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8 — SATURDAY Vanguard, NOVEMBER 23, 2019<br />
Enugu State Governor, Rt. Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (left) consoling Senator Ayogu Eze of the All Progressives<br />
Congress (2nd right) and his wife, Nkechi, during the funeral service for Senator Eze’s late father-in-law, Pastor<br />
Cyril Odoh Ugwuoke, held at Township School 1, Ogrute Enugu-Ezike, Igbo-Eze North Local Government Area,<br />
yesterday.<br />
Politics cannot come between us, Ayogu<br />
Eze tells Ugwuanyi<br />
By Ikechukwu Odu<br />
The Enugu State’s All<br />
Progressives<br />
Congress, APC, candidate<br />
for the last gubernatorial<br />
candidate in the state,<br />
Ayogu Eze, has said politics<br />
cannot come between his<br />
friendship and that of the<br />
governor of Enugu State,<br />
Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi,<br />
irrespective of their party<br />
affiliations.<br />
Eze, who confirmed that<br />
there have been “turbulent,<br />
fervent and stringent”, political<br />
tussles between them,<br />
said those things were as a<br />
result of politics and would<br />
not come in between their<br />
friendship.<br />
He spoke at Ogrute, Friday,<br />
during the interment of<br />
his father-in-law, Pastor<br />
Cyril Odo Ugwuoke, adding<br />
that no politician in the<br />
state is as humble as the<br />
governor.<br />
“Ugwuanyi’s ability to<br />
reach out and make peace<br />
at all cost is outstanding.<br />
His ability to build network<br />
is commendable. It is not<br />
surprising that since he assumed<br />
office in the state,<br />
peace and development<br />
have been witnessed in key<br />
sectors of the state’s economy<br />
and he has been able to<br />
pull our people together,” he<br />
said.<br />
Though, he said all expectations<br />
have not been<br />
met, he said he believes,<br />
Ugwuanyi, will not disappoint<br />
the people of the state.<br />
“I want to re-emphasise<br />
that he would continue to<br />
be my friend. Those who<br />
met him in Igbo-Eze North<br />
Council Area, met him in<br />
my house, so, he remains<br />
my good friend. Though,<br />
I will continue to be a member<br />
of APC, I urge all of you<br />
to continue to support him.<br />
So, if you see us together,<br />
don’t be surprised because<br />
our friendship has been<br />
reinvigorated. He is just<br />
PDP for today and I am APC<br />
for today.<br />
“I may have stepped on<br />
toes through my actions and<br />
inactions, I want everyone I<br />
have offended to forgive me<br />
so we can work towards the<br />
development of our state,”<br />
2023: Why another northerner will succeed<br />
Buhari — APC chieftain<br />
By Dirisu Yakubu<br />
A chieftain of the All<br />
Progressives Congress,<br />
APC, Chief Jackson Ojo has<br />
advised the South to forget<br />
their dream of producing the<br />
President of Nigeria in 2023,<br />
saying at the expiration of<br />
his tenure, President Muhammadu<br />
Buhari would<br />
handover to another<br />
northerner.<br />
Ojo stated this yesterday<br />
in Abuja in a chat with our<br />
correspondents. The APC<br />
chieftain while<br />
counselling the South to<br />
build a common front<br />
ahead of the next election<br />
cycle noted that South<br />
lacks the capacity to politically<br />
engage the North in<br />
a battle of supremacy.<br />
In his words, politicians<br />
of South-West extraction<br />
currently agitating to<br />
replace President Buhari<br />
in 2023 lack the visibility<br />
and national acceptance to<br />
make good their dream<br />
saying, “who is there in the<br />
South that has the national<br />
clout? There are some<br />
people in the South-West<br />
that are making noise today,<br />
wanting to be President.<br />
The truth is that they<br />
he said. The former senator<br />
equally thanked Ugwuanyi,<br />
for his support during<br />
the burial.<br />
The event was graced<br />
by Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi;<br />
Senator Chuka<br />
Utazi, Pat Asadu; Simon<br />
Atigwe, among other prominent<br />
politicians in Enugu<br />
North Senatorial District.<br />
FG responsible for 80% of Nigeria’s<br />
N25.7 trn debt — DMO<br />
By Tordue Salem,<br />
Abuja<br />
THE Debt Manage<br />
ment Office (DMO)<br />
has told the House of Representatives<br />
that Nigerian’s<br />
total debt profile is<br />
now N25.7 trillion with the<br />
Federal Government’s<br />
borrowing taking about<br />
80 percent of the total debt<br />
burden.<br />
The Director-General of<br />
the Office, Ms Patience<br />
Oniha, while addressing<br />
the House Committee on<br />
Public Account on yesterday<br />
in Abuja, stated: “As<br />
at June 2019, our debt<br />
profile is at N25.7 trillion;<br />
this includes the Federal,<br />
states governments and<br />
the Federal Capital Territory<br />
(FCT).<br />
“We call it the total public<br />
debt, out of this total,<br />
the Federal Government<br />
is responsible for 80 per<br />
cent of the debt,” she said.<br />
Oniha said that external<br />
borrowing accounts for<br />
about 32 per cent of the total<br />
debt while the 68 per<br />
cent is domestic.<br />
She explained that the<br />
DMO is agency of government<br />
which began operations<br />
in 2000 following the<br />
country debt management<br />
problems of the country<br />
which lead to the debt relief.<br />
Oniha said that the<br />
agency is responsible for<br />
the management of public<br />
debts and its mandate includes<br />
contracting debts on<br />
behalf of the Federal Government.<br />
According to the directorgeneral,<br />
this is clear under<br />
