the UK, a personal maintenance
allowance, “initial arrival
allowance” to cover extra costs in the
first few days, exam fees and even a
thesis grant if needed.
You can check regulations in your
country and apply for the 2019/20
academic year.
Through individual universities
Numerous universities in the UK
offer scholarships to international
students so if there is a particular
institution you have your eye on, take
a look at their website or reach out
via email to see if they have any
scholarship available. Here are more:
Gates Cambridge Scholarships
Hoping to pursue a full-time
postgraduate degree at the
University of Cambridge? This
scholarship will cover all your costs.
Rhodes Scholarships at University
of Oxford
The Rhodes Scholarship was set up
in 1902 and is the world’s oldest in-
ternational scholarship programme
at one of the most prestigious
universities in the world. It awards
exceptional postgraduate students
from certain eligible countries.
Edinburgh Global Research
Scholarships
Each year, the University of
Edinburgh offers 30 scholarships to
international students hoping to
undertake a PhD research
programme in any field of study.
The scholarship reduces tuition fees
to the rate given to domestic students
(and students who are from countries
in the EU) but does not cover
maintenance costs.
Denys Holland Scholarship at
University College London
Undergraduate students from any
country are eligible for this
scholarship if they would be unable
to fund their studies at UCL otherwise
and show a desire to throw
themselves into university life inside
and outside of their studies. The
student will receive GBP9,000
(US$12,870) every year of their
degree which they may use towards
their tuition or as a maintenance loan.
Bristol University International Office
Scholarships
The University of Bristol offers five
scholarships per year for future undergraduate
international students
worth GBP8,500 (US$12,160).
University of West England Chancellor’s
Scholarships
Each year, Bristol’s UWE offers a
number of scholarships totalling
GBP100,000 (US$143,000) for
international students. Some of the
scholarships may require you to
undertake an internship for a while
alongside your studies.
University of Westminster
International Scholarships
The university awards scholarships
to students from any developing
country who wish to study in the UK
and pursue a full-time Master’s degree
in any subject area, except
MBAs. Successful applicants can
look forward to free tuition,
accommodation, flights to and from
London and living expenses.
Developing Solutions Scholarships at
University of Nottingham
If you are from Africa, India or a
developing Commonwealth country
and wish to study for a Master’s at
Nottingham before returning to help
develop your country, this
scholarship is for you. There are 105
available every year, with 30 covering
the entire tuition cost and the other
75 subsidising it by 50 percentage.
By Oghenefego Obaebor with
Agency Report
A
young Nigerian inventor,
Ismaila Surajo, who is
fabricating mini tractors and
other farming tools, has
appealed to the Federal
Government for support to
enable him deepen his
knowledge for higher output.
The 23-year-old indigene of
Rubochi in Kuje Area Council of
the FCT, said he requires support
to deepen his knowledge in
engineering.
The young ‘engineer’ made the
appeal at the ongoing 2019
Abuja International Trade Fair
where he showcased his Madein-Nigeria
tractor, excavator,
truck, train among others.
According to Surajo, it took him
two years to manufacture the
tractor which can be used to
convey farm produce. He said :
“I started manufacturing
different things since 2005 while
I was in primary school, using
Disparity, quota system informed
setting up of Grace High School
— ED
By Elizabeth Uwandu
THE need to get an alternative
for those denied admission
into unity schools due to disparity
and quota system informed the
establishment of Grace High
School, Gbagada, Lagos, the
Executive Director, Mrs Olatokunbo
Edun, has said.
Edun disclosed this at a media
parley recently held to unveil
activities marking the 25th
anniversary of the school.
According to her, “Grace High
School started as a form of protest
by parents whose children were
denied admission into Federal
Government schools on account of
this affirmative action which we call
quota system. A situation where
some children who scored 80, 90
percent can’t get admitted into the
Federal Government colleges.
“You find somebody from
Zamfara State who scored 5% being
admitted, while someone from
Anambra State with 90% cannot get
in. So the parents came to the
conclusion that to hell with these
As a technological
technical vocational
based institution that is
committed to improving
research and developmental
activities, which is demonstrated
in the provision of support to
staff and students to improve on
research skills built on
knowledge and by providing the
enabling environment and
sponsorship, Yaba College of
Technology (Yabatech) was
chosen as the only pioneer
Innovation hub (I-hubs)
institution in Nigeria by
Young fabricator seeks support for advancement
condemned cartons, then
aluminium and iron which I
sourced locally from scrap
vendors called Baban bola.
‘’I also refurbished second hand
engines obtained from
motorcycles to construct the
tractor which you can start
manually or by dialling its
number on a mobile phone
wherever you are for security
reasons,” he said.
Appealing for government’s
intervention for him to achieve
his aspirations, Surajo said he
had been fabricating farm
implements and other items
without any form of intervention
from any government agency. He
added that he was encouraged by
the enthusiasm and support of
commercial motorcyclists who
contributed money for him when
he first displayed the initial toy
equipment he built. Surajo
expressed the hope that the
Abuja International Trade Fair
would bring him to limelight for
Federal Government colleges, let’s
go for private secondary school
education that has all the
peculiarities of these schools.
“That is one of the major reasons
for setting up our school. And we are
proud that our students have gone to
fantastic universities, and they have
very good degrees,” she said.
Outlining the milestones the
school has recorded, Mrs Edun
stated, “We are celebrating
excellence, resilience and our
continuous stay in Nigeria despite
the challenges.
“However, the major challenges
private schools owners are facing are
multiplication of taxes. We have
school buses that have ten different
taxes imposed on them like radio
and television license and emission
licence, etc. The second one is the
belief that private schools are money
making machines. They forget that
we are registered as limited liability
company. “
On the activities to mark the
anniversary, she said there would be
prize giving day, marking Nigeria’s
independence anniversary and a
thanksgiving day.
Yabatech chosen as
innovation hub
UNESCO/UNEVOC in Bonn,
Germany recently.
I-hubs initiative comprises a
substantial change in the way
Technical and Vocation Education
and Training (TVET) is practised
in an institution, making it more
relevant to the needs of the
economy, society and environment.
The UNESCO-UNEVOC skills for
I-hubs initiative is inspired by the
challenges and opportunities
facing TVET from major ongoing
global disruptions affecting the
economy, society and
environment.
Ihedioha reads, commits to sustainable devt agenda
AS the International Literacy
Day was celebrated recently
across the globe, Victor Otigbu writes
that Imo State Government has
committed to redouble investments
in education through capacitybuilding
in order to equip the
teachers to be able to deliver and
meet up with the United Nations’
2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development.
Penultimate week, the world
celebrated the International Literacy
Day, which is usually a day set aside
for governments, civil society and
other stakeholders to highlight
improvements in world literacy rates
and reflect on world’s remaining
literacy challenges.
Imo State was not left out in the
process, with the UNESCO having
declared the theme for this year as
LITERACY AND MULTI
LINGUALISM.
Imo kick-started the celebration
with what was termed: Ihedioha
Reads; where a day was set aside
for Governor Emeka Ihedioha, to
read to select students from various
schools across the state. This created
the opportunity to further draw
attention of stakeholders to the value
his administration attaches to
education. It also brought to the fore,
the fact that humans generally need
reading skills to succeed in education
and beyond.
No doubt, literacy is important for
economic development; as it
develops human resources. When
people are literate, they are bound
to make adequate use of their
environment. In other words, it avails
people better job opportunities
because when you are literate, it takes
you up from the lower ladder.
According to the Executive
Secretary, State Education
Management Board, SEMB,
Barrister (Mrs). Elfrida Oby
Anyikude: “This year’s International
Literacy Day in Imo State is symbolic
because the last time this was held
by any administration in Imo State
was in 2009 and again, this is the
first being marked by our education
savvy governor, Governor Emeka
Ihedioha. It was flagged off under
the sub-theme: Ihedioha Reads,
when His Excellency reads with our
students together with other
activities.”
This year’s theme of World Literacy
Day, seemed to underscore the
resolve of the Ministry of Education
in Imo State to promote the
indigenous Igbo language, which
the Commissioner for Education,
Professor Viola Onwuliri, explains;
“This year’s theme chosen by
UNESCO, is consistent with the
vision of Rt. Honourable Emeka
Ihedioha Administration which has
opted to promote our culture and
indeed, our indigenous Igbo
language in our schools by making
the teaching of Igbo language
compulsory.”
his talent to be harnessed for
national growth.
Speaking with newsmen, Mr
Nathan Pawa, Director,
Technology Business
Department, Nigeria Agency for
Science and Engineering
Infrastructure, NASENI, said
Surajo could use the agency’s
platform to put his knowledge to
practice. He, however, said:
“Firstly, he needs exposure and
education to understand the
basis of what he is doing.
Secondly he has to further his
education and be trained to be
able to imbibe what he learnt in
school and apply it to what he is
doing.
“He has succeeded in putting
together what is affordable
within his environment, when
such talents are discovered you
now take them in and expose
them with education,
infrastructure and facilities to
use with application of his
knowledge."

40— Vanguard, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2019
At 59, Nigeria is retrogressing
ON Tuesday, October 1, Nigerians, as has
become the tradition in the last 59 years,
celebrated the independence anniversary of
their country. The red carpets were rolled out
in Abuja and across the 36 states. There were
dinner parties in state houses where some of
the choicest wines the world can boast of were
served. Statements were issued and flowery
speeches made about how great a country
Nigeria, the giant of Africa, is.
The hoi-polloi were reminded that God
didn’t make any mistake bringing the
country’s over 350 ethnic nationalities
together under one umbrella called Nigeria
and those harbouring any thought of a
fundamental tinkering with the structure of
the Nigerian state were admonished to perish
the thought. Instructively, the pomp and
ceremony are over a day after. The speeches
have been filed away to be reproduced a year
from now when the country will be marking
its Diamond jubilee.
Between now and then, nothing will change
for the better and nothing changed between
last year and today. It is business as usual.
Some will even claim that those who want to
see Nigeria on the moon, metaphorically, are
unreasonable and uncharitable because the
country is too young. They will remind you
that the U.S. gained independence from Britain
on July 4, 1776, 243 years ago, forgetting
that Nigeria is not reinventing the wheel. In
any case, why must we wait to be two centuries
old or more to make progress?
But no matter what those who claim to be
more patriotic than others say, 59 years is
significant both for individuals and nations.
Anyone born 59 years ago has come of age. In
fact, going by the country’s very youthful
population with 44 per cent between 0-15 years
old, 53.2 per cent between 16-65 years and
only 2.8 per cent over 65 years, more than 60
per cent of the country’s current estimated
population of about 201 million was not born
as at October 1, 1960.
This statistics is necessary considering that
many of those born after independence have
made giant strides in all fields of human
endeavour. But same cannot be said of Nigeria.
The only area where Nigeria has grown by
leaps and bounds is population. From a
reasonably
manageable
population of 38
million in 1950 to
186 million in
2016 going by the
2017 revision of
the World
Population
Prospects,
Nigeria’s
population today
The truth is
that
Nigerians
were better
off yesterday
than today
stands at over 201
million, making it the seventh most populous
country in the world.
While the leaders were clinking champagne
glasses on Tuesday for successfully holding all
of us down, Professor Chukwuma Soludo,
former Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN
Governor, was painting a scary picture in
Lagos. Speaking on “Economic and
institutional restructuring for the next Nigeria”
at The Platform Nigeria, an Initiative of the
Covenant Christian Centre, Soludo said:
“Nigeria has one of the highest population
growth rates in the world. If current trends
continue and you believe the population
figures, then the future may be overwhelming.
By the time a child born today turns 30 (about
2050), there will be about 400 million
Nigerians and when she is 80 (about 2100),
there will be about 752 million Nigerians (third
largest population in the world).”
The import of this is obviously lost on the
leaders who were making flowery speeches,
extolling Nigeria’s giant strides. They most
banal amongst them were overtly obsequious
and oleaginous. Others, too clever by half,
admit that mistakes have been made,
opportunities missed, but still insist that the
country is over the hump and, therefore,
making progress. But how can a country be on
the up and up when its leadership class has no
clue what it takes to jumpstart a 21st century
knowledge-driven economy? Even when the
leaders are abreast of the issues, they lie to
themselves. The most egregious of lies is lying
to oneself. And that is what we do always. We
lie to ourselves.
Or how else can one explain the All
Progressives Congress, APC, assertion that
Nigeria was on the right course? “In spite of
the inherited and our current
challenges,” the ruling party
said in its October 1,
message, “President
Muhammadu Buhari’s
administration has made
commendable strides on so
many fronts, most
significantly the fight against
graft, diversifying and
revamping the economy,
curbing insurgency and
emerging crimes,
promoting positive values in our national life,
strengthening our democratic institutions and
processes and achieving a respectable
international standing.”
How egregious can a lie be? While it is true
as the ruling party noted that “as a nation, we
are better together than we are apart,”
President Buhari has, wittingly or otherwise,
done more than any other leader to keep this
country divided along religious and ethnic
lines. And while nobody expects the APC which
has been fashioned in the president’s image to
call the party’s alter-ego out, no one expects
them to tell white lies particularly where facts
don’t bear such claims out.
And here are some of the facts. Records of
United Nations agencies show that Nigeria’s
Human Development Index, HDI, value for
2017 is 0.532 - which put the country in the
low human development category -
positioning it at 157 out of 189 countries and
territories. It is even worse today. HDI is a
composite index which includes health,
education, income, livelihood security and
other indicators. It focuses on three main fields
of human development: healthy life,
knowledge and decent standard of living.
Nigeria has the world’s third lowest life
expectancy rate of 54.5 years, according to
the United Nations.
In its current report released in April, the
United Nations Population Fund, UNFPA,
said the life expectancy of an average Nigerian
in 2019 is only better than those of people in
Sierra Leone, Chad and the Central African
Republic, which have 53, 54, 54 years life
expectancy rates respectively. Even war-torn
Afghanistan has 65 years, Somalia 58 and
Syria 73.
A Demographic Health Survey, DHS,
conducted by the United Nations Children
Fund, UNICEF, and the Nigerian government
shows that today about 13.2 million of
Nigerian children aged 5-14 years are not in
school. That figure means that one in every
five of the world’s out-of-school children is in
Nigeria. In 2018, findings, based on a
projection by the World Poverty Clock and
compiled by Brookings Institute, showed that
Nigeria with 87 million of its population had
overtaken India as the country with the largest
number of people living in extreme poverty.
The implication is that almost half of our
population live on less than $1.90 a day. That
population is increasing and not reducing.
A human capital report in Quartz Africa
on October 12, 2018, said Nigeria was set to
stay the world’s poverty capital for at least a
generation because it was making little
progress in eliminating poverty. “New reports
by global development institutions show that
human capital spending in Nigeria - the
poverty capital of the world after recently
overtaking India - is among the worst in the
world,” the business news magazine wrote.
Soludo put it more starkly when he
buttressed the 12 clusters of variables that are
considered in computing the Fragile/Failed
States Index by the U.S Fund for Peace. “The
index which aims to ‘assess vulnerability to
collapse’ summarises the failure of Nigeria’s
institution and measures four clusters of
variables, namely: a) Cohesion (security
apparatus, factionalised elite, and group
grievance); b) Economic (economic decline,
uneven economic development, and human
flight and brain drain); c) Political (state
legitimacy, public services, and human rights
and rule of law); and d) Social (demographic
pressures, refugees and IDPs, and external
intervention).
“Nigeria’s ranking has deteriorated from
54 in 2005 and now stands between 13 and 15
over the past eight years and largely in the red
alert category with countries such as
Afghanistan, Iraq, Haiti, Guinea, Syria,
Yemen, Somalia, etc,” he said.
This is systemic decline rather than progress.
Making progress would mean that the indices
of development are pointing north. They are
not. Instead, they are headed south. Some
people will argue that the rot did not start
today. That is true. But Buhari has made it
worst. If there is any intention to reverse the
trend, the starting point is acknowledgement
of how bad things are and not playing the
ostrich by lying to ourselves as we did on
October 1.
Rather than the illusion of progress we are
proclaiming, the truth is that Nigerians were
better off yesterday than today. For me, that is
the classical definition of retrogression.
How Ngige returned schools to missions
in Anambra
By Nwachukwu Obidiwe
A
RECENT press statement by
the vice presidential candidate of the
Peoples Democratic Party and former Governor
of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi on the
comparative stewardship of his administration
and that of Senator Chris Ngige whom he
succeeded in office was a graphic caricature
of facts which has brought up issues very close
to the hearts of many. Ngige had raised genuine
concern over the state of roads in the State and
blamed it on Obi and his successor, Governor
Obiano.
Obi in response through his Media Assistant,
Val Obienyem, attempted a poor dismissal of
Ngige’s 34 months multi-sector revolution,
asking where the comparison would start. He
outrageously claimed Ngige offered nothing
in education, health, among other sectors. It is
easy to understand such claims in view of the
fact that it would ordinarily be incongruous to
compare the Obi administration that lasted
for full eight years of peace and abundance
with Ngige’s 34 months, hallmarked by
relentless troubles and meagre state resources.
Therefore, that comparison exists in the first
place is enough shame for Peter Obi, and the
remaining tiny clappers and cat paws of his
era.
It is understandable, hence if they attempt to
relegate the rebirth that Anambra witnessed
in 33 months under Ngige. Fortunately for
Ngige, the renaissance he engineered as
Anambra Governor almost two decades ago,
has continued to rebuff desperation by
revisionists to violate it. These solid
achievements have turned an undying historian
for him, luckily.
Really, Ngige did not only lay the foundation
for quality education, he erected the building
blocks for the lead position that
Anambra currently holds in the sector. The
move from the shambles, the bottomless
cypher he met in 2003 to the excels the State
records at present, can only be explained by
his foresight and unwavering determination
to rekindle the light and restore the dignity of
his people. He neither stood hands akimbo
nor play the ostrich like his predecessors. He
decisively tackled the malaise at the roots. It
deserves noting at
this juncture that the
Mission School Law
passed by the old
Anambra State
House of Assembly
under the
administration of
Jim Nwobodo could
only return St.
Charles College,
Ngige laid
the foundation
for the quality
education that
Anambra
currently
enjoys
Onitsha and St.
Monica’s College, Ogbunike while successive
governments, military and civilian, dithered.
It took the visionary and courageous
leadership of Ngige for the bull to be taken
by the horn, engaging all the stakeholders to
months of ventilated discussions.
A letter addressed to the Bishops of all the
Catholic and Anglican Dioceses in the state on
January 4, 2004, declared the cardinal
intention of government as adamant
commitment to recapturing the value system
and morality for which our people were
known, prior to the civil war and the
prominent role the church had to play as it
did before the war.
The State Government had proposed three
major models for the programme as follows:
outright handover, shared responsibility
paradigm and community ownership. Under
the first arrangement, all schools were to be
totally handed over to the voluntary agencies
which recruit teachers , pay them and oversee
the day-to-day running of the schools with
government under no obligation to assist.
Existing government teachers in such schools
would be re-distributed to other schools except
where one opted to stay. Shared
responsibility as the name suggests encouraged
a partnership where government keeps to
funding, infrastructural development,
recruitment, promotion, transfer, payment of
salaries and enforcement of standards while
the missions manage and ensure quality
education. Community ownership is similar
to the first but required the receiver
community to establish a trust fund to finance
the schools as well as set up a board of
directors. These options came up for
discussion at the first meeting summoned by
Ngige’s erudite Commissioner for Education,
Prof. Leonard Muoghalu on January 9 ,
2004 and in subsequent meetings. The
stakeholders all expressly voted their
preference for shared responsibility.
The teachers had raised serious fears over
their future, arguing that the current voluntary
agencies do not exactly approximate the
character of the early missionaries and that it
could breed religious discrimination, lead to
exorbitant school fees and through that, defeat
the fundamental principles of the Universal
B a s i c
Education to
o f f e r
education to
all.
They
have across
the decades
formed
formidable
opposition to
the return of
schools to the
original
owners. They •Chris Ngige
held series of protests and in 2004; invited the
then President of the Nigeria Labour Congress,
Comrade Adams Oshiomhole to bolster their
agitation. Their fear was however adequately
addressed. Indeed, at an expanded meeting of
June 18, 2004 where presidents and secretaries
of schools old boys and girls associations were
also invited, the meeting agreed to give full
support to the state government, emphasizing
the issue of standard, discipline and values
expected to return with the exercise.
Subsequently, decision was also taken on the
number of schools to be handed over and stages
for the implementation, all the
dioceses having supplied necessary
information on the number of schools
originally owned. It was thus agreed that the
stage one of the process would take off on
the first term of the 2004/2005 academic
session with 25% of the affected secondary
schools in each diocese and 11.78% of affected
primary schools in mission compounds to be
returned, totaling 13 secondary schools and
51 primary schools . It was further agreed that
based on the review of performance of stage
one, the next stage would take off on the
first term of 2005/2006 academic session while
the final stage, where all the remaining schools
would be handed over was slated for 2006/
2007 session. Five member management
board was to be established in each diocese
with one education secretary to be paid by the
state government. The list of schools to be
handed over was then sent to the State House
of Assembly for inclusion to section 3 of an
existing law already passed by the second
republic State House of Assembly in 1983.
It was therefore groundbreaking, an act of
courage when on September 15, 2005, under
the first phase, 51 primary and 13 secondary
schools were returned to the missions.
This is the basis of quality education that
Anambra enjoys today. What’s more, Ngige
within this short period renovated many
secondary and primary schools, paying a
counterpart fund of 1.6 billion naira to the
UBEC fund and financially strengthened the
state basic education. Refurbished schools with
massively recruited teachers buoyed up
enrolment that Anambra won UBEC laurel as
second best state in education foe 2004, 2005
and 2006 period. He also built infrastructures
at the State University and decentralized it into
a multi-campus system, securing accreditation
for 32 courses in 2005. When latter day
revisionists therefore claim that Peter Obi
handed over schools to the mission, you wonder
the extent people can go to distort history.
•Obidiwe, a journalist, wrote from Abuja

Vanguard, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2019 — 41
vanguardnews @vanguardnews @vanguardnews
NEWS HOTLINES
018773962,
08052867058
Uproar, as FG returns toll gates to federal roads
Continues from Page 5
Peoples Democratic Party,
PDP, kicked against plans
to return toll gates on
highways in the country.
In a statement issued by
its spokesman, Kola
Ologbondiyan, the party said
such insensitive idea, in the
midst of excruciating
economic hardship and high
costs of living, occasioned by
the harsh policies of the
Buhari administration, was
completely ill-conceived and
anti-people.
The statement read: “The
PDP insists that at best, such
idea amounts to executive
bullying which cannot be
justified under any guise as it
will lead to more increase in
costs of goods and services
across the country.
“Only recently, President
Buhari approved the increase
of Value Added Tax, VAT, from
5% to 7.2% despite outcry by
Nigerians, who are also being
made to pay exorbitant tariffs
for electricity and other
essential services.
“Since President Buhari
came into office in 2015, his
administration had
continued to increase prices
and impose all manner of
levies on Nigerians which
proceeds are being frittered by
the cabal in the presidency
leading to a bleeding
economy and despondency
among the citizenry.
“The PDP says that instead
of putting more pressure on
already impoverished
Nigerians by introducing toll
gates at this point in time,
President Buhari should exert
himself, seek ways of creating
wealth out of the abundant
resources at the disposal of his
administration or make haste
to surrender the reign of
governance to more
competent hands.