the Fiscal Responsibility<br />
Act and provisions in the<br />
DMO Act.<br />
“If you look back several<br />
years, over 85 per cent of<br />
budget deficits are funded<br />
by borrowing which the<br />
DMO undertakes as approved<br />
by the Federal Executive<br />
Council and the<br />
National Assembly.<br />
“We borrow from various<br />
sources, the multi laterals,<br />
the World Bank, Islamic<br />
Development Bank, the<br />
African Development<br />
Bank, China Exim and we<br />
also issue products in the<br />
International market.<br />
“Locally, we are also<br />
very active in domestic<br />
borrowing, we issue treasury<br />
bills, Federal Government<br />
treasure bonds, “<br />
she said.<br />
Oniha said that DMO<br />
also serves as an advisory<br />
body for the Federal Government<br />
on debt management<br />
and to put debt at 25<br />
per cent ratio to the GDP.<br />
She explained that the<br />
agency do not receive any<br />
amount borrowed saying<br />
that it is paid directly to<br />
the Central Bank of Nigeria<br />
(CBN) who ensures<br />
that the money is used for<br />
what is borrowed for.<br />
The Chairman of the<br />
committee, Rep. Wole Oke<br />
(PDP-Osun) said that it<br />
was important for parliament<br />
to have all the relevant<br />
information documented.<br />
cannot be President. That<br />
is it! Mark my word! APC<br />
Presidential candidate in<br />
2023 will emerge from the<br />
north. The South-West will<br />
be given the Vice Presidential<br />
slot. And if the PDP<br />
takes its candidate from the<br />
South, then they have<br />
given the opportunity to<br />
the APC to win again. The<br />
south does not have the<br />
political capacity to fight<br />
the North.”<br />
Convocation: University of<br />
Benin confers LLD honours on<br />
Chief Ahonaruogho<br />
THE University of Benin will today confer the<br />
Doctor of Law (LLD) (Honoris Causa) on a legal<br />
practitioner, Chief Richard Oma Ahonaruogho<br />
who is an alumnus of the university and a past president<br />
of the University of Benin Alumni Association<br />
(Worldwide) as part of this year’s convocation ceremony.<br />
An associate of the honoree, Chief Kunle Uthman,<br />
in a tribute described Chief Ahonaruogho “as a man<br />
of several parts, who at various times in his adult<br />
life has made indelible marks and impacts in the<br />
lives of several persons in different facets of life”.<br />
According to him, “in the last two decades, in the<br />
Faculty of Law of the University of Benin, the honoree<br />
has awarded scholarships to several deserving<br />
students and provided laptop computers to<br />
graduating students attending the Nigerian Law<br />
School.<br />
“As part of his non selective acts of philanthropy,<br />
he had also sponsored students in the Theatre Arts<br />
and other departments. In addition, he single handedly<br />
coordinated the building and equipment of a<br />
Facility of Law Library for the university. He has<br />
also made several other contributions to the university<br />
community as a whole in terms of material<br />
and infrastructural development”<br />
“The staff and management of the University of<br />
Benin see in Chief Richard Oma Ahonaruogho a<br />
worthy ambassador of the university, who has maintained<br />
close contact and liaison with the institution<br />
and had on several occasions and instances<br />
used his vast contacts and networks of friends, business<br />
and political associates to assist in solving numerous<br />
problems and challenges when they arose”.<br />
Chief Ahonaruogho’s wife, Chief Mojisola Abiola<br />
said, “Richard is a responsible husband, he is a<br />
family man to the core. He is caring, loving, kind<br />
and very dependable. He is ever ready to provide<br />
solutions to any challenges that may arise”.<br />
Elumelu, 2 other Africans in<br />
omnibus edition of African Voices<br />
ONE of Nigeria’s best known bankers, Anthony<br />
Elumelu, is featured in an omnibus edition of<br />
the television magazine, CNN African Voices, airing<br />
this weekend. Two Kenyans will also be celebrated in<br />
this edition.CNN International introduced the compilation<br />
show when the television station started a<br />
new series of the flagship programme with a new<br />
tagline, Changemakers.<br />
The Kenyans featured in the edition are Elizabeth<br />
Njoroge, founder of the Art of Music Foundation who<br />
deploys the transformative power of classical music<br />
to provoke positive change in the lives of young Kenyans<br />
and Peter Tabichi, 37-year-old winner of the 2019<br />
Global Teacher Prize.<br />
The programme will delve into how Elumelu, now 56,<br />
started his career in banking; how his courage and confidence<br />
earned him his first job as a salesman at the<br />
defunct All States Trust Bank after getting his Master’s<br />
degree in Economics from the University of Lagos.<br />
The programme tells the story of how he rose through<br />
the ranks and eventually became the chairman of<br />
United Bank for Africa, Heirs Holdings and<br />
Transcorp and how he founded The Tony Elumelu<br />
Foundation in 2010 as a major philanthropy in Africa<br />
championing the cause of entrepreneurship and sponsoring<br />
outstanding entrepreneurs across the continent.<br />
Njoroge, a graduate of Strathclyde University, UK,<br />
returned to her country home where she founded the<br />
Art of Music Foundation. She had earlier bagged a<br />
degree in Pharmacy in 1994, and before that, a Bachelor<br />
of Science degree in Biochemistry in 1989 from<br />
the McMaster University in Canada upon the completion<br />
of her Pharmacy degree in 1997.