“Nigerians could recall that
the PDP administration, in
keeping with our
determination to ensure the
wellbeing and economic
prosperity of our citizens,
dismantled toll gates, cut tax
profiles and applied our
energies towards wealth
creation.
“It is therefore certain that
if our nation were under a PDP
administration, as desired by
Nigerians, competent hands
would have been on the deck
to proffer ways to create
wealth for governance instead
of turning our citizens into
vassals who are overburdened
by heavy taxes.
“The PDP states that it is
lamentable that at the time
Nigerians ought to be
enjoying the benefits of the
Atiku Abubakar economic
recovery and wealth creation
blueprint, they are faced with
suppressive policies.
“The PDP, therefore, charges
President Buhari to
immediately rescind the
decision to return toll gates on
our highways as such is not in
the best interest of Nigerians.”
No reason to bring back
toll gates — CACOL
In his reaction, Debo
Adeniran, Executive Director,
Centre for Anti-Corruption
and Open Leadership, said:
“Govt is expected to be a
continuum. When one
administration fails to
continue with the policies
implemented by its
predecessor, even when the
reasons for such policies are
still relevant to the security and
welfare of the citizens, we talk
of policy somersault.
“I don’t see any good reason
government should
reintroduce toll gate on
federal roads that have
caused so much untold
hardship over the years that
they all have almost
completely collapsed.
“This condition has caused
several crashes that have
caused citizens whose taxes
were used in building the
roads their lives, limbs and
prosperity. Several vehicles
were damaged beyond repair
and citizens didn’t sue the
government for damages.
“To toll the roads will only
amount to asking the people
to pay twice for a bad product
because the roads were built
with their money without
corresponding benefits and
they are being asked to pay
tolls.
“What some of us thought is
that government will
compensate the people for
years of sufferings on such
roads by giving them free fuel
vouchers rather than extorting
them any further.
Naira down at N362.55 /$ in
I&E window
By Elizabeth Adegbesan
The naira yesterday depreciated to N 362.55 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 N362.55
per dollar yesterday from N362.23 per dollar on
Monday, translating to 32 kobo depreciation for the
naira.
The volume of dollars (turnover) traded on the
window yesterday dropped by 55 percent to $76.16
million from $168.54 traded on Monday.
On the other hand, the naira was stable at N360
per dollar in the parallel market.
“Apart from time, nay, manhours
and resources wasting
at toll gates as we have it on
Lekki road in Lagos, the queue
at the plazas portend grave
danger to life and property of
road users as such bottlenecks.
“Even a military regime
gave the citizenry the
opportunity to discuss the
desirability or otherwise of
IMF loan, SAP and its
conditionality which
eventually led to the rejection
of the loan.”
Government being unfair
— Ubani
Also reacting, former
National Vice President of
Nigerian bar Association,
NBA, Monday Ubani, said: “If
government introduces toll on
our roads that are in
dilapidated form all over the
country, it will be right to say
that they are not fair to
majority of Nigerians that
have become the wretched of
the earth.
“It appears the Buhari-led
administration is yet to know
that Nigeria has become the
poverty capital of the world.
Therefore, their policies must
be geared towards
ameliorating the scourge of
poverty.
“It is very unfortunate that
the recent policies of the
government are meant to
further impoverish the people.
The recent contemplation to
increase VAT, the imposition
of charges for bank deposits
and many more are some of
the policies that are not
ABUJA — Forty-eight
hours after President
Muhammadu Buhari, in his
59th Independence
Anniversary broadcast, gave
reasons he moved the
National Social Investment
Programmes, NSIP, from the
office of Vice President Yemi
Osinbajo to the newly-created
Ministry of Humanitarian
Affairs, Disaster
Management and Social
Development, the issue is still
raising dust in the polity.
The ruling All Progressives
Congress, APC, yesterday,
gave thumbs up to President
Buhari on the move, which it
said has taken the
programmes to the ‘’next level’’
and advised those saying the
move was meant to whittle
down the role of Osinbajo in
the government to have a
rethink.
APC’s position had ample
support from some
stakeholders, while others
said the move would yield
little or no dividends.
Representative of Delta State Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, Olorogun David
Edevbie delivering his key-note address
people-friendly.
“I advise this government to
think more of the interest and
welfare of the people. The
workers are still battling with
the government over meagre
N30,000 monthly salary, yet
government is mapping out
policies daily that are meant
to inflict financial injury on
the majority.
“I think somebody
somewhere wants to use this
policy to amass wealth at the
expense of hapless Nigerians.
Nigerians should rise and
resist this obnoxious policy. A
word is enough for the wise.”
‘You can’t raise VAT, bring
back toll gates’
In his reaction, Evans Ufeli,
Executive Director, Cadrell
Advocacy Centre, said: “If the
Federal Government
reintroduces toll gates, will
they still go on with the plan
to increase VAT?
“I ask because public
infrastructure must be built in
Nigeria and the strategy for
financing same must be clear
and devoid of flatulence.
“If the Federal Government
must reintroduce toll gates, it
must retract its planned policy
to increase VAT because the
intention of both is to finance
public infrastructure.
“Again, will the tollgates be
managed by a concession or
the Federal Government?
What are the grand strategies
and workable plans.
Government must explain in
details and call for a public
hearing for this policy. This is
very important.”
Funny idea; it’ll cause
more hardship
Reacting in a similar
manner, Akingbolu Kabir,
member Ekiti State Judicial
Service Commission, said: “It
is a funny idea aimed at
causing more hardships for
the people. Government is a
continuum and this
government cannot feign
ignorance of what happened
over 10 years ago when
Obasanjo in his wisdom or
trick to increase fuel money,
cancelled it. “Not only that, a
whopping sum of N66 million
was spent by FG to demolish
the toll gates across the
country, the value of that
money then is more than
N500m today. To now turn
around and change the policy
and make us pay through our
nose is unforgivable.
Government should learn to
be responsible.”
Why Buhari moved NSIP from Osinbajo’s office – APC
•Says programmes moved to the ‘Next Level’
•Blasts purveyors of conspiracy theory about rift in
Presidency
•Stakeholders split; PDP keeps mum
By Clifford Ndujihe, Peter Egwuatu,
Nkiruka Nnorom, Princewill Ekwujuru,
Omeiza Ajayi, Dirisu Yakubu & Olayinka
Ajayi
Contacted, the main
opposition Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP, refused
to comment on what it
described as woes of Vice
President Osinbajo.
In a statement by its
National Publicity Secretary,
Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, the
APC said the NSIPs have now
been moved to the ‘Next Level’,
and warned the opposition to
desist from peddling
falsehood and alleging
conspiracy theories as the
president’s decision is propoor
because having a
ministry solely dedicated to
the coordination of such
programmes would benefit
the masses immensely.
Osinbajo nurtured the
programmes
“The Vice President played
a front line role in the
conceptualisation of these
policies and programmes
and the President, in
demonstration of his trust for
him, charged him with the
responsibility of nurturing the
programmes to the current
stage. Tremendous successes
have been recorded under the
guardianship of the Vice
President. In demonstrating
the administration’s
commitment to the cause of
the poor, these interventionist
programmes have been
elevated to the Next Level with
the creation of the new
ministry,” APC declared.
The party lamented that the
media has been awash with
an absurd conspiracy of an
imagined rift in the
presidency, which according
to conspirators led to the
alleged ‘whittling down’ of
Vice President Yemi
Osinbajo’s roles in the
administration.
The statement read in part:
“First, the conspirators went
on overdrive following the
setting up of the Economic
Advisory Council, EAC,
comprising some of Nigeria’s
most independent-minded
economists (some vocally
critical of government’s fiscal
policies) to advise the
President on economic policy
matters, including fiscal
analysis, economic growth
and a range of internal and
global economic issues,
working with the relevant
cabinet members and heads
of monetary and fiscal
agencies.
“Constitutionally, while the
power of the Vice President is
derived from the President, the
conspirators deliberately
choose to ignore Section 141
of the Constitution, which
spells out the Vice President’s
statute membership in the
National Security Council,
the National Defence
Council, Federal Executive
Council, and the Chairman of
National Economic Council.
“Then, sponsored hogwash
reports emanated that the
Federal Inland Revenue
Service, FIRS, gave the Vice
President N90billion for the
2019 election — a rejected and
disgraceful template of the
Peoples Democratic Party,
which saw the party deploy
public and counter insurgency
funds to finance their political
activities during their failed
16-year rule of the country.
“Addressing Nigerians on
the occasion of the country’s
59th independence
anniversary, President Buhari
announced plans to upgrade
the National Social
Investment Programmes (N-
SIPs) to a full fledge ministry
status with the take-off of the
Ministry of Humanitarian
Affairs, Disaster
Management and Social
Development.
“The conspirators are
desperately trying to link
Continues on Page 46

42 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2019
AKINRINADE@80:
How we drafted plan that
ended Nigeria-Biafra war
Gowon not tough on Commanders
Debate over 2023 sign of looming trouble
Elder statesman, Lieutenant General Alani Akinrinade, retd, who
is 80 today, in this interview, reflects on his service to Nigeria,
ponders the state of the nation and expresses fears about what the
future holds. Akinrinade, a civil war hero, gives the untold account of
real reasons his terms as the Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defence
Staff were short. If you want to know why certain things happened
during the Nigeria-Biafra War, read the story of a man, who alongside
Gen Alabi Isama, retd, authored the strategy that ended the war.
By Charles Kumolu,
Deputy Sunday Editor
What does becoming an octogenarian mean
to you?
If you go through a few bumps in life, you will
start appreciating life. Clocking 80 is a real
blessing to me.
You escaped death during the Civil war and
the regime of the late Gen. Sani Abacha. Did
you ever entertain the fear of not clocking 80?
Every soldier is always prepared to check out
at any time whatever the circumstances are. When
I said clocking 80 is a blessing, I meant that I
crossed many hurdles in life like the ones you
mentioned. I spent nine months in the hospital
because of a bullet wound I sustained at the war
front. I went through eight corrective surgeries
and when I came out of it, I didn’t feel like I lost
anything. It is a way of life for soldiers and every
soldier should know that the possibility of losing
his life anytime is there. What one should pray
for is that even if he loses his life, it should be for
a good cause, not incidents like getting killed by
armed robbers.
What have you not told anyone before about
why you opted for the Army?
If I say that becoming a soldier was deliberate,
I am being economical with the truth. As a young
person, I loved Boy Scout. In primary school,
our teachers taught us that a Scout is to be trusted.
I used to see my uncle, who went to Burma and I
admired him. He was a hunter and looked like a
brave man to me. The things he told us he saw in
Burma made me admired his bravery. After the
Second World War, soldiers used to move around
in our village. Their smartness left an impression
on young people at the time. We felt that if they
could be that smart, we could be smarter. In
secondary school, my life was an outdoor life.
When I left secondary school, I was at UTC
Ibadan and saw some young officers who were
shopping. I summoned the courage to talk to
them to know who they were. They were just very
smart. I was at the Ministry of Agriculture when
I saw an advert for recruitment in the newspaper
and felt that joining the army would not be a bad
idea. In the advert, they stated that we would be
trained in Nigeria and abroad. It was also stated
that we would earn six pounds per annum. If I
had not made it, I would have gone back to sit for
my A-Level. For me, there was really nothing to
lose, it was a gamble that was worth it.
Of the 35 who went for the military training,
15 made it and you were among. How did you
make it?
The selection board was very strict.
I can say that I was better than the 20 who
didn’t make it. I think it was because we had only
15 vacancies. Five people were sent to Sandhurst
while 10 were sent to Mons Officer Cadet School.
There were people among the 20 who could have
made good officers. There was also a chance for
those who failed to go to the Army as corporals
because of the training they had. I don’t think
many of them stayed. They all went back to
school.
In your days in the Army, you were
recognised as a master strategist. You were
credited to have advised the federal troops
against crossing the River Niger and other
missions. What is it about you?
It was not because anyone is smarter or cleverer.
When issues came to a head, I stood my ground.
Where we all differ was that some people were
not able to stand their ground. It is not because
they didn’t know but the risks of certain things
attached to doing so, scared them away. During
the civil war, we were too young for most of the
things we were doing. I was only a major when I
was already a brigade commander. I should be
commanding a company as a major, not even a
battalion. But that was the situation we found
ourselves. Experience is one thing, knowledge is
also very important. Most of us involved in the
prosecution had enough knowledge but lacked
experience. Some people were not strong enough
to stand their ground. I think that was the only
difference between others and I. There were a lot
of my peers who could have done much better.
The problem I had then was that most of the
people who could not stand up to speak were my
seniors. I considered it as lack of guts. If you
know what should be done, stick to it and suffer
the consequences. But in my case, most of the
people who could have been hard on me were
my friends. Even when I left my base for Lagos to
meet the Commander-in-Chief (Gowon), he
didn’t drive me away. He could have done that.
Most of the people making the major decisions
then were not properly instructed. We had a
hierarchy but the people at the top either in the
Army Headquarters or the Supreme
Headquarters were not tough on us. They were
not putting their feet down to say that people
ought not to have done certain things. People just
did what they liked at the war front. That was the
atmosphere that pervaded at the time.
During your time, did you envisage that
soldiers would be in power for a long time?
The Army and politics do not even mix. There
was no such thinking. There is a big wedge
between the military and political governance.
As someone who played active roles in the
Nigeria-Biafra War, could the civil war have
been averted?
The soldiers are the worst people to have
handled the confused situation we found
ourselves at the time. It was a situation that could
have been handled through political
manoeuvering. When the military got involved,
they started using force instead of talking to the
civilians. The soldiers were in charge when things
became very bad and they made the wrong
decisions. Those wrong decisions made the war
last longer than expected. The problems of that
time were political problems that ought to have
been solved by politicians. The closest I had gone
to a politician before 1964, was when a friend of
mine who was a Lieutenant and I, visited an
uncle of his who was a politician. He also had
another uncle who was a parliamentary secretary.
One of them had a car which we usually borrowed
from him to go to the night club. We did that
three times but on the third occasion, we got
Akinrinade
drunk after partying and slept off at the officers’
quarters. In the morning, our adjutant saw the
car which was not a registered car in the
barracks. When he made his findings and found
out that we parked the car, we were punished.
That was the closest I had been to a politician
before military incursion into politics. The
country would have been different if there was
no military rule. The soldiers are not supposed
to leave their barracks. It is only when the Police
are incapable of performing their functions that
the Army would be called to temporarily restore
order. We were not trained to sit down in the
State House to govern the people. We are part
of the people that should be governed.
Apart from the things in the public domain,
is there anything you have not said about the
shortness of your tenure as the Chief of Army
Staff?
It was the Nigerian problem. There was this
thing about people looking for who they know
and who they can trust. There was the argument
that a Yoruba man should not be made the Chief
of Army Staff at the time.
Was that also the reason, the late Brigadier-
General Ogundipe did not succeed Gen
Aguiyi Ironsi as the most senior military
officer?
It was the confusion that drove the politicians
out of governance and brought the military.
There was a continuation of that struggle. It
was a struggle between the Yoruba, Igbo, and
Hausa. Later, they said it was Hausa-Fulani. It
was just a continuation of the mistrust among
the people at the time. The armed forces
hemorrhaged more than any other institution
at the time because of that problem.
Talking about the surrender of Biafra, what
During the civil war, we
were too young for most of
the things we were doing; I
was only a major when I was
already a brigade
commander; I should be
commanding a company as a
major, not even a battalion;
most of us involved in the
prosecution had enough
knowledge but lacked
experience
Photo: Kehinde Gbadamosi
led to it? And how true is it that you and Major
Tomoye were the ones Biafrans surrendered to
at Amichi, not Obasanjo?
Gen. Alabi Isama’s account was correct. Alabi
was in the 3rd Division but things became tough.
Both of us decided to leave the 3rd Division because
we had enough of Adekunle. We also thought that
leaving him there was unfair because Adekunle
fought so hard and was so dreaded. But the law of
diminishing returns naturally set in and he started
getting irrational. When you are commanding
human beings, each time you make a mistake, it
costs human lives. That kind of mistake is even
worse than a political mistake. That was the reason
we decided that if the Commander-in-Chief was
not removing us, we would leave. We now
persuaded the Commander-in-Chief to change
him and bring Gen. Obasanjo. We went to Ibadan
to convince Obasanjo to take over the 3rd Division
from Adekunle. We told him that if anyone else
who is not Yoruba took over the 3rd Division, the
person would not succeed. Unfortunately, that was
the setting at the time. These are dirty stories. Gen.
Obasanjo agreed and came. I think he was scared
to have Isama and I with him. He knew me a little
better than Isama. He asked that Isama be posted
out. That was how Isama left for the 1st Division.
Ending the war
The tactics we finally used in ending the war
was a document that Alabi Isama and I prepared.
We spent days and nights preparing it because the
last time we were with Adekunle, he showed that
he was becoming distrustful of us. He was not
happy with some of the things he thought we were
doing. He felt that we no longer believed him.
That was how he posted us out of his headquarters.
Alabi Isama was in the 3rd Sector while I was in
the 2nd Sector. That was another mistake he
made. The two sectors were adjacent to each other.
Alabi Isama was in Uyo, I was in Aba. Ayo Ariyo,
who was our classmate but much older than us
was in Calabar. He put someone else in the 1st
Division. The person was our senior but we didn’t
get along with him. I served with him in the 2nd
Division. When I quarreled with my GOC, he was
there sitting down and said nothing. They were
just sitting down and allowing the GOC to do
whatever he wanted. When he ended up in the 3rd
Division, I didn’t want to do anything with him.
What they didn’t know was that we had stabilised
our side. It was the work both of us had done that
we used in ending the war. We told ourselves that
finishing the war was not difficult. We presented
the plan to Adekunle. Whether he studied it or not,
we were not sure. All he wrote on the plan was
“this is tactics lesson one, when am I expecting the
next tuition?” That was how we left him and
returned to our sectors. It was the plan that we
Continues on Page 43

Vanguard, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2019 —43
Continued from Page 42
brushed up and we didn’t tell Obasanjo that we
were going to execute it. We went ahead to execute
it because we were tired of being in the front. It
was a war that should have lasted for one year.
But it lasted for 30 months. That was why he
knew so much about what we did even though
he ,Obasanjo, was no more there. Tomoye was
there.
As an actor, what were the lessons you
learned from the war?
War should be the last thing on anybody’s
mind. Recently I read articles where some people
said they want Yoruba nation while Indigenous
People of Biafra, IPOB, said it wants Biafra. Why
can’t we sit down and discuss the contentious
issues? Telling me that they want to fight a war is
unbelievable. I don’t know of any country that
survived two civil wars. Did they see the carnage
brought by the last one? Are they saying that
things won’t be worse than the last one if we start
another war?
When you retired at 41 in 1981, one of the
reasons you left the Army was your
disappointment over what you termed the
failure of the Shagari government to foster a
better relationship between the Army, Air
Force and Navy. You said it is the responsibility
of the Chief of Defence Staff to moderate what
was happening in the Armed Forces. Today,
there are reports about rivalry among the
leadership of these major components of the
Armed Forces to the detriment of the security
of lives and property. What can you say about
that?
I think they cooperate among themselves. I
know they have task forces. They are efficient to
the extent of equipment and training they get. I
was the first Chief of Defence Staff. Things ought
to have been laid down. It is the first line to advise
the Commander-in-Chief. The Commander-in-
Chief has free access to all his service chiefs. In
the case of then President Shehu Shagari, he
was not an ex-soldier. He was never in the Armed
Forces. It would be bad if his Chief of Defence
Staff does not protect it. It was important for his
Chief of Defence Staff to know what was really
going on to be able to make decisions that would
make everyone live safely. The Chief of Defence
Staff was supposed to regulate other service
chiefs but for him to start calling the chiefs by
himself and buying equipment for them, was
something that could lead to a wrong result.
These are the jobs of the Chief of Defence Staff.
Saying that because you have a personal
relationship with the Chief of Army Staff, you
would bypass the Chief of Defence Staff is wrong.
If he comes to you at night and says that he
wants to buy three hoes and five cutlasses, would
you accept that because he is your boy? I don’t
like to sit back and watch things go the wrong
way. I couldn’t have done that or assumed that it
is their business. It is the business of all of us.
When the trouble starts, all of us would be in
trouble. Sometimes, civilian governments feel
their Chief of Staff is very pompous. There was
even the feeling that one was an Awolowo boy. I
had the time to appropriately inform all of them
that I was leaving. I went to the house of the
Commander-in-Chief to inform him that I was
leaving. He said no and asked people to
persuade me to stay. I really didn’t know why I
had to stay. He finally agreed and said he was
not happy that everybody he sent to me did not
succeed in convincing me. Nobody was there
when I decided to join the Army, why should you
make it your business when I decided to leave?
When Shagari told me that he was not happy I
was leaving, I also told him I was not happy.
On Shagari
I told him that I saw them as a band of people
who want to get together and commit suicide. I
added that I was not ready to commit suicide
with anybody. I thought that would have opened
the vista for a big discussion between both of us
but he didn’t ask any question. On the day I was
leaving, he graciously gave me a luncheon that
had the National Party of Nigeria, NPN,
chieftains in attendance. I asked him if he would
permit me to make a remark and he obliged. I
wrote a three-minute speech because I wanted it
to be documented. I thanked everyone and told
him that I enjoyed working with him. I told him
that I delivered on the mandate he gave me. I
succeeded in keeping the soldiers in the barracks.
I said the only thing that was going to keep them
in that barracks was good governance. Some
people were not too happy I said such a thing
•Akinrinade
How we drafted plan that
ended Nigeria-Biafra war
— AKINRINADE
but I felt there was no need holding anything
back.
In 1976 when Dimka killed the Head of State,
Gen. Murtala Mohammed, you made a
statement that foiled the coup. You were
credited to have said that what was happening
in Lagos didn’t affect other parts of Nigeria.
How were you able to do so during those
tensed moments?
I feel one should be able to live with his
conviction. If that is what people call courage, I
don’t agree. It is a matter of me telling you where
I stand on any issue. There were a lot of stories
about the incident that people didn’t actually
get right. I was in Lagos for a conference and the
event was to start at 10 am on the day of the
coup. Alabi Isama and I were supposed to make
a presentation at the conference because he was
the Principal General Staff Officer in the Army.
I was only a GOC in Kaduna. He was to make
the presentation but he asked me to work on the
script. I had seen the draft and we agreed that I
would be in the office before 6:30 am so that we
can conclude. That was the reason I was in his
office that morning. The office was located in
Marina. We were there in the morning when we
heard a voice on the radio announcing the coup.
When we listened carefully, Alabi Isama said:
“that is my officer, Dimka.” We knew him very
well. We tried to make calls but it was not possible
we had to wait till seven. The Chief of Staff
arrived early because he was to sit at the
conference and needed us to brief him about
what we were going to present. We went to his
office and told him that there was a coup. He
had a radio in his office and heard the news. At
that point, he said we needed to get out of the
place. There was a debate on whether to operate
It was the work both of
us had done that we used
in ending the war. We
told ourselves that
finishing the war was
not difficult. We
presented the plan to
Adekunle. Whether he
studied it or not, we were
not sure
from the headquarters. We agreed to get out so
that we can go and take over the units. The
nearest was Bonny Camp. Some said we should
get into our cars and fly our flags. We felt all the
coup plotters would do was to shoot all of us. We
decided to go to Bonny Camp.
Now, on the Dimka coup, were there signs
that some officers could strike against Murtala
Mohammed?
No! I was around at the time. I was not around
when the first and second coups in 1966
happened. I was not in the country. I was in
America, sitting in the classroom without
knowledge of what was happening in the country.
The day the second coup happened was the day
I was supposed to arrive in the country. I had
already boarded Pan-American Airlines only to
find out that we could not land in Lagos. We
were not given any reason. Those of us going to
Lagos were asked to disembark the aircraft. I
found myself on the street of America with my
briefcase. Even as we were abroad, we had the
feeling that something was going to happen
against Ironsi. What it was, and when it would
happen were things I didn’t know. For Murtala,
we were just settling down. Much had not
happened, except that some of us were scared
that we were decimating the civil service. Even
the armed forces itself was beginning to suffer.
But there was no such feeling that our
Commander-in-Chief was doing the wrong
thing. Some of us felt that it may end up with
bad results because we can’t do without a good
civil service.
Supreme Military Council
Eventually, the Supreme Military Council was
forced to do a recording of all the things that
happened. A committee was set up to know why
some people were thrown out of office overnight
while others were retired. The committee was
about to submit its report when Murtala was
killed. The report was never made public. I think
Gen. Obasanjo didn’t like the findings of the
committee. A lot of people lost their jobs and
positions for no reason but it is better not to kill
one man unjustly. On the Gowon coup, his
removal was possible because the soldiers in the
barracks were fed up and were crying that they
had been neglected. That was the reason, not
corruption or other reasons adduced. If they are
talking of corruption, which Gowon was
involved in corruption? If people were pilfering
under him, that was a different thing. But Gowon
was not given to hammering peoples’ heads. I
used to tell him that I know he is the son of a
priest but he should also remember that God
himself destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. He
is too nice.
What was the tension between Murtala and
Gen. Bisala?
I don’t know but both of them were classmates.
They were my seniors at Sandhurst. They had
spent one and a half years before I joined them.
I only spent my first two terms with them. I am
not too sure. I heard some things like promotion
and better appointments.
What about Obasanjo’s appointment as
Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters?
I think he got there because Murtala was a
northerner, while he is a Southerner. As usual,
merit was not considered. It was the same
nonsense practice of using a Christian and a
Muslim without considering merit. I was not
around when he was appointed. I missed that
coup also.
Your time as a minister in the regime of Gen.
Ibrahim Babangida was short. Why was it so?
There was the Council of Ministers and the
Armed Forces Ruling Council, AFRC. The
highest decisions were made at the AFRC which
was a body of soldiers. When the AFRC was
making its decisions contrary to what the
Council of Ministers would want to stand for,
those who have respect for themselves decided
to leave. That was when I left. I am too close to
IBB, his wife, and other family members to be
quarreling with him. I couldn’t have been going
to his house to be quarrelling with him every
day. That was why I left. That was why Bola
Ajibola left also.
What is the problem of Afenifere?
Afenifere is still what it is. It is still a collection
of people of all ages from all walks of life, who
are speaking Yoruba. Part of the problem is that
we are not breaking out of a cocoon and getting
entangled in a philosophy that is difficult to
realise. For instance, I was in Kaduna in 1979
when Chief Awolowo came to campaign for the
presidency. I just came back to Kaduna from the
Staff College. I was interested in catching up
with what was happening. He was asked where
he was going to get the resources to fund the free
education that he was always talking about. The
old man said if the population of Nigeria at the
time should be brought to America and the
American population brought to Nigeria, our
country would become like America in five years.
He said that was the value of the population. I
also know that because of politics people are
saying that there should be free education at all
levels. Apart from Cuba, no country has ever
done it. We are just leaning on a philosophy that
cannot work in the present time. It was possible
at the time of Awolowo because the population
was small and the earning of the Western Region
could sustain it. Where are the philosophers?
The old man who started Afenifere was a
philosopher and a realist. He looked at his
people in the face and told them what should be
done. Ibadan opposed free education, making
Awolowo say that it was no longer compulsory.
If you are nudging people in one direction and
you are hitting a brick wall, you should change
direction. That is why some people are not
playing active roles.
On Obasanjo
He was my senior in the army and he is also
older than me. We were both farmers. The only
advice I have for him is that he should stop writing
letters. He should not be making public
statements that could be inflammatory. He was
there before. Let him check his records. He should
do that before throwing stones.
Going by the utterances of some northern
political leaders, it seems the north is bent on
retaining power in 2023. What do you make of
such maneuverings and what may be the likely
effects if power does not shift to the South in
2023?
If the intention is for real service, I don’t think
we would be having this conversation on power
shift. In real service, everything one has is
dedicated to it. I don’t think all these politicians
would be making that kind of noise. I just hope
that we would get out of the woods one day. To
get Nigeria moving, someone has to come out
to stop ethnicity and religious sentiments. Does
the religion or tribe of a President matter? The
moment the argument started, I knew we are in
a big trouble. We are in for a long night.

44 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2019
General Akinrinade @ 80
He represents
the
best of a true
Nigerian
brand: intelligent,
brave
and resilient
By SENATOR MUSA ADEDE
LT-General (rtd.) Alani Julius Ipoola
Akinrinade is 80 today. The drums
will roll out at the International Conference
Centre,University of Ibadan today for
the celebration of this elder statesman
who is a rare hero and a great soldier.
Humble and modest, he was born on
October 3, 1939 at Yakoyo near Ile Ife,
Osun State old Oyo State. He attended
Offa Grammar School for his secondary
education (1954–1958).
He worked at the Ministry of Agriculture
in the Western Region, Ibadan (1959–
1960). Joining the army, he began officer
cadet training at the Royal Nigeria Military
Forces Training College, Kaduna in
April 1960, then went to the Royal Military
Academy Sandhurst in the United
Kingdom (August 1960).
He was commissioned as a second lieutenant
in the Infantry Corps on 20 December
1962. Later he took the Infantry Officer
Career/Airborne Course in the USA (August
1965 - July 1966), attended Staff
College Camberley (January - December
1971) and attended the Royal College of
Defence Studies in the United Kingdom
(January - December 1978).
Lt-General Akinrinade rose steadily
through the ranks. He was promoted lieutenant
on 29 March 1963, captain on 29
March 1965; major on 10 June 1967; lieutenant
colonel on 11 May 1968; colonel
on 1 October 1972; brigadier general on
1 October 1974 and major general on 1
January 1976.
He held various infantry appointments,
becoming commander of the Ibadan Garrison
(1970–1971) and GOC of 1 Infantry
Division (1975–1979). He was a member
of the Supreme Military Council during
the military regime of General Murtala
Muhammed and Olusegun Obasanjo
(1975–1979).
He was promoted to lieutenant general
on 2 October 1979 and appointed Chief
of Army Staff, and then became Chief of
Defence Staff in 1980, during the civilian
administration
of Alhaji
S h e h u
Shagari. He
voluntarily
retired from
service with
effect from 2
October
1981.
After retirement,
Akinrinade
engaged
in
large-scale farming and was chairman of
Niger Feeds and Agriculture Operations
(1982–1985). In General Ibrahim Babangida’s
government he was appointed
Minister of Agriculture, Water Resources
and Rural Development (1985–1986),
Minister of Industries (1988 - February
1989) and Minister of Transport (1989).
He became a member of the National
Democratic Coalition, NADECO, a prodemocracy
group, during the Sani
Abacha regime.
The 2014 National Conference was inaugurated
by the Nigerian President Dr.
Goodluck Ebele Jonathan on 17 March
2014 in Abuja, Nigeria. There were about
492 delegates that represented a crosssection
of Nigerians, including the professional
bodies group. The Conference
was headed by retired Chief Justice Idris
Legbo Kutigi.
Following a plenary session that lasted
for weeks, the Conference was broken into
20 committees that included Public Finance
and Revenue, among others. Lt-
General Akinrinade was a member of National
Security Committee. He distinguished
himself in that committee.
My discussions and meetings with General
Akinrinade on Dr. Amos Akingba and
others are what I still cherish till today.
The Conference allowed me the golden
•Lt. Gen. Alani Akinrinade
opportunity of meeting prominent Nigerians
who are concerned about the future
of this country. If the recommendations
of the conference, especially the committee’s
report on transportation and security,
had been implemented, I am sure
Boko Haram, kidnapping and other
security challenges we have today, could
have been avoided.
As our country marked its 59th anniversary
of independence, time is also
ripe to celebrate one of the best compatriots
who worked, in concert with other
eminent Nigerians, to build the foundation
for our great nation.
Without a doubt, the elder statesman,
who shares birth month with independent
Nigeria, may not be too proud with
the shoddy state of affairs in the country
today, particularly in the areas of
national security, national unity and economic
growth.
These fault-lines were not in the
dream of those who fought in the trenches
and at global symposia to keep Nigeria
one as a united force in Africa and
among the comity of nations worldwide.
With deep insight into hindsight, history
has always counted Lt-General Akinrinade
on the side of the rule of law,
good governance and greater good for
the majority of citizens.
Rough road
to victory
At the risk to personal safety and comfort,
this defender of democracy and
people’s marshal, Lt-General Akinrinade
emboldened the army of anti-military
rule under the umbrella of NADE-
CO. Their struggle yielded fruit with the
enthronement of the fourth civilian administration
led by former President
Olusegun Obasanjo in 1999.
But the road to victory was very rough.
Even tough men like Lt-General Akinrinade
had to go into exile, without giving
up on the war for emancipation of
Nigerians from the clutch of military dictatorship,
under the late General Sani
Abacha junta. Some heroes and heroines
of the struggle died in the ‘battlefield’.
Throughout his four scores of satisfactory
existence, the urbane and humane
statesman, has carried with him an epaulette
of honesty, integrity, patriotism
and mega philanthropy.
Brave men like Lt-General Akinrinade
are a rare breed. He represents the best
of a true Nigerian brand: intelligent,
brave and resilient.
Once again, as the soldier-democrat
joins the league of sages, generations
coming behind should invest time to
read up books by this great mentor, and
emulate his versatility and creativity -
both in the realms of industry and politics.
Finally, General Alani Ipoola
Akinrinade(CFR, Fss) deserves a golden
place in our national hall of fame.
Let’s light 80 candles to a knight in shining
armour.
Long live the People’s General and
long •Adede live was the a Federal Senator of Republic the Federal of
Nigeria. Republic of Nigeria, 1999 - 2003.
ALANI AKINRINADE: A life of many
battles
By Sola Lawal
THE troop commanded by Akinrinade
“ was well educated, disciplined, courageous
and polite”.
This was how American diplomatic dispatch
of 1968 partly summed up its take on the Nigerian
civil war. The document was declassified
earlier in the year 2019. Like most others, the
war was signposted by vicious carnage and,
according to the Americans, quantum importation
of foreign mercenaries paid to inflict
maximum pain and death. Alani Ipoola Akinrinade,
then a lieutenant, was 30.
Akinrinade, as a Major in the Nigerian Army,
commanded the 6th Brigade. The brigade
played a decisive role in the October 1967
Midwest campaign. He had a second in command
in an older Tiv officer. The men of this
command are mostly Yoruba, Tiv, and Ijaw.
Very instructive, 50 years down the line in
April 2017, General Akinrinade,retd, lampooned
the war in these unsparing words: “The
Igbo felt at that time that nobody wanted them.If
we want to tell the truth, there was a reason for
the Igbo to secede. They had good reasons.
Maybe if all of us were not so angry, we would
have sat down and soothed them and done something
better than Aburi, which could have been
acceptable to all of us. Everything was done
out of bad faith on both sides. We were damn
unreasonable”
This scathing commentary on the war by no
less a personality as one who was not only a
direct witness to it but also an active participant
at the battlefield disturbed many calm
waters across the nation. But then that is General
Alani Akinrinade. He was never reluctant
to chest salvo. He will not likewise hesitate to
deploy one. Even as he turns 80 today, he swallows
bullets as much as he spits fire.
51 years ago in 1968, he twice walked out on
his superiors at the battlefield on account of his
disagreements with their military campaign
tactics which he either considered disastrous
or too brazenly suicidal.
In the early part of the war, then Col. Murtala
Muhammed [now late] had a bitter taste of
Akinrinade’s combustive side. The latter was
the former’s subordinate. Lieutenant Colonel
Akinrinade was Commanding Officer, Sixth
Brigade, Nigerian Army Second Division headed
by Colonel Muhammed. Twice Muhammed
ordered his troops on an operation
across Niger Bridge under different commanders.
On both occasions, the mission ended in a
spiraling disaster. Akinrinade queried Muhammed’s
strategy. So when Muhammed attempted
to have him lead a third move on the
bridge, Akinrinade refused and left.
Even at the Third Marine Commando Division
led by the then Colonel Benjamin Adekunle
that received Akinriande after his faceoff
with Muhammed, quarrel over tactics split
Akinrinade and his boss, Adekunle. As commander
Sector Two, Akinrinade led successful
operation in Aba and Owerri. Then Black Scorpion,
as Adekunle was fearfully called, started
behaving dangerously. Akinrinade left and only
returned when Obasanjo took over the command.
Akinrinade is known to have saved hundreds
of unarmed civilians from rampaging soldiers
in Asaba axis and elsewhere. A case in point
was his life-saving engagement at St Patrick
College Asaba where he effectively protected
staff and refugees.
Akinrinade’s primary preoccupation during
the war was to help bring the “senseless” engagement
to an end as quickly as possible. This
was the recurring decimal in all his actions on
the battlefield. The eventual end of the war featured
prominently Akinrinade’s hands. It was
the duo of Akinrinade who was then General
Staff Officer One, 3 MCD, and Major S. Tomoye,
then Commanding Officer, 17 BDE who
led others to Amichi to meet General Phillip
Effiong following surrender by Colonel Joe
Achuzia. Contrary to the widely held opinion
which holds that Obasanjo deserves all the encomiums,
he was only brought into the equation
after Akinrinade sealed the deal.
Born on October 3, 1939, at the rustic agrarian
Yakoyo community in Ile Ife, Osun State,
he attended Offa Grammar School for his secondary
education. Before then he did his standard
school stage in his local Origbo Division
of Ife where his exceptional brilliance saw him
enjoying double promotion twice as he skipped
Standard two and Standard four. He thereafter
took an appointment with the Ministry of
Agriculture in the Western Region before joining
the military. He trained at the Royal Nigeria
Military Forces Training College in Kaduna
in April 1960. He proceeded to the prestigious
Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in
the United Kingdom. He was subsequently
commissioned as Second Lieutenant in the
Infantry Corps on December 20, 1962.
He joined the military same day with the
likes of General Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma,
Brigadier David Bamigboye, Brigadier General
Alabi Isama and Major General Emmanuel
Abisoye among other notables. By the time
The fighter in Akinrinade took
charge as he joined forces with
democracy agitators in the country.
He became one of the most
enduring, rallying personalities
in the National Democratic Coalition
(NADECO)
the Nigerian civil war broke in 1967, Akinrinade
was Lieutenant Colonel. He got deployed
as Commanding Officer, Sixth Brigade, Nigerian
Army Second Division under Colonel
Murtala Muhammed.
When in 1979, the military withdrew to the
barracks paving the way for civilian rule, a
host of Akinrinade colleagues were retired in
what many saw as a consequence of their political
contamination, having either participated
in coups or benefitted from military incursions
into government. A fine officer and gentleman,
Akinrinade was never for once soiled
by antidemocratic tendencies even at a time
bloody military intervention in governance
was two for a penny across the African continent.
Akinrinade enjoyed the rare privilege of
being the only member of the then Supreme
Military Council left behind to help stabilise
the nascent civilian regime of Alhaji Shehu
Shagari. He served as Chief of Staff. Then as
Chief of Defence Staff. He voluntarily retired
on October 2, 1981 to embrace large scale
farming, his first love.
He was called out of retirement by General
Ibraheem Babangida to serve as Minister of
Agriculture, Water Resources and Rural Development
and later as Industries Minister and
then Transport in 1989.
His love for popular rule, fairness, justice,
and equality saw him dumping the military
President the moment Babangida dealt mortal
blow on democracy by annulling the nation’s
freest presidential election won by late
multimillionaire philanthropist, Moshood
Abiola.
The fighter in Akinrinade took charge as he
joined forces with democracy agitators in the
country. He became one of the most enduring,
rallying personalities in the National Democratic
Coalition (NADECO). His stridently
stinging battle cry inflamed discomfort in the
gang against democracy. His Opebi Lagos
home was bombed. He sought refuge in exile.
In NADECO, Akinrinade shared action and
vision in the struggle with all-time giants like
late Pa Abraham Adesanya, Uncle Bola Ige of
blessed memory, Pa Ayo Adebayo et al. Once
again the advent of the ongoing democratic
experiment in 1998 saw Akinrinade in dispute
with NADECO leadership over whether or not
the group should partake in the transition programme
being midwifed by the departing military
brass hats.
Major opinion among former NADECO
members favoured participation, but the dissenting
group headed by Akinrinade, late Dr.
Fredrick Fasheun and Dr. Amos Akingba
among others were of the view that participation
without addressing germane issues of restructuring
of the federation would be akin to
scratching the issue on the surface. Unfolding
events afterwards vindicated the Akinrinade
group.
Irrespective of the color or texture of the battle,
Akinrinade is on the turf. Be it the military
type face-off or political confrontation or social
activism, all are fair for the Yakoyo born
general.

VANGUARD, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2019 —45
japhdave@yahoo.com
08066625505
CBN extends lifeline to National Arts Theatre
By Japhet Davidson
NATIONAL
Theatre,
Iganmu, Lagos, an architectural
masterpiece and a cultural
landmark constructed
during the military regime of
Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo, for
the preservation, presentation
and promotion of Arts and
Culture in the country for
sometime now, has been in the
news, because of government’s
plan to give it to private developers
for onward development
and management.
The edifice covering an area
of about 23,000 square meters
and standing well over 31
meters tall, is one of the historical
tour destination in Lagos
and an ideal tourist destination
for Private and Group
tours.
But, recent developments
has revealed that the national
monument which has a 5,000-
seater Main Hall with a collapsible
stage and two capacity
cinema halls equipped with
state-of-the art facilities including
mechanism for simultaneous
translation of activities
into 8 languages is not
bringing the expected returns.
Though, previous administrations
have tried to breath
fresh air to the facility, such
efforts have not yielded the
desired result, which makes
various agencies sharing the
complex to doubt any information
supplied on the place, especially,
the way the contracts
are signed and handled.
Over the years, there had
been several attempts to privatise
the Arts Theatre due to
its state of disrepair arising
from poor funding, neglect and
poor management by the Federal
Government. In 2010,
former President Olusegun
Obasanjo tried to sell it off, but
that sparked controversy
amongst Nigerian entertainers
and playwrights like Prof. Wole
Soyinka. Again on December
30, 2014, it was reported that
the facility has been sold to a
Dubai-based conglomerate for
the sum of $40million, and that
the building will be converted
to a duty-free shopping mall.
All these moves were resisted
by stakeholders in the arts and
culture industry.
No matter how one views the
moves to privatise the National
Theatre building, the fact remains
that there has been a
slow-down in the development
of theatre in Lagos, which was
once the centre of artistic creativity
in the country.
That the National Arts Theatre
has to be sold outright, or
given out to a private entity to
run, is overdue. The national
edifice is now a shadow of its
old self and something must
be done to urgently halt its further
decay. Hence, the recent
approval by President
Muhammadu Buhari that the
National Arts Theatre be
handed over to the CBN and
the Bankers Committee for the
purpose of creating 800,000
jobs is a welcome development.
With the announcement, the
Central Bank of Nigeria
(CBN) and other banks will
commence the implementation
of the N22 billion creative industry
initiative which will
*National Theatre,Iganmu
enable them takeover of the
national edifice and 40 acre of
land around it.
According to the Governor of
the Central Bank of Nigeria,
CBN, Mr. Godwin Emefiele,
who disclosed this recently in
Lagos while speaking at the
Creative Nigeria Summit, said
similar parks would be located
in Kano, Port Harcourt or
By Japhet Davidson
IN continuation of the trend set
from the beginning of the Festival
13 years ago to ensure the
highest level of integrity and excellence
in the judging process
by appointing the very best of
practitioners, scholars and curators
in contemporary art in Nigeria
with occasional inclusion of
foreign experts into the jury
panel, so that only the indisputable
best of our young artists
emerge from the exercise every
year, the Board of Trustees of the
youth empowerment NGO Life
In My City Art Festival (LIMCAF)
2019 has approved the recommendations
of the Central Organising
Committee for the appointment
of the Members of the
National Jury Panel 2019 with Mr.
Nsikak Essien as Chairman.
Nsikak Essien is one of the best
known full time studio artists of
his generation. He was a founding
member of the famous AKA
Circle of Exhibiting Artists which
included other stalwarts such as
El Anatsui, Bona Ezeudu, Obiora
Anidi and the late great Okpu Eze
among others. He studied art at
the Insititute of Management and
Technology Enugu, graduating
with Distinction in Painting as
Best Overall Graduate and winner
of the Fasuyi Best National
Art Graduate in Painting in 1979.
After an eleven year stint as lecturer
in his alma mater from 1980
to 1991, Essien opted for fulltime
studio work, from which he has
continued to enchant the world
of art lovers with acclaimed productions
shown in solo and
group exhibitions including permanent
ones in many very highly
visible venues.
A statement issued at the end
of the meeting by Dr. Ayo
Adewunmi, Art Director of the
Festival noted that the appoint-
Enugu.
He said: “With the kind
support of President
Muhammadu Buhari and the
Lagos State government, the
National Arts Theatre,
Iganmu, Lagos, is expected to
serve as the initial pilot for the
Creative Industry Park in Nigeria.
The aim is to develop
the 40 acre creative industry
park around the National Arts
Theatre, including giving the
theatre itself tremendous
facelift, thereby reopening the
tourism potential it offered
during the FESTAC 77 arts
culture.”
On his part, chairman of the
Board of Bank CEOs, Mr.
Herbert Wigwe, “the Creative
Industry Initiative, which is
Nsikak Essien heads LIMCAF 2019 national jury
*Nsikak Essien
ment of Essien is in continuation
of the trend set from the beginning
of the Festival 13 years
ago.
The statement noted that in the
last three years a deliberate policy
directed by the Board of Trustees
had also resulted in the inclusion
of younger talents from the pool
of past overall winners who have
distinguished themselves and
advanced their careers notably
further, to join the regional and
the national jury panels. The aim
is to ensure continuity and help
build leadership in the Nigeria
art landscape both in academia
as well as among studio practitioners
and in the art industry
generally. Adewunmi added that
LIMCAF’s in this regard is to
continue to contribute significantly
to the robust growth of the
art industry in Nigeria.
Other members of the National
Jury 2019 include: Mr. Sam
Enwerem replies crtics with Omalicha
By Elizabeth Uwandu
FOR controversial perform
ing poet, Graciano
Enwerem popularly called
Grraciano, Nigeria seemed
not to really appreciate the
power and splendor of spoken
words poetry. And the
need to promote this genre of
poetry led to the release of
Omalicha, a single track album
with Jeremiah Gyang.
The multiple award-winning
Nigerian poet, writer,
teacher and media consultant,
said Omalicha’s birth is
to slam critics who taunted
him for doing controversial
poems that expose political
ills in the country.
According to him, “
Omalicha is my reply to critics
who taunted me for writing,
performing serious/didactic
sociopolitical poems. It
is not an EP or Album. It’s
just the title of a track.
aimed at unlocking the creative
talents of Nigerian youths,
was designed to generate
800,000 jobs in the movie,
music and fashion sectors, as
well as increase the revenue
of the industry by $300 million.
“The banking industry,
through the initiative which
would be implemented over a
five-year period, would support
the development of 50
additional cinemas, and increase
the contribution of the
movie industry to the nation’s
Gross Domestic Product, GDP,
to three percent from the current
level of one percent, he
added.”
With adequate funding and
prudent management, the
National Arts Theatre, Iganmu,
Lagos which represents one of
the most identifiable national
symbols about Nigeria arts and
culture at home and abroad
that hosted the Festival of Arts
and Culture (FESTAC) in 1977,
and a good number of film
shows, symposia, exhibitions,
international concerts,
dramas,conventions, workshops
and even sports in the
past is bound to be a money
spinner for the country as well
as a monument of national
pride.
Ovraiti, a consumer artist and a
notable Nigerian artist from the
Auchi colourist school,Erasmus
Onyishi, an experimentalist and
one of the ten artists presented
by El Anatsui in the controversial
“New Energies” exhibition in
2001, Klaranze Okhide, a Nigerian
Visual Artist and Educator
and Dr Lasisi Lamidi, of Sculpture
from Ahmadu Bello University,
Zaria.
These distinguished members
of the Jury Panel will be joined
later by a nominee of the French
Cultural Institue . He also gratefully
acknowledged the role and
support of our other sponsors and
donors including especially
MTN and First Bank Holdings.
“Omalicha shall be added to
the album I call, The
NeoClasSICK YOUth that I
shall release 2nd quarter of
next year. For now, I believe
the country needs an art piece
that would help them laugh,
dance and unwind in this political
times.” he said.
Speaking on his plan for
spoken word poetry, the author
of spoken word poetry-
101reieterated that, “ My
plan from the dugout of my
career as a Spoken word poet
is to push poetry to mainstream
media through collaboration.
Few years ago, I
noticed that this can be done
if there are more people doing
poetry the way a lot of
people would understand and
enjoy it (because mainstream
is the game of numbers) and
if we as poets collaborate with
those whose art (music, comedy
and/or visual art) are already
there, spoken words
poetry will be a great form of
literary work. “he added.
He also noted that art remained
a veritable tool for social
change and emancipation.
His words, “ The relevance
of arts cannot be overemphasized.
Contrary to
popular opinion, I don’t
wholly believe that the arts is
just an imitation of life. I enjoy
to think that the relationship
between the arts and the
life of a society is symbiotic as
sometimes, life copies from
the arts too. Most of the realities
we see in the society were
copied from the arts. They’re
mere representations and
sometimes, misrepresentations
of what was imagined
and composed by the artistes
in our societies or distant
climes brought close by some
technologies.

46—Vanguard, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2019
vanguardnews
@vanguardnews
Why Buhari moved NSIP from
Osinbajo’s office — APC
Continues from Page 41
government decisions on the
N-SIPs, which have been
under the office of the Vice
President since it started in
2016 to support the
conspiracies, however
mundane.
“In the same October 1
address, the President
announced the recent
redeployment of the Niger
Delta Development
Commission (NDDC) to the
Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs
from the Office of the
Secretary to the Government
of the Federation (OSGF).
Was this also to ‘whittle down’
the powers of the OSGF?
“In our respective and
collective efforts to support the
development of our country,
we cannot afford to fall into
the superficial in assessing
actions of government”, APC
added.
The party noted that since
the implementation of the N-
SIPs in 2016, the programme
has impacted over 12 million
direct beneficiaries and over
30 million indirect
beneficiaries.
“The SIPs are already
gaining global on account of
its nationwide social impact,
particularly from
endorsement by the Africa
Development Bank AfDB,
World Bank, World Economic
Forum, Action Aid (Nigeria),
Africa Network for
Environment and Economic
Justice (ANEEJ) the Nigerian
Economic Summit Group
(NESG) among others”, it
said.
Posers for the opposition
APC also raised several
posers for the opposition,
wondering why it would
always kick against massesoriented
programmes while
in the same breathe
embracing those that favour
the elites.
“A question we should ask
the conspirators and their
partisan sponsors is how did
they miss the import of the
President’s decision to create
a whole ministry to
superintend the social
investment programmes and
humanitarian issues?
“How did they not realise
that the President’s action is
an indication of the
importance he attaches to
policies that are targeted at the
poor?
“Why does it appear that the
so called analysts always do
not see things from the point
of view of the poor? When
policies are targeted at the
elites, analysts always seem to
see those and understand
them for what they are, but
choose all the time to see the
mundane when policies
address issues that bother on
the welfare of the masses.
“Warehousing all Social
Investment Programmes, such
as N-Power, Conditional Cash
Transfers, National Home-
Grown School Feeding and
Government Enterprise and
Empowerment Programmes
(GEEP) under a full Ministry
and appointing a substantive
Minister with the full
complement of civil service
structure is a statement of
President Buhari’s renewed
commitment to pulling
millions of Nigerians out of
poverty.
“We can understand PDP’s
incurable short-sightedness
and its leaders’ disdain for the
good of the ordinary
Nigerians, but we urge a more
rigorous and educated critic
of government actions from
those who have taken on the
noble responsibility of
reviewing public policies.
“The purveyors of the
conspiracy theory about the
imagined rift in the Presidency
have missed the opportunity
to see the commendable
efforts of this government.
Perhaps, if these policies were
about the elites, they would
have focussed on the positive
imports rather than fishing for
a crisis that only exists in their
fatuous imagination”, the
ruling party added.
Right move for effective
management
Speaking on the issue, Mr.
Johnson Chukwu, Managing
Director/CEO, Cowry Asset
Management, said the
decision to transfer social
welfare scheme to the newly
created ministry is a move in
the right direction.
He opined that the move
would make the programme
more enduring and ensure that
appropriate structures are put
in place for its effective
management.
“I believe that the Ministry
of Humanitarian Affairs was
created for the purpose of
managing the social
investment scheme and all
similar initiatives of the
government. By transferring
this scheme to a purpose
created ministry, the
government has taken the
appropriate step to
institutionalize the scheme
and ensure that it outlives the
current administration,”
Chukwu said.
Not bad, but misplaced
priority
Also, Mr. Ejike Nwuba,
Founder & CEO, The
Renaissanceafrica Company,
a human capital development
and management consulting
firm, lauded the government
over the development, but
queried the funding allocation
for the programme, when
education and health sectors
are under-funded.
Nwuba, who also queried
the impact of the existing
social welfare programmes,
said: “Creating a ministry for
social welfare in itself is not
bad or unheard of. But my
concern is what is the impact
of the existing ‘social welfare
programs? I think there is a
misplacement of priority. Why
is N500 billion earmarked for
the school feeding
programme, N- power and
Tradermoni when we have
dilapidated, unkempt public
schools, very poor healthcare
and an ailing economy?
“Why is N500 billion
earmarked for these welfare
programmes when only N47
billion is budgeted for
education, and only N50
billion is budgeted for health?
Why should we spend more on
these palliatives than on the
Ministry of Works with only a
budget of N400 billion?
“In summary, the
establishment of a ministry for
social welfare is not out of
place. But the impact of the
existing palliatives is not far
reaching enough to warrant
the budget for it or the
establishment of the new
ministry at the moment.”
It won’t achieve much —
Okezie
However, Chairman,
Progressive Shareholders
Association of Nigeria, PSAN,
Mr Boniface Okezie said: “I
don’t see any new thing the
establishment of the Ministry
of Humanitarian and
Disaster Management will
achieve.
“This will not solve our
problems rather the
government should try to
create industries that will help
get jobs to the youths and ablebodied
Nigerians instead of
the so called ministry that is
not necessary at this point in
time. They are only trying to
waste our scarce resources. By
the way, how much will the
Ministry be generating in
terms of revenue to be able to
contribute to the growth of the
economy and pay salaries to
its workers?
“The Ministry will end up
doing nothing at the end of the
day; think about the budgetary
allocation to the Ministry and
over head cost to Minister,
Permanent Secretary, etc. We
don’t need too many
ministries. This government
must try to curtail overhead
expenses. It is high time we
stopped all these rhetorical
ideas that are not moving us
forward as a nation.”
The ministry can stimulate
economy — Igbrude
Spokesperson of the
Independent Shareholders
Association of Nigeria,
ISAN, Moses Igbrude, said:
“The Ministry can help to start
stimulating the economy, if it’s
properly and efficiently
carried out as intended, which
I doubt.
“Nigeria as a country don’t
lack good and laudable
policies or programmes like
this, it is the will to implement
them for the good of all without
siphoning the money before
getting to those who needed it
most that is the problem. I
appeal to Mr President to
personally monitor this social
scheme programme if he
wants it to succeed as the
masses will appreciate him for
it.”
I don’t think there ‘ll be
much gain – Nwosu
The Chief Executive Officer
of PromoNomics, Obisike
Nwosu said: “I sincerely don’t
think that there will be much
gain from the realignments.
The over-concentration of
resources and powers in the
federal government breed
inefficiency and corruption.
My solution will be
devolution of powers and
reform of revenue sharing
formula to give more funds to
the states. The Federal
Government of Nigeria
dabbles into many functions
that would better be executed
by the states.”
Rohr may
quit Eagles
•Confirms offers from four
countries
Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr has
given three reasons why he may not
continue with the national team when
he comes off his contract in 2020.
The German football tactician has
complained that he is not respected,
promises made by the Nigeria Football
Federation are not kept and there are
organizational problems.
It will be recalled that Nigerian Federation
supremo Amaju Pinnick promised to send
Rohr to Germany on a refresher course
with Bayern Munich after the Super Eagles
exited the Africa Cup of Nations but that
obligation has not been fulfilled.
When asked by Mannheimer Morgen if
he was interested in renewing his contract,
Rohr stated :‘’Yes and no. On the one hand,
we have built a good team, the youngest
Joshua
should take
a break if I
beat him
— Ruiz Jnr
Andy Ruiz Jnr has told
Anthony Joshua that he
should take a break from boxing
if he loses to the Mexican again.
The pair are scheduled to have
a huge rematch in December
after Ruiz Jnr took Joshua’s three
world heavyweight title belts in
their initial fight in New York in
June.
Ruiz Jnr believes he can defeat
Joshua once again when they
come to blows in Saudi Arabia
and has advised the Briton to
step away from the ring if he
fails to regain his world titles.
‘I think he should take a little
break if I beat him,’ Ruiz Jr told
Sky Sports.
‘Let him recuperate, but one or
two losses are not going to make
a difference.
‘He’s still a warrior, he’s still a
great fighter, and I’m sure he’ll
bounce back.’
Edo Assembly
passes Edo
Sports
Commission
law
One year after the Edo
State Sports
Commission was created by
Governor Godwin Obaseki, the
Edo State House of Assembly
has formally passed it into law.
The House, sitting in Benin City
yesterday, concluded the third
and final reading of the bill to
give legal backing to the
Commission headed by Barrister
Godwin Dudu-Orumen, which
came into being via an executive
order by the governor after
scrapping the then Ministry of
Sports.
Although the bill was sent to the
immediate past House, no
action was taken on it until the
present House led by Speaker
Franklin Okiye came on board
following the March 2019
elections.
African champions Nigeria
will go for an outright win
against Cote d’Ivoire in their
Tokyo 2020 Olympics women’s
football tournament, African
qualifying second round first leg
clash in Abidjan on Thursday,
according to Acting Head
Coach Chris Danjuma.
Danjuma said that a win is nonnegotiable
as the Super Falcons
•Rohr
on average in Africa.
‘’On the other hand, there are many things
that make daily work difficult: lack of respect,
organizational problems, promises are not
kept. We will see how it goes on’’.
The former Bayern Munich defender
confirmed that he received offers from
four countries namely Morocco,
Cameroon, Mali and Congo after the
Africa Cup of Nations but opted to see
out his contract with the Nigerian
Federation.
Rohr added : ‘’Yes. But I love this team
and I really wanted to fulfill my contract’’.
Rohr’s next official assignment is taking
the Super Eagles to Singapore for an
international friendly with five-time
world champions Brazil on October 13
Tokyo 2020: Falcons eye
outright win against Cote
d’Ivoire
Jansen Foo to
referee Brazil,
Nigeria friendly
Singaporean Jansen Foo
has been appointed as
referee for the prestige
international friendly match
between Nigeria and Brazil
taking place in Singapore on
Sunday, 13th October 2019.
Foo will be assisted by
compatriots Abdul Hannan
(assistant referee 1), Ong Chai
Lee (assistant referee 2) and G.
Letchman (fourth official) at the
game billed for the Singapore
National Stadium, Kallang
starting from 8pm Singapore
time.
It is the first clash between the A
teams of both countries since
five –time world champions
Brazil hit the Super Eagles 3-0
in a friendly game at the
National Stadium, Abuja in
June 2003.
The second edition of the
Government College
Ughelli – GCU Relays has been
confirmed for November 16th,
2019 at the school modern Tartan
Tracks built on the exclusive
Athletics Grounds.
With the confirmation of the
date, has also come, the
reconstitution of the Relays
Organizing Committee and a
Meets Ambassador.
President General of the
GCUOBA Worldwide, Arc, Ovo
Charles Majoroh disclosed that
the reconstitution of the
organsing committee was to
allow for fresh ideas that should
take the annual event to higher
heights.
Leading the new team as
chairman is Mr. Ejiro Omonode
want to make the return leg in
Nigeria on Monday an easier
session for themselves.
“We know the Ivorians are a
strong team; we could only beat
them on penalties during the
WAFU Cup of Nations.
However, it is a new day and an
altogether new contest on
Thursday and we will go for an
outright win.
Mourinho
emerges
favourite to
replace
Pochettino
Jose Mourinho has
emerged as the
bookmakers’ favourite to
succeed Mauricio Pochettino
as Tottenham manager.
Beleaguered Pochettino is
under pressure after Spurs
were humiliated 7-2 at home
by Bayern Munich in the
Champions League on
Tuesday night. And the
Portuguese is his most likely
replacement.
That thrashing came off the
back of an embarrassing
loss to League Two outfit
Colchester United in the
Carabao Cup last week and
inconsistent form in the
Premier League.
GCU relays get date
who also doubles as the publicity
sub committee head.
Sir Emma Elili returns as
technical committee head, Engr
Dan Agbada - Sponsorshp, Engr
Donatus Umukoro -
Infrastructure, Evang Roy
Odoko - External Logistics, Mr.
Mike
Madagwa-
Accommodation, Col (Rev)
Roland Emokpae (rtd)- Security
and Dr. Richard Obiuwevbi -
Medical.
From the home Branch, Prince
Diamond Ejomarie and Arc
Alfred Avwaruroro will lead the
LOC that is saddled with
ensuring a hitch free event.
A novel introduction to this
year’s Relays, is the appointment
of Mr. Orode Moses Oyiki as the
Meet Ambassador.

Vanguard, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2019 — 47
AFCON 2019: Rohr finally
blames Akpeyi for Eagles
loss to Algeria
Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr appears to have
firmly pointed the finger of blame at goalkeeper
Daniel Akpeyi for the defeat to Algeria in their
2019 Africa Cup of Nations semi-final.
The Super Eagles went down 2-1 to a late Riyad Mahrez
free-kick in the fifth minute of injury-time, which Rohr
believes could have been dealt with better by Akpeyi.
“At first, it was unfortunate that this foul had even
occurred near the 18-yard box,” Rohr told German
publication Mannheimer Morgen.
“Then the wall wanted to jump, and one threw himself
on the floor to fend off the ball. We took care of everything,
just that our goalkeeper was not behind the wall.”
Kaizer Chiefs keeper Akpeyi appears to have paid the
price for his error and has not been called into subsequent
camps for Nigeria, nor did he play in the third-place playoff
against Tunisia where the Super Eagles picked up the
bronze medal.
U23 AFCON:
Olympic Eagles up
against Zambia, Cote
d’Ivoire, S/Africa
CUP holders Nigeria will
battle Cote d’Ivoire,
Zambia and South Africa at the
group stage of the 3rd U23 Africa
Cup of Nations taking place in
Egypt next month, following the
draw held in Alexandria
yesterday. All Group B matches
will hold at the Al Salam
Stadium in Cairo – one of the
venues for last summer’s 32nd
Africa Cup of Nations finals.
Host nation Egypt will be up
against Ghana, Cameroon and
Mali in a hard-as-nails Group A
with matches at the Cairo
International Stadium.
Cup holders Nigeria will play
their first game against Cote
d’Ivoire, before further matches
against Zambia and South Africa
in the group stage. Only the top
three teams at the tournament
will qualify to represent Africa at
the men’s football tournament of
the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Coach of South Africa, David
Notone,said: “The truth is that
whatever group you fall into
would always be tough. We have
eight very strong teams here and
any team could have fallen
anywhere, except Egypt and
Nigeria that headed the groups.
LEICESTER City midfielder
Wilfred Ndidi has expressed
his delight with his goal against
Newcastle United in Sunday’s
Premier League game.
The 22-year-old Nigeria
international helped his side
decimate the Magpies, sealing
their 5-0 victory at the King Power
Stadium. The combative
midfielder powered home a volley
in the 90th minute of the encounter
after connecting with Ben
Chilwell’s cross.
The effort from the former Genk
man is his second this season
and eighth for Leicester
across all competitions.
“Yes, it was a good
goal! I’m happy with
the goal. Maybe the
Golden Boot’s
coming,” Ndidi
told LCFC TV. “It’s
a team game, so
it’s not [about] if
you play attack,
defence or
midfield. We are
just like a team, so
we try to help each
other. That’s it.”
Victory against the
Magpies leapfrogged
Brendan Rodgers’ men to the
National Sports Festival:
Govt engages Ebewele to
prepare Team Edo
•Akpeyi
Ndidi eyes ‘Golden Boot’
IN a move to come tops at the 20th National Sports Festival,
tagged Edo 2020 which the State is hosting, the Edo State government
has engaged Mr Brown Ebewele, a former sports commissioner in the
State to tinker Team Edo for the biennial event which the state will host
from March 20 to April 1, 2019.
Deputy Governor of the State, Comrade Philip
Shaibu who also serves as the Chairman of the
Festival’s Local Organising Committee, LOC,
disclosed this in Benin last weekend shortly after
the inauguration of the LOC.
According to the deputy governor, “We have
appointed a great technocrat in the person of
Brown Ebewele to manage Team Edo and the
mandate is to raise a good team, to win the
National Sports Festival which Edo last won in
2002”. “We want to host well and win it clean hence
the government decided to engage the best hand
in the festival business. Ebewele as the director of
Sports in the state won the festival for Edo state and we are
*Ebewele
confident he will win it again and we will empower him,” he stressed.
Stressing that the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) board member
is a member of Team Edo committee, Comrade Shaibu said, “I have urged
the various members of Team Edo committee to work assidiously for the
success of the state in the festival”.
third spot in the league with 14 points
from seven games.
Prior to the win on Sunday, the
Foxes lost their previous game against
Newcastle at the King Power
Stadium. The Super Eagles star has
praised his side’s development under
the 46-year-old Northern Irish
tactician.
“Last season, they were really good,
playing a low block so we couldn’t
find a rhythm, but this season, the
coach has really upped us so that
shows the [quality] in the team,” he
continued.
CLUB Bruges forward
E m m a n u e l
Bonaventure was ecstatic
after scoring twice in his
side’s surprise 2-2 draw at
Real Madrid in the
Champions League but now
faces a painful double
session in a tattoo parlour
after coming good on a prematch
pledge.
The Nigerian striker was
caught on camera looking
awestruck as he walked
around the Santiago
Bernabeu before Tuesday’s
clash and said if he was able
to score at Real’s temple he
would honour the occasion by
getting himself inked up.
‘Santiago Bernabeu, this is
a dream. A lot of people didn’t
even think they would come
... Minister of Sports hails him
Nigeria’s Minister of Sports,
Sunday Dare has
showered encomiums on Club
Brugge striker Emmanuel
Bonaventure following his
superlative performance against
Real Madrid in a UEFA
Championship League game on
Tuesday.
Emmanuel Dennis scored twice
to earn his side a point against 13-
time European Champions, Real
Madrid, a performance that got the
attention of the new minister.
In reaction to the striker’s performance
THE Nigeria Football Federation says it is deeply
saddened by the death on Tuesday night of two players
of Nigeria Women Professional League club, Police Machine
Female FC, who were killed by a hit-and-run Jeep driver
that ran into about five persons in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State
capital.
“It is with deep shock and sense of immense loss that we
received the tragic news of the death of the players. It is a
very, very sad situation for such young ladies to be cut
down in their prime in such manner.
“This is a tragedy of immense proportions. We are
much grieved. Our hearts go out to the families of the
players, Police Machine FC, the Nigeria Women Football
League and the entire Nigerian Football family. We pray
that Almighty God will grant the departed players
eternal rest and also comfort those they have left behind,”
NFF General Secretary, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi, said on
Wednesday morning.
Reports said the ladies, Aniebet Ekong and Glory
Saturday were crushed by the vehicle as they left their team’s
evening training session, with the team due to travel to
Lokoja to participate in the Nigeria Women Premier League
play-off competition. Another player who was hit by the
trailer driver is said to be receiving treatment at a hospital
in the Akwa Ibom State capital.
Bonaventure celebrating a goal at Real Madrid
Bonaventure gets tattoos to
mark goals against Real Madrid
NFF mourns death of two Police
Machine FC players
here to play. If I score then I will
get a tattoo on my skin,” he said
in a video posted on the club’s
Youtube channel.
The 21-year-old did not take long
to fulfil his promise, giving the
Belgian side a shock lead in the
ninth minute by beating Real
keeper Thibaut Courtois with an
unorthodox finish.
Bonaventure is unlikely to forget
the occasion, however, especially
after being reminded of his pledge
to mark the goals with ink.
“I guess I will now have to get
two tattoos,” he said jokingly to
Belgian television channel RTL
after the game. “I’m happy to have
scored two goals, but we really
wanted to win the game and we
were not far away from doing it.
We have to be content with the
point, which is not a bad result.”
Mr Sunday Dare said, “Nigerian
footballer, Emmanuel
Bonaventure, has just put his
side two goals ahead in the first
half against Real Madrid in the
Champions League.” “I see
another golden age of our
National Football Team on the
horizon. #ProudlyNigerian.” He
tweeted. Emmanuel Dennis
went on join the likes of James
Obiora and Yusuf Atanda Ayila as
the only Nigerians to have scored
against the Los Merengues in
the champions league.
*Glory Saturday,
*Abiebiet Ekong

Vanguard, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2019
TODAY’S PUZZLE
Sudoku
FRIDAY’S ANSWER
TODAY’S CROSSWORD
QUICK CROSSWORD
THURSDAY’S SOLUTION
How to Play Sudoku
Across
1 Grab (6)
4 Baby’s toy (6)
8 Eagle’s nest (5)
9 Coal miner (7)
10 Small cucumber used
for pickling (7)
11 Destroy (5)
12 Give in, yield (9)
17 Picture puzzle (5)
19 Japanese warrior (7)
21 Irritated (7)
22 First appearance (5)
23 One of the planets (6)
24 Vanquished (6)
Down
1 Vehicle for travelling over
snow (6)
2 Stuffy (7)
3 Impertinence (5)
5 Permitted (5)
6 Hackneyed (5)
7 I’ve found it! (6)
9 Owned up (9)
13 Cattle thief (7)
14 Melted cheese on hot
toast (7)
15 Fetches (6)
16 “Paradise Lost” poet
(6)
18 Lamb’s cry (5)
20 Troublesome little
insect (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